When my friend asked me to write something for Valentine, I was totally lost--didn't know what (the heck) to write! Then my friend kinda helped me out by suggesting that I could write about long distance relationship since I'm one of those people who have one myself. Hmm, I thought, not a bad idea. But now that I'm sitting and typing this, it begins to seem like a bad idea :p (Gor~ mun mai' roo~ ja kien arai ni wa'!!!). Anyhow, lemme see what I can share with you guys about this long distance relationship thingy. Let's start with the technical side of it then. If you feel sleepy, it's high time you get some caffeine boost now, because you might not even last through this part! Ok...all set? Let's go...

As with all relationships, this long distance one obviously has both positive and negative points. Most people can probably think of many drawbacks--how torturing it is not to be able to spend time with each other, how hard it is to "stay tune" with each other while being so far away, how difficult it is to live and deal with the doubts and uncertainty that always seem to come up, etc. Generally, we all can easily agree that long distance relationship does require a lot of effort--yep, love alone just ain't enough dude! You need to have trust, faith, confidence, and loyalty on the side (though I strongly suggest that love should be the main dish--now imagine what will be the main dish if love is just the appetizer?!? ;) Hahaha...you know what I mean!). Because you and your "special someone" will be distant, you have to find a way to still be in each other's life, and you know, you don't have to be physically present to do that. There is such thing called telephone, and in most cases, daily phone calls work really really well (though your wallet may be badly injured, but I'm sure it's gonna be worth it--if that other person is not worth it, then why bother to even have this long relationship thing, huh? Logical logical...:))). But if the $$$ doesn't allow this, you need to go on a scavenger hunt for some other means of communication so you guys can keep in touch (which part to touch is up to your discretion! :P) Now that cyberspace is hot, maybe keeping in touch via e-mail or through IRC will be cool. Whichever way you choose, bear in mind that it's absolutely necessary to stay in touch. You have to be there for the other person when he or she needs you, and I'm not saying that you have to ditch school to wait for his or her calls, though I must admit that would really be a good excuse :p.

Enough about keeping in touch...now comes the question most people probably have as far as long distance relationship is concerned. How much can I trust the other person since I don't know what he or she is up to? The answer is surprisingly very simple--you can't do anything much than to trust the other person. Of course, it's just a matter of luck too. If you get a good person, then that should pose no problem. If, however, God hates you and you run into a jerk (which is more likely than running into a cool guy!), then what the heck?? Game over, put in an extra quarter, and start a new game!!! :p But yes, trust is very very important. And you also have to be confident in the other person too that he or she will be what you expect him or her to be. Hey, warning warning...confidence and dream are too different things. You are confident in a person when you know enough about him or her to somewhat be sure that he or she won't cheat on you (well, at least not so fast...people do change...sad but true guys...:~~( But if you get the signs that your once-cool guy or gal is now about to transform into a jerk, then decide for yourself what you wanna do. One quick tip here--always think about killing the other party first before you think about killing yourself! As long as you still breath, the game is not over...the soap opera (or is it just the show?) must go on...:p

Now what next? Oh yeah...how to deal with the pain of not being able to stay together and be with each other? Hmm...once again, I have an easy solution on hand...nai' mue' tum arai mai' dai~...gor tum jai la gun na ja kon geng'...:) Be a strong girl or boy (or whatever you prefer to be!), and live with it. If it's meant to be, you guys will surely meet someday. But talking on the phone daily or as often as you can will hel you deal with this problem. Like Richard Marx said, "I hear your voice on the line, but it doesn't stop the pain." Yeah, heck, it surely doesn't stop the pain, but it does ease the pain a bit...(sort of like morphine! :P) So if you are having or thinking about having a long distance relationship, maybe you can swap your national anthem for Richard Marx's song "Right Here Waiting"--seems to fit in neatly with out topic here...:)))

Since I have been discussing about the negative points, let's not forget to talk about the positive things that come with long distance relationship...(now c'mon...I know there has to be some...why can't I think of any?!? :p) Nahhh...mee si...mee dee dee yer' loey. Well, what can be more special than that supercool feeling of knowing that you have someone to care, to miss, to bitch at (this is optional), and to simply think of. And probably you guys will learn to value each other more since you know how much effort it takes to make your relationship last. Knowing also that you are always there for each other even though you are so far apart will also bring you closer together. Of course, this might not always be the case, but I'm talking about cases where it's successful. Though the chances are slightly less that long distance relationship will be satisfying (that is, compared to the normal, meet-you-everyday-until-I-get-sick-of-your-face relationship!), but if you think your special someone is worth a shot...why hesitate? Put on gear five and head on, dude! Way to go...:)))

Hmm...look to me like what needs to be said has been said (man, cool sentence, huh?!?). How can I end this thing here? Ok...let's see...those of you who have love, secure it and make it last...and for those of you who don't have love as yet, never lose hope...:)

I'm able to write this whole thing, because I'm fortunate enough to have a really cool "special someone" to share this long distance relationship experience with. And to that "special someone" in NC, I just wanna say...

"..Chun~ Ruk Ter..."
By "that cute girl in Oregon...:)"