Sept 20 - Photo a Day - Man-made

My lovely computah!

In 2006, my wonderful Aunt Jeannine emailed me a cartoon that says: "I love my computer because my friends live in it." That goofy-faced, smitten fellow, surrounded by hearts and squeezing his monitor, could be me. (Which is not to say I'm a goofy-faced fellow. Smitten, however....)

You may or may not know that I met my partner on the Internet. To be more precise, our tall, thin, gorgeous, perpetually 24-year-old cartoon avatars met in a virtual blues club on Second Life. Who'd'a guessed? Exploring a bizarre virtual world, meeting people from all over the world, certainly not looking for love, we found each other.

Later, (after hours and hours of Skype time) I moved from the Pacific Northwestern U.S. to Ottawa, Ontario knowing no one except Pierre. Again searching on my computer, via the magical man-made Internet, I discovered a newly-launched site called Girlfriend Social, sort of an online matchmaker for straight women looking for friends. On that site I hit the jackpot again, and met an incredibly fantabulous chiquita: Vickie.

Since moving here, I've met many more incredible people, most of whom I schedule get-togethers with via the 'net. My online time these days is spent between Facebook, email, and Skype (in that order) connecting with friends and family,  researching ESL materials and holistic health, and even conducting tutoring appointments. I use the Internet far more than my cell phone, and can hardly imagine living without the instant encyclopedia that Google has become.

Can you relate?