Saturday, February 13, 2010

Long Distance Daters Go the Extra Mile on Vday

Happy V-day everyone! The 3 day v-day weekend means different things to different people in New York. For couples it's filled with pricey dinners at downtown enoteccas and awkward trips to the backroom of Ricky's. For singles it's sprokets to "Single ladies" peppered with group texts to "meet up later?" and then then the weighty decision between the comfort and shame of their neighborhood pizzeria or stumbling home with a near stranger. But after talking to a few long distance couples who can't be together this V-day it seems that outside of frantically trying to delete the Fandango alert that they "just bought TKTS to Valentine's Day" from their Facebook wall, the options just aren't appealing.

To combat the gloom Geek Squad (a client that I work with) created a fun option for long distance daters, giving couples the opportunity for a candlelight Skype dinner at BLT steak in New York and Los Angeles last night.

I was able to chat with Y (pictured here) a Brooklyn based engineer/wushu instructor, on how he keeps it romanTECH with his L.A. woman Betty.

Take it from the top, how did you meet?
My parents have been friends with the Chus forever. When I was little I always prayed that I would marry Mrs Chu. She was so beautiful. Then as I got older, her daughter Betty and I became best friends and for 6 years we would IM, email, text and Gchat even though she lived in California. Eventually we created a pact that if we didn't marry anyone by thirty we would consider each other.

So it was kind of written...in html code :)?
Maybe it was. Finally one day I texted her "if we're going to get married you better come out to NYC for a visit ;)" She came out on Halloween this past year and we have been together ever since.

Wow, that must have been some stay, how do you keep the romance alive 2500 miles apart?
We talk more than ten times a day. We'll have a text chain going, I'll post inside jokes to her wall and on top of that we talk on the phone for 5-6 hours a night. Sometimes we are kind of half asleep and just keep the phones by our ears and talk as we drift in and out of sleep.

Wow, talk about commitment, you spend more "time" together than couples I know who live together. Any advice for other long distance couples?
Techromance actually does let you communicate well, I feel like I can be more thoughtful about what I am going to say. Some things would be totally cheesy but if you say them on email and IM they can come off better and they can even be funny.

So are you a hopeful romanTECH?
Why not, I also used to think people who couldn't find some one to date in their zipcode were kind of losers, but after dating Betty, its like you know its worth it.

So, how are you going to celebrate the next holiday...Memorial day I guess it is?
Hopefully she'll be moved in by then :)

Wow, nice work. Ain't no mountain (or cell phone bill high enough) to keep these two apart. Good luck you two and happy V-day to all! xo

2 comments:

  1. Smart business on the restaurateur's part. But I thought people had already resorted to Skype for lunches and dinners a deux? I, even do it with my overseas friends. Skype does shorten distance between souls. But bodies wanna attend the part for two, too. ;-)

    You have an excellent blog, Jewels! If your book isn't out, it sounds promising from your content. Best of luck and Happy New Year! :-)

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  2. I just found your blog Wilmayrad! Love it, thanks for commenting here and for your words of encouragement. xo

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