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The
first time I went into an internet chatroom was just to relieve
the boredem at work, I never intended on making friends and keeping
in touch with anyone. It was July 1999 and I was 26.
The
second person I spoke to was a 21-year old girl from Sydney, Australia
who worked in a bank.She really enjoyed 'Goodnight Sweetheart',
saw that I was English from what I was saying the chatroom, and
asked me about the show.
Paul
at Urbis |
Three
days later I got an e-mail, saying hi, asking how I was and apologising
if I got into trouble at work for chatting the other day. There
then followed a lot of chatting online (at work!) and emails, progressing
to phone calls, and the sending of sweets - she loves citrus polos!
I'm
not sure exactly when I decided to go over to Australia to meet
her, but when I told Ren'ae of my plan, she was delighted. Things
developed in early 2000 when she asked the question - did I think
of her as anything other than a friend? I answered yes, she was
more than a friend. I didn't know exactly what we were, but I knew
I cared about her.
Games
for a laugh - as volunteers |
Face-to-face
I flew to Australia in July 2000 and we met on the steps of Hyde
Park in central Sydney. Those first few minutes, and maybe the hours
that followed, were a bit strange, sometimes awkard. But it wasn't
too long before we started to relax and realise we were the same
people that had chatted online.
When
it was time to leave, there were more than a few tears at the airport.
I'm not sure how it had happened, but by then it was already agreed
I'd be coming back to Australia in December to bring her back to
England with me.
Living
together
We came back via Sri Lanka, Paris, Disneyland Paris and London -
a dream holiday! But the reality was that Ren'ae was moving to another
country with someone she'd only seen in the flesh for less than
two months. I must admit there were moments during the journey home
that I took a step back and wondered if we were doing the right
thing.
She
floats my boat: Paul pops the question to Ren'ae |
Pretty
soon we moved into a flat in Heaton Mersey in South Manchester and
Ren'ae got a job at NatWest. Understandably, she missed her family
and friends. In September 2001, - after 9 months living together
- I finally proposed on a rowing boat in Stratford-upon-Avon on
a nice sunny day. Ren'ae was shaking afterwards! (as did the boat
when she leaned across to kissme!)
We
now have a house and, on Saturday 19th July 2003, exactly fours
years to the day since we met online, we will be getting married
at St. Anne's Church in Wilmslow.
My
thoughts
I think meeting people off the internet is good, as long as you're
sensible. I'd met a couple of people before, although they were
never anything more than friends. But Ren'ae is the only person
I've chatted to on the net who I've had feelings for. Maybe I was
lucky, I don't know.
I wouldn't
say my story is typical of 'internet dating'. With the distance
factor we were forced to stay online longer. Because of this I think
we knew each other very well by the time we met. I think I was more
confident of it working out than Ren'ae was - I knew what I wanted
from the moment I went back in December 2000 to get her.
And
as we're getting married on Saturday, it's all worked out pretty
much as I'd hoped.
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What
do you want to do now?
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听
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