Long time, no see.

And I must say, sorry about that, folks.

I've been busy - working on a novel, applying to colleges, generally keeping afloat in my classes. I can't wait for high school to be over.

Anywho.

For a while, I've wanted to make a post about long distance relationships. (How's that for a segway? Nonexistant - the best kind!)

I have been involved in an LDR for just over three years now. My boyfriend is a certain tall drink of water named Danny, and he lives in Britain where he calls french fries chips and he drives on the wrong side of the road.

Things have gone remarkably well with him. To put it short.

However, seeing as I just got home from a visit with him and his family in England, I wanted to make a list of the pros and cons of having an LDR.

Let's start with the pros, shall we?

PROS

• We communicate. A lot. We know each other inside and out. Basically, this is because the main way that we are together is through communications, whether that comes in the form of letters, phone calls, or messaging on the computer. We are really open with each other as a result, and arguments are resolved easily as we know how to talk to each other as civilized human beings.
• I don't have to worry about what I look like. This is a wonderful thing. I don't want to wear makeup? That's fine. Go for a while without trimming my hair? Who cares? Webcam shows me in crappy detail, anyway. The downside of this is that, in my short-haired-no-make-up-jeans-and-tshirt get-up, I oftentimes get mistaken for the wrong gender (I've had straight girls and gay guys make eyes at me before I open my mouth and they hear my seven-year-old-little-girl voice. On my most recent visit to England, I was mistaken as a Dutch little boy. Twice.)
• I DON'T HAVE TO SHAVE MY LEGS. Seeing as I mostly wear jeans. And you never see my legs. And romantic interludes with a lovely British young man patting my leg are rare. So I don't shave. TAKE THAT, MISOGYNISTIC SYSTEM. =D
• The little things really, really matter. If I get an email from him, I dance on the inside. A letter? That dance rips into an all-out Irish jig. When he visits and I find that he's left a personal item at my house, I hug it for ages and cry. When I'm with him and he holds me, I feel like a little girl with a crush, even though we've been together three years.
• Trust. This is something that we've built up and perfected to a friggin' art that would make da Vinci proud. Oftentimes, I have people ask me if I'm afraid of him cheating. The answer? Hell no. This sort of ties into the communication thing; I know him very well. He knows me very well. And I have no fear of him cheating. We both have friends of the opposite sex with whom we are very close; this is not a problem with either of us. When you have three years and 4,000 miles between you and all of the possible freedom in the world and yet you still remain faithful, you come to really trust your partner.

Alright. And now the cons.

CONS

• I'm a sap. I never was a sap before I fell in love with Danny. I thought romantic love was sort of silly. That I just wanted to focus on my studies. Sure, I thought about romantic love. Wondered what it was like. But I wanted nothing to do with it until I met ze Dannyman. This almost made it into the pro section. But then I thought of how many times I've sat at home and not wanted to go out with friends because I was still in my pajamas - icecream in hand - looking at old pictures of Dan and myself and crying. I never used to really cry. Thanks a lot, Dan. >:[
• I'm bitter. Very, very bitter. In regards to other couples, that is. I consider myself a kind, humane person. I don't get angry easily. I've been a vegetarian and animal activist for a long time. I support various humanitarian organizations. I make funny faces at cute babies at the grocery store. I talk to old ladies and let them have my place in line. But when I see other couples - especially of the super lovey-dovey kind that you KNOW aren't going to last more than a few months - I want to go all Bear Jew and break out my baseball bat and Bostonian badass accent. I know they aren't, but I feel like they're making a personal affront, almost. When I'm in a particularly sour mood, I'll even walk between a couple, rude comment at hand. Now, if you're a normal couple - been together a while, hold hands in public but not much else - you're cool. Fine. I might avoid you if I'm having a bad day, but most likely not. It's when people are making out right in front of me and using baby names that I want to go apeshit.
• I might act like it's fun, but prom on my own sucks. And mostly, it is fun. I love dressing up and going with my friends places, and not having a date has some sort of freedom to it. But once the slow dance songs are broken out and everyone gets all coupley, I magically disappear to go drown in my sorrows (and usually fix my makeup).
• And being alone sucks in general. I'm an independent chica. I have my own political views and I am quite the loud-mouthed feminist. But even I have to admit, not being able to be with my boyfriend, especially when special occasions come up (holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, etc.) is smelly. Uber smelly. Like the chunky milk that you forgot you put in the back of the fridge six months ago. Yeah. That bad.
• My eating habits iz all mixed up, yo. When I'm sad, I eat enough to deprive an entire African village. When I'm anxious, I can hardly drink water. And I feel both of these when I'm being a lonely little emo girl. I go between, "BAAAAH LIFE SUUUCKS," and, "Ohcrapohcrapohcrap not going to see him for eleven months." Usually I maintain a healthy, salad-and-soy filled diet, but if I decide to be emo even just a little, my body goes into this weird mode where either I eat like a whale or not at all. And then my weight fluctuates so I either have some chub or I resemble an anorexic.

And there you have it. The good, the bad, and the unshaven ugly that is (at least this) the long distance relationship.

Have you ever been in an LDR? What are your opinions on it in general? Worth it? No?

Oh. And if you were wondering. Danny has a blog as well. He focuses on school and medically thingy things in his. It's a pretty good read, if I may say so myself. :)

http://www.thedannymancan.blogspot.com