I've seen the Great Plains from top to bottom, east to west all over North America, and although there are some intersting stops along the way, it can get a little monotonous.
I've done that drive in just over two days before, solo, and in the winter too. Not sure I'd want to do that regularly, too much snowfall north of Superior, it slows you down when you're stuck behind a plow for half a day.
Same here, more expensive to fly within Canada than it is to go almost anywhere else. May as well "date" someone from Ireland or Australia, seeing as I could see them nearly twice as often with the savings compared to someone in Toronto.
At it's extreme, Canada is 5780 miles wide, not a day trip by any means, even speeding.
Is it really long distance if you can drive there in a few hours?
Maybe I'm thinking of it in Canadian terms, where many have to drive hundreds of kilometers daily to get anywhere, even to go to work. To me, long distance is where you have to get on a plane, or it takes a couple days to drive there.
I've driven over 1200 and 1500 kms one way to meet someone before, I didn't mind, but i wouldn't do it daily.
Oh I dunno, the last gal I chatted with on Skype disappeared shortly after, not sure why. Maybe she found me hideous, then again, maybe she fainted, bonked her head, and forgot my name.
No need to be shy, they're just people, they can't bite through the screen....thankfully.
I've never had any worries about chatting to anyone, but there has been the odd time I've been a little nervous, at first anyway. That goes away, and once you stop staring at the other person, the conversation generally flows quite smoothly.
Not sure why some people have a schedule they follow, as to how long before you do whatever, it seems silly to me. If you want to talk to someone, do it, whether you just met them, or you've known them for your entire life.
Look into a reverse osmosis filtration system. They're common here for well water which is full of minerals, and come in any flow capacity you could possibly imagine.
I've seen a few in homes in the city as well, hooked up right after the main shut off, and make enough clean water to supply large families.
It's not so much a matter of diplomacy, as it is a matter of not telling people what they want to hear, in effort to not offend their delicate sensibilities.
Usually it's best to just say it as it is.
I'll leave the BS for the stuffed shirts and politicians.
RE: How did you meet?
Sorry to hear that Sol.