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Net Gains (Feb 14, 98) |
If you aren't aware that today is Valentine's Day, you're a
marketing manager's nightmare. Advertisements in the media in
the past few weeks have been driving home the point that Feb 14th
is Valentine's Day and that their product or service is the best
gift you can give your sweetheart - be it a diamond ring, pendant,
chocolates, cards, whatever - and these gifts usually have the
tendency to deflate your wallet for the months to come. However,
today being the day of reckoning, there are two categories of
people you'll find all around : the haves and the have-nots. I
remember taking my valentine boating in Thane lake (only to have
her grumble later about a sunstroke), followed by a ride in a
tonga (no prizes for guessing how the pollution in Thane
adversely affected her). I don't know if the above events had
any effect on her decision, but this year, I've been unceremoniously
dumped - with no valentine to speak of. So, this year, I took
some time out to see how the Net could help me make V-Day less
miserable - and boy was I surprised !
The first step is usually the most difficult step, but the Net
reduces the trauma for you - SecretAdmirer (http://www.secretadmirer.com)
is a very useful site for us shy types. The site allows you to
send an email to someone you secretly admire, telling them as
much, but keeping your identity anonymous till the person reciprocates
the email to who s/he thinks sent the email. If the guess is correct,
identities are revealed, and cupid quietly marks another success
story in his tally chart.
Now that initial contact has been established, it's time to
take the next logical step. Check out just how compatible you
are - and there's no need to go to a jyotishji for that
- go to the Love Calculator (http://www.xs4all.nl/~kink/love)
- a site that helps you find out what the chances for you and
your dream partner are. All you have to do is fill in both full
names, and it will automatically calculate the probability on
a successful relationship between you two !
With step two out of the way, you can now start being slightly
bolder - and if you're not the kind who can write romantic love
letters, point your mouse to the Cyrano Letter Server (http://www.nando.net/toys/cyrano.html),
and use the free help to easily write fantastic personalised love
or valentines letters for free. If you would rather send her a
printout of the letter instead of an email, spend some time downloading
the free All Hearts TrueType Font (http://www.download.com/pc/result/titledetail/0,4,0-43462,501000.html),
a software that will allow you to print in heart shaped alphabets
! But if things haven't gone too well, you could easily whip up
a break-up letter too - these guys cover all the bases !
As things progress, and you grow more daring, you can send a
few cyberkisses to your valentine via email - these are sound
files of different kinds of kisses - available from Smooch (http://WWW.Purple.co.UK/love/smooch/smooch.html).
If you are the slow and steady kind, however, try choosing some
of the free electronic cards available online from the Hallmark
site (http:// www.hallmarkconnections.com/), and zip a few appropriate
and expressive cards across to show you care.
Today, I celebrate my first virtual valentine's day - I have
no valentine, except of course virtually - in cyberspace ! If
you're in the same boat, go for it - it's worth your online time
- and you never know how things may turn out …
Some more Valentine Day links :