date local

i would not necessarily consider myself an environmentalist, despite the moral superiority i feel about things like riding my bike to work, buying local eggs or wearing pressed bamboo accessories (sustainable earrings! who knew?), but i am always glad to be on the same side as the environment, especially when it's the side i've been on all along. which is why i was so happy to find this recent article about how long-distance dating is killing the planet.

you see, i have, for some time now, been something of a naysayer when it comes to long-distance relationships. i think the magic of relationships comes in melding two lives into one, in the togetherness found in mundane things like making dinner and cleaning the house, in the instant accessibility to the comfort of a person who is less than a plane ride away.

now, before someone pulls that "don't knock it 'til you've tried it" bull-oney on me, let me say that i have, in fact, been there and done that, and, while it obviously didn't work for me, i don't think all long-distance relationships are doomed to failure. and i know that you can't help who you fall in love with and true love has no borders and blah, blah, blah.

but i still think long-distance relationships add time and work and confusion to something that already takes a lot of time, work and is confusing enough when you live next-door, and i have basically refused to entertain the idea of a long-distance relationship (unless jake gyllenhaal comes a-knockin') for quite some time now.

and not that i wasn't perfectly happy to stand that ground all by my lonesome, but it does feel pretty good to have the whole earth behind me on this one.