Virtual(ly) friends?

Don't you think that, like with many other things in life, even who we end up with as friends is circumstantial? It depends on a number of things that are, more or less, beyond our control: which country we are born in, what language we speak, who our parents and what their expectations of us are, how our culture and education have shaped us, what the colour of our skin and our genetic coding in general is, etc. etc. On the other hand, imagine we could, just for a moment, disregard all of this and look deeper into our heart we might end up with pretty much a different person... a person our friends would not be necessarily familiar with but a person that others from distant and foreign places may "recognise"...

Ok, this is what I want to say: when I read some people's writing on their websites/blogs and see all the amazing photographs they choose to post there, and when I learn about their life choices, their likes and dislikes, and what they are aspiring to and dreaming of... well, something inside me gets incredibly moved, cheery and excited, almost child like, and (or because of it) I feel that instant bond that goes beyond words! Embarrassingly, I also feel the desire to plead with them as an impetuous child would: will you be my friend, please, please, NOW:)?

We all know that life is too short and often tedious. Isn't it therefore really soul breaking we always have to WAIT to be at the right place at the right time and WITH THE RIGHT PEOPLE? Why can't it all happen RIGHT NOW? Why can't I surround myself with people I have that immediate bond with - NOW?
It should be simple, I hear you say, just send an e-mail, or make a call, or whatever... Yeah? Well, it's not - because I hate to intrude on other people's life... and because, even though I've lived in Australia for over 20 years, I still have that European protocol thingymajiggy engraved deeply in my psyche, which more often than I like to admit frustrates the daylights out of me!

Here lies my conundrum: the bigger bond I feel with people on the internet, the more frustrated I get! Let's take the charming, stylish, softly-spirited and gracious Vicki Archer for example... Or equally wonderful Shannon Fricke... Or feisty, opinionated and delightfully cheeky Corine... Or the brave, strong, smart and woodyallenishly-funny La Ballete Rouge... Or... Believe me, I could go on and on and on... As there are so many of them that I would love to meet and get to know better... For their joie de vivre is so very familiar and palpable to me that I think it's pretty pathetic we may never meet. How ridiculously frustrating is it that I would like to talk to people I've never met about my LSL and the life changes I hope it will bring about and for whatever reason I don't have the same desire to discuss this with some of my closest friends?!? I know:)!

When Vicki Archer wrote "Why didn't I say something?" in her blog I had a very strange sense of deja vu... I had done exactly the same as Vicki - used Peter Mayle's book as some sort of "my version of the foodies' red Michelin Guide" when travelling in Provence several years ago. Yes, one can say that this is not surprising given the book's popularity... I agree. But I have also used Vicky's book "My French life" as a guide to our travel to France this year... Moreover - and this is the curious bit for me! - there she is in Provence, totally oblivious to my existence, and why shouldn't she be, writing about my exact dilemmas and sentiments in "Why didn't I say something?" while at the same time in Melbourne, and by some weird turn of circumstances, I'm pondering over her gorgeous book, devouring it with sticky notes as my ingenious way of planning for our 2009 holiday in Provence, and driving myself nuts about whether to let her know how much the book means to me and how much I would like to meet her and say "hi" and... All the while having this debilitating image of myself as a writestoomuchsaystoolittle, virtual intruder! Tragically comical!

"I wished I had said hello to Mr Mayle and thanked him for his introduction to Provence. I should not have been so shy or so nervous - how silly I was and I am still wondering why I didn't say something. After all, his well crafted, witty and humorous words have a lot to be responsible for.", wrote Vicki Archer...

Perhaps, instead of wishing, I should just say: hello Vicki and THANK YOU!
:)