Wow, it's been a while since I was last on Ciao, 2002 was the last time in fact, and it's now early ...
Wow, it's been a while since I was last on Ciao, 2002 was the last time in fact, and it's now early 2008. Seems like there have been some changes since then. I'd best start writing again.
Member since:06.09.2000
Reviews:344
Members who trust:211
Want to hear a true life Love Story? You do? Then read on, for it was because of MSN Instant Messenger that this tale of Internet love and romance became more than just a dream.
I am sure by now that most of those who read my work know that I am living out in the USA with fellow CIAOer Pelenya. Many though, will be wondering how this all came about. Well, how we first met each other is our closely guarded secret, sufficed to say though that it was via the Internet. From that first contact, MSN Instant messenger became our lifeline.
It all began one day in February this year, when two lonely people, hurt by previous relationships, first made contact. It was a new and exhilarating experience to be contacting someone over 4000 miles away.
After the initial contact between us, Ellen suggested we chat some time on MSN. At that point I had never used MSN before but eagerly downloaded and installed it. Then my life took off. Here I was in live contact with this wonderful person. To be able to type a message in and receive an instant reply was awesome and chatting on MSN with each other soon became a regular part of our
daily lives, and all made possible with this wonderful live chat service. I soon got to grips with MSN, it’s ease of use made it a wonderful means of communication with my new found friend.
Soon we were swapping pictures and files over the MSN service, at least now we knew what the other looked like. I was certainly not disappointed, not one bit, Ellen was and is gorgeous! The fact that you could send files to others had its advantages and again was so easy to use. Another blessing to both of us was the e-mail facility of MSN through HOTMAIL. On occasion, either Ellen’s usual e-mail or mine would be down. MSN provided us both with a wonderful alternative both in the form of chat and the e-mail facility.
Our relationship continued to grow as we used MSN daily, to learn more about each other, our likes and dislikes, our worries and our concerns and the feelings that were surfacing in each of us about the other.
Both of us bought headsets with microphones. Now we could use MSN’s live speech facility too. How wonderful it was. What music to my ears to finally hear the voice of this wonderful woman.
There was though, one thing still missing. We had never met in person. We discussed it and decided that we would both like to meet. Fate must have been smiling kindly on us that day for the next day I got the offer of a Job Interview in the USA. Not just in the USA, but also in the same State that Ellen lived in, albeit a 5 hour drive away. This was all it needed for me to get booked on a flight and start making arrangements.
MSN again provided us with all we needed to make arrangements to meet. Ellen busied herself in Virginia booking accommodation, sending me local information and making sure everything was in order. Time though, seemed to stand still, as we both counted down the days until we met. Sadly the interview fell through and my initial trip was cancelled. We continued to communicate daily via MSN, chatting, talking and longing and yearning to meet. Another flight was booked and this time I was determined that nothing would stop me. It didn’t. I arrived in Virginia on 17th May and finally met the woman of my dreams. Ellen was everything and more that I had come to love over the past weeks.
I did have to return to the UK for a short time in early June. For both of us it was the hardest 12 days of our lives. Again thank God for MSN or should I say, Thank Bill Gates! MSN was once more our savior. I returned to Virginia on 18th June, and, as the saying goes, ‘The rest is history’.
Now you have seen just how important MSN has been in my life I really should get down to telling you a little more about it. You will hopefully have gleaned some information from within Ellen’s and my story. MSN is undoubtedly a wonderful and simple program to use to keep in touch with people.
Downloadable from MSN.com, this program sits comfortably in your task bar. To activate it you will need to sign up to their service, so think of a good screen name, this also becomes your e-mail address. Once signed up you can access the service for chat, e-mail and speech.
Like many similar programs, you can build up a list of on-line friends. The service will then tell you when these friends are on-line, allowing you to contact them live. It also informs you when someone new who is not in your list of contacts is trying to get in touch. You can accept or decline these contacts.
A piece of advice when using the speech facility along side a firewall, particularly ZoneAlarm. You may need to adjust the settings of the firewall to allow speech to take place. Something I found out when first trying to use the facility.
When logged on, you can set your status to show whether you are busy, on the phone, away from your PC or several others. You can change your display name too, that is the name that appears on someone else’s screen during chat sessions.
You constantly get updated information about any e-mails waiting for you and windows pop up whenever a friend comes on-line. Other facilities are links directly to the MSN home page, a great website packed with information, the ability to place a telephone call or pager call to someone and the ability to e-mail your friends directly from MSN.
Once in chat, the sending and receiving of files is simplicity itself and is all done through the chat window.\
Where would I be without MSN? Probably still in the UK, and a sad and lonely man. For me, and I think I can probably speak for Ellen too, MSN was not only a lifeline but the start of a whole new beginning.
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You're not the only ones who have something to thank Mr Gates for. Within a month of downloading this programme I had chatted to, met, and fallen head over heels for a certain Miss Trampus - maybe you've heard of her..(?) Nice story Jon, good for you.
SweetSecret 01.10.2001 23:37
Awwwwwwwww you know something I used to think love on the internet was impossible, that was untill it happened to me, and MSN also played a part in my love life, its funny you know, I used to think i was strange how I found it, but seeing others also find it the same way goes to show that the internet truly can give you everything you want.
Very Very Good opinion.
angel316 28.09.2001 23:17
Awwwwww glad to see a happy ending. Use MSM messemger myself and it isn't bad at all.
I am glad you had a good outcome to your internet romance. I myself embarked on one of these when my marriage broke up two years ago, and suffice to say NEVER AGAIN!
But I do love to read stories where these things worked out. I reckon I met the wrong bloke who just took advantage.
A lovely story and at least Bill Gates did something right :-)
Jul 18th, 2001
very helpful by (100%):
