All about relationships and how we connect with each other

Thursday, March 07, 2002

 
Welcome to my first installment of a column about how we connect with each other. You see, in my fantasies, I’m Carrie Bradshaw in “Sex in the City.”


OK, so I don’t have the fabulous clothes, shoes and purses that Sarah Jessica Parker’s character wears. And I don’t eat at fancy restaurants and bars all the time. But I’m single and I date. And I live in a city.


And I talk with my friends – women and men, single and coupled – about relationships. What makes them work or not.


Thanks to the power of the Web, I can write a column too, even without the designer clothes. Besides, I write enough e-mail and IMs about relationships with some of you that I could just copy and paste! Just kidding. Don’t worry, I won’t reveal the real names of folks in my columns.


These periodic musings will be about the mystery and weirdness and blessings of relationships of all sorts.


I hope at the very least to entertain you with my “slice of life” anecdotes and ruminations. Hopefully my thoughts will stimulate some discussion about the connections we make with others.


Why do we make these connections? Is it something innate within us to want to reach out and feel connected to others? Are we connected to ourselves?


Do we seek our ultimate Prince or Princess Charming whom we think we’ll be happy with for the rest of our lives? Or do we find someone who’s a solid companion in this current segment of our life’s journey?


Who do we connect with and why? How does race, age and class affect how we view potential mates?


When do we realize when a relationship has blossomed and lost its bloom? What’s the best way to break up with someone? How do you deal with ex’s?


What’s the upside and downside of being single? How do we navigate between being strong, independent individuals with our own needs and desires and the need to compromise in a relationship – whether it be a friendship, romantic partnership or parent-child relationship?


These are just some of the questions I’ve been thinking about recently, and hope to explore in future columns.


By the way, I chose to name this column “Connecting …” because it’s the basis of human relationships. It’s also a reference to a single computer user connecting to others through a Web network. Since this is a Weblog column, it seems appropriate to have a tech reference.


There’s a small pun too. “Connecting …” can be literally translated to mean “connecting the dots,” as if trying to make sense of our complex world of human dynamics. You also can see each individual as a dot. And we are all connected in the grand scheme of things.


Feel free to email me with comments about what I’ve written. If you like, we can share them with others on a bulletin board. I’m interested in starting a dialogue. I think we all have something to learn from each other. It’s another way of connecting…


Take Care,

Kim