ab, April 16, 2002 at 2:14:00 PM CEST

Is the Net taking too much of our time?

This is a multiple post blogged at my place and my other sister community place. But I'd like a wide variety of comments, so please don't hold back!

Apparently, about one in 10 couples who go to Relate for marriage counselling, blame the Internet for the breakdown in their relationship.

The report goes on to say that: “Both men and women complain of becoming Internet "widows" as their partners spend hours at the computer downloading software or looking at pornography.”

Does spending too much time online/ chatting/ playing games eat into our family’s time?

Are we indulging in a form of cybercheating if we spend a lot of time chatting with people of the opposite sex, when there are other things to be done? Or should we spend that extra time with our partners, building our personal relationships instead?

Where does one draw the line?

Should we be more careful as to how we spend our time online?

What do you think?

Would your relationship suffer if you found your partner/ spouse was spending too much time online? Time that you wanted to spend with him/ her?

Do you know anyone who has personally gone through a relationship breakdown because of this reason?

If you have something interesting to share, please spill...

ab, April 3, 2002 at 3:37:57 PM CEST

This is not my best post... that is still to come!

Okay, here goes my first attempt to post something here. This was something I wrote a while ago.

This is where the original resides.

EEH GAWWD, ANOTHER BABY, DID YOU SAY??

What is it about Indians and babies? Five month into his marriage, a friend (if I can call him that) informs me his wife is in production mode (oh, my, GOD), being four months pregnant. Is it any wonder that India is closing the gap (very rapidly) and overtaking China as the world’s most populous country.

The reasons that I hear are many: We’ve been married for a while now (‘while’ being 5 months), wifey is getting old (where ‘old’ means 26) and the even more bizzarre relative factor (my relatives said it’s time). Hey, I want to ask, are you relatives going to look after the baby and change its diapers and put baby through college and university, or are you?

It’s amazing how couples, even one year into their marriage are pressurised to get into baby production (so what if they are not ready, their relatives are). This, sadly, when they just started getting to know each other. I feel it’s quite a pity that people think 30 is too old and that they should have kids because someone else feels it's time. Whatever happened to choice and the freedom to control one’s life?

So, anyway, as the story goes another friend of mine is also pregnant. And another one is trying. But I think, Indians are really a babe-crazed lot on the whole and to redeem yourself in the eyes of society, and prove that you have a real marriage, you need to have proof that you are capable of producing – BABIES!

I still find it considerably amusing when people offer their opinions that range from “You are getting old, your body won’t take it” to “Everyone else has had babies”.

It's not that I don’t possess maternal instincts (you should see me with my cat :-), but hey, give me a break. If you really want to have a baby, go ahead, and at least do it for the right reasons. As for me, if I hear the BABY word again in the next couple of days, I will scream!