Meet Andy and Laura, two people who had no idea what was in store for them one fateful weekend…

Laura: I was spending the weekend at my sister’s, and she had gone out, so I had the place to myself. I was using her computer to fill out the forms for my impending divorce, as I didn’t have access to one where I worked. After that chore was done, I was intrigued with the possibility of checking out a chat room, as I’d heard so much about them, and I wondered if they lived up to the hype. I logged on using my sisters online name, Rad, short for Radavitz.

Andy: I was in a chat room that Saturday night, just killing some time, when someone called Rad asked me what my handle, Fire2Ice, meant. I told this person that my heart used to be Fire, but now it’s Ice. I suppose I should mention that the chat room category was Romance/Divorced only. We hit it off from the start, and wound up talking in this particular chat room for six hours.

Laura: I remember asking him "Gee, you’re on the East coast (I was on the West coast) , it must be 5am your time. Don't you ever sleep?" And he replied: "Frequently. Alone."

Andy : I asked her if she’d be online the next day. I had really enjoyed conversations with her. She told me that she was at her sisters and didn’t normally have access to a computer. I actually went out looking at computers the next day. The next evening we met in a private chat and talked for 3-4 hours. I decided to sent her my address, email and phone numbers, and would leave it up to her. It was refreshing to actually have an intelligent conversation.

Laura: I refrained from calling him for one whole day! I remember that phone call lasting seven hours, at least. I hung up at 4am my time, (Pacific) and I believe he just took a shower and went straight to work. We spoke on the phone every day for at least four hours for about a month, and I really wanted to meet him. It’s funny, we couldn’t agree on the anniversary of the day we actually met- he says Jan. 31st, and I say Feb 1st because of the different time zones.

Andy: We had sent each other one photo. And we had mutually decided that we wanted to meet. It was decided that I would fly out to Northern California, where Laura lived, for her sister’s wedding.

Laura: A long weekend was coming up, and I just couldn’t wait until our scheduled meeting. I found a great airfare deal and surprised him with a phone call that I was coming to visit. Flying across the country to meet someone who knows so much about you, someone you haven’t even met yet, is nerve-wracking, let me tell you. It had only taken a few weeks after our first contact to tell each other ‘I love you’, sight unseen.

Andy: She was perfectly calm until the plane landed, and as she walked down the hallway from the plane into the airport, I could tell that she was panicking a bit. I had envisioned this long awaited passionate embrace, yet I only got a peck on the cheek. Hee hee.

Laura: I calmed down a bit on the three hour trip back to Andy’s house, or should I say bachelor pad. I was fine when we got there. Funny, that’s when he started to get nervous. We had both been totally honest with each other on line, so there were no unpleasant surprises. Ha! We didn’t even eat the entire weekend. The chemistry was out of this world.

Andy: It was horrible to say good-bye.

Laura: I was comforted in the fact that I would see him again. He came to visit one month later, for my sisters wedding. He was nervous to meet all of my friends. He was suffering from ‘Internet guy’ syndrome, so I didn’t overwhelm him with too much and only introduced him to a few people. I went to see him again in April, met his family, they were normal and very cool.

Andy: We talked about our ultimate goals, she offered to move to the East coast, but it made more sense if I moved to Northern California, as my lease was soon to expire, so I packed up my stuff and moved in with Laura.

Laura: We must have spent at least $10,000 dollars in airfare and phone bills alone. He’s been here for over a month now. We aren’t officially engaged yet, as my divorce papers are final in about three weeks.

Andy: I have this thing about proposing to someone who’s already married.

Laura: The thing I like about meeting people online is that it forces you to communicate on a base level with each other. I guess I got lucky.

Andy: I went from "This girl is cool" to "I like her" to "I love her" to "I can’t live without her." A friend asked me if I’d ever get married again and I told him that I’d previously married someone I thought I could live with, and that the next time around I want to find someone I can’t live without.

Laura: We owe our eternal happiness to Circuit City and CompUSA!

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