A LONG one from December 16, 1997…

Dear Breakup Girl,
I’ve just spent $1500 in air fare and hotel bills to visit a man I’d corresponded with by e-mail frequently (often more than once a day) for seven months. We seemed especially well-suited to each other (we have identical graduate degrees) and each of us was amazed at how easy and natural the relationship progressed.

But from the first moment of my arrival, it was obvious that he was not really present or interested. For the next few days, he spent bare minimum time with me — I finally told him I felt like I was his mother’s roommate’s niece that he had promised to show around town.

(more…)

We cleared this up right off the bat, on December 5, 1997…

Dear Breakup Girl,
Is having a boyfriend really worth the risk of rejection?
— Reluctant

Dear Reluctant,
Being in a relationship is like having a car with air conditioning. It makes things much more comfortable, but it also means that there’s a whole new bunch of stuff that can go wrong.
But I ask you: is having a rejection-free life really worth the risk of solitude, boredom, dissatisfaction, lack of adventure, and exposure to the electromagnetic rays emitted by your television? Breakup Girl thinks not. Date on, dude.
Love,
Breakup Girl