Lifestyles of the rich and famous

When you find another person you connect with and want to get to know there are two basic strategies: meeting or stalking. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages and both are made more possible through the internet.

Meeting
Meeting is my preference. Meeting is normal. Meeting is meeting after a phone call or an email or even a comment or connection on a blog. Face to face facilitates fuller understanding by leveraging off the large amount of communication that is, in fact, non verbal.

Stalking
Stalking is last resort. Stalking is not normal. Stalking is “one-way” and weird when wanting to make contact with someone you haven’t met, or who won’t meet you. Rattling through someone else’s rubbish bin is messy and mucky but can provide insight into someone’s life (but more on this later).

The sad truth is any interest you have in someone else’s life who you haven’t met is stalking.

• Reading about Brittney’s latest shenanigans: Stalking
• Reading about the winners of Dancing with the Stars love interests: Stalking
• Turning up at your favorite author’s book signing: Stalking
• Introducing yourself to Rod Drury at some social event in Wellington: Stalking

There are situations when the line between meeting and stalking blur, and one of those is in the queue at the supermarket.

In front of me tonight was an older man, maybe 55, who bought:

• 2 x bottles of very expensive wine
• 1 x microwave meal

I was standing right next to him, we could have met, and we didn’t; but I did make inferences about his life and I felt sorry for him.

Behind me was a young woman, maybe 22, who had:

• 1 x bottle of Jif
• 1 x cleaning cloth
• 1 x block of chocolate
• 1 x pregnancy kit

Her problems were obvious, and I felt like a stalker: I hope it worked out okay, I bet your bathroom is clean regardless.