Epilogue
The final meeting in LA was the last I heard of her for the rest of the trip. I received no e-mails, and my text-messages were not answered. On my last night in Washington DC, I tried to call, but just got the answering machine. At least this time, it said her name in her voice, but her voice did not sound very well. I left a message wishing all the best.

When I got back, after a few days, I sent an e-mail, and then some weeks later, a collected bundle of all our correspondence to date (e-mails plus our profiles on the web-site on the Internet where we first met). No response. I also forwarded the write-ups I had written about the rest of my trip - also with no response.

I tried the MSN Messenger address she had given me earlier. At first, there was no response, but then, found out it had been hi-jacked by another individual of the same name.

When I last met Lisa, I had promised to send a post-card. I was hoping to leave it until I finished the web site of my trip to America, but ended up not sending one until several months after I returned. This prompted Lisa to send an e-mail - the first communication I had from her since the trip. She seemed to be recovering and was thinking of a career change. I replied to the e-mail, but her mailbox was full, so I kept trying for about two weeks before I did not get a "mailbox full" warning.

That was the only post-trip e-mail I had had from her at all. I sent a birthday greeting the following birthday. It was one of those fancy e-cards and it would give me an indication to whether or not she had received it. I never did get any confirmation of that.

A few months after that, I sent round an e-mail to everyone on my address-book telling what my new e-mail address was, and it bounced with a message saying that the e-mail address no longer existed. I also sent another postcard but it was returned to my address.

As for the two-month trip to North America itself, it was truly awesome and still ranks as the best trip I ever made - truly an adventure! Incidentally, I think LA was the only place on the trip where I felt home sick.

The episode in question may have been a disappointment, but I will say this: Do give Internet dating a try. If you've had a bad experience, don't be put off. Be persistent (that is, be persistent in searching profiles, not in stalking someone).

I do apologise profusely for length.
( mistaspakkaman and the inedible shifting caterpillars, Mon 30 Jun 2008, 16:35, Reply)