If you want to believe that I, like all Aussie shielas, am tall, slim, blonde and athletic with a pet koala in my bedroom into which I zip my pyjamas (the ones I never wear) and a pet kangaroo in my backyard (which leads police directly to evil-doers while continually going 'tsktsktsk'), go right on ahead.
I believe! Want company?
Ppppfffftttt!!! David, you made me spit coffee all over everything!
Here's a quick story for you:
Some years ago, I stumbled upon an MMOG (massively multiplayer online game). It seemed like fun, so I joined up and began to build my empire. After a while, the growth of my empire was such that one of the 'élite' groups head-hunted me to join them as a primary producer (ie. I got to churn out stone and gold and iron and food to feed the troops of our collective army). I agreed and worked my way up to become an officer of our clan. That's the background.
So, most of the players were young men, largely from eastern Europe. The smattering of women players were also young (early twenties). I guess this is why every one assumed that I, too, was young, tall, blonde, athletic and always romping around under the Australian sun with not much on. One fellow in particular began to 'woo' me by sending me bonanzas of gold and jewels with which to line my treasury.
Thus it was that we began an out-of-game correspondence that lasted for many years. He was fascinated that I kept parrots and would enquire every day how my Beaks were and what funny things they'd done. He, in turn, would enchant me with stories of his goats and the flock of geese at his farm in Slovakia. I'd never mentioned my family and he never mentioned his, so conversation was kept purely to our interests and taste in things like music (eg. we both liked Rammstein). Eventually, he stopped playing because of his work pressures and I gave up when I returned to study.
To this day, I'm firmly convinced that my lovely young friend thought he was cultivating a relationship with a gorgeous teenaged nymphette instead of an aging ex-school-teacher with two kids, a dog, two cats, a pile of birds, a husband and a long plait. The question was never asked, though, and so it was never answered. I did enjoy the friendship, however, and I hope my friend did too!
