We met online at the end of November 1997, and that on Saturday the 29th in Chatphiles, a very neat, privately owned chatroom for Science Fiction Fans, especially for X-Files Fans. It was a great coincidence (or a lucky chance, as we like to call it) that we met at all. Bine had been online and chatting in Chatphiles for months, Bill had just finished building his computer some days before we met. And it did not take very long, before we grew very close. If you are interested in hearing the entire story, please click on the links below.

The day we consider our anniversary is December 19th. This was the first time we spoke about our feelings. There we were, sitting on two different sides of the Atlantic Ocean, and madly in love with each other. Having one of those Internet Romances, that most people just shake their heads about. And wanting nothing more than being able to be with each other IRL. Having an online relationship is so much harder than an IRL one at times, but it has one great advantage. You are forced to actually put your feelings to words - an ability I hope we never lose. So what is it like to be a cyber couple?

We spent our first Christmas apart from each other, our first New Year's Eve - this time "together", in front of our computers and on the phone. In January, we set the date for our first meeting IRL. Bill booked a flight to Germany, and that for May 29th. We started a countdown then, just ask our friends and families how well we kept track of it, as they were the ones we were torturing by telling them several times a day how many days we had left. *L* Well, even though time seemed to drag at sometimes, the big day was here faster than we had expected it in January.

We met for the first time IRL on May 29th, and that at about 8:30 am at the airport on Frankfurt. Both being a little bit nervous in the beginning, but that subsided very quickly. And found out within no time that "in real life" was just as wonderful as online - no, even better, as we could see and touch each other... Bine had taken the time off from work and school, and we spent 18 great days getting to know each other even better, visiting family and friends, doing some sightseeing and also going to our first wedding party together (a close friend of Bine got married). June 15th, the day Bill had to leave, came way too quickly, and we had to say goodbye again.

The first few days afterwards were the hardest, it was just so strange to be back to only being able to talk on the computer and phone again, and not being able to see or touch each other. To give us something new to look forward to, Bine went to a travel agency to book a flight to the US for the end of September, after her big exams in August and September. As the new semester was not starting before November, she could stay in the US for five weeks.

Well, needless to say that even five weeks are over at some point, and Bine had to go back to Germany. *sigh* This time, saying goodbye was even harder, and we had no idea yet of when we could see each other IRL again. Bill had originally wanted to come to Germany for New Year's Eve, but we both knew that the probability to find a cheap affordable flight then was pretty small. So we would probably have to wait till June, when Bill wanted to come to Germany again. Or, even worse, till September or October. At this time, Bine originally wanted to move to the US permanently, after some more exams at the university.

Anyway, out of several reasons (the most important certainly that we were so fed up with that long distance relationship and all the problems that are involved with that - we finally wanted to be together physically, too!!!), we decided to shorten the waiting time, and that Bine would move to the US in April. And to married at the end of May 1999, exactly one year after we first met each other IRL. *g* That way, we will only have two anniversaries to remember (our anniversary as a cyber couple, and then the anniversary of meeting IRL AND getting married) instead of three.

The only critical factor in our plans was the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service), as we only had a little bit less than four months between the submission of the first pile of paperwork, and Bine's flight to the US. But with great assistance from our congressman and his employees, the entire process went much smoother and and took much less time than average. Bine's visa arrived just on time, four days before her flight date. So our life together started April 17th, 1999.