No Longer as Annoying as Knitting

E-mail has now become what I always wanted snail mail to be. A way to keep in touch. When I first started e-mailing friends, because of the speed of delivery I thought it was supposed to be like a conversation. We could "talk" everyday without waiting by the phone. I am better at being concise when writing then talking, so I can effectively tell them more, but bore them less. The conversation image did not work, because there really isn't that much to say, and I'm not in the sixth grade anymore. I've actually (almost) grown out of my desire to discuss in detail how cute boy #1 looked at me at lunch today, or how bad boy #2 rolled up his pant legs. The conversation model also did not work because you come off as really needy and annoying if you actually write somebody more than once or twice a week.

The traditional snail mail model on the other hand has been part of our culture for thousands of years. The heroine runs to the mailbox, reads the whole letter without breathing if it's from a lover off to war, slowly word by word savoring every syllable if it's from a sister. With e-mail I have come to treasure e-mails from friends I no longer see. But what really makes it replace snail mail is the boundary I've placed around it wherein I can reply at my leisure, just like I did in my limited letter writing days. Now it is relaxed like letter writing was. No need to rush something that would take anywhere from 2 to 20 days just to be delivered. But it takes less of my own time when I actually sit down to write. And it still has a real time feel, to know my friend will be able to read it five minutes after I send it.