My feelings towards Skype is magnificently contradictory.
I love it with abundant gratitude, because without it i think i would have been single by now, or considered taking personal loan to pay off my phone bills, or gone nuts.
At the same time i loathe it with great bitterness, because everytime i use it, it reminds me of the fact that i am in a long distance relationship.
The three words or three letters that make me cringe everytime it floats across my head.
LDR.
I receive lotsa emails asking how i maintain an LDR.
Honestly? i have no comment. And i don’t think i can be the one who gives you any advice because i have been pretty bad at it. Late nights, time difference (1 hour makes a difference too), long, tiring, repetitive chats with no helpful conclusions, expensive phone bills, and tons and tons of unecessary worries.
I can’t tell you how to make sure the partner stays faithful, or cultivate a positive attitude whatever, or to deal with the lack of physical presence or, simply, to make it work. Why don’t you tell me.
But i can give you some tips on how to cut the cost of an LDR maintanence (recession what turf).
Answer, Skype.
Skype 4.0 is great. Best thing ever invented for LDRs. Free summore.
TK and the kids.
Ever so adorable Yuuri. i miss him T_T
We talked most of the nights. I could see his familiar purple curtains and purple bedsheet and purple jumper. And he could see me just staring at him. Sometimes we just do that for a very long time, without saying anything.
But also there are times i wish i could just talk to him. Especially when i’m home alone surronded by cold empty walls and i can’t Skype him because he is not in front of the PC, or is at work, or is out with friends. The insecurity just creeps up to your chest and up your throat and mist up your eyes you feel like a tear machine.
But i couldn’t because it is RM2.39 per minute. And he couldn’t call me because, well, somehow his mobile phone just decided to hate Malaysia and refuse to work on international calls.
But lately i have been calling him through SkypeOut—a service that allows me to call mobile and land lines anywhere in the world from my PC. I didn’t know it was possible to get the Skype Credits from Malaysia without the credit card hassle until i was introduced MOLePoints.
MOL stands for Money Online, and it has just recently collaborated with Skype, and has become the first Skype Credit purchase system in Malaysia without the use of a credit card and pride itself as providing one of the lowest international call rates in Malaysia.
The good thing about it is, purchasing MOLePoint is very easy. You can walk to the nearest convenient store and purchase a reload code, sorta like how you top up your mobile phone. As for me, i don’t even have to step out of my house. I can get everything done within 3 minutes from my laptop.
I go to my MOL account, log in and click on Maybank2U logo, log in to my bank account from there, and key in the amount i wanna reload.
Then proceed to make a payment like how i usually do with my other online transfer.
And voila! I got 3000 MOLePoints in my account instantly!
You can then use the ePoints to buy Skype Credit from MOL website.
After purchasing, you will receive a set of codes, then you go to your Skype account, key in the code and…
Start calling!!!
It’s amazingly cheap. One minute is just ¥17. That’s like 5 times cheaper than normal mobile rate. I’m really amazed at the voice call quality. It is clear, smooth and lag-free.
Saves heaps on my regular phone bills!!
Check out how you can purchase your Skype credit with MOLePoints in more details.
So yea, that’s Guide to Cost-Effective LDR Maintanence 1. I’d love someone to come up with Guide to Avoid Starting an LDR Relationship. No la just kidding. I will read more Shakespear to get spiritually inspired.
I’m in a LDR for almost 7 years, getting married next year or the year after it.
Well, just don’t freak out with many scary opinion or warning others might give you, like the “faithful” matter, you are the one who is with him, you know best about the personality of this person. However if there is something unusual happening, you have to force yourself to face it, don’t be so “deep in love” kinda emotion status that prevent you to see what is coming. Another way to consult yourself is that the problem of staying loyal happen every way, doesn’t matter it is a LDR or even you two live together, so I think this is merely base on how you both maintain the relationship and what kind of person your partner is (some tend to curi makan often, is in their genes lol kidding :P) .
Secondly, be balance in your daily life, I’m sure you heard of “relationship is not everything in life”, do other things, maintain a close relationship with friends, this will help you not to depend to much on the relationship, thus give room to each other, and you wont “lum tai do” and create imagination that freak you out.
Third, communication and try to maintain intimacy (well, spiritually) is very important, I maintain mine by chatting frequently, and this make me feel secure too. Skype is a good way^^ although i seldom use it 😛 at my time, skype is not that advance yet 😛
This is my personal experience, it might not suit you as everyone have different personality. I’m so happen a person who is not so “relationship oriented”. Wish you luck~
hello! Thanks so much for your tips, and congrats on getting hitched!!! Where’s your hubby-to-be? I really cannot imagine 7 year of LDR. T_T
Ehm… I don’t know why the flag tagged beside me is Australia, but I’m a Malaysian, my bf is a little nearer compare with yours 😛 His is a Taiwanese, well no time different make things easier ^^ lol. At the time when both of you are getting serious, then really should talk about the future and see how does this relationship goes (eg. getting married? who move? etc.). Having a common direction to work on helps stabilize the relationship. At the moment, just enjoy the romance and the sourness and bitterness that comes along, is part of the fun right ^^ kekeke
hello imm mei jie jie i spot you here! hehe. stay happy and sweet for both of you in your LDR! =)
ello papaya princess mui mui~ wa can bum into each other on the comment board also arr 😛
Great to hear that you have discovered mol points and can maintain ur LDR. it was quite some time in msia but mostly for games. good to know its for skype too.
yea i didnt know until just recently. could have saved so much!!! T_T
hello~~ive been in a LDR for 3 yrs.(he was in germany n i was in singapore) and we ll be getting married soon…
so i juz wanna to encourage you..hang on there! =)
omg you are a french apple!!! (I’m japanese apple) Congrats on getting married!! everyone got happy ending so touched. T_T
haha, no lah…im a singaporean apple..thats juz a nick that i spontaneously thought of.hahaha
Omg got this other reader called pomme pomme lol
Good luck in your LDR! If you get married, you know who to talk to sonny. 😀
ok then i will tell you a story. lol
Yup. Skype is my best friend cos now my boyfriend and I can call each other on SkypeOut for free XD
u use it too? That’s good to hear! 😀
Ya she calls me haha 😀
This Unlimited World subscription is amazing. For 8 Euros a month you can make unlimited calls to landlines.
But if you pay in KRW*, effectively it’s only about 8 USD =)
*see comment below
yay!!! OMG thats your gf?
*nods* haha
hey cheesie.
i was in an LDR. it must have been the bestest relationship ever.
u will actually sense more effort and appreciation from the other party.
the littlest things makes u fall in love all over again.
have faith and remember relationships are based on trust.
that is so true. T_T
me in LDR too. =3
Skype is my bestest friend.
but one hour difference not so bad leh.
mine i think 13 hours? 🙁
oooh!!! Where is he!!
far far away in the united states. sigh ! haha
Yeah Skype is an absolute must.
There’s this wicked trick you can use to take advantage the price differences in Skype’s different currencies.
In your account settings page (on the website), you can change your Skype currency to other currencies such as USD, AUD, JPY, EUR, KRW etc. The conversion page shows you how much of the other currency your current balance to change to.
For example, my current balance of 9834 KRW can be converted into 728 JPY or 5.46 EUR.
Then, refer to the price of calling a Japanese mobile phone using Skype. Check the quote in different currencies. The price for calling a Japan mobile phone is 160 KRW or 17.5 JPY or 5.46 EUR per minute.
Calculate how many minutes your balance can make, if you use JPY:
At 17.5 JPY per minute, the balance of 728 JPY can call 42 minutes
Calculate how many minutes your balance can make, if you use KRW:
At 160 KRW per minute, the balance of 9834 KRW can call 61 minutes
Calculate how many minutes your balance can make, if you use KRW:
At 0.125 EUR per minute, the balance of 5.46 EUR can call 44 minutes
Difference in talk time between JPY and KRW: (61-42)/42 = 45%
Thus, after you buy your Skype credit using credit card or MOL, change your account currency selection to KRW and tadaa, 45% extra talk time! Not something to ignore.
Some time ago, i did this test for all the currencies available on Skype. KRW was the best value due to the KRW devaluing in comparison to the other currencies, thus it’s cheaper to use KRW.
Lecture over.
WAAA WHY YOU SO SMART ONE!!!!
Eh actually i discovered it also la, my current currency is JPY, but im just too sien to change it! But i guess i shall do what you just taught. Thank you!!!!
You are so nice!!!666
I wanna try this too!! or I will ask my bf to try XD hahaha
LDR is really tough, before the Internet was so prolific it was a nightmare. Skype is the awesomes.
hahhaha lucky last time before the internet era, all my rships are like, near each other one!!! 😛
2 years in LDR and still going strong 🙂
I use msn but sometimes I do switch to skype because it uses lower bandwitch and the voice and video calls are much smoother 🙂
YESSSSSSS Skype is sooooo much better!!! 😀
LDR sucks sucks sucks, Skype has become my best friend too, but very reluctantly at that!
I know hor, look at your flag and the flag of the person below you. :/
I’m a very faithful user of skype too. :S
Haha. Because you are a chronic LDRer. WAHAHHA
If I were Cheesie, I will move to Japan to be with my bf.
doesnt work liddat one. T_T
why not?
sorry curious
Thx to skype, people could maintain LDR. A relationship without kisses.
It’s like filling ur stomach by watching on a bread 130,000miles away..
And you have to do it every once in a while.
🙂
i think still requires a lot ALOT of hard work and self-control. aih.
When I was in LDR last year I used Skype and MSN all the time too… I tot it was fantastic cos I got to keep my distance. I’m not used to being around a clingy guy so much.
Then again, it must be cos I don like him so much. Muahahah!
haha!! there’s freedom then there’s loneliness. aih!
How come so many people LDR now? ;p
Cheesie you will move to Japan when married?
Or he come to Malaysia??
How to decide ar~
aiyo.
hey cheesie.
my bf is also in japan(nagoya). studying there. we r already been in LDR since 2006. so up and down. we did skype a lot. yey. thx for this entry. now i know where to purchase the skype cdt. now i can call him with cheaper rates. it always drive me crazy whenever im on9(especially when im emotionally distracted) and he is not in front of pc(nowhere to be found/usually at his fren’s house playing games). now i can call him yey! have u ever try 3G with TK? i tried once. cost me rm 30 for 3-4 minutes. superb expensive. after that regret. dun wan to 3G again. haha.
You are welcome! all the best to you!! 🙂
Next month I’ll be in LDR for 2 years and I use skype with my bf every single night without fail. I think communication is very important to LDR couples, must talk to each other about everything to keep the fire burning. Moving or not moving is another problem like my bf is a Singaporean. And patience, my previous relationship was also LDR but he wasn’t as patient as my current bf which makes my current relationship still going strong. All the best to all the LDR couples out there.
all the best to you too gisele. 🙂
Skype! The only time I’d used it was to call my dad because he refused to be irritated by me when he’s working. LOLLLL. Everyone I love is in Singapore so I can splurge on chocolates instead. 😀 Good luck cheesie on your LDR!
good for you lo everyone so near you! hehe!!
Ringo,
I admire your loyalty and determination with the LDR. That is demanding. As you mention SKYPE at least makes talking with your bf affordable, but only when compared to mobile rates.
May your romance continue to bloom!
Unlike spring here in the northern hemisphere.
0C outside my window now. It will warm to +10C today, and at least no snow is forecast.
We had snowfall here two days in a row.
David
thanks David. =)
I have a Guide to Avoid Starting an LDR Relationship. There’s only three sentences in this book.
Don’t do it.
Why are you still doing it?
Stop doing it!
😉
I was in an LDR in Melbourne too, and that was what actually prompted me to come back to Malaysia. Oh well, no regrets right.
haha u think dont do it then wont do one meh? like if u say dont drink then u wont drink one meh?
Nope. Haha! I get what you mean.
Omg skype is the BEST
i dont know how i would live without
The functions i use the most are group chats with more than 40 people
or voice chats with around 5-10 people… ohhh so fun
anyway i cant really give you any tips on how to have a successful relationship… as i am in no relationship whatsoever and i dont really think i will get into one in the near future
group chats!!!666 never try b4!
LDRs can be really stressful and most people fail at it. But constant, open communication is the key. So Skype really helps.
🙂 welcome from Philippines!
During my first year of LDR with my gf, we communicate alot via landline / hp and the bill kills me but its all worth it to ensure our relationship is strong. Came along skype and it helped us in someway but only during her working hours (she dont own a pc) and it was pretty tough in the early phase.
LDR requires alot and i mean alot of trust! often i found my gf will start throwing tantrums at me for some reason like me coming back late from work and having those negative thoughts is enough to kill me.
Thankfully, we’ve tied the knot last february and she is with me here forever and if u ask me.. LDR requires a lot of patience, sacrifice, faith and lastly… TRUST!
I believe u can do it…
thanks monkticon!!
I’m in an LDR too! It really makes me happy to see so many happy endings for those people in LDR in the previous comments. I still call using my phone coz i sign up so some plan thing that gives me 100 minutes for 10 dollars. 10c a minute! Cheap le. But only 100 minutes =( haih. Sometimes she call me but it’s so expensive for malaysia to call here. RM1 a minute! Thanks cheesy for posting this. I’m a huge fan =)
Thank you to Roger!
calling to japan landlines is free using voipstunt.
http://www.voipstunt.com
Thanks!!
Personally never had a LDR although the thought of it is romantic. But practical or not, I cannot comment. I have had 5 friends who have LDR and alll of the relationship didn’t turn out ok except for 1, where my friend have to move country after getting married. So I guess it’s really for those who have willpower.
not romantic one. lol
Hang in there Cheesie, can see that you’re really into your guy. LDR’s never gonna be easy, but it’s all about the love~ the saying goes eh? Hehe
Btw, does your bf read your blog? Just wondering cuz I think he’ll be heartbroken to know how stressful and heartwrecking it can be for you. *ouchies*
no my blog doesnt bother him. =)
I guess trust is one of the most important thing in maintaining long distance huh. 1 hr difference is better than 9 hours when I was in Japan and my bf in London but it was fine! We were silly though, didnt use Skype. I always thought it was really complicated or keeps breaking up so he ended up paying a lot to call me lol :p but now I use Skype often too to keep in touch with my friends from around the world. One of my friend from Mexico, had 19 hours (or something quite long) difference when she was in Japan and her bf in Mexico.
You’ll get to see TK soon am sure x
Hmmm, Ive never used or tried to used Skype before, altho I heard its great. Im currently in a LDR too, just starting tho, known each other for 2 years before actually doing anything. I think I can relate you what youre saying. Altho like mentioned above 1 hour is not so bad, mine is about 13/14 hours depending on the time of year. Which kinda suck.
I use to use YM, but sometimes it isnt that great. But Im happy with my phone (DiGi) cause it lets me call for about RM0.18/minute which is not so bad. Altho Id rather talk for free on YM/MSN?skype :p It gets expensive after awhile.
I guess if you want LDR to work you gotta have the patience and trust, but its hard I know…but when you get to see the bf it will be worth it 😀 as long you can trust, cherish and love each other thats all that matters I guess. Good luck to everyone!! 🙂
😛 sorry for the typos
The kids are cute.. 😉
“And he could see me just staring at him. Sometimes we just do that for a very long time, without saying anything.”
Same here.
My wife is in Shanghai for a few months (that’s why I have so much time lately to read blogs) and we talk on Skype every day – Skype is great!!
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