I was having lunch with a client the other day when he told me he proposed to his wife after six weeks of dating.

"How'd you meet?" I asked.

"Online" he responded

Immediately a grocerey list of stereotyping adjectives began to pop in my head - geeky, antisocial, uncool...unattractive and clearly this guy was none of these.

Why is it that we still hold an uneasy feeling in our stomachs when the online subject comes in to play?

Seriously, you'll be sitting in a crowd of people and someone will mention online dating and everyone gets quiet and kinda looks around until someone finally says, "Oh well that's cool...good for you."

Sites like Match.com and eHarmony.com are multi-million dollar buinesses yet half the profiles on there say "Well, this is my first time here, or I never thought I'd do this, or my friends made me."

Why do we have to justify our actions as if we're doing something wrong? It's like we got caught in the back room of a videostore, and when the clerk walks in we say with a stutter, "Oh I .. I thought this was the exit."

And don't get me wrong, I'm not innocent here. Let me lay it on the line: other than my mother for birthing me and God himself for putting me on this planet, I have nothing but the internet to thank for my life as I know it - I've found my jobs, my apartments, my running partner, my dance partner, my doctor, my dentist, my dermatologist and my gynocologist all online. I've purchased Christmas gifts, birthday gifts, gas cards, bed linens, clothing, shoes, movie tickets and plane tickets. I've ordered pizzas and thai food, sushi and bbq and even mac and cheese all from the comfort of my desk. I've sent pictures and flowers, sold cars and furniture, mapped directions and planned trips. I've created and debated, stalked and gawked, chartered and bartered, banked and ranked, masterbated and berated - who knew you could be so active without even getting up. I've watched stocks, gotten the news and the weather, found old friends and chatted with new ones...and yes, yes my friends, I even met my boyfriend online.

So why is it so hard to be upfront about that when I have no problem telling you I bank online. Isn't all of this about ease and progression? Both my boyfriend and I will tell you that we were new to an area, fed up with other means of dating and ready to move forward. Dating is tough because who wants to weed through drunk people at a bar just to finally find someone that may be worth your time? In the same sense, who wants to go on ten job interviews for positions you don't even want? Dating online was like picking from a menu - only I got to tell the waiter to take off the onions, add extra pickles and make my bun whole wheat (please don't try to derive any sexual conotation from that, thanks).

I have to tell you, I went on three or four "regular" dates right before going on the "online date" with my boyfriend. Yes, he "found me", but none of the regular dates came remotly close to fitting my "order" the way he did (and come on, admit it, you have an "order" too).

So I'm still trying to figure out why it feels so weird to admit we met online. We don't talk about it. He told my parents when he met them and even then I wasn't too thrilled. I have images of him giving a toast at our wedding - "I'll never forget the first day I viewed her profile." Maybe we have trouble because it simply isn't the sweet romantic stories that our parents have. My father met my mother in his shop. When she walked in my grandmather, who was working there that day, said, "Have I got the son for you." Of course, that's no different than the internet screen popping up a window that says "You may be interested in climber2005". My stepfather and my mother met on a blind date - again, not much difference there. Of course, the blind date was between my stepfather and another woman. My mom just happened to be along for the ride with the rest of the group. If I recall correctly, my boyfriend's parents met at a Jewish community event. That's not much different than logging on to J-Date.

Maybe one day meeting online will be romantic:

"Grandpa, you met Grandma online? You mean you actually got to pick; you weren't automatically assigned based on exact compatibility annalysis? Wow, how romantic."

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think going on a blind date used to be considered kinda "odd". So maybe there's hope yet.

The only thing that concerns me, and perhaps the reason that some "face-to-face" daters think the online thing is weird is because it seems to assist in helping us avoid awkward situations. Rather than being an "I don't have the time" to find someone situation it appears to be "I don't have the guts" to find someone. There's nothing more stressful than having to appraoch someone for a date or a phone number; then again there's nothing more exciting than succeeding at the task. I hope that online dating doesn't allow us to become antisocial people afraid of taking risks, approaching new individuals, and putting ourselves on the line. Afterall, risk is romantic.

Looking back at the original emails we exchanged still gives me butterflys. I was just as excited as I was in high school when my crush would finally approach me for a date. The moment he asked me to meet up was no different. Then, of course, the real risks were taken and real romance began. I found him online, I fell in love when he walked in the door.