Flowers... Come on, you've sent them before!

[Kuna]

OK... Here's a question...

I want to send flowers for New Year to my 4 favourite girls... 

In our early correspondence I asked questions like "Favourite Music", "Favourite Movie", "Favourite Book", "Favourite Childhood Memory", "Favourite Flower", etc

We can talk about the favourite childhood memory another time... OK! 

One girl said ALL flowers...  so it's easy to give her a nice surprise
One girl said SMALL Posies... "because large arrangements are wasteful and no more beautiful than a small posy"
Two said roses...  And now for the question!

Certain colour roses have different meanings (according to some girls).  Should I just send red (even though red = love) when I've been continually saying "We're now email friends, maybe in future there will be more"?

Will they think the roses SHOULD be red if I send pink?

Should I not send roses?

Just how seriously will a UW consider the colour of a flower when received?  I know my ex-wife was ADAMANT about such things...  My other LTR couldn't have cared less,  it was the gesture that mattered.

Unfortunately I don't have the work address of 2 of the girls so I can only send them to their homes.  I think I'll send the flowers to work for the two girls that I have work addresses for. (Girls generally LOVE to receive flowers at work yeah?  People have to see them for the MAXIMUM buzz...)

Just interested in you opinions...

Kuna

P.S.  And now I know you'll tell me that it's all an individual thing...  that no two girls will act in the same way on this topic.   

[viking]

Yep, it is an individual thing. In the past I selected a small bouquet of different flowers with different colors and all were happy to receive something. Also eliminates all the guess on colors. I only sent roses to those I felt really close to. If you do only send one type of flower, make sure it is an odd number not an even number. And I never asked what they wanted. Then I was not locked in to anything specific. Roses ALWAYS go over big. That's a no brainer.

[IAmZon]

FOUR!?!?!  I thought is was THREE?!?!? 

I THOUGHT  YOU WERE TRYING TO GET to just 2!  You are going up KUNA!

Ithink of the movie with Dudley Moore, where he married two women and loved them both.  They had babies at the same time ... Mickey and Maude, I think?

Well ... how about: Kuna and Elana and Svetlana and Ludmilla and Nadia:)

[Kuna]

FOUR!?!?!  I thought is was THREE?!?!? 

I THOUGHT  YOU WERE TRYING TO GET to just 2!  You are going up KUNA!

Ithink of the movie with Dudley Moore, where he married two women and loved them both.  They had babies at the same time ... Mickey and Maude, I think?

Well ... how about: Kuna and Elana and Svetlana and Ludmilla and Nadia:)

HA!  Would you believe there's no Elena's, Svetlana's, Ludmilla's or Nadia's amongst my four favourites!  Geez, with my four unique names that only leaves a few female Russian names left over huh!

About the numbers... I KNOW I KNOW...  I've said all the way along that the trip "evolves".

There was a girl who was in the final six that didn't reply for a while.  Eventually she did, I didn't have time to reply,  she wrote again,  the emails continued, phone calls started, communication has been good, I've got a few days spare in the middle of my trip, so...  I'm pretty sure we'll meet up.

Oh, and anyone that says looks have nothing to do with choosing the girls you want to meet is lying.  All that I am meeting are attractive (to me)...  but only recently I became conscious of the fact that all 4 have dark hair.  Hmmm...  I don't know what it is about blondes... they're attractive but for me you just can't go past a beautiful brunette!   

Kuna

[jb]

Kuna,

Bite the bullet and send 13 red roses.  For New Years they also mean "Good Luck".

Just a tip, the traditional funeral flower is carnations, always sent in even numbers.

[Kuna]

Kuna,

Bite the bullet and send 13 red roses.  For New Years they also mean "Good Luck".

Just a tip, the traditional funeral flower is carnations, always sent in even numbers.

Yup... Thanks jb... DONE!

Sheeesh... the odd number made it difficult though.  Send 11?  or 13?  NOT 12!  11 seemed to fall a little short...  13 sounds unlucky...  I wasn't going for 15...  I ended up going for 13 only because I like to tempt fate!

By the way... the site I'm using gives an option for 1001 Red Roses at a cost of $4,500+.   

I know NOTHING about this journey...  but...

TO ANYONE EVEN CONSIDERING 1001 roses GET YOU A$$ OUT OF YOUR MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR MANSION AND ON A PLANE - DELIVER A SINGLE ROSE IN PERSON AND IGOR WILL BE MUCH HAPPIER THAN YOU BLOWING THAT AMOUNT OF MONEY ON FLOWERS!

(Surely the only person spending that much money on flowers is also so deluded he would write to Igor for a year before realising "her" family can't be so unfortunate that they have so many car accidents, health problems, house fires, travel agency mishaps?)   

Kuna

[SANDRO43]

Kuna, I think you should apply for Ada's university position when you return from your trip, given your already wider-ranging qualifications in MOB research (leave no flower unturned ), AND an on-site field experience she does not (and could never) possess .

[ScottinCrimea]

     I remember one time I managed to by my way out of the doghouse, but it took 27 red roses to do it.  Luckily the cost is a lot less for roses there and it only cost me about $60.  Walking home with them, I had no less than three marriage proposals!
     My thoughts are that for a specific occasion such as a holiday or birthday, any type and color of flowers, including roses, is fine as long as it's not black, carnations only or an even number.  If you are sending flowers "just because" and not related to a holiday or a thank you, it will be considered more than just a sign of friendship and it probably should be roses, and the redder the better.

[IAmZon]

Brunettes!  me too ... perhaps our greatest commonality?

Been reading your blog.  If you write 1/2 as much on your trip as you do in prep, I (and others) will be very happy.  Your leaving in just a couple of weeks ... which is good, I can't take too much more preparation ...

[Kuna]

Brunettes!  me too ... perhaps our greatest commonality?

Been reading your blog.  If you write 1/2 as much on your trip as you do in prep, I (and others) will be very happy.  Your leaving in just a couple of weeks ... which is good, I can't take too much more preparation ...

Rivardco...

Not much more preparation needed.  I've got to tell ya, I think Australians have a distinct disadvantage in this pursuit for a number of reasons.

The distance is going to be a killer... It'll take me 29 hours to just hit the ground in Europe.

The cost and availability of reasonably priced airfares means doing a few trips in a few months like avi8or would need you to book them ahead of time.  Not really practical.  Doing an impromptu weekend trip like DKMM is impossible!

We still need visas to get into Ukraine, and that process has been a bit of a pain.

All in all I remain excited about the trip.  not just meeting the girls... Following the family footsteps is also a MASSIVE part of my trip.  The planning for that has been going well too. 

Cool that you've been reading the blog.  I hope newbies in future can read it and realise that there are different approaches people take.  Maybe I'll be successful...  maybe not.  I think the most important thing in here is giving and getting information.

Cheers!

Kuna

[2tallbill]

As for flowers send an odd amount 1,3,5, etc and stay away from yellow this is not the color for lovers. If in Ukraine Pavel or Stirlitz can deliver them for you. I have used other services online with a google search for other places.

Good luck,

Bill

[Kuna]

Thanks guys for the tips on flowers...

The deed is done and I can thoroughly recommend it ONCE you've developed some "connection" with the girls you're writing to.  It's not cheap, but my intentions were definitely delivered to some very sweet girls.

The responses were very nice but two (not surprisingly from my favourite two girls) were startling and very cute!

The first one said she'd received the flowers and went straight to the Internet Cafe to send a thank you note.  In recent times she has finished emails with *kisses* or *kiss you*.  The thank you email finished with "Strong Kisses* which is nice... but sounds a little scary. 

The other standout response probably requires me to paste a paragraph from her email for you to appreciate it, but I regard the specific content of our correspondence to be private... therefore I can't.  Suffice to say it was a truly lovely message, especially from a girl who's correspondence has been very conservative to date.

My intention in sending the flowers was to let the ladies know that I understand New Year is special for them and their family, and that I was thinking of them and wish them well for the year ahead.

By the way... I ended up on going with 13 long stemmed red roses for all of the girls, and a cake for those who had family close by.

 

"The Wizard that makes Miracles come true"

[I/O]

Kuna: 11 is considered the appropriate number.  7 or 9 is acceptable and if you don't want to overdo it, that is fine.  Definitely not even numbers as it signifies death.  I have a feeling, the way you are going, you might very well aquaint yourself with even numbers by the time you have finished, but that is just MHO.

Not white...!!  Pink, Dark or Strong Pink or Red are all fine.  If you send substantial flowers to 4 different women, I strongly advise that you are smooth in the language and very fleet of foot by the time you arrive in their country. 

This does not look like the smartest move I have ever seen. ??? ??? ???

I/O who doesn't like spreading his artillery to thinly.

[Kuna]

Hmmmm....  it might be one of life's great experiments... but I'm not afraid of failure!

I/O

A couple of things on my trip and my planning (sorry for repeating to those that have read about this and contributed advice earlier)...

When I started I wrote to about 20 girls from EM's.  Some responses were slow so I sent out 20 introduction letters to girls from freepersonals.ru

As all the responses started to come (about 35 in total) it was obviously some girls weren't compatible.  One or two (very few) proved to be scammers but this number was probably low because I "announced" my arrival date in my first email.

Over time the number I was writing to was reduced, and reduced again until I had 6 girls that were clearly more interesting than others.

My correspondence started off quite conservatively but as it progressed I was MOST interested in girls that asked me probing questions and those that had differing views on some things, but maintained the tact required in a relationship when partners differ. (One girl was just offensive whenever something came up that didn't immediately meet with agreement.  That was an easy decision    )

When I was down to six I knew I had to get the list down so I eventually decided on 3...  almost cut back to 2 but then resolved to meet 3.  One "other" is still writing and it's highly likely we'll meet... but there are 2 standouts and two "probables".

The "standouts" are similar, but different to each other.  Meeting them both will give me a clear idea of what I'm more comfortable with...  Meeting the other two feels like a good idea because both also offer a uniqueness that I find appealing.

I should mention,  when I started my search I was adamant on the question of age.  I had no interest in anyone too young but I didn't want to "meet, marry and make babies" before any future partner and I developed memories as a couple (rather than memories as a family).

I'm 38, my "acceptable age range" was 27 - 30. I didn't care about hair colour, eye colour, height, cup size or any other the other superficial criteria.  As it turns out the four favourites are quite similar to the types of girls I date at home...  but I will admit to hoping for different attitudes and values in the girls I'm meeting.


Again,  sorry for the repetition to anyone who's read this before.

Kuna

[I/O]

Kuna Yep...!! All understood and similar logic applied from this quarter some time back, but as with all things logical, it is also logical that something else might happen. 

I had the criteria pretty much down to a T without any physical preferences of great significance.  Had it all sorted......I thought........wrong........!!!!!!!!!! There was THAT letter.  It all went out the window over the next year and I am actually glad it did. 

I/O who likes to plan and often has his plans overturned.

[Wayne]

It might be better to send the flowers to the girl's home, and arrange for photographs to be taken of the girl with the flowers in the home. This give you several checks; such as: do the new photographs match the person and age of the ones you have already?  Is the home address real? How does the girl look when she is home and perhaps without makeup.  What does the apartment look like?  If the girl has a child, a small gift for the child would be nice. 

[Kuna]

Kuna Yep...!! All understood and similar logic applied from this quarter some time back, but as with all things logical, it is also logical that something else might happen. 

I had the criteria pretty much down to a T without any physical preferences of great significance.  Had it all sorted......I thought........wrong........!!!!!!!!!! There was THAT letter.  It all went out the window over the next year and I am actually glad it did. 

I/O who likes to plan and often has his plans overturned.

I/O,

I know what you mean.  I decided to write a blog in here of my "Last 40 Days" and the recurring message in there is that no matter how much planning I do little suprises keep popping up to test me... Nice surprises, and cantankerous little ones... they just keep popping up.   ???

I see it as a part of the whole journey though and it's teaching me much about the FSUW Psyche. 

Kuna

[Kuna]

It might be better to send the flowers to the girl's home, and arrange for photographs to be taken of the girl with the flowers in the home. This give you several checks; such as: do the new photographs match the person and age of the ones you have already?  Is the home address real? How does the girl look when she is home and perhaps without makeup.  What does the apartment look like?  If the girl has a child, a small gift for the child would be nice. 

Hey Wayne!  Thanks for the suggestion.  It's something I thought of but to the honest I really did struggle with the thought of photos initially because it feels (a little) like checking up on them...  but at the last minute I decided it wasn't "checking up on them", I was showing more interest.

What I DO like about the photos is the look on the girls faces.  How do they react?  How do they feel?

About address checking...  I've seen two of the girls photos on their work web sites (One is a lawyer.. the other works in TV) and have plenty of photos of all 4, some that I've requested over the past 2 months.

The idea about the gift for the child (if there is one).  I'd wholeheartedly endorse this.  The cake went down VERY well... and I don't think it's unreasonable to consider the families on special holidays.

Kuna