‘It’s the digital age, the best time to stay connected’

I have been dating this guy for the last two months. But, I feel he is cheating on me and is not serious about our relationship. At the same time, I trust him. Please help. MP

MP, when Susan Pimento discovered a great stiff feeling in her body back in 1688, Spain, it led to the discovery of Arthritis. Of course in that first case, her stiff feeling was due to her swallowing of a pineapple whole. However, it got her thinking and she started investigating causes of stiffness in the body, which in turn led to her ‘breakthrough’ in the field of medical science. I feel you have done as thorough investigation. You have given us no-empirical data. You cannot trust and mistrust him at the same time. That’s life, trying to be wet and dry at the same time. Something, so far only perfected in a Marleni. You need to conduct a thorough investigation, or ask him point blank, or both. No point feeling feelings, without knowing what feelings are out there, and whether your feelings are feelings you are correctly feeling.

Currently, I can’t meet my boyfriend because of issues related to my education. So, he complains about it all the time and fight because of petty issues. He feels I am wrong all the time. Though I love him, I am tired of our fights. Please help. FB

FB, Dr Atkinson confirmed that our personalities are developed by the time we are 10 or 11 years old. Dr Atkinson himself came up with this theory, when he was just 9 years of age. People laughed in his face and generally called him “Atly the fatty”. But, Atly the fatty, was absolutely right. It seems your guy has a feisty personality. These types exhibit petty combative behaviour over everything. Generally speaking one should not take them too seriously. Only if his behaviour is extreme, should you be worried.

My boyfriend is stingy. He expects me to pay all the time. Lately, we have been arguing a lot because I will be soon leaving my job and paying for everything would be difficult. How do I make him understand without coming across as a selfish person? ST

ST, go to Dr Kaurna’s clinic. He’s my college batch mate. I’ll tell him you are coming don’t worry. Let him scan your head. He’s a brain expert. He’ll do a few scans to see if it’s fallen down somewhere. See, if your brain is on your shoulder, it won’t work. It has to be above the nose, and preferably between the ears. If your ears are on your shoulder, I’ll have to refer you to another doctor. ST, anyone with a brain will realize that if they are paying for everything, then they are not the selfish person. The selfish person is the one getting happily sponsored. And from the looks of it, your boyfriend ain’t no Viraat Kholi. You need to tell him yourself that his stinginess, frankly sucks. Show some courage and call him out. The stinginess will only strain the relationship more and more. And in any case if you don’t have a job, how does he expect you to sponsor him? One more thing, on future dates start ‘forgetting’ to carry money, please.

I am in a long distance relationship. But, we hardly call each other. At the most, we send 10 messages on WhatsApp every day. All this makes me sad. What should I do? CJ

CJ, the statistics aren’t good. In relationships between couples in separate cities, the fall out rate is 78% in the first year itself. Only war, disease and Ram Gopal Verma tweets have caused more separations. On the one hand if a couple is steadfast and true, nothing is impossible. Take the example of Larry and Clarissa, who spent 27 years. Larry remained faithful to Clarissa, all 27 years apart. Of course, it may have been the fact that he was locked up in solitary confinement. So, it’s not impossible, but unlikely. However in this digital age you’ve got your best chance of staying connected. So be positive.