"I don't know how it will ever work," Matt moaned. "It wasn't supposed to go this far." When he met Aaron in Vancouver in August, he fully intended it to be only a fling that would last the weekend. Then one weekend grew to two, which easily turned into a month and, in spite of his best intentions, kept right on going.

"Amateur," I thought to myself. Two years ago, I was in the same boat, only instead of impractically finding a man in Vancouver, BC, I found one in Paris, France, and found myself continuing the distance, in spite of the advice of my best friends, total strangers, or anyone with a bit of sense.

Even the most grounded of us gay folk with just half a mind for travel can easily find themselves in a similar position, so for all you hopeless romantics willing to skirt "common sense" in the name of ove, I offer a few helpful tips for making a long distance relationship work.

Daily Contact: If you lived in the same city as your romantic interest, you might see that person every day. When that isn't possible, contact certainly is, and this is especially true in today's world. With inexpensive technology like internet video conversations, the whole world is a click away. For couples who work well together, there won't be much of a shortage of conversation, even in some of the smallest topics. In my experience, you can be closer to someone living a few thousand miles away than you are to the people that live right around you. The key is how and how often you choose to communicate with someone.

Shared Activities: just like couples living in the same city, couples at a distance should try to do things as a couple. Whether reading a book together (to one another by chapters if you care to) taking language lessons, volunteering for the same organization, or learning about some of the interests your distance-loverman has, doing things together doesn't have to happen in exactly the same space.

Learn to Plan and Save Better: If you're in a long distance relationship, you'll probably find yourself taking frequent trips somewhere. After my sixth trip to France, I started learning how to plan my travels better and to find ways to save money doing it. That's not easy at all, but knowing how to save your airline miles or finding a less expensive place for you both to meet might mean you can see one another more often and increase your traveling, too. Nobody regrets getting out and seeing the world, especially with someone you really like to travel with.

Tune Out Naysayers: If you continue down the distance road, you might find that there isn't much support for the idea around you. Learning to tune out the doubts of those around you early on will keep it from becoming a topic you hear over and over again. Let your well-intentioned friends know that, while you appreciate their wisdom (because hey, they are all in perfect relationships, aren't they?) you've made your choice.

Set an End: Perhaps the most important advice that any hopeless romantic in a distance relationships might offer, is that you must both realize there has to be an end to the distance. After all, distance still sucks, and there should eventually be a day you can ook forward to when you are both in spontaneous hugging distance.

Of course, there are those of you who will insist entirely that you cannot carry on a serious relationship with someone from a distance. There are plenty of good people in this city, they will argue, and they are right in a way. But for guys like me and Matt, the world is an awfully big place and keeping your options to folks who live right in the same city seems a tad bit limited. At the end of the day, love really just don't care much where you are.

Beau Burriola is a local writer who still imagines the world and all of its possibilities to be exactly as big and endless as it really is. beaubrent@gmail.com