OUR STORY
His Story
I look weird in that photo, right? It's not just me? I make weird faces in general, so it's hard to really distinguish whether one face is more strange than any other. But, either way, that's a weird face.
To answer your question (you did ask, didn't you? no? Well, this is awkward...), Elisa's version of events is more or less accurate. You can read that over there. I'll wait.
All finished? That was fast. Are you a speed reader? You're probably one of those people that read new Harry Potter books in a day. Can you retain a lot like that? Pop quiz, then, hotshot: Who did Elisa have to find to get a ticket to our first Mickey's Halloween Party? If you answered Waldo, congratulations! If not, maybe leave the speed-reading to the professionals.
Now, you can't tell by the photo on the right there, but I rolled into Lola's "Crash the Hufflepuff Common Room Birthday Shindig™" dressed up in a wizard robe with a very stake-like wand that I whittled and popped into a leather wand holster repurposed from a Boy Scout project that netted me a leather-working merit badge many years prior. That's the kind of guy we're dealing with here.
Our first real conversation came in a group, where we all discussed nerd weddings, and I pitched my extremely elaborate and absolutely crazy time travel wedding idea. If you know what I'm talking about, don't worry—this one won't be anything like that. If you don't, you're probably better off. Let's just say that it involved having the wrong person up at the altar at the start of the wedding and using a DeLorean to correct a problem in the past that prevented the happy couple from getting together. See? Bonkers.
Now, she had really hit it off with a good friend of mine, and they exchanged numbers, but I was struck by her enthusiasm, her smile, and her affability. I repeatedly hounded my friend to get into contact with Elisa, so we could all hang out.
That next time was at a game night, where Elisa put a dent in my new car as I gave up the protected parking spot, so she wouldn't have to go hunt for one in Hollywood. The big white dent still makes me smile.
We had many a conversation leading up to Mickey's Halloween Party. Elisa did, indeed, spend that whole day a few months later looking for tickets, and finally got one in the twilight hours prior to the park locking down to ticket-holders-only. We had a great time, and it still remains an annual tradition.
I really did invite a bunch of people to go see Othello. I'd been told it was better than the best Shakespeare I'd ever seen, so I had to check it out. I invited a variety of people, who all said they were spectacularly interested. But, when it came time to actually schedule it out, it turned out most people didn't want to sit through three-ish hours of uncut Shakespeare. Weird. Most people, except Elisa. I bought tickets and snacks for the movie, because I was grateful she came at all.
We hit a new-ish-at-the-time French place in Highland Park called Chez Antoine (which would later become the site of the beginning of my proposal event, The Once and Future Thing™, though that comes later). We then picked up some frozen yogurt and listened to a CD that she burned me of her favorite Disney songs (which I analyzed), and swung back to my place, where we spent many hours watching videos of our old theatrical endeavors, including Robin Hood (at the Maverick Theatre) and Peter Pan (at CSUEB). It was a good night.
We started dating a few days after that, after a double-date with Adam & Corinne, when I literally asked her, "Can I keep you?" We later determined this was a line from the movie, Casper. Once again, you get an idea of the kind of person you're dealing with here.
I knew almost immediately that she was the one. I got a new job and went to the San Francisco Bay Area for training, but I spent every night wherever I could to learn swing dancing, so I could dance with her. When there wasn't a lesson, I took a private lesson. Friends I visited with came out to the lessons with me (shout out to Cat!) and I came back with only one-and a-half left feet and some moves that literally no one teaches down here (to some extent, for good reason).
I began the process of proposing after just three months. The plan was to have an elaborate monthly adventure that would culminate in a proposal. Yes, that is crazy. I had many friends ask me, "What if you're wrong? What if you change your mind?" and I offered the rather transparent platitude that I would pivot the story into being about friendship instead. I didn't plan to then, and, obviously, I kept it the same way I always intended it.
Well, sort of. I made a lot of adjustments on the fly. It was like producing a new, multi-hour live theatrical experience every month. I don't care how good your cast is—and mine was tops!—that's tough stuff.
To make a long story short (too late), Elisa and the three Doctors saved time from an evil cult-leading Dan driven mad with grief over the loss of his beloved Theresa. Fortunately, by teaming up with the Resistance Generals of the Time War, they were able to reverse the effects of the cult's time-rings, bring Theresa and Seth back to life (I died, too. And right after proposing the first time!), and love won for all time. If you want to read more, you should read the novel (there's literally a novel). But be warned: you must be THIS nerdy to understand what was going on.
As is characteristic of me, that's a very long way to say something very simple. A man met a woman, and they became friends. In that friendship, they found a timeless love that tied together their universe. Now it's time to celebrate the love that binds them, surrounds them, and permeates them.
Her Story
I met Seth at my friends Lola's 'Crash the
Hufflepuff House' themed birthday party. We were one of the few Gryffindors at the party and instantly bonded over our love of Back to the Future. We also talked about our love of Disneyland and Halloween and planned a group trip to Mickey's Halloween Party. There are times I get a bit spacey, and this was one of them.
I completely forgot to buy a ticket to the event.
I got there super early because it was my idea, they bought tickets, and I had completely forgotten. I felt so bad! I spent the entire morning on craigslist, eBay, and other forums to see if anyone was selling any. Finally ,after a whole morning of trying, and constantly texting Seth the entire time, I managed to find someone who was giving away an extra ticket. They were in the park and I just had to find him and his family.
I had to find Waldo (literally, he was dressed like Waldo: it was the best!!). With the ticket acquired, I got to spend the entire evening hanging out with Seth and his friend, and that was when we really got to know each other!
He then invited me out to see a 3 hour screening of Othello that was played live in London. He claims he "invited other people," but it ended up just being us. We then went out to dinner at this super fancy french restaurant. This wasn't a date. I was being completely friend-zoned, so I was super confused!!
Eventually he stopped friend-zoning me (after a few other times of hanging out, breaking into my parents house, and long talks on the phone) and we started dating.
Now this is where our stories differ. Seth "claims" the day that we met his friends Adam and Corrine was a date. Except no one decided to tell me!! I was told "hey I want you to meet my best friend," which I kind of thought was weird, since I was still clearly just his friend, and who does that?! But hey, this was Seth, I figure if anyone randomly wants friends to meet he would.
Aside from that tiny little fact, our stories match up. Well you know that and the whole proposal thing, I don't have any incite on that. I was just a player in this game where everyone knew what was going on and I was there for the ride!
Someone once asked when I fell in love with Seth, and I said it was while you were sleeping... (No, that would be weird. It's a quote, guys! Come on! Go watch While You Were Sleeping!) I honestly don't know when I fell in love with Seth. It felt just so natural and fun! I found my best friend, my partner to go on awesome adventures, someone I wanted to talk to about anything and everything, and someone who could best me in Back to the Future trivia. I found my Density!
