I Finally Did It

So here we go. Everyone has been asking for “Details, details, details.” Well here they are, but first I want to point out the “Thank you” section I created. While it’s not comprehensive and doesn’t completely thank everyone for everything, I thought it was a cool idea.

So the details: I rolled over at 5 a.m. and saw that she was already up. I told her we were going to Atlanta, one of the domestic locales she’s always wanted to visit. It took a few minutes, but I finally convinced her. While she got ready, I got us some Dunkin Donuts. When I got back, I spilled my white hot chocolate all over the steps and left my wallet in the car without realizing it. I had her call her boss to confirm she wasn’t coming in, but I had talked to her last week so it was ok.

At 6 a.m. my boy Carmine picked us up in a fricken 35’ Lincoln Navigator. Ours was black though. I have to thank John over at Action Limousine for the upgrade. And yes, we’re using you for the wedding. We left and it was five minutes before I realized I forgot my wallet. We turned around, but made it to the airport in plenty of time. After the flight from Newark Airport we got to Atlanta and we picked up our rental car and went to the Westin. We stopped by Applebee’s and got a bit to eat. Don’t give me any crap about eating Applebee’s in Atlanta—it wasn’t a real vacation so we didn’t have time to sample the locale cuisines.

After that we took a trip to Martin Luther King National Historic Site. We then made our way over to the Georgia Aquarium. Look at her with her new friends. The aquarium was fun and we stayed until it closed. We killed some time by riding up and down, downtown and midtown. The “ATL” seems like a great place!

We stopped and spent some time in Olympic Park. It’s a really beautiful place at night. I wasted some time until 6:15 p.m. the exact time she was born. I asked her if I could tell her a story and if she minded if I read it. I read my proposal in Spanish, Translated by Jessica T. at TransPerfect. After shaking off some shock she said yes.

We went back to the hotel and celebrated with some Pinot Grigio and food. On the way back, we were upgraded again. Carmine put us in a huge limo instead of the Excursion I expected and a bottle of champagne. That was a smooth move, sir.

No we are back home. That’s the story folks.

So I called up my buddy Jon S. and told him it was time for me to go looking for a ring. He said sure. I love this guy. I came to his house and he had the diamond sized, estimated and detailed before I even got there. If you hadn’t realized, Jon is the super gemologist.

So we made a stop at his super diamond connect and I told the guy I needed a heart-shaped diamond. He said huh? I don’t know if I have any of those. People don’t buy those much—PERFECT! If you know me at all you know I’m not commercial and I hate fads and trends. When I saw the heart-shaped diamond months ago I knew it was it. I talked to my best friend Amber M. and she said go for it. His guy called his brother and he bought over one diamond. It was a nice quality and it was just under a carat. We liked it, but he came back with another one and it was the bomb! Just over a carat and it was huge. Perfect color, nice clarity, GIA certified and all that jazz. We got the price and we walked out to think it over.

We stopped in the mall to return a few items and laugh at the crap they were selling in the mall. NEVER, I REPEAT NEVER buy a diamond at one of those stores like Kays or Zales. The nonsense they showed us was horrible. After we laughed at that crap, we went to one more store. Their prices were ok, but most people don’t keep hearts in stock. I wanted to think about the diamond and come back in a day or two, but Jon did a great job of convincing me otherwise.

We went back, picked out a nice setting that added another quarter caret plus and worked on the price. Once that was done, it was set and we were gone! I love that ring! I post pictures after I propose.

So it’s that time. I finally did it is the perfect name for the site. I am about to orchestrate one of the biggest events of my life. I recently stopped myself and said I had to propose to Rachel R., my girlfriend, and soon. Today, I’m taking the idea and putting it into action.

Ok, so now you know what the site’s about; here’s how we got here. I have been dating my girlfriend for about four years and it’s been great since day one. We meet while we were at Rutgers University. We worked together and we had classes together. What’s funny about our story is the two different perspectives. She’ll tell you that when she started working at the Student Center I ignored her, but I’ll tell you that she kind of imagined that. People who don’t know me often have the wrong idea about me after our first encounter(s). But that’s here nor there.

Over the summer, we become friends and I knew there was something there. By the fall I knew I had to have her. Unfortunately, for me and my other colleague, she had some dam thing about dating people she worked with. Great rule, but I didn’t want to hear that. I was going to graduate in May and I had every intention of spending the next six or seven months trying to change her mind. Turns out it only took a few months and that was fine by me.

We spent so much time together over those few months it was almost comical. I actually asked her to marry me a million times during the early times of our relationship. She never accepted because she didn’t believe that phone proposals were appropriate. By May I had graduated and accepted an internship at Tyco International. That’s where the madness began. As people got to know me, they got to know me they got to know her.

As quick as they got to know her is as quick as the questions began. When are you getting married? When are you going to ask her? Are you engaged yet? What are you waiting for? When it first began, I couldn’t go a week without the question.

At its peak, I couldn’t go a day without the question. I kid you not. Rachel can attest to it. I would tell her about it all the time. It was so bad that people who didn’t even know her would ask me. I found myself amazed. The interesting thing was that I wasn’t stalling or unsure. She wasn’t done with school and I really didn’t think it was right to ask her because I wanted to give her a chance to live her life a bit since I did.

So that’s the long story short. Next post we talk the plan.