I am a life-changing moment; for the best...
(because of the insane length of this day and days prior, I shall skip over all of the legwork and the sleepless nights beforehand. But I WILL go into the sleepless night leading INTO, he he he, and at the end, it will STILL be an incredibly long post)
3:00AM
-Double check gmail(secret e-mail acct) to make sure there were no last minute questions.
-Go through sent e-mails to make sure directions are clear
-pray Pray PRAY, that everything would go smoothly and without a hitch, that she would NOT find out, that I could calm the heck down!
-Check to see that ring is still in nightstand drawer
4:something AM
-Finally fall asleep
-Dream about ppl not making it to event, waking up several times in a mild panic
-Check to see that ring is still in nightstand drawer
7:00AM
-Double check gmail account again
-Go outside for some fresh air
-Pack up all things I need for the day
-Try to sleep some more > FAIL
-Check to see that ring is still in nightstand drawer
9:00AM
-GF calls to wake me up and I say I'll be there by 10ish after done getting ready
-double check gmail acct, to see if there are any last minute questions
-pack up car
-go back into house to get clothes
-start up car, shut down car
-go back into house to get RING from nightstand drawer
9:50AM
-Call GF to tell her I'm on my way...ran late because I had to use the bathroom, so I said
10:27AM
-Arrive at GF's house and we go to Mass. We meet up with the family and carry on our normal day.
Okay, onto the particulars...the rest of this story will include random moments, but mostly lead up to the big moment...
I had to make sure the ring was with me at all times when I didn't feel it was in a secure place. So at church, I put the ring(with the box) in my track jacket and carried it with me as we walked to mass. She asks me why I brought THAT jacket(it had zippers, that's why) because it didn't match w/ my polo shirt. I casually ignored it and we proceeded to mass. Sometime later during mass, her dad asks me to help with the collection baskets and hands me one of them. Tinz grabs my jacket and says she'll hold it. I snatch the jacket back and say, "That's ok, I'm cold, I'm gonna wear it," and quickly proceed to put it on before she can take it back again. I go on and do the collection task with jacket on, and feeling really really warm. CLOSE CALL.
After mass ends, we head to her parents house to have weekly Sunday lunch with the fam. Again, it was set up to be as normal a day as possible. We would eat lunch and hang out w/ the fam and watch the Laker game, then head to OC around 2:30. The reason we were supposed to go to Orange County was because Joesan had gotten tickets to this Pacific Symphony show at OCPAC. GF wasn't too thrilled about going because she thought it sounded boring. I thought she actually would've been excited, but I was wrong, he he he. But I hyped it up as a good show so she agreed to go, plus the tix were supposed to be free. Only thing was that there WERE no tickets. The show was all a ruse, a RUSE I say!!!! Actually, there WAS a show, but we didn't really have tickets. It was my means to get us in the OC.
I texted Joesan when we left Walnut at around 2:45, after which I had previously arranged with him to call me back about 30 minutes later. Whilst driving merrily down the 5 fwy in Orange County, at 3:15PM, he calls with one of the best acting jobs ever and convinces Christine that there was a mistake and unfortunately he was NOT able to get the tickets. He's so pissed about it that he even declines my offer to meet up since we're in the area already. So I suggest that we can just shop at South Coast Plaza, which is the perfect bait for any of the Cartagena girls; and she agreed w/o hesitation. The reason for the shopping? To stall; I needed to give the fam and friends time to get to the location where everything was supposed to take place. The arrangement was that we would wait there until I received the text, "Hell yah Lakers!," which would mean green light for operation "Rock and Roll" I couldn't think of a better or cooler name, so that was the first thing that popped in my head. A "Damn Celtics" message would mean that I had to stall some more. Well fortunately...or maybe UNfortunately, gf found lots of stuff to shop for...and even I did some shopping, so the stall was pretty easy. I finally received the text and back to the parking lot and into the car and on the way to UCI we went. Note: I asked her earlier if we could go to UCI to visit an old friend of mine before he celebrated mass @ 6:30, but before then, we'd stop at the park, and hang out on our bench in Aldrich Park, where we had one of our dates back over the summer - You'll see why this place is special later...
But I digress...
...So we get to the UCI campus...and of course gf is doing every thing she can to subconsciously thwart my perfectly laid out plan. I go to the student center parking lot, which is a bit of a walk from our destination. So she suggests that I park closer to the place where we needed to go; only that her suggested parking location was the exact place where I told everyone else to park, so as to minimize their walk to the viewing spot. I make up some excuse about that parking lot no longer being available, and luckily, she buys it. So when I pay for parking, she starts to ask why I'm paying full price and almost demands that I ask for my money back so we can go to short-term parking. Somehow, again, I am able to convince her that short-term parking per hour is just more expensive...so she agrees and I proceed to park. I then send the text that we have arrived to Joesan.
The UCI campus is constructed in a circle. There is an outer ring(that you can drive) to the various parking lots situated about campus; and an inner ring(aka "Ring Road") , a pedestrian path that the students can navigate through to get to any part of the campus. Centered in this circle, is Aldrich Park, which allows one "cut-through" access to get to any portion of the campus as well. We park on the northern end of the campus and walk through the park to get to the designated spot. Little does she know that my only aim is to get us to our bench(just in view from friends and fam)
As we're walking...I see Bev, one of our photographers, but she's dressed like a jogger and immediately starts to jog away. I forgot to let them know what area we were coming from. But on we walk... Noticed a tightrope walker practicing her craft between two trees, and a student photographer a little ways up ahead. The tightrope walker was completely random, but the student photog was not; that was Ja of Ja Tecson Photography. So notice did she not that he was hanging around and just looking at trees and stuff. We continue to walk and find our bench.
We sit on the bench(backs to our audience) and just start having a little chat. In my head, I have all these things I want to say; but they are disappearing by the second, and I begin to hyper-ventilate a bit. FYI - There is no amount of practice that can prepare you for this type of a moment; you can say it a thousand times in your head, but once everything is happening, it's gone in a flash. I've spoken in front of dozens of crowds w/o hesitation, and in this one-on-one setting, I was about to lose all bodily function. As if on cue, she puts her arm around me and asks me if I'm okay. I just tell her I'm a little tired, and we continue to talk. She actually steers the convo in the right direction by mentioning that this was the place where I first said those three little but incredibly powerful words, "I love you." And that's where it all happened...I acted. I can't really remember word for word what I said, because my head was completely swimming at that point and my nerves were running sky high; but I eventually got down on one knee and asked her to marry me... she jumped up and hugged me tighter than she's ever hugged me and the following shot was taken:
she said YES!!! And that's when everyone started screaming and cheering. She was so completely overwhelmed and was taken aback, asking "WHO IS THAT?!?!?" She thought it was just some students who had seen what was going on. In her excitement(and as you can see from the picture, she didn't even put the ring ON yet.) So I put it on her finger, and asked officially again, to which she said YES. (Again, the details are a little fuzzy here) We walk up to where I had our people stationed and they all met us with smiles and hugs and congratulations.
Everyone thought that Christine would lose control of her emotions when it all happend ...but it wasn't until the car ride home when it all hit her...and she began to cry tears of joy.
All in all, I was able to do what I accomplished; ask the love of my life to spend the rest of HER life with me, and have our loved ones there to witness it and be a part of it all.
So there you have it...
eeeeeend scene =)
3:00AM
-Double check gmail(secret e-mail acct) to make sure there were no last minute questions.
-Go through sent e-mails to make sure directions are clear
-pray Pray PRAY, that everything would go smoothly and without a hitch, that she would NOT find out, that I could calm the heck down!
-Check to see that ring is still in nightstand drawer
4:something AM
-Finally fall asleep
-Dream about ppl not making it to event, waking up several times in a mild panic
-Check to see that ring is still in nightstand drawer
7:00AM
-Double check gmail account again
-Go outside for some fresh air
-Pack up all things I need for the day
-Try to sleep some more > FAIL
-Check to see that ring is still in nightstand drawer
9:00AM
-GF calls to wake me up and I say I'll be there by 10ish after done getting ready
-double check gmail acct, to see if there are any last minute questions
-pack up car
-go back into house to get clothes
-start up car, shut down car
-go back into house to get RING from nightstand drawer
9:50AM
-Call GF to tell her I'm on my way...ran late because I had to use the bathroom, so I said
10:27AM
-Arrive at GF's house and we go to Mass. We meet up with the family and carry on our normal day.
Okay, onto the particulars...the rest of this story will include random moments, but mostly lead up to the big moment...
I had to make sure the ring was with me at all times when I didn't feel it was in a secure place. So at church, I put the ring(with the box) in my track jacket and carried it with me as we walked to mass. She asks me why I brought THAT jacket(it had zippers, that's why) because it didn't match w/ my polo shirt. I casually ignored it and we proceeded to mass. Sometime later during mass, her dad asks me to help with the collection baskets and hands me one of them. Tinz grabs my jacket and says she'll hold it. I snatch the jacket back and say, "That's ok, I'm cold, I'm gonna wear it," and quickly proceed to put it on before she can take it back again. I go on and do the collection task with jacket on, and feeling really really warm. CLOSE CALL.
After mass ends, we head to her parents house to have weekly Sunday lunch with the fam. Again, it was set up to be as normal a day as possible. We would eat lunch and hang out w/ the fam and watch the Laker game, then head to OC around 2:30. The reason we were supposed to go to Orange County was because Joesan had gotten tickets to this Pacific Symphony show at OCPAC. GF wasn't too thrilled about going because she thought it sounded boring. I thought she actually would've been excited, but I was wrong, he he he. But I hyped it up as a good show so she agreed to go, plus the tix were supposed to be free. Only thing was that there WERE no tickets. The show was all a ruse, a RUSE I say!!!! Actually, there WAS a show, but we didn't really have tickets. It was my means to get us in the OC.
I texted Joesan when we left Walnut at around 2:45, after which I had previously arranged with him to call me back about 30 minutes later. Whilst driving merrily down the 5 fwy in Orange County, at 3:15PM, he calls with one of the best acting jobs ever and convinces Christine that there was a mistake and unfortunately he was NOT able to get the tickets. He's so pissed about it that he even declines my offer to meet up since we're in the area already. So I suggest that we can just shop at South Coast Plaza, which is the perfect bait for any of the Cartagena girls; and she agreed w/o hesitation. The reason for the shopping? To stall; I needed to give the fam and friends time to get to the location where everything was supposed to take place. The arrangement was that we would wait there until I received the text, "Hell yah Lakers!," which would mean green light for operation "Rock and Roll" I couldn't think of a better or cooler name, so that was the first thing that popped in my head. A "Damn Celtics" message would mean that I had to stall some more. Well fortunately...or maybe UNfortunately, gf found lots of stuff to shop for...and even I did some shopping, so the stall was pretty easy. I finally received the text and back to the parking lot and into the car and on the way to UCI we went. Note: I asked her earlier if we could go to UCI to visit an old friend of mine before he celebrated mass @ 6:30, but before then, we'd stop at the park, and hang out on our bench in Aldrich Park, where we had one of our dates back over the summer - You'll see why this place is special later...
But I digress...
...So we get to the UCI campus...and of course gf is doing every thing she can to subconsciously thwart my perfectly laid out plan. I go to the student center parking lot, which is a bit of a walk from our destination. So she suggests that I park closer to the place where we needed to go; only that her suggested parking location was the exact place where I told everyone else to park, so as to minimize their walk to the viewing spot. I make up some excuse about that parking lot no longer being available, and luckily, she buys it. So when I pay for parking, she starts to ask why I'm paying full price and almost demands that I ask for my money back so we can go to short-term parking. Somehow, again, I am able to convince her that short-term parking per hour is just more expensive...so she agrees and I proceed to park. I then send the text that we have arrived to Joesan.
The UCI campus is constructed in a circle. There is an outer ring(that you can drive) to the various parking lots situated about campus; and an inner ring(aka "Ring Road") , a pedestrian path that the students can navigate through to get to any part of the campus. Centered in this circle, is Aldrich Park, which allows one "cut-through" access to get to any portion of the campus as well. We park on the northern end of the campus and walk through the park to get to the designated spot. Little does she know that my only aim is to get us to our bench(just in view from friends and fam)
As we're walking...I see Bev, one of our photographers, but she's dressed like a jogger and immediately starts to jog away. I forgot to let them know what area we were coming from. But on we walk... Noticed a tightrope walker practicing her craft between two trees, and a student photographer a little ways up ahead. The tightrope walker was completely random, but the student photog was not; that was Ja of Ja Tecson Photography. So notice did she not that he was hanging around and just looking at trees and stuff. We continue to walk and find our bench.
We sit on the bench(backs to our audience) and just start having a little chat. In my head, I have all these things I want to say; but they are disappearing by the second, and I begin to hyper-ventilate a bit. FYI - There is no amount of practice that can prepare you for this type of a moment; you can say it a thousand times in your head, but once everything is happening, it's gone in a flash. I've spoken in front of dozens of crowds w/o hesitation, and in this one-on-one setting, I was about to lose all bodily function. As if on cue, she puts her arm around me and asks me if I'm okay. I just tell her I'm a little tired, and we continue to talk. She actually steers the convo in the right direction by mentioning that this was the place where I first said those three little but incredibly powerful words, "I love you." And that's where it all happened...I acted. I can't really remember word for word what I said, because my head was completely swimming at that point and my nerves were running sky high; but I eventually got down on one knee and asked her to marry me... she jumped up and hugged me tighter than she's ever hugged me and the following shot was taken:
she said YES!!! And that's when everyone started screaming and cheering. She was so completely overwhelmed and was taken aback, asking "WHO IS THAT?!?!?" She thought it was just some students who had seen what was going on. In her excitement(and as you can see from the picture, she didn't even put the ring ON yet.) So I put it on her finger, and asked officially again, to which she said YES. (Again, the details are a little fuzzy here) We walk up to where I had our people stationed and they all met us with smiles and hugs and congratulations.
Everyone thought that Christine would lose control of her emotions when it all happend ...but it wasn't until the car ride home when it all hit her...and she began to cry tears of joy.
All in all, I was able to do what I accomplished; ask the love of my life to spend the rest of HER life with me, and have our loved ones there to witness it and be a part of it all.
So there you have it...
eeeeeend scene =)
posted by lil jay at
5:36 PM
|
10 comments
