The Marvelous Patric - I should probably mention this

dear blog,

I got engaged this week.  On tuesday, June 16, 2009, I proposed to Tiffany Alison Asher.  This is what happened....

I had been planning this since April.  I bought her an antique ring because I didn't like anything the jewelers were pushing on me.  I had the ring since the end of April.  Phase II was asking for her parents' blessing.  This was tricky in that my main opportunity was Memorial Day Weekend when we went to The Lake with them.  I finally found about 2 minutes where her parents were together and Tiffany was away with her little boy.  The blessing secured, I now moved on to Phase III.  
In Phase III, I had the ring, now I needed a special way to ask.  Tiffany loves her baritone.  This is the horn she played in highschool when we met.  This is the horn she plays and loves.  But, the case she had sucked.  It was a case mostly in the academic sense in that it was made of some sort of material and did technically enclose the horn after many ... modifications... made over the years.  So, I decided that I would propose on her birthday and buy her a new case for her beloved horn, putting the ring inside said case.  Finding a horn case was tricky in that I did not know the make and model of her horn.  Even after inspecting the horn, I still didn't know.  I still don't know it now.  But, I found a generic case and purchased it.  

In Phase IV, I planned the actual proposal.  My plan was for her to meet me by the bandshell in Barden Park.  We play next to said historic band shell during our weekly concert series in the summer.  It's a band geek thing.

As I attempt to execute Phase V, the actual proposal, it rains.  Now let me explain why this is so Patric.  It hasn't rained any amount worth mentioning here for months.  Most "rain" we've had could just as easily have been a flock of birds flying overhead relieving themselves.  But no, on June 16th, it rained.  It poured.  Constantly.  And then, Tiffany calls and tells me she has to pick up her offspring and then drop him off at his dad's.  So, now I'm hoping we can wait out the rain a bit and I tell her I'll meet her in a PARKING LOT over by the now abandoned Circuit City building.  We meet and it is raining harder.
I have this huge box in my car, which is the case all wrapped up.  But I have no idea where to now do this big event.  So, Tiffany says she likes the rain so we go to a nearby park.  
We go to a picnic table under some trees as it rains.  She opens the wrapped gift and is all excited about the case.  She throws the plastic wrapping on the ground by me and opens the case. I go down on one knee (the knee is on the plastic instead of the mud) and point to the ring she hasn't noticed, as she was excited about the screws and washers to adjust the padding. I grab the ring and say... "Tiffany, will you..." and never get to finish because she says "OF COURSE!" and jumps on to me.

So were are now engaged. No idea when we'll actually get married. It all depends on how fast her annulment goes through. But, after 15 years of this whole "will they, won't they" crap, we now know. We will.

Current Location: the office
Current Mood: optimistic
Current Music: dynomite - ima robot