How we met...
Our relationship started on an argument in November of 1999. We met in an AOL Chatroom that he was moderating at the time. We were one of the more "rowdier" rooms on the service, so we were sent a "Sherriff" to police the room. My argument was that we were old enough to be in there, and we paid a monthly fee to be in a room that for the most part we knew the ages of the fellow members (we met weekly in person), so we have a basic right to speak as we'd like to. His argument was that even though you paid to be in the room, you did agree to follow the rules of the room; otherwise you wouldn't be let on at all.
Doug was still doing his shift during our initial argument and privately told me, "I still have 10 minutes left on this shift and about 20 minutes of paperwork to do. After I do this paperwork, I'll switch over to my play name, and we can discuss this all you want." Doug switched over at 12:20 Eastern Time, and boy, did we discuss this issue.
We agreed to disagree, politely, which was strange. Firstly, anyone who knew me back then, knew that if I believed a point, I would argue it to the ground, and I fought dirty. Although we fought for hours on the points of free speech, we still agreed, amicably, that we didn't feel the same way on the issue. (Of course, I looked up the rules, and I was wrong, as far as AOL's rules were concerned.)
By the time we were done talking (we had already agreed to disagree about a half hour into this conversation), it was already 1 AM where I was, and I had to be up at 5 AM to go to work. Talk about talking 'til the sun comes up!
Over time, we traded pictures, and stories about each other. I found out that Doug and I lived in the Seattle area at the same time - I arrived in 1995, he left in 1999, - and that he lived in MA, and I remained in WA. We learned a lot about each other, our families, friends, and what we wanted to accomplish. He encouraged me to go into Massage school, and to finish the course by coming over during my breaks, and learning in two weeks what I learned in 10. When I graduated in 2001, he was at the ceremony, and threw a party for my family, my friends and myself.
My daughter and I moved to Massachusetts soon after I graduated, and tried to get my business off the ground. While on Christmas vacation in Atlanta, in 2003, he proposed, totally to my surprise, but with the blessings of my family, I accepted. For a couple months, we mulled over whether or not we'd have a wedding website. Since most of our friends thought we were already married. Once I announced our engagement, the usual response was, "It's about damn time!" and the idea stuck.
So, here we are with months to go until April 1, 2006. Many people want to know why we picked that date. We tell them that we want to remind our guests that we like to have fun: This won't be your average reception. It also sets the tone for the kind of party (not reception) that we intend to have.
Doug was still doing his shift during our initial argument and privately told me, "I still have 10 minutes left on this shift and about 20 minutes of paperwork to do. After I do this paperwork, I'll switch over to my play name, and we can discuss this all you want." Doug switched over at 12:20 Eastern Time, and boy, did we discuss this issue.
We agreed to disagree, politely, which was strange. Firstly, anyone who knew me back then, knew that if I believed a point, I would argue it to the ground, and I fought dirty. Although we fought for hours on the points of free speech, we still agreed, amicably, that we didn't feel the same way on the issue. (Of course, I looked up the rules, and I was wrong, as far as AOL's rules were concerned.)
By the time we were done talking (we had already agreed to disagree about a half hour into this conversation), it was already 1 AM where I was, and I had to be up at 5 AM to go to work. Talk about talking 'til the sun comes up!
Over time, we traded pictures, and stories about each other. I found out that Doug and I lived in the Seattle area at the same time - I arrived in 1995, he left in 1999, - and that he lived in MA, and I remained in WA. We learned a lot about each other, our families, friends, and what we wanted to accomplish. He encouraged me to go into Massage school, and to finish the course by coming over during my breaks, and learning in two weeks what I learned in 10. When I graduated in 2001, he was at the ceremony, and threw a party for my family, my friends and myself.
My daughter and I moved to Massachusetts soon after I graduated, and tried to get my business off the ground. While on Christmas vacation in Atlanta, in 2003, he proposed, totally to my surprise, but with the blessings of my family, I accepted. For a couple months, we mulled over whether or not we'd have a wedding website. Since most of our friends thought we were already married. Once I announced our engagement, the usual response was, "It's about damn time!" and the idea stuck.
So, here we are with months to go until April 1, 2006. Many people want to know why we picked that date. We tell them that we want to remind our guests that we like to have fun: This won't be your average reception. It also sets the tone for the kind of party (not reception) that we intend to have.
