A Rediculous Proposal, pt. 2
When last we saw our heroes, I had given up the idea of proposing to Girlfriend on our two-and-a-half year anniversary, not for the sensible reason that we really should be past counting 6-month anniversaries, nor for the more sensible reason that it would be about almost a year before we could reasonably expect to wed, but it was instead due to my almost clincal obsession with doing things unexpected. I had been thwarted by Girlfriend's being suddenly stricken with the "observant" virus (quite possibly for the first time in here life), as well as JS's insistence that if I did show up on Tuesday, I would be proving that all boys are liars. So it is Monday night, JS and Girlfriend are at Wal-Mart, and I'm an hour away at work with 500 yards of red ribbon and a shiny thing in my pocket.
So at this point in my illustrious post-collegiate career, I was working in Technical Support. Yes, I am the guy that asks you if your computer is plugged into the wall because it won't turn on. No, it's not because you're an idiot (although there's a 75% chance you are), and it's not because I want to make you feel like an idiot because I know more about your computer than you do about your children (as demonstrated by your confusion over why you are suddenly getting pop-up ads for pornographic websites when nobody but Timmy has been on your machine). It is instead because the LAST person I talked to today, I spent 15 minutes with trying to figure out her problem before finding out that she didn't see the need to plug in a phone line if she wanted to connect to the internet.
Anyways, this was the wonderful, exciting, effervescent day I was having when I was told all boys were liars and my fiancee actually expected (*gasp & shudder*) me to do something the next night. It was about 8:00 pm on Monday night, and the only other person working at that hour is our Spanish interpreter and Technical Support agent. He had seen the CADD sketches & printouts I had gotten from the jeweler, but not the actual ring. I showed very few people, actually... got into a couple of fights with my parents over it. See, the way I see it is, even though I hadn't given it to her yet, that ring was Girlfriend's. It was hers to have, and it was hers to show off. Now I did show my parents, and I showed my boss at work, who had given me a lot of time off and some relationship advice, and who I really respected and was quite grateful for.
My parents however, considered the fact that their one and only son actually found a woman that could be reasonable expected to say "yes" when asked if she would spend the rest of her life with me, that fact was looked on as little less than a miracle of sweet Jesus. And that ring was something of a Holy Grail, vindicating them to all those individuals who were doubtful of their ability to raise productive (in any & every sense of the word) offspring. No less notable was the fact that their son also designed the ring, and paid for the entire thing himself before giving it to her. And so, they were quite frustrated at the fact that there were not streamers and confetti and 76 trombones in celebration, not to mention the fact that I was not in a hurry to show all of their friends her ring.
So, while Interpreter had seen the drawings and new I was planning "something," he had no idea what. However, he heard in my cubicle getting more and more frustrated throughout the day, and it didn't involved people who had "deleted their spacebar" (actual quote) or whose computers were being "hacked by the CIA" (other actual quote), and he asked what was up. I sheppishly explained my predicament of not being able to propose when I wanted to (the next night), and asked if he minded if I left early. He looked at the clock, shrugged, and said "Sure."
Elation.
And so me, the ring, and 500 yards of red ribbon hopped in my car, and drove to Fayetteville.
...to be continued..
So at this point in my illustrious post-collegiate career, I was working in Technical Support. Yes, I am the guy that asks you if your computer is plugged into the wall because it won't turn on. No, it's not because you're an idiot (although there's a 75% chance you are), and it's not because I want to make you feel like an idiot because I know more about your computer than you do about your children (as demonstrated by your confusion over why you are suddenly getting pop-up ads for pornographic websites when nobody but Timmy has been on your machine). It is instead because the LAST person I talked to today, I spent 15 minutes with trying to figure out her problem before finding out that she didn't see the need to plug in a phone line if she wanted to connect to the internet.
Anyways, this was the wonderful, exciting, effervescent day I was having when I was told all boys were liars and my fiancee actually expected (*gasp & shudder*) me to do something the next night. It was about 8:00 pm on Monday night, and the only other person working at that hour is our Spanish interpreter and Technical Support agent. He had seen the CADD sketches & printouts I had gotten from the jeweler, but not the actual ring. I showed very few people, actually... got into a couple of fights with my parents over it. See, the way I see it is, even though I hadn't given it to her yet, that ring was Girlfriend's. It was hers to have, and it was hers to show off. Now I did show my parents, and I showed my boss at work, who had given me a lot of time off and some relationship advice, and who I really respected and was quite grateful for.
My parents however, considered the fact that their one and only son actually found a woman that could be reasonable expected to say "yes" when asked if she would spend the rest of her life with me, that fact was looked on as little less than a miracle of sweet Jesus. And that ring was something of a Holy Grail, vindicating them to all those individuals who were doubtful of their ability to raise productive (in any & every sense of the word) offspring. No less notable was the fact that their son also designed the ring, and paid for the entire thing himself before giving it to her. And so, they were quite frustrated at the fact that there were not streamers and confetti and 76 trombones in celebration, not to mention the fact that I was not in a hurry to show all of their friends her ring.
So, while Interpreter had seen the drawings and new I was planning "something," he had no idea what. However, he heard in my cubicle getting more and more frustrated throughout the day, and it didn't involved people who had "deleted their spacebar" (actual quote) or whose computers were being "hacked by the CIA" (other actual quote), and he asked what was up. I sheppishly explained my predicament of not being able to propose when I wanted to (the next night), and asked if he minded if I left early. He looked at the clock, shrugged, and said "Sure."
Elation.
And so me, the ring, and 500 yards of red ribbon hopped in my car, and drove to Fayetteville.
...to be continued..