Good Things CAN Happen at 6AM

This weekend, last year, I proposed to Liz.  Spoilers: she said yes.

But before that, we asked Liz's Parents for their blessing.  This was... stressful, to say the least.  Liz and I waited in the kitchen for the Blackhawks game to end, desperately hoping for them to win so that everyone would be in a good mood.  The game went into double overtime, and even went into stick-offs!  (Liz later informed me that that portion of the game is called a 'Shoot-out').  Spoilers: Liz's parents approved, even though the Blackhawks lost.

But the story begins somewhat earlier than this.  Back in the spring of 2013 Liz and I were considering the future.  She was graduating at the end of the year, and I was graduating a few months after that.  We were both looking for jobs and had to decide where we were looking.  At this point neither of us had anything nailed down but we decided that we wanted to end up in the same place.  Spoilers: ending up the same place totally happened.

But the story continues somewhat later than that: Late November, 2013.  This is when I told Liz about my intention to propose in May, after I graduated.  This, as you might imagine, also went well, although she had one requirement: it had to be a surprise.  I managed to surprise her by propose three months earlier than I said I would.  And at 6AM.  Spoilers: she was surprised.

THE PLAN:

I left a trail of Hershey Kisses from Liz's bedroom door to the basement where I set up some candles, some romantic music, and a scrapbook filled with relationship memories.  I would hide, and Liz would follow the trail Hershey Kisses to the scrapbook, which she would read, swoon, and I would come out of hiding and propose.

WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED:

Liz stepped on a Hershey Kiss, then got confused and started looking for me instead of following the trail.  So we ended up looking through the scrapbook together.  I proposed, she said yes, happy ending.

Should you have the opportunity to propose, I highly recommend 6AM, because at this point you would normally have to call all of the relatives to inform them of the happy news.  BUT IT'S 6AM!  You can't call anyone at 6AM.  So we had a good couple of hours that we could enjoy in our happy bubble before we had to share our fantastic news with the world.

Proposing: Worth getting up at 6AM for.
Liz: Worth getting up at 6AM for.

A Tale of Two Engies (or, "Why a Double-Engineer Relationship is the Bee's Knees")

*12 weeks until the wedding*

http://www.smbc-comics.com/?id=2482#comic (Relevant Material)

At first I was hesitant about a double engineer relationship.  I thought that it wouldn't work, that there would be too much engineer in the relationship.  Would we be too logical?  Would the relationship be devoid of passion?  Would we compete too much?

Turns out those fears were unfounded.

TURNS OUT DOUBLE-ENGINEER RELATIONSHIP IS AWESOME!

To be fair, there are some things working for us.  Liz and I are different flavors of engineer, so we're never directly competing.  Also, we're both pretty chill, and, although not all engineer stereotypes are accurate, neither of us is particularly fond of “goin’ out and hittin’ up da clubs,” so there's no introvert/extrovert stressor there.

But a double-engineer relationship is not merely tolerable.

It’s the best.

These are some things that have happened in the life and times of Liz and Gavin in the past year:

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“Man, none of these budget softwares do what we want.”
“No worries, WE'LL MAKE OUR OWN!”

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When we were forced to leave Six Flags because of a power outage, we weren't so much mad about the having to leave as we were about the lack of safety and emergency preparedness on the part of the park.  We then spent the ride home figuring out the least expensive and easiest ways to drastically improve both.  (It involves giving all of the summer job teens there cheap flashlights and reflective vests to put in their fanny packs.)

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“Working out is boring”

“... What if we put it into spreadsheets?”
“With graphs!”

http://youtu.be/BSUMBBFjxrY

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“ASSEMBLING FURNITURE IS THE MOST FUN THING EVER”

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*T-Minus 13 months until the Wedding* "Man, we should start planning this wedding."

*T-Minus 10 months until the Wedding* "This wedding is 90% planned and 10% under budget." *High-five!*

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And I'm sure will will be many moments of choice engineer-ish-ness in the future.

So if you're an engineer, don't count out another engineer to be your life partner.  And if you're not an engineer, well, I'm sure single-engineer relationships are fine too. And even if neither of you are engineers, look deep inside and I think you'll find a little engineer in you that you might not have known you had. Embrace that little engineer, and the let the engineering flow through you.

You too can make your own budget software.
You too can make workout graphs.
You too can find joy in assembling furniture.

Now, if you'll excuse us, we have to give this student loan an Eiffel Tower.  

Introduction

My name is Gavin.

I am getting married soon.

I have some things to say before that happens.

Enjoy.