Father, Help Your Daughter!

Phew. Finally getting a few minutes to update my blog. LOTS o' news folks. First of all...the best news! On Monday, April 5th, my girlfriend shocked me (in a really good way) by asking me to marry her! Wow! I know we had talked many times about our future together and even about having a ceremony someday, but I had NO idea what she had up her sleeve. (-: Evidently, she had planned to ask me while we were away in London or in New York, but due to a strange comedy of errors, every time she had it planned something happened to mess things up. The last night we were in New York we went to the top of the Empire State Building and she was going to ask me there, but I think I messed that one up myself )-: ....we had waited in line for two hours and I was tired, my feet hurt, and I wanted to leave before she got the chance (sorry, sweetheart...I had no idea)...sooooo....April 5th was the one year anniversary from our first date and we were supposed to go out to this fancy restaurant, but me being the dork that I am...had to go and get a nasty cold. I was all gross and stuffy, but Christie came over and we were just hanging out on the couch....all of a sudden she sat up on the edge of the couch and had this really weird (I now know she was just nervous) (-: look on her face. Of course, me being the person I am, I had to keep asking her what was wrong and why did she get up and blah blah I talk too much blah...When she looked at me (I'll never forget the sweet look on her face) and said "Rach, I actually wanted to ask you to marry me." Then she gave me a ring. *big huge smile* Speechless and instantly cured from feeling shitty, it took me a few seconds to get past the shock, give her a giant hug and say yes about a thousand times. (-: She proceeded to tell me about how she had carried the ring around the WHOLE time we were away and how her big plan had been messed up....but....ya know....I don't even care...just the way she was looking at me when she asked me was so romantic that it made absolutely NO difference "where" we were. I LOVE the ring she got all by herself...it fit perfectly, and it's very "me"...something I would have chosen myself. It's a platinum band with a diamond in a suspended setting where the band meets at the top. Very cool.

You know, it's very strange. It's funny how love works...it just keeps growing and there's kind of this unlimited supply...you think you love someone the most that you possible can and then you find out that you love them even more. We were committed and connected and we loved each other a LOT before this, but it's amazing how much MORE in love and committed and connected we feel now. It's added a new dimension of permanence to our relationship in such an awesome way. It's funny because I don't think I EVER really spent time thinking about any kind of "wedding" stuff in the context of planning my own. I didn't know I'd ever even WANT that, but now...I'm SO excited about it. I can't wait to make a commitment to her in front of the people that love and support us. No matter what our country says, this marriage will be the real deal for us. I keep thinking about what it will be like, and I just can't wait. I love Christie so much and I'm absolutely sure that she's the only person for me. It's almost strange for someone that can be as indecisive as I can to be SO SURE about something, but I really am. I'm so honored that someone like her would pick me to love. I haven't ever experienced this feeling before, I don't think--of being totally and unconditionally loved back just as much as I love her. I honestly didn't know that it could be as good as it is. I'm still kind of stunned that the "storybook romance" thing actually happened to me. Half the time, I don't feel like I deserve it. I'm so incredibly lucky! I never want to take this for granted. I am totally and completely twitterpated! (-:

The only thing that could make us more happy is if everyone took this as seriously as we do. We have some awesome supportive friends--both gay and straight--who ARE happy for and supportive of us, so it has been really fun to share our happiness with them. It's very strange though--kind of brings this whole gay-marriage debate to a very personal place since it's so very few of my friends or family that I had before we became a couple--not to be able to share this with our families, put it in the paper, show off the ring to everyone, be disgustingly sappy in public (-: etc....Especially the people I've told at work....I just get this polite smile....as if they think I'm a little kid playing "pretend" or something. They have no clue. One told me I was a "funny girl"...one said "what are the rules on that in Pennsylvania"....one said "it's a funny world we live in"....and none have brought it up to me ONCE since I told them or even cared to see the ring or anything. Thank GOD Andrea came by the other day...she's been off of work for a few months now having a really rough time with her pregnancy, but it was so cool to be able to tell someone who was genuinely as happy as I am. She's doing much better and is supposed to come back to work on Tuesday. Yay!

Anyway....The little London/New York vacation was great! It started off a little shaky, but...it turned out to be a fun fun time. Some of the highlights: Well, the beginning of the trip started off smoothly....took the train to New York, got to the airport and to London without a hitch, but then we hit baggage claim...ugggh! Somebody--some ABSOLUTE MORON--we came to find out, took my suitcase instead of theirs. I feel the need to mention that IT WAS A DIFFERENT COLOR! So the first few days were a bit rocky...ended up having to find a mall and buy a bunch of stuff since I had no guarantee I'd get my stuff back at all and I had no clothes or toiletries. The airport had the guy's suitcase that he left there, but no way of contacting him, so needless to say I was ECSTATIC when I found out that he had contacted them and I got my stuff back. After 3 and a half days without anything, I almost didn't care that both of our perfumes were missing....very weird that perfume would be the only thing missing from the suitcase, but....we got everything else. Anyway.....We saw lots of sights in London, hit a few really cool museums, went to Leeds Castle and Oxford, stopped by some "gay London" spots, and ate Cadbury McFlurrys every night. Yum. (The McDonalds' there makes McFlurrys with Cadbury eggs). One of the funniest times (in hindsight) was the night we decided to hit this girl bar called "Candy Bar". They actually don't allow boys in unless they are guests of a dyke. lol Anyway...we sat at the bar, tried to look cool, and ordered a "pint" each of this god-awful bitter beer...we were only a few sips into it when Smouse accidentally spilled the WHOLE glass all over the front of herself and on two people's coats that were hanging under the bar right by us. There was seriously a lake on the floor too. Rather than get our asses kicked by a British dyke, we decided it would be good to make a quick exit. (-: Oy vey. It wasn't so funny walking home dripping beer, but it's hilarious now....then I proceeded to spill an entire Coke in my lap on the plane ride home, so we're even at least. (-:

New York was fun too. I'm shocked that we were able to fit as much as we did into that day and a half. We went to Times Square, Rockefeller Center, the Empire State Building, Greenwich Village, and took a boat tour around the island of Manhattan and saw the Statue of Liberty and tons of other sites. We also went to the World Trade Center site. That, I must say, was very moving...basically...it just makes you feel very very quiet and pensive. It's so HUGE. Then in the one corner there is just this battered stairway that goes up to nothing. They plan to start rebuilding this summer, so I'm glad that I got to see it the way it is now. It was very thought-provoking to be standing in the place where so many people died. It was really hard to imagine how horrible it must have been that day.

Well, I have more to write, but too much work piling up to ignore it any longer. Thankfully, with tomorrow being Good Friday, I'm OFF! Woohoo!