On the morning of June 15th, 2007, I woke up in the king-size bed at the Four Seasons hotel. I was reluctant to leave the plush down pillows and silky soft comforter. But my the alarm on my cell phone was adamant, so I dragged my arse off the bed to push apart the curtains. I was greeted by the city of Chicago. I opened the front door to find my copy of the Wall Street Journal and my shoes nicely polished, compliments of the hotel. I could really get used to this. It's too bad because I have only one more hour to enjoy this luxury before I head into work at the Chicago branch for a few hours and back to SF I go. I'll be just in time to meet Ed after work to watch "Knocked Up."
I had breakfast at the hotel and visited the office for a few hours. The weather in Chicago was in the high 80s. My colleague and I finished early and we walked around Michigan Ave for a little under 2 hours before we headed to the airport. By the time we were on our way, it was a muggy 90 degrees.
On the flight back, I caught "Music and Lyrics" and was little disappointed because I expected a little more at the ending. The rest of the flight was a battle between finishing Freakonomics and dozing off with my mouth open. The dozing apparently took over because I'm still halfway through the book. I was also thinking that five years ago on this day, June 15th, I graduated from college. I can't believe five years zipped by so quickly. Time zips by so quickly. Heck, I haven't updated so long I didn't realize we don't need html to upload pics on our journal anymore. I'm so busy with my life, I am updating on my lunch right now but I should be doing something else. We need more hours in a day.
The plane touched the grounds of SFO on time at 7:30pm. I texted Ed so he can prepare to pick me up. Cars are not allowed to stop at the passenger pick-up zones outside of baggage claim so I was prepared to dash out the door as soon the plane freed me. On my way down to baggage claim, I waved good-bye to my colleague. I was surprised to see Ed waiting on the side with a beautiful bouquet of long-stem red roses. He held up a sign "Feefers," indicating his nickname for me. Very funny. I introduced my colleague to Ed and she appeared a little uncomfortable seeing the bouquet and realizing that Ed expected me to be alone. I felt a little uncomforable seeing her discomfort and Ed looked sheepish.
So off to the car we went. I was really looking forward to see "Knocked Up" because of the good reviews I've heard about the movie. But Ed said he wasn't able to get tickets. I suggested we could get watch it in the city instead of San Mateo but he had made reservations at Viognier. Having had western food the past two days during the business trip, I was ready for something less rich and something eastern, like Japanese food. After driving around for a little trying to figure where we wanted to have dinner, we ended up at a little rinky-dink japanese restaurant in San Mateo.
During dinner, I wanted to give my girlfriend S a call to see how she was doing. Ed asked me to call her later but I was afraid it would be too late to call her after dinner. I flipped open my phone to learn that it was off. I could've sworn I still had batteries but I was able to call, so I yapped away for about 15 minutes.
After dinner, Ed suggested we head home. But it was a Friday night and I suggested we should go catch the movie in the city or see what my brother was up to. Ed insisted on heading home. Since Ed had to work the next day, I agreed. On our way home, he told me he was putting together some furniture in the living room. I asked where he was going to put this new piece of furniture in our small home that we are beginning to outgrow. But he insisted on surprising me and that he had to blindfold me so I wouldn't see until it was complete. On our way into the condo, our neighbors were coming home and so he stalled entering our place by going around the corner in the hallway until our neighbors went inside. Then he proceeded to blindfold me - which was throwing his large jacket over my head, cinching the jacket around my neck so I couldn't peek, and shoving me into the bedroom.
He told me to take a shower while he finished, so I did. When I got out of the shower, I found a box in the bathroom with a note. Cutting out the mushy stuff, it pretty much said he knew I've been tired and stressed out from work and that I deserved a massage treatment. The box contained a robe and I was instructed to put it on.
I walked into the bedroom and saw the sign that he had made and put on our bedroom door. It was the name of "our spa" where I was about to experience my spa treatment. I opened the door to find the hallway lined with rocks and candles that trailed out to what was our dining room. It was no longer a dining room. He had transformed our dining room into a spa. Where the dining table use to be now had a the mattress of our day bed in its place. Surrounding the dining room were rocks and candles everywhere, on the floor, by the daybed, on the counter. What use to be the entry way to the kitchen was covered by deep red curtains. The open kitchen was closed off and the opening was inundated with more rocks and candles. In the meantime, spa music was playing in the background. A plush terry cloth towel was on top of the daybed, waiting for me to slip under so I could receive my massage.
When I first saw the candles, I thought Ed had made a beautiful transformation. But being the big klutz that I am (on average I bump into things and hurt myself at least once a day), I was afraid I would knock over the candles by the daybed and set the carpet on fire and our house in flames. Likewise, I was afraid the tail of my robe would catch the flame of a candle and set my robe in flames. The fact of the matter is, I'm clumsy. So I asked to blow out the candles right next to me. Luckily Ed and is so easy-going, he easily obliged. :)
Ed actually took a massage class back in college so I got to experience the fruits of his labor. After the full body massage, he sat me down on the sofa and started to talk. At the moment, I was beginning to wonder...then he got down on one knee and asked if I would marry him. In his hands, he produced a shiny diamond ring.
He slipped the ring in my finger and happily exclaimed, "Yes, it fits!" I had no idea what my ring size was but apparently, a few years ago, we were at Tiffany's and the gentleman working there gave me my ring size on a little piece of paper. He had kept that little piece of paper all this time. He asked why I hesitated a little before I said yes. I told him that I was surprised he was proposing to me in our living room.
My June 15th was a long day, as long as this entry, but very happy and eventful.
We're officially engaged!
So what I was supposed to do on my lunch was call Ed to discuss wedding details. My mom has been calling me all morning about things to do. Back to the daily grind and eating my lunch. Pictures to follow.
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grateful
happy
cheerful
sleepy
anxious
hungry
hurried
