But first, here's a bit of intro about ourselves: Danielle hails from Long Island and Eric from outside of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. They met eight years ago in, of all places, St. Andrews, Scotland, where they were both studying abroad. There they were brought together by their mutual friend Monica, another American student. Together, Danielle, Monica, Eric, and their friend Emilia formed the GAWK--the Great American Wok Club. To make up for the fact that the university dining halls closed on the weekends, the members of the Great American Wok Club met every Sunday night in one of the dormitories at St. Andrews. With four bowls, four sets chopsticks, and two woks, they made everything from stir-fries to Indian curries and pancakes. And thus formed their friendship.
Eric, Danielle, and Monica in St. Andrews. Note how the date on the left side of the folder is 16 years too early! The month and day are probably correct.
Eric, Emilia, and Monica at a meeting of the GWOK. We were eating Indian food that night in Danielle's room. You can see her leg in the bottom of the screen as she took the picture from her little sailor bed!
Monica, Danielle, and Eric at the St. Andrew international student ball. The gals shared red lipstick that night (if D remembers rightly!)But not their romance. Though they laugh about it now, neither Danielle nor Eric paid much attention to the other at the time. Danielle thought, "Nice guy, but he's awfully quiet," and Eric thought, "Seems like a nice girl, but she's very loud." And perhaps their relative loudness and quietness would have found other partners, had not Monica brought them together a second time (dum dum dum).....
Seven years later, Monica and her fiance Rob invited Danielle and Eric to their wedding. Due to a series of poorly thrown weddings (and the fact that she never really enjoyed weddings to begin with), Danielle had developed an elaborate set of Wedding Rules which she invoked whenever anyone in her life announced their nuptials:
Danielle's Wedding Rules
1. I will not travel more than 100 miles for a wedding
2. I will not buy a new dress for a wedding
3. I will spend no more than 100 dollars a night on a hotel room for a wedding
4. I will retain the right to request seating at a different table if any of the following criteria come to pass:
A. I am the only female at a table filled with obnoxiously happy couples and one single, awkward man
B. A majority of people I know are seated at another table
5. I will only attend a wedding if invited with a date, excepting those instances in which five or more of my friends are also invited (what's worse than being 'that person' standing at the bar with no one to talk to?)
6. I will not attend pre-wedding dinners or post-wedding breakfast, as everyone looks better at the wedding reception, says everything worth saying at the wedding reception, and isn't hung over at the wedding reception
7. All wedding rules are rendered null and void when I am a member of the wedding party, excepting the rule #5.
And so, when Monica's wedding arrived, Danielle, being single at the time, called to announce that unless she found her a date, wedding rule #5 would kick in and she would have no soloist for her ceremony. "But of course!" Monica said without hesitation. "You can go with Eric. He's coming by himself too!"
So Danielle and Eric's paths crossed again, this time not on the wintry plains of Scotland but at a bonfire in Maryland. Both were surprised to find that the other had grown respectively quieter and louder, and, perhaps more importantly, had a passion for Buffy the Vampire Slayer. As the evening was drawing to a close, Danielle said, "You know, I'd really like to go to Iceland for New Years," and Eric said, "Hey, I'll come with you." Danielle thought that would be nice, so she agreed. And therein began an adventurous romance that would take them from St. Andrews to Maryland, Rejkyavik, Boston, Milwaukee, New York, Chicago, Cedar Rapids, New Haven, and beyond.
And that was just in the first year....
Danielle and Eric living it up in a game of Potato Butt at Monica's wedding.
First: I still own all of the clothes that I was wearing in those Scotland pictures. That's a problem, right?
ReplyDeleteSecond: I'm glad you reminded me that we decided to experiment with the red lipstick that night, as I was wondering why I looked like a hooker in that photo.
Third: Yayyy!