So the old timer Chiffers know that I used to be a regular here. Then in 2007 a bit of health issue shifted my focus - resolved now mostly. Now I'm back a few times a week - but mostly lurking.
I don't take myself as serious as I used to, and there's great many people here with far more experience to offer good advice than I. So I slip in and listen to the virtual conversation a bit, see a lot of the same questions answered again. Sometimes I chime in, but mostly I'm quiet in the "company" of virtual friends - old and new.
I recently have been to a couple sessions and learned how much I really need to learn to participate. It's exciting and daunting both - but I've many years to learn, though short time for practice. I met a few Chiffers in person at session - who are just as quirky, interesting, and kind in person as they are here. Last time my girlfriend, she's a Chinese Texan and her name is Hsihou, went with me - and met some Chiffers.
Now Hsihou is very interested in the Concertina. She's a gadget girl. And she is going by an Irish Dance Studio in Phoenix (where she lives now) to see if she may join.
Anyway, for all my friends in this community - I wanted to share good news. Two years ago, it's something I believed would never happen. On October 8th I asked my girlfriend is she would be my wife - she said yes.
Here's a few photos of us, and for those interested (usually the ladies) the "details" follow.
On a day trip to Mexico to celebrate the Engagement
First date, Aquarium of The Pacific in Long Beach CA
Disneyland at night
Train from LA on a cold day
Southern Faire
Restaurant in Taiwan
Alishan Mountain Taiwan
Still Taiwan
Tecate Mexico, Hsihou and I in front, my son and his girlfriend behind.
And the details about "the question", mostly for the ladies who always ask...
So this isn't going to be very impressive or romantic. But it is going to be real - which is pretty much typical for Hsihou and me. Some of the things I like best about her is that she is simple, honest, and real. For example - the first gift I gave her was a donation of a goat in her name through Heifer International. She said it was the best gift she ever received, and she cried - that's my kind of girl.
So I put thought into it. You may not believe it when I tell you where I asked, but I thought about it. I thought maybe a little trip somewhere, but she already had flown out here. I thought maybe at the same place we first kissed, but the parking lot of Shin Sen Gumi Restaurant didn't seem right. I considered a couple other places - but they all seemed like a setup. So I decided to ask her when she was in the place she has told me is her favorite place in the world.
So the day was tough for me at work. It was also tough personally because my Step Mother was being released from the hospital. I tried to coordinate everything so someone would meet her at home, and that was messed up. Hsihou was picking me up from work, and she ran into traffic. We had to hurry over to my step mother's and meet her wheelchair ramped taxi. Then I had to wash 2 week old dishes, clean a kitchen, and mop a floor that had been peed all over.
Hsihou and I wenr shopping for my step mother. We had not had time for dinner, so we were starving. We barely made it to a sandwich shop before it closed, then ate in my car. Hsihou was patient and supportive through everything. Finally we got home and relaxed a little.
I helped David with some stuff, and snuck the ring into a clothing drawer so it wouldn't be in the big box. Hsihou showered, and when I was done she was warming up in my bed. That is her favorite place, she's always sneaking back to my bed to wrap up and take a cat nap. I snuck the ring out and knelt beside the bed.
I told her I wanted to give her something, and thought about the best place to do it. She grinned and scootched over to be next to me. She's pretty clever, and already guessed what was on my mind and in my hand.
I told her, that day was a perfect example of why I picked this place. Work was challenging, family issues were challenging, the day was hard - but at the end of the day we had a place to warm up, snuggle, and smile. I said it would make me very happy to know that - no matter what challenges she or I had during the day - we would always be together to snuggle and smile at the end of every day. Then I asked if she would marry me.
She said "yes of course." She held out her hand so I could put on the engagement ring, and I dropped it. We both cracked up.
So that was it. I asked her at the end of the day when she was cozy and sleepy in bed. I told you - not very impressive. But it's a place we will visit every day for the rest of our lives.
