Between then and the engagement, we shared a lot of memories together - from Sam introducing Torito, to introducing me  to one of her best friend couples Emily and Tim, where I got seriously interrogated over board games in a week of dating,  and her artistic hobbies of pottery and rollerblading.  

In exchange, I invited Sam to a couple of my popups, and introduced her to the food scene in Austin - most notably Uchiko where she had her first fried milk experience, still on video where I literally did her dirty by not providing instructions on how to correctly eat it.

We got to celebrate a lot of milestones including meeting each other’s families, celebrating Sam’s brother’s graduation in Berkeley, and being there with her family when Sam had her brain tumor removed.  As Suzanne, Sam’s mom states, that if we get through her brain surgery, we can get through anything.

We consistently joke a lot on how we are the same person.  To some degree, it’s true:  We both have an artistic side in which we both express it differently but our core values of empathy, compassion, care and dorky senses of humor are the foundations of our relationship that keep us strong to this day, and beyond.

Exploring The Wild

I personally love it when the universe throws signs.  The first one was Sam planning a cruise on Thanksgiving.   The second sign was my mom giving me my grandmother’s ring.   I took it as a sign to propose.   During Scarlet Night at a Virgin Voyages Cruise (shameless plug,) I proposed in front of a photobooth to genuinely catch her surprise.