OK. Where are you jags?

Mike! How did it GO?!

-- Anonymous, March 25, 2002

Answers

Yeah, Mike, spill!

I had a great time in ATL, despite sharing a hotel room with my mom and stepfather.

And then I came back to Ohio and it's snowy and slushy and some jag backed into my car while I was picking up Tego and drove away. So now I'm carless and it's not like I have nothing to do. Major, MAJOR hate.

-- Anonymous, March 25, 2002

Joh! That's terrible. There were no witnesses?

How was the rest of your Saturday night?

I'm so out of it. I haven't even started to go through the eleventy million emails from the past three days that I was away from my office.

Mike! I can't wait to hear the story.

-- Anonymous, March 25, 2002

OK. Here we go...

-- Anonymous, March 25, 2002

On Wednesday night, I told Sima that my brother was really down about Andersen; that he was worried about the job market and that he'd paid for our NCAA tickets for the MCI Center last weekend, so it would be nice if we took he and his wife out to dinner Friday.

The Andersen thing was Dan's idea. Sima's very inclusive, and will invite friends along to everything, so this was a way to keep it between us four. It's a good thing, too, because Wednesday and Thursday other friends of ours called, and we decided to watch the Maryland game together later that night. Had Dan and I not conducted the ruse, it would have been a big group, and a logistical nightmare.

We went to La Paneteria, the restaraunt where we had our first date. That was kind of random, and Sima was a little suspicious, but I said that Dan's a picky eater and really likes the place.

Sima works with my sister in law. She knew the plan on Wednesday as well, and played along...

-- Anonymous, March 25, 2002

I was off all day Friday, so I went to get a haircut (because I needed one), went home to show my mom the ring, and then went out to get a dozen roses, in a box. I headed to the restaraunt around 4:30, and explained to the owner and maitre'd what I had planned. I asked them to bring the flowers out after dinner, during dessert, and I'd pop the question then.

That ended at about 5. I wasn't picking Sima up until 6:30 and didn't want to get there an hour and a half early with the ring in my pocket, so I killed the time at Borders.

At 6:30, Sima was still in her sweats. She was kind of tired and didn't really want to go, but because we were meeting my brother and his wife there, she changed clothes and we drove off around 6:45, right on schedule...

-- Anonymous, March 25, 2002

At about 6:55, as planned, Dan called to cancel. He was "stuck at work", and wouldn't be there. Sima thought that was so rude, to wait that long before calling, but I said he said he was in a meeting. We decided that, since we were literally seconds away from the restaraunt at this point, that we'd just go there anyway.

Dinner was uneventful. We both finished, and we decided to order cake for dessert. No flowers yet. I ordered a second glass of Merlot, one more than I normally drink with dinner.

Finally, the matire'd came up behind her, holding the box of roses...

-- Anonymous, March 25, 2002

She figured that something was up at this point, and her hands started shaking. She started opening the card, and I asked her to open the box first. As she was fumbling with the ribbon, I got down on one knee and told her that I loved her very much and she would make the happiest person in the world if she would be my wife.

"Will you marry me?"

"Yes, I will." ...

-- Anonymous, March 25, 2002

The restaraunt clapped. It's a very intimate place, but everyone saw her open the flowers, and saw me get on one knee. People came up and asked to see the ring, and shake our hands.

She tried calling her parents, but the line was busy, so she called the rest of her family. I called my parents, my brother, and my grandparents.

Two interesting footnotes...

As Sima was talking with her grandparents, a woman walked up to Sima and congratulated her. Sima laughed. "You don't know who I am, do you?"

They were old friends of her parents. We went over to the table on our way out, and everyone was so excited. They tried calling her parents to let her know, but the line was still busy.

Another couple, with a young daughter, came by and wished us well. Later in the day, Sima's cousins were at a party, and a friend of theirs said that the coolest thing had happened when they were out to dinner -- a guy had proposed to his girlfriend!

"What restaraunt?" her cousin asked.

"La Panateria," she said.

-- Anonymous, March 25, 2002

Ahahhhhhhhh! I love it so much!

Congratulations, Mike Berman. I am SO happy for you!

-- Anonymous, March 25, 2002

YAAAAY, Berman! That story is FANTASTIC.

Sima is lucky, lucky girl. That's all to it.

-- Anonymous, March 25, 2002

Well, thank you. I'm very happy.

-- Anonymous, March 25, 2002

That sounds just wonderful.

-- Anonymous, March 25, 2002

It went so perfectly! I'm so, so happy for you. And then did you go watch Maryland?

I'm the last MATHlete standing.

-- Anonymous, March 25, 2002

Y'all. The people at 3wa are giving WG the what-for.

She's been paying his RENT.

http://www.threewayaction.com/ubb/Forum20/HTML/000402.html

-- Anonymous, March 25, 2002

Oddly enough, we did. I'd called the two other couples we were scheduled to watch the game with, to let them know that I was proposing and that our attendance cound not be guaranteed, but she wanted to watch it.

-- Anonymous, March 25, 2002

It's so great. Did she love the ring. I'm sure she did.

Congrats, congrats.

-- Anonymous, March 25, 2002

Of course. It's a kickass ring.

-- Anonymous, March 25, 2002

Amelia makes some really, really good points. So I ask, if he doesn't have family in Atlanta . . . or a job . . . or any prospects . . . what the hell is he still doing there?

I'm glad someone asked WG that question...

-- Anonymous, March 25, 2002

Mike, you have to send us a photo of that ring. I'm dying to see it.

Are you going to jump into the +1 wedding forum or keep it private?

-- Anonymous, March 25, 2002