WE'RE GETTING MARRIED!

I had applied to Imubit without ever thinking I'd get hired because I didn't feel qualified in the slightest. In my opinion, it was much more likely that I would end up going off to grad school to get a Masters in Data Science and you would never be reading this. However, luck or fate had different plans and instead I was offered a job.

I remember vividly walking out of my last interview and being introduced to the current Imubit team. Hiding in the back corner behind a giant computer screen (at least compared to her) was a cute girl that warmly welcomed me to the team.

Houston was the start of an exciting chapter in my life in 2019. After moving here for my new job at Imubit, work consumed me in the best way possible. My new coworkers quickly became good friends as we slogged through unitdef validation errors and tackled the unknowns of neural networks, loving every minute of it. 

There was one evening at the office when some interviewees were coming in for their final round with the CEO. The first guy who showed up was an average height, white guy with blond hair who seemed excited to be there. I introduced myself and wished him luck in his interview. Thirty minutes later, the second guy who showed up was an average height, white guy with blond hair who seemed excited to be there. I wish I could tell you which one of these was Andrew... But the one thing I do remember is Andrew having the bluest eyes I'd ever seen. And I'm glad he was the one who got the job.

As the world was shutting down due to Covid, I was living my best life. I lived a life of routine, focused on physical and mental wellbeing. But I missed seeing coworkers and friends every day.

Because I lived alone, I spent a lot of time chatting online. Somehow, Andrew and I started talking a lot more, talking about anything and everything. He introduced me to Geoguessr and we would play while eating lunch together virtually. He could easily make me laugh and it would always get me in trouble during virtual meetings. At this point, I considered us close friends. 

One vivid memory during the pandemic is when Andrew said he was done with work for the day and was going out for a run. I told him I was jealous because I still had work to do but at least I got to enjoy the sunset view on my balcony. About 10 minutes later, I heard someone yelling my name. I looked down and there was Andrew, smiling and waving like a dork. Apparently he planned his route so he could run by my apartment to surprise me! This was just one of the many moments that made me start to wonder if there was something more.

By the spring of 2020, Geraldine and I had become cordial work acquaintances with common friends. Like for many, Covid completely upended our day to day lives. Where I would normally see friends and coworkers every day of the week, my circle reduced to just a few select people. It's just luck that the small circle included Geraldine.

As Covid progressed, we got to know each other more and eventually became close friends. We would meet online to play GeoGuessr, eat take out from tasty restaurants, mess around with VR, play board games, or just sit and talk. A special thanks to Rex who is the 3rd Musketeer of our Covid friend group and is the connection that brought us together and was the instigator of nearly all of our activities. 

Nothing is better than going from best friends to even bester friends with your favorite person in the whole world.

I wish I had a cute quote here too, but I'm not the romantic in this relationship. All I can say is that he's proof that the best things have a way of finding you when you least expect it.

Trying to keep a secret for me is hard. Trying to keep a secret from the person who knows me better than anyone is apparently impossible. Geraldine claims she knew before we even got on the plane to Boston that I was going to propose. And while I'm skeptical she knew THAT far in advance, I do think she figured it out well before I got on one knee.

Now if you know me, I'm not that much of a planner. I'm much more comfortable with letting the day find me, so to speak, but I've been trying to get better at it! And in this case, I had this proposal planned out all the way back in April 2024 when I gifted Geraldine a trip to Maine (her favorite state) to see the fall colors (her favorite of seasonal color palette). Lucky for me, I found a fantastic photographer that helped me plan the location, time, and logistics. We just had to make sure we showed up to the right place at the right time. Easy.

One thing you may not know about me is I can get very anxious in certain situations. And when the day finally came, I was anxious with a capital A, N , X, I, O, U, and S. One thing I had not considered when planning an engagement at sunset is that I would have to spend all day thinking about it and trying to act normal. I'd like to think I succeeded, but I don't think my career as an actor will be starting any time soon.

Other than the very inconspicuous way I was acting, there was a specific point in the day where the entire surprise was nearly blown. I had informed the B&B we were staying at that we were getting engaged that day in the hopes of getting some free stuff. To my surprise they actually followed through! But I had left out one crucial detail. When it was happening. 

We left for a hike early that morning and the owner assumed I was making my move. So after we left, he put champagne and strawberries in our room for us to celebrate when we got back. Luckily for me, when Geraldine and I came back for lunch, we eschewed the room and went straight to the dining area to eat. While we were eating our lunch, the owner asked us how our day had been going. To which we replied cordially, hoping to get back to our lunch uninterrupted.

 After a very long, awkward pause and an expecting look, he disappeared. Geraldine commented "That was weird..." Then it dawned on me. He had realized the celebration was premature. Without Geraldine noticing, he went back, unlocked our room, grabbed the celebratory tray, snuck outside around the entire B&B, and dropped it back at the kitchen. When I saw him again later his exact words were "What the hell man??"

It wasn't long after that we were finally on our way to the national park for the hike. But just as we were about to get to the starting point, I got an unexpected text from our photographer that she would be at the 2nd location that we had talked about. Problem was, I had only the vaguest idea where it was and my cell signal was completely gone by the time we hit the trail.

Needless to say, my anxiety was peaking. 

Despite Geraldine now claiming she knew exactly how this hike would end, at the time, it didn't stop her from stopping about every 5 feet of the 3 mile hike to the proposal so she could examine a new leaf for an impromptu art project. I suspect the art project was a front to torture me. After getting lost multiple times and needing to ask more than one stranger for directions, we found ourselves in the right place. She said yes and all my anxiety melted away to happiness.

When we made it back to the B&B there was a chilled bottle of Champagne and strawberries waiting for us in our room to celebrate.

I knew he was going to propose on our trip to Acadia for the fall foliage. All the classic signs were there. And he's horrible at keeping a secret. But I like surprises, so I played along. The only thing I didn't know was when/where he was going to do it on our weeklong trip.

If you know Andrew, you know he's more of a go-with-the-flow kind of guy. So when I was unexpectedly given a full schedule of the day during breakfast on day 3 of our trip, I knew something was up. It wasn't until he told me we had to start our 1-mile "sunset" hike at 3pm... for a sunset at 6pm... in a park that is known for its sunrises... that I knew it was happening on that hike.

I felt a certain calmness in knowing that it was going to happen (and knowing what my answer would be), but also excitement and curiosity about how it was going to happen. As we began the hike, suddenly all the leaves on the ground were catching my eye. I started picking up leaves of all shapes and colors, determined to create an artistic piece with my new collection. It was why we were on this trip in the first place! Also, he wanted to start a moderately easy 1 mile "sunset" hike 3 hours before sunset. I figured we had plenty of time. 

When we got to the first viewpoint, Andrew was visibly nervous. But not an "excited" nervous. More like a "something is wrong" nervous. It was a gorgeous view, so I wanted to stop and take pictures. Andrew kept telling me there was a better spot farther up the trail. When I told him I still wanted to take some photo here, he said he was going to go ahead on the trail to find it to see if it was better. 

And then he left me there... Alone.

When he finally came back, he told me he had asked someone for directions to the spot he was thinking of and it wasn't too far. Again, if you know Andrew, he would rather get lost on a hike than ask for directions. So I knew this was it. I just didn't think I'd be running uphill and scrambling over rocks to get there, all while under the pretense of catching a sunset that wasn't going to happen for at least another hour. 

The spot was beautiful and quiet. He led me out to the ledge, whispered in my ear and got down on one knee. And you all know how this story ends. 

That's when I learned he had hired a photographer to capture the proposal! He was rushing me so we wouldn't be late meeting her (and there was an unexpected change in location). Plus, my dilly-dallying with the leaves may have also put us slightly behind schedule. 

For me, it felt very genuinely us. And that made it perfect.