I promised myself over a year ago that I wasn’t going to talk about my dating life. I’ve kept that promise for the most part. Here’s what I wrote in regards to that:
Dating. I’ve been single for a while now. I date, yes. I have bad dates, yes. Am I going to write about them on here… probably not. Regardless of how good the story would be, I still see that as hurtful. I’ve read a few blogs out there written by serial daters (of which I can probably be classified as) who are both men and women. My online profiles/personality isn’t too far off of my own RL one (That’s real life FYI). I see these write-ups as not at all helpful, but really more a violation of personal space on the account of the person that was the ‘date’.
How was I to know that 15 days later I would meet the woman who has since been named in 22 (this will be the 23rd) posts. In that time she has become one of my biggest supporters, critics, best friends, and my de facto go to girl for all things me and what that entails. She became my girlfriend then my fiance. I’m breaking that promise to myself today.
She’s tried out Twitter because of me. Got on Facebook because of me. Listens to me babble about Android Phones, SMBMSP, hashtags, mentions, page fans, proper development process techniques, and reminds me to check-in on foursquare even though I know she wonders the point. Â She listens to me babble. More importantly (to me) I want to listen to her babble about her stuff. I’ve never tried to understand art or the process it takes, but that’s what she knows. I can tell the difference between great stained glass and lazy. I can now sometimes pick up on manufactured stoneware and those that are excellently handcrafted.
There are so many small things that make our conversations great and interactive, but the part that outshines all else is the way that we interact together. If you’ve seen “Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs” the puffy faced kiss… yeah, I convinced her to humor me in that one. It only took a couple glasses of wine and breaking her down over a few days, but she got me back with the damned delayed kiss. And I love her more for it.
Something that’s different from my previous relationships is that we’re still ourselves together. We don’t hide anything, there’s no censorship. We also have maintained our separate identities very well. We spend a lot of time together, and we’ll eventually spend more time together than we do now (once my lease is up). But it works. It just works. And that’s the important part. We still talk about our relationship and our goals with and for each other, and even though now it doesn’t take a lot of work; it will take more work in the future. We’ve set a foundation for ourselves. We have inside jokes. It’s not perfect, neither of us are perfect, but she’s perfect for me.
She and I had our first date at Bunny’s in Saint Louis Park. Coincidentally it was both of our ‘last first dates’. Both her and I had some doozies and we both were pretty much done with the whole scene. I remember telling my brother before going out that night that I was done. I had closed all my connections on eHarmony, and stopped my matching. I was ready for a break. First dates get expensive and constant first impressions are somewhat stressful.
I was at ease with her. We started laughing right away (and haven’t stopped). I told my brother when I got home that I thought this one might work out. I’m glad I was right.
So here’s to you, Megan. I’m still at ease with you. Thank you for the awesome year and for those to come. I still think you’ll work out 
.  I love you, beautiful. Happy Anniversary. MMMMMMMMMUUUUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAHHHHHHH (another inside joke to which she humored me, “Over-exaggerated sound Wednesdays”).
The first picture of 'us'. That's her nephew.
–dez