Instant Chemistry

Falling in love with my best friend was just a bonus! 

October 31st 2003
Megan wasn't supposed to be out, especially at a party and especially  not in Costa Mesa. Christian being the 'Hooligan' he was at that age, just so happened to be at the same party "scoping" the place out for chicks.

Christian had his eye on Meg pretty much the whole night and eventually got the nerve to say "Hello" or wait more like "Hey BabyGirlllll".
So with a typical eye roll Meg turned around ready to tell this kid to buzz off BUT instead was pleasantly surprised who she was to be greeted by.

Do What You Have To Do

"Nobody said it was easy,
Nobody ever said it would be so hard."   Coldplay "The Scientist"
I met my fiance, in college. Yup, we're college sweethearts and our romance is just another college sweetheart romance. I basically stalked him because I found him interesting, quiet, mysterious, you know the type. I was always talking, talking, talking, and he just sat there and listened, wondering, I'm sure, why I kept seeking him out everyday. I found him fascinating and intellectual, not to mention, very handsome. But, we had very humble and controversial beginnings. I was in a relationship when we met with a guy I had been with for three years, and he was engaged (!) to a woman he'd been with for 5 years. My relationship had been going downhill for ages; my boyfriend was jealous, controlling, over-protective, not trusting, the whole nine yards. His relationship seemed to have been going downhill ever since they'd gotten engaged. She became suspicious, controlling, angry, and jealous. We became friends because we had a lot of classes together (our significant others were both out of school) and it really was just that! We were both failing physics, we were trying to get our requirements met so we could graduate. We each became a source of encouragement to the other.

My Love Story

I was 35 and had lived an independent life: I had traveled much, lived and worked in the West and in the East, and met many wonderful people. Yes, life had been great - except one thing: I had never met the special someone with whom I wanted to share my life. Being 35 (not exactly a spring chicken anymore) I did not expect that this would happen anymore. Sad.

Well, I have a good friend – her name is Birgit. She is rather a sister to me because her mom lived in my dad’s house and we girls grew up together. Birgit has been part of my life since I was twelve (she was 17 than) and over the years I met all her other relatives. We all got very close and liked each other dearly. My big family!

The day that changed everything was when Birgit turned 40 and she threw her big birthday celebration and belated wedding party in the country side near the German Harz mountains. Of course, I was invited and knew most of the guests. Well, most of them - except one… “Inga, this is my cousin Michel. Funny, but I think you have never met before”, Birgit said. It turned out that we were both from Berlin and actually neighbors! I looked at him and thought: “Oh my, what a show off!” He wore snake leather boots and his shirt was unbuttoned to the belly button! I just started talking to him because I wanted to tease him.

Still My Hero

How we met is not so exciting - although, of course it did feel exciting at the time!  We worked together at a mental health facility; I was an art therapist.  The story I tell is that we ran groups together and when a little male urchin in the group heaved a metal stool at me, Larry caught it in mid-air just in front of my face.  He saved me many medical bills and was from then on my hero!  The story is true, but in fact he had already become my hero.  Much of the rest of our story is connected to winning his family over,as I am not Jewish.  After we had been together some time, Larry was severely burned in a cooking accident.Finally he came home from the hospital after three months.Since  I was going to be in charge of his home care, I had to be trained in changing the dressings etc.
I picked him up from the hospital and we headed home.Knowing how weak he had become,I had his bed set up downstairs so he could come in and just fall into it, which is exactly what he did.  I also had an old black and white TV which had a pull button to turn it on.

Are You Single?

I hope it's okay to write a story about someone you met and dated only a few times.
My friend and I used to go skiing on our days off. Since we worked at a health club, and made no money at all, we used to try to sneak on the lifts without buying a ski pass. The trick was to split up, find the singles in line, get on the outside so the lift attendant couldn't check for your ticket, and be deep in a lively conversation as you got on the lift. Of course, the other "trick" was to find the cute guys in line. Why waste time?
This one day we arrived and I immediately saw this very cute guy who looked perfect to be an "illegal" lift partner. I skied over and said, "Are you single?" I had meant to say "a single" but I guess my real meaning came out. He laughed and said "Yes". This was a slow chairlift that went all the way to the top of the mountain. We had lots of time to chat. We skied together all day, and he even changed lines for me so I wouldn't be caught without a ticket. He was only in town for the week, but we had a great time together. So ladies, if you want to know something...just ask.

She Still Lights Up The Room

Illumination occurs in many ways. A room can light up from a switch turning on a bulb, or from the love radiating from a special person.

 In the late 1970s I was living for a few winters in Stowe, VT and returning to Ocean City, MD for the summer seasons. In 1981 I had decided that it was time to move on from the beach life, and called my former employers at a country inn to see if I could work there again. The innkeeper told me that my job was available, and I made arrangements to arrive just before Christmas. On December 23 I began a journey that involved several modes of transportation including a Greyhound bus, an overnight Amtrak train, and a friend who met me in Waterbury, VT and drove me to the inn. I walked in, tired from the trip, greeted the innkeepers, and was introduced to some of the staff that was working.

The Secret Formula Succeeds

Probably the best place to meet anyone on a blind date is in a beer tent at a beer fest in Germany especially if you are into your second mug of beer. The rules for engagement or in the case of most blind dates, disengagement are plentiful at a beer fest. The avenues for escape are immense and are arrayed in all directions via the endless lines of tables filled with people. The haze of smoke and bleary eyed witnesses is also advantageous to one seeking an exit earlier than anticipated. It is under these circumstances that Larry met Sally in August of 1980 in Augsburg, Germany (in those days it was West Germany rather than just Germany).

One Steamy Night In Kyoto

In Kyoto, Japan, the August nights remain almost as hot as the days, hovering in the high 80s and unbearably humid. On just such a sticky Friday night in 2008, I rode my bicycle down to Kyoto's famed Kiyamachi Street, long-known as the shame of Kyoto for its throngs of drunken university students and rows of sleazy hostess bars, love hotels, and porn rental cafes. The man-made Takase River, barely a  trickle of water running over the cobblestones, divides the street down the center.
I was going through a phase where I didn't want to care about anyone, so I danced the night away alone, surrounded by friends. Exhausted, dehydrated, and sweaty, I left the club at 4:00 am. As I left, I was approached by a boy with dark skin, a hawk nose, rich brown eyes, and shaggy black hair. Left hand in pocket, right hand outstretched, he strode over to me, belting out in a chipper British accent with an assuring smile, "Hey! I'm Amrik." Just another guy, I told myself. Don't get attached.

How We Met...Again

There are many metaphors used to describe relationships and marriage. Mine is of a stream that starts as a small rivulet and travels through gorgeous valleys, craggy gorges, dangerous rapids and around man-made dams hopefully to a peaceful pond in the distance.

Our journey began when I was finishing medical school. We had each just fallen out of lengthy relationships that had not worked out. And with me planning to move in another year to begin residency, neither of us was looking to build a longstanding relationship.

Interestingly, 34 years later, when we now compare stories of how we met and exactly when the spark was lit, we have completely different versions. So much so that the versions won’t even stitch together into a cohesive whole. Such is the fruit of impending senility. However, in a way, we actually met again 13 years ago.  And in some ways, that meeting, and its consequences make the details of our initial meeting pale in significance.

Lucky Day

Here is a "how we met" legend, passed along from  a fellow Vermonter to you.

When I was 20 I took a year off from college to take a break from the books. I got a job driving a delivery truck for a local egg farm: Lucky Day Eggs.
My day started at 5:00AM, and my job was to make egg deliveries to  a bunch of small restaurants in our area. My favorite stop was at a little delicatessen called The Lunch Box. I'd get there around 8:00AM and get to talk with the girl who was getting everything ready for the upcoming lunch rush. She was really cute and I was "in love", but how do you make a move during a ten minute egg delivery? Well one day the truck broke down by the restaurant where my cute girl worked. Now I had the time I needed...got the phone number...got the date...got the girl. And the title of this story?...It's obvious.

Strategies That Work

Sarah and I met two ways. The first time we met, it was at the nursery at University Hospital in Cleveland. She was visiting her new nephew and I was visiting my new niece -- both recent graduates of the birthing program there. We chatted but I went off to visit my sister and she her sister-in-law and we somehow missed connecting again that day.

Then, about three months later, we met at a bar. So we have both stories -- the cute one and the dissipated one!

We both suffered from that "don't I know you from somewhere" feeling, but were both too embarrassed to use such an obvious pick-up line. Anyway, we started dating the very next day. 28 days later we were engaged. Six months later, married. My strategy: don't give Sarah time to think that she may be making a mistake.

Happy Anniversary

I was a shy college junior who had never dated in high school and had never had a real “date” in college.  Since I attended the “party” school in Minnesota, it was not unusual to be seen at parties with friends.  After moving into an apartment in a private home in my sophomore year along with five other girls, we decided we needed to keep our eyes open for the men out there.  Since our apartment was situated on a street that included sororities and fraternities, we determined that searching would not be too difficult.  Some time in January of that school year, we noticed that just across the street from our apartment the house was sporting a legal stop sign on the porch wall.  It was winter with lots of snow and we saw that one of the guys didn’t mind running out to his car in bare feet!  As we continued watching that house and the comings and goings, we decided it was time to meet the characters that lived there.  After all, we were just being neighborly! 

How Kate Met Alan

In 4th grade Alan moved to my town and rode the bus with my brother. He used to come to my house for play with my brother but I don't remember him. He claims to remember me playing with my large number of barbie dolls while they were trying to play video games. In 5th grade he moved away and we never heard from him again until my brother went to college at Iowa State University. Alan recognized my brother at a fraternity rush function and they became friends again and roommates. Alan’s parents lived in Tennessee so he would come to our house for holidays and that’s when I met him again. 2 years later, I went to Iowa State and also became friends with Alan. Alan asked me out when I was a freshman and a junior, and even sent me flowers once, but I always said no.

A Love Poem for the Ages

So through the eyes love attains the heart:
For the eyes are the scouts of the heart,
And the eyes go reconnoitering
For what it would please the heart to possess.
And when they are in full accord
And firm, all three, in one resolve,
At that time, perfect love is born

All The World's A Stage

My fiance and I both participate in theater. We were cast as Audrey and Seymore (the romantic leads) in the musical Little Shop of Horrors and I just knew from the moment I met him at our first rehearsal that we were going to make some magic together, both onstage and off. We started dating almost immediately, moved in together 4 months later, got engaged 8 months later, and we will be getting married on the 2 year anniversary of our opening night.

Best Decision....Best Friend

My fiance and I met when I was in seventh grade and he was in eighth. We were friends all through high school and he kept asking me out and flirting with me. Long story short. I said yes to one of our dates, ditched him and didn't talk to him until I ran into him in college when I was 19.
We went on our first date and have been together since. We've been friends for 10 years and been together for almost 4. Best decision I ever made was to give him a chance. :) He's my best friend!

Wedding Winks

My family is part American and part Canadian and I grew up in northern Vermont. I was a bridesmaid at my cousin's wedding in Quebec. It was a big French Canadian wedding and I was sitting at the head table with the rest of the wedding party. I saw this very handsome man across the room, sitting with the other guests from the groom's side. I don't know why, but I winked at him...I'd never done anything like that before. I was surprised and happy when he smiled and winked back. When the dancing started he came right up and asked me for a dance. We started dating and a year later I was at the head table again, but this time as the bride ;)

Wedding Day

Happy Anniversary!
So I was teaching in North Carolina when one of my former principals contacted me and offered a job in Berlin Germany. Since I had no strong ties to the US, I took advantage of the opportunity and accepted the job and moved to Germany.
When I started at my new school in Berlin, there were 26 new teacher also teaching at our school. There was one new teacher who caught my eye and I thought I might have a possibility with her. When we had our group events however, she didn't have a phone and she lived near none of us, so we were missing many opportunities to get to know each other better.

Chance Meeting (A Wedding Limerick)

My wonderful husband Mark and I are celebrating our 29th wedding anniversary. Happy anniversary Mark! This limerick is my gift to you. (How’s that for getting off cheap?)

Chance Meeting (Wedding Anniversary Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Our encounter took place on a train—
A chance meeting, though far from mundane:
A lucky converging,
With love soon emerging—
Once strangers, now wedded-bliss twain.
http://www.madkane.com/humor_blog/2007/06/04/chance-meeting-wedding-anniversary-limerick/

Meeting In Cardiff

When I was 20,right before I finished my nursing training, I became pregnant. I ended up losing the baby one month in.
I was really upset and broke up with the boyfriend, but eight months later, Simon (who is a vicar) was filling in for the hospital minister and we met. Not being religious, I don't believe in divine intervention, but maybe I believe in fate - I'm not sure. Anyway if you know your maths you'll work out that had I had the baby - Simon and I never would have met!

I'd had an appalling night shift in the A&E (accident and emergency), and early in the morning he met me outside sneaking a cigarette. We started chatting - I thought he was out to convert me,but instead we just had a little whinge about the long night and the mad drunk people who had been swearing at us. Simon took me for coffee and sympathy in a cafe, and we carried on seeing one another. According to him he decided that morning that he was going to marry me - but it took him 3 years to propose.
Now we've been married for one year.

SUMthing About SUMmer

The day after graduation, I was hanging out with my friend Lydia. We just got to my house and I realized I had left my keys with my sister, so we were locked out.In the meantime, we called Lydia's brother, Luke to come and hang out with us because I hadn't seen him since I had been back from Germany. So I said "Come over to the house I want to see you!" He came over and brought a "buddy" of his....

My First and Last

Well, I flew to Berlin in July of 1982 when I was 25 years old. When I left Kennedy Airport in New York, I was with my parents and I was really nervous since I was having second thoughts about going to another country and committing to a two year teaching contract. I wasn't sure what to expect, so I had sort of decided that if things didn't work out in Berlin I would quit after the first year and then return to my job in the States. At that time you could only fly first to West Germany, not directly into Berlin. So, my flight was from New York to Frankfurt. In Frankfurt, I got on a short hopper flight with Pan American from Frankfurt to Berlin, a 45 minute flight. In the waiting room, I happened to notice a very nice looking guy and we ended up sitting next to each other on the flight. Normally, I have no interest in talking to the people I sit next to, but in this case it was different.

Time After Time

During college I had a job as a DJ Assistant. While preparing the guests at the reception, for the bride and groom to enter - Mike, one of the guests, turned to me to ask me what time it was not realizing that there was a HUGE clock on the wall right behind me that he was facing. I laughed and told him anyway. He asked me to dance later that night and it all went from there. We got married and had our reception in the same hall at Cornell that we met, right there with the big clock.

The Journey Continues

I met Jason at my interview for my first teaching job. He was one of the members of the interview committee. He gave me a tour of the school as well as my future classroom. He gave me information about the town saying it was a bit like "Northern Exposure." We were both involved in relationships that were on their last wheel at that particular moment, so we really didn't think of each other in "that way". At the end of my first year, he asked me out after the school's faculty athletic golfing event for a few drinks. We had became pretty good friends over the past school year. So, I felt that I knew him pretty well. I said "of course" to the date. We had a great time, and it felt like I knew him much longer that I did. We dated for two years, were engaged for 6 months, married, and moved overseas before our first anniversary. It's been a great trip. I couldn't imagine life's journey without him.

Love in the Time of Molasses

I graduated from High School in 1978. In order to save money for college I began working full time as a cashier at Star Market in WR. From my register I had a perfect view of a handsome fellow employee working in the aisle directly in front of me...couldn't take my eyes off him. I told a friend and co-worker that someday I would marry him. We had a good laugh. My mother asked me to pick up some molasses after work (my brother was making a gingerbread house for Christmas). I saw this as an opportunity to talk to "the boy" and asked where I would find the molasses. I was so embarrassed when I realized it was right in front of me. We started talking and realized we had family connections(his cousin was dating my brother). Later at a company holiday party we danced. He asked how old I was and was very surprised to learn I was only 17(he was 21).Because I was working full-time, people assumed I was older. Shortly after that we began dating and almost 3 years to the day we were married. Almost twenty nine years and two children later, molasses can bring a smile to our faces~life is good!

*The gingerbread house builder became an architect and the cousin-brother married shortly after we did.

Happy Ending

When I arrived at the university town of Giessen, I was desperate to find an apartment. As I was looking over the advertisements for living space, I met another student from my hometown. We hit it off and decided to be roommates. It turned out to be not such a great idea. I ended up falling in love and he ended up being a callous jerk who hurt me by bringing home other women, and playing with my emotions. Years into this relationship, and still trying to pull myself out, I was at work one night when my friend brought in a friend of hers who had just returned from Seattle. I was really attracted to him and called the next week to ask him to come to an event my university department was having. He would come, he said, but he was bringing his cousin."Sure!" I thought. I could just imagine all the girls who would hang around such a cute guy. Well,he showed up the next night with his "cousin", but left the event with me. He and I have been together through ups and downs for 16 years. And my ex? He became a gynecologist. The perfect ending for everyone.

A Little Guacamole Goes a Long Way.

Keron and I met through mutual friends. She had moved to the small town of Bryson City, NC to get away from the city of Nashville, TN. Her landlord lived next door to my mother and owned a pub that I frequented. One day I was at this pub with my friend Ed. His wife Sharon called and asked if we wanted to go to meet her and some friends for Mexican food. I agreed and we met Sharon, Keron, and her mother Dana at the restaurant. I didn't talk much during our meal because Sharon is a big talker and Dana and Keron were busy keeping up with their ends of the conversation. At the end of the meal I was very surprised when Keron's mother insisted that she pay for the entire meal. I learned later that Keron lived right behind my mother's house. I ran into her infrequently until I had dropped enough hints to our mutual friends and built enough confidence to ask her out.

Not Another Blind Date!!!

Fall of 2007 was bad for me. I was nine months pregnant with my third child and the father had walked out on me six weeks before. My brother, Jim, knew that. At the time he had been working as an overnight security guard at a casino and knew one of his co-workers was having an equally hard time with the break up he had just been through. And thus the wheels in his head got to moving and decided that we should meet. Now I'd been through the whole blind date thing and it did not go well. I was reluctant to try it again but I knew Jim wouldn't hook me up with a bad guy. We met and started talking. Three weeks later he was holding my hand when my son was born. The first time I told him I loved him I was laying on a delivery table to the sounds of my son's first cries. Since then he's been a better daddy to my kids than their own father.
We'll be married two years now May 19th, and it's been the best two years of my life.