Forces of nature.
Okay, I'm not really that terse. I'll try to be, but I'm apologizing in advance for being wordy. I've had performance reviews at work telling me to be less wordy and get to the point in my communications. I don't know where I could have possibly gotten that from, but I'm starting to think that the old adage is true: the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
Anyway, I was living in Boston in October of 2003 and work was sending me on a business trip to help the hospitals in the Los Angeles area launch a new registry at their site.
*pause story*
Sidebar: I work for Genzyme, a biotech firm based out of Boston. The division of Genzyme that I work for specializes in rare genetic metabolic diseases called Lysosomal Storage Disorders. These diseases are so rare that we sponsor registries in order to collect and share information about the disease to raise awareness and increase understanding of its management in the medical community. My job is to make sure that physicians who want to participate in this program have all the resources that they need to do so.
*unpause*
I was going to be in the area for over a week, so I planned to visit an ex-climbing partner in San Diego and check out the local climbing areas. Having finished my work for the day, I didn't want to just sit in my hotel room and twiddle my thumbs. I had almost a week left of my trip to do that. So I did one of two things I always do when I travel on business: checked out the local climbing gym. I didn't knit at the time, so really the other thing I usually do wasn't really an option. Now, I also try to check out the local Stitch N' Bitch group.
So I traipse into the climbing gym. When one doesn't have a ready climbing partner, your choices are to try to pick someone up who looks friendly and available (not unlike picking someone up at a bar) or climb on your own low to the ground without a rope (known as bouldering). I didn't like the latter option, so I scanned the crowd. I somehow missed the cute, somewhat balding boy with the bleach spots in his hair smiling at me, so I decided to just boulder.
Bouldering is a very communal activity. There's usually a lot of energy from the climbers who are resting in between tries, and people try to cheer others on. It makes it fairly easy to meet people, and I ended up chatting with several of the locals. One of them, we'll call him Todd, made it a point to be friendly to the new girl. After finding out that I was to be in town for only a few days, he offered to show me around the next evening.
Hmm, that sounded an awful lot like a date. But really, what did I know about this guy? He looked kind of scary - thick, shaved head, motorcycle helmet on top of his shoes. Still, he seemed tame enough. So I decided to get a second opinion. But who?
Why not that guy over there? He's as good as any, and, well, he's kinda cute! Conversation went something like this:
Me: So, I think I just got asked out on a date.
Cute boy: Oh? What are you doing?
Me: I'm not sure. He suggested dinner or something, but I don't know.
Cute boy: What don't you know?
Me: Well, he seems kind of icky. Do you know that guy? *pointing at Todd*
Cute boy: Oh yeah, I know him. When I first came out here and met him, I thought he was DJ Todd and was really excited to be meeting DJ Todd, except that he didn't turn out to be the same person.
Me: *blank stare*
Cute boy: Anyway, Todd's okay. He hits on anything female that walks into the gym. He's pretty harmless.
Me: Well, okay. I'm not sure that I really want to go out with him... But tomorrow's a Friday night, and I don't really know anyone in town, and I don't really want to just sit around and do nothing... *sweet smile*
Cute boy: *long pause*... well, there's lots of stuff to do around here. My friends and I are probably going to go to this impromptu Argentinian dance club that sprung up in Venice tomorrow night. If you want, you could come along.
Me: What's your name again?
Cute boy: Ryan.
Hmm, I guess I managed to successfully ask someone to ask me out! But really, what's Argentinian dance music? We met up the next night and though, suspiciously, none of his "friends" showed up, we had a great time just hanging out and talking. I wasn't blessed with seeing Ryan dance, which is probably all the better because I now know it makes me motion sick with all of the wild flailing going on in my field of vision. It's not just him. Films like the Blair Witch Project also make me nauseous.
At the time, Los Angeles was in the midst of its annual wildfires and a grocery store and public transportation strike. The hills all around the city were on fire and the sky was raining ash, though the sun was still blaring. It was as if the city was just falling apart, so I was happy to get out of there and visit my friend in San Diego.
The next day in San Diego, I found myself transplanted to the same scenario, only this time, the fires were a mere 5 miles away. So I said goodbye and fled back north to LA. I had nothing better to do, so I called Ryan again to see what he was doing. "Hey, we're climbing at Stoney Point, wanna join us?" Sure, what else am I going to do? After sitting in an hour's worth of traffic trying to get off of a closed freeway, I finally make it there. But it was worth it.
I knew that despite really liking Ryan, a little detail of 3000 miles separating our homes posed at least a small inconvenience in dating. We talked about it and I was torn between wanting to see Ryan again and being practical. Then Ryan said to me, "I don't usually date a lot. But I want to date you. Won't you at least give me a chance?" I felt like Renee Zellweger in Jerry Maguire when she's sobbing "you had me at hello!"
I sometimes wonder whether it was the wildfires driving me back to Los Angeles or Todd asking me out to dinner or even the simple fact that my job sent me to LA in the first place that brought us together. But maybe it was just meant to be.
See more stories from the couple:
She says... How we got engaged
He says... How we met
