St. Patrick's Day
March 17th, 2006
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What an exciting night! I asked Alecia to marry me and
she said yes! The group of us went to Jack Astor's on the pretense of grabbing dinner
before going downtown for St. Patrick's Day. Jack Astor's was the place where I took
Alecia for our first date. It's a good restaurant that I hope sticks around for a bit longer.
There's more to the story though! Before I even got to the restaurant, I was already finding a way to make things more interesting. For the 6 weeks prior, I had been carrying the ring around in my backpack, just in case the perfect opportunity presented itself. I was at my work office catching up on work stuff and gaining the courage to form the words I needed to say. I made the mistake of locking the office door on one trip to the restroom. I was getting ready to pack up and head out when I decided to make another trip to the restroom (nervousness, what can I say). At this point I realized I had locked myself out of the office. I had left my phone, my badge and most importantly the ring sitting on the office desk. I panicked. I was 45 minutes from our dinner reservation and I had no ring. I went to the parking lot and was getting ready to drive somewhere (anywhere) that I could find someone to let me into the office. I found a gentleman leaving the building and borrowed his cell phone. After 5 or 10 calls, I had tracked down Rick to come let me in. He was at the mall shopping with family and he drug them along to help me "save my marriage before it began". He arrived just in time for me to grab my stuff and drive to dinner. Alan came out to help as well, bringing me a cell phone and much needed moral support. I hauled ass to the restaurant and made it there before Alecia did. She was a little upset that I didn't pick her up at home, but I was a nervous wreck at the time and I needed the time to compose myself. Some of the group was there and the rest arrived. Ken (my coworker) had called the restaurant earlier in the day to setup a reservation. He had also told the manager of what was going on and ordered us a round of drinks. It was a very much appreciated gesture! The group was Alan, Keith, Tara, Jason, Rebecca and Jenelle. We had dinner, drinks and dessert. It was a good meal. At the end of the meal and dessert, I stood up and tried to get the attention of those in the restaurant. A few turned and watched, and the hostesses and waitresses came around to listen. I gave a quick few words and then got down on a knee to propose to Alecia. It took a moment for her to realise what was going on, but she got all teary eyed and excited. She said yes and gave me the biggest hug before even looking at the ring. Now the next step is planning the wedding!
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