First Comes Pug, then Comes Marriage

Over a quite lovely dinner at Donguri (http://www.greatrestaurantsmag.com/NYC/restaurant_view/13/) of kumamoto oysters (from California/Oregon/ Washington, creamy and petite with terrific ponzu sauce), house miso soup with mini mushrooms, gorgeous black cod, broccoli rabe with sesame sauce, shrimp tempura and of course, Sapporo beer, my sweet W told me she was engaged! Congratulations W & T! I really love each of them - their brilliance, integrity, positive impact on this world, global perspective and love and thoughtfulness. I had always wanted someone for W who loved to travel as much as she did.They are beautiful together. W's mom is quite fiery and T has charmed her. W's mom: "T is a good guy and has such a mild manner. If anything goes wrong with your relationship, it would be [W's] fault." That is classic Taiwanese mom.
July 14, 2006. My birthday party at the Boat Basin. W arrives with her friends S and A. T with our friends M and E. It could've been her ebullient personality, cuteness and/ or her brilliance but something (many things) caught T's eye and they started talking. T let Petunia sit on his lap and I think that sealed the deal. One romanticizes cupid as a sweet cherub with a bow and arrow. The true manifestation is in the form of an overweight, snorty, pig-like dog with a rainbow ruff.

So, T is off on a project in Malaysia for a few months and will be missed dearly. They are now part of the Couples Who Skype club. Definitely try the video effects - that is hours of fun alone (see blog posting). And while distance can be very difficult to deal with, I think that talking deepens a relationship because you have to communicate with one another as opposed to just sitting in a room together.
Of course my brain is flying ahead. Let's get a conflict free diamond and eco-friendly ring! www.greencarat.com and www.brilliantearth.com. I also love the idea of making the ring yourself. I know of one person who made the mold by hand and the ring ended up having her fingerprints cast into the gold. So many really great creative, socially-responsible options. I see a terrific engagement party outdoors when he returns. Like at a beer garden! A totally green and outdoorsy kind of wedding...

But I get ahead of myself. Congratulations W and T! Good luck in Malaysia. W, I'm here for you and welcome to the club.