it's Valentine's Day!

Well, it’s Valentine’s day… aka, Hallmark’s hypnotic recipe for market stimulation.
But… I will happily take this day to talk about love, so, if you have a weak stomach, feel free to follow this link to tech news and skip the hoohah coming up… ;-)

I’ll assume that anyone reading this blog knows that I am engaged to the most wonderful man.
I ‘met’ Mike Perry shortly after joining AUGI (I signed up at AU 2001 and subscribed to the guilds for a while, and probably didn’t post very much until they switched to the forum system). He was always helping people, was always considerate to everyone I saw him deal with. Most people probably see his business side, references, tech support and rule reminders… but, many of you might have also seen his humorous side… funny little remarks as clever and witty as they are hilarious.

This time last year I was single and depressed, and relying on friends, close and casual, to get me through and remind me what a truly spectacular person that I am. Valentine’s day is always depressing for someone in that position. But, somehow, I’ve made it through with my sanity pretty much intact.

Over the past four years, I’ve made some really close and really amazing friends through AUGI (and some other similar newsgroups), but, I’d always sort of noticed Mike above the rest. And once I became a moderator myself on AUGI, I saw how everyone would ask for Mike’s opinion. I went to Mike many times for professional advice, and also for friendly conversation. He was so sweet, and kind and knew just how to make me laugh.

We met for the first time in person at AU2004. He was so quiet and cute… not to mention the amazingly adorable accent, and in the spring of last year, we realized that we might like to be more than just friends and we haven’t looked back since.
We can laugh and cry and work and play and plan and be impulsive together.
Even the difficult tasks we’ve faced have gone like clockwork when we’ve worked together.

Being the typically emotionally reticent type, I do feel a little cheesy/treacly saying all of this, but, I just wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t take an opportunity tell the world how happy and in love I am with Mike, and how I thank God every day that we were brought together… and boy I’m glad I didn’t become an Accountant or an English teacher.

This is our first Valentine’s day as a couple, but, from the first, our relationship has felt like slipping into an old favorite pair of jeans fresh out of the dryer, just as comfortable as if it’d always been there.

Everyone has traits that they seek out in a mate, but, I do know that I’ve found in Mike so many things that I admire and respect and just feel darned lucky to have, and, whether they know it or not, every woman should be positively green with envy that I got to him first.