Another boring thread *yawn*

[the_pm]

Sorry, I had to post that, just in case...

You see, God willing, I'm getting engaged today :love:

I feel reasonably safe posting this publicly. The odds Amy will see this are incalculably small. But just in case, I figured it best not to do something really dumb, like put her name in the thread title.

Soooo.....

Here's the plan. Tomorrow Amy finishes her finals for the semester. It was a really tough semester, and it's totally appropriate to go out and celebrate. I made reservations for us at The Melting Pot, a really nice fondue restaurant in the snobbiest suburb of Cleveland, Beachwood.

We'll eat, have wine, relax, celebrate, and that will be that...

...until it's time to order dessert, which I will insist we do.

When the waiter brings us our dessert menus, she will find the menu I attached here inside.

The moment the expression on her face changes, guess what happens... :D

[websterworld]

I do, I do! :D

Very, very nice Paul.


next thing for you to do is write a page like this (http://www.mil-millington.com/).

[PromotionHosting]

:dance: ...and don't forget...on your knees!!

Hey...good luck.

[sonicgroup]

Wow, the happiest man on earth only costs $24? :lol:

Good luck Paul! :D

[the_pm]

Wow, the happiest man on earth only costs $24?

Actually, the $12 portion feeds 1-2, so I guess I'm not even worth that much ;)

Thanks for the support guys. I'm almost certain everything will go as expected. If I'm back online later tonight, assume the worst. If you don't hear from me until tomorrow, assume the best :D

[Jamie]

Good luck Paul! I'm sure she will say yes!

[Tjobbe]

go for it mate! if she says no, sit on her and embarras her in the middle of the restaurant till she says yes!!!


best of luck!

[Jamie]

:lol: That your plan for the special moment Tjobbe? :lol:

[Tjobbe]

oi, dont spoil it!

[the_pm]

go for it mate! if she says no, sit on her and embarras her in the middle of the restaurant till she says yes!!!


best of luck!
We're actually about the same height, Tjobbe, so I probably wouldn't squash her into submission like you suggested :) In heels (which she will no doubt be wearing tonight), she's 6'1-6'2.

[Pauly]

6'1-6'2.

Whole lot of fine :P Best wishes Paul ;)

[Christina]

Good luck! It's a great idea :) I know things will go as planned!

[websterworld]

Final tips, be dashing. Think what would I say if I was in that position.
Best way I would describe myself is as 'the perfect candidate for the next bond film'... seriously, be smooth. Look into her eyes, be charming. BEG IF YOU HAVE TOO.

[George]

A handsome young man who is intelligent and witty with a great sense of humor. A man with a steady job that pays well and one who also runs his own business (or is it two?). And a man who is demonstrating he can be charming and romantic when he pops the question. How could she possibly say no to that?

Yer in like Flint pal.

[the_pm]

Yep, one full-time job and one full-time business. That's actually one thing that concerns me. Over the course of time between Amy finishing her degree and us planning for our wedding and our future, I'm going to have to make some big life decisions about what I'm doing with my careers. It would nearly kill us if I maintained my workload and we were together, and it would negate any possibility of having children. I'm sorry, but there are things more important than work and, as hard as it is to believe, there are even things more important than IWDN!

At that point, I believe I will be ready to relaunch myself solely as an entrepreneur, concentrating only on development work and growing the IWDN network. It's more fun than being corporate-bound, and with such a great support network, the opportunities to bring in really high-end work and team up with you guys is absolutely priceless. And everyone wins in a big way. So I think that will be how things go. I'll have the flexibility of being a self-sufficient man, my work will never interfere with my family life and I'm already well acquainted with having to do a lot of hard work, so there won't be any shocks or surprises.

I got life all planned out, and it's looking good :D

Well folks, this is it. I'm signing out for the evening in a few minutes. Wish me luck, and I'll report back when the time's right.

:hi:

[Martin]

Good luck Paul. But we all know you'll be fine. Except you, who's nervous as hell. :D

[Pauly]

Except you, who's nervous as hell.

He doesn't mean to rub it in ;)

[Martin]

Don't I? :twisted: :dance:

[daniel]

good luck paul :)

[Tjobbe]

I'm actually, to be honest, quite nervous for you and raised a glass or a toast between me and my mates (yes i do have friends outside the internet ;o0)


so heres hoping for the best.



cheers!

[Pauly]

Yea Paul, I had a vodka on the rocks for me too ... uhh you :) Have a good evening.

[Alex]

Congrats man! ;)

[Jamie]

A massive congratulations you both of you Paul. Well. I actually feel for Amy! :lol:

Tell her I said to keep you under the thumb for a few years. ;)

Congratulations!

[the_pm]

Thanks everyone for your support and good wishes. It's the morning after, and I have to say the evening could not possibly have gone any better :)

It was absolutely amazing. The restaurant was amazing. I made reservations at The Melting Pot, a fondue restaurant. They sat us in a private room with two tables for two, right next to the kitchen, so we got the best service in the house, but had complete privacy at the same time. Dinner took 3-1/2 hours. The staff was amazing, very friendly, very attentive, and kept the secret so well I was wondering halfway throuh dinner whether the manager had even told them what I had planned and showed them the dessert menu with the proposal in it.

It turns out the entire staff was in on it. After I proposed, they brought us a complementary bottle of champagne, took a picture and printed it for us in their own picture frame, saved the wine bottle label for us, and every single person working that evening, managers, wait staff, kitchen crew, everyone came to our table and offered congratulations.

Oh yeah, dinner. We started with a cheese fondue made with 3 cups of sherry and two cups of blended cheese, bread, apples and vegetables for dipping. We had salads, and then for dinner, 18 oz. of lobster and a pound of filet mignon with vegetables. If you've not been to a fondue restaurant, the way it works is they bring you your dinner uncooked and prepare the fondue pot for you. You cook every single bite of food as you're eating it. Dessert was a tray of fresh fruit, cheesecake and brownies with a chocolate fondue sauce with caramel and pecans. We also got drinks before the meal and had a bottle of wine with dinner. It's hard to imagine a more perfect, relaxing way to get engaged.

And that's pretty much that. We stopped at my parents' house and her parents' house to share the good news, and we called it a night.

Excellent experience...perfect.

:love:

[Jamie]

Sounds brilliant Paul!

[Tjobbe]

many, many congratulations! really pleased for you!

[sonicgroup]

Congratulations to you both Paul and Amy! Good luck in the future! :D

[Pauly]

She said yes !

Congrats!!

[websterworld]

You made me proud, congrat's Paul best of luck to you both. :D

[Corey Bryant]

Congratulations! I am glad that it went off as well as you had planned it

[Martin]

Congratulations from both Sarah and I. I hope we can celebrate properly soon. :)

[Christina]

Aww...and you didn't get that all on video!! :lol: Congrats..! :)

[RCMV]

Hey Paul, just say this thread. Allow me to pass along my congrats to both you an Amy. Best wishes for all your future endeavors

Just remember the secret to a happy marriage is to always say "Yes dear, you're right dear" every time you have a disagreement and everything will be just fine. :lol: :wink:

[Project X]

awwwwwwwwww congrats!

(i still cant get my "boyfriend" past the "i need more space" stage... dont see this working out long term!)

[the_pm]

(i still cant get my "boyfriend" past the "i need more space" stage... dont see this working out long term!)
See now, if someone repeatedly insists they need space, I figure you just give it to them...a lot of it...permanently.

Ahh Lauren...had things only worked out differently months ago, we could be sipping margaritas on a beach in the Carribean today...but I do have the joy of marrying the woman who actually was my best friend for a time in college, and so easily became my best friend again over the past year.

One day, in the right thread, I'll tell that story. It's a rather romantic one :)

[ethicaldesign]

Man, I can't believe I missed this thread. I was wondering why you were posting at wht and hadn't posted here yet Doh!

Congratulations and best wishes for the future :dance:

[Kite]

My congartulations and best wishes!!!

p. s.
It's the first time I've seen a Love Story within a developers forum. Never expected it to happen with such kind of place. Nice surprise! Thank you for it.

[Michfrapp]

Felicitation Paul and Amy.

When is the baby planned for?... and don't forget to watch a bit the TV show Couplings (to find on BBC if you've never heard of it)... there's a lot to find in there to stay happy) ;-)... with a smile, always.

Michfrapp

[ethicaldesign]

and don't forget to watch a bit the TV show Couplings (to find on BBC if you've never heard of it)... there's a lot to find in there to stay happy) ;-)

Usually that sort of sitcom isn't the sort of thing I'd enjoy but I found myself watching all of them (mainly because of the 'jeff' character I think).

Just make sure that you watch the original english version and not the terrible watered down censored US remake if you take up that recommendation :-)

[the_pm]

Couplings...never heard of it, but I'll check it out :)

Here's a picture of me and my beloved and betrothed:
http://plhmedia.com/images/us.jpg

[Jamie]

Paul... did Amy happen to go on vacation to Benidorm recently? She is the exact double of somebody I saw often around the pool... who... was the exact same double to my foreign language tutor at College. It's a small world! :lol:

[rosschapman]

many belated congratulations Paul and Amy. Don't you look so happy together!

[Michfrapp]

A beautiful couple. And a beautiful love story. Tous mes meilleurs voeux de bonheur! ("all my best wishes of happiness" - as we say, us crazy French people)

Michfrapp :D

[the_pm]

(Hey Michfrapp, I've been meaning to ask you, are you French or French-Canadien?)

Ok, exciting update time! We've set a date: January 7, 2006, less than a year away :)

We're getting married at the Old Stone Church in Public Square (the dead-center of the city), Cleveland - http://www.oldstonechurch.org/photo_album.htm

We're having our reception at the Renaissance Hotel in the Terminal Tower, also on Public Square - http://marriott.com/property/propertypage.mi?marshaCode=CLEBR (click on PHOTO TOUR to see the place, requires Java)

[Martin]

Congratulations! And a mere 5 days before my wedding anniversary. :D

[Christina]

Hopefully the weather next year will be perfect for the wedding! :)

Congrats to you too Martin! I'm 12 days and some odd hours away from my 2nd yr wedding anniversary!! You got me beat ;)

[the_pm]

Wow, all these winter weddings - I didn't know they were so popular! It's a good thing we have everything booked I guess.

[Jamie]

Congratulations all around then I guess. :D

[Michfrapp]

Hello Paul,

I am French (from Paris originally). So if you want to go to France (where my familly lives), or to Los Angeles (where I currently live) for the honeymoon, please let me know. I would be more than happy to welcome you and your wife in either place!

Vive les marries!

:D

[the_pm]

Hello Paul,

I am French (from Paris originally). So if you want to go to France (where my familly lives), or to Los Angeles (where I currently live) for the honeymoon, please let me know. I would be more than happy to welcome you and your wife in either place!

Vive les marries!

:D
Thank you Michael. I must decline going to France for our honeymoon. That's where I went with my ex-wife when we got married! It was an awesome trip though. We traveled southern France, hitting Rochegude (where we stayed for five days), Orange, Aix en Provence, Chateauneuf de Pape, a country club in the countryside of Bergerac (two nights), Sarlot and eventually we ended up in Paris for a couple days.

Eventually Amy and I will go to France though. She'd love to go, just not for our honeymoon - a little weird, I'm sure you can imagine.

[Michfrapp]

:D Yes, I admit that would be strange. But if you want to go for another occasion, just know that you will have a place where to stay... and a native guide if I ma over there at the same time.

[the_pm]

Thanks Michael - and a native guide who speaks excellent English as well. Invaluable! Vin Rouge's on me :)

[Michfrapp]

lol... forgot to say, we also have a house in Bordeaux ;-) Nothing better for the red wine! :D

[the_pm]

Indeed, I'm a big fan of Malbecs - come to find out that's one of the five Bordeaux grapes after I'm already hooked on the Argentinean varietals. Very aggressive, very dry. Erm...the others...Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petite Verdot...and I can't remember the last one. Too many search results on Google...I give up :( What is it? (Syrah?)