June 22, 2002

HOW WE MET: Though Guilford is a small campus, Doug and I didn't meet or even see each other until the spring semester of our freshman year. We finally met in front of our dorm. Doug was boffing, (play fighting with large foam swords,) with a friend of his, and I happened to see him. He invited me to boff with them, but I mentioned that I was wearing a skirt and it might not be suitable, but Doug encouraged me to play anyway. So we boffed for a short while and I then excused myself. We met again the next day in his dorm room, I was there trying to hit on his roommate, but I soon realized his roommate was committed. After the second meeting we both were looking forward to seeing more of each other.

HOW THEY GOT ENGAGED: This is a long one! On April Fools Day in 2000, Doug was supposed to be in Hanover, NH, enjoying his semester off. Boy was I shocked when I finally found out he was here in Greensboro. On April Fools Day I woke up an hour early (all my clocks had been set ahead an hour, this was a running gag between Doug and I). I went to the admissions office to give a tour for some people from Smithtown (a city near where I grew up) only to find that I was not giving a tour at all. This was a set up to get me to come out and get a letter. Beyond Joy, one of Doug's friends was standing at the door with a note for me. I told him I was busy and needed to give a tour and he said I didn't have one to give, and I didn't believe him at first. Once I read the note I realized that I would have to puzzle out a few things. Firstly, what was the note hinting at? It was clearly Doug's prose, and it mentioned something about the library and a book written by him. So off I went to the library. I couldn't find the book on my own so I asked the student worker to look it up for me in the computerized card catalogue. To my surprise it was there, unfortunately the woman who used to work there, who was a bit of a stickler for rules, over heard me talking to the student worker, and was very upset that Doug could have a book in the catalogue, and she demanded that I go get the book. I was very nervous that Doug may have hacked the system, but I went to get the book and called a friend who I knew must have helped Doug out. It turned out that he had permission from the catalogue lady, and that everything was legal. well when I came back with the book the lady was on the phone with the police about the matter, but I calmly explained to her what had happened. She let me go with a 'warning'. Well it turned out that the book was all jumbled and in poems and hints. It was a scavenger hunt you see... and I was lead all over campus to places Doug and I had had special moments. The whole thing took about 3 hours. Finally I came to a place in the meadows where Doug and I used to talk. The book told me I should wait there and meditate. So, I started to settle myself, when I heard a rustling in the bushes nearby, I couldn't imagine who it would be out in the middle of nowhere, and I got nervous and tried to see who it was, but the person kept ducking behind things. (Remember that I thought that Doug was in New Hampshire.) Finally I put my head down for a moment deciding that the person wasn't going to bother me, and when I looked up again it was because Doug was on one knee with a black box asking me to marry him. I looked at the box, and saw a red 'Lifesaver', formed into a ring. I couldn't believe that he was actually there asking me, on April Fools Day with a Lifesaver, and I didn't know what to say so I started to cry. And Doug had to finally ask if that was a no, and I then told him no it was a YES! The Lifesaver by the way was made to fit my finger, and covered in clear nail polish so it wouldn't get me all sticky. The reason he didn't have the engagement ring is that it wasn't finished being custom made!