Of course I said "yes!" [part 1]

My boyfriend -- errrr, my fiance! -- is the most amazing, creative, unique, loyal, playful, inventive, thoughtful, considerate, intelligent, inquisitive, ambitious, talented, hopeful, determined, supportive, sensible, respectful, dedicated, sweet, and handsome man I could have ever imagined I'd meet someday... much less convince to fall in love with me.

Amazing how dreams we might've had at 16, and perhaps almost fully discarded out of disappointment, can actually come true when / where you least expect them.

HOW JIM PROPOSED:

On Friday (6/22/07), he calls me from work asking if there's anything in particular I wanted to do this weekend. I say I'd love to try the free kayaking on the Hudson River down in Hoboken on Sunday, and possibly see the "Chicago" concert Saturday night. He likes the ideas, and just adds that his colleagues want to meet for lunch in NYC on Saturday, since this will be his last week of work.

Saturday morning, he cooks a wonderful breakfast of scrambled eggs & bacon. As we get ready to head into the city, I consider wearing a new dress I just bought, since I rarely wear dresses. Jim smoothly says no, we'll be walking a bit and I should just dress comfortably in shorts & sneakers. Good point. I ask if he'd like me to take my camera, to which he again smartly says nahhh, don't need it. Yeah, too heavy. Lastly, he suggests we take a bottle of water. Good idea.

We catch the bus to NYC. While we chat, I get the sense that Jim is kind of avoiding facing me straight-on. I decide it must be my breath & I should've brushed my teeth again after breakfast! Damn. I don't have gum.

We get to NYC, and instead of walking to Columbus Circle (about 1 mile uptown), Jim suggests we catch the subway to make it there by 1:30pm. On the train, we both see this black young lady with a big tattoo on the front of her thigh, in cursive letters: "Property of Jermaine Webb". We laugh silently to each other, both simultaneously joking that the tattoo should've been on her bum. Good gracious, could we think more alike? We've gotten used to that phenomenon; it happens often.

Jim says his colleagues are probably running late, so we kill time in Borders Bookstore. He says he's heading to the restroom & asks where to find me. I almost always make a bee-line for the True Crime section, but I don't want to get too engrossed, so I tell him I'll be in the Bargain Books section (which is always near the front). A bit uneasy, he tries to get me to give into browsing my usual section (near the back). I'm a bit suspicious, but hey, he's seriously always been 100% honest. Plus, I like surprises -- even though no one has ever really "given" me any sort of surprise (aside from a wrapped present). I get about halfway to the True Crime section when...

"Would Carolyn Eckstein please come to the front desk? Carolyn Eckstein, please come to the front desk!"

Mmmm-hmmm... Curious. OK, I'm intrigued. Is there a small crowd of Jim's family & friends by the doors? Nooooo... Uhh, where's the desk? The store clerk identifies me, smiles big, and says, "This is for you." He hands me an envelope with my name on it (hand-written by Jim), as a female clerk hands me a ziploc baggie of gorp (almonds, raisins & walnuts). I hesitantly smile & take the items, and they both excitedly say, "Have fun! Good luck!" I open the envelope and pull out a printed piece of paper, with the following handwritten message on the outside-flap:

Mija, [I absolutely adore when he calls me by that pet-name!]
If you are reading this, it means I've left the building (with Elvis). I am somewhere in the City and it's your job to find me. Follow the clues and I know I'll see you shortly! Love you!
Love,
me

Type-written on the other side:

Clue #1
Location Clue:
The punchline to this joke is "Practice. Practice. Practice."
What place does this joke refer to?

Clue as to who you will meet:
Little did I know that when I got tickets for Jim to see his favorite Impressionist piece, La Mer by Debussy, that it would be performed by your hometown orchestra. Who am I?
And no, I am not Jean Valjean!

Carnegie Hall! Tout suite!

As a classical pianist since age 5, I always knew that punchline's joke. Jim's ex-girlfriend, Regina (with whom he is still close friends and I've grown to really like as well), used to work for Carnegie Hall and occasionally could get Jim free concert tickets. She got us tickets to see his favorite orchestral piece Oct 5, 2006 -- and it just happened to be performed by the Cleveland Orchestra, which I had sang a couple operas with in high school!

As I scamper out of Columbus Circle, I curiously glance up towards the 3rd level, wondering if Jim is watching me from the enormous windows. Maybe this scavenger hunt will end back up there, where we once had a date early on, doing Sudoku puzzles on the sofa-loungers. I didn't know it yet, but he was up there watching -- hiding behind a trash bin!

I make it to Carnegie Hall and find Regina, casually leaning against the wall, waiting for me. I greet her with a hug, and coyly ask if she has a clue for me... She hands me another envelope which I immediately tear open & read the following typed message:

Clue #2
Location Clue:
What do these things have in common?
Eve
Sir Isaac Newton
The Doctor that's been kept away
Hint: You'll need to go to the closest one of these to your present location. Ask someone for the address or directions if you need to do so. Anyone except the person who gave you this clue!!

Who You'll Meet:
The following music would be in our iPod's playlists:
Great Big Sea
Butch Walker
DaVinci's Notebook
The Soundtrack to "The Lord of the Rings"
Cali

Sooooo..... I immediately know I'm going to find our married friends, Chris & Amy, as the music list immediately tips me off. But where? I was already getting flustered -- partly just from the wonderful idea of this journey that I knew would end with a perfect proposal, and partly because I was overwhelmed at just how much Jim's friends clearly love him, to be willing to help out in such a huge way. I mean, to give up part of your Saturday, and come into the City all the way from Queens for 10 minutes, just to give their friend's girlfriend an envelope?

It reminded me of one of the first impressions I ever had about Jim, from our first date: As I stood there watching all his friends (and fans?) surround us, praising him for how well he had just performed on stage with his band, and how warmly & honestly they all seemed to relate to him, I thought, "Wow, this guy must be a really good person -- look at all these friends who want to be near him & came out to support him, even at a 7:30 early gig..."

All this emotion apparently blurred my intellect, as I desperately looked at Regina, asking, "Which Doctor does he mean?!? He's been kept away? Huh?" Thank goodness for her patience and understanding that I might be a bit off-kilter with this first clue! "C'mon -- blank keeps the doctor away?" she chimed.

Ahh-HA! Chris, at the Apple Store, of course!
He and I are both graphic designers, and "talking shop" to us usually means chatting about Mac software. They're at the cool-looking Apple Store..... that I've never been to!! Ohhh, but I know where it i-is!!! To 5th Ave in front of FAO Schwartz! Vamos!

I'm lightly galloping along 57th St, thankful for the sneakers. It's a breezy 72 degrees, such a beautiful day to be in the City, which I had just gushed about to Jim at Columbus Circle. However, I'm starting to "shfitz", or perspire. And I had just told Jim a couple weeks back that girls want to remember their proposals as them having looked beautiful in the moment, not all sweaty or dirty! But I was worried he had put some sort of deadline timing on each clue, since the first one had "1:30pm" written on the envelope and said "I'll see you shortly!"

I arrive at the Apple Store, but amidst the crowd I can't locate Amy & Chris. I think, they wouldn't meet me inside, right? Wouldn't they be by the front doors? I cautiously head down the glass tower's spiral staircase. I don't want to appear dim, though it's all still exciting. I return upstairs & search all the shaded tables & chairs. Ahh-ha! They're perplexed by how they could've missed spotting me earlier. We greet with hugs, and they hand over an envelope:

Clue #3
Hyper, boundless energy, "talks too fast" are words used to describe me.
If you can't understand what I say, don't worry, Katura will translate for me.
Some people would say that I'm dating Mr. Right,
You and I will soon become family on a cool October night.
Who am I? Come over to my place!!

Jim's cousin, Kristina! I know it as soon as I see "Katura" (Jim's sister, Katie) and then the reference to Mr. Right (Kristina has been dating NY Mets cute phenom, David Wright). Plus, she's one of the only people we know living in Manhattan. But where? I don't know where she lives! I know it's on the East Side, but upper? midtown? I don't even have her phone number, do I?

Something makes me turn the clue over. In the tiniest font-size appears, "P.S. - I'm in your phone". Wow. Jim thought of everything!! I find her entry and press Send with Chris & Amy still there with me. "Your call cannot be completed as dialed." Huh? I try again. Same error. I check the number -- it only has 9 digits (not 10)! But alas, Chris saves the day! He had asked Jim for Kristina's number, just in case. Bloody genius! I call her up & coyly (again) ask her where she lives. She asks if I'm going to catch a taxi, to which I decide sure, why not. I'm still thinking there's a timeframe... Amy & Chris notice and say, I don't think there's a time-limit or that you need to hurry." OK, maybe...

[cont'd in next blog post]