8 years ago today, I married the love of my life. Me...the cynical one. I used to give people very generous amounts of shit about love at first site (can you tell my parents were divorced?) and how it's not possible.
Yet...I can tell you all about the first day of the rest of my life...
I had just enrolled at Mt. San Jacinto College and was new to the area. I had too many ill fated blind dates to count and first dates that never turned into second dates. I was working part time at corporate gluttonous video franchise (a.k.a Blockbuster Video) and I decided I wanted to get out of here! After being promised one thing, and delivered another... I found myself at the 2 year college about to embark on my new journey... it was August 2000. One year out of High School and already forgot half the names of those blue gowned morons... I had Math Mondays and Wednesdays, English and Film Tuesdays and Thursdays and History on Fridays. It was a fantastic Tuesday. There was a two and a half hour gap between my English and Film classes and against my better judgement I would go to Target and Jack in the Box. Then back to the little mini quad in front of the theater where the film class was held. We walk into the first class like so many mooing cattle and take our seats. I sat behind a very nice smelling individual and start to play my game to myself "Who in THIS class would I date if they asked me out?"... Mr. Davis calls out the familiar phrase from teachers all my life "Please let me know if you prefer to be called something other than what I have on my roll sheet as we go along, thank you" and he goes down the list... we're to the M's and I'm not impressed with this selection brought forth... Math was incredibly not promising and English was mostly older women and incredibly immature boys. Film class seemed like it would be a new frontier right? Nope, not until we got to the N's...
I hear Mr. Davis say the name on the roster and as I'm leaned over into my over flowing backpack, up pops the nice smelling one infront of me and stands there in the middle of the theater, making a runway-esque circle in place and informs Mr. Davis and a booming voice with a mischievious smile "Call me Antonio!"... and with a smirk, he sits down...but not before shooting a glance my way...and there it started... I started to get to that mini quad earlier before the class started and there he would be.
Sitting on the brick planter with his sketchbook out, tongue in cheek, dressed very nicely, smelling good! And keeping to himself. At first I thought, oh no...he's too good looking, too good smelling. Hair is too nice... I honestly thought for a second that maybe girls weren't his thing. I had yet to come across a guy this kempt. But no, I noticed him glancing my general direction. And me being me, I always thought it was because he had never seen a thing so hideous before in his life.
Oh no, he was looking I came to find out later. We started the small talk chit chat and soon I was getting there earlier and earlier...and I thought it odd that a guy who girls seemed to flock to (and they did) would be sitting in one spot so long before this class started. So I asked if he had an earlier class and he did. Jogging. Okay, that's...cool? So, we talk every Tuesday and Thursday before class and pretty soon I find myself BOLTING out of English Lit towards the mini quad to get THAT much more time in.
One day, it's announced...we will be touring Warner Brothers Studios!!! The good smelling one turns around immediately! "Shotgun in your car!!" as we would not be taking a school funded bus ride. He had seen me in my car by then... a brown 1977 Impala that I lovingly referred to as Max :) My first car... I thought he was kidding... so I shrugged it off and my new friend Anna Banana and I went off in our own world again.
Day of the field trip, two weeks before our final, he shows up...with a girl in his car... WTF??? I thought he had some balls to bring another chick along with us! I mean, the good old fashioned rudeness was there, and then the fact that I started to really like him was making it worse. He rolls up with this little blondey and the first thing comes out of my mouth "I only have enough seatbelts for me you and Anna".... along with the dirtiest look I think I have ever shot.
"Oh no, I'm just dropping her off"... wow, quick defense... must be true. We spent the whole way up small talking with Anna Banana... She fell asleep in the car all the way down and that's when we got to know eachother...
It was perfect...he was so perfect for me... I was so steeped in past treachery that I didn't even catch the pick up that he wanted to go out that night after we returned to school, but I was beat and I could feel a sinus attack from being in LA all day coming on...so I said I was going home and going to bed... lame...
Two weeks later, our final. I take tests quickly and was done when he was only halfway through...so I turned back, saw his progress (or lack thereof) and started to doodle on the back of my test... mid doodle I saw him getting up and I got myself up and turned in my test right behind him. We get outside and as I am mid open mouth, about to say something, girls flock like a moth to goddman flame! No joke, I swear this is 100% accurate portrayal... I meet his eyes and he sees me walk toward my car...I start walking faster when I hear bounding footsteps behind me. I walk a little faster...a little faster, I'm making him chase me :) I watch too many movies...Anyhoo, we talk by my car for about 1 hour...then we get food... he sees I like to eat...he's enticed... He offers up a movie watching night and I agree... He offers up the Grinch movie, showing his listening skills that I had mentioned I wanted to see it months before... keeper! We see the Grinch, we go dutch cause I don't know if it's a date or not. We part ways :( That was the last day of film class! The next day I am depressed as all hell not knowing how to get ahold of this guy and I see him walking towards the Arts building as I am walking away from my history final... what were the chances??? He was just dropping off his art final so he had the rest of the morning to himself :) I was going to Target to get my sister a pan for Christmas for her new place and he came with me! My mom was so dialed in to my boring life thus far that she was beeping me (yes beeping) and he thought for a split second "Dear God what did I just step into this girl is on a leash" but not, Ma just knew my schedule so well it was odd not to be home. We exchanged pieces of art...mine a script I wrote and his a movie he made, I wrote my number in HUGE red letters and even drew a heartlike circle around it...no phone call. He grew up near where I grew up and he said if I ever went back let him know and we'll go together...well, I was looking for an excuse to visit, so I called him that Monday after I spent all weekend going over it with my friend and sister. No call back until Tuesday evening. His dad gave him the message just as he was walking out the door to work. He was late to work to call me back!! Hah!! We went on our excursion on Wednesday morning and by Wednesday evening we were a couple. Not just dating, we were together. I knew it, if he had said "Let's go to Vegas and make it official" that night, I would have gone.
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