NOTHING YOU REALLY NEEDED TO KNOW ABOUT PHILOSOPHY, CATS AND BRIAN.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
The Ring
Since the original post about the engagement, a lot of people have asked to see the ring. The only reason I haven't showed it is because it's not done. My jeweler, i.e. Russ, wasn't able to acquire the stones in time (granted, I gave him only a few days).
But it turned out to be a good thing as the band is too small so now we can have it resized before having the diamonds placed.
For all those who can't wait until then, the pic above will have to suffice. It's an amazingly beautiful, artistic piece, hand crafted by James Binnion Metal Arts in Bellingham, Wash. The process used is called "Mokume Gane," a 17th century Japanese sword making and decorating technique that's only been reborn recently in the late 20th century as a technique for producing wedding and engagement bands.
It's so beautiful, I'm almost hesitant to blemish it with diamonds. Right now, it's flying somewhere over the continental U.S. to Bellingham for the resizing. Then it'll come back here so Russ can set the stones and then finally it will be placed on my lovely's hand.
Moti, learning how to ski, the proposal, the after party, the lake, UC Davis. In five days, Nazzy and I spent a lifetime in early March 2007.
To say we had fun would be the ultimate understatement. In some ways, we redefined what it means for us to have fun. Number one was the fact I learned how to ski so now that's something I can share with Nazzy. I'm already counting the days until the new ski season begins! Well, without further ado, here's a round-up of our trip.
From the airport, we traveled directly to the home of "Moti," Nazzy's paternal grandmother. Despite the fact she doesn't speak English, and I don't speak Farsi, it was amazing how much we were able to communicate with one another. As you can see, we feasted on traditional Persian dishes, like cutlets and kabob koobideh, as well as a new garnish for me, toschi, a pickled salad of carrots, celery and other greenery which is delicious.
The funny part was when Nazzy's brother Joubin tried to explain to Moti how he just back from a trip to Brazil with his girlfriend, Vahishta. Moti wanted to know who escorted them so there would be no "mozak dozak" or "hanky panky."
Sadly, it was time to leave and make our way for the three-hour trek to South Lake Tahoe.
Remembering that I needed to make a blog post for the day, I snapped this pic in the back seat of the 'rents' car and sent it in on my cell phone. On the way, we stopped at their favorite roadstop restaurant, a German eatery where everyone knows Nazzy's family by name because they stop there so often. How often? When I tried to pull the bathroom trick (so I could pay for the meal before the check arrived), the waitress refused to take it because she knows Nazzy's dad wouldn't stand for it.
The Pakpour home in Lake Tahoe.
The next day, it was time to learn how to ski, but there was one problem: I had no ski equipment, including ski pants and jacket, or skis and poles.
A trip the Heavenly Ski Shop in Harvey's Hotel & Casino, and that problem was fixed. Now we look professional, right? Nazzy and her folks went up the mountain while her dad bought me a two-hour private lesson with "Roman." Roman was cool and was very patient with me. He taught me the art of the "wedge" or "pizza slice," which is how you're supposed to position your legs to slow down and control your turns. Once we were finished, my feet were killing me so I met up with Nazzy to eat lunch. Afterwards, she took me back on the beginner hill.
After about three hours of practice, this was the result. In all honesty, I came pretty far. But now you have to watch how good Nazzy and her family are. For instance, here's Nazzy and Mary while Art follows them with the camera.
And here's Art and Mary showing how it's really done.
Eventually, Nazzy and I took our first lift to the top of the bunny slope. The result wasn't very good, as I fell over and over again, including right off the ski lift.
Day 2 was a lot different.
We went to the Nevada side of Heavenly Ski Resort and were joined by Nazzy's brother Joubin and his girlfriend Vahishta.
Nazzy, Joubin and their father took turns escorting me up and down the mountain and taking themselves up the larger part of the mountain on the more challenging slopes. But first, Vahishta had to get her gear.
I was a lot better on day 2 and I had enough confidence to make my way down the semi-intermediate slope.
I was doing OK, but I was really impressed with how well Vahishta did. This was only her fourth time skiing and she was already doing extremely well.
And here's the overhead shot when Art and I were on the ski lift.
We helped a girl who'd fallen get back up and in return she offered to take a family photo.
Next time, I'll bring my sunglasses. After we made it down the mountain, it was time for lunch. While Nazzy was getting the food, I informed everyone that I was going to ask her to marry me on the next ski lift. But I needed them to go up ahead of us and have the cameras ready.
While we were eating, Nazzy went to the gift shop and purchased matching ball caps for everyone. It was time for the photo op.
What started out as a photo shoot, turned into a snowball fight.
But we'd procrastinated long enough. The fateful moment was coming up. As soon as Nazzy and I got on the lift, I went into a very impromptu speech about how much I cared for her.
The rest of the details are for her and me, but afterwards, as I started to reach for the ring in my pocket, she didn't believe me. It wasn't until I'd pulled it all the way out that she started to realize it was for real. This last video was taken by her family as we got off the lift. I admit it's a rough cut, but I'm no video editor.
Afterwards, we were all pretty excited, and couldn't wait to get back to the house to start the celebration.
Unfortunately, the celebration would have to wait. About 15 minutes later, on a run very similar to this video, I went out of control, ran into a ski instructor and severely bruised my right shoulder.
I wasn't going to let my dumbass injury ruin the day, however. There was a celebration to be had, as Nazzy's father broke out the champaign.
And celebrate we did ...
We went to the seafood buffet at the casinos and finished it off with a little craps and Texas Hold ‘em.
The next morning we took a walk to finally take a look at South Lake Tahoe.
Being from the East Coast, it was breathtaking to see the natural beauty of the Tahoe landscape.
Finally, the trip ended with a stop at UC Davis, Nazzy’s alma mater about one hour outside San Francisco.
This pic was taken in the library. In the middle is a garden. The campus is really pretty and because everything is so stretched out and flat, there are more bikes than people. I’m not kidding. Every possible piece of sidewalk that could have a bike rack, does, and most of them are full.
And that was it; the trip, the proposal, everything. Thanks to all our family and friends who’ve been so supportive. And if you ever get a chance to visit Lake Tahoe, go! It’s so worth it.
When shooting without artwork, go with something from the cat collection, I say.
So, Nazzy and I are settling back into the groove. Neither of us looked forward to getting back to work, but alas, 'tis necessary. For me, that means getting back into the homework groove as well. Tonight, it's working on my Ethics presentation for next week's class. Why I chose to do Kant, I have no idea.
I finally called just about everyone necessary to give them the good news, even reaching my brother (in Peru) and father (in Costa Rica) this morning. Everyone is genuinely happy for us, and they constantly remind me how much they "really, really like that Nazzy." Yeah, I do too...especially since she cleaned the house and made me dinner tonight.
Hey! What can I say? I'm injured! Fortunately, not that bad. Went to the doctor this afternoon and the diagnosis was positive: severe right shoulder bruise, but no major damage. Hopefully, I'll be throwing fastballs by the time spring training is over. The funny part was when the doctor went to look at the bruise, she did one of those cringes, like "what the hell is that?!" When you can get that reaction from a general physician, that means you did some damage. I'll see if I can get Naz to take a picture of it before bed tonight and I'll post it tomorrow.
Finally, I'm working on posting all the pictures and videos online for public consumption. When I do, I'll post a wrap-up article on the whole trip and give you all the gory details on how I popped the question. Off to study now. Good night!
What an awesome time we've had here in Lake Tahoe. Today, we walked around the lake (you can see clear to the bottom from 20 feet up) and on the way home we toured the UC Davis campus (Nazzy's alma mater).
Now we're back in Walnut Creek, preparing for the trip home. But of course, there's always time for one last bloggy.
Thanks to everyone for their notes and phone calls of encouragement. The celebration of the engagement last night was enough to mark the occassion and the wedding plans have already begun.
I'll provide more detailed accounts when I get home (and need time to goof off at work). Until then, see you all back on the east coast.
I can't type much because I totally ate it on the slopes today and screwed up my shoulder but I asked Nazzy to marry me, on the ski lift, and she said "yes!" This picture was taken minutes after the fateful moment. I'll write more about it tomorrow, but I don't have much time right now and my shoulder has very little motion.
I love this woman more than words can describe anyway.
My lower legs were in so much pain today I can't even describe, but my first day of skiing was really, really fun. Nazzy's family and the instructors said I was way ahead for a first day skiier.
Nazzy was an excellent teacher and we had a great time going up and down the slopes together. Tomorrow: More skiing! Only this time with Joubin and Vahishta, who are arriving late tonight. More updates tomorrow!!!
This is the best I can do for a blog post today. We flew into San Francisco this morning and I met Moti, Nazzy's grandmother. I fell in love with her ... I didn't want to leave her. But now we're on our way to Lake Tahoe and that's when I snapped this pic in the back seat of the folks' Beamer SUV. More to come...
