Once upon a time there was a girl named Jennifer and a boy named Herman.
They met one night at the Firecracker, a restaurant by day and jazz & hip-hop club by night. Herman went because he wanted to hang out with his cousin. Jennifer was there because her coworker insisted she had to get out and have fun. As their two groups mingled at the club, the entire table decided to go to the dance floor... all except Herman who would not budge. Despite multiple girls trying to pry him out of his chair, he insisted, "I Don't Dance."
A year later, Jennifer met a different group of friends through an Alumni mixer. Among these new friends, one boy stood out. He was well known for his "Chinese Fro" because he let his hair grow out and it would get poofy and big, and he had tales preceeding him of being the guy who recently asked four girls to the dance floor at the same time. But more importantly, Jennifer observed that this boy, as odd as he seemed, was the first to take care of his friends. If it was late at night, and someone was walking to their car, he would insist that he go with them for safety - girls and guys alike.
Who knew that this 'daredevil on the dance floor' turned out to be the same "I Don't Dance" boy that Jennifer met a year earlier through another group of friends?? What a difference a year made!
Towards the end of 2001, as they grew to know each other more, they found themselves inseparable. They had so many shared interests, yet were so different at the same time. He was a 3D artist with knack for cooking and fixing things. She was a project manager with workaholic tendencies and a love for taking pictures and making videos.
They adopted their dog Barklee together in 2006 and perhaps that was a sign of things to come...
On Jennifer's birthday, Herman surprised her by bringing her to a beach-side restaurant in Oxnard. He had a giant bag containing her 'decoy' gift of a DCR-SR100 Sony HD Handycam and camera case. These 'decoys' were then used to film the actual proposal...
Tip: Hit play, then pause and let the green loader bar get about half way before hitting playing again.
Old habits are hard to shake and Herman has since returned to his "I Don't Dance" days... :)
