How We Met

Ian’s birthday our first year together.

Hiking Enchanted Rock our first year together.


Today marks exactly 3 years since Ian and I first met, and I thought I’d share that story since it almost didn’t happen.

We had actually ‘met’ before that online (yes, we’re one of those eHarmony couples – my mom keeps saying we should do a commercial for them), and had emailed back and forth several times. Sunday August 9th came around, and I happened to have an extra ticket to a Round Rock Express baseball game that night, and thought ‘why not?’ – time to meet in person. So I invited him, and he said sure. Since the ball park charged per car for parking, we decided to meet up at a nearby drug store and just carpool in one car. Oh so thrifty of us, and oh so not a good idea. You see, at this point I was living in south Austin, and had only been up in that area for a game once before. Ian had just said there was a drug store right nearby the park, and suggested we meet there. The problem? The Dell Diamond is kind of in the middle of suburbia, meaning there’s a drug store every other corner, and in this case 3 nearby ones that the meeting place could be.

Fast forward to just before game time, and I’m getting caught in traffic and running late, so I reach for my cell phone – and it’s not there. I left it at home. I never do that! Slight panic, but at this point I think I’m still ok. I finally make it up to Round Rock and stop at the CVS I thought Ian meant. No sign of him (I did ask a random guy standing around if he was Ian, even though I hoped not because he didn’t look like Ian’s profile pics). So then I drive to a nearby Walgreens. No Ian there, either. Then I drive to the other Walgreens nearby, and still no Ian. At this point it’s 45 minutes past our meeting time, so I figure he went home. And I have no way to call him, not having my phone, unless I drive all the way back down to south Austin. To say I was upset would be an understatement. I felt horrible. Poor guy thinks I stood him up on our first date, and will probably never want to meet me now.

Having no other option, I drive back to my apartment in south Austin. I go inside, find where I left my phone on my bed, and see I have 4 missed calls from him. Increase horrible feeling a million. I call him back. Amazingly, he answers. I start talking a mile a minute, I’m so sorry I forgot my phone etc. He seems glad to know I didn’t intend to stand him up, and that the Taco Cabana pity party food he was eating was now just tacos. We determined that the last Walgreens I stopped at was the one he meant, but of course he was already gone by the time I got to it. It’s starting to be a bit funny, though I’m still flustered and upset. Then he asks if I still want to do something that night. I almost say no, just because I feel so crappy after this whole experience, but c’mon! I basically stand the guy up and he still wants to see me. So we decide on mini golf in Austin instead (location unconfusable). We meet up there and had a great first date, despite the misadventure earlier in the evening.

Now, whenever someone asks how we met, Ian tells them (with a big smile) that I stood him up on our first date. And we go to a baseball game every year for our anniversary to make up for the one we missed.

I would say let this be a cautionary tale to all those transitioning from online to real-life dating (exact locations, don’t forget your phone), but then again it turned out pretty awesome for us. 😀

1 year anniversary at the ballpark. Ian caught a foul ball, even.

2nd anniversary, 2011.

3 year anniversary, last night since there was no game tonight.

 

6 comments

  1. Oh gosh, what a cool story!!! I love that you guys go to a baseball game for your anniversary. Too cute!

    1. Thanks!! 🙂 I surprised him with it the first year, because I still had those tickets we never used. Then it just sort of became the thing we do.

  2. Amanda- that is a fantastic first date story. How amazing that it all worked out in the end. Seriously, that’s like something you would watch in the movies. And why, why, why do we always forget cell phones when something like this happens? When they are an absolute necessity they can’t be found.
    Oh and funny sidenote-
    My sister and her hubs who married last June met online and went to a b-ball game on the first date, only they had a much less dramatic first date 😉

    1. Aw, thank you! And yes, amazing and awesome.

      I seriously *never* forget my phone, so it was extra frustrating.

      Did your sister meet her fella on eHarmony as well? Small world! Glad their start was a little less dramatic. 🙂