How/Where did you meet? ( 1

Just an interesting thought/question? How did everyone meet their spouse?



Kris

I guess I can start ... I met my husband in a hot tub at our apartment complex when we were both in college. It was February and my roommate and I trudged through the snow in swimsuits to get to the hot tub and there was my hubby and his roommate already there. We were the only crazy people to be out at midnight, in the snow, in swimsuits!! I started hanging out at the hot tub more often and so did he! He found out when my birthday was from a friend and learned that we shared the same birthday so he asked me out for our birthdays a whole month in advance! It was a long month! 5 months later we were engaged. 4 months after that married and 10 years later we are still going strong, even with medical school stress. It must have been all that hot water!!! I look forward to hearing everyone else's stories. Robin

I had some good friends that eventually moved far away from home so the husband of the pair could attend med school. He had been an ambulance driver that went back to school when he realized he wanted to do more. Today he is an emerg doc.



Anyway, they moved far away, and my friend ended up becoming friends with my husband, another med student in his class. They had a funny feeling that he and I would have a lot in common, so they set up a blind date, even though both he and I were very reluctant participants.



Well, a few dates later it became clear that this was a special match. Nine years, residency, first job, and two children later, I still agree!

[Phoebe]

What a good idea. I love learning about how people met! My story is kind of funny. A friend of mine worked at a hospital an hour away and remarked on all the cute residents there and that I should have lunch with her to try and meet one. I wouldn't want to work that hard for a date. haha. I told my mom (whom I was living with at the time) and she said they had a resident rotating through her office. I refused the lunch idea to try and meet him but said she could find out about him.



Poor guy, my mom ambushsed him with personal questions only to find out that he and I had a lot in common and he had just moved to the area to start his residency. Of course, she offered my assistance in showing him around. We became friends, dated and got engaged 14 months after we met. We married last June following his peds residency and moved so he could start is neonatology fellowship. We are expecting our first child late this year and couldn't be happier.



My mom has always said that she knows me better than I know myself so I guess she is right.



Jennifer

oh wow--one of the reasons I moved away from AZ was in general i found the men there a bit too over the top--either incredibly closeted or very very out--wearing their sexuality on their sleaves. I moved ot MNPLS for a number of other reasons as well don't get me wrong, but all in all AZ was the last place I expected to find anyone.



while working for my employer here I was sent home on business. I decided to stay with my friend as I really don't like hotels. Dan had ended a relationship about a year before I returned home for business. I was in the kitchen making some food--I really like to cook--and he came walking in with a big smile and a very warm hadnshake and said "welcome home"--as the story goes as he left the kitchen he commented to my friend "and he cooks too".



It was apparant from that first meeting that this was something very different. I almost cut my toe off as I dropped the knife when I saw him walk into the kitchen--how mushy and love sick is that?



I spent the next 3 or 4 days out of the house and away from him. I didn't want to be anywhere near him as I knew that this could have led to something I didn't think I wanted. How ironic that I had to go to a place I hate to find someone I love.



My friends were calling eveyr hour on the hour from MNPLS telling me to come home come home--he lives there and you live here. On Valentines day we went to a movie and the rest is history.



He was a pretty mushy guy in those days, he really won me over with that--the residency has pretty much blown that out of the water but every once in a while I see a little of the person that I used to know and am reminded how lucky I truly am. So there you go there is my mushy valentines day story.

Thomas and I met in Germany when I was an exchange student. He was doing a rotational year (required in German Med Schools) and I was doing a practicum in the hospital. We got paired up to work together.



The funny thing is that we initially couldn't stand each other. We got stuck working on the same team and before we knew it we had become good friends. We spent a lot of time after hours just talking. He finally asked me out and then was late meeting me for the date. I was getting ready to leave when he showed up....and it turned out to be a magical day....we both just "knew" that it was meant to be. One year after our first date we were married.





Kris

[DCJenn]

Rick and I met after I placed an ad online. I was truly tired of listening to my two best friends (who coincidentally couldn't stand each other) complain about the lack of men in the DC area. So I informed them that I was posting an ad and they had no choice but to participate. My friend from 4th grade is Catholic, my room-mate from college is Jewish and I was raised as a Protestant. Hmmmmm, sounds like the old joke... So it started out "a priest, a rabbi and a minister..." and then once they clicked on it, I went on to explain that the above mentioned religious leaders were going to lose their jobs as we still hadn't met our Mr. Rights. I then explained in detail what each of us were looking for. I merely explained that I was looking for a nice, tall military man. So, 150 reponses later and still not ONE for me specifically- finally a response from Rick, who it turned out was attending USUHS and at the time wasa 3rd yr med student. He was in Hawaii doing a rotation so we corresponded for 6 weeks until he got back...that was March of '99 and we were married in May of 2000. I keep telling him it was the uniform- not the MD, the MD is more of a pain than a selling point!!

AMEN on the MD being a pain more then a draw. If I hear one more person look at me and wink and say "oh you got yourself a doctor" I am going to punch them in the face

Jason, I agree with you. Because Andrew as in med school, I was reluctant to go along with the blind date. I thought "gee, too bad he isn't in some other career". But I got all these comments from people that, basically, implied I was with Andrew only for the money. What a horrible insult to this man I fell in love with. And what a horrible insult to me as a person.

Like I said If I hear one more person make that sort of referrence--I am going to pop them in the jaw--He threw his back out yesterday at work--OH THE FUN AT MY HOUSE--Poor Guy

I know what you mean. I purposefully don't tell new people that I meet.....The last time I did, I was talking to 2 teacher's wives and we were having a great discussion about life and stress, etc..and when they found out what Thomas does they said "ah....but your stress doesn't count anymore..." They were half-joking...so I just don't mention it...I say he works at the hospital...and usually no one presses it. Funny what the perceptions are!



Kris

Kris, that is exactly what I say: "He works at the hospital." And nobody presses it. I guess they don't want to guess nurse or orderly when he's a doctor, and they don't want to guess doctor when he's the one doing the hospital laundry. There are SO many jobs at the hospital. If they press it further, I say he works in the diagnostic imagine dept. Nobody asks after that if he's a radiologist!



I find I get treated differently too because of Andrew's MD status. And that bugs me. I am just Janet, the same me that was here before I met my husband.

[DCJenn]

I tell people that Rick is "in the Army" and that usually satisfies them. I have noticied that a few friends have changed their attitudes towards me. I don't know if it's because I'm married or if it's because he's a doctor or if it's something else. All of my friends are single 30-somethings and are still looking for Mr. Right. (see reference above!)

for those who don't know what daniel does--I tell them that he is a nail tech--how funny is that--nothing against nail techs it is just that he is so tall and so big--he doesn't fit the image

This is an easy one for me. Aaron and I had actually written our own versions of the first time we met. Some facts to provide so the story makes sense. 1. Aaron was in his 2nd year of a Masters program. 2. I had graduated from undergrad in May and stayed down at college to run the marketing firm I owned and to act as General Manager for 4 campus bars/restaurants. 3. We met on September 21, 1993. See below!!





It was a warm, exciting Saturday night. The campus (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)had been hopping all day. Tons of people were blowing off school work in exchange for rollerblading, laying out and playing basketball at Frat Park. Music was blaring from fraternities and apartment balconies. It seemed like everyone was going out that evening! I had made plans to go out to Kam's (one of the campus bars) with Rebecca (sorority sister of mine) that evening, but I had time to kill and decided to go to Bub's (one of the bars I managed) and see what was going on. I had been on my way out the door when I heard Marc (the guy who lived upstairs) shouting down to Jason (a guy I had scammed with a year or two previous) and the rest of their group. When I looked over I saw Howie (a guy my brother went to law school with and that I had gone on a few dates with three or four years previous). I was about to die. It had been ages since I had seen him and didn't know whether I wanted to say hi or hit him first. It turned out they were going to Bub's too so I gave Howie and his friend a ride. During the ride Howie played 50 questions. Turns out him and Paula (a girl in another sorority who I also knew. She hated me b/c Howie tried to go on some dates with me while they were dating, but she was out of the country as an exchange student. I never did go out on the dates with him.) had broken up and he was working for Daddy. As usual, he made me ill, but I was nice since he knew many of my friends. When we arrived there was a huge line at the front door so I snuck them in the back door through the kitchen. I got them all a beer and then called Rebecca to see if she was ready yet. I ran into tons of friends in the back room (the back room of the bar was where all my sorority sisters and other assorted friends hung out). It was so crowded back there. I think the whole Jewish circle was out that night. Rebecca paged me about 10 minutes later, so I left to go pick her up. Rebecca took forever to decide what to wear that night. She was still contemplating which belt to wear when I got there. Even though she wanted to go to Kam's I told her that all the bars were too crowded and that we would never get in (it was homecoming weekend and everyone was out - not to mention all the alumni that came to town), and that we had to go to Bub's. We probably could have gotten in the other places, but for some reason I really liked the crowd at Bub's that night and I wanted to go back. I finally got her to pick a belt and leave.



We quickly drove over to Bromley (one of the popular dorms) to pick–up Debbie (another sorority sister of ours) and then onto Bub's. Again, I snuck in through the kitchen door. It seemed liked the place had gotten even more crowded, but I really didn't mind. It was nice to see everyone again. I immediately went to the bar and got the three of us a beer. I ran into Howie again and fake smiled. The three of us continued to mingle in the front of the back room. Somehow Rebecca and Debbie went in a different direction so I temporarily lost track of them. I remember walking towards Michelle, Danielle and that whole group playing cards (several sorority sisters) at a table in the middle of the room. Then I ran into Kim (another sorority sister) who was walking around talking to everyone. Then I made my way over to my pledge great-granddaughter, Rachel (yes - another sorority sister), and Alan (her boyfriend at the time) who were at a table further back towards to dartboards (the electronic ones - they were very popular at school!). I think I remember Al telling me about a guy who was asking about me. Rachel told me that she told him not to bother since I had a boy friend (Up until that Fall - August - I had been living with a guy I was dating, but I broke it off with him). I remember yelling at Rachel that she should not have done that since I had broken up with Steve and was definitely looking to meet someone new! I remember Rachel being in shock that I had broken up with him since we had been living together and lavaliered (a fraternity / sorority thing you do to show your committed to each other). Al told me not to worry about it and that he would straighten things out! I think I finished that conversation and then went to get another beer and look for Rebecca and Debbie.



When I came back I ran into them talking to some people near the wall that separates the room we were in from the dartboard room. I remember them talking to this guy in white shorts and a blue polo shirt. I don't recall if I thought he was cute or not, but I remember figuring - I don't know this person - why not meet him. The next thing I remember he started talking to me. He said, "That's a cartush your wearing, right?" (I used to wear one). I was in shock that he knew what it was (no one really knew what they are) so I asked him how he knew. I think he said that a friend of the family had gone to Egypt or that they had one. He asked me how I got mine and I went on to tell him how I went on a trip to Israel, Egypt and England for my Bat Mitzvah. Then we kept talking about other stuff which I really don't recall, but all of a sudden I found myself engulfed in a conversation with this guy I didn't even know. This is so unlike me since I hate talking to strangers at the bars. I think I made an exception since he seemed to know everyone that I knew. I just couldn't figure out how I never met him.



Rebecca interrupted the conversation to asked for another drink (I got free drinks as the manager) so I asked him if he wanted anything and told him to stay put. I got all of us a drink. I remember getting him a coke. At one point I remember hopping up next to him on the ledge that overlooks the dartboards. We got to talking about how I went to U of I as an undergrad and was in SDT. I also told him about my job. I felt weird telling him how I wasn't a student. At some point that evening I gave him a business card. I felt like such an idiot since explaining my job with Infinity (the name of the holding company that owned all the bars/restaurants) and the business that I own is so difficult sometimes. I also remember talking about how he was in graduate school and was an AEPi as an undergrad.



Howie eventually came over for a little and I politely shot the @#%$ with him. As he walked away I whispered "Àsshole" under my breath. Aaron laughed. He had thought that I actually liked this guy. I told Aaron the story about how my brother had set me up with him and the whole situation with Paula and Rick (a franternity brother of Howie's that I dated for several months). I kept commenting on how I can't stand guys and that I never seem to be able to find the type of guy I want. He asked me what it was that I was looking for in a guy. I said initial attraction was important, but that my biggest complaint was that guys don't know how to communicate. I also wanted someone who was sensitive and not a "typical" guy (but at the same time not a push over), someone who was athletic, funny and who I could talk to about anything – an unselfish person who could be not only my boy friend, but my best friend. I also remember mentioning Rachel and Alan and the fact that I used to have a boyfriend, but that we had broken up. I couldn't believe how I had completely forgotten about Rebecca and Debbie and gotten so into this conversation. I remember thinking that I could see spending some time with this guy. He was relatively cute, seemed atypical and was great to talk with. I think that is why I had given him my card in the first place. I think I made another trip to the bar at this point. We continued to talk and eventually he asked me if I would like to go out later in the week. I wanted not to appear to anxious so I paused, shrugged my shoulders and then replied, "Sure, why not!". We talked about doing something Tuesday because that was the one day he didn't have to work (he was a waiter at one of the local restaurants), but he did have a softball game so we would go out after that. I started to get really excited about the whole situation. (I didn't think I was going to meet anyone that year - let alone someone older) This guy was fun and easy to talk to. I remember thinking that I should not count on him calling me since most guys don't; but that if he did that would be cool! Our conversation ended because the bar closed and we had to leave. Rebecca and Debbie wanted to go to afterhours (parties at the frats After the bars close) but I wanted to go home to bed. It had been a great evening and I was really hoping that Aaron would call me! Rebecca kept telling me not to calm down about the whole thing. She said there was no reason to worry – he would call!



And he did. And the rest is history!!