Qiu & David
in a global Pandemic! 😷
01 Year. 00 Days. 00 hr. 00 min. 00 sec.
About the Couple
Our Story
We met for the first time...
Qiu: During my sixie year and his second year in junior/high school, David tutored me in Latin translations after he teased on how easy it is and being a recipient of a silver medal at the National Latin Exam. We connected through our mutual height (we were both really tall for our age).
David: I remembered there were colored fingernails involved, not on her though. We spent lots of hours talking on the phone about anything and everything. This was back in the days of corded phones so she must have had some magical power to keep a young restless kid in place for hours at a time like that.
He asked me to go see a play...
Qiu: I didn't realize it was a date (he told me he got free tickets from a friend who does ballet) until a lil' birdie told me he planned to officially ask me to be his girlfriend. I didn't go and our friendship drifted apart since then. We lost touch even more after my family moved away, and we were living our separate lives.
She... stood me up.
David: I had spent a while saving up the money to buy the tickets to see a show at a Downtown Boston theater (something she mentioned about her ballet lessons during our late-night conversations). Keep in mind, I was young and had no job at the time...just small allowances from my parents. Anyways, I wasn't happy at all when she suggested the day before the show that I should go with her friend instead…let's just say she was on Santa's naughty list at that point.
We met again...
Qiu: After ten long years apart, we finally met again at a mutual friend's birthday party. He claimed I went up and bothered him while he was playing poker. I was just surprised and happy to see him again. We chatted for a bit and exchanged phone numbers.
David: I remember she showed up to the party later than me since I was already settled and playing card games with a few other people at the party. Don't know if she was as surprised as I was to see her. It had been probably at least 5+ years since we've seen each other at this point. Factor in that those 5+ years included college / university and that's a long time. We exchanged numbers after some slightly awkward long time no see chit chat.
Our first date...
Qiu: We reconnected again over the phone and met up for a picnic by the Charles River dock to catch up.
Towards the end of the picnic, he suggested we play a really easy quessing game with dinner as the prize. It took me a second to realize it was his excuse to take me out to dinner. I had other plans but I went along with it anyway for his charming effort.
He tried to pay with the one credit card that he brought with him but it happened to be the one the restaurant doesn't accept. I ended up paying for dinner on our first date. He was very apologetic and said now he has to take me out two more times to make up for it, which he did subsequently.…a picnic on the Charles.
David: We met at Shaw's to buy stuff for the picnic but I was late because I couldn't decide whether to wear a belt or not. I remember she wore a stunning summer dress and I was in some very tight jeans and polo shirt so again not sure who was more surprised to see who at that moment. 💪
At the picnic, I ask to see her phone (an iconic T-Mobile Sidekick, the smart phone device long before smart phone days). I put my email in her contact and ask her to guess the meaning of the numbers. She managed to guess it with some strong hinting so I offered to take her to dinner as a reward, which she accepted.
Unfortunately for her, we went to a restaurant that didn't accept the only credit card that managed to fit into my tight pants so she ended up having to pay for it. I felt so bad and offered to take her out to dinner two more times...intensional or accidental, that's definitely going down in the playbook to pass on to future young boys!
We lived together and we lived apart...
Qiu: We moved in together and worked opposite shifts but somehow we made the relationship work through laughter and mutual understanding. We went through it all from 3,000-mile long distance to change of careers and many many packing/unpacking of our suitcases through the years.
..lasting through ten-plus years.
David: It was like a crazy roller coaster ride...traveling around the world, changing jobs, moving all over place, long distance relationship, and the many things that could happen in between all of that. We had our ups and downs but we were always able to work through. The fact that we survived all of that indicated to me she was definitely the ONE.
He made me an offer...
Qiu: After another ten long years (this time together), he asked me to marry him—to which I declined because it was poorly executed!
My exact words were: "What are you doing??"
With that, he countered in an innocently enticing way: "You suuure??? It comes with a triiip??" 😄
...the engagement ring.
David: I was planning to make her engagement ring so I signed up for a workshop with this nice lady out in Worcester but after she heard about what I wanted to make, she broke it to me the nicest way possible, I think.
She told me, "assuming you are the best student of all time, it would probably take you a couple of years to complete it."
I then asked, "What if I'm not a good student?" . . . That's when she recommneded to work with her husband, a Jeweller who specializes in custom designs, to make it for me.
After 3 months of secretly working with him and the ring on hand, I decided I better propose soon before 'my bakemono' figures out what's going on. I attempted three times to execute my plan but failed miserably. She said no at first, but I sweetened the deal with a trip. This seemed a bit more convincing to her but she held firm.
About a week and a half later she surprised me on my birthday with a gift that had her final answer on it - YES - which brought me to happy tears. True to her a*hole side, she made fun of me, wiped the tears away and laughed at me for being so emotional.
We are engaged to get married in September 2019!
Wedding Ceremony...
♥
♥
👰🏻 🥂 🤵🏻
♾️
❤️
...and they lived happily ever after.
(hopefully!) 🤞🏻
♥
In a global Pandemic...
Qiu: I stumpled upon a newfound love in whipping up Chef John recipes: beef stroganoff, baked chicken & sausage gumbo, fisherman's pie, kimchi corned beef, italian sausage-spiced ribs, etc—to name a few among the more successful attempts! Other more proud achievements and delights included: a noncracking cheesecake, lemon curd, hand kneaded dough for oven-fresh french bread, built an island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, launched three websites, accumulated a small stock portfolio and watched way too many videos, shows and series on Netflix, HBO, Prime, Starz, Epixs, Showtime, and Youtube. We had been following and watching these series:
-
Stranger Things2016 ‧ Drama ‧ Season 5
-
Alice in Borderland2020 ‧ Thriller ‧ Season 2
-
Raised by Wolves2020 ‧ Sci-fi ‧ [ . .mourning. . ]
-
Snowpiercer2020 ‧ Thriller ‧ Season 4
-
Squid Game2021 ‧ Drama ‧ Season 2
-
Lupin2021 ‧ Mystery ‧ Part 3
-
The Orville2017 ‧ Drama ‧ Season 4
-
The Sandman2022 ‧ Drama ‧ Season 2
-
House of the Dragon2022 ‧ Drama ‧ Season 1
-
The Rings of Power2022 ‧ Drama ‧ Season 1
-
The Three-Body Problem2023 ‧ Sci-fi ‧ Season 1
"Life may be hard, but joy is simple. Finding happiness can seem complicated and impossible. But it's the little things that add up to joy." — Memories in Dragonflies.
...living through a new normal with restrictions.
David: I grew a beard and my nephews wouldn't stop calling me a hobo. I also learned to make gyūdon, one-pan chicken & breakfast, and mastered Overcooked 2 like a champ.
v
Celebrate with Us
Join us by following along on our journey.
Dinner Celebration
[UPDATE: It was written in the stars that we would not be gathering together. Wish everyone plenty of love, health, and joy. //03·2020//]
Get in Touch
👨🏻 👧🏻October ❤️ 2022· updated ·
Please write to us — PO Box 1043 Brookline MA 02446 — or send us a message: qplusdavid@gmail.com
♥
