The first letter has been sent. Here it is;
Happy New Year Everyone!
I hope this letter finds you all in good health.
I thought I'd take a few minutes to update everybody on the events of last year. Aunt Ellen said I don't write enough, she's doing great by the way, she sends her best and said the food at the home has improved tremendously since they fired the previous cook.
What a year 2010 was! I've written down a few of my favorite memories from the year, I hope you enjoy them. The Doc said it would be helpful if I started writing down my thoughts daily in a journal, it’s been great to put part of my life down on paper. I found I was able to articulate some of my most intimate thoughts and feelings in a way I’ve never been able to before. So when I was trying to think of things to put in this letter I thought, “What better to share with my friends and family than some of my journal entries?”
A couple of you don't know the story of how Monica and I met, so I thought I'd recount it here.
I remember how excited I was in February when I finally asked Monica out, it may seem like a small thing, but I'd been trying to work up the courage to ask her out for months. I noticed her the first day she came to work with me, she was stunning! I remember barely being able to mumble my name and shake her hand when her manager walked her around the office. That was in July of 2009, I tried to approach her in the break room a number of times, but kept chickening out and getting coffee or searching the cabinets for paper towels. I finally managed to interact with her when I screwed up my expense report and she had to come over and help me fix it. I laugh to think what an idiot she must have thought me, when I spent the next 4 months botching every expense report I turned in, just for the pleasure of her company that half-hour a week.
I had to change tactics in November when my performance review rolled around. It turns out Monica had actually become quite frustrated with me and reported my accounting deficiencies to my boss. He was less than understanding when I tried to explain.
By this time though, my mind was made up, I'd have to find a good way to ask her out. The very next week HR posted the dates for our yearly off-site trip, it was perfect! We were going to reant out a fitness club and spend the day doing team-building activities there. The gym was really great! They have a pool, spa, sauna, a rock gym, volleyball courts, the works! It was also the week before Valentine's Day so the timing was spot on.
I started setting the stage early. I sent her a present from “Santa” for Christmas, but it was returned. It's really her loss, the Cylon helmet looks great anywhere in the house, and it's functional to boot, it even has a voice changer built in. Her loss, I guess she's not the Battlestar Galactica fan I pegged her for.
I asked her what she was doing for New Years in an email. I was a little nervous about this, so I copied the whole office on the email, I guess a lot of my other coworkers thought I was asking them as well, I got some pretty interesting responses before IT sent me a copy of the corporate email policy and cut my access for two days. Monica didn't respond =(
Three days before the event I finally got my chance, she was in the break room talking with some of the other accountants, I was so nervous, I'm sure I was covered in sweat, I asked her if she was going to the event and she said yes!!!! She seemed a little annoyed that I would ask her out like that in front of her co-workers so I tried to excuse myself quickly. Now that we were going to the event together I thought it best to try a compliment. Looking at her I noticed that she looked pretty worn out, so I told her that maybe a trip to the gym would be good for her, and that I couldn't wait to see her at the event. Now her co-workers seemed annoyed. At this point nervousness took over and I practically ran out of the room, I forgot my coffee cup too.
Needless to say our day at the gym was fantastic! I made it halfway up the rock wall before one of the attendants had to rescue me, a new personal best! The rest of the day was spent keeping Monica company, she makes friends so quickly I had trouble remembering all their names. In particular there was one of the trainers at the gym who she seemed to be getting along with really well. They were talking about private training sessions and swapped phone numbers, I guess she took my compliment to heart. In the end, everyone had a great day. To commemorate the date I used all the photos I took to make a scrapbook. I was able to collage Monica and I together in most of them without it being too noticeable, I still don’t know how we managed to not take a picture together that day. I dropped the scrapbook off in her desk at work, I don’t want to brag but I think this was what finally made her understand my feelings for her.
Sadly, this brings us to the low point in the story. The very next day my boss called me into his office. I guess Monica went to him for relationship advice and showed him the scrapbook. He said he hoped I would understand and that no one wanted to get Legal involved, but that it’d be easier for everyone if I transferred out to the Oakland branch. I guess corporate takes Inter-Office relationships very seriously. I didn’t mind moving across the bay so much, Oakland is a lovely city, but not working with Monica daily was the pits! My boss turned out to be a pretty OK guy. I think it’s a testament to the power of love that instead of firing me, he transferred me out of the office so Monica and I could keep on dating.
That’s the story! Monica and I couldn’t be happier, we haven’t had much chance to talk since the move, but we’re both doing great. She’s been spending a lot of time working with that gym instructor, it turns out his name is Zach, she posts about him on her Facebook quite often. I’ve been focusing on my art.
Love and Health,
Steve
