Mark and I met on Sweet on Geeks way back in Sept, 2008. It took me FOREVER to respond to him, because I was so busy at the time, but eventually I got around to it! If you or someone you know is a plane geek, you know or see from his handle, which has PDX in it, that PDX indicates that Mark was in Portland, OR, when we met. I was in Washington State. Mark sent me a message--an answer to two trivia items I posted in my profile about where my cats' geeky names came from.
At the time, I was very much NOT interested in having a long-distance relationship and expressed that thought to him early on. He answered that he thought that was just fine, and that he still was interested in being friends. Reluctantly, I agreed... and there began the relationship with the most wonderful man I've ever known. I had to go to a conference down in Portland, in November, and we met for coffee. It turned into dinner, then drinks, then we shut the bar down, chatting! To this day, we laugh at the ending to that night, though--I got quite offended, thinking the date had not gone well when after hours together, he only offered me a stiff and awkward hug goodnight! Turns out, the desk person at the hotel I was staying was smirking at him, and he got all self-conscious! We became friends anyway, though, I stopped seeing anyone else in late November, and by December both of us wanted more than friends. By January 2009 (!), we were engaged and he moved to Washington. This even encouraged Mark's best friend to try online dating--although not being a geek, he went with another popular site. Within months, he, too, had found his sweetheart and they just got married in July 2011.
We had planned to get married that Christmas, but my job ended in June and things were really stressful for a while. I got a job offer to teach in Anchorage, AK, and after much discussion about the bad economy, we decided to take it! Just before we moved, though, I broke my arm. We decided to go anyway! We moved up to Alaska in September 2009 and Mark almost immediately found a computer networking job. Then, instead of a Christmas wedding, I had a Christmas surgery to repair my arm. Mark was there for me through thick and thin, and nursed me through everything. By the next summer I was well, and once again began making plans for a holiday wedding. We were married in December 2010, in Las Vegas. 22 people came from both sides of our families! It was a blast, and seeing Vegas at New Year's was awesome. We still live in Anchorage and are planning to remain there for a few years yet, at least until the economy improves down in the Lower 48.
Damsel.fly, and ClovisPDX
Dear Damsel.Fly and ClovisPDX,
We love love LOVE your story so much! Thank you for sharing it. Every time a geek shares a love story.....a magical mushroom grows in Endor. I went to college in Juneau and envy your amazingly brave move! : ) Thank you again for being so open with your story of geek love. I often get emails from people after we publish these saying how much they are appreciated. Stay warm in the great white north and we wish you all the best in the world!
Love long and love!
Joyce
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