We were fortunate enough to meet in a place that many consider to be the most romantic spot in San Diego - the general surgery workroom of the La Jolla Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Despite the enchanting beige walls and institutional fluorescent lighting of that first encounter, it wasn't for another several months that we would start dating. The dates began as a shared experience of pure survival during surgical training - mostly centered around eating food together - but eventually evolved into last minute hiking trips, globe-trotting, salsa dancing in Mexico (poorly), and discovering new music together. The elevated dinner dates soon devolved into regular Sunday morning donut runs, and we really started to imagine a life together.

Chris was never known for his great skill in organization or planning. That being said, he had a grand plan to propose in the Greek Islands and ordered the engagement ring well in advance. Despite this, it ended up being down to the wire, and the ring missed a connecting flight to Oregon the day before the trip. He rerouted the ring to New Jersey to his parents’ home, where we were visiting for a couple days before heading to Greece. Thankfully, Divya (having taken on a new role as the chaos muppet of the relationship) had forgotten to renew her passport and had to make a frantic last minute trip to NYC for a same day passport renewal, giving the perfect window of opportunity to have the ring delivered without her knowing. The first night in Lefkada, he proposed at sunset down by the sea, hoping that a stone path from the villa would lead somewhere cool. Thankfully, it did, and she said yes!