Christian and I met at an event that I was volunteering at that he attended. What I remembered was this guy with red glasses and a big bright smile as I looked up to ask for his name. He was cute, but I wasn't there to 'shop' I was there to work, so I kept it professional (lol). After the event, we chatted amongst the groups milling about and eventually exchanged social medias. It was a networking type of thing, so I didn't think anything of it. What I didn't know was that Christian knew of me long before we had met.... To Shanon's point, I knew of her since settling in Pittsburgh in June of 2014. Meeting her in person in 2017 was a golden moment for me! After formally meeting, we would see each other occasionally - mostly at the cafe, but our last encounter prior to us dating was in June of 2018 at a philanthropic event. It was here where we truly connected and got the chance to have a long enough conversation to understand each other's worldview. I, personally, was sold. The time period that Christian and I met at that last event was significant, because I had quit my job of five years on June 8, 2018, to pursue being a full time entrepreneur. Around this time, I decided that I would take a week off and celebrate by doing all the things I found fun and relaxing - being present. Wouldn't you know it, in this same week when I was mixing up smoothies in my hand blender, sitting in cafés, and existing without obligation, that I would be invited to a poetry event by Mr. Cool, himself! At the time, I didn't realize the significance of the invitation. After attending the poetry event and staying past closing at Mad Mex, we went on dates daily! Shanon attended my fundraising luncheon during this time, at which my cousin "Pat Belle" (Lucretia Bell McCall) KNEW she was the woman in the room who was interested in me, who I also was interested in. On October 2, 2018, I officially asked Shanon to be my girlfriend, proposed on October 2, 2019, AND HERE WE ARE!