Don’t forget to bring your ID. No ID - no alcohol. Venue is strict on this policy!

So I'm talking with Adrian Tamez and Vane when they call over Adrian to meet me. Adrian turns around and starts walking towards us and I SWEAR y'all I held my breathe. A beautiful, Persian? Egyptian? Italian?(whatever he was) man wearing a captain's hat was walking towards me with ripped abs and piercing green eyes. He approached us and Adrian Tamez introduced us. Adrian said something along the lines of 'uh hi' and then walked off immediately. LOONG story short, we did not end that day on a good note and I didn't expect or care to ever hear from him again. Well, He actually called me the next day and I was SHOCKED y'all- SHOCKED. I never gave this guy my phone number! I later found out he called everyone at that party trying to figure out who knew me so he could contact me. That's pretty impressive. Bonus points: he CALLED, he didn't text. How can you NOT give someone a chance after that? So I accepted his offer to dinner and I'm so glad I did. We were inseparable after that. We became GREAT friends, we did everything together, talked about everything, and over time our friendship sort of blurred into our relationship. So I am literally marrying my best friend. How lucky am I?

In 2012, my sister organized a surprise boat party on Lake Travis to celebrate my college graduation and eventual return to Houston. The guest list had been quietly put together by family and close friends. It was supposed to be my last hurrah with the people that made my Austin experience unforgettable. Just some rowdy fun with long-time friends and nobody new to impress, right? Luckily for me, the intricate network of family and friends landed a few strangers at the party. With a boatload of support (and some liquid courage), I mustered the confidence to go introduce myself to Cinthya. We were both glad to have met each other, even though we knew I’d be leaving for Houston a few days later. Needless to say, the moving process dragged on for several months. It’s amazing how many packages you can accidentally order to an old address when you meet someone special.