We're getting the government involved!

I had just started seeing İpek, but I knew I wanted to do something nice for her for Valentine's. We were still working at the same company at the time, so I came up with the plan of leaving something in her desk drawers at work. I knew there was a Turkish market nearby my house in Allston, so I checked it out the weekend before Valentine's while İpek was visiting her friend Elif in New York. I went in there and had no idea what I was doing, so I just grabbed a bunch of chocolates with names I didn't know in the hopes that İpek would like at least one of them. I took them over to the office and put them in İpek's drawer, hoping she wouldn't check in there until I told her they were in there on Valentine's. Of course she found them on Monday, and she was so confused that she thought Elif had somehow put them there. It didn't take her too long to figure out it was me though, so the surprise gift was only a little early.

Friday was a Flo Rida concert at House of Blues Boston, but I don't have the character count for that. We flew the next morning to Milwaukee, and stayed with my dad that night. We woke up early Sunday for İpek's first sacred pilgrimage to Lambeau Field. We arrived at the Airbnb right at check-in time, giving us plenty of time to check out the new Titletown area outside the stadium. We went took pictures with Packers-themed ice sculptures, went down the tubing hill, visited the pro shop, enjoyed the incomparably historic exhibits of the Packers Hall of Fame, and of course enjoyed our fair share of brats and beers. One fellow fan praised our innovation of putting cheese curds on our bratwurst - yet more proof of İpek's culinary genius. Our seats in the newest section of the stadium were breathtaking, and as cliche as it is, I don't think either of us will forget the moment that İpek walked into the stadium and saw the field for the first time. The game was exciting, it snowed, and the Packers won, so we continued the party at a bar outside the stadium before we walked back home. Had it stopped there, it would have already been the best weekend trip ever. But on our drive back to Milwaukee on Monday, our flight was cancelled. Undeterred, we extended our car rental and called my dad to tell him we needed a place to stay. We then proceeded to conduct our own walking brewery tour of Milwaukee - we still have all the coasters. We ended the tour with a bonus trip to Miller Park to gear up for a great season to start in April. When I think of this trip, that Monday is the day I think of. Besides the fact that İpek has given me the spirit of adventure to have even been in Wisconsin that weekend, there is little chance I would have thought of doing something so fun by myself - and I certainly would not remember it so fondly if not for her never-ending enthusiasm for everything. She makes my life a friggin awesome story, and nothing captures that better than those few days.