"Is that Zapfino?" The first words Chris said to me as he asked about the written tattoo on my foot. Zapfino being the typeface (or font as most of you may know it). To my surprise as a graphics nerd, he was correct! Chris claims, "he knows typefaces when he sees them". ••• Meanwhile, I began the semester hoping she hadn't graduated yet. Luckily, she strolled into my GC 406 class and I didn't let the opportunity slip by. ••• Only knowing Chris as a mere acquaintance at the time, I saw him sitting in our Inks and Substrates class. Unbeknownst to Chris, I had been working with our professor to "TA" the class. To which, I looked at Chris and told him, "You want to be my lab partner". ••• Awesome! It wasn't long before my roommates and Mom referred to Kristen as my "future wife". ••• From there, Chris and I spent the duration of the semester working on projects (and kicking ass). In fact, we've been published, together, on "Brand Color Analysis & Perceptible ∆E Values" (my idea). For those of you that know me well, I've spent my career focusing on just that! But I couldn't have done it without Chris and his knowledge surrounding the many areas of the print industry. During this time, Chris continued to ask me to "hang out" time and time again. I was so focused on school and work that it took until Thanksgiving Break for us to formally "hang out". We ended up spending the Holiday together–buying groceries and cooking stir fry together. ••• "No one should spend Thanksgiving alone" was all it took. ••• Shortly after, I graduated. Ironically, the top job offer that I got was in Cincinnati, Ohio–Chris's hometown. Turns out, the job I took wasn't the right fit for me. Chris reached out and recommended that I talk to Phototype, as I might be the perfect fit for a color position that was available. ••• And the rest is history.