It was Fall 2014 after his college graduation when Ryan first sighted a mysterious and beautiful lady in the halls of the UC Davis MIND Institute. Could it be the same hottie from the holiday card which was pinned on the cabinet in one of offices where he entered data and filed xeroxes? Time passed and Ryan began to wonder if he would ever cross paths with her, but he maintained hope. Then on the fateful day of November 6, 2014, Ryan's esteemed coworker Bella invited him to join her and another colleague for lunch. That colleague turned out to be the mysterious beauty, the girl from the holiday card, the one and only Melanie. The group struck up a conversation and Melanie shared that she had double-majored in music and psychology. She played classical piano! Ryan, a jazz musician and psychology graduate, was smitten. He proceeded to nonchalantly ask his supervisor which lab Melanie worked for...they were actually in the same lab but on different projects! As luck would have it, three months later our future lovebirds were placed together in a small cubicle. Ryan had a captive audience. Conversation turned into occasional lunches, a group celebration on St. Patrick's day, and then their first date at Root of Happiness Kava Bar. The rest is history.