We both joined a small EV start up in El Segundo, California at the beginning of 2018. Just south of LAX, it's a tiny little slice of America in LA. There's a great Main Street, lots of mom & pop shops, a big baseball field right in the middle of town and walking distance to the beach. Our company was spread out over 4 separate buildings in a tiny neighborhood called Smoky Hollow-- it was a pretty neat set up. However, we didn't encounter each other until months later when we left El Segundo for a much larger building in Torrance. Then one day I was in the break room getting a cup of coffee and Angella walked in. I was obviously stunned at her beauty and also she just looked so cool! She always has great style and I definitely noticed. I had a problem though...I have a strict work policy of no funny business! We both did! We became great colleagues quick though. We really got to know each other on a research trip I planned for our team to Shanghai and Hong Kong. It was such an adventure for the 10 of us on that trip and for me, I was lucky enough to get know my future wife a little better. I could say we were friends and not just work colleagues at this point. We went our own ways for a bit after that. I continued on to England for several months on work and Angella went back to LA. We stayed in touch here and there while I was away which, looking back on, I am so grateful for. Arriving back in LA, I remember seeing Angella on my first day back. We exchanged a big hug and a laugh....UH OH! Soon after Angella moved on from the company to her next adventure but of course, we stayed in touch. We became happy hour friends for a while but timing didn't match up for us at that moment. After about 6 months of not seeing each other we decided to go out for a drink to catch up. After a great night and a bad 2 am French Dip sandwich, she gave me kiss on the cheek and said see you soon! She will be mine...oh yes she will be mine. The next week, I worked up the courage to ask someone, who now had been my good friend for almost 2 years, out on a date. She said yes! Our first date was great but also started with lackluster food..Damn! Anyone who knows me is probably shocked. More on that in a minute. There rest of the night was a hit. Ultimately having our first kiss at a place that would play an important role in our engagement, Hotel Casa Del Mar. This was January 2020. Little did we know our new relationship would be put to the test almost immediately.

I remember the phone ringing one night fairly early and it was Angella. Naturally, I picked up right away and she was very upset. She went on to tell me how her parents were on THE "COVID Cruise" in Asia, stuck in Tokyo at the harbor. Japanese officials decided to quarantine the boat and all the passengers on it to their rooms for 2 weeks. She and her brother spent the next days and nights talking to the Japanese Embassy, US Consulate and many others to help figure out how to get her parents to safety. This was my introduction to what would play a huge role in our lives for the next years. COVID was right around the corner and no one had any idea. Her parents made it home healthy to the States but not after military plane rides and stays at bases before being let free to travel home. 2 weeks later, Los Angeles would lock down just like San Fransisco did a day or two earlier. We had been dating for about 3 months. The first month we didn't see each other. A lot of phone calls and one backyard meet up at a distance! It was really rough. I think both of us didn't know which way this would lead us. We decided to quarantine together and be safe as we could when we had to leave. Looking back, this was a huge leap of faith for us. We were just in the beginnings of what typically would be normal dating, going out, meeting each others' friends, understanding more nuances of each other personalities. We really didn't skip a beat though. Angella and I took our travels with our food right off the bat. I was determined to make up for the bad French Dip and first date dinner! Not on my watch! Every week we picked a new country to make their dishes. It was a real adventure for sure. She also taught me how to make many Vietnamese dishes. This was about the time LA started seeing curfews from all the demonstrations and rioting against police brutality. LA was a very dark place for us. The city I was born in and grew to know so well now was a distant estranged friend. There were soldiers blocking off streets in my neighborhood and across the city. Windows boarded up, business smashed and everything closed except mainly grocery stores and pharmacies. I think if it were anyone else besides Angella, there is no way I would have made it through. To this day I still tell her how she saved me during that time. We fell in love in her backyard and on my roof top as these were the two places that would always be open. We didn't have this huge city to explore we just had each other. I wouldn't trade it for anything. We not only made it work but I look back and can clearly separate the time we spent and the madness that was going on all around us. We came out so much stronger, considering we went all in very early.

First things first. I needed a ring. A piece of advice for anyone still on the market. If you are going to get engaged, take your partner shopping for the ring. Even after someone says they know exactly what they want. Trust me-- do this. After some time looking on my own and certain that, as a designer, I would know what would look chic and timeless on Angella's finger, I swallowed my pride-- I needed help! Thankfully I did because what I thought she wanted and what I thought would be the right direction was way off! It took just a day and now I was back on track. I put my own spin on it behind the scenes, done. Ring ordered, check! Next: how to propose....I wouldn't say I ever had a vision for this, just a couple of criteria. I wanted it to be private, I wanted it to be somewhere that was meaningful to us, and I wanted it somewhere we could always go back and visit. So balloon rides were out of the question and no dance flash mob at the mall. I told her I needed a full day and to pack for hiking and a big night out. So we went on the worst hike I've ever been on. It was 104 that day, we were being followed by some crazy people on the trail, and my picnic was attacked by an ant hill where I unknowingly laid a blanket down. Going well! At least that wasn't the spot I picked out for the moment, just a starter for the end of the night. We made our way out of the mountains and down to the beach for a drink to get this train back on the rails. It was actually so hot we had to go back to my place to cool down before dinner. After my first viewing of Zorro, two hours and a couple of drinks later, Angella didn't want to go out! I had to pump her up to go out for a drink. Now this is getting serious. We hop in a car to Santa Monica back to the Hotel Casa Del Mar where we had our first kiss. After a quick drink we got settled on a sofa. there was a band playing some ambient California style jazz music, the lights were low, the vibe just right. Now was my chance, carpe diem friends! I remember getting on a knee and telling here this was the first place we kissed and the first place we will kiss with you as my fiancé. Exactly one year later, we'll be walking into our future as Husband and Wife.