We're getting married!

September 3rd, 2014 was shaping up to be a standard day for Shivani. Coffee, exam, second coffee, repeat. It was in pursuit of that last and most vital part of her morning routine that she wandered into the medical school, home of the closest Starbucks. Even as a post-exam, caffeine-depleted zombie, she was struck speechless by a pair of bright red pants (and the boy who owned them) striding down the hall. "Hi, I'm Milap." It took a moment to process the words. She was still, understandably, trying to justify why someone would CHOOSE to wear those pants in public. Another moment passed before she introduced herself and explained her single-minded pursuit of a cup of coffee. Milap, in a preview of his immutable need to help out everyone he meets, offered to lead her to where the medical students get free coffee. During the short walk to the (horrible, but more importantly: free) coffee, they exchanged enough information for Shivani to successfully stalk and befriend Milap on Facebook. They shared their first date exactly one month later, and then five years of successively better dates followed. Shivani has since quit coffee and Milap has tossed his red pants; but every day they're grateful for the stars that aligned over Pitt Med that day and brought them each a very bad cup of coffee and a wonderful, wonderful partner.

One morning in May a certain pharmacist who insisted on being referred to as “doctor” woke to find an actual doctor insistent on getting coffee. She was perplexed to find he meant a trip 40 miles north to San Francisco. After breakfast at a quaint coffee shop she was led further into this spontaneous adventure with a visit to the Conservatory of Flowers. Though enamored by the carefully cultivated flora, Shivani was whisked away to their next stop -- lunch at Kabuto, a sushi restaurant near Golden Gate Park. At this point Shivani knew something fishy was afoot and it wasn’t the sushi. She played along because she loved Milap and wanted him to think he was being sly, and because she had no idea how this eclectic amalgam of activities could lead to a proposal. Their next stop, a curated tea tasting, didn’t help her confusion. Finally, Shivani got a clearer idea of what was to come as they strolled through the Palace of Fine Arts. Too perceptive to be duped by the “photography student” wanting to take a picture of them, Shivani donned a smug smile as Milap dropped to one knee. He began to explain the day’s events and the meanings behind them. Each activity was a symbol of each year they had been together. They met getting coffee. Their love blossomed (a stretch, he admits), during one of the most difficult years of Milap’s schooling. They endured horrendous food poisoning from sushi on an international flight. They went to their favorite Pittsburgh tea shop after learning Milap would be moving to California. And now, on the cusp of commencing a new life in a new city, they got engaged at an iconic San Francisco monument. After a moment of blindness at the sight of the ring, she said, “Oh my god!” in a convincing display of surprise. (Reader, this meant yes.) They continue to share kooky (though less meticulously-planned) adventures as they go into their sixth year together. Between sharing a home and planning their wedding, year six is shaping up to be the best yet.