Travis & Laura
Our Story
Travis
Travis grew up in rural southern Indiana with his scientist father and teacher mother, where be picked up his blend of creativity and logic. He pursued that through a career in journalism (to the chagrin of his high school principal). But when he attended Purdue University he ultimately sought a career in computer graphics, fulfilling a childhood dream of helping to bring imaginary creatures and fantastical scenes to life on the big screen. This brought him out to California for his first time living outside of Indiana. He loved the work and the people he worked with, but also spent time outside work playing board games, going on photo hunts, writing stories and exploring his new neck of the woods.
Laura
Laura moved around frequently during her early childhood, learning to make friends easily and not be afraid to try new things. She was always an artist, drawing on walls and her piano, crafting elaborate adventures for her stuffed animals, and writing absurd stories. She loved science too, and thought she might make a fine mechanical engineer, but when she attended Truman State University, she realized that she would rather make art with the machines than build them, and got a degree in printmaking. After a brief stint working in a publishing house, Sara offered to move to California with her. With no plans other than wanting to make friends with some Pixar employees, they moved out to Emeryville. Laura found that people would pay her to cosplay at parties, and was able to see all parts of the Bay Area, eat like a foodie, and attend a different party every night.
How We Met
Dorien was hosting one of his epic house parties. Travis naturally was invited, and Mari brought Laura along to meet some "animators." Neither of them were looking for love, but they spent the whole night laughing and talking, bonding over being Midwesterners in the Bay Area, pop culture, and disdain for small talk. It was like they had been friends for years.
We're Official
After months of spending time together, going on dates, and avoiding awkward questions from friends, we went out to the San Luis reservoir to watch a meteor shower. While we were stargazing, we decided that we had put off the labels for too long and it was getting ever harder to deny that we were definitely dating. We agreed this might only be a short term relationship, being reevaluated at the end of the year, and suddenly, we were officially dating.
First Vacation
Our first vacation, and Travis's first time out of the country, coincided with his first birthday we celebrated together. Laura wanted to go on an African safari, but after five years of movie-making, Travis requested something more low key. They decided on an island resort. On the way out, Laura got very sick, and spent the first few days being as low key as you can get. She managed to push through the sickness to do a fancy birthday dinner, and asked the waiter in Spanish if they could do anything special, like a cake, for Travis's birthday. Otherwise, she stared silently at Travis, barely picking at her food. Halfway through dinner, a mariachi band comes through and plays Happy Birthday to Travis, the one thing he specifically requested Laura never make him endure. The next day, Laura passed her illness to Travis. So romantic.
The Big Move
Nearing the end of 2014, Travis got a job offer in Sydney, Australia. We were getting along well and both of us were reluctant to end the relationship. Travis decided to pop the question - would Laura move halfway across the world with a guy she had only known for less than a year? We spent a few months weighing the options and going back and forth on the answer. Finally, Laura said yes. Preparations were made, and we jumped headfirst into the unknown. It was a bold leap, the type that still defines their dynamic to this day. And like most of their leaps, they stuck to each other (and the amazing friends they met along the way), and it paid off.
The Return
After a year-and-a-half in Sydney, a job offer and the pull of home caused us to pack our stuff once more, stick it all back on a boat, and make our way back to the opposite side of the globe. We landed in Chicago, ordered the largest deep dish pizza that could be delivered to our hotel, and suddenly remembered how extravagant American portion sizes compared to the rest of the world's. Then we helped celebrate two friends getting married, took a long road trip back through the Midwest and the Southwest, and ended up less than 30 miles from where they met the first time.
San Diego Comic Con
This story starts in 2014, when we met. Laura mentioned to Travis that San Diego Comic Con was on her bucket list. Travis had to tell her that not only did he get to go every year, for free, but he had already given away his free guest passes. That year, Laura's birthday was during the convention week, so it added insult to injury while Travis was there. We started dating, and Laura joked that at least now she would finally get to go, but then they moved to Sydney. The next year, they were still in Sydney during registration, but happened to move back to California a few weeks before the convention, yet again being so close, but so far away. At this point, it was a running joke that Laura was only dating Travis for free Comic-con tickets, and he was cleverly avoiding taking her to prolong the relationship. But finally, in 2017, they went together for the first time. It was beautiful and worth the wait.
The Proposal
On one of our many spontaneous, agenda-less, opportunistic meanders around wherever it was they happened to be at the time, we wandered by a wine bar in San Francisco that we had visited on our first official date. We had discovered by accident that first time as well. As we sat there, sipping wine and reminiscing about that date and our relationship and everything we had been through, Laura asked Travis if we had reached an inevitable moment of leveling up our relationship. Travis paused, and then asked her if she had just proposed to him. She laughed and then considered it, and realized that she had indeed done so.