A Meme

I found this totally random meme from the Velvet Cerebellum blog, but I thought it was cute, so here we go.

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Talk about your partner...


What are your middle names?

My middle name is Marie, his is Christopher. He uses his middle initial in most email correspondance (as part of his address). I tend to not use my middle initial unless required.

How long have you been together?

2+ years, since December 2006

How long did you know each other before you started dating?

El Zilcho. He found my ad on Craigslist.

Who asked whom out?

He responded to my ad, but I actually asked him out; my friend was having a dress-up party and he came over for that. Turned out the party was actually the next day, which we found out after driving to my friend's apartment and seeing her not in a frock, but in pajamas... but he came back (again!) for the real party!

How old are each of you?

I am 27, he is also 27, but just barely. :) We're about 7.5 months apart in age.

Whose siblings do you see the most?

Hm, I think we're about even on this one. Although I think we've seen my brother a few times more than his siblings. I have one brother and one sister; they are both married and both live in Maryland. My brother is out on tour a lot as a musician, so he has come to us a few times in Washington. We also saw my siblings when we both went to Maryland when Daniel was interviewing with some Navy department. I have seen his brother and sister in law twice, and his sister once (at his brother's wedding). Although, now I talk to his sister in law a lot! :) (Hi, Dawn!)

Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?

Being apart. When he lived in Washington, we were separated by an hour ferry ride plus travel time to and from the ferry. Saturday, he is leaving for Japan for at least 18 mos. On the upside, it is a direct flight west from Seattle to Tokyo... and we have the Interwebs, Skype, and other means of communication, so that is neat.

Did you go to the same school?

No. Although my brother went to the University of North Texas, which is relatively close to where he grew up. I think his sister went to UNT, too, if I remember correctly.

Are you from the same home town?

Not even close! He is from a suburb of Dallas, and I am from a suburban / rural town: Tulare, CA.

Who is smarter?

Hm, will my pride allow me to say he is smarter? Probably not! :) We are both certified engineers (or is that certifiable?). He is very logical and concrete. I can pull that off when absolutely necessary, but I prefer to be more free-wheeling and creative.

Who is the most sensitive?

I would say he is. He can read me much more easily than I can read him, although I can mostly tell what is going on behind his somewhat stoic exterior.

Where do you eat out most as a couple?

We probably end up in pubs the most, but we love to eat out, which is odd because I love to cook. I'd say it's between Japanese, Mexican, and pubs / diners.

Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?

We've been to both ends of the US - San Diego & DC, together (though we didn't fly together either time). We also went to Victoria, BC with his parents two summers ago.

Who has the craziest exes?

I probably dated more people than he has (in fact, I am pretty certain of it), but all of mine were casual "OK, I'm bored, let's not call each other any more" type of dates. I don't think either of us has any crazy exes.

Who has the worst temper?

I probably flare up more easily, but I also stop being mad fairly quickly, too. He very rarely gets mad, but it is pretty obvious when it happens, although the good news is that he settles down quickly, too. :)

Who does the cooking?

It depends who's house we're at. Although it took a while for us to start really cooking for each other. He works more than I do, so if we were eating in at his house, I might start cooking by default so it's ready when he gets home.

Who is the neat-freak?

Me! I am horrible. I stacked his coins in the hotel room we're in! :) I think it's because I live in such a tiny space, that if one thing is out of place, I go insane. I am very particular about how clean it is, which I am sure makes him laugh because he always tells me how much particulate matter is on my hard floor at home. :)

Who is more stubborn?

I don't know! ... Probably him. If I can see a good reason why I should acquiesce to something, like, oh, I'm totally wrong on a subject, I will usually bend.

Who hogs the bed?

Him! He also is good at stealing the sheets or sleeping pad when we're camping. Mostly he waits to hog the bed till I get out of it, though.

Who wakes up earlier?

I do, as a matter of course. For sure I wake up earlier on weekends, but I usually knit or read or amuse myself till he rises. I also start work at 6 AM, so I am out and about pretty early on weekdays, too. He sleeps in if he can help it.

Where was your first date?

We had dinner at this Trinidadian restaurant in the University district. It's quite good! They had just opened a couple of weeks before, and I had read the review in The Stranger and thought it sounded tasty. We also saw my pilates teacher at the restaurant on our first date. :)


Who is more jealous?

I don't think either of us is jealous. If he is, he never showed it. I am, weirdly, friends with many guys I dated, but it's just platonic. His best friend is this girl named Kathy, and I guess I was briefly, minutely jealous when I figured that out, but now that I've met her, I love her, too, so it's all good! :)

How long did it take to get serious?

We dated on the weekends for a while, and I think it took a few months before I caught him calling me his girlfriend to someone, something I'd never heard anyone refer to me as! It took me a while to introduce him as my boyfriend... I wasn't used to saying that word, either! :) So I think that did it for me. Then we briefly broke up about a year after we started dating, and that week when I thought I was single again sucked miserably for me... I am scared because we'll be apart for a while coming up, but I am confident we have a strong relationship, too.

Who eats more?

I think he'll eat more at one sitting, but I will constantly graze through the day, and I think that bothers him because it just looks like I'm indiscriminately eating all the damn time. My stomach feels much better when I can eat small amounts throughout the day, punctuated by relatively small meals.

Who does the laundry?

Mostly me, but I am thankful he knows how to do laundry! (Except I don't know if I trust him to wash all my clothes that can't go in the "normal" warm water loads and have to be hung to dry...)

Who's better with the computer?

I'm fairly good, but I will concede and admit that he is definitely better with the computer, solving issues and whatnot. He built one a couple of years ago for himself, and the one thing I still chuckle at is that he bought the Windows OS without asking one of our Microsoft engineer friends first.

Who drives when you are together?

It depends where we are. Usually I would drive in Seattle because we would have access to my car. In San Diego, he's been driving because it's his rental car, although I need to go today and have a nail extricated from a tire!