2000 ~ THE FIRST TIME EVER I SAW YOUR FACE ~ It all began when I worked with Sophy Lu on a project in Delaware while I was at CSC. Al played softball with John Barbieri for years and they lived within blocks of each other. Sophy and John were married in October 2000 and Al and I were both guests at their wedding. I sat at one of the “singles table” with Sophy's CSC friends. Al was at the other “singles table” with John's softball friends. We did not say anything that day, but we noticed each other. 2001-2002 ~ SPENDING MY TIME, WATCHING THE DAYS GO BY ~ Al and I lived parallel lives... Younger sibling, favorite aunt/uncle, friend who has a couple of groups of good friends from different parts of life, loves what the city has to offer, knows random trivia facts, and single! Our social circles rarely intersected -- what with Al hanging out in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and New Jersey with his friends and me traveling to Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Princeton, and other exotic places for work -- BUT our paths did cross again...at two of Sophy and John's social gatherings. During both occasions, Al and I were the ones karaoking the night away!!! So he dances at weddings and sings... <grin> 2003 ~ HOW I WISH, HOW I WISH YOU WERE HERE ~ <<Fast forward to the holiday season...the hand of fate starts to press some buttons>> I had dinner with Shamika and her friends at Houstons, a steakhouse in the city. The food was yummy, so I added Houstons to a list of restaurants I'd definitely return to. <<Fast forward a couple of days...fate sends a sign>> Some friends and I drove into the city to have dinner after work. We took the Holland Tunnel and ended up near the "umbrella" building... "I know someone who works in that building," I said to my friends. "Al." So what if my friends did not know who Al was? He worked in the "umbrella" building. For the non-financial folks, that is the Citigroup building in Tribeca. <<Fast forward to Monday, December 22...ok, fate is really working it>> Sophy and I had scheduled our "girls' night / holiday / catch up fest" for that night. We didn't decide on a place until that day - Houstons...it was on my list of places to return to! Upon walking into Houstons, the hostess told Sophy and me it would be a short wait, so we headed to the bar where... <<Pause...rewind to December 21>> Al called John to see if he could drop off some presents for the kids before Christmas. John said both he and Sophy had plans on Monday. Al had plans on Monday as well - the annual holiday dinner with his friends so they decided Monday was out. <<Going back to Houstons on December 22>> Guess whom Sophy and I saw at the bar? With all his friends? For their annual holiday dinner? That's right, out of all the restaurants in the city, out of all the nights of the year, we both picked Houstons! Sophy had plans with me that night. Al had plans with his friends that night. Little did we know that fate had plans of its own... ~ EPILOGUE ~ Al and I started dating after we "re-met" at Houstons and we've been together ever since!