Tanner and I met first at Oklahoma State University - I was doing a Mechanical Engineering undergraduate degree, and he was showing off by doing an Aerospace, Mechanical, and Physics undergraduate degree. We first became friends in Gas Power class (also known as the rocket science class), where my sole motive was to get a smart person on my project team. I went home over Christmas break, realized I missed that smart boy, and the battle to be logical concerning Tanner has been lost ever since.
I attempted to convey at the time that I liked him, but despite meeting him in a blizzard to "do homework problems" (that weren't due for days), and deliberately choosing to do the Aerospace senior engineering class instead of the MechE one (and to get on his team, of course), the boy did not get the hint. However I did manage to get him to take me flying - and so I learned early the way to his heart. :)
We have been good friends ever since college, keeping in touch while I have been in grad school at MIT on the East coast, and he went to grad school at CalPoly on the West coast.
It has been a pleasure to watch him pursue his dreams and fly for NOAA - the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He is now a Lieutenant Junior Grade with an Airline Transport Pilot license, and flies either a Twin Otter, a King Air, or a remotely controlled plane on scientific missions. He works with scientists who poke their heads out of the window looking for seals, or whales, or turtles (particularly tough spotting), or whatever else they need to count. Or, on different missions, the scientists will take pictures of the coastline for mapping the shore, or measure the snow depth for predicting spring flooding. These missions take him to every corner of the U.S. - from remote islands off of Key West to Adak, Alaska (just try Googling that one). His goal is to one day fly hurricane hunting missions - and, apparently, to give me gray hairs. :)
I have just finished my PhD in Mechanical Engineering at MIT this June of 2013. My research focused on developing a manufacturing process for printing very tiny patterns, using a rubber stamp mounted on a roller. I use ink that has silver in it, and I print onto flexible substrates, which means that when the pattern dries you have little metal wires on plastic sheets. I can print silver patterns so small you can't see them - so you could put clear solar cells on windows, or make your phone out of plastic that rolls up to fit in your pocket. Now I work on a startup venture I co-founded, helping landfills extract energy from the trash. It's not quite like Facebook, but I sure do enjoy the hands-on work.
In any case, what this all means is that there will certainly be "his" and "hers" workbenches in the near future. We joke that Tanner's motive for getting married is simply to have someone to carry on with projects while he is out flying! I had written myself a To-Do list last time I visited Tampa, and it included "get groceries, assemble soda carbonation system, visit church, install undercabinet lights." Tanner, bless his heart, has thoughtfully suggested that I might need a truck. Wise man.
Tanner proposed this April of 2013. Without any knowledge on my part, he coordinated a romantic evening walk down to the ocean in Tampa, where he had set up candles lining the pier. We have always dated long distance and relied heavily on letter and phone conversations. In that spirit, he had set up a mailbox at the far end. I thought the whole setting was for the sweet notes he put in the mailbox, to tell me what he loved about me. It floored me when at the end, he pulled out a ring and asked me to spend the rest of life sharing adventures together.
Ladies, you will be pleased to know the ring he chose is gorgeous, and men, the bar has been set high. The only downside, perhaps, is on Tanner's side - the cat is out of the bag and now I know that he can be romantic when he chooses!
Tanner and I both love to travel (he's covered almost every possible corner of domestic geography, and I've covered a fair number of corners of the world), and so we are excited to be headed to Morocco for our honeymoon. We also both love to cook, so along with the sightseeing we are looking forward to the spices and the cuisine.
We have both realized, especially while planning this wedding, how fortunate we are to have strong and supporting families, with generations of loving marriages to learn from and to model. We very humbly embark on a marriage of our own, knowing that we have many around to encourage and to advise us. We ask for your prayers as we learn and grow, and we look forward to all the adventures to come!
