Fairy Tale Part 3 - At the Ball

I scrambled to get from the hairdresser's to get home to change and get my makeup on. I only had 15 mins before I had to meet Patrick at his house. Thanks to many recitals, I've a good hang of getting ready in a snap. I wore a red dress, with a pearl necklace and pearl/diamond earrings. Those earrings are really special to me. My friend gave them to me telling me to wear them at my wedding, but also to wear them as a reminder of God's promise when I doubt it would ever happen.

I was nervous to go to this ball. Lots of people to meet and a very different group of people than I would normally associate with. I did feel like Cinderella. Valet parking, country club... The last time I attended such an event, I was hired help as a pianist. That evening, Patrick always introduced
me with my academic title and my place card had it there too. I didn't want to be mistaken as a college student or a teenager.


Dinner was fine - salmon, asparagus and mashed sweet potatoes. We sat next to another couple. There was an awkward conversation. We were asked whether we each had been married before. I left Patrick to answer that question. He said it very plainly, "No, neither one of us have been married before. We're dance partners, strictly dance partners nothing more, but good friends, of course." Yay, I thought I was off the hook. Silly me.

The band started so we did dance together quite a bit. Patrick did tell me that it was alright if other men asked me to dance and I accepted. There were a couple people who might have but no one did. When he didn't want to dance, we sat down together. When he watched other dancers by the dance floor, I stood beside him. I was more than contented to be beside him. It was nice to be treated with such respect and to be made to feel so secure in a roomful of strangers. (Good to feel like a trophy.)

It was fun to be with him. I learned a lot about formal etiquette. Instead of feeling like Cinderella, I sometimes felt like Eliza Dolittle from My Fair Lady/Pygmalion. Who goes up or down the stairs first, how do you get on and off the dance floor, accepting a dance, declining a dance, etc.

After the ball, on our way home, Patrick remarked that it was strange that no one came and asked me to dance. No one attempted to steal his date. I was secretly pleased. I didn't want to dance with anyone else anyway. There were a couple guys there whom I preferred to not have them even set eyes on me. I had an amazing time.

As soon as I got home, it meant the clock had struck midnight and it was back to the kitchen to cook for the next day's Sunday School party. Beef curry, Malaysian style in the crock pot. It would be a short night as Patrick planned to come over at 8:00 am to pick me up.

Fairy Tale Part 2 - Unofficial Matchmakers

          On Black Friday, we took 4 gals from China to the mall. We took them to lunch at a Chinese restaurant and tea time at Cheesecake Factory. I was still very tired from attending the NASM Annual Meeting in Scottsdale, AZ. Interestingly, Patrick had been stationed there before. After we sent the girls back to the university (University of Central Oklahoma), we swung by Patrick's house to co-ordinate outfits for the ball we were attending the next week.
        
          Nov 27: I went to church by myself to Council Road Baptist Church since most of the students were gone for break. Patrick had been inviting me to visit his church several times but I had said no. As I sat through the sermon, I wondered how I was ever going to get involved with this church. My job required that I work on Sundays occasionally. I thought well after the service I'll give him a call and ask to visit his church.
Patrick beats me to the phone call. He called and said I must go to church with him the following Sunday, Dec 4th. He said the international Sunday School class was having a party and he already told them we would be there. I asked him whether that was an invitation because the word "must" was used, and since when did I become "we." He asked what we could bring and what I could cook for the pot luck. I said he shouldn't have said I would be at the party, and he said, "You don't have anything to do on Sunday afternoons." Wow, insistent man! He then said he must have his dance partner there. I wondered why. He promised that "we" would show off a couple steps. I'm speechless so I just laugh. Sunday Dec 4th would be the day after the ball. We meet to practice dancing and swing by the intl student ministry later that day.
        
         The story gets better. Nov 28, Monday evening I get a phone call from one of the students we took to the mall. She wanted to borrow my house and kitchen to throw a lunch party for Patrick to thank him for taking them to the mall. They were leaving for home soon so it had to be quick. How could I refuse such a request? The only available date was Dec 3rd! My house needed work and much cleaning. I had not finished unpacking since I moved. I said yes to her and immediately hired two of my students to come over to clean and decorate for Christmas, might as well. We tried to play hide and seek a lot, notice the word "tried." We covered up a hole in the wall!

          Dec 3rd - This was my day. Got up cooked, picked up the gals, cooked. Patrick came over and helped cook. It's been 8 yrs since there was a guy cooking in my kitchen! I about hyperventilated. That was quite a shock to me. We had a great lunch - fish, pork, venison and carrot cake. One Voice, my outreach team came over to sing a couple carols. It was awesome! As he sat in the living room after the party, he started counting all the things which need attention in my house. My two students were sworn to total silence were trying not to laugh out loud. It was a good first party for my home in Bethany. The party had to end so I could get to my hair appointment and get ready for the ball.

                (I was told to watch out for someone who would come to my house and see the state of disrepair it is in. This person would want to fix it. I'd get pretty flustered with this person and can't get rid of him. Well...)
As for what happens at the ball, stay tuned. To be continued ..

Fairy Tale Part 1

Some of you might not have access to Facebook but would like to read about how I met my husband. Here is the start of the story. It is a real life fairy tale.

----

Masquerade! :)

        I think this might be easier to tell everyone what's going on. October 28, 2011 is when part of the story begins. (There's more prior to this but I'll save you). My shoulder wasn't hurting anymore and my orthopedic said I could resume my normal activities. I decided to go ballroom dancing to celebrate my recovery and it was a Halloween costume dance. I decided to wear a mask instead of a costume. It was fun and I could be my outgoing self cos no one knew me anyway but they still tried to guess who I was. Got asked to dance by this guy who was a really good dancer. He introduced himself as Patrick and so did I. I hoped that he'd ask me to dance again but there are plenty ladies around.
        Someone else asked me to dance and he was getting a little creepy. By the third dance, I needed to be rescued. Patrick came just as the music ended and asked me for the next dance in which I willingly accepted. He said, "I see you have met ..." I said, "Yes, I have. Thanks for the rescue. Enough said." He asked me what I worked as and such but we didn't exchange any information. That was it. I saw him leave not too long after that but I stayed on and danced with some more people there.
       I had such a great time that night, that on Sunday, I told my good friend, James, that if any guy wanted to date me, he'd just need to ask me to go ballroom dancing. I wouldn't care who he was or what he did. Tell me the dress code, what time and where.
        Less than 24 hrs after that conversation, at 10:15 am Monday morning, while I was at school, in my classroom teaching Aural Skills III, I see someone peek in the door. I am shocked. It is Patrick. I'm a little flustered that the door wouldn't unlock. I finally get it unlocked and our whole conversation played out in front of 6 students. He didn't have my contact information so the only way he could find me was to come to my workplace. He wanted to tell me where the regular dances occur in OKC and give me a list. I had to get rid of him before my students keel over with laughter or me from embarassment, so I gave him my business cards.
        The email came and he wanted to know if I would go to a ball with him Dec 4. I had to eat my words. I checked everything I could on this person and everything he told me matched what I found out. He asked me to call if I could go to the ball so I did. I found out he's a Christian. I accepted the invitation on condition that we practice dancing and he would teach me all the etiquette needed for the event.
         At our first practice, I found out we share the same heart for ministering to international students who are here in the USA. He likes to feed them about as much as I do, so we made plans for Thanksgiving week. Black Friday shopping was very interesting - 12 hrs. What a patient man!

The pianist is silent

The title of the blog says it all, doesn't it. Yes, I have been quite silent the last year. The quick update to this blog is that I got married to my dear ballroom dance partner. We had been great friends since December and we decided to tie the knot in March. The transition is hectic and stressful, but what life change isn't. 

We had a lovely wedding at my former workplace. That about explains it all without having to go into detail. My family was able to be there along with my husband's family. We had a great time since we're both very practical. We honored both wedding traditions, bride wearing white at the church wedding and then red at the reception for the tea ceremony. My mom was able to make my bouquet for me along with the altar arrangements. One of my groomsmen's family decorated the chapel for me. Our Sunday School decorated the reception area and arranged all the tables and chairs. Without their help, we wouldn't have been able to have such a beautiful wedding.

Wedding ceremony music.. ah the pianist must be performing but she had to walk down the aisle. I solved the problem by using music recorded from several of my live recitals. Kempff/Bach's Wachet auf for the processional and the Fugue from the Capriccio served as the recessional. Prelude and postlude music were also recordings of mine. It was nice to hear some of the recordings again.

I am now a self-employed entrepreneur and home engineer of all sorts. I still teach a limited number of private students but have been crafting seriously. Below are several menu planner magnet sets which I am making for sale. They started off as an organizer for myself as the food management duties fall on me right now.

     On a more exciting note, we might have located a Kawai grand piano with a 7/8 Steinbuhler keyboard that we can afford. It might mean a very tight living space until we find our permanent home, but it will be well worth the investment. This would be in preparation of expanding my private studio here in the city and returning to performing (resume practice first, of course). This also means Glojet mobile will have to run a couple thousand miles more before we replace my trusty old chariot.

An-An the Siamese cat is doing just fine as you can see in the picture above. She is happy as she now gets a lot of real fish. :) As ornery as ever.