How I met your… (part 4 of 4)

So today is the day. Three years ago today we got married twice. Don’t worry, we sealed the deal when we got married for the third time a week later! Can you tell I love events? Hah! On July 26th we had a traditional Sri  Lankan Buddhist Poruwa  ceremony, followed by lunch and then in the evening we had a Christian ceremony followed by a night of dinner and dancing in a twinkly room in Colombo, Sri Lanka. If you’re curious, the third was in Cape Breton!

To celebrate this anniversary I have shared some important stories, my parent’s fairytale story (click here), my husband’s version of how we met (click here) and his parent’s Grey’s Anatomy-esque  plot of how they met (click here).  Well today you get my version and a couple videos! We’ll start off with our 1st dance and  end with a clip of the various functions.

My version (written three years ago)

After completing my undergrad in Maine and trying to make it in the working world in Boston, I moved back to Karachi to spend a splendid year traveling, bumming around and doing absolutely nothing. However boredom got the better of me, and one of my closest friends, Nisreen, and I decided to move to Toronto the summer of 2005 to pursue our masters in a city where we had some close friends. We found a place right downtown and spent the summer exploring the new city and catching up with our old friends.

Nis and I were supposed to be a team in conquering the boring ‘new school orientation’ programs, but due to last minute changes, I was left to venture alone. I soon met a wonderful mix of people from all walks of life, who became an extended family for me here in Canada. Some like Jason (who was to become a future roommate-Nisreen decided to abandon me a year later to embark on her own newly married adventures), Usman, and Sree would occasionally mention a “Chris” who lived with them on campus who was into movies and music and a random game of cricket (where he was quite likely to fling the bat at a passer-by!).

I was pretty active meeting new people and gathering new friends, always in search of anyone who’ d be up for new schemes. The first semester passed by quickly and the second one started with a new set of classes and faces. To this point I hadn’t noticed or met Chris, despite the close connection and same social circle we kept. One winter’s night, I attended a surprise birthday dinner thrown for Sree by his future wife, Nupoor. At the Korean Grill house, I was too busy cooking my dinner at the spicy table (filled with brown peeps) and despite Chris sitting diagonally across from me, I did not speak to him till much later at Grace O Malleys (mind you I wasn’ t a huge fan of M.I.A at the time, I liked her when she first started but definitely not then- so I have no clue why Chris recalls me saying I liked her!) Again, I had met a few new people and I went home not thinking much of anything or anyone in particular. Little did I know that I had met my best friend that night.

The following week, I noticed that Chris was in a few classes with me and so we added each other on MSN (this is what us Schulich MBAs do- we spend the lectures giving our own commentary online). We next met each other at Praveen’s anti-valentines’ day party but I definitely do not recall spending a major part of the night chatting to Chris! A good friend of mine had introduced me to sushi and I had developed a love affair with good all you can sushi and so ofcourse, I mentioned this that night and attracted an eager group of fellow sushi-ers. Chris was one of them and it was at this brunch the following day that we got to know each other more.

The following week was Chris’ birthday and we decided to go skating. I had finally found someone who was interested in doing anything and everything. Which was awesome! No qualms about trying new things, or whining about the long commute to places. He soon met my friends, and I his. The following three months we spent more and more time together, and soon it was time for me to head ‘home’ for the summer. Summer in Dubai, Karachi and Sri Lanka is a much awaited period for me, and while I was ecstatic to head home to family and friends, I didn’t want to spend the months away from Chris.

However, off I went and told my friends and family about Chris. A few weeks into my summer, Chris informed me that he’ d like to come visit me in Dubai, which worked out really well as he got to meet my family; immediate and extended. We had an awesome time and of course and despite some reservations, everyone loved him and was impressed by his ability to eat spicy food.

Chris’ kindness, peaceful nature and his closeness to his family is what initially attracted me to him. He is the complete opposite of me-except in our ability to sleep endless hours, eat spicy food, devour sushi as if it’ s going of fashion and always being up for a night out with our close friends. In him I found a missing link and more over, despite the difference in our cultural backgrounds and upbringing, we both shared the same values, love of family and the close bonds we maintained with our treasured friends. The  future awaits.

Thank you for stopping by daily to catch the stories. Which one was your favourite?