Then and Now 58 - First Ride

Then and Now 58 - First Ride
Time: Late 2007, dating my wife.

For the sake of this Then and Now, I'm going to refer to my wife as my girlfriend.

Barely a week after my girlfriend and I had our first date and night together, I came down to visit her in her hometown, the same city we live in today. I had already met her mother in the main city at a little cafe near the main station, where the old lady was very quiet and respectful.

My girlfriend picked me up at the train station on her bike, and we took a nice ride around town so she could show me around. I sat in the back seat, and she took us here and there to introduce her city. As we rode about, every time we got to a traffic light, she would rest her arms and elbows on my legs, and refer to me as a "(My name) sofa." It was pretty cute. We drove down a somewhat wide street that led from one side of town to the other, where both sides were covered by lines of tall residential, office and commercial buildings. It's the same road I traveled to go to work from 2008 to 2010, but back then, it was fun to watch our reflections pass by in the mirrored glass of the buildings around us.

After a bit, she took us down to city hall where we got out and I took some pictures of us in a mini-park there, next to a little bus stop. By then, my hair had been so flattened and smashed by my helmet that it looked like a geek cut with little porcupine needles sticking out here and there. I made faces while I snapped.

Next, we headed to the mall that looks like a castle, and went up a couple of escalator flights to get a double luncheon: I got a mini pizza from an independent pizza chain, and she got some fried chicken and french fries, and we shared pieces of our meals with one another. I paid this time, because my girlfriend had treated me to a burger lunch and the Resident Evil 3 movie a week or two before when I had, literally, nothing in my account or wallet. At that time, I was still waiting for my first paycheck, and I had always felt guilty about it. We talked about RE3, her hometown, my awesome apartment, our plans for the future in our work, everything. It was a very relaxing and happy time that we shared together.

After a while, she took me back to her mom's place so she could drop off her bike, then we took a taxi to the train station so we could both go to the main city and look around a bit. I don't remember what we did there, but I do remember walking past some construction going on outside of the main station, one of many such sites that I had seen all over the country. I made a joke and said, "(This country)! Perpetually under construction!" She got fake angry and lightly punched my shoulder, but I laughingly insisted that it was a compliment: things were only getting bigger and better here.

We got on a bus outside of the main station to head back to my place, and there's a conflicting account here: somebody wanted to hold hands on the bus, and the other didn't. I could swear she was the one being shy, but my wife insists to this day that it was me. In any event, the more courageous of us convinced the other to get closer, and we rode back to my apartment, hand in hand and her head on my shoulder, for a night of DVDs, snacks and fun.

As for today...

I woke up at 10:00.
I went to work.
I taught students.
I came home.
I played video games with my son.
I watched DVDs with my wife.
I went to work.
I taught students.
I came home.
I cleaned up the floor and table.
I started a load of laundry.
I folded and put away dry clothes.
I did the dishes.
I prepared teaching lessons.
I hung up wet laundry.
I slept.