"Fade In" in the Form of Multiple-Choice Question*
On a typical rainy night in New York, their story began when Kenny texted block-mate Peyton asking for a favor of:
a. sharing notes of a statistics class that they both skipped
b. sharing contact info of one of her good-looking friends
c. printing out a copy of his resume since she's still on campus
(* hint: when in doubt, pick c ;))
A languid Wednesday, afternoon turned into evening, evening into night, night into morning. They circled around the blocks for hours chatting and laughing until the rain stopped and the city quieted down. As he spotted a strand of her hair dancing vibrantly and tried to save it from diving into the Pinkberry small pomegranate, she turned around and smiled, and the rest is history.
There’s a good argument to be made that grabbing a drink with your favorite drinking buddy is at the top of the “How to Spend Your Time Wisely” list. Scouting a solid one is hard enough already, and finding a fellow whiskey lover who happens to be your best friend and can follow their dreams while holding their liquor is simply priceless.
When Peyton first moved to NYC in her early 20s, she'd save up only to splurge later on concerts & shows. 7 years and 6 apartments across half of the globe later, she moved back and took Kenny to her favorite spot in the city. Stage lights, deep thoughts, violin bass blues barons, and a new hangout record of five hours have been set.
Maisel didn't make it downtown for this one, but their first official date was nothing short of marvelous.
"It was the way you laughed, I knew I wanted that in my life." -- R.M. Drake
One of Kenny's favorite daily routines during their hectic recruiting season and business school allnighters was picking up some sweet bites for her on the way to campus --- dark chocolate on Mondays, macaroons on Tuesdays...--- from the coffee shop downstairs while grabbing the morning sips, in exchange for the stress-relieving convos and mojo traveled in and out of each other. #littlestthings
As two hardcore basketball + football (+soccer for her) fans, during the 2017 NBA Finals Game 2:
a. They rooted for the same team
b. He's all about LBJ (since '03), she's all about #DubNation (since '10 & Nash since '99) and they were seated separately to avoid drawing on each other's faces
c. He's all about LBJ, she's all about #DubNation and they held hands throughout the game & got all mushy but secretly used Jedi mind tricks on each other's teams
They never cease to amaze each other by constantly venturing out into uncharted territories and having fun stepping out of their comfort zones or better yet, stepping on each other hard while picking up tango steps from a street artist in Buenos Aires around midnight.
Summer 2016, To Hong Kong with Love Part I
8,000 miles apart, 12-hour time difference, excruciatingly long working hours for him, stressful product launches for her, and THE summer to remember.
She decided to fly over to cheer him up over one manageable weekend and the storyline went like flight got canceled (thunderstorm) → all the plans & their highest anticipations got shattered → a glimpse of hope surfaced as he managed to find her a flight from a different airport → new flight got delayed 6 times → on the verge of being canceled again → finally boarded after an all-nighter while he was anxiously texting her every five minutes → one of their screenplay-worthy 18 hours spent together =)
Sitting across the table at this popular Cha Chaan Teng, one just got off a 16-hour flight, one just got off a hard night's work, somehow their limbs were dizzying with enough energy to form half a sun.
Summer 2016, To Hong Kong with Love Part II
Not in the most conventional fashion, not planned out ahead of time, he printed out a city map on the back of his resume (yes the one that started it all) and documented down all of their fondest, littlest and purest moments in every corner, at every turn. He then turned to her, "Could we spend the rest of our lives filling out this map, and all the maps we'd want together?" It came out so naturally as if they were discussing the everyday mundane.
She looked into his eyes and saw their nextness and nearness. It wasn't the jetlag talking, and just like that, as their favorite love letter goes, "It was a perfect storm, she said one thing, I said another and the next thing I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life in the middle of that conversation".
Together, they are an endless conversation.
♥
They do occasionally write love poems like "Please Put the Dishes in the Dishwasher, but Not Like That". More often than not, he would prepare birthday gourmet and design the menu for her to uncover from the printer, she would recreate some of his hometown flavors and also find his lying-on-the-floor-2-inches-away-from-the-hamper socks amusingly artsy.
Probably one of their most memorable nights and their first encounter of a major sandstorm. Clouds loomed dark and senses heightened, the feeling of the edges of the tent being shredded into a lacy white fringe hit every few minutes. They held each other tight, swapped intriguing stories and wrapped everything into a world of two.
It might take a storm, to hew possibles from the stony impossible. It would also take a storm, for them to realize what they have could weather any storms.
Spotted --- after the wildest night in the desert, this pair racing into the city Fez with the amazing help of a local racer (driver) who sang Adele stunningly during their 8 hrs carpool karaoke:
a. for a school reunion at the beautiful Jardin Jnan Sbil, the oldest park in the city
b. for Peyton to grab some face time with and pitch to one of the most sought-after VCs who happened to be in town
c. for Kenny to find a stable WiFi connection and impress the heck out of his interviewer who thought he never left NYC
They came
They saw
They conquered
They met their better half
They rode off into the sunset (pending drivers licence renewal)
P.S. SAY THE WORD SYNERGY AGAIN, I DARE YOU ;)
They say every next level of your life, will demand a different version of you. Their chapter in the city has been empowering, thrilling, rewarding, validating, at times overflowing, yet always beating, never stagnant, and ever-evolving.
May they keep lifting each other up and looking outward together in the same direction while writing all of their invigorating new chapters. Life is short, dream audaciously, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that made you smile.
Here's to all the sunrises, sunsets, and ever-vitalizing conversations.
#HePeylyEverChungs♥