How did you propose?

I popped the question to my girlfriend of 3 years in the beginning on March 06. We went to Sushi Samba in NYC, our favorite place.

I was so nervous the whole time. I called about a week in advance and asked the manger if she could arrange a quiet table for the two of us. I also wanted to do it when the place wasnt that packed. But of course by the time we arrived the place was packed. oh shiut. i was so nervous, sweating bullets. I knew she wasnt going to say no.

We ordered dinner, blah blah blah. And for dinner we got a chocolate fondue, and in icing, it said will you marry me, she was totally shocked. and I had to get down on one knee, so i did, hey you only do it once, It had to be right.

The place went silent

She was crying, and said yes of course.

First - I did not have the avalaible funds to by the ring Nic really wanted so I had to ask my father if I could use 1 of his credit cards because his interest rates are MUCH lower then mine. Well that was a mission in itself because everytime I went to his job to talk to him, he had people there. He finally figured out that we needed to talk, called me back and agreed without question. We went that night (it was a thursday) to find and buy the ring.

The next day (Friday) I picked up the ring and decided that I had to act quick. The nerves and the fact I cannot keep surprises from Nichole made me do it the next day instead of when I originally planned (a week later). So I told my Uncle, whi is also my boss) that I was taking a long lunch. He said no. I told him why and then he said Yes. I picked up the ring and called her father and asked if we could meet up. We did. I sat with him, asked his blessing and he said yes and we hung out for a little. Mostly laughing at what i was getting into to ;)

Saturday, I made 'plans' to meet my friend Pete in the city to have lunch with him, his girlfriend and Nichole. The plans were all apart of the scheme. Friday night, my good friend calls me to wish me luck but Nic was there and I had tomake an excuse - a qucik 1. I toild him that Pete would give him the details of where we were meeting (as if he was coming). No problem BUT his wife his pregnant so on Saturday morning, Nichole went and bought a card and a bib. I had to get her out of the thought - I used superstition! All good, she left the gift at home.

So Saturday we take the train into the city - after she yelled at me for wearing my fleese jacket, which I had to wear because of the pockets with zippers. I refused to change it and she as MAD! It did not look right! Well we got into the city and I called Pete (all a part of the plan). He said his girlfriend was running late so I told him if I have an hour or so I am going to Empire State building (Plan is working). He said 'yeah call me when you get down.' Well we went up and it almost got screwed up because of the excellent weather and the tourist all trying to go up. We finally made it to the outdoor observatory and looked around. I found Yankee Satdium and pointed it out. While she was looking I took out the ring and asked her. Her answer........'For real.' I got off my knee without ever getting a YES. I had to get up, my knees hurt.

And that is the 'brief' version of the our engagement. I could have added a lot more detail because trust me there was A LOT more to make the whole thing work on such short time frames.

It was Christmas Day 2004. It was really cold and she thought we had no plans and were just gonna stay in. I asked her if she wanted to go ice skating and she said okay. Being that we are all the way out in Suffolk, she thought we were going to go to Sports Plus. I told her I really wanted to go to the city.

So reluctantly she got dressed, and we went to the city. When we get to Rockefeller Center, it was a 3.5 hour wait in the freezing cold to go ice skating. She was so upset and just wanted to leave, but I convinced her to stay since we drove all that way.

When we finally got on the ice, our feet were so frozen from the cold, the ice skates were hurting. After about 15 minutes of skating she told me she was gonna sit down and I could skate around if I wanted to. I told her to wait because I wanted to always try to skate and jump in the air like the pros. Since I am a clown, she thought it would be fun to watch. So I went across the rink and starting skating as fast as possible, leaped in the air and threw myself on the ice. She came over laughing to help me up, and I got up on one knee with the ring in the air.

I then had front row seats to the Radio City Christmas Show, and reservations for a nice dinner. She had no clue!