how and where did you meet your partner?

[AskMeOk]

I think we can beat all of the posts that I have read, thus far.....

We met 39 years ago in High School, when her best friend (whom I was dating at the time) bet us we wouldn't go out with each other! That is the *only* bet I have ever won, but it pays off an incredible rate of return every day and I have *never* regretted taking the bet!

[blueguitar]

Mr.Blue and I met when we were 17, at a summer party at a mutual friends house. I had been banned from seeing this mutual friend, and had snuck out to see her, and go swimming with them. My parents were a little strict, and thought everyone I knew was a bad influence (it wasn't true, I think I was the bad influence). Mr.Blue was there, she had invited him to set us up, and now we have been together for almost 5 years, and engaged for 1 1.5, waiting to be able to afford getting married!

[Twinkle_Toes]

We meant thru a personal ad. I placed a personal ad in my local paper for friendship after my first marriage ended. He answered the ad. We talked and realized that we grew up in the same town, had mutual friends, and never met. Then we both moved 600 miles to another state, and two hours from each other, and it took a personal ad to get us together...been together for 12 years, married for 10, so it's all good!

[SuAndBud]

I (Bud) had gone thru a traumatic divorce.

A true friend (I'll call him D) helped me out by talking and keeping me company, taking me out for a drink etc.

I knew that he was seeing an Oriental girl and I had met her on occasion.

Around 6 months or so after my divorce he said "I think you're ready to meet some new people and some new girls in particular. You're head's finally back on now. You think you're head's been on all the time, but it hasn't. It is now though, at last. There's a party you should come to tonight".

I went to the party (wondering what had he been talking about?). There were a load of guys there that I knew who all said things like "welcome back, u been gone too long". I guessed, rightly, that they were all referring not to my physical, but rather to my mental absence beforehand.

I also met a lot of ladies. I met a lot of caucasion but even more Asian/Oriental ladies. It was an Oriental celebration party and was filled predominantly with Oriental people. In common with many caucasion guys, it had never occurred to me how I might approach an Oriental girl (desire it though we might). Before long however and once they knew that I was one of D's friends, they spoke and treated me no different to how a caucasion lady would.

"Jeez" I remember thinking, "they're normal". I had previously thought Asian and particularly Oriental people to be entirely alien to me.

There were a lot of beautiful ladies of all ages, sizes and (believe it or not) hair colours. I can't speak for the Oriental guys though. Then again (barring Bruce Lee) make a list of attractive Oriental guys for me by morning!

Of all the ladies there, one kept attracting my attention. She was beautiful, vivacious, funny, madcap (the life and soul of the party) and out of my league.

I tried once or twice to engage her in conversation, but she was in such demand by the rest of the congregation (when she joined any crowd they all immediately seemed to stop talking and look to her and to take her lead. If she went to the dance floor, they followed. If she stayed talking, they stayed talking). In short, she was totally captivating.

I observed her speaking with & being hugged and kissed (in a paternal - yer rite - way) by many men, but there didn't appear to be A MAN in particular.

In spite of this, I could no more keep her attention than could any of the others.

In almost desperation, as the party ended and the bar closed and we were being slowly but surely moved outside by the DoorStaff, I grabbed a barmaid and begged for a pen and a piece of paper. She obliged and I scribbled my name and phone number down and fought my way through her admirers to (paternally - lol) kiss her goodnight. As I did so, I pressed my details into her hand. "Phone me" I said.

Two weeks later, she did.

She told me she'd gone home that night and wondered at the guy who had, she felt, actually "ordered" her to phone him rather than the usual "requests" she got. In a fit of fuckyou pique, she had thrown my number in her waste-basket. Two weeks later though and at a loose end one Sunday afternoon she had remembered me and the number. Not a little intrigued and in the mood for a challenge, she had gone to her waste paper basket and emptied at least 2 weeks of debris over her bedroom floor and hunted thru it until she found my number (only a girl could have not emptied her waste paper basket in over 2 weeks, lol).

The rest is history. The rest is the future.

[LFM2]

Mr. LFM and I met on a blind date. Mutual friends set us up. I really disliked the jerky person he was that night. He was drunk and loud and just plain obnoxious. He bit me on the ass at a party, pushed me into a furnace which burnt my hands and after he sobered up a little, asked when we could go out together. He was a in my eyes. A big one.

The next day, he called (collect) to apologize and ask for another date. I accepted because I was VERY jaded with men and in reality, it was a free dinner and a free movie. this time, he stood me up. Four hours later, he knocks on the door apologizing that he was branding (calves) and he'd lost track of time and Blah, blah, blah... He musta been sincere since he drove 55 miles to my apartment from his bunkhouse. It was damn near midnight when he got there, and then he turned around and drove back home. Strike two!

Third time was a charm. He showed up on time, dressed in his best Sunday go meeting duds and was the utmost gentleman in the world. Still quite leary of his motives, I was quite standoffish, but I had one of the best times of my life.

3 weeks later, we were married. We've been married for close to 23 years now and he is truly, without a doubt, the most absolute, positive, wonderful thing that has ever happened to me. The topper? I asked him to marry me. Best four words I've ever spoken.

[gatorvol64]

We met in high school after I moved to Florida. He had a girlfriend and they broke up right before Valentine's day. Actually at the school dance. He looked down and I asked him to dance. Whoa, at 17 I felt so at home in his arms. Unreal. Not to mention the racing heart. And I had asked him just to be nice. He called me the next morning before noon and asked me out. That was Feb. 13th and on the one that just passed we celebrated 25 years since that date.

We went on three dates in three months. Graduation was around the corner and I was headed to college at UT. My shy boyfriend hadn't given me any indication of where he wanted us to be and so...I broke up with him. By graduation I had an engagement ring on my finger. I tell people I tried to throw him back and he wouldn't shake off the hook.

Seems he had asked God if I was the one for him (I hadn't done that...shame on me) and got an affirmative answer. Therefore, he wasn't letting me go. He took me and all the baggage I came with. I thank God every day for him.

We were married two years later. It's been a great journey full of heartache and adventure. All the best things in life.

Vol

[JustAskJulie]

We met in 9th grade and I knew that I wanted him then. It only took me another 20 years to get him.