In July 2002, I went to my second GAP (short for Grand Am Picnic) in Lansing, MI organized by the awesome people of GrandAmGT.com forum (Hollah!).
I met up with a few of my "car" friends from the Lansing area and we headed over to the Holiday Inn/Hampton Inn area to meet up with other people who were just arriving from out of town or other states that were there for the 3 day event. There I was reunited with some of the people who I had met previous year and met a ton of new people from the forums. One of those people, who I was introduced through a car window, in the dark, in a hotel parking lot, was Tony, from Pittsburgh.
There were no sparks or flashing lights about the meeting, or really the whole weekend, he really didn't fit my 'type' of guy for that matter and I didn't think of him like that anyhow. So it was just like everyone else we met, we hung out with everyone, just like everyone else did. I thought he was funny and could tell he was flirting a little at times, but other than that nothing really developed that weekend. After GAP he went back to Pennsylvania & I went back to Parma and I considered him friend just as I did the rest of the "Grand Am" Friends that I had. A few days later I got a private message from him on GAGT.com with the title "Will You Marry Me?" of course it then became a joke on the forum that he was my fiance.
I got back together with my ex who I had a long term turned on/off relationship with shortly after the picnic in August. At the time thinking of Tony as anything but a friend really wasn't happening at all, we still talked a lot though, both on the forum and yahoo chat, he became a great friend to me just talking about life over the internet. When school started back up I was a new transfer student at MSU, life was way different than living at home in Parma half a block away from my boyfriend. I soon started to feel trapped by being in a relationship, we argued about stupid things a lot, and I just felt like I wasn't getting to enjoy my time in college. I wasn't feeling the serious relationship thing anymore, I wanted to be able to have fun without worry that I was hurting someone or making someone jealous. We were changing in different ways and what was great for so long just wasn't what I wanted anymore. Towards the end of October once again and for the last time, we broke up.
Tony and I continued to talk a lot, it was fairly obvious that he liked me and I liked talking to him but was not wanting to jump into anything new. I was still not sure that I even liked him like that, remember the whole not my type thing, for some reason I had a hard time with that and people having to fall into a type back then. October, I was talking to my roommate about going to ATCO (another car event in New Jersey/Philadelphia area) trying to make up my mind if I wanted to go or not, Kasey (the roomie) encouraged me to go because Tony would be there and being around him, not just talking online, would help me decide if I really liked him or not. So I did. A few of the car guys from the local area caravan-ed the 10 hour drive with me for the weekend over to PA and stayed at our friend Seth's place. Tony stayed there too, so we got to hang out a bit more, (Tony drunkenly confessed that weeked to a friend that he had a serious crush on me, only to have recorded it on the video camera that he had set down and thought turned off. (haha!) )
After the weekend it was fairly obvious that I did "like" him, he obviously liked me, we started talking on the phone, emailing and still yahoo chatting and whoring up the GAGT.com Forum. A few weeks later came Thanksgiving, Tony was going to have a party at his house in the Pittsburgh area and a lot of our "Grand Am friends" were going to go, so of course I agreed to go too. For the first time in my life drove 5.5 hours by myself, into a state that I had only been to once in my life! Of course I made tony text me the whole way. (yeah I texted behind the wheel of a car back when there was only T9, and texting wasn't the in thing to do yet. Rebel.) I was so afraid I was going to get lost! I made it alive without getting lost though I did make him come meet me at the toll booths off the turn pike!
With it made fairly obvious that we liked each other, he finally made a move and kissed me. We didn't really talk about what it meant or anything we just knew that we liked each other and that we lived 5.5 hours, 333miles apart.
(god we look like babies!)
The following weekend Tony came to Michigan for the first time with our friend Erica in tow, we met up with some of our GrandAmGT.com friends to spend a night out at the bars in Canada, being that I was underage in the U.S. and all. That night Dec 7th, 2002, after some drinks, Tony got some beer balls he finally asked me if I wanted to try a long distance relationship with him. After my months of contemplating and trying to convince myself that I wasn't interested, I knew that I was and I knew that I was happy when I was with him. I felt like I could talk to him so easily, there were no awkward moments, no doubts in my mind anymore that it was, as they say, meant to be.
young love.
And So,
5 months after meeting we were a couple.
7 months after we started dating and one of us drove to see the other every single weeekend but once, I moved to Pittsburgh to live with Tony and finish school down there! (and save some gas money and miles on our cars, wholly crap, at least gas was a lot cheaper back then!)
2 years later we moved back to Michigan.
1 year after that we got engaged,
4 months later we got Married.
5 years, and the worlds most adorable 1 year old daughter later,
you have us.
It's not always perfect, we've gone through our share of highs and lows, and a lot of the time I want to strangle him and I'm sure he feels the same. There is no one else that I would rather be on this ride with, I don't even know what life is like without him by my side at this point. I still have all the e-mails from those early months of dating and a few saved yahoo conversations that still make me smile when I go back and read them. He'll probably hate me for sharing it but, like this one:
Aww, see we do love eachother :)
When you think about it we owe the credit of our entire relationship to a website, a car club that 12 years later I feel slightly cheesy saying that I met my husband through a Grand Am car club. But if you didn't know, now you do.
Happy Anniversary Petey! I'm ready for the next 5 & the next & the next...
(funny thing I noticed today when searching the hard drive for the old pictures. That first picture of the two of us up there, from GAP 2002, was last modified Sept 17, 2002 and the caption under it says "my future husband", I guess even jokingly we knew back then.)
I met up with a few of my "car" friends from the Lansing area and we headed over to the Holiday Inn/Hampton Inn area to meet up with other people who were just arriving from out of town or other states that were there for the 3 day event. There I was reunited with some of the people who I had met previous year and met a ton of new people from the forums. One of those people, who I was introduced through a car window, in the dark, in a hotel parking lot, was Tony, from Pittsburgh.
There were no sparks or flashing lights about the meeting, or really the whole weekend, he really didn't fit my 'type' of guy for that matter and I didn't think of him like that anyhow. So it was just like everyone else we met, we hung out with everyone, just like everyone else did. I thought he was funny and could tell he was flirting a little at times, but other than that nothing really developed that weekend. After GAP he went back to Pennsylvania & I went back to Parma and I considered him friend just as I did the rest of the "Grand Am" Friends that I had. A few days later I got a private message from him on GAGT.com with the title "Will You Marry Me?" of course it then became a joke on the forum that he was my fiance.
I got back together with my ex who I had a long term turned on/off relationship with shortly after the picnic in August. At the time thinking of Tony as anything but a friend really wasn't happening at all, we still talked a lot though, both on the forum and yahoo chat, he became a great friend to me just talking about life over the internet. When school started back up I was a new transfer student at MSU, life was way different than living at home in Parma half a block away from my boyfriend. I soon started to feel trapped by being in a relationship, we argued about stupid things a lot, and I just felt like I wasn't getting to enjoy my time in college. I wasn't feeling the serious relationship thing anymore, I wanted to be able to have fun without worry that I was hurting someone or making someone jealous. We were changing in different ways and what was great for so long just wasn't what I wanted anymore. Towards the end of October once again and for the last time, we broke up.
Tony and I continued to talk a lot, it was fairly obvious that he liked me and I liked talking to him but was not wanting to jump into anything new. I was still not sure that I even liked him like that, remember the whole not my type thing, for some reason I had a hard time with that and people having to fall into a type back then. October, I was talking to my roommate about going to ATCO (another car event in New Jersey/Philadelphia area) trying to make up my mind if I wanted to go or not, Kasey (the roomie) encouraged me to go because Tony would be there and being around him, not just talking online, would help me decide if I really liked him or not. So I did. A few of the car guys from the local area caravan-ed the 10 hour drive with me for the weekend over to PA and stayed at our friend Seth's place. Tony stayed there too, so we got to hang out a bit more, (Tony drunkenly confessed that weeked to a friend that he had a serious crush on me, only to have recorded it on the video camera that he had set down and thought turned off. (haha!) )
After the weekend it was fairly obvious that I did "like" him, he obviously liked me, we started talking on the phone, emailing and still yahoo chatting and whoring up the GAGT.com Forum. A few weeks later came Thanksgiving, Tony was going to have a party at his house in the Pittsburgh area and a lot of our "Grand Am friends" were going to go, so of course I agreed to go too. For the first time in my life drove 5.5 hours by myself, into a state that I had only been to once in my life! Of course I made tony text me the whole way. (yeah I texted behind the wheel of a car back when there was only T9, and texting wasn't the in thing to do yet. Rebel.) I was so afraid I was going to get lost! I made it alive without getting lost though I did make him come meet me at the toll booths off the turn pike!
With it made fairly obvious that we liked each other, he finally made a move and kissed me. We didn't really talk about what it meant or anything we just knew that we liked each other and that we lived 5.5 hours, 333miles apart.
The following weekend Tony came to Michigan for the first time with our friend Erica in tow, we met up with some of our GrandAmGT.com friends to spend a night out at the bars in Canada, being that I was underage in the U.S. and all. That night Dec 7th, 2002, after some drinks, Tony got some beer balls he finally asked me if I wanted to try a long distance relationship with him. After my months of contemplating and trying to convince myself that I wasn't interested, I knew that I was and I knew that I was happy when I was with him. I felt like I could talk to him so easily, there were no awkward moments, no doubts in my mind anymore that it was, as they say, meant to be.
And So,
5 months after meeting we were a couple.
7 months after we started dating and one of us drove to see the other every single weeekend but once, I moved to Pittsburgh to live with Tony and finish school down there! (and save some gas money and miles on our cars, wholly crap, at least gas was a lot cheaper back then!)
2 years later we moved back to Michigan.
1 year after that we got engaged,
4 months later we got Married.
5 years, and the worlds most adorable 1 year old daughter later,
you have us.
It's not always perfect, we've gone through our share of highs and lows, and a lot of the time I want to strangle him and I'm sure he feels the same. There is no one else that I would rather be on this ride with, I don't even know what life is like without him by my side at this point. I still have all the e-mails from those early months of dating and a few saved yahoo conversations that still make me smile when I go back and read them. He'll probably hate me for sharing it but, like this one:
To:
grandamchick1999@yahoo.com
Hey sweetheart!! Well I hope your day goes a little better then it did for you yesterday :) You deserve everyday to be good for you :) I want you to know that I think your doing a really good job!! I know exactly how hard work and school together can be...i used to get all frustrated and stress out too...but its normal. And yes it does suck!!! You just gotta make the best of it :) If you ever need anything I hope you know that you can ask me!! I will do my best to help you out in any way!! :) Well anyway, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me and I cant wait until im with you again!! I wish i could be with you everyday!! Your the bestest in the whole world!! I love you so much and couldn't ever imagine myself feeling the way I do before us!!! You are very special to me, I dont want you to ever leave my life!! EVER!! I cant wait to get the ballz to ask you to marry me...thats just a BIG step and i really want to make it perfect :) Theres NO doubt in my mind at all :) Just gotta make things happen first!! You def need to have my babies one day...no matter what!! Ok hottie, i hope you dont get too stressed out today!! If you do just take a deep breath and think of all the good things in life!! I love you, and miss you tons :)
Anthony
Aww, see we do love eachother :)
When you think about it we owe the credit of our entire relationship to a website, a car club that 12 years later I feel slightly cheesy saying that I met my husband through a Grand Am car club. But if you didn't know, now you do.
Happy Anniversary Petey! I'm ready for the next 5 & the next & the next...
(funny thing I noticed today when searching the hard drive for the old pictures. That first picture of the two of us up there, from GAP 2002, was last modified Sept 17, 2002 and the caption under it says "my future husband", I guess even jokingly we knew back then.)
