as told by Jean

Our story began at a company called Texas Instruments.  The setting was hot and muggy Houston, Texas, and the time was summer, 2001.  I was at TI doing an internship, and so was Jamon.  The one big difference between us being, of course, that he was from Colorado and I was from Texas. When I first met him, I didn't think too much of it.  The beginning of internships always meant meeting a lot of different young people from all over the country.  In fact, I thought his name was James until I saw the nameplate in front of his cubicle.  "Jamon," I thought, "what an odd name."

That summer, we actually didn't spend a lot of time together.  What little time we did spend together was with many other interns on a few social outings and lunches.  When the summer came to an end, I was anxious to find out which interns would be staying for the fall term, since I would be staying as well.  I was also worried about who I can hang out with during that fall, since my friends were in school in Austin, and I'd failed to make a lot of friends among the interns during the summer.

Jamon and I, and some other interns, started having lunch together regularly.  I quickly found out how friendly, funny, and extremely easy-to-talk-to Jamon was.  He never failed to entertain with hilarity-filled stories.  I always wondered if the old full-timers that sat near us were secretly thinking during lunchtime, "darn interns, always laughing so loudly, must not have enough work to do."

And it was during these lunches and outings in the beginning of the fall term and we became good friends.  And we also developed a slight crush on each other.  Although I was going to be the last to admit it.  It's a good thing Jamon has a thick skin because I remember teasing him a great deal about a great deal of things, such as the Spanish translation of his name, for example.  Now, thinking back, I guess I was just trying to hide my crush.

Once, we went ice-skating at the Galleria with a couple of other friends, and we ran into my parents, who watched us skate for a bit.  Later, my mom said, "That Jamon boy sure seemed nice.  You should ask him out."  I replied incredulously, "Mom!  He's from Colorado!  We can't possibly date!"  And this website is here to prove, of course, that Moms are always right and should never be questioned.

One Saturday evening after a fun-filled trip to Moody Gardens and a pizza dinner with the interns, we shared our first kiss.  The following week was a confusing one.  I was uncertain if I wanted to date a boy from Colorado.  What if things go well?  I'm sure he wouldn't want a long-distance relationship.  No, Colorado's too far to have a long distance relationship.

The following weekend, however, we decided to throw caution to the wind and start dating.  Colorado can wait.  Being with Jamon was beautiful, exhilarating, awesome, tender, sweet, just plain right.  We found out very soon that we were perfect for each other.

On the one-month anniversary of our first date/kiss, he convinced me I needed to go to karate class.  Well, I didn't realize it was our one-month anniversary, and I had often been skipping karate class in favor of hanging out with Jamon.  That day, he made me feel guilty about skipping, so after work, I dutifully went to karate class.  After karate, I drove to Jamon's apartment to eat a late dinner with him as I often did.  When he opened the door, I noticed that he was dressed up and was just about to ask why when I saw the dinner table.  It was decked out in a white tablecloth, cloth napkins, and candles.  He had prepared a surprise one-month anniversary dinner for me!  I was speechless, no one has ever done anything so sweet and romantic for me.  That evening we enjoyed delicious Macaroni Grill salmon and stared dreamily into each other's eyes.  I was sweaty and stinky, still in my karate uniform (always forgetting to bring clothes to change into), but definitely in love.

It was the sweet things he always did for me and the lovely times we enjoyed together that made us committed to continue our relationship long-distance.  For winter vacation that year, I went with Jamon back to Colorado to meet his family and friends.  They were extremely nice and hospitable, and I felt at home right away.  I also fell in love with the Colorado scenery.  It was absolutely beautiful.

The following spring semester was tough, we only saw each other twice.  But we disproved the old adage of "out of sight, out of mind."  We were very much on each other's minds and couldn't wait until the summer, when we'd both be interning at TI again, this time in the same group.  The summer was glorious, and since we worked in the same group and even shared the same cubicle, we spent almost every moment with each other.  And we were very relieved to find out we didn't tire of each other easily.

Jamon stayed at TI through the fall again while I finished my last semester of school in Austin.  A 165-mile long distance relationship was much easier to deal with than a 1000-mile long distance relationship.  We took turns making the 2.5 hour journey and saw each other every weekend.  Towards the end of the semester, right before Thanksgiving, Jamon proposed.  And the rest, of course, is history.
 

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