My Mom and Dad: Aurora and, the late, Andre Arquero

Both born and raised in the Philippines, my parents didn't officially meet until after they both immigrated to San Francisco, California in the 1960's. They were set up on a blind date by mutual friends. After a short courtship, they got engaged and soon after, they were married. I guess it was love at first site. Surprisingly, they were both involved in other relationships, but fate drew them together.

Despite the 17 year difference between them, they were able to endure and sustain a strong and loving 30 year marriage, till my father's death in April 2002. They are a good example of how I envision my future marriage to be. A symbol of strength, loyalty, unity and unconditional love.

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Early on, I knew that both the wedding ring and the manner in which I proposed were of paramount importance to Deb. Naively, I had assumed that since Deb knew what she wanted, the easiest way to ensure she gets exactly what she wants would be for her to tell me. I eventually figured out this line of reasoning is deeply flawed.

It turns out, most women spend their formative years considering every possible wedding related nuance, eventually settling on a range of acceptable possibilities. Unfortunately, these findings are kept secret because revealing them to a prospective groom defeats the element of surprise. That's right, they want to be surprised when they accidentally get exactly what they want.

Thoroughly confused by the contradictions and acutely aware of the high stakes, I decided to employ an ancient weapon of terrible power, a weapon which had serving men well for thousands of years: logic.

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I knew that one day Alain would pop the big question, but the question was "When and How?" Would he take me by surprise? Ask me in private or public? Would I cry? I couldn't tell. He was too unpredictable.

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In the late 20th Century I used to work out at the Powerhouse gym in Daly City (I believe the year was 1998).  At the gym, I mostly tend to keep to myself, focused on the task at hand. However, one day I noticed an exotic new creature at a gym that was typically devoid of anything attractive.

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I frequently saw Alain at our local Daly City gym, Powerhouse. This was back in 1998. Wow! That was 9 years ago! I remember he would always come into the gym dressed in black attire, carrying a black gym bag and a black motorcycle helmet.

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