The Ring
I’ve been pretty busy, and haven’t posted anything new in a number of months. Lauren and I have been busy working, preparing for the move to Rome, and of course my work travel schedule has remained just as hectic as ever. There is, however, a development worthy of a timeout from our busy schedule to update the blog. Nope, its not the new camera I’ve been socking away a few bucks here and there for… It’s the ring. The one ring. The one ring to rule them all… or to rule me at least. Yes Lauren and I are engaged! Since the word is out, she and I both have been asked repeatedly to send folks pictures. Now before you go judging either the ring or my photography skills on the basis of these snapshots, I’d like to make a couple of points…. 
First of all, as noted at the beginning of the post, my new camera purchase has been well “superseded” by another purchase… Secondly, jewelry, and diamonds in particular, are not exactly the easiest objects to take photos of. All right, enough of my excuses. Enjoy the photos… and wish Lauren luck.
In addition to wanting to see the ring, everyone seems to want to know how I proposed. Particularly my friends who know of my impromptu walk across the country, or the time I left my job in Philadelphia to hop on a 113 year old Portuguese Tall Ship and sailed to Newfoundland, or perhaps my spontaneous “no particular Tuesday” trip to Tijuana, etc, seemed to expect some fanciful over-the-top story. 
I hate to disappoint, but when I proposed, we weren’t strolling down Bourbon Street in New Orleans, nor were we having lunch on the shores of Lake Garda in Northern Italy, and we weren’t hovering over New York watching the golden sun set on the Big Apple. As corny as it may sound, to me at least (and I hope for Lauren), it wasn’t about the moment I asked, it was about all of the moments we have shared that led up to the asking, and more importantly, all of the moments we have ahead of us.
Cheers – Michael & Lauren