I think I’m cleared to talk about this now.

We just got word that Jay and Alex are now engaged. He took the classy route - proposing to her on the top of Machu Pichu in Peru. That’s a good route to take because there’s no way she could have or would have said no. I was a little scared for Jay, no because I thought she’d say no or anything, but because I was worried about him carrying the ring all the way to Peru. I hate taking valuables into a foreign country and there was always the question of your bag getting ripped off or the ring setting off the metal detector or something. It looks like everything went as planned however. Good job Jay.

I remember the first time I met Alex. Jay had brought her to Six Flags for one of their first dates. I was late meeting them there because Debbie had fallen ill. My first question when I heard Jay was interested in a girl was whether or not he had met her at work. After seeing her for the first time I knew that there was no way she was a government employee. If you’ve ever worked in a government office you’d know what I mean. Anyhow, I spent most of the time talking to Alex about Los Angeles, Jay and shopping at Sephora. She was very open, very friendly and she asked and answered a lot of questions. I remember being insanely happy for Jay that he had found someone cool.

There was another reason I was insanely happy that day. I had all but quit my job that day, having offically been hired by LivePlanet. I had had a sit down that day with my bosses and made a list of demands they had to fulfill before I would stay with that outfit. I think that list included a raise and a face-to-face meeting with the head of the company. They were demands that I didn’t think were unreasonable, however they were also demands that I didn’t think they’d ever fulfill. I was right. It was one of those feelings that was akin to winning the lottery and being able to tell your hated boss off.

The night ended with all of us getting to our usual after-coaster destination, Don Pablos. Somehow I must have taken a little used exit and got to the restaurant 30 minutes before anyone else did. By the time they arrived the place was close to closing so I had to order for everyone. I think the complete order consisted of 8 El Matadors and I was so deleriously happy that I paid for everyone and gave a generous tip to the waitress.

From that day on we saw Alex fairly frequently. Jay brought her to the drive-in once and we saw her at a few other get togethers.

Sadly Alex was also due to head back to Los Angeles in a couple of months for work and then UCLA Law school. We were all sad that this great relationship was about to turn into a long distance one.

Alex moved back to LA early in 2001. Jay was a resourceful guy so I knew they’d find some way to make the relationship work out long distance. After all - Debbie and I did for about 2 years. In an odd twist of fate I was asked in February 2001 to move out to LA. The move to the West Coast saddened me because I was happy living in Maryland and the move would mean that I would be apart from Debbie for several months. In late February I was sent out to LA for an all hands meeting and ended hanging out with Alex, her friend Alan, Ben and my brother Andy. We hit 3rd street, an In-n-Out, Universal Studios, the House of Blues and Diddy Riese Cookies. I had a blast that day and knew that everything would work out great, especially since I knew someone there already.

The best part about Alex being out West was that Jay would have a huge reason to come out to LA every so often meaning that I would get to hang out with him and whoever came with him. In June 2001 not only did Jay come out but so did ALL the Mihalcik kids, courtesy of an online price goof. It was awesome.

Sadly I had to leave LA later that year, but Jay and Alex still kept in touch and after Alex graduated from law school things became really serious. The question at that point was when Jay was going to pop the question. Since they still lived on separate coasts with strong ties to jobs and family we thought it would be awhile. Years maybe. I guess we were all wrong. I’m so happy, not only because Jay finally did it but because I couldn’t imagine them apart.

Technically they still do live on separate coasts now, but who gives a shit, they’re f-ing engaged!