MIKE & SEDORA

Mike: I’m not sure I believe in such a thing. As Sedora mentioned, we lived in the same (Honors) dorm and were part of a small group that was slightly less interested in the Smallville marathons, sweaty Dance Dance Revolution dance-offs, and weekend-long Star Wars Trivial Pursuit/Risk/Settlers of Catan games that the rest of our house mates enjoyed. We became good friends (along with Sedora’s bridesmaid, Erin) while cracking jokes in lecture, choking down dorm food, trying to keep ourselves entertained in the Honors dorm, and comparing notes and studying together. From this close friendship grew a love that I feel is much stronger than anything I could imagine “at first sight” having to offer.

 

Why Mike? 

Sedora:

 

• His goofy humor and quick wit. Mike is a big ham and makes as many bad, cheesy jokes and puns as truly witty, hilarious quips. He makes life SUPER fun and funny. I absolutely adore how laid back he is and that's it's rubbed off on me.  

• How well he knows me. He always knows if it's a big hug or dessert or a joke that will cheer me up. Half the time he knows my reaction before I do. (To my credit, after 9 years, I can predict most of his responses, too.) Also, he can decipher my half-sentence/half-gesture descriptions (it's really quite impressive, and comes in handy when we team up to play taboo...but don't get me started on how competitative a couple we are!)

• His unwavering support. He is the first to call me out when I'm frontin', but also the first to tell me, with full confidence, that I am awesome and "got this" and will do whatever he can to make things happen for me. 

• His sense of adventure. He has helped me experience so many firsts, like kayaking, snorkeling and white water rafting. He is an awesome travel buddy!

• He is my foodie buddy! 'nuff said. I always want to order at least 4 things, and he will clean house when I realize that I ordered waaaaaay too much! 

• We make an awesome research-plan-execute team. We divvy up tasks:  I research where to eat and he researches what to see and how to get from place to place; I handle detailed itinerary planning and packing while he handles reservations; when we get to our destination (whether it's an afternoon excursion or a longer foodie trip) I oversee efficiency and preparedness and shlepping all our stuff and he takes over navigation and makes sure I don't get too melodramatically heartbroken when something goes wrong (the must-visit restaurant that we went out of our way to get to is CLOSED today?!?!!?) and moves me along on the rest of our adventure.   

• His patience. This is key. If you've never experienced a hangry Tantraphol woman, consider yourself lucky. Mike has joined my brother-in-law Scott Swanson in a Tantraphol woman support group. 

• He can reach anything. Since meeting my Professional Reacher, the number of times that I've had to precariously get up on a chair while balancing something fragile or reach into the backseat of my car to grab something has plummeted. Awesome.

• He always knows where my cell phone is. Seriously, I ask him where my phone is at least twice a day. And sometimes need him to fetch it from the car for me, which he exasperatedly does, cuz he's a sweetie. This is a key characteristic I look for in a partner. 

• He reassures me that I'm not broken. At least 3 times a day. (See 'patience' characteristic above.) This calms my melodramatic reactions to boo-boos and sore muscles and saves me a ton of money in unnecessary ER visits. 

• He loves matrices and efficiency as much as I do. Some couples pillow talk. We share tips on Excel functionality and shortcuts. More importantly, we argue about who loves efficiency more. <3! (Because I know you're all curious as to who won: he loves matrices more, we have different definitions of efficiency.) 

• Quite simply, he is my favorite.

 

 

Why Sedora?

Mike:

 

• Her intelligence.  While she may have a few small knowledge gaps (like the names of animals, especially birds), Sedora is incredibly intelligent and has a strong desire to continually learn new things.  We tend to supplement each other’s knowledge gaps and constantly teach each other new things: from sports and travel tips to social issues and efficiency tools.

• Her sense of humor and playfulness.  Sedora knows her way around a good pun and is no stranger to a clever one-liner.  It’s a blast laughing along with her at everything from the low brow cheesy stuff to more intelligent, subtle humor.  Our phone calls are much more fun with poorly done accents and we are pretty awesome at improvising song parodies about the most mundane subjects.  I swear seeing her “good food happy dance” makes meals taste even better.

• Her sense of adventure.  Whether it’s ordering new foods that would seem strange to some, exploring cities we’re visiting for the first time, white water rafting, snowboarding, or boogie boarding, Sedora is always open to new adventures even when they push her usual comfort zone, and often helps me push my own.  I love experiencing “firsts” with her!

• Her passion for helping others.  She has a real drive and passion for improving the lives of others on a macro level through her work with non-profit organizations and her future aspirations about bettering the world.  

• Her patience.  Sedora can be very Type A about some things and I tend to often fall in the lazy category.  Her patience while I catch up to her level of focus and effort is definitely an asset.

• She is an awesome cook.  Any of you who have seen her Facebook photos I’m sure are often jealous that I actually get to taste all the excellent food that she cooks. Whether it’s super fluffy scrambled eggs, traditional Thai home-cooking, new twists on vegetables like Brussels sprouts, or mouth-watering desserts, it’s all made with love and super delicious.

• She is a great cheerleader.  She makes celebrating successes even more enjoyable and failures even easier to overcome.  She is my biggest supporter!

• She is definitely my favorite!