The Proposal Pt. 3 - Momma D

The weekend that all this was happening, Tara had planned on making a trip to Houston to visit me. Obviously, I had to change those plans because my "Dallas" proposal wouldn't work out so well if she was in Houston. She called me on Wednesday in the midst of all these shenanigans, and asked how my day was going. I gave here the understatement of the century and said that I was having an "interesting morning." I told her that I would have to come to Dallas this weekend to clear up some insurance issues. Cluelessly, she said that would be fine.

I spoke to my mom on the drive from Houston to see what she had going on that evening. She said there wasn't much to do and that it would be a quiet evening at home. I know her all to well; in Momma D terms that means "probably headed to the casinos in Oklahoma to play some penny slots." I didn't tell her that I was coming in town. I figured that if I was going to put her in shock from the big news, I might as well give her a heart attack too by showing up unannounced. Thoughtful, I know.

Dave and I pulled up to a pitch black house in Gunter at around 9:30 pm. We weren't sure if they were asleep or gone so we tried to be as loud as possible; we didn't want to get shot by sneaking into the house. Not to our surprise (well, Dave was a little shocked that I called it), they were at the casino. Gunter, being the giant metropolis that is - just north of a 1000 population, no stop lights, middle of nowhere - now has a Sonic, so Dave and I went to grab some food while we waited for our little gamblers to return.

I was driving a vehicle they hadn't seen before, and we had all the lights turned on in the house (a rarity even when they are home). So I had to call Momma D and tell her that Dave and I were at the house; again, so we wouldn't get shot (these things happen in Texas). She was a little confused, but not too surprised because I do things like this from time to time. When they got back to the house, we hugged and greeted each other as usual, but then I told her to sit down. 

I should preface this part of the story with a brief description of Momma D. She is a sweet, God-loving woman, that practically raised her two sons on her own. She is passionate about two things in her life (besides penny slots), her faith and her family. Anyone who has ever met my mother knows this about her; she is very transparent about what she loves in life. The whole reason I started this blog is because she hates the fact that my brother and I are so far away, and she wants to know what is going on in our lives.

When I said to sit down, her face dropped; there is no telling what in the world was going through her head (she couldn't tell you either because she doesn't remember much of the night due to her state of shock). I told her the story exactly how I had been telling everyone else. When I got to the part about accepting the offer, she gave a reaction that neither Dave or I expected. Oh yeah, Dave is sitting on the couch next to me watching all this go down. His version is pretty funny. Anyways, Momma D just starts going off on me.

She wasn't angry. She was just kind of upset and shocked blended together at once. She started firing a million questions at me. She wanted to know if I even knew where Singapore was, to which I reassured her that I did ( I left out the part about thinking it was in South America). I finally had to stop her and say that Singapore wasn't really the reason I was in Dallas. I told her that in fact, Singapore wasn't really big news at all compared to... (then I pulled out the rings) ...the fact that I was about to ask Tara to marry me and come with me. 

You want to talk about hitting a brick wall. Ever since my mother met Tra in high school, she's wanted me to marry that girl. She loves Tara to death. The fact that I was finally going to propose to her was a dream come true. I think she has always wondered if either of her sons would ever get married (I know that she's completely given up on getting any grandchildren from us). Needless to say, her mood changed instantly. She started crying and wanted to look at the rings. Luckily, she was too in shock to really focus on them (see previous story for that adventure).

We stayed up and talked for a few more hours, and then, I went to lay in bed and stare at the ceiling for the rest of the night. I'm pretty sure that Dave and Ricky were the only two that got any sleep that night because I know that Momma D didn't ever close her eyes. We went to my aunt's house the next morning and went through the EXACT same scenario. There was plenty of tears and hugs going around the room when I told them about Tara (mostly from Dave who enjoys a good hug and cries over everything). Then, we talked for a while longer and showed off the rings; which got a little more scrutiny this time around.

With good luck wishes and more hugs and more tears we finally left Gunter. We went to meet up with my brother and his roommate in Dallas. The waiting game for Tara to get off work had officially begun.

It was now time to propose to my girlfriend.

The Proposal Pt. 2 - The Ring(s)

All of this happened on a Wednesday, and I had decided that after work on Thursday I was going to head to Dallas. This gave us Wednesday evening to find a ring. Around 4 pm Dave and I met up at the apartment, and after some high-fives (and some man-hugs), we left to go ring shopping. Our first place to look for Tra's ring was at the bar. My thought process here was that the "happier" I was, the more I would be willing to spend on a ring. After much ring-searching at the bar, we reached the right level of "happiness" and decided that we should go to an establishment that actually sold rings.

About a year ago, Tra and I decided to browse around some jewelry stores. I wanted to get the feel of what kind of ring she wanted for when the day came that I actually got the nerve to propose. I found out that day that Tra is not your average girly-girl. Most girls want the biggest, shiniest, most elaborate set-stone ring that money can buy. Then, their man gets judged by what he picks out for her. Well this trip is when I found out that Tra is not a fan of big bulky rings. She's not even a fan of set-stones. She likes baguette cut diamonds and bands; tiny, petite, simple, diamond bands. It's understandable because she uses her hands a lot for work so her rings get banged around, and a bulky ring would get in her way. I'm so thankful that we took the time to do this because I actually had some sort of idea about what ring she would like.

We went to the Galleria of Houston first. This is where I had a real eye-opener on the evening (which is good because all of the "happiness" was making my eyes droop). I came to the realization that this was not going to be a simple task. We stopped at about ten different stores before we decided that the Galleria was putting a damper on our hopes of a simple ring search. The Galleria was also putting a damper on our "happiness" level, so we stopped at a Mexican restaurant in the mall to see if they kept any rings at the bottoms of their margarita glasses. They did not.

At this point, we were desperate because it was getting late. We stopped at one more store that didn't pan out to anything, and we finally just asked the guy behind the counter if there was a Jared's in Houston. Luckily, the Jared's wasn't far away, however, they closed at 10:00. It was around 9:30 at that point. After sprinting through the mall and navigating our way across town, we pulled up to Jared's with about ten minutes to spare.

With a significant level of "happiness" and adrenaline pumping, we were finally standing in front of a legitimate display case full of diamond bands that would be suffice for Tra's taste. This is where it gets interesting. Since she only likes the band style, I had decided to get her two rings; a little band and a big band. Then when we get married, I'll get her a third band that is identical to the smaller of the two; little band, big band, little band. Since bands aren't nearly as expensive as a set diamond ring, the budget that I had decided on (thanks to my "happiness") was substantially more than what the bands cost.

This is where Dave and I came up with a game we like to call "Bigger." The rules are as follows: they bring out a ring, and we scream "Bigger!" This went on until they finally informed us that we were holding the biggest band of diamonds. We took it. Then, I picked out a smaller baguette cut band, and we finally had our rings! I had to call Blake again to find out Tra's ring size because I had forgotten it. Unfortunately, she didn't know it either (no help, as usual). I thought it was a 7, and she thought it was a 6. We compromised on a 6.5 and called it good. I left the rings there to be sized and would come back after work and pick them up on my way to Dallas.

I left work before lunch on Thursday because I was accomplishing absolutely nothing; I think I was still in shock. I freaked out a bit in my bosses office about the whole situation, and he made it clear that I wasn't needed at work the rest of the week (especially in the state I was in) so I was free to leave. I went to Jared's to pick up the rings, and things got ugly. Literally.

(This part is strictly in my opinion. Tra will tell you that I am over-exaggerating) The rings did not match in the slightest. They looked funny next to each other because one was so big and the other one was small. On top of that, the cuts didn't go together at all. Unfortunately, I had to live with them. I called up Dave to ask him what we were thinking when we bought the rings, and he tried to insist that they couldn't be nearly as bad as I was making them out to be. Then, he saw them and admitted that maybe they weren't the greatest looking pair, but he knew for a fact that she would love them (he was just trying to boost my confidence going into the Dallas trip because I was freaking out again).

I really don't remember packing to leave the apartment (when the engagement was finally over that weekend, I did an inventory on my suitcase and noted that it contained about 17 pairs of underwear and 2 shirts). Anyways, Dave and I loaded up, and we were off to Dallas; or really Gunter. We had one more small errand to run before I could propose to Tara.

It was now time to break it to my mother that I was getting married and moving to Singapore.

The Proposal Pt. 1 - In Shock

I've given you the short version, but I also want to have the long version in writing as well. This story actually picks up right where the last blog ends. Immediately after I agreed to move to Singapore, I instantly made the decision that I was going to propose to Tara.

We have been dating for about two years now, and we also dated for four years while we were in grade school. After we had been together for about a year this time around, we had a discussion over dinner about what direction we each wanted our relationship to go. The conclusion was that neither one of us were in a rush to get married, but we knew that if the opportunity ever presented itself, we would want to take the relationship to the next level. Tara and I are both very driven people, and it is important to both of us that we have our own identities. For this to happen, we felt that it is crucial that we each have our own careers. Knowing this, we figured that for our relationship to get to the next level, we would have to live in the same town; something that each of our careers were years away from. So we decided to take things slow, and just see what happened.

At the time of this conversation, I was based out of Oklahoma but living in Arkansas. Then after a year, I got transferred back to Oklahoma City, and six months after that, I was transferred to Houston.  For all we knew, I could have been living in North Dakota by the end of the year (which actually turns out to be a possibility. Every time I do something stupid (often), they threaten me with N.D.). Then a week after moving to Houston, I was told about Singapore.

After I committed, we talked about what it would take to get Tara over there with me. I didn't necessarily have to marry her to bring her with me, but when I finally saw that we could live in the same place for once, I couldn't resist. There was also the option (which I honestly didn't even want to consider) of putting our relationship on hold for three years while I was in Singapore. Three years without Tara was absolutely not an option, so it was decided in my bosses office, a second after I committed to Singapore, that I was going to propose to Tra (Tara=Tra).

I really don't remember much of the day to tell you the truth. When I left Ragon's office, it was about 9:30 am, so I went back to my desk and stared at my computer screen. And stared at my computer screen. And stared at my computer screen some more. I was absolutely in shock. I couldn't just go home because I was meeting my friend, Dillon Hohertz, for lunch, and after that, I had a meeting with one of our salesmen and a customer. After a few hours of staring at my computer screen, I left to drive aimlessly around Houston until it was time to meet Hohertzy.

During that time, I decided that I needed to make a few phone calls to start getting some wheels set in motion. I first called my brother and Tra's younger sister, Blake, and told them everything that was going on. Blake is what we like to call the "runt" of the litter so turning to her for help was a last resort (Just kidding. Blake is actually a sweet girl and surprisingly intelligent...ish. Out of the four Foley siblings, she might have the highest IQ and the lowest amount of common-sense). Then, I put a call into Tra's CIA/ninja/black-ops father. Having to ask her father for his blessing to marry his daughter over the phone is not ideal, but I was kind of out of options because this was all moving so fast. Then, I called Tra's mother and informed her of everything going on as well.

I got to the restaurant before Dillon, so I called Dave and told him to drop whatever he was doing and meet me at the apartment; I had some news to share with him. He obviously wouldn't let it go, and he even ended up guessing what had happened. He immediately started pouting, then screaming, then more pouting. I vaguely remember eating lunch with Hohertzy. I know that there was a lot of yelling and a lot of high-fives thrown in the restaurant. I absolutely don't remember meeting with the customer after lunch. I know that he had a corner office in one of the top floors of a Houston high rise, and I'm pretty sure that I just stared out of his window the entire meeting. I'm not even sure I introduced myself.

I didn't return to work after the meeting. Instead, I went straight to our apartment and met up with Dave.

It was now time to go buy a ring.

The Proposal Prologue - Their Proposal

I'm currently sitting in a rental car in the Houston Hobby airport parking lot waiting on a tow truck. My company car was broken into last week, and I just found out that they jammed something into the door lock rendering it useless. AND the battery is now dead, so my key remote won't open the doors; thus, I have no way of getting into the car. Now, I'm bored and have decided to tell the world (all 4 people that follow this site and the NOV-IT department) on the meaning of my last blog.

Most everyone already knows this story, but I figured that it would be nice to have it in writing. About 3 weeks ago, I was sitting at my desk in my new cubicle in our corporate office looking up Houston softball league information. Ragon, the VP of NOV Mission (I'm pretty sure there's an interesting story on here somewhere of a run-in I had with his daughter), comes up behind me and wants to see me in his office.

I walk into his office and Brian, my old boss from OKC, is already sitting in the office as well. Now, I figure that I'm getting fired and Brian has been asked to witness. Ragon asks me if I'm liking my new job. I respond that I'm super pleased with it. Then, he asks if I like Houston, and I tell him that I do actually love Houston (which is the truth; I really do enjoy it here).

Tow truck is here... Finish later this week.

Ok I have a lot of time on my hands now. I'm sitting in the waiting area of a medical center because I have to get immunization shots for what I'm about to tell you.

So Ragon says,"Great! Good to hear you like Houston. That's wonderful. Davis, what do you think about Singapore?" Having no clue where Singapore is, I reply,"Singapore is a cool place. I love South America!" After giving me a brief geography lesson (Singapore is in Asia. Hey, I colored maps in high school geography, give me a break), he proceeds to tell me about a position opening up and that they would really like me to accept the job.

I have always enjoyed traveling. My dream job (except driving a purple slugbug taxi in Mexico) has been to be an international salesman. Did I ever expect to get this opportunity so early in life? No. So you can only imagine the overwhelming feelings and thoughts going through me during this meeting.

They told me to take a week to think about it and get back to them. I laughed and said that wouldn't be necessary.

So a week after signing a year lease, a week after working in the corporate office, a week after moving to Houston, I decided to accept a position that will move me to the Far East and will be based out of Singapore. I am leaving this week to go over there for 2-3 weeks, I'll come back for about 5 days, and then I will officially move to Singapore.

Tara graciously accepted my proposal  and agreed to marry me and move to Singapore as well. She will join me after our wedding, but until then she will continue to work and is practically planning a wedding by herself. We will get married on December 31, 2011, and then start a life together of our own, on our own. Everyone is welcome to visit anytime they want, as much as they want! Our Singaporian home will always be open and welcome to our family and friends. And friends of friends. And anyone else who wants to come.







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