7 years

by Grace Ko in

7 years ago today, Y asked me out on our first "official" date. And he did it in "grand" fashion. 

       Good Morning Grace!

       How goes it? How are you feeling?  

       So here is a mission briefing for you today:

       I’ll take you out to dinner @ 19:00 (7PM) November 8,2007 Thursday – 42nd Grand Central

  1. Accept
  2. Decline
  3. Postpone

        Once you respond… I’ll give you further information/direction.

        Have a good day!

I obviously responded with 1. Accept and he replied with a detailed run-down of what my "mission" was. I was to meet him in Grand Central Station in the Main Concourse (he attached the following photo) and I had 5 yes/no questions to locate him in this bustling hub. 

Recently, during my weekend shenanigans in NYC, I was on the subway. As we were briefly stalling at the Grand Central Station stop, I was brought back to that exact day. I remember vividly getting off the subway and walking up the stairs to Grand Central Station, butterflies in stomach. I made my way up to the Main Concourse slowly and called Y. If my memory serves me correctly, it only took me 3 questions to find him. [If you're curious, he was standing below the flag on the right shown in the above photo.] I remember he then told me about the architecture of the magnificent Main Concourse and how around a million people visit and travel through Grand Central Station (officially called Grand Central Terminal). To read more interesting facts about Grand Central Terminal, go here and here.  

We then walked downstairs to the Oyster Bar & Restaurant. But before we walked in to enjoy dinner, he showed me the "Whispering Gallery" located at the entrance of the restaurant. Y explained to me that the architecture of this unmarked archway allowed for a strange acoustic phenomenon: when two people stand at diagonal arches and whisper, they can hear each other's voices from across the arch. My interest in architecture was piqued and my nerves had subsided as we walked into the Oyster Bar. I remember the red-and-white checkered table cloths and the twinkling lights above. We sat and feasted on New England Clam Chowder, raw oysters, crab cakes, and told each other corny jokes and challenged one another with riddles. Afterwards, we walked off some of that hearty dinner and made a quick stop into Starbucks. I remember the Starbucks red Christmas cups had already made their comeback. Being the gentleman Y is, he took the subway with me and walked me all the way to the door of my apartment. On the way there, we talked about qualities we admired in the opposite sex. And I remember secretly wondering, "Does he like me?" 

Turns out he did. And I am grateful for it. 

Thanks for the best first date a girl could ever ask for. 

Happy 7 years of "dating"! And to many more years of "dating".