Suzie & Peter

September 5, 2010

Suzie and Peter photo

How we met

Suzie One Sunday evening in October 2004, my suitemate Karen was talking to me about her boyfriend’s roommate, Peter. She had just been up to visit Kyle at Clarkson University and thought that Peter and I would get along. She asked me if it would be ok for her to give Peter my AIM screen name.

Peter Karen told me there was someone she wanted me to meet and gave me Suzie’s screen name. I completely botched my first introduction, but we moved past that and chatted frequently in the evenings and left messages for each other during the day.

A few weeks later, I decided I’d had enough online chatting and wanted to hear her voice, so I figured out her phone number and gave her a call. I remember setting my away message to “Going out on a limb…”

My roommate answered the phone and then handed it to me. I said hello, and I heard “Hi Suzie!” I thought it must be Peter, but wasn’t really sure, as he hadn’t ever asked me for my phone number. I really don’t remember what I said, or how I figured out that it was Peter calling me, but the phone call is memorable to Peter. I guess I was so nervous that I forgot to breathe! (and he won’t let me forget that!)

It was indeed a memorable phone call, filled with lots of awkward silences. Suzie definitely forgot to breathe and almost forgot how to talk. So it was a lot of my asking simple questions and Suzie responding with rather short answers. But once we got off the phone, I happily changed my away message to “And the branch held!”

But we moved past that awkward phase and near Thanksgiving Peter asked me if he could come visit me. I was so excited to meet him, but very nervous too. I tried to find some things that we could do on Friday with Karen and some of my other friends – so that Peter would know at least one other person. I remember waiting in Karen & Becky’s room for Peter to arrive at our dorm. I was so nervous!!

If she was nervous, I was petrified. I arrived on campus, paced around a little bit, grabbed the flowers I had brought and then called Karen to let me in. She escorted me upstairs and introduced me to Suzie.

We chatted for a few minutes, then the three of us left to bring our stuff to Suzie’s parent’s house, where Suzie and I were staying for the weekend. This is what I call pressure – meeting a girl for the first time and then meeting her parents 10 minutes later. I hope I made a good impression.

We headed back to campus. Karen and I played a game of pool at the athletic center, the winner of the game “winning” Peter. (I won!) Then, we went to a concert on campus. The rest of the weekend was wonderful – and by the time Sunday came around and it was time for Peter to leave, I didn’t want him to go.