How Glam Met Gamer
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The Truth as Told By Candis

I was in Korea when I found out I had been selected to attend the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) and would be moving to Wright-Patterson AFB in Fairborn, OH.  I was excited about AFIT, but not to be heading north.  Before I would arrive to OH, I had to attend Squadron Officer School that summer in Montgomery, AL.  It was there I met a fellow officer who was also moving to Wright-Patterson, and happened to know someone in the area named Darin.  She put me in contact with him via Facebook so I could ask him questions about the area, etc.  I reached out to him a couple of times, but he was not very helpful.  I found my own place and got settled in.

Darin and I's new mutual friend arrives about two months later and has the crazy idea that I do a Spartan race with her.  She tells me Darin will be our driver since she knew we'd be sore on the way back and would also take pictures of us along our race route.  So I meet her in her hotel room on base and wait for Darin to arrive.  She leaves to meet him at the gate and bring him to the room.  I'm already sitting down, he walks in and does the same.  Our friend fails to introduce us, so I take it upon myself to say, "Hi, I'm Candis."  He reluctantly responds, and we roll out.  The weather took a turn for the worse before our race began; rain, hail, freezing cold.  But since we were already there, we pushed through.  We completed the race, and Darin drove us home.

After that, the three of us correspond via Facebook chat and we somehow invite ourselves to be Darin's dates at his god-sister's wedding.  I sat beside Darin, and that was the first time we had a real conversation.  We talked about any and everything, and before the night had ended, he asked me on a date.  I obliged, and as our friendship grew and his feet drug, I knew he was the one for me.  One year exactly from the day of our first date, he asked me to be his wife. 

Darin's Delusion

A mutual friend put us in contact through Facebook, in order to help her in searching for apartments in the vicinity of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.  As usual, I had forgotten to follow through with a hard list of apartments to check out...

The following few months, we met up again.  But, this time, I was to be their chauffeur and pack mule for the Spartan race.  And so, I was their photographer and faithful pack mule for the duration of the event, trudging between checkpoints with their supplies.

Following a brisk drive back to civilization, we met up again for a celebratory dinner (of which I was told I didn't need to dress up).  Later, Brian - his brother - joined in on the fun, and kindly invited Candis to our god-sister's wedding, with myself agreeing to pay.

During the wedding, Candis and I got to know each other a little better, talking for pretty much the entirety of the reception.  It was mostly a conversation about my general lack of style, out-dated wardrobe, and his unsatisfactory ball caps.  By the end of the night, I had requested Candis join me for hat shopping sometime next weekend, and she happily obliged!

Darin and his wedding crasher date.