4 posts tagged “gabeb”

Last month I went to the Lowlands Festival. This years theme was Low Sweet Home, which is exactly what it felt like. Being at home. It was wonderful to see so many friends and to run into so many wonderful people I knew. Old friends, old students, old colleagues and new friends. This is the first (actually I posted one video from dancing already) real edit from the footage I made at the festival. The music is from True Story.

I haven't blogged in so many weeks now. It's because I have to blog about an experience, life changing one, and I have to make it right. I've gone through so many drafts of this in my head, but now time, alcohol and the need to blog further is forcing me to just get it out there.

For those with ADD I should just go ahead and say what happened. Consider this therapy, or you can just scroll down to the end. It will be clear soon though.

For months now I've been trying to find the right way to ask Tamara to marry me. Trying to get everything from the right event to getting a ring, etc arranged is difficult. There was never the right moment. I mean either I just couldn't get the ring in time (like at the jam party), or GabeB beat me to the punch like at Valentines, or whatever reason there is, it just didn't happen yet.

I had decided to make the moment Concert at SEA. It's a big concert here in Holland organized by BLOF. At XOLO we work with the guys from BLOF a lot and had helped with the website and other projects, so we are on good re-pore with them. I had asked my buddy Chiem (who is the one heading up the BLOF projects) if I could ask Tam to marry me on stage during the concert.

But to be honest, asking in front of over 50,000 people has A LOT OF PRESSURE with it. Combine that with the fact that it was a logistical nightmare, it didn't pan out. So Chiem told me we just had to play it by ear. Okay, I was determined though.

So the day of the concert comes and I have to get Tamara up early to get to the location in time. And what does she say? "Honey, I'm really tired and I think it would be better for me to skip the concert today." Now Tam has a problem with getting enough rest. We've gone to doctors and everything to try and figure it out, and now she's at a Chinese doctor and taking herbs and acupuncture to get her energy level up. Combine that with the outrageous hours she is working for her theater productions and she really does need her sleep. What to do. This is one of the first times ever that Tam tells me she wants to skip a social event for sleep. I mean she never does that and it's a big step to put her health before having fun.

But I want to ask her to marry me today. DILEMMA!!!! Screw dilemma, she can sleep in the car and the next day (sunday). "Honey, please come with me. If you don't I know you will regret it for the rest of your life." And I would as well. After enough pleading she decided to come with me. Okay, problem solved, onto the concert.

We get to the Hotel were we are staying and it is fully booked. It's the artists hotel, but Cheim comes through and by a stroke of luck Tamara and I have a room all to ourselves. Only Gabe B and Cheim now about it at this point, and trying to switch rooms around between 8 people (the XOLO crew) is a tricky thing. But we are set with our own room for the night. YES!!

We head to the concert from the hotel, and | have to carry the ring in my pocket, hoping she will not notice. Unfortunately it was really crowded in the shuttles to get to the concert, and my ring pocket was next to her leg. She says "What's that in your pocket?". SHIT SHIT SHIT!!! Think quick now man, what to say. Something that seems plausible but so disinteresting that she doesn't want to see it. What do you say is in your pocket when it is a big pointy box shape? "Oh, GabeB forgot to bring a MIC block for the camera, so I've got it." She buys it. YES!!!

Because we were filming all these internet films for the concert, and had done a bunch of work on the website with vlogging and so forth we got backstage passes, including Tamara and some friends. YEAH!@!! That meant that Tam got to hang out the majority of the day at the VIP area with all the famous Dutch people or standing right in front of the stage for her favorite acts. I was off filming some of the time, but I still got to enjoy many moments with her. She was having a blast, but for some strange reason the conversation kept turning towards weddings and marriages making me very nervous. Does she suspect it? But Tamara is for some reason still totally oblivious she said later. That's the poker face working I guess. ;-)

More in the next post... (The after party and after after party)