How we met?

It's hard to believe that next month marks 6 years together! We met back in 2018 when I (Trai) quit my finance and accounting job in London to travel the world. I climbed Kilimanjaro in Africa and hiked the Camino de Santiago in Spain before returning to the U.S.

While visiting a friend in San Francisco, a hike through the Castro and up to Twin Peaks resulted in a lengthy detour to Andy's place. A few quick messages on Grindr led to hours of talking over delicious wine followed by a very hot hookup. Neither of us were expecting anything more, however, we had a number of interesting things in common.

First, the friend I was staying with was the head organist at Grace Cathedral. Andy also played the organ—his grandma taught him—and he even had one in his house! He also lived just a few doors down from another one of my best friends in Castro. That friend and I met at a bathhouse in Paris when studying abroad twenty years ago, but that's a story for another day!

In addition to the organ connection, I was in process to become a flight attendant with American Airlines. Before driving the F-line streetcar in San Francisco, Andy was also a flight attendant with United Airlines for nearly 10 years. What are the chances? An organist and a flight attendant?

Needless to say, while sparks flew, I was leaving the following day to spend 6 weeks with my dad traveling around Asia.

With such limited time, Andy thought what the hell—maybe we can see each other again if I offer to drive him to the airport to maximize our time together? Deal.

For the next month and a half, we messaged and FaceTimed daily. When my Asia trip began to wind down, my initial plan was to spend the next few months visiting friends and hiking in New Zealand and Australia. Andy, however, convinced me to return to SF for a visit. He even found out who was working my flight from Singapore to San Francisco. The flight crew brought me pajamas and champagne from Business Class which was a real treat! On arrival, Andy was holding a sign at the airport with my name on it—so incredibly thoughtful as always!

Over the coming weeks, I took numerous trips to visit friends in LA, my brother in Denver, and many others. Just before the holidays, Andy made it official and said, "you don't have to pretend to be going places anymore. I'd like you to stay." Two years later, we got married on the beach in Tulum and began our plan to move to Mexico! 🙌