Wonderfully Awful: Wonderfully Wonderful

We’re going to take a break from our regularly scheduled Wonderfully Awful to spend some time on something Wonderfully Wonderful: my engagement. Sure, it feels a wee bit self-indulgent to spend time that I normally use to snark on bad TV or weird informercial products to talk about this amazing thing that happened to me. But it’s my blog, and by golly, I will use it as I please!

Anyway, a little history: the fella and I have been together for over five years. In the past, we had discussed the idea of engagement and marriage, but more recently our conversations have more frequently revolved around the economy and money and our sick cat. Suffice to say, I wasn’t at all expecting what ended up happening at halftime of a roller derby game in a warehouse in Los Angeles on June 27, 2009.

So it’s Saturday evening and I was getting dressed in my derby finery as I prepare to beat up on women whilst wearing roller skates. I was having a hard time deciding between my pretty, shiny gold hot pants or my funny, silly black shorts that say “NOM NOM NOM” on the booty. I started asking around for advice on this ever-important choice, when my teammate and close friend told me, “you should go with the pretty.” Turns out, she was in on what was about to happen, and was helping me look my best.

At 8:00pm, the game was underway. I was feeling a little bit sluggish, but was still having a pretty good game. As the second quarter drew to a close, my team captain told us that we should all stay put when halftime starts. When the game clock hit zero, the announcer declared that we should all turn our attention to the scoreboard screens for a video presentation. I was certainly curious to see who or what this video would be about. Then I saw a photo on the screen…of me…and my boyfriend! And individual letters started to appear on the screen spelling my name. I do believe the words coming out of my mouth repeatedly at that point was to the effect of, “NO (expletive) WAY!”

From here, my team turned me around to face the VIP bleachers, where I saw a handful of people holding up individual letter signs that spelled out “WILL YOU MARRY ME?” Then my boyfriend, dressed in a suit, stepped on to the track. As I rolled over to him, I noticed more photos of good times from our relationship showing on screen, while A-Ha’s “Take on Me” (our song) played in the background. When I reached him, he dropped to his knee. I’m pretty sure I said yes before he even asked, mainly because I had already read the words he was about to say on the video screen and in the audience. But he asked regardless, and I said yes again. He slipped the ring on my finger, even though I was still wearing wrist guards. I thought it was a nice look…as was getting engaged in a helmet, hot pants, furry leg warmers and roller skates!

And then I had to play more roller derby. I had seen skaters be on the receiving end of a proposal in the past and play a game afterward, and I always thought that would be so very difficult. Let me be the first to say that it’s quite the opposite. There’s nothing like the adrenaline of a marriage proposal in front of 1,000 people to give a girl the energy to play a high-impact, full-contact sport!

Photos by Stalkerazzi.