Our Story
Jimmy Hastings
Husband
Sori Gonzales
Wife
Early Courtship
It all started with an unassuming move. Mutual friends Ben and Queenie were moving in to live with Sori, and Jimmy helped with his characteristic soundtrack. Sori was warned, "Beware: Jimmy is luscious." Heedless of their warning, Sori joined the three of them on their next journey to Alliance LARP. Unbeknownst to her, and even to a lesser extent Jimmy himself, the Jimmymobile was already working its magic, for no unattached fair maiden has ever been driven to LARP by Jimmy and remained free of his clutches. When they returned that weekend, Sori reemerged from her house and asked Jimmy out on a date. A good thing, too, because Jimmy is a perpetual lollygagger in that realm.
Their first date on April 25, 2013 started a chain reaction for which neither of them were prepared. The first date, if awkward from unclear expectations, led to a second and a third date. Late nights were occasionally spent in Sori's driveway when neither of them wanted their time together to end. Jimmy spent an entire day and a half figuring out how to set up his old phone on her cellular network for her to use. Sori left cards and flowers at Jimmy's doorstep when she knew he was too busy to spend quality time. Both of them opened up to each other in ways they hadn't in years.
Move to Kirkland
Just 4 months into their courtship, what would seem like an unequivocal blessing threw the couple a curve ball, as Jimmy was offered a full-time position at Google Kirkland, a full 4.5-hour drive in the best of conditions away from Sori's place of residence. This was far sooner than they would normally have considered cohabitating, but neither did they want to try maintaining a romantic partnership at that distance, and declining what was essentially Jimmy's dream job was out of the question. In the end, they decided to risk it, preferring to try and then fail, over failing to try. As luck would have it, a nearby Walgreens was in desperate need of a Senior Pharmacy Technician. So Sori transferred stores, and on Saturday, September 21, 2013 with the help of family and friends, they made the 5-hour trek and moved into their new home together.
The move turned out to be the right decision for the couple. While they surely missed their friends in Eugene and Corvallis, both Jimmy and Sori flourished in the Puget Sound area and the newly-local friends that entailed. Not that they weren't without their share of trials. In April of 2014, Sori experienced days and days of severe pain that necessitated weeks out of work on medical leave and three separate Emergency Room visits. In one such visit, Sori deliriously lamented to all the medical staff about how Jimmy hadn't proposed to her on the anniversary of their first date. Oh snap! This ordeal eventually culminated in a diagnosis of Fibromyalgia, a manageable, but not curable, disease about which medical science still doesn't know a lot. As is becoming a pattern, with the help of family and friends they got through that phase.
The Engagement
Once Jimmy was ready to ask what may be the most important question of his life, he knew he also must engage in one of the most important deceptions of his life. Sori had made her position clear in a variety of ways, but Jimmy needed an event with the "wow" factor. He needed her to be surprised at the proposal, even though she was expecting a proposal. In secret, Jimmy consulted with her best friends to build a ring that would be meaningful and beautiful. He collaborated with his best friends on how he was going to deliver. The date itself was chronicled in picture form both with Google Glass and more traditional means. The album, including two videos of the proposal itself, is publicly available on Google+. On September 21, 2014, one year after they had first moved in together, in front of their good friends in their shared living room, Jimmy got down on one knee and professed his love for Sori. Of course, she said, "Yes," or you wouldn't be looking at this website.
Since then, Sori has been able to quit her job in pharmacy in order to be a full-time tattoo artist, which was essentially her dream job. Their lives are always busy with their own projects and with wedding preparation, but they manage to find the time to help each other learn and grow on an almost daily basis.
