Matt and Karla's Marriage Celebration

Wedding Pic for Roberto!

2006-09-12T22:06:00.000-07:00

2006-08-01T10:22:00.000-07:00

The Kiss of Love

Gimme Gimme!

2006-06-13T23:14:00.000-07:00

Not exactly. But if you're racking your brain for something to give us for our celebration, may we recommend a gift certificate from Amazon.com. After all, they sell everything.

As avid readers (and having been living together for years), we find ourselves needing very little in the "stuff" department. Thank you in advance!

(In Progress) Read our story: start from the bottom, and work your way up!

2006-05-29T19:24:00.000-07:00

Southeast Asia Adventure

2006-03-19T16:36:00.000-08:00

February 2006

Matt and Karla recently returned from Thailand and Cambodia, where they rode elephants, checked out approximately 200 wats (Buddhist temples), purchased pirated DVDs, ate way too much spicy food, lounged at tsunami-devastated beaches, and made up for lost meditation. Fear not: this was NOT the honeymoon, merely an unrelated exotic international vacation that took place shortly after their marriage was announced.

A Good Vibe

2006-03-19T16:21:00.000-08:00

Summer 2005

The first major joint purchase is always a little nerve-racking, but a little less so when it's on sale and usually the most head-turning vehicle in the parking lot. Our peppy Pontiac Vibe has provided comfy, sporty transportation all around California, has performed admirably inactivities ranging from tailgating Raiders games, scaling mountains, and viewing drive-in movies, plus has enough room to fit Matt's bike AND the dog at the same time. Here's to superb Japanese engineering at US discounts!

The Big Day

2006-03-18T00:04:00.000-08:00

May 29, 2005

We did it!

Good excuses to dress up like a prisoner.

2006-03-17T22:19:00.000-08:00

May 2005

Excuse #1: Alcatraz night tour. This is a good one. Besides the fantastic tour, they lock you in solidary for a few minutes, and you also get a lantern-lit tour of the jail hospital. Matt and Karla took the tour dressed as prisoners for Halloween 2002 (surprisingly, they were the only ones - resulting in lots of posing for tourists!)

Excuse #2: Bay to Breakers. This SF "scene" is second only to Halloween in the Castro in terms of wildly imaginative costumes, partying, and public nudity. This is Matt's brother's favorite day of the year.

Maui Wowie

2006-03-16T22:08:00.000-08:00

April 2005

A day after Matt's 25th birthday, the daring duo flew to Maui. The trip brought some exciting adventures, such as biking down a 10,000 foot crater at 20 mph, and scuba diving at Molokini Marine Reserve. Probably the most enduring aspect of the blustery trip was the coining of the important "beach enjoyment" mandate: "When the sand's a blowin, we ain't goin."

Viva Italia (Or, the Land of Sore Butts)

2006-03-15T16:29:00.000-08:00

Summer 2004

In celebration of Matt's parents' 30th anniversary (hooray!), Matt and Karla traveled to Italy with the rest of the Stewart fam for a weeklong cycling trip through the hills of Tuscany. Matt impressed everyone with his overconsumption of Italian coffee, while Karla held her own in the fasionable dress-wearing department. The following week, Matt and Karla toured Pisa, Rome (where they saw the Pope!), and Venice on their own, all the while absorbing culture and art, finding Italian food surprisingly bland, and reminscing about when the euro used to be a lot cheaper.

Topped By Waikiki

2006-03-14T16:42:00.000-08:00

Spring 2004

Karla one-upped Matt's measly surprise birthday trip to Vegas with an incredible suprise birthday trip to Waikiki! Folks, don't let the naysayers get you down - Waikiki is amazing, Pearl Harbor is stunning, and Diamond Head gives you a hell of a view. Bonus points if a babe like Karla comes with.

The Valley of Death

2006-03-10T23:07:00.001-08:00

Fall 2003

Always a pair to fly in the face of tradition, Matt and Karla spent Thanksgiving 2003 braving a 10-hour drive to Death Valley. After a whirlwind 2-day visit climbing sand dunes, visiting the lowest point in the hemisphere, hiking surreal canyons, checking out breathtaking abstract art, and using up a whole lot of gas, Death Valley was permanently ensconced as the pair's favorite national park (despite almost dying when they went off the marked trail at the infamous Hubba Hubba crater).

Vegas Baby!

2006-03-09T23:07:00.000-08:00

Fall 2003

After a long day of work, Karla was picked up from her office in a late-model Volkswagen, presumably en route to a Turkish dinner outing in Oakland. Too tired to distrust the driver's offhand comment that he "needed to drop by the Oakland Airport to drop off a package," Karla was nearly smuggled onto the airplane until she realized Matt had surprised her with a trip to Vegas for her birthday!

The weekend was punctuated by battling Knights, poolside lounging, a trip to the gun range, several handmade cigars, convertible cruising, a Redskins victory viewed (and successfully bet on) at the Bellagio, and limited gambling losses. It don't get much better than that, folks.

Otis!

2006-03-01T21:30:00.000-08:00

Summer 2002

Although there is a long-standing dispute over who saw him first, Otis has blessed the lives of Karla and Matt since the day they brought him home from the Berkeley East Bay Humane Society. As a fearless ocean-water drinker, a kitchen-floor cleaner of the highest order, a humanitarian Animal Assisted Therapy Volunteer, a replacement for central heating, and a tireless welcome-home greeter, Otis a friend to all he meets (providing they don't smoke crack).

San Francisco Livin'

2006-02-28T23:18:00.000-08:00

July 2002 - present

Temp jobs suck. Matt and Karla quickly grew tired of the abysmal Seattle employment market - so they found jobs in San Francisco. The move south involved a 13 hour road trip down I-5, augmented by a trip to the House of Mystery http://www.oregonvortex.com/. They've been living happily at the same upper Haight address since then!

Cuba (not) Libre and Cohabitation

2006-02-28T21:13:00.000-08:00

January, 2002

The next adventure for Karla Matt was a trip to Cuba. It was stunning, fascinating, and oddly sad. Highlights included scuba diving in the Bay of Pigs, Mojitos at Hemmingway's old haunts, visiting a tobacco grower who has been featured in Cigar Aficionado, and an evening at the Tropicana!

Upon their return, Matt had a serious housing snafu, and while it was undoubtedly very early in the relationship, Karla and Matt moved into an enormous Seattle apartment in Capitol Hill (the Castro of Seattle). The apartment, though large, was oddly set up as a series of rooms all in one row, which made it feel as if you were on a ship!

Seattle Beckons

2006-02-02T00:06:00.000-08:00

December, 2001

Matt and Karla's reunion was joyous and intense, as Matt moved in to the house that Karla was sharing with 2 middle-aged women, 2 cats, and the stoner dude who lived in the basemement. The arrangement was destined to be short-lived.

The Guyana Chapter

2006-02-01T23:49:00.000-08:00

(June 2001 - December 2001)

On June 5, 2001, Matt boarded a flight from Miami to Georgetown, Guyana. A small English-speaking country in northeastern South America, Guyana is most known for the Jonestown mass suicide and for being located in Africa.

As a proud Peace Corps volunteer, Matt braved sweltering heat, mosquitos, bottles of cheap and delicious rum, and constant power outages as a completely untrained information technology educator. He read a lot, rode his bike a lot, and lost a lot of weight. To his delight, Guyana featured some of the best television in the world (stolen from satellites), as well as some of the most well-spoken and generous people he's ever met. However, the nation did not feature a beautiful Canadian girl who sneaked beers into bars, saved money on vacations by sleeping in her rental car in Burger King parking lots, and was generally the classiest lady in the joint.

Matt and Karla exchanged numerous hand-written letters in Guyana, an activity which is quickly becoming a lost art thanks to soulless inventions like marriage celebration blogs. In a remote location such as Guyana, a letter is the equivalent of a bar of gold, enough to make the day of receipt a day of celebration and joy. Matt had many such days of celebration and joy, and probably would have had many more if the Guyanese postal service was a tenth as reliable as the good ol' USPS. (Can't beat the prices though -- 15 cents for a letter to the US!) Nevertheless, the active letter exchange brought depth into what could have been a two-week fling, allowed for sturdy reintroduction and a window into deeper thoughts. They also helped prevent Matt from going crazy in his small town life, and, importantly, jump-started his appreciation for writing.

After several months of successfully avoiding a major sunburn, Matt was ripped off by the city of New Amsterdam in Berbice during the famous Town Day festivities. Not one to take being ripped off by the government, and also kind of looking for an excuse to get out of that cauldron of boredom, incompetence, and Karla-lessness, Matt ripped off a colorful but rational letter to the national newspaper explaining the extent of the injustice. It was published a few days later and Matt was promptly encouraged to leave the country by no lesser authority than the United States Embassy to Guyana!

Back in Washington, DC, Matt was greeted at the airport by his mother with a copy of the Michael Jackson Invincible CD, which was unavailable in Guyana. This remains one of the fondest memories of his life. After lengthy telephone negotiations, he celebrated Thanksgiving at home and set out for Seattle, Washington for a lengthy appointment with the top conference room coordinator at Harborview Medical Center.

Driving away with a trunk full of memories

2006-02-01T23:41:00.000-08:00

(June 2001)

When he departed for the Peace Corps, Matt left Karla a beautiful 1990 Toyota Tercel, which he sold to her for what was apparently a fair price. The car thrived under her ownership for another two months as she summered in Rhode Island, at which point she recouped her investment and fled to Canada.

The next chapter: You have beer in your purse?

2006-01-29T17:58:00.000-08:00

(May 15, 2001)

Karla and Matt did not meet up after the fire until the Senior Pub Crawl on May 15. The first bar on the list was Viva Zapata, a dimly lit cantina better known for its sangria than its Mexican fare. Karla ended up seated near Matt, and promptly confessed to having 2 bottles of Canadian beer in her purse. There was a very good reason for this: she had planned to visit a friend who was low on cocktails before the pub crawl. The beer did spark a lively conversation between our two protaganists, and it would be safe to say that said beer was consumed on the premises of Viva Zapata.

Alas, despite the lively conversation, Karla was soon to depart with her friend into the New Haven evening, perhaps never to be seen again. Though Matt urged her to stay a bit longer she left...

Only to run into Matt at least 3 more times, at different venues (was it fate, or was it an incredibly well-planned pub crawl? You be the judge)...

In the end, Karla was invited to be Matt's date for the Senior Ball. The two eked out precious time between Last Day and Commencement ceremonies, parents visiting, packing, and general upheaval. Karla went to Matt's home in Maryland, just outside Washington D.C. and spent a few more days with the dashing redhead (exploring the nation's capital, and visiting Ocean City, MD). Their time together was glorious, but touched with sadness, asMatt was destined to leave within days for a two year stint in the Peace Corps!

A love rises, like Phoenix, from the ashes...

2006-01-29T14:16:00.000-08:00

(April 23, 2001)

On April 23, a fire quickly spread through the lower floors of the Oxford Apartment buildings, where Karla was studying in her fourth floor apartment. She went to exit the building with her roommate, but it was soon clear that smoke and flames prevented them from descending further than the second floor. Fortunately, the two were ushered out on to the second floor fire escape. Though fellow students on the ground encouraged them to jump onto a boxspring to escape the flames, the small group on the fire escape waited until firemen arrived with a ladder. Following her descent on the ladder, Karla was approached by a mysterious redhead from the building next door, who asked if she was okay. Karla politely replyed that she was fine, and left to ensure that her friends had also escaped the building.

Hi I'm Mat

2006-01-28T22:08:00.000-08:00

(Winter 2001, Yale University, New Haven CT)

Karla first became aware of Matt before she could have placed a face to the name: Matt Stewart. You see, Matt had a doormat outside of his off-campus apartment at Yale that said "Hi I'm Mat." The enjoyment of this mat, shared by its owner and a Canadian stranger who occasionally passed it, was an early indication of the compatibility between Matt and Karla.