Jeff and I met for the first time at the Science Department benches of El Camino College. The first thing he said to me was, "Are you Filipino?" and I said "yes". Then he proceeded to tell me he doesn't have any Filipino friends. By the time we ended our conversation, he managed to get my number in a sneaky way.

In my defense, I was naïve and gullible back then...lol

But I had to admit that when I laid my eyes on him, I told myself, "Uy, gwapo to ah" :)

And so that day, our journey to forever together started.

- Claire

A lifetime ago, I was a kinesiology major taking my prerequisite classes at El Camino College. I was sitting on one of the benches outside by the science department while waiting for my anatomy & physiology class.

At the time, Claire had just got out of her physics class. As I sat there, she walked past me and sat on the bench that was next to the one I was sitting on. She was wearing a plain t-shirt, blue skinny jeans, and dirty Keds shoes. She also had a Jansport backpack (as opposed to a purse) and was carrying a thick binder full of tabbed notes. These are all signs of a smart, down-to-earth girl, I thought.

I struck up a conversation. I asked her if she was Filipino. We talked for a while. Luckily, I was able to get her number before she got picked up in a sweet, gray, BMW sedan.

Registry