I can never forget where I was 10 years ago on Sept 11, 2001. It was the same week Nelson proposed to me. Nelson wanted me to take a week off from work. He didn’t want to tell me where we were going. He just wanted me to take a week off, pack my stuff and go with him to the airport.
Sept 07, 2001: We headed to SFO airport. I had no idea where we were flying to until we got to the check-in counter. When I saw Hawaii, I was so surprised! I never been to Hawaii. I asked Nelson ‘really, you taking me to Hawaii?’ We landed in Oahu around the afternoon. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort and Spa.
Pics from the past…
Our view from hotel room
Sept 08, 2001: We rented a convertible car and pretty much drove every where in Oahu. We visited the Dole Plantation place where we drank fresh pineapples.
Pics from the past…
Sept 09, 2001: We visited Pearl Harbor. Inside USS Arizona Memorial, there is this wall with names of the ship’s crew that died when the ship was bombed in Dec 1941. You can still even see the ship under water.
On this day, I clearly remember asking Nelson ‘what if this surprise attack happens again? If this kind of attack happens again, we will be stuck on this small island.’ After few days later, 9/11 happens.
Pics from the past…
Sept 10, 2001: The day Nelson asked me to marry him. We have been dating for 6 years! But we have known each other since high school. First time I talked to Nelson in high school was in Spanish class. My long hair got wrapped around this nail on my chair and asked Nelson to help me take my hair out since he was sitting behind me. Of course, at that time, I wouldn’t know that he would be my future husband.
On the day he proposed to me, we were still inside our hotel room either just coming back from somewhere or getting ready to head out. He sat down on the bed and asked me to sit with him. I remember he looked kinda nervous. 🙂 After I sat down, he was mumbling about something. Then I heard him say ‘will you marry me?’ I actually didn’t say ‘YES’! Of course I wanted to say YES, but I wanted to play a game with him. The truth is, I wanted him to ask me to marry him 2 years ago when it was our 4th year of dating. Two years ago, he started at Pixar and I had finished college and got a full time job. So I was ready to get married. Unfortunately, he wasn’t. He had no plans to marry yet. So this is why I didn’t say YES when he asked me to marry him. I wanted him to wait since he had me waiting for years!
This is the hotel room where he proposed to me. This is the view that we were looking at while we sat on the bed.
Sept 11, 2001: The unthinkable happened. Nelson and I were still sleeping when our hotel phone rang around 4am in the morning. I didn’t know who I was talking to because I was still very sleepy. Someone was telling me to look at the news on TV. I was trying to wake up and said ‘what are you talking about?’ I just realized that I was talking to one of my high school friends. I never told my friends where I was going or which hotel I was staying since I didn’t know where Nelson was taking me. So I was surprised to get a call from her. I asked Nelson if he told her. He said no. Did my friend call every hotels in Oahu just to find me? My friend told me to turn on the TV and watch the news. We turned on our TV and all channels were showing the World Trade Center attack. I asked myself, ‘is this a movie?’ Seriously, at 4am in morning, I was still trying to wake up. I asked Nelson ‘where are the buildings?’ Nelson said ‘both are gone.’
I couldn’t believe my eyes.
After I got ready, I decided to take a walk. The atmosphere outside seemed so different. The streets were not as crowded. People didn’t look happy. The streets were quiet. While I was walking, I asked myself ‘what am I doing walking by myself?’ My boyfriend asked me to marry him last night and I didn’t give him my answer yet! So I quickly went to find him and I told him ‘YES’.
After 9/11,we were still in Oahu. We were watching the news about the airport especially about Oahu’s airport. Because of 9/11, the Oahu airports had tighter security and some flights were cancelled. Good thing that our flight didn’t get cancelled on the day we flew back home.