31 Pictures

[All photos should be enlarge-able. They are unprocessed, and courtesy of Hannah Chung.]

How Hannah and I spent our New Year's Eve...

This was my first time back in Berkeley after several years. My thinking at this moment: "This is it. Today's the day!"

The weather couldn't have been better. We arrived relatively early in the morning, after the shortest flight in the world out of Long Beach.

After a brief wait, we were seated for brunch at La Note. I ordered something with a French name I don't remember. It involved eggs and ratatouille.

Hannah ordered a latte that came in a cup the size of a soup bowl. It didn't have a handle. In fact, it probably was a soup bowl.

The best breakfast I've had in years. (And for half the price we would have paid in New York)

We didn't pay anything for this meal but tip. And we got free croissants. Our waitress felt extremely bad that we had to wait a little longer than usual for our food... we hardly noticed the delay.

I was planning on renting a somewhat sporty car for the weekend. They were all out, and upgraded us to a silver Mustang convertible instead.

No complaints here.

This was the first and only time that weekend we had the top down. (It was cold, and often rainy)

At this point, I was starting to feel a little nervous. It might have had to do with the light drizzling we encountered on the way over to the beach. Or it might have had to do with the fact that I was planning on proposing to Hannah in less than an hour.

And then a rainbow appeared in the sky.

I told Hannah: "Behold! This is a sign of God's promise for our lives. For our... future. Together." She smiled (or laughed, rather). I don't think I actually used the word "behold."

And so, the sun began to set.

We talked about what a long year 2010 had been, and how it had been so difficult in many ways.

I apologized for the many times I had failed her... and thanked her for standing by me through every circumstance.

And then it was time.

Her first reaction. (No, she's not crying)

She actually thought I was joking at first. Until I pulled out the black box. And then my simple question was lost amidst a chorus of "OMG"s and "KI WON KIM!"s. I asked her to marry me. Twice.

She said yes. BAM!

Shock.

Victory.

We raced home to change and spruce up for the boat that would take us all around the bay for the next four hours. There were some great views of the city and surrounding islands/bridges.

There was... an open bar.

There was dancing (with live music).

And there was prime rib.

Complete with dessert platter, for the lady with the sweet tooth (and recently treated root canal, may I add).

Though it was cold and slightly rainy, we headed out to the deck right before midnight.

And just like that - it was 2011.

It was a perfect day. As cheesy as it sounds (ahem), it felt like the world was celebrating with us as we watched those fireworks go off at midnight. When we got home later that night, nothing felt different. But everything was different. We were engaged.

Thank you for all your congratulations and warm wishes.

Happy New Year!