Let's Start At The Beginning

Today, here in China at least, is our one year anniversary and it’s occurred to me that we've done a piss poor job of updating the life and times of our matrimonial adventures. So, here it is; The Adventures of Sienna and Andy, or the Tao of Sienna and Andy, or TOA-SA, as you see it above. Yes, we're mighty clever, we are.
One year in China is a lot to cover, so we won’t hit you all at once with a long manuscript or anything. We don't want to overwhelm you, and yes, we realize some of our tales are shocking and not for the light hearted. Instead, we'll keep posting about stories of our life here from over the past year and onward.

First thing's first. Today is our wedding anniversary. We should probably talk about the wedding. Hmmm....where to start?
Andy and I are not the conventional type. In fact, there's much about the whole marriage thing that disagrees with us, like the involvement of the law, the paper work and the stigmas related to marriage. Before Andy proposed to me on...2004, we had talked many a times about the failings and pit falls of marriage. We thought that most people jump into their marriages too quickly without really knowing each other, doing so out of a social obligation to settle down and measure up. People are expected to find a spouse, and expected to do so in a timely manner. We don't agree with this. History has proven (especially in the United States) that these impromptu engagements most often prove fatal to the relationship. News Break: In America, married couples are now a MINORITY, probably due to all those pesky divorces going round.
So, yeah, we didn't agree with marriage, and we didn't intend on tying the knot ourselves. In fact, I told Andy that if he ever asked me to marry him, I'd tell him "no" and sit him down and explain why. Yeah....that didn't exactly stick.
There was one thing that changed my mind on marriage.
I've found my mate.
Mate. I should explain that real quick. In the animal kingdom, you get one mate. A lion will find a lioness and stick with her. She is his mate, and there's no sly hanky panky going on with the other lionesses in town. This isn't true with all animals, of course, as there's the swinging cats and dogs and the infamous dolphins who actually have sex for pleasure and not just mating (and in one case outside of their own species...).
The point is, Andy is my mate, and in the marrow of my bones and the separate little atoms of my body, I know I'm going to spend the rest of my life with him. That's something to celebrate! There are few people in this world that I like. I know that sounds bad, but it's true. Most of my generation eludes me and from the tides of people I've met otherwise, few of them vibe with me. On an intimate level, there are even fewer. Andy and I share the impulse to set out on risky adventures, to test our limits and test ourselves. He's always pushed me past pitfalls, past insecurities and fears, and I think I'm a better person because of it. And as a couple, he's my equal, pushing for truth, strength and pleasure...can't get any better than that.
I wanted to shout from the rooftops that I've found my mate. I wanted to tell my friends and family what happiness I had found, and what better way than a Halloween wedding?
Honestly, though, when Andy asked me to marry him, none of that was going through my head. The only thing I was thinking was. "I love you" and "Yes...Yes...Yes". It really was one of those cheesy romance movie moments for me. He didn't get on one knee or anything, but when he asked me to marry him, I remember the world falling away. We were in a crowded area, with people laughing and screaming, talking and drinking, but when he asked me, it all went quiet, and they became a background blur. All around us was this colorful fog, suddenly my body felt lighter than air, and all the noise around us melted together into a single humming beat. (Warned you) I was thinking "I'm going to say yes, but first I'm going to sit him down and tell him no like I said I would...and then I'll say yes". But I couldn't do that, and I couldn't stop smiling. I ended up just saying yes...yes...yes...I love you.
We were at the Kill Bill 2 Premier party when he asked me. I had been crying and very unhappy on the way from the theatre, thinking about how little I knew these family members I was standing in photos with. Thinking how uncomfortable I felt and how I just wanted to leave. All that fell away too when he proposed. Nothing else mattered. Not in that fatalist love kind of way...no...Everything was better, these problems and fears where lessened, far away and inconsequential. Simply put, I was happier, and still am. Andy makes my life beautiful, and those pesky stresses just can't outshine it.
So I had to say yes, saying no would have been unnatural, because all of me wanted to say yes.
Will you marry me? Yes...yes...yes...I love you.

Okay, that was more about the proposal, but we couldn't leave it out...
Next up: the Halloween wedding...with gory pictures and all!