In the summer of 2002 my best friend Nicky and I went to a WTSS gig in the Yacht Club, Portrush. I think this was one of the first gigs we'd been to there but that summer spent a lot of our time in Portrush.
That night a punk band called MellowDramatic we're playing. As far as I can remember they played some NoFX covers and some Nirvana, and had a guitarist who sat down and played off a music stand. But it was the drummer, who I very shortly learned was Jim, who caught my eye. I thought he was gorgeous, and seemed really 'cool' and funny. There was just something about him (check out the blurry pic below heehee)
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| A very blurry teenage Jim |
A few weeks after the gig, in an attempt to get his attention I added him on MSN Messenger. As a pretty shy almost 17 year old I was terrified he'd ask a) who are you? Or b) why have you added me? Thankfully he asked neither, and we started chatting semi regularly online where Jim would recommend CDs and bands and I'd 'borrow' Mum's Amazon account details to order them.
I saw Jim again at a couple of gigs over the summer but he was often "on route to the bar". He says he was 'playing it cool', I just thought he didn't seem that interested.
It wasn't until October that we met up again properly and spent the evening hanging out at a mutual friend's birthday party. I'd recently bought 2 CDs he'd recommended The Unravelling - Rise Against and Detailed Instructions for the Self-Involved - Pinhead Circus so we chatted about that for a bit and ending up spending most of the night together.
This was also the night we first kissed...
It wasn't terribly romantic. Jim had asked where the bathroom was in the house and I'd offered to show him. After he'd finished in the bathroom we had a random discussion, in the bathroom ,about how it was weird to have carpet in there.
Then he kissed me. (he will tell you I kissed him, but he was definitelly the instigator!!)
I can still remember the butterflies I got in my stomach when we first kissed :) It was all very exciting and fast...then our friend's mum walked in (awkward!!)
We both left the party and went home. I remember thinking Jim was so grown up as he got a taxi home, where as Nicky and I usually walked home or got collected by my parents. When we got home we both got straight on MSN Messenger. He asked for my mobile number then proceeded to call me to check I'd given him my real number.
A couple of nights late I was chatting with my friend Katie on MSN Messenger (it's clear I spent a lot of time on MSN!) We were gossiping about boys and she asked if there was anyone I liked and I told her about Jim. She got very excited and said she would subtly ask him if he liked me. Little did I know she was about as subtle as a brick when she sent him a message.
'Amy likes you do you like her?'
He didn't respond to her but instead he sent me a message saying
'I like you too.'
'Will you go out with me?'
And the rest, as they say, is history!
In our 11 years together he has run across town to rescue me from a spider in my car
(which crawled up my neck – clearly an emergency!!) and has driven an hour to collect
me in the middle of the night after my handbag was stolen, he has spoiled me
with trips to London, Edinburgh, and Barcelona.
He cooks for me, surprises me with chocolate and hugs me when I need cheered up. He loves my family and my family love
him. Knowing he’s with me (or at the end
of the phone) makes me feel brave. I
love him with every ounce of my being and feel like the luckiest person in the
world that I get to go on adventures and grow old with the best person I know.
Happy Anniversary Jim!
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