about maura & ian
"So, how'd you two meet?"
Perhaps the most common question asked when people learn
that Maura and Ian grew up nearly 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometers) from each other is "how did they meet?"
The roots of their relationship can be traced back more than six years ago when
Maura and Ian both worked at Computer Associates
(now known as CA), albeit in two different countries.
Ian, based at the time at CA's corporate headquarters in
Islandia, New York, was a product manager in the company's
information security products business. He was primarily responsible
for the marketing of CA's antivirus solutions, which involved on-going interaction
with the numerous subsidiary sales and marketing teams located around the world. One of these
regional marketing managers was Maura, who worked at the CA subsidiary
in
São Paulo, Brazil.
Maura had started with CA a number of years earlier and served in a senior marketing
role. She looked after the reseller partner program for both Brazil and the whole of
the Latin American region. As new versions of CA's products were released,
or a new
virus attack reared its ugly head, Maura and Ian often found themselves
chatting on the phone, over email or through IM. A friendship quickly formed between the two.
This friendship grew as company events, like
CA World, brought the long distance friends to the same city.
"Missed you at CA World...Let's do lunch"
In July 2003, Maura and Ian separately traveled to Las
Vegas for that year's CA World conference. Prior to the event, the two had
planned to meet up for dinner one of the nights in Vegas. But, due to the normal craziness
associated with such large scale conferences, they only ended up seeing each other briefly in the
show's expo hall. 
Upon returning to their respective homes, Maura learned
that she would be visiting New York later in the year for a series of business meetings.
Ian quickly offered to make up for their missed dinner engagement by taking Maura
to "any Burger King"
she wished. Even after such a "gracious" invitation was politely declined by Maura, Ian
agreed to arrange an evening out in New York City.
The trip to the City that November included
the requisite two hour ride on the Long Island Rail Road to Penn Station, and then a subway ride to their first
stop: dinner at Ony
Japanese Noodle Bar in lower Manhattan. After a great meal (a giant
pot of
ramen noodles for Ian and sushi for Maura), the couple headed down to one of
Ian's favorite nightspots: Sake Bar Decibel. The two had such a good time on
this first date, they missed the train back to Long Island and had to camp out in the famous (and
open 24 hours) Tick Tock Dinner for several hours. The next morning, literally three hours after she returned to the hotel, Maura had to leave with her mother and
friend Dani for a shopping trip in Manhattan.
February in New York and April in Seattle
 In February 2004, Maura was heading back to States for business. This time
Ian invited her to fly up from Tampa, Florida to spend a few days sightseeing on
Long Island. Maura and Ian visited the east end
of the Island, including a few of the wineries and the famous Montauk
Point Lighthouse
(which turned out to be closed) as well as caught a jazz
show at the IMAC
in
Huntington.
Since their last meeting, Ian had been interviewing with
Microsoft
in
Redmond, Washington. Just prior to Maura's arrival, Ian was offered a job
in the company's security organization and a relocation package to the Pacific Northwest.
One evening during Maura's visit, Ian shared the news and the two celebrated this
new beginning, as well as agreed to continue seeing each other. 
This promise was kept in April 2004, when Maura came to
visit Ian in
Seattle for his 29th birthday. Saved from spending his first birthday alone
in a city he had just arrived in four weeks earlier, Ian was more than happy to
play host and tour guide (even if he barely knew the place himself).
First Family Christmas and First Trip to Brazil
Thanks to email, phone calls and then later a $50 investment in a webcam, the two
remained in touch on almost a daily basis. From afar they arranged to spend Christmas
in Seattle with both sets of families. Ian's parents had recently rescheduled a
trip to Seattle for the holidays and Maura's soon followed suit. The first meeting
of the families worked out perfectly. Even with the occasional language barrier,
the group had a great holiday together.
Notwithstanding the constant inquires from Ian's father, the two did not announce
their intentions to marry during Christmas 2004. Instead, they continued their long
distance relationship and leveraged every opportunity to see each other in person.
 For his 30th birthday in April 2005, Ian flew for the first time to visit Maura in Brazil.
On the day of his arrival, Ian celebrated his birthday with Maura's family at one of São Paulo's famous restaurants - Terraço Itália. The next day the two traveled by boat with several friends to visit the beautiful island getaway
of Ilhabela.
Throughout the trip, they discussed their future, preferably one that
had them together in the same city.
Engagement on the Beaches of Mexico
 Shortly after their time together in April, Maura left CA to join SAP Brasil. Her new job presented
new opportunities to travel. In August 2005, Ian flew down to Puerto Vallarta,
Mexico to meet Maura for a weekend. She was in town for a SAP regional
conference and was able to stay for a long weekend together.
On their last evening in Puerto Vallarta, at a bar on the beach with a natural fireworks
display of lightening from a storm in the near distance, Ian asked Maura to marry
him. The two had been discussing their next steps in life and decided being
together was what they wished to pursue. They left Mexico the next afternoon
and began planning the immigration process and eventual
weddings to come in the New Year.
 Maura returned to Seattle in October 2005 for a week long visit. While in
town, the two celebrated their engagement with a meal at SkyCity, the revolving restaurant atop of Seattle's best
known landmark, the Space Needle. Earlier in the day, Ian presented Maura
with a diamond engagement ring to officially "seal the deal" and commemorate their
new life together.
The Hameroffs of Seattle
 Today, Maura and Ian live in downtown Seattle, Washington.
Ian continues to work as a senior product manager at Microsoft (now in the Windows Server division)
and Maura recently started a new job as a marketing strategist with Hawkeye | Cohesion.
The two are experiencing the joys of sharing their life together while trying to
stay dry during the cool, rainy days that are the hallmark of a Seattle winter.
|