The man I get to marry

 

WARNING: This blog contains shameless celebration of my fiance and may not represent the views of a neutral observer.

Nate is a hybrid of Leonardo DaVinci and Iron Man
Like Leo, Nate is also an engineer and an inventor, winning MIT's biggest prize for student inventors. This past January, distant Singapore University invited him to speak about creativity and entrepreneurship to their students. He was also a host for a children's engineering reality TV show for 3 seasons and won a Peabody award in 2007. Here is Nate with another guy who does stuff on TV.

For a listing of Nate's accolades, I was shocked to find out I can look him up on wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Ball

However, the real reason I like him is that he is a model he has filled his life with activities and people he loves and that give him energy. He is guided by his values as strongly as anyone I know, and finds inspiration all around him. He brings his best to everything he does with a thankfulness for each opportunity.

When he is in the gym, people stare and try desperately to comprehend how it is possible to do pull ups with 60 extra lbs and then do push ups with his hands balancing on pointy-spikes, one foot on a rubber ball and the other foot on nothing.

Nate's dedication to pushing his own physical limits has become art in itself. See Nate in a tux on the pole vault run way at last years MIT Prom Vault , Nate running up the tree (!?what!!?) before flipping off backward and Nate doing a "flagpole" in Boston.

He also loves nature and what more natural way to celebrate it than ice climbing at sunset.

 

 In the evenings, Nate tries to make time for his music and plays piano in a jazz trio and practices his beat boxing. If you are interested in beat boxing, or don't know what it is, you can find him on YouTube, and be the1,417,798th viewer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfE93AFk8l4

You would think that "DaVinci" Nate would feel pretty good at this point, but it turns out he also has a full time job! He co-founded Atlas Devices 5 years ago with friends who he respects and cherishes. The company creates rescue equipment for the military, and -naturally -Nate has to test their products out of moving helicopters.

 If you would like to watch any of Nate's Danger Club videos (the ones with the flipping) or Design Squad (the ones with the children with power tools) episodes...you can find links on his website:

http://web.mit.edu/nball/www/

So, how did I unwittingly land the love of my life?

Nate and I met for the first time weight lifting during preseason by the indoor track at MIT in 2001. We lived in the same dorm that year and I remember helping him with his German homework. Over the next 3 years we trained together 2-3 hours a day for 8 months a year. My respect for and trust in Nate grew every day as he showed up early to practice, helped support the pole vault women at meets, helped me organize pole vaulter dim sum outings, and would offer to spot me while lifting. As time passed, our shared history grew along with our commitment to the pole vault team. Spending time together became so natural that we often ate dinner, played table tennis, and watched movies after practice. 

After finshing undergrad, we continued to go to dim sum and see the occasional movie or art exhibit. When I defended my PhD in Nov 2007, the pole vault team showed up to support me and after I answered the last panel question, they took off their shirts to reveal: "Dr. Cat!" written on their chests... I couldn't have been more surprised or thrilled at this climax to my academic adventure.

After my PhD, I moved to Philly for work. Nate and I spoke on the phone every month or two sharing the new challenges and goals we were taking on in our lives. I always got off the phone feeling inspired and energized, wanting to run like mad through a park and jump around.

In November of 2009, Nate and I were simultaneously single for the first time since we met in 2001. In the past 8 years, we have seen each other at our best and worst in our respective relationships, and are incredibly thankful for all the experiences we have had individually. Although we had never discussed being in a relationship before, we knew that our trust and respect for each other guaranteed that our friendship would only be deepened through being vulnerable and open with each other. 

We cleared our schedules for Dec 9 and 10 and although we were frightened, spent two days imagining what it would be like to spend our lives together. Although we understood that we weren't making any commitments, I left with the feeling - "where can I sign up for this?". Nate must have felt the same way since he flew to Tahoe for 2 days before New Years so we could see each other before I left for my four months of traveling. 

On Jan 21, I met Nate at the airport in Siem Reap, Cambodia. At sunset on Jan 22 we sat on top of some ruins and agreed that although our minds couldn't rationalize it, we both knew that we wanted to get engaged here. We had dinner reservations watching traditional Cambodian dances and at 8:30pm we decided we'd try to find a ring. We found a jewelry store open for another 20min and I had the lady take out about 20 sparkling and brightly colored rings: light blue, gree, red - most of them set with lots of little stones around them...we wanted something simpler. The woman offered us a ring with a large white sapphire ("cambodian diamond") for $160. We bargained her down to a bitterly low $100, which she agreed to if we paid in cash, at which point Nate turned to me.Once we were back in the hotel, Nate confirmed on-line that white sapphires actually exist.

The next morning at breakfast we we were amused at how nervous we were despite us literally being the only ones in the world to know that we were going to attempt an engagement that day: "I don't know how this is supposed to work...I haven't gotten engaged before"...."Should I get down on one knee?" / "I think that would be nice - not too long though" / "Good, that was what I was thinking too"....and so we wandered around Ankor Wat until around 9am we found a spot in the inner courtyard that was quiet and shady and Nate got down on one knee and asked: "Catherine Anne Tweedie, will you marry me?" "Nathan Barker Ball, I will."

After the sliding on of the ring, we spent the rest of the day climbing over carved ruins, periodically forgetting and then enthusiastically remembering. For the next two months I wrote Nate letters in my journal by beaches, on cliffs, in jungles and would email him images of the letters when I came to a computer. Although I shared the news over skype with my parents and sister, we waited to announce our engagement until  we could do it together in April.

I returned to Nate in Cambridge on March 31, 2010. Within 10 days we had announced our engagement and found our dream home to share for the next few years. We will move into our sunny, industrial loft, two blocks from Davis Square on May 22nd and look forward to inviting everyone to our housewarming / engagement party the weekend of June 4th.

So, there you have it. I am tumbling in love.