First off, who we are:
Brian, a.k.a. “Chris P. Bacon,” is a Las Vegas native who has called the city home since the age of 2. Not quite “born,” but definitely “and raised.” Grew up on watching sports, listening to music, and playing mostly RPG-style video games. Eventually became a regular at both the trivia pub and numerous karaoke bars. “Chris P. Bacon” is one of his many karaoke stage names, and ranks among his personal favorites.
Mia, a.k.a. “Yunnie” is originally from Southern California. In her 20’s, she moved to NYC. Now, she resides Las Vegas. Mia loves all things art, fashion, baseball, and video games– especially The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, and Witcher. Over the years, she has become a regular at karaoke. “Yunnie” is the nickname of Yuna, the female lead character in the video game Final Fantasy X and its sequel, X-2, which Brian had been playing at the time when the two got together. It can also be considered a shortened form of “Unicorn” (more on that below).
And now, how we met.
Yunnie’s side:
I first met him at karaoke at Aces & Ales when I saw that they had a Groupon. After work, I drove up there, sang, and hung out by myself. DJ Kool Katz told me that I should come back and bring friends. I did return, and I thought that “Polite Golf Clap” was really interesting. He looked like he was having so much fun and was so free to be himself that I tried to talk to him. He initially told me that his name was Polite Golf Clap and wouldn’t give me his real name. I kept asking and finally got “Brian” out of him. After chatting a bit, I realized that we were both Cub fans. (Yes, I was a Cub fan before Brian and have been a fan longer.) The next week I asked him about a trade, and he chatted a bit. The week after, I brought up another transaction, but he blew me off! I said forget it. We became friends though, and a year later, we started dating. I knew about two dates in that he was “the one.”
Chris P. Bacon’s side:
It’s never been very common for me to “fall for someone” quickly, and I don’t consider myself to be all that great at picking up cues when a girl is interested. So it’s true, Mia’s initial attempts to flirt with me went largely unnoticed or ignored. The light did come on eventually, but right about the time I had begun feeling a mutual attraction, she had apparently gotten tired of waiting and started dating another regular at the karaoke bar. Can’t say I blame her.
About a year later, after the two had broken up, she challenged me to a round of mini golf. I suggested a simple bet where the loser buys ice cream after, but the real challenge turned out to be finding a place we could walk to in order to settle the bet. What started as a simple evening of mini golf turned out to be a wonderful conversation that lasted until sometime after 2 a.m. Evidently, we had a lot more in common with each other than I realized, and we clearly enjoyed each other’s company. It was the kind of first date that everyone would dream of having–one where you immediately know that something special was happening.
A week later, I went out to dinner with my parents to celebrate my mom’s birthday, and I was clearly excited, as Mia and I were about to go out for the second time just after dinner. While I gushed to them about how many things we had in common–far more than I had ever experienced with any other girl I’d met–I told them that it felt like I’d found a unicorn. And thus, the nickname “Yunnie” was born…and the rest is history.
Kraloweds 