For those of you that don't know us, this serves as an introduction to Crystal and David.
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| Gerber Style David |
David is the middle child of Raleigh and Lillian Jones. He was raised in a small town in Virginia and although he has two brothers it is apparent he was is parents favorite child (for obvious reasons). David grew up playing baseball and soccer which led him to later get into track and cross-country (and somehow tennis) in highschool which he quickly dropped as soon as he got into college (in order to focus on gaining weight). Both he and his two brothers (Dennis and Chris) also raced go-karts in their younger years.
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| Karting With Jones' |
David attended college at Embry-Riddle (Aeronautical) University where he studied aerospace engineering until he decided that being a rocket scientist isn't all it's cracked up to be (yawn). Ultimately he graduated with a degree in Human Factors Psychology with a minor in computer science. More importantly, that's where he gained quite a few more family members through his fraternity, Sigma Alpha Epsilon and met one of the most influential people in his life. This new family had a huge impact on David's life and his closest friends there are ultimately why he finished school at Embry-Riddle as opposed to changing universities when he changed his degree. He made a connection at Riddle that led him to continue with his education to receive his masters degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Central Florida. He believes that making the choice to go to this school was the best decision of his life as it ultimately led to him meeting Crystal Ruston (story continued later...)
Fun Facts About David
- David has held over 15 jobs prior to his current occupation: some of them include
- Farm hand (for 1 day)
- Go-kart track attendant
- Appliance salesperson (the worst in history..."This is a washing machine...it's features are...it washes clothes")
- Kitchen designer
- Hotel desk clerk (for 3 hours)
- Racing simulation operator at Daytona USA
- Computer tech support for an internet service provider (in highschool) and a flight line (in college)
- Midnight shift clerk at a grocery store (YAWN)
- He enjoys playing any kind of card game and is unofficially considered the best unknown player in the world (by the author)
- He has ten fingers and two eyes
- He has a horrible habit of biting his nails
- David's eyes change color from hazel, to green, to blue, to gray
- Biggest pet peeve: Drivers that drive slow in the passing lane (that's the left lane for those readers that don't know)
- Favorite musical artists: Lil' Wayne, Charlie Daniels, Trans Siberian Orchestra
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| Daddy's Little Girl |
Crystal is the only daughter and youngest of three children to John and Sherry Ruston and will always consider herself "Daddy's little girl". Growing up with two older brothers was tough for her because they didn't allow boys to even look at her, let alone call the house. She gets a kick out of this now that they are both blessed with little girls of their own (you wait until they grow up). In fact, her brother Johnny has two daughters and one son and Glenn has two daughters (I'm pretty sure this is Karma, at least for Glenn). Crystal's family moved around a lot when she was younger. They first moved from Louisiana to Arkansas (thank goodness it was only for a year), to Tennessee, down to Alabama, back to Tennessee, and then back home to Louisiana.
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| Always a Football Fan |
Crystal has always loved dancing and in highschool she was a member of the dance team, which she thinks was a great experience and even got to travel to Orlando to compete (note the foreshadowing). Those that know Crystal well know that she also loves football. Being from Louisiana, not only does she use words that other people don't know the meaning of, but she also bleeds the obligatory purple and gold (GEAUX TIGERS).
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| Crystal Meets Sarah |
Crystal always wanted to live in Orlando. In 2004 she was set to be given a promotion to store manager in the retail store that she was working in. During that same time she also took a trip to Orlando for the weekend to visit a friend who moved there. After a great weekend she told her friend as she was dropped of at the airport "Crissie, I'm moving here". She told her that she would be back in 30 days and went home to tell her parents the news. Although she just felt it was the best thing for her the author thinks that she had a premonition that she would ultimately meet an amazing, handsome, smart, charismatic guy there who is about 6 foot tall with hazel/blue/green/gray eyes...but I digress. After telling her parents about her decision, they supported her as they always have and made her dream a reality. She gave her boss her 30 day notice and thanked them for the opportunity. For those of you that didn't catch that, she quit the job that was giving her a promotion to move to Orlando...if you thought you loved Disney World you need to get on her level. Because they couldn't bear to lose someone as amazing as Crystal they put her in a position at an Orlando store and she was manager within 3 weeks. Through the need to hire a new assistant manager, she met Sarah Wright, who she ultimately became best friends with. You may ask the relevance of introducing this character. If you did, I say, be more patient when you're reading a story and that it's a pretty critical link. See, Sarah graduated from UCF and although she didn't care for football, she liked the idea of having a reason to drink and cook out on a weekly basis. Since Crystal was a football fan, they bought season tickets to the UCF games together (nowwwww, do you see the relevance). Although it was tough cheering for a less than stellar football team (at the time), they went to every game, and Crystal thinks it was this love for football that led her to the man of her dreams (her words not the authors, I swear). This story continues in the next chapter.
Fun Facts About Crystal:
- She was voted most school spirit in high school
- Her favorite job that she has ever had is her current job as an Independent Insurance Adjuster
- She and an
author person who will remain nameless stayed up for 3 days straight in Las Vegas. And in case you wanted to know, they came out ahead, and no, they don't have a gambling problem
- She, like David, has 10 fingers and 2 eyes (see, it was destined)
