Matt's Bio
Born in the bosom of Soviet Ukraine, Matt (or Dmitriy, as he was initially called) was a staunch member of the Russian Communist Party, until its inevitable demise. Lured with the promise of remote-controlled cars, he emigrated with his family to Minnesota, where he embraced the decadence of capitalism by changing his name, growing out his hair and developing a taste for avant-garde black metal. He has a penchant for cuddling cats and eating soup. Renowned for his pho (Vietnamese soup) making skills and insatiable penchant for feeding people. However, helacked a certain strong, demanding, quirky presence in his life. Luckily, Manda found him, swooped him up and wooed him with her tolerance of black metal, appreciation for all things macabre, and delight in eating food she didn't have to cook. Matt loves writing music for his band Drona, software engineering, and Russian science fiction, as he claims the American variety is far too optimistic.
Manda's Bio
Hailing from the character-building region of the continental United States - pre oil boom North Dakota - Manda would be residing in the hippie-infested mountainous region of northern Arizona, if it wasn't for meeting Matt, and his desire to stay in the Twin Cities of Minnesota. It is also because of him that she is learning Russian, a language she believes to be inferior to Finnish, as the former dares to have exceptions to its rules while the latter is as systematic as a database in fourth normal form. (Trust me, that's really systematic) To spice up the experience, Manda is learning how to use colorful language in Russian by discussing the relationship between Arctic foxes and the end of the world. While reprimanding Matt for playing sad songs on her ukulele, Manda staunchy believes that a stringed instrument with more strings than available fretting fingers is an abomination. She finds avant-garde black metal pretty accessible, due to being previously exposed to sound-as-art, and is the sort of person who would give a Jew a dinosaur menorah for Christmas.
A Tale of Engagement
It was a warm and desperately early autumn. Suddenly, Matt got a notification on his Facebook that some Manda Aanerud had poked him. Being generally opposed to the poking feature, he had to verify with their mutual friend, Maria Gallardo, if this even warranted a response.
Manda, loopy from the lack of sleep that goes with working on nursing school projects, was somewhat astonished when she received a notification on her Facebook that she had a message from Matt which read, "You have my attention."
Some casual conversation followed. Things took a turn, when she deduced that he was not only single, and but also, clumsily attempting to flirt with her.
"Well why the heck not?" was the rallying cry of their first date. Matt cooked up a pot of pho. Manda wore some phenomenal copper and gold eye makeup. And while Manda ate the said Pho and Matt admired the said makeup, they became astonished at how much liked one another.
That Thanksgiving there was much to be thankful for, as they made their blossoming relationship official on Facebook, which, of course, is the traditional way of announcing such things.
As the months wore on, they had all the traditional experiences of couples who are meant to be together forever: Manda restarted Matt's water heater after a plumbing fiasco, Matt (horrified she didn't have one) bought Manda a DVD drive to use with her MacBook, and both of them had various friends tell them that they were creepishly similar.
In the following spring, Matt got a call from Manda , who was vacationing in Arizona with her parents. She inquired as to whether they should get married. Having no objection to the notion, Matt responded to the tune of "sure, why not."