Mr. Wallaby and the Furrowed Brow

The wallaby looked at me with a smirk.   He knew something big was about to go down.  His triangular ears perked up as he hopped our way.  The scenery is gorgeous as we walk through the curvy cement path at the Sydney “Tarongo” Zoo.  Looking out you can see the Sydney skyline in the distance.  It’s close to sunset and the sun is playing hide and go seek with the clouds.  The “Walkabout” area has a petting Zoo vibe but the animals are free to roam however they please.   There are no goats or chickens, only native Kangaroos, Wallaby’s, Emus and various Australian birds.  I turn around and take a deep breath.  As I spin back, I see Mr. Wallaby jumping towards Nicolette.  Peek-A-Boo… The clouds disappear and the sun illuminates the sky.  The once crowded area in now empty.  It’s just us and our new animal friends.  My hands start to shake as I reach in my pocket.  Another deep breath and I lower onto one knee.  I pull out the ring and grab Nicolette’s hand.  As she turns towards me, my eyes swell up.  I’ve been planning this moment in my mind for months, not knowing when the time would come.  My pre-knee-drop speech is impeccable, yet in the present, my mind goes blank.  Her mouth literally drops as she turns to me.  I’m trembling but am confident.  I hold the ring on my left knee.  The moment is perfect.  Nicolette looks at me with a confused smile.   I can tell she doesn’t grasp what is actually happening.  I am proposing to the girl of my dreams… the one I want to spend the rest of my life with.  I notice her blink her eyes slowly, almost to check whether this is reality or a figment of her imagination.  In an instant, her smiley face turns stern and she looks at me directly in the eyes.   With a furrowed brow she opens her mouth and in a direct and confused manner she says “Are you serious?”  Not exactly the response I had imagined… But fortunately, after a moment of clarity, she said YES!

Thinking about it, I may have been the one to induce such a reaction.  Not only did I propose at the most random and awkward location (at the Zoo in Sydney, Australia), but I have pulled this move before… yet last time, I was just messing around… A silly Zach moment that instantly bit me in the ass…  I learned quickly not to mess with the proposal again, because last time when I faked it, was the night in Israel when all of our stuff was stolen from our rental car.  Instant Karma… or God’s wrath… One of the two...  After all, we were in Israel… apparently God has relatives there.

But anyhoo, we are now engaged!  Bam… off the market.   It’s another new and exciting chapter in the book of Zacholetteypants.  We have been writing our story for 3 years now and it felt like time to take the next step.   I’ve known for years that I would propose to Nic but I wanted to be patient and let us grow together until we were both ready for the commitment. As I said after our 3-month road trip a year into our relationship “If you want to test the fibers of a relationship and really get to know someone, be stuck in a car with each other for 3 months straight and you will know if it’s meant to be.”  On that trip we did have one infamous argument that almost ended it all. We got into it because Nic didn’t brush her teeth before bed and I wanted a goodnight smooch… how dare she!  I guess I took my parent's “brush and wash every night before bed” a bit too literally. And yes, for all you old schoolers, I did get her father’s (and mother’s by accident – thanks Dwayne!) blessing before I asked for her hand.  

Here is a quick video of our first 3 years together...SAPPY, I know.

I’ll tell you what… proposing is stressful.  To be honest, I was flipping my shit all day, not knowing exactly how or when to ask.  I had bought the ring in Philadelphia (Big shout out to Uncle Terry and all my peeps in Glenside!) before I came to Australia and figured I would just ask sometime while here. I had 4 months to figure out when to do it.  I was in no rush until I started hearing whispers.  The ring was hidden in the hallway closet and would quietly echo to me every time I went to the bathroom ... I always wanted to be Ray Kinsella and have an unknown voice lead me to build my field of dream… Except instead of “If you build it, they will come” I heard “GIVE IT TO HER ALREADY” and “WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, YOU IDIOT.”  The mental pressure was weighing on me and I knew Sydney would be a great place to ask.  

So everything was in place.  I had the ring and we had our tickets booked to Sydney.  Now all I needed to do was figure out how to make the proposal special.  I wanted it to be romantic, unique and not too over the top.  Nicolette and I had talked about how silly it is when people do big proposals in front of strangers at a ballgame or at a concert.  Part of me wanted to do it BIG just to see her reaction, but I also wanted her to say yes.  I actually sent our info into a few TV shows where they set up a big proposal surprise and film it, but I never heard back… dangit. 

Once in Sydney, I started secretly scoping out places… making mental checklists of the pros and cons in order to pick the best spot. We stayed with fellow Fairfieldian Jordan Narducci who was an amazing and gracious host.  It was awesome having someone I knew from my childhood there to celebrate this awesome event with us.  I actually carried the ring with me a few days prior in case something amazing happened and the moment was right.  I remember when my brother Justin got engaged in how he told me he felt anxious and a bit nervous before, even though he knew Jen would say yes.  I finally understood what he meant.

In my mind, Friday, June 8th was the day.  Our 3 year anniversary was June 11th so I wanted to either do it before or after.  We decided to go to the Zoo at around 2:30pm even though it closed at 4:30pm.  We had two hours to powerwalk the entire grounds and see all the animals.  We made great time and saw everything by 4 o’clock.  Our favorite area was the “walkabout” where you could actually hang with the native animals.  It was the highlight of the day and I wanted to piggyback the awesome energy in the playpen.  I suggested we went back there to see Mrs. Kangaroo, Dr. Emu, and Mr. Wallaby and we started walking that way.  We stopped for water and I secretly got the ring out of my backpack and placed it in my jeans.  Is that an engagement ring in your pocket or are you just happy to see me!  It was on!

We entered the walkabout and headed towards the animals.  There were 15-20 other people in the gated area when we entered.  As I said earlier, they all seemed to leave as if they knew we needed privacy.  It was unbelievable and I knew it was a sign.  

The whole week we had been making little video journals so we could remember the trip and send video back home to everyone.  I started a video and placed the camera on a rock.  I played it off SOOOO well and we both said hi to the camera and went on petting our furry friends.  I walked towards Nicolette as she started petting a wallaby.  That’s when the magic happened.  I dropped to my knee and grabbed Nic’s hand.   A picture is worth a thousand words… check out Nicolette’s face as she turns to me!!  Let’s just say, she was beyond surprised.  It actually bordered on upset to tell the truth.  Not upset at me or the situation, just pure unbridled emotion and confusion.  I blasted out my romantic and comical spiel “yada yada love yada yada every moment yada yada marry me? yada yada” If we didn’t have video of the proposal, I would have no idea what I said because my mind went completely blank. 

You know it’s funny how life works, isn’t it?  I definitely never thought I would be playing professional basketball at 28, living in a spare bedroom of my coach’s house in Australia and proposing to my girlfriend at a Zoo while petting a Wallaby!  But that is the great part about life.  You never know what life has in store for you.   I mean, what made me drastically change my mind about coaching in 2008 and move to Philadelphia.  What made me go to Kildare’s on a Sunday night and randomly meet Nicolette.   What made us hop in a car for 3 months together, then live together, and then move across the world together?  Luck?  Destiny?

I feel beyond lucky to be where I am.  I’m doing what I love and accompanied by the woman I love.   I’ve found the girl that I want to be with, to share wish, to evolve and grow with.  Nicolette makes me a better person.  She pushes me.  She inspires me.  She challenges me.  She supports me.  She just “gets” me. Not only do I love her, I genuinely like her.  She is my best friend. Plus, she is way better looking than me!

So, that is that and life goes on.  During all these adventures basketball goes on too.  That is what I’m here for, isn’t it?  To be honest, this is possibly the best possible basketball situation I could ever imagine (Except if I was making 20k+ a month).  That may be a bit better.  But purely basketball situation… this is incredible.  As a team, we are still trying to find our identity.  We have had a few injuries and have recently added a few key pieces to the mix.  Things are starting to finally come together.   We added a 6’11’’ 250lbs beast of a man last week.  He struggled in his first game (fouled out in 7mins of game time) but will really help us going forward. 

As I’ve mentioned in past posts, the situation is completely opposite then my last b-ball gig in Israel.  I’m averaging 20.8pts 5.4rebs 1.4assts.  I’ve actually struggled a bit shooting the ball, only shooting 35% from the field and 31% from 3’s.  I attribute the poor shooting to my mental dilemma of remembering how to be a go to player.  It’s a weird concept for me to even grasp but I’ve become so accustom to being a role player that I forgot how to be the focal point of an offense. It's not an excuse but something I need to work on.  I know things will turn around quickly and I will prove myself even more.  The team and Dale have been overly supportive and continue to push me to be aggressive.  Dale and I have VERY SIMILAR basketball philosophies so our chemistry on the court is pretty spot on.  He has been a great coach and housemate (you too Dana) the entire time. And I'm not saying that because he is sitting right next to me and will soon read this post...  

With things and life starting to get more real and serious, I continue to try and find the fun in all I do.  I’ve definitely changed my attitude towards basketball over the last year.  In high school and college I truly identified as a basketball player and took things too seriously and overly personal.  In college especially, it’s very hard to take a step back and enjoy the process.  Ask any college athlete and they will tell you the same thing.   I feel fortunate that I took time away from the game after college in order to gain perspective.  Yes, I probably could be working corporate America and making 10x the money…. But is that what is important?  Would that make me happy?  Possibly.  I’m sure I’ll find out once this basketball adventure is completely out of my system. Hell, I’ll probably have to work 2-3 jobs in order to pay for this dream wedding Nicolette wants… she has quite good, yet expensive taste… love ya 

I read a fun anecdote yesterday that sums up my current philosophy: 

A wealthy entrepreneur was disturbed to see a fisherman sitting idly by his boat. He asked, "Why aren't you out there fishing?"

"I've caught enough fish for today," the fisherman said.

"Why don't you catch more fish than you need?"

Reply: "What would I do with them?"

"You could earn more money and buy a larger boat and all of the things necessary to catch more fish. That would allow you to build your business into a powerhouse. You could have a fleet of boats and many people working for you. And, you would become a very rich man just like me."

"Then what would I do?" asked the fisherman.

"Why, you could sit back and enjoy life."

The fisherman said, "What do you think I'm doing now?"

I guess I’ll need to grow up someday and get a real job, but for now, I’m enjoying life.