Jana M. Braun

Dr. Braun never thought she could find love while she was in vet school. It turns out that she was right, and met Matt on her year-long masters program, which, like our relationship, is still going strong.

Since Jana's great at coming up with nicknames, Jana initially referred to Matt as GDB, for "Good Date Boy," after too many lousy dates with others. Here is an early conversation Jana had with a friend of hers.

UDF: ooh, how was man date?

Jana: Not too bad. :) Cute, super nice, etc. Best 1st date I've had in an exceedingly long time (okay, i havent' had too many 1sts since undergrad but still).

UDF: oooh poor grad student of what?

Jana: Computer science. But he's not very geeky (well, relatively ;) ). And he was saying how CS is like all guys & international girls. And I was like vet school = mostly girls, few single guys. :)

UDF: soo nice combo. cs guys can be cute. i dated one at mit

Jana: Yep. And they tend to be really sweet. At least the ones I know. Maybe its the lack of human contact ;)

UDF: (most of his cohort wound up developing things and leaving before finishing phd...) is there going to be a date 2????

Jana: I hope so :). He told me he was intending to ask me out again.

UDF: was he on the fishies in the sea website?

Jana: Yep. . . . managed to find one decent one amongst all the crazy fishies.

A second conversation:

Jana: Remember - GDB is early to bed too :) In bed by like 10ish.

UDF: no...your discussion of bedtime was not mentioned.

Jana: Match made in heaven . . .

UDF: omg.

Jana: Maybe cuz I was ashamed we were discussing what old losers we are.

UDF: but cs boys are supposed to stay up like ALL night. cs is done at like 4 am

Jana: He didn't mention being into D&D or any other online games. So what else to do @ night? Maybe not stereotypical CS boy :)

UDF: hrm, prolly rules out big drug habit too

Jana: I guess so.

Jana knew she had found the right guy when, on their second date, they went to a small Mediterranean cafe in Madison called Bunky's. The dinner they had capped a fantastic afternoon at Olbrich Botanical Gardens. After finishing their meal, the waitress presented the check. Matt reached for his wallet, and triumphantly removed his Visa card. Much to his dismay, however, it rapidly became clear that this particular dining establishment did not take credit cards. Irritated, Matt pulled out all his remaining cash, which was almost exclusively one-dollar bills. Jana, naturally, thought that Matt was a regular at the local strip clubs, but after thinking about what an odd duck Matt was, concluded that Matt actually just never used cash for anything cheap.

Matthew J. Renzelmann

The following text is copy/pasted from the original profile Matt used to fool Jana into going out with him. On reading it today, Matt wonders how she fell for it.

Not one to pass up an opportunity to stay in school, I'm currently continuing my education as a graduate student and research assistant in computer science at UW-Madison. With a bit of work and some luck, I plan to finish my PhD in 2-3 years. [Matt feels like it's still 2-3 years out but his advisor assures him that he will, in fact, graduate someday]. After that, I plan to get a real job, in the real world! It'll probably be at a company like Microsoft or Intel. Like most students, I'm looking forward to graduation.

At present, I like watching movies and documentaries. Netflix is a great service. Similarly, reading is one of my favorite ways to pass the time, as is surfing the Internet and learning new things. For instance, I once asked The Google, "what is the meaning of life?" It directed me to Wikipedia. Who'd have thought?

Lately, I've been having fun doing photography. I enjoy listening to most kinds of music, from classical to rock, with some exceptions. [Jana has since realized that the exceptions seem to include all of her favorite artists]. As is the case with many people, I like going out with friends to dinner, movies, or whatever else sounds like fun. [Matt also enjoys sitting on his butt, but did not include that detail in the list]. After graduating, I'd like to start taking decent vacations again. As it is, I've not had much opportunity lately. I think traveling is a great way to spend time off. I've visited over half the states as it is, but hope to see them all some day.

Answers to occasionally-asked questions: I don't have any debt, am not in trouble with the law, have never been married, and have no children.

I have diverse interests, enjoy talking about nearly anything, and like to have a good laugh. In terms of my ideal partner, I'm looking for someone able to hold an interesting and stimulating conversation, and who is fun to be around. Given that much of the time in any relationship is spent talking, I feel that these are important qualities. Likewise, it would be great if we had some interests in common, but being able to adapt to changing interests is also a positive attribute. Most people change the things they're interested in throughout their lives. [Happily, Jana easily satisfied all of these criteria].

So, that's me! I look forward to hearing about you. [Jana has since filled Matt in about herself].

Matt included the following photo of himself. Little did Jana know that Matt had a whole dresser full of similar t-shirts:

If you'd like to read about Jana's engagement ring, be sure to check out Matt's over-the-top write-up on the subject: Jana's Engagement Ring.