The man I married.

I am continually astounded by Casey's ability to get what he wants from people. Perhaps I fall to the other extreme, hence my surprise, but I think his ability is out of the ordinary.

Generally, I won't ask people for favors, help or make any exceptional requests from anyone in the service industry. It embarrasses me just thinking that I would be turned down or overstep social graces.

Plus, I can do it myself or will make do with what I have...or die trying. I'm an only child, can you tell?

Casey, on the other hand, will ask strangers for anything, and generally, he gets what he asks for. The most recent example of this is our trip to Target last night, looking for a new belt for our vacuum. They were out of stock on the aisle, so I called for a sales person (which I considered rather persistent of myself.) So, two salespeople later, we determine that they are completely out of stock of belts, PLUS, the kind they carry of that brand doesn't fit that vacuum, even though Target sold it to us. The kind gentleman suggests we try a vacuum-specific store nearby. I wave the flag of defeat, and prepare to leave.

Casey nicely informs the gentleman that he wants the belt of the demo. And he's not going to take no for an answer. I have to walk away, overcome with embarrassment. You can't ask for that!

A few minutes later, Casey casually walks up, the belt in his pocket. "You just have to ask for things," he says, shrugging.

Now, he did not ask if he could eat all of leftovers from the lasagna my mom made (read: the best lasagna ever)...and well, asking for mercy isn't going to be enough.