The Student News Site of Macalester College

The Mac Weekly

The Student News Site of Macalester College

The Mac Weekly

The Student News Site of Macalester College

The Mac Weekly

Couples Edition: Carlye Sikkink and Joe Novak

By Emily Howland

How long have you been dating?Carlye Sikkink: Three years and 10 days.

What did you do for your anniversary?

Joe Novak: Well, first, we forgot about it and then a couple days later we went to Moscow on the Hill.

Where did you first meet?

CS: We lived on the same floor freshman year.

JN: And had our first-year course, Book Arts, together.

CS: We ended up with all of the same friends.

JN: There was lots of almost dating.

CS: Almost floor-cest.

Can you take me through the process of courtship?

JN: Well, you did all of that. I was interested in somebody else.

CS: A whole bunch of us were piled on a bed giggling and he was tickling everybody and he tickled me and I grabbed his hand and didn’t let go. I was like, “oh, this is nice.”

JN: Yeah, then we went to a dance, the Brother Ali concert, and we danced together there and she gave me a kiss on the cheek.

CS: I remember nothing about the concert. I just remember being very happy.

JN: The next day after our kickball game I had a stomachache and she made me tea. The next day we went on a bike ride to Minneapolis.

Had you noticed each other before that night?

JN: You claimed that you liked me before that.

CS: I did! At orientation he walked in and I was like, “oh he’s attractive.”

What was the clincher for you, Joe?

JN: I don’t know. We danced together that night and we spent two days together and I liked it.

Did you have immediate chemistry?

JN: It was certainly developed but I think we had a fair bit from the start. We’re both very easy-going and low maintenance.

Where was your first kiss?

JN: In her room on her trampoline.

CS: A friend of mine at home broke my big trampoline, so as a joke he bought me a little one before college so I brought it with me.

Where was your second kiss?

CS: In Minneapolis.

How did you establish your anniversary?

CS: The Brother Ali concert. We couldn’t remember so we looked back in the Macalester schedule and found when the concert was.

How long had you been hooking up before you were “dating”?

JN: Probably about a week.

CS: Before we started dating, we knew each other really well.

JN: We knew each other really well, but we started dating a week after we first showed interest in each other.

Did you have “the talk?”

CS: We had dinner at [Joe’s parent’s house] and you were like, “I told them you’re my girlfriend, that’s okay right?”

JN: After awhile we both realized that we were together, but it was never formalized, it was just assumed.

Do you live together?

Both: Yes.

CS: We live with Matt [Seidholz ’09] and Hector [Ramos Ramos ’09] and the four of us get along really well.

JN: We have a little bit of separate space but it’s nice to be able to just walk around the corner and there she is.

Was it a big decision to live together?

CS: It was kind of the only thing that made sense.

As the only girl living with three guys do you fulfill a specific role in the room?

CS: Yeah, they call me mommy! Our roommates are all very loud and they get in pretend yelling fights-our poor neighbors-and so I step in and tell them to stop yelling at their baby brother.

JN: Yeah. Matt and Hector really like to pretend that they’re small children.

What do you do when you’re alone together in the room?

CS: Watch movies, chat.

JN: She likes to watch The Office and then I get bored.

CS: We used to go on walks a lot. Not so much anymore.

JN: Now it’s cold.

Do you hold hands fingers interlaced or whole hand?

Both: Fingers interlaced.

JN: It has to be a certain way. Her hand has to be in front.

Do you spoon when you sleep?

CS: Yes.

Who’s the big spoon?

CS: We switch. Whoever feels like being the big spoon that night. I sleep poorly without him.

Have you ever thought of breaking up?

JN: No.

CS: Well, we’ve never fought or had a bad period.

How do you feel about PDA?

CS: I feel like we publicly display our affection.

JN: I think she likes to a bit more than me but we kiss and hug and hold hands.

Where was your first date?

JN: We bussed all the way over to this theatre in Minneapolis to this movie. Then we got out and we knew that there was a bus coming soon because they only come on the hour. But we missed it and sat at the bus stop for like an hour. This car rolled up and they were looking at us and pointing at us.

CS: We were kind of creeped out.

JN: Yeah, we’re like what’s going on? And then they rolled down the window and they were like “We just want to let you know you look really cute together.”

What attracted you when you first saw each other?

CS: I’m mean, look at him. I just think he’s beautiful.

JN: I really liked her smile and how her eyes light up when she smiles. That’s what I noticed.

When did you first say, “I love you?”

JN: On my first birthday here at school I got very sick. Then she took care of me the whole night. At the end of that night.

CS: He was like “I know this is a really bad time to say this but I really mean it. I love you.” I was like, “Oh, I was gonna say it anyway.”

Are you in love?

CS: Yes.

Is there a difference between loving someone and being in love in your opinion?

JN: When we first told each other we loved each other it certainly wasn’t the same as it is now. I think it’s just gradually evolving. We’re getting closer. We know each other better.

Will you stay together after graduation?

JN: Yeah, depending on where I get into grad school we’ll decide where we will go. We’ve talked about where it would be fun to end up together.

Do you think you’ll be together for the rest of your life?

JN: Yeah, that would be nice.

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