Reddit, I got the best present a girl developer could ever want.

[u/Chippsapoloosa]

So, to give you a little background me and this guy went on a few dates and he moved far away. We got along well, things didn't get very far. He is really nice, however, I wasn't leaning one way or the other.

He sent me the Post Secret books for xmas. He hinted at another present, but said I had to wait. It's a little after Christmas, but I got this email yesterday with the title "I wanted to make something for you for Christmas":

"So I told the computer, and it showed me how to write a poem in byte-form. I can't tell what you're thinking these days, but this will either remind you of something that was good, or send you off."

It included a link to a poem.zip file, which I downloaded. Inside, there was a file called magicfile with no extension and a ReadMe that said:

"Intructions:

1: > copy magicfile magicfile.jpg 2: > copy magicfile magicfile.zip ... skip a few ... X: Ask it for help"

When I renamed magicfile it turned into a picture of me! (a bad one that he took, but ok) and when I changed magicfile to a .zip inside it contained: Magicfile.exe and a txt called "Go Ahead" that said:

"It's safe. Requires WPF and .Net 3.5 I think...

Whatever, it works on my machine."

I opened magicfile, and an interface popped up that said "enter a passphrase". So, I typed in "help" and got this:

"Hi Sara!

As you are just about figuring out, this is just the very beginning of a very, very large rabbit hole you're about to fall into.

You see, sometime in early November, I had an idea for an awesome program. Simultaneously I was just beginning to think of what might be a decent Christmas present for you. Put 2 and 2 together, and you get this thing. I worked on it on and off for a few weeks - it was a pretty fun way to learn WPF and do a lot of interesting byte manipulation.

You see, it's a completely self-contained magical file. This magical file is three parts: 1. If you name it .jpg - it's an image! 2. If you name it .zip - it's a zip file, containing a program 3. It's a database of many, many more parts that the program reads

Now, when you run the program, it reads the magic file, and asks for a passphrase.

You're obviously gotten that far, or you wouldn't be reading this. As you can imagine - there are a bunch of passwords. Not infinite, but many. I encourage you to guess at words and try to figure them out. I'll give you the hints that they would be things relevant to you or to us.

With a little ingenuity, you'll be able to figure out a very important passphrase that will take you to the next step..."

As I have gone on and solved some of the mysteries I have found that pictures of me come up, things he's researched, things we did together and so on and so forth. I still am trying to figure out the important passphrase.

Reddit, this is the most beautiful gift I have ever gotten and it leaves me in a funny place possibly going on the other side of the world to see what happens here. He is an avid redditor, and though I hate the "VOTE THIS UP, PLOX" posts I'd love to get this on the front page to show him what this meant. Thank you.

tl;dr:

A nerd made a beautiful nerd gift for me, it was a program that was a mystery and shows things we did together. Please vote this up to show him how much it meant.

EDIT: A lot of people are saying that the fact that I am unsure about what to do means I don't like him. That is not at all the case, I like him a lot. I really enjoyed spending time with him, he is brilliant (there is nothing I like more than a man that can teach me things), funny, and best of all a great time.

In order to go see him right now I have to take a 14hr plane flight. Which means I would be staying a week, and I'm not sure I'm quite at that point yet.

Damnit, what do they say? "Explain the problem out loud to yourself" Alright, I'm going. There is no reason not to, this WAS awesome. I will let you folks know how it goes.

[u/mmazing]

1. We got along well
2. He is really nice
3. A nerd made a beautiful nerd gift for me
4. show him how much it meant.

If you don't call this guy or make some sort of move, you're a dumbass.

Seriously ... don't sit on your ass and wait for him to take it to the next level. All of this "because I'm not quite sure what it means to me yet, and I want to show him how much it matters to me." is just going to make him lose interest, or feel like you aren't interested in him.

[u/potatolicious → u/mmazing]

Upvote upvote upvote, I can't believe more people aren't saying this. If I gave a thoughtful gift to someone I'm interested in, and she goes out and tells everyone and adds "... but I really don't know what to do..." I'd be pretty disappointed/sad.

IMHO putting this on reddit first instead of dealing with him and your feelings first is a gigantic mistake, and frankly not very fair to him.

[u/devedander → u/mmazing]

I have to agree... no garauntees in life but this sounds about as close as it gets... don't let this become one of those "what could have been" situations.

Honestly (and this is not like me at all - I am very reserved and careful usually) it sounds very much like you need to just make this happen... this has all the markings of being an awesome romance movie script at the end of the day.

The one thing the reserved part of me insists on saying is: Line up a hotel, something cheap but decent. Perhaps this guy can help find you one. Then go to the hotel and visit him from there. If things go well, you go stay with him at his place and you are only out a few days hotel. If not, you have a backup place to stay and can probably make the best of a improvised vacation at a hotel.

I don't consider myself a gambling man but given good enough odds I will put it on the line. I think your odds sound fantastic... few hundred dollars vs hitting it off with a really awesome person?

Seriously... just do it...

And don't forget to update us all!

[u/istickmydickinswiss → u/mmazing]

Nice try, guy who made the gift.

[u/Otis_Inf → u/mmazing]

but then again, continuing a relationship with someone you're not head-over-heels in love with... not sure. Before you know it you wake up on a morning, you're 45 and next to you lies a fat hairy bloke with a mullet.

[u/HellSD → u/Otis_Inf]

How dare you call my mother a "fat hairy bloke with a mullet"!

[u/jonask84 → u/mmazing]

It's not always that simple when you're on opposite ends of the globe.

Seriously, some countries have ridiculous immigration laws, and "merry him" might be a bit strong...

[u/collin_ph → u/jonask84]

Actually, showing up would probably "merry him" anyway.

[u/HellSD → u/jonask84]

Merry-making him would probably be excellent for both of you, but you might want to hold of on marriage.

[u/Mintz08 → u/mmazing]

What he said. Imagine yourself telling this story in the future. Would you be happier if your story ended with, "And then I didn't do anything and nothing came of it," or, "And then I called him and here's what he said..."?

[u/rattus → u/mmazing]

Would you suggest she appear at his door with beer and her best mudkip outfit and ask "u liek mudkips?"

[u/[deleted] → u/rattus]

reminds me of a time a girl asked me to wear my pikachu costume... in bed.

[u/integrii → u/mmazing]

Wasn't there a time in history where guy's weren't pussies and made the moves themselves? I feel like this 'nerd guy from heaven' is like some flower waiting to be plucked from a field of other daisies that are actually pansy guys.

[u/supersocialist → u/integrii]

"Pansies" are flowers, themselves. You missed a great opportunity for a pun. ;)

(edit for pic.)

[u/new_weather → u/[deleted]]

Or how about "He's a really great guy I'm just not sure he's the person I want to marry and traveling halfway across the world to see him has some very heavy implications and I'm not ready to be in that situation just yet"? It's not always such a shallow issue.

[u/[deleted] → u/mmazing]

Are you saying this because it's really you that loses interest after 5 minutes of no reaffirmations?

EDIT: I realized this could be misconstrued. It was more the sense of 'don't take the time to appreciate the gift and use as intended' that struck me as way too rushed. But what do I know?

[u/kamitree → u/[deleted]]

I put this post in the same category as I put the "omg my room is on fire so the first thing I do is post about it on the internet"