Now I know why the engagement ring is traditionally bought in secret, by the man.

Ugh. How hard can it be to find a ring, right? Men buy rings for women all the time, and the women tend to wear them.

Alas, it appears that all of the engaged women in the known universe either have dreadfully bad taste or men with top-secret connections.

Since I plan to wear this ring forever*, it seems to me that I ought to like it. It also needs to be within our budget (currently five cents and falling). So I've been looking for one myself.

All I want in this world (besides another Peppermint Patty - yum) is a bezel** set diamond with a thin, white gold band. I do not want the diamond to sit very high off my finger, and I'd prefer it to be small and imperfect, like me. Apparently, such a ring does not exist. I'm sure there are jewelers who could make such a ring to my specifications, but they charge for stuff like that, and besides, that would require actually finding a jeweler I like, as opposed to just finding a ring that I like.


*They'll have to pry it off my cold, dead hands. Literally, as I plan to be a fat old lady.
**That's rub over, for the non-Americans.