I do as I’m told

When people tell me to take a “weird” and “crazy” picture, I usually do just that. I didn’t know that what they really wanted was for us to act “cute.” Thankfully, Cindy was almost right there with me.

In other news, my sister’s wedding was full of love and laughter, and I am so happy for her and Tim – pictures to come!

- Veronica

Thumbs

This weekend, I played tackle football in 17 degree weather here in Boston. I know that’s a post in itself, but for now, give it to me.

During the game, a guy broke loose into the open field, and as I came in to try and stop him, he stiff-armed my thumb. It was so cold that it didn’t really hurt at first, but when I got up this morning, my thumb looked like it had elephantiasis. So I decided to make a short list of the things that are difficult to do without the use of opposable thumbs:

1. Take my debit card out of my wallet.

2. Pick up crumbs off the ground.

3. Button up my shirt.

4. Give someone a man greeting.

5. Do the dishes, take out the trash, or brush my teeth. Darn.

- Paul

Good Convos with the Wife

Here’s one from Friday night, sitting on the couch watching TV. We were watching Law and Order, and there was a scene where the detectives discovered suitcases full of cash:

Veronica: Paul J, in the future can you give me a certain gift?

Paul: Sure, what is it?

V: A suitcase full of cash.

P: (?)

V: You know, like, one day you hand me a suitcase, and I open it, and it’s full of cash.

P: You mean like drug dealers do?

V: (laughter)

P: I’m blogging this RIGHT NOW.

End Act 1.

Web 2.0

Hey everyone – good to be back on the blog. It’s been too long.

A few weeks back I was doing some reading at Borders and I overheard an elderly Indian woman ask a 20-something guy on his laptop for help. Here’s what I can remember:

Lady: Are you on Facebook?

Guy: Uhhh, yeah. Wait, you mean right now?

Lady: How about Twittah? Do you Tweet?

Guy: No.

Lady: A young man like you? Not on Twittah?

Guy: Uhh (nervous laughter).

Lady: Anyways, can you look up when the gym next door closes?

Interesting exchange. Sit at a bookstore for one hour as a social experience. I always leave with something memorable.

- Paul

Quote

There was a great quote in our church bulletin this past Sunday, and it really resonated with me and Paul. Hope it inspires you too

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The love for equals is a human thing – of friend for friend, brother for brother. It is to love what is loving and lovely. The world smiles.

The love for the less fortunate is a beautiful thing – the love for those who suffer, for those who are poor, the sick, the failures, the unlovely. This is compassion, and it touches the heart of the world.

The love for the more fortunate is a rare thing – to love those who succeed where we fail, to rejoice without envy with those who rejoice, the love of the poor for the rich, of the black man for the white man. The world is always bewildered by its saints.

And then there is the love for the enemy – love for the one who does not love you but mocks, threatens, and inflicts pain. The tortured’s love for the torturer. This is God’s love. It conquers the world.

Frederick Buechner, The Magnificent Defeat

- Veronica

The Glam Life

Check out Veronica’s post-work schedule last week:

Mon: dinner and show with girlfriends

Tues: friend’s birthday party

Wed: serving dinner at a shelter

Thu: Microsoft 7 release party in Cambridge

Fri: Geoffrey Canada talk at Harvard

I was there for about half of those,  but man, she was a woman about town last week.

Oh, and I forgot:

Sat 10am-2pm: Walk for Literacy

Sat 2pm-Present: Watching TV on her laptop

Fall Trip – Bolton Landing, NY 10/9-10/12

Posting some pics from an awesome weekend trip to upstate NY. Getu connected us with a friend who has a great, quirky little place near Lake George. An old barn converted to a summer home.

It was fun just hanging out, cooking breakfast…the guys put together a decent “frittata” (my catch-all for breakfast dishes involving eggs).

Went on a hike and there were many panoramas like these. Vern did a great job with pictures – fall is such a beautiful season out here.

Great group of people – that’s Amelia (not mine) in the carrier. She was leading the charge the whole way to the top, which is where we took this picture.

And just to round it out, the obligatory jumping in midair (check out the contortion going on, right front) and baby driving pics. Thanks guys!

- Paul

Community

It’s been about a year now since Veronica and I moved out to Boston, and looking back, the transition has been a lot smoother because of a special group of people:

We get together with these guys every Wednesday night for something called community group. We met at church, and in the year we’ve meeting, developed our closest friendships here in Boston.

Last night, there was something of a breakthrough. We decided to take a break from our usual Bible study and just talk about how we came to know Jesus. I don’t think anyone expected people to be so open and honest – I thought I knew this group of people, but now feel like I know them a little better because I understand where they come from. There’s something quietly powerful about vulnerability, trust and honesty. Long live the Coolidge Corner CG!

- Paul

Fun, first thing in the morning

One big difference about being married me and single me is that I get to interact with another human, Veronica, as soon as I wake up. It’s been hot recently in Boston, so we sleep with the windows and blinds open. The sun shines right into our bedroom in the morning, which is great, but this morning, Veronica wanted sleep, not sun.

So by now you know that Veronica is a different person when she’s half awake. And that’s the beauty of it – when she is waking up, she’s like an incarnate dream, a person with one foot in reality, the other in a land of wizards and mythology. So it’s natural that she asked me if I could “turn off the sun.”

How do I know I’m married? Without a word, I get up, close the blinds, and go right back to sleep.

Supersize Her

Veronica is a woman who knows what she wants. For the past two weeks, it’s been KFC.

At first, I thought it was just a passing thought. “OOh, I really want to eat KFC.” But it kept coming back, so today after church we Zipped it up and had a date with the Colonel:

Naturally, she wanted a little appetizer before our dinner. She suggested a hot fudge sundae with a side of cheese puffs, but I thought a popsicle would do the trick:

We ended up getting a 10 piece meal – way too much food for 2 people: spicy, original, and the new grilled chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, coleslaw, biscuits…the whole cannoli. Here’s the before and after:

It was good, and so bad. We don’t want to see KFC for another 3 months – when we’ll be back for another splurge-a-thon.