Boy Meets Sprinkler

New experiences around every corner...


Gotta face it like a man. Or at least, like a boy.


Play it cool.


I think we can all learn a little lesson here!

Panera on the Cheap

Panera is my favorite "second place." Plenty of tables and windows, and quite flexible. You can spend $2 for coffee and then milk that for a couple hours. Or, you can spend more for a "You Pick Two" (Frontega Chicken and Broccoli Cheddar Soup, with french bread) and a small drink. Oh, and a cookie. But that gets expensive.

I guess that is the problem. It's actually two extremes... Mere coffee or a filling, fattening feast.

The other day I needed, desperately, a place to study.
* Obvious answer: Panera.
* Problem: it was lunchtime, and I didn't want to spend too much.

This is the story of how I gamed the system.

Should I go to Panera? It's right there. But I need lunch... I really can't keep spending money on eating out.

I know what I'll do: I will only order soup. You get soup and bread, pretty filling, and it's cheap. Like, just over $3. It's the loophole that Panera has not yet tied. Only I know this.

Moments later:

Hmm, they raised the price of the soup. But not by too much... Mmm, corn chowder sounds good.

"May I help you?"

"Corn chowder soup, please."

"With french baguette?"

"Yes." (Yes! Yes! It's working!)

"Anything to drink?"

"Just a cup for water, thanks." (I don't fall for that one. They have lemons. I'll be fine.)

"Would you like a cookie with that?"

"No thank you." Pause. "Unless you're on commission or something." (Obviously they don't sell cookies on commission.)

"No, but we're kind of having a contest about who can sell the most of them."

NO!!! You can't combine soft cookies and heated competition - that's a combination that cannot be resisted. Auuugghhh.

"Okay, I'll take one."

"That will be $6.05."

No! I don't have change! That means I'm basically spending $7 since change doesn't count as actual money. Well, now I have to use a credit card so I can round it down.

At the table:

This can be fixed. I will give the cookie to Cheryl. Or half of it. What the heck, she doesn't want this wretched thing. Okay, I hope I get some good study time in.

Four hours later, I left Panera. That's about $1.50 per hour.

Or, if you divide by $7, about $1.75 per hour...

Could this be the world's finest city?

It may seem strange to some, but I now love Newark, NJ.

Last week I led a group from our church up to Newark to join with a church called Comunidade Crista Presbiteriana (translated Christian Community Presbyterian Church). This began as a Portuguese-speaking church but now has services in Spanish, English, and Portuguese.

Here are the three pastors who lead the respective services... Pastors Renato, Glauber, and Christian.


Last week they were getting our help for a Vacation Bible School that would reach out to kids not only from their own church but also kids from pretty unstable homes in the nearby projects.


We taught the Bible and about the Bible. We used my old church's giant Bible as a prop. We memorized verses. We gave them a place to be. We tried to be patient. We pointed to Jesus. We did all we could to show them love. We told them to please come back to the church anytime.


Incidentally, it's a church that plays very loud music.

Here's the team from our church, before we left:


And here's the team at the end of the week, with new friends:

Here's the big problem, though. No picture can capture the...
* Chaos
* Noise
* Intensity
* Insanity
* Hard work
* Love
* Joy

of the week.

So... I don't know what else to say.

When our week came to a close, no one wanted to leave Newark. Mainly because of all the new friends.

So hey, Brick City--we look forward to seeing you again soon!



(Thanks to James & Brittany for photos.)

Beach boy

We did a quick trip to the ocean this a.m. I think we'll be back :-) (After all we do all need tans.)

Thoughts While Cheryl's Away

Currently I'm experiencing life without my wife and son. Here are the top thoughts that I find going through my head...

5. Hope I don't forget to tell Cheryl that.
4. Hope Cheryl doesn't find out about that (don't worry, she will--this is usually in reference to housekeeping matters).
3. Sure would be nice to have that iPod back.
2. Wonder what Cullen's up to. Boy, he was a cute little ringbearer.

And, last but not least...

1. Man, it's going to take up my whole day to keep this place neat!

Come home!!