Robb + Jessie Married & in the Badger State
Public Enemy
I applied for a non-speaking extra role in the new Michael Mann film, “Public Enemies”, starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, which is filming in Madison. So far, I’ve made it through the first few selection steps and now this photo is headed for the director’s desk. Keep your fingers crossed and you might see my face for a split second on the silver screen in 2009.
The reason my hair is slicked back and I’m wearing a suit is because the casting company had extremely specific instructions for the photos they wanted from me.
Record Winter
In case you haven’t heard, Jessie and I have been having quite the winter over here. Here are a few of the highlights:
- January 21st: 7.2 inches of snow, only a few days after getting to Madison.
- February 7th: 13.3 inches of snow. This was the second snowiest day in Madison’s history and the snowiest for February. The University of Wisconsin closed its doors due to weather for only the 2nd time in nearly 20 years. Thousands of cars were stranded on the I-90 interstate overnight as road crews, the state patrol, and the National Guard struggled to bring everyone home safely.
- February 12th: Madison sets a new record for snowiest year ever with 79.1 inches. This breaks the old records of 76.1 inches (1978-1979), which itself broke a record that stood since the late 1880s. Currently, Madison is on track to receive over 100 inches of snowfall this year. If this happens, the old record will be smashed by nearly 30 percent.
Good thing we have down coats.
The polls are open.
Today. We went to the polls.
Robb and I agree, the tabulator is pretty much the highlight of our day.
I must say, registering to vote is much easier than either:
1. obtaining a new drivers license in Madison, or
2. changing your name with Social Security.
We are now excitied to see to results of the 2008 Wisconsin primary election!
Frostbite
A big rain/ice/snow storm hit us today here in Madison (pictured above), covering everything in a layer of ice with inches of snow on top. So Jessie and I decided to stay home as much as possible. We ended up watching a sermon from the church we used to go to back in Seattle. I really do love the people of that church as well as the amazing community of friends that we had there.
Despite this, I feel like the church has been poorly managed for a while, leading to criticism that it is impersonal, with its priorities on presentation rather than relationship. A lot of that criticism is spot on because most of the people in that church receive no real community. In addition, a lot of people that I know have left the church for various reasons as the church grew to its now immense size. All of this ultimately is growing pains as a result of imperfect people leading the church and learning from their mistakes.
While sad, these issues really have no effect on us because of our move to the Midwest. In any case, Jessie and I have found a new church in Madison, full of people that love Jesus, love the city of Madison, and want for everyone to have true joy and meaning in Christ. We’re very excited to learn and grow to be better people here.
After finishing our sermon, we did homework, chores, and whatever else needed to be done around the house. We were in desperate need of groceries, so I finally braved the weather and drove to the grocery store. The nearest store was closed due to the weather, but I found one down the road that was open. On the way home I actually helped someone free their car out of about 8 inches of slush. Some days I wonder what we have gotten ourselves into, starting our married life in the middle of a record-breaking Wisconsin winter.
This moment in time…
Jessie and I went to the Polar Plunge here in Madison today. It was 20ºF. I don’t know how they do it.