Saturday, Sarah and I celebrated our fourth anniversary (woot!) at “Maize”:http://www.rthotel.com/maize.html at the Robert Treat Hotel in Newark. We had actually attempted to go to Maize when we weren’t living in the city, two years ago. We got as far as getting dressed up, jumping in the car, and getting on the highway, but then Sarah looked at me and said, “I’m pretty tired.” And I said, “Me, too. Let’s go to Pizza Hut.”

This time around, it was much better (and closer) than Pizza Hut. The food, ambiance and service was excellent. Our waiter — who asked for free veterinary advice, but was witty and prompt — was impressed that we “still had things to talk about” after 4 years of marriage. Here’s to more great conversation for the next 50 years.

Sunday, was, inescapably, “Portugal Day”:http://blog.newarker.info/2006/06/09/portugal-day-celebration/ in the Ironbound. The Portugal Day celebration actually extends through the week and culminates in a two-day festival two blocks from our apartment. It’s both an extravaganza of Portuguese & Brazilian culture, and an object lesson in poor life choices.

Half-a-million people funnel into our mostly-quiet neighborhood for barbeque, sangria, and Brazilian pop music. It’s not all family friendly, though, as it’s not uncommon to find someone who’s had more than his fair share of piña coladas passed out on the sidewalk. Last year, Sarah and I passed a man who was sleeping like a baby on the curb in the hot sun — we grimaced to think of what HIS hangover was going to feel like.

With Sarah’s brother in town and Ferry Street having been taken over by revelers, we didn’t even try to go to church in the city (though I’m looking forward to the “podcast”:http://www.villagechurchnyc.com/worship/sermons/). Instead, we walked up to see the endless crowds and searched for a “Pelé”:http://www.time.com/time/time100/heroes/profile/pele01.html onesie for “little E”:http://flickr.com/photos/posegate/157653688/in/pool-evanposegate/. Once you’ve seen one festival, though, “you’ve seen them all”:http://www.flickr.com/photos/kennsarah/tags/portugalday/. After Russ left, Sarah and I crashed at home so I could work on a presentation for Monday.

Went to an excellent Master’s Degree recital by “Jenny Jobb”:http://www.myspace.com/jennyjobb at Juliard. It rocked–and I was even more impressed because flute is not my favorite instrument. Jen’s music was ecclectic and fascinating. Thanks for the invite. :)

Church on Sunday began with Darin & Sam’s Marriage and Dating class. Sam taught on the “asymmetry” of roles in marriage relationships. Judy Fujimura helpfully pointed out that both men and women both have to make the decision to lay their lives down for each other, even if the actual implementation looks different.

Speaking of the d-word, we were highly honored to spend lunch with the most “übercüte couple”:http://www.alissaclark.com/?p=287 at the Village Church. We talked shop about Newark (which is _so_ “up-and-coming”:http://kennsarah.net/2005/10/15/newark-unveiled-as-a-force-in-the-art-world/), the m-word, visiting Europe, “new apartments”:http://www.alissaclark.com/?p=300, and “widgets”:http://kennsarah.net/2006/04/28/on-the-radar/. Then we consumed the best “cream puffs we’ve ever had”:http://www.google.com/url?sa=U&start=2&q=http://www.muginohousa.com/creampuffs.html&e=9797.

Finished the weekend watching “Sullivan’s Travels”:http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=ourstory-20%26link_code=xm2%26camp=2025%26creative=165953%26path=http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html%253fASIN=B00005JH9C%2526tag=ourstory-20%2526lcode=xm2%2526cID=2025%2526ccmID=165953%2526location=/o/ASIN/B00005JH9C%25253FSubscriptionId=0EMV44A9A5YT1RVDGZ82. Very good, though we’re not sure why we put it on the Netflix queue in the first place.