The First Blog, but not the Last (Vince says)

Greetings world,

Welcome to our first blog! My name is Vince Granado. I live and work in Europe. The place I live in is Gaming, Austria. It is a tiny town nestled in the foothills of the Austrian Alps. My place is surrounded by mountains and forests, and sheep (seriously.) It is simply breathtaking, and I consider it a blessing every morning I wake up here.

I am writing the first of (hopefully) many entries between my girlfriend, Cay (pronounced "Kai") and me. We write these entries in the context of a relationship that is not only rooted in love for one another, but more importantly, but not mutually inclusive, of a deep love for Jesus Christ. Therefore many of these entries will deal a lot with matters of faith.

In addition, I believe that this entry will also include a lot on travelling (we both live and travel a lot around Europe), fine dining, nature, and coffee. All in all, this blog will rock. ;-)

As I write this, I am recalling the conversation I had last night with my ever concerned girlfriend. She told me to not take on too much today.

I failed. I took on everything. I am writing a blog I said I would wait to write.

But you know what? I think I am alright. At least I feel alright. I was able to run this morning (the first time in a long time), and I was able to cook twice today (if you consider eggs and bacon between toast cooking). I spent some time in quiet contemplation; thinking and praying about life - past, present, and future. And I even got to see Cay for a couple hours tonight! We went on a date to McDonalds, and it was quite lovely.

McDonalds for a date?

I know that sounds cheap.

But let me explain... Cay and I currently live 2 hours apart from each other. It is not enough to technically merit the title, "long distance relationship," but it is enough to make seeing each other often a challenge.

On top of that I work in a job that basically requires me to be on-call most of the day (and night). Therefore for to leave Gaming, and drive to Vienna puts a strain on my 181 American college students that I am supposed to look after (I'll explain in another blog). So what I humbly ask my awesome, and super-understanding girlfriend to do is meet me halfway. You have to love compromise in a relationship. It makes it all work (other than the grace of God.) McDonald's is halfway for us. I have come to appreciate it. Thank you McDonalds and thank You Lord for making McDonalds.

Cay thank you for being real to me. Always. You are a blessing to my life and my best friend. I look forward to reading your first entry...