Three Types of People and Hockey

Had the good fortune to be the recipient of married Blog Readers Jacob and Panina's generosity.

After donating blood at the Verizon center (she's B- and he's O+ proving that opposites attract), they were given free tickets to the Caps-Flyers hockey game.

After calling an unconfirmed number of people who turned Jacob down, I was offered the chance to go. Having NEVER attended a hockey game there, I figured why not?

Actually, the motivation was the opportunity to hang out with 2 of my favorite people (and it is exceedingly rare that they are married to one another.)

Both of them are what I term "Anvils."

Side digression:
In my overly simplified worldview, there are three types of people.

1. "Butter"=You give them an idea and it goes right through them, "like a hot knife through butter."
2. "Pillows"=You give them an idea, they get it, but nothing really comes back.
3. "Anvils"=You give them an idea, sparks fly, there's a lot of commotion, but when your thought comes back, it's a lot more refined and sharper.

Our topics included:

• the economics of the NHL
• marital/relationship development benchmarks
• the economic disincentive for Metro employees to help customers
• the racial composition of the crowd
• the ethical/legal challenges that arise from sneaking a water bottle into the center
• the changing nature of relationships due to digital technology
• the discomfort that arises from the change in business attire over time
• Canadian provinces and territories (incl. Nanuvut)
• ...and many more

Any long-time reader of this blog will have no trouble understanding why I like these two.

What did surprise me, however, is that Panina (pictured w/her girlfriends-about 10 games/year) is a more serious fan than Jacob (with the bag over his head...just kidding...this was some Flyers fan--and the Flyers are terrible this year.).

In fact, she rebuked me loudly for asking her a question while the game was on!

And here's one more tidbit for you from their joint wisdom.

The Three "Pillars" of Marriage

1. Dont' Be a Jerk
2. Don't Keep Score
3. Respect Your Spouse