two musicians, a barracuda, and the buzz = one cheap date

a radio station in the portland metro area, called the buzz, sponsors these events called cheap dates. they line up musicians to come and perform to a small group of people. all you have to do to be a part of this elite group is...become a buzz freeloader, get online when the dj tells you to, print off your ticket, and you and a guest are in...for free.

last week was the second of these events. the musicians were Ryan Cabrera and Charlotte Sometimes, the location was barracuda's, and due to Ang's freeloader status, we were in. the venue was small and intimate, and any seat in the house was a great seat (although, there weren't actually any seats).



i had forgotten how much i liked Ryan Cabrera back in the day. i remember him looking more like a frat boy than the "emo" boy before us now, but he had some great hits! if often felt as if we were just sitting in someones living room with about 100 of our closest friends listening to him strum his guitar. i love live music and he didn't disappoint.



i admit that i had no idea who Charlotte Sometimes was going into this. but, going in with little expectations, i was pleasantly surprised. in fact, i really like her a lot. she has a great sound and an amazing voice.

a two week addiction...

i love the summer olympics and i always have! the summer games have some of my favorite events...gymnastics, swimming, diving, track & field. i admit that i have become a little bit obsessed. i even admit that i have completely bought into "Phelpsmania." i remember what he did in Athens. i vividly remember the VISA commercial that showed him swimming from New York to Greece, so i am excited to see hiim doing so well in these games. and, yes, i'm fairly sure that i was standing on my couch last night yelling "go michael" as he won his seventh gold medal by such a slim margin.



in an interview with michael phelps before the games began, he was asked what he was most looking forward to in Beijing. his response..."standing on the blocks in the stars and stripes. to be an american up there representing your country with all of their support on your shoulders...it's an amazing feeling." i can't judge his honesty in that statement but i liked his response. today as i watched the weight of the world rest on the shoulders of an 18 year old cyclist from colorado, i thought...it's odd how i feel this connection to this kid that i've never met and most likely never will meet simply because we're both americans. i don't know anything about him, or if he deserves to win, but i want him to just the same. i'm sure that my response to him had nothing to do with the sad story about his father's fight with parkinsons right before his race. but, there are countless athletes that i feel this same connection to...dara torres, ryan lochte, nastia luikin, and shawn johnson. that list could go on and on.

it's just that sometimes i feel like it takes something devastating to unite us as americans, so i appreciate that the olympics, something positive provides a sense of unity. i know that there are people who are tired of all the michael phelps hype, but i am not one of them. it's really an amazing thing that he has done, with seemingly little effort. i think maybe the USA needed a little positive attention for a minute, and he brought that.

i feel the need to mention the olympic events that i haven't been able to get behind...trampoline, badmitton, and synchronized diving. my question...why don't they have olympic surfing. if they do and i'm just not aware of it...please somebody make me aware.

workin' for the man every night and day...

today as i arrived at work, began my morning routine, said hello to people as i passed them in the hall...i felt extremely blessed. i've been in this job for almost three years, which blows my mind sometimes. i know that three years is not all that long in the grand scheme of things, especially when you're working with people who are starting their thirtieth year. but for me...three years is a long time. there are days when i don't want to come to work, and today would be one of those days, but as i visited with my co-workers this feeling of gratitude came over me. i am so blessed to be in a job that i love, most days, and to work alongside people who i can call friends (a fact proven by a recent move when they showed up to hall my boxes). blessed to work in a community of believers that are striving to help others grow and change. just blessed.

i'm thankful that, today...a crazy day amidst a crazy week...God decided to show me the wonderful things about my job, which far outweigh the frustrating things.

this picture is just a portion of my co-workers. they are truly great people to work with. if you want a small glimpse into what i do...the woman on the left (red/white striped shirt) and the tall older man in the back (hawaian yellow/blue shirt) were not originally in the photo. my task was to photoshop them in. i admit that it was a pretty quick patch job, so if you can see flaws...please don't point them out!

'cause it's a bittersweet symphony, this life....

a couple of days ago a friend of mine's status on facebook said..."i'm thankful that good friends are still good friends." or something to that affect. there is something about a good friendship...one where you can go months or even years without talking, but when you're together again, you just pick up where you left off. i am so thankful for these kinds of friendships.

this past month has been filled with the bittersweet. from vacationing with good friends overlapped with the loss of a loved one, to a going away party for my best friend. i have had to think a lot about friends and how important they are in my life. as i get older i realize more and more my need to be surrounded by people who know me, really know me and love me anyway. it's such a comforting feeling to sit in a room with a dear friend and know that you don't even have to talk, you can just be.

meeting up, in san diego, with some great friends that i hadn't seen in over a year was a time of sweet fellowship and bitter loss. what began as a fun week of hanging out and catching up came to a crashing halt as we lost an AMAZING father...husband...friend to a fight with cancer. though sometimes i question God's timing and plan...i have to giggle when i imagine Leon worshipping his Father any way he wants to without the little old biddy's telling him how it should be done. and even amidst this heartbreaking loss...i felt blessed to be among people who truly know me and the comfort that it brings.

following that emotional roller coaster, i celebrated with friends and family as we sent my cousin Jessica out on her new adventure. as i'm writing this...she is spending her first day in her new home...south asia. she has said "yes" and given her life for something far greater than i can imagine. i'm so proud of her and i'm thankful that ours is a friendship that won't be gone in an "mmmbop" (see post from may 30th). Jess and i have said "goodbye" several times over the years, but we have been blessed to have lived in the same town, in the same house for the past three. ours is a friendship that picks up where it left off and i look forward to the time when our paths cross again...Thailand maybe!

there have been sweet moments of quality time overshadowed by grief. this has left me feeling emotionally spent and tired. so, i am choosing to remember and to reflect on the fond memories, rather than the sad and dreary.

Gerri and i at seaport village in san diego, california

me, Rachel and Beth

the girls might kill me for posting this picture...(left to right) Jessica, Mandy, Ang, Christi, and me. if you remember the show kids incorporated...this was our interpretation.

Ang, me and Jess last christmas!

it's a rainbow of fruit flavors....this picture was taken at Jess' party (the thrillah' in Zillah). i didn't make into the rainbow because i was wearing black that day.

that's one doodle that can't be undid, homeskillet

i doodle. i know that's not some earth shattering confession. but, i bet that more people doodle then are willing to let on. because somewhere along the way, i feel like doodling became childish or something you do when you're bored, or even a sign of disprespect. recently, at a meeting, someone noticed my "artwork" and commented on it. for me, it has nothing to do with being bored, actually it's the opposite. i doodle to stay focused. for us creative types, sometimes it helps to see things in color, or pictures, at least that is the case for me. and most of the time, not always, the pictures directly pertain to what is being discussed.

while venting to a co-worker, and fellow creative type, she mentioned a pastor who tried something different in his congregation, specifically related to doodling. here is an excerpt...

"recently, as people entered the sanctuary on sunday mornings, we gave them small pieces of colored paper - some textured, some not - with a crayon or a colored pencil or a felt pen. for five weeks we gave them permission to doodle as i preached - much like the first disciples mended their nets as Jesus preached. then we asked them to hand the paper back as they exited.

each week, three artists scrunched, folded, and wove the pieces of paper together. they mounted the pieces on a hopscotch of painted canvases and hung them on the sanctuary wall. as the weeks went by, the little scraps of individual paper grew into a breathtaking mosaic that eventually covered two walls of the sanctuary. each week, before and after the services, more and more people stood beneath it, delighted, surprised, and amazed."

i applaud this pastor for being willing to try something outside the box. my question...why are more churches not willing to try something new. and, why can't doodling be about self-expression, or even an act of worship. needless to say, this inspired me. here is a small collage of my own doodling from the meeting i mentioned...

the songs in my head...

for those of you faithful readers who are often telling me you want more updates, i have a couple that i'm working on. but, while i'm busy perfecting those i thought i would share something else with you. i often talk about music and i'm sure that by now you know how i feel about it. so, what i'm about to share should come as no surprise. i encourage you to read the following lyrics. i imagine that we all feel this way from time to time...like a prodigal trying to find his way home.

"prodigal" - by One Republic

we say good-bye, i turn my back
run away, run away
so predictable
not far from here, you see me crack
like a bone, like a bone
i'm so breakable

and i take everything from you
but you'll take anything, won't you?

run away, run away, like a prodigal
don't you wait for me
don't you wait for me
so ashamed, so ashamed, but i need you so
and you wait for me and you wait for me

i'm on the road to who knows where?
look ahead, not behind, i keep saying
there's no place to go
where you're not there
on your rope, i hold tight, but it's freeing

everybody wants to be right
but only if it's not day light?
i keep trying to find my way back, my way back

run away, run away, like a prodigal
don't you wait for me
don't you wait for me
so ashamed, so ashamed, but i need you so
and you wait for me and you wait for me

bright lights...big city...

"that's very urban of you," this was my sister's response when i told her what i was doing on friday night. i think my exact words were..."we're going to Forest Grove to see this random band that we saw on a flyer at McMenamins." i guess it is very urban, to drive 50 minutes to see a band that may or may not be any good. but, we're always making an effor to try new things and to take advantage of all that this area has to offer.

the location was great. first of all, Forest Grove is out in the middle of nowhere. it's true country right outside the city, complete with big ol' pickup trucks. the concert was in the garden cafe of one of the McMenamin hotels, call The Grand Lodge.

this place was built in 1922 as a masonic & eastern star home and has now been turned into a hotel. it was fun to sit and listen to music, eat good food, and people watch.

and, as it turns out, the band, Bombadil, was good. the flyer described the four guys from north carolina like this..."Bombadil incorporates international instruments and styles with its background in Piedmont blues and psychedelic rock, generating everything from straightforward rock to Bolivian waltzes; from heartbreaking, piano-drive laments on loss of life to swashbuckling, raucus marches." now, with a description like that how can you not be intrigued?

they had some great songs and played several different instruments. at one point two of the guys were laying on the ground playing guitar, while the keyboardist sat under the keyboard and played backwards. very impressive and entertaining. overall, the experience was totally worth the drive. although, it was pretty chilly out there...somebody should tell the weather that it's summer...bring out the sun!

goin' to the country, gonna eat a lot of peaches...

last weekend i went home to celebrate my mom's birthday with the family! today is her actual birthday...Happy Birthday Mom! on this visit to my hometown, one thing became clear to me...the longer i live in the city, the more i "see" the country. things that have always been there, that i've taken for granted, suddenly seem to jump out at me.

as i was taking a walk on our country road, i was thinking how things might look through the eyes of a city dweller. if someone had never been to the east side of washington...what would they see? what would stick out to them? here are some thoughts....

1. in one pasture you may see sheep, goats, llamas, one cow, and one horse. my question...how did that farmer know it was ok to put all of those animals together.

2. in the country everybody drives a big pickup truck and they wave at you, even if they don't know you. but, it's not a normal wave, it's the two finger picked up off the steering wheel kind of wave. sometimes you get four fingers, but very rarely, and even then it dose not leave contact with the steering wheel. i call it the farmer wave. i've seen it all my life. i've been on the receiving end of it hundreds of times and i've watched as my father greeted passersby in this same way.

3. dodging manure on the road...enough said. although i find myself wondering if a city dweller would even know that it was manure and therefore needed to be avoided.

4. duck and cover. in the city if you hear something that sounds like a gunshot or a car back firing, it most likely is one of those things. in the country this sound is actually the loud noise used to scare birds out of the cherry trees. but, even if you know what it is it can scare you to death.

5. having to stop in the middle of the road and wait for a tractor, swather, four wheeler, etc. to cross the road. the only thing you wait for in the city are the traffic lights.

in an mmmbop it's gone...

"songs are life in 80 words or less." -Neil Diamond

i heard this quote from Neil Diamond on Jimmy Kimmel Live the other night and it stuck in my mind. suddenly, it made so much sense to me...this connection i have with music. this is the reason that it speaks to me the way it does, because essentially it's someone's life, someone's experience spoken with much more passion and eloquence than i could muster. you're probably thinking, "well duh, beckie, where did you think the inspiration for music came from?" and we can debate my naivety later. but, i think for me, it was one of those "aha" moments where something i already knew came alive. it gave me a feeling of solidarity, knowing that there is someone who has gone through or struggled with the things that i have gone through.

a couple days later, with the Neil quote still etched in my brain, i was listening to "mmmbop" by Hanson. i know that some might question where i'm going with this. question whether or not Hanson, mere teenagers when the song originally aired, could sing a song that could be described as either passionate or eloquent. afterall, the song sounds like a bunch of mumbling nonsense but, if you read the lyrics, it's actually a song about relationships. it's about knowing which relationships are real and important and realizing that they can be gone in the blink of an eye, or an "mmmbop."

it's these kinds of songs, the ones masked by their "get easily stuck in your head" tunes that catch my attention. i love that moment when you're singing along to some catchy song and it just clicks, and you say, "that's what they're talking about? oh, i like that."

so, i'll leave you with the lyrics to the song. (obviously due to length, this is not the complete song)

"mmmbop" by Hanson

you have so many relationships in this life
only one or two will last
you go through all the pain and strife
then you turn your back and they're gone so fast
and they're gone so fast
so hold on to the ones who really care
in the end they'll be the only ones there
and when you get old and start losing your hair
tell me who will still care
can you tell me who will still care?

plant a seed, plant a flower, plant a rose
you can plant any one of those
keep planting to find out which one grows
it's a secret no one knows
it's a secret no one knows

can you tell me who will still care?
you think you can but you don't know
which flower will grow

mmmbop, ba duba dop
ba du bop, ba duba dop
ba du bop, ba duba dop
ba du, yeah

oh yeah
in an mmmbop they're gone
in an mmmbop they're not there

happy days are here again...

this past weekend i went home to be with my mom for mother's day! luckily zillah's community days also happened to fall on this weekend, so i got to join in the festivities. it's always a little bit surreal to once again be a part of small town life, where everybody knows everybody and you run into people you went to high school with. here are some pics from the events...

every year the lions club cooks breakfast for the city. this is the line we stood in...we got there at 9:15 and they had been serving since early that morning. i have no idea how many people they served, but i guarantee it was a lot.

pancakes, eggs, and ham, delicious!

it's tradition for the parade to begin with police cars from zillah and the neighboring cities. i really like the new cars, well done zillah!

zillah's royalty! the theme for this float was never figured out, but assumed to be some kind of fairy tale story. i can't help but wonder if the girls got to pick out their bright pink dresses.

this might have been the cutest part of the whole parade.

when the shriners came through this guy stopped to pose for us!

pink cadillac, plush velvet seats, riding in the back, cruisin' down the streets!

what's a parade without horse drawn carriages. sidenote...beef stake's are on sale at the Zillah Food Center this week just in case anyone is interested.

baba ganouj...

i have a friend who i like to call my culture guru. i'm sure that there is not one ethnic restaurant in the portland metro area that she has not tried. well, maybe one. but, thai, morrocan, ethiopian, middle eastern, she knows them all. i like spending time with her because she gently nudges me to be more adventurous, while allowing me to stay in the safety of my comfort zone. meaning that she doesn't push me to try the craziest most outlandish thing on the menu. if i want to play it safe and have the kabobs, i can have the kabobs. she also takes the time to explain the menu to me, which makes my decision easier.

because of our friendship, i have gone to some very cool restaurants, places i would not normally have tried in some neighborhoods that i normally wouldn't go to. last week she took me to a very popular part of portland where we visited an eclectic bookstore, perused an italian meat market, and ate crepes at a french bistro (served by a waitress with more tattoos than i could count and the largest gages in her ears i have ever seen). this week we ate hummus, baba ganouj, and falafel at "Ya Hala" a lebanese restaurant. this cultural education has reminded me just how culturally diverse the northwest is. you can walk down the street and feel like you are in a completely different country. it has also reminded me that it's important to have people in your life that stretch you and encourage you to grow. i think it's so easy to get caught up in your own little world and lose sight of what is going on around you. you don't always have to cross an ocean to impact other cultures or for them to impact you, sometimes you just have to cross the street.

what's a motto with you?

for those of you who are not aware, portland has a motto..."keeping portland weird." now, i'm not sure if this is the official motto, or if it's something that somebody made up. but, you can buy t-shirts and bumper stickers, so that seems pretty official to me. i think it's fitting, because portland is kind of a weird city. however, among the weird you'll find quite a bit of the cool as well. and this is what i love about this city, it's extremely eclectic. i think this point is proven when you go out to dinner downtown and somebody can make the following statement..."i've always wanted to go to the building with the giant octopus on it!"

this building houses a great restaurant called "greek cusina." there was nothing odd about the restaurant itself, just the giant octopus outside and maybe the octopus lights inside. which makes me question...is there something about Greece that relates to the octopus that i don't know about? anyway...this was Ang's choice for her birthday dinner....Happy Birthday, Ang! (much better choice than sushi last year...i'm just sayin') i'm kind of surprised how much i like greek food, in fact i'm salivating right now thinking about the pita's.

after dinner we went to a coffee shop called Rimskey's.

it's in this really cool old house and it might just be the definition of eclectic, complete with its mismatched dishes, rotating table, and random decorations hanging from the ceiling. although, we soon found that the strangest thing about this cafe, was the bathroom...i'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

gives whole new meaning to the phrase performance anxiety. yes, those feet are hanging from the ceiling and Jess wins the price for bravery. overall, it was a fun night and a great new experience with portland culture.

uselessness, just taking up room...

alright, i'm going to let you in on a little secret. i wake up with random songs stuck in my head (this morning it was taylor swift's "teardrops on my guitar"). i also quote movies, trying to pass off clever lines as my own genius. i drive my roommate's crazy with random tidbits of trivia while watching movies and tv shows, such as which actor was originally up for the role, or who shares their birthday with who. the "fun fact" i'm quoting is usually something i've read somewhere, or heard on the radio or tv. it most likely stems from my slight obsession with the internet movie database (imdb.com) where you can find anything you've ever wanted to know about actors, tv shows, or movies. i'm just not sure why my mind absorbs this information and locks on to it. i'm pretty sure it's an illness. i call it my tumor (not unlike john travolta in phenomenon).

so, since this useless knowledge is taking up room, i though i would share it with all of you. here goes...

1. the wonder years...i loved that show, but i think i loved the theme song more..."with a little help from my friends" by the Beatles. great lyrics! i would hope that a good friend would still be there if you sang out of tune (although i've learned that my cat hates it. he will lie on the ground rolling around making funny noises, weird). and aside from the line about getting high, i think i really do get by with a little help from my friends.

useless trivia: the girl who played becky slater (kevin's first girlfriend) originally tried out for the role of winnie cooper, but lost out to her sister danica mckellar. takes sibling rivalry to a new level.

2. the emperor's new groove... (one of my all time favorite movies)
pacha: uh-oh
kuzco: don't tell me. we're about to go over a huge waterfall
pacha: yep
kuzco: sharp rocks at the bottom?
pacha: most likely
kuzco: bring it on

i feel like this conversation between pacha and kuzco could apply to so many areas of life. i think far too often i live life in such a comfortable place that my true response is "sharp rocks at the bottom?" well, then i'll do my best to paddle in the opposite direction because that doesn't sound like something i want to be a part of.

useless trivia: patrick warburton (aka: putty from seinfeld) improvised when "kronk" hummed his own theme song....the disney legal department had patrick sign all rights to the humming compostition over to them.

3. this really is of no use or importance, but much like left ear in the italian job, i want a "house in spain with a room for my shoes".

useless trivia: edward norton only agreed to be a part of "the italian job" because he was contractually obligated to. he had a three movie contract with paramount and apparently this movie was the lesser of the evils.

just in case you were wondering, the freakish memory also applies to somewhat normal day to day things, such as birthdays, or my cousins address from about 15 years ago (even though she's moved about 20 times since then), and my 5th grade "boyfriend's" phone number. i tell you, it's a sickness.

useless trivia: john rich, of big & rich, turned 34 in january, which only makes him 3 years older than me. scary! it tend to think people who have accomplished as much as he has must be older and much wiser than me.

nothin' but the tail lights

i love to travel, i do. and, when it's traveling for work and not necessarily for pleasure, i'm ok with that. however, sometimes, i believe you can have too much of a good thing. and, that's exactly what the past two months have been for me...too much of that good thing.

back in october i took a trip to Riverside California for Kaleo conference. i traveled with a co-worker and 4 high school students to the campus of Cal Baptist. this campus was so beautiful that for a brief second i considered going back to school. luckily, sanity reclaimed me before i made any drastic decisions.
the conference, which was two days long, was intended for students (high school, college, and seminary) who felt called to something more. it really made me miss that college environment and all that comes with it.

what i learned from this trip is that i love california. i just sat in the sun and soaked it up. the weather was wonderful, that is until the santa ana's came in. i have never experienced such intense wind.

next stop on the whirlwind tour was Cannon Beach Oregon. i was sent there on a work trip to teach an internet class to senior adults. you gotta love my job, right? my topic was "buying and selling on ebay" and unfortunately these tech savvy seniors knew more than i did. but, the trip was completely worth it, because i got to eat my breakfast on the beach on a beautiful northwest day. how often do we get to do that?

the first weekend in november, not but two days after that last trip, found me driving into the middle of nowhere. well, technically it was oregon, but if felt like the middle of nowhere population 32. the annual Northwest Collegiate Ministries fall conference was held at a YoungLife camp just outside of Antelope Oregon. it was a great weekend of hanging out with good friends, making new ones, great worship and an excellent speaker. and yes, this too was considered work. i have a great job!

my travels were completed with two, count them two, trips to Yakima. the first was for the Northwest Baptist Convention's annual meeting. so, this was three long straight days of work. it is a good time for networking as well, after all i am a firm believer that much of life is about who you know. the second and final trip was simply for pleaseure as i spent thanksgiving enjoying time with my family.

here are some sights along the way...

while each and every event was fun and a great experience, i am happy that my life is a little bit more stationary these days. although, i'm sure that the next time duty calls me to some exciting new locale (one can only hope it is hawaii), i won't hesitate to go.

happy trees!

this may sound a little odd, but Bob Ross has been coming up a lot lately. Bob Ross, you know the guy on PBS with the big fro who paints the happy trees. he's come up in conversation on several occasions and most recently in an art class i took. while the latter makes almost perfect sense, i'm sure you're wondering why Bob Ross would be the topic of anyone's conversation. i'm not sure i can answer that and it actually doesn't matter, because this entry is less about Bob Ross and more about me and the art class.


to expain the art class i need to go back a little bit further, back to july to be exact, because that's when i celebrated my birthday and i guess you could say it was one of the monumental ones. this year i struggled with it, didn't really want to celebrate it, maybe even a little bit sad about it. but really it made me begin to question what i was doing with my life and how i got to this point. and while this may sound like a mid-life crisis, maybe that's what it is, a mini mid-life crisis. anyway, my birthday, coupled with Amy Cohen's book "the late bloomers revolution," made me begin to look at all of those things that i've always wanted to do and thought that maybe i would do someday, like...learn to play a musical instrument well, speak a foreign language fluently, travel, learn to paint, and the list could go on and on.


i was inspired by Amy who at the age of 35 learned to ride a bike for the first time, so i decided to start checking some things off my list...fast forward four months and enter Bob Ross and the art class. i signed up for an oil painting class that touted "even an inexperienced artist can produce breathtaking results." and as i sat at the table saturday morning staring at the sample painting portraying what i was about to attempt, i seriously doubted that a beginner could do it, at least not this beginner. i looked for affirmation from those around me, asking if they had done this before, how many times, and if they were convinced that they could produce the desired outcome. i looked for any clue that i could actually pull this off. i found little solace in my Bob Rossian teacher's apparent confidence in my abilities. i had this fear that what came out of me would look less like a thirty year olds work and more like a 3 year olds. my insecurities were wrapped up in my pride because i secretly wanted to be good at this.


what i learned is that not only can i do it, but i did do it. and while i'm not ready to open my own art exhibit, i would say that i am good at it. of course a professional would look at my painting and point out its many flaws, there are some that even i could show you, but for my first time it's pretty good. and, i'm proud of myself and what i've accomplished, but not proud in the way that hinders me or stunts my growth as a person, but proud that i faced a challenge and i came away from it a more well rounded individual.


now on to the next adventure...

coffee cup wisdom...

Starbucks "the way i see it" was brought to my attention at a work event and i must admit that i'm hooked. Starbucks explains their purpose behind this collection of thoughts, opinions and expressions as..."sparking conversation." So, here are some of my favorites...

The Way I See It #233
"i used to think that going to the jungle made my life an adventure. however, after years of unusual work in exotic places, i realize that it is not how far off i go, or how deep into the forest i walk that gives my life meaning. i see that living life fully is what makes life - anyone's life, no matter where they do or do not go - an adventure."
--Maria Fadiman
geographer, ethnobotanist and national geographic emerging explorer

The Way I See It #236
"scientists tell us we only use 5% of our brains, but if they only used 5% of their brains to reach that conclusion, then why should we believe them?"
--Joseph Palm
Starbucks customer from Oshkosh, Wisconsin

The Way I See It #267
"music can lift us out of depression or move us to tears - it is a remedy, a tonic, orange juice for the ear...music is not a luxury, but a necessity."
--Oliver Sacks
Neurologist and author

The Way I See It #268
"music is what i always turn to when i'm feeling a certain way. it's my reason for everything."
--Josh Groban

The Way I See It #272
"be the example; spread hope."
--Cat Cora
Iron Chef

The Way I See It #280
"you can learn a lot more from listening than you can from talking. find someone with whom you don't agree in the slightest and ask them to explain themselves at length. then take a seat, shut your mouth, and don't argue back. it's physically impossible to listen with your mouth open."
--John Moe
Radio host and author

The Way I See It #284
"you can't lead the people, if you don't love the people. you can't save the people, if you don't serve the people."
--Cornel West
Professor at Princeton University

wishin' and hopin'

i have this dream of being a writer. i know that on some level i am a writer, at least my family thinks i am. but, i have this desire to be able to sit down and have the thoughts just pour out of me (which is probably the root behind this blog). the dream of writing something clever and witty, even deep, something that people will want to read. this desire is so strong in me that when i read something that catches my attention, or makes me laugh, i find myself thinking, "man, i wish i could write like that." this is the most recent of these moments. it is an excerpt written by kelly minter in the book "no other gods," where she describes standing in line at a quick copy store on a particularly frantic day.

"i parked and ran into the store only to find a line of about ten people with very interesting and complex printing needs. this triggered one of those irrational moments where you start having personal grievances against people who want things like pictures blown up to banner sizes. seriously, what do they need that for? i secretly mused. i found myself trying to supernaturally control the speed of the cashier, like if i thought hard enough and envisioned her moving just a little more efficiently, perhaps it would come true. i know this doesn't work, but i find it therapeutic anyway."

it's writing like this that makes me stop and say emphatically, "yes, i totally feel that. i've been there. this person is writing about my life." just yesterday i was standing in line at a grocery store wondering how it is that no matter what store, what time of day, or tilt of the earth's axis, i find myself in the longest line possible. there can be one person in front of me, but i guarantee that that one person has five items without price tags, or can't find their debit card, or wants to use cash for part of it, write a check for 1/3 of the remainder and give their first born child for the rest. and i, like kelly, find myself trying to will the cashier to move just a tiny bit faster, or for the shopper to miraculously become organized and move a little bit more efficiently. however, unlike kelly, i don't find this therapeutic at all. i think that this wishing and hoping only causes me to become a little bit more bitter with each second that i wait. and then i question why i'm even getting frustrated, because i'm in no real hurry. i don't have anywhere to be just then. and when i'm done pondering our society's need to have everything faster and quicker and how i SHOULD be different from this world's "gotta have it now" mentality, it's finally my turn to check out.

what i've done....

i don't profess to know the spirtitual status of people in the media. there are the lindsey lohan's and britney spears' of the world that make you believe that they are desperately searching for something to fill a void. but, sometimes i come across someone that really makes me wonder. in the case of the band linkin park, it is more their words than their actions that make me curious. i admit that i don't know much about them, but i am a fan. it may be a bit far fetched to think that they could be christians, seeking maybe...but, i love their new song (featured in the movie transformers, which i also happen to love). i really feel like this could be a spiritual song. whether or not it was intended that way, i don't know, but it has spoken to me so i thought i would share it with you.

"what i've done" by linkin park

in this farewell, there's no blood, there's no alibi

'cause i've drawn regret

from the truth of a thousand lies

so let mercy come

and wash away

what i've done

i'll face myself

to cross out what i've become

erase myself

and let go of what i've done

put to rest what you thought of me

while i clean this slate

with the hands of uncertainty

for what i've done

i start again

and whatever pain may come

today this ends

i'm forgiving what i've done

go out and change your world

the saying...."God won't give you more than you can handle"....well, i put that to the test this last month. at what i can only describe as the urging of God, i committed to spend 12 days on a road trip with 33 perfect strangers, comprised of youth and adult leaders. they were headed to Clovis, California for World Changers and needed a last minute chaperone. i say that this had to be God, because it's against my introverted nature to sign on for something so far out of my comfort zone. this was a HUGE step for me! even more proof this was a God-inspired decision...i was less worried about not knowing anybody and more concerned with what kind of work i would be asked to do.

as it turned out...i had a great time, made some really good friends, and in just five days, with the help of one very competent crew chief, 9 youth, myself, and one other adult, put a new roof on a house. it was HARD work and i still question whether or not it actually looks good...but in the end it was extremely rewarding. you learn a lot about people when you spend 8 hours a day with them in 100 degree heat on top of a roof.

here are some pictures from the trip...

group picture...can you find me? i don't think i can even find myself and i know exactly

where i was standing.

BEFORE

Plywood, plywood, and more plywood.

Lukas, nailing in the final shingle!!!

here's the group with our homeowner, Kandy. she was so happy to have a new roof, which made all the smashed fingers, bloody noses, and heat sickness totally worth it!

bomb's bursting in air...

i spent the 4th of July with thousands of other vancouvians at Fort Vancouver. this was the third year in a row, it's now a tradition! supposedly, it's one of the biggest fireworks displays west of the mississippi. whether that's true or not, i don't know. but, it's probably the best feeling in the world to be sitting in the grass watching a spectacular show with all these strangers surrounding you, everyone singing along with Lee Greenwood's "God bless the USA," united for those thirty minutes.

the best part had to be the woman sitting behind us. every time you would see the little spark shoot into the sky, she would yell enthusiastically...."oh yeah, baby!" and every once in a while she would throw in...."bring it on!"