Here's the Thing

Molly and I are taking the road trip of all road trips this week We are taking the motorcycle to Yellowstone National Park. We will be on the bike for eight straight days, and will cover more than 2,000 miles. I will try to post some kind of updates as we go, either here or on Facebook, so my family know we're still alive. Here is the basic route we will be taking, broken up by day.


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The map doesn't show day 4, which will be a full day inside the park, staying a second night at the same hotel in West Yellowstone, MT before heading south to Pocatello, ID. It's shaping up to look like quite the adventure...

See you on the road!

I can remember having nightmares as a small child. I know my parents remember me running into their room crying because a monkey had bitten me on the cheek. It was so terrifyingly real. To this day I can remember the details of the dream. There was a small window above the headboard of my twin bed, and I was sitting in bed, leaning back on the headboard. Out of the window behind my head a cartoonish brown monkey (looking like a deranged Curious George) leans out and latches onto the side of my face. I remember not wanting to go back to bed, because I wasn't completely sure it had been a dream.

These days my nightmares tend to be just as disturbing, and far more realistic. So much so that the last few times that I have cried have been while I was dreaming. The upside of my nightmares now is that I can generally shake them off immediately after waking up. The downside is that there are things far worse than hungry monkeys in the world, and they can easily and unexpectedly pop up in a surprisingly realistic dream.

I have been unusually entertained by this year's presidential election race. In years past I have been either too sure of who I wanted to vote for or too frustrated by the lack of decent choices. This year, however, there are plenty of interesting characters, and a number of decent candidates from which to choose.

About two years ago, when Hillary Clinton was starting to take serious steps toward running in 2008, I thought the only republican that could possibly beat her would have to be Rudy Giuliani. He wasn't even running at the time, but I think everyone knew he would.

Now, with the primaries and caucuses starting to heat up, I think I have a pretty good idea about who could win. I have no idea who will win, but I think I will once the parties have chosen their candidate. I think I have a good idea of who can beat who, and who just can't win. Here is a chart of my predictions, based on the final candidates in the general election.

Obama vs. McCain - Obama wins a pleasant and respectful race

Obama vs. Romney - Obama wins in a Dukakisesque landslide

Obama vs. Huckabee - Obama wins a closer race than you might expect

Clinton vs. McCain - McCain wins a tiresome and sometimes ugly race

Clinton vs. Romney - Nobody wins Clinton wins a very close race

Clinton vs. Huckabee - Huckabee wins a very close race

In light of this empirical evidence I cannot fathom the democrats nominating Hillary Clinton. She can only beat Mitt Romney, and that's only because nobody want to vote for the guy who looks like he should be pitching time shares.

As previously mentioned, I interviewed for a job yesterday (Friday). It looks like an entry level position working at PacifiCorp, contracted through a company called DB Professionals. The interview went well, and it looks like the job is mine if I want it. It seems like a good opportunity, and I feel pretty good about the situation. I will talk with my contact person at DB Professionals this Monday to let them know what I decide.

Molly and I drove out to St. Johns Honda this morning and bought the motorcycle we had been looking at. I spent much of today riding, which was lots of fun, especially in the unexpected sunshine. Last night the forecasts said 90% chance of rain. The pictures on the forecasts were even all dark and gloomy. It was a beautiful day though, and fairly warm to boot.

I'm meeting Uncle Walt at Lloyd Center in 20 minutes to get some dinner and go to the Blazers game. All in all it's a great Saturday.

I'll be interviewing for a job at 3pm today that has been described as "unglamorous," but good experience. I'll update that later. Also, I will likely be purchasing a motorcycle today or tomorrow, which will be quite exciting. These are two very exciting events that I have been waiting for for quite a while now. If they were to happen on the same weekend, that would be a really big weekend. I'll leave you with a picture of the bike I'm looking at right now.

2006 Honda VTX 1300C

Molly and I saw M. Ward last night at the Crystal Ballroom with a small group of good friends. It was a great show, and a fun night all around. Before the show Molly and Keven and I ate dinner at Masu, which is easily my favorite place for sushi. I can promise you that you will never eat a better bite of raw fish than the lotus roll at Masu. Tasty.

The one letdown of the night was Jason Lytle. I had never heard of the guy, but if he's opening for M. Ward he should at least be interesting. He wasn't. It was far and away the worst opening act I have ever seen anywhere. He sounded like a cross between Daniel Johnston and Elliott Smith, but without the songwriting talent, or ability to carry a tune. At one point, between songs, he actually told the audience that "I thought this acoustic project would be an interesting change, but I'm totally over it now. I'm so bored with it." Later he stopped again to remind us that he's "...So over this acoustic thing..." and an unnamed person in the crowd yelled out, "So am I!"

Here are some basic practical rules for playing a live show:
1. Learn the words and chords to your own songs. They are important.
2. Practice.
3. Don't tell the audience about how bored you are.

At least M. Ward came through with a good set, and redeemed the night.

CLICK HERE

Well, that’s it. I have turned in my final project for my HR policy class. At 31 pages in length, this definitely goes down as my longest paper. Or as Homer Simpson might remind me, it’s my longest paper so far. It seems like these last two years went by fairly quickly, though if asked a year ago I would have disagreed. More than feeling excited or relieved or proud of finishing I am feeling anxious to get started working in the real world. I have started posting my resume around town on light poles and bulletin boards, so hopefully I’ll find something interesting to do with my time. On one hand I am ready to get back to working, and on the other I am going to miss school. That’s not a feeling I have had before. I assumed that by the time I finally finished my bachelors degree I would not even want to think about grad school, but I’m guessing that this time next year I’ll be getting ready to start a part-time MBA program. We’ll see.

I always enjoy reading surprising stories about famous people, especially those in rock bands, who are more intelligent and educated than you might think. Today I saw a story about Brian May, guitarist for Queen. Not only is May one of the most influential guitar players of his time, he is also finishing his PhD in astrophysics. He apparently walked away from his studies when Queen's popularity began to explode.

All this time I had no idea that one of the guys responsible for Bohemian Rhapsody, We Will Rock You, and Another One Bites the Dust was some kind of supergenius. At least he uses his powers for good and not evil.

I find myself at a bit of a musical crossroads this summer. For about the last year I have been playing with a worship band that does a fair amount of conferences and retreats, as well as regularly leading worship on Sunday nights at its home church. At the beginning I was just happy to play with other quality musicians. There is something nice about making solid, good quality music, without having to worry about the other members of the band.

As things rolled along I have had the opportunity to learn some new songs, meet new people, lead a lot of people in worship, and have a generally good time doing it. There have been frustrations and challenges as well, but overall it has been a great experience.

My biggest frustration so far has been the contrast in style between what I like to play and listen to and what the band plays. It was immediately clear that my taste in music was not particularly similar to that of anyone else in the band, which really didn’t bother me. I do tend to get bored or frustrated at times, though, playing a type of music that I am not particularly drawn to, and I wonder if my priorities are a bit off.

I joined this band because I wanted a musical outlet. The leading-people-in-worship part was more of a bonus than a requirement for me. I wonder now whether it was realistic for me to expect to find a creative outlet through leading worship. The thing about worship music is that it has to have a broad musical appeal, or you end up with only a few people connecting with what you are trying to do. There is also a sacrifice that goes along with worship, whether leading a group or just singing along. The purpose of worship, in a group setting, is to worship God in unity, not to express our individual creativity. I sing a worship song because I need to worship my creator, not because I happen to like the song. Considering this, my playing in a band, whose primary goal is to glorify God, requires me to sacrifice my own personal taste and creativity. I have to ask myself, if my priorities are really right, why not put that energy into more viable creative outlets? Especially when my very involvement with this band, which is based at a different church, causes friction with some there that dislike outsiders involved in their worship.

All that said, I really do enjoy playing with these guys. I know this sounds like a Dear John letter, but I’m really just putting my thoughts and feelings out there as I think through my goals for the next few years.

What to do? I want your input. I know you’re reading this, now leave me a comment with your thoughts!

As sort of a graduation present to me, I sold my Fender Strat to a nice guy from Vancouver named Bob, and bought a new electric guitar. I had to add some cash to it, which I got from moving some old friends into their beautiful new home. They were quite generous, and I was excited to "move on up to east side" by getting the guitar I wished I bought to start with.


I picked up my new Fender American '62 Reissue Telecaster (in three-color sunburst with a rosewood neck, a compass in the stock and this thing which tells time…) late last week, and spent a few hours playing it before noticing a tiny crack on the side of the fingerboard. I couldn’t quite tell if the crack was really a crack, or maybe just an anomaly in the finish. It must have been there when I bought it, and I just missed it; it was a pretty small crack.

Nonetheless, my joy and excitement had instantly turned to fear, and I rushed the new beauty (lights on and siren blazing) straight over to Portland Fret Works, where Todd Mylet does magical things with stringed instruments. He also does a lot of warranty work for several instrument companies. After taking a look, Todd called me to let me know that the crack does indeed need fixing, and that it will be a warranty repair (free to me). I'm thinking, "Well, it's cool that Fender pays for it, but how long will it take?" Then Todd says, "Since this is a nitrocellulose lacquer, the job will take about four weeks."

"Uhhhhh... uhhhhh…"

I wasn't sure if I heard him right, but then he explained that the lacquer needs time to cure, etc, etc. I could have returned the guitar to Portland Music Co, but it would have taken at least as long for them to order another one, and their other stores didn’t have one in stock. It’s not the most common guitar around, which is part of why I like it so much. You might even say I love this guitar. I love it bad. Real bad.

So now I sit, without any electric guitar at all, wishing it had all been different. Maybe that’s just what I get for buying myself a graduation present before actually graduating. It will definitely be an exercise in patience, though, and I do tend to be the guy that buys the guitar that needs warranty work anyway. At least I have learned to keep my sales receipts.