Am I Getting Old?

I felt decidedly old last Thursday night as Marissa and I hunkered down in our dining room for our 1st-ever as a couple game of scrabble. I’ve been playing a bit recently and thought maybe it’d be fun to try playing together…

About half-way though, here’s the less-than-thrilled look Marissa was giving me:

But it all turned out ok in the end. Riss said she actually enjoyed it… we may even try again sometime.

Being Sick Sucks

I’m at the end of day 2 of being sick. Really hoping I beat this thing by tomorrow night so I can do the gig at vicinato. What a lame thing being sick is. I feel the urge to lament sickness.

Today, all I did was sleep, take pills, blow my nose, take more pills, sleep, neti-pot myself, sleep, try a nose spray, and sleep more. I know it may sound like a glorious day off, but let me assure those keeping score at home that it was not glorious. Constant headache, sinus pressure unlike that I have ever felt before, and the nagging feeling that the world is continuing on without me.

It seems like we get sick at the worst times too, doesn’t it? I’m preaching this sunday, have a gig friday night, am teaching a class sunday afternoon, and have plenty that was supposed to be getting done the last few days. The image that ran through my decongestant-laden mind was that of a merry-go-round (representing life I suppose) and me unable to run alongside fast enough to jump on – feeling too fragile and sick – so simply trying to toss stuff up in the air and hoping that it lands on the merry-go-round. Perhaps I took too many sudafed..

Anyhoo, there is my lament. I’m sure it probably doesn’t quite qualify as true lament (mostly complaining) but that’s the best I had right now.

Here’s my sick face:

The Bar Has Been Raised…

Up to 52 MPG! Due to a nice solid Seattle trip and a deft touch on the gas pedal, I’ve recorded a new personal best on a full tank in the Prius. Note the total mileage… over 500 miles for the tank, with an average of 52.7! Great Success!

As Halloween Approaches…

and I am going through our garage, cleaning it out and throwing stuff away, I run across Marissa’s costume from last year. I end up tearing it apart and recycling it, but I felt like I really needed to post the picture here because it was so GLORIOUS and I was so proud of my handiwork…

As you may remember, we used to drive a silver XB, thus this went over really well at Marissa’s work (Gresham Toyota) and was fairly easy to make from a box (since the car is so “boxy”…)

Commentary on Barry Bonds…

Regardless of what did or did not happen, what Bonds did or did not (knowingly or unknowingly) take, I found this guy’s shirt really, really funny.

Front:

Back:

Yankees in Seattle

As many of you may know, I am a New York Yankees fan. This has been a bit of an unfortunate reality the past number of years for a variety of reasons (general hostility toward yankee fans, the team’s now perennial under performance, joe torre’s departure, etc.) and it appears this year will be the first in over a decade that they will not be playing in the postseason. Lame.

Thus, this last weekend, when we journeyed to Seattle to watch the Yanks play, with really very little to play for, it could have been a real let-down. And, for those of you who may have watched M’s starter Brandon Morrow carry a no-no into the 8th, you would understand my excitement at seeing a potential no-hitter, but also my dismay that it was MY TEAM who was getting no-hit…

All this to say, that despite the potentially disturbing realities of the trip, I still managed to have a really, really good time! I ate warm ball-park peanuts and spread the shells shamelessly around on the ground beneath my feet. I drank a vastly over-priced cup of crummy bud-light. I took pictures…

Here’s the family we went with: Marissa’s co-worker Katrina in the middle, with her husband and daughters.

Here’s the 1st pitch of the game from our fabulous seats (no zoom here, this is really exactly where we sat!)

And here’s Riss and I after the game (She really liked the little hand things the M’s gave out…)

All in all, it reminded me of how much I like safeco field. It doesn’t have a lot of character or history like Fenway or Yankee Stadium, but it really is a fabulous ballpark.

Out.

Bought a new Painting from and Old Friend

Our good friend Mieke Ryneal stopped in to visit on her way up to Mt. Ranier with her family. She’s started doing some really cool paintings (as you can see below) and I was lucky enough to buy one of her guitar masterpieces…

Mieke’s paintings are available online for viewing and even for purchase if this one strikes you as cool (which it is)… www.studiosfumato.com

Here’s a few more pics we took:

It takes 32 minutes to drive from Vicinato…

to my house and then back. I know this because I drove straight home tonight, beginning at 7:57pm after setting up and sound-checking everything, only to realize i had left my guitar at home. How crazy is that? It’s the first time ever, in like 10 years of gigs, that I’ve gone to a show w/o a guitar… So, we started tonight about a half-hour late.

Of course, things still went OK – Thomas was phenomenal – and the crowd at Vicinato Wine Bar (www.vicinatowinebar) was incredibly gracious. Looking forward to playing there again in September.

John

Funny Sticker on Car

So this post/picture involves some semi-acceptable swear words… If that one word for your butt (the one that starts with an “A” and ends with two “S’s”) offends you, read no further.

If not, enjoy the funny sticker below that was on the minivan in front of me while I was driving yesterday. I thought it was funny enough to wait for a red light, jump out and snap a pic, and give the driver an obligatory head-nod.

The Pic:

Dworshak 2008

I spent the week of July 13-19 at a HS water ski camp on the Dworshak Resevior just outside of Orofino, ID. A few cool highlights to tell you about.

1st – this was my 2nd time speaking at the camp, and this time I came prepared with my own tent and camp chair. Here’s what my little setup looked like:

Pretty comfy actually – all things considered… Anyway, at this place it is CAMPING camping – I.E. no electricity, no running water, no showers, no nothing! But this group of people didn’t let this stop them from having an incredible week. The church (Damascus Community) has been coming here for like 15 years so they’ve definitely figured out how to make it work.

In the main part of camp, there’s a kitchen and eating area – btw, the food out there was some of the best I’ve had – I was amazed how great the food could be w/so few resources.

Then there was a little campfire area where we had our meetings each night:

Some students who had just graduated were there to lead the music and did a great job!

Shout out to Joel and Kevin… The students were pretty stoked on being there for the most part – here’s a pic from the worship time the last night.

There was definitely some pretty sweet wakeboarding and tubing going on all week:

This tube – called the “Molecule” was a favorite among the more adventurous students…

What can I say? I really enjoyed the whole week. I got some much needed rest during the down time (I can’t remember the last time I didn’t answer a phone call or return an email for a week – God bless no electricity or cell service) and I was able to do some good reading (Potok’s The Promise, Endo’s Silence, Webber’s People of the Truth). The weather was incredible – only one little spot of rain, but mostly warm, warm sunshine. Each night, I was blessed to speak to these students, offering them visions and images of what Christianity is and could be: Story, Community, Powerful Practices, Mission, and Discipleship. It’s a unique experience and the people at Damascus have definitely created a powerful week for these students. Here’s a pic of Phil, the youth pastor, on the boat ride out to the camp to close the post…