Okay, here's the text post that goes with the pics of the last post. Blogger was being weird, so I had to do the pics through a different publishing system. Grr.

Anyways, it’s high time I posted something that at least looks like an update externally, so let’s see if I can condense the last 2 months or whatever it’s been. :)

Um, let's see, probably the most interesting thing (to me, anyways) that happened is I got another guitar. This is my third one and it’s a Taylor classical (nylon string) NS34-CE with a cutaway plus Fishman electronics (very handy for amplification) and a pre-installed K&K pick-up. Beautiful wood...
What’s really cool is the deal I got on it. It lists for a little over $2000 were you to buy it at a music or guitar store, and I got it for only $1000 brand new. (And no Lance, I didn’t get it on eBay. Lol) An older friend of ours (a great guitar player) who bought it brand new just 3 months ago (and actually never played it) developed arthritis in the index finger of his left hand (an extremely crucial finger for guitar players) and since he knew I was planning on buying the same guitar in a short while (you guys like all my parenthesis? :), he offered to give me a really good deal on it. Anyway, that’s the story… This guitar plays like a total dream. The action (the distance between the strings and the fretboard) is perfect and so is the tone and everything else! :)

Okay, so that probably bored everyone to death… :)

Oh yeah, I ran my 330th mile for the year on Saturday, so I’m a little behind in my plan to go 700 miles by the end of the year. Hoping to catch up a little more when this weather cools a bit. Not that I mind running in the sunshine by any means, but it’s much more exhausting on the body to go 6-10 miles a day, 3-4 days a week, when it’s 85 degrees and up and with all the work I’ve been doing this summer, I can’t really afford to be any more tired than I can help. :) Plus, the latest thing I’ve been doing has to do more with running a faster mile, as opposed to going farther at a slower pace. It was Colin’s genius that struck upon this plan, so make sure all you runners give him some credit. :) So the workout looks more like this: Plan on running just 3-5 miles in one mile intervals with a quarter cool down and a waterbreak between each mile. Set a goal of say, keeping each mile under 6:30. Then run as many miles as you can while staying under that amount of time. Anyway, it’s a really neat way to train for a faster mile…

Moving on to………. the Fair! Yeah, you know that place where people actually go and pay money (um, like, LOTS of money) to take rides that leave them staggering, giggling uncontrollably, and feeling desperately like puking all of those Dippin’ Dots they forced down earlier? So last Thursday our choir was singing for Motorcross at the Fair at 7:30 pm and Colin, Lance, Kate and I went early to eat, do rides, watch people do stupid things, etc. Colin and I did one ride (and only one) called “The Zipper,” and, well, suffice it to say I doubt either of us have ever screamed and yelled and repented quite as much as we did on that ride. Crazy. It was literally the most freaky experiences of my life, and I've been through some hairy scary and painful ordeals, so that's kind of saying a lot. :) I stumbled off thinking (using what brain cells I still had), “I paid how much for my senses to be destroyed?” Brother… Fun times! :)

Over last weekend we were able to spend time with some Japanese friends of ours that mom and dad brought to Christ about 14 years ago when we were missionaries in Thailand. It’s a family of three people: Sadakazu (the dad), Kaori (the mom), and Ran (their daughter). Anyway, the dad and the daughter are on a vacation here in the US, and so they made plans to fly into Portland and stay for just a day and a half to be with us, see our church, etc. It was really interesting trying to relate to people from a completely different culture than our own and I’ve got to give it to Japanese society that whatever its faults, it produces intelligent, incredibly well-mannered and very hardworking people. Ran (the daughter, in case you forgot :)) and I are almost exactly the same age (um, but I’m the older one, just so you know… :)) so it was neat to talk to a fellow teenager from a completely different country. Anyways, it was great to see them again...

Well, I’m gonna cut this short here… I haven’t covered anywhere near what’s all been happening, but hey, you got the essentials, so just thank me for that and leave me alone for another month, okay?

Love ya’ll! I’ve got the greatest bunch of friends a guy could wish for! :)