Back from Puyallup with a brand new Cardigan...

Thank you very much, Centralia Outlet Stores, for the sweater. $4.75. Yes.

Good afternoon/evening to you all. Just checkin' in after another enjoyable weekend back home.

Here are some musings about the trip and life in general.

I went straight to Forza when I got into town. That place never fails me. It's a very effective social hub for if I just want to hang somewhere and run into people I know. Hung there till the concert. Spent some time catching up with Jessica McCoy. I very much enjoyed her nerdiness, as I often do. And yes, she knows I call her a nerd and she's totally okay with it. Of course, I'm sure it helps if the person calling you a nerd is a total nerd themselves.

The band Roman Holiday is good. Real good. I did and will again pay money to watch them play. There's a chemistry there that just kinda seems to bleed into the crowd and people feed of that stuff. Great original writing, extremely sing-able music, a very complete skill set among the players. My apologies if this offends anyone but I think they're the best young band I've heard in the Tacoma/Puyallup area and if they keep progressing, there are some Seattle bands that will start losing gigs to these guys.

Speaking of which, The Liberty Theater in Puyallup provided a terrific atmosphere for watching a band. The set-up, while a bit unorthodox, was great. I looked around at a point during the evening and realized that I was sitting at a table with a bunch of friends that I loved, eating Onion rings, drinking a beer and listening to a good band. We should all be so lucky to spend our Friday nights that way.

Before I forget, thank you, Daniel Collins, lead guitar player for Roman Holiday, for letting me crash at your pad this weekend. I never, ever know where I'm going to sleep when I head into the Puyallup area. I just bring clothes and figure it'll all work out. Hasn't failed me yet.

After the concert, we headed to Cattin's for a late-night breakfast. If you live in Puyallup, you know exactly where I'm talking about. I had a huge waffle topped with strawberries and whipped cream which, I'm sure, looked like the manliest meal of all time. Whatever, I am what I am. Anyway, got about halfway through it before I had to tap out. Part of me misses the old days when I would've killed one of those with little resistance and zero guilt. Ah, the perks of getting older.

It's tough to strike against a company when they employ several of my friends and two of my siblings. Dang you Starbucks for selling my favorite basketball team.

Was good to catch up with Jordan Madison. I didn't get to see him last time I was there so it was cool to say hi. He gave me a great picture of me and bunch of friends as a going-away present that hangs on my wall to this day.

Went out to Tacoma for my usual Guitar Center visit and family visit. I don't know if it was, is or ever has been taboo for a guy to say openly that he loves his Dad but if it is, I don't much care. I love my Dad and I enjoy the time that I get to see him even if it is brief.

Hit the mall, grabbed a 4 dollar shirt. Jen Ingham will be in NO WAY surprised at this. Neither will anyone that knows me. I can find any clearance rack within a 5 mile radius blind-folded.

In another life where I had more free-time and lived very close to Puyallup, I'd probably dedicate a lot of my time to begging Derek Konzelman to be in a band with me. Just a good, musical player.

How in the world did I not see Drew Westerfield this weekend?

The Husky Men are in the NCAA tournament and that makes me very happy. I'm a pretty big Seattle sports fan in general and it's been a tough last 12 months. This helps.

I like bouncy, fun pop-rock. "A Rocket To The Moon - Greetings from...." if you feel the same way.

Watching Dwight field everyone's congratulations after David Wallace thought that the ticket thing was his idea was spectacular. "Thank you, old man".

I bought a domain name for this blog. Not sure if that's dorky or not but hey, I've definitely spent 10 bucks on WAY dumber things.

Bryan Reynolds and Daniel Collins are looking extremely "in shape" these days. Good job, gentlemen.

I have yet to make it all the way through the new U2 album but am psyched nonetheless.

I'm also amped for Coldplay at The Gorge about 20 rows back.

Alright, I'm gonna wrap this one up. I'm sure I'll have more in a couple days. As always, love God, love each other. I love you all.

On a slightly related note, just wanted to say hi to a buddy of mine, Adam Barringer. He's been kinda my partner on a lot of different church-related projects for a lot of years and he's probably the one that I spent the most volunteer hours with during my Calvary tenure. Just wanted to say that I love ya, buddy, and I can't wait to see ya. You're one of my best friends and will continue to be for as long as I've got breath. Take care, see you very soon.