THANKS MICHIGAN WEATHER. No really, I'm not being sarcastic...

On my walk home today, some kid yelled something at me through his screen door, but I couldn't make it out. "What did you say??" I shouted back at him, missing his comment the first time. "I said.. You better run dude, you're going to drown." See, what he didn't know was that I had already been running about five blocks back, but gave up quickly after becoming completely drenched to the bone in about a minute's time. I was slipping around in my flip flops as I trudged on through the pouring rain to my house. When I left this morning, I had sweat dripping off my forehead and could hardly keep my eyes open in the glare of the sun. It was turning out to look like another nice day in Holland, a perfect day for a walk downtown. However, it was unusually humid and sticky, a classic sign of a mid-west storm brewing. I should have seen it coming. It's not the first time Michigan weather has snuck up on me, and I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever learn my lesson. When I left Lemonjellos to head home, the wind picked up and the sky turned an uncomfortable color. My world was getting darker by the second, as if dusk was creeping in somehow. The trees seemed to panic and thrash in torment as the wind ripped through the leaves. I began to hear sirens and it only took a few large drops to realize the chaos was ready to begin its duties. I stood in an inch of water on my back porch while I watched the lightning come down from the sky all around me. I thought about lying out on the hammock in the rain to watch the storm, being that I was already soaked. And then I thought again. The trees looked like they were fighting for all they're worth just to keep from blowing over in the storm. And I couldn't afford to get squashed by an enormous tree trunk, I've got an exciting weekend coming up.

On Sunday we had a battle of the bands competition in Muskegon Michigan. Needless to say, we rocked some serious face and got 1st place in the event. The winners get to share a spot on the mainstage this Saturday, and we'll be opening for one of my favorite bands of all time. Switchfoot. I remember watching them when I was in 7th grade at this middle school ski retreat at Mount Hoodoo. My buddy Jordan and I thought to ourselves, "Man, that must be so cool.. If only I was in a band like Switchfoot.." Later that day, I remember sharing the excitement with Jordan as we watched one of the dudes from the band make his way to our lift line and ask if there was room for him to ride up with us. If there wasn't room, we would have made room. We were sitting and talking with a real-life rockstar and there was no where for him to escape until we got off at the top. This was it. Our chance to tell him about our own band. Well, we didn't actually have a band yet.. and Jordan hadn't actually gotten that electric guitar from his parents quite yet.. But I'm sure we impressed our rocker friend by sharing all about our future-nameless rock group based out of Salem Oregon. It was just another moment that fanned the flame of passion I've got burning deep inside to live out my dream of becoming a successful musician. It's in my blood, it's in my soul. We'll see what happens next! Is that sun I see peeking through the shades?