What’s something you’ve always wanted to do?

This list was created by asking each new person I’ve met this year what’s something you’ve always wanted to do?

I want to know, what’s something you’ve always wanted to do? Maybe its something on this list? Let’s experience it together!

Escape room
Archery tag
Ride a Bobsled
Learn about Wine by taking a class
Taking a Bartender class
Hashing = scavenger/run
Hogans alley
Get in a fight/ Boxing classes
Learn how to fight with a sword
Go to the ballet
Build a Rube Goldberg machine
Watch 30 epic movies I've never seen in 30 days
Trapeze class
Go scuba diving - conquer my fears
Shoot a mini gun
Build a downhill hill derby soapbox racer
Rappel down a waterfall
Visit a ghost town
Stay the night in a haunted house
Volunteer at children's hospital
Ride a snowmobile
Swim with dolphins
Learn how to weld
Go on a cruise
Learn to sail
Learn to play the piano
Audition for a reality show
Learn how to Ski
Compete in an eating challenge
Write a script
Bungee jump
Shark cage
Go to Disney world
Get my motorcycle endorsement
Go Rock climbing
Rebuild a car
Get paid for playing music
Ride water propelled jetpack
Try yoga
Complete a scavenger hunt
Ride a bike to work
Pickup a hitchhiker
Ride in a hot air balloon
White water rafting
Go to a hip hop show
Go to a country concert
Get a tattoo
Throw an EPIC party
Climb a mountain
Crash a wedding
Dirtfish rally car school
Start a YouTube channel
Voice acting audition - follow my dreams
Zoorb
Dune buggies
Go fishing
Go hunting
Take helicopter lessons
Take flying lessons
Competitive cosplay
Brew beer
Poker tournament
Go to Vegas single
Skydiving
Run a 5k race
Sell Something on eBay

#15 Try a Sensory Deprivation Tank

I have to get this one on the page while it's still fresh in my mind. I just wrapped up trying a sensory deprivation tank for the first time. Out of all of my 30 for 30 I've enjoyed most of my experiences. Not this one; I've never tried any type of drug (alcohol excluded) or have I ever cared to. I think this is probably the closest I'll ever get to a drug trip. Now, I'm not saying this was a bad time or that I regret doing it. This thing opened my mind to a place I didn't expect. 

For those of you that don't know, a sensory deprivation tank is the ice box looking thing behind me in the picture. It's filled with about 8" of salt water that's heated to the body's temperature. The air inside is also regulated to body temperature to give you a feeling of weightlessness. Everything is pitch black inside; like can't see your hand in front of your face dark. This is all to give you a relaxing experience and leave you alone with your own thoughts. 

Not a great idea for me. Although this is always something I've wanted to do and would try it a second time if someone really wanted to go. I wouldn't really recommend it, not unless you have a strong sense of yourself and what you're limitations are. Luckily I had my little brother try this out with me and he had a completely different experience. 

From the moment I laid down in that water I was a little skeptic. I chose to go in the buff to get the full experience to try and avoid any distractions. I really thought I'd just spend an hour worrying about work and stupid things beyond my control. Boy was I wrong. The first thing that happened as soon as I was relaxed enough to shut my mind off I saw images of screaming faces. A small purple swirling blob which morphed into faces and at one point Batman's cowl. It didn't really scare me but more or less just kind of made me think of how F'd up are my thoughts going to be if this is the first thing right off the bat. I don't have any trouble sleeping at night and it's pretty easy for me to shut my mind off when I need to. Being naked in this tube I had small bubbles roll off me which distracted me enough to pull me out of those images. 

Not long after that I saw green circles and had started to wander making some connection to an odd moment in my childhood that overwhelmed me with a feeling of guilt. All of a sudden I remembered accepting $20 in advance for a car I was supposed to wash when I was 10. I never did wash that car and have always felt bad about it. Fast forward to my teenage years when I was supposed to build a rockery in exchange for a new bed..which I still sleep on every night. I never built that rockery. Link that to me being 25 and buying my first home. The lady that spent hours with me, interviewing, processing and going to work for me to secure my loan. Which I switched last minute to use a different lender. She wrote me a letter telling me how I stole food out of her child's mouth and that it was one of the most insulting things a person has ever done to her. Connect that to every girl I've ever gone out with and never called back. For no reason or another that we just didn't connect and then complaining when the same thing has happened to me. Overwhelming guilt, for letting some of my best friends in the world become strangers. Or broken promises of visiting aunties I haven't seen in years. I bumped the side of the tank and snapped out of my guilt trip. 

Line of pink with blue lightning lingering down into a blue cats cradle of strings. Strings that touched all over the universe. All of the connections I've ever made. All of the connections I may have missed. Where were these people? Have I done them wrong? Have we even met yet? Then blackness,  a darker level of black taking me into a higher level of consciousness. I was able to hear my subconscious. Able to answer myself with an amount of clarity only your soul could see. 

Am I doing the right thing? Yes..You're exactly where you're supposed to be. Is my career choice the correct one? Yes..You're exactly where you're supposed to be. Am I doing enough for others in my life? Yes..you help more then you realize. What about love? Where is she? Where's the woman I'm supposed to end up with? .....Look, look, look, look....look, look, look, look, look. 

A slight illumination of orange from the right corner of the tank. The more I look the more it fades. My body feels like its moved 90 degrees from its starting point. I must be near the corner better stretch out to make sure. My arms extend all the way out. Nowhere near a wall, nowhere near a corner. I practice my skydiving X shape. No extremities touch but I feel them. Feel my feet twitch like they're ready to move. Feel my fingers tingle like they're close to a wall. Another illumination of red out of the left side of the tank. I pull my left arm out of the water and can see it moving in a haze. 

A calm of white puts me under again. Where am I? Can I communicate with the dead? I call out to the two most important people I've lost. But nothing..just an old recording of my Aunt on repeat saying coookie. Which is what she used to call the cat. What else can I ask myself? I ask if I need a faster car? Do I need a faster car? Do I...need a faster car? Do I need a faster car? Do I...need a faster car? Do I need a faster car? Do I...need a faster car? No answer there. It's about this time where I'm feeling like I've been in this thing long enough. I've had to ask myself if my eyes are open or closed at least half a dozen times. Blinking to answer myself. 

Just like Inception there's supposed to be a music cue letting you know your time is almost up. I hear a woman's heels clicking. Click clack click clack click clack and pull my head out of the water. There's soothing music and it's time for me to sit up and make my way out. I shower off and get dressed. Then meet my brother outside. I tell him a few things and he practically spit takes the water he was drinking. His mind was empty, his room was blank..no colors, no guilt just a hot bathtub full of water. 

Things I learned today:

Very seldom do expectations meet reality 

A level of meditation and clarity are not always a good thing 

Be aware of one's self and self interest 

Communicate today and speak your mind as tomorrow is not guaranteed 

Make time to relax, let go and breathe

#14 Go Indoor Skydiving

Today I went to ifly in Southcenter to tryout indoor skydiving. Ever since this place opened I've wanted to try it out. But never had any real reason besides curiosity. When the opportunity presented itself I jumped on it. Like most extreme sports or experiences I've found that you're paying for the story or the opportunity to try something new. You're certainly not paying for the time spent doing them because they don't last very long. All said and done I spent 120 seconds flying. Two one minute rounds. I'm not complaining because it is something I'll remember forever and if anything it's only given me the taste for real skydiving.

At first I was a little bummed out that you have a spotter in there with you. But I've been through enough safety courses to be able to appreciate what they're doing. First you have about a 15 minute course to learn their basic hand signals and the position you have to be in to have the most control and therefore fun. Our teacher was very spritely, I mean this girl was full of energy and practically dancing around the place. It's not hard to see why, that seems like it would be a fun job. Flying around everyday and dealing with mostly happy people trying a potential new hobby. How could you not smile and bounce around giddy with life.

There were 4 basic hand signs to remember as well as 2 body positions. A finger making the number 1 sign means to keep your head up. Make the number 2 sign and it means spread your legs apart further. Number 2 bent down like a claw meant to bend your knees more. Finally the hang loose sign meant to relax. The most important thing to remember was to keep your body in an X shape with your hips arched. Then hold your hands about eye level. This allowed you to raise or lower your height.  

Heading up to the doorway to that tube I had little fear aside from forgetting everything I had just learned. I watched probably 7 people go before me so I wasn't afraid of coming off any worse than the others. I was more worried about throwing up in that thing. That pretty much would have been my worst nightmare if that had happened. I stepped up in the form of my X shape and dropped in. Instantly I was lifted up about 3 feet from the grating below. Any slight adjustment I made with my arms or hands was a huge shift while in the air. My spotter Sophie made sure I didn't go crashing into the walls. I kept trying to keep all of my lessons in play while floating around for my first minute. Then before I knew it it was over and I had to head back to the entryway. I'm not even sure I took a breath while in there. Trying to remember to breathe was amongst the last things I was thinking of.

The second go around I paid extra for them to spin me around and turn the fans on full blast to the ceiling. For round two I'm pretty sure I forgot to breathe the whole time I was in there. I did a lot better with remembering the appropriate form and didn't go into the walls as much. At about the 40 second mark this really tall guy Peder comes into the tube and grabs a leg and an arm. Taking control and getting a good spin on me they turn the fans on full blast and spend us about 20 feet higher. Fans cut and we go falling back down just inches away from the grating below. Then back up to the ceiling all while spinning in a circle. This was probably the best part of the whole experience. It felt more like a ride at this point rather than me feeling like I'm fumbling around trying to maintain control.

Once the whole group had finished their turns it was Sophie's turn to show off. I have no doubt this is to sell more lessons and show people what you can do if you stick with it. Her display was rad; no joke, she moved like Spider-man! Had the same arches and form flying up, down and all around this tube of air. At one point she was upside down moving in a full circle around the thing only moving her fingers and hands slightly. It was incredible to see what those professionals can do. Afterword, Sophie told me that I had great form and was one of the best in the class. It was nice to have that reassurance that I was actually doing it right. Overall, this was a fun time but I think I'm ready to jump out of that plane with the big boys and girls.


Things I learned today

Pay for the experience not the time spent during and you won't be disappointed

Pay extra for the picture package: internet logic states pics or it didn't happen

No one gets anything right the first time they do it

Skydiving isn't really flying, it's just falling...with style

Life's not about the breaths you take but the breathtaking moments

#13 Go to a Big Time College Football Game

I sometimes wonder if I missed out by skipping college. I've always lived my life bound and determined to be a self made man. Proving to myself that I could make it through this life without higher education. I'm happy to say that I've reached most of those goals at this stage in my life and can appropriately say I've lived my life mostly regret free. I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and my lack of a college experience has helped mold me into the person I am today. 

I know for a fact that I'm a fairly different person than who I was at 18, 20 or 22. The new experiences I've enjoyed at 30 I would have hated at that age. I'm more open, friendly and comfortable in my own skin now. 

For this adventure my buddy Chris and I traveled to Louisiana to hit up a big time SEC game. One of the things I like to ask new people I meet (or old friends for that matter) is "what's something they've always wanted to do?" This whole opportunity presented itself when I asked Chris that question a couple months back when we were at the Foo Fighters concert. Unlike most everyone I ask who answer travel abroad or skydiving Chris had something unique that he wanted to do. He'd always wanted to attend a college football game in the south. From the moment he told me I was in. Goals like this fit my 30 for 30 perfectly and I wanted to help my friend reach his. I'm not a big college ball fan or huge sports guy in general but this was an adventure with a bunch of things I've never done before. 

For starters I've never been to the South and really only as far east as Las Vegas a half a dozen times. Nor did I ever think I'd be in Louisiana for anything but Mardi Gras. Little did I know, I had a whole different type of party to go to. Now this was pretty much a pack everything we can into a weekend trip. But center it around LSU, the football game, the tailgate and the experience. Friday was pretty much a bust losing almost a day to the time change, layovers and traveling 2,500 miles. By the time we got in, it had been 12 hours of traveling and we were pretty spent. First on the agenda; establish base camp and dump our bags off. We jumped in a cab....which by the way can I just say how F'ing dumb, expensive and gross cabs are? Our cab driver was a typical say nothing crabby asshat that got us to our hotel in an overpriced crappy crown vic. Once we got settled we had to take a moment to get a feel for all the things going on over in France. Which is kind of a scary moment when you're out traveling on the road with no definitive way to get home. What other things might happen over the weekend? What if they grounded all aircraft? What if something happened stateside and they declared marshall law while you're in another state? Those are some creepy thoughts to have running through your mind. But we pushed them aside to go get our adventure started. Chris made friends with another Chris on the airplane who told him about a couple big LSU bars that we needed to hit.

First up was Walk Ons, ESPN's #1 rated bar in all the country. We Uber'd over which made a mountain of difference. Our Uber drivers all weekend were awesome, friendly and would give us really cool pointers and tips about were to go and more or less where not to go. All of them were great people with nice clean cars and even the most expensive ride was still half the price of our shitty cab ride. We got dropped off at Walk Ons and well..walked in. The place kinda had a whole Red Robin meets Hooters vibe to it. All of the waitresses were dressed in tight cheerleader outfits and the place was bright with tons of TV's playing a bunch of different sportsball games. The place was pretty busy and after a while trying to order a beer we managed to find a couple spots at the bar. I wasn't really sure of what to expect next but the place felt like an ordinary sports bar to me. I did end up making friends with one guy named Chester who instantly provided that southern hospitality and overall friendliness that people had mentioned. I wish I could convey his accent over a blog. It was awesome, the way I saw it, there was about 3 levels of southern accents and this fella hit a high 3. He invited us to his tailgate telling me he'd get us off to a good start. 

We pretty much hung out at the bar and ate dinner there. I had to go for the alligator. This was easily on my top ten best things I've ever eaten list. Maybe it was just how it was prepared, blackened and seasoned. But this was so delicious. You know how lobster is kind of like shrimp if shrimp were a steak? Well alligator taste like chicken if chicken were a steak. I was really amazed at how fantastic it was. The only other southern food we tried was Boudin Balls. These were also very tasty. Spiced pork balled up with rice and red beans then battered and fried to hold together. After some great local beers we pretty much called it a night as we had a big day ahead of us.

The next morning we walked alongside the freeway to get to a waffle house on the side of the interstate. It was a perfect little greasy spoon diner that had good breakfast choices. I got a peanut butter waffle & your standard breakfast staples. I had to go for grits being in the south and all. Have to say though. My dad makes grits waaay better. I thought it was a little funny seeing some of the signs they had hanging up on the walls. No shoes No shirt absolutely no service and no profanity of any kind will be tolerated. Definitely lets you realize you're in a different culture when they have signs like that posted. 

After breakfast we got a really nice BMW M3 uber. This driver was really cool too! He ended up giving us some really good pointers about where to get some good LSU gear. He told us that we need to hit up a place called Tigerland after the game and which where the best bars to hang out at. He ended up dropping us off at the sports shop and we both grabbed some pretty cool LSU shirts. It just helps to fit in if you're flying the right flag. If you've ever been to any tailgate you'll know there's a definite almost gang like mentality if you're wearing the wrong colors. I guess we fit in pretty well because we ended up having someone from the away team (Razorbacks) ask us where a good place to sit down and have a drink would be. We both kinda laughed, telling the guy "you couldn't have picked the two worst people to ask; we're from Seattle!"

Before heading into the next big LSU Tiger bar (The Chimes) we decided to go walk the campus and get a lay of the land. These people don't mess around when it comes to their football or tailgating for that matter. Rows and rows of tents each with their own flatscreen TV's and generators. Speakers and lawn games  the smell of BBQ around every corner. These people go big. This is like a religion down here. People pretty much camped overnight to get their spots for the tailgate. We walked and walked doing a full loop around the campus until found our way back to The Chimes. However we still weren't quite ready to go in there and decided to try to find Mike the Tiger's cage. LSU has a real Tiger that they keep in a 15,000 sf habitat. We wandered around long enough and with sparse directions from people that we ended up finding it. Alas, there was no tiger in the pen which was a total bust. I was a little bummed out and was looking forward to seeing a big cat once I had heard they had a tiger. We trudged back to The Chimes and walked into a bar that was so packed it was standing room only. Managed to make it through the crowd to be able to get a beer. More hot bartenders, one of which was in a tight little tiger costume with ears, tail and everything. I picked a triple hop IPA which was a poor choice for the first beer of the day. I like a good hoppy beer, but this was hard to swallow. We made a couple of loops through the bar to see if we find the other Chris who invited us to his tailgate. He had mentioned that he'd be there for a little while. But instead we got stuck watching a couple football games on TV and my uncomfortable and awkward level rose substantially. I started to get too deep into my own thoughts and instead of just enjoying the ride I was becoming paranoid about the crowd. There were so many people I just couldn't get comfortable. I didn't like this anymore, I was getting anxious and worked up over nothing and started to shut down. Told Chris that we need to get out of this place and I needed some air. Once we got back onto the street I felt much better. But still didn't have my game face on and needed an energy drink to bring myself back up to a more friendly and sociable demeanor. 

We got a text from Chris and managed to make our way over to his tailgate. We were met with arms wide open by four really cool guys in their 40's. Chris, Garret, Scott & Alan. These guys were instantly friendly with us and invited us to help ourselves to their cooler and taught us how to play washers. Washers is basically another version of corn hole except with a flat box, heavy metal washers and three holes with higher points for the further the distance. We played a couple of rounds with our new friends and started to gain an audience. It's a tough game that Chris and I were only able to score about 6 points at the most. We ended up meeting another group of guys doing the same thing we were doing except they were from New York and had a group of 10 dudes. This was their fourth year going down to a SEC game. I have to say that's a pretty cool tradition to get going and it's hard enough putting something together for a couple of guys let alone 10! After a few more drinks the guys invited us to partake in their BBQ as well and wouldn't accept no for an answer. There was so much good stuff I don't even remember what I ate but the brisket was mouth watering delicious. In the middle of us grabbing a bite a police motorcade came though the street. Followed by two tour buses with all the players on them. Not long after came the marching band. Hundreds of brass instruments & drummers followed after the buses walking along the street. We chased them down the street to be able to catch their performance and managed to make it to an opening to see the whole thing go down. It was great! It's been many years since I've seen a marching band parade and it's really great to see how passionate the fans are. This literally reminded me of the Seahawks Super Bowl celebration parade where people just poured into the street following the back end of the procession.

After the parade headed into the stadium we marched back up to our friendly tailgate. I ended up meeting a lovely young lady named Rachel who was equally as friendly as everyone else we've met throughout the day. The guys started to give me a bunch of grief to make sure I got her number before she disappeared into the game. I did, but that was really the end of that whole interaction as it was the wrong number. Who knows if it was intentional or if she accidentally typed a digit incorrectly into my phone. She was super cute, but the same age as my younger brother and 2,500 miles away. Not much you can do to improve those situations. After gathering up a few things we headed down to the stadium with the guys and soon found out that we were sitting in the visitors seats. We thanked our new friends for the hospitality and parted ways.

This stadium was enormous! I guess you really have to be to hold 100 thousand people! The vibe and feel; even some of the architecture reminded me of the Colosseum in Rome. There was a sea of purple and yellow with hardly a bare spot in the house. This was it, the moment our trip had culminated to. The big SEC game to cap off this whole experience. Now, I'm not a huge sports fan..and honestly could care less about college football. But the amount of passion, love and attention this sport brings to people. That's something I can rally behind. These people love their football. The moment for me wasn't really seeing the game itself but it was seeing the people care about their team. What caught me off guard was how good they were to one another. For a group of 100 thousand and from at least what I noticed there was nobody getting rowdy. No one belligerent, no drunken buffoonery, really just sweet caring people enjoying their sport. Wish I could say the same for our fans back home. I've never experienced that passion. People say the 12's are a passionate fanbase, which is as true as you can be for a bunch of bandwagoning transplants. But Baton Rouge has us beat when it comes to respectable. Maybe it's because the stadium didn't serve alcohol? Or maybe it really just is the difference in culture. Either way it was refreshing to see. As for the game itself, the Tigers ended up losing. Maybe that had something to do with everyones demeanor. It was a good game although not a close one and probably one that they should have had especially at a home game.  

Once the game was over we made our trek to this fabled Tigerland. I'm not sure how we got there. No real directions just basically following a herd of college kids. It was kinda like the road to Oz. There was only one way to go. We met a couple of girls on the road. They said that they were heading home and not traveling onto Tigerland. From this point on they became known as Caitlin and her cute drunk friend. I had no idea what to expect from Tigerland. The group of guys we hung out with most of the day had never heard of it before. I guess for good reason too. By the we got there it was all too apparent that we were past our expiration date. This place was for kids..immature stupid college kids. All four of the bars had huge tents expanding out into the parking lot and were playing crappy music with obnoxious DJ's doing their thing. Each bar had a cash only cover that we were too smart to fall for. At this point we were too sober to enjoy anything around. Stupid kids having ridiculous drunk conversations. Young girls being caddy talking about their roommates behind their backs. Nothing about this Mcdonalds ball pit of bars was appealing. The night still being young we figured we'd hike back to Walk Ons where at least we knew we'd have a good time. Instead of calling an Uber Chris got a text from Caitlin and her drunk friend. They were at one of the bars in Tigerland looking for us. Chris convinced them to meet up and give us a ride to Walk Ons. We hung out there for a while getting Caitlin's whole mess of a story. She was basically in town checking out the place as a new prospect to move to with her 2 year old son. I guess her baby daddy cheated on her with a stripper and ended up having another kid with the stripper. Really didn't get much more out of her drunk friend except I need to puke faces. Actually never even got her name. After the girls left we stayed a little longer then called it a night. I can't help but imagine it would have been a much different night and story if Rachel gave me the right number. Ah well, its the story we ended up with.

The next day was also our last day in town so we tried to do a bit of sight seeing as well so we grabbed an Uber and went downtown looking for a breakfast spot. Our driver dropped us off in the heart of downtown and it was like a ghost town. Nobody around for blocks, nothing open and it was eerily still. The occasional car would pass by but this felt like the apocalypse. Silent, still and dead to the world. We wandered around trying to find anyplace that was open for breakfast. Deli after closed deli. Spaces and signs for a farmers market that didn't exist. Restaurants and diners all shut down and closed up tight. Nothing going on, no breathing, no activity. One guy road by on an old beach cruiser bicycle which he could have made it a really creepy scenario if he wanted to. We walked a few blocks  towards the Mississippi River and wandered down a random street that had cars on it and seemed more inhabited then the rest of downtown. Stumbling onto a sorta fancy hotel, figuring they'd have a concierge that could point us in a direction of some breakfast. We head in and they reveal that they have a breakfast buffet. Without a person in there?! There were maybe two other tables of people in a restaurant that probably sat 200. All fantastic food with a full omelette station to boot. 

After eating at our abandoned hotel reminiscent of the Shining. We made our way down to the River making it all this way you've got to at least see one of the biggest rivers in the the country. It was pretty cool; surreal. You hear all kinds of stories like Huck Finn when you're a kid and imagine these types of places in your head. It's kind of neat to actually be there and see it with your own eyes. Taking a moment to just let it all sink in and enjoy a peaceful moment of mediation. 

The next stop was anything in a distance to our eyes. Which just so happened to be the old city hall. According to our Uber driver, Mark Twain called it the ugliest building in America. I disagree, this was an amazing old building that looked like a castle. It now served as a museum for political history and was closed, as was the trend for downtown that day. Wandering around the rest of downtown we saw their art museum and some cool old architecture which had that Bourbon Street vibe to it. We walked and walked until we settled in the one area that actually had people. A bustling little town square with huge TV monitors playing the Saints game. Football...yup, that's what brings people together. Some people have church, some have politics....but everyone has football. 

What I learned today 

Pay the extra money to avoid layovers...it's easy to put a price on your trip before you get there

The South is full of a bunch of loving people that are as far away from the Seattle chill as you can get

Uber is by far the safest and best way to get around in a new city 

College bars are for college kids for a reason 

Football is America's game 

#12 Learn how to ride a horse

This has been a really cool experience. For the past couple of weeks I've been taking horseback riding lessons. This isn't any petting zoo pony ride but legitimate, cowboy, learning how to handle, ride and saddle a horse from the ground up lessons. This 30 for 30 reached all my goals. I got to learn a new skill, it was exciting and pushed my comfort zone. Maintaining a 1,200 pound somewhat unpredictable animal is a thrill ride.

When I first showed up I was caught off guard. There was no one to greet me except the smell of fresh barn. Half a dozen horses making scary horse noises snuffing and neighing.  I walk through the dimly lit barn to meet the trainer on the other side in the ring. She was showing a couple of little girls how to carefully ride around in a circle.  This is halfway what I was really expecting. A boring little pony ride. Boy was I wrong; the trainer Jan pulled out my huge quarter horse Jake and handed me a brush. She explained to me that this is the best way to get familiar with him and to form a bond. Start with brushing him and make sure to keep a hand on him at all times so he knows where you're at. The only way you're going to get kicked is if there is another horse behind him otherwise they don't intentionally kick people.

After brushing him she taught me how to clean his hooves out. What?!? I have to pick his feet clean? My polo-wearing desk jockey ass had no idea I'd be elbow deep in horse poo. They're heavy too, I had to prop this big guy's gam up on my knee in a really awkward position that kills your back, to pick shit out of his hooves. I was happy to do it though, all I could think was that this is the real deal. Next I got to saddle him up learning where to keep the bridal and how to put the reigns in his mouth in between his teeth. Jan showed me the proper way to lead him into the ring as you have to keep in front of them so they don't step on your feet. How to climb up on the saddle and sit on it properly to give you the most control. Once up on Jake I felt like I was twelve feet high but he was a good horse and was a pretty easy ride. That first lesson was pretty mellow and we kept him at a walk just getting the basic controls and commands down. It's interesting because a horses eye's are on the side of their head so in order to direct them you need to be looking in the direction you want them to go.

With my second lesson I got to take Jake outside. I also got to learn how to bring him to a trot. This was a lot more bumpy and if I didn't hit it right he'd blast me pretty good. During this lesson I also got to learn how to reverse him as well. When you reverse a horse its pretty much just a giant U turn. Make sure nobody is behind you and pull your arm out in the direction you want the horse to go. I got to take him out and do a few reversals and then do it with increasing speed. Keep in mind we're outside and in the middle of deep Renton about dusk. On my third or fourth reversal something caught Jake's eye and spooked him. He took off running and wouldn't listen to me. All I could do is hold on and balance the best I could. His episode only lasted about 5 seconds but that's all it took to practically buck me off. Fortunately, I have a pretty decent natural balance and maintained the shake off. Even so it was enough to make me realize that this is an animal and I only have so much control over it.

Third lesson was even more loose. Jan started me off by telling me a horror story about her neighbor who's been riding for 42 years just lost her hand over the summer. She had it caught in a knot and the horse wasn't tied down. It took off running and drug her with it until her hand ripped off. She's always  pretty good at instilling a little fear in you to make you realize that things can go sideways in an instant and if you're not paying attention you can get seriously hurt or killed. Before I climbed up on Jake she told me another story about a young girl.  She was a professional rider that got bucked off her horse while wearing a hoodie which then acted like a noose. She was drug around her horse unconscious until she detached and her mom performed CPR. Jan also really likes making "well I haven't killed you yet" jokes. I don't know if Jake just could feel it or if he just wasn't in the mood but I had no control over him this lesson. It didn't help that today's lesson was going from a walk to gallop. Putting a horse at top speed while having no control over it is a pretty uneasy situation. He kept going to the other horses pens and having horsey fights too. Then he wouldn't listen to me or stay on track either.  By the end of the lesson he'd almost bucked me off again and I was about done. As soon as he calmed down I jumped off and called it a night for horseback lessons. Jan admitted that he hadn't been ridden in 5 days and was a little worked up. She showed me how she runs them on a lead to tire them out a bit before hand. I watched this massive horse rip around the track at 20 mph kicking dirt up 10 feet in the air. All I could think was why didn't you do this before I rode him? Anyways, I've got one lesson left and I'm honestly feeling a little bit chicken about it. I feel like I've scraped away pretty lucky the last couple times and would hate to press my luck one last time.

Overall, I'm really happy I tried this and would go back maybe after a little more time has past. But for now I've gotten my horseback riding fill. I'd recommend Pony Tail Ranch for anyone considering lessons or a new life experience.


Things I learned today:

Just like a vehicle you need to respect something that outweighs and overpowers you.

The triangle shape within a horse's hoof is called a frog.

Horses need to be led and directed by looking in the direction you want them to go.

Things can go wrong in an instant, it's all about how you react to them.

How to saddle a horse.

#11 Get a Massage

I've never had a massage before and like most of my experiences it was fine for a one time thing. I'd do it again but wouldn't miss it if I never went back. The whole situation was a little awkward; as many of my 30 for 30 stories go. This one starts with me driving to a place right next to my work. I work in a very industrial part of town where there's just about nothing around. So, we're off to an interesting start going to this cold corporate complex next to the funky little overpriced deli I go to once in a while. 

I walk in and the place is empty. No receptionist, no clients, nobody. Granted I scheduled it after work and it was a quarter to five. Finally a guy comes out from out of a little dark office and introduces himself. I explain that I had a scheduled a session for tonight. "Oh yeah you're Vito, come on back. I enter the little dark office it has a massage table in it and inviting enough decor that looks like it came out of Pinterest. 

I explain to the guy that I've never had a massage and I don't know what I'm supposed to do. He tells me that he'll leave the room and that I get under the blanket on the table. Sure, easy enough..I take my shirt off but leave my jeans on. Have you ever slept in your bed while wearing jeans? Uncomfortable. A few minutes later he comes back in and asks if there are any spots that are hurting. I say no but go ahead and work on my back, neck and shoulders just keep your hands above the equator. I'm the type of person that lives with the world on my shoulders. Let's see if we can remedy that. I sit in an office all day and the back and neck made sense too. 

He lathers up his hands with something consistent with the olive oil I use for cooking. Then proceeds to work my back the same way I put said olive oil on a ribeye steak. Throw a little salt and pepper on me and I'd be good to hit the grill. As he worked up my back and into my shoulders he asked if I needed more or less pressure. I'm a tough guy, ok so sure lets go for more pressure. It felt like my skin was silly putty. Some spots pinched and others could handle the excess work but still today as I write this a little over 24 hours later my everything feels like, well, a bunch of sore muscles. I guess I really needed it because at one point I became so relaxed I swear I fell asleep practically drooling through that little hole my face was in. 

I didn't wake up or snap out of it until he told me to flip over. At that point he worked my neck, shoulders and the back of my head. Ouch, didn't know the skin on the back of your head could move like that. I was a little disappointed there wasn't any cracking involved. The massage was at a chiropractic center and I'm probably 30 years due for an adjustment. Maybe I'll go back to try my bones at little snap, crackle & pop.

Things I learned today:

If you walk into a place like you belong there you can get away with just about anything

You have skin on the back of your skull that can move

I carry a lot more tension then I need to in my life

It's just as important to find the time to relax as it is to work and accomplish goals

Let go of being embarrassed. Most people are too busy worrying about themselves to worry about what you're doing.  

#10 Go to a strip club

I'm not too proud of this one but I stand by my choice to go and wouldn't change it. I don't ever need to go back but at least I can say I went.

This day was a very long one with a morning full of disappointment and an evening full of bad decisions. I think the best way to get this off my chest is to just write it down and put it out there. Once you get the full story, my decisions...are at least I feel, are a lot more justified. I was hurt, I didn't want to admit it but I was feeling pretty stung and today felt as good a time as any.

For the past month I've been pursing this girl. From the moment we met I was intrigued and over the course of the month I was absolutely smitten. I'd never gone out with a girl like this before. Sweet, caring, innocent, a little naive, well balanced, stable with a good background and very similar values to my own. She was absolutely gorgeous, inside and out. The more I got to know her and the more time we spent together I really started to like her. Maybe I played it like too much of the nice guy. Flowers, handmade cards and carefully well thought out dates to impress her. But she always kept me at a distance and never showed that much interest now that I look back on it. I took it as she was just slightly aloof with a busy schedule and when there was time to fit me in I'd take it and make myself available. Chump work, but I'm a sucker for romance and this one felt right to me. I knew she wasn't ready for anything serious and I knew I'd have to take it slow. But the days would ache by and I wouldn't hear anything from her. All the signs pointed to her just not being that interested. So just when I'm about to write her off I get a text to go hiking and my excitement rises.

Days go by and we go on our hike. When we get to the top of the trail she totally Han Solo'd me.
I spill it out and explain that I really like her...Her response is "that's nice"
On the car ride back, I can't leave it alone. I need to be honest with my feelings and know now rather than later to avoid getting really hurt. Again I prod, "I know you're not ready for anything serious, but further down the line do you see it going that way?" She tells me "at this time it would be no"
It sucks, it stings, I thought she was different, that she could handle my nice guy nature. I know I can come on too strong but I'm an all in type of person and if I like you. You're going to know it..period
This is how assholes are created. Chop me down one too many times and what the fuck is left?  I'll probably write a good screenplay out of it which is one of my 30 for 30's so there's a plus.

I had the rest of the day to process it. Think it all over and over again and again. I felt good, I had closure which is something I usually never get with girls that drop me like a hot rock. Most of the time they just disappear without rhyme or reason. At least I had that...and it put me at a comfortable ease. The thing I ended up realizing and actually which hurt the most was that she didn't care at all. It wasn't that she didn't like me or that I had some terrible flaw or reason that she couldn't look past. It all came down to me being so insignificant to her that going out with me wasn't even on her radar. Probably not something she even thought about. A spec of dust, on a fly, a mile away. Her lowest priority..and that's what hurts. That's where the rest of the story comes in.

I felt comfortably numb the rest of the day. I surrounded myself with friends to try and avoid moping too much. Keep yourself busy and you won't have time to think about your problems. Another failed pursuit and another great glob of dating disaster stories for me to add to the list. I should collect all of my awkward dating stories...maybe make a blog about that too. Anyways, I'm skirting the story and trying to avoid writing about something I'm kind of ashamed of. I don't know why either. I didn't do anything wrong. But it does kind of change my perception of myself. Like all of a sudden I'm one of those creeper guys. Give it a little time and I'll snap out of it.

Trying to keep myself busy I accept an invitation to a buddy's friend's birthday party. Dust myself off, shower and get dressed up. My little brother had to give me some shit before I walked out the door. "Man, you're going out again already?!? You're like that beat up boxer with a bruised face going another 5 rounds." What's the worst that can happen? Let's go out and get a little shitty. I feel like shit why don't I just gloss over it with alcohol. We ended up at a pretty nice classy little microbrewery late for the party but earlier than everyone else. I met some new folks and bought a few rounds. It was an odd group of people. Friends of friends that didn't all fit the same molds. I ended up chatting with a few people at my end of the table. After a few beers my new friends invited me to hit up another bar around the corner. I wave to my buddy that I'll be back and take off with three strangers. Why not right? Let's make this night an adventure! We end up getting into their car and immediately they start joking about doing coke...what the Hell am I getting myself into? We go off somewhere I have no idea where and end up at some shit hole dive bar.

It's your classic dive bar..neon beer lights, old out of date sports posters, big bellied no teeth guys snugged up against the counter. A rough looking older bartender behind the counter pouring stiff drinks. My new cohort buys me a shot; uh oh another night of whiskey drinking. I chat it up with another one of my new friends as they start to bring over all their bar fly buddies. They're all taken in by my name as most drunk people are. "Vito, Vito, Vito, Vito ahhh like the Godfather! Vito Corleone" "Yes, yes something like that." Immediately I get that tough guy Italian stature despite me being being as soft as a kitten. I owe my new counterpart a shot for the one he bought me. I hand this guy a shot of whiskey and he seems smashed. Words are slurred, he's staggering and he drove us here. I have no idea how much time has passed, where I'm at or really who the Hell I'm with. He pours half his shot into my glass and I interrupt saying its about time to get me back because I left my tab open and the brewery is about to close. I get into the car with this drunk guy and he drives me back.

Good, familiar territory, bright lights my buddy waiting and working on his own buzz. Whiskey coursing through my veins I order another beer. I reconnect with the group and sit down on some comfy leather couches. We have a couple laughs and I end up spilling half my beer on my lap and shirt. At this point I don't really care. I'm lit up to the point where nothing really matters anymore.
One more drunk driver, public urination and public intoxication later we wind up at the strip club.

It's movie magic from the moment we walk in the door to sitting down near the stage. Everything I'd seen in the movies was pretty much how things were. Fat bouncer doorman ready to take a $20 cover from you. Neon lights and mirrors everywhere. Strippers all too eager to sit in your lap and try to coax money off you. I watch a few dancers do their thing but nothing too impressive. Seems like there was an A stage and B stage. Stage A had the pole dancers and stage B had well, the B dancers. A kinda big girl shaking and wobbling everything about. My buddy disappeared for a private dance and I had to make sure I got that side of the experience too. Finally a tall blonde came up to me and convinced me to go back with her. She said a lot of dirty things, and it was all fake. Lady, please, I'm in sales and whether you're selling sex appeal or heavy equipment parts I can spot when someone isn't genuine. Regardless, she did her job right because I probably spent way too much money there. As her whole song and dance came to an end she was feeding me a line of BS about how great a time she had and she really wanted to give me her number so I'd come back and see her again...I simply responded "that's nice."

We didn't stay much longer after that. The club had sucked us dry out of any extra money I was willing to spend. All the wonder and curiosity was now replaced by shame and guilt. I looked around at all the guys I now had to compare myself with. Taking my final glances around the place while walking out I caught the same blond pulling another victim into her web. Poor guy has no idea what he's getting into.




Things I learned today:

The prettier they are the harder you fall

I really need to slow down on my drinking

Fake interest, or real interest, women are masters of playing me like an instrument

Nice guys really do finish last

Time heals all wounds

#9 Take a salsa dancing lesson

Sorry folks no pictures this time but it was basically like the one above. After my unintentional month long hiatus from my 30 for 30 a salsa dancing lesson was a pretty difficult one to come back to. Not only was this an intimidating feat it also didn't play well to my natural abilities. To get a better idea of what I'm talking about there's an old family joke saying that I do Jack & Jumps not Jump & Jacks. I'm a terrible dancer and naturally overthink things. This made me nervous and it took a little liquid courage to jump in. 

Seattle never ceases to amaze me at what kind of random things are going on around the city. This week there just so happened to be a drop in beginners salsa dancing class in Capitol Hill. Seeing how I wasn't doing anything productive on a Thursday night at 9pm I figured I'd go check it out. This is another one of my things that I went at alone. Fighting the parking on Cap Hill I ended up arriving about 10 minutes late. I walked into a huge ballroom with about 30 people all partnered up and dancing together. In the center of them was a woman in yoga clothes with a headset giving instructions. 

I walked up to the in-house bar and ordered a shot of Jameson...at least I know I can do that right. 

Once I was properly lubricated I started to observe the couples. I noticed one asian guy dancing by himself and thought oh great now I'm gonna be like that guy because I didn't bring a date. But after about 60 seconds or so everyone would switch to their left and start with a new partner. I asked a couple of guys standing out on the sidelines what to do. They explained you just jump in the middle of the line and you'll have a partner. 

So I jumped in just as they were switching and started dancing with this kinda socially awkward girl. She didn't introduce herself and there's an odd amount of uncomfortable tension when you have to place your hands on a complete stranger. Keep in mind I'm about 10 minutes late into the lesson so they're at part 3 or so. I try my best to pickup steps 1 and 2 with no instructions. By the time I had figured out number 1 it was time to switch partners. This merry go round continued for another 5 or 6 steps until it was time to spin your partner. 

It felt just like speed dating. You get to meet a new woman every minute and everyone is different levels of comfortable. Some would introduce themselves and others would just get right down to dancing. I'd break the ice with a be gentle its my first time joke and many were receptive and helpful. It's funny how some people can teach really well and others make it so damn difficult. I would be dancing great with one woman and then the very next one I'd screw it all up again. Eventually it started clicking. I really had to focus on the music and then the movement came more natural. Then again, maybe it was the whiskey kicking in. 

I have to equate it to the same way I play music. Where I can play something by ear and keep pretty good timing. But if you give me sheet music and tell me to play using this and a 4/4 beat it all goes out the window. Once I stopped trying to count the pattern and instead just focused on the music it helped me keep my timing. Of course as soon as I was comfortable the lesson was over and here came the hard sell. This was just the $10 drop in class but the real thing was every week and if you act now you'll get $5 off the class! I didn't sign up for any additional classes but honestly the majority of the women were stunning and this seems like a great place to meet girls. That alone would make me give it another go. Stupid Capitol Hill parking & all.

Afterwards it was all freestyle dance and it seemed like attendance doubled. The dance floor was packed then suddenly there were a dozen tiny Hispanic men who owned the place. They were so good it didn't matter that they were 4 foot nothing. They commanded the attention and could dance with any woman in the house. I took a seat back at the bar and eventually met an older lady who was more patient with my two left feet. We danced to a couple songs then I called it a night. 

Things I learned today:

Feel it and don't overthink it 

Alcohol is a poor replacement for confidence

Dancing is similar to playing an instrument. 

Instead of a guitar you're using your body.

Beautiful women like to dance & this is were you meet them

Practice makes permanent 

September Update

First off I have to apologize to myself. I'm also sorry to anyone who's enjoyed these posts because I like to keep this fresh the best I can. Last month was exactly the opposite of what I set out to do this year. I let life overwhelm me and stifled any new experiences. Let the excuses fly and maybe they'll be a reminder of what to avoid the next time around. Everything has come together and each challenge has been accepted and competed. I'm ready to move forward again.

Excuse 1:
I let my job consume me, this was my first year being in charge of our physical inventory and we've been about three people short for roughly four months. I've never done this and had little to no idea of how to run it. It stressed me out for the first two weeks until it finally came and went.

Result - The count went pretty smooth, I had a couple of no shows but rolled with the punches and found enough people to provide coverage. We accomplished the whole count in one night; preventing us from coming in and working on Saturday. When the final numbers came in my group kicked ass. Shortages and error rates were lower then ever. Overall dollars in losses came in at an acceptable number beating our score from last year.

Excuse 2:
When I wasn't working I was scrambling to get my rental house prepped and ready. There were plenty of nights hauling piles of bark and doing maintenance things around the property. My weekends and a few more weeknights were spent doing showings. Frustratingly enough there were plenty of no show, tire kicking assholes. Usually these were during the weekend too which pissed me off.

Result - We ended up finding our new renters by the end of the month. Their check cleared and they had good references and rental history. They also appear to be down to earth people that want to be long term tenants.

Excuse 3:
Somehow in the mix of all this mess I managed to make time to date. I chased this girl around all month long. I spent a lot of my free time coming up with clever and thoughtful dates. Going full Mosby in some ways planning and putting together sweet little nothings. Overanalyzing every interaction together making myself stress out about trying to win over this girl. Battling with myself not to go charging into this but to take it slow. I'm too type A to take things slow, I'm always looking for the next level the next goal the next step.

Result - It didn't work out, but that's a post for another day

Excuse 4:
I didn't take all the shots that presented themselves. I did have a pretty cool 30 for 30 event planned. I was going to go paragliding off tiger mountain. On my way driving to my session I got a call saying that it was cancelled because of high winds.

Result - When they tried to reschedule I denied it in favor of watching the Seahawks game instead. We get 16 games per season and I should have just gone. Now I just have a shoulda coulda woulda story instead.

All in all its just regular old life BS that wrapped me up. I have to refocus and plan some things out. It's kinda like going on vacation. You'll never end up leaving if you don't buy the plane ticket.

#8 Play bubble soccer

Last week I played bubble soccer and I've had a hard time trying to blog about this experience. Maybe it was the dual fact that I was both trying something new but also doing something unfamiliar by playing on a team. Growing up I never was on any sort of team. I didn't play sports or care for debates and usually hated group projects as well.  I primarily stuck with solo hobbies like art, playing music alone or video games. I guess I never really had the confidence to try and when I did the fear of failing was too high to pursue anything like that. 

As an adult I'm more comfortable in my own skin. I know my limitations and can laugh at myself if I don't reach them. After all they're nothing but games right? I'd say I really started gaining that self worth through golfing. Now I'm a terrible golfer who's ecstatic just to make par. But I'm not going to let that slow me down. Half of that game is played in your head and being to confidently say I can make that shot. Or visualizing staying out of the trees and water. Then even though I hit into the sand, I know I can make it out in one swing. 

I drove way up north to play a drop in game of bubble soccer with a bunch of people I didn't know. The teams were a mix of both young and old male and female. I played with another stocky white guy, his girlfriend and a little asian girl. Against us we had an old lady probably in her late 60's and three pretty athletic tall guys. Being a heavier male actually was a benefit because I was harder to knock over and could bounce people on their heads with a little momentum. 

We armored up in our bubble ball suits ready to play. The suit slides over your head and has straps inside like a backpack. Once in your claustrophobic little shell you grab hold of to handles right next to your face. If that's not bad enough you can't really see out of them at all. It's like looking through 6 inches of saran wrap. To remedy that issue the ball is a bright neon orange. Each game lasts 3 - 4 minute rounds. Each team starts on their respective side and goes for it once the whistle is blown. The girls goal tended while I played defense and my chubby doppleganger went on the offense. I tried to knock over my opponents to clear a path to the tiny 3 foot goal. It was really hard to see, once you mix sweat into that ball it becomes a glossy mess. Also running and lugging that thing around wears you out pretty fast. I wish more workouts were this fun! I got blasted a few times doing full 180 degree rotations and landing on my head a couple times. Sounds dangerous but those suits are made to take impact and the only injury I could sorta feel was a tiny bit of whiplash. After our rounds we'd all slide out of the balls and play some dodgeball for a rest period. I honestly don't remember which team won or lost but had a great time playing. I think overall it could be a lot more fun with some close friends but none the less it was very enjoyable. 

Things I learned today:

Playing on a team isn't about your own faults or successes; you win as a team and lose as one

There are a lot of really fun ways to get exercise in without going to a gym

Groups of strangers can bond quickly over victories large and small

#7 Attend a 2 day music festival

Now I've been to a lot of concerts and I've been to a lot of festivals... I didn't realize it at the time but I never had been to a 2 day festival. It wasn't until after this weekend that I really started to think about it. Perhaps I was looking for a reason to share what an interesting experience I had. Overall it is my list and this weekend actually represents my 30 new things pretty well. Furthermore I also noticed that I've shared each of my new experiences with different people each time. This really makes me want to strive to stretch out to friends and others I've lost touch with. How cool would it be to share these memories with different people in my life?

Before I get into what an odd and spiritual awakening I had lets start with the basics. It all starts with an invitation to a concert. My Auntie Lis invited me to a two night concert in Walla Walla. Headlining was one of her favorite bands Mumford and Sons. The other headliner and the band that sealed my decision was my favorite band the Foo Fighters. At the time she asked there was a real possibility I could have been in Europe at the time of the show so I had to decline. It just so happened that those plans didn't turn out. Come five months later a little closer to the show and Europe plans dissolved my cousins couldn't make it either and had to sell their tickets. I got to be that lucky recipient. Well me and my old high school buddy Chris. 

The trip over was great and actually the longest road trip I've had all summer. But I got to spend some much needed family time during the trip. For those of you that know me best you'll know that my family comes first and foremost. So to spend some windshield time with my aunt and uncle was a really cool moment that I don't get the rest of the year. The drive was smooth and traffic free enjoying the beautiful scenery that eastern Washington has to off despite raging forest fires in every direction. By the time we actually made it to Walla Walla it was a joke to see that my phone had described the weather as "dust" not rain, sun, thunder or snow but....dust. 

Getting into town was another level all in itself. The whole town was on board. This concert was bringing in all kinds of outside money and influence. Walla Walla was ready for it with arms wide open. The Mexican place we went to for lunch literally had revised hours from 10am to "late" in a hand made sign. The rest of the town was right there with them. There were signs everywhere welcoming the bands and tourists. The Tour's symbol spray painted on sidewalks and streets. Emblems in all the shops windows. They even shut down all of downtown to be a part of the experience with school buses shuttling people to and from the concert.  

Not long after getting the lay of the land my buddy Chris showed up meeting us in our hotel room. We wound back up downtown, which pretty much became a theme and meeting place for most of the weekend. We found a public house bar to grab some drinks and caught up. Again, the bar was in full swing, ready for the influx waiting for the barrage of people. They captured us right in their claws switching over currency to tickets so drunk patrons wouldn't think twice about paying $5 for a 12oz beer or $10 for a basket of fries. I was ready for the night and open to the overpriced options.  

After grabbing a couple drinks and a bite we started making our way to the concert. It wasn't very hard to find as you'd see drones of people walking in one direction. I don't want to fall into that blind lemming category but they seemed to know which way the show was. Once you arrived at the football sized arena housing the show we all kind of griped at the fact that there really wasn't anyone checking wristbands that were soooo clearly part of the show. Apparently there were microchips in these things that were never scanned and hardly any effort into inspecting that they were actually on your wrist. But the interesting part of the whole ticket experience was that they gave you a keychain that they claimed was very important. Theories ran high wondering what it could be. Was there a chip in the keychain that got you backstage if your were so lucky? Was it a gimmick to steal your information so you get spam phone calls on your cell phone for the rest of your life? Or was it actually just a keychain with nothing too special about it?

Turns out that the keychain was just a regular memento to hang your livelihood from. But it's unique shape and tag was part of the plan. After hanging out for a while in the crowd I noticed a booth with the keychain symbol on it. Taking it to the booth we found out that it was part of an interactive experience that your trade for a business card. With said car you go around town collecting stamps...four red, four blue and four black. Once you have all twelve stamps you may trade them for a key. A key which opens one of the trunks in the booth...did I mention there were old treasure trunks within the booth? Each of which contained some kind of prize. For some reason that night they were done passing out cards so I didn't get to be a part of the scavenger hunt. Instead I got something more interesting and life changing. 

After a while hanging out in the crowd I knew I wanted to move closer to the stage. The Foo Fighters were the first nights headliners and the main reason I went. As you can see from the image I really didn't get that close. But that was okay; the show was amazing and oddly enough the crowd was incredible. I've never been to a concert before where everyone was just cool and there to hang out. Everyone respected each others space and there was breathing room despite there being somewhere between 10,000 and 35,000 people taking each other's airspace. The Foos went off without a hitch and it was a great rock n roll show. They tore it up through most of their classics before breaking off into a classic rock cover band set. after a little Tom Petty, Stones and Queen they finished the show with their greatest hits and even a few neat cameos. Pulling out Mumford's horn section for their New Orleans song In the clear. Dave and crew rocked the whole night despite his broken leg. The frontman spent the night rocking out on his Game of Thrones style rock throne. I've never seen a wheelchair as extravagant as that spectacle. A dozen rotating strobe lights and guitar necks busting out of the bottom. Despite being held up the entire show I don't thing Dave spent one moment being settled. His entire body moved so frantically with exception to his leg being in a cast and held up. the rest of the band really go their time to shine as well. Each getting a moment for a solo or unique introduction to the crowd. It wasn't the best show I've seen from them and even the setlist was pretty similar to the last show I saw. But the Foo Fighter's continue to bring it and embrace that rock n roll persona to the extreme. 

After the show Chris and I hit the town. Although our buddy Nat was also in town for the show for some reason it was damn near impossible to meet up with him. If not for the sheer distance from his campsite to where we were it was a matter of timing just not sinking up with him. We wandered around the whole blocked off town grabbing drinks and just being out and about. The deeper we went into town the more crowded it got. After grabbing some late night pizza we went in search of more beers. Two or three places were at capacity and pushed us into a neat empty place called the Green Spoon. At the back of the restaurant there was a bar loaded with tequila. I'm in no way a tequila drinker but we made friends with the bartender anyways. Friendly people, instant access to alcohol and a good atmosphere. 

After hanging out a while we ended up meeting the owner of the bar Katie. She started giving us drinks and chatting us up eventually admitting that this was the last weekend the bar/restaurant was going to be open. In the meantime she was working at the Wine Valley golf course and asked if we were golfers. Both admittedly being business golfers she invited us to a tee time 6 hours from this moment. We figured we'd better get walking back to our hotel when she offered us a ride home from her dad. What a cool person, how often do you meet someone so open and hospitable in a strange town not knowing a damn soul. 

We woke up about 5 hours later with a text asking if we were seriously golfing or just making drunk plans. After a shower and a quick continental breakfast Katie had come and picked us up to go slug out 9 holes. We met her bosses and she got us an amazing set of clubs each, then we were off. Ego's aside, golfing from the ladies tees we had a great time. The course was incredible and life became so fuzzy at one point I didn't even realize how we'd gotten here. How did this happen? Where the Hell are we and who is this girl that's being so amazingly cool to us? In my typical golfing fashion I didn't really keep score and blasted my way out of sand traps with one shot mostly. It was a really incredible way to start off a weekend connecting all of the dots in so many ways. I mean how often do you spend the night seeing your favorite band under the stars. Adventuring out with one of your oldest friends turning perspectives sideways. Then spending the morning with an incredibly hospitable person showing you a beautiful eastern Washington landscape on a hazy Saturday morning? It was surreal. It was serendipitous; it was an experience that will not be easily forgotten. 

After our game Katie brought us back to town where we met up with Auntie Lis & Uncle Paul for breakfast. After recapping our night and morning with them and how this all felt like some movie playing in my head. How odd it was for all of these things and scenarios to meet themselves together at this point in time. My Aunt had mentioned that this is the universe is speaking to you. I couldn't agree more, this just felt so incredible and unimaginable how things turned out. All by being open minded and up for anything. Letting any experience be available to you and leaving your life, mind and body to go along for the ride. One of the things on my 30 during 30 list is writing a screenplay. I could most definitely see this weekend as a plot point for my movie.  

Once we had breakfast we hit the town again. Heading into town shops and music place called hot poop. We checked out this and that then wound up back at the hotel to crash again before the second concert. We ended up back visiting our new friend to grab a burger later that night. Katie explained to us that their restaurant was actually one of the best burgers outside of Seattle as you can see from this article. 

https://www.thrillist.com/eat/seattle/best-burgers-in-washington-state-thrillist-seattle

Sadly they closed up shop and you'll never get to know how damn good that thing really was.

We eventually made our way back to the concert grounds where we watched the Flaming Lips set. More performance art then actual music they had a barrage of confetti cannons and humongous balloons. Balloons that were filled with confetti. Balloons that tore apart into smaller balloons and even a balloon that said Fuck Yeah Walla Walla was ravaged by the crowd. Balloons shaped like butterflies, suns and rainbows. Perhaps the most impressive balloon was their signature lead singer in the balloon walking out onto the crowd. It was a spectacle and although I'm not really a fan of their music it was an impressive stage show and they had more songs I recognized than I thought.

Up next was Mumford & Sons. I was pretty excited to see this band for the first time. With a unique sound and style their live performance was unmatched. Imagine a group somehow sharing the limelight and perfectly harmonizing with four singers. Each one with an incredible gift of being able to handle the spotlight as if they were all the lead singer. It was easy to see the camaraderie that they've built amongst themselves. I swear they must have played their entire catalog of music. It was fantastic, watching them switch instruments and even performing a cover of the Offspring's Walla Walla as an interesting surprise. They pulled folks from the other bands that performed that day in and out of their set. With the whole thing culminating in a giant sendoff with at least 15 musicians on stage with them fittingly playing the Beatles With a little help from my friends.

The next day we got breakfast at an incredible spot with fantastic food simply called BACON & EGGS. The place was an old converted 711 perfectly redone with a great atmosphere. Fitting end to a damn near perfect weekend. Recalling the road trip back it went by in a flash. This weekend, this memory, this short piece of the universe coming together, just felt so right.

Thanks for reading, I know this one was a bit more breathy but it really felt like this is what I was supposed to be doing at this point of my life. You very scarcely get that feeling where you are doing exactly what the universe wants from you. 

What I learned today:

So far I've done each new thing with a different person and would like to continue that trend

Be open to all possibilities and anything can come your way 

Music is the great communicator and can connect people on a whole different level 

No matter how bad you think you are at something it doesn't really matter if you're having fun 

Enjoy each of life's experiences great and small