This past weekend, the RTS MAC Class of 2010 (a.k.a. Mike's classmates) threw a huge birthday bash for one of our own. Olivia (whose birthday was actually not this past weekend) loves water parks and water rides, and wanted everyone to experience the joy and thrill of water-related amusement without also having to pay the 17 quabillion dollars it would take to host everyone at Sea World. So her wise and loving husband did what any wise and loving husband would do in such circumstances--he rented a 25-foot long inflatable waterslide! Seriously, when we first heard about it we thought, "Boy that'll be fun," but when we actually arrived on site we just couldn't believe our eyes. There it was--a towering 15-foot tall blue plastic behemoth, rumbling with activity as people clambered up the ladder on one side and then slid (or in some cases, bounced) down the other side, screaming as they went. Jen decided that she was content to sit back and relax and enjoy the easy life, whereas I (Mike) made a bee-line for the slide and went straight on down, headfirst. What a rush! Next, I tried going headfirst and upside down--whoooohooooooo!!! Yeah, baby, that was awesome! I had only been there for 5 minutes and already it was the most exciting birthday party EVER!!!


Mike having the time of his life while other eager sliders line up for their turn

We came up with all kinds of games to play on the slide. The first challenge (at least for some) was to slide all the way into the little pool at the end of the slide. This got really easy after a while, partially because peoples' technique improved, but also because ol' Zach went around squirting everyone with ol' baby oil. The water in the little pool at the end started to get a little funky at this point, but hey, what can you do. The next game we came up with involved trying to catch a football in mid-flight down the slide; a few people were able to do it but I missed every time. And then people got the idea to go down the slide in "trains" of three, four, or even five people at once. Rather than being graceful and smooth, these generally resulted in massive pile-ups (or train wrecks, if you will) at the bottom of the slide; I'm sure they hurt, but they sure made for big laughs and some great pictures! Meanwhile, Jen was contentedly chatting away with the non-sliders (and some of the already retired sliders), exchanging pregnancy tips and generally having a genteel, mature, and socially fulfilling time.


It took Melonie a number of tries until she could get all the way to the end. So close, and yet so far!



The insane aftermath of one of the biggest trains. Note that Rachael is holding up the football--good catch, Rach!



Jen looking beautiful and chilling out on the nearby patio. She isn't really "showing" much yet, but we're eagerly expecting to see some belly growth any week now! Come on, tummy!

The waterslide festivities continued well into the night. After dinner, we played a series of timed relay games that had us dashing up the oily, bouncy inflatable ladder and then throwing ourselves down the slide with reckless abandon in a frenzied attempt to beat our rivals. The first game was normal enough (teams took turns and tried to get the best overall time), but then someone came up with the idea of a simultaneous relay race, which meant two people scrambling up the slide at the same time! And to make matters worse, Olivia (the birthday girl) claimed vehemently that we needed batons, and proudly produced two large cream-colored sausages that she insisted we use. Everyone was grossed out (the sausages were kind of mushy and smelled really nasty), but in the end Olivia got her way, and so we started the first ever MAC Waterslide Sausage-Baton Timed Relay Race™. When it was my turn to go, I held my hand out to receive the sausage from my teammate, and when it hit my hand, I realized that half of it had broken off somewhere down the line. Okay, that was gross, but I had no time to sit there and think about it, and so I dashed off, trying my best to keep the remains of the mutilated wiener intact.

In the end, my team not only won, but we were the only team to complete the race still holding part of our sausage. The sound of victory filled the air, but unfortunately so did the smell of mushy, uncooked chicken sausages. When we questioned the other team about what happened to their wiener, Shane defended his team by claiming (emphatically) that "It disintegrated! It disintegrated!" Now as it turns out, this wasn't actually true; someone had simply dropped it into the little splashdown pool, but at the time we had no idea. Everyone was completely grossed out by the thought of chunks of partially-cooked chicken sausage all over our already oily slide, and for some it was just too much. A number of sliders threw in the towel right there, while the rest of us started to laugh and joke, calling the white, frothy water in the pool "wiener water." And if that weren't bad enough, Olivia went around mischievously sticking wieners down peoples' backs! Oh the humanity... Meanwhile, Jen was continuing to have a wonderfully relaxing and socially connected time with the more refined and mature crowd. Each one of us thought that the other one was missing out big-time--to each his or her own, I guess! I and a few other people drained the "wiener water" out of the splash pool (discovering the missing wiener in the process), filled it back up, and kept on climbing and sliding, climbing and sliding, until we were all thoroughly exhausted. Whew! What a night!



Olivia splashing down after a successful night-time slide. Don't worry, the water in this picture is not wiener water--I wouldn't do that to you, dear reader.



John making a big splash in life. Again, not wiener water, just regular water.

Jen and I were invited to stay the night, so after another few hours of socializing, we pumped up our air mattress, brushed our teeth, and hit the hay. We enjoyed a low-key, leisurely morning with everyone, talking, playing Wii, reading the newspaper, cracking jokes, and eating egg-and-sausage casserole--again, the sausage theme was Olivia's idea. The whole thing felt like a mini-retreat, and in some ways that's what it was--the world's first ever birthday retreat. It was such a great time; both Jen and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. And not only was it a great way to celebrate Olivia, it was also a unique chance to share some unique memories with our friends from the MAC program. Everyone at RTS who has known us as a class (it seems) has commented on how well we all seem to fit together, and while our group can't claim responsibility for the way we 'click,' we certainly do praise God for it. We will be sad when it is time to go, because we have made some awesome friends here! But thankfully, that day is still a long ways off...at least, that's what I keep on telling myself...



Lisa making up some fruit-juice margaritas first thing in the morning. Don't worry, all they had in them was sour mix and fruit juice--we're not THAT crazy!!!



Last but not least, here's a picture of Gracen blowing bubbles in the morning sunshine. I just had to include this picture--she is just too cute!!!


Let's hope that we have lots more opportunities like this to connect as a class while it lasts! What's next--skydiving? Cave-snorkeling? Or maybe some home-made karaoke madness??? Yeah, baby! Mike's birthday is just around the corner--stay tuned!!!

-Mike

WARNING: This blog is a true story. Read at your own risk.

As some of you might know, I (Mike) have recently taken up fishing as my new hobby, and I've really gotten into it. I'm going to blog later all about the philosophical connections between fishing and counseling, but for now, I want to tell you a TRUE story of something that happened yesterday... But first, a little background.


Mike with his first bass

It was a few months ago that I landed my first bass off the dock of a small local lake called Lake Gem (which is part of the Canterbury Retreat Center, for those interested). Anyway, that was last year, and it took me over four months to land my next fish off of that same dock. But just last weekend, I went out in the canoe (with Jen nearby) and caught two fish in the same hour! Clearly, for bass fishing on that lake, using the canoe is the way to go. But there's a catch (pun intended).


Mike removing the hook from his latest bass

The catch is, Jen is still a bit uncomfortable with me going out in a canoe on my own. So until we have the time to talk about it in greater detail, she has asked me not to go out in a boat unless I'm with someone else, even if they just stay on the shore. And I promised her that I would abide by that limitation until we can work things out. And I kept it...until yesterday.

I had just gotten out of the clinic after a long and productive day, and I had about an hour and a half to kill before I had to pick Jen up, so I grabbed my fishing pole, headed out to Canterbury, and starting fishing off of my usual pier. I hadn't been fishing long until my hook & worm got caught on a branch below the water. Yank as I might, it just wouldn't come out. That's when I started to think: "If only I could get in the canoe! It would easy to retrieve my lure. And it's so close to the shore--I'd barely even be away from the shore! And hey--Jen doesn't have to know." Yes, folks, I actually thought that!

So, having convinced myself it would be alright, I extended my fishing line so it would reach the canoe (which was nearby), grabbed a paddle, and headed out into the water. But there was a snag (again, pun intended)--my fishing line had gotten caught on the pier! Frustrated, I paddled up next to the pier and stood up. The canoe rocked back and forth precariously, so I made my way toward the center of the canoe to get some added balance. Confident in my balancing skills, I reached out over the top of the pier in an effort to liberate my captive line. But I failed to consider that in doing so, I would be shifting all my weight to one side of the boat! The canoe tipped wildly, and almost flipped--and I thought to myself, "Whoa, I almost fell in"--and the next thing I knew, the canoe flipped out from under me, and I was left hanging in mid-air for a split-second like a cartoon character until SPLASH!!! I found myself completely underwater!


The pier (believe me, the water did not look this nice by the time I trudged back out)

I quickly got my bearings, stood up (the water was at waist level), and trudged my way back to the shore. I had just come from working at the clinic, so I was still wearing my nice dress slacks, a snazzy oxford shirt, and respectable-looking shoes, and to make matters worse, both my PDA and my digital camera were in my pockets when it happened!!! The first thing I did when I got back to the pier was take these precious electronic devices out of my pockets in the hope that they had somehow defied the laws of physics and resisted getting completely soaked. Sadly, they had not--water was pouring out of both of them. Rats! After removing my wallet and keys, I trudged back out into the swirling, muddy water to retrieve the canoe, which was upside down and was beginning to slowly drift away. By the time I was done, the water next to the pier looked like oatmeal, and I was a sorry spectacle indeed!

I spent about 40 minutes trying to dry myself and my possessions out, shaking water out of my camera and PDA, and thinking. The first thing I thought was, "I can't believe that just happened!" The second thing I thought was, "So much for my solo boating career!" But after a while I began to think, "It looks like God's trying to send me a message here..." Yes, folks, I had attempted to break my promise to Jen and lie to her about it, and God was saying, "No way, buddy--you're not gonna get away with that one." He graciously kept me from getting away with my deception. Of course, I came clean with Jen when I came to pick her up, and she was very, very gracious. She was glad that I had told her--not that I could have hidden it anyway (how can you explain the fact that your clothes are soggy, your PDA is broken and you smell like mud?).

I have a feeling that I'll be telling this story a lot...it really gets at the heart of some key marital concepts like faithfulness and truth, and really highlights the importance of keeping your promises to your spouse. My message will be: keep your promises, or God will dump you into a lake! Actually, you will be blessed if He does, because then you won't get away with it, which is actually much worse.

Oh, and the funniest thing about this whole deal (besides losing $400 worth of electrical equipment to save a ten-cent worm) is the song that came on the radio as we were driving to Japanese Bible study that evening:

I’m diving in! I’m going deep! In over my head I want to be!
Caught in the rush! Lost in the flow! In over my head I want to go!
The river’s deep, the river’s wide, the river’s water is alive,
So sink or swim, I’m diving in!

Who says God doesn't have a sense of humor?

-Mike

Hello again my beauties!!!

Hopefully by now you're expecting some fresh new artwork, and sure enough, I have been busily doodling away in these past few months! Time is short today, so I will skip my usual introductory ramblings and get right to it! Welcome once again to...Mike's Digital Playground!!!

This first one is a logo that I designed for the Japanese Bible Study that we go to called "Nihonjin Ministry" (which translates as "Japanese (Peoples') Ministry"). We have a sort of a basic website right now, but I was thinking it might be nice to create a new one soon, and so I designed this logo as a kind of artistic "down payment" in that project. You can't go wrong with the rising sun motif, eh?



This next one is a re-done RTS logo. The 'real' one is not only much simpler (no fancy shadows or beveling or textures), but also is just plain unavailable in size large enough to print; all I was able to find on Google image search were teeny-tiny little logos like this one:
So using the above image, I simply created my own from scratch, and if I do say so myself, I think it looks WAAAAAY better than the original. Maybe by the time RTS needs to update their logo they'll come to me first...



The next three creative goodies here are images that I specifically created to go along with some of my old audio skits that I wanted to post on YouTube. Not only are the skits themselves kind of funny, but I think that the associated images help to give you (the veiwer/listener) some extra context and hopefully an extra chuckle or two. Enjoy!

Boar:


Ronald Spazenhaegger for President!!!:


Realm of Adventure:


And finally, this last one is actually a serious piece of art. I know, usually my artwork is pretty goofy, but every so often I get inspired to make some "real" art--that is, art that has more to express than simply being funny in and of itself. This piece is called "Agnus Dei," and if you're familiar with Christian art history, you'll know that there have been thousands of similar images created in the past. "Agnus Dei" is Latin for "Lamb of God," and it refers to Jesus as the lamb who was sacrificed for us to take away our sins. The seven circular "seals" on the pedestal below the lamb are the seven seals in the book of Revelation, and the circular-triangle shape behind the cross is an ancient sym ol for the Trinity--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The lamb, who is in the center of everything, is flying a flag with a cross on it as a sign of victory. Everything is about Him! Amen. On a more technical level, I wanted to make this image to look ancient, so I had to play around with all kinds of aging effects until I finally got the look I was searching for. All in all, I feel that this is my best piece so far--the current apex of my developing creative abilities.



Well, I've got two other blogs to write, so thanks for viewing! Ta-ta for now!

-Mike