It's really amazing to me how important questions are. To love someone you first have to try to understand them. To understand people you have to ask them questions. It's that simple, really.

I knew a guy that asked great questions. He was a very different type of person than me. I still loved being around him. I didn't even mind meeting with him at 7am (we did meet at Mr. Donut though). He would just ask me good questions and I would answer. I always left those meetings excited and encouraged.

I'm not sure exactly why I'm bad at asking questions, but I am. It's so easy yet I never do it. Maybe I have brain damage. Maybe that's just the way that people are. We want to do things and for some inexplicable reason, we don't. I guess that's what accountability is for.

I was beginning to get a little worried as we drove back from Seattle on Sunday. Our last trip was utterly fraught with danger; yet this trip had been seemingly innocuous. Just as I began to let my guard down I began to notice something peculiar on the horizon. A dark menacing veil was inching its way ever closer. By the time we reached Vancouver for a stop at Gwen's parents, it was upon us. The winds were kicking up, lightning was seen in all directions. Rumors of tornadoes and hail stones of Biblical proportions were rampant. We dashed inside just in time to escape the drenching down pour that began. I was nearly swept away when I ventured back out to roll up the car window. Fortunately the storm fizzled and I was very glad to have averted another episode of certain DOOM!

We've decided to name the baby after my Grandpa if it's a boy. It may seem strange to some people to name a baby 'Grandpa' but we like the name.

It will make family gatherings even more confusing though. It's hard enough that there are several people who go by Grandpa. To resolve this I think we will call him Grandpa Jr. Then he can pass on the name to his son (Grandpa III).

Or maybe we'll go back to my first choice, Ichiro.

It's a miracle that I am even able to write this entry. On Tuesday Gwen and I were driving out to Lincoln City. Halfway there, we were minding our own business when out of nowhere a huge white car came flying out at us. Gwen was driving and she and her cat like reflexes swerved to the left to avoid the car. We were on highway 18 at the time so it was quite lucky that at that point there was a suicide lane, and an unoccupied one at that. Certain death avoided.

Then, just a few hours later we were leaving our hotel when were heard there was a earthquake off the coast. A massive tsunami was headed our way with plans to wipe the coast off the map. We all remained calm and did what we do best... we went to cold stone. When we came back to our hotel on the coast people were evacuating. So we went down to our rooms and turned on the tv. We then learned that the tsunami had been canceled (not enough funding I assume).

It's worth mentioning that a hotel that I stayed at in Thailand was wiped away by their tsunami exactly two years after I stayed there. I'm starting to feel like Bruce Willis in Unbreakable(Unbearable).