The weather tonight really cooperated for the show. James Blunt was
exceptional.

Sheryl Crow played quite a few songs I really enjoyed. She's a
reliable and talented artist. Unfortunately, she decided to preach at
us in the middle of her set which always ruins it for me.

A great night anyway.

At Wamu Theater watching Hinder, Staind, and 3 Doors Down.

They are ridiculously good live.

My buddy Dave came with and we are really rocking out. Haven't had
this much fun at a show in a while.

For the record, the Wamu Theater really upped their game and have made
it a really classy and respectable venue. What it lacks in acoustics
they make up for in volume and slick style.

Well done, guys!

After a great time on the islands i'm heading back to the States
tomorrow.

For tonight, it's waterfront dining with the typically quiet Cory. If
his hair isn't on fire he just never has much to say it seems.

Unfortunately for him, the emotional rollercoaster that has been this
vacation means I've been talking his ears off for almost a week.

Good thing the Vegas rules apply in Thailand too.

With the amazing ferocity of blessings that is my life I was able to
fly to Thailand to meet my friend Cory who is working in Bangkok. It's
his birthday next week but this weekend it's the Full Moon Party.
Held on the beautiful island of Koh Phangan it is regarded to be the
largest beach party in the world.

Still a little jet-lagged and after a hard night last night. We slept
most of the day. About 7pm we headed down to the beach to begin the
journey.

By 11pm we needed a break from nonstop raving. Resting on the beach
feeling massively over-stimulated we caught our breath and chatted up
new friends. Cory is remarkably good at that but doesn't think so.
Idiot.

Around 1am we took over a balcony overlooking one of our favorite
DJ's. We absolutey RULED that little sub-party for about 30 minutes.

The best part of the night was about 6am when the sky started to
lighten. By 7am the sun had risen and the daylight revealed the rave
continuing for the die-hards and gluttons.

Sitting on the beach, feet sore, muscles cooling, absorbing great
music and the first rays of light over the ocean, it took my breath
and left me humbled.

It's a good thing Cory was nodding off because I don't think I could
have spoken if I wanted to. Of course, he's the kind of guy who'd have
understood that instinctively and wouldn't spoil it.

Now that I'm back in our $7 a night room, showered and clean of body
paint ( yes, there was a lot of that! ), relaxing in bed listening to
Cory gently snoring next to me, I am just reveling in the blessings of
my opportunity to have experiences like this, and that I have such
amazing friends to share them with.

Lots of pictures to follow.

If you want to join our next adventure, you need your passport, a
little time, and a sense of adventure. We'll help with the rest.
Grumpy people need not apply.

Sorry this was so emo, Drew. Couldn't be helped.

Recently I was asked to give interview tips to someone I've been
working with. As I dug down to recall it previous writing and training
about the subject, I was able to provide him a fresh summarization of
this somewhat difficult topic.

Interviewing is very similar to one-on-one selling. There are two
things you can generally rely on to help with both.

Yo start with you have to appreciate what is actually taking place
when interviewing or selling. Being interviewed is rarely about
actually demonstrating a particular skill, talent, or ability. It is
usually about determining trust. If they trust you, then they'll want
you to work for them. If they don't decide they can trust you then any
demonstrations or resume entries will be overlooked and discounted.
When viewed from this perspective it becomes clear the role that
confidence plays in the process. It is widely accepted that confidence
breeds trust. Obviously this is a simplification, but it brings us
quickly to the first point, which is to be Quick.

Being Quick is about the responsiveness and timing of your answers. If
you don't know the answer or don't have the information desired, just
say so quickly and simply. Don't preamble your answers, when you do
know. Just spit it out right away. If you need to think, let them know
right off that you are considering the request and formulating a
response. Using words that don't provide information so you'll have
time to think is often seen through and will make you appear shady.
Packaging your words with flowery or ambiguous language can leave
people with the feeling that you aren't or won't speak straight.
Remember you are trying mostly to win trust.

The second point is to be Succinct. This us very different than being
brief but has a few things in common. Put simply, use as few words as
possible to precisely provide your response. Overly flowerly or
lengthy answers have the pitfalls we discussed previously. But there
are two additional goals to consider.

The less you say, the more precisely you interpret and respond, the
less chance you will offend. There will simply be a smaller chance
you'll say something that can be disagreed with or break you out of
rapport.

The other upside is that the less you talk, the more they'll talk.
This one is really key. When they are talking you can be learning and
tailoring your responses and approach to build more trust and cement
your rapport. When they are talking they are doing something we all
generally like: talking. So they will actually feel good because they
are doing an activity they enjoy.

You put this together and in your interview you'll learn a lot by
getting the interviewer to talk, you'll have said only things that
reflect positively, you've clearly admitted your shortcomings, they've
enjoyed talking and will end with a good feeling.

There is obviously much more that could be said on the subject, but
maybe remembering just those two points will help.

Catching a show with my cousins at the Mesa Ampitheater.

At 6pm it cools off enough and the shade is long enough that it
becomes really pleasant to sit outside on the grass and listen.

It helps that we splurged on Coldstone on the way over.

As an added bonus, Danni's mom gave me the third degree about the
upcoming trip. Hehe.

I'll post more pictures later. As usual.