After tanking my phone in the toilet, I laughed it off and we went Record shopping around Portland. It was obvious that we were two peas in a pod, walking together and checking out the same music groups and attempting to see if we can find that little gem in the stacks. We both found some things to buy when we were out there, but it was just fun to spend it with her. I've never spent that kind of time with a woman in such an easy way. I never felt like I had to impress her, or did I have to put on airs. No, it was easy to just be me, and I think it was easier for her to be her. We went to Powell's book store and tried to eat lunch at the Virginia cafe, but that didn't work. She didn't have her ID, and it's technically a bar. Too bad.

    On the way back down to Lincoln City, we stopped at a Best Buy and I bought "Say Anything" because she had never seen it. After about 15 minutes, she was laughing hard because she saw parts of Lloyd Dobler in me. She actually likes that I have this nervous talking thing.

    On Sunday, I went to church with her. She was playing bass on the worship team, although she prefers to play the guitar. It was a good service, but definitely a different culture than the suburbs I've grown up in. Her church is less than a mile from the coast line, and it's a tourist town where many of the residents are involved in supporting tourism. It makes for a more alternative group of folks, but no less holy than ours. I hope that she enjoys my church when she visits on the 11th.

    Monday was really good too. She had to get up at 5 am to work at the coffee shop. I saw her several hours later. It's a cute little coffee shop called the Clipper Ship Coffee Co. She's a barista there, but today she is helping make chocolate and confections. After she was done with work we went out searching for a cell phone for me. We started in Lincoln City but they couldn't sign me up for a new plan or a replacement plan. They sent us to Salem instead. It's the capital of Oregon, but other than that, I wasn't too impressed by it. But, we had fun at the mall there! We first found a music store for her to pick up a tuner for her guitar, and then I found her a Vertigo colored guitar strap. From there we went to the mall and looked for a new phone for me. As it turned out, I was two months away from being able to extend my plan and get a hefty savings on a new phone. The salesman was nice enough to tell me to find a replacement phone and switch my number over until I could purchase a new one. So, I went home without a working phone. From there we went to Costco to find her a black hoodie like mine. Sadly, they didn't have one for us, but her Dad asked us to pick up a few items so our trip wasn't wasted. By Monday we both knew that we wanted a future together. We sat on a couch for over an hour discussing our future, cuddling and watching the crowd go by. It's a memory I believe we both will cherish, because it's something dumb that young lovers do. We're doing a lot of that these days. We have exchanged several hundred text messages over the last 3 months, we've chatted over Yahoo, or on the phone, but nothing was sweeter than just being with her driving or talking or eating, or various other normal activities that friends do. As the afternoon bled away, we were anticipating my first meeting with her parents. They had arranged to have dinner at a restaurant right on the sea. Tara didn't inform them that I was here as a potential suitor, but they aren't stupid and so an unspoken subtext rode over top of our conversation. To my chagrin, we didn't talk much about me at all! I was hoping to do well in this first audition, and instead we spent the first half of the conversation talking theology, which is in fact a better herald than any facts about me. As we filed out, we drove in separate cars on the way home. Tara was bouncing, and she said, "should I kiss you or hug in front of them?" She wanted them to know, that she had chosen me and wanted our future to advance. We had been waiting on dinner before proceeding with our plans. Tara was excited because I had been a hit, her parents were happy... enough, for us to continue planning. I agreed to talk with her father that evening before I left. This was my first and only Dad talk and I think it went well, but her Dad didn't make it easy on me. He was easily a month or more behind on her feelings on things, although he suspected something based upon cell phone bills and how chatty she was with me. He also had a problem with the fact that she hadn't cleaned up her old relationship yet. (It has since been thoroughly dissolved, so no problem there.) At the end of it, he knew that I had a plan for our future and he had some cautions for us. I would have rather heard him give up her at that moment, but I'm not that charming! As it turns out, he seems to be happy with me, he just played the stern father pretty well during that time. After going downstairs, she told me that her Mom was just gushing, and told her not to blow it. I wish that my conversation with her Dad was that good! In all honesty, it makes me smile when I think back to that conversation and he's been fun to get to know. (He's also reading this, so I have to really shine up to him.) Just kidding!

    After her parents went to bed, she played me "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" on her guitar. I recorded the performance on my iPod and it sounds pretty good. She has a great voice, I want to hear more of it in the future. She's one talented woman. She met me before I left at a little after 4 in the morning. She had to work, but got up early enough to see me off. I'll never forget those last few moments with her, but it was still a happy moment. We knew that we would be seeing each other soon. I told her before I left to not be sad when I'm gone. And she has done that. She has been happy and so have I. We are constant companions even over all this distance, and it's wonderful!

    This diary wouldn't be complete without discussing U2. They have begun selling tickets to their concerts in the spring and summer. I have already managed to get tickets to 5 different shows, although I believe that I'll only be seeing them on 3 of those. And this time, I'll be taking my girlfriend with me! Yeah, we are planning on seeing them in Philadelphia and in Denver for two nights. On the 2nd night, we have General Admission tickets, which means that we will be on the floor. I'm looking forward to touring with her! And it's going to be even better in the fall when I get to see U2 in my hometown and probably in Albany.

    Well, it's time to close this up. Stay tuned there is much more on the horizon, I promise you that... Oh, you probably want pictures of the happy couple. No problem. Isn't she cute!