The Galaxy Dollars Soccer Team... Beginning of an Era

*Editor's Note*

It had been several months since I had tried to talk about anything really Starbucks related, due to the fact I had been told to stop posting stuff with the name "Starbucks" in it. As such, I thought that one, November, 2006 seemed like the right time to try again... and two, I would save the potential heartache of having to take them off by using the name "Galaxy Dollars" instead (get it?). And it must have worked too, because even though quite a few people read these blogs there has never seemed to be any backlash from it. Anyways, hope you enjoy!
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Hello to all! I hope each and everyone of you had a great Thanksgiving! If you didn't... I'm sorry you didn't but, umm... don't blame it on me. *ahem*...Moving right along... In the spirit of the holidays I thought I'd share a continuing story with all of you... but not just any story, no. This is a story about friends, and soccer, and teamwork... and Galaxy Dollars *whispers* (That's code for Starbucks)... and the human heart... and run on sentences. Run on sentences? *ahem* So as you read, this, the first in a line of stories about the peoples of Galaxy Dollars Coffee, and their quest for soccer playing bliss... I hope you are reminded of things, things like... hot coco by the fire, singing "White Christmas" with loved ones... hitting that poor defenseless bird that is now embedded forevermore on your tire... umm, maybe don't think about that last one. But anyway, you know what I mean... So, without any further ado, here is... "Beginning of an Era".

It seems not so long ago that one of my fellow Galaxy Dollar co-workers said, "Hey, we should form a Galaxy Dollar soccer team!"

And all the girls were like, "Oh, what a great idea! How much fun would that be?!"

And all the guys were like, "Hmm, we get to kick a ball around? Ok, seems like fun."

So everyone started talking about how to go about setting it up... First, we had meeting to find out who was really serious about playing on the team, setting up important details, and stuff of that nature. Then we had a another meeting... and to be quite honest I don't know what purpose that meeting served. We sat around talking about what number we wanted to be, how our jerseys would look, if we would have to wear underwear at the games, would Ben look good in a thong... well, not really the last two... But ya, it was general crap like that, so it was pretty pointless in my opinion.

Next, a certain Galaxy Dollar employee found us a "beginners soccer league" to play in and signed us up. For all we knew we could have playing little kids, but never-the-less we knew we needed to practice since there were several people (like myself) who didn't have the foggiest idea how to play soccer. So we set up some practice dates. Finally the first soccer practice got here... we were all pumped, we were all dressed appropriately, we were all... really bad. It's true, except for three players, we were terrible. We couldn't pass good, we couldn't shoot good, we couldn't even handle the ball good. The only thing we were really good at? ...drinking water. But we did do that with greatness! There was just one thing on our minds now... how can we not suck so bad. Well, that... and how we hoped that we really were playing kids, or we were going to get our butts whipped! We wisely decided that we needed a few more practices before we hit the "big green". We practiced a few more times in the weeks to come, and we were getting better. I would say that in those practices we went from horrible, to adequate... so needless to say we were feeling pretty good. Indeed, with those practices our confidence grew, our hair grew, and even our skills grew (a little). It was true, our first game approached! ...Check back soon for, The Galaxy Dollars Soccer Team...The First Game!

When it Rains it Pours... The Story of the Weekend from Hell

*Originally Posted November, 2006*

First I'd like to start this off by saying, the story below is NOT fabricated in anyway... I may word things in such a way that you might you chuckle, or perhaps even laugh, but it's still true. So, as you read this story with your loved ones, your pets, or even the fly on the wall... just remember that this story... ya it's all real. Ok, so... read the freakin' story, and enjoy it you sick twisted people!...j/k.

Now it has been my experience that weekends are usually a good thing, a thing that one can look forward to, a time of more fun then the week... But alas, that was not the case for the weekend in question. This is that fateful story...

It all started on a Saturday night, I was bored sitting on my couch watching football when it all started to unfold..."Party Thrower A" came through the door with some Party go-ers, and Party Thrower A's care-taker (Mom), who was carrying a paper bag full of "fire water" (Booze). I immediately got a little concerned, but "Party Thrower A" (who is 18) asked me to trust him, and with his care-taker being there I thought I had nothing to worry about, so I did... an unwise decision. So instead of questioning him I just cocked my brow, and changed for work. And left for work shortly there after.

As I recall the night at work was not a pleasant one, my now former Store Manager (AKA, Mr. FOCUS BEN RICHARDSON FOCUS face) was working his last shift before being promoted to District Manager... and was not in what one might call a pleasant mood. Now seeing as this was his last shift, I had to nag him to get me my set of Shift Supervisor keys... you know I need to do my job! Anyway, finally about 15 minutes before close he finally gave them to me. I tried letting him know how much I appreciated this and everything he'd done etc, etc... but he didn't really want to listen... so I pretty much was like, well then pal, screw you... and finished the night. Then, well... I went home. After I got home I decided to hide the new keys in my car so no one would find them. I hid them inside the car and headed inside the building. (What? It sounded good in my head!)

As I neared the apartment door I could hear the sound of crap going on in the apartment... I braced myself and headed inside. Once inside I was hit with a barrage of inebriated people, most of which I didn't know (this I am fine with) I also had noticed some people that had infatuations with faces (or at least their mouths). Some of these instances were hetero, and some of them were homo (this made me feel a bit uncomfortable, but I'm still good). I walk a little farther to discover 15 year olds drunk off their ass... that was it. I immediately put an end to the juvenile inebriation, and quickly started trying to get people in a state in which they could leave the premises. Now because there were both sheep and wolves in the apartment, and by sheep I mean girls, and by wolves I mean boys... I decided that I would need to make sure that all was well before I crashed for the evening, unless I wanted to buy a new couch (if you know what I mean). Unfortunately, the time that "all was well" was 5:00am... I woke up about 11:00am and decided that I would go to lunch with my friends, while "Party Thrower A" and his "buddies" were in the apartment. And by buddies I mean... well, more than buddies.

Since I was now in a festive mood I put on a Bob Marley wig, and a top that my new Strongbad beanie, and I was off to eat Chinese... things were going good. That was until I got to my car. I walk up to my car humming a little hum, and walking like a Jamaican. But when I opened my door and looked inside... I had been robbed!!! I darted for where I hid the keys, but they were gone, among other things of value... including my CD player, and The Killers new album that was in it... needless to say I was not a happy camper. I called the company I work for and alerted them of the what had happened... I quickly received a call from the "former Store Manager" wanting to know what happened and at times almost blaming me for them being stolen... All I have to say about this is... not cool pal-bert, not cool. I looked around the parking lot and found that 2 other cars had been robbed as well... So, as one might deduce between the party, and the burglary my weekend bit the "big one". Well, thanks for reading... check back for more festive reading later. It will be festive...I promise.

The Life and Times of a Ben at the Supermarket

*Originally Posted October, 2006*

Well hello again everyone! Now before I get started I wanted to make something clear that has to do with the title. Just in case the part that says, "a Ben" threw you off. That "a Ben" that it's talking about... ya, that's me... I just thought I'd clear that up in case you thought I was going to rattle off some random story about another Ben that you don't even know... Ok, glad we got that out of the way. So, let us begin our trip to the supermarket!

So there I was... I entered the Albertson's parking lot, found a decent parking space and headed inside to do my monthly grocery shopping. I walked through the front door, looked to my right and grabbed the closest cart available. I looked down at my cart and noticed something was missing... my list! I knew I didn't forget it so I frantically patted myself down, scrambling to find the piece of precious parchment. A couple of people walked by while I was doing this and gave some precarious looks, you know the, "I don't think it's appropriate to do something like that in public" looks. So I did what most any man in my position would have done.

As I patted myself, I started saying, "Where's my list?! I know that thing's around here somewhere..."

The passing peoples seemed to find the frantic babbling sufficient to get their dirty minds out of the gutter, so I was happy. Finally I found it! I was ready to shop!

So I began, with list in hand, and... an empty cart. I made my way past the fresh produce area first, to which I passed a meat stand stating, "Buy one, get one free!". This got my attention, so I stopped and perused the merchandise. While I pondering whether to get said deluxe meat or not, an Albertson's worker walked up, and started stocking the display I was looking at. After throwing a couple more packages on the display she stops and looks at me.

In a rather passionate but kind tone, the middle aged African American women states, "Honey, you should get some! They're buy one, get one!"

To which I responded the only way I could after that statement, "Well then, I'll take two!"...and I did.

Next I was off to the aisles... the aisle part of the shopping usually goes well. I was buying food, I was looking for the super-savers... things were pretty much "same-o, same-o"... that was until I reached the coffee aisle... Now I don't know why, but there is a gravitational pull when I pass by the Starbucks section of the coffee aisle. It's a tug, if you will, to assist the poor helpless individual looking so aimlessly at the Starbucks coffee, that they are almost overwhelmed by the sheer variety of it all. Now this "tug" usually gives way because there's is no one looking at the coffee... but, this time there was someone standing there in front of the Starbucks coffee display, and he had his hand on his chin... just waiting for some knowledgeable individual (such as myself) to help him with his coffee brewing needs/wants! I tried to keep walking... but I just couldn't, and the gravitational pull of "Legendary Service" reeled me in.

I walked up beside the man and proudly stated, "Hello sir, I happen to work for Starbucks and I am currently training to be a Coffee Master, is there any questions I could answer for you?".

The man turned around, and to my surprise stated, "Well, actually I'm looking for a good breakfast coffee... what would you recommend?"

I quickly went off on a rant about what coffees he may enjoy. When the dust settled he choose Breakfast Blend... a real shocker I know. He ended the conversation with, "Well, thanks for stopping by."...So I guess that's good.

Well that about does it for my trip to the supermarket... Oh, I lied... one last thing before I end this. I also met the OETA movie guy! ...You know, the one that's from the public station, he rambles on in the dead of night about classic movies, and is always holding a bucket of popcorn? No? you don't know him? *ahem* Well anyway... it was no big deal, really. Ok... more later.

Ben's Life Presents: Twisted Tales of Truth

*Originally Posted September, 2006*

Well hello! So alright, here I am on the other side of 22... not much different then 21, I don't really feel too much older. But I can tell you this... the grass was greener on the other side. Well... so far. But more on that later... because to get to the present you must first start with the past, then move forward to the present, then maybe we'll move to the future... maybe. or I could just ramble on, and on, about crap like this for a sentence or two more... j/k

First off I will take you on a journey to the not-so-long ago. As some of you may recall, earlier this year I had landed one of the lead roles in an independent feature length film that was being shot in Norman. Things were going great! Then it unraveled. As of last month we had been filming for two months, and were about to finish shooting the movie in three days. When out of the blue (wherever the heck that saying came from) my director calls me and leaves me a message saying, "Hey Ben, umm..."

---Now I'd like to interrupt right here for just a second. Just to let you know (in case you didn't know this already) if someone starts a sentence with, "umm, dot, dot, dot" it's most likely not going to be the most joyous news you've ever heard. Ok, back the story...

So he said, "Hey Ben, umm... I'm sorry to have to tell you this... but I'm going to have to let you go, and re-cast Denny (my character)... It's not your acting, really. But your chemistry with the lead actress just isn't working out. So... thanks for all the time you put in, but... don't bother coming to the shoot Wednesday ok? Bye."

Well alright... now I haven't been in a lot of movies, but I've been acting long enough to know that you would know before two months if two of the leads had "chemistry" or not. Not to mention he wouldn't even answer my phone calls when I tried to call him to talk about it. So... with all of these things said, in my opinion, I think he's full of something... and it isn't chocolate. Oh well... I guess that there is something on the horizon that's better... well, I hope.

Next is a story that I'm sure will have most of you reading this saying to yourself... "Ben's a freakin' idiot" ...or something close to that. But that's ok I still have to tell it anyway. Why? because I'm me, and I gotta be me! *Ahem* So, as aforementioned above, I am now 22 years old, and as such I am definitely feeling the pressure to not be a failure in life as I grow older. Well, that's where this story begins...

About one week ago while working at Picture People I was offered the position of Assistant Manager. I would be making a lot more money then I am now, I would be in management (obviously, hints the name "Assistant Manager"), and... I would have to give up trying for Shift Supervisor at Starbucks... Picture People gave me 24 hours to think it over and see if I wanted the position. So, I called my boss at Starbucks and told him of the offer, and asked if he could give me a "yes" or "no" on being a "Shift" there. He stated that he could not for at least two weeks. Wished me all the luck in the world (if I took it), and that I needed to let him know what my decision was within the next couple of days.

Well, because I was under the gun I did what almost any other red blooded American would have done... I took the job. Now to me Picture People has never been an A+ corporation to work for, in fact I would even lean toward the fact that they have sucked as a company. So, I had to ask myself why was I going to move up in a company I think is not so great? This is where you'll think I'm crazy...

The more I thought about it, the more I thought, "You know, Starbucks has always been good to me, and Picture People hasn't been, not to mention they haven't gotten back to me in a few days about the details... is this a sign of what's to come if I work for them as a manager? Laziness, and no communication?"

So, despite the money and the title... last week I told Picture People that I would like to not take the position after all, and told Starbucks that I was staying... what's so crazy about this you may be asking? Well, the fact is, is that I don't know if I will be promoted to "Shift" until next week, or the week after... So I might of made a grave decision, but oh, well... you got to do what you think is right, right? right. well, that's it for now, more coming later...

Dreams (poem)

*Editor's Note*

In an attempt to break away from my "norm" of humorous blogging, I decided that about once a year I should post something of a more serious nature. This blog, originally posted in September, 2006 was my first attempt at doing so.
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This is one of my favorite poems (that I've written) because it reflects life so well, especially my life. Please do not copy this or use it anywhere seeing as it's copy written and all, I'd hate to see anyone die---... I mean fined, or something like that for using it. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys!

Dreams©

Dreams, sweet dreams.
As I lay me down to sleep,
My head gets filled with many things.
Thoughts that make my blood to run, my heart to pound, my hands to numb.
Thoughts that make the heavens ring, worlds collide, the angels sing.
Am I to believe that this is all a dream?
A life of love, of hope, and peace.
A fairy tale that can't come true,
A lie my heart has bought in to.
Oh how I wish I knew.
But there must be more to this life,
More then hopeless pain and strife.
A purpose for which I'm here,
Perhaps to love, to help, to share.
I do believe it's coming clear,
The moon is setting the dawn is near.
Maybe this is all a dream,
As we wait on true life's eve.
For soon we'll awaken from this sleep,
And start our lives eternally.
But for now we slumber on this eve,
Trusting that God will give us dreams, sweet dreams.

Written by,

Ben Richardson

The Ben, The Computer, and The Virus(s)

*Originally Posted August, 2006*

To set the stage for this story...As some of you may or may not know, as of last week I had not been online for like... 14 days, 9 hours, 22 minutes, and 7 seconds... or something close to that (not that I know exactly or anything). This was due to the breaking down of my computer... This, my friends, and not-so-cool people is the story of that account.

It all started one normal type of day... I was doing the normal type of stuff you do with a computer, you know: Surf the web, fiddle with programs, cook a pizza... you know the "norm". Little did I know a digital monster of sorts was lurking in the shadows... well... in my computer. Whatever. My computer had seemed to running a tad bit slow for the last couple of days, so I decided to check it for spyware and virus'... This is when things started going down hill. I ran my Microsoft Anti-Spyware program. It found a few items lurking about, but nothing of extreme crap. I decided to inquire further, so I ran a cheap (and by cheap I mean free) Yahoo Anti-Spyware program. It found several problems, one of which is known as a "root kit". This happened to be the "Sony root kit"... A nasty clocked spyware item that sends information back to its source (in this case Sony). It found the root kit, as well as a couple of other spyware items that it could not remove. Thus, it asked for my supreme help in deleting such hazards. I then went to the only website a good tech person should go to... Google.

I searched how to remove the "Sony root kit", found a site to show me how, then followed the steps to the "T". But somehow, somewhere, something went wrong. The system asked me to reboot my computer to save the changes I had made. I did so. However, when I tried to log back on, it froze up... So I tried my roommate's name... it worked. I made it though the deletion process then had to again restart the system... I thought that it would be fine, I mean I was now done with the deletion process, right? Wrong. Well, right, but no... it didn't work. Instead of the world going back to normal, it froze up on my roommate's log in... so I tried my brother's... it worked, but I was now leery of turning off my computer for fear that I would not be able to log back on (since I had now exhausted all of the log-in names). I left my computer on and tried to make sure it was fine... but I knew it was not. Finally it happened... It froze. I restarted it, but now it wouldn't even load a log-on screen. I tried as hard as I could to fix it using all of my computer nerd power, but it was useless... I had failed.

I did the unthinkable (for me), I let my roommate bring it to a corporate tech in hopes of getting it up and working again... He kept it for the better part of a week. His conclusion? He couldn't fix it. Me, I was bummed... and thought he sucked. There was now only one hope for my computer... The Travis! (AKA, The Supreme Tech Dude) If he couldn't fix it, it was hopeless and I miles-well just call it a big piece of useless metal and plastic crap, in a bigger metal and plastic case of crap. I took it to him. He worked on it... and worked on it... and worked on it some more. It looked grim, he told me he had never seen anything like it before... yep, I had jack it up pretty good. Finally... he fixed it! I was relieved... he told me what had happened was that when I deleted a certain file, it deleted another one with it (without me knowing)... an important one... the boot up one. Yep, important, I concur with him. He said, that, combined with a few dozen virus' was the source of my problem(s)... so ya, I learned my lesson... what did I learn you may be asking? Well, I learned never to put Twinkies on my pizza! You know, the one that I was cooking on my computer earlier... Other then that, I'm not quite sure what I learned...j/k

YTJ7FWN2A8SG

The Picture People Story

*Editor's Note*

This entertaining bit of nonsense was originally posted in July, 2006, hot on the heels of the, "Starbucks ...The Saga Ends" post. I wanted to vent my frustration about them pressing the issue, and since I couldn't write about Starbucks I did (in my mind) the next best thing... I wrote about my second job. This was what came about.
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Prelude to Story:

I warn all who reads this now, the story below is not for the faint of heart, the weak of stomach, or the people who like plush toys a lot. So, ya... consider yourself warned. But if you don't have a problem with any of those things I mentioned you're probably good to go. So... proceed.

Disclaimer:

In light of recent events... just to let everyone know, (so there is no miscommunication) The following story is completely made up. In other words it's not true, it's a lie, a falsity, farce, phony, fabricated, and any other words you can think that mean that type of thing. In other other words please do not come after me with a stick and beat me up for mentioning what I mention, ok?... ok. So as you read this I ask you, no... I urge you to remember... The story you about to read about is fake, that means not real... alright, if you've got that you're good to go...

The Story:

I have been working for the Picture People for well over a year now, and I've found that pretty much everyone who works there likes their job (i.e. taking pictures, bosses, etc...). But when it comes to the company it self... well... it sucks. We get no raises, no time and a half on holidays, no respect from our high, high ups, etc, etc... So my co-workers and I have derived a plan to stop this insanity, and show the head honchos of this company that the little people of this company are more then just... well, little people. The plan we derived consists mostly of duct tape and Corn Pops, as not to damage the structural integrity of the building...

We would show up early in the morning and do stuff... really "witty" stuff. Like putting the props in vicarious positions, maybe tape a plush toy to the wall and stick a ransom note up its nose (if you can do that), and instead of all the tills having a receipt on them stating how much money is inside (like they usually do), they'd have a piece of parchment placed on them saying, "gone"...of course when the head honchos walked in to the store we'd blame it on a poo flinging monkey. And the head honchos would believe us too, because deep inside we all believe that monkeys really do fling poo... Immediately the head honchos would put a surveillance on all stores that sold bananas, (that's bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S) so that if there were a spike in banana sales they would know where to catch their hairy little thief. But of course they'd get there and it would be some washed up soap-opera star that we decided to pin it on, and all we'd have to do is give him a $20 bill and tell him to go buy as many bananas as he could with it, because we all know that if we saw a washed up soap-opera star buying $20 worth the bananas we'd be a bit suspicious... but that's a story for a different time. I mean if you want to be real honest we'd probably eventually get caught. And you know that the head honchos would pull one of those, "We knew it was you guys the whole time, but we just wanted to see if you guys were going to let a poor innocent poo flinging monkey take the rap for you" In which we'd rip off one of the pieces of parchment (just for the crap of it), and run away with the washed up soap-opera star, because he has $20 worth the bananas and we know we're going to need to eat something. And of course as we're eating them we could sing, "This crap's bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S"... because that's what this story's really about.

Starbucks, the Untold Stories... The Saga Ends?

*Editor's Note*

It was in July of 2006 that it was brought to my attention, (by my then Store Manager) that I had forgotten to delete one of my Starbucks blogs, and would need to do that "immediately". In addition to taking it down, he asked that I make it known that there would be no more "Starbucks blogs" coming from me. To this day I'm not sure that anyone besides him really cared that it was there, but never-the-less I did take it down. The following, is the post that he asked me to write stating that there would be no more "Starbucks blogs". But he never said I couldn't put my own twist on it, and since by this time I was a little riled up at the situation... I did (put my twist on it).
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Alright... To everyone who reads this, do not cry, blow your nose, or pick up a Uzi and start shooting people... but it's true. Starbucks, the untold stories... blog dealio, is no more. Why, some of you may be asking? These blogs have made people laugh, cry, and even reunited one person with their long lost family! Ok, that last one's not true... (but they were fun) Well, it is do to the fact that certain high up officials in Starbucks found, read, and (in their opinion) did not feel that the content of my blogs were good for general public to know. With that said... in their words, "If I would like to further myself with the company, it is in my best interest to no longer write new Starbucks blogs, and to remove previously posted ones." As such, Starbucks, the untold stories... will no longer be on my site. I am truly sorry that there will be no more Starbucks stories posted, but in this life you have to pick and choose your battles... so, ya. On the other hand, I hope all of you who did get to experience the awesomeness that was a Starbucks, the untold stories... blog dealio will remember them fondly. Until the next blog... see ya.

Can You Repeat That?

*Originally Posted May, 2006*

Ok, so... I recently acquired a credit card. Not to use irresponsibly mind you, but to build my credit to even greater heights! Well, when I activated my card a few weeks ago I got a rather hard to understand middle-eastern women... Now I'm not racist, but I was having difficulty hearing this women... So I did what any person trying to be polite would do. Push the phone closer to my ear, in hopes that that millimeter will somehow be the difference between, "Can you repeat that?" and, "Oh, uh-huh."...Unfortunately, not even that millimeter could save me this time. I tried desperately to understand what she was saying, but I always found myself saying, "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?". Now, I didn't know it at the time, but her mouth had to have an overdrive button, or something... because after the activation of the card she starts spouting off like 5 trillion words per second, it was crazy! All I remember hearing was, "Next I am going to talk to you about the Payment Protector Plan..." and she was off! The next thing I remember hearing was, "Aright?"...In my head I was thinking, "Man, I did not understand a word she just said, except for Payment Protector Plan... I should ask her to repeat that--but gee wiz, I don't want to go through all that again..." So, what came out was, "Oh, uh-huh."

Well, that brings us to today... I had looked up what the "Payment Protector Plan" was, and decided that I didn't think it was for me. So, I called up the credit card company to cancel it... I'm telling you, I would have had an easier time hugging a porcupine... After battling the automated help line, I finally get a human! Now, one would think that the task that I set out to do would be easier once I reach a human, but no... not for me. I tell the lady what I want to do...

In reply she says, "Well, why do you want to do that?" like she's shocked that I would even think up such a terrible thing...

I stated my reasons and repeated that, "I would please like to cancel it."

I guess maybe she thought I sounded unsure of my decision, because she went back on the war-path... "Now sir, I myself have this, and let me tell you, it's great! And!...(Like I'm supposed to get excited)...if you die your spouse will not have to pay for up to $25,000 of you debt!"

...Like I'm really supposed to get excited about the thought of me dying... give me a break. So with one last gust-o, if you will, I rendered this statement, "Listen, I'm single... I have no spouse, or kids. I'm 21, I'm young, and even though I know that everyone thinks their not not going to die young, I really believe I'm not. So, I would still like to cancel."

One would think I had won. But no... she had one last punch, "Well sir, I'm young too and I really like it"

I said, "Well, I'm glad it works for you, but I just don't feel I need it right now. Now please cancel it." And finally, after what seemed like hours...I had won. yay for me. Well aright, more later...

The Chronicles of the Phantom of the Opera Trip

*Originally Posted April, 2006*

Hello to all! Well, to start off...For those of you who didn't know, I got see the Broadway tour of "Phantom of the Opera" yesterday in Dallas...with that ground work laid lets dive in to the trip...

The Trip There:

So we started our day off by picking Krista (my brother's girlfriend) up at her house. Next, we decided that we were hungry and needed something to eat, so we stopped at Braums for some chow... Now I know what you're thinking, "Man, this is pretty boring...why the crap would I want to read about a boring trip?"...and right you are. That's why courtesy of Caleb (my brother) things got interesting... First we waited for what seemed like 30 minutes in the Braums drive-thru... Oh, wait IT WAS 30 MINUTES! Anyway, shortly after receiving our food and drinks, which almost all of us ordered stuff that wouldn't mess up our clothes (if we dropped them), the unthinkable happened... Caleb spills almost his entire chocolate milk on his tan-ish, white pants... I'm telling it looked like he had uncontrollable explosive diarrhea! But on the front... so I guess it did a u-turn, or something like that. Whatever. Needless to say I felt for the guy. So we went to Target and got him some new pants... And yes, he had to walk through the store that way... Finally we make it to the theatre!

The Show:

The show was good, really good even. Not great, but really good. What can I say, I love the movie! But I will say it might have been better if there wasn't a baby in the freakin' theatre though! I'm telling you how stupid can people get... I can see it now, "Hey, lets just bring the baby, you don't think anyone will care do you?" Just do us all a favor, if you're going to have children... Don't bring them in the freakin' theatre, and let them cry!!...*ahem*... I'm better now.

The Trip Back:

Alright, so we started our journey home... I was really tired because I hadn't gotten a lot of sleep the night before, as such my eyes stung when they had to stay open. But since I'm the compass of the troop, I had to navigate us back to the straight and narrow. Just one little snaf-foo happened. Caleb had to use the facilities, like a mo-fo. So, we looked for a place to exit... When my mom finally decided to choose an exit, she did so in the bad part of town. So Caleb's only choice was a Churches Chicken (Yep, now you know the part of town alright). He dashed inside, and dashed back... with a new appreciation for port-a-potties! j/k Anyway, we decide to stop at Dairy Queen for some food, and of course ice cream! There was just one little problem... it seemed like for every order you had, you could multiply that by 5 min per order and that's how long it took to get the darn thing. So needless to say the DQ trip took a wee bit longer then we thought it would. Finally we made it back... I came into my apartment, and I'd like to tell you I crashed, but no. I watched some TV, ate some chips, then crashed! Ha! Thought you knew me so well... j/k. Well, check for more later.

Manjari Must Die

*Originally Posted April, 2006*

Alright, I know what you were thinking when you decided to read this,"What in the world is this thing about, and what the crap does 'Manjari Must Die' mean?"...Am I pretty close? Well, if you did ask those questions they are good ones. If you didn't ask those questions one of two things are going on here... One, you just don't care, and you really probably shouldn't be reading this in the first place, but you're going to just because you love me sooo much. (which I highly doubt) or Two, you are just sooo trusting of my blogs that you'll read them even if they're about crap... or mushed crap... or stuff that resembles mushed crap. (I'm thinking there might be like two of you who do this) Anyway, I won't keep you in suspense any longer, so here goes...

"Manjari Must Die" is a independent feature length film that is being shot right here in Oklahoma. Why does this matter to me, you may ask? Well, let's go back to the beginning shall we? ...Ok, I'm being born... Look! there I am! I'm such a ugly baby... Wait, they're pushing me back in!!------alright, maybe that was too far back. Ok so, back in early February I got on MySpace Film (a new part of myspace, like myspace music, but for film... go figure.) Anyways, I looked around at some of the companies on there, and found a couple that do some stuff from here ("here" being Oklahoma in general) Well, on one of the pages I noticed that they were going to be filming a feature length film and two shorts here later in the year. So I e-mailed the guy, wondering if they were had already cast the aforementioned films, or if they still needed people.

Months passed by, and no answer. To be quite honest I had forgotten all about it. Until about a week ago when he finally e-mailed back saying, "I am looking for some college age guys if you would like to audition"...So I did! And yesterday he gave me a call to let me know... I'VE BEEN CAST! And not just a little part either! In fact it's the largest male role in the movie... So needless to say I am pretty freakin' excited about it! Well, that's about all...check back for more later.

The Events of "Factor X"

*Originally Posted March, 2006*

Hello to everyone out there... on your computer... reading this. Maybe aloud, or perhaps to yourself... or maybe even to your pet fish, Pepper. Whichever the case, I hope you enjoy... and stuff.

Alright so I know you are all wondering what the "Factor X" stands for, and I'll bet some of you bright individuals have already guessed it... It's Starbucks but of course! I just thought I'd get a bit fancy on you, to keep you on your toes...

So, things at Starbucks in the last couple of weeks have been interesting, interesting indeed. In the last few weeks we've had a few people quit, a couple people move, one guy get married...and one person that got abducted by aliens...plaid aliens. (Ok, maybe not the last one, but the rest of them really happened.) My point is that a lot of people have left, leaving us a bit short handed. So my boss went on a quest, if you will, to find us some new Starbucks employee's... But being short handed has meant more hours for me so I haven't minded too much. So I was like a quest? why go on a quest? why don't you just sit back, and take a load off... In fact, here's some jelly donuts. But that didn't work. So he hired some new people...

Ahh, I had almost forgotten what it was like to be so new... so naive... so... well, not good. Anyway, because there will be a new store soon (classified information as to where) we have been training people like a mad person(s)! I'm telling you, there's someone I haven't met before in the store like everyday! I come in, I'm like, "Who are you?" and they're like, "I'm new, I work here." So you give that look like... "Well, I've been here a while... so, ya. You better recognize..." and they're all like... "Ooo, he's been here a while, I better recognize..." but really there are some cool people that have started... it's just a change, and change is... well, change. And you have to deal with it. So, I guess I'll deal with it... where's my shotgun?...j/k. Alright, well, that's it for now check back for more later.

Do I Smell Something Burning?

*Originally Posted March, 2006*

A pleasant hello to everyone who reads this! And the good ol' double duce to everyone who doesn't... Any-hoo, it would seem like it's been a while since I posted on here. But there are reasons, good reasons... The biggest of which is my computer. What the crap is he talking about you might be saying... well, my computer blew up! no joke.

While watching my Seinfeld Season 4 DVD (shameless plug) I heard a BOOM! I paused the DVD and walked over to my computer. I tried to turn it back on... nothing. What had happened was the power supply to the computer decided it had lived long enough, and wanted to kick the bucket... if power supplies can kick the bucket. The BOOM was it dying. That was followed by some smoke, and a burning smell... not good. So my computer lay there, lifeless... I almost shed a tear, but then realized that this was going to cost money to fix... so I started to ball! I quickly unscrewed the side and took a look inside... it was dead alright. Me being a tech savvy guy, tracked it down to being one of two things... One: Just the power supply had fried, and I needed a new one, or Two: The power supply, and the motherboard were both fried, and my computer was a big paper weight. Obviously I was routing for number one!

So today I went to Comp USA and bought a new power supply, and installed it. I pushed the button... nothing. I looked at the back..."Hmm...what's this? A new power switch on the back? Let me switch it on" so I did, and my computer came to life! It was beautiful, really. Well, I just wanted to update and get back in the swing of things, so check back for more later.

Jerks and Headaches...Their Common Thread

*Originally Posted February, 2006*

Hello to all! Well, it would seem at long last the sun has graced us with its presence... and I for one thank it for doing so. (I just thought I'd throw that in here). I'm pretty sure you don't care, but whatever, there it is... So I know you're all wondering what do jerks and headaches have in common? And don't worry, I'm not going to leave you hanging... I mean come on, it's me. Sadly, I am the common thread that pieces these things together. I don't know if it's because of the snow, or if people lately just wake up and think, "Gee, I think I'll be a huge jerk-face today!" But whatever the case is, they have been jerks.

Aright so... Today I needed some stuff from the store, and I needed to put my checks in the bank. So I went to the Piggly Wiggly (a local supermarket that's known for bring run down), in the name of convenience... All because it's across the street from my bank. Let me tell you this now... never shop there! For one: Everything is WAY over priced! I mean if you like throwing your money in a trash bag, by all means shop there! But if you don't...run, run vary far away from the Piggly Wiggly... For two: When I get to the check out, the cashier is a "bundle of joy"...which is kinda funny because her name was actually "Joy". lol...

Anyways, I was trying to buy some frozen entree type deals that were on sale for 88 cents each... But when they rung up I saw that they were ringing up at $1.76.

So I politely tell Joy, "Excuse me miss, these (pointing to my frozen entrees) were on sale for 88 cents."

Joy quickly states, "No, that's only on the dinners! ...And you didn't get the dinners!"

Well, there happened to be a huge poster in the window next to us that clearly stated the sale price right on it... So I proceed to tell her, "No, ma'am it says these (once again pointing to my entrees) are on sale, see." ...and I pointed to the sign in the window.

She goes crazy! "I'm telling you sir! These are NOT the ones on sale!"

A manager quickly comes over, and after some random crap from Joy... looks at the poster in the window and states, "Joy, I believe the customer is right."

To which she goes even more crazy, "Why the hell did you put me on register anyway! Huh?!"

He exasperatingly replied, "You know, I'm not sure."

He quickly apologized for her behavior (even though she was still standing right there), and asked if I was satisfied with the outcome.

I thought about saying, "only if you fire her"...But I didn't. I said, "yes"

I then went on my marry way... But let me tell you, that's the last time I go there! Sheesh!

That brings us to later in the day... I'm on my way to work (and I might throw in that I'm on pace to be early), and I'm mosey-ing down the Broadway Extension (a local highway in Oklahoma City) when things come to a complete halt! I mean we're not even close to the construction that's going on up ahead, so I don't why the heck these morons aren't moving... Minutes, and minutes pass by, and we barely move! So I get off at the first exit I come to, in hopes that I can still get to work on time. Oh, but that's just too much to ask I guess... Not only did I hit almost every red light, but I think I got stuck behind every crap face in the metro area!

So I finally get to work... late! (which I'm never late, so it ticked me off a bit) So the night goes on...Things finally get better, my mood improves and so on and so forth. Then it happens... I bend down to pick up some loose change on the floor, and when I get up I hit my head really hard on the corner of the register! I thought I was fine, and started to walk it off... Then I got really light headed... I leaned against the counter, then one of my co-workers got me a chair to sit on... After a while I was good again... Well, with the exception of two things... One, I had a giant headache. and two, I couldn't remember certain things. I, for one, thought I was AdamSandler... So that was my first idea that something might be wrong... For two, I started answering the drive-thru, "Hi welcome to.... umm ... wherever you are". So then I was almost certain something was wrong...Then I couldn't remember the name of the regular that had just come in... Which was weird because I just called her by her name not even 5 minutes ago. Then the roof started caving in, and Ziggy Stardust came through singing "Suffragette City"! And... ok, ok, just kidding on that last part. Finally, my co-workers came to the conclusion that I had gotten a case of selected amnesia...You know though... I still can't think of that ladies name... It's driving me nuts! Well, whatever...

It's Just Another Day...

*Originally Posted February, 2006*

Hello people of the internet! So I will pick up where I left off... Valentine's Day. So... I spent my Valentine's Day doing number nine on my list, and I must admit I enjoyed hearing the sound of children crying, and grown men screaming, "My legs, I can't feel my legs!!"...ok, I'm j/k. Actually it was spent working... all day. Yep it's true, the only free time I had was spent writing on here posting this. But it was worth it...

Anyway, at my photography job things were crazy! And by crazy, I mean...umm...well, crazy! We had so many appointments that we were turning people away! I got kind of scared too, because some of the people who got turned away didn't look too happy... and by me saying they didn't look too happy...Umm, well... how can I put this? Aw, I know. I mean they looked like they were going to get their Uzi and shoot the ever living crap out of us. But I mean what can you expect when you're trying to make an appointment for later that day? I mean the nerve... It was Valentine's Day! You know, come to think of it they were lucky I wasn't pulling out my Uzi and shooting the ever living crap out of them! ...*ahem* Anyway, I tried my best to make the peoples' kids that came in look as beautiful as possible, but since some of them needed a rather large spanking on the hind quarters it was impossible... So to get back at those kids I didn't give them a happy face sticker, ha! I showed those little kids! *ahem* Ya, so then that job was over... and I left.

Later I was off to Starbucks... I had recently seen the new Pink Panther movie with Steve Martin, and had a french accent stuck in my head. So I found it irresistible to talk with a french accent... all night. Unsuspecting drive-thru-ers were greeted with, (what I thought) was a pleasant french voice. Which most people enjoyed, some hated with a passion... and still a few yet that couldn't understand what in the world I was saying. A couple of times I slipped into my Irish accent, and found that quite enjoyable too. In fact one lady, in like her 30's, thought it was my real voice and asked...

Lady: "Which part of Ireland did you grow up in?"

Me: (In a thick Irish accent) "I grew up in the fine region of Tucson... Arizona." Then I start talking normal...

She cracks up and says, "You should be an actor!"

I said, "I am!"

She continues, "Well good, because you should be!"

I finish with, "Thank you."

...and they drove off. Probably to see the wizard... the wonderful wizard of Oz... or something like that.

The "Special Edition" Valentine's Day Blog

*Editor's Note*

Originally posted the day before Valentine's Day 2006, this blog of awesomeness was somehow unintentionally deleted (over two years ago) from the recesses of MySpace never to be seen again...until now. This classic that "started it all" (for the Valentine's Day blogs) was the first Valentine's Day piece written for humans to feast upon, and chuckle at their own singleness...I'm sure of it. Now somehow digitally remastered, it can now be viewed in its full 1080p glory. So here is your chance to read the blog, that hundreds have called "a blog about Valentine's Day" for yourself. I now give you the one, the only...the original, "Special Edition" Valentine's Day Blog" from 2006.
____________________________________________________________________


Actually, unlike the title says, there is absolutely nothing "special edition" about this blog. I just put it in there to make all of you single people feel better on Valentine's Day...if you feel better, it worked...if you don't...you don't. and nothing I can do is going to change that, so why should I even try?...*ahem* Well, ok... I'll try.


So here it is...Valentine's Day. Doesn't feel any different then any other day... I mean the sun is shining, the birds are singing... people are still cutting me off on the roads. Yep, love is definitely in the air. So just yesterday I was in the mall when I happened to glance at two guys that appeared to be about 14 or 15 years old in the food court... I mean there's nothing unusual about two 14 or 15 year old guys being in the food court, right? But there is something a bit disturbing about them both holding Victoria's Secret bags. I mean I wonder what was on their perverted little minds... because I'm guessing it wasn't perfume in those bags... Anyways, let's not go there.

So you might be asking yourself, what can I do? I have no Valentine... Well, there's no need to fret! For I have compiled a list of 10 things you can do on this Valentine's Day ...all original too! (as in I made them up...I didn't get them off a forward or something like that)...and here they are!



You Could:



1. If you're not single, and don't have a date with your bf/gf...spy on them to see if they're cheating on you...which will get you single really quick (if they are, or aren't cheating), then you can look at the other nine of these!

2. Watch your favorite movie with your best friend. (aww)

3. Read a book...because reading will help keep your mind off of it being Valentine's Day ... as long as the book isn't about life, love, and the pursuit of happiness...If it is, then you're screwed.

4. Watch your favorite movie with an alright friend or friends (because your best friend has a bf/gf, and isn't a loser like you)

5. Live in the past and pour over old pictures of ex bf/gf's and be like... Now that was a good Valentine's Day.

6. Ask a complete stranger off the streets, who looks like a nice person, to watch your favorite movie with you... (because ALL of your friends have a bf/gf, and aren't losers like you)

7. Call a 1-900 number, or one of those singles hot-lines... because chatting with someone on Valentine's Day at least makes you feel better...right? (like you're ever going to get to talk to a guy or a girl that looks like the one on the commercials)

8. Watch a movie that you hate with a complete stranger you met in like Wal-Mart... It's not like you're going to be watching the movie anyway... I mean it's Valentine's Day, dang it, and you want some action!

9. Take a machine gun, and go around the city blowing the crap out of people, because you're single on Valentine's Day, and not happy about it! (I don't suggest this one)

10. Kill yourself. (I don't suggest this one either)



Well, there it is the "Special Edition" Valentine's Day blog...do with it as you will...and try to have a Happy Valentine's Day...just not too happy.

Events of Gibberish in the Life of Ben

*Originally Posted February, 2006*

Hello to all, I hope this post finds you doing well, or close to well....or not dead (you should be one of those). So it would seem that my life has been somewhat full this week. Full of stuff, things...events some might even call them. It all started with the fateful death of my little cell phone and went on down from there... You see my phone died on the 28th of Jan., but I wasn't eligible for a new phone until Feb. 1st... So I had to rough it without communication to the outside world for what seemed like 10 years... Now I know what the Dark Ages were like...people talking into paper cups with string attached to the end of another paper cup. And you're all like...that's really awesome I can sort of hear you, but in reality it sucks and all you hear is a sound that somewhat sounds like Scooby-Doo...."Rye rink rhis is rwesome, rye can rear you"...yep, it must of been tragic times alright.

Anyways, after the few days without a cell phone I went to a cell phone place, and got a phone... boy do I love to spend money on cell phones(he says sarcastically). I hate cell phone companies. So after dropping a considerable amount of dough at the cell phone place I went to get the oil changed in my car. I had a coupon so it was a good deal (yes, I finally remembered to use one of those darn coupons that I'm always buying from people, boo-ya for me!). But I should have known that the spending money part of my day was far from over. When I got back to pick up my car they said that a belt of importance was going to break soon, and would take other stuff of importance with it when it went. Oh, and would most likely leave me stranded where I was. Well, when you put it that way I better fix it... So there went more dough... a lot more dough. I think I was on the verge of shooting someone. So I came home and did the next best thing... killed people online. (in a game, for those of you who got that worried look on your face as you read that last sentence) Thus ending what seemed like a day straight from Hell...

Then the weekend came... After dealing with customers that treat you worse than the gum on their shoe, and bosses that are self-centered... and more of that other stuff I said... the weekend finally came upon me. It started last night, and pretty much ended there too, but whatever. Anyway, so I went over to Tim and Jesse's house with a junk load of people to watch a movie. We ended up watching "Just Like Heaven" with Reese Witherspoon, some dude and Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite) it wasn't bad...I mean Jon Heder was funny... So ya, good times? Still working on that...

So today I originally had requested off, but ye ole' Starbucks didn't let me have it off, so I gave my shift away. Then like an idiot I took someone else's shift in an earlier time... stupid, stupid, stupid! Head... hit... keyboard. So it started with me teaching a girl that's been there 6 weeks to do the bar... Which she should have already learned... a long time ago! So I'm just standing there painfully watching her try to do bar... and teaching her. Then of course we get swamped, I take over get us caught up, then we try again. She finally gets the hang of it... and the peasants rejoiced... big time.

So finally I ask the boss on duty if I could go. Just when I was about to till out and go home, the girl I had been training gets sick and starts throwing up, or tossing her cookies, bowing to the white throne... or whatever you want to call it. Then within two minutes of that, the guy that was supposed to be there in like 3 minutes calls and says he'll be late! So... 30 min later I finally get to till out and leave, but wait! The boss that finally gave me release to go is counting his till! So why don't I wait some more!!! I don't have a life, really! I mean for the love of donuts. Anyway I finally got to leave, and now I hope that my weekend will take a turn for the better with Ali's Super Bowl Party tonight... well, ok...until next time...bye.

R.I.P.'s

*Originally Posted January, 2006*

Hello everyone.The story you are about to read is true... all of it. As such, make sure you have a tissue or a boyfriend/girlfriend near by when reading this, thank you.

I remember when I got it, it was a thing of beauty, it looked younger, and more... shiny. It lived a long, happy life; doing what it did best...making phone calls. It did it's job well, my little cell phone. Many conversations did it hear, and ...stuff. But alas, last night at Starbucks the cell phone saw it's last setting sun. Here is that some-what not inspiring story...

I had just finished my shift at the local Starbucks in which I work. I put away my headset, and put the battery in the charger to,well...recharge. I counted my till and was bringing it back to the drawer when the unthinkable happened... As I rounded the corner from the back with the till in my right hand, and my cell phone in my left a fellow Starbucks employee inadvertently bumped into me causing me to lose control of both my phone, and the till with the moo-la in it. I had to make a quick decision... I did not have time to catch both, the phone, and the till before they plummet on the hard floor below. So do I... A: save my phone and watch the till with the money go all over the floor, and be there probably unpaid for what's sure to be at least another 30 min, while I clean it all up, recount my till, see if anything's missing, if anything is., find it , or take it out of my own money? ...or B: catch the till, and watch the fate of my thankless little buddy as it hits the hard surface below? Well, I chose B. I indeed caught the till, and indeed the phone hit the ground. It was a hard fall, one that laid a crushing blow to the little cell phone. The only words I can muster up to say are... Rest In Piece's... two to be exact. the end.

PS: Funeral services times for Ben's cell phone have not yet been made...please feel free to send your condolences...and cash.

Life... and Stuff

*Originally Posted January, 2006*

Ok, so... it seems for the most part that serious posts are a bust around here... So, I'm going back to my attempt at comedy, beware. So, ya...I kicked off the good ol' weekend by, well...working. It was jeans day, which only comes once a month at Starbucks... so it's kind of the highlight of the month for some Starbucks employees (As sad as that may be). As it was jean day (like I said above), and since it is such a big deal (also, like mentioned above), people brought good stuff to eat... like cookies, home-made cup cakes, store bought cup cakes, and one of those little vegetable sampler things that have ranch in the middle. But, to my extreme dismay there were almost no more little vegetable sampler things left by the time I got my turn to get some. So I picked up a couple of little straggling carrots...ate them dry (because they hogged all the ranch). Then grabbed a couple of cup cakes and bolted on my ten minute break. To where I ate them both with no remorse for taking more then one. Ha, I showed them! Other then that the day at Starbucks went well. I said some words to customers...no, really. What do you except me to do? Sign their order back to them over the drive-thru speaker...gosh! And the day finally came to an end.

After work I went over to Tim and Jesse's house for what was promised to be a night of fun for all... right. A: Never trust Tim when he says that. B: umm... Never trust Tim when he says that. So, when I showed up they were in the middle of watching a movie entitled, "Meet the Browns" which I found quite funny I must admit. After the movie, I felt the feeling you get when your stomach is so empty that it's eating the body fat you have, which for me there is none...so it was very important that I get some food in my body pronto! So Kelsi, Gretchen, Susie (Some girls I know... they are of little importance to this story), and I went to get some food for ourselves...(because the guys had already ate without us) Mmm...Taco Bell never gets old. Alright, so when we get back there's this big box with stuff in it, lying right in the middle of the floor...When we inquired about what the box was; we were told it contained a desk that needed assembled. Yes, the party was nothing more then a clever way to get free help to put together a stupid computer desk...that's low. "A night of fun for all"... very low indeed. What's more is most everyone didn't even help us! They sat on their butts telling us, "No that's wrong, you need to put it this way"...I almost said if you want it that way get your behind down here and do it yourself, punk....face. The night continued this way until the end when we at last finished the desk...which took quite a while because the only people working on it were Kelsi, Gretchen, JT, and I. But we won't go into that...Well, I'm getting a bit tired so I best be off to bed...check back for more soon.

Haystax, Poker, and Lack of Sleep

*Originally Posted in January, 2006*

Alrighty then, so I started off my weekend by going to a birthday party for Kelsi (a girl I know from my old church) who turned 25. Fun was had by all, especially when a certain 5 guys...*ahem*, including me...gave a "special presentation" for her...don't ask...I mean you can, but I probably won't tell you. Somewhere in here the night came to an end, the girls left, and us, the guys... played. Nintendo... For a long time. After all of us were tuckered out from playing Game Cube we tried to get some shut eye.

My friend, Brady, and I ended up talking while the others slept. We talked....and talked....and we talked some more. I tried not to doze off while we were talking on subjects of interest to us all, although I fear I might have once or twice. Finally the sun rose...and yes, we were still talking. We talked until 8 am and then were overcome with sweet slumber....until 10:15 am. Yes, we slept a whopping 2 hours and 15 min...yay for us. After I regained conciseness Tim (another friend of mine) made oatmeal with toast for us. I guess oatmeal and toast go together... He said, "It's good! Try some."...So I had some... Shortly there after decided that left over cake was the way to go for breakfast. Then I left...and came home to clean for the poker night.

After cleaning ye ole' house for the upcoming poker event I went to my brother's b-ball game. It was much like last week except the kids on the other team were jerks. That's right if you're reading this and you played on the other team... you, and I mean YOU were a jerk...face. The officials seemed to have a bias against our team, and one of them seemed to be coaching the other team... So, I decided to talk to the one ref after the game...which I did. While I stepped up to him to give my commentation I realized that the fellow was rather huge, and could kill me easily. So as well as I can on here I will reenact the moment...

Ben: "Excuse me, are you the coach of the other team?"

Ref: "No, I'm the ref."

Ben: "So you're not the coach of the other team though?"

Ref: "No, I'm just the ref."

Ben: "Oh, well...then, keep reffing... ref."

Call me what you want, but I got the heck out of dodge.

As for poker night, it was fun. I lost... at times it seemed un-orderly... I lost. Jay and Kyle Anne brought the new intern Jared and introduced him to everyone... and I lost. But it was still a fun night none-the-less. Ali and Caleb ended up splitting the pot at the end of the night, and me....I lost. Well, that does it for now... Check back for more later.