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...

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.