Everything is going great

Saturday, April the Twenty-Third

4.23.2011               158 pounds




Spring! The weather is getting nicer, the flowers are beautiful and everything outside just makes me want to take a deep breath in and then sneeze sneeze sneeze while rubbing my scratchy eyes. Spring is the time for new beginnings and this new relationship is flourishing beautifully, CE is a sweet, beautiful, hilariously funny young lady and I love her dearly.




While keeping things new and fresh for the spring
 of 2011 I bought a new (to me) car! I am now the
proud owner and driver of a 2005 Honda Element.

Front and back seats all fold
down mesh with each other!

I have only been involved with my khaki crate for two weeks but am already very fond of her. Of course, I have only been involved with my Sweet CE for about a month... Everything is new and wonderful. I hope the winds of time never blow my cloud 9 away.

About a week plus point five of a week ago I told CE that I was going to take her on an adventure but would not tell her what it was. She worked that morning and I was to pick her up and off we would go. She was obvs excited about it because when I picked her up she was telling me about telling our co-workers that I was taking her on an adventure. "Ben is taking you on an adventure?" Said one co-worker, "Well you might end up on top of a mountain." and that we did.

We went for a beautiful drive in my beige box out 33 listening to Ugly Duckling's Taste the Secret. Drove through Briery Branch and turned onto a gravel road by some farm lands. "So I officially do not know where we are going," CE announced to me. I did not tell her that we were going to Reddish Knob but was surprised that she had never been since she grew up in the area and admitted to having many friends that lived in Briery Branch, that made the trip all the more special though. 

After winding your way to the tip top of the drive you are greeted with a 360 degree view of the beautiful mountains along the Virginia West Virginia. This is all from a small rectangular parking lot scribbled with spray-painted graffiti tags which mostly consist of the two names of a couple + 4eva, the occasional wiener or the ever so popular Heart Around Initials.

We got up to the top around 4 and I parked my car and told CE the reason I parked my car here was because in about 3 and a half hours the sun would be setting right there (imagine me pointing straight out in front of us.)

We walked around a while up top, there are some trails that lead to small camp grounds and fire pits and then I pulled out the spray paint. It seams obligatory to spray paint something when you bring a date up there.  I had also packed us a delicious lunch so we sat on the windy mountain top overlooking the beauty of the West Virginia/Virginia skyline while we ate turkey and kit-kats and drank our Dr. Pepper. My light brown barrel allows me to fold my front and back seats down to make an adequate double bed. I hooked my computer up the the cars outlet and sound system and put in the movie Across the Universe. A blanket was laid down we enjoyed the surround sound movie. It ended at the perfect time to watch the sunset.

A perfect end to such a wonderful day.

Michigan J. Frog

Thursday March the Thirty-First

3.31.11              153 pounds


I gave up on March of the Consumer, I do not have the dedication for a project like that. I did make a painting though.

The last post, Hanging out or going on a date, was started after the dinner and concert at the Little Grill. Between the time of the concert and the time of post my relationship CE has progressed wonderfully and we are now officially dating.

I painted her this picture.

Michigan J. Frog.

Tonight I am taking CE on a date.

Hanging out or Going on a Date

Sunday, March the Twenty-Seventh

3.27.11          153 pounds



A while back before Papa Bud passed I asked this girl CE out to go hiking. We picked a date to go which coincided with Papa Bud getting sick so I cancelled to spend time with family. Later in december I got really sick and then Grandma Shirley passed in January. CE and I didn't run into each other too much and  never really rescheduled. A mutual friend had a party in which the two of us attended, and after talking decided we should get together sometime.

We started exchanging sarcastic texts and web-enabled chats. After my kite flying success, I told CE that the next time we have coinciding time off we should get together and fly. On a beautiful windless day a few days later we got together and because the still of the air meant Harrisonburg was a no-fly zone we decided to get ice cream (#1 of 3 in 6 days).

I picked her up and drove us to Kline's Dairy Bar. When the young ice cream attendant was ready I ordered my cone and added "and whatever she is having" pointing to CE. She responded by saying she would pay for herself. I'm a fan of everyone paying for themselves but I was still caught a little off guard. We sat and talked and complimented each others socks. She had to go to work so I dropped her back off at home.

B T Dubs, eating ice cream with this facial hair is pretty disgustingly delicious.

We have gone out again since then. The Mighty Ducks was playing for free at Westover and I really wanted to see it again. CE had never seen the flying V. We were the first to arrive and got primo seats. dead center on the biggest most comfortable gym mat.

We went out again for dinner and a show. After CE departed from work she called me so we could coordinate our plans. She was being very indecisive and I'm not the best plan maker so I said that we could pencil in dinner and martinis at the dodger and then a walk to the Little Grill for the concert. It was a good thing we used pencil and not sharpie because after I picked her up, parked downtown, and went to the dodger we realized / remembered that that night was the art opening for a local artist. We walked circles around downtown for an hour talking and laughing. Laughing a lot, we spent the majority of our time cracking up over the silly things we were doing. CE is a goober and that is a quality that I look for in women, it is almost mandatory.

While at Jess's Quick lunch the fun didn't stop. shooting straw wrappers, videotaping slithering straw wrapper snakes, dropping frys, mustard drooling. I'm sure the waitress's and owner were not finding us nearly as amusing as we did.

We did end up making it over to the little grill where we met up with LT and some of his friends. I tried to hold her hand on the way over and was turned down though. We stayed until the last band finished, which was playing to an almost empty house.

A date or just hanging out, we had a great time and look forward to seeing her again soon.

March of the Consumer

Tuesday, March the First

3.1.11            160 pounds

Happy March family and friend.

After reading this blog post and researching the topic I was...

Inspired by One Year by George Maciunas (Not to be confused with Year One, the horrible Jack Black / Michael Cera flick),

Picture taken from boxvox.net

 I decided to create my own consumption project. One Year was a project by Lithuanian artist George Maciunas. Basically it is the containers of everything he bought for consumption between 1973 and 1974. While Maciunas had his empty containers from an entire year nicely organized I will more likely make a collage of the wrappers and labels I use for the month of March.

I anticipate the outcome of this project disgusting me. I do not think I am the healthiest eater and this might just prove it. Thirty-one days of my breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Already I have two labels from soda bottles, the wrapper from a fast food hash brown, and the label from a can of tuna. 

I. am. Famous.

Wednesday, February the Twenty-Third

2.23.11          159 pounds


Not many weeks ago I had a pretty bad day at work. When I finally got off in the afternoon I was nearly blown away by the hurricane-like gusts of wind. I came home, packed up my kite, my dog, a blanket, and a book and bounded off towards the park. Flying a kite is very relaxing if you have enough wind, it is very frustrating when you don't. The kite was able to go up with a breeze.

Photographer Michael Reilly came walking up the hill and asked if he could take my picture for the News Record. I told him sure but I wasn't flying the kite for the fame and stardom, that I would just continue what I was doing. The next day I was in the paper.

To Cool For Medjool

Tuesday, February the Twenty-Second

2.22.11     156 pounds





Ex and I broke up the summer of oh ten and I had not thought about dating much since then. I did have some not to great encounters with Ex-Ex since the break up with Ex. Ex-Ex is thankfully not still involved in my life, that train wreck is a downward spiral of destruction. RC also became a fun drinking buddy with more to offer than just friendship.

Sis and BIL told me about a funny match up of an acquaintance that happened because of the dating website okcupid a few months ago and because of the low low cost of free I made myself a profile. After a few e-mail correspondences and friendly chit chats with a OS, a local girl, we decided to meet up.....

To Be Continued...
                          

                              after these messages.

OS and I had plans to go bowling, so when I picked her up at six we proceeded to Valley Lanes. Entering the bowling alley parking lot we saw a very large mound of dirt on the lot next door and decided that after bowling we would climb that mound. Unfortunate news... Thursday night is league night and all lanes were filled. We walked out in the same demeanor as Charlie Brown when he has still not discovered what it is to be a "good man." That all changed though when we saw The Mound again.  The two of us climbed the mini mountain. 


There was no plan b so I was very happy when OS suggested going to SkateTown. Unfortunate news... Thursday night is private rental night and the place was booked. Yikes...  The online communication was so promising yet the gods seem to be hindering here. OS had never been to kids castle before so, because we were in the neighborhood I took her there. With each step through Kids Castle I reminisced about the playground and noticed that this grand child's playground has been modified for 'safety issues.' I discourage the cookie-cutter plastification of our playgrounds. 


We swung on the swing until well after dark talking and then went to get food and ice cream (ice cream #2 of 3 in six days) 9:15 PM is when bowling was back open to the public so we made it down for an hour of bowling. A pitcher is quite filling for just two people, Mountain Dew was pulsing through my veins. 

Mail Call

Sunday February the Twentieth

2.20.11       161 pounds

Well the envelope craft that I started with the playboy magazine covers has been the easiest craft so far. I have mailed one so far to my friend RC and it reached it's destination. It was a playboy cover as the envelope and although it did not show anything too revealing I was still a little nervous that it would not go though. I asked the postal carrier about it and his response was "Well, there's no nipple so there shouldn't be a problem."

I have received several calendars from friends and coworkers and have made quite a few envelopes! I have sent a few out, some playboy and some envelopes from other sources and they seem to be getting to the destination without any problems.

My last few weeks have been pretty enjoyable. I have gone to an art opening, hiking twice, a few date-ish type things, some movies, played racquetball, breakdancing and more. In the last six days I have eaten at Kline's Dairy Bar three times.  I hope I can spend some time writing about my experiences.