Losing a Whole Year of Laundry

OK, so yesterday my roommate Blinkie asked me if he could borrow my laundry detergent. I of course said yes, but when I went into my room 5 minutes later I noticed my detergent was still there.

I asked him if he had used it, and he said "Do you have anything other than fabric softener?" I figured he misread the label, but as I picked up the bottle of laundry detergent my eyes came across something I'd never noticed before. Underneath the bold words Ultra Gain in smaller print read "Fabric Softener."

I was floored. This is the "detergent" I have been washing my clothes with since last may.

When I think about it, the amount of "detergent" required was fairly small, and my whites never seemed to stay white.... I can't believe I've been washing my clothes with fabric softener this whole year.

My roommate laughed for about good 5 minutes straight when I told him. I guess I deserved it.

Keep it real,

Ben

PS - My mom has done my laundry a number of times throughout the year, so at least my clothes were cleaned properly every once in a while.

The Art Form Formerly Known As Music

OK, so at the request of my friend Alyssa I looked up a song called "Ghost Ride It" by a rapper named "Mistah FAB."

This song is by far the worst song in the history of music. This rapper took a clip from the Ghostbusters theme and used it as the hook as he sang about "ghost riding da whip." For those of you who are too old or uncool to know what ghost riding is, it's the act of sitting on top of your car as it idles forward while in drive. It happens to be dangerous and extremely stupid. People die from it.

The fact that rappers are now resorting to using songs from movies like Ghostbusters just goes to show that they're running out of ideas. This is by far worse than anything ever produced by Frankie Goes to Hollywood.

Let's pray that rap takes a different direction, before 50 Cent ends singing along to the Muppet Babies theme.

Keep it real,

Ben

Two for One

OK, so I had two ideas for a blog post, but neither was very long, so I figured I'd just combine them into one post.

First, did anyone feel the earthquake??? I was awake when it happened, and my walls were swaying back and forth and my bed rumbled. At first I thought it was wind, maybe a tornado, but everything was silent. Before I went back to bed I remember thinking "I wonder if I just experienced an earthquake....I'll check the news tomorrow morning." Sure enough it was! 5.2 on the Richter scale, to be exact.

Second, it turns out that I'm not the only server at the Olive Garden who gets in awkward situations with their customers. Yesterday I heard about a server who went up to a table and said, "It looks like someone got some sun today" to which the female patron replied, "No, I have Lupus." Well at least she tried...

Keep it real,

Ben

San Francisco Bay Region Young Life

OK, so a week ago I was flown out to San Francisco to interview with Young Life in the Bay Region. I spent three and a half days out there getting a macro-level view of the area, as well as visiting individual communities. While I was there I ate out more times than I can count, went to downtown San Francisco for a night and met with a number of different YL staff and volunteers.

At the end of the trip I told the regional director I was interested in continuing the interviewing process, and he said the feeling was mutual, so I will be flying back out there for more interviews and in depth visits to the communities I could work in.

There are three different areas they could place me at, and it just so happens that their first choice for me is also my favorite. That community is a town called Brentwood. It's a booming town - 40,000 new residents in the last 8 years.

These are pictures from the area. It's absolutely gorgeous out there and the weather is close to perfect. So far it looks like a good fit for everyone, but I won't know anything for sure until I get out there and find out all the details.

So, feel free to pray for me during this process. I've interviewed with Young Life here, and that option is still on the table as well. Right now I feel at peace with everything and know that wherever I end up will be where God wants me.

Keep it real,

Ben

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace!

OK, so if you're reading this blog post aloud to a group of children you might want to reconsider. I fear their impressionable young minds might be forever scarred from hearing the following story...

Tonight I was serving a table at the Olive Garden when I felt someone flick my rear end with their finger. I figured it was a joke and turned around expecting to see someone I knew, but instead only saw a 50 year old woman.

She gave me this look and said, "Your ass was in my face." Not knowing what to say I simply said, "Oh, I'm sorry about that." She then said, "I'm just hitting on you. You can stick your ass in my face whenever you want." By then I really didn't know what to say, but managed to blurt out "Good to know" and quickly walked back into the kitchen.

I could tell that she had been drinking and that the alcohol was clouding her judement. It apparently was also affecting her husband's judgement, who was sitting right there the whole time.

I was really busy, so I didn't have time to think about it and didn't even notice the woman after that. But that sure does rank up there as one of my most awkward moments in the workplace.

I didn't read the Olive Garden's public policy when I hired on, but I'm pretty sure carnal abuse wasn't in the terms of the agreement. Maybe I'm entitled to some sort of compensation. I'll have to look into that...

Keep it real,

Ben

Beardly

OK, so recently I made an attempt to grow facial hair, and I have to say that I am fairly surprised at the reactions I've been getting. Thankfully I've gotten mostly positive feedback.

People seem to feel the need to make comments when they see me with facial hair for the first time. A black coworker of mine recently told me that it made me look like a "grown ass man." I'm not sure what that means, but I do know that she has since been repeatedly asking me to "hit her up" after work. Once again, I'm not exactly sure what that means, but I'm assuming she wants me to call her.

Sexual harrasment aside, it's been a positive experience. I was originally planning on just shaving it off after a week or two, but people seem to like it. Maybe I'll keep it for a while.

Sorry mom.

Keep it real,

Ben

San Francisco?

OK, so lately I've been sending out resumes and applications to Young Life regions along the California coast, and today I got a bite.

As of right now San Francisco is offering to fly me out in April to interview with a couple of Area Directors in the region. I called to get some more details and let them know where I was at with the whole process (how I'm talking with other regions, etc). I told them that I wanted to respect their time and resources and the woman I talked to said she would talk it over with the Regional Director, but she didn't think it should be a problem.


So now I'm looking at my schedule and trying to figure out what times will work for me to fly out there. Once I get that information to them they will look into booking a flight.

I'm excited!

Keep it real,

Ben

Not in the Mood

OK, so tonight a guy I know came over unexpectedly to hang out with Ryan, but I avoided him because I really wasn't in the mood to talk.

I was polite, but went into the living room and turned on the TV in an attempt to get away. But, he eventually found his way over to the living room and started up a conversation.

At first I was annoyed and just wanted to watch TV, but after a while he sat down and it appeared he wasn't going anywhere so I figured I would turn off the TV and talk with him.

During the next hour and a half we ended up having one of the most meaningful conversations I've had in a long time. This friend has been having a rough time lately, and we talked about what was going on in his life and a little about what was going on in my life. We are even planning on meeting again to further discuss some of the things we talked about.

He just left, and I am amazed at the fact that at the time I wanted to be alone and watch TV more than anything, but now wouldn't trade that time we spent talking for anything. It's really ironic to me and makes me wonder how many great things I miss out on all the time because I'm in a bad mood, or not feeling up for it. Thankfully God didn't let my bad mood get in the way tonight.

Keep it real,

Ben

Age is a Number?

OK, so some Saturday mornings I like to help volunteer at a Christian organization downtown, and I happened to go this morning. Interestingly, while I was there I met a girl.

This girl seemed great. She was attractive, really nice, super caring, laughed a lot, smart, etc. She was there with a couple of high school students that she worked with through her church. We talked most of the time and when we were on opposite sides of the room she kept smiling at me.

So she's awesome, but there's a catch. She's 30. Now, maybe I misread and she's just nice to everyone, but she wasn't wearing a ring and seemed to enjoy talking to me.

I was debating whether to ask her to go to coffee sometime, but I couldn't work up the courage to ask out a woman 8 years my senior. I mean, I'm 22. I'm still in college. She's trying to pay off a mortgage, I'm trying to beat Guitar Hero 2 on expert. A little different stages of life to say the least.

One of my friends told me that "age is a number" and that I should just ask her out. He also just happens to be dating a girl 8 years younger than him (he's 26).

So we all know that nothing will materialize from it, but I had been planning on going back next Saturday anyways, so maybe she'll come back and we can smile at each other for a while.

Keep it real,

Ben

Story Confirmed

OK, so the story I was told (detailed in my previous post) was accurate. A 21 year old male Bradley student was walking along University with several friends and was killed by a car at around 11 o'clock Saturday evening after being pushed into traffic. The accident was described as "horseplay." The student who pushed the victim was arrested on charges of involuntary manslaughter and ticketed for consumption of alcohol by a minor.
The two students were apparently childhood friends, and it was a just terrible accident. Nonetheless this is the second death on Bradley's campus due to alcohol and horseplay in a year.

For me its a sad reminder of how fragile life is and an encouragement not to take life for granted. I can only imagine how irreparably the lives of the students there that night were changed in a matter of seconds.

You can read the whole story here.

Keep it real,

Ben

Be Watching the News

OK, so tonight I was driving home and noticed an entire fleet of cop cars with their emergency lights on and a 100 yard section of University Street taped off right before the Main St. intersection, less than a block from my apartment.

When I walked over to find out what was going on, I saw a friend of mine who had been there since arriving shortly after the accident occurred. Apparently a young man had been hit by a car while walking with his friends at around 11:45 PM.

I debated whether to write what I've heard without knowing what actually happened, but I am curious to see how the version of the story I was told lines up with the actual story that will surely be all over the news.

What I was told is that a 21 year old Bradley student was walking with his friends when he tripped and fell in front of a car driven by a young woman. When the ambulance arrived, they performed a tracheotomy, but could not resuscitate him. My friend said they figured this because the ambulance drove away without its emergency lights on.

What I do know for sure was that when I arrived there was a young man locked in the back of one of the squad cars, and University Street was blocked off on the southbound side from Columbia Terrace to Avanti's. It also sounded like there was a good chance that alcohol and horseplay were involved. Let's hope that's not the case.

I'll write a follow up post to see if what I've heard is true. Hopefully it isn't, but the scene looked pretty grim. Either way, watch for this story in the news and be praying for the family of this young man.

Keep it real,

Ben

Please Drink Responsibly

OK, so tonight I attended a fantastic lecture on media literacy, particularly dealing with advertisements for alcohol and cigarettes. The lecture was given by social theorist Jean Kilbourne.

One interesting fact I picked up from the lecture had to do with the alcohol industry's supposed support of "drinking responsibly." According to Kilbourne, the alcohol industry depends on irresponsible drinking behavior. She stated that 10% of drinkers consume 60% of the alcohol, and 30% of drinkers consume 90% of the alcohol.

Kilbourne then gave this revealing statistic: If everyone in America drank responsibly (2 drinks a day for men, 1 for women), the alcohol industry's profits would plummet by 80%. And that statistic shows the results if everyone in America drank on a daily basis, including the 40% (120 million people) who currently do not drink.

I guess I always thought the alcohol industry was looking out for my best interests. Who knew?

Keep it real,

Ben

How You Treat Your Server

OK, so being a server has been a really good experience for me. It's a completely different work environment than I'm used to, and I feel like I'm learning a lot from it.

One of the things I've noticed is that when people eat out, how they treat their server often says a lot about them. The reason is because servers are of no real value to the guest. The server gets their food and drinks, and once they walk out the door, the guests will most likely never see their server again.

I can almost always tell right away what kind of table I have. For example, the second I walk up to a table and introduce myself I can usually tell whether they're going to be rude to me or not. And it has nothing to do with age, sex, or appearance. Patrons who look at me when they order, or refer to me by my name are generally caring people. They are the people who will be patient when the food takes longer than expected, and almost always tip generously.

A lot of people are just the opposite though. These people don't look at me when they order, and make me feel like I am a nuisance every time I stop by the table. When I get this kind of table, I pray that their food comes out quickly, because if it doesn't then I, or my manager, will hear about it and my tip will go right down the drain.

I don't judge the people at my tables, or base their service on how they treat me. In fact I will try harder to accommodate the more difficult tables. And, I aware that sometimes people are just having a rough day and my experience is not an accurate representation of their character. But, I still believe that how a person treats their server tells you a lot about their character.

So, when you eat out, how do you treat your server?

Keep it real,

Ben

Denny's, the Bastard Child of the Restaurant Business

OK, so I've worked at the Olive Garden for about 3 months now. I haven't been in the restaurant business very long, but I've been in it long enough to know that Denny's isn't exactly setting the standards other restaurants are trying to live up to.

Denny's is the restaurant everyone loves to pick on. One time my manager was scolding me, and for emphasis he punctuated his remarks by saying "This isn't a Denny's!" Today, as a joke, I warned my coworker that if she didn't get her tray out of the way she'd be "working at a Denny's by this time tomorrow." I don't know why, but it's just fun to speak disparagingly of Denny's.

To be fair, I do eat at Denny's every once in a while. My Young Life guys and I go there from time to time, and have been doing so the last four years. I mean, where else can you get breakfast all day? (besides the Waffle House, Bob Evans, IHOP, Sonic, Dunkin' Donuts, and pretty much any family-style diner)

Keep it real,

Ben

He Looks Just Like You

OK, so today at work a waitress I work with had her notebook open, and I could see pictures of her children in there. One of the pictures was of Marine in uniform. Trying to be nice I said, "Is that your son? He looks just like you."

"That's my daughter actually," she said.

Well, at least I tried.

Keep it real,

Ben

For All You History Majors Out There

OK, so tonight I had dinner with my Grandmother, and during our discussion she mentioned that one of my cousins is a history major. That instantly triggered a memory from my freshman year at Bradley...

My roommate Zack and I had just finished eating at the cafeteria in Williams Hall, and on our way out of the building we passed a cafeteria worker sitting down smoking a cigarette. As we walked by we said, "How's it going?" The guy looked up at us and said "Looks like that history major did me a lot of good."

We looked at each other as if to say "Okayyyy....." and just kept walking. I still laugh about it to this day. Boy am I glad I'm not a history major.

Keep it real,

Ben

Why I'm Not Voting for Huckabee

OK, so I like Mike Huckabee. I think he's a cool guy, he's a Christian, and he has a lot of good things to say, but I'm not voting for him.

I saw him in a CNN Debate with other Republicans a while back, and they were discussing the war, and when the moderator asked him about Iran, Huckabee said something that really turned me off. The quote was this, "I think we need to make it very clear, not just to the Iranians, but to anybody, that if you think you're going to engage the United States Military, be prepared not just to have a battle, but be prepared first to put your sights on the American Vessel. And then be prepared that the next thing you see will be the gates of Hell, for that is exactly what you will see after that."

Everyone in the Republican packed room clapped of course, but that statement really concerned me. I understand the importance of a strong and vigilant military, but my concern is that statements like that only serve exacerbate the problem.

Rhetoric like that sounds great to Americans, but only reinforces all kind of negative stereotypes and over simplified thinking about our enemies, and promotes war and justice over peace. Call me a liberal (I'm not), but I think we need to make every effort towards peace.

To be fair, this is very much an oversimplification of a very complex issue, and there's not enough space on this blog to go into all the different issues and perspectives surrounding it, but regardless, my vote is going to go for a peacemaker. They're blessed you know.

Keep it real,

Ben

See Previous Post

OK, so I thought this image might help illustrate my previous post. You can click see an enlarged version.


Keep it real,

Ben

Dine and Dash (AKA Chew and Screw)

OK, so about 2 weeks ago I served two teenage girls at the Olive Garden. When I dropped their checks off, they asked for a To-Go cup, but when I came back to the table they were gone. A quick sweep of the restaurant, including the ladies' restroom by the hostess, quickly revealed that they had decided not to pay.

So, I reported it to the manager and went on my day. Well, as fate would have it, one of the girls happened to come back into the Olive Garden with her family the other night. I couldn't believe it. She was standing in the waiting area up against a wall, and she must've seen me, because as I passed by she quickly started scratching the top of her forehead - conveniently covering her face.

My heart was racing. Finally, this little turd was going to be squeezed out by the long arm of the law. If I didn't have to get a bowl of Pasta e Fagioli out to the patrons at table 36, I would've performed a citizen's arrest right then and there.

So, I ran off to find my manager, who sadly informed me that because we have no hard evidence, there was nothing we could do. NOTHING WE CAN DO? And furthermore, I could lose my job if I confronted her about the situation, so my manager warned me to be smart. I was a little upset to say the least.

Then, one of my tables opened up, so I quickly found the host and explained the situation. By this time I had made eye contact (I stared her down a little...) with the girl several times, and I could tell she was feeling the heat. I told my hostess to seat the family with me, and she told me she would.

I wasn't sure how I was going to treat the girl. I found myself debating how I should handle the situation. I couldn't accuse her of anything, or even bring up the incident, but she knew that I knew that she knew. You get the point.

I thought of all the ways I could really make her sweat, but in the end found myself deciding on an approach similar to Bishop Myriel in Les Misérables. I figured it was the Christian thing to do.

But alas, it was not meant to be. The hostess made the mistake of offering the family a choice of which side of the restaurant they would like to sit on. She should never have done that! Of course, the teenage girl quickly jumped at the opportunity to sit on the other side of the restaurant, and my grand plan never materialized.

Oh well, it would've been a great twist of irony for her to be seated at my table, but I guess God has a purpose for everything. She certainly felt the heat though! She'll think twice before she steals from the Olive Garden again.

Keep it real,

Ben

What are you STUPID?

OK, so there are some mistakes in life you can't recover from, and two nights ago I almost made one of those mistakes. The story goes like this:

I have bronchitis, and it's been really bad, so I am trying to do everything I can to speed up the recovery process. Unfortunately we do not have a humidifier, but I figured I could just boil water on the stove and it would have essentially the same effect.

So I have been doing this for a couple of days, but then the other night it was really late, and I was about to start my devotional when I figured I would put some water on the stove (which is an old fashion gas-lit stove). Usually I will take the boiling water and put it in my room and let the steam evaporate while I sleep.

So fast forward 6 1/2 hours later when I woke up. I walked out of my room and noticed that the kitchen smelled funny. Then I noticed that the stove was still on, heating a completely dry pot. I had left the stove on the whole night. The smell was the smell of burning gas. The pot was so weak that the handle easily broke off when I threw it away.

I have prayed so many times in the last few days, thanking God for not letting my stupidity hurt anyone. I cringe when I think of what would've happened had the pot been left on much longer, and the flames from the stove had found a way off the top of the stove. Plus I live in an apartment complex, so my actions don't only affect my roommates and myself, but also the other 12 or 13 people who live here. Needless to say I think I'll just spend the 40 bucks and buy a humidifier next time.

I can't wait for the email I will surely get from my insurance salesman father after he reads this. I'm sure I'm in for a real lecture. I mean, he wouldn't even let us burn candles in our house growing up.

When I told my roommate Blinkie what happened he told me, "Well, I'm not going to say you're the dumbest roommate I've ever had.....but let's just say you're definitely giving Ryan a run for his money."

Keep it real,

Ben

PS - Ryan I owe you one pot.