Happy Birthday
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Let me tell you a little story about the time when Kendal and I thought that it was our good friend Jackie's birthday.
It all started with Arlene, my girlfriend (depending on how things turn out with her other boyfriends), inviting us to a "birthday" party for Jackie. We were pretty excited about this and started brainstorming how we could make this birthday of hers extra special. Kendal, naturally, thought it would be a great idea if he baked her a cake. He was pretty excited about finally getting his traveling cake pan back from Camile just a day earlier and was hoping for the opportunity to use it again. As you can see, things were falling into place nicely. The only exception being that I didn’t have a role in the project. Kendal understood my hesitation though, and suggested that I draw up a little rendering of Jax on the cake with some icing. This was a good idea, so I accepted the responsibility and we began to work. Him baking, and me looking for pictures of Jax on the internet.
Here was the result...(the cake is on the right)
Then the unthinkable happened while trying to sneak the cake into Ozona’s. I was focused on maintaining a low profile and I forgot about how delicate freshly baked cakes are. While carrying the traveling cake pan vertically like a briefcase this happened…
Labels: ben
posted by benbox @ 4:44 PM,
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iPhone
Monday, September 17, 2007
I had it less than a week...
At least I didn't lose it...right?
Labels: ben
posted by benbox @ 10:17 AM,
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Melee at All Saints
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
(We have had many crazy things happen out here including fights and people getting kicked off the job weekly for one reason or another, but this is different because Herman is involved.)
Remember the blog about my co-workers when I said that Herman (the head superintendent) was surprisingly bad at dealing with people? Well, this morning he gave me another example of how absurd he is.
We have been having a lot of problems with our steel out on the job. Our sub is American Steel and they do all of the shop drawings, engineering, and purchasing of the steel. They sub out the labor to Azteca though, and Azteca are the iron workers who are actually on our job. This is how it usually works from what I understand, but it is a terrible way to get things done efficiently. Anyway, our biggest problem throughout this job has been with American Steel because they are awful at what they do. They never draw anything correctly, they never have our steel out here on time, and half the time they send us the wrong stuff. Even though Azteca doesn’t work directly for us, they are our erectors and most of our anger comes out on them even though it isn't their fault... and this is not good. These guys are not people that you want to mess with because they are all union guys, and they are all crazy. So, the back story is that these guys are nuts, they do a pretty good job with their given situation, and Herman treats them like dirt.
This morning, after a long meeting where nothing got accomplished except some good name calling (I'm not joking about that either, these men actually talk trash and call each other names during meetings...wtf?) the iron workers go outside and break a couple safety rules. This is not that unusual, but Herman hears Jerry call them out on the radio and he decides he needs to go talk to them himself. I like to eavesdrop on the radio as well, and when I see Herman storm by my office I can't help but follow him to the elevator.
When we get out there Herman immediately starts yelling for Leo, his field assistant, to find out where these "punks" are. I can't give you a line by line on what went down, but Herman made it known he wasn't happy with them and they let Herman know they were in a Union and could do what they wanted. Herman got in their face and yelled at them, and they yelled back at Herman. Herman was cussing and put his finger in this one guy's face, and they were cussing and starting to kind of surround him. Then the unthinkable happened...Herman went on the attack. He did one of those push punches to one guy's face and got a decent shove on another before several people jumped in to break it up (Herman is about 400 pounds and I was impressed with his agility). My instincts were to actually take a couple steps back as this unfolded instead of trying to break it up, and I am happy with that decision. It all happened pretty quick, but it was very intense. There are about 300 laborers on our job site right now, and it seemed like everyone was watching this go down.
Needless to say, we now have a major problem out here at Baylor All Saints. Not only are we behind schedule big time, but now our iron workers are gone for who knows how long. They left after the combat and only a few came back with some union reps. I am currently taking bets on whether we get picketed by the Iron Workers Union or Herman gets fired, with a side bet of whether any weapons get brought to the job site tomorrow.
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posted by benbox @ 3:33 PM,
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My Cup Holder
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Yesterday I was driving down the road with a newly opened gatorade sitting in my cup holder. This cup holder is specially made for jeeps and as you can see in the picture it hangs from the dash - partly inside the jeep and part outside, so if I was to have a door or top of some sort I would have to relocate it. The way it is attached allows for it to swing and sway as I ride down the road and somehow manages to spill very little. This is by far my favorite cup holder I've ever had. However, yesterday on the way home from work I hit a bump and my cup holder just broke off. The cup holder and fresh drink fell right outside of my jeep onto I-30.About a week or so ago I was driving the same route home and my rear view mirror pulled the same deal. It just fell off the window and shattered inside my jeep. It was the type that couldn’t be adjusted and it was already cracked down the middle, so it was very difficult to see things behind me, but it was also my only mirror. Last week as I was driving home listening to the ipod that Kate forced me to purchase from her, I heard a faint siren sound as Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat was ending and Just Like a Woman was beginning to play. I turned around as best I could to see what was going on behind me and of course there is a cop right on my tail with the lights aflashing. Not knowing how long he had been there, I flinched a bit before taking action. My first instinct was to go left, but as I moved that way I noticed how small the shoulder was. I then slowly switched in to the middle lane with my left blinker still on and began to slow down. The cop just zoomed right on by.
For the last month or so I have not had any working headlights on my jeep. I checked fuses and inspected a few loose wires from time to time thinking that both lights going out at the same time had to mean that it wasn’t the bulbs. After a while of trying to schedule my drive time to daylight only (minus mornings to work), I finally decided that something had to be done. Kendal left for Austin last Friday, and I needed to have night commutability due to a poker tournament in Flower Mound. So, Friday after work I went to Pep Boys, bought two new headlights, and installed them in the parking lot. One headlight works now.
Now that the rain has slowed down around here I have been enjoying the jeep a lot more.
I am waiting on pictures from Ros before writing a post on Drew and Rachel’s wedding.
Graham flew in from Korea for the bachelor party and about 18 guys picked him up from the airport in very little clothing. Gav was blowing a whistle in the airport for some reason. We were on our way to go tubing, but that’s another story.
Labels: ben
posted by benbox @ 3:32 PM,
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Co-workers Analysis
Thursday, July 12, 2007
[This is a post that I didn't keep up, because I was worried that the blog had been discovered. I am not too worried about that anymore so here it is. Also, my updates are in italics.]
We had a potluck Thanksgiving feast at work a couple weeks ago, and when we all got together in the same room I realized how strong and awesome our team is out here at the Baylor All Saints campus in Fort Worth. I then began to do a complete breakdown analysis of each character I work with, and after the party I tried to record some of my thoughts to share with you all...
--The main project isn’t exactly on schedule, and I may have been over-confident in our “team”.
(I was still a little worn out from baking the ham so for this party I decided to bring some of the cookies that Kendal’s Mom made for Erica’s wedding. She makes some of the best cookies I have ever tasted so I didn’t see this being a problem, but after struggling to fit them all in my left saddle-bag and after an hour long ride to work, they were all smushed and crumbled when I brought them in to share with everyone. This worked out better than I had planned because nobody else touched them during the feast. I ended up taking them all back to my office and am still enjoying them.)
--Since writing this, the motorcycle has sort of been sold, and the cookies are gone.
Chris (PM)- My immediate boss, Chris is the Joey LoSurdo of MEDCO. He is goofy in every sense of the word (just look at the picture). He is also the smartest guy in the room at all times. Probably has never lost an argument and loves explaining to the contractors, very politely, why they are always wrong. Chris, like Joey, is extremely skilled in the art of annoying people. He is a huge instigator that will do whatever it takes to get a reaction out of you.
--About a month after writing this, Chris took a job in Albuquerque. They tried to replace him out here with another PA, but after about a month he took a better paying job as well (thanks Nate).
Justin (PA)- Justin played baseball for TCU for a couple years after getting k
icked off of the OU football team. He has had several run-ins with the law in his past including: 2 DWI’s, a breaking and entering, and a felony assault charge that he thinks has been taken care of. I don’t ask too many questions. I don’t think MEDCO knows anything about his criminal past, because Justin told me “MEDCO doesn’t know anything about my criminal past”. Last week he had to meet with his lawyers in Oklahoma, and he told our bosses that he was the best man in a shotgun wedding.
icked off of the OU football team. He has had several run-ins with the law in his past including: 2 DWI’s, a breaking and entering, and a felony assault charge that he thinks has been taken care of. I don’t ask too many questions. I don’t think MEDCO knows anything about his criminal past, because Justin told me “MEDCO doesn’t know anything about my criminal past”. Last week he had to meet with his lawyers in Oklahoma, and he told our bosses that he was the best man in a shotgun wedding.--Turns out, Justin made it on Sports Center when he was heavily involved in a brawl that lead to him getting kicked off the football team and several of the above charges. Justin has cleaned up his act and is doing well these days.
David (Senior PM)- David is similar to my friend Nick Carlson because they are both die-hard Aggies. This is good because we have this common ground to discuss every morning, b
ut it’s also not great because of my lack of enthusiasm toward the ags, which he just doesn’t understand. Literally every time he introduces me to somebody he proudly states that I went to A&M, and then as if he is real disappointed in me he tells them “but he doesn’t have the ring”.
ut it’s also not great because of my lack of enthusiasm toward the ags, which he just doesn’t understand. Literally every time he introduces me to somebody he proudly states that I went to A&M, and then as if he is real disappointed in me he tells them “but he doesn’t have the ring”.--David announced a couple weeks ago that he is leaving for a job in Tennessee at the end of the month.
Jeff (PM)- Jeff is another PM and probably my favorite coworker. He is from California, has about 4 regular degrees and a couple masters, is married to a doctor, loves taking me out to nice restaurants for lunch and giving me good Mav’s tickets. He seems to only show up to work an average of 4 days a week, and when he does come he is always at least an hour late.
--Jeff’s last day was Friday, and I’m not happy about it. His wife got a nice baby-delivering job out in Colorado, and so naturally he is following her out there. They just had a kid and I wouldn’t be surprised if he becomes a house-dad.
Jerry (Safety Guy)- Jerry loves his job, which is good, because everyone else hates his job/him. His whole job description is based upon finding problems and unsafe conditions on site. This is a constant problem for everyone else because it is part of our job to make sure these “unsafe situations” don’t happen. I like him and am glad he is here because it makes for really entertaining meetings.
--This is about to be you, Farmer.
Madison (PM)- Madison is a really friendly Shane Farmer, not that Shane isn’t friendly. Madison works out with weights in the morning (from 5-6) and then does cardio in the evening (from 6-7 “or later”). He is an Iron Man and has the stickers on his truck to prove it.
--Madison’s friendliness has become annoying.
Herman (Superintendent)- Herman is absolutely nuts. He has an endless supply of ridiculous stories that I would never believe if he didn’t tell them so well. He is about 65 years old and knows more than anybody else about construction, but the very least about how to communicate with others. His way of dealing with people is simply amazing.
--I also have never seen anybody pout like Herman, ok maybe Tim Siek, or J Haug in the van on the way to Mexico.
The picture to the right
is of Justin and Herman in Justin's office by the wall that I painted after UT beat OU. He wasn't real happy about this.
is of Justin and Herman in Justin's office by the wall that I painted after UT beat OU. He wasn't real happy about this.Donny (Superintendent)- “Go With The Flow Donny” is way too old to still be working; he has got to be about 80. Donny got his nickname because in most conversations where not everyone agrees with each other immediately, he will say “I really don’t care I’m just go with the flow Donny”, but actually he doesn’t go with the flow at all and is easily flustered. For this reason, along with being a classic slow-talker, and because of the general pace that he moves around at, I am of course reminded of Big B.
Rachel and Paulina (Receptionists)- They sit around, talk to each other, talk on the phone, and play on the internet.
Jodie (PM)- Jodie finished a job in Dallas and was moved out here a couple weeks ago to take over Jeff’s jobs. He is pretty laid back and will fit in nicely.
Jarod (PA)- Jarod was a new hire a couple months ago. He is a recent grad out of the powerhouse that is Louisiana Monroe. He loves to kayak and is real loud.
Labels: ben
posted by benbox @ 9:32 AM,
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Death of Depew
Thursday, July 5, 2007
It was a sad night in Austin a couple weekends ago when I went down for the “Death of Depew, Celebration of Life” funeral and party. The Depew house has played a vital role in the development and maturation process of many gentlemen and I am disappointed to see this era come to an end. I’d say it ended in good fashion though with a large and interesting group that came to say their goodbyes to the house. Some of us even made it over to the infamous bloody paved pool down the street for some swimming.In other news, while I was down there Drew, Dusan and I
stopped by the Arthouse which is where Meg works. For several years we have made an appearance over there for the new art openings. It is always an excellent- Austin style good time with free drinks and snacks and a good DJ running the music. The best part though is obviously getting to see the new art that has come in and how ridiculous some of it is. .
.
.
.
Here are a couple examples, don’t be offended:
This is from the latest show, and if you look closely you can see that this bridge doesn't lead to a very happy place.
This one is from a couple years ago, and its a little easier to see what is going on.
Labels: ben
posted by benbox @ 10:47 AM,
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Shane and Jennifer's Wedding
Monday, June 11, 2007
I have been super busy as of late. I mean real busy- my schedule is packed. This is my excuse for not writing about all the stuff going on these days. I admit that Kendal has been carrying the blog single-handedly with his weird coffee stories.
So, Shane and Jennifer got married. You probably know this by now, or just assumed they were already married, but either way here are some things that I remember from all of the wedding events:
The Bachelor Party: It was just about perfect. Shane, Big B, Josh, Kendal, Drew, Tim, and I went out to Terry’s lake house for the weekend and had a great time. We ate and drank and rode around in a boat all weekend. Drew ate a worm, Josh caught the same 3” “fish” about 6 times, and Shane gave us some really sweet knives for being in the wedding. It couldn’t have gone much better.
The Dinner Rehearsal: I arrived late, but was just in time for Kendal to announce to the very awkward crowd that it was time to “get the party started”. He then proceeded to grab the microphone and tell a couple decent stories about Shane and Jennifer. They were not bad stories (except for maybe the one that recapped all of their rough times), but the crowd was absurdly tough on him. This caused there to be a long pause before the next speaker, probably because everyone was second guessing their material. I don’t think the families there were prepared for the Box and Haug family style of celebrating, which for some reason always includes stories and a song with the sole purpose of completely humiliating the guest of honor. One by one though, we all stood up and tried our best to get a laugh at Shane and Jennifer’s expense, and we all failed pretty badly. That is except for me, I had an excellent stand up routine prepared and delivered it masterfully. Of course that isn’t true, but instead, I was forced to speak and stood up without knowing what I would say. I can’t even tell you what I ended up saying, but I can remember that Josh was booing in the background.
The Ceremony: Kendal’s talk was a thing of beauty. Jennifer and her Dad walked down the isle to Rod Stewart’s version of “Forever Young”. There was a good turn out.
The Wedding Reception: The DJ took his job very seriously, and he demanded silence from everyone when he was speaking. Shane was dissapointed in the food, but I enjoyed it. There was a lot of dancing going on. There was a very large painting of a naked Adam and Eve, and Adam looked just like Kendal. I had to give a toast and I may have focused more on Kendal and Adam’s resemblance than Shane and Jennifer.
So, Shane and Jennifer got married. You probably know this by now, or just assumed they were already married, but either way here are some things that I remember from all of the wedding events:
The Bachelor Party: It was just about perfect. Shane, Big B, Josh, Kendal, Drew, Tim, and I went out to Terry’s lake house for the weekend and had a great time. We ate and drank and rode around in a boat all weekend. Drew ate a worm, Josh caught the same 3” “fish” about 6 times, and Shane gave us some really sweet knives for being in the wedding. It couldn’t have gone much better.
The Dinner Rehearsal: I arrived late, but was just in time for Kendal to announce to the very awkward crowd that it was time to “get the party started”. He then proceeded to grab the microphone and tell a couple decent stories about Shane and Jennifer. They were not bad stories (except for maybe the one that recapped all of their rough times), but the crowd was absurdly tough on him. This caused there to be a long pause before the next speaker, probably because everyone was second guessing their material. I don’t think the families there were prepared for the Box and Haug family style of celebrating, which for some reason always includes stories and a song with the sole purpose of completely humiliating the guest of honor. One by one though, we all stood up and tried our best to get a laugh at Shane and Jennifer’s expense, and we all failed pretty badly. That is except for me, I had an excellent stand up routine prepared and delivered it masterfully. Of course that isn’t true, but instead, I was forced to speak and stood up without knowing what I would say. I can’t even tell you what I ended up saying, but I can remember that Josh was booing in the background.
The Ceremony: Kendal’s talk was a thing of beauty. Jennifer and her Dad walked down the isle to Rod Stewart’s version of “Forever Young”. There was a good turn out.
The Wedding Reception: The DJ took his job very seriously, and he demanded silence from everyone when he was speaking. Shane was dissapointed in the food, but I enjoyed it. There was a lot of dancing going on. There was a very large painting of a naked Adam and Eve, and Adam looked just like Kendal. I had to give a toast and I may have focused more on Kendal and Adam’s resemblance than Shane and Jennifer.
The Night after the Wedding: A group made it back to Rufus after the wedding to continue celebrating, and someone invited Morgan Ensberg. This was cool not only because was it Morgan Ensberg, but also because Morgan Ensberg brought his guitar with him to play and sing songs to us all night long. Kendal joined in on some songs and the rest of us sat around the fire and looked after the kegs that B took from the reception.
A few pictures...
The Vows
Some Dancing
Yes
Meg and The Deuce made it
The DJ
Congratulations Shane and Jennifer
Labels: ben
posted by benbox @ 9:57 AM,
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Work
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Kendal doesn’t blog anymore so I thought I would go ahead and post another one. Though there are plenty of stories to tell, I don’t want to ruin the chance that Kendal actually is planning on sharing some of the great happenings over the last month, so I will show some pictures from work:
My Office on the 5th floor of the A bldg. at Baylor All Saints Medical Center.I don't know if these two pictures capture how well decorated that it is..
The new Women's Hospital to the left, which is the main project that I have been working on, and is scheduled to be completed by March '08.
This is a seperate job that for some reason I was given control of. It is a renovation of the Antepartum Wing, which is Level 3 of the B bldg. I am really liking this job because I get to make tons of decisions that I am not qualified for. My favorite part was during the buy-out process when I am interviewing different trades and trying to decide who should get the job. I approached it like I would the NFL draft. As you can see in the picture, when the contractors I hired can't keep up with my schedule I occasionaly help out. This also helps give me some street cred with the workers so when I have a stupid question they don't lose all respect for me. This job is pretty sweet, we are tearing up everything and then building it back to make it much nicer. I have about a $4.5 million budget and unless I have forgotten something important we won't be spending it all, so I already bought flat screens for every patient room and two for the lounges.
We had our Topping-Out party for the Women's Hospital today at lunch. That is why I am taking it easy this afternoon.
Downtown Fort Worth from the top of the Parking Garage.
This is what the campus looked like when I got here in August. The dirt lots used to be parking, and all the existing buildings that you can see in the picture are part of the Baylor Medical Campus.
This is how the campus looked at the end of February. The new construction consists of the future 190,00 sf Women's Hospital on the bottom left, the 7 story Medical Office Bldg to the right of it, and the 10 story Parking Garage right above it.
Labels: ben
posted by benbox @ 2:41 PM,
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Vacation
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Part of the group after a good day of skiing
Enjoying some good food at our classy resort
Enjoying the only break time that Pastor P and Kendal allowed
Kendal and Garrett posing
Josh, doing what he does best...taking it easy. He did carry the water though
Ben, doing what he does best...showing off
I think that's Garrett
Kendal about to land a large jump...
...almost
Ben doing something cool again
Josh preferred to guess on the beer after smelling it rather than drinking it
Kendal looking on in amazementLabels: ben
posted by benbox @ 8:36 PM,
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SXSW
Monday, March 26, 2007
Kendal, Josh, and I arrived in Dallas late Thursday night after the ski trip (blogs to come on skiing) and then Josh and I headed to Austin on Friday. I was headed to Austin to enjoy South by Southwest along with Gav and Deuce. Due to past SXSW experiences, the expectations for this year were incredibly high. You have to be very skilled with managing your time during this week because of all of the different activities going on and because it is all happening during the start of the best stretch of sports watching all year. Not knowing which bands will be better than others, we began about a month ago to try and RSVP for about 10 different free shows/parties for those two days. It is ridiculous how much stuff is going on all over Austin during this time. If you pay for anything during this week it is out of laziness or poor scheduling, because along with the music there is free food and beverages to be had.
Friday after watching some bball we headed out in the afternoon to see 3 bands over in East Austin for the Vice Saves Texas party. We were headed to this location for two reasons; we had
to pick up wristbands there for another party and because Deuce was wanting to see the band, Against Me. They were very entertaining and were on a whole other level than the other bands there. The lead singer for one of the other bands was a little stumbly-bumbly and tried to jump into the crowd but was rejected and ended up gashing his head on the stage. It was a bad decision on his part, mainly because he got off to a bad start by making some very racial comments that sparked a melee which was only partially controlled by security.
From there we went back to Depew for a little more bball and then left for the I Heart Comix party, but it had been shutdown by the police just like the Factory People Party and various other parties that were non SXSW sanctioned. Luckily we had a backup plan that surprisingly consisted of rappers and DJs at some outside venue. It was an interesting crowd and they had free Fat Tire on hand for everyone to enjoy. We met up with Meg and her friends there and then headed to somebody’s friends house.
Saturday we woke up to head out to this apartment complex off East
6th street. They were having a picnic style shindig with several bands including: an awesome ukulele playing dude and singing girl wearing matching quaker style garb, some band featuring an enthusiastic wash board playing lady who wore gloves, and an amusing Journey cover band. They had free hot dogs, pizza from Hot Mama’s, and Real Ale on tap. From there we went back to Depew to catch A&M dominate an inferior Louisville team and then headed out for the best show of the weekend, Lazer. I’m not sure if you are familiar with Lazer the band, but the Deuce is one of the original members and put on the show of his life, I believe. I own one of there CDs and I never dreamed that they could outperform it, but evidently they are a live band if I have ever seen one. It was great getting to meet the band over at Depew and even better that they were playing at the Carousel Lounge, which happens to be a very fine establishment right down the 
street from Depew. Lazer’s fans are a very loyal crowd that travels well. When we arrived with the band, Gav and I did our best to represent them well and even convinced one of the fans that Lazer actually would do his Brazilian style engagement party, if the price was right. After Fishboy, the Magic Windmills, and Lazer we headed off to some magazine party, but upon arrival we learned that a balcony had come crashing down and that everyone was sent home or to the hospital. We did have another option
which was the Dearly Canadian party. There was some good music there and one of the hand-outs was a giant blow up moose head that will look good in Depew.
Friday after watching some bball we headed out in the afternoon to see 3 bands over in East Austin for the Vice Saves Texas party. We were headed to this location for two reasons; we had
to pick up wristbands there for another party and because Deuce was wanting to see the band, Against Me. They were very entertaining and were on a whole other level than the other bands there. The lead singer for one of the other bands was a little stumbly-bumbly and tried to jump into the crowd but was rejected and ended up gashing his head on the stage. It was a bad decision on his part, mainly because he got off to a bad start by making some very racial comments that sparked a melee which was only partially controlled by security.From there we went back to Depew for a little more bball and then left for the I Heart Comix party, but it had been shutdown by the police just like the Factory People Party and various other parties that were non SXSW sanctioned. Luckily we had a backup plan that surprisingly consisted of rappers and DJs at some outside venue. It was an interesting crowd and they had free Fat Tire on hand for everyone to enjoy. We met up with Meg and her friends there and then headed to somebody’s friends house.
Saturday we woke up to head out to this apartment complex off East
6th street. They were having a picnic style shindig with several bands including: an awesome ukulele playing dude and singing girl wearing matching quaker style garb, some band featuring an enthusiastic wash board playing lady who wore gloves, and an amusing Journey cover band. They had free hot dogs, pizza from Hot Mama’s, and Real Ale on tap. From there we went back to Depew to catch A&M dominate an inferior Louisville team and then headed out for the best show of the weekend, Lazer. I’m not sure if you are familiar with Lazer the band, but the Deuce is one of the original members and put on the show of his life, I believe. I own one of there CDs and I never dreamed that they could outperform it, but evidently they are a live band if I have ever seen one. It was great getting to meet the band over at Depew and even better that they were playing at the Carousel Lounge, which happens to be a very fine establishment right down the 
street from Depew. Lazer’s fans are a very loyal crowd that travels well. When we arrived with the band, Gav and I did our best to represent them well and even convinced one of the fans that Lazer actually would do his Brazilian style engagement party, if the price was right. After Fishboy, the Magic Windmills, and Lazer we headed off to some magazine party, but upon arrival we learned that a balcony had come crashing down and that everyone was sent home or to the hospital. We did have another option
which was the Dearly Canadian party. There was some good music there and one of the hand-outs was a giant blow up moose head that will look good in Depew.Sunday morning Gav drove me to Church and I met up with Kaley and my parents, but sadly I was not able to stay for lunch. I had decided to ride from Dallas to Austin with Josh and he insisted that he could find me a ride home with somebody that was in for a wedding he went to. As promised, he delivered. The only option, however, turned out to be Ros’ sister, who I thought I had met before but it turns out Ros has two sisters (maybe more) and her husband was along for the ride as well. Them not having a radio, along with the terrible traffic resulted in a Jax-style awkward ride home. They were very nice though.
Labels: ben
posted by benbox @ 4:48 PM,
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Weekend Trip
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
The weekend Kendal was pretending to get a tattoo in Austin, I was in Oklahoma doing some off-roading in the Kiamichi and Ouachita Mountains around Broken Bow Lake. This area is known for its difficult off-road trails that anyone can attempt to conquer if they buy a land permit. I was down there Friday through Sunday with my friend Justin and a lot of his good friends from Norman. We stayed at a little cabin, drove jeeps all over the place, and did some fly-fishing. I didn’t take my jeep because she is my baby and I didn’t like the thought of her getting injured again. Here are some pics from my phone:
A steep trail
Broken Bow Lake in the distance
An obstacle
A larger obstacle which took this guy about 2 hours to get over, and he had to use his winch.
Which led to us standing around and making fun of him while he did loads of damage to his jeep.(We thought that he was taking the jokes alright, until he got out and tackled Chris into the bushes and wailed on his face for a short while.)
Justin is wearing Crystal's jacket because it is completely covered in mud. It is completely covered in mud because Justin hit the gas a little too hard on one of the trails and Crystal went flying out the back of the jeep. She cried a little bit, and probably had a concussion, but said it was only slightly worse than the last time she rode with Justin when he rolled his jeep bumper over bumper.
Yep
Good style with the for sale stickers, I'm sure this is helping the value
The destination, Broken Bow Lake
Picnic Time
Labels: ben
posted by benbox @ 8:25 AM,
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The Authors
Kendal Haug
Kendal is a graduate of the University of Texas in Austin and most recently earned his Masters in Biblical Studies from Dallas Theological Seminary. He works for Bible.org and likes to think he knows how to play the guitar. His man-crushes include, but are not limited to: Ryan Adams, Donald Miller, Ray LaMontagne, Neil Young, Vince Young, and of course The Box.
Ben Box
Box, is a recent graduate of Texas A&M University and currently works for Medco Construction building hospitals and being important. Ben loves paying lots of money on broken down Jeeps and has a propensity for getting Kendal into trouble.
About This Blog
This is a multi-author blog devoted to the happenings of two bachelors living it up in Big D. We will record the daily nonsense that occurs when 2 life-long friends live together in the same apartment and have no shame, sense of fashion, or chance of meeting a girl in the next 10 years.
A Word on Comments
Ben and Kendal both highly encourage your comments. They look forward to hearing your thoughts and insights. No matter how harsh the criticism or if you just want to give them a good ole pat on the back and say "Way to Go!" or "Ha! That was a funny story!" or "That Ben sure does crack me up." And if you have a request of something you would like to see Ben and Kendal do or write about, let them know.
Disclaimer
Ben and Kendal are in no way responsible for stories that may worry, upset, or lead their parents to altogether disown them.
