12:01 p.m. - 2005-06-03
B-E-N_C-A-P-E! Yay Ben!
This weekend, Kelly and Marc and Kevin and I will head to the cabin for a time of relaxing and game playing and drinking and sleeping and general funness. I think we all need it. If only there were a couple more people coming...we could play an awesome round of Shopper's Paradise with your host, j-do. I think instead we will play Trivial Pursuit, which Kevin and I will win. Did I tell you all that we beat my parents? That is no easy task.
Yesterday I had a big event for my job. It was a large party (150 or so people) at which I had to emcee part of it. The first thing that went wrong is that I wore a white cardigan. Pinned to my cardigan, I had a large red flower brooch. This looked smashingly fashionable with my black and white striped skirt and black camisole. Unfortunately, the red flower rubbed off on the white cardigan to create a pink stain on fabric of the the front and sleeve. Lovely. And the even was held in broad daylight, so there was no concealing it.
Then I made a comment, which I am too disgusted to even go into, but that somehow came out like I was pointing out that one of my event planners boobs were small. Don't ask. My intended meaning was compeltely different, I assure you. Her response to my gaff was a chilly "I don't get many complaints, you know."
Then I got my ear talked off by this business owner I'd never met before...I thin he thought I was someone else, because I have no idea what he was talking about. This went on for a ridiculously long time. And I mentioned this to one of my co-workers only to see her eyes widen. He was standing right behind me. Fortunately he did not hear. But he could have.
I think when I'm nervous about something...events, in particular, my "social blunder" occurence spikes. I am normally at a comfortable "average to less than average" level...you know...working a room, to me is, like, the most fun ever...but unusually stressful situations seem to temporarily numb part of my brain and cause me to nearly embarrass myself. I do usually qucikly recover or gloss over the situation...but sheesh.
And now I will introduce you to Ben Cape. Ben is very very funny in that smart-funny kind of way. Humor as dry as an 80's metal band's groupie's hair. Perpetual devil's advocate, or more accurately willing to take the perspective of the person who is not there to defend themself when Bethany and I get mad at someone. Defender of all things vulnerable. Ben is going to be an excellent father and it will be a CRIME if he doesn't coach at least one t-ball team. I have often dreamed of seeing Ben jumping up and down on the side lines as his offspring scores the winning homerun or something. Bethany and I will be in the stands drinking or something. Ben, as Kelly once put it, is the perfect person to have on your children's emergency contact card. I put Ben and Bethany on my own emergency contact card at my last job. Ben is a somewhat unsung hero...so I "sing him" or whatever whenever his name comes up. Ben gets two thumbs up from me, in all categories, including friend, cook, kareoke, husband of one of best friends, writer and CD maker.
How do you know me?
You are a close friend and the very first person I ever talked to on my very first day of class at Ohio University in 1996. We�ve been, at the very least, on speaking terms ever since.
What is your job?
I am the editor of a small, weekly newspaper in Snoqualmie, WA.
Who do you live with and where?
I live with my wife, Bethany, and our unborn daughter in Issaquah, WA, about 20 miles east of Seattle.
What would you most like to communicate to the thousands (no, let's be honest: millions) of people who read this blog?
How�s your mother doing?
Tell a story with me and you in it from back in the day:
There was that time I helped you bury that body in West Virginia....but the memory I like to recall is when you and I were both working at The Post (OU student newspaper) and we were having an editorial meeting when I saw you look at a paper and your eyes got saucer wide. I would later find out that the picture on the front page of the paper was of a guy you had a �date� with after meeting him on the Internet. The �date� did not go so well and the picture of the guy was one of him belting out a Pink Floyd song during a karoke night at a bar or something. The memory encompasses other memories I have of you - random people you meet at random events that come back to �haunt� you in a sometimes good, sometimes bad way. It was an �only Jessi...� moment. (***Interviewer's note: I did not exactly meet him on the Internet. My hallmate met him on the Internet and introduced him to me. I barely knew what the Internet was in 1996. But it was a blind date and it was really horrible. He had a mullet. In 1996. And he was a math professor, which I didn't find out until later. Notice that Ben and I capitalize Internet. We went to journalism school.)
Do you have any hobbies we should know about?
Nothing that involves talent. I like to read, watch movies, listen to music, etc. I like to burn CDs, which I think may be tedious for other people but I get a lot of satisfaction from doing
Is there anything that people don't "get" about you that you just wish everyone would?
No, I think people pretty much get me. Anything they don�t get I am probably still working on myself.
Who is the most important person you've ever met?
Important as in famous: Members of various bands. Jean Smart from �Designing women.�
Important as in influential to my life: Family members. I think David Brooks would be in there. He writes like I think, or wish I could think.
What is the worst name you've ever heard of someone naming their child?
Cherry. Last name: Apple. She was at a yearbook camp I went to in high school.
Greatest strength?
Empathy. �I feel your pain.�
Lamest weakness?
First impressions. Most of my first impressions of people have been entirely wrong, especially about people I have come to admire. So much for trusting my �instincts�...
I also get angry easily.
What you'd do if you won 200 million dollars right now?
I don�t know. Tell Bethany?
Favorite beverage (non-alcoholic)
Dr. Pepper
Favorite alcohol beverage:
Red wine
Favorite dessert:
Anything chocolate
Most romantic moment of your life:
I think any time I have traveled with Bethany has been a tie. Whenever we are in a new place, and have nothing to worry about but enjoying the moment, we always have the greatest time of my life...except for driving in Boston, which is NOT a great time.
Next vacation planned:
We are having a baby soon, so nothing...for a looooong time.
Best thing to do on a night out in Seattle:
Any combination involving food, friends and being outside in the summer. If I can get two out of those three together, I am quite content.
One thing you know for sure is true:
�God only knows where I would be without you.�
