tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39893288153509395882024-03-06T02:33:36.631-05:00One day at a TimeBen MIllerBen Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08585259020123630582noreply@blogger.comBlogger128125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989328815350939588.post-1060574776910068242011-11-20T23:40:00.000-05:002011-11-20T23:40:06.782-05:00St. AugustineSo this weekend we had a little fun. Britney, Josh, Lindsey, and I drove up to St. Augustine for the day, which was a Saturday by the way, mainly to watch the lighting of the town and to go to the Ripley's Museum. But we did some other things here and there too. Fun fact: St. Augustine is the oldest town in the US….and it shows. I ended up driving, which I had no problem with, I actually really wanted to see how the Kia would fare on the interstate at 75mph. Shockingly…..ok. Not great, it shakes and sounds like the engine is running around 5K rpm, but it made it there and back, and got pretty great gas mileage too! I'm proud of my little Kia.<br />
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Anywho, back to the important stuff. We ended up driving straight to the Ripleys museum, which was alright, not as great and grand as I had expected. I think the TV show was better than the actual museum. But they also had some pretty cool stuff, like a thirty foot erector set ferris wheel, and this spinny tunnel thing that makes you feel like you are falling when you walk through it, when you are actually stationary. Its sort of like walking down a spinning barrel with a platform bridge down the center, but it really messes with your head and made me feel kind of sick.This poor old man, probably in his 80s, was in front of us in this thing, holding onto the railings with his life, taking a step every three seconds. It had to be horrible for him.<br />
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Then we headed to the Castillo de San Marcos, which is right next door. I really wanted to go in but it was like six bucks a person so we said forget about it. I think we probably missed out though. It was pretty neat to see something that old though. You don't really get to see three hundred year old things around the States too much. After the castle we walked around town a bit, checked out the old stores and restaurants and such. Pretty touristy place.<br />
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Later we headed to a winery that was nearby, but only after getting lost in the ghetto of course….I think. The neighborhood looked like a ghetto but they all had pretty nice cars, so I'm not sure. Hmmm. Anywho, the winery was kind of a letdown too. Everyone that worked there seemed pretty disinterested in their jobs and in us. It was kind of a large winery and you could tell that they give tours constantly because they just send you with a group of people and you stop at four or five different stations to taste a couple of wines. Some were good, some weren't. Getting free wine is always good though.<br />
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Dinner was ok, just some bar/restaurant with some pretty odd live music from an older man who would literally just pick random strings on his guitar then tell a weird story about Walmart or some girl he met. Maybe he was being innovative, or maybe he had done too many drugs in his life, I don't know. We ended up missing the actual lighting of the town by the way haha. It was during dinner, which was a few blocks down the street. The lighting of the town was a pretty big deal in St. Augustine, I mean they had bands playing and vendors and the whole nine yards. Once we got downtown, it was awesome though, really impressive! So me and Josh got out our celebratory cigars that we had bought earlier in the day, and destroyed our lungs and the lungs of various nearby children with them. Ahhh, good times.<br />
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Oh, we also stopped by Flagler College on our way to the car. That is one beautiful place! I was in awe of how elegant it was! We went into what looked like their union to use the facilities (pisser), and it was like we were in some type of kings court. Not the bathroom (although they were also very nice), but the whole place. So if you get a chance, google it or something.<br />
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So that was our Saturday. We drove home after that.<br />
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Heres that tunnel<br />
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It did end up having a little bit of rust on the frame, actually I think it was a hole, right where the rear shackle was. So my dad fixed that in no time. Really, I think the only other problem with the Jeep were cosmetic issues: tore up drivers seat, "custom" spray can paint job, dings and dents everywhere, missing parts, no rear brakes(no biggie), that sort of stuff. I did end up doing some things to it while I had it though. I found a guy that was parting out his Jeep and I ended up buying a spare tire and mount, roll bar padding, and a couple others things that I can't remember.<br />
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Man was that a great little Jeep though. Brit loved it too, probably even more that I did. We were planning on selling it right away for a profit but ended up keeping it for like 6 or 8 months, it was just too fun to get rid of! We took it offroading a couple of times, loved going cruising out in the country with the top off, and I loved just puttin' around town in it. I drove it so much that I just parked the bimmer for weeks at a time.<br />
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Heres a funny story: I had just posted the Jeep up for sale, and maybe two days after I am driving through Lafayette, going to the mall or something, and its raining pretty good out. Im daydreaming, like I usually do, and everyone in front of me stops pretty hard, but not hard enough that would normally cause and accident. Well, unless you are in a lifted Jeep with mud tires and no rear brakes. Needless to say, I locked up the front brakes, slid a good distance, and smashed into the car in front of me. No one was hurt, but the car was smashed up pretty good. Heres what happened to the Jeep: one fog light fell off. That's it. No other damage. Maybe some scratches in the bumper, but its hard telling because they blended in with the other scratches. The car I hit ended up getting over $5000 in damage, which ultimately totaled the car. So I JB welded the foglight back together, and sold it a few weeks later. I ended up selling it for $4300, a good little $1600 profit. I ended up buying my DSLR with the money I made from it. We still reminisce about the white Jeep from time to time. I should have never sold it. Towards the end though, it was developing some transmission problem. The clutch would make a weird sound when disengaged. And the track bar broke off in the rear. That's not essential though.<br />
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This is from a few days after I bought it.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy_51jxC1Z_eieMW0IbgYzLdprTVQNw6CieIGVxf6xcT5tBFIMJqEiV_b18oVknLJIcfATRpeDUhlMVJr0Wsv0ct4qveVngZpKJb6kfjhAKNEMUaqZS7vT1GKsxXCjlqYIOCbgjXQmGkw/s1600/IMG_2369.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy_51jxC1Z_eieMW0IbgYzLdprTVQNw6CieIGVxf6xcT5tBFIMJqEiV_b18oVknLJIcfATRpeDUhlMVJr0Wsv0ct4qveVngZpKJb6kfjhAKNEMUaqZS7vT1GKsxXCjlqYIOCbgjXQmGkw/s320/IMG_2369.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here is when Brit and I got stuck at the Badlands. I drove up a hill and didn't see this massive drop on the other side….</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZFxxF1EeXpfi1fPF_xAEjQ5eImLDDAejUEZ-wwH_GFL1KdycjY8F2CRlzUn75OTX-A-eK_RtSTbbqdsJsKOCes7P-b-XFzHyRmYaYSRkvn7Tf1EG7ilxrgyP_G7n3SpvLhgwZ0YdsCbU/s1600/IMG_2660.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZFxxF1EeXpfi1fPF_xAEjQ5eImLDDAejUEZ-wwH_GFL1KdycjY8F2CRlzUn75OTX-A-eK_RtSTbbqdsJsKOCes7P-b-XFzHyRmYaYSRkvn7Tf1EG7ilxrgyP_G7n3SpvLhgwZ0YdsCbU/s320/IMG_2660.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> Here are the photos I used for trying to sell it.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUUTmp7BXAL8ocIgG3V-gYxRykC5w20xgW_KupO0Vhg4wxkNKE92utvk4Zxr1edz9dhDzfxRhjBqShIE6fPZAG0ZRrAsS9iXpwJGRFh3R7cA8RKxbtKL1aNxKsLnKyMLGuNoep6q1g7Hs/s1600/IMG_3731.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUUTmp7BXAL8ocIgG3V-gYxRykC5w20xgW_KupO0Vhg4wxkNKE92utvk4Zxr1edz9dhDzfxRhjBqShIE6fPZAG0ZRrAsS9iXpwJGRFh3R7cA8RKxbtKL1aNxKsLnKyMLGuNoep6q1g7Hs/s320/IMG_3731.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs2RXK66Q8L4Y8aOghedKjfmNWnFmfuRpFghLJ09_RsLcEVrPrDHUHtFyL27tCtVfWtTyqJBhCCX0qORMgv0PFhK5ERA82CNjFeAjIRGXwT0QeeBoaFfQ9sIKpKKzr2n9NdKdVhCT92zI/s1600/IMG_3732.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs2RXK66Q8L4Y8aOghedKjfmNWnFmfuRpFghLJ09_RsLcEVrPrDHUHtFyL27tCtVfWtTyqJBhCCX0qORMgv0PFhK5ERA82CNjFeAjIRGXwT0QeeBoaFfQ9sIKpKKzr2n9NdKdVhCT92zI/s320/IMG_3732.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> Oh I forgot that I also put new taillights on it, I always like these type of taillight so why not put them on the beater Jeep?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsPN-Cf8eCpjHUAkyNLVe0kIJBgnN7DM2i0QwaJxid3Shs1MHmoKjHO5vMP7S4SzH0Dc_qNxFmekbKF0W6fJXtZM2RQ3f4PuPAj0axS8iViwID9FTyHTRt6zSmKwHf6EDEkPjbhnK7ZoQ/s1600/IMG_3734.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsPN-Cf8eCpjHUAkyNLVe0kIJBgnN7DM2i0QwaJxid3Shs1MHmoKjHO5vMP7S4SzH0Dc_qNxFmekbKF0W6fJXtZM2RQ3f4PuPAj0axS8iViwID9FTyHTRt6zSmKwHf6EDEkPjbhnK7ZoQ/s320/IMG_3734.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNWpfbcjRIPVAkO4OM8FLQfpFvjG5aUBrQYwI8QvqHOvlMsDEBkAfNR8FBZWgV4xJNc2ySo69xjGX3o5JWeoxRuC2hK-STZUvctn8U3-C5yw84Qe2x52BllyvO4qJOegY3Ep9maJNWyjE/s1600/IMG_3735.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNWpfbcjRIPVAkO4OM8FLQfpFvjG5aUBrQYwI8QvqHOvlMsDEBkAfNR8FBZWgV4xJNc2ySo69xjGX3o5JWeoxRuC2hK-STZUvctn8U3-C5yw84Qe2x52BllyvO4qJOegY3Ep9maJNWyjE/s320/IMG_3735.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is out at Brits moms property, we went down to the creek a lot in the Jeep</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHa0bPIRECt1j5rZFeNAZp1DeOgf6fZLmwTALqf0Ci5jivl4PG6TNTMqTVCwy_Xc1VcJYJ3sv1VZUQvGw56Qskcho5Fm0wC2qBY8Vv_L6cHlc0EJNf4MoZnWlW0wb_FxcN2FmrGA12U10/s1600/IMG_2646.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHa0bPIRECt1j5rZFeNAZp1DeOgf6fZLmwTALqf0Ci5jivl4PG6TNTMqTVCwy_Xc1VcJYJ3sv1VZUQvGw56Qskcho5Fm0wC2qBY8Vv_L6cHlc0EJNf4MoZnWlW0wb_FxcN2FmrGA12U10/s320/IMG_2646.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Ben Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08585259020123630582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989328815350939588.post-18835257872394957272011-11-15T23:14:00.001-05:002011-11-15T23:18:25.285-05:00Recent drawingsHere are some recent drawings that I have been doing. Since we've moved to Florida, I had plans to do a bunch of paintings and get into galleries and all that jazz….but thats not really what happened. Actually, I started doing some car drawings just for fun and haven't gotten around to painting too much, just some things here and there. But everyone really loved the drawings so I just kept doing more and now thats pretty much all I do.<br />
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The new Chevy Camaro ZL1<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaG5RdcukLaZBxIhGNO39cI89DmaFZIbOKh_dzQ8_r1PIdX2kNqww050r-nTcyyPIl3oAG6Ia-q7s9gaLhsB-xBXSCB_-kOTq4nRdbzNd0mMySc2Cf2HKQMhWqGl9imBtozxTaavk87zo/s1600/134.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaG5RdcukLaZBxIhGNO39cI89DmaFZIbOKh_dzQ8_r1PIdX2kNqww050r-nTcyyPIl3oAG6Ia-q7s9gaLhsB-xBXSCB_-kOTq4nRdbzNd0mMySc2Cf2HKQMhWqGl9imBtozxTaavk87zo/s320/134.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> BMW M3, just sold it the other day!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHve4cOw1iy3TqwdgIWZnVrXPZml4lthdBkhKBlb9H76I9lpmZbiRKdxHDj0crbesIjVusP_ZZNQv8j0KJNfgt_dl7vfuzDISlYe9Az7B5TqDvXdJj3A5LiUlLuWiR0v29NdftbyGmlEE/s1600/2a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHve4cOw1iy3TqwdgIWZnVrXPZml4lthdBkhKBlb9H76I9lpmZbiRKdxHDj0crbesIjVusP_ZZNQv8j0KJNfgt_dl7vfuzDISlYe9Az7B5TqDvXdJj3A5LiUlLuWiR0v29NdftbyGmlEE/s320/2a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> Heres a Porsche Spyder 550, I dont remember what year it is though.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWmLKhR0xf1Beu_Gnp8pWsVHLD1CvDRxBLWMQHU_IuXoGoch9zwM47MPU5NxTaI_rTCoooWNdsyzH_85HcSvHZz6Hd9jfAAynIDvRHxvjBHkcGsOqbW_eOqfvRtta8bIo8sESmFuGnpjs/s1600/3a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWmLKhR0xf1Beu_Gnp8pWsVHLD1CvDRxBLWMQHU_IuXoGoch9zwM47MPU5NxTaI_rTCoooWNdsyzH_85HcSvHZz6Hd9jfAAynIDvRHxvjBHkcGsOqbW_eOqfvRtta8bIo8sESmFuGnpjs/s320/3a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> (Crappy cell phone pic) This was a commissioned drawing, the same car as above, just modified to look exactly like the owners<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg6uTulT6CI81jy5cNOzZlf7hi6Cpx-rNQcdYKKiYSjQUTeYxvDGiiNculAhjWkStEtykyrktC8wkwCJCfEn06ZEN4mXhkgGJVW8TAjItI4jSlECjEAOoJxuoxQ2gmOsAdC3YZZ6rpoyI/s1600/porsche.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg6uTulT6CI81jy5cNOzZlf7hi6Cpx-rNQcdYKKiYSjQUTeYxvDGiiNculAhjWkStEtykyrktC8wkwCJCfEn06ZEN4mXhkgGJVW8TAjItI4jSlECjEAOoJxuoxQ2gmOsAdC3YZZ6rpoyI/s320/porsche.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> This is a Confederate X132 Hellcat. I've always been a fan of Confederate motorcycles, so I drew their most recent bike! Which isn't even finished yet haha.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzHG9jtmzTKlZAtLhtMBTyepoHjvxlkwWgj53-fdDQmJVAez1USt2mAd3mTAotNvg6MV0uz1Br2mncQQ4UN7M_AT-6hmmNExzVySgbqZdigD-1Xu3T84m-VB2g15Bg91iswr0N_yKInqU/s1600/Confederate+hellcat+x132-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzHG9jtmzTKlZAtLhtMBTyepoHjvxlkwWgj53-fdDQmJVAez1USt2mAd3mTAotNvg6MV0uz1Br2mncQQ4UN7M_AT-6hmmNExzVySgbqZdigD-1Xu3T84m-VB2g15Bg91iswr0N_yKInqU/s320/Confederate+hellcat+x132-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>(Another crappy cell phone pic) This is a commissioned drawing for a tractor dealership, this is an Apache Sprayer. Just finished it today actually! I have one more tractor I have to draw, which I will probably start tomorrow.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj27uYQSD1BzKH-BfqIQ08YtEaopsy0eCPgVBbs4Lv0nrFHz5ItK7bsBw92DfnRQPnT64VoAH61yYTJn1Kk_Utu2RdKX-5CasMMeMJXqs_R6WA7ZR8T4AoTXTN2YiTIK1OA2ePzPbx3aBk/s1600/apache+sprayer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj27uYQSD1BzKH-BfqIQ08YtEaopsy0eCPgVBbs4Lv0nrFHz5ItK7bsBw92DfnRQPnT64VoAH61yYTJn1Kk_Utu2RdKX-5CasMMeMJXqs_R6WA7ZR8T4AoTXTN2YiTIK1OA2ePzPbx3aBk/s320/apache+sprayer.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>So there you have it! Thats what I've been up to lately.Ben Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08585259020123630582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989328815350939588.post-74626741952015984072011-11-14T23:50:00.001-05:002011-11-14T23:56:02.299-05:001997 BMW 328iSVehicle number two, the bimmer. I sold the Jeep during the summer between my freshman and sophomore years of college. Since I wasn't allowed a car as a freshman, it didn't bother me that I couldn't drive long distances in the Jeep, but since I would now have to drive to school and back often, around 100 miles one way, I needed something a little more reliable. So I bought a BMW.<br />
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I found it in the Auto-RV, it was a salvage car and only cost $3700…..for a BMW! That wasn't that bad a price for a 9 year old car! So I bought it, had to replace the hood, front fender, grill, radiator support, headlights, front corner lights, fog lights, and a bunch of other small things, and it was good to go! I ended up selling my Jeep for around $7300, so I made out pretty good on it!<br />
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Man I loved that car. It was sooo fast! And surprisingly economic, it usually got between 25-30mpg, depending on how I drove it. But it did have its fair share of problems over the years, everything from replacing the same rear wheel bearing twice, to the water pump exploding and shredding the fan and belt, leaving me stranded in the middle of nowhere during the middle of a very cold night. Actually, it has left me stranded more times than all of the other vehicles combined that I have owned……but I still loved it! I remember shortly after I got it fixed, I drove down King road out in the country and thought "lets see what shes made of"…..before I knew it, I was doing 130mph. I know that these cars have a limiter of 155mph, I bet it would have done every bit of that, but I got too scared and had to slow down. It was night afterall…..<br />
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Oh and the sound that it made! Sounded like a Ferrari or something. I loved the sound of that engine, it sounded so clean and in tune. Most other engines sound clumsy and unbalanced. It was so torquey too. It had a lot of low rpm power, you could go from 60 to 80 in no time without even downshifting. What a great little car!<br />
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Specs: It had a 2.8L straight 6, around 190hp(new), automatic trans, leather, 6 disc cd player (that didn't work), AC (that wasn't very cold), I didn't do too many modifications, most of the money I spent on it went to repairs like drilled/slotted brakes, shocks, engine parts, suspension parts, ect. I did make an intake for it out of PVC pipe and an Autozone cone filter with a custom heat shield and air scoop coming from one of the brake ducts…..but other than that I didn't really do any modifications to the car. I bought a few different types of wheels for it over the years though…..I like wheels haha. And this was another car that I loved to keep clean! I was in the car wash what seemed like once a week, and waxed it regularly.<br />
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Anyway, I had it for a few years, from 2006 to 2010, I ended up trading it on another Jeep Wrangler, which turned out to be a huge mistake because the bimmer was right where I liked it, (almost) everything was fixed on it, and I really liked how it looked and drove. Oh well, you live and you learn.<br />
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Here it is shortly after I got it fixed and road ready!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_H-9R2ckqB8iwD9XRdKtIYtbQifasw9NweY_2UZvMBpszHyBkX-hl8q2fJqA6Go6M2NdRyaNgGXxUOjBD0n-JChx6kFEURrO9j4U0ew1ixbAxjr_TivX1BvzXmEagIdDQNVLdA6oKkmQ/s1600/IMAG0200.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_H-9R2ckqB8iwD9XRdKtIYtbQifasw9NweY_2UZvMBpszHyBkX-hl8q2fJqA6Go6M2NdRyaNgGXxUOjBD0n-JChx6kFEURrO9j4U0ew1ixbAxjr_TivX1BvzXmEagIdDQNVLdA6oKkmQ/s320/IMAG0200.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> After the first set of wheels.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhKkC5LEqAVcKpJ3MhNMpR6ylJQgZY75nPl3ZQGU_vO0z2jGPp1lESRp-4RkOt5QN6fMiWaqbiRS0OOTe3cFHlDlUqbXGcZB9yZ-_hb4-rf9ulacTd8GLLiW-ypKC5LO15ZYzm_aNHk2o/s1600/DSC_34692.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhKkC5LEqAVcKpJ3MhNMpR6ylJQgZY75nPl3ZQGU_vO0z2jGPp1lESRp-4RkOt5QN6fMiWaqbiRS0OOTe3cFHlDlUqbXGcZB9yZ-_hb4-rf9ulacTd8GLLiW-ypKC5LO15ZYzm_aNHk2o/s320/DSC_34692.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLN-aOwPDke8B75te3iKN_iSBQS3iFwmBcDE4dogTnQSk1ugAN9tPTKDAJ1348qbSViMaG-AVPCDHYpDM7t0zKzZ8XDKoDHKZ7WXb7_gUq0N4Mk1N3nzWx7BeqrdFwuI9ngT-cmk83IE4/s1600/DSC_3213.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLN-aOwPDke8B75te3iKN_iSBQS3iFwmBcDE4dogTnQSk1ugAN9tPTKDAJ1348qbSViMaG-AVPCDHYpDM7t0zKzZ8XDKoDHKZ7WXb7_gUq0N4Mk1N3nzWx7BeqrdFwuI9ngT-cmk83IE4/s320/DSC_3213.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMmq0ciHILmwNtgaVrSk4eRLg5Jv7lsx6Q5pLWv17eezhj4TMa0GCNPcOwcF82qgoDK-97vCjfwgCoizWI2ShyEq14lokjkrtK8KDbpA7euAnQxXnIbM7BDE2Zozdf9xIIR-wuIVTqoR8/s1600/DSC_3453.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMmq0ciHILmwNtgaVrSk4eRLg5Jv7lsx6Q5pLWv17eezhj4TMa0GCNPcOwcF82qgoDK-97vCjfwgCoizWI2ShyEq14lokjkrtK8KDbpA7euAnQxXnIbM7BDE2Zozdf9xIIR-wuIVTqoR8/s320/DSC_3453.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjWFJ1ftYp1pNJK_5P7uiX2fRRcDrHdyHg1IeXe4a-2E4-Uzlo_jtfPyulpm8gU6QkDckXgfZV7YpzSR8pllX-rjdejVSirIIW-j33jzSBB8OG3PmpDd6bVUxxFbFMbdtho0PNRAqWfTY/s1600/DSC_3463.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjWFJ1ftYp1pNJK_5P7uiX2fRRcDrHdyHg1IeXe4a-2E4-Uzlo_jtfPyulpm8gU6QkDckXgfZV7YpzSR8pllX-rjdejVSirIIW-j33jzSBB8OG3PmpDd6bVUxxFbFMbdtho0PNRAqWfTY/s320/DSC_3463.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> This was a regular occurance…..underneath it fixing something. Actually I think I was putting the air scoop on that ran up to the air filter.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcWo0iBn3tL_Pd-JLd4L3KFpM4FhUB8Y_7m6HBdFluzMOP95eU2Dipe53RvwQDZTIvco-aGQJEDdXtLgNdbmg_jQmlg-JVyUn4K7lwF3e4hQRf-Rg0X_dtzSWqq_oGsSfc1vPbP6qYkfs/s1600/DSC_4087.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcWo0iBn3tL_Pd-JLd4L3KFpM4FhUB8Y_7m6HBdFluzMOP95eU2Dipe53RvwQDZTIvco-aGQJEDdXtLgNdbmg_jQmlg-JVyUn4K7lwF3e4hQRf-Rg0X_dtzSWqq_oGsSfc1vPbP6qYkfs/s320/DSC_4087.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyjbpF_fem3jUhly9alh8HoknZqrzdXukH7J-ouwVcW8JwqL2plAIbMYOU40bdaYMr168M4Fui70DszSZ1sSdxV5VischdeaVCH1DMGy-0j5zfZyqPKw_5zAWOXvuP-5gp7tBpi11rs4c/s1600/DSC_0620.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyjbpF_fem3jUhly9alh8HoknZqrzdXukH7J-ouwVcW8JwqL2plAIbMYOU40bdaYMr168M4Fui70DszSZ1sSdxV5VischdeaVCH1DMGy-0j5zfZyqPKw_5zAWOXvuP-5gp7tBpi11rs4c/s320/DSC_0620.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> Shortly before I sold it :(<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJdEmPcQUVwwv60mDf7WeH5qz4-XbPAe7VOpO2qe9GU9zFXLs-s73hzKFSw7YYYts7oD0irnyhRaGoM6Pt_JRtGwRu3Z063RmJkpv7HFaQJdI_os5JijRZEmVdAeNgjwaSi90Qw5GJkzQ/s1600/DSC_0621.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJdEmPcQUVwwv60mDf7WeH5qz4-XbPAe7VOpO2qe9GU9zFXLs-s73hzKFSw7YYYts7oD0irnyhRaGoM6Pt_JRtGwRu3Z063RmJkpv7HFaQJdI_os5JijRZEmVdAeNgjwaSi90Qw5GJkzQ/s320/DSC_0621.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB4mCmhASSi17_WcGCUIQJptqCx_2id-PI58OCKt9A613nIj3oL1h_6Or8Q2k8cOFmnfdvYu13t_JcXJpqP-uGgK3ISRP5_-2-ViCEGdEARA2CLk0q08l4t0G8qU8pEG7IUZgURBuLyjM/s1600/DSC_0607.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB4mCmhASSi17_WcGCUIQJptqCx_2id-PI58OCKt9A613nIj3oL1h_6Or8Q2k8cOFmnfdvYu13t_JcXJpqP-uGgK3ISRP5_-2-ViCEGdEARA2CLk0q08l4t0G8qU8pEG7IUZgURBuLyjM/s320/DSC_0607.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Ben Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08585259020123630582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989328815350939588.post-71024403772649375722011-11-10T00:24:00.000-05:002011-11-10T00:24:32.859-05:00Cars-1995 Jeep WranglerOk, I gotta do this. I love cars. Every since I was a kid I have loved cars. I remember as a child, I don't know exactly how old I was, I wanna say 5, but I vividly remember one Sunday morning before church, my dad and I were watching some drag racing on TV and I was sitting there with a pencil and paper drawing the dragsters. That's one of my first memories of drawing btw. But anyways, that's how long I have loved cars. In this post I want to write about my cars, the ones that I have owned and loved over the years. I know that I'm young and I've only had a few, and no one really cares about my cars, but they were important to me, and this is my blog dangit, so I'm going to write about them!<br />
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My first vehicle, and probably my favorite to date, my 1995 Jeep Wrangler. What a beauty she was! I got her when I turned 16, and probably poured every penny I made into it! My dad was the rightful owner before me and he decided to let me have it because he wanted another, newer Jeep. What a blast we had with those things! We often frequented the sand dunes in Michigan, and I went to the Badlands offroad park a few times with mine. I remember one evening driving home from wrestling practice (I think), both me and my dad in our separate Jeeps, and the Yellow River was flooded over 3rd road. So of course we had to plow through it! Or rather, float across it, because thats actually what we did. I know that the water was up to the body on mine, and up to the doors on his! Thats a good 30 inches of water I'd say. And oh the memories: going muddin several times with my buddies who also had Jeeps, almost hitting a pole while I drifted around a corner on a dirt road, running over my dog with it, getting in trouble with the police for driving over huge stone piles on the side of the road….stuff like that.<br />
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Anyways, some specs on the Jeep: 4.0L high output inline 6 engine, 3 speed automatic transmission, K&N filter, Flowmaster 40 series muffler, no catalytic converter, (eventually) three inch body lift, four inch suspension lift, 33inch Super Swamper Thornbirds, Pioneer sound system with 6X9s in custom built boxes and an 8" sub behind the back seat, I think it had 187,000 miles when I sold it, but it ran like a champ! And it was very very clean…..unless it was muddy, which was often. I kept good care of it though, polishing the wheels at least twice a year and washing it probably once a week. What a great vehicle, I should have never gotten rid of it. I only did because I had started college and it wasn't very practical to drive on the highway, it only got about 10mpg. Plus it needed new tires and I couldn't afford them at the time. I'll post on the other ones later in time, its getting late. Enjoy the photos! I don't have many, I've lost most of them all over the years.<br />
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This is when Andrew and I drove up on top of each others Jeep after school one day, it was very impressive. I took these photos with the old camera we had to borrow for photography class.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig4z5vjNBARocXTAHDeREHmzRwLoGlcJ5oethHS4sFv923lzXPwpYGMv_UQwm9FcRW7GLOCtpJahUWqbpGnYhjIorK9xCytZKFpmExI6O8NlVrB1GY3QLtxAhxIlVToKw2v86sfsrSDkk/s1600/313870_136_full.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig4z5vjNBARocXTAHDeREHmzRwLoGlcJ5oethHS4sFv923lzXPwpYGMv_UQwm9FcRW7GLOCtpJahUWqbpGnYhjIorK9xCytZKFpmExI6O8NlVrB1GY3QLtxAhxIlVToKw2v86sfsrSDkk/s1600/313870_136_full.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7AB8lfszG-UwFbRrXlB48NCuXCZxNn9unviJID3kJwsWEwOr8hhyNazNersM5roJgO04BR6BJeGp2671ys1y7t1bx6Pl1IFQPDa1EpmQxF2eqe3BaST-AKqvKV2osIju_NzkYks22JPk/s1600/313870_137_full.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7AB8lfszG-UwFbRrXlB48NCuXCZxNn9unviJID3kJwsWEwOr8hhyNazNersM5roJgO04BR6BJeGp2671ys1y7t1bx6Pl1IFQPDa1EpmQxF2eqe3BaST-AKqvKV2osIju_NzkYks22JPk/s1600/313870_137_full.jpg" /></a></div> This is shortly before I sold it :(<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTwD3VbovER1ixpywQK95kxGmxR9BAztAuNS9p6JCybmv_WklfKJmYI1Ch_f9YPZfG_9gxeKF9sQLhG3LNHM04q9vh68ZZbC1sKNWKSZH6HlO3UZOyWQ9wVAPneweYeAXm6lqvflDfOsw/s1600/jeep.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTwD3VbovER1ixpywQK95kxGmxR9BAztAuNS9p6JCybmv_WklfKJmYI1Ch_f9YPZfG_9gxeKF9sQLhG3LNHM04q9vh68ZZbC1sKNWKSZH6HlO3UZOyWQ9wVAPneweYeAXm6lqvflDfOsw/s320/jeep.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Ben Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08585259020123630582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989328815350939588.post-5186561867096110982011-11-08T22:06:00.000-05:002011-11-08T22:06:18.864-05:00List of Impossible ThingsFor starters, I had a job interview today, FINALLY! It took me 4 months just to get an interview! Granted I didn't really try looking for a job until two months in, I just really wanted to succeed at making art. BUT, things don't always turn out as you plan. Anyway, the interview was at a golf course. Brit had found a job posting online somewhere for maintenance on the golf carts for the City of New Smyrna Beach Golf Club, like cleaning them and whatever, and I also applied for just any available position. I'm not confident on how the interview went. The actual position was just part-time for doing little things around the course, like edging the sidewalks and cart paths and sand traps, trimming trees, string-trimming, just stuff like that, which I am pretty qualified for considering I was crew leader at a lawn care company for a year and its also pretty much the exact same stuff I did at the cemetery. But I also felt way overqualified. My interviewer inquired a little about art and photography, so I told him that Brit and I own a photography business and I mainly do artwork but business is suffering since we moved down. I don't know, I just felt like I gave him no reason for me to get a job trimming at a golf course. Oh, plus I have to take three weeks off at Christmas time in Indiana, we already bought the tickets and I'm not going to work alone in Florida while everyone else is enjoying Christmas without me back home. I feel like that was the final blow of the interview. Oh well, we'll see what happens.<br />
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Ok, back to my list of impossible things! I've had the idea for a while of writing down my bucket list, or things I would like to do before I die. What prompted me lately was one of my friends had started a thing called the <a href="http://www.joelrunyon.com/two3/">Blog of Impossible Things</a>, which is basically a list of things that you feel are impossible for yourself to do…..and you do them. Brit and I both did this, and they are pretty similar but not really haha. I can't wait to get started too! Some of the things I wrote down I feel really are impossible for me, especially the physical ones. I feel like it will be an ongoing thing, but here's what I have so far:<br />
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-Travel to every continent in the world<br />
-go skydiving<br />
-go bungee jumping<br />
-write a book<br />
-drive from coast to coast across America<br />
-bike from coast to coast across America<br />
-climb a mountain<br />
-run a marathon<br />
-learn to fly an airplane<br />
-be vegan for a month<br />
-be in a race (cars)<br />
-go one year without driving a car<br />
-participate in a triathlon<br />
-bench press 300 lbs.<br />
-don't shave for one year<br />
-change someones life<br />
-own a gun<br />
-perform guitar and sing in front of an audience<br />
-save a life<br />
-walk where Jesus walked<br />
-learn to surf<br />
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So there you have it, my impossible list thus far.Ben Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08585259020123630582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989328815350939588.post-89725039057388267242011-11-06T23:49:00.001-05:002011-11-06T23:50:01.200-05:00ChiroGamesSo this weekend was chirogames at Cocoa Beach, which is when chiropractic students from all over the county come to compete in various different sports, Britney was signed up for tennis. We got there Friday evening, went to dinner at a place called The Pig and Whistle, or something like that. It was a bar….and bar food is always good food. We didn't really do much Friday night though, just hung out in our room with our roomies Josh and Lindsey and drank a few beers. All the other students there were crazy though! It was like one giant party all weekend long. I know that a lot of Palmer students stayed in the same hotel as us, actually I think all of them did, and they were absolutely nuts! It was a madhouse outside. Makes you wonder about doctors….<br />
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In the morning we had breakfast then drove over to the tennis courts where Brit was playing. Oh by the way, it was freezing Saturday! It was in the 60s and cloudy and windy. I didn't like it. Anyways, we watched a few matches here and there, and waited for the time when Brit would get to play…..but it never happened. The whole thing was pretty unorganized so no one really knew what was going on, and it turned out that some guy didn't show up for the team that Brit had to play, so they had to forfeit. So I guess she technically won, but was pretty peeved that she didn't get to play at all. So we left and had lunch and drinks with some friends, watched some beach volleyball competitions, and watched the air show. Oh by the way…..there was an air show going on! It was pretty awesome! There were fighter jets breaking the sound barrier and doing tricks and stuff, it was pretty sweet. We were at the point on the beach where they would turn around and head back to the good spots, but it was awesome nonetheless. After that, and going back to the hotel to nap for a few hours, a group of us headed to dinner to a place called Fish Lips, or as I would call it, Fish Tits haha. Probably the coolest part of the whole trip was right before we went into the restaurant, there were like four or five Navy guys (and girl) parachuting down from a military plane to the restaurant! They landed somewhere across the street from us and I later saw them at the bar. It was freakin awesome! What show offs. I took a picture of it with my phone.<br />
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So this morning we got up and headed home, stopping at Dunkin Donuts first, of course. While we were walking up, a man (I can only assume he was homeless) with his bike was sitting on the sidewalk trying to get my attention, so I went over to talked to him. He said something about the weather then asked if I could get him a couple of donuts because "he looooved donuts". So I said I would see what I could do. The guy in line in front of me said that he had already given him a dozen or so haha, so I brought him back one, a sprinkle one (good thing he looooooved sprinkle donuts) and he was chit chatting about how when he was young, before him and his friends would go surfing, he would stop by Dunkin Donuts and recalls the coffee being soooo hot that….I'm not really sure what he said about it being hot actually haha, but he did mention that he would put his donut on the dashboard of his car and the heat would melt the icing off, so he would put the melted icing into his coffee. Seems logical. Anyways, we shook hands and parted. Brit and I ended up taking the long way home, through Cape Canaveral. I really really really wanted to see the launch pad…..but we never did. I'm not really sure where it is. We did see the Kennedy Space Center though, and some type of astronaut hall of fame. I really wanted to go to the Kennedy Space Center, but I'm sure we will visit it in a few weeks when Abby and Trent come to visit for Thanksgiving. We are supposed to see a rocket launch then! Can't wait!<br />
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So anywho, that's how the weekend went. Brit and I started writing our Bucket Lists tonight, but this post is getting long so I think I'll postpone that. Bye!<br />
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This cup was in our hotel room, thought it was funny.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVLRGRTk14uEc0438XrDKztjaL73ziDcDBoOfknqkrBF_NtXT6ou36Z_J_m3CZ0lqx5cSgK3FDvi-lFGFRBOjr8sitEvmwK3FwUdkvHGxAdBKIwahvKhKXf5PfoJIncOjxf6ZP_pPDD2Q/s1600/IMG_0336.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVLRGRTk14uEc0438XrDKztjaL73ziDcDBoOfknqkrBF_NtXT6ou36Z_J_m3CZ0lqx5cSgK3FDvi-lFGFRBOjr8sitEvmwK3FwUdkvHGxAdBKIwahvKhKXf5PfoJIncOjxf6ZP_pPDD2Q/s320/IMG_0336.jpg" width="239" /></a></div> Heres Josh "planking" the beds<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi84v1clcF_dUHTSQZecYPtGPDhzZ72IXK3dt6XiPxOIYa0RX3VDLyhU2HJqO6u5etZU0idsaezfXDbvimqV6wE7f5oW8jeRJGqkerriiis0zY5r5-krl962KX1ILHzWzTbpx02XfPsDPc/s1600/IMG_0337.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi84v1clcF_dUHTSQZecYPtGPDhzZ72IXK3dt6XiPxOIYa0RX3VDLyhU2HJqO6u5etZU0idsaezfXDbvimqV6wE7f5oW8jeRJGqkerriiis0zY5r5-krl962KX1ILHzWzTbpx02XfPsDPc/s320/IMG_0337.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> You can just barely see one of the Navy guys (or girl) parachuting<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfEFRVsdSnGPIHEN07AgVuRPLddeNAYTUtAF_n_H-SuQX-qV_rThOVuHW_LIh0RhPigzSL5cO4E-ygHF3K2o53SH3LMh9ny1hhUs0GymXFhBkkdpeNMioeIB5-kdRbrouDZd_aB7ZAs74/s1600/IMG_0339.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfEFRVsdSnGPIHEN07AgVuRPLddeNAYTUtAF_n_H-SuQX-qV_rThOVuHW_LIh0RhPigzSL5cO4E-ygHF3K2o53SH3LMh9ny1hhUs0GymXFhBkkdpeNMioeIB5-kdRbrouDZd_aB7ZAs74/s320/IMG_0339.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>Ben Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08585259020123630582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989328815350939588.post-67157648535927504272011-11-04T00:10:00.001-04:002011-11-04T00:17:16.966-04:00New PostWell I finished my book last night, Beautiful Outlaw. It was pretty good. The ending was great I thought, very thought provoking. I won't go into detail, you'll just have to read the book yourself…..or at the least the ending haha. But no, the whole thing is worth reading. I just started A Catcher in the Rye tonight, I've always wanted to read an old book like that and I've had it forever, just never got around to reading it.<br />
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Not much to talk about, I really haven't been up to much this week. Brit's mom commissioned me to do a couple of drawings for the salesmen that she works with, she wants to give them to the guys as Christmas presents. She works at a tractor dealership, so one of the images will be of an Apache sprayer and the other of an old tractor that her boss owns. Pretty cool stuff, I'm excited about it. I love commissions because I get to be knit-picky about the drawings and I actually have a deadline, so it makes me work harder. If I'm not commissioned for a drawing, I get lazy and it takes me forever to finish a drawing with sacrificed quality. I'm also doing a painting for our friends Josh and Lindsey, they found a painting online that they wanted to buy, but they also wanted something unique and something from me in my type of style, so here I am making them a painting! But it is based on the one they were going to buy, and I'm ok with that. (I don't really like reproducing other peoples work). It looks pretty cool and is different from what I usually do, but I'll make it my own.<br />
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I did get to create some (what I think is) unique forms of art this week. I don't know, I was just sitting at the computer and saw Brit's camera next to me so I started messing around with it, taking blurry images of what was on the screen. And I thought they looked pretty cool! So I took about 200 more haha. I messed around with different colors and different subjects like the blinds on the window or the lamp or the ceiling fan, and created some pretty cool looking images. I did some editing in Photoshop too, but not much. I'll post some pictures at the bottom. I think they look pretty "modern artish". I'm gonna try to sell them on etsy, but I'm pretty doubtful of that site. I've tried selling things on there before but it's next to impossible (for me), it's just so large that its hard for people to find my stuff! We'll see how it goes.<br />
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Brit and I are going to Cocoa Beach this weekend for "chiro-games". She is playing tennis for her school against other chiropractic schools. It should be a good time, I'll let you know how it goes!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghMkxuj1lT6x9UnTE8abDkOrJ3Xn9iWR58T7vzWjcX6oULwYHUMOKIpBLWehcYc4JrbJQ9IsLpaGbXpRhq6Je4gD72HLKK5xBA-jrmyr9nDcSgYkDQ0B1KRixkdIn41ltYhplpWqIgB7s/s1600/138a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghMkxuj1lT6x9UnTE8abDkOrJ3Xn9iWR58T7vzWjcX6oULwYHUMOKIpBLWehcYc4JrbJQ9IsLpaGbXpRhq6Je4gD72HLKK5xBA-jrmyr9nDcSgYkDQ0B1KRixkdIn41ltYhplpWqIgB7s/s320/138a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Ben Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08585259020123630582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989328815350939588.post-49279006444908153682011-11-01T00:10:00.000-04:002011-11-01T00:10:09.337-04:00Lets make it a bookI think that someday, when I get around to it, I would like to print out all the pages of this blog and make a book for myself. I think that it will quite enjoyable to read later on in life when I have most likely forgotten what its like to be young and cool haha. I'll be old and mean and Ill probably yell at children for being too loud, so it will be nice to reflect on how nice and wonderful I used to be. Actually, I would really like my children to read it and see how daddy used to be, especially if something happens to me before they are old enough to know (aka die).<br />
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Yeah, I think I'll do that.Ben Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08585259020123630582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989328815350939588.post-14061631741582461552011-10-25T23:50:00.000-04:002011-10-25T23:50:12.832-04:00Beautiful OutlawLike I said in last nights post, I'm reading a book right now titled Beautiful Outlaw by John Eldredge. So far its a pretty good book, kind of slow at first but picks up speed. I'm just over half way through it right now, so I'm getting into the meat and potatoes of it!<br />
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Basically the book is about the true personality of Jesus. I say "true" because, as mentioned in the book, religion over time has made Jesus into a sort of cartoon figure that is good and holy and perfect, but not really.......real. He is kind of monotone, with a serious expression on his face, and yells at you for doing bad things. He is put on a pedestal. He is made out to be too holy for us. His robe was always brilliant bright white and his hair always perfectly shampooed and brushed. And that is kind of depressing because it means that he is not equal to us. But I agree with what John is saying in his book.....that Jesus was a real person with real feelings and real pains, just like us. And he had a personality like the rest of us, he was joyful and playful and fierce and angry and sarcastic like us. At one point in the book (this really set me aback) he explains that Jesus "left Judea and headed back once more to Galilee." Usually when we read that in the bible we pass over without any further thought.......but that's over 70 miles away! And he walked! In sandals! Several times! Imagine the blisters! Did you know that in the original version of the bible, there was no Thou or Thee? They didn't write Jesus' words in red? They didn't even capitalize the H when referring to "him"? Over the years we have glorified him so much that it is setting him apart from us, he is too good for us anymore. And thats a shame, because I don't think that was Gods intention.<br />
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The purpose of the book is just great because it brings into perspective what God did for us, sending his son to die for us....for the sole purpose of wanting to be closer to us, wanting to be at ground level with us, not be some unattainable, fierce warrior God that we should constantly fear. But he wants to be friends with us. He wants to let us know that he knows what we are going through, because he did the same things we are doing. I know that this is not ground breaking but when you read the book it makes it much clearer, you realize that its more than just words that you've heard over and over, it's.......well, real.<br />
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I thought of this the other day, Jesus was just an ordinary person right? He looked like a regular human being, dressed like one, walked like one, talked like one, because....well, he was one. What if God were out there today somewhere in the world? What if he were just an ordinary person in the mall, that guy with the potbelly that sits and watches everyone walk by? What if he were that person that you honked at or cursed at in traffic because they were going too slow? Or what if he were that waitress you sneered at for forgetting to take the onions off your burger? Or what if he were that person you passed and ignored instead of saying hello? Or that guy you laughed at because he looked funny?<br />
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I think that he is all of those people.<br />
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How terrible would that be if I laughed at God because he looked funny?Ben Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08585259020123630582noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989328815350939588.post-42072154225872220152011-10-24T23:51:00.000-04:002011-10-24T23:51:18.407-04:00Whats been Happening?Hey Yall! (in a Cleveland sort of accent....from Family Guy) Wow its been forever since I last posted and I have been itching to for quite some time now. Got a lot on my mind! First of all, whats the deal with the security on this thing! It took probably a half hour just to get logged in! Dang thing made me jump through hoops of fire to verify it was me! It's me I promise!<br />
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Things have changed. I live in Florida now, Daytona Beach. Brit is at Chiropractic school down here and I followed. Follow? Good, you're nice and caught up.<br />
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Well its the perfect time of night to blog, my favorite time of day to just think about stuff. I was just reading a little, I'm about halfway through a book called Beautiful Outlaw, and it's about the personality of Jesus. Great read so far. I'll have to reflect on it later. I wrapped up my chapter and thought, "man I just need to blog." So here me is.<br />
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Times are tough down here in Florida. It's rough going from a place where you know almost everyone to a place where you know no one. I have no connections. No family members or close friends to help out with jobs or entertainment or what have you. It's just harder when you are all by yourself. I mean, I'm not completely alone, I have Britney and her classmates, but they are all in the same boat as us. Alone and scared. haha, not scared, but alone. I have been riding the struggle bus when it comes to income. My dream was to move down here, make a bunch of artwork, sell it independently or through a gallery, and make millions of dollars. So far I have made around $300. And I am thankful for that. But making $300 in four months is pretty pathetic. Now, I went the first two months or so without even looking for a job, full or part time. I just really wanted to quickly succeed as an artist....I've been to or have contacted several galleries looking for.....really any type of involvement, but man its tough. They just don't want anyone else. It's like a party that your not invited to. My lack of income is starting to really hurt us now. I ran out of money today. We had some saved up from weddings and different things here and there, its was mainly our honeymoon money.....and I spent the last of it today.<br />
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Oh the stress......I have student loans to pay, and insurance. Britney gets a good chunk of change for living expenses from her school, student loan money. Its a good amount of money for one person....its really cutting it for two people......even more so when you add my bills. I am paying student loans with student loans.<br />
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I need a job.<br />
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But apparently everyone else does too. I was told by some Floridians, even before I moved down here, that you would be lucky to get a job that pays more than ten bucks an hour........I think it's true. I think you are lucky if you even have a job! I thought, oh with a bachelors degree at Purdue it'll be cake getting a job. HA! No such luck yet. I have applied to several different places, mainly places that require little responsibility so I can still focus on my art and photography. Not a single call yet.<br />
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Not yet, but I'm still hopeful. Just got to keep on keepin' on. I'm going tomorrow to apply to a grocery store, and check to see if there are anymore art opportunities around here. Someone will accept me sooner or later!Ben Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08585259020123630582noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989328815350939588.post-44914646636288291162010-11-30T23:16:00.000-05:002010-11-30T23:16:16.089-05:00I'm a whipped manIm back! Lets dive right in….<br />
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This will be a little short and simple. I had an epiphany the other day while I was driving….I thought back to my youth, back to my single days of just a few short years ago and remembered a thought that I had once thunk. I remember thinking that if I were ever in a relationship with someone, either married or dating or whatever, I don't ever wanna be one of those guys that is told what to do, one of those whipped guys that just tags alongside his partner like a puppet on a string, obeying every command that is given. I didn't want to do things because I was being forced to do them. I wanted to do what I wanted, be my own person. If I wanted to go out with my friends and run a muck on a Tuesday night then who's to stop me? Certainly not my girlfriend or wife. I'm too independent to be told what to do and what not to do. Sure, she'll have to deal with it, but that's the price you pay for dating an independent man.<br />
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So as I was driving, I thought to myself, "I'm not really like that guy. I'm pretty obedient towards Britney. Why is this?" I mean, I am still a pretty independent person….sort of. I am still myself of course, and I cater to my own wants now and then, but really I do a lot of things for Britney, and I TRY to do a lot of things for her. But you know what, it's not because I'm whipped or anything, but because I love her deeply.<br />
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As a single man, I would have NEVER of this. I do things for Britney, sometimes things I have absolutely no desire in doing, for the simple fact that I just want to make her happy, I want to give to her, let her know that I love her. It all seems so simple and logical now. I mean theres a difference between being whipped and doing things for a girl because you feel you have to, and doing things for her because you WANT to.<br />
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I guess this is what happens when you stop thinking about yourself for once.Ben Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08585259020123630582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989328815350939588.post-80806335082499591842009-07-01T21:06:00.003-04:002009-07-01T22:40:37.681-04:00Gods Presents vs. PresenceToday I was trimming at the cemetery, like I usual do, listening to my ipod, to some Christian music that I havent listened to in eons, and I cant for the life of me remember who the band was or what the song was called but I remember hearing just two simple words in the song that really caught my attention. "Gods Presence." At first, I misunderstood the meaning, I instantly had a visualization of a wrapped 'present', one with silver wrapping paper and big red bow on top. This got me thinking, of course. I mean, what else is there to do while trimming at the cemetery than think.<br /><br />Lately I have been trying to do something a little different. I have been in such a blah mood since around Christmas time, so I have been backtracking to see what Im doing differently in my every day life, to try and see if I can change whats been going on. And one conclusion that I came to was that I had not been looking for Gods <span style="font-style: italic;">presence</span>, I had been looking for Gods <span style="font-style: italic;">presents</span>. I think that so many of us think this same way. We all want what He has to offer to us, what He is capable of, what He is willing to give. And we constantly pray for his presents. "God, do this for me......God, can I please have that.....God, help me in this situation" We start looking for his presents and forget about his presence. And the only time we ever acknowledge His presence in the process of following His presents.<br /><br />Follow?<br /><br />Since some time last week, I have been doing a little experiment. The thing I have been doing differently was I have been trying to find God everywhere. I have found him in my trimming, in the face of a gopher, in the joy of a redneck prancing around in a storm, in the expressions of children at a parade. Sometimes, He is just so easy to find. Other times, He isnt. Hes hard to find in times of struggle. Hes hard to find in times of need. Hes hard to find in the clutter. But as He promised, He is still there.<br /><br />As I had mentioned earlier, I have been reading a book entitle <span style="font-style: italic;">God is Closer than You Think</span>. The book compares God to <span style="font-style: italic;">Wheres Waldo</span>. In the Wheres Waldo books, you stare at a page for an extended period of time to try to discover the goofy looking, striped shirt wearing nerd of a Waldo. And its much easier to spot him at the beginning of the book than toward the end, right? Well, just think of it in terms of Gods hiding. He isnt always right there in front of you, most of the time you have to be patient and look for him. He is lost in the clutter of society and often times seems to blend in, but He is there.<br /><br />I have noticed a change even in the past few days. Worry is slowly melting away and optimism is setting in. And I remember now what made me feel so warm and content last summer, discovering Gods presence.Ben Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08585259020123630582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989328815350939588.post-58300083826425996532009-06-29T16:09:00.002-04:002009-06-29T17:18:09.964-04:00Ben and Britneys Grand AdventuresYep, we went on some grand adventures this weekend with lots of driving, lots of laughing, and lots of fun. And Id like to tell you a little bit about what went on. It all started on Friday afternoon, we all left work early, that is, the cemetery guys and I, which was great because I knew I had a long drive ahead of me that night so it gave me some time to get cleaned up and packed for our adventures. So I got home, ate some lunch, showered, got things together, and left around 1pm. I finally got my car back and fixed on Thursday, it only took forever to get it finished, and just in the knick of time for some roadtripping. And of course it was insanely hot on Friday and my air conditioning in my car wasnt quite up to par, so on the way down while I stopped to get some gas I also bought some freon to recharge my air conditioner. And, of course, I had no idea how to do it. So as I was fartin around with it for about 10 minutes, I asked the guy at the pump next to me if he could help. And of course, he didnt know how either. So I said screw it and went on my way.<br /><br />Two hours later, I arrive at Britneys apartment in West Laffy. I took a little rest and we got everything together and packed up the JEEP. Yes, I said Jeep! If you know me, you know that I love Jeeps. Britneys mom has a really nice 2008 Wrangler and had let us borrow it for the weekend. I cant thank her enough for letting us take it, that was the highlight of my year, just having the privilage of driving it. Anyways, we set off for St. Louis from there.<br /><br />Well, actually, before getting to St. Louis, we had to stop and visit one of her friends that she had met in Greece. I dont wanna say that we HAD to visit her, lets say that we WANTED to see her, just for the sake of me not getting yelled at by Britney. Anyways, she lived somewhere in central Illinois, Im not really sure where we were though, but the GPS did. So we went to TGIFridays with Melissa and her boyfriend, not sure what his name was, Im bad at remembering names. We'll say it was Dan, just for the sake of the story, he looked like a Dan. It was a pretty good time though, Melissa and Britney just gabbed the whole time so that kept us boys entertained. After a little while there, we hit the road again, straight for St. Louis.<br /><br />A couple hours laters, we see the big arch! St. Louis was absolutely beautiful at night, the sky was clear and the moon was out, and there were big spotlights on the arch, it was great. Well, from what I could see in the 5 seconds I got to look because I was driving in heavy city traffic. It was great....for a while, until we ran into some construction that our GPS didnt know how to get around, and we got lost. Im not really sure why we got off the big highways, but I think that was the wrong thing to do. Oh yeah I remember why, I thought there was a detour so I was following a car that I thought would take us around the construction....but didnt. This place that we were stuck in was shady. I saw one white person the whole time we were in that neighborhood. I mean, I dont have anything againt black people, but when your from a small town like I am, this place is pretty scary. That turned my mood quickly. It was late, about midnight our time, I was cranky, and that place was the last place I wanted to be at that time. This is the time that Britney had discovered that I had inherited my fathers temper. Luckily she was the calm one the entire time. So we stopped at a gas station, of course I didnt want to but she made me, and asked for directions. I swear the directions just took us into deeper and darker places. So we just punched in the Fridays that we had eaten at into the GPS and got the heck out of there. We wound up back onto the road we had entered the city in, turned around, and found a bunch of detour signs that we had missed the first time. Whew! We finally made it to our hotel around 1:30am I think. We were both terribly exhausted.<br /><br />The next morning, Saturday morning, I had discovered how nice our hotel room really was. I couldnt tell you what floor we were on, but it was up there! And we had a king sized bed, there wasnt a position I couldnt lay and have a limb hang over the edge, I think it was bigger than a dorm room! And the best part was, it was all free! And included a free breakfast!! We were in St. Louis to visit a chiropractic school that she is thinking about attending after Purdue, like a Day on Campus sort of thing, and the school payed for the hotel room.<br /><br />So after our delicous free breakfast, we headed for the school. It was pretty nice, and they had a lot of credentials and impressive statistics, but ill say that the day on campus thing was pretty boring. Just a lot of people talking about how great the school is. But, there was a lot of free food. AND.......I got to see a dead body. During one of the tours, they took us to a lab where they have a bunch of cadavers, probably 30 or so, laying on metal tables, covered in plastic, waiting to be disected. They told us ahead of time that we dont have to go look, but of course I wanted to. So they pulled back the plastic on one, and there he was, cut open down the center of his back. The doc showed us some muscles and nerves and stuff. The entire time I was thinking about two things. First, my mind kept saying "so this is what lies beneath my feet at the cemetery." And second, "Those muscles sort of look like dark meat turkey." MMmmmm, turkey.<br /><br />After our little campus visit that lasted most of the morning and part of the afternoon, we got back in the Jeep and headed for good ol' grampa Toms house. He lives about two hours from there, so we thought we'd make a visit while we were in the neighborhood. Once we got there, I gave her a tour of the town, we took some pictures of the huge energy windmill thingy, and then headed to nowhere else but the Cardinal Inn, my grampas favorite restaurant on the face of this planet. After conversing with anyone and everyone, we had decided that we wanted to go the bus derby that night at the county fair. If you dont know what a bus derby is, Ive run into some people who dont, its where people get old schoolbusses and wreck them into each other and the last one standing is the winner. Its the best thing ever. There was a lot of steam and fire and crunched up busses. While at the derby, we ran into a little bit of a thunderstorm. Luckily we were under a roofed stands, but man that wind and rain and lightning was nuts! After the storm passes, we watched a boring round of bus derbyness, it wasnt exciting because the rain had made so much mud that the busses kept getting stuck. So, we left after that. Went back to grandpas and went to bed.<br /><br />The next morningSunday morning we got up, went to the Cardnal Inn for some breakfast, and decided to do some riding! That is, motorcycle riding. My grandpa has a couple of bikes so he lent me and Britney one for the day. We rode with my grandpa and a couple of his old retired buddies. I think we went about 80 miles that afternoon, down some back roads and some really nice places near the Illinois river, and I think we were running parallel to the Mississippi River for a while. I enjoyed it, and Im sure Britney did as well. She made a good addition to the bike. After riding, we loaded up the Jeep again, said our goodbyes, and heads back east for lots of driving, LOTS of driving. I was so freakin tired the whole way home, Britney drove probably most of the way back while I was in and out of conciousness. We got back to West Laffy, and after a long goodbye, we parted and I headed back to Bremen. I got back about 10:30pm. Whew, what a weekend.<br /><br />It was great being able to visit my grandpa and especially nice to spend some time with Brit. Its amazing what you learn about someone by spending every waking moment with them, especially on car rides. She learned that I can have a bit of temper when I am cranky and lost, and I learned that she likes to change the radio station a lot haha. I kept my mouth shut until now, but once she reads this Im gonna get it. But all in all, it was a great weekend. Sorry for the long post, its hard to fit three days into a single paragraph.Ben Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08585259020123630582noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989328815350939588.post-9868782113858168392009-06-25T21:11:00.003-04:002009-06-25T21:17:44.559-04:00God is Closer than You ThinkSo I was rummaging through some of Todds books this afternoon, through his grand library/dining room, I was looking for a book that I had read last summer, 'Blue Like Jazz,' and I came across this book, 'God is Closer than You Think.' It was pretty intriguing because it didnt have any pictures or a fancy cover page or anything, just a bare hard back cover with 'God is Closer than You Think' written on the spine. I couldnt stop thinking about it for the rest of the day, I felt like it was calling me, "Ben, read me.......READ ME!" So I finally got a little bit of time tonight and I wasnt 5 pages into it when I read this:<br /><br /><br />"How lonely life is! Oh, we can get by in life with a God who does not speak. Many at least think they do so. But it is not much of a life, and it is certianly not the life God intends for us or the abundance of life Jesus came to make available." <br /><br /><br />Reading continues.....Ben Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08585259020123630582noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989328815350939588.post-6966658491631073302009-06-24T22:48:00.002-04:002009-06-24T23:05:34.787-04:00Whats so different?This summer has been kind of weird for me so far. When I moved back to Bremen I thought I would have a great time like I did last summer, but somehow things are different, and I cant figure out what. I was so happy last summer, so content with everything going on around me, I felt like I had so many options and unlimited freedom, every day was an adventure for me. But this summer, I just want every day to be over with, and I dont notice the little things anymore. The little things that made me so happy last summer dont have the same effect anymore. Take biking for example, that was such an adventure everytime I went out into the countryside to explore and breathe in the fresh air and feel the wind, but now I bike every day to work and those things arent quite as invigorating anymore. Its just a mode of transportation now. I dont see beauty in life anymore. I feel like I am just waiting for something, trying to get through each day as soon as possible instead of enjoying each passing moment. All that life had to offer me a year ago has seemed to fade away and now Im stuck in this monotonous rhythem of week and weekend, week and weekend. Wheres the adventure gone? Whats so different? Is it because I have a job that I am forced to go to from 7-4 every day? Thats a pretty big chunk of my day, and when the work day ends, I just feel exhausted and dont want to do anything the rest of the night. And all I do is worry now. Im forever worried about my car and what to do about that, worried about what Im going to do this weekend, or next month, or next year, or years from now. Im worried about what people think of me now. I dont have the same carefree 'go with the flow' attitude that I used to. And I hate it. I was happy then. Where did I change?Ben Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08585259020123630582noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989328815350939588.post-17932747239385635822009-06-23T21:46:00.002-04:002009-06-23T21:57:38.584-04:00New WebsiteI have some exciting news. Britney had sent me a link to a website that lets you create your own page for your business or for photography or whatever, called wix.com. So I am currently in the process of making my own page for my art and photography, and not only will it be for people to view my stuff, Ill have some contact info on there to hopefully get some buyers and some photography clients. This is gettin serious now! Now I have hopes that when I graduate from college next year I will already be established and have some experience of independent work under my belt.<br /><br />Actually, I even got yet another photography job for this fall. I got an email from a girl that I went to high school with but who I dont really know asking if I would like to do her engagement pictures for her. I told her straight up that I would love to do them but I dont really have a lot of experience. She said thats fine because she has seen the stuff Ive done already and loves them. And Ive got plenty of time to plan it out and get some things figured out like pricing beforehand but hopefully I can get this website done soon so I can start to market my stuff.<br /><br />The only problem I have for now is that my stupid computer doesnt seem to be allowing me to create this website, the darn think cant handle the feature. So I think Ill have to use Trents computer or something. But, as you can imaging, its gonna look amazing! Out.Ben Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08585259020123630582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989328815350939588.post-91533786915679798812009-06-19T12:53:00.000-04:002009-06-19T12:54:38.727-04:00wtfI am SOOO pissed off right now. So I took my car in last night to get worked on and the guy calls me this morning saying "Well, I thought you needed the front wheel bearing replaced instead of the rear, there is a lot more involved with that so we are going to have to charge you more." I was a little upset but cooperative because it came out to be about $240, which is what I was expecting to pay. Then he calls me at lunch and says "well the bearing wore down the wheel hub assembly so that needs replaced or else it will ruin the new bearing." I couldnt believe it. The bill is now up to $420. How could a $90 job turn into $420? Its a good thing that car isnt in my driveway now because I would literally just set it on fire. Im searching online now for a cheaper hub, but its still gonna be about $100 for one, he was gonna charge me $170. I hate this freakin car! I will never buy a BMW again.....ever.Ben Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08585259020123630582noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989328815350939588.post-61187627055008226982009-06-18T12:15:00.002-04:002009-06-18T12:41:05.853-04:00ooooOOOOOooooo!!Well, I have a little bit of time to kill today since we left from work at 10 this morning because of rain. So Ill take this time to tell some stories from the cemetery....some HAUNTING stories.<br /><br />The guys there have told me a couple of stories, they say that things happen all the time but they cant remember every single event. Theyve worked there for like 30 yrs, so their stories have been piling up. They said that they hear their names being yelled while they're mowing all the time, and when they turn to see who it is, there is no one there. There were haunted flowers one time. They threw a set of flowers away at a gravestone one time, and the next day, the exact same flowers were there again. So they threw those away, then they were back. This happened for about a month. They even took the flowers to the dump, a few miles away. Trent told me that one time everyone was sitting around in the garage just talking and the chain lift, the one attached to the roof joists to lift the mowers, fell from the ceiling and landed on one of the mowers. Trent said he has no idea how that happened since it was chained to a joist. I hear things cluttering around in the other garage all the time, sometimes its from the wind, but other times the door is shut and cant explain the sounds.<br /><br />Here are some stories that I have since I have been working there. Once while I was trimming in the old section, I smelled perfume like there was a 90 year old woman standing right in front of me. I stopped trimming to see who was around, to see if any old women were anywhere in the cemetery, and there wasnt a single person around. I only smelled it for about a second, so I tried to see if there was a trail and sniffed all around the grave I was trimming, and found nothing else. Then a couple of days later, I was once again in the old section just trimming my life away when I saw Troy walk up to me, right behind my right shoulder. I figured it was time for break or something so I turned around to say something to him and there was no one there. Troy was on the other side of the section. That really freaked me out because I clearly saw someone walking from a distance right up beside me and slightly behind. Sometimes Ill see movement in the cemetery and Ill turn around and it will be those small American flags on Veterans' graves, but it wasnt this time. I really dont like trimming the old section, Im completely fine everwhere else, but once we start on those last two sections, I feel really really uncomfortable and I dont know why. Im not thinking about hauntings or anything, I just feel uncomfortable. And I saw two snakes yesterday in those sections, I hate snakes.<br /><br />So there you go.Ben Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08585259020123630582noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989328815350939588.post-90777902025144785002009-06-17T13:19:00.004-04:002009-06-17T13:49:04.349-04:00Cemetery Days<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj74jj7i9y0Sa6TR5n7mqUcy-V_v0W57mCdAvZ9glTcalPhIwRX6k6RWkTccJDamjmfdR19AMcPuO-x4bnKniQVBfxTXOXqZV242OmyexF9c_jF8JGJCGsGCptTlprvVAU5egwvaY6N_Zw/s1600-h/IMG_1376.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj74jj7i9y0Sa6TR5n7mqUcy-V_v0W57mCdAvZ9glTcalPhIwRX6k6RWkTccJDamjmfdR19AMcPuO-x4bnKniQVBfxTXOXqZV242OmyexF9c_jF8JGJCGsGCptTlprvVAU5egwvaY6N_Zw/s400/IMG_1376.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348354987932586754" border="0" /></a><br />I work at a cemetery this summer, and I love it! I know that its kind of a weird place to work and it kind of catches people off guard when I tell them where I work, but I think its a great job. I mostly just trim around the gravestones, but we do have to pull up sod and dig graves too. Oh, and the common misconception is that we dig the graves by hand, you wouldnt believe the number of people that think that, but we dont. We use a backhoe. It makes things much easier and quicker.<br />I also like the people I work with too, thats what makes the job fun. Steve is the head sexton there at the cemetery, and hes hilarious. Hes a great boss too, hes a pretty relaxed guy so hes not always on our case to rush around and get things done, but its not like there is much to do anyways. But it makes it easier to follow his orders when he does really need something done. George is the assistant sexton. Hes a character, I dont think I have gone a single day without telling someone somthing about him. Hes a different guy, kind of a nerd, and he tells some pretty crazy stories. Russell, hes probably my favorite. Hes the old guy, I think hes 74 or 75 years old. Just the things hes says sometimes, just have to make me laugh. He always guesses the weather wrong, every single day. He refused to buy a Ford truck, only ever owned Chevys. Hes fun to tease because Ill say something to him or about him and he wont even hear me, or Ill blame things on him and he'll put up a strong defense. And he loves to smoke and drink Mt. Dew. Hes just a typical, confused old guy. And then theres Troy, my fellow trimmer. The other three guys mow, and me and Troy trim. Hes a couple years younger than me and worked there last summer so hes been showing me how to do things.<br /><br />Ive already had some experiences there, some hauntings, some funny stories, and just random stuff. Heres my day usually goes: We work from 7am-4pm, Mon.-Fri, unless its raining, then we dont have to go in. From 7-9, we usually dont do much, sit around and drink coffee, I usually catch a little nap in there, or sometimes we will dig a grave or trim a little if we're behind. From 9-9:30 is our first break. Me and Troy usually go to Burger King or Mrs. Ts Bakery to grab some brunch, but recently got into the Pancake House. Then from 9:30-10 we will sit around a little longer, or get right to work. Then we work all the way to lunch, noon. We get a one hour lunch break, thats when I go home and watch Full House and enjoy my turkey sandwich. Lunch ends at 1, and we will usually catch up on some more trimming or grave digging/filling that needs to be done. Then our second break is from 2:30-3. Then from 3-4 we will sit around some more and reminise on the day. Great job eh? Next Ill have to tell of some of my haunting experiences. So long.Ben Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08585259020123630582noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989328815350939588.post-70809895652609161572009-06-14T21:57:00.003-04:002009-06-14T22:32:42.408-04:00Boating Adventures, with a TwistThis weekend I went down to West Lafayette to visit Britney and have some adventures with her. My sister let me borrow her car for the weekend so I was actually able to make it there without any worries! And its a convertible so of course I drove the whole weekend with the top down....and of course burnt my face and head from the blazing sun.<br /><br />On Friday night, Britney and I went and saw a movie, Life in Ruins....or My Life in Ruins.....or something to do with Ruins, it had the same woman from My Big Fat Greek Wedding. It was an okay movie, Britney really enjoyed it though because it was all about Greece and she had just seen all the places in the movie from over the past month.<br /><br />Then on Saturday we went boating with her family. That was a pretty good time but it was kind of on the nippy side most of the day, and the water wasnt much better. I had fun otherwise. We did a little bit of swimming and tubing, not much tubing though because I was kind of afraid of Deans driving style....he liked to make us hurt.....and drive us into packs of geese. Her family is really fun to hang around though, I felt like part of the family the entire time. One moment that is glued into my head about this weekend is sitting at the front of the boat with Britney, she was looking out over the water, looking for driftwood to dodge for the tubers (although she would never tell the driver when she saw some, just say something quietly to me or herself), and she just looked so beatiful with her hair blowing in the wind and her outfit of bikini with shorts and a white sweater jacket thingy set into the green and blue background. It kind of took me aback, and made me smile. I wish I wouldve had my camera, that wouldve been an amazing picture.<br /><br />Oh and I met her real dad this weekend. He seemed pretty scary to me at first, hes tall and has a really deep voice, and had just woken up from a nap when I met him so he was kind of disoriented and looked aggrivated. But after a while I figured out that hes a pretty nice guy, not too mean I guess....but ill probably still be afraid of him.<br /><br />And tonight I drove back early because we had a little something going on back home, some big plans. If you havent heard yet, let me be the first to tell you about Abby and Trents engagement proposal.<br /><br />So Todd and I got to be a part of something really special tonight, we had been helping Trent out with his proposal for a couple of weeks now and tonight was the big night. Heres how it went: Abby and Trent left for Lake Wawasee to get some dinner and stopped by Mary and Jerrys house. Meanwhile, Todd and I were about ten or fifteen minutes behind them. Abby and Trent get to thier house and Jerry offers to let them take the pontoon out on the lake for a spin. So they head out on the lake and come to an area across the lake next to the shore where you can park your boats and its really beautiful and so on and so forth. After about ten minutes of waiting, Todd and I pull up on a speedboat, all dressed up in black pants, white dress shirt, and black tie. We are thier servers for the night. And as Todd and Trent and I are helping to get dinner ready for him and Abby, Trent sets down a fancy napkin in front of Abby that is embroidered with "Abby, will you marry me?" So he gets down on a knee and asks. She says yes of course, then proceeds to fight back some tears and loses the fight miserably. This, in part, makes me tear up also. But once we got the food on the table, she calmed down a little. Then we all ate dinner, well not together, Todd and I ate on the other side of the boat. Oh and I was also the photographer for the night. I ended up taking nearly 150 pictures of them and the ring and the cups and whatever. Some of them turned out really really good though. Ill put some on my flickr when I get a chance. But yeah, after five and half years of being just boyfriend and girlfriend, they are now an engaged couple. Isnt that special.Ben Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08585259020123630582noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989328815350939588.post-40969087322673852052009-06-12T16:14:00.002-04:002009-06-12T16:24:38.967-04:00Summer ReunionLast night was fun.<br /><br />One of my good friends from college is in the area this weekend and he gave me a call the other night to hang out. So after my busy day of not working (rain) and running around doing other things, I called up another friend, Ian, to see if he would like to join our shenanigans for a night. So we went up to Hacienda in South Bend and had some frozen long islands, which I thought were super strong, and conversed for a while. Then we headed to another bar, Corbys was the name I think, and got a pitcher of beer. I could only drink about a half a glass though cause that long island was effecting me too much and I had to drive. It was funny though, there was a ten dollar minimum to use a debit card, and I was the only one to have cash. But all I had were hundreds (I was prepared to buy something for my car but never did), so I paid a $4 pitcher with a $100 bill. I felt rich. And then I forgot to tip her, whoops. Then we went to another bar called The Linebacker up by Notre Dame. Overall it was a pretty fun night and Im glad I got to hang out with my ATO bros.<br /><br />Now, Im off to West Laffy for a few days to see Brit. We're going boating tomorrow so that should be nice and tiring.Ben Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08585259020123630582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989328815350939588.post-55792128723714133762009-06-10T22:13:00.004-04:002009-06-10T22:31:38.721-04:00Wedding Photographer?So since I got my camera for Christmas, Ive been pretty interested in photography. Well, Ive always been interested in photography, but now Im able to actually act on that interest. And with my background in art, I feel that I would be a pretty decent photographer, but its only a hobby for now. I have gone out a couple of times and taken photos with Trent, and then once with Britney, and every once in a while Ill get inspired and go out on my own and see what I can capture. Its a pretty good time. Photoshop is my specialty though, thats where the magic happens.<br /><br />But tonight I got a phone call from a certain Meghan Phillips with a proposal. Meghan is engaged to <a href="http://www.chuff2003.blogspot.com/">Chuff</a> (Chad Huff if you dont know him), who is <a href="toddhuff.blogspot.com">Todds</a> brother......very confusing I know. But anyways, she asked me tonight if I would like to help Jane take pictures for thier wedding. I was thrilled! Of course I said I would help, this will be great photography experience. I have already taken some pictures for Stacee, just some of her and her family, and Stacee already wants me to take her engagement photos AND wedding photos. So this has gotten me ramped up even more about photography! That would be so much fun to be a professional photographer.<br /><br />But I have a long ways to go. Ill keep it as a hobby for now, but keep it in the back of my mind as another profession. Man, being an indepentent artist is gonna be great.Ben Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08585259020123630582noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989328815350939588.post-11980481348994800602009-06-10T12:22:00.003-04:002009-06-10T12:48:51.614-04:00Parents DateLast night was interesting. Britney finally arrived back in the states yesterday, home from Greece. She landed in Philadelphia yesterday at like 3 or 4. I had known for a while that she was coming back this Tuesday so I wanted to surprise her and be there at the airport in Indianapolis waiting for her. So a couple of days ago I talked to her mom and made plans to meet up with them then head over to the airport.<br /><br />I was going to meet her mom and Dean at the Starbucks by I65 in Lafayette at 6:00pm, and it takes two hours to get there, and I dont like to rush, so I sacrificed a whole $8.25 of hard "labor" and left an hour early from work to get showered and such. So as I was driving down, Britney calls me to tell me she was in Philadelphia waiting for her next flight and during our conversations she asked if I was driving somewhere, and me being the worst liar in history, I say no Im just sitting at the house. She asks why its so windy there, and I change the subject. I think she figured it all out right then.<br /><br />So I arrive at Starbucks and meet her parents there. Oh by the way, I was terrified the whole drive down because my car has been in horrible shape lately. The wheel bearing is so loud I cant even hear myself think, my dads friend Mike told me a story about a bad wheel bearing on his truck one time, he said the whole wheel flew off driving down the road. And its got like half the power it used to because of.....something else wrong with it, so I can barely even make it up hills. Stupid car. Anyways, once I met up with Kim and Dean, they tell me her flight has been delayed an hour, so we had plenty of time to kill. So we hung out at Starbucks for a while, then went to a super fancy/expensive car wash. Then slowly drive down to Indy. We had time to stop and eat so we went to Ruby Tuesdays and had a nice little meal. Somewhere between our drive down and dinner, Brit calls again and says shes in the plane but there are more delays, I guess something was wrong with the plane, or the pilot was drunk and they had to wait for him to sober up. So we have another couple of hours to kill. So.....we went to the movie theatre across the street. We saw Night at the Museum 2. During the movie, Brit calls again, upset and histerical according to Dean, and says that her flight has been cancelled and theres nothing available until the morning. So she had to stay in a hotel overnight and wait for another flight. Meanwhile, our movie gets done at around 11pm. So we drive back to Lafayette, me and Dean talk about wrestling the whole way, and I begin my drive my two hour drive back to Bremen. I talked to Britney on the phone for about an hour on the way, well, tried to, the cabin of my car was so loud from that bearing I could hardly hear what she was saying. Oh, and I saw an accident on my way home, it looked like a semi driver had fallen asleep and went off the road, I mean he was WAY out there. There were tons of cop cars and ambulances there too.<br /><br />Anyways, I was pretty tired on the way home and disappointed that I drove all the way down there to see her and didnt get to. I ended up in bed at 2am, then had to get up at 6am for work. Im not really that tired though. So that was my date night with the 'rents last night. All things considered, I still had a good time, I have a good time no matter what happens.Ben Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08585259020123630582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989328815350939588.post-54517361600854344452009-06-08T22:28:00.003-04:002009-06-08T22:33:44.604-04:00FlickrIve got some new pics up.<br /><br />Check them out here -----><br /><br />Or here: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/benmiller87/show/with/3174284067/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/benmiller87/show/with/3174284067/</a><br /><br />Most of the pictures are of Stacee, but also include special appearances by her sister Holly, her fiance Steven, and her Mom, Dad, and brother Jimmy. I took all of these pictures and tinkered with them in Photoshop.<br /><br />There are also a few pictures that Britney sent me from Greece that I had touched up a little. Enjoy!Ben Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08585259020123630582noreply@blogger.com0