Benner turns 26!

Oh, but time is a cruel mistress, for alas I, Benner, know the wicked 26th lash of the chronological whip! Woe is me, my age has surpassed what can rightfully be considered young, I am but an old man in waiting!

For shame! For shame!

Sorry. My 26th birthday was on May 24th, and I've had that lament pent up inside me for some time. But even though I have exited the first quarter of my life and am firmly implanted in the next, not all was bad about my birthday.

For instance, my beautiful and wonderful wife Rhianwen (who is still 25, blissfully living within quarter number one, what a whippersnapper!) organized and threw a spectacular celebration for me! She worked so hard to organize and plan the event, decorating everything just the way she knew I'd like it (like stringing up cartoon character Christmas lights, for instance) and even making sure that there would be deviled eggs for consumption (deviled eggs being one of my favorite foods).

Our good friends Greg and Dani Jong were kind enough to let Rhianwen throw the shindig in their backyard (and Dani made the deviled eggs!), where we BBQ'd, beer'd, bocce ball'd and badminton'd the night away with a handful of our closest friends here in LA. Don't believe me? Here's a slide show to prove it:



I'd like to take a moment to point out the magnificent cupcakes made for me by our dear friend Roxanne. Yes, those are Benner Bots. Yes, they are the greatest homemade cupcakes ever, in history. No, you cannot have any of your own. They're mine. Thanks, Roxanne!

All in all, it was pretty much up there with the best birthday parties I've ever had. I just want to point out to all you readers one more time that my lovely and beautiful wife is the one that made it happen for me. In fact, the best gift I got for my birthday was the love and adoration Rhianwen showered upon me for pretty much the entire week of my birthday.

And while we're at it, let's just share a story from my birthday week. Actually, my birthday day, when I was scheduled to work from 4pm to midnight. There I am, working the late shift at Trader Joe's, when suddenly a voice comes over the loudspeaker.

"MICHAEL BENNER, PLEASE COME TO THE FRONT OFFICE, NOW."

"Uh oh," I thought. "I think I'm getting detention."

When I get to the front of the store, who is standing there with a big homemade chocolate pumpkin cake with cream cheese icing? Rhianwen, that's who. She brought a cake and served it to me and all my co-workers at 11pm for my birthday. I felt so loved and special.

What a wonderfully blessed life I lead, that I get to call her wife! I guess the next 75 birthdays won't be too bad after all, as long as she's around.

We had a dog for a few hours

This is Mojo. He was our dog for a few hours recently.

You see, I was walking home from work one night when I got a text message from Rhianwen. It said, "There's a dog in our apartment. Please come home. Can't explain."

"Hm," I thought. "This should be interesting."

When I got home, there was Mojo. Apparently, Rhianwen found him wondering through our building alone. One of our neighbors let him in, for reasons that still remain unknown, and Rhianwen took pity on the poor little pup. For a few short hours, our home became his home.



But alas, he could not stay. Wanting to find Mojo's owner rather than give him over to animal control, I fashioned a leash out of some string and took him for a walk around the block. Almost immediately, Mojo had found his home. And he was out of our lives that quickly.

Goodbye, dear sweet Mojo.

A couple of Benners and a Baumann come to visit

That's right folks. Grandmom, Aunt Marge and Dad/Ray came to visit us in LA last month. Here's a slideshow of their visit, followed by some of the many highlights.


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

- The first night they came, we visited the original Bob's Big Boy in Burbank, CA, where they hold classic car shows every weekend. You'll notice Dad in the photos standing with a bright yellow Charger that he just might have stolen if he weren't with his mom at the time.

- There was an obligatory stop at Rodeo Drive, where Dad stood next to a bright yellow Ferrari. Something about bright yellow cars and that man.

- Grandmom, Marge and Dad went to a taping of the Ellen show, after which Rhianwen took them on a tour of the Warner Bros. backlot. They got to see the spots where many shows and movies were filmed, including parts of Spiderman, ER and Pee Wee's Big Adventure. That's where those photos with the statues of Bugs and Daffy happened.

- Dad and I went to see the LA Dodgers play the SF Giants. We wore Phillies gear. The Dodgers fans in right field didn't really know how to deal with us. (In related news, the Phillies beat the crap out of the Dodgers last night, 7-2. Woo!)

- All of us checked out Grauman's Chinese Theatre, the famous Hollywood cinematheque where films are premiered and stars put their hands and feet in the cement. There were many interesting celeb prints, but clearly the best ones were R2D2 and C-3PO.

- Marge got to stalk her crush, George Clooney, quite a bit. Not only did she get to see his parking spot on the WB lot, we took her to his house around the corner from us and she stood in his driveway. "Oh George," she called. "I'm here for you!" We're not sure, but we think we spotted Clooney shaking his head and shutting his window blinds from the bottom of his driveway.

- Griffith Park Observatory was on our list of stops, as it's quite a landmark. It's the site of the famous knife-fight scene from James Dean's Rebel Without A Cause, and it also offers one of the best views of Los Angeles in the entire city.

- Dad didn't seem that impressed with In 'N' Out Burger, which I just don't understand.

- Grandmom was definitely impressed with that giant donut you saw up there. The thing was huge!

- The biggest celebrity we saw the entire trip was James Cromwell. That might sound a little disappointing, but it just about made Aunt Marge's life.

Thanks so much for coming to visit us in Hollywood (Note the song we sang all week together)! We had such a great time and miss you already.

Sarah and Steve came to visit... back in April...

...yes, we're late. We know. We're sorry.

But the trip was oh so fun! Sarah and Steve came for... some reason... that we can't really remember right now. But they visited us, and that's all that matters! Among the highlights was Asanebo!



Yes, Asanebo is a delightful Japanese restaurant just around the corner from us. You wouldn't think much of it from the outside, with its strip mall placement and unassuming decor. But inside is a different story. This is some of the best and most fresh fish Rhi and Benner have ever had.



Were Sarah and Steve pleased with the Asanebo?



Sarah seems utterly joyful. Steve seems suspicious. "Was this meal really as good as I think it was," he seems to be asking himself, "Or am I just imagining it?" How 'bout Rhi and Benner, did they love the Asanebo?



Of course Rhi and Benner had fun at Asanebo. You know why? Because this restaurant visit qualifies as our first non-fast food eat out experience since we moved to LA. Crazy, huh? We had been in LA nearly a year at that point, but had not even had a quality piece of sushi or sashimi. I guess that's what you get for being poor and underemployed. Thanks to Sarah and Steve for helping us enjoy our first quality eat-out experience in California!

But enough about that. How big are the bottles at Asanebo?



As it turns out, very, very big.

The next morning, the four of us went to Fryman Canyon for a nice hike. Here's Steve, surveying the land.



And it was good. As was the weekend during which Sarah and Steve visited. The end.