Name that blog...

So.

I'm named after a rat.

It's not a point of great pride for me but Mum had good intentions. You see, Mum loved a song named 'Ben', famously performed by a young Michael Jackson. I'm told there was a film clip where ;Ben' was a cute little Golden retriever or something like that. The truth is, the original song was written about a pet rat- more than that- a homicidal, man-eating genius rat who was the leader of a pack of killer rats (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068264/) sworn to protect his owner from bullies by eating them.

Thanks Mum ;).

Upon entering school, I quickly found my species changing. Ben the homicidal, man-eating genius rat became 'Ben the Hen'. And in case I forgot this fact- that I was now a hen- I was reminded by my friendly classmates on a regular basis. What a helpful bunch they were. :).

The thing about the name 'Ben' is that my Mother was quite proud of it's originality. What she didn't realise was that her thinking wasn't original. Every one of my classes had another Ben in it. So instead I was called by my surname 'Mason'. Until I got chicken pox in Yr 2- and then it became 'Measle Mason'. My protests as to the inaccuracy of this designation seemed to only increase the name-calling funnily enough.

My Mum married when I was in Yr 6 so I became a 'Skinner'. I was very happy to take the name. But it didn't take much imagination for my continuously courteous classmates to think of lots of fun derivatives.

So I've had lots of experience in names. In setting this blog up, I had to name it. In all honesty, I didn't think too hard about it. I really couldn't be bothered. I remember trying to name our band with my friend in high school and it was hard work. Name after name sucked. We made great big long lists and of course every name but the one we came up with, we figured, would be disasterous to our potential world domination for one reason or another. My Dad and Mum (yes the one that named me after a rat) would happily join our vocal brainstorming to suggest ideas. "How about 'Snot boys'?" Dad would say, struggling to get it out, as he keeled over with laughter. "How about *snort snort* "The pimply faced greasy teenagers" *hahahaha* Mum would retort. And they'd continue thier interjections in tears and laughter, while we tried to ignore them, until Mum eventually ran to the toilet and vomited (it's true. It would happen often when she laughed. She had a hernia.) "Stop laughing Mum, you'll vomit" was advice that would often pass my lips. Advice unheeded of course.

We eventually settled on M-phasis. That's right. Spelt with an 'M'. We thought that was cool. We'd be in a talent contest and the compere dude would screw up his face and read our band name. "Next up is...um....Emphasis?" "That's right. Spelt with an 'M'," I'd yell out from stage right. And then, on would we strut, promptly asking a few disinterested middle aged ladies in Greenacre shopping centre if they were 'ready to rock'. We were M-phasis. We were gonna make a statement. Our name was who we were.

I have called this blog 'Reality Check' after a song I wrote in Yr 11 and 12 (it took me a while to complete). I was named after a song, and so will be this blog. It's generic enough to not box me in yet representative enough of what I want to communicate. And I'm sure it won't effect my chances of world domination. I think it's cool ;). I hope that this blog can be a lot of things- a journal of my thoughts, stories, journeys, experiences, things that have shaped me etc etc.

But most of all I want this blog to be an honest account of my regular head on collisions with reality.... With what I continue to discover to be real, rather than what I thought was real- the reality that "I didn't see officer..." until I hit it. My life as a continuing "reality check".

So please- join me, subscribe, interact, criticize, enjoy, be bored by, 'all of the above' me. And let me know I'm not just talking to myself :)

Ben the 'pen'.


Last verse of Ben (Michael Jackson)

Ben, most people would turn you away(turn you away)
I don't listen to a word they say
They don't see you as I do
I wish they would try to
I'm sure they'd think again
If they had a friend like Ben
(A friend)
Like Ben
(Like Ben)
Like Ben