So I went out tonight. Sort of. Originally it was planned to be a whole group of us, my friends that I don't get to see except when I'm home from school. Most of them opted out of college and instead went to work full-time once high school ended. I'm not saying this is a direct result of that, but they're also a general group of stoners now, too.

        The plans we originally had were scrapped.

        Ben said it best. "You get any group of stoners together and, no matter what was planned, they start scheming. 'Hey, if we all throw in five dollars we could get a bag and get high!' Happens every time, and being high is obviously better than hanging out with friends you don't see often."

        So, it ended up just being Ben and I driving around and looking for a club or something. Now I remember why I went to school away from here. Perhaps it's because I've already done all there is to do in this town, but I like to think there's simply nothing to do here. You hear the complaint often amongst people of my age bracket, but in this particular case I think it's honestly true.

        Ben is another friend from around here, but we ended up going to college together and now split an apartment (that we're having to pay rent for over the summer... never sign a lease). So, when I get a chance to hang out with the friends from back home, he's usually looking to do the same since we're on the same school schedule. It isn't often that it's just the two of us, since when we're at school, Amy is typically with us. She is Ben's girlfriend. They met during the first year of school and have been going strong ever since. She lives in Indiana and went back home for the summer, so for the moment, they're just having a long distance relationship.

        Interesting enough, he hasn't cheated on her. I know of no man more on a mission with females than Ben. It's a quest and conquest, command and conquer. Well, that's how it used to be. The fact that he's settled down for this long with one girl is a testament to the power of females over men.

        There's a little story that can be told here. Not about Amy, but from back in high school.

        His name is Ben, short for Benjamin. Also short for Bent. It's not uncommon for someone to have the name of Benjamin. Many people in this world have that name and nothing is ever thought of it. It's actually a rather common name, perhaps something that should be looked down upon for being so plain that it's down right boring. But Bent is an entirely different type of name, something that just doesn't come packaged up with the child registration and birth certificate.

        In all honestly, I gave the Bent nickname to him. I tried it out for a few weeks, but could never pronounce the "t" at the end. It's the same as saying words like "went." Sure, anytime someone says something like "He went to the store," they're saying the word but they're not using the full effect of it. Only one T is being pronounced there, even if there are two of them to sound out. If you say it aloud to yourself, you'll find that you're saying "went" as simply "wen." The T from "to" is the actual T that is being used. The T from "went" simply disappears from your tongue.

        So I went back to calling him Ben, except this time it was short for Bent. Same name, new meaning. It built some character, gave him some individuality. Who cares if no one could even tell that his name changed?

        I guess the real question is, "Why Bent?" Years ago, he and I were sitting around talking about random, useless topics that won't change the world. During the middle of discussion, we somehow ventured into talking about porn and then about genitalia in general.

        "Dude," he said to me. "Ok, listen and tell me if this is weird."

        I didn't know what he was going to say, but I prepared for the worst. "All right," I said. With this guy, anything was possible. And if he thinks it's weird, it truly will be.

        "Ok," he started, "I've noticed something weird. Whenever I get an boner, it bends a little to the left."

        So he had touched on some weird malfunction of the penis topic. Not what I expected, but then again, I didn't know what to expect. But how does a penis bend to the side? I've heard of a bend from base to top, but left to right? I had to ask. "What do you mean by... 'Bends'?"

        He looked at me for a moment, and then took a slow, deep breath. "You know," he began, "it doesn't go straight up and down. It detours a little to the left. Takes the fork in the road. It's the backstroke of a windshield wiper. Stands tipsy. It gives me the crooked salute."

        I thought he was exaggerating. "Come on!" I said. "What are you talking about?"

        In a moment of frustration, he blurted out, "I have the Leaning Tower of Pisa in my pants! Dude, my dick is fucking bent to the side!"

        I just laughed for a few minutes as he continued to try and explain this weird problem that he was facing. The only conclusion we could come to was that it all went back to masturbation. Over the years of using the same hand to pleasure ones-self, the muscles and skin of the penis tend to lean towards the direction that it's accidentally pushed towards repeatedly during self-gratification. This would cause the penis to have a slight lean to one side or the other, depending on the dominant hand of the owner. Right handed, then a lean to the left. Left handed, then a lean to the right.

        Granted, I don't know if this is scientific or not. I haven't researched it, but to my ignorant brain it makes sense.

        So, credited to his choice of description regarding his own penis came the "Bent" name. Like I said, it didn't last long, but the origins of his newly revised regular name still live on whenever anyone says it.

        Anyway, given that being sober around high people is generally never fun, unless you want to try to freak them out with your sobriety, the original plans were scrapped. We drove around looking for something to do but the night ended much like back in high school. We played video games back at his parent's house and then I went home. So much for my day off and meeting up with old friends. Maybe the back-story salvaged this entry. I had nothing else of merit to discuss, unless you like hearing about my high score.

        Yeah, didn't think so.

        School starts back soon! At least video games won't be the only viable thing to do.