RayRay, Come on Down!

You're the next contestant on... oh, you get the point. I'm interviewing RayRay today. This interview will be a bit different than previous ones for reasons that will quickly become obvious... My words are in bold...

Here’s a nice ice breaker, to let the readers know that you and I have known each other for a while… and for a pop quiz… do you remember what year we met?

Wow.........I’m thinkin’ 19.........85 is when we actually 'spoke'

Yep, right on the money. Long time, eh?

I know; who knew we'd grow up to be able to say things like “I've known him for over 20 years!”

Yeah, I thought I’d be dead by 30. And once I realized that wasn’t going to happen, I didn’t think about the whole “I’ve known (whoever) for 20 years” until it had already happened.

When we were kids, you and some friends were in a band. Tell everyone the name of the band, and where you got the name.

It’s funny you should bring that up as I recently posted a pic from our yearbook on facebook. Our "band" as it was (seeing as how myself and the drummer were the only actual musicians) was called "Frontline". That name actually came from the guy taking our picture FOR the yearbook. I can't really remember how or why he came up with that.........but to a bunch of juniors in high school, it was da BOMB..............

Wasn’t it from the arcade game by the same name?

I know there was a Sunday morning 'panel show' of the same name......arcade game though, I’m not so sure.

Maybe this will jog your memory…

Nope...I don't remember it..............and it's not from the age thing!

I had always thought that if anyone I know was going to make it big in music, it would be you. What happened?

I appreciate the compliment! And yes, one would think with my playing guitar, banjo, mandolin, violin and a little piano, I'd be playin’ Vegas by now!

Vegas, Des Moines… CLEAR LAKE!!

I know, right? A group of guys I was jamming with about 14 years ago, ended up evolving into a decent band that played at the surf earlier this year! Talk about kicking myself in the arse!

Anyway, I guess my not pursuing music could be attributed to my first losing my chair in orchestra senior year, and then becoming a dad @ 21.

Losing your chair in orchestra?

I'd sat second chair for a few years by my senior year. When it came time to 'test' again, I was getting over the flu, so my playing was very sub-par. As a result, I got the next to the last chair of the first section. I was livid. The conductor wouldn't let me retest, even though he knew my playing was out of whack due to illness, but he had his 'star Asian girls' sitting first and second.

I ended up not even going to the next performance and was "let go" from high school orchestra. Nice huh?

I also remember how much you hated our boyhood town. You naturally gravitated toward larger cities filled with more excitement. But you ended up in a town that was even smaller than where we grew up. How did that happen, and do you still want to move to a larger city someday?

Ah yes, well, it's a familiar story: Boy meets girl. Boy knocks up girl. Boy feels ready to start a family. (Many years later…) Girl finds [new] bf on internet and moves family away from boy............ boy is stuck.

On a side note, back in 05 or so, I was ready to move to southern Wisconsin and get married, but then my ex moved BACK to this little town and I decided my boys were more important, so I stayed.

And yea, I'd really love to live in a larger city. My therapist says I NEED the stimulus of a larger city............true story............

If you could choose any city, which one would it be, and why?
Probably Cedar Rapids due to the fact that I know people there, and I've got some familiarity of the town.

Awwww… folks, he could choose to live anywhere, and he wants to be near his friend Evan! BTW, did you know that Cedar Rapids recently ranked in the top places NATIONALLY to bring up kids?

You’ve got an appreciation of cars. From my perspective, it’s not an affinity for muscle cars, but a love for vehicles as an art form. (Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong on that assumption.) How did that love develop? What’s your favorite car (one that you owned)? What’s your least favorite car (ever made… not necessarily one that you’ve owned)?

It does seem like I gravitate towards muscle cars over exotic cars, but I still can appreciate the craftsmanship of a European speed demon.

I'm guessing my affection was brought on by the fact that when I was younger, my folks owned two 1955 Chevys, a 1968 Mercedes, a 1970 Duster, and my favorite car, which was owned by my mom, a 1960 Chevy Impala ragtop. SWEET ride.

I've owned some fine rides myself, starting off with my first ever self purchased car: a 1964 Cadillac I named "Tiffany"..........;)
I usually try to personalize my rides, taking a common vehicle and making it uncommon.

I remember Tiffany… she was a fun ride. What’s the first thing you tend to do to a car that makes it yours?

It depends on the car I suppose. I really didn't start "personalizing" my rides until about 4 or 5 cars ago. That was a 1978 Ranchero. Nice ride. It was already black, so I added some custom wheels (which is the easiest way to make a vehicle your own), custom made some Plexiglas head light covers, and tinted the windows. Then two sets of aux. lights behind the grille, and voila! Usually, I go for lighting of some sort, tinting the windows and when $$ allows, wheels and tires.

Do you have any pictures of your favorite car that I could post with this interview?

You’re a divorced dad with two boys. The ex has primary custody, but you’ve got pretty good visitation rights. How do you handle being a single dad? What’s your favorite thing about being a single dad, and what bugs you most?

I 'handle' being a single dad, primarily because I have to. I still reel from the fact that in my opinion, I got juked by the court system in custody, but that's for another time. (That bugs the sh*t outta me still!!) I think the best thing about being a single dad is the fact that when they are with me, I don't have to share them with their mum!

I agree about being raked over the coals. I think that state law should have prevailed. (For those of you who aren’t familiar with Iowa custody law, it effectively says that shared custody is the norm. RayRay’s ex must have had a better lawyer, cuz that’s not how it turned out.)

Tell everyone about your job history. What’s been your least favorite job? (Detassling? [grin]) What’s been your favorite? What would be your dream job?

~breaks into song "GREEEEEEEEEEEEN ACRES IS THE PLACE.....FOR ME!!" That was a great time.

You thought that your blistering sunburn, and riding our ten speeds for two miles on gravel roads was a great time? But then again, we did have a lot of laughs.

Remember when our "supervisor" was giving us grief cuz we knew we were done, and he thought we weren't? walkin' down the rows pulling SOMEthing out of the stalks like he was bigshit.................what a tool!

Yeah, he was quite the @$$h0le.

I started out humbly as a bus boy, and then went directly into factory work. Presently I've worked for the same company going on 13 years now. The job, 9 years now, I like. The company blows though.

I currently make custom shaped aluminum storm doors and windows. Think of Bender (from Futurama) making windows!

So you get to drink beer on the job?!? Where do I sign up?

sadly not on the job.............however I KNOW our manager is crocked most of the time..........you can get buzzed just being in the same room as him. I really enjoy it because not only do I get to work with my hands, but it's become somewhat of an art form.

I do regret not going to college and getting into a career, but eh..........

Does that mean that your current job is your dream job?

Far from it. I'd really like to be able to build custom motorcycles. Yea, watching American Chopper made me realize this. Also, Jesse James is an influence.

I know you’re a big fan of comic books… you’ve talked a lot with my wife about them, and you did that satirical photo of you as “RayRay Kent” and “SuperRay.” Who’s YOUR favorite comic book dude, and why?

Hands down, Batman. As another of your "interviewees" put it, Bruce Wayne is just a regular guy that used his resources to become a hero and fight for what he believes in. I mean yeah, there are a LOT of awesome heroes, but with their powers, they didn't really choose to be heroes, ya know? Bruce made a conscious choice to do what he does, because he WANTS to. Clark does what he does because he can.

When you were a kid, you went by your middle name. Now that you’re an adult, you go by your first name. Tell me a bit about that.

Funny you mention that, because when I was going to my therapist after the divorce, she had an interesting insight: (you) want to make a change in your life, and also going by (your) first name you feel you can be taken more seriously, as an adult. Sounds good to me!

Tell us how RayRay likes to pass the time.

Driving around the RayRaymobile searching out injustice..............wouldn't that be COOL?!

Actually, I don’t' really do that much aside from spend WAY too much on the internet searching for the elusive soul mate. However, a few months ago, I pried myself away from that and started walking daily. In two months I lost almost 20 lbs! And even MORE recently, I adopted a 9 month old Chihuahua min-pin I've lovingly renamed........Bruce.....

What is a “min-pin?” How are you going to handle the walking thing this winter?

"Min-Pin" refers to miniature pincher. He's black with brown markings resembling those of a Doberman. As for walking him during the snowy season, maybe a treadmill and potty training?

Or maybe just some 'him-size' snow shoes so he doesn't get lost in the snow drifts.

Ummm, can I recommend potty training regardless of the weather? You could try house-breaking the dog too.

He's pretty well house broken already........although he does still have the minor mishap. MOSTLY liquid.

Did everyone notice how RayRay casually chose not to take the bait in my last question?

Most people I know either loved high school or hated it. How do you feel about high school and why?

I think if i'd had worried more about academics and less about social issues, I'd have gotten along much better.

What is your favorite memory from high school?

Playing the high school homecoming talent show with a revamped "Front Line". We ROCKED the joint.

We started off with Ted Nugent's "Free for all", followed it up with Iron Maidens "Run to the Hills", and and for the LIFE of me I can't remember our last song we did! I DO remember, however, that by the last song, students were trying to get to the gym floor and dance, but were being wrangled by teachers..............good times..............

Dude, that’s cool! Do you still play any guitar? (A little aside for our readers, RayRay came to my house in January and played some guitar with me. He’s good!)

Sadly, not as much as I'd like to.

You were born and raised in Iowa, right? How much have you traveled? Where’s your favorite place that you’ve actually visited? If you could go anywhere, where would it be?

I have relatives in both Texas and Missouri, so I've visited there. Otherwise, I've been to Pennsylvania (damn internet dating!), and living in Iowa, of COURSE I’ve been to Minnesota and Wisconsin. My fave place has become my uncles "spread" in NW Missouri. He's got a HUGE chunk of land where he's built a gorgeous 3 level home and has his own pool AND stocked fishing pond. It's my favorite place because for the past 3 years, it's where I've vacationed with my children.

… and someplace that you’d like to visit?

Scotland, or Asia. The former due to the fact that on my mum's side, I'm part Scottish AND there is a castle that the family name lays claim to. The latter, women.........

Castle RayRay? Never heard of it As for Asian women… well, no matter what I say I’m in trouble, so I’ll just keep my mouth shut. Just don’t go all Gary Glitter on us.

It's the Eileen Donnan, for those who'd like to Google it.

lol.....

Do you prefer sugary foods or salty foods?

Well, now that I'm watching what I eat, not so much on the sugary. Still like salty, but not too much salt. For a GOOD rush, I go for McD's fries and lick the box!

Here’s a question that I asked Paulius… did you notice that you look kind of like his twitter photo on his blog?

i've not seen his pic yet...............and i'm not stout! (Not anymore anyways!)

Here’s a link to Paulius’ pic on twitter.

Yea: separated at birth!

What question did you think I’d ask that I haven’t asked you yet?

Y am I single for going on 8 years?

Is this a trick ? lol

Speaking of still being single, and your earlier reference to looking for love on the internet, are you willing to share your story about eHarmony?

I’ll do ya one better, I’ll throw in my Plenty of Fish story as a bonus!

Ok, for anyone that's ever seen an eHarmony commercial will know, they boast, they use "29 dimensions to find you a mate"! Well, first off, I’m interested in 3-dimensions.....as in 3-d? BA dum bum.............but seriously folks, I spent at LEAST a few hours filling out the survey, being as honest and complete with my answers as possible. A day or so goes by, and I get an email/notification from them. It read something like "thank you for taking the time to fill out our survey, but at this time we don't have a match for you". um..............yea...............so I spend time on this damn thing, time I could have been looking at something like midget porn, from a site that claims to be the end all be all to finding love, and like Joe Pesche said in lethal weapon 2, "they F*CK you at the drive thru".

Ok, my Plenty of Fish story; for those of you not in the know, it's a free dating sight that allows you to communicate with people you see on the site. I met this one woman who lived 45 minutes away from me. Completely a doable situation. We exchanged messages and spoke on the phone for a couple weeks before decided to go on a date. Long story short, she brought her mom..................yea. I’ll just leave it at that.

As an added bonus, I'll leave you with a couple more RayRay car shots.