The Brown Monster

From afar...

From Austin's point of view...

I have concluded that this fence is Austin’s nemesis --- and the only way Austin can beat it, is by getting as many items of athletic equipment over it as humanly possible.  Maybe it talks smack to him.  Maybe it openly mocks him in front of the pretend crowd that cheers him on while he attempts in his many last second shots, touchdown passes, etc.  Even worse, maybe it talks in his backswing -- stupid fence, I hope Jose rips you up even more with his weed whacker.

I’ve got to admit though, it is a worthy opponent.  It kicked butt on those 100 MPH straight-line winds.  It even beat a tornado from 100 yards away.  When all other fences in the neighborhood faltered, it triumphed.  I guess what I’m saying is that the Brown Monster can beat the crap out of your fence.

Austin sure has kicked its butt over the past few months though.  The soccer ball has gone over it at least 20 times.  Add to that -- a  few baseballs, 3 different footballs, Frisbees, many many whiffle golf balls (which were subsequently ruined by Jose’s lawnmower), and so on.

Seriously though, Austin loves making things go over the fence.  It’s so weird.  He can reach three-quarters of the way up the thing, but yet, if he gets a ball over…it’s awesome!!  While this little game really bugs me, it still makes me wonder...what is he thinking?  Is it really a challenge?  Is it that instinct in human beings that makes us want to climb tall mountains, build the largest buliding, or make the fastest car?

...or is it just a stupid game that frustrates parents and inevitably leaves good equipment out in the sprinklers overnight.

For those that missed the obvious Sweet Caroline reference, here ya go.  It comes from the land of the Green Monster...my fence's hero.  Singing this song in the 8th inning will bring you all the luck in the world.  It may even break an eighty-six year curse.

If you play this, you'll want to pause the music on the bottom...otherwise it is really annoying.

Man Caves

I have a couple of man caves in my life.  They're awesome.  In fact, I’m sitting in one right now.  There are swords hanging on the wall to my left--and no one complains about it.  It has furniture that I like.  I have a docking station for my laptop that connects it my to home network, dual monitors, an awesome speaker system, etc.  Additionally, because this man cave being mine, and mine alone, it is almost always entirely clean.  But, by far the best part about this place is that when I am in here, there are brief moments that the world just feels right.  I know, it sounds weird, but it really does happen.  I attribute this to the fact that, in here, I have complete control  (clearly that doesn’t happen very much for me).

Ahhhh, there it is:

Lately, I have found myself having random thoughts that could readily be shared in an online forum.  Unfortunately, my wife doesn't exactly let me use her blog (I don’t think you can count that time that I hijacked it after she allowed her computer to remember her password).  Apparently she is a strict guardian of her blog's "integrity."  I guess her reaction is understandable, because usually what I have to say is somewhat on the dorky side.  It isn't my fault though.  I used up all of my vast quantity of awesomeness during our dating phase.  That is how I trapped her.

Anyway...

Hence, I have come to the inescapable conclusion that I need a place online where I have the control, i.e. a virtual man cave.  I envision this blog to be fairly random.  I won’t play any froo froo music (assuming I’m not making fun of something).  I won't mirror Heidi's chronicling of the family or her other experiences.  Nor would I want to…I actually really enjoy reading about my family from Heid’s perspective.  I will, however, give the "other perspective" on certain family events when I feel it is entertaining or necessary to defend my honor (I still remember that Christmas post from last year).   I know it may be surprising, but sometimes Heidi and I don't always think the same way about the same experiences.

So, welcome to the man cave.  Feel free to comment here…even if you think I’d think it was weird that you commented.  I blog-stalk people all the time.  In the man cave we wont judge you.  That is assuming, of course, that you don’t say something girly or really really gay…then I’ll make fun of you.