Who are you? I really wanna know

I like reading blogs. There. I've said it. I like reading them and I like posting to mine. It used to be I never read the personal ones - I couldn't stand the way they were more like someone's diary recounting the day's events. I honestly could not have cared less what someone had for breakfast or how they should have studied more for that exam or which pair of Doc Marten's they were wearing today. It was just such...such...drivel. But the more they evolved the more interesting they became. Some really good writers started livening up the humdrum, giving their own particular spin on seemingly mundane events. That's when I started looking for more. When Mrs. Big Dubya and I learned we were pregnant, I started looking for those blogs that were writing from the daddy/mommy perspective. Sure, there are plenty of books out there, but it's far more enjoyable to read about the confusion, the angst and the elation from someone real - the guys in the trenches as it were. I like the fact that they're just normal guys/gals - there's no Ph.D.s spouting off about one theory or another - they can laugh at things like Daddy Drinks Because You Cry. Another reason I like reading them is because, for the most part, I know who I'm dealing with. Sure, there is some level of anonymity, but for the most part, everything is pretty much out there. For all I know, the Ph.D. writing the book is some squirrely nerd who's never had a date in his life.

But I realized something the other day. I know a lot about the people I read often - I know that Two Pink Lines just moved to Virginia; BIYF is in the music biz and his name is Alan Koenig and yours isn't; that I would get along with Metro because of Morrissey and baseball, and even though I'm a Sox fan; that Not-for-Profit Dad well, works for a not-for-profit like moi and you gotta love a guy who uses a picture of Peter Lorre for his profile and he has twins like Matt who's also working for a non-profit (I'm sensing a trend there - what's up with that?); and finally, I learned that another daddy blogger lives near me. But, because Blogger profiles aren't really profiles, many of these people know nothing about me other than I like Princess Bride, Guinness and that I might look like Curly.

So - I figured I would use this post to drop some knowledge and clue you in on things that only Mrs. Big Dubya and the United States government know about me.

I'm a 38-year-old displaced Boston suburbanite. Mrs. Big Dubya and I grew up in the same town but didn't meet until 1998 - she being the good Catholic school girl she is and I the incorrigible public school reprobate. However, I did see the error of my ways and graduated from a Catholic high school. I went to a maritime academy for a year-and-a-half but didn't do so well - got to travel, though the accommodations on-board a training ship are less than spacious - nothing like having the ass of the guy above you be only a foot away. Tried college again later and, well, let's say we don't count that one - it's not a transcript I submit anywhere.

I enlisted in the army in 1989 and after basic training and advanced training I was stationed in Neu Ulm, Germany. They must have known I was coming because three weeks after arriving, the Wall came down and democracy was running wild - "My work is done here." In light of that, our unit was deactivated and our equipment and many of my friends were sent to Saudi Arabia for Desert Storm - my tour in Germany was cut short and I was sent to the "Best Kept Secret in the Army" - Fort Polk, Louisiana. There is good reason it's kept secret - it's not quite hell, but they do share an area code. I got out of the army in 1992 because of "early-outs" but transitioned to the National Guard because they pick up the tab for school.

I did end up back in school and majored in English - I also played lacrosse for three seasons. I was also one of the oldest guys on the team at 25 and when I graduated I was the oldest player on the team at 28. Pluses: I could outdrink most of them. Minuses: I never recovered as quickly either after a night out or after a game.

I have worked for a real estate company as a publicist, for a Catholic school as assistant director of development; a mutual fund company as public relations manager; at a boarding school as director of alumni and parent relations; and finally now as a director of development.

My wife and I met at church. No, not really, but that's the version we like to tell every now and then. We actually met at a Jim Plunkett show at The Beachcomber, but when we met it was Nostalgia. We've been married since 2002 - did I mention her Dad has a shotgun? Kidding. Declan is our first child and, if you've been reading this blog, you know the hell that was his arrival so I won't recap. But, he was the best thing that ever happened to me/us.

What else? I don't have an iPod, but I do have Xbox and XM. We don't have any pets other than the dust bunnies that live under the couch. We live in the hills of Connecticut - bucolic comes to mind.

Yes, I am a Sox fan by birth - I also think it's in the genes. I'm also a Pats fan. Can't be ashamed of either one anymore. Back-to-back and three-peat are music to my ears.

I like a variety of music, but my playlist would never be confused with mr. nice guy's - I am an amateur compared to him. I might as well have a tin ear.

Well, if you've made it this far I think you've suffered enough.

Hat tip to Jay at The Zero Boss for the pic - I should mention that he got it at Unhip.