Wednesday, November 11, 2009

The Anomaly of.....Joe

My name is Joe and I have been asked to be the first male blogger for an all female podcast site and I AM an Anomaly….or a glutton for punishment. You can tell me which by the end of this blog.

So I get an e-mail from Jen yesterday asking if I would be interested in blogging here and there for the Anomaly website. Well, the more I thought about it, the more some ideas for an introductory blog began clanking around in the normally vapid gap between my ears. WARNING: Everyone is familiar (hopefully) with Shakespeare’s quote “Brevity is the soul of wit”? I am too. I just typically ignore it, so buckle up.

I’m Joe, but for the purposes of this and future blogs, you can call me….well….Joe, it is my name after all. I live in Eastern Washington (State…yes there’s a state…you’d be surprised) in an area of the Northwest, along with several other small towns and cities around here known collectively as The Inland EMPIRE (cue John Williams)….seriously…I know…cool, right? I am a civil engineering designer by trade as well as a nerd, geek, anomaly, rabid sports fan, metalhead and all around general wiseass. All of that rolled up into one big, svelte 6’-2” well muscled, blond haired, blue eyed frame. OK, OK, OK, so I’m really 6 feet tall, somewhat overweight and have hair and eyes that are a shade that can only be described as UPS brown. But hey, this is the internet, a kid can dream right (WHO ARE YOU TO JUDGE?!) I have been a geek since childhood. I waited in line for The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, when they first came out. I cried in the theater when Spock died in The Wrath of Khan. I love cartoons (especially those from the 1980’s), some gaming, MOST Sci-Fi in general (I mean c’mon…Solaris? Really? That was the Best 2 hours sleep I have EVER had) especially Star Trek and Star Wars, all 6 of them (That’s right, I said ALL SIX) and I think that Firefly, BSG, and Mystery Science Theater 3000 is some of the greatest Sci-Fi ever to grace the small screen.

Sadly, there are limits to my geekiness. I cannot name Star Trek episodes off the top of my head as many of my compadres do. I do not own any costumes or props and I have never been to a Con of any kind. I feel shame…wait no I don’t, cuz if I had the opportunity or the money, I sure as heck would have a full Jedi costume and worn it to a Convention. Plus I don’t need any of that to know I am geek.

First and foremost, however, I am a husband and a father. My wonderful (and patient) wife, Marilyn, whom I will refer to henceforth as Marilyn, is also a geek. She loves all things Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. Especially, with regards to LOTR, if that thing is named Orlando Bloom. She is not a huge Trek fan, though she did enjoy the new movie….ah well, nobody is perfect, but she’s as close as they come. My kids…..ahh, my children…where to start. Well, I have four of them…yes 4….girls…ALL of them. The ladies, in no particular order, are, from oldest to youngest: Sammi (16), Katie(10), Miranda(8) and Madeline(3), to whom Daddy usually refers to as Punk, Red, Blondie and Shorty respectively. The youngest three are geeks in training and I couldn’t be more proud. They love watching the Clone Wars, fight (literally) over which one will get to color in the Star Wars coloring book and love watching Ghost Hunters, Ghost Lab and Destination Truth with me. The oldest kinda went the other way…somewhat Goth, loves horror movies and may be the truest geek of us all…in that it would surprise me not a bit if she suddenly came downstairs and bit the head off of a live chicken. Yep, I am surrounded folks. A day to day battle to tread water and dog paddle through life in the Estrogen Sea. Ya know what... I wouldn’t trade it for the world. They are my life…Even the teenager, whom I love very much, although I’m sure she wouldn’t believe it at the moment (can you say GROUNDED).

So now you know a bit more about me (and knowing is half the battle). You now know that being the only guy amongst a bunch of ladies is nothing new for me really. Just another day in the life of the Anomaly known as Joe (sorry, no more third person…Joe promises). If you haven’t fallen asleep by now, I swear my next blog will be shorter and less self centered…well, less self centered anyway. I hope you will come back and check out my next one, whenever that may be and if you don’t and you choose just to ignore it altogether…well, being the only boy in my house, I can’t say that I won’t have been there before either.

Till next time, L8R SK8Rs.

Joe (I’m sorry, were you talking?) R.
Self Proclaimed Emperor of the Inland Empire (and cue The Imperial March yet again)
Anomaly Staff Writer
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8 comments:

Unknown said...

OK, I feel better about reading now we're going to get some male writing too ;) although surely there was something to being an Anomaly that had to do with female and fandom converging...oh, the daughters...right.

That works for me :)

Kevin Bachelder said...

Looking forward to your contributions Joe. With a wife and two daughters I understand the "only male member of the family" viewpoint. ;)

Sue said...

Joe... hi-larious. Welcome! Looks like you'll fit in nicely around here. And it's nice to have someone else around who's not in Texas! KC, Margaret - things it's time we take the "Girls Only" sign off the virtual writing room? ;)

cosmonaut said...

You admitted crying in a movie!!! ;)

Hello modern man!
Like your kind, please stay! I think you'll fit right in! :)

Hawkeyemeds said...

Ah, a chap, a guy, a man, a bloke and a blokey bloke as well. Great to have you blogging Joe i look forward to reading all your stuff. I'm a new father and we had a little girl. one of the first people i emailed (an hour after the birth) was Jen, one to tell her i was now a Dada bt second to get her enrolled as an Anomaly, get her in quick i say. My daughter (Isla) was subjected to the sounds of the Tardis whilst in the womb and i have just discovered that such actions have led to her smiling when Dr Who is on. Class.
Anyway looking forward to more of your writings. Welcome sir. :)

Geekyfanboy said...

Great first post.. no pressure Joe but you are the sole representation of the male species in this Anomalious world.. but I guess you are use to that since that is how you live your daily life at home. Looking forward to more posts.

Anonymous said...

Nice. I am very happy that you will put your perspective into the mix. I watch little house on the prarie and get choked up nine out of ten times. I just wish Pa would use his light saber.

I'm really looking forward to your comments.

woo hoo!

kaseycleon said...

A male has infiltrated our forces! :P

Welcome to our pack of writers, Joe. I have a feeling you're going to fit right in. Really excited to read about the Anomalous male POV.