This is my 200th entry since I started doing this. I guess I should have given some deep thought to this and committed to writing something cereberal and thought-provoking. Instead, I'm going to write about Eggtoberfest 2005 and having neighbors that may or may not be good for me and my marriage.

Oh, before I start, I wanted to say that of all the celebrity photographs ever taken that I've seen, I think this is my favorite. I am attempting to locate a copy to frame and put on the wall in The Man Room, but so far the only one I've found is one autographed by the guy that took the picture, and he only wants $1700 for it. Obviously, the search continues...


Saturday marked the second time the wife and I have attended Eggtoberfest, an outdoor extravaganza celebrating the joys of ownership and cooking on a Big Green Egg. Over 1,000 people were there with well over 120 BGE's fired up with people cooking on them and giving away samples all day. There was also free beer for those who were so inclined. (I was).

This one was way more fun than the last one, and I can't wait for next year's Eggtoberfest already. Here's me "working" over the 3 gallons of Brunswick stew we made. It was very well received.

Actually, I am considering entering it in next year's Chili Cook-off at Stone Mountain. I think it would rule if Mon's Stew could win at a big ol' fancy contest like that.


Oh, and this guy walking around with this apron on all day made me laugh quite a bit as well...

He drew quite a crowd, as you can probably imagine.

Oh, a big shout out to my nephew Nick for staying with us after his folks left for the day. We had a LOT of gear to get out of the fest area and he did most of it by himself. He also helped me move the 160 plus pound BGE I had bought across a mown field, down a hill, over some curbing, across a parking lot and helped lift it into the car. I simply could not have done it without him, and I'd have had to wait about a year for my turn if I was waiting for the overwhelmed BGE staff to do it.

Thanks man.

In the wake of the "dead deer on the front walk" mystery at my in-law's house across the street, I think this would be a really sweet Christmas decoration for their yard, or possibly even mine:


Oh, it turns out that the boy who we thought did the deed actually did, and he was "encouraged" by his mother to come over and apologize to the folks he was terrorizing. He brought along the other involved parties, and I hope they realize what a shitty thing that was to do to someone.

Also, I hope they appreciate the gravity of what they did and understand why shit like that isn't right or funny. Further, I hope they know that if anything like that ever happens again, regardless of who did it, we are going to assume it was them and act accordingly.

And don't think I'm kidding either, big boy. I'm not.


Anyway, upon our return home Saturday evening, we (okay I) grabbed showers, had a couple of beers and were figuring out what we were going to do. Our new neighbors (Stephen and Amanda) had invited us down to watch the UGA-Vandy game so I figured "Why not?"

After sitting in their totally kickass entertainment room complete with theater seating, UGA scored and our host said "everybody upstairs."

I figure "Okay...why not?"

Well, here's why the answer should have been not.

I followed the boys into the bar area and Stephen's pouring shots of Jaegermeister. It seems that they have a tradition of taking a shot each time UGA scores.

It is right then where I had the opportunity to make the right decision. The mature decision. The one a guy who's about to have his second child should make without even thinking about it...

So, after we took the shot, there was a round of high fives, and we all headed back downstairs to watch more of the game. UGA scores, we head back upstairs, take another (bigger) shot of Jaeger, and lather, rinse, repeat our way thru halftime and the third quarter.

It is here that the details are sketchy. See, when I got there, it was 7-7. At the half, UGA had scored twice more and two more times in the 3rd quarter. I was also helping myself to their Budweiser Selects as we rolled merrily along.

Sunday morning, the wife asked "who won?"

Simple question. My answer: "How should I know? I don't remember walking home although, to be fair, I know the game wasn't over yet."

Ouch.

Oh, and I realized later in the day that I'd left / dropped my phone at their house, so I got to do the day after walk of shame back to their house and hopefully make it look like my second visit to their house hadn't resulted in a blackout that would see me never invited over again.

"No worries," Amanda said. "You're welcome anytime".

Whew.

Oh, in case I hadn't mentioned it, I don't think having them for neighbors is going to do much for my relative level of maturity.

Thank God.