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August 11, 2011 A Persistent Spider Lives in my side—view mirror For the past couple of weeks now, every morning when I have gone out to my truck there has been found a pristine spider web spanning the space between the driver's side mirror and the door. We have a healthy spider population around our house, and our deck and porch are continually being decorated by webs of all sizes by spiders just as various. Generally we let them be, for they are certainly the lesser of the insect evils in the outdoors and trap and eat some of the greater evils of the out of doors, namely mosquitos. However this web placement is ill-thought out for every day I must travel about the city, sometimes at highway speeds, and invariably the web on my mirror gets destroyed every day. When I arrive home in the evening and inspect what is left, there are usually but a few clumpy strings dangling from the edge of the mirror, maybe a bug or two tangled into the mess. Yet first thing the next morning when I get into my truck what do I see? A brand new, pristine spider web spanning the space between my driver's side mirror and the door. It must be a good spot for bug—catching, because no amount of daily web destruction seems to deter the persistent builders. It's been amusing, and on my mind for several days to write about. My estrogen levels were given a boost last night as I watched How To Lose a Guy In 10 Days with Kristi. A classic chick flick in all it's girly glory. Afterwards we were having a discussion about what makes a chick flick a chick flick. I made the assertion that most chick flicks involve two unlikely people falling in love. What is it about watching scripted people fall in love that attracts such volumes of women and provoke them to tears? I suppose one could also raise the same question (minus the tears) about guys watching other guys beat each other to tar... We really are an odd species. I'd hate to stab a guess at what historians will say about the people who lived in this era. Can you imagine? We dig up remains of anchient civilizations and try to piece together their culture. What would be said in a thousand years about our culture? Especially based on the remains that survived? Everything is plastic and paper. Would there be anything left to find? Snip, Snip, Smile? Two out of three ain't bad... Thirty years old, happily married, four wonderful children; my family is what I've always wanted it to be. So what do you do when you reach this place in life? You try to make sure you don't have any surprises. And bang for buck, the best value for the money in the surprise-prevention department falls to us men. There are lots of methods of course, some less invasive than others. Equally so, some are more effective than others. I've decided to take one for the team. Yes, I've decided to have a vasectomy. First of all, I must confess; it seems odd to be writing about this on my web site. However, the process leading up to this decision has been an interesting journey, and it's the kind of thing that could have life-changing consequences. Generally, it's not something men like to talk about either. So here I am - talking about it. I've got my appointment booked, the countdown is on, now what? Part of me feels anxious; it's an unknown. A lot of masqulenity is centered around that area, so what will changing a part of that area mean for me as a man? Will it change anything at all? What if there's complications? What if they have to amputate? Will I feel different? Will my hormones change? So many questions without answers! BACK to Journal Index |