This game is epic ...

Happy President's Day! I was inspired to write tonight after hearing a loud and excited voice yell "this game is epic" from the living room. More on that later ...

A lot has happened in the months since Christmas. JC and I took an amazing trip to Hawaii. After two weeks of rest, relaxation and maid service, it has been hard adjusting to life back at home. The 70 degree temperature difference between sunny Hawaii and Northern Virginia has not helped the situation either.

After our recent respite from the "Money Pit," JC and I have decided to get back on the horse and begin to work on the house. We're pretty much resigned to the fact that our home will test our marriage in every way possible. From the leak in the downstairs bathroom to the family of mice living under the kitchen sink, we come home each night hoping that nothing has gone awry during the day. As some of you know, we recently acquired a long-term houseguest. My brother Matthew, a recent college-grad, has moved to Washington to look for a job. Matt has been a great help around the house. He empties the dishwasher, cleans bathrooms and most importantly, waits around for the various handymen that frequent the "Money Pit." It will be a sad day for me when Matt actually finds a job, although I think that it might actually be tougher on JC ... which brings us to the inspiration for this blog entry.

Almost every day this week I have gone to sleep to the sounds of machine guns in my living room. No, JC has not gone out and secured a concealed weapon permit. These are the sweet sounds of games called Ghost Recon and Halo. When I agreed to buy the XBox last year I never thought that it would come to this. It is all consuming. On Saturday, Matt and JC played 4 hours of Ghost Recon, then attempted to cut down a tree in the backyard. I'm wondering what is next ... perhaps the wall in the den will be the next victim of an XBox induced, testosterone-laced project.

Today, JC, Matt and I made a trip to JC's favorite store, Costco. It was my suggestion as I had noticed this morning that we were running out of bottled water. I have come to regret this decision ever since. They are now on hour 3 of a new game, Call of Duty, World at War. Who knew that Costco sold XBox games? This new game inspired the quote uttered by my brother this evening, "this game is epic."

Seriously? Epic? How is that job search going Matt?