What are Jomers?

It has been well documented on here that 1) I like pants and 2) we don't make any money with this blog. And this post will continue that theme. However, it's not really all about us here... except for most of the time when it is. Anyway, with the holidays fast approaching I wanted to drop a quick plug for a new up and coming company that's re-evaluating the fashion industry and the pretense that all articles of clothing should have a base price of $100 (or more). So, say "Hello" to Jomers.

Don't these pants look inviting?

Jomers is built on making quality American-Made pants without charging an arse-load to get in them. The business model is simple: Keep margins low and Customer Service high. Repeat. Seems pretty simple. So instead of just paying for a brand name, you are actually paying for the goods & service behind them. It's like  a 2 for one special.

Ok, so you are now assuming that I have been granted pants for life by writing this. You are incorrect. In fact I don't own a pair (yet). I'll be purchasing a pair with my own money here shortly and will be sure to report back on my findings. In the meantime, just go buy some.

Pants are fun.

Double Double

My wife went out of town again this week. I'm actually really good at keeping my children alive in these situations. Keeping them presentable can be a whole different thing.

This time at least we had a theme. Double up on everything.

First step? Double hair things.

But what does it mean?

Then, just when you thought it couldn't get any doublier, double chocolate milk mustaches and double chocolate milk crotches.

Don't look too close, just trust me. Perv.

Yes, that was on the way to school. In fairness to me, it was actually Carnation Breakfast Essentials and not just straight chocolate milk, so at least they were healthy in their filth.

Service from my Pants

I am going to tell you a tale of Service. Customer Service. Service so great, you will want to punch the person next to you and tell them that in all of your days on this earth, you have never heard of Customer Service such as this. I am talking Replacement Pants. Oh yes. It is fabled lore of yesteryear when a company stood behind its products so much that they would replace them should anything happen. However, these days that kind of chivalry is unheard of. 


If you read this blog with any kind of regularity (meaning frequency not the other "regularity"), you will know that I am kind of obsessed with Bonobos pants. They have a shapely fit that makes my backside look like that of a man with an entirely nicer backside than mine. They step up my game even though I don't have any. If you are into brevity, I really like their pants.


Now that you are up to speed on my brand addiction, here's how the rest of this goes down. It was Thursday, 6/14. I woke up and started to get dressed for work as I would any other day. However, realizing it was Thursday, I figured I should wear my Bonobos "Thursday Browns". Before I put them on, i decided to let the good folks at Bonobos know that I'd be wearing them:

Thanks to @bonobos, I know what day it is. ow.ly/i/HcqB
— John Shepard (@RunShepRun) June 14, 2012

They replied back with something witty as usual and my day went on. Around 10:30am I was picking up a bike that a co-worker was letting me borrow for the next couple months (long story). So,I went to the guys car and gave the bike a spin in the parking lot and to my car. On the way, my Thursday Browns caught in the spokes of the bike and ripped. Shock, devastation,& anger all crossed my mind. Followed by this tweet:

@bonobos aaaaand the pants ripped today.
— John Shepard (@RunShepRun) June 14, 2012

What happened next completely threw me for a loop. I was told by a Ninja that they would email me immediately (almost if to console me) and to talk about the pants.
I received an email shortly after in which they were were going to ship out another pair of pants immediately but they wanted to verify which pants in fact I ripped. I couldn't believe I was going to get Replacement pants for something I did on my own free will and accord to F up. Even a 20% discount on my next pair would warrant a blog post, but a brand new pair? Incredible.

So, guys, please, go buy some stuff from Bonobos. They are a truly incredible company with unbelievable customer service.

Getting a round house kick of tremendous customer service from the @bonobosninjas. No one does it better. #happycustomer
— John Shepard (@RunShepRun) June 14, 2012

They're going to Sizzler

Not us actually, but rather the winners (read: participants) from our Manniversary comment contest.

First up: Tom Wailgum

"Keep up the great work! My submission: One of my twin sons (now 8) has always had a passion for relieving himself outdoors -- doesn't matter where, the temperature, who might be watching, or if the authorities (DSS) might be nearby. My wife pleads for more discretion, but I typically don't discourage it. (It's one of the best perks about being a guy, I tell him.) Next to the Verizon Wireless store dumpster? Sure thing. The bush next to his uncle's house during the birthday party? Go for it. Outside the State of NH Fish & Game building? You gotta go, you gotta go, son. Some people might refer to me as Whiskey Tango, but the little guy just seems to enjoy it so much. When in Rome..."

To tell a family secret, I've had as many kids number two on the side of the road as not. You do the math.

Second up: My sister

"my story for this "manniversary" might be one of my trade secret, so enjoy. What I love about nephews/nieces is getting to teach them all the life secrets mom and dad won't. I personally liked teaching my amazing nephews catch phrases like "i don't care". It is amazing how utilitous and annoying it is to have "i don't care" become the response of choice. And you thought NO was bad. Ha!" (sic -- she's only a college professor, people)

And now you know why so many of my progeny seem so open to public evacuation.

I'll try to snag you each the smallest shirts we've got in inventory, but I'd recommend really, REALLY enjoying the holidays. When we first ordered them, we had assumed more of our readers were Jamie-sized than Shepard-sized. 

It's Our Manniversary!

It's hard to believe our little blog is one year old today. It didn't give us quite as many late nights and early mornings as our children have in the same time frame, but it's been a lot of work nonetheless. 

To celebrate, we're giving ourselves the day off and turning you all into staff writers today by letting you tell us your stories. Best fathering/parenting/suburbaning/allianceing story in the comments by 12 midnight Central Time on Sunday, November 20 gets a free t-shirt. 

We can't promise you'll be this dimly-lit.

And don't worry -- non-best story submitters are still welcome to buy one. 

Man Quirks

We are all human. Each of us wonderfully imperfect in our own way. With these imperfections comes little quirks that make us each unique (and annoying in some situations). I am here today to share a deep dark quirk of mine that very loosely relates to some marital frustrations on my wife's part. I will say before I go on here that 1) the "marital frustration" is very light-hearted and joked about in our house, and 2) will not cause me to get in trouble when I discuss.

So cutting straight to the point, I tier my underpants. What does that mean you ask? Well very simply put I rank my underpants and sort them accordingly wearing the lowest tiered underpants first and most frequent. Here are how the tiers break down. Oh and as a point of clarification, once you move down in a tier there is no way to move back up.

Tier 1: This group mostly consists of Size XL underpants that I have had lying around since I was about 70 lbs larger. These loin cloths serve as a basic barrier between my goodies and my pants. There is nothing special about them.

Tier 2: These beauties are just coming out of thier prime. They were once at a Tier 3 level and are in the beginning of the twilight of their career. They are used mostly for work and some special occasions depending on how many Tier 3's are in the rotation & clean. This is a very dicouraging day for me when they have to be moved down a rung.

Tier 3: This is why underpants are made. The big show. Much like socks, there is nothing like a brand new pair of underpants being put on. They have never wrapped themselves around anyone before (I hope) and they feel like fuzzy sunshine. Depending on the quality and the frequency of use, underpants typically last the longest in this tier. this is their time to shine on the weekends and for special events.

So, was that TMI? Probably. But the point is that we all have silly quirks that we think waaay too much about. At least these haven't made it into my rotation.

Now, please tell me I am not the only one with a goofy quirk....

Easily Amused

So my wife has been out of town with work for a few days. My older sons have been staying with their Grammy and going to Vacation Bible School. That leaves me with a 3-year-old boy and a 22-month-old girl. At the same time, I'm on some steroids to treat a bad patch of poison ivy which also makes me pretty crabby and given to mood swings and insomnia. This week could've gone south in a hurry.

The first morning the kids woke up sans mommy, I knew I'd have to find something to amuse myself just to make it through the week. I settled quickly on dressing them up like fools while their mom was out of town. Mismatched shoes, stripes and polka dots, colors that don't go together. Anyway, it was better than being miserable.


Cooper couldn't even look at himself.


Just keep smiling until Friday.


You better hope Michael and Lucas get to pick out your retirement home.

I know this isn't healthy, but it's pretty harmless. And its a lot cheaper than good Scotch.