Dear Future Wife,

By now, you probably know that I've long had the floorplan of my dream home laid out and by now, we've probably discussed in depth and made compromises to make sure that we're on the same page over a great many details. But by now, you've probably realized that I am unwilling to yield when it comes to the specifics of the Mancave... you know, that one area of the house where you know that your husband is tinkering nine times out of ten. It may be the workbench in the garage, or the attic, or a small corner office, but for me in particular more specifically, the home theater/office combination that I have probably enthusiastically bored you with in conversation in the past.

The home theater is obviously very important to me, not only because of my love for films and my hobby for recreating the theater experience on a personal level but also because of how much use it will receive in the tenure of our marriage. You and I, sitting hand in hand, watching the classics and the new releases, these moments are my Zen - when anyone asks what relaxes me and allows me to unwind, when am I most at peace, it will be these moments that we share in the theater watching films. When the credits end and the house lights brighten, we'll sit and discuss. We'll have friends and family over to screen films that we have handpicked. The popcorn will be renowned. The quality of the screen will be perfected and tweaked with even more scrutiny than the butter/salt mixture in the popcorn. I can't help it, it runs through my blood having had an Opa that prided himself on only having the finest top-rated equipment that he spent a great deal of time adjusting and perfecting to sound and look absolutely perfect. And for good reason. While the home will have living rooms and rec rooms, the theater will be a central hub in our weekly lives.

But on a daily basis, it's the room on the other side of the theater's back wall, inside the "projection booth" that will be my hallowed ground.

I got the idea from Craig Schulz (son of renowned cartoonist of same surname name and all-around great guy), who during one of the Peanuts interviews, learned my affinity of home theaters and took me on a tour of his very own. A fantastically comfortable and high-tech theater with accompanying projection booth: that doubled as Craig's office. It suddenly made so much sense to me. Of course I always wanted a home office (as my goal in life is to spend the majority of my daily "working hours" at home being prolific), but attaching the office to the home theater made so much sense.

My office will no-doubt be filled with movie memorabilia and other fanboy fare. Movie posters, toys, whatever... I'm sure that we'll be on the same wavelength with each other Future Wife when we agree that all of my fanboy nerdery will need to be sequestered to one locked off and sequestered area. What a better place than the oversized projection booth of the home theater that also happens to double as my office with extensive book, film, and music library contained within?

Convenient and out of sight storage purposes aside, my process often involves going into the Troy Film Vaults and pulling films, music, and books to review to inspire me, to reference, to kick me back into gear reminding me why I do what it is that I do. It only makes sense that I move quickly from my desk in the booth, to the main theater in order to do so. Especially if I'm not writing, but I'm sitting reviewing a cut of our latest film with Jason. If the editorial machine on my desk is hooked straight into the projector, how easy it would be to make adjustments on the fly while watching the result on the finest "monitor" possible: the actual theater?

That's the ultimate goal. The ultimate dream.

And that's the reason that I have been and will be more than willing to buy your preferred sleigh bed over the four post bed for the guest room, and agreed with you on the black granite counters for the kitchen over my preferred grey... but the reason that I might get a little stubborn when it comes to the home theater and its adjoining projection booth and office... because it'll be my Mancave.

Troy