Comeback

It's been a long time since my last appearance. Not that it particularly matters, since I still have yet to tell anyone about this, but 7 months of silence after 10 days of activity is pretty extreme.

I grew my facial hair through September and October, then shaved all but my beard off and put on some oversized Goodwill clothes so I could be Shaggy from Scooby-Doo for Halloween. I don't think I'll be growing out my face again. It was neat to look different for a while, but I prefer the bare-faced thing.

Still doing the night thing, still traveling by bus to get there, but I discovered that a specific set of routes, suggested by the city's public transit web site, which I dismissed as having too much extra distance, was actually the better choice for travel time. I'm learning not to think like a walker/bike rider in planning how I travel via non-foot/bike means. It turns out that a little bit of easterly movement at the start of my generally south-southwest travel helps me avoid my previously described frustration most of the time.

I had a big day outside of work last week. I can't talk about it much at the moment (it'll be months before I can; see you in the summer), but I exceeded my expectations in a challenging situation. Much like I've done with some karaoke or open mike performances, I look back and find it hard to imagine that it was me.

The rugged type

I've decided to attempt being bearded. I figured that now that I'm not working with kids, it's okay to look unkempt for a little while as I go through that transitional period of merely looking unshaven. Plus, I feel better about the idea now that I have a job. During my stints as a stay-at-home son, I felt obliged to be presentable in lieu of being productive, so I wouldn't feel like a total slob. Now I'm going out every day and working (in an industry whose workers tend to look... alternative, so I don't think I'll stick out too badly), and so I feel okay about trying this out. I grew my hair past my shoulders in college just to give it a go, and I think my face should get a turn now. This experiment shouldn't take years like my hair did, and when I'm done with it, I can take care of it myself.

I think I still look gross after about five days (can't remember when I last shaved... Thursday or Friday?), but it'll take longer to find out how it will really look.

I'm still shaving my neck, though. I'd be happy if I never grew hair there again.