I miss my beard

After 4 years of overwhelmingly awesome facial hirsuteness, I've decided to nix the beard. I'm joining the flocks of white people--all of whom seem to be sporting rather lackluster goatees. At first glance, my new look my seem somewhat pedestrian as well. However, when you factor in the atypical side burn length and overall exacting precision and angular acuteness of said goatee--well my friends, you've discovered a formidable facial hair opponent.

Oh yeah, did I mention my hair is about a foot shorter too? My stellar goatee and sideburns may have entranced most of you unprepared observers. Hopefully though, you won't miss what has to be the best professional haircut I've ever received. For that I have to thank Joie over at Rudy's Barbershop on Greenwood Ave. She not only made me the increasingly confident, ever so good-looking, badass man that I am--she gave me a damn fine haircut too. I recommend hitting her up--especially if you're used to describing yourself as a caveman...or Jesus. She's got magic in them fingers, I kid you not.

I'm obviously enjoying my new look--seems like others are too. It would be great if I could forever elicit looks of surprise and sheer glee from all who admired my new do. Sadly, this new look will probably only buy me about another 2 or 3 weeks of admiration. After the initial shock and amazement has worn off, people will go back to remembering what my face looks like and how my hair spikes up when it's short. But surprisingly, the praise will return.

It often takes months for people to spot changes. But then again, changes don't usually occur in the form of lopping off one's locks or taking a razor to one's scruffy face. They're more likely to surface in less visible ways (or in the case of hair--about .44 millimeters/day). Given these circumstances, it's a little easier to excuse people for not noticing something that you feel is different, new, or special. By that rationale, it's probably just as easy to excuse someone for not giving you a compliment about it too.

I think we all sometimes privately yearn for this kind of attention. No one really seems to admit it, but hell, it feels great when someone pays you a compliment. In recent years, I've tried to be a positive person. Of course I've slipped every now and then, but in general, I think I've done a pretty good job. This new look has made me think a lot. I think everyone needs to experiment with new things--ideas, jobs, looks, friends. Sometimes those changes can be even smaller than you think--and maybe even easier.