I know it’s only been two days since I posted last, but I just couldn’t contain myself! While this really isn’t going to be as verbose as my previous update, it’s much more graphic (as in images, not gore). Okay, you got me, it’s really only the above video and these two paragraphs.
The video, which you should click and watch, is a retrospective on my beard progression from No-Shave November 2011. It includes all 142 outtakes and the 30 final images shown to the public here and on Flickr. The song is “Spaceport” by Graeme Norgate from the TimeSplitters: Future Perfect soundtrack, which is available for free download at GraemeNorgate.com.
Stay classy and stay tuned for more updates!
It’s certainly been a while (now over a month) since I made an update, and even my last one was shoddy at best. Reason being? When I made my last post I was at home for my father’s birthday, and the week following that I had to begin studying for finals. I only had four finals this semester, and one of them was optional (three exams in the course, best two for the grade). Because I wasn’t entirely satisfied with my previous two exam scores in that class, I took the third (and comprehensive) exam and received the highest score of all three exams I had taken in the class.
After I had completed my last final of the semester, I still had to work one more shift at work washing pots and pans (everyone’s favorite shift). Given that plenty of students had already finished all of their exams by Wednesday, work was pretty dead, and went by pretty quickly. My roommates picked me up after work and we headed over to ISU Surplus for our first time to check out their selection. Being from Iowa City, I’d been to the UI Surplus plenty of times, and wanted to compare the selection. About even overall, with the exception of the selection of computers available (though inventory changes constantly at either place).
For sale was a 12” Apple PowerBook G4 in pretty good condition for only $100. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity with such a great price, and immediately wrote out a check. After getting it home I quickly discovered the battery life was, shall I say, sub-par; but a quick purchase from eBay remedied the situation, and now I can get a good three hours per charge (as opposed to between 30 and 60 minutes on the stock battery that came with it). Three hours battery life for an eight-year-old laptop? That’s pretty damn good in my book. The battery isn’t the only new addition I’ve made — I bought a custom vinyl decal shaped like the Batman logo from the latest iteration of films on Etsy.
After we got back from ISU Surplus, I packed my bags for break and headed to Missouri to spend the rest of the week with Beth until she was all done with finals and practice for the semester. On my drive down to Missouri, while changing lanes I noticed both of my turn signals seemed to be out, or at least acting up; so when I had some time to myself in Missouri, I bought some replacement bulbs and changed out the turn signal lights (which is about the extent of my internal vehicular knowledge).
Hard as it may be to believe, I did keep up my beard for two solid months … but I did not make it all the way until New Years as I had planned, which would have only been two more weeks or so more. Still, it was the longest time I’ve ever not shaved intentionally (because, as I’ve said before, I wouldn’t exactly count the first 13 or so years of my life).
Over winter break I’ve been watching a lot on Netflix, namely I went through two whole seasons of the continuation of Doctor Who, and just since New Years Eve have I started (and am now almost two full seasons into) White Collar, which I actually started watching on TV at the beginning of freshman year, but then just didn’t keep up with it after a few episodes.
And I saved the most Earth-shattering tidbit of information for last: moments after midnight on the first day of 2012, I deactivated my Facebook account. I found that I’d been spending wasting far too much time on the site, and it was sucking up too much of my life that could be applied elsewhere. It’s certainly a change, and what’s most amazing is how many times I’ve caught myself trying to go to Facebook or just ending up there from other websites that have linked me there.
Until next time, stay classy and stay tuned for more updates!
No-Shave November 2011 Recap
I’ll just pretend that nobody looked at my No-Shave updates over the past month, so we can all reflect more easily on the subject. This is probably going to be pretty hard for me, knowing that November’s visitors were more than September and October combined. Don’t act like you’re not impressed.
As I noted quite a few times in individual days’ photo descriptions, I did start out this year a wee bit early (seventeen days, to be exact), since I hadn’t (and still haven’t) shaved since October 14th, when I went to see Beth for our two year anniversary. Nobody said a thing about it last year when I came in with two-week mustache, so those of you (Beth) who think I’m cheating can keep it to yourself.
Despite my little brother’s comment of “Are you mustache and beard ever going to touch?” I only garnered compliments of my glorious beard. This has definitely been the longest I’ve intentionally not shaved (intentionally, because I wasn’t trying to grow a beard the first thirteen years of my life), and I am hoping to not shave until the next year to see how ridiculous (or amazing) my beard can get.
To help you catch up, and more easily watch my beard grow at once, below is the entire set of photos from the last month:
Well, here’s lookin’ at you, No-Shave November 2011. You’ve done me well, friend. Good news, though! As I’ve previously noted, I won’t be shaving until January 1, 2012! No pedo-stache this year for me (for Mustache Monday, this coming week), just a full-on beard through the New Year.
Not gonna lie to you (not that I normally do), but I slept through a decent sized portion of my microeconomics course this morning. Whoops.
It was Tuesday (all day long, as I understand it), so that meant another night of How I Met Your Mother with Beth across state lines. Last night CBS aired a re-run of the Thanksgiving episode from last season “Blitzgiving”, so Beth chose that we’d watch the 100th episode “Girls versus Suits” which features a musical interlude/performance by the whole cast.
