Really?

I thought this was funny and thought I should share. Despite having shaved the stache over two months ago I continue to get people asking me if I recently changed my facial hair. Mind you, these are people I work with and see almost every day. I am polite and let them know I shaved it awhile ago but I recently cut my hair but I am just thinking, "Really?".

the finished product

it has been too long since halloween. i should have posted and i apologize for the super-delayed post. hopefully the pictures are almost worth the wait.

the costume turned out great. jen did a great job making and fitting my clothes. i got lots of accessories thanks to internet shopping and even had a monocle meant for jewelry appraising.

As it turns out, i can provide a new picture that cannot be found on the facebook. i decided after the almost year of never completely shaving my upper lip to go for it and shave. i have to admit that i feel a bit funny. i have only been freshly shaved for about an hour and keep wiping at the now phantom 'tache. jen described it as if she were kissing three tongues. i am not sure what that means but she seems to be enjoying the novelty for now. i asked her preference and she told me to do whatever i feel like. i think i am just going to keep the shaved look for a while and see what happens. it just started to rain and i believe it is supposed to be super cold this week. so it turns out that i have pretty awful timing with the shaving.

let me know what you think of shaved vs. 'stache.

limo stache

new picture of the stache from saturday's limo-ride filled birthday celebration for Hoey.

The 'stache has aged me

Since the pictures are nowhere to be found, I have decided to write about how the 'stache has aged me beyond my years.

Twice in one week I have talked to coworkers who independently thought I was over thirty. My age came up during discussions of "Millennials", a term I have started to hear more these days. During these conversations, my coworkers defined the age group to be under 30s and then went on to tell me how millennials have no work ethic. Maybe I should understand these conversations to mean that I am more professional than others my age, but I take it to mean I look old with it. I am sure the receding hairline doesn't help me look younger these days, but I will blame the 'stache since I can't control my balding.

Apparently I have no pictures on this computer, so you will have to wait until next time for side by side comparisons. By the way, we got a new Dell netbook and are enjoying it. The only issue is that Dell thought it would be cool and integrate the mouse buttons into the touchpad and failed miserably. Every time I try to click on a link, the Windows Start screen pops up. Pretty annoying. If anyone knows how to fix this, please let me know.

trim and a wax

when i started growing the 'stache i never thought about how much upkeep there would be. now that i have had it for a number of months i am discovering that split hairs can be a problem. i think i have had more split hairs in my 'stache than i have ever had on my head. the real pain is that in getting rid of a number of the split ends i end up cutting other hairs. because of this keeping the 'stache symmetrical is quite tough. honestly, it isn't even any more but i wax it into shape. take a look and let me know how noticeable the asymmetry is.

i am excited because my brother is sending me some pictures for the blog. stay tuned for more information.

The origins of the summer of 'stache

The origins of the summer of 'stache go all the way back to Halloween of 2008. On that night Jen and I agreed to be characters for a group costume the next year. The theme: the boardgame Clue.

Jen wanted to be Miss Peacock and suggested I should be Colonel Mustard. The colonel is known for his monocle and sweet 'stache so I knew I would have to start the growing early. I never intended on growing the mustache for a full year and knew I would get tired of having the 'stache if I started growing it too early. The question then became, when do I start growing so it will do the Colonel proud but not so early that I shave it prematurely from frustration.

Jen helped solve that problem before our East Coast vacation in April. She offered to make my entire Colonel Mustard Halloween costume if I kept the 'stache through Halloween. Knowing that Jen would do a much better job at making the costume than I would, I quickly accepted.

Having committed to a 'stache for the foreseeable future, Jen suggested I chronicle the growth of the 'stache with a blog. Having never blogged before, I thought it was a good idea. I would take some pictures every once in a while, write about how the 'stache is doing and keep everyone who saw the begginings of the 'stache updated on the progress.

The last thing to decide on was the name for the blog. As summer was coming up and I watch too much Seinfeld, the Summer of George came to mind. The Summer of 'tache was my first idea for the blog title since I prefer the English 'tache to the American 'stache. But as I really like the alliteration from "Summer of 'Stache", and most people don't know 'tache is short for mustache, I chose Summer of 'Stache.

It is the summer of 'stache

I started to grow a 'stache back in January. Well, not a mustache as much as it was a beard. After learning the mustache was now NY Times approved I shaved down to the 'stache. It has been about five months of beards and mustaches and now we start the Summer of 'Stache.

The summer of 'stache blog wasn't actually my idea but I like the idea of letting people know how my 'stache is progressing. I will be using this blog to post pictures of the progression of the 'stache as well as some lessons I have learned while growing it.