Furry Fly

I've decided on a little change of pace. Once or twice a year, I attempt to grow a goatee. Usually I get fed up with it, because it's not growing fast enough, or there's not enough hair to make it work, or whatever. I think that the last time I tried it was last December, and before that it was the beginning of last September.

I went into the bathroom to shave this morning, having not done so since Thursday (I think). I decided to give it another try. At this point, I have about three or four days growth, so I shaved off everything but a large patch on and under my chin. I'll probably try to leave it at least until the end of the week, and then evaluate from there. It at least looks like there's more to work with this time than there has been previously, but I'll just have to wait and see.

I've had sideburns in one form or another since I started growing them in high school. They started off being extremely scruffy, like the first facial hair of just about any teenage guy. I had to shave them almost entirely off (up to the level of the "nub" that's just inside your ear) when I joined the Navy. When my time with the Navy ended, the sideburns came back. Eventually, after my trip to Europe in 2003, I decided to expand them, so now they come nearly to the corners of my mouth, and are shaven below that level, with a slight diagonal rise from the level of my mouth up to the level of my ear lobes; the Marines I work with are always giving me a hard time about them, but the fact of the matter is that until I'm in a position, Navy or otherwise, where I can't wear them, they stay.

I'll keep you folks posted on the goatee, and if it turns out to be worth keeping for a while, I'll snap a picture of it and post it.