Almost There

Day 9: Almost 1/3 of the way into the Mustache-a-thon, and this is how we're looking. I think you could safely call this a mustache, but if I was being judged on form, it's a little thin at the corners of the mouth. I think I need a few more days for length to help out the "low whisker concentration" areas (knows as LWCs, in the biz).

I haven't seen growth from others, so it's hard to say where I stand in stache status. I know that I'm a little behind on the donations / pledges this week, which means if you haven't had a chance to contribute, now's a good time.

Tomorrow is my first day back to teaching high school, and I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that no other teachers have a stache like this.

Hot Button

It's not in any of the pictures, but on that fatal day of straight-razor shaving they gave me a button that says "I mustache you a question." Pretty funny, eh? I keep forgetting to wear it and as such, all of my donations / pledges (note: thanks everyone, I had the 3rd most donations last week) have been online. I took the button out for a spin tonight, but didn't really, how do they say, work it? Lots of smiles and laughs, but nothing resembling green. I even shaved again tonight, and am starting to look more Morgan Spurlock, less Barney Rubble. I'm going to give the button a try each night this weekend in hopes that at some point I up my game.

More pics coming, after some sleep.

First Shave

Me: "Ma'am? What's the difference between the Fusion and the Fusion Power?"
CVS Lady: "The Power has a battery, the blades vibrate on your face."
Me: "Oh...I'll take the regular."

I'm going to try each of the suggested razors this month, and see what works before for me. Historically, most razors take about half of my face with the whiskers. There has to be an easier way, right?

The Fusion has FIVE blades and lay very flatly. It's like what they use to even out the dirt on the infield in baseball, but on my face. Hard to tell with the whiskers this short, but it made things mostly smooth, it didn't hurt, and I didn't bleed. No blood = success! You can see in the picture that I'm shaping into a Barney Rubble meets Hells Angel look. The feedback on this newly shaved look has boiled down to "You look weird" vs. "You look cute." Cutes, I thank you. Weirds, I'm sorry, it's all I got.

Though my niece, Erica, told my sister "He doesn't look any different. And why isn't he smiling?" Erica, you see, there are bad men in this world. We call them barbers. They have these methods of....

(note: that weird half-smile is for Erica...full smile coming when I've regained some bearded superpowers)

Donate to this madness here (look for Eric A.) http://www.capitolletters.org/moustacheathon/

Razors anyone?

I haven't bought a razor in years, any suggestions to what I can use that won't remove my face in the process? First wave of stache pictures coming tomorrow night.

So...cold...now...

It hurt more than I thought it would. Something about the Nordic beard of mine gave the barber some fits and I spent more time in the chair than everyone else. Extra hot towels, extra layers of gel, more passes with the blade, repeat. Ouch. But the real pain came with the astringent at the end - it was like dipping your face in wasabi, except the part where the wasabi wears off. I found that going outside in the cold and buying some ice cream did the trick.

Ok, I'm done mourning the beard, even if I look more Robin Gibb than Barry Gibb, more Ken Doll than Kenny Rogers. I keep grabbing my face to find an unfamiliar texture, like I borrowed someone else's face for the weekend. If that's the case, who has mine?

Two pledges came in today and we're off to the races. Remember you can pledge by the day, by the week, or just a lump sum. The first check in is Tuesday at Asylum, feel free to swing by for a drink. I'll wait til then for an update picture. Quick captions for above 1) the night before, 2) nervous and looking for help, 3) wincing, 4) trying to smile but wincing, 5) tonight. The old forest has been burned down, time for some new growth.

Beard Man Walking

3:40pm EST - beard man walking.
The beard's last super? Leftover pizza.

Here we go...

The Guillotine Cometh

Less than 20 hours until Total Beard Annihilation. I can hear the executioner walking to the guillotine to sever all signs of beard from my face. Ravens are in the trees, vultures are circling, pigeons are leaving town. You hear that it's going to rain all weekend? There's a reason.

In other news, it's a good time to pledge towards my stylish mustache to be. If you follow this link - http://www.capitolletters.org/moustacheathon - scroll down to Eric A, where there will soon be a picture of me clean-shaven. First check in is Tuesday, and I'm hoping to at least have something resembling a 10th grade "haven't learned to shave yet" stache.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, read the post below. Wish me luck, I'm the first shave of the day!

I Mustache You a Question

I can't really say how I got roped into this, but this Saturday I'm going to be clean shaven for the first time in, hell, I don't know, 5 years? Not shaved but with the Brad Pitt stubble, or the Dizzy Gillespie soul patch, or the under chin goatee- full on baby faced shaven.

Anyone that's seen me close to this state before knows that even with the stubble, I lose 10 years and gain 10 pounds. It's the cherubic Swedish face, what can I say? (see above: age 18, old enough to get drafted, buy cigarettes...not that I did either)

Capitol Letters Writing Center is kicking off their 2009 Mustache-a-thon this Saturday at a barber shop in Columbia Heights. About 15 guys are getting in the chair, getting a straight razor shave, and, um, harvesting a mustache (as they say). From there we're having weekly check-ins, Tuesdays at Asylum, to see how growth is going.

I guess you're wondering about the "a-thon" part, right? We're asking friends, family and strangers to pledge money towards the growth of our mustaches. How? I think it could go like this: 1) pledge X amount of money for each day that I keep the mustache (i.e. "I think you're going to look like a galoot and want to shave that thing off in no time, I'll give you a dollar for each day it stays"), 2) pledge X amount of money for each week with a mustache (i.e. "I've seen you with facial hair over the years, I just want to see the progress, here's $5 a week"), or 3) one lump sum o' cash (i.e. "Look, here's some money, grow something that would make Lemmy proud.") The money will help us hold more creative writing workshops at schools around DC, offer more after school tutoring sessions, and eventually open our own writing center.

I'll be posting update photos here, and there will be weekly update photos on the Capitol Letters site. If you'd like to sponsor, here's the online way: http://www.capitolletters.org/moustacheathon/ Or if you see me in person and want to go with cash, I can pass that along, too. Feel free to vote on preferred mustache style with your donation (Jonathan Waters? Mike Ditka? Tom Selleck? Biker? Other?)

More info soon, I'm am so getting carded for the next 30 days.

McCain was good in print, not in video

I got home late from work and missed the speech, but early enough that the videos weren't up yet, just the transcript. Reading through it, it wasn't so bad. I don't agree with most of his ideas, but the tone was strong, friendly, without lashing out at anyone. Minor digs at the opponent, but that's what you do, fair enough. He focused more on himself than his opponent.

But now I'm watching CNN and they're showing excerpts from the speech - good lord does this man look bad on TV and look uncomfortable on stage. Neither is a solid reason to not vote for McCain, but at the end of the day the president needs charisma to inspire the country, to lead, to influence. I don't doubt that McCain is smart or experienced, and maybe he'd make a good cabinet member. After watching this speech, I find it hard to believe that America will vote for McCain for who is he, but instead for who he is not. Granted, if you're hardline on issues like abortion or drilling for oil, McCain is your man. I think that anyone in the center, who straddle the line between issues, odds look good that Obama seems more presidential to them.

Looking forward to the debates.

Really?

I just can't figure it out. Is Palin's speech a series of bullet pointed zingers? About five minutes in she has a string of more than 4 sentences, but before that she says a line, people get up and clap, she says a line, people get up and clap. I know, folks get excited at conventions and want to cheer for things that turn them on, it happened in every speech I saw last week. But this is outrageous, it's the kind of speech someone would give running for president of their college, and even that I think is unfair to good collegiate politicians. The tone is non-stop smarm and sarcasm, like she's relying on crowd reaction to get her points across. Tomorrow I need to find a transcript, see if this reads as bad as it sounds, or if it's just her delivery.

I found a transcript, the video I had kicked in after she talked about her family and John McCain. Either way, I'm still in awe that this was the best VP candidate the Republicans could find. Believe me, the Dems with Lieberman and Bentsen have picked some duds. I just can't do the math on how the party thinks that should McCain become ill or pass away, that somehow Palin is qualified to lead the country. Baffling.

Tomorrow is the big day, McCain says his peace, sets the tone for his side, discusses policy and his VP. Should be interesting.

A friend who worked both conventions says that the vibe is night and day. He says it really feels like the GOP is not excited about their option, but playing the part to help in the campaign. In the bits I saw of Giuliani (sp?) and Romney, they don't seem so fired up themselves.