THE LOOK

Week one of the 52 week Challenge actually started about 6 days ago. That is the last day I shaved. I decided to start the challenge with number 22 on my list. Grow A Full Beard. I know what some of you are thinking…UHHH LAME ! Well I started with this one for one reason; i've never done it before ! Its not that I particularly dislike beards. My dad has a beard that’s older than me, and a lot of my best friends have beards. I’ve just never really felt that a full beard…well, fit me. In the 80’s I had a mustache and i’ve had a goatee for almost 15 years, but I've never grown a full faced beard. On day three I asked my wife to give her opinion and she refused to comment until the beard filled in more.

An unexpected thing happened a few days after the five o’clock shadow was way past its prime, I decided (on a whim mind you) that if I was going to grow a beard and keep it neat and trim I should do the same with my Hair. Needless to say, being focused on doing something i’ve never done before lead to another first in my physical appearance. I’ve never really had what you would call long hair. I always kept it high and tight, BUT i’ve never had a really short haircut. So yesterday I put the clippers to work. My first buzz cut. For any of you barbers or stylists out there, it ended up like this. Number 3 on the sides, 4 on top. Now I know for some men that’s not short, but for me it’s SHORT. This time my wife did have an opinion although I can’t quite Figure out if it’s a positive or negative one. All I could get out of her was, “it’s an interesting look with the beard”. Amazing that after 21 years I still can figure out what she’s really thinking sometimes. Personally, I think she just didn’t want to hurt my feelings.

So that brings us to today, phase three of what expanded from “grow a beard” to “change the look”. Contact Lenses !  I was already scheduled for my annual exam and since my prescription actually decreased slightly, I decided to try out contacts again. I’ve worn glasses for years but mostly only when driving at night. Anyone with astigmatism can tell you that the lights at night can be a real bear to deal with. I tried to wear contacts years ago but my eyes were just not able to cope. I have pretty sensitive eyes, even the exam used to irritate them. But I figured that with the advances in materials and a thinner more comfortable design, I would try one more time to compliment the new look. So far it’s been amazing, no discomfort and other than an odd feeling of disorientation for the first hour or so, I can see 20/20 again. My optometrist assured me that the disorientation was not uncommon with astigmatism patients. My eyes and my brain just have to figure out that they don’t have to compensate anymore. What’s weird is that I don’t remember having the same sensation with glasses. He informed me that glasses affect the eye and the brain differently because they usually don’t change peripheral focus. At any rate, I am happy, at least about the contacts. I'm still not sure how I feel about the hair or the beard. Tomorrow I will post a few before and after pictures and ask you to provide your opinion. Until then, here’s looking forward to week 2. I hope it’s not just a touch of euphoria, but so far I fell a little more “alive” and that’s what the challenge is all about.