Oh, yeah . . . the Poll

The poll results came in overwhelmingly for Michele to tell me what to do. Other votes were for keeping the beard for various reasons. Others have commented since the poll closed that I should keep it. One woman at OCCC said, "You should never be without a beard. Very handsome." I'm guessing "handsome" is a Romanian word for "it hides that face of yours."

Michele told me to do what I want with it.

So the thing is, I still haven't decided what to do. I don't have to shave, which is nice, but I'm more conscious now of how it looks. You know how when you have really short hair you don't have to do anything with it? And how when you have really long hair all you can do is gather it up? But when it's in between you have to decide what to do with it, when to cut it, how to style it, and such? That's a beard, unless you're a frigging mountain man, and I'm not that--yet. So I have to keep it trimmed and unscraggly and out of my mouth. But since I'm so undecisive by nature I may always have a beard just by virtue of putting off the decision.

Oh, well.

Please Excuse the Temporary Superficiality

So the weekend we moved I didn't take the time to shave. Seemed pointless. Didn't do it. Then, on a whim that Sunday I announced to Michele that I wasn't going to shave until the end of the semester. She didn't really react, but she has expressed her preference through the years that I go beardless so as to not lacerate her face. She has delicate skin. I have a harsh batch of facial hair that tends to stick straight out long after gravity should have gotten hold of it. All these years I've kept myself clean-shaven when we were together (when she was away, or while I lived in Mankato, that was another story entirely).

It wasn't always this way. When Michele met me I had a beard more often than not. Mostly it was because shaving seems pointless to me. I just don't care enough. That kind of mindset took hold of me in that moment when I made my announcement, and it's kept me hirsute for the last (almost) three weeks.

But now the semester is ending--tomorrow. The question becomes "Do I shave, trim, or leave it as is?" So I'm posting a poll, and you, my numerous readers (well, at least you outnumber my multiple personalities) are invited to take part. To aid your input, I offer pictures:

I was hoping for a nuanced poll, but I don't think Blogger will allow me one. So while the choices in the poll will be limited, I hope you will augment your input with comments in the . . . er, comments section of this post. Also, please ignore how dopey I look in these pictures. I have an excuse--I was conscious when Michele took them.

Here are some answers I've already heard:

• Cut that shit off. It makes you look old.
• Cut that shit off. It makes you look homeless.
• Leave it. It looks awesome.
• Trim that stuff. It makes you look old and homeless.
• Cut that off. It looks like crop failure.
• Do whatever Michele wants.

Okay, so I made most of that up. But the poll is forthcoming.