I have not shaved now for almost a week and frankly I'm thoroughly enjoying my new "rugged" look. Previously, I'd shaved every day for four years but now the shackles of shaving have been relinquished and here I am born free so to speak. The advantages of this are numerous: I save money on foam and razors, I save time in the mornings and I open up the opportunity for beard banter.
Beard banter can be had in the pub or on social networking sites and is both riveting and amusing. We've had it all: comparisons with Gandalf, Sikhs and a plethora of questions on what I could design with my new hair. If everyone has a bald face you sometimes just don't know where the next joke is coming from.
However, as with everything there are disadvantages. Within the last 24 hours my face has become just a tad itchy and I fear it could be a terminal itchiness for the beard. And the misery doesn't end there. I fear it's going to become too long and look ridiculous. Unfortunately, people with full on beards just look like they should be transported back to the sixties and given some hard drugs. Very few people can get away with this ambitious approach and therefore I am left with the stubble that must not keep growing. Inevitably the razor will soon be back.
The beard and I have been through some good times and some bad...well actually we've just had a ball. Yet, it seems our romance is doomed. Like a Shakespearian tragedy it seems I must kill my love and wash it down the sink. But for now we're enjoying our final hours together before the storm.
