Dan's Odyssey

It has been almost a year since I last posted anything here, but it has been suggested that I once again take up blogging, if only to pass the time. I find writing to be cathartic, and the blog provides a safer audience than Facebook, I think. I believe that one of my first posts all those years ago stated that I would try to avoid discussing the mundane activities of my day-to-day life, and I think I'd like to try to keep up that tradition. To be sure, events from my daily life will be mentioned, but this blog will essentially be used as an arena where my abstract thoughts can be set free from my mind, so that they don't get bored and start wrecking up the place. Thoughts are tricky things.

So what's on my mind today?

Right now is the Beard Debate, that is, should I grow one? I'm fully capable of doing so, but my mind remains wary. The semi-poll that I've set up via Facebook so far suggests that most people are in favour of me trying it, so I guess the last person who requires convincing will be myself. To put it simply, I don't think a beard squares with my own image of myself. I used to have one years ago, and I liked it well enough. I kept it for about a year and the shaved it off out of boredom one day, and I haven't really attempted to grow another one since. To maintain a beard of the kind I'm thinking of growing will require more work than the usual clean-shaving once every 5-6 days. Yes, I'm lazy. It also doesn't help that my last girlfriend equated beards with pedophilia, which, although a bit ridiculous, has nevertheless colored my views on the subject. The major question in my mind, then, is whether a beard will provide more advantages than disadvantages. Since having a beard in my case is simply a question of aesthetics as opposed to one of utility (i.e. covering scars or filling out a weak jawline), what ultimately matters is how good I will look with one. This is a difficult question, given that all answers to it will be based on the subjective tastes of everyone (OK, every woman) who sees it. I suspect a bearded Dan will appeal more stronglyto a niche audience (the one that tries to pick him up at bus stops), while the more familiar clean-shaven Dan appeals to a more general audience, but in a weaker manner. I'm thinking this would make an interesting social experiment. In any case, I'll keep you up-to-date on any developments.