I Am Ten Ninjas

Well, it's been a full two weeks on the mustache-growing battlefront and, well, there hasn't been a whole lot of progress.

My efforts were barely noticeable those first few days, though I did receive some good-natured teasing from my female classmates after they saw some Facebook status updates on my mustache mission.

As you can see on Day 6, my mustache growth was limited to a peppering of facial hair on my upper lip.  At one point during this time, I had a dream where I was shaving and I accidentally shaved off what little upper lip hair I had.  I'm still not sure if it was some kind of nightmare or wish fulfillment.

One full week later, you can see a bit more growth, but it's rather uneven.  For reasons unbeknown to me, the hair of my upper lip likes to grow near the tips of my mouth rather than on the top of my lip.  Given enough time, I bet I could pull off a rockin' Fu Manchu.

This morning I trimmed the tips and tidied it all up a bit.  Honestly, there's not a whole lot of change from last week. All the hair grows longer, but my follicles seem to sprout new members of the mustache army.  It's actually more of a mustache platoon right now.

I'm sure this is all riveting stuff.  More to come next week!

I am participating in this book meme since I have been tagged by Katra.  Here is what I am supposed to do:

1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

So here's what I got:

    'Easy!' cried Lo, lurching forward, as an accursed truck in front of us, its backside carbuncles pulsating, stopped at a crossing.
    If we did not get to the hotel soon, immediately, miraculously, in the very next block, I felt I would lose all control over the Haze jalopy with its ineffectual wipers and whimsical brakes; but the passers-by I applied to for directions were either strangers themselves or asked with a frown 'Enchanted what?' as if I were a madman; or else the went into such complicated explanations, with geometrical gestures, geographical generalities and strictly local clues (... then bear south after you hit the courthouse ...) that I could not help losing my way in the maze of their well-meaning gibberish.  Lo, whose lovely prismatic entrails had already digested the sweetmeat, was looking forward to a big meal and had begun to fidget.

Can you guess what book this is from?  Surely Katra will know.  Anyway, I have not started it yet since I've had a busy week, but next week is Spring Break and I'll have a lot of time for leisurely reading.  Oh, and I'm not tagging anyone since I think Katra already tagged the one other person I know who uses Vox on a semi-regular basis.

Love it or hate it, many of you lost an hour of sleep last night due to Daylight Saving Time? Worth It? Do you like it more/less now that Daylight Saving Time occurs earlier (and later) in the year?

Dude, this QotD discriminates against us Arizonans (or rather, this recent Arizonan transplant from Oregon).  However, I am glad that Vox got "daylight saving time" right.  It's not "savings," but "saving," as in life-saving device (though putting a hyphen in the name would probably make it more clear.

In any case, it makes sense that we don't get an extra hour of sunlight in Arizona.  We'd be running our air conditioners for an extra hour, thereby increasing our energy consumption.  Also, it's only 76 degrees F outside and I'm already feeling the heat.  I don't think I'll need to see more of Mr. Sun when it reaches 110 F around these parts.

One of my few male colleagues at the library school has been sporting a mustache for a few weeks or so, mostly for the heck of it (or in some kind of attempt to bring it back into style).  One night while we were out for drinks, he noted that March is often celebrated as "Mustache March," where men (and maybe some ladies who are able to) decide to grow mustaches for fun, charity and/or bragging rights.  Intrigued, and willing to make myself look like a fool, I decided then to attempt to grow a mustache for the whole 31 days.  I wish we had planned this ahead of time and turned it into some kind of mustache-a-thon where everyone donated $1 for each day we kept growing our mustaches and donated the proceeds to a nice library-related charity, but maybe that will be something to consider for next year.

I made an attempt to grow a beard while traveling in Europe, and the three-week-old results were not so spectacular.  Upon my return, my mother remarked that I looked a bit like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad due to the spottiness of growth.  My "mustache" was practically non-existent.  Here is a photo for reference, my sad upper lip mercifully obscured by a very large mug of beer:

So, I don't have high hopes with even producing a full mustache in one month, but I do hope it will bring some amusement to everyone else.  We now start off with the first picture from week one, taken last Saturday:

As you can see, I'm still growing the rest of my facial hair in order to distract observers from the relative absence of anything on my upper lip.  I think the tactic is failing.  In any case, everything but the upper lip will be shaved tomorrow morning and I will soon post an update.  Thrilling!

What's the worst thing that could happen to you today? Bonus question: How would that thing potentially benefit you?

A piano could fall on me, or I could get hit by a bus.  Potential benefit: Not needing to do my taxes, ever.

When was the last time you surprised yourself?

The last time I kissed someone for the first time.  Kissing is usually involved in surprising moments.

List three things you'd buy with your last $20. One practical, one frivolous and one of your choosing.

Practical: A phone card--I'm going to be calling a lot of people and asking for a couch to surf on, some money to borrow and a plane ticket to my parents' house.

Frivolous: A couple of scratch-it lotto tickets--If I can spend $5 to make a possible $50, I think I'm willing to take the chance.

One of my choosing: A huge breakfast burrito--because if I'm not going to eat anything for a couple of days, it's gotta be very hearty.  Maybe I'll make it two breakfast burritos.

If you could teleport to any place in the world right this second, where would you go?

Show us love.

I *heart* Grave Digger

Aw, nothing shows love like going to monster truck rallies together.  For reals.

(From Bear & Kitten)