It is that time of year again, Movember is upon us! During the month of November men shave their faces and grow mustaches in order to raise awareness and hopefully a few dollars towards men’s health issues.
It’s also an excellent time for me to take part in one of my favorite past-times, self deprecating humor–there’s very little that I enjoy more than poking fun at myself! Last year I took Movember to the nth degree, in addition to offering to match dollar-for-dollar the first $500 raised, I also said I’d keep my mustache for an entire calendar year, which I have. Leading up to the 1st, I was both excited to get this thing off of my face and a little bit petrified about how weird I’ll look without the mustache. Please keep in mind, I look weird with the mustache too, it’s just a different kind of weird.
This year, I’ve set a goal of raising $1,000 dollars before my contribution. I’ve also decided to match donations again but instead of matching up to $500, I’m going to match all the way up to $1000! When donating to my Movember page your donation will likely be twice as effective! It’s practically a no-brainer! Simply follow this link to my Movember 2015 page and make a donation!
For those of you unfamiliar with Movember, here are the rules:
- Once registered at Movember.com, each Mo Bro must begin the 1st of Movember with a clean-shaven face.
- For the entire month of Movember each Mo Bro must grow and groom a mustache.
- There is to be no joining of the Mo to your side burns. (That’s considered a beard)
- There is to be no joining of the handlebars to your chin. (That’s considered a goatee)
- Each Mo Bro must conduct himself like a true country gentleman.
Pretty easy rules, I think. Well all for number five, that always gives me fits!
Because I need all the help I can get, I literally shaved and took my first picture at 12:00 a.m. Here’s what the starting point looks like!
| Before | After |
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Progress
Moving forward, I’ll take a daily photo and post updates (at least once a week) along the way. If you donated, please feel free to leave a note in the comments and mock my inability to grow facial hair. As a perk, I’ll personally thank you for your mocking.
Week One
Week one’s in the books, my progress is meager but steady. There’s a hint of nonsense on my upper lip, which either matches or exceeds my expectations. I suppose that’s the beauty of low expectations. The first week also so a total of $120 donated to the Movember cause, which is definitely more than I would’ve predicted. Let’s keep growing!
Week Two
Week two moved along at a pretty lethargic pace. There were two highlights of week two; I experimented with both dark and bright clothing to try and create contrast in order to accentuate my growth atop my upper lip and I’m pretty sure I got a compliment from one of my superiors at work on my progress. I studied him carefully post-compliment and detected no hint of stifled laughter – a very promising sign!
Week Three
Three weeks in and there’s a significant mustache burgeoning atop of my upper lip! In fact, halfway through the week I was annoyed to realize that the mustache had grown long enough that it was poking my lower lip when I pursed my lips whilst scowling at things; a frequent happening whenever I’m working on something or deep in thought. Having to break out the trimmer during week three was an unexpected surprise!
Final Week (or so)
The Movember wheels came off a bit due to the Thanksgiving holiday, an onset of crummy weather, and most importantly due to me getting sick. I’m barely photogenic as it is already, subjecting my readers to an unwashed, snotty, tired, and disheveled shell of myself seemed cruel and unusual. During those days, I stopped with my daily photos and mostly. Thankfully none of these factors can stop the growth of my mustache. By the end of the month, it’d grown back to all of its glory!
Donations
Thanks a million to everyone who’s donated so far. As the month draws to an end, I’ll make my matching contribution. All together, we raised $240 for the Movember charity!
- Julia Moses ($20)
- Karen Moses ($100)
- Brian’s Blog ($120)
Friends’ Movember Pages
I’m not the only Mo out here (both figuratively and literally). I’d love to spread the Movember attention around to the rest of you participating. Go ahead and leave a comment, send me an e-mail, or order up a singing telegram with your Movember page and I’ll share it here!