Fuzzy math

Five o'clock shadow is the nickname given to the beard growth in a man by the end of the work day. It doesn't always come at five o'clock, though.

That's something that's come to my attention. With my 5 a.m. wakeups lately and a quick run of the razor, it doesn't take that long before I look like an absolute bum. I saw a cohort from work today around 4:30 who asked if I just woke up, and I'd have to assume it had something to do with this fuzzy math.

Facial hair's always been interesting to me. Maybe it's just because mine's always grown fast. Maybe it's just because I've had full beards four times already in my relatively young life.

Truth be told, I'd probably never shave if it weren't for what a beard does to your social life. Some women really like beards. Many do not.

I recall hanging out with a friend at a hopping bar one night with a number of attractive young ladies. One of these ladies looked us over and made some comment about how old we must've been, guessing about 10 years too old. Within a week, the beard was gone. It's hard enough building a social life without people thinking you're older than you are.

So anyway, I'd never really noticed the five o'clock shadow before, and I figured out why today. Up to this point, I've always worked nights. When I shaved, it was at 2 or 3 p.m., and that shave worked all day. Waking up early, sometimes you need a refresher. So today I shaved twice.

The world continues to change...