To be fair, I’ve probably not been clean shaven in even longer than that.

The 5.75 years relates to the time that I first started working in my current workplace (January 13th 2003) until today. The number is on my mind because I’ve finally got around to getting an ID badge.

I know, I know; the ID badge is compulsory and I’m supposed to have had it for years. I’m just a little relaxed in my time management, I guess.

Anyway, seeing as it’s photo time, I figured I should make the effort and have a shave. Not a real shave, of course, not in the same sense as everyone else means it. I’ve taken what had become a beard down to three days’ length.

What I’m referring to by “shaving” is the bits that aren’t to form part of the facial hair. You know, over the throat and all that. That’s enough to indicate that you aren’t a tramp. Rather than not having shaved, it tells the observer that “Hey, I have had a shave. The bit left is on purpose.”

The problem was that I have to worry about whether I’ll be suitable for a photo if I shave. I went to see Ric Flair a couple of weeks ago and, anticipating that I would get a photo, decided to go to the trouble of shaving a little first.

Conscious that I can be a little heavy handed, I made sure to minimise any risks. I got a new razor out of the packet. I made sure to wet my neck throughly to make sure the skin was supple, before adding some foam. I then ensured that I took little strokes.

Considering that I’m a man who normally attacks his neck with a blunt razor and minus water or foam, I think that I made quite a concession.

The result?

I bled like a stuck pig.

Fortunately today’s attempt didn’t see a single drop spilled. With hindsight, the photo (it had to be taken twice) would probably have looked better if my massive head had been obscured by a torrent of blood

Tags: Injury

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 13th, 2008 at 11:26 pm and is filed under Photoblog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.