Movember Begins

I haven’t used a razor to shave in years. I’m afraid of looking like a small child with gigantic eyebrows – kind of like a Japanese cartoon character gone very, very wrong. So me and facial hair get along quite well: it grows quickly and gives me something of an all-over coat that’s akin to a wild animal, and therefore garners respect. Just in case you missed that last point, hair = respect. Wise up, you chest-shaving blowhards.

Being November in a couple of days, it’s time to put my powers of facial hair to use for good, instead of evil. I’ve just signed myself up for Movember and in keeping with the rules of event, I’ll be clean shaving (or as close as I get to clean shaven) on Sunday morning. Whilst my upper lip will be doing all the hard work, I need your help in deciding just how bad I will look in 30 days time, by choosing from the Movember Style Guide…

I will be tracking the progress of my moustache, with photo updates at the top of the menu bar (right of this post) and the occasional blog entry to let you know how the moustache is effecting my ability to: a) be allowed entry to venues which may have small children inside; b) continue a relationship with a woman; c) successfully stop customers from entering the shop I work in.

There is actually a frighteningly serious side to Movember though: the lack of exposure of men’s health. I recently had a conversation with a friend, trying to get them involved with the cause. Let’s call them… oh, I don’t know… Jonny. My conversation with Jonny went something like this…

Jonny: “Such a big commitment”
Me: Silence
Jonny: “A whole month”
Me: Silence
Jonny: “Would get really annoying”
Me: “Cancer in your balls is really annoying”
Jonny: Silence

Yes, I’m aware of the facetiousness of my response. However, this is generally the problem with men taking their own health seriously – we don’t. We’ll just put it off as something that’s “annoying” and hope that whatever it is will sort itself out, without having to make a trip to the doctor. By that time, it’s often too late to do anything about it. Dialogue and more awareness of men’s health is a step in the right direction.

(Un)fortunately, it seems that Movember is getting a lot of attention and involvement, because the website is down right now. Once they’re up and running again, I’ll post the details for how you can get involved by sponsoring my face if you’re a female who can’t sport an awesome ‘mo, or a sook like our friend “Jonny”.