Concerning an upcoming journey . . .

     Next week we (Tanya, Andrew, Eli, and I) will be making a journey across the country to my homeland, the great state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. We shall be driving the car - a long journey indeed! On the way, we intend to visit the Parthenon in Nashville, Tennessee. In Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, we will be staying in Charlestown, near the beach. Indeed, Charlestown can be called the Baiae of New England. We shall see many things (including, as we hope, a journey to Plymouth and Boston) and visit many people (including my mother!) while in New England. We shall stay a week, then we return to Phoenix. I shall post pictures and descriptions of our adventures as I am able.

Fitness Regimen - Week One, Day 1

Fitness Regimen - Week One, Day 1

Specific Goal: Reach 280 lb. by June 1st, 2014

Get a Straight-Razor Shave (Day 30 of 30 Days to a Better Man)

Get a Straight-Razor Shave

     Well, here I am at the end of the 30 days. I still have some tasks to finish (haven't finished memorizing "If," haven't taken the Marine Corps Fitness test yet, etc.), but I'm working on all the tasks I haven't done yet. They should all be done within the next month, I think. But this is the last one.

     I have never done this before, but I am looking forward to it. I've researched some barber shops that offer the service in the area (one of the few in the city is just a cross-street up from my home!), and I just need to make sure of a few things, and I'll schedule it (for today, tomorrow, or the next day). So I'll try to update this when I have more information . . .

UPDATE - So I did get my straight-razor shave on the 30th! Wow! Smoothest, closest shave I have ever had! Amazing! And it was immensely manly! Although now I look rather boyish - I still seem to lose about 10 years from my apparent age whenever I shave off the beard . . .
     The process was longer than I expected, and it did hurt a bit. I got a few nicks and cuts, and my face tends to bruise very easily when doing the kind of heavy shaving necessary to remove my beard, so my face is still covered in bruises . . . but it was worth it!

Conquer a Fear (Day 29 of 30 Days to a Better Man)

Conquer a Fear

     I don't feel like I have many of these that I haven't faced yet. The author of the challenge points out that he is more concerned with irrational fears (like fear of telling someone the truth, or telling someone how you really fell about them, or fear of doing relatively safe things like driving a car or riding in an airplane) than with natural, biological fears (like what you feel when you see a rattlesnake slithering towards you in the wilderness, or looking over the edge of a cliff). The fears in my life of which I am aware are all ones with a biological component, and things I have faced (I have a fear of heights - which is in the author's category of rational, biological fears - but I did not hesitate to step up to the edge of the Grand Canyon and look over the edge. I suffer from some claustrophobia - especially because I am a large person - but I spent an hour of my morning yesterday walking through caves 75 feet underground at Colossal Cave). Social fears, anxiety, etc. - I don't really let those hold me back anymore. 

Write a Love Letter (Day 28 of 30 Days to a Better Man)

Write a Love Letter

     Another one of those "lost" arts that "The Art of Manliness" wants men to recover . . . yet again, not something I find difficult to do. And not really the kind of thing I think one ought to be doing because of a challenge, but rather because one feels moved by emotion - oh, y'know, say, LOVE - to do so . . .

Start a Book (Day 27 of 30 Days to a Better Man)

Start a Book

     The people over at "The Art of Manliness" are under the impression that men don't read enough these days. True, as far as I can tell. I mean, I never feel that I can read enough, and I read a lot. So . . .

     The task for day 27 is to start reading a book, and read for at least 30 minutes. Ummm . . . yeah. No problem. Reading for 30 minutes is . . . not a challenge, for me. Unless the challenge is to stop after only 30 minutes . . .

Take the Marine Corps Fitness Test (Day 26 of 30 Days to a Better Man)

Take the Marine Corps Fitness Test

     This task is certainly more than a little daunting! My brother is the one who bleeds crimson and gold, not I. But I shall attempt the test when I have the chance - I have work today, will be traveling over the weekend, back to school with long days after the weekend (the last 2 days of the month). So this one may not be comnpleted within the 30 days. But I shall get it done . . .