Saturday, October 07, 2006

The Beard is back

Three weeks ago I decided to re-grow my beard. This comes as no suprise to those who know me - most of the last mumble mumble years I've had one. Still, shaving has been for a while a rite of Spring, with bearding occuring in the Fall. So, here it is. What I've forgotten is what it's like to be around folks who don't know that. My recent consulting gig(s) have put me in the company of real strangers, and they don't know or understand that history.

Graduate school wasn't quite the same experience, even though there were more strangers present in the environment. Maybe it is because I was less invested in the opinions of many of my peers there - after all, having been through the process before, I am aware of how tenuous the connections with some of the students really are. Still.