Question of the Day

Would you let your loved ones near this man?




















Yes, this photo shows me trying to look as creepy, and pudgy, and nasty as possible, but it also shows the big news -- that I have finally shaved my face. I only left the mustache on for this creepy photo because I thought it would be an entertaining blog entry, but it is now shaved as well and now my baby-faced mug is again visible. Why did I do it? A couple of reasons...
1) I was sick of being offered every kind of hard drug out there by every other person I passed in Lisbon. I actually asked the 3rd drug dealer to offer me drugs ¨Why me?¨, but I don´t think he understood English because he mistook my question as a sign of interest. The disappear hand motion always works though.
2) As you may have read in previous posts, in South America, you can wear whatever you want and no one cares. Europe is not North America either, so I thought I would give it a try. So, I set out for our first day in Lisbon with my beard, brown cargo shorts, white basketball socks, hiking boots, and a royal blue shirt that looked 2 sizes too big, but only from the mid-torso down (I borrowed it from a buddy in college who was a little bigger). Everyone in Lisbon was beautiful and impeccably dressed, and so it didn´t take long for my morale to crumble as I realized how out of place I looked.
3) Jet lag always makes you feel awful about yourself.
4) I was afraid that Lindsay, despite her constant reassurances that she liked the beard, was losing her attraction to me. Ëssentially, ¨That beard looks wonderful on you¨made me think of the common white lie ¨That dress looks wonderful on you.¨

So, the best option was to get rid of it. Start the new continent with a new attitude and I haven´t looked back yet. By the way, it took me over an hour and 15 minutes to finish it. And, we have the fu man chu (sp?), goatee, and other photos that we will share when we get back.

Anyway, this is only one of many posts today, so I`ll leave you to the more important ones.