Ah, to be amongst good men...

[OzPete]

Welcome Dman!

[joergHH]

Congrats, Cman!

46 replies on your introduction. 

I'm not a photoshop-master, but I gave it a try.:



Looks not bad!

J

[Dman]

Joerg,

I dunno man; that looks more like an attractive brain tumor or like Scotty is having trouble with the transporter again:)

A sincere thank you for a look into my future!

Dman

[MLNHD]

yeah, Dman, but just notice how Joerg took out your forehead lines.   

Seriously, I think you'd OWN Sly!

[Rob]

The best 'photoshop' is to just DO IT.  Only then will you really know what it will look like

[Michael]

Hey Dman, welcome!  My kids also love my sly look.  I just recently asked them if I should grow my hair back, they pouted!  The youngest said petulently, "But then I can't rub your head or pinch the neck meat!"

Go for it!  Maybe let your daughter help you with the trimmer.  It would be a blast!

[buuckkweet]

Welcome Brother!!!

My advise is simple...GO FOR IT BRO!

[Professor Melon]

  Welcome, Dman. The guys, especially Andrew and Bostonbean, have  provided some useful observations.  Many of your concerns recall my own agonizing. You do really have to do what is right for you and marking the transition with a rite de passage gives  it the kind of symbolic imortance it deserves. I shaved my head for the first time in late October, 2006; when my daughter heard about it ,she begged my wife to tell her it was a Halloween joke. That hurt, but she soon came around and then noticed that many of the 'cool' guys with whom she works in Hollywood were also slick-domed. I was over sixty at the time and my acquaintances universally said the new look made me look younger. A slick head will make your facial features look smaller. There is a site that can show you what you'll look like after the change. Perhaps getting used to the image will reduce the trauma. There are many products that soothe and prepare your head for razoring. I use HeadSlick first and then Fusion gel to prepare my scalp. It also helps to take a hot shower (the water softens and thickens the stubble). I hope your 41st birthday marks a renaissance in your life. Guys in the forms will certainly help. Incidentially, I have been a vegetarian for 30 years and work out daily. Godspeed, Professor Melon

[Dman]

Godspeed to you to, Professor Melon. And thank you all, as always.

I am  feeling some momentum building around this birthdate, and how my "intention" is to mark the transition with a symbolic gesture around letting go of the old, making room for the new.

I am glad I am both not rushing into it, nor creating a vague approach with no clear timeline. My belief that I can and will follow-through is increasing.

Thanks for your ongoing thumbs-uppeses

Professor Melon - You look fit and healthy. As the vegetarian lifetsyle is somewhat new too (October 2008), it is good to see others with common interests on here.

Dman

Dman

[20, bald, and loving it]

Do it is my advice. It will always grow back if you hate it but I don't think you will. 

[MLNHD]

So, Dman ~ 

I think by now your projected date to go SLY has come and gone.  We haven't seen anything from you for about a month.  That makes me wonder how things are going.  Are you out there?  Are you SLY? 

[SBG Math Guy]

yeah I wonder what happaned. 
If he were sly he would be here telling us the great news.  I hope I'm wrong.
In any case, stick around Dman.  This is a great place.

[Dman]

Hi guys,

No, I am still here. I took a small hiatus in which I said to myself that I would return after the rite of passage of shaving my head.

I spent a lot/maybe too much time assessing whether to surprise my daughter; discuss it well in advance; or immediately before.

I decided to have the discussion just a short while before I was confident I could follow-through. Too much in advance creates anxiety in a child; after-the-fact just did not feel ok for my personal circumstance.

I asked for her support; I was declined. She got very nervous, and I imagined the anxiety I feel looking at my head now, is what she was feeling, trying to imagine my head afterwards. She said, "some men look good with a shaved head; you won't; I can just tell. so please don't".

I have many feelings, as I always do:(

I have no idea how one is supposed to balance personal versus other, in this situation. Especially, as you recall, my daughter has been through much - a mother who went through cancer; and being with me full-time, which should drive anyone to craziness:).

I feel as though my first commitment is to her. And yet...you know.

I am not looking to be convinced one way or another. merely to say, I am still here. Between a rock, a hard place, and a thinning scalp:(

I shall persevere; I always do. But I am feeling a lot of churn inside.

Thanks for allowing me to release.

Blessings.

[Tyler]

Dman,

Maybe you could slowly buzz it down to shorter lengths to help her get used to you having shorter hair and ultimately achieving your goal of shaving your head.

[sluggo]

Welcome aboard Dman!