Armpit hair

For a variety of reasons¹ I've been thinking about not shaving my armpits for a while -- basically just as an experiment, not as a lifestyle commitment. I've always shaved them ever since I had any hair at all... it seems weird to me that I don't even know what it looks or feels like to not shave them.

So far I'm still at the (rather prickly) stage where I look like I forgot to shave, rather than looking like a raging hippie. But I have to admit, I'm astonishingly nervous about crossing that line. It's weird, because what the hell is the big deal? -- it should be no stranger than a guy growing out a beard for a little bit. And yet because of the statistics, it is. I had been thinking that it's fall now and nobody will see my armpits, but yes they will! Maybe not at work, but I work out six times a week, for crying out loud, and that nearly always involves a tank top. If and when that gymnastics class starts up I'll be raising my arms in front of new people who are just meeting me! I'm almost sure I don't have the nerve to do that.

The trouble is that (since getting past my uber-idealistic teens anyway) I've always believed in picking my battles. If something doesn't matter very much to me, I'll conform, because maybe I have better things to do than defend my choice to wear polka-dotted socks or whatever. So basically, unless I end up loving this I'm going to end up shaving again, because not doing so is seen as such a strong statement. But it's weird, really weird to me that even trying it turns out to be so scary. I think I've become just a leetle bit addicted to being seen as traditionally attractive.

¹Although nevers's essay in Trabant 2 definitely brought it to my mind, I've also been thinking that in practical terms my skin might be happier if I didn't shave it all the time, and if there was something soft in there. It's even possible that with some hair to catch the sweat I might sweat on my shirts less at work, though I'm not sure if it really works this way. Plus, one or two of the best female yoga teachers I've ever had have hairy armpits... I used to hate this but lately have just been associating it with mad inversion skillz.

Nerdy one-liners

I decided a while ago that it would be worthwhile to have all my favorite nerdy one-liners in one place. (Why? Because that way, when I go to take over the world with my bumper sticker company, I'll be prepared.)

I know I'm not remembering them all off the top of my head, so I'm sure I'll edit this post. More importantly though, I want to add yours to the collection, so comment!



Pi = 3.141592653589793helpimtrappedinauniversefactory7108914...

To be or not to be, that is the square root of four B squared.

You're either part of the solution or part of the precipitate.

The meek shall inherit the earth; the rest of us are going to the stars.

Metacircular evaluator? But I just metacircular evaluator? But I...

A Freudian slip is when you say one thing and mean your mother.

Remembered later:

There are 10 kinds of people in the world: those who understand binary and those who don't.

My parents went to a planet with no bilateral symmetry and all I got was this lousy F-shirt.

Have you ever imagined a world with no hypothetical situations?