"All grown up"

In the continuing saga of: "Lester tries to grow a moustache."

Almost a month after I last shaved, my moustache and goatee has grown considerably. Whilst it isn't thick and bushy like my Dad's moustache, it ain't sparse and Fu-Manchu-y either. Let's say it's enough to be noticed, but it also allows some of the flesh to pierce through. In fact, if I look at it on the mirror, it's a looks a bit grayish.

Surprisingly, a lot of my officemates dig this "new look" of mine. Reactions range from "you've changed so much," to "that's looks really, really good on you," to "that very cool, eh. Very, very cool!"

Nice feedback, albeit quite vague. It's like answering the question "How are you?" with "I'm fine, thank you," as opposed to "well, i feel a bit feverish, but i'm sure it'll go away with a few glasses of fresh orange juice."

Surprisingly, it was one of my clients who gave me the most concrete feedback.

She saw me and said: "Wow, you've changed a lot since I last saw you." Then I pointed out my moustache and told her that i'm experimenting and trying to grow it. Her pleasantly surprising reply was: "You look all grown up! Without it, you were the boy-next-door, but now, you're a man with character."

It made me realize that I was just that most of my life, the "boy-next-door," much like Bill Pullman. Everybody likes him, but people rarely single him out or look for him. He's this guy who's cool if he's there, but it's ok if he's not. This is cool when you're in your 20s, I guess. But i'm in my 30s, and maybe it's time for me to be somebody else.

One of the nice things about being in a different country is that you can actually reinvent yourself. Though I'm not doing that drastically, I think this "'growing a moustache" is a step closer to that. Yes, they had a glimpse of me "sans moustache" and now that i'm growing it, they're more receptive. I can only imagine how my friends in Manila would react if they see me growing one. They will - like my Mom - probably demand that I shave it off this instant. The reason: it's just not me.

But maybe I'm trying not to be "me" too much. And maybe that's good.

It's funny how they acknowledge my moustache here. This afternoon, one of them asked me: "Hey Lester, can you and your moustache come here for a moment." I thought that was so funny, and cool.

Again, i'm looking at this as an experiment. In a few months, I might want to see the clean-cut me again and shave this friggin' thing off. It does get irritating sometimes, but I can still manage. That's what GROWN-UPS are supposed to do, right?

Amazing how a little bit of facial hair can change your character in a big, BIG way.