After 4 weeks of voluntary sobriety, I am pleased to say that I'm very nearly at the end of Sober October. Being sober for so long has probably (marginally) assisted in my weight-loss programme, and has certainly given my body a rest. I've slept better, that's for sure. But what it has done more than anything else is give me clarity and focus. For instance, just last night, I realised how much balder I have become in the past year. I've been receding for years, but at a slow pace. The difference now is that the scalp at the crown of my head is finally - in parts - pushing up and out into the daylight. I've never really noticed this before, such is the incremental creep of Male Pattern Baldness, but it jumped out at me yesterday like a revelation: I'm going bald, maaaan!
I decided a couple of years back that the best way to defeat nature was by taking matters into my own hands, so I started to use clippers. That's part of the reason I haven't noticed so much, as I try to keep a very tight crop, almost to the bone. Also my naturally silver hair (cheers Dad) has made any obvious baldness a little less noticeable. However, any diversion from my regular clipping regime has started to highlight the natural deforestation underway on my pate.
A further side effect of my follicular travails is what I call 'The Halo Effect,' whereby even extremely severe cropping is unable to prevent light from reflecting off of my silvery stubble in such a way as to cause me to resemble a saintly figure from a stained-glass window scene. People have fallen to their knees in my presence due to a surprise break in the clouds seemingly causing me to be transfigured before their very eyes. Or maybe that didn't happen, but you get the gist.
Anyway, 3 more days of sobriety left. Ho-hum, etc...
