Yeah so, chopped my hair off

So yeah, finally, I cut my hair short. Like, military short. (I did a comic about it, too.) I seriously doubt it will ever be longer than about a half-inch from here on out, since (a) I'm no longer playing in hair rocker bands and (b) well, I'm just flat out going bald. Thanks, genetics! :) I personally just don't think having a bald top with long hair is a cool look, unless you're in a German metal band - for some reason even way back in the day every German metal band seemed to have at least one bald guy with long-remainder-hair.

If you want to see some pix, here they are.

If you don't know me well or have only known me for a short time, you probably don't get how big a change this is. Well, actually at this point, I'm all good with it, but even a few years ago if you'd said (as some did) "Hey Jeff, you really should lose the ponytail thing dude," I would not have taken it very well. I mean, I knew it was coming, but I wasn't happy about it.

However, actually doing it was no problem, and I feel fine about it. Probably should have done it a few years ago. I'd been so apprehensive about it for so long that getting it done is a big relief, actually. I was worried I'd look old, or that my head is shaped funny and wouldn't look good nearly shaved, or that The Girlfriend would cease to find me attractive, but happily these fears were unfounded.

I think the biggest fear, though, was that cutting off the hair would make me look just like every other guy. Having long hair was a big part of my self-perceived identity for a long time - if I'd had to "cut my hair and get a real job" anytime in my 20s or early 30's, that would have been, in my mind, utter defeat and surrender to The Man, destruction of the Rock 'N' Roll Dream, and other such things like that. It would have been truly psychologically oppressive given my state of mind back then. Hell, I felt bad about having to do the slick-back ponytail thing when I got my shirt-and-tie job doing graphics for the construction company!

But now that all just seems totally silly. Well, not totally; there was certainly a period of time where having short hair would have meant no playing in hard rock bands. You just wouldn't be taken seriously as a rocker without the hair. No, really, it's true, from about 1984 thru 1992 or so, if you didn't have the hair, or if even one guy in your band had short hair, the hair metal/hard rock/metal scene would dis you for it, no matter how good you were. So, from inside that highly insular point of view, short hair was a serious liability.

Of course, outside that totally insular point of view, it's really bizarrely silly. So I'm looking back and laughing, somewhat ruefully, at my own part in all that silliness. Ah well, it was fun.

Besides, I can always buy a big-hair wig. ;) It ain't like plenty of the "hair rockers" didn't have fake hair! (I won't name names.)

So, I still look like me, I'm not suddenly some anonymous short-haired dude who fades into the background. This is a nice thing to find out. Well, maybe from the back it would be hard to know it's me, after being instantly identifiable by the ponytail, but that's cool.

And of course, there are advantages! No more long hairs all over the place and in the shower, and showers take 3 minutes now. I can throw out half of my towels, since I don't need two per shower anymore. I now have a 5-year supply of shampoo and conditioner, and I'll never use gel or hairspray again.

But I think the best change for me is that I don't have to wear a hat all the time anymore. Unless I want to, of course, and also when I'm out in the sun all day (which is almost never). Now I don't need it anymore, it's okay for me to have a thin top with the short hair, there's several million dudes sporting this look. I know maybe it seems silly to you, but I just don't have to cover it up anymore, and that's a load off. Knowing that if I have a hat on when I get to the door of a club, and I'm asked to take it off before going in (happens a lot), I can just take it off and it's no big deal... that's really quite nice. There have been times when that happened where I had to frantically run to a store and buy hair gel to do the slick-back thing - and times when I just decided to not go in, not hang with my friends, because I was embarrassed about the top of my head. I know, stupid, right? Stupid. Well, sometimes I'm stupid.

Anyway, so, it's gone. I can't help but feel a little loss of what was a big part of my life, but then I think about it a bit, snort, and have to suppress maniacal laughter. Sheesh, dude, it's just hair.

I'm donating it to Locks of Love, so some seriously ill kids can have nice wigs. I think that's a good cause.

Back to work...