Movember me

I may look unkempt lately but hey, it's alright. After all, it's that time of the year. It's the month of Movember, remember? That's when I usually let my facial hair down and let it grow whichever way it may.

Of course, there is nothing much to crow about up there but at least, I can still let the rest of me assume that scraggly look. Especially when there's now a lot more white sprinkled among the black. Come to think of it, the whites have started to dominate the blacks already!

It's been close to four weeks already and my wife's been asking me when I'm going to take it off.

I reminded her that I've looked far more better (or worse) before. In 2000, I had actually sported a one-inch beard while working at Ban Hin Lee Bank and when I organised the Wah Seong Penang international master chess tournament, but I took it off in the middle of 2001 when I joined JobStreet.com. Making a new statement with a new job.

But this time around, there's no new job waiting for me; not when I'm already retired from full-time employment for several years now and I spend my time in writing and seeking clients who need a bit of my expertise as a personal estate planner. Scratching your head? Okay, to cut the puzzlement short, I help them to write their wills and set up their trusts.

But going back to the subject of my present unkempt and scraggly look during Movember month, I told my wife that I'd most probably shave them off after the first week of December. My deadline is the eighth or ninth of next month. Anyway, sometime during the second week of December. That would be just after the end of this year's Penang Chess League. I'm playing, see, and I want to keep my scraggly good looks on until that tournament ends. It will be a good talking point for people who sees me at the tournament hall.