The Contest: Part II

The contest officially ended yesterday, May 27. It was a long road, one full of blood, sweat, tears, and heartache. Memories were realized, memories were shattered. Lives were changed.


This is Jimmy, or at least it should've been. He failed to show for the judging. We do, however, have confirmation from an unnamed witness that as of Sunday, May 25 Jimmy was clean-shaven and defiant. He purportedly justified his actions saying, 'My wife was ashamed and we had dinner plans with friends. At least the other guys look like they actually have facial hair!' Very sad, Jimmy. Wide is the path to destruction, but narrow is the path to righteousness. Jimmy will soon be donning a new pair of skin patches where his eyebrows used to be.


Mr Cei, the Welshman, after a few days' growth. You'll remember that he shaved for his hot date and, according to sources, it went quite well. Cei is quoted as saying it was the most nerve-racking thing he's ever done. This is really saying something, considering he has run for parliment and had a kidney transplant! Also, it is widely agreed that he was right in thinking he could grow more in a week than Jimmy did in the month. Cei's penalty for shaving early is a full leg-waxing. It should be a real treat seeing those smooth and white Welsh legs.


Jon Swales, the northerner. Jon did quite well with his beardage, though you'll remember he was penalized for leaving his sideburns for the contest. His penalty has just been decided, and it's a good one. Firstly, though, we should consider some breaking news. Jon is a New Testament research student studying the ideas of N.T. Wright, a world renown scholar. Ironically, just yesterday at the contest's close he got word he'd been accepted to an elite gathering at Oxford this weekend, at which Dr Wright will be speaking. Now, we figure the gathering should be especially interesting considering Jon's contest penalty: perfectly shaving half his beard. That's right, directly below the nose a line will be drawn down his chin to his neck. From that line over his beard will be shaved, leaving him with one half of a beard. He and his half beard will be meeting Dr Wright this weekend. We've suggested Jon meet Dr Wright from the side.


Big Dave Brae. Dave also did well, though not well enough. He lost out at the end because nothing but his neck would grow hair. And a neck beard is no beard at all. Of course, there's been some controversy over the judging. Mr Daniel Lowery, the judge who is also an American, granted me the victory but Dave declared it was an unfair ruling due to Dan's 'obvious bias for Americans'. Dave suggested instead that we ask Vanessa Parr, a Brit. Ironic. All this said, though, nobody seems to be convinced by Mr Brae's appeal, and it's beginning to feel a little like Al Gore's litigation against the Florida voting system. Dave will be sporting a new pair of handlebar staches for the end of year celebration.


Ladies and gentlemen, your winner. Yes, I won the contest, a true milestone in my life and academic career. I'll be updating my resume soon with this new achievement. I'm expecting the book and made-for-T.V.-movie deals to start coming in soon. Of course, it's all overshadowed by the small fact that by the age of 20 my dad could grow a lumberjack beard.

The Contest!

For reasons now lost in the past, several of us from Trinity College are in the midst of a beard-growing contest. It seems to me the contest arose from ongoing banter as to which of us, due to poor facial hair, would have the worst beard. Men being men, it wasn't enough to know we couldn't grow a beard; we had to show everybody it was true. And here we are: two weeks into a four-week contest.


Me, post shave.


Me at two weeks. Yes, the hair is ginger (as they say here), which apparently is a big insult. It cuts deep.


Jimmy our housemate at two weeks. Unfortunately, it's universally recognised that Jimmy is in last place. The price of losing is to shave the hair into a foo mustache and attend the end of year celebration. Now, some have suggested an ammendment because Jimmy has such little facial hair as to nullify the shame of the foo-stache. The ammendment would be shaving an eyebrow.


Cei, the Welsh Wonder, at two weeks. Cei has an interesting situation. After a long dating drought (28 years to be exact), he's landed one next week. The problem, of course, is the beardish growth on his face. As of today, he's leaning toward shaving and incurring the penalty of leg waxing. He figures he can still avoid losing the contest by growing more in the last week than Jimmy has in the month. It looks like it's getting ugly, people.


Dave at two weeks. Dave is currently one of the contest frontrunners, though he's also been oppressed because of his ginger hair.


Jon at two weeks. Jon currently has charges pending over alleged cheating for not shaving his sideburns for the contest. The penalty would be loss of an eyebrow in addition to the foo-stache.


Me at two weeks. Though the picture doesn't show it well, I've actually had relative success with the beard. In fact, I might be disqualified if proven I had full knowledge prior the contest of beard-growing capability (which is the chief contest rule).

Please Spread the Word!

A woman named Erin has a large & beautiful transracial family that now includes two preschoolers from Ethiopia who are HIV+. Below is a recent post on her blog. Please help spread the modern facts about HIV+ children. Things have drastically changed from what our generation was taught in sex eduation. Thank You!

Thanks to Janee for finding this!

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Today I have heard from several different parents of HIV+ children who are facing negative reactions to their adoptions based on the stigma and ignorance surrounding HIV. It is extremely frustrating to me that in 2008 there is still so much unfounded fear caused by a lack of education, that results in nasty, ugly and mean treatment of people who are HIV+ and their families.

The reason people in the U.S. are not educated about HIV is that most people don't care, because most people in this country are not affected by it. People still see it as the problem of homosexuals, drug users and people in Africa. The reality is, HIV/AIDS is everyone's problem. It is a devastating problem in Africa and many countries, but there are many, many Americans living with this disease as well. In fact, new cases of HIV in the U.S. are now being seen in the largest numbers in heterosexual women. HIV/AIDS is a HUMAN problem.

Living with this nasty disease is hard enough, but compounding that with the misguided fear and judgment of society is beyond tragic, and as the mom of two HIV+ children, it is sad and frustrating.

So, if you are one of the many who check in to this blog every day, I am asking you to do me a favor. I want you to tell at least two people about HIV. Spread the word that...

- HIV can NOT be spread through causal/household contact. HIV is not spread through hugging, kissing, shaking hands, sharing toys, sneezing, coughing, sharing food, sharing drinks, bathing, swimming or any other causal way. It has been proven that HIV and AIDS can only be spread through sexual contact, birth, breastfeeding and blood to blood contact (such as sharing needles).

- HIV is now considered a chronic but manageable disease. With treatment, people who are HIV+ can live indefinitely without developing AIDS and can live long and full lives.

- People who are HIV+ deserve to be treated with love, respect, support and acceptance as all people do.

If anyone wants more info on transmission, there is great info on the Center for Disease Control website at http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/factsheets/transmission.htm

Help me spread the truth about HIV, and take a tiny stab at the stigma against HIV. Tell your friend when you talk on the phone. Tell your spouse. Tell your parents. Post it on your blog and ask other people to tell their readers. Ask them to pass it on as well. I would love to see this spread beyond the adoption blogs.

Even if you have no real interest in HIV/AIDS, even if you are not involved in adoption, even if you don't think you know anyone who is HIV+... education and knowledge are always a good thing. It is so easy to say to someone, "hey, guess what I learned today?" and it is even easier to put it on a blog or in an email.

Do it for me. Do it for the other adoptive families and the HIV+ orphans that are waiting for homes. Do it for Belane and Solomon. Do it for all of the other people on this planet living with HIV. If everyone that reads this blog tells at least two people, that is a whole bunch of people we can reach and a little bit of difference we can make.