update: at least a half-dozen strangers said "BAUMER!!" to me tonight. i think that, let alone the other good things about tonight, made it a success.

i think i'll need a new heart

stephin "neither my first nor last name is spelled quite like you think it is" merritt

World of Wild Beards, Inc.

unrelatedly, but in the wake of this, my coworker posted this link on my facebook. sample:

SHIT YEAH

you can thank me later:

we won trivia last night

my self-esteem is at an all-time high

i love reading the paper in hard copy format

if you are not lucky enough to do this with the washington post (which is well-nigh unreadable online), you might have missed this gem today.

i have included a picture of him primarily because of his turtleneck.

this thing looks like that thing

while i'm on the posting train, here are a few other things. they're mostly all beard-related.

i am probably going to be richie tenenbaum for halloween, because though it is sort of played out, i've got the beard and i've got to use it. if you have better suggestions (maybe raleigh st. clair? i'd need a lot of Just for Men: Touch of Gray for that). my friend meredith is going as max fischer, which i think is perfect, and these decisions were made separately and unbeknownst to the other. once is happenstance. twice is coincidence. three times is enemy action.
in other news, while obtaining my daily double macchiato, the girl at starbucks asked me if i listened to death from above 1979, and said i look like that guy (i didn't specify but i'm assuming the bass player, who is awesome [though upon further review, it looks like the bass player usually has just a moustache, so you be the judge]) or ben bridwell from band of horses. i also thought about buying a pair of maroon jeans from h&m, because i feel like if i can get mistaken for people who are actually cool, i should just go all out in dressing like an idiot. people will have certain expectations for me and i shan't disappoint them.

i didn't, though. i just bought two button down grey striped shirts, because my other twentyfive from h&m were getting lonely.

come to think of it, "i've got the beard and i've got to use it" is a pretty good mantra.