Member
Well, it's been a while. I've been on hiatus for a rather long time. I've made no shave related purchases in quite some time. I will say, this year has been challenging -- all in good ways. I had been working on a podcast project for some time, but had to end that back in June. Let's start with what's happened:
I got married October 2015. My wife and I had been together in some form or fashion since high school (we both graduated in 2009). I'd been working for Disney since 2011, when I started there on an internship while I finished my first degree. I spent most of my career as an Entertainment Technician, working on fireworks primarily. It was fun. I enjoyed doing it, and I enjoyed the meaning behind it. Dying kids from Make-A-Wish were in the audience every night. It's the kind of importance you never forget.
Late nights, long hours. The fun started to wane. And then, I got married. We'd been together for such a long time, it was hard to imagine that anything would change. But, it did. I started to regret not being home at night. I started to regret working so many hours to make what I did. I started to reevaluate my life. So, I had to make a change. I committed to fulfilling a life-long goal.
March last, I received my Private Pilot Certificate. It's something I worked on for nearly a decade. Money was the major prohibiting factor for me. But, I got it. And in August, I became a Certified Flight Instructor. I'm working toward the goal of being a career pilot. But, that took many changes. I had to go back for another degree. I had to quit Disney. I had to drop the podcast to study more. Money got tight -- still is to a point, though it's finally normalizing.
Pause, please
I want to pause here and mention someone in particular, someone who I feel I've let down. It's no secret that my first foray into traditional shaving was through HTGAM. Douglas was the gateway into the hobby for me. There was a time when I sort of turned away. I'd tried running a movember team for him at the same time that the internet exploded around him. But, I was devoted to his brand at the time. I felt ignored and slightly betrayed, as many emails went unanswered, and he was mostly absent. At the time, I'd been so narrow-focused on his brand that I'd never been to any other forum, and had no clue what was going on. In retrospect, I can only imagine what conversations were taking place at Casa De Smythe.
Fast forward to June, and I'd had this big plan for the next story-based episode of The Wet Shaving News. I had just come off a very successful (but more-than-i-chewed-off) episode on Rockwell. I spent two hours talking to Douglas and Fran, more time than I'd ever spent with them. We talked over Skype and just chatted. They both have great stories behind them. It turns out, all the hub-bub was about naivety. Douglas was naive early in his business. Hardly the malicious monster that the trolls made him out to be, Douglas was excited and quick thinking, and that caused many oversights. And yes, I've spoken to people on both sides of the aisle. I don't think PAA would be as successful today as it is if Douglas didn't learn anything from HTGAM.
So, here's the rub. That interview sat on my macbook for ages. It was transferred to my new studio rig when I built one (basically a desktop for school that I dropped an audio card into). But, school. Flight training. Work (fireworks -- fourth of july, special events, projects). Suddenly, it was August, and that interview never came out. Today, it's February, and that episode isn't out. All of the great audio from that conversation sits quietly in my hard drive. And not just the explosion of the internet audio. We talked about their youth, hobbies, influences, their personal relationship, what they do in their free time -- we explored, in greatly detailed technicolor, who they are. And I can say, from a purely objective standpoint, that Douglas and Fran are awesome people. There's a great story in there, and it's my failing that it was never published. So, to Douglas and Fran, I'm truly sorry.
I now return you to your previously scheduled post.
I recently had enough dough saved to buy some new stuff. I've been training a lot of students, and I've been working some side-gigs. So, I my wife got me (unknown to me) two Fine sets when I mentioned I was looking for something new. But then, I decided to buy in with some money I'd built up. So, as much as there's tons of awesome stuff out there, I have a thing for Stirling Soaps. I would have loved to order more from many other locations, but I had to make a decision -- pay a ton of shipping charges, or buy in one place and get a good variety (Yes, I'm aware after ordering that Maggards now sells Stirling). Knowing that Stirling makes a ton of offerings, I went in that direction. So, I proudly present, today's mail call:
[Image: UtpHdHd.jpg]
Yes, I got some for the wife too. It feels good to be back.... Now.... I'm not buying anything for another six months....
I got married October 2015. My wife and I had been together in some form or fashion since high school (we both graduated in 2009). I'd been working for Disney since 2011, when I started there on an internship while I finished my first degree. I spent most of my career as an Entertainment Technician, working on fireworks primarily. It was fun. I enjoyed doing it, and I enjoyed the meaning behind it. Dying kids from Make-A-Wish were in the audience every night. It's the kind of importance you never forget.
Late nights, long hours. The fun started to wane. And then, I got married. We'd been together for such a long time, it was hard to imagine that anything would change. But, it did. I started to regret not being home at night. I started to regret working so many hours to make what I did. I started to reevaluate my life. So, I had to make a change. I committed to fulfilling a life-long goal.
March last, I received my Private Pilot Certificate. It's something I worked on for nearly a decade. Money was the major prohibiting factor for me. But, I got it. And in August, I became a Certified Flight Instructor. I'm working toward the goal of being a career pilot. But, that took many changes. I had to go back for another degree. I had to quit Disney. I had to drop the podcast to study more. Money got tight -- still is to a point, though it's finally normalizing.
Pause, please
I want to pause here and mention someone in particular, someone who I feel I've let down. It's no secret that my first foray into traditional shaving was through HTGAM. Douglas was the gateway into the hobby for me. There was a time when I sort of turned away. I'd tried running a movember team for him at the same time that the internet exploded around him. But, I was devoted to his brand at the time. I felt ignored and slightly betrayed, as many emails went unanswered, and he was mostly absent. At the time, I'd been so narrow-focused on his brand that I'd never been to any other forum, and had no clue what was going on. In retrospect, I can only imagine what conversations were taking place at Casa De Smythe.
Fast forward to June, and I'd had this big plan for the next story-based episode of The Wet Shaving News. I had just come off a very successful (but more-than-i-chewed-off) episode on Rockwell. I spent two hours talking to Douglas and Fran, more time than I'd ever spent with them. We talked over Skype and just chatted. They both have great stories behind them. It turns out, all the hub-bub was about naivety. Douglas was naive early in his business. Hardly the malicious monster that the trolls made him out to be, Douglas was excited and quick thinking, and that caused many oversights. And yes, I've spoken to people on both sides of the aisle. I don't think PAA would be as successful today as it is if Douglas didn't learn anything from HTGAM.
So, here's the rub. That interview sat on my macbook for ages. It was transferred to my new studio rig when I built one (basically a desktop for school that I dropped an audio card into). But, school. Flight training. Work (fireworks -- fourth of july, special events, projects). Suddenly, it was August, and that interview never came out. Today, it's February, and that episode isn't out. All of the great audio from that conversation sits quietly in my hard drive. And not just the explosion of the internet audio. We talked about their youth, hobbies, influences, their personal relationship, what they do in their free time -- we explored, in greatly detailed technicolor, who they are. And I can say, from a purely objective standpoint, that Douglas and Fran are awesome people. There's a great story in there, and it's my failing that it was never published. So, to Douglas and Fran, I'm truly sorry.
I now return you to your previously scheduled post.
I recently had enough dough saved to buy some new stuff. I've been training a lot of students, and I've been working some side-gigs. So, I my wife got me (unknown to me) two Fine sets when I mentioned I was looking for something new. But then, I decided to buy in with some money I'd built up. So, as much as there's tons of awesome stuff out there, I have a thing for Stirling Soaps. I would have loved to order more from many other locations, but I had to make a decision -- pay a ton of shipping charges, or buy in one place and get a good variety (Yes, I'm aware after ordering that Maggards now sells Stirling). Knowing that Stirling makes a ton of offerings, I went in that direction. So, I proudly present, today's mail call:
[Image: UtpHdHd.jpg]
Yes, I got some for the wife too. It feels good to be back.... Now.... I'm not buying anything for another six months....
