The RavS and The Art of Changing Hair Styles

I have this itch to constantly tinker with my looks. It's almost an obsession and I have been called a number of things due to it. Good too, but mostly bad - show off, cartoon, attention seeker and what not. Do I mind? Yeah, I mind. I mind it so much that I want to punch the person on the nose. But I don't care about it that much to stop doing something that "I do for myself".

One of my characteristics is to experiment. While hair and beard and moustache are for everyone to see and comment, I experiment with dozens of little things week after week, month after month. Anyone who has read all the posts here would know I have experimented with different styles of writing, different themes, different lengths, different formats, etc. etc. In fact, many of these post have been about a number of weird experiments on self and others.

When I write code, I try different techniques too. One time I painstakingly wrote a program through OO paradigm, that could have been so easily done via procedural techniques. Sometimes I deliberately write shitty piece of code just to give myself a 'feel' of what happens when the code standard is sub-par. Sometimes I don't document, other times I over-document.

I haven't told you about my 5-hour/day sleep experiment, the 19-hour study marathon, the touch-feet-of-elders-everyday experiment, the ask-a-question-every-hour-even-if-you-know-the-answer experiment, the don't-break-eye-contact-first experiment, the year long write-750-words-a-day experiment (Ok may be told this one). The point is : my life is woven around different kinds of experiments. Some succeed moderately, most fail so miserably and embarrassingly that I vow never to discuss it with anyone.

Now that I have set the context, it will be easier to answer some questions:

Why can't I just stay with a style for long?

Losing my hair is something I fear a lot, probably only second to losing my family and friends. It's known even to my yet-to-be-adopted pet that men suffer from hair loss a lot more than women (ladies have a lot of advantages on genetic level, I hate you ladies). Hair it seems has a shorter life span than human nowadays. So, I go with the philosophy of "do it, while you have it". Besides, I have this kinda OCD of tinkering with stuffs.

But why just experiment with hair? 

Why not experiment with clothes and other accessories? Good question, but easy to answer - hair styling is cheap and easy! Besides buying a lot of clothes and accessories goes against my minimalist philosophy. So, yes I like accessories. But mostly I find it a 'burden' to carry and to store & take care. More about it some other day.

Do I do all this to seek attention? 

A 2 part answer:

1. Everybody loves attention. Some of us avoid the limelight, but we all love attention.

2. On a subconscious level - probably yes. But on a conscious level it is about seeking answers : What if I keep my hair long and wear a band? How would I look with a pony tail (ask my mom)? How about keeping the hair reverse parted? What will happen if I keep my hair short? Mohawk? Can I ever carry off a moustache?

Now here is the most amusing part, every style I keep at least one person tells me that it is much better while some other person will tell it's worse than the last one! People just try to project their own experiences, thoughts, fears on you. So, doing something just to impress someone is not worth the effort (and I say this after actually trying to impress a few people).

Whatever you do in your life, you will be commented upon. The only way to not be called upon is to just be average (and I don't say this just in the context of styling); to fall in line, to do exactly what others are doing, to not question the set standards, to kill any idea you want to try in any field just because people will find it weird, and you might get embarrassed.

If you live your life based on others' point of view, you will always be utterly confused (personal experience!). It's better to man up (or woman up) and do what you like, and let the world go to hell. And probably try a new hair style :)

PS1: I don't take the credit for any of the hair styles I have tried over the years. They are mostly inspired/copied from others. But then most my writings are inspired/copied from others.

PS2: A big THANKS to my sister who advises me in trying new styles, and everyone else who don't give a shit about it.

PS3: Update on Moustache: It's grown longer and denser and now it's become difficult to maintain symmetry. It has become a constant distraction, having to fight with the gravity all the time. Next week is going to be the last of it. Will probably take a final picture.

PS4: I had initially decided to put up pictures of all the styling done in last 1000 days. But then it was going to be too much work for the lazy me. Also, I realized that  I don't have as many pictures as I would have liked. Probably should archive myself more often.

PS5: Sorry for abusing the PS. But as I said, it's all about experimenting.