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Andrew

Isolation ends

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  • Prep: Hot Splash
  • Razor: Razorock – Lupo Aluminium
  • Blade: Derby Usta
  • Brush: Yaqi – Lucky Dice
  • Lather: Ariana & Evans – Kaizen
  • Post-shave: Proraso – Alum Block

Today was my last day of isolation. Nice to get a shave on and start afresh with a shave.

I soldiered on with the Derby blade in the Lupo. The shave was not as rough as the first use of the same blade. That is an improvement. Maybe the Usta just isn’t that compatible with my dome on the first use of a blade. I do not recall giving myself any nicks with the Feather blade on first use though.

I’m still leaning towards the Feather blades long term though, although I have only been using the one razor, the Razorock Lupo. Maybe the Lupe/Feather combination is my go to for now. Might need to try my other razors again soon.

A mild case of COVID

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  • Prep: Hot Splash
  • Pre-shave: Phoenix Shaving – Ice CUBE 2.0
  • Razor: Razorock – Lupo Aluminium
  • Blade: Derby Usta
  • Brush: Yaqi – Lucky Dice
  • Lather: Ariana & Evans – Strawberry Fields
  • Post-shave: Proraso – Alum Block

Following on from the last shave where I was trying to avoid a case of COVID, today’s shave is brought to you with a personal case of COVID. It seems I managed to pickup a case of COVID, and so I have a week being stuck at home for 3 days so far, and have a further 4 to go during my isolation period.

So wish all this extra time on my hands, I have elected to shave before the weekend.

One thing that I have decided is that the Derby Usta blade does not seem to work well with the razor and my head. I certainly won’t be buying any more Derby blades. I know that I previously thought I would stick with them, but after today’s use of them, compared with the Feather blades, I have had better shaves with the Feather.

A new identity

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I don’t write on Nerdgineer often, other than shaving my Shave of the Day posts. I like to think that I am making changes in my life, creating a better version of myself. I’m not sure that I am though.

I previously started reading through The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, and while there are some good ideas in there, they haven’t become engrained in my life. The idea is still there, but I feel like it is somewhat just a fad tapping into the bandwagon of swearing in books and their titles.

However, a YouTube recommendation opened my eyes to Stoicism through a video by Ryan Holiday. I can not remember the exact video, but it opened a rabbit hole right in front of me.

I have been on another spending spree buying books written by some of the original stoics (actually their English translations), as well as Ryan himself. The books I bought include:

  • Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (Martin Hammond)
  • Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (Gregory Hays)
  • Letters from a Stoic by Seneca (Robin Campbell)
  • The Daily Stoic (Ryan Holiday)
  • Lives of the Stoics (Ryan Holiday)

So I fell down the rabbit hole with these books, and I have started reading them. I am also listening to podcasts where passages are read, and then the speaker shares their thoughts on that particular passage.

I’m feeling as though I might take on a position here of sharing my thoughts for these passages based on a combination of my reading and thoughts on them, the thoughts of those I listen to, as well as the translators for the versions that I am reading.

My gut says that this will become another one of my fanciful ideas that I start, but in three months decide that it isn’t working for me and stop writing altogether.

So there are some real questions I need to answer:

  • Do I start writing to potentially stop in 3 months?
  • Do I not write at all and rely on my memory to change?
  • Do I try to call myself a stoic and write as a way of enforcing my new stoic identity?
  • Something else altogether?

Not mixing it up

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  • Prep: Hot Shower
  • Pre-shave: Phoenix Shaving – Ice CUBE 2.0
  • Razor: Razorock – Lupo Aluminium
  • Blade: Feather Hi Stainless
  • Brush: Yaqi – Lucky Dice
  • Lather: Ariana & Evans – Vanille de Tabac
  • Post-shave: Ariana & Evans – Vanille de Tabac

After a weekend doing my best to isolate from the family as they have COVID and I have managed to remain COVID free, I finally got around to shaving later on Sunday afternoon. I really did not want to shave, but I also knew that there would be a two full weeks of growth if I didn’t do it then.

So a nice hot shower, rinse the hair and onto the shave. I think this is the third shave with the blade that was on the counter, but I’m not really sure. I continued on with the same software and hardware from last week’s shave. The blade did a nice job no matter how many uses it has been, but it might be time for a new blade next time.

One thing that I do know is that I need to consider placing an order for some new blades so that I don’t run out.