I’ve never been a fan of the heat and humidity that summer brings to our area, but I recently remembered a reason to love summer.  After owning a motorcycle for 5 years, I can’t believe I spent the last 2 years without one.  Now I’m back on two wheels, and I can’t get over how much it feels like a part of me.  I hope that I can always own a motorcycle.

For those interested, it’s a 2005 Harley Sportster 1200 Custom.  It sounds quite nasty, in a really good way.

I remember when I first decided I wanted a motorcycle.  I was 20 years old and had just begun working at the Sears shoe department.  I remember riding in the car with my family in Branson and watching with awe and lust as motorcycles passed all around. I remember telling my dad that I wanted to buy one the next summer.  My new job turned out to be good enough that I bought one that fall.

My old bike, the one that started it all… the lowly but stylish Yamaha V-Star 650.

The problem doesn’t really lie in the money.  The problem is in the principle.  No matter how much money I make, I believe that if I pay $720 for something, it had better be good.  So how good is internet everywhere I go?

Well, half of that money goes to buy internet at my home.  I think that is definitely worth it.  I use the internet to watch all of my TV and most of my movies.  Plus all the other crap like hockey scores, banking, paying bills, facebook, homework, etc, etc.  Internet in my home is indispensable.

I’m not so sure that it’s worth doubling the price of the internet just to have it on my phone everywhere I go.  Now, anyone who knows me knows that I love my iPhone.  But do I really use the data plan that much?  I use my iPhone a lot when I’m at home, but at those times I’m always on my wireless network.  Same thing at work.  The only times I really use the mobile data are in my car or when I’m shopping and want to do some quick last-second research before I buy something.

I decided to test how much I would miss having mobile data.  If you jailbreak your phone, you have access to an app that allows you to turn off mobile data.  I spent a week without mobile data access on my iPhone — wifi only — and, no big surprise, I found that I hardly missed it.  There were only a couple of times I wanted to use the internet and couldn’t, and those times just required me to wait a little bit.

My AT&T contract expires in June.  Until now, I’ve taken it for granted that I’ll buy the newest iPhone this summer and renew my two-year contract.  Now I have a new plan: keep my iPhone, disable data, and cancel my $30 data plan.  That way I still have my iPhone, it would just be limited to wifi networks for internet access.

As a bit of warning, don’t try this unless you jailbreak your iPhone.  The iPhone pulls data all the time, and the charges would add up quickly if you don’t have a data plan in place.  But if you have an iPhone, you should be jailbreaking it, anyway.

This was my canvas, my starting point

One of my winter resolutions was to let my hair grow until 2010.  It got so long that it gave me the opportunity to try something I’ve always wanted to do: cut my own hair with scissors.  I’ve cut it with clippers several times, but there’s no risk in buzzing your hair down to one length.  With scissors, I knew the stakes were high.  Plus, there was no way I was going to pay 7 or 8 dollars (or possibly even MORE) for a haircut.  That’s crazy talk.

That's what she said

My first obstacle was scissors.  I don’t have any regular scissors, so I had to use these, which I think are called cuticle scissors.  All I know is they are small.  They are probably a big reason that cutting my hair took so long, about 45 minutes.  All in all, though, I don’t think 45 minutes is that bad, considering I had never done it before.

Now comes the exciting part.

On New Year’s Eve I got home from work and started cutting my hair.  I didn’t really know what to do, so I just figured I’d start at the top.  I grabbed a chunk and cut it.  That gave me a good start, so I cut the top and sides.  After about 15 minutes I realized that without trying, I had created something beautiful — a sweet mullet.

The mullet was truly awesome.  I looked so cool that I knew I had to keep it for at least a day.  Friday, January 1st, I went to work with a mullet, expecting laughs, smiles, and hearty claps on the back.  Fanfare.  For the most part, that’s what I got.  But all was not well.  No fewer than three people made the worst comment I could imagine: “It actually kind of suits you.”  WHAT?  I knew then that the mullet could not last.

Making a mullet look good

That night I got home and resumed work on my hair.  All that was left was the back, but that was by far the hardest part.  I didn’t have a convenient extra mirror, so I was forced to pick up a door mirror to look at the back of my head, then put it down and go by memory and feel.  Then I would pick up the mirror again to inspect my work and make any corrections.  After about 30 minutes I was able to clean up the edges with a beard trimmer and I was done.  I think I did a good job!  At work on Saturday about half the people I told about it refused to believe that I did it myself, which was quite a compliment, but also frustrating.  I honestly don’t know how it turned out so well, considering my haphazard approach, but it’s a technically perfect haircut.  I also think it looks reasonably cool and will only get better as it grows out.

All done!

Cutting my own hair was a lot of fun, and I don’t see any reason not to do so again in several months when I decide I need another haircut.

Several more photos below.  These are all clickable for larger versions, if you’re so inclined.

I was pleasantly surprised

You're right, it does look just as good from the side

I honestly feel like it toed the line between ultra stupid and ultra cool

Much tamer, but I'm not complaining

I'm not wearing a shirt because I had literally JUST finished cutting it, I swear

]]> http://www.davidbarwick.com/cutting-my-own-hair/feed/ 4 http://www.davidbarwick.com/the-shortest-most-precious-day-of-the-year/ http://www.davidbarwick.com/the-shortest-most-precious-day-of-the-year/#comments Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:24:44 +0000 David Barwick http://www.davidbarwick.com/?p=548 Today is the winter solstice and the first official day of winter (here in the U.S. anyway).  Inexplicably, (that’s right, science, suck it!) the winter solstice is also the shortest day of the year.  That means that every minute means more today.  (Sure it has the same number of actual minutes as any other day, but I’m in denial about that.)  When you have less of something, its value increases.

There are fewer people born on December 21 than any other day (don’t get me started on leap year, which is a myth).  People born on the winter solstice have a special birthright; their candles burn briefly but brightly, giving the world a rare and unique glow.  They are the physical embodiment of a fleeting, magical moment in time.

Here’s a fact: I don’t know anyone else whose birthday is today.  That’s right!  And I know hundreds of people!  What are the odds of that?  I’d tell you, but math is irrelevant on the winter solstice.  Something to do with the cosmos.

The winter solstice is a great day for achievements.  You could be the only person in the Guinness Book of World Records to set a record on December 21.  It’s also a great day for mistakes, because a brand new day is just around the corner.  And if you’re going to live each day like it’s your last, today is a great day to start because it will soon be over, sooner than you can even imagine.

So live it up today.  It’s the shortest, most precious day of the year.

So you might have guessed that I would never own a pink shirt.  And you are right.  This shirt has not always been pink.  It used to be the color of dirt.  That is perfect for a guy, because we’re allowed — or even expected — to be dirty.  Sometimes, if I think I am overdressed, I will pick up a handful of dirt and crumble it into my clothes.  Just being a guy.

Luckily, on this day I was wearing a jacket, so I zipped it up to hide my shameful shirt.  After class, I hurried home and took it off.  I know some people saw me, though, so now I’ve been wearing lots of flannel to make up for it.  If that is not working, I’ll buy something with camo to wear.

In other news, my blog is finally the top result from a Google search for “David Barwick.”

I think this guy looks like he is sleeping

Lately my sleep schedule has been out of control.  Staying up until 2 or 3 a.m.??  Sleeping in until 10 or 11 a.m.??!  That is ridiculous.  I’m supposed to be an adult.

To curb my indulgence, I set the alarm earlier, for 9 o’clock.  Naturally, I hit the snooze every 10 minutes for an hour and a half, defeating the purpose.  To overcome that habit, I put the alarm clock all the way across my bedroom, so I have to get out of bed to shut it off.  This sounds like a brilliant plan, because it is.  But I wasn’t counting on my body’s determination to sleep.  The first morning I did this, I got out of bed to turn off the alarm — and woke up two hours later, sprawled out on the floor next to the alarm.  I figured I would at least get back into bed.

After waking up before 8 a.m. the past two mornings, I think I’ve found the solution.  Each night when I go to bed I turn on the space heater in my bedroom.  By the time the sun comes up, my bedroom is hot.  I can’t sleep in heat.  Tossing off covers, hitting snooze, rationalizing an extra hour in bed — none of it works.  I have to get up.

I just hope that I get back in the swing of things naturally so that I don’t have to wake up on the brink of sweating every morning.  I think I’ll keep the heat treatment for a week, then see how I do without.

p.s. You may have noticed a preponderance of finger-drawn images accompanying my posts.  Back in August I used Google search a couple times to supply pictures for posts, but I don’t want to keep doing that.  If I don’t have an applicable photo in my reserves, I just have to draw one.  I don’t have a picture of myself sleeping, but I do have a picture of Brittany sleeping on vacation.

-click for larger version-

]]> http://www.davidbarwick.com/sleep/feed/ 5 http://www.davidbarwick.com/winter-resolutions/ http://www.davidbarwick.com/winter-resolutions/#comments Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:01:06 +0000 David Barwick http://www.davidbarwick.com/?p=473 I like winter.  The chilly air wakes you up.  Snow is wonderful, and driving in it feels like an adventure.  I think I look good in winter, too.  I get to bulk up with layers and not look so skinny.  Winter rules.

Most guys like summer because that is the time for short skirts and tank tops.  Don’t get me wrong, I love summer for that reason.  But I like ladies in winter, too.  I think they look cute in their little coats.  And summer around here is dreadfully hot and sticky. Plus, my chicken legs look ridiculous in shorts.  Summer sucks.

I hated last winter.  My apartment was freezing.  I got sick of it.  When it’s cold inside your home, you don’t care about cute girls in coats.  You don’t care about anything.  You just shiver on the couch after work and think about how you need to take a shower.

This winter is going to be different.  That’s why I came up with some winter resolutions.  I don’t do New Year’s resolutions, because let’s face it, no one does New Year’s resolutions.  I think I may be onto something with seasonal resolutions, though.

Here is my list for winter:

• Keep my home at a reasonable temperature
• Keep my fridge and cabinets stocked with food
• Make some of that tasty dip that I used to eat with Erin 4 or 5 years ago
• Have a Christmas tree (I already got an AWESOME one from my parents)
• Don’t shave or cut my hair until 2010
• Recycle (much easier now that I have room for extra trash cans)
• Be tidy

I’m looking forward to keeping these resolutions.  If you have any suggestions for me, let’s hear ‘em.  Resolutions are fun!

So it’s a Casa Grande townhouse.  You may be thinking that this is a perfect opportunity for me to work on my Spanish, but it turns out that Casa Grande is largely an English-speaking community.  Why is it named Casa Grande?  I don’t know.  Maybe the founders hoped for a different demographic.

My new place is much bigger than my old.  I feel like the king of a third-world country.  There is room to walk around, which was literally not the case before.  I’m also going from a single diminutive closet to a whopping six medium-size closets.  Six!  This makes my reluctance to buy a laundry hamper look like genius — I have a dirty clothes closet now!

It’s also a lot warmer, and today is the first time I’ve turned the heat on.  Last year at this time I had already quarantined myself to a tiny quarter of the apartment that I could keep at a reasonable temperature.

Needless to say, I’m very happy to be here.  The only problem at this point is that I have to carefully space out my belongings so my home doesn’t look too bare.  I may have to break down and actually buy things to fill it up.

For me, movies and television are a nice excuse to turn off the ol’ brain, because I do a lot of thinking.  Like what if I were rich or got in a fight or ran into what’s-her-name.  What if I played in the NHL or wrote books.  What if I were a musician or had powers.  All this important musing wears me out.

Thus, entertainment.  My favorite movies are Dumb and Dumber and Mystery Men and Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus. Stuff like that.  I like “good” movies, too, but I don’t take pride in it.  The best movies don’t require you to think.

But lately school has been screwing it up.  School always does.  First it was novels.  I used to read junk novels and loved them, but then school made me start reading supposedly-great stories and I had to figure out why they were great and that I meant I had to think, which was never my goal.  Now it’s the same thing with films.

And there’s another problem.  I’m studying film noir and all of a sudden I start referring to movies as films.  It’s nice because it’s convenient; you save an entire syllable.  But I don’t like it because it sounds too smart, as if I want it to sound that way.  I’m not trying to sound smart, I’m trying not to be smart or do any deep thinking at all.  That’s how I roll.

So I’m out of my element in my film noir class.  It’s fun and all, but it gives me a headache to think for that long consecutively.  That’s the biggest problem of all, really: movies are too long.  Even if I love a movie, I can’t stand it all at once.  I get bored 30 minutes in.  I need to do something else for a while.  I wasn’t always like this, but the older I get the more A.D.D. I become.  Now it seems like I always have a movie going, because I’m always in the middle of one.

I probably shouldn’t complain about watching movies for class, because it could be worse.  But the fact is I haven’t updated my blog in a while and I don’t have anything else to talk about right now.

I should probably be happy it happened this way.  Otherwise it would have been a battle between laziness and motivation, and I can tell you that history favors laziness.

I’m probably also lucky to get a bit of a wake-up call in regard to my diet.  I may always be thin, but that doesn’t mean my heart and arteries are impervious to fatty foods.  I’m almost an old man; it’s probably time to start paying a little attention to what I put in my body.

Incidentally, if any of you feel compelled to prepare healthy meals for me, email for my address.