The Weirdest Present I Ever Loved

I have a close group of friends who usually get together and give small gifts to each other. There is one member of our group is kind of the loner. He's usually playing video games or studying, but he's a very thoughtful and sweet guy. I'm not really sure the details behind the story, but apparently, he bought this calendar and didn't know who to give it to. One of our friends told him he should give it to me because I would appreciate it the most.

So, when I opened the present and saw it was a calendar devoted to facial hair, I was sort of confused. For most of my life, I have been somewhat anti-facial hair. Goatees are okay on SOME people, but for the most part, I feel that facial hair is over-done and hiding something. I would beg my dad to shave my whole life, and he did, because he's a great dad. :)

The pictures in it were so strange. I can't believe these guys with all this facial hair who have scuplted it into an artform that has almost turned into some sort of epic contest. At first, I used the calendar as a conversation piece, but eventually, I grew fond of it... like somehow these strange, hairy men had been part of my life for an entire 12 months because I have looked at it almost every day this year.

So, I am getting one for myself this year, and I am going to get a few more for other people. Because, well, it's weird, random and interesting... and because I think my brother and dad would appreciate it. So, here are some of my favorites from last year. If you check them out on Facebook, you'll see tons more. There are apparently world-wide contests for facial hair. Who knew!?! It's called Magnificent Specimens- you should check it out!