Aug. 1, 2022 - AA Day 2 - Better than Day 1
Well, Day 2 was much better than day 1. For starters, instead of precision bowl loading (not to be confused with bowl lathering and/or GUTL), I tub lathered (as seems to be the spirit of the law in the rules). It brought me great emotional pain to go back to tub lathering - leaving all that protolather on top to sit there for the whole day... every day... all month. Pain. My wife, though, will be glad that my reindeer bowl doesn't have to sit on the bathroom counter anymore. Maybe my gift to myself for completing the challenge will be a new lather bowl that I can break in next month.
I have to say that my lather was greatly improved this morning over yesterday and, to be honest, it was one of the best lathers I've had in a long time. Given that I'm using a now 2 use brush, it makes me wonder if I've been underloading for a long time and need to load more soap when I go back to GUTL after AA. Something to keep in mind anyway. Moar lather is better lather with a new boar, that much is obvious. Scent - on point. My only ragret is that I didn't buy the Frag to go with this for the month. I paired it with Admiral today, which works great (and is one of my favorite scents, anyway), but - full trifecta would have been better. Still competing on nightmare mode, but, you know. I'd rather have the Frag. Next time.
The Zenith performed better than expected for a 2 day used brush - it splayed significantly better than yesterday and whipped up, as I said, an excellent lather. By the 3rd pass it was thinning out a bit, but that could be because I only soaked it for a couple of minutes (forgot to throw it in water while I showered... synthetic and badger are my go to brushes), but even still, the lather was slick and worked great. I stuck my finger in to see how dry it was after a day of sitting out and it was still a little damp deep in the middle of the bristles, but, overall not too bad. I assume it's going to continue to be a bit wet all month, but, maybe as it splays out and splits it'll be more open and dry a little easier. Guess we'll find out. Overall, though, I'm really liking this brush. The thick handle works with my gorilla paws really well and the 28mm brush doesn't seem to be too big at all; I usually prefer 26mm and didn't like the G5C in 28mm at all, but so far I'm really liking this. Boar is just a different beast, I guess.
After reading this amazing guide to GEM razors, I determined that what I was PIF'd is a Gen 2 MMOC - it's got the 2 little bumps/dots on it. Today was, again, better than yesterday. I was able to complete the whole first pass with no nicks and no irritation at all. Second pass went alright, a couple small nicks. Third pass? Well, I should have skipped the 3rd pass and the buffing, for today. Several bleeders and some razor burn later, it was finished. Osma, again, to the rescue on the bleeders, but, not a fan. Not only was my skin totally done by that point, but I found that quite a bit of against the grain was very tuggy - particularly on my chin and upper lip. I'm not sure if it's because I'm going slower there and need to have some quicker swipes or if that's just normal for GEM blades, but I can't imagine it's going to get better as the month goes on. Speaking of - other MMOC users - are you flipping your blade daily to try and get even wear? Or is that a fools errand? I thought I saw that mentioned at some point in a daily questions or MMOC challenge thread, but I don't know if it's worth it. Thoughts?
Post shave was great - a little witch hazel to sooth the skin, alum to stop the blood, and the excellent Sonder Mammoth Magic Splash - just a bit of alcohol burn to start and then a wonderful synthetic cool down to soothe the face. I don't know why I don't have more Mammoth Balms, but that needs to change.
Yesterday I talked about part of my reason for choosing Sonder being the concept of Sonder having challenged me all Summer long, so, I thought I'd include a Sonder thought of the day (perhaps daily, we'll see) in my SOTD posts. Today I'm thinking about my relationship with my wife. I love her and we've got a strong, solid marriage. However, I don't consider often enough her perspective on things or care for her as gently as I used to. I tend towards frustration and minor inconveniences and while I don't typically lash out or say anything about them, they mess with my attitude towards her and, rather than considering why she may have made a certain decision or not finished a task or whatever, I get irritated at how that action impacts me. I need to do better to consider that maybe she didn't get something done because she was feeling overwhelmed by 3 needy kids and needed a 20 minute mental break to make it through the day. Maybe she really wanted to have a good time while we were on that day trip but she was sensory overloaded, under rested, and stretched too thin by the constant demands of being a mom and a wife, and her husband should have been a bit more patient and understanding and supportive (no... this definitely isn't a real experience from 2 days ago.) My wife is amazing. She cares for our family so well, she loves deeply, she has her own thoughts and feelings and emotions and desires and difficulties and cringe moments. I need to do better and loving her and supporting her and setting her up to succeed every day. Today, that means when she needs help after I get home from work, I take a breath, I give her a hug, and I help. I remind myself of the long day she had, too, and I think about what it would be like to have lived her life today. Sonder. Her life, her experiences, her day to day are not less important, less vivid, less real than mine. She's my partner and if I can't even wrap my head around the fact that her life is as vivid and real as mine, this person who I love more than anything, then what am I even doing?
Well. There you have it, internet strangers, my personal challenge for today. Maybe you'll be encouraged by it to consider a loved one in your family and how you might help and love and serve them today.
Have a great day, all!
mammothmafia
RawHoggin
GEMsOfWisdom
Edit: fixing # formatting
#mammothmafia
#RawHoggin
#GEMsOfWisdom
sotd.djudgement_invitations: [<DjudgementInvitation 88>, <DjudgementInvitation 1978>, <DjudgementInvitation 2548>]