Get Paid to Cut Hair Part-Time!

Recently I began a campaign to post more frequently to the biting fish blog and quickly realized that being able to contribute to a blog means having the ability to readily retrieve ideas and information. Tonights blog idea was relatively simple. While showering this evening and thinking about tomorrow,  it occurred to me that I was in need of a haircut as is evidenced by the photo below. Even though my hair wasn't in as bad a shape as it could have been, it was still getting a little outside of my personal criteria.

This brings up an interesting topic. How much does a regular barbershop haircut cost, and how often do I need a haircut? After doing a little research I conclude that a normal mens haircut costs between $15-$20 plus a tip which I would value at $3-$5 per visit. I need my hair cut twice a month. Essentially this will cost me approximately $360-$480 per year for the service plus $72-$120 in gratuity that when averaged costs $516 per year. Roughly 20 years ago I decided to cut my own hair so I invested in a pair of hair cutting scissors, a decent comb, and clippers. Now I am not talking about a pure clipper cut that makes me look like a military recruit. I am talking about a real haircut.

I used the clippers for the side and back of my head making sure to taper the cut from a lower blade gauge to a higher blade gauge. Then the top of my hair is cut with a pair of scissors specifically designed for haircuts. The trimmer is then used for the edge of my sideburns as well as the back lower portion of my neck. The photo below was the end result of less than 10 minutes of actual work.

As you can see, the haircut didn't come out too bad, is fairly presentable, and saved me a little bit of money. Not to mention the amount of time it takes to drive to a barber, sit around waiting for my turn, and paying for the gas as well as the wear and tear on my vehicle. Unless of course I walk there, which I don't.

The beauty of todays blog post is obviously demonstrated by the handsome guy in the picture above. I have to snicker at that last sentence. The real beauty of this post is that in the twenty years that I have been cutting my own hair, I have saved around $10320. A big smile just overwhelmed me while writing ten thousand three hundred twenty dollars. It is so worth it, and at the end of the day, I again had fun.

Journey Through A Successful Day!

Of the many different things that a person has control of in their life, over the last decade, I chose to focus on daily routines and activities. While some of us focus on career, health, relationships, money, looks, and a plethora of other things that are too numerable to list, my focus is on today. It is easy for me to focus on today even while keeping my eye on the horizon and thinking about the future. Without trying to be a bore, the following is a brief outline of what helps me live a fulfilling and rewarding life without the complications of worrying about things outside of my control.

1.  Wake up early everyday. By waking up early I have the opportunity to embrace the day by relishing in the joy of waking up alive and embracing life.

2.  Exercise daily. I couldn't imagine a better way to kick start your metabolism and focus on your health and longevity. Walking at least 10,000 steps a day will increase your time spent on the planet. Remember, lazy and tired are not excuses to skip exercise. I try to run at least 5k five or six times a week. Sometimes I just don't do it, but that is no excuse. Just remember, the more you do, the longer you live, the choice is yours.

3.  Groom like there is no tomorrow. There is nothing more refreshing than a hot shower or a warm bath followed by a deliberate attempt to keep your ears clean, nails cut, skin moisturized, hair tamed, and a variety of other personal hygiene tasks that will make you feel good and contribute to your health. Stay clean.

4.  Think about your goals. Allow your mind to wander through the garden of goals you previously planted and consider the growth, health, and stage that each goal is in. This is a time to consider those goals that easily come to mind without stressing yourself about each and every one of them.

5.  Imagine the perfect day. Picture yourself strolling through your day in a time lapse sort of way, from beginning to end and as much in between. Smile and feel the success of your perfect day before it even begins.

6.  Focus on fashion. Dress for the occasion without regard for what others may think. If you focus on what is appropriate and wear comfortable shoes you will always feel good and present yourself well. You do not have to dress up, dress down, or dress at all. Sometimes just being naked is all it takes.

7.  List the things you would like to accomplish. Jot down some of the things you would like to complete each day. If you create mega lists you will undoubtably have items that carry over to the next day. Learn to create efficient, reasonable, and appropriate lists that will help you successfully meet obligations and expectations of the various people you will be involved with during the course of your day. This is key for work and play.

8.  Scour your favorite media. Check out the latest released music, absorb some news, read your favorite blogs, listen to your favorite radio stations or podcasts, take a look at some cartoons, view current events. Whether you do this with mainstream, subversive, or counter culture media is up to you, as long as you immerse yourself in things that make you tick. Stay as informed as you can. Know more today than you knew yesterday.

9.  Do. Approach your obligations and deadlines in an ambitious and thorough manner while prioritizing each event or item according to difficulty and need. Tackling the most difficult things first while my mind is fresh always works well for me. There is no rule book on how to do this, so do something, however you like to do it. As long as you are doing, you will feel good and not feel behind or overwhelmed.

10. Focus on the task at hand, deliver, and keep your eye on the horizon. This item happens to be one of my specialties. Focus is critical to each task you wish to accomplish. You will still have time to daydream and let your mind wander, but the time for that is not while addressing a task. Focus on the task and deliver its completion. I take pleasure in delivering something no matter what it is, to whoever is expecting it. This applies to everything in your life, and should yield great success at home, at school, at work, in the park, on the road, or in any area you wish to apply it to.

11. Get involved. Interact with people in your life at home, at work, in public places, in private places. Address problems and take ownership of things that other people could use help with. Use your expertise to stay on top of everything. No problem is too big, no problem is too small. Just deal with it. Help people learn things when you see them struggle with the wide variety of tasks and problem solving situations they get into. Let them have a fair chance at doing things themselves, but when you recognize the struggle, lend a hand. Do not be stingy with your capabilities, your gift, or you.

12. Stayed hydrated and well nourished. Drink a lot of water, gatorade, and juice. Never try to lose weight by not drinking water. The number one cause of cancer is chronic dehydration. Cells cannot function and perform without sufficient water. Once you screw one cell up, it divides, and those two divide, and so on, and so on until.....you have a great big tumor. Snack on fruit, nuts, veggies, salads,

and eat low fat, low carb foods that are high in protein, fiber, and low in calories.

13. Reach out to your people. Everybody in your life deserves to hear from you. They deserve to hear about you. They deserve to be yelled at by you. They deserve your time. They deserve your love. In return, they will bless you with their time, their life's journey, their yelling at you. You deserve it. Tell your people how much they mean to you, let them know you care, tell them how important they are. Make them feel how they deserve to feel. The digital age has a way of encouraging disconnect for being so connected. Do not let your people down. It is the worse thing you can do to them and yourself.

14. Keep yourself grounded to the earth and its creatures. Step over the ant line that is crossing the sidewalk, smell the flowers, sit in the grass field, hike in the streets, hike in the woods, pet the goats and miniature horses. Love the stray animals you come across, feed them, pet them, help them. Relish in the beauty of life itself. Look around in awe. How did all this happen? Trees, animals, insects, parasites, planets, stars, water, and you. Regardless of your beliefs, this realization must occur for you to respect everything that exists. Treat everything like it is part of you. Never forget.

15. Stay organized. Everything has its place, everyplace has its thing. Write notes to yourself, use technology to keep track of events in your life, meetings, dates, and late night rendezvous. Don't be confused, don't misplace your keys, don't be late, don't be too early. Organization is key to happy and healthy living.

16. Make time for family and self. Everyone needs time for themselves. Everyone needs time for their families. Getting sucked into a vacuum that takes your personal life away is no excuse. Long showers and silent walks sometimes fill the area in your life that you need. Don't be afraid to be alone for a while. Many people have zero alone time, except when they drive to and from work. Learn to let go. Sometimes things are so heavy that you have no choice but to let go. In return for the time you make for yourself, you are obligated to make time for your family. Touch the ones you love, read to them, share stories, listen to them, hear what they say, let them touch you. At the end of your life, only you will know if your life was well spent. Don't miss an opportunity to give your loved ones a wet willie, or a pat on the back, or a kiss on the cheek.

17. Rest and relax.

18. Get a good nights sleep. Go to sleep when you are ready. Since you get up early, it makes sense to go to sleep at a reasonable hour. It's fine to stay up late and catch a movie, have a quickie with your significant other, text your friends while they are out drinking. No matter what you do, stay rested. Keep your average amount of sleep constant, your body and mind will thank you for it. Plus you will live longer.

At the end of the day, what matters most is that you pay attention, work hard, rest, and more importantly......have fun.

From Paper To Canvas

So the drawing was completed by the "Killustrator" which subsequently led to three separate sittings for a total of roughly 15 hours. The end result was amazing. First the line work for the Eagle was completed on the first sitting. I really have to share with you that JD compliments me for "sitting like a rock", but truth is, a full chest tattoo will really challenge your ability to manage pain. The line work was rough. Five hours of indescribable yet comfortable pain. I consider my trips to the tattoo shop a form of therapy and enjoy a wonderful nights sleep afterwards. The second visit resulted in close to six hours of much of the same type of pain, except JD went over and over the same spots with a wide variety of colors which resulted in a type of pain unlike the line work. The third visit was a four hour sitting and entailed the addition of the banner, shading, coloring, and some touch up on the Eagle. The banner has a German inscription that translates to "Unity and Justice and Freedom", and is the German National Motto adopted in 1788. Auf Deutsche "Einigkeit und Recht und Frieheit."

As you can see the piece is rather large, has a deep connection with my homeland, and speaks clearly about my feelings and position on unity, justice and freedom. Those are three fundamental qualities that I personally would like to see as universal human traits. The detail in the work is amazing and very telling of the level of skill JD has as an artist. Given that I live by "Go Big or Stay Home", this meets that criteria. Now that this piece is completed, I will have the tattoo on my arm finished up. There will be a German Flag draped behind the coat of arms. My opinion is that it will be strong as goats breath. Thanks a bunch JD Brosius, we certainly had fun.

No Turning Back

So the "Driedorf Coat of Arms" shown in my last post came out really good, so I had the Killustrator draw a nice piece for my chest. After a few weeks, he called me and said he was ready to unveil the art work. I was very delighted to see what he came up with, and made an appointment right away. J.D. was pretty stoked to do a full chest tattoo since a great number of people want hearts, flowers, little cartoon characters, and other small tattoos. You can see from the drawing below that this was the beginning of something beautiful.

For those of you who know me you must be thinking "Doode, what in the hell are you doing?" My answer would simply be "Something I have wanted to do for a long time." The drawing above is by no means the completed drawing, but it is the beginning with more to come.

So I arrived promptly for my appointment and had a really cool adrenaline rush going before we even started. J.D. put the drawing on my chest and began. A full chest tattoo is not something I would recommend for the faint hearted, you must have extreme focus and ability to take a tremendous amount of pain. The breast bone in the middle of my boney chest, my sternum, and the top of my chest where the head of the Eagle is were by far the most painful areas. This visit was only for the line work and I sat like a rock for over five hours. As you can see, J.D. is an amazing artist as is evident by some of his work hanging on the walls of his studio.

The endorphins produced from running the machines on your chest for hours on end deliver a feeling unlike any other and leave you thirsting for more of the same. My Jennifer was completely awe struck that I had decided to get such a large tattoo on my otherwise unblemished body. A feeling of betrayal came over me, but I had already started, and there really was no turning back unless I wanted to have an unfinished tattoo on my chest. I quickly overcame this feeling, and rejoiced in having made the decision to adorn such beautiful art on my body. The secret to having the best tattoos with no regrets is to plan them out, make sure they have meaning, and find the absolute best artist. My tattoos are near and dear to my heart because they represent my home and my people, they represent who I am, and remind me that I can be proud to be German. We definitely had fun.