Aug. 1, 2022 - Austere August Day 1

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith B34
• Razor: MMOC
• Blade: GEM PTFE (1)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Aftershave

Today's shave kicking off AA begins with the first use on (almost) everything for the month. Zenith B34 - new. MMOC - new to me courtesty of u/oswald_heist. HoM Sonder - brand new tub, and I've only used a smush 1 time for Lather Games - never before used the balm - so my tub and splash are brand new and with only 1 trial of a soap, does it really count as not new? So - this month is all about breaking in and using new stuff.

How'd it go, you ask? Well - it went fine. Sonder is fantastic - I'm so glad to be using this great scent all month. When I had my wife smell my face she kind of shrugged and said, "it's fine," but what does she know anyway? My 6 year old daughter, on the other hand, gave a great positive reaction and loved the scent, so there's that. I chose to use Sonder this month for a couple reasons. First, my smush for Lather Games smelled great (at least my notes told me it did), and I figured it'd be good to go for the whole of Mammoth Month. But, perhaps even more than that, I've been off work for the last 8 weeks (good, not bad) and during that time I was really confronted with the concept of sonder. I initially investigated it because of u/mammothben and his description on the HoM website and it intrigued me. Then, because targeted ads, I learned that a guy that graduated with one of my siblings from my hometown is in an up and coming band called "The Wrecks" and they have a song called "Sonder" that I listened to several dozen times and, again, it intrigued me. I think people generally have an awareness of sonder - the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own - but to consciously consider that reality in as many human interactions as you can is really life changing. No longer are people fools who are just making stupid decisions (though they exist), they become something more. They're people, just like you. Every single one of them, they idiot who cut you off, your kids, the store clerk, your spouse. All of them. People, with vivid lives. That's what I'm taking back to work (which started again today) and I think it's going to make a big difference as I interact with people on a regular basis, especially the people who make decisions that I don't like or that offend me in some way. They've got a million factors and experiences that led them to where they are just like I do, and, gasp, they may use their life experiences to conclude differently than I would in any given situation.

The MMOC was wonderful and horrible. Thank goodness for Alum. I really enjoyed the razor and feel on my face, but it sure is different than any of the DE razors I've been using. Aggressive? I don't know. Sharp? Yes. Lots of nicks? Yes. But, I think it's more my fault than it is the fault of the razor, I just don't know how to use it; fortunately I've got 31 more shaves coming to hone it in. I think my problem was I just went into default mode and shaved as I would with either of my DE razors. I paid almost no attention to pressure, and, while I did try to adjust my angle, I have struggled in the past to ride the cap (my Karve CB was sold because I couldn't figure it out), so I think that's going to be a big learning curve. Less pressure, better angle control, and hopefully less blood. We'll see. You can learn along with me, unless, of course, I cut myself too badly and bleed out.

The B34 initial run was also pretty suspect. Loading was not easy and lathering was even worse. I got almost no splay during the face lather and that made building anything of substance pretty tough. I initially loaded as much soap as I normally do and ended up with an extremely thin lather that was not going to cut it, especially with the MMOC. So, I went back, loaded more soap, and tried again. And - well, it still wasn't great but it was better. While building the lather was a challenge, painting was not. The beauty of an unbroken in boar brush is that it paints like a freakin' dream. Due to that, I was able to get sufficient soap on my face that I can't blame bad lather for the nicks and cuts. Just myself. I'm excited to watch this thing open up over the month.

Post shave feel today was excellent - the cooling in the Mammoth Balm really helped calm down the burn of the new razor/blade combo.

Really going to enjoy the software for this month. The hardware - well, the boar will break in and here's hoping the MMOC gets better as I learn how to use it. Thankfully the legendary Osma cleaned up almost all the nicks very quickly and you can't really tell that I had a mediocre at best shave this morning. Anyway - hope y'all are kicking the month off well!

Tags:

mammothmafia

RawHoggin

GEMsOfWisdom

u/EldrormR u/Semaj3000

u/djundjilla - is this all I need to do for your mouthful of a combination side challenge?

Aug. 1, 2022 - AA Day 2 - Better than Day 1

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith B34
• Razor: MMOC (Gen 2)
• Blade: GEM PTFE (2)
• Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Soap
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Aftershave
• Post Shave: Thayer's Witch Hazel - Lavendar, Osma Alum
• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux - Admiral - Eau de Toilette

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

Aug. 3, 2022 - AA Day 3 - MMOC Bloodbath

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith B34
• Razor: MMOC (Gen 2)
• Blade: GEM PTFE (3)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Aftershave

Ok look, this MMOC thing is for the birds. If it weren't some stupid inner voice telling me I can't quit because I committed and I ain't no quitter I would quit, right here, right now. Someone, please understand that reference.

Anyway - shaving with the MMOC is horrible. I think the worst part is I have no idea why it's horrible. I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong because I don't really know how to use the MMOC. I'm not sure if it's because it's more aggressive than I'm used to, if it's the open comb, if it's totally my technique, or any number of other issues. I'm a proficient shaver with both my Blackbird and Henson. I've used a few other razors and have been fine. The Karve CB, while I didn't like it and never really figured it out, was never this bad. Seriously, I can do my WTG pass and be fine, but beyond that, good luck, because there will be blood. Lots of it. After this afternoon shave, I had a minimum of 6 nicks/cuts/blood spots and running the alum across my neck and shin may as well have been filleting my own face off - it hurt so dang bad. So - if anybody has a tutorial out there, hit me up. If not, then, I guess watch me suffer, because suffering I am.

The brush was again better yesterday than today. I can tell there's some opening up going on in the bristles and it's getting better each day. Admittedly, I didn't pick a knot that anyone said would be super challenging or take a long time to break in; I went with the B34 that gets high praise all around. Partly I chose it because of the butterscotch handle - my 4 year old son is obsessed with the color yellow, and butterscotch is basically yellow, plus the Sonder artwork is yellow, so he's thrilled with my shave gear all month. The challenge with breaking in the brush at this point is that, because of tub loading, it's so hard to know how much soap is in and how much water I need and I it's a dance trying to make sure my lather isn't too dry to start and that it isn't too watered down at the end, but I guess that's the beauty of this month is getting to know the soap even better.

Sonder performed beautifully, as expected, and the cooling of the aftershave as I sit and type this is so very soothing after the acid bath that was the alum. Having only used Sonder the one time prior to buying the set for AA I was a little bit nervous that I'd end up not liking it, but that's not the case at all; it's an excellent masculine scent that I'm happy to wear all month. Thick and rich creamy lathers are the norm with tusk and at least my first 2 passes were no exception today - though the 3rd was a bit thinner than the first 2, but still very good.

I took the advice of u/RiverRatAg14 and am taking my blade out to air dry after every shave. I don't know if it'll matter, but, I'm already straight up not having a good time with the MMOC so maybe this will help. Whatever.

Sonder thought of the day - as I sit here typing this I have 3 kids wanting my attention. One wants to sit on me, another play go fish, and the other, well, she's 6 and happy to watch TV for now, but, rotting brains and all that. So - as I consider the vivid lives my kids are living, I would prefer they remember me as a present dad who played with them a lot (I do), rather than a dad who was always buried in his online shaving competition write ups. So with that, I'l wrap it up and challenge you to go spend some quality time with someone you love. Even if it's just a few minutes. Be present at home or at the coffee shop or at work. Put your phone down and enjoy the moment and really pay attention to the people around you. They'll appreciate it and your relationships will be better for it.

#mammothmafia

#RawHoggin

#GEMsOfWisdom

Like u/imblasted, I was told that I posted my SOTD in the wrong thread on this date. Below is the original contents of that post for the bots. u/EldrormR and u/Semaj3000 have been messaged and now pinged. Thanks u/JoboozeRum for the heads up and your diligence in Mammoth challenge tracking. You're a lifesaver.

Edit: tagging for pings.

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Aug. 4, 2022 - AA Day 4 - The best is yet to come?

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith B34
• Razor: MMOC (Gen 2)
• Blade: GEM PTFE (4)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Aftershave

• Post Shave: Witch Hazel, Osma Alum

So tonight I heeded some advice given after my terrible experience the last 3 days and, well, the shave was a bit better. I only had 1 nick (well, 2, but in the same spot) and to be fair, it was a slice on a pimple, so, had that stupid bump not been there it would have been a nick free shave. I had been trying to hold the razor pretty flat to my skin, but after someone else mentioned the importance of holding it really flat, I overexaggerated just how flat it was and it went a lot better. I also took some more advice and didn't go for a BBS and still ended up with a pretty darn good shave - with the grain and across the grain, and then I buffed just a bit on my chin area so I won't get any complaints from my wife. My neck - where I typically have the worst time - is the most rough still, but, it looks clean shaven and nobody is going to feel that part of my neck anyway. So - thanks for all the tips and tricks and advice!

The Zenith continues to open up and again whipped up an excellent lather. I am very excited to see this brush at the end of the month, I have a feeling it's going to end up as one of my favorites. If it's already this good, I can only imagine how great it will be when it's fully opened and splays even better. Very excited. I'm glad I went with this handle, too - it's super comfortable to use. I'm finding more and more that I prefer larger handles to smaller.

Sonder, again, was excellent. I got more green tonight than I have the last few days and, again, as I sit here the cooling of the synthetic cooling agent is doing wonders for post shave feel. While the shave was green, I get a nice touch of sandalwood in the post shave. It's such a simple and elegant scent. Big fan.

And now for the sonder thought of the day. Today at work (church) it was the funeral of a long time member and well known woman in our church family. Our senior pastor shared an encouraging message and some family members shared stories and then I was privileged to conclude the service with a prayer and benediction. But - her widower caught wind during planning that I had a really funny story of how I met her (Barb) and I got to share that, too, which was really fun. I know funerals aren't typically "fun," and this one had moments of grieving, too, but by and large it was a beautiful celebration of the life she lived and the faith she clung to so tightly. I left encouraged and grateful for such a solid service. And then, as I went about the rest of my day, I thought a bit about her husband, who is still alive. That service was every bit as beautiful for him - I watched him laugh and cry throughout. But tonight, he's home. His wife of 30-40 years has been gone for a week and her funeral has been held. And while I come home to my family, he's adjusting to a new normal, without her. In spite of all the "preparation" time he had due to her battle with cancer, she's still gone. Death of those close to you is always sobering and puts life into such perspective. My wife, or myself, or my kids, could get some terrible disease diagnosed in the next few weeks and everything could change. It happened to this family. And yet, I too often hold onto petty arguments rather than overlooking mistakes and celebrating the wife and life I've been blessed with. So, as I consider Barb's widower, tonight I will choose to drop any irritation I have with my wife over silly things and choose closeness and unity rather than division and separation. Life is too short. And then, tomorrow, on my day off, I'll do everything I can to enjoy it with my family. I'll put my phone down - leave it in the other room, even - and be present. Soaking in the little mundane moments that we've got together and trying to better count even the difficulties of having a family as the privilege that they are. I know that if something happened to any of my family I would be devastated and would do anything to have them vying for my attention again. So, instead of pushing it off, I'll work on enjoying it for the limited time I know I'll have it. Barb and her husband had a long, fulfilling marriage full of ups and downs and I'm willing to bet that as her husband lies alone in that bed tonight, he'd give just about anything to have a few more minutes with her. So - ladies and gents - love the people close to you well. Let the small stuff go and love deeply. I've yet to hear from a spouse who was left behind that they regret loving and not getting enough back, but I have heard about regrets around "the stupid fights and arguments."

Anyway. Heavier sonder post, today. But, it's what's been on my mind and what I thought about while I shaved tonight. Maybe tomorrow will be lighter - who knows.

Have a good night.

#mammothmafia

#RawHoggin

#GEMsOfWisdom

Aug. 5, 2022 - AA Day 5 - This is going better

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith B34
• Razor: MMOC
• Blade: GEM PTFE (5)
• Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Soap
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Aftershave
• Post Shave: Witch Hazel, Osma Alum

The girls in my house are taking over the bathroom counter so this SOTD pic is in honor of them. It's cool, though, they're cute and I'll keep 'em around.

Today's shave again went very well. First few days were awful and I was ready to quit, but since correcting the angle of the razor and really working to make my skin as flat of a surface as possible, the shaves have gone quite well. Nicked myself on my 3rd pass tonight on my neck a bit, but overall an excellent shave.

Of course I'm still learning the MMOC, and it's too early to say whether I'm going to end up loving it or hating it, but doing this is definitely forcing me back to basics and that's got to be good for my shaving technique overall. I can't just go on autopilot - I really have to pay attention to pressure and angle and speed and stretching skin and growth pattern and all that. So - I'll call it a win.

Tonight with Sonder I got a bit more aquatic, especially in the aftershave. It smelled a whole lot like Admiral to me, and I really don't know why - they have no notes in common in their scent profiles. But - it's a high compliment, Admiral is up there as possibly my favorite scent. The first pass lather was a bit too thick, but I added water to subsequent passes and they were slick and smooth. No real hiccups to speak of.

I feel like at this point we're just talking about incremental improvements on the Zenith, and even then it's not super noticeable to me, but I did take a comparison shot of a decently broken in Semogue Owners Club for reference. That knot is much smaller at only 24mm (vs the 28 of the Zenith), but it's obviously much more filled out due to being so broken in. I suspect this Zenith will replace the Semogue as my go to boar for a while - I really like the added size of it.

Sonder thought of the day today comes courtesy of my second born - my only son. He's a challenge at times. Ok, he's a challenge daily. He feels emotions, both good and bad, to their fullest. When he's happy, he's all in. When he's mad, watch out. He's a lot like his dad in that way and when I see the bad parts of me in him, it's a tough pill to swallow. But - he turned 4 in May and he's no longer in the toddler/little kid stage, but he's not quite in the "I'm a big kid" stage either. He's kind of stuck in between, and he's often overshadowed by his older sister. But - he's not a toddler anymore and he wants to be bigger, and in so many ways he is. I think this summer at home with him made me realize how much of a little person he'd really become. My kids, and yours, are people, too. Sometimes that thought hits me right in the face, especially with my boy. He might be difficult, he might be more mad than he should or more silly or whatever, but he's a person, just like me. His world, while smaller, is every bit as vivid and unique as my own. He's not some robot to be programmed, he's a human to be raised and cared for and loved and on and on. It's hard as your kids get older (and I'm sure those with kids beyond 6 can speak more to this than me), but it's hard because you watch them experience the world as people - with all it's joy and sadness and disappointment and excitement - and when you're the one who brings the happiness, it's awesome. But when you're the one who blew it and caused the disappointment, oof. That one sucks.

Anyway - my kids are people, too. My son feels emotions to the fullest and that's often very difficult for me as a parent to help him navigate, but as I consider from him perspective, it's probably hard for him, too. And he needs my help. And his brain is so undeveloped that he doesn't have skills or even ability to manage those emotions. So. I'm going to work on doing better, trying to be more patient, and encouraging him toward better expression of those emotions but also recognize the wonder in the differences and similarities that we have.

Have a good night, all.

Edit: forgot my tags

#mammothmafia

#RawHoggin

#GEMsOfWisdom

Edit 2: goodness, accidentally said I used not Sonder. Definitely used Sonder.

Aug. 6, 2022 - AA Day 6

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith B34
• Razor: MMOC (Gen 2)
• Blade: GEM PTFE (6)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Aftershave

• Post Shave: Thayer's Witch Hazel - Lavendar, Osma Alum

Quick shower and shave tonight. A thunderstorm is rolling in with lightning strikes that seem pretty bright and close - I never used to worry about them but lately I have a rough time getting in the shower while there's lightning. I know the chances of dying from it are almost 0, but, you know. There is a chance.

The hair products from yesterday continue to take over the bathroom counter. It's getting scary in there.

So, my brush didn't soak as long as it probably should have, but it still whipped up an easy and creamy and smooth lather that performed beautifully. While it's still not opened up just sitting there, the performance is about as good as any of the brushes I own. It's excellent. Maybe boar is best after all.

Sonder, as I said, was great. Typing these up as my face cools down every day just sublime, especially after a day in the high 80s with humidity so thick that just sitting outside had sweat running down my whole body. Feels so good to wash that off and then rest in the cool of Mammoth Splash. I might need to grab me some of that Permafrost that just dropped, well, after AA anyway. Plus I've got a killer green sub exclusive brush to save my dollas for. It pains me every time I tub load, but it is what it is. I so much prefer the cleanliness of scooping to this mess every time I open it up, but it is what it is. I certainly get enough soap on the bristles for a solid lather this way.

The MMOC performed well tonight. Just a 2 pass shave with a bit of buffing on my chin - I can't stand finishing a shave and having my chin still be prickly. My neck below my jawline, fine. My sideburns, sure. Stache, whatever. But chin - nope. BBS or bust.

Sonder thought of the day: While I understand that everyone is living these vivid lives, it makes certain types of people more challenging to understand. I know that I'm selfish - getting married showed me that, and then having kids showed it even more. But, people like the car salesman that called me yesterday. Just, scummy. Starting the call by pseudo-offering me a vehicle that's not available, only to later tell me that I can't buy it because it's a customer order that's sitting and waiting to be picked up. Then offering to let me test drive one of their vendor's vehicles since they don't have any stock before I place the order. Then, when I mentioned I may end up going used if the used market bubble bursts, he offers me a vehicle that will cost within 5k of the price of the new vehicle I'm looking at, but with 95k miles on it. People, just don't be sleezy. In the age of the internet and transparent prices, I can't understand why salesmen still behave like this. It's not my first interaction with this dealer and after the first time I said I'd never buy from them again (and I won't), so it's not altogether surprising, but I just wonder how people get there. Is it selfishness? I'll do literally anything I can to make a few dollars? Is it high pressure from management? If so, why do people work for scummy dealerships/managers? I recognized that I'm extremely fortunate to do a job I love with people I love, and that it's probably not the norm, so perhaps I'm showing my ingnorance here - but just have an ounce of human decency, don't scam people, and it feels like you're going to be a lot more successful in the long term. This dealership sold me one (terrible) truck 5 years ago. That's the only sale they'll ever have from me. Not only that, but I've told anyone in the market about my experience. So they've lost other potential buyers. For what? So - how do people end up like this? And what do I do with it? How do I show kindness and empathy while recognizing that too many people are still out to take advantage of whoever they can to make a buck. It's not an excuse to say that I should treat them poorly, certainly not. But - complicated, anyway. As we all are.

Anyway - that's a random rant, I guess, but I'm trying to look at life from the other side in all this and it's not always easy.

Have a good night, all.

#sidetracked u/Teufelskraft

For my first sidetracked song I choose the Theme song from "Lost". Every time I play this, I feel deep nostalgia. Sad that it's over, happy that I experienced, and a deep longing to re-watch Lost for the first time. It was the first TV series that my wife and I really got into, and we were both young (20) and in college and had the foolishness and the free time to dive in, staying up until 2 or 3 am to watch "just one more!" and experiencing so many twists and turns and so much character development together. I know I'll get hate for this, but Lost is by far my favorite TV series of all time and the score is seriously amazing. So many riffs on the same little tune (I don't know music terms), and certain songs/chord groups (?) played at specific types of moments. Just so powerful for communicating the significance of a scene or something that's happening in a relationship. I'd like to be able to have this stuff on as background music to study while preparing for this or reading, but it just makes me feel to much that I can't focus on what I'm trying to accomplish, but that's what makes it so significant. Any music that has the ability to take me completely out of the present and back to an experience, especially a shared experience, is just a powerful and unique thing. This song from Lost (along with many others from the score) accomplish that for me.

Other tags: #mammothmafia #RawHoggin #GEMsOfWisdom

Aug. 7, 2022 - AA Day 7

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith B34
• Razor: MMOC (Gen 2)
• Blade: GEM PTFE (7)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Aftershave

Tonight's shave was downright pleasant. What a different a week and a few helpful friends/internet strangers can make. Maybe it's because I stacked my SOTD pic.

MMOC was great. Just a 2 pass again tonight with some chin buffing and I only had one bleeding spot, but that's because I accidentally shaved off a stupid neck pimple that should already be gone anyway. Maybe it'll disappear quicker now, but I have my doubts. Otherwise - smooth sailing with the MMOC and the GEM blade is really gliding well - I've noticed that most of the tugginess of the first few shaves has totally disappeared; this could be because my technique has improved dramatically or, as others have suggested, I could be in the goldilocks zone of the GEM blade. I've now literally shaved with and MMOC and GEM 7 times ever, so I really don't know what to chalk it up to. I can say that I plan to keep the MMOC even after this is done and make it part of my rotation, and I'm intrigued at the idea of adding an open comb DE to the mix as well - the MMOC is my first experience with an open comb.

Zenith continues to perform beautifully. Loving this brush, it's amazing. Shed a few hairs tonight for the first time that I've noticed in the last few days, but no big deal. My Semogue Owner's Club has a hair in it that I think is set upside down and even after 30 or so shaves with it it is still very stratchy and pokey on my face - thankfully no such issues with the B34. I would highly recommend this boar to newbies and veterans alike.

Sonder - what is there left to say? It's excellent. I'm continuing to learn to dial in the soap to water ratio and each shave seems to be a little more perfect, although none of them have been bad (save for the first, which I underloaded while using a brand new brush).

Sonder thought for today: Even famous people are just like you and me, living vivid and complex lives. They're not all good people (like anyone), but many of them feel very fortunate for where they are, they deal with imposter syndrome, they feel inadequate and undeserving, they enjoy the money but are sad about the relationships it ruins, and, most of all, so many of them still feel totally empty inside. There's a notion that goes around that if we somehow make it big we'll feel fulfilled and financial freedom means feeling free and like we know what we're doing. Unforutately, that is almost universally not true. Rich and famous people just have bigger and more extravagant ways of trying to fill the hole inside and can spend more money chasing meaning. This came to light most recently for me in a podcast with one of my favorite comedians. My wife and I really enjoy John Crist and his brand of comedy, and he went on Bert Kreischer's podcast (he's also a hilarious human, btw). The whole thing is worth a listen, in my opinion, but it's particularly insightful when these two start talking about how empty they often feel and the addictions they've turned to to handle it. Here is the whole episode if you're interested. Even if you don't know either of these guys, I think you'll find it interesting. If you're concerned with language, it's quite NSFW in that regard, so - wear headphones or something. It's also long. Anyway. Sonder - everyone's life is vivid and complex and even our idols and entertainers and favorite public figures are just regular old humans like you and me. They've had disappointment and joy and failure and success and on and on. People. And so, when they behave like people, we should probably expect that.

I don't care if I win anything from this - doing these Sonder reflections every day/evening is so good for my soul. Helping me think through people and real world stuff, kind of like journaling and maybe a few others read it. Thanks to those who do - maybe you'll be encouraged or challenged by something along the way. Only 24 to go.

Have a good evening, y'all.

#mammothmafia

#RawHoggin

#GEMsOfWisdom

Aug. 8, 2022 - AA Day 8 - A visitor has arrived

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith B34
• Razor: MMOC (Gen 2)
• Blade: GEM PTFE (8)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Aftershave

Did the ol' night shave morning shave 1-2 punch last night into this morning. Brush was still a little damp yet from last night but performed beautifully. Here's the side profile. Overall I'd call it an excellent shave once again. A 2.5 or so passer: with the grain, across/against the grain, and then buffing the rest; probably about 80% BBS and the rest is darn fine. I'll take that to start the day.

Not much to say about the brush today that hasn't already been said - she's a beaut. MMOC, too, enjoying it. Blade performed well, no tugging again, and, maybe for the first time all month - no blood! I'll take it.

Sonder is a great way to start or finish the day - the cooling post shower while making my morning cup of coffee helped wake me up this morning, although I'm still dragging a bit. We were up too late last night, I was woken in the night to help my son pee, and then up early this morning. Such is parenting, I guess. I'll sleep when I'm dead, or something like that. More likely I die from lack of sleep, but, potato potahto.

I did have a cool visitor this morning in the bathroom. At first I thought it was a crushed spider, but when I got closer it moved a little and it turns out it's a Reduvius personatus or "masked hunter" that belongs to the assassin bug family - it camouflages itself with dust and kills a bunch of other bugs. Joke was on him, this morning, because he got assassinated. I'm just hard like that I guess.

Sonder thought of the day: Everyone wants to be liked and investing just a little bit into a conversation, putting your phone in your pocket, and paying attention to your coworker or friend or neighbor or whoever can make a huge difference. People know when we're distracted and not paying attention. There's the whole movement to see yourself as the main character in your story, and, I get that. But - what if we're not the main character? What if our lives are meant to be spent serving and loving other people and making them feel valued? Looking outward instead of inward is hard. It's easy to only be interested in how every conversation ties back to myself instead of asking questions about how the other person is doing and sincerely showing interest in their life; but if I do it, it's better. I've had to practice and learn and practice and remind and practice some more and I still stink at it, but contemplating Sonder helps. People have so much to offer in their stories, and if we take time to really listen to them, we end up in way better situations with way better relationships. So - that's what I'm working on today.

Have a great day, all!

#mammothmafia

#RawHoggin

#GEMsOfWisdom

#sidetracked u/Teufelskraft

Today's side track track is the reprise to The Greatest Showman theme song. I so wish I had seen this in theaters, but it didn't happen. We were a bit late to the game watching it, but it's a movie that my wife and I both really enjoy and, even more importantly, all of my kids love it. The music throughout, as you know, is so well done: high energy, great beats, entertaining, and fun! Is it the greatest plot ever? Probably not. Is the music really as good as I think? Probably not. But do I love it anyway? Heck yes. All I have to do is play music from the Greatest Showman on our smart speaker and the kids are dancing and stomping and squealing around the living room. It's a blast. There are other songs throughout the movie that I like more, but this one is the most high energy and it's great. The opening is cool, too, but, hate me for this if you want; Zac Efron is so dang talented it's ridiculous. I have never seen a High School Musical movie, so that doesn't ruin him for me. Anyway - there you have it. As a bonus, The Other Side is also amazing on this soundtrack. Enjoy!

Aug. 9, 2022 - AA Day Niner

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith B34
• Razor: MMOC (Gen 2)
• Blade: GEM PTFE (9)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Aftershave

• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux - Admiral - Eau de Toilette

AA Day Niner a solid start to the day.

Last night our local baseball team won their 53rd game of the season and set the record for most wins ever in the Northwoods League. That may not sound like a big deal, but some notable players have come through this league, guys like Ben Zobrist, Chris Sale, Brandon Crawford, Max Scherzer, Jordan Zimmerman, Mark Malancon, and Pete Alonso, to name a few. Pretty cool stuff.

Anyway, my daugher got free tickets to go to a game at the end of May for reading some books and it happened to be towel night so my SOTD Pic is brought to you courtesy of that. Rosco P. Rafter is the mascot of the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters and to be honest I have no idea the connection between Rafters and River Rats - but they're basically interchangeable around here - we say "Roll Rats" and " Go Rafters" so - whatever. They've got a stellar team this year and nobody is else really even close, but in the playoffs anything can happen.

Anyway - shave was an excellent start to an early day. The Zenith seems to be breaking in very nicely now and the hairs are splitting more by the day.

The MMOC performed beautifully this morning - I was able to do a full 3 pass shave with just one little cut on my jawline but that was cleared up quickly after some Osma. Nothing to see over here.

What is there to say that hasn't already been said about Sonder? It's great. Pairs perfectly with Admiral.

Sonder thought of the day: Even annoying people are living vivid and complex lives. This week is VBS at my church and there's a woman who is helping in a classroom (and who serves with preschool kids during the year) and if I've interacted with her 100 times, she's mentioned that she has "over 30 years teaching experience" a full 80 of those times. She's just one of those people who drives me nuts. And, because it's Sonder month, I'm trying to remind myself that even people that annoy me are valuable and worth knowing. We don't have to be best friends, but, she's got a whole life. She's raised kids, she's a grandma, she's worked (for over 30 years!) as a teacher, she has what seems to be a healthy marriage, she's someone's daughter. Her life is as full, or maybe even more full, than my own. Anyway. Annoying people are people, too. Doesn't mean she won't always get under my skin, but, does mean she's got dignity and deserves kindness.

Have a good one, y'all.

#mammothmafia

#RawHoggin

#GEMsOfWisdom

Aug. 10, 2022 - AA Day 10

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith B34
• Razor: MMOC (Gen 2)
• Blade: GEM PTFE (10)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Aftershave

• Fragrance: Chiseled Face - Ghost Town Barber - Eau de Parfum

As you can see from my SOTD pic, the living with these little girls is getting out of hand. But, you know, they're cute so I'll take it.

We'll start with the Sonder thought of the day, today: My attitude affects my family in huge ways. And, so does yours. As a husband and dad, I've noticed that waaaay too often if I have a bad attitude it poisons my home. This morning was an opportunity for me to fix that. Last night did not go well, at all. My youngest (who turns 3 on Monday) told us before she went to bed that "tonight I'm going to cry for you" and sure enough she did, starting at 5:30am. She has an OK to wake clock that turns green at 7am when she's allowed to get up. Well, this morning she decided 5:30 was enough and absolutely would not go back to sleep or stop whining, no matter what we tried. Also, my 4 year old son woke at about 2:30am because he had to pee, and, of course he needed help. Dad to the rescue. I've also been dealing with a stupid head cold since last Friday and had every reason to have a bad attitude this morning, but as I sipped my coffee and took pics of my gear and pondered Sonder for a bit, I thought - I'm going to choose to not be in a bad mood this morning, not succumb to the irritability that I feel, and fight to have a positive attitude. Just like a poor attitude can be toxic to my family, a good attitude can be so uplifting. And, sure enough, it was. My wife and I got along this morning, my kids were happier (although still sleep deprived and at times a roller coaster of emotions), and the morning has gone pretty darn well. So - for you - consider how your attitude affects those around you. We're all selfish and we all think of ourselves more than anyone else, but, just like someone else's negative attitude can trip up your whole day, yours can for others, too. So - choose to reject that irritability and be happy. Uplift those you love instead of being nitpicky and bickering about stupid stuff. I was tempted to do it this morning (and I'm sure I'll fail again), but I didn't succumb, and the trajectory of this day is infinitely better for it.

Today's shave was a solid start to the day, if for no other reason than I was able to reorient my day as touched on above.

The Zenith was still a bit damp from yesterday (darn humidity) but I've found that doesn't matter too much. It might help, even, in lathering up as I try and get a bunch of water into the brush prior to loading. The bristles seem to be splitting more and more each day, which is nice. Probably not trying out slows that down a little and letting it dry for 2 days would help, but this is the month to Raw Hog every day so I won't find out. Maybe when that killer green sub exclusive arrives I'll do it a better way and I'll get to enjoy GUTL again. Speaking of that brush, u/J33pGuy13 promised official purchase information "within a week" and he only has one day left. Given his incessant asking for Lather Games results, it only seems reasonable to start dogging him for information here. You're welcome.

MMOC was fine. I think getting up so early made me sloppy and I had several small nicks and some razor burn to deal with afterwards, but nothing terrible. I pulled the blade out to give it a look and it seems fine in there still, no rusting or anything even though I haven't been taking it out to dry daily or anything like that. Seemed a little tuggier today than it has been, but, again - who knows. That could be just a perception and not reality. Hopefully it's not on the decline just 10 days in, that would suck. With almost 2/3 of the way to go, if the blade starts to crap out now, aye.

Sonder was, as usual, lovely and inspirational. Paired it with some Ghost Town Barber EDP today and honestly it's not the best pair, but it's not the worst either. The woody note from Sonder works with GTB and all its glory, but, Admiral is better.

Welp, back to work for me. Enjoy the afternoon/evening/morning, all!

#mammothmafia

#RawHoggin

#GEMsOfWisdom

Aug. 11, 2022 - AA Day 11

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith B34
• Razor: MMOC (Gen 2)
• Blade: GEM PTFE (11)
• Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Soap
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Aftershave

Shave today was as solid as could be. I was up early again because my daughter has just decided that sleep is for the birds and she wants to be awake. All the freaking time. Sometimes I see these memes and videos about "just a reminder that you're living the life younger you dreamed of, so make it count" and I get that, I really do like my life and I'm grateful for it, but, parents, let's be honest - we could do without the sleeplessness and just enjoy the rest. But I digress.

The Zenith continues to work beautifully and it seems like it's splitting more day by day. Soft lather, whipped up real well today. One big think I've learned in using this brush is that adding water to the soap isn't as finicky as I'd thought. Since I'm tub loading, I tend to have too much soap in it and the first bit is almost always too thick. Early in the month I was trying to gently add a few drops of water but no more - now I just dunk the first 1/2 inch of the tips or so in the sink and work it right in - works like a dream. If I need more, I might paint it on or just dunk 'em again and keep going. That's how we ended up with a great lather today, anyway.

MMOC was smooth and efficient for today's 2 pass (With and Against). I was a bit short on time so I didn't get to do the full 3, but it was still a darn fine shave. I realized this morning that I've really come to like this razor and I'm going to need to grab some more blades for it to work it into my regular rotation. This is the beauty of AA - equipment that you thought might suck becomes stuff you learn how to use and enjoy.

Sonder was, as always, excellent. As I got out of the shower today my shelf did catch my eye and there's some gear on there I'm looking forward to using in September. I'm loving Sonder and the cooling effect, but on these hot humid days I just want to bust out some SBS Cannonball! for a full cool down. In due time.

Sonder thought of the day: Even though you can recognize the reality of Sonder - that everyone you interact with is living a life that's as vivid and complex as your own - there are still going to be people and situations that catch you totally off guard. I'm dealing with a real complex situation at work that affects so many people and is just, really not great. My boss' former best friend turned out to be someone that nobody thought he was. Knowing people is such a hard thing to really do. I'm sure there are parts of each of our lives that nobody knows about. Hopefully they're not like that (and if they are, well, stop and turn yourself in), but situations like this make you wonder how deeply you can really know people. It's startling when you realize that a person you thought you knew and thought you wanted to be like was living a total double life and may actually be some sort of socio- or psycho-path - devoid of any kind of social or mental regulations, mimicking what it's like to feel emotion while using his position of power to prey on others.

Anyway - What's my takeaway here - I guess it's just be careful. As we have worked with a training organization to make sure we do everything we can to prevent something like this from happening where I work the main trainer has said that we have to be "appropriately vigilant" to prevent keep kids safe. So - do what you can to keep your kids and others' kids safe. Be vigilant. And when or if you see something that's alarming - say something. There's not always an opportunity to see something, but sometimes there is. And when you do, do something about it. It takes a community to keep a community safe.

Hope you have a good one.

#mammothmafia

#RawHoggin

#GEMsOfWisdom

Edit: removed the sensitive parts of the post and replaced it with "dealing with a complex situation." I feel better about that.

Aug. 12, 2022 - AA Day 12

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith B34
• Razor: MMOC (Gen 2)
• Blade: GEM PTFE (12)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Aftershave

Friday is my day off from work and after the last 4 days it was welcome timing. Spent some of the morning outside, first mowing the lawn, then with the kids - they biked and I cleaned the garage. Then bought a new water heater (RIP - install tomorrow), then fell asleep on the couch while the kids napped, ran a few miles, had a family movie night, and now the kids are in bed. Overall it was a really good day.

My shave - post run and shower - was outstanding. Might have been my best one yet, and it was certainly one of the most fun - more on that in my Sonder thought for the day later.

The MMOC performed beautifully, no tugs or nicks or anything like that, just a really excellent smooth shave. With the grain, against the grain, and some buffing did the trick.

Sonder - beautiful. Soft. Luxurious. It's just a great scent, especially for this time of year. I've said it several times over, but, the cooling is just so nice.

Zenith is really progressing now. Was soft and almost floppy and a little scrubby and produced a great lather and feels delightful. It's not a badger or a G5C, but, I think by the end of this I'm going to be just as happy to use this as either of those. My SOC Boar, with more uses, isn't this nice. Will this eventually be dethroned by a 31mm sub exclusive? I guess we'll find out.

For the SOTD pic today I lowered my angle and used the wall as a backdrop. That little door you see pictured is the hidden gem of this 1940s house - a laundry shoot. When we first bought the house we weren't sure how much we'd use it, but with laundry in the basement - man, I don't know if I ever want to move to a house without one. It is a game changer - no hauling laundry down the stairs, no need for hampers all over the main floor to hold laundry - just throw it down the chute! 10/10 feature for a house.

OK - fun part - Sonder thought of the day: Sometimes actions on your part that are super minimal can make a huge difference in the lives of other people, especially kids. In this case, it was my kids. I went for a run, came back, and my kids seemed mostly fine and not bickering. Then I took a shower and somehow everything fell apart, I don't know how, but it happened. So, after my shower I had my 4 year old son come in and hang out while I shaved. So then, my almost 3 year old daughter is standing outside the door crying and screaming and my wife tells me to lock the door. I assume they'd gone from best friends to mortal enemies, so whatever. But, 30 seconds passes and I think "what the heck" and let her in so she can watch, too. Then, obviously, my 6 year old wants to come hang out, too. So - now we've got dad and the 3 kids chilling in the bathroom over a shave. And do you know what happened? Everything was better. The kids' issues with each other evaporated for the rest of the night - an unheard of experience. After they watched me finish my 2nd pass and buff, with some added commentary like "dad you have to shave your nose, there's soap on it!", I cleaned up the mess and applied splash. And then the 3 year old wanted some. So, she got sonder. Then my son wanted some, so he got Behold the Whatsis! and my daughter wanted that, too, so she had a mix of whatsis and sonder. Then my 6 year old girl wanted some, too, and she settled on Sea Spiced Lime - so, my bathroom smelled amazing by the end. After they put on their splashes, I told them to go tell mom to smell their cheeks (something they get to do daily with Dad) and they were the best of friends, savoring their smelly cheeks together - happily dancing around the living room again. Their worlds were crumbling for goodness knows what reason; I didn't have to let them in, I could have just had some time to myself before re-entering the storm. But instead, I invited them in and we all had a better time for it. Sharing shaving with my kids always brings me more joy than them, even though they love it. Obviously there are a million different scenarios where inviting someone in to some simple part of your life or sharing something with others that costs you almost nothing can enhance their day in unimaginable ways. Watch for those opportunities - never know where they'll be!

Have a great evening, y'all.

#mammothmafia

#RawHoggin

#GEMsOfWisdom

Aug. 13, 2022 - AA Day 13

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith B34
• Razor: MMOC (Gen 2)
• Blade: GEM PTFE (13)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Aftershave

Shave was beautiful today. I used a Rockwell 6s as my only daily driver for over a year and, honest to goodness, I don't think I ever had as smooth and irritation free of a shave as I did today, with a razor that just 10 days ago brought me to my [metaphorical] knees.

Decided to open the door to one of the best features of the house today the laundry chute for the SOTD pic. You're welcome. I know y'all droolin' over my 80 year old house. Speaking of - replaced my water heater today - and in the words of my dad, the best part about water heaters dying is you spend $600 and you have nothing more to show for it. You had hot water yesterday, and now you have it again today. Good times.

Anyway - The Zenith continues to impress, although I do wonder if it's going to end up being too floppy for my preference - I like my boars to be a little bit more on the scrubby side, but this one just keeps breaking in. Hopefully it slows down, or, I don't know, maybe it doesn't and it's still amazing.

While the MMOC performed effortlessly today and I have for sure reached autopilot mode with it, I did accidentally grab my blackbird as I prepared for the SOTD pic. Thankfully I caught the error and fixed it before shaving - but dang that stainless felt good in hand compared to the lightweight nature of the MMOC. My daughter, too, seems to be pulling me back towards the rest of my collection, haha. She dropped in while I was taking my prep pictures and getting the shave ready pre-shower and climbed up to check out the brushes I wasn't using. The curiosity of kids is the best. 13 shaves in and the blade is still excellent. I've settled into a great 2.5 pass routine where I go with the grain and then mostly against the grain (though some spots just across) with a bit of buffing and it's a very excellent shave. Probably not quite BBS all over the place, but, pretty dang close.

Sonder again felt very aquatic today, probably the grass in it. I'm so glad I chose this one for the month - I'm not remotely sick of it. In all honesty, while I do have some other great scents that I'm looking forward to and some other razors and brushes that I'm excited to use again - I'm really not feeling the pull like some have expressed. This setup is excellent and I'm very happy with it.

Sonder thought of the day: Showing up is so important. I mentioned earlier that I changed my water heater today, but in reality, my dad changed my water heater. I'm 34 and probably could have figured it out solo - but my parents were coming in town for my daughters birthday party today (turns 3 monday) and he offered to help so I took him up on it. It wasn't a super fun job by any means, but learning from my dad is great bonding time, and now that my kids get to be involved and continue to get to know their grandparents, I appreciate so much about the time and energy they put into being present in their lives. They live about 2.5 hours away, but they don't miss anything that they're invited to - no birthdays or major life events. If it's happening, they show up. Doesn't matter if my dad had worked 70 or 80 hours in road construction the week before, they show up. And it means a lot. As I think about their lives, they're people, too. Parents are people, we know this, but there are moments where it hits and as I was thinking about the Sonder moment of the day for me, today was one of those moments. My son absolutely adores his "brampa" and my dad takes that responsibility really seriously - he loves the boy so well and he has fun with him and he just, he shows up. My daughters love their grandparents, too - particularly "gramma." Early on when we had kids it was a struggle for my wife and I to adjust and my parents to adjust to how we'd navigate our relationship - them wanting to be around all the time with grandkids and us wanting to maintain a healthy family of our own and we had some hard boundaries conversations, but I appreciate how we've come through it. As I look back now I see that they were just trying to figure out how to be grandparents at the same time we were thrust into the parents role and it was the first time for all of us. My dad turns 60 this year and I'm too aware of the limited time we have left with him while he should still be vibrant and active and able to do things. He worked hard manual labor for many years and I'm sure that took it's toll on his body, but I'm hopeful for another solid 6-8 years of hunting and fishing and working on things together. Gosh, that's rough to type. Anyway - my kids love him (and them) and knowing what his life looks like, knowing the rough things he had happen to him as a kid and the bad crowd he fell into as a young adult, I'm just really grateful for the ways my dad raised me and how he keeps showing up for me and for my kids, even now.

Have a great night, all.

#mammothmafia

#RawHoggin

#GEMsOfWisdom

Aug. 14, 2022 - AA Day 14

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith B34
• Razor: MMOC (Gen 2)
• Blade: GEM PTFE (14)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Aftershave

• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux - Admiral - Eau de Toilette

Late night and early morning here so it's a good thing the shave was pretty solid this morning. I preached this morning, and due to a variety of circumstances, I was working on the message until about 10:15pm and then was up around 6am to do some finishing touches. Pair that with my wife who coughed much of the night and my daughter who woke up at 4:30 because she was disoriented and it's been a long day already. But - the shave to kick it off started the day well!

Sonder smelled sweeter to me this morning than usual - not gourmand, but it had a nice sweetness. I'm guessing it was the florals coming through with some citrus - but it's the first time I've really picked out those notes this month. Noses are super cool.

MMOC was a beaut again - I did have a couple of nicks but given my lack of sleep, it's no surprise that I was a little less than focused. The blade felt smooth and gentle, though - even if it did bite me once. Another 2.5 passes - with, across/against hybrid, and some buffing to get close to BBS.

The Zenith splayed beautifully while loading and lathering and continues to devleop and split ends nicely. Here's a pic from day 1 and day 7 to see how the weeks have gone. It's definitely opening up a ton, especially in the last week or so. You're welcome for the blurred out bonus feet in the background of those pics. I should probably sell pics of my nasty man feet for cash, but, as far as I know there's not much of a market for that, RIP me.

Sonder thought of the day: Gosh, people want to be listened to and heard. There are always people who want to chat at church and I'm more than happy to do that, but this morning a guy, we'll call him Roy, came up to welcome me back after my time off and share a quick story about his friend who had passed away fairly recently. As he remembered his sense of humor and shared a funny picture of him from the back of his funeral service bulletin (or whatever it's called) he was overwhelmed with emotion and had to swallow down some tears. To be able to share those moments with people is such a privilege. It was a busy morning for me, I had a lot of responsibilities and I really wanted to get back to my office to compose myself for a couple minutes before the service started, but then I thought to myself, "Sonder. This guy is more important than my small break." So I listened to him share his story that didn't mean much to me, I never knew his friend, but was so significant to him. As I think about it now, what a gift he shared with me - to be vulnerable and emotional and just miss his friend while I got to be there. I'm sure I've said it before in these sonder thoughts, but man, people really want to be heard - and more often than not, it is so worth it to just listen to people as they share their lives with you - the beauty and the pain and the joy and the sorrow. It's a privilege to be counted as important enough in someone's life for them to share with you. So, you know, next time you get a chance and someone is sharing themselves with you - try and be in the moment, be present, and pay attention - just like you'd want someone to do for you.

Happy Sunday, all. Hope it's a great one!

#mammothmafia

#RawHoggin

#GEMsOfWisdom

Aug. 15, 2022 - AA Day 15

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith B34
• Razor: MMOC (Gen 2)
• Blade: GEM PTFE (15)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Aftershave

Today's shave was almost a disaster. I did an arms workout immediately prior to shaving - it was heavy on the biceps and shoulders - and when those muscles are worked and then you try to use them for fine motor things (like shaving) it's not easy. Fortunately two and half passes later my face was smooth as can be and no bleeding. The MMOC gets better by the day and I'm a big fan at this point, though I am a bit nervous about what's going to happen now that I've gotten sloppy and then throw in a new blade.

The Zenith here and here is great. Again, big fan. I did feel my Trotter Gelousy yesterday (just in my hand) and I am very excited to use that thing come September, but otherwise I'm still feeling great with the gear I'm using. I can't decide right now if I'm going to order HoM Voices on my next budget or if I'm going to get a Georgetown Pottery Scuttle to start using. While tub loading and face lathering is going just fine, I sure miss GUTL. And, allegedly GUTL was birthed using a Georgetown Scuttle, so, yeah. Good thing (?) is we're only just not even half way through the month so I've got some time to figure out what the next purchase is.

Sonder continues to impress. Some days I prefer the soap over the splash, but today was a splash day - the cooling after effect was glorious. Maybe if I order voices I'll have to grab some Permafrost.

Sonder thought of the day: Welp, today was my daughters 3rd birthday and she wanted a "farm animal party" and loves cows, hence the SOTD pic. But, my Sonder thought isn't about her or the amazing little girl she is or any of that. My sonder thought is about my opportunity to understand sonder and blowing it anyway. I had a head cold all last week and am feeling fine. My wife and kids, however, have a worse version - they've all got wet coughs and are pretty much getting their butts kicked by it. So last night, after a long day I came downstairs from putting my two older kids to bed and started to clean up after dinner. My wife happened to be on the couch taking a break and I got frustrated and the rest of the night didn't go well. I thin k the worst part was I knew I'd made a big mistake within 3 minutes of our dispute, but, it took me much longer than that to apologize and own my stupidity. She needed a break, she's getting crushed by sickness and it's really not a big deal to clean up the table and empty the dishwasher. Yes, I had a long day, too, but, I'm not sick. And I love my wife. And I was a jerk. Live and learn, right? So - I apologized (although much later than I should have). Fortunately my wife is much more gracious and kind than I am and we had a great family day today celebrating the youngest. So what's my Sonder thought? Awareness isn't enough. I knew very quickly that my wife was right, I saw the issue from her side and from mine and I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt I was wrong. But, stupid me, I just doubled down. People - don't be me. When you know you're wrong, or when you know you should be doing something differently, just do it. I promise you'll save yourself some guilt and a headache later.

That said, have a good one, all.

#mammothmafia

#RawHoggin

#GEMsOfWisdom

Aug. 16, 2022 - AA Day 16

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith B34
• Razor: MMOC (Gen 2)
• Blade: GEM PTFE (16)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Aftershave

Last night was again not a great night. I had a cold last week and am totally better, but my wife and kids all got it and my wife and daughters have developed kind of a nasty cough, my wife having it the worst. She's coughing quite a bit at night and moaning at times when she breathes. Apparently it's the opposite of snoring - snoring is on the inhale, this kind of moaning happens on the exhale. So, she's been sleeping on the couch so I can sleep in the bedroom which is closer to our daughter who wakes up way too much for a 3 year old (twice last night, stupidly), so sleep is sparse. Fortunately, though, even though I woke up late and had a bit of a rushed morning with a longer work day, my shave was excellent. Day 16 - officially over the hump and on the home stretch. Still loving this setup and not itching for something new. Well, I want to buy things, but I'm good shaving with this setup for now.

The MMOC performed beautifully once again. Smooth 2.5 pass shave with no issues at all.

Sonder, excellent. It opened up today with almost a green apple candy (think jolly rancher) sweetness for me, and then turned into a very grass forward scent and was very pleasant. Really enjoyed that start to the day.

The Zenith 1 2 was great. I can't see how this thing is going to get a whole lot better than it is now, but I expect it to continue to break in based on its appearance compared to my SOC. The SOC is a bit more bloomed as it sits - but, it may just be that it never dries out enough to fully bloom like that, so, I don't know. May not know until the middle of September.

Sonder thought of the day: Knowing someone's life and perspective neither means we have to agree with it nor does it mean we don't push people towards growth. A coworker of mine is very meticulous in his job and has high standards of excellence, but the shadow side is he tends to be quite controlling and doesn't often respond well to things being inserted into his world that he feels aren't "right" or that he doesn't think are a priority. As his boss, it's very complicated to navigate - on the one hand I want him to enjoy his job, and on the other, one employee can't dictate to the other 8 what happens with a given situation. For example, we read books together as a staff for development purposes - read over the course of a month and then discuss. The norm has been that we read 1 chapter of a book per month and then discuss it. Well, the net sum is books take FOREVER to get through and it's so difficult to grasp the flow of the book reading that way. So, in my newly given responsibility of staff development, I'm changing it and we're reading about 70 pages a month (still not a lot when you're getting paid to do it) and then discussing. I know that there will be pushback from this employee, and I had another employee come into my office to point out that everyone will be excited about this except for said employee who happened to miss staff meeting today. I politely affirmed his suspicion and, more politely, said I don't care. Every other staff member wants to be developed and grow in these areas, and I'm not making everyone else suffer because of one squeaky wheel. All that to say, pushing people isn't always easy but it's often necessary. Seeking to understand where people are coming from is one thing, and it' s a very necessary and valuable thing - especially when it comes to employees - but sometimes knowing where people are stuck requires us to carefully push them out of the mud.

Sonder doesn't always mean passive caring empathy, sometimes it means caring enough to disrupt a bad situation.

Have a great day, all.

#mammothmafia

#RawHoggin

#GEMsOfWisdom

Aug. 17, 2022 - AA Day 17

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith B34
• Razor: MMOC (Gen 2)
• Blade: GEM PTFE (17)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Aftershave

This morning was another great start to the day as far as the shave went. I accidentally overslept by a half an hour, so the morning was a bit rushed, but still made it to work on time and it's been a good and productive morning.

The MMOC performed well today - nothing to complain about. I did nick a little bump on my neck that caused some bleeding, but otherwise a solid shave.

I got a lot of sandalwood off Sonder today - still with a hint of green, but as my splash rubbed in it was mostly a nice soft sandalwood coming through for me. I like the smell of sandalwood a lot, but, my only experience with a strictly sandalwood scent was from TOBS when I first started. I thought their cream would be good - it reviewed well on amazon - and ordered it. It was fine, but every time I shaved my face would be on fire afterwards. I couldn't even use Nivea Sensitive Balm post shave because it was too painful. I don't know if it was an allergy to strong sandalwood, if it was my terrible technique, or it was brush burn from the cheap boar brush I had no idea how to use or break in. My guess is it was the latter two and sandalwood is fine, but I've not been brave enough to order anything pure sandalwood scented since in the event I was wasting my money.

The Zenith 12 was again excellent. Unfortunately the logo seems to be rubbing off a bit, which is understandable since it's printed on, but kind of a bummer. I had to dip the brush in water a couple times to get the lather wet enough this morning from overloading a bit too much, but no big deal. Lathering on my face, though, was glorious.

While some cough u/ginopono cough loathe the process of face lathering, I can't imagine not including my face in the lathering process. How else will my follicles be massaged and what else can cause so many endorphins to release that I am positively euphoric by the time I'm all lathered up? Do I think a bowl appreciates being massaged? Not at all. It's a stupid porcelain bowl, it doesn't have feelings. Such a wasted opportunity to increase blood flow, shave quality, happiness hormones, and quality of lather. What kind of monster spends a whole month spitting in the face of happy shavers everywhere? Be better.

Sonder thought of the day: Nothing too profound today except to say that I have to remind myself a lot that connection in relationships, whether a marriage, friendship, working relationship, whatever - needs to be cultivated regularly, and when I'm feeling disconnected from someone, often they are, too. It's important to remember sonder and not treat people like they're emotionless drones who are oblivious to the nuances to your relationship - they know your dynamic, too, and - well - you (I) might not be the easiest person to have a relationship with all the time. So - it's important to do little things to tune that relationship up, whether it's asking an intentional question and listening, if it's a kind gesture, whatever. Their world is alive like mine and reaching out across the divide means something.

Have a great day.

#mammothmafia

#RawHoggin

#GEMsOfWisdom

Aug. 18, 2022 - AA Day 18

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith B34
• Razor: MMOC (Gen 2)
• Blade: GEM PTFE (18)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Aftershave

Today was another top tier shave. The MMOC performed very well although I am quite confident that when I put a new blade in my face is going to be chewed up because this dull(er) blade allows me to be a little sloppy without much consequence. I thought today's shave was perfectly smooth with no nicks and no issues and then I put the splash on post-shave and wow - lava mountain on my face. Of course due to the magnificent qualities of the R2D2 synthetic cooling, I was quickly experiencing post-shave bliss.

Face lathering with the Zenith here and here was once again an experience in jubilation as my follicles were massaged until the stubble was perfectly ripe for the shaving. What a joyful experience to start each day as I blissfully rub those pig hairs around and around on my face, whipping up a beautiful lather that would be pleasing even to the most stubborn of grumpy old men.

Sonder - top tier. It's really lasting so long, too. Some have talked about the death circle appearing in the middle of the tub, not me, not even close. Tusk loads up so well that it's not an issue. What this does tell me, though, is that I already have enough soap to last a whole lifetime, probably. The splash isn't even down to the top of the label yet after 18 days and I feel like I'm not being all that conservative with it. Whatever. There are worse problems to have than too much soap.

Sonder thought of the day: Sometimes your wife (or spouse or partner or best friend or whoever) know best about what you need because they, too, are living a full life a la the concept of Sonder. So - listen to them. If they say - "we need to just get lunch today because everyone will feel better and the food we have at home is going to not work today," sometimes it's best to just listen. At lunch today, after a short night of sleep which came after a stressful day of changing my water heater (again) only to find out that it was never my water heater that had a leak but a clogged condensation drain hose, the morning did not go super well. Kids were a bit tired and crabby, I am exhausted, my wife as exhausted, and - well, getting lunch just helped. She knew best. I wanted to argue about it, and I did push back a bit because I hate spending 40 bucks to feed my family fast food, but in the end I just said ok and it made the day better. Should you eat fast food and waste your money? Probably not. But - you definitely should listen to people who love you when they're trying to help. They're not idiots, and they know you better than you know yourself sometimes. So - listen up.

Have a great day, all!

#mammothmafia

#RawHoggin

#GEMsOfWisdom

Aug. 19, 2022 - AA Day 19

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith B34
• Razor: MMOC (Gen 2)
• Blade: GEM PTFE (19)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Aftershave

If you've followed the saga of bows and clips left on the counter during several of my SOTD pics, well, today's is called "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em."

I broke the hiatus on shave related purchases today. It's the weekend and things probably won't be shipping until early next week at best, which is good with me. I can't change anything about my setup until September 1 anyway so honestly the longer it takes for anything new to arrive the less I suffer. Grabbed a Georgetown Pottery G20 Second at the advice of u/merikus - pics will show up in a future mail call, but I can't wait.

Shave was really good - one small nick just below my jawline somehow, but overall very solid.

The MMOC was smooth and easy. I'm confident my shaves are benefitting as far as bloodiness goes from the dull blade, but I do wonder how much it's impacting the post shave splash burn - I suspect a fair amount. A draggy blade that isn't cutting super efficiently has to cause some irritation that the splash causes to burn, right?

I overloaded Sonder today for funsies and my lather was thick and excellent - plenty for a full 3 pass shave. The Zenith here and here continues to have more and more bristles splay out when it's "dry" (as though it's ever dry). Soft and smoother latherer, though.

The scent of Sonder was great. Love it. Keep it coming. My wife says "it's fine" when I beg her for feedback, but, that's about as good as it gets with her.

Sonder thought of the day: We have a family member with an anxiety disorder called "selective mutism" (SM) and yesterday the Selective Mutism Association (SMA) shared this quote: "If we could look into each other's hearts and understand the unique challenges each of us faces, we would treat each other more gently, with more love, patience, tolerance, and care." I'm not into the cheesiness of looking into people's hearts, but - swap that out for "If we could look into each others lives..." and you've got me. As I continue to consider sonder each day I found this quote to be particularly helpful and I'm working hard to consider the vivid lives and experiences of people I interact with on a daily basis - even though I know I can't do it perfectly and I will probably always tend toward snap judgments and trusting my initial read on people, I'm working on it. Having SM in the family has taught me so much about trying to understand things from others' persectives. I used to think this individual was just being difficult or defiant or at best a little shy and as we've learned about SM I've come to see that that's just not the case. It's not just anxiety that causes people to behave in certain ways that are hard to understand - we've all got challenges and experiences that shape so much of who we are and how we react to things - some of those experiences are of our own choosing, some things have been done to us, and still other things just are, to the fault and credit of no one. So - consider the challenges and treat people better - that's my goal.

Have a good night!

#mammothmafia

#RawHoggin

#GEMsOfWisdom

Aug. 20, 2022 - AA Day 20

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith B34
• Razor: MMOC (Gen 2)
• Blade: GEM PTFE (20)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Aftershave

• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux - Admiral - Eau de Toilette

Today's SOTD is brought to you courtesy of the first 5k I ran and the bows and lip gloss my daughters continue to leave on the counter every day. Felt pretty good about the run - PR'd my 5k time by 13 seconds with a time of 27:15. I've picked up running quite a bit more the last couple years and ramped up miles even more this Summer and have enjoyed it. Still mix it up with a variety of workouts, but, running is growing on me.

Anyway - the Zenith pic 1 pic 2 was photographed wet tonight as I forgot to take pictures of it pre-shave. It's been a long (but good) day. I thought as I lathered my face today that this boar, at 35 bucks, feels as good as any badger that I've used consistently. The gelousy that's waiting in the wings may beat it, I only got to use it once prior to AA, but for now this might be the softest brush in my den. I know this is the whole point of AA and the fine gentlemen running the challenges are aware of it, but, boars break in beautifully (and even surprisingly quickly) with no help. The hardest part for me this whole time has been not drying it on a towel post shave - I haven't done it - but, I almost do every time, even 20 days later.

MMOC was great. Shaved early yesterday and pretty late today so it was about as long as my growth ever gets these days and it mowed it right down with no problems. Full 3 pass shave with darn near BBS results.

Sonder - great again. Paired it with some Admiral and away we go.

Sonder thought of the day: We went to a car show today that was a fundraiser for my daughter's equine therapy lessons and while there we saw and interacted with a whole lot of people - some I knew and others I didn't. Anyway - this one very old guy (70s or 80s) stuck with me. He was sitting there in his VW bus and we just chat for a few minutes and man, if I could have hung around and heard that guys stories, I would have done it all day. The VW was set up with a full "bed" in the back and two seats in the front and he could have lived in that thing at some point for all I know. Sonder made me pause with him, even if I didn't get to ask about any of his life adventures - he was happy to show my kids the van and no, it wasn't a creepy "free candy" van. Anyway, there are so many vibrant lives all around and I'm kicking myself for not asking that guy ANY questions. Next time. Live and learn, right?

Pay attention, people - there are amazing life stories all around you - just ask.

Have a great night.

#mammothmafia

#RawHoggin

#GEMsOfWisdom

Aug. 21, 2022 - AA Day 21

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith B34
• Razor: MMOC (Gen 2)
• Blade: GEM PTFE (21)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Aftershave

• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux - Admiral - Eau de Toilette

Today was a good day. Church this morning, an hour plus nap with my wife this afternoon, and took the kids to the local waterpark this afternoon. Lots of great family bonding all around.

The MMOC shaved well enough today, but, the GEM was a bit tuggy. I noticed it yesterday, but thought it was my lather. I'm thinking it wasn't - hopefully the next 10 days don't deteriorate too quickly.

The Zenith whipped up a great lather as usual. It was still a bit wet from yesterday, but that's pretty normal. Pic 1 Pic 2 Those bristles continue to split and expand and I'm here for it.

Sonder - today was the first day I wanted to use something other than Sonder, but it was just because we went to the pool. I've come to associate Cannonball! with going to the waterpark and really could have gone for that double cooling effect and amazing scent, just to mix it up. I love Sonder, it's been a good month and I'm really glad I selected this scent. But - it's ok to have an urge, right?

Sonder thought for today: The waterpark today was filled with late teen and early 20 year old life guards on their last shift for the summer before they head back to school. I remember those days - sitting at work doing what you've got to do to scrape together some spending money. Simpler times. The world feels more complicated for teens today than it did when I was in high school in the early 2000's. Social media has changed so much, obviously, and it seems like a heavier time than it used to. There's always been pressure on young women to look a certain way and attract guys in a certain way, but with models and skin all over social media, the pressures have to be worse. And guys, too, the expectations on them to be jacked or to use women rather than respect them, it's just tough. I think about those students going back this fall and I don't envy them. Kids have to grow up so fast, it seems, and as a dad of 3 little kids, it's not a fun thought. Help a teenager in your life out - take interest in their lives, listen to them, encourage them, and love them unconditionally - they need it now as much as ever.

Speaking of, for u/Teufelskraft's #sidetracked challenge I'm going with Life is a highway by Rascal Flatts from the Cars soundtrack. Not a song that I loved (or even love now) - but it came on at the waterpark and man oh man did my son light up. He's a huge fan of the Cars movies and can't wait for the next one to come Disney+ on September 8 - we've already got a family movie night on the calendar. The song isn't great, but the movies are solid, and the memories of the family times and all the excitement with my son will linger for years. This song, for me, will always bring back this stage with my son and for that, I like it.

Have a great evening, all.

#mammothmafia

#RawHoggin

#GEMsOfWisdom

Aug. 22, 2022 - AA Day 22

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith B34
• Razor: MMOC (Gen 2)
• Blade: GEM PTFE (22)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Aftershave

Mid day shave with a late evening write up today. Long afternoon of meetings at work - a 1 hour standing meeting turned into 3 hours as we talked through a plethora of issues. Being in leadership in an organization is a different animal, I tell ya. Trying to up my SOTD pic game, but, weirdly still feel a bit embarrassed embracing taking these pictures around the house as my family watches. Whatever, I'll get over it.

Anyway - great shave today - MMOC with the ol' GEM didn't feel tuggy at all which was a nice change from the last couple of days. Sonder was great, love it. As always. I used some witch hazel before the splash to calm my face down some and I guess it helped, but still got some burn. I should probably do a 2 pass one of these days, but I just enjoy shaving a lot and 3 passes is better. The Zenith continues to impress as it opens up. Pic 1 I mean, look at those bristles spreading out. Pic 2.

Sonder thought of the day: People love people and sometimes things that feel weird to you are just a kindness because in that person's vivid life they enjoy it. Example - my daughter's Kindergarten teacher did a home visit tonight. That's weird. Right? It's weird. But, she came into our house and explained some kindergarten things and interacted with the whole family and it was really great. I didn't want it to happen, really, I thought it'd be weird because I'd feel pretty uncomfortable doing it, but, it was great. People are different, and that's a really great thing - at least it was for my family tonight.

So - embrace the different.

Have a great night, all.

#mammothmafia

#RawHoggin

#GEMsOfWisdom

Aug. 23, 2022 - AA Day 23

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith B34
• Razor: MMOC (Gen 2)
• Blade: GEM PTFE (23)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Aftershave

Early morning today after a long night with the kids. I was up 4x with 2 different kids and my wife remembers being up another 2-3x. Why. Just why. And, always on a day when my wife will be home with the kids by herself from just after breakfast until well after bed. I feel terrible, but what can I do.

Anyway - quick 2 pass to start a long day but it felt great.

MMOC performed well - GEM still tugging away but switching down to a 2 pass with no buffing took away a lot of splash burn so that may be the way to go the rest of the month. Sonder - great. The chill hit hard this morning with the splash and I appreciated it helping me wake up. Zenith - love. Pic 1 Pic 2.

Sonder thought of the day: Early morning risers exist. People also exist who can full on thrive on just 6 hours of sleep. Your life is as vivid as mine, but you're wrong about this being the better way. Let me sleep in an extra 2 hours and make it up in the night by staying up later. This is the way.

Go back to bed, people.

Have a good one.

#mammothmafia

#RawHoggin

#GEMsOfWisdom

Aug. 24, 2022 - AA Day 24

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith B34
• Razor: MMOC (Gen 2)
• Blade: GEM PTFE (24)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Aftershave

• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux - Admiral - Eau de Toilette

Long couple days over here. 3 year old keeps waking up at night. Long work training/planning days with the whole staff - good stuff but mentally exhausting. Tonight's shave was a very needed relaxing few moments at the end of the 2 days.

MMOC with the GEM performed great. Got a little nick on my jawline that was a bummer and I shaved off a little pimple on my face - I've eaten like crap the last 2 days and have a bit of acne to show for it. Clean the diet back up now that there aren't snacks and pizza everywhere and that should go away.

The Zenith was great. Works so well with tusk soap - I'm not sure what there is left to say about it, just an excellent brush. Raw hoggin was worth it for this brush result even if I wasn't entered in to win a new one (though I hope I do). I'm allllmmoosst tempted to cancel my sub exclusive based on how good this is. Almost. But, the fomo is too real. Pic 1 Pic 2

Sonder smells great, paired it with Admiral again for my wife's benefit.

Sonder thought of the day: My SOTD pic today includes the book I'm currently reading (also working on LOTR - just started Two Towers) and here's your thought: sonder is the idea that everyone is living a life as vivid and complex as your own. Reading books lets you, in part, experience the vivid life of someone else - get out there and read!

Have a great evening, all.

#mammothmafia

#RawHoggin

#GEMsOfWisdom

Aug. 25, 2022 - AA Day 25

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith B34
• Razor: MMOC (Gen 2)
• Blade: GEM PTFE (25)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Aftershave

Sonder thought of the day to start today:

People are lonely. My wife found that meme tonight scrolling social media after we played board games (Pandemic Legacy Season 1 - amazing series, amazing game) and it's funny, but it's also sad. I was having a conversation with one of my brothers and a few friends the other week about human interaction and physical touch while we played some video games and said something about how I saw on reddit all these people talking about how the last time they had a hug was x number of months ago. As someone married with 3 kids, that's such a foreign concept to me - I am smothered in affection daily - even if just from my kids on my marriage off days. If I go a full day without a hug, it's a dang weird day. But, unfortunately, there are too many who never have human touch - and touch is so important. I don't really have a solution, here, I'm in general not a real huggy guy with anyone other than my immediate family so I'm not advocating we all start hugging to spread the love, but, well - care for the people in your life well - you might be the only person that they've got.

Shave was real solid tonight. MMOC shaved really well and the GEM performed better than the past few shaves. I considered flipping the blade for tomorrow, but, then, I've only got 6 shaves left and not flipping it means I will have done it all 30 days that way. So, I'll probably just leave it. Grin and bear it, right?

Sonder is great. And it's lasting so long - I'm not getting a ring in the middle yet at all and I've painfully tub loaded all month. Tusk is just such a solid base, as you well know.

The ol' Zenith is a lather machine and I love her. Pic 1 Pic 2

With 6 days left I'm feeling really good about finishing it off. I am looking forward to using my Blackbird on the first, but - I'm not getting antsy or anything. Just ready for her.

SOTD pic brought to you courtesy of my back yard wood pile. We haven't had a fire all Summer and that's a real shame.

Have a great night.

#mammothmafia

#RawHoggin

#GEMsOfWisdom

Aug. 26, 2022 - AA Day 26

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith B34
• Razor: MMOC (Gen 2)
• Blade: GEM PTFE (26)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Aftershave

Shave today was great. Went for a bike ride with my daughter and then a quick 2 mile run so I was good and hot and Sonder synthetic really cooled me down. I love using this soap.

MMOC was smoother than expected. I decided not to flip the blade and just play it out, come what may, and it was smoother than it has been in a while. I'm not sure what that's about, but it was great.

The Zenith is just cruising along. I don't really know how much more it can break in, but I am excited to see how it lathers when I get to use it in the superior GUTL lathering method. Pic 1 Pic 2

Sonder thought of the day: Today (and every Friday) is my day off. This was my last Friday with my eldest daughter being home. She starts kindergarten next week and I feel awful about it. I have no doubt that I'm going to cry as she's dropped off and am going to be very excited to have her back home. She did 4k last year and it was half days, but, there's something about whole days that are daunting. While I'm struggling with her leaving, she can't wait. So - Sonder - I'm trying to take her perspective as a bright kid who is eager to learn and be in school. All summer long we've read books, she's written and learned to spell, she's colored, she's crafted, we've spent time riding bikes and wrestling (because what are dads for if not rough housing?), we've sincerely enjoined each others company. We've had a great summer, and she's ready, even if I'm not. When I told her I was going to miss her when she was at school she reminded me that it'll be alright because I'll be a work and she'll be at school so since we're both doing things we won't need to miss each other. Kids are people, too. And she has good perspective. I'm still gonna miss her, though.

Have a great evening, all.

#mammothmafia

#RawHoggin

#GEMsOfWisdom

Aug. 27, 2022 - AA Day 27

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith B34
• Razor: MMOC (Gen 2)
• Blade: GEM PTFE (27)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Aftershave

• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux - Admiral - Eau de Toilette

Phew - almost missed this post. I shaved several hours ago and didn't have time to write it up and then just spaced it right before bed. That would have been a major bummer.

But, I made it. Shave was excellent. I am almost to the bottom of the tub of Sonder - I think I'll be seeing that sneaky little mammoth through the bottom middle tomorrow or Monday. I doubt I'll have to willpower to push on through and kill the tub anytime soon, the rest of my den needs some love (as I'm sure you all understand, especially you unscented weirdos). I'm still really happy with this scent and so glad I chose it - I'm not dying every time I use it by any means. I like the scent, it's just the rest of my den stares at me longingly every time I shave.

Same thing for brushes. The B34 Pic 1 Pic 2 is a lather machine and this evening whipped up a storm. Creamy, soft, wet - perfect for a 27 use blade to mow down some decent stubble. It's great, but, I want variety.

Razors and blades are where I'm really looking forward to a shift, though. I like the MMOC with the GEM. Permanent addition. But - well, I miss the other razors. And - this thing is still cutting like a dream, the tugginess has all but disappeared somehow, it's just that my shaves are not lasting very long. I shaved at 5PM - ish and I'll have a stache shadow in the morning - which is annoying. I don't want to shave twice a day, but I prefer to go to bed without a pokey face. In any event, the pair performed well this evening and I only had one little nick on my chin that I noticed later. I thought it was a near perfect shave to be honest, but the splash burn also told me that I'm probably pressing way too hard with this dull blade. Thankfully, synthetic cooling to the rescue.

Sonder though of the day: I wonder if Sally ever felt threatened when Lightning took Cruz Ramirez under his wing. You know, younger flashy car. I bet not. Sally was confident in their relationship and was trusting, as she should have been. Lightning new he'd somehow landed a car way out of his league and wouldn't do anything silly to jeopardize that. And, as we see all through Cars 3, the relationship is strictly professional. Cruz became almost a daughter to McQueen and he was so proud when she finally passed him on that old dirt track, just like he'd done to his old mentor, the late, great, Doc Hudson. If Cars has anything to say about sonder, it's that sometimes people invest in us, and that's really cool. But investing in others - now that's even cooler. Go make someone else's life better - not because you have to, just because it's fun. You never know what might happen - maybe you'll be the inspiration, motivation, and training they need to go out and get that Dinoco sponsorship and their whole life with change.

#mammothmafia

#RawHoggin

#GEMsOfWisdom

Aug. 28, 2022 - AA Day 28

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith B34
• Razor: MMOC (Gen 2)
• Blade: GEM PTFE (28)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Aftershave

• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux - Admiral - Eau de Toilette

Great evening shave. I'm still really glad to be using this setup, each part has been a pleasure to use and learn.

The MMOC is still cruising along on autopilot, no issues at all. I shaved off a little skin bump on my chin, otherwise, solid shave. The GEM is a little dull, obviously, but still gets the job done.

Sonder - always excellent. I am not remotely sick of this scent 28 days later (I'd use a gif of the movie here, but I've never seen it so I don't know how to make any make sense). I'm coming to enjoy the burn and then cool down of the combo between a well-loved and well-used blade and the alcohol/synthetic cool combo in Sonder. The burn before the cool amplifies the experience.

The Zenith Wet pic 1 and wet pic 2 is a machine at this point. I think the thing I'm most looking forward to post-AA is drying this brush out on a towel after a shave - it's so satisfying and I want to know what this thing is like when it's actually dry, not just pseudo dry.

Sonder thought of the day: My SOTD pic includes some bows that were scattered on my counter again from my daughters. As I shaved, I thought of my youngest who just turned three and one of my favorite things to do with her. She'll climb up on my on the couch and be all silly and giggly for no reason other than she's a 3 year old, and I'll pull her in close and look her in the face and say "I like you!" and she'll light up and smile real big and say "Yaaay! I like you!" and it's impossible not to feel more joyful after that. It's amazing how much a simple statement can impact a child and I can only imagine how good it feels for her to be reminded of the simple truth that daddy likes her. If you've got kids, or a spouse, or people you love, don't forget the profound impact that a kind word or gentle reminder can have on them!

Have a good night, all.

#mammothmafia #RawHoggin #GEMsOfWisdom

Aug. 29, 2022 - AA Day 29

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith B34
• Razor: MMOC (Gen 2)
• Blade: GEM PTFE (29)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Aftershave

Quick evening shave tonight after a long day. Great way to unwind, though.

Razor, Blade, and Brush were all fantastic tonight. No tugging, minimal aftershave burn, and a great lather. I think 3 passes with the MMOC is not the way to go, and I need to stick with just 2 and a buff, I still get almost BBS and about 5% as much burn as when I go the full 3. Maybe something to take forward there in general.

Zenith B34 - Pic 1 Pic 2

Finally busted through, too.

Sonder thought of the day: Life is hard. Everyone is struggling. Everyone is tired. We all cope in different ways and it's ok to deal with things different than someone else would. Obviously it's best to choose healthy coping mechanisms, and it's great to encourage those around you. People need to hear it. Be a kind and encouraging voice. It makes a difference.

#mammothmafia #RawHoggin #GEMsOfWisdom

Aug. 30, 2022 - AA Day 30

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith B34
• Razor: MMOC (Gen 2)
• Blade: GEM PTFE (30)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Aftershave

And then there was one.

Solid shave tonight. I really didn't to shave, if I'm honest, but, 2 left, I'm not blowing the month long trek 2 shaves before it's over. But, tonight was the first time I was looking forward to it being over. I love these contests when they start, but, by the end, well - doing this every day can be a lot.

All that to say, the Zenith was great again Pic 1 Pic 2 - whipped up a great lather and was plenty soft. I cannot wait to dry that thing out on Thursday. It's going to be so great to rub those bristles on a towel and really dry 'em out. Gosh, so satisfying.

MMOC with the Gem was fine. My first lather was a little dry so it was a bit tuggy, but I added some water and then next pass and buff were really good. Somehow after 30 shaves I can still mess it up. I'm going back to GUTL on Thursday and I think that'll help - it's so tough tub loading to have any kind of consistency in amount of soap. That said, all month the lathers have been great.

Sonder thought of the day: There are plenty of happy people in the world, too. It's not just that everyone struggles - people are joyful and pleasant and have lots to give. Some of those other vivid lives are worth having in your own for encouragement and friendship and general positivity. People often say that "you are the net of your 5 closest friends." So - surround yourself with people you want to be like. People with positive outlooks and encouraging thoughts and a willingness to challenge you. It's for the best. You've only got 1 vivid life to live, but you can benefit from the lives of so many others.

Have a good night, all.

Edit: Forgot my tags

#mammothmafia

#RawHoggin

#GEMsOfWisdom

Aug. 31, 2022 - AA Day 31

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith B34
• Razor: MMOC (Gen 2)
• Blade: GEM PTFE (31)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Soap

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Sonder - Aftershave

Today sucked.

Evening shave was nice, though.

The final shave in this month long journey was about as opposite as the first as it could get. The MMOC w/GEM was smooth and sweet - 0 bleeding, efficient shave, no irritation, overall a joy to use. The Zenith whipped up a great, thick, creamy lather; nothing like the early days of trying to get those bristles to cooperate. I've learned very well how to work with this soap and even when something starts too dry it's an easy fix at this point. Sonder - I'm not even remotely sick of this. The EDP is going on my Christmas list and if I don't get it there I'll be grabbing it on my own at some point. So good. As I sit here with my face cooling down I am sure I'm going to miss this daily/nightly ritual. So good. The mammoth looking through the glass is pretty cool, too.

Zenith Day 1 vs. Day 31 and again. Pretty crazy how far it's come. So effective, too.

Anyway. For my final Sonder thought of the day I thought I'd take you back to the beginning: "The realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own." So, friends - remember that each person you interact with, walk by, pass on your bike or in your car, each fast food employee, server, banker, CEO, train conductor, and barista - they've all got a life that's as vivid as yours. Treat them accordingly.

With that, I'm out. It's been a great month. Even if I win nothing (and I expect that to be the case), it's been very therapeutic for me to write something each day, help me get outside myself a little bit. I should probably journal or something.

Thanks for a great month.

#mammothmafia

#RawHoggin

#GEMsOfWisdom