So I went to that memorial service today!
It was lovely to see old friends, and family; the sheer number of people that turned up was immense. Hundreds and hundreds. There were some lovely eulogies given, and not much crying to be heard. A few sniffles; but lots of big grins as those that attended were dragged back through memory lane to remember the deceased.
Tomorrow’s the funeral proper. I have to wear a skull cap (kippah, yarmulke). I’m a bit excited! I’m wondering if they hand them out at the door: ‘Please, take a skull cap. Smoked salmon’s on the left as you go in. Don’t forget to cry a bit, and mutter in Yiddish when it’s appropriate.’
I kid, I kid…
Anyway, I had to shave today, as a half-beard just ‘wouldn’t be acceptable in today’s day and age’ (gotta love my mother). I didn’t ask her when it would’ve been acceptable…”Back in my day’ would be the answer, I imagine.
Being the camera whore that I am, I requisitioned a new set of photos to comemorate my new beardless — but still stubbly — visage. As my friend Daniel put it: ‘You look about 10 years younger… about 24…’
Just a small variety of the poses I will assume when a camera is pointed at me.
Below is the ‘Oh my, is that really Jesus? He’s early!’ look.
Are we thinking: a) better with beard, b) stubble is good or c) remove the stubble? (Not that I’ll actually listen to your opinions, but my mum always told me it was good to at least pretend that I care)
Daniel Cassidy
Mar 11, 2009
You actually look younger than me. No wonder you kept the beard so long :p.
Maddie
Mar 11, 2009
oh sebastian, you are simply too adorable for words at the moment! =) the stubble is good.
sebastian
Mar 11, 2009
Why thank you, Maddie! (You make it sound like I could somehow lose favour in your eyes at any moment…!)
Did you like the ‘tiger’ picture the most?
sebastian
Mar 11, 2009
Woaaah, easy on! But yeah… it sprung up when I left school to go to college… Really I only had the full goatee when I arrived at university (my student ID picture is actually one of my favourites!)
I’ve seen men with beards for their entire adult life, so I don’t think 6-7 years is THAT long, in the grand scale of things. My uncle has had a beard since he was 20… he looks almost identical in every photo… how dull!
floreta
Mar 11, 2009
stubble is sexxxxiee
Maddie
Mar 11, 2009
Hah! I was actually going to mention the “tiger” picture, but I wasn’t sure what to call it or if I said “tiger pic” if you would know what the heck I was talking about.
Lose favour in my eyes? Everyone gets lost in my eyes. It’s a fact=) hehe
Maddie
Mar 11, 2009
A little supplemental instruction for you:
Here is a run down (in Yiddish) of how things will go for you.
Being a goy (someone not of Jewish faith) you will most likely be entertained by the little yarmulke you get to wear and how exactly it stays on your head. People will talk about what a mensch (good man) your uncle was and you’ll schmooze (i think you know this one) with your mishpocha (extended family.) You can cry oy vey (interjection for grief) as you blow your schnozz (nose) on a schmatte (kleenex). After all is said and done, you can go and get shickered (drunk). As you nosh (snack) on your lox (smoked salmon) and bagels with schmeer (spread), you will kvell (feel proud and well up with tears) about what a heimish (friendly) man your uncle was.
Hope that lesson in yiddish was helpful and enlightening=)
and yes, the yarmmulkes are typically handed out at the door. Put them on before you enter the synagogue as a reminder that the big guy is above you.
sebastian
Mar 11, 2009
So you did like it… thought so! And I have bigger eyes… !
I think that there might be 1 or 2 too many Xs there, Floreta…
Maddie
Mar 11, 2009
I’m quite sure I have the bigger eyes sir. Mine are actually so big that I have to order special contacts. True story. I have abnormally large eyes. I’m gonna go put that on my resume.
sebastian
Mar 12, 2009
I think I knew all of those Yiddish phrases…! My grandmother is fairly Jewish, and one of my best friends through school had quite a Jewish mother/family too.
But thanks for the brief run-down of what I can expect.
I’m not a goy!
Maddie
Mar 12, 2009
fairly jewish? how can one be fairly jewish? i’m fairly certain that is not possible=) haha
sebastian
Mar 12, 2009
Well, as you know, I am technically Jewish, or I am not… my mother is Jewish, ergo… I am a Jew!
Just not very good at being one
Sarcastically Bitter
Mar 12, 2009
I like the stubble.
sebastian
Mar 12, 2009
Excellent, the votes are piling up for B) The easy way out. A quick once-over with the beard trimmer every few days! Even less maintenance than shaving every week or two!
Ang
Mar 12, 2009
Definitely looks good with the barely beard going on. Hair is awesome as well. You should keep it that way.
I would say you look about 18. hehehe It’s magical you have gone back in time!
Your eyes look really good too. very big and cool. great lighting.
<3
sebastian
Mar 12, 2009
I always work the eyes in my photos… they always serve me well (See, Maddie?! Even if I don’t have medically-oversized eyes…)
And thanks
Jossie Posie
Mar 12, 2009
I think you look adorable sans beard…and the stubble isn’t bad at all. I love the “jesus is that you” pic
Sarcastically Bitter
Mar 12, 2009
Stubble is sexy. Just scratchy. So shave if you are going to be kisisng someone
heh. Rugburn hurts!!
Ambles
Mar 12, 2009
Sebastian: for future refference posting pictures of yourself rewards quite a bit of comments… it took forever to get here!
I think the stubble is very good, and that you should always listen to my opinions! You are deffinitely a good looking Brit (although I suspect you already know this as your infatuation with self-portraits would tend to imply.)
The “Jesus is early” pic was amazing btw…
Did you meet your future wife?
andhari
Mar 12, 2009
stubble is.. well actually i suggest shave evrything hahaha like you would listen anyway.
sebastian
Mar 12, 2009
Shaving everything would require the thing I hate most… shaving. So you’ll have to live with stubble! Or a beard! And I think we agree that stubble is better, right?
I enjoy taking self portraits because I always travel alone, Ambles. Almost all of my self portraits were taken in other countries! (I’m talking about the ones on my About page — the ones in the photo gallery were obviously posed… but I was bored and we had no electricity…)
I know I’m OK-looking; nothing special. I am aware that if I was totally Godawful ugly people wouldn’t swarm around me like some kind of charismatic totem pole.
Bitter — My facial hair is very soft, once it gets longer than a few millimetres…! Previous girlfriends have never complained (and I’ve always has facial hair for as long as I’ve had girlfriends!)
I’ll get some more of the ‘Jesus is coming’ pictures online later… There’s one that looks almost orgasmic… Or rapture-tastic…
Onur
Mar 12, 2009
5th one looks really great! nice poses.. i just wonder why you didn’t show your precious left hand! which you spam your imbalance heals! o/
pinkjellybaby
Mar 12, 2009
The stubble is GOOD.
pinkjellybaby
Mar 12, 2009
and the fith picture is the best
Jo
Mar 12, 2009
I vote for a total smooth shave… just so that I can see what it looks like… even once!
sebastian
Mar 12, 2009
Oh, I missed a couple of comments, silly blog software!
Onur, my left hand looks… crippled. Like a big claw. Most of my left hand has burned away, after 4 years of solid, non-stop gaming, so I’ve had it replaced with a prosthetic limb. I have carbon-fibre fingers. That’s why I’m so good.
Why so much love for #5? People like the bolshy ‘I don’t want to be sitting here’ look?
Onur
Mar 12, 2009
” it has burned away, after 4 years of … ”
~ that’s your inner fire!
Alison
Mar 12, 2009
Shouldn’t you go clean shaven to the funeral.
One of my uni friends made the mistake of dying his beard for a show once, only to disocver too late it was the kind of dye that doens’t wash out, so he had to shave it all off. He seriously looked like he was 12 years old, even though he was in his early 20s. He looked a year older each day as it grew back. At 30 we finally let him shave again, and how at 35 he actually looks quite respectable, as well as old enough to be holding that PhD.
Jossie Posie
Mar 12, 2009
I would officially like to put in a request to change my monster…I don’t really appreciate the mouth placement and would much prefer one with a monocle.
Ambles
Mar 12, 2009
The totem-pole scenario sounds kind of fun actually.
P.S. I was not trying to imply that you are overly-vain…. that would be another one of those situations where I would be condemning you for something I already do! If I knew you were going to be so sensitive about it….
Maddie
Mar 12, 2009
wait….did you mention something already to me about being jewish? i feel like we had this convo when i went over my jewish heritage. hmm….ok, you are NOT a goy. my apologies=)
Gary
Mar 12, 2009
Seb, the stubble looks awesome. As a man who has a horrible beard growing prowess, I can honestly say that I’m fairly jealous.
Yet….I miss the half beard. I was a big fan. I tried to convince my roommate to do it, to no avail.
sebastian
Mar 12, 2009
Alison, I was actually told that you are meant to not shave after the news of someone’s death. You are meant to appear at the funeral unshaven/unkempt, to show that you’ve spent time mourning, rather than making yourself look pretty!
So, of course, me and my cousin (the one you know, who is now my new uncle, we’ve decided) both sported rather trendy designer stubble…
Josie, if I knew how to change monsters, I would’ve done it long ago. I think some site called ‘gravatar’ does it for me. I’d love something a bit more exciting; two mouths is a bit… excessive. Looks like a bit of drool, too… Let me know if you find out how to fix it!
You hardly over-flaunt yourself, Ambles. You recently posted the first picture of yourself EVER… that’s hardly vanity. Even if you did change your avatar to something rather dorky and cute. Well, more dorky…
Thanks Gary! Did you share a picture of yourself yet? My beard didn’t complete itself until I was 19 or so; always had a little gap at the side… and then it grew in, with some delightfully ginger hair… I met my cousin today, he’s 25, and he has about a centimeter missing right under his nose, like an inverse-Hitler. It’s cute though!
I can thoroughly recommend the half-beard if your roommate is into roleplaying, or if he’s just a bit bi-polar….
Goyishly,
-S
Ambles
Mar 12, 2009
More dorky? Oh, it’s so over!
sebastian
Mar 12, 2009
Dorky’s good… in girls!
Are you looking up into the camera thinking ‘Hello, is anybody in there?’
Renee
Mar 16, 2009
Dang. You look hot with less beard/stubble. I might have had a crush on you when you visited… actually no – you had a girlfriend at the time and I have this internal mental thing where taken boys are automatically not hot…
But yeah. Stubble good. Well, not beard in general is good. (An your eyes do seem more prominent.) I can actually see your jawline and it is pretty good! (Ok, I better stop before I embarrass myself more than I probably already have.)
sebastian
Mar 16, 2009
Most girls find taken boys more attractive… kudos to you, m’lady!
I think you should tell me more about my jutting, manly jawline…
Renee
Mar 17, 2009
I programmed myself to find taken boys unattractive. At least when I am aware that they are taken. I had two really bad crushes on taken guys (Junior High, then early High School) and then realized that it was really stupid since they obviously did not care about my existence.
Your jawline is oh so sexy. *faints*
sebastian
Mar 17, 2009
Um… *catches*
But I did not keep repayments up on my cave, so I have no where to take you now…