Never got into the whole blog thing, which is probably why I keep putting off writing here. It's not even that my life is boring, far from it. The last two years in fact have been the craziest and most fun years I've had in a long time. Seems like I'll do something interesting with friends, spend the next few days recovering, and by the time I think to write about it a week or two has gone by and that great story I had seems too distant a memory to write about. At the end of last year a good friend suggested I start a "good memories" jar for this year. The idea being whenever something good happens you write it down and stick it in the jar, so that at the end of the year you could remember all the little great things that happened. Despite loving the idea, I procrastinated and put it off so much that now, despite an insanely fun year, the jar is practically empty. Might've been better had I had some sort of blog going, something encouraging me to write down at least the big things. So with that mindset, and a bad case of insomnia motivating me, I've decided to start writing. Not sure how often, or what I'll write about, but I hope some of my ramblings amuse those of you reading them.
As this is the first one, it'll be a bit basic, just an introduction to me. My name is Dylan, I'm 27 years old, and live just outside Austin, Texas. I'm a huge comic book fan; Hack/Slash, The Middle Man, Avengers, Green Lantern, Batman, X-Men (favorite X-Man is Nightcrawler). Addicted to craft beer, a dear friend has a all Texas craft beer bar downtown, it's my home away from home. While I don't have any at the moment, I am a huge animal lover. My preference is big dogs, hope to have a couple german shepherds and a great dane someday. I'm the proud uncle of three nephews, and a niece. For the past four and a half years I've been a stay at home manny for two of my nephews (well four and a half for one, the other was born just eleven months ago). At times it's incredibly exhausting, but I've gotten to help raise two of my nephews practically since they were born and I wouldn't trade that for anything in the world. Three years ago I moved down to Austin from Brooklyn, New York with my sister, brother in-law, and nephew. They had fallen in love with the city and since they still needed child care, and I couldn't afford New York without them, I came with. Couldn't help but fall in love with Austin right away, the weather, the music, so many different things to do but the real fun didn't begin till two years ago when I joined the Austin Facial Hair Club. Shaving always felt weird and wrong to me, so I've always had some type of fuzz on my face, but I usually only let it grow four to six months before trimming it short. Then I saw a show on IFC called Whisker Wars, it introduced me to the crazy, ridiculous world of beard competitions. There was a club from Austin (Austin Facial Hair Club) on the show, they looked so cool and they were local! Found out about a Meet and Greet they were having, and decided to go. Everyone literally could not have been friendlier, within minutes I was being introduced to everyone as the newest member. That night I pitched my electric razor, and swore I'd never shave again. It's been two years, and now my beard is getting long and I couldn't be happier. All the folks I met that fateful night, plus a bunch I've met along the way, have become my best and most trusted friends. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that simply letting my beard grow out would lead me to having some insane adventures, and friends from all around the world. Been to music festivals, helped throw fun events for local charities, fell in love with roller derby, and gone on some epic roads, all thanks to the club. Odds are most of my stories will be something I've either done with, or gotten to do because of AFHC. There are far too many stories, and far too many about to happen in the next couple weeks and months, to pick one and tell you right now. Created a new album with some shots from the great adventure these past two years have been. N0w that I've gotten started it should be easier to keep up with. Guess that's all for now, time to try and get some sleep. Thanks for reading.