Dollar Shave Club: Smooth as a baby's behind on the cheap

Dollar Shave Club. Shave time, Shave money.

Wait, what?

First of all, you MUST watch Dollar Shave Club's  commercial.  These guys spent next-to-nothing on it (all things considered), but it is brilliant!




I've got to tell you, I downloaded the video from YouTube and I keep it on my iPad. My kids quote it.  Favorite line? "I'm no Vanderbilt, but this train? Makes Hay.  *TOOT* *TOOT*"  Even my three year old daughter, Emma, does the hand gesture!

Now, I thought about it for months, and I finally decided to pull the trigger.  I signed up.  I generally use the Gillette Fusion, and I have for years.  I'm heavy set, and my round face is kind of goofy to shave.  I also have a very heavy beard that has a couple of cow-licks on my neck.  It's quite the pain to get a shave I like.  I've tried the cheap disposables, different electrics, and none of them have been perfect.

So, like I said, I decided to pull the trigger. I joined, and I signed up for the 4X at $6 a month.  I didn't know what to expect.  Two weeks ago, here's what I got in the mail:


I waited two weeks to see how I like it.  And here goes:

To begin with, the handle.  It's magic.  I love that it's hefty (has some weight to it), but it also is curved and padded.  It fits nicely into my hand.  I never really thought about the straight handles I was using on other razors, but I LOVE how this feels in my hand.  It's awesome.  The pivot head works just as well if not better than any other I've used.

The blades: well, they're #$&^ing great, right?  Actually, they do seem great.  I get a great shave, and unlike my Fusion blades, the lubricant isn't all gone after one shave.  It actually lasts.  What savvy genius came up with that?  Hey Mike! Give that guy a raise!

So overall, what's my assessment?  The handle gets an A+, and the blades get an A.  My face does, in fact, feel like I get a better shave.  I really, really do.  Like the title says, as smooth as a baby's behind on the cheap.  I love the fact that they are delivered to my door, and I'm orders of magnitude more pleased with them than I have ever been with any other razor I've ever used.

Do they shave well? Yes
Do they last longer? Yes
Is the handle better? Oh, heavens yes
Do they make me smarter? Probably not, but I feel like I am . . .

And did I mention the fact that if you refer your friends you can earn free blades?  Yep!  Go to Dollarshaveclub.com to find out more.

Last five songs played

I've been browsing my blog posts over the last--can you believe it--SEVEN years, and I ran across an old post telling you the last five songs I had listened to.  Yep, it was an Internet meme at the time, and I rode the wave.  

Now, on this rainy Friday the 13th in Kentucky, I thought I'd let you know what my last five songs played were.  Here they are in order (randomly played from one of my 80s playlists):

Straight up, by Paula Abdul


My Perogative, by Bobby Brown




Venus, by Bananarama


Cruel Summer, by Bananarama



Mad about You, by Belinda Carlisle


So there you have it.  But truth be told, today is a little more like this one, one of my all-time favorites:

Songs about Rain, by Gary Allan


What are your last five songs played?

Dr. C


Where've I been?

This post could go a couple of ways, so I'll do my best.

We've moved to Morehead, Kentucky, and I now teach at Morehead State University in their Educational Technology program.  I've been here six months, but I also taught as an adjunct for them last fall.  I love it here, and the best thing I can say about it is that I forgot what it was like to go to work and be appreciated and have people support you.

So why did I leave Oklahoma State?  Well, it wasn't by choice.  The short answer is I didn't get tenure. Why? Well, that is a complicated question.  Anyone who has worked in higher education knows that tenure is a tricky thing.  Those with it can wield it over those who don't.  Suffice it to say that a certain faculty member told me about four years ago that she would do everything in her power to see that I didn't get tenure.  And she succeeded.  Now, to be fair, there was plenty I could have done differently, but I had met the requirements, and I should have been awarded tenure.  I went through the appeals and everything (I wasn't the only one who appealed that year), and the official answer I was given was, "We see exactly what she is doing and has done, but the tenure committee is sticking to a common narrative.  We're sorry, but there's nothing we can do."  So nevermind the fact that I had documentation that the tenure committee never even looked at my file (only the aforementioned faculty member) and my school head even admitted (I recorded our conversation and presented it as evidence as well) that he didn't look at it, he only read her recommendation, I had to go.  So in reality, here's how I feel about it: I could have done more, yes, but I met (and according to the documents exceeded) the published guidelines.  Yes, I had a tenured faculty member who marked me (for whatever reason--I've asked her repeatedly over the years what I did and asked how to fix it and she would never tell me.  Even during my appeal the University asked what her beef was with me and she refused to answer).  But I am most discouraged by the faculty members who are good people who told me in private they could see what she was doing, they knew about it, they had an opportunity to speak up and stand against, and didn't.  Cowards.  Every last one of them.  

Am I bitter?  I was.  I was really upset. But then I came to this conclusion: If my Heavenly Father needed me to still be in Stillwater at Oklahoma State University, then there is nothing any of them could have done to keep me from being there.  So that must mean that He needed me somewhere else.  I have faith in His plan, so this must be part of it.  And if it is part of it, then I will do no good being bitter or angry.  So yes, I'm disappointed. Yes, it's been hard on my family.  But I'm grateful to have a job in this economy, and not just any job, a better job than the one I had.  I got a raise, and it is a very supportive environment.  Most of all, I guess I feel sorry for her.  How sad and lonely must a person's life be to make it your mission to try and destroy another?  I hope she can get past it one day, but as far as I go, my conscience is clear, and I will let God judge the situation in His perfect way.

So there you have the VERY CONDENSED version.  I'm healthy, the family is healthy, and we're happy.  It took eleven months, but we sold the house in Oklahoma and we were able to buy the house we wanted here in Kentucky.  It hasn't been easy, but I thought often of the story of Abraham and his going to sacrifice Isaac.  Isaac kept asking what they were going to sacrifice, and Abraham kept responding that God would provide.  I didn't know how my story would end, but I knew God would provide for me and my family.  My job was to keep moving towards the top of the mountain and demonstrate faith in Him and His plan.  I hope I passed the test in a way pleasing to Him.

With that said, I'm happy to have my new domain name: dctrcurry.com, and to have it linked directly to the blog here.  I first started blogging when it was cool, and I wrote a lot. It came and it went a couple of times.  But now I just want to write for me.  So there will be random thoughts on anything I'm randomly thinking about: work, politics, pop culture, religion, family, etc.  But they're just my thoughts.  Those who know me personally know I can be pretty opinionated, but most of all, I just enjoy the conversation.

See you online!

jhc