JPEG loading spazzery and our next check-in!

Good evening, mustache nation.

Due to, ahem, interesting file keeping procedures, the unveiling of one formidable stache was delayed. Please feast your eyes on these fiesty nose neighbor - courtesy of one of San Diego's favorite sons: Jeff Butler.

Yeah. You bet your ass that just happened.

Oh, and tomorrow's check in will be at the Blarney Stone Pub in Clairemont. Details provided below. I plan to be there at 6:30ish. Bring friends, neighbors, loved ones, new friends, old stand-bys, etc. We are all old men, and I doubt that we will be out past 9PM since this is a work night. And again, we're old (or distinguished/refined - whatever comes first). Take care and have a good evening.

5617 Balboa Ave; San Diego, CA

1.	Take the CA-274/BALBOA AVE East for about 2.5 miles
2.	Turn RIGHT into the Vons/Mervyns shopping center (after Genesee Ave)
3.	The pub is in the South-East corner of the mall
1.	I-805 (coming from either North or South)
2.	Take the CA-274/BALBOA AVE WEST exit
3.	Go West on BALBOA AVE travel about 1 mile
4.	Turn LEFT into the Vons/Mervyns shopping center (before Genesee Ave)
5.	The pub is in the South-East corner of the mall

Check In Photos!

Good evening everyone,

Even though Thanksgiving has come and gone, we still find ourselves thankful for one thing: Our sweet staches. They are blossoming quite well! Take a look at these gems. Also, keeping everything in perspective, our donations are coming along very well, too. Just thought I would put that out there :)

Good night, San Diego, and be prepared for greater mustaches and bigger donations in the very near future!

Check In #1 Moved & More!

Good evening Growers,

After careful deliberation, the powers that be (Sean and I) have decided to modify some of the dates. There are a lot of things to consider and I don't think that there is any one schedule that will fit everyone's availability. Some growers have class on Mondays and Wednesdays, while some have class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and others still have class on Wednesday and Thursday! We don't want to horn in on everyone's weekend on multiple occasions, so consistent Friday - Sundays won't work (especially with football commitments!). Anyhow, here's what we are looking at:

Check in #1: This will be on Thursday, 11.19.2009 at 7PM at "The Hungry Stick" in Clairemont. There will be beer and pool tables. Sweet.

Check in #2: We'll keep this as is for now.

Stache Bash!: This will now be held on 12.11.2009. Time and place TBD.

If any of this changes for whatever reason, I assure you all ample heads up. In the mean time, thank you all for your flexibility!

If you cannot make it to a check in, just email me a photo update. We will take photo updates at the check-ins, so come shaven - save for your spectacular stache! Also be prepared to talk about your current donation totals. It is important to remember that, underneath all of the organizational aspects, it is for the kids!

Oh yeah. I am thinking that a random meeting on a Monday would be good. That way the Growers with mid-week commitments can still meet with their brothers in stache and throw back a few cold ones. Thoughts?

OK, that'll do it for now. Hit me back with your emails and we look forward to seeing you on Thursday!

More Growers! Holy Moly!

Did you see that title?!

That's right, friends. We have even more growers to show off to one and all. Please meet Brian and Tyson. I expect greatness from both of these fine folks. Not only that, but these are clearly the two happiest Growers in all of San Diego. Look at those smiles!

Brian Goold: Happy, Smashing Pumpkins genius, Grower. One cool dude!

Tyson Jouglet. He's been game since I said, "Let's grow Mustaches!" Simply put, Tyson rules.

In other news, I believe that the dates for the Stache Bash and the check-ins might need to be revisited. It has come to my attention that there is spotty availability for some growers on Tuesdays - Thursdays. I recognize that it may be hard to figure out a mutually convenient time for one and all for all dates, but Stache Bash is the most important of all the dates, so let's pull our brains together and (at the very least) make the final day of our Growing Season available for all. Right now the Stache bash is slated for 12.10.2009. If that works, let me know. If it doesn't work, let me know and also provide dates around the 10th that will work for you. Originally we avoided weekends because we feared that our group might be too cumbersome to fit into a bar. Perhaps, and maybe for the better, we are better off starting with a smaller-than-anticipated group because it means that we don't need to worry about getting a massive reservation or anything.

Phew! OK, so I will start. Christian can do 12.10.2009 and 12.11.2009 for the Stache Bash. As for the check-ins, I can be where-ever, when-ever. What can you do?

keep it stachey, San Diego.

Meet Our Growers: Part Two (Part One Provided Below)

Yes - there's more where that came from! Blogspot has certain limitations when it comes to how many pictures you can provide in a single post. Let's be proud that our ranks require two posts! Roll call:

Mike Attia. Five bucks says his stache will rule the school.

Arjun Iyer. The guitar actually plays music, which means that Arjun officially has a shirt as boisterous as he is.

Meet Our Growers: Part One

Growing season is here, and it feels good. All of our growers assembled before the bathroom sink (separately, of course) in the common ritual of shaving our faces until they became as smooth as the hood of a freshly waxed Camaro. With clean faces and charitable hearts, we have descended upon our hometown with but one goal: helping children make their wishes come true this holiday season. Wanna help? I know you do. To make a donation, let us know by emailing m4ksandiego@gmail.com

Before we sign off, allow me to introduce our soon-to-be scraggily growers. Roll call!

Sean "I'm ready for my close up" McNeil

Christian Baker: M4KSD webmaster, orange shirt owner.

Tony Flor: "Make sure you leave my pajama bottoms are out of the shot..."

John Baker, Jr. "Why M4K? 4K - that's why!"

Jeff Butler. He gets his caption on top because Blogspot said so: that's why. Literally... I can't figure out how to get it down there...

Clean Shaven Day is tomorrow!

Clean Shaven Day is tomorrow! Please check in soon to see the lovely baby faces of all of our participants. Also, many thanks to Dani Butler for flyering around town this past weekend. This is a reminder to all sentient creatures that the charitable stache is more in the heart than on the upper lip.

"Celebrate good stache, come on! It's stache-ebration"

Team Stache: San Diego
m4ksandiego@gmail.com

Mustache Meet n' Greet!

The time for our Growing Season is just around the corner! We are looking forward to a successful first run at things, so we are hosting an informative meet n' greet session on Thursday, October 29th for all of our members and prospective members. Here are the specs:

Who: You!

What: Mustaches for Kids Meet n' Greet Info Session

When: 6:00PM on Thursday, October 29th

Where: The Rockbottom Brewery in La Jolla

We will cover the basics of collecting donations, promoting the Mustaches for Kids effort, and fielding any miscellaneous questions you might have. Also, we will set you up with pledge sheets, business cards, and (supposing they are ready) flyers to post around town. Woo - goodies!

If you are interested in joining and cannot make the meeting - fear not! We will provide meeting notes via email following the meeting. All you'll need to do is email us and we will take care of you.

Oh, and don't forget to view our blog archive if you haven't dropped by the site before now. It is full of useful information and stache-tastic whimsy.

We hope to see you there!

Team Stache: San Diego

m4ksandiego@gmail.com

A Stache Anyone Can Wear and More

Have you ever asked yourselves in an hour of meditation, which everyone finds during the day, where you can find fashionable outer wear to enhance your budding mustache?  Well I say to you, "Look no longer, for Panache Stache has you covered".  Panache Stache, a purveyor of fine and fashion forward t-shirts, has many comfortable and colorful styles available for you to show the world exactly who you are: A man with a mustache, panache, and a dream to enrich the life of a child in need of a smile (should you wisely channel your inner or outer stache's full panache in the art of conversation).  Though Panache Stache is not directly affiliated with Mustaches for Kids, the purchase and representation of Panache Stache shirt might be the perfect ice breaker with a stranger who wants to help a child by means of a mustache-grower but just doesn't know how.  Not only that, but Ray, the man behind the shirt, is a really good guy. To view the whole Panache Stache line, click here.

In other news, our little chapter has already started to see the support we will need in the coming months.  With our ranks of Growers increasing in size nearly every day, promised donations, and word of our endeavors reaching more and more people, we remain confident that our first Growing Season will be a total success.  Our sincerest thanks goes out to everyone who has already had a hand in our success.  But now is not the time to get lost in niceties or complacency!  We still need your help!  Remember to spread the word on how the month long cultivation of a sweet, sweet cookie duster can help improve a child's life.  

Stachely yours,

Team Stache: San Diego

m4ksandiego@gmail.com

And We're Off!

It has been a busy day of M4K planning. Unlike the freestyle stache, which will grow if left unattended, charities do not self-generate. Nay, they need careful planning, well-orchestrated and thoughtful direction, and hard work... like a well groomed Fu Manchu.

Alright, I promised big news and I must deliver. The plans are still quite nebulous, but it's never to early to clear your calendar for stache-oriented events. So get out your Blackberries, iPhones, ballpoints, and day planners already - this is for the kids!

(Please note: Both the time and location are TBD/TBA. The dates are not expected to change.)

10.29.2009: Info Session/Meet n' Greet
11.11.2009: Growing Season begins with "Clean Shaven Day"!
11.18.2009: Check-In #1
12.02.2009: Check-In #2
12.09.2009: Check-In #3

And finally...
The week of 12.14.2009 - 12.18.2009: Stache Bash 2009!

Sean and I (mainly Sean) will be putting together some business cards in the next couple of weeks. Once they come off the press, Sean and I will give all confirmed Growers a small clutch of them to give out to potential Growers. Since Mustaches for Kids is a staunchly word-of-mouth organization, our efforts will live and die by our willingness and ability to talk about our campaign with friends, family, troubled onlookers and complete strangers. Know no fear and spread the word! If you grow it, they will come, and we will know that the true Field of Dreams resides above your upper lip and below the nostrils.

Lastly, T-Shirts will be made - both for Growers and the supporting public. We are going to be in touch with various sponsors and a graphic designer to put together a fine shirt for one and all. A Hanes Hefty Tee will likely be the canvas upon which the M4KSD gospel is scrawled. Also, we will collect Grower's shirt sizes directly before placing our order.

More information will come as the details take shape.

Yours,

Team Stache: San Diego

m4ksandiego@gmail.com

An Abbreviated History of Rollie Fingers: Local Sports Legend and Mustache Grower.

Former San Diego Padre, Rollie Fingers, is known for two things: Being a Cooperstown talent on the mound, and for sporting the most glorious mustache in all baseball. Before coming to San Diego, Fingers won the 1972 World Series with the Oakland Athletics "Mustache Gang" in the famous and infamous "Hairs vs. Squares Series". Not surprisingly, the Mustache Gang beat the Cincinnati Reds in seven games. Though many will maintain that it was the pure athletic talent (which the 1972 A's possessed) that won them the Fall Classic title, I suggest that it was their athleticism AND the camaraderie only attained when growing a mustache towards a common goal. Conversely, Marge Schott, then owner of the Cincinnati Reds, had a policy requiring all players to be clean shaven at all times. Could it be mere coincidence then that the Reds lost against a team of greater follicular fortitude? I don't think so.

We've seen what can be done when men with mustaches work towards a common end. Greatness is upon us. We are all champions.

Introducing the Mustaches for Kids San Diego Chapter!

It is my pleasure to post the inaugural entry on the "Mustaches for Kids: San Diego Chapter" official website!

If you are you reading this, it is likely that you know who we are, what we do and why we do it. However, those of you who came to us by happenstance might be perplexed. Frightened. Trembling. If you find yourself in the second group or would like to re-familiarize yourself with our organization, I invite you to read our FAQ.

Our History: Mustaches for Kids is a volunteer-run organization started in Los Angeles in 1999 to do good and have fun by growing Mustaches for children's charities. Since its humble beginnings, Mustaches for Kids satellite chapters (such as our own) have spread across the continent, a steady expansion that is not unlike the measured, deliberate growth of a Mustache. Through the years, Mustaches for Kids has enlisted the efforts of hundreds of brave of Growers who, collectively, have raised over $200,000 for charities such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Children's Hospital of New Orleans, and San Francisco's Legal Services for Children.

Here's how it works: Each year, during the four-week Growing Season roughly between Thanksgiving and Christmas, Growers sprout sweet, sweet Mustaches. Per our bylaws, they shave their faces, except for the Mustache, a minimum of one time per week and solicit donations from friends, family, co-workers, and people in the community. Kind of like getting pledges to run a marathon. Without the exertion, cramping, or dehydration. Call it a facial hair marathon.

At the end of the Growing Season, each Mustaches for Kids chapter hosts a Mustache Competition, which is a cross between a beauty pageant, dog show, and police line up. During the Competition, Growers, often in Mustache-enhancing costumes, are put through a test of mind, body, and Mustache and allow their facial hair to be evaluated by an independent panel of judges, and one Mustache is declared to be the "Sweetest."

So it's all pretty simple: mustache, charity, competition infused with meaningless pageantry. You can spare four weeks of your life for that.

So, in the words of our founders, "grow with us." To learn more about how to join the fray, please feel free to contact your local representatives at m4ksandiego@gmail.com