I have nothing to write about Marin today... mostly because there have been two days when I haven't seen him (I'm lucky enough to get a break from him at weekends....) and also because all of the stuff he does I have already written about. So here is a little story about him instead.

Once upon a time there was a "boy" called Marin. Marin woke up one day and looked in the mirror. After the initial screaming due to the shock of seeing his "face" he peered closely at his chin to look for signs of stubble. But alas there was none. How would Marin meet the goatee growing challenge that he had accepted from Felix? It had been weeks but there was not even a slight fuzz on his face and in three days time he would have to return to college, still with a smooth face!

Marin decided that it was time for outside intervention. He was sure he could find some sort of cream to make his "facial hair" grow faster. He switched on his computer and connected to the internet and then searched for "facial hair growing products." He found a website advertising "Dale's Facial Hair Miracle Cream." Marin was impressed. If used once a day the cream was guaranteed to produce a fully fledged beard in a week. It sounded perfect! Marin didn't need a complete beard, just a goatee!

He dressed and went downstairs for a healthy breakfast of yoghurt and fruit and then skipped to the bus stop, humming Eminem songs (his favourite person ever- followed closely by 50 cent.) The first bus drove straight past Marin as it was a classy double decker with television screens on and Marin wasn't good enough for it. However the next one was a scrubby one so Marin bounded onto it, full of the joys of spring, and headed off in search of the miracle cream.

When Marin arrived in town he hopped merrily to the high street pharmacists. He scanned the shelves until he found the cream, bathed in a golden glow, possibly due to its miraculousness or perhaps some clever lighting. He cradled a tube of the cream in his hand as if it was precious. Eagerly he read the instructions:

Dale's Facial Hair Miracle Cream
Apply once a day to face and leave to sink in. Expect results in two to three days.
Facial Hair Miracle Cream- for when you're not quite man enough to grow your own!

Marin was so happy. Now he would be in with a chance of winning the one penny bet that he had made with Felix! He clutched the tube in his hand and made his way to the checkout, where he paid and bounded out of the shop like a kangaroo on speed.

Desperate to try out his new purchase, Marin rushed home. However, as he opened the door he saw his Mum, and as he loves her so much he stayed to chat with her. As the time passed Marin forgot all about his miracle cream. It was only just before he was going to bed that he remembered about it, so he applied the cream and went to sleep, to dream of carrots and peas.

The following morning, Marin sat bolt upright in bed, having remembered about the miracle cream. He leaped towards the mirror and inspected his face.
"Damn!" he cried. "Not a whisker!" He read the instructions on the back of the tube and took comfort in the fact that it could take two to three days for the facial hair to grow. But Marin wasn't prepared to take chances, so he applied the cream six times that day.

When he awoke the next morning his hand shot up to his face. Between his fingertips he was certain that he felt hair. He approached the mirror anxiously and then stared in amazement. Before him was a "face" with stubble! Marin could hardly believe his eyes. He ran to the bathroom and shaved his stubble, leaving only a goatee. Then he reapplied the cream to the goatee area twice.
"Tomorrow," he said "I shall have a goatee worthy of the penny prize money!" He went about his day as happy as Larry.

The day of judgement had arrived. Marin awoke with butterflies in his stomach. This was the day when he would prove to them all what a man he was! He went to the mirror to check that his goatee was still there, but to his horror his entire face was covered in long ginger hairs. He looked like an orangutan! Looking down at his arms Marin noticed that they too were covered in long hairs, as were his legs, in fact, as was his whole body! Marin had overdone it with the cream. He checked the tube for a way of reversing the hair growth process but it mentioned nothing. He rushed to his computer to check on the internet but his efforts were in vain. The hair growth was permanent. Even if he was to shave it off it would grow back. If there was one thing for sure, Dale's Facial Hair Miracle Cream certainly provided value for money.

So this concludes the sad tale of Marin the "man-wannabe." Now, completely covered in hair, he is destined to a life in the ICT field. And the moral of this tale? Never yearn for what you can't have? Love yourself as you are? Don't waste your money on "miracle" products? No! The moral of this tale is pink fish never sleep!

Toodles all!