Great start...

I arrived at work 25 minutes early (later than I should've) to plan my first class. As soon as I walked in, a manager pulls me aside to inform me that my new beard was a no-go: "Mark, it says in the teachers' manual that men must all be clean-shaven in appearance. Can you go home and shave real quick?" "Um, probably not. I teach right at 3:00." "Can you take a taxi?" "Uhh, once again..." Then the owner butts in: "Go downstairs to the 7-11, and buy a shaver. Shave in the bathroom." So, in the span of 25 minutes I zoom downstairs to buy a razor, run back up four flights of stairs, and shave a full beard with a straight razor. And I still have a whopping minute and a half to plan my first class.

It's very interesting that nobody mentioned the whole beard thing to me the day before, on Sunday when we had a company meeting. In fact, my managers both complimented me on it. It does say in the teachers' manual that "all men must be GQ in appearance." I've never browsed through their catalogue, but can one not be GQ with a beard?