Whoa! Why does my Avatar have a Beard?

In 2005 2nd Life was new to me, introduced at the Learning 2005 conference. I set up my first account "Learner Hiam", get it? 'learner I am'? Anyhow, I never logged on. This year I attended a symposium at SDSU sponsored by our EdTech alums and SAGE (the student arm of ISPI). So now I have an Avatar, MichaelVincent Nathansohn. We've already gotten through 'orientation island' and flown around the riverfront. If we ever meet, I'll explain the name, but I chose to classify myself as a male to prevent being hit on in 2NL

So today, I sign in to 2NL and suddenly my delicate-faced avatar is sporting a mustache, goatee (sp?) and sideburns. And it's not easy to edit my 'appearance' given my early millenial Dell which doesn't quite meet 2nd Life minimum graphic requirements. In fact, after I changed my hair and put on a sparkly skirt, my clothes kept flashing from undergarments to plant textures (seriously, it's creepy to see avatar pantyhose lines, in public no less). So this image is just a headshot. You understand, right?

Eventually, I'd like to build new business orientation in 2NL. For now, I'll settle for learning to dress and groom myself. I have to start somewhere.