Pour Me A Story, Vol. 9
featuring a very strange interview, the perfect delivery meal, some backpackin' hip-hop and more
greetings pals, and welcome to another installment of Pour Me A Story! I tell you what: considering the month of March had approximately 147 days this year, the final quarter of 2020 feels like it’s absolutely flown by.
the whole “it’s December” thing really sunk in for me at work this week as I was compiling lists of product launches and blog posts we’ve featured over on the work blog this year. doing “Year In Review” stuff used to be a pain in my ass when I worked in journalism, because I have an awful short-term memory, but this was a fun way of mapping out the months of this weird year in the best way I know how: which sneakers released when.
but it was the “2020 in Features” post that really was pleasing to put together. four or so months ago I was given the opportunity to build a stable of freelance contributors to write for us about sneaker culture, sports and entertainment. being on the other side of freelancing for the first time in my career has been challenging as hell, but I’ve been lucky enough to work with some of my favorite writers to produce the stories they tell better than anyone. I look forward to sharing some of those next week!
But Anyway, We Have Company
this week we’re joined by me from 12 months ago. you see, around this time last year I wrote a pretty significant update on my since-dormant blog (right, the one I set up with the sole intention of keeping people updated on the minutiae of my expat life) announcing that we were expecting our first child. let’s see how wrong he was about everything.
AC: hey man, congratulations from the future! that’s some huge news.
2019 AC: this is weird, and you look like hell. did you cancel your gym membership? anyway, thank you — we’re excited and I’m pretty thrilled that it’s gonna be a girl. I feel like I’d stunt a boy’s development by not knowing how to throw a football or hit a baseball.
AC: listen, there’s a lot you don’t know about 2020. make sure you stock up on sweatpants. and you don’t want a kid playing CTE-MagaBall regardless.
2019 AC: you know what, I think I actually should be interviewing you, since you have all the answers now. so the baby has arrived, and I have to imagine she’s doing pretty well otherwise you wouldn’t have the time or energy for this absurd vanity project?
AC: yeah man she’s doing great. she’s goofy as hell and is determined to walk way before her legs are ready for it.
2019 AC: was I — were we, I guess — ready for fatherhood? like, did we read all the books and know how to change diapers and whatnot?
AC: oh FUCK no. I put a diaper on a teddy bear one time and it went fine so I thought I was golden. pro tip: teddy bears don’t squirm. but to answer your question, I don’t know whether anyone can truly be prepared. in fact I think for a month or two I was kinda resentful towards friends who are also fathers for not giving me some advanced warning that it’s hard as hell. like, the hardest thing we’ve ever done by far. but I also get it now — Smitty from high school just had a baby (spoiler alert) and there’s no way I could’ve slid into his DMs to be like “dude it’s gonna be brutal and you might feel totally helpless” because that doesn’t help either.
2019 AC: wait you’re making it sound terrifying, you asshole.
AC: I know, and it is. but the thing is, you learn a little more every day about what works and what the little one needs and what mom needs and what you need. and sometimes you’ll make silly mistakes and sometimes things will be entirely out of your control and all you can do is your best.
2019 AC: okay, I feel better n—
AC: well don’t get too far ahead of yourself, it’s still scary and humbling and exhausting. but when that kiddo wakes up from a nap and you’re the first person she sees and she drops a huge grin on you, or she buries her face in your chest at the end of an impossibly long day, then it wipes away all that fear and uncertainty and frustration and exhaustion. it’s pretty cool watching a human learn how to be a human, dude.
2019 AC: go back to the sweatpants thing. is that just advice for paternity leave? what am I gonna do with a bunch of sweatpants, I can’t wear those to work.
AC: oh buddy, I don’t want to spoil anything for you. but stock up on toilet paper and fabric masks too. just do it.
2019 AC: speaking of “just do it,” at least I’ll be able to afford that shit now that I’ve gone into sneaker-buying retirement.
AC: hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha — [deep breath] — hahahahahahahahahahaha. “retirement?” that’s a good one
I’ve Got The Powder
this afternoon I went to a regularly scheduled appointment and as I got out of the car I surprised myself a little bit to realize that I could tell something was in the air. more specifically, that “something” was snow. I checked my weather app because that’s what we do in 2020 with the computers we carry around in my pocket, and my suspicion was confirmed.
now I’m not sure whether I’ve ever mentioned it in these pages, but I have a true childlike fascination with snow. you can probably attribute that to me having grown up in a subtropical climate in a nation which doesn’t see much natural snowfall at all. and while my first northern winter was intimidating as hell (I thought two inches of dirty, crusty sidewalk snow in central Maine was “a lot” in November of 2013), the excitement mostly balanced out the nerve-wracking moments.
one time during a snowfall I waited til everyone had left the newspaper office for the night. I cautiously drove my car to the other side of the lot, pointed the headlights at a large section of untouched powder, and laid down in it to make my very first snow angel. nobody on TV or in the movies tells you that this is a good way of getting powder down the crack of your ass.
even after seven years (including two in south Florida), that fascination hasn’t worn off. in the Before Times, on a snowy weekend night, if I went missing from the bar you could probably find me in the alley outside packing snowballs and pitching them at the wall. my buddy Mike knows this and will text me after a snowfall to tell me if the precipitation was the right kind for optimal snowball making.
anyway I don’t know where I was going with this, other than that there are few things in nature that bring me more joy than early winter snowfalls. that silence that blankets the world, the stillness, the need to be rugged up indoors. this might be my favorite time of year.
Worthy Consumables
this week we have one thing that you probably can’t get your hands on and one you most certainly can, and with ease.
last weekend I had a little hotel staycation that Alex and I sometimes trade off to get some quiet time and a good night’s sleep to recharge the batteries. for me this also includes edibles of the THC persuasion and delivery food. last time I had a hotel stay I ordered poorly and was disappointed with my dinner, but this time I nailed it.
you ever have a meal that was just flat-out perfect? on Saturday night I did, and that wasn’t even the weed talking. I ordered from The District on 17th Avenue in Denver and got a buffalo chicken sandwich with bacon, garlic parmesan tots and an order of the smoked dry rub wings. it was just the right amount of food (I ran 7.5 miles earlier that day!) and it was all just spot on. anyway I would definitely recommend all of those menu items to my fellow Denverites.
if you aren’t in the Mile High City, you’ll just have to partake in the other recommendation here. lately I’ve been reading a daily newsletter by Ed Zitron, a British expat who runs a PR agency and does some good tweets. I think we ended up following each other after a discussion about green card immigration on Twitter back in 2017 but he hasn’t found my new account yet. if you’re reading this Ed, it’s @crawfinusa. anyway his daily dispatch has had some good insights on video games, tech and all sorts of other stuff, including “recovering from COVID-19.” anyway you can check it out here.
Parting Note
this song reminds me of being on the school bus in 10th grade with this kid named Nick Paul who was something of a hipster before hipsters were a thing. until that point the hip-hop I’d enjoyed was mostly of the gangsta rap persuasion, but that was far too mainstream for Nick. to his credit, the CD he loaned me (ostensibly to burn) was Jurassic 5’s Quality Control and it broadened my hip-hop tastes significantly.
thanks as always for sharing some of your reading time with me pals. I appreciate every single one of you! hope your weekend is great and next week is an easy one.
— adrian ✌🏻