Week 34: The 2019 Voting with My Dollar Project
With back-to-school season upon us, my attempts to minimize my usage of Amazon Prime have weakened. The dearth of time, combined with picky the need for very specific things, is guiding me back to Amazon once again.
In particular, the need for “inside shoes.” These are the shoes my daughters wear every single day in Children’s House, their Montessori preschool. They have to be easy for the kids to get on and off themselves, but they also have to be inoffensive to my very particular eye. “You will literally never see them again after you buy them,” says Jon. True, but I’ll know.
Which is why I can’t get Crocs. So sorry, friends who buy Crocs for their kids. I don’t mean to be a dick. I don’t judge you for buying Crocs; I totally get it. They’re easy to slip on and off. They’re only moderately overpriced, unlike most kids’ shoes. They’re indestructible.
But I just cannot get over how ugly they are. Not to mention… what are they made out of?
According to Quora:
Crocs are made out of a foam resin called croslite, which is made out of a polymer called ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA).
According to Crocs, though:
Crocs Croslite material is not made of EVA foam. We can not disclose its contents as it is a proprietary closed cell resin. Crocs fully molded clogs and other styles are made of Croslite material, which is an extraordinary impact absorbing resin material developed for maximum cushioning.
Sounds fishy, no? And by fishy, I mean, something that will inevitably get into the oceans as waste and kill all the fish. Also, the punctuation is off in that weak PR response.
Anyway, that’s not the point. The point is that Crocs are hideous. Which is why I’m back to square one again, beating myself over the head about whether to spend a lot of extra money having Tom’s ship their awesome slip-on shoes on time for school, or stay deep in the Amazon vortex of hell school-shoes research.
Help me.
Actually don’t — I will just pull you down with me! Some hero journeys you have to go alone.
What I’m reading:
Just finished the novel Everything Under by Daisy Johnson. Her first novel, and she wrote it when she was 27. Humbled.
What I’m listening to:
With two of my best friends, I saw my third Avett Brothers show last week at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley. It was a squinch life-altering. I love this band.
What I’m watching:
Reminiscing with YouTube bootleg video of two songs from that show: I and Love and You and No Hard Feelings
What I’m working on:
For Peltarion: Helping leaders understand how (and why) to harness AI (email)
For Jones + Waddell: How to Identify Your Brand’s Value Proposition (Medium post)
