Day 047: Bev of the Week – Austin Eastciders Blood Orange Cider

I didn’t follow my own advice. I knew that I wouldn’t. You might think that I was writing yesterday for you, but I was actually doing it for myself. And it didn’t work. By the time 7:00 hit, I was mesmerized by the spinning circle. Doomscrolling Twitter every 30 seconds. Making hot takes to myself. Generally losing my mind. And it only got worse as the night progressed. I writhed on the couch as I tried to distract myself. Nothing worked. I couldn’t pry my phone away from my own hand. Even now, it’s difficult. There’s so much info building up inside that black mirror and I could be missing all of it. I know I’m not alone. We’re going to need an army of psychiatrists to undo the damage we have done to ourselves.

Around the time that Biden lost his foothold in North Carolina and everything seemed so far out of reach, a piece of my tooth broke off. Just like that, completely out of nowhere. Panic surged through my body. I nearly fainted from all of the adrenaline rushing. After getting my bearings straight, doing ample research and taking some disgusting selfies, I deduced that it wasn’t even my tooth. It was actually hardened tartar, which is even more concerning. I…should probably see a dentist.

I spent the remainder of the night in a zombie-like state. Half asleep but fully awake. After the attack, I became numb to any new information. I mindlessly played Tony Hawk until 5 AM, stopping to check my phone every 2 minutes until it died. I woke up to some better news. Not great news, but still positive. Regardless, I spent my morning manically making adjustments to Coze Cove. Adding borders to all of my sidewalks. Making plans for a tree farm. Dismantling my space lounge and razing all of the land. There’s something so oddly comforting about destroying something digitally. Almost therapeutic.

I rode into the city with Rachel. I’m not exactly sure why, I guess I just didn’t want to be home. After all, it was a beautiful day and I needed some time away from the screen. The train was empty and quiet, much like the streets of Downtown Manhattan. Just a bunch of giant structures boarded up, waiting for the looming apocalypse. People wandered about in a silent malaise. We’re all dazed from taking so many punches and yet we must carry on. We have no choice. If we stop moving, they will surely win. I think. There was an American flag at half mast. I found it to be striking. It reminded me of when the Pope was on his death bed, there was a window that everybody watched, waiting for the light to turn off. Once the flag rises, a president will be selected. Maybe.

After an hour of meandering around, walking in and out of stores with no general purpose, I decided to head back home. Just as my B train was leaving Grand St, Spotify and its infinite wisdom decided to play “City of Dreams” by Talking Heads. By far, their most underrated song. It was shooed onto the True Stories soundtrack and never really saw the spotlight it deserved.

It felt cathartic. Like one of those moments that’s manufactured by your wildest dreams or an 80s movie. The train crawled slowly over the Manhattan Bridge as the sun set behind the Statue of Liberty. It was one of the most beautiful sunsets I had seen in a while. It filled me with joy, wonder and hope. I turned my eyes away to check my phone again. Biden had just won Michigan. I mustered whatever emotional energy I had left to do a limp fist pump and cry a few tears of joy.

I’ve spent most of the evening pacing nervously around the apartment, moving some furniture and then pacing again. CNN was offering no new information, but boy do they love talking about it. After a while, I had realized that I still hadn’t eaten all day. I wasn’t even hungry, I just knew that something had to be done about it. I threw a pizza in the oven, took a long shower and turned on Game 6 of the World Series.

And of course, I cracked open an Austin Eastciders Blood Orange Cider.

I know what you’re thinking. Apples and oranges don’t go together in a bev. But I can assure you the contrary. On first taste, you get an intensely crisp citrus taste and then as it travels down your throat, it leaves a heartily satisfying apple aftertaste. The flavors remain completely separate, the way they should be. And yet they’re together. Just like America. Hmm. It will quench your thirst, go down easy and leave you buzzed enough to mute some of the voices in your head.

The future is frightening and uncertain, no matter how the next few days go. There is still a virus ravaging the country at an alarming rate. We are still vulnerable to riots. Trump could still win the election or find a way to steal it in court. Your teeth could fall out for no apparent reason. But there’s one thing that remains constant. No matter how bad things will get, one thing that will always be there is the feeling you get when drinking a delicious bev. And if you’re in the right mindset, an Austin Eastciders Blood Orange Cider is all you need to make everything feel okay. Just for a little while.

Once again, breathe. Relax. We’ll get through this. Enjoy a bev. It’s one of the few comforts we’ll always have.

– TeeCoZee