"So you think you know the dad book guy?"
For those of you that read Part 1 of this 2-part mini series, I shed some light on what I thought were some moments from 1Q18 that helped explain who "the dad book guy" really is. Although this mini-series won't be winning any Emmy Nominations, and although once tossed around, won't be airing on a 10-part, binge-worthy, Netflix series (again, another blog post to come on some of the original ideas that had been tossed around for The Dad Book), I do hope that these brief snippets of my life help you learn a little more about the guy behind The Dad Book.
Let's cut to the chase and dive into the second quarter of 2018!
2Q18
There's nothing more American than hot dogs, fireworks, and building a potato gun!
No typo there, just some good ole' fashioned hillbilly engineering! As I was getting ready to announce The Dad Book to the world, I began researching all of the ways that people go about introducing things online. Baby announcements/gender reveals, engagement photos, even the on and off couple awkwardly changing their relationship status to "It's Complicated" (I mean come on, to all my millennial friends out there, we all had that middle school crush that was somewhere between I hope they know my name and I think we're dating because they looked at me once walking down the hallway).
The internet is filled with people announcing "What's Happening" in their life and I wanted to garner some hype ahead of The Dad Book announcement video.
I thought back on my youth when my brother-in-law had built a potato gun and remembered thinking how incredible that was. You could literally get a potato going fast enough to break a plastic lawn chair. It would be perfect!
I got to work collecting the materials and with the help of my brother-in-law and dad, had a full-blown, Bald Eagle Screamin', Terrorists Fightin', Made in America potato gun. The Dad Book pre-announcement video was sure to be an American classic if I could figure out how to include some fireworks in it. See the picture below for a detailed look (courtesy of my 8th grade level art class) at how this was supposed to go:
Of all the things that you're thinking could have went wrong with this shoot, mosquitoes (I think I counted 28 bites on my arms and legs alone) would actually end up being my Achilles heal, resulting in an early shut-down. Thankfully, I was able to get a different version of the pre-announcement video, which can be seen here. And not to fret, this concept video will be making a comeback at a later date.
"So Nate, what does this have to do with you?"
For me, I love creating things. A quick glance at my lineage and you would see both my dad and grandpa have carpentry in their blood. Whether it be a ping-pong catapult for a school project, building LEGOs as a little guy, or help with a potato gun, my dad has instilled in me the sense of satisfaction that comes out of building something with your own hands. I was recently asked why a college grad with an internship, good grades, and career-related experience would venture off the beaten path with a project like The Dad Book. It was a simple answer, really, as this is an opportunity for me to continue to feel that sense of excitement around building something unique.
I graduated college! (With all of my fingers still intact from the potato gun)
With experiences like being a mentor, volunteering in 3 different states across the country, traveling across the world to study abroad in India, helping kickstart a student run organization to aid Veterans, and many more, I can say that my time spent at Western was time well spent.
But above anything I learned in or outside of the classroom, the thing I am most thankful for are the friendships that I now have. Cue the sappiest, but most fitting song, Graduation (Friends Forever) - Vitamin C.
I wanted to make sure to get this posted early this week, as I had mentioned in Part 1 of this mini-series that another media channel would be airing a special on The Dad Book. For those of you that have kept up with the blog so far, keep an eye on @TheRealDadBook Instagram and Facebook for updates surrounding this!
Talk Soon,
Nate