30 Days to a Better Man, Day 2: shine your shoes

from Flickr

Thank goodness I have a father who has nice shoes and takes care of them, and taught me how to shine properly. This daily challenge was a breeze.

I followed the instructions in AoM's article to the letter, right down to the swabbing-with-rubbing-alcohol-to-rid-the-shoes-of-any-dirt-jammed-into-cracks-along-with-the-old-polish bit. I didn't do every pair I own; my black Oxfords are secure in their dust-free box, waiting for me to trot out my best (and only) three-piece suit. Not to mention that it's already 11:19 p.m. and I want to finish this challenge before midnight. I got up at nine o'clock and left the house at noon to head to Yangcheon-gu to brew beer with Brant and Joseph and we watched Hatari! and drank beer and had a great time and I only just got home —

Hold on a minute. This is sounding like an excuse. Integrity is one of the values I put down yesterday. So I went to the trouble of digging the Oxfords out of their hidey-hole and looking 'em over. They didn't need shining. Honestly. They didn't.

So, to business. I got out the bottle of rubbing alcohol that I normally use for cleaning my pipe...

 ...and my trusty old six-piece shoe polish kit from Target, given to me many moons ago by my parents as a Christmas gift (and never used)...

...and got straight to work. I've shined shoes before, so I wasn't bumbling my way along. The time flew by. I didn't have Blue Lincoln Wax that the article recommends, but I buffed and buffed until the shoes shined. See the results for yourself:

Stick around for Day 3!