Fifty Cups of Coffee #30: Alain Schotland
Date: November 15, 2024
Location: Portland, Oregon
How we know each other
Like so many of history’s longest-lasting love stories, Alain and I first met at a frat party 😂. We were both Broadcast Journalism students at Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts. After many Ross & Rachel-esque breaks, we finally tied the knot in 2001.
What Alain is doing now
Currently, Alain is sitting in the other room, hopefully working on some updates for our site, Urban Bliss Life 😉. He lives just outside of Portland, Oregon on the edge of wine country with me, our two kids (ages 20 and 17), and lovable Lab Retriever, Ace (AKA @Urban Bliss Dog). For the past few years, he has been doing some freelance marketing work as well as working with me on Urban Bliss Life.
Three questions
During these Fifty Cups of Coffee chats, I ask each person the same three questions. The reasoning behind each is as follows:
Question 1 – Social media makes it easy for other people to think that they know us, when truthfully, we all only see a small sliver of someone’s life and who they really are. This is the interviewee’s chance to share something that is important to them that, for whatever reason, other people may not know.
Question 2 – We all have fears, no matter who are are or where we are in life. This helps connect us and show we are all more alike than we are different.
Question 3 – I believe the answer to this question helps show each person’s true values, passions, and their why in life.
There are no right or wrong answers to any of these. I’m including each person’s answers in first person. Their answers have been edited from my notes for length and clarity, but these are their words.
What is one thing you wish more people knew about you?
“My secret desire to be a British police detective. I watch a *lot* of UK crime shows and I think I’d be a pretty good DI by this point. In fact, here’s my how-to guide to solving crimes:
- When you’ve cracked the case, gather all the suspects together and painstakingly explain to them how you solved it, before getting the perp to openly confess.
- If somebody besides a dog walker finds the body, that’s probably your killer. Otherwise, forget the dog walker.
- Always check the CCTV.
- Anyone on the force with a gambling problem? Could be your bent copper.
- Accept the cup of tea when interviewing suspects in their homes. It builds rapport. And it’s just polite.
- Always ask for a DNA samples. You know, for elimination purposes.
- Keep a bottle of whisky in your desk for those late nights at the station.”
What is your deepest fear?
“Right now I fear that our country is becoming irreversibly polarized and that ultimately it will become a place I no longer recognize, where freedoms and rights are taken away or simply ignored. I fear that our kids only know the kind of deep divisions that exist now and these us-versus-them attitudes have been normalized for them. I fear that these political divisions have also driven us to a climate tipping point, where the planet we leave future generations is increasingly under climate-related threats and its downstream effects. And I fear that there’s not enough desire or will, yet, to turn things around.”
“And spiders. I hate those f*ckers.”
If you had unlimited funds, what would you do with your life?
“I’d travel extensively, to places I’ve never been before and to revisit ones I have fond memories of. Often, it’s only after you travel to a place a few times that you really begin to understand it and realize that whether that first-time feeling of euphoria is lasting. And ultimately, I’d consider moving to one of those places, for a change of both physical and mental scenery. Along the way, I’d try to make a positive impact by helping organizations and causes that I feel strongly about. Or starting one of my own. Or start a production company that makes exclusively British crime dramas.”
What I’ve Learned
Here are some of the things I’ve learned and some takeaways from our coffee chat.
- I’ve learned that Alain is not, in fact, a spy. I’ve always wondered if he was, but now I know he is not. I’m a little disappointed in this revelation, but I think I’ll stick with him being a normal civilian.
- Alain and I talk about politics and the state of the country – and the world – every day. So his answer to the second question does not surprise me, but rather reinforces how important it is for me to be on the same page as my partner politically. I cannot imagine living with someone who has a totally opposite world view on issues of dire importance, like healthcare, education, gun violence, social services, the environment, and general decency toward mankind. Kudos to those of you who can, but I most definitely could not.
- Like Alain, I enjoy revisiting places we’ve been to before. As a travel writer, I feel like there’s so much emphasis on always traveling someplace new, to tick off another country box. But revisiting a place allows you to immerse yourself more into that country’s culture and daily life.
Thanks for taking the time to do this coffee chat, Alain!
Learn more about Alain
You can learn more about Alain on our site, Urban Bliss Life, and read some of the articles he has written. You can also follow him on Instagram @aschotland, although he rarely posts there.
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