Dating During a Pandemic with DJ Danl + Ali

But when the pandemic started, uh, not to give too much personal information, she went home to her parents house, about like an hour and a half away from where I live, and her parents did not want her to leave the house at all. So for the first month and a half of the pandemic, I did not get to see my girlfriend, which for me, uh. My therapist says that I have something called mental health issues, and for me at least, I'm a pretty dependent person, so

I love being with other people. I don't really like being alone. So it was not a great time, especially for me and and Madison. We fought, sorry, Babe, but we didn't. We would fight about stupid things, and I would make all this fuss about not getting to see her, But eventually I got to see her and it was. It was awesome. I also, since the pandemic started, moved to a new house, which doesn't seem like it makes sense right now, but with that new house came new roommates.

And both of my roommates, one of them has been single the whole pandemic and the other was in a relationship and that relationship ended during the pandemic, so now is also single. So I got two single roommates, ladies. But if you are single and you live in Los Angeles, actually no, I can't say that. Damn it, We're in the pandemic. That's what this whole episode is about. That's exactly why we're having this episode is because through all of this madness of being single and having to quarantine.

But also I think one of the biggest things is the angry therapist that we have on on one the episodes of this podcast said, you're you know, we're not meant to live life alone. And if you're single and you live away from your family and some people don't even have a roommate, and we're supposed to be locked away in our houses and staying home, it's kind of like the opposite of that, Like we're not meant to live life alone, but at the same time, don't leave

your house. And if you live by yourself, tough luck. So what got me thinking? How do you date during a pandemic? And more importantly and more dramatically for Catherine Law who wrote this out herself, I think we need this how do you fall in love when the world falls apart? No? What is up everybody? This is let's

get into it. This is my podcast where we talk about everything, things that I go through for the most part, but a lot of the times we also talk about things that I don't go through, things that I have to kind of hear other people's stories about. And so today we have an awesome episode that is going to get three different views of what it's like to date during a pandemic. Myself, like I had mentioned, I've been in a relationship since before the pandemic, and my two

guests both have unique stories themselves as well. First up, I have a DJ podcast engineer, podcast producer, podcast editor occasional on my personality for I heart radio, longtime music lover with the history and dance music. As a part of the DJ duo Gladiator. He's been recognized at Sweet Green ones, Daniel, Daniel DJ Daniel good Man, what's up for having me? I'm honored to be here. How you doing, man,

I'm doing really well. I'm starting to think after that that might have been my best intro I've ever done. And I'm starting to Catherine, we need to we need to add some like some pump up music, like like as if we're yeah, like some basketball coming out of basketball intro music. Um, Daniel, we're gonna be hearing about your dating life and your dating his story of being in a pandemic and still finding love. I'm so excited and with you. We have another story, and this one's

very interesting. We're gonna keep her last name out of it because we want the juiciest of the juicy details. She is, she lives in a place ken I'm not even gonna say we're gonna keep it anonymous because I want I want the juicy details that I have been told are going to come on this episode. So Aside from emulating Carrie Bradshaw's dating mishaps, she spends much of her free time producing stand up comedy, most recently producing outdoor shows to raise money for a local nonprofit in

her own neighborhood. How sweet is it? Ali? Last name? How are you? Ali? Last name? I'm good, Thanks for having me, Alex. I'm so excited to hear these stories. We're gonna have some cool topics. We're talking about love during the lockdown. That is going to be you and me, big big, big d Big Daniel. I'm not going to call you big d. I felt I was going to let it slide, but it felt a little it felt a little bit weird with both of our girlfriends. Um uh. Then after that, Ali, you and I are gonna be

talking about a fresh hell of first date. I cannot wait for that. Um. And then lastly, we have Netflix and absolutely zero chill. But before we get into those topics, I have a question that I ask all of my guests, and that question is what are you doing this week to improve yourself? Um? I'll go first. I've had a craziest stressful week. If we're dating or time stamping, where this recording is happening, I just finished my virtual tour

for the Gospel of twenty three. I worked with two different brands, I sent in two different auditions, and it was literally it felt like for Monday through Thursday from from actually probably Sunday till Thursday, I spent maybe ten minutes in total not working, like not even a lie. I'm either sleeping or I was working. And I had ten minutes of of a break and uh, and I was getting super super stressed and I was being super

super hard on myself. And in the middle of that, I spoke with one of my really really good friends and also my girlfriend, who both of them said this mantra that I tell everybody, and I'm very bad at taking my own advice, but it was one thing at

a time. You just gotta focus on one thing at a time, don't focus on the big picture of everything that has to get done, just you know, like Jude Weang, the director of our movie Finding All Hanna said when we were filming Bird by Bird, one thing at a time, we just gotta just gotta get it done. So that's something that I've been trying to really implement, taking my own advice and doing that. That being said, Danield, you

got something for me, um sure, you know. Very recently, this is also a bit of a side note personal story, but a third roommate just moved into our apartment and with that came kind of a whole new energy around uh, personal health. We've all been getting into working out, so

there's three people in the house total. We've been getting into working out as a trio and being each other's biggest cheerleaders and spotters when it comes to stuff like you know, bench pressent whatever, but like just having a third person in the house to really kick up the notch on better physical health, mental health, just a little bit of everything. And so having having that third person in here has been a really really good opportunity to

kick the working out part in the high gear. We We've gotten the self low out during the pandemic, and now it's the all right, let's kick that back up into building up some muscle strength there. Oh, that is huge. That is huge, especially with Dylan and Sam in my house, that they're the only reason that I haven't eaten myself into oblivion, like I I very much. That's an incredible thing to get al. Al, you've got to you got two examples. Give us something. What are you doing this

week to improve yourself? Well, it ties back to dating, and I don't want to make it seem like dating is my whole world and I'm not gonna lie it seems like it. I'm just kidding. I know it's definitely true. Like I make a joke that dating is my hobby, but it's more like a part time job. But really I'm trying to reel back on that and not spend so much time on dating apps because right now there's really no way to meet other people in person, so dating apps can be like all consuming like any other

form of technology. So I'm trying to like put limits on how much swiping I do. Like fortunately some of the apps limited for you, but other ones you can swipe for like I'm working from home, so like no, you know, I'm trying to be more mindful about like how much time I'm spending. So I'm trying to invest myself into some other projects that are like taking my mind off of dating apps and dating because it can be very gamy. You know. That is that is the

perfect answer. That is a perfect answer for this episode because it is at the end of the day. I think one of the takeaways is like you gotta still focus on the love part because I think digitally it can become, like you said, very gamy, and so I love that that was your answer, and it was the perfect segue for us to get going. So we'll be talking with you in just a bit, Ali, but Daniel's time for us to go one on one. All Let's do it, baby, alright. So Daniel, you have quite the story.

So I've heard um. What before we get into the actual pandemic part of it, what was your pre quarantine, your pre pandemic dating life like, Well, I would say pretty average. I was really heavy on the apps, just participating in your traditional kind of like going to bars with friends kind of stuff, and you know, trying to do big dinner dates and big friend gatherings, just like getting as many people into the mix as possible to

make it fun. I I love, you know, a standard one on one date, but sometimes just like playing it up with friends of friends and people you've never met before like that always just like a great way to you know, just meet new people and hopefully somebody really like UM. And that was fun. It wasn't really working for me. I will also say that, you know, while I was on the road for the past like ten years, I wasn't dating a whole lot. I was very busy.

We were gone every weekend, so it just wasn't offering a lot of opportunities for me to like I wanted to be with someone who I wasn't being like, Okay, well you know, i'll see you in like two weeks by. This didn't seem fair to me. So yeah, my pre pandemic dating life was filled with a lot of those kinds of like the occasional one on one really standard date, but a lot of these kind of like group to

get together as Korean barbecue kind of gatherings. I actually like those though, because even in a relationship, I like, but even when you're single, I think they're really good because if you're with your friends, I feel like you get a little bit more comfortable, You're you're more natural old self, whereas on the date, you're kind of like playing chess with each other, like Okay, what's gonna impress this?

You know, Whereas with your friends, you kind of forget that you need to impress somebody, or you forget that that's a thing, and so you get to just kind of be yourself. And I feel like that's the most important thing I would want someone to the person i'm

with to see me in my most natural self. There's nothing worse than when you date somebody and then like you go on the first few dates with them and you're like awesome, nice, and then all of a sudden that that is something and you're just like, oh, I did not know that was you. Well, luckily for for you, you get to join me in in the being in a relationship during a pandemic thing. But you're very lucky yours didn't start necessarily before, you know, a long time

before the pandemic went crazy. So tell us about that. Our first date was February one. We all went into lockdown. Belie was March, so we had about three weeks of dating before everything was shut down. So I will say those first couple of dates, we even talked about do you hear about this thing going on in China? Like you hear they shut down the country pretty much, and just those kinds of like very light conversations while going to restaurants and standing at line at kasun Ori and

just being like, yeah, crazy stuff, huh. And then the pandemic hit and we were both a little nervous, we were both you know, worried, and we basically took three weeks off of seeing each other or two weeks off of seeing each other. Because we were like, neither of us knew what to do, neither of us. I mean, I think, you know, it's a pretty common feeling. At the very beginning of all this, we were like what

what what is actually happening right now? And we took basically two weeks apart where we talked every day and just about how much we were like, wait, we were really going. We had such a good first three dates and then just like shut down completely. It was it was weird, but there was definitely something about it that

drew us so much closer right at the start. So how did you know, though, Like, how did like I obviously because this is the thing is is we would like you have to remember because it feels like it's been forever, but remember that rush of the pan when it first started, you were like I can't, I gotta people were like stalking toilet paper because they thought they were never gonna have to like we could never leave

our houses again. So it's not just that like, oh, I like you, we should keep talking, but it's also like I'm willing to like brave the final days with you, you know, like it was a serious thing. It was, it was very serious and it's funny that you mentioned that in particular because one of our and and you know, my girlfriend might not not kill me, but she she might laugh at the fact that I'm telling one of

our inside jokes to the podcast nation. But I just think the story is so funny and it's so emblematic of like what made us fall in love really was. After that two weeks I had picked up. I picked her up, by the way, her name is Stephanie. I have forgot to mention that at the start, and as

to meet you virtually podcast wise, Stephanie exactly perfect. So after we had taken our two weeks off from seeing each other, I picked her up because we were going to she needed, you know, she had a prescription to pick up. We're going to pick it up going back to her place, and we were kind of really mulling

over the potential of what's going on now. A little backstory is as a podcast producer on this network, I worked with one of one of the people in the network named Robert Evans, and Robert Evans is like a war journalist. He does a show call behind the Bastards. We're not here to plug that. But that's just a bit of context, give it, give it some love. I

heart Radial family goes behind the bastards. But as a gift for working on this show, you know, I think a lot of podcast people you get like a you know, basket of cookies, some you know, a nice personal self care gift, Robert gave me a knife. Robert gave me a knife for working on his show. He said, Damn, I really appreciate you. Protect yourself. Here's a knife. Here's a knife. Yes, here's a knife. I need you to explain this knife. Like what kind of knife is this?

We gotta we gotta figure out what kind of NiFe we're going. We're talking it is this CRC KAT CRKT Like three here damage you got? You could you could do some damage with that knife. I mean he really he really get I found it. I was like, this is this is a real knife. You gave me a real knife. He was like, yes, it is for you

for protection. I like, Robert, Now I'm scared. Anyway, So we're talking, We're talking about these um talking about the potential of like you know, where we're going, what we're doing. She's like, what, like what if the city is overrun? Like what if? What if things really go wild, and I was like, look, I will be here to protect you, like we're in this together now, I'm not going anywhere. We are in this together and I will be here

to protect you. And almost like in a tear eyed moment, she goes and she says, is it because of your knife? And we both both just burst out laughing. We were having this supertense serious moment. She's just like, is it because of your knife? Man? And I gotta tell you something as a boyfriend who knows exactly how that feels when you're really trying to pour it out to like I'm really trying to show you, and they come through and it wasn't even meant like like you're just like, ah,

what a hilarious moment. We just died in the car. It was great. That is classic. That is classic. So how long was the time then from pandemic starts to like, okay, I want to see you, like I want to physically be in your presence, not just like we should talking. Sure, it was probably I would say it was two weeks.

We took the quarantine idea seriously like we have been We have been seeing each other pretty much like every couple of days up until March thirteenth, when we both got the we're out of the office working from home order, and we just tearfully admitted that we probably shouldn't see each other for two weeks just to be safe. Wow, And it was the right, science e thing to do. We were like, Okay, two weeks off entirely, let's just not you know, no contact, both of us, stay at home, no,

no grocery store, no nothing, no whatever. But honestly, those two weeks of like just talking to each other and being our main point of contact, being like our rock for each other in those moments, was so it just built such a foundation of us, like basically going through the trauma together in the first month of our relationship, like going through all of like the you say, it's those big, scary global events that really define how you

each see each other. And I feel like we went through that global defining moment three weeks into our relationship, and yeah, we really got to see our true colors and our true selves in that moment, and I think it really helped us, you know, kind of pick up the Okay, well we're really we're really talking about all

the serious ship, right here straight off the bat, right right. Well, you talked about earlier, UM with the with the exercising bit, that you have roommates, and I think the biggest thing for me before I got to see my girlfriend. If you've listened to my Found Family episode, UM, this the same time frame, I was living with my best friend's parents, and on top of my girlfriend having to convince her parents, I had to convince my found parents. My Found Family

parents too. Are not convince them, but make sure that they were okay with it. And luckily they said, you know, make sure she gets tested, make sure she's been quarantined for you know, for a long time, nobody that she's been with has it. And then they're okay with her coming over. She's still even when the first few times she came over, she would come over, go straight to my room, jump in the shower. I would take her clothes, put them in a plastic bag, go downstairs, throw them

in the Washington like we were. We were real deal about it. So I want to ask you about your roommates because especially with uh now having roommates who aren't kind of parental, you know, I looked at Mickey and Sandy has like staring. I had to go ask for permission. You know, you're paying your rent, you are free to do in your space whatever. In my own opinion, when you pay rent, if you have roommates, it's like the

common areas. I think it's always a good move to ask permission or ask like, hey, are you guys cool with this? But your own space, like you should be allowed to do whatever you want. How did your roommates go about about you being in a relationship and having this girlfriend eventually over to your house? Great question, you know, I think in all things in life, it's about communication. We're all very open and honest with each other. They

knew that I was in a new relationship. They knew it was something that was fresh, and that was something that was feeling good, and we all just came to the similar consensus that like, look, we have to get tested on a semi regular basis just as a good health thing. Yes, we'll mostly stay in my areas of the house. But everybody just had a kind of common understanding that as long as we're all obeying the rules and our pod is as small as possible, then it

can be safe. Thankfully, my girlfriend Stephanie doesn't live with anybody. She has no roommates, So basically our life was me either going there or picking her up and bringing her to our place, and just going back and forth between those two places. And that's pretty much. That was like our entire physical contact. And so I mean, I will say for you know, for her, I have to imagine that like living alone during this time, it's gonna be tough.

And she was very thankful to be able to come to the house and just be around people right now when you know that is at this point a luxury. Yeah, what, So what surprised you the most about? Luckily of cool roommates? So you guys got to spend time together, But what surprised you the most? You mentioned that in big world events you find out a lot about your significant others.

But what surprised you about it? I think for me, the biggest thing is like to keep my girlfriend happy and excited and keep myself excited and us engaged really like full throttle almost honeymoon phase esque for longer than the honeymoon phase. Is to like we would go out on dates and surprises and go on adventures and do this, that and the other. Luckily, me and my girlfriend were at a place where we loved. We prefer just being

at home laying in bed watching Netflix. So when we had when we were forced to do that, we weren't. You know, it wasn't as big of an issue. But I also know that early in the dating stages, if that was a situation, UM, we would have felt a

lot differently about it. So what else surprised you about this moment where you're in the early dating stage is still you're not even necessarily and maybe you are, but um, for for for most people, like you're not like fully in love, You're not like this is the one totally, but you're forced to do the kind of old married couple routine. You know. So what surprised to you the most in that time? UM, I will say, you know, one of the things was definitely how easy it was.

Stephanie is someone that is so easy to get along with, so easy to talk to, so smart. Is someone who comes from a different side of life than I'm familiar with. Um, I've been a I've been a so cal surfer dude

my whole life. And Stephanie was raised in the Bronx and Manhattan and a little bit in Westchester, and so we just come from different sides of the country and slightly different perspectives, and so just being able to learn about each other's lives and really dig into each other as human beings and have all of our various deep conversations truly in that window of like what we're stuck at home doing nothing, what do you want talk about?

You want to talk about life, the universe and everything, like, yeah, let's do that, Let's go off. How do you feel about aliens? Let's do it. And just being able to like really you know, open up to this side of stuff that wasn't basically being forced to stay home and people saying like, okay, you want to go to bars. No, no bars, bars are closed. It's not even I don't want to or you don't want to, it's a we can't,

so we can just take that out. I was, I was, you know, really thrilled with how easy it was to just dive into the rest of what a relationship will be and could be and stuff like that. I'm just really really getting to know each other. I'm like, I'm in love with your relationship, Like I just love I just love that. Uh, because like like you said, it can be a it can be a bad thing. I

think it's just a quick thing. Like I feel like you and Stephanie, you are going to know pretty quickly if it was gonna work or not work when you're forced to be with each other, just with each other, nobody else, by yourselves, with very little to do and just no room to uh not, Like you had mentioned, not learn about each other at a rapid rate. But it also works out. And if it works out, then you get to know that pretty quickly. You've now been

dating for what is it touching ten months? Then if you said February, very good, you're touching ten months for me and my relationship at ten months, like obviously we're saying I love you to each other. We had met each other's families, we'd had full blown, like deep conversations, meeting each other's friends, going to each other's hometowns. All of these things. You don't get to do so many

of those things. That's that's affected all those things. How have you guys managed to jump through those milestone hoops? If you will an excellent question, I would say, extremely delicately.

Um so for you know, for example, one of the things about dating when you're thirty, is that every every time you feel a connection is like, Okay, I really got to like plow through all of the little things to make sure that this is tight, because I really like this person and I don't want to dance carefully around the things that I really want to get to. So Stephanie met my parents on our fifth date. Hey,

I'm like, that's how I was. That's how I wasn't every girl I ever dated until Madison, and it didn't work as well for me, But that that's the kind of that's the kind of energy that we need in this life. And you know, I appreciate her for being so bold and willing to go along with it and say,

I mean like sure, okay, yeah, fair. And you know, our fifth date was within that three week window before the lockdown really started, So she got to meet my family in a in theory infection safe space where it wasn't something I mean, obviously, it was something that was traveling around the country and at the time was probably still president in l A. But you know, at that moment, we hadn't gotten into lockdown yet, And so she got to meet my family and a fair small group of

my friends beforehand, So it was kind of like getting to meet these people, getting that first connection, and then okay, peace, I'll see you guys in like, you know, several months. Like that was kind of how it started at first, um and then later later in the year in this in September, as a matter of fact, when we were experiencing a dip, we decided to break the seal and go to the East Coast and meet her side of

the family. So we quarantined in New York City and then spent a weekend and a half with her side of the family. Got to meet her brothers or mob grandma, got to meet the whole gang, and we really just found our very small window we're as safe as possible, and made it back and forth with no issue. So I think, you know, it was something that I admittedly didn't want to do. Like I am a baby when it comes to this kind of stuff. I am perfectly okay being like, we can't go out for a year.

It's fine by me, baby, I'm sitting on my desk. It works. But at the same time, I also understand that I'm so lucky that I lived ten minutes away from my parents that they too are in our own bubble that we have a backyard space that I can sit on the other side of a ten foot table or something and just you know, be there to see them and and and still experienced life. And that was something that for Stephanie, with her family on the other side of the country, she was not able to do.

And so I was very lucky in that way, and I wanted to let go of my inhibitions in terms of like, this isn't something that's necessarily safe. We took every precaution that was necessary, We quarantined we were able to see her family have a great time and make it home safely, unscathed, and and I was very I was really really happy to do that. And more importantly, I was really happy to see her so happy because I could tell that, you know, especially right now, having

that connection is so important. Being able to see your family, just being able to like, you know, see the people you love and be connected to them is is so crucial right now, And especially when like it was getting to the winter time and cases were spiking, Like going in September felt like the opportunity to see everybody before we got like really locked out again. And so I'm really glad we got to do what we did because your knife, right, that's all I could fit. I was

about to cry. I'm not gonna lie to you, Daniel. I was about to cry at how just absolutely sweet that was. And then what came to my mind was because you're nice with a tear, with one crocodile tear running down my face, I've thought to myself, because you're not, I really do like your story just makes my heart. It makes me honestly, it makes me miss my girlfriend. I just want to give her a big hug and kiss. Um, you've only known kind of this full blown relationship now

in in the quarantine in a pandemic. I'm really really cautious about being optimistic about this vaccine situation, but let's say it all in a in a in an optimistic mindset, everything works and six months from now we are getting to go out, getting to the regular human beings as

we as we've all own. Is there anything that specifically excites you or or worries you if maybe or make it makes you nervous about going back to like a full throat like being in this relationship not locked away, right, Um, I would say, you know, overall, my concerns are less with the security of mine and Stephanie's relationship and more about how just the things that we would want to

do are going to be different in those six months. Um. But but you know, if we're talking an example where the world is truly like as back to normal as it can be, like you know, everybody has taken the vaccine and it works and everything is you know, hunky Dorry right right. I'm just I I hope she can hold her own at CA barbecue. That's what I'm real That's that's what I'm worried about. Oh my gosh, can we please double date atk Barbecue? Because once once we

can cook. Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh. Have you ever been to Genoa? Wait? Have you been to Genoa? Genera? Oh? Yeah, I thought you a job. I was like, did you say, Ben, Yes, I've been to gen Wa. Okay, we got okay, gen Wa. When we're done, General done, Katherine's invited Ali, if you come over here to the West Coast, you're invited as well. Well. Daniel,

I don't. I'm so in love with your relationship. It's so exciting and fun and it's and it's very hopeful for for the listeners out there who are nervous about this, the you know, the um, the seriousness of a relationship that could start in the pandemic. So thank you for being an incredible example that love can still exist in this pandemic. We're gonna take a quick break and we come back. We'll be talking with our good friend Ali. Last name, and we're back. That is an old SNL nod.

If you don't know this is, let's get into it. I'm alex Ion no UM, and we are talking now with our favorite anonymous human being Ali from a certain place with a certain last name. Ali. How are you? I'm doing well? How are you, Alex? I'm doing well. I want to shout out our friend. I'm just going to give her an initial because we want to keep the anonymous nous alive. We're gonna give her just L. We'll talk, We'll call her L. She's one of my really good friends. She's one of your best friends, as

she likes to claim. Uh. And she wanted me, she really just wanted me to get straight to the nitty gritty with you. So we gotta ask, can you give us a ballpark about how many dates? You've been on in the last nine months. I can't believe that these are These are her questions, by the way, So you can't get don't get mad at Catherine, don't get mad at me. This is this is l she She basically told me that there would be no pressure and that would be free form, and then she told me full pressure.

So I just want you to know that that's where the miscommunication happened. Okay um, ballpark number, Like I don't want I can be honest, right, Like, you'll be honest. Hey, we we just we're open to honesty here, we we we absolutely encourage it. Yeah, like I won't have like employers listening to us, hopefully not. They don't even know, they don't even know it's you. Yeah, don't even know.

Okay Um, I would say, can I preface by saying I was in a three and a half year relationship and pandemic dating is basically all I've known and I think you know, and unfortunately it's been all apps, Like there's been very few real I'm imagining most of these dates are zoom dates or other stories. Virtual dates were, Yeah, they definitely were. But yeah, I would say that if you asked my roommate. She would say something else, but

I'm gonna say, like twenty twenty dates. And I don't want to do the math on like how many weeks a date like a date it's a week or anything like that. But I was I went on there was a period when I was going on at least a date a week. Wow, that's nice for a pandemic. That's a high number. That's like when things were opening, like virtual dating. I'll get to that. There was one person. It was just one. There's just only one. You never did any We'll get into it. Let's get into it.

But I want you to say how many dates, both in person and virtually anything that you would consider more than just messaging back and forth, like an actual like encounter. How what what do you got for me? Nine months? Still twenty? Or is it is a little more? Five? Okay? Five virginals. We're trying to get into it through my matches and like my pictures and like everything and really count. But like, let's go with that number. I'm gonna text hold on, I'm gonna just for fun, I'm texting l

and asking her how many she thinks you've been on? Yeah, I mean there's been definitely more significant than others, like some more significant individuals. But like I was, there was a period when I was just like cycling through dance. I got her on FaceTime right now, hold on, I'm gonna ask her right here, right now. She better answer. Y. Hey, I'm on our podcast right now, and uh and I'm talking to you to our friend Ali, and I need you. She just gave me a number of how many dates

she says she's been on since the pandemic started. I want to know how many you think she's been on since the pandemic started. All Right, I'm gonna like, I'm gonna low ballet here for her, and I'm gonna say nine. Oh, come on, give us some more juicy number. She said, you're about it her next guest. Okay, that's a little

bit closer. All right, we'll listen to the rest of the podcast and and you'll you'll find out all right, okay, bye, alright, Well he might have been high, but there was just a period where I was going on a lot of dates, and it feels like, right like how much emotion it was involved in that. So well, this is the Internet. You can't take anything back. Is the number. Um, let's

let's crack into what these are. I'm speaking not from any form of experience, but I would imagine that the weirdest thing about dating during this pandemic is unless things were fully open, you're basically on a dating app eternally. How do you survive? How do you survive like the rate like a first date or or a getting to know somebody? Have you had any success? Yeah, So let's go. This is wild. So many stories. I'm so excited, let's go.

I want them all. Okay, So let's start from the beginning, Like I'm gonna look at this like where from where it started, where we are now, like a timeline, because I feel like that's the easiest way to explain it. So when things were getting bad, like Danton Rule saying, like really bad those two weeks, everyone's got a panicking and people were on the apps, like there was definitely a surgeon in the apps, and people were kind of like, hey, like,

what do you think is going on right now? It was less of it was less of dating is just trying to find people's opinions on what's happening in the world. So I met this one guy and he was funny and we're chatting, and my roommate had left. At this point, I was alone in my apartment and I saw a lot of people go on Instagram lives and I thought that was funny, and I was like, wait, why don't I, like entergain my friend and take do a live date. And I asked this guy and I was like, what

are your thoughts? And like meeting each other in person over Instagram? Like who would do that? First of all? Like I would not agree to that, but he did, and um, yeah, I know, I'm I'm speaking. I need you to continue because I'm speechless. So basically I was using the Instagram live comments as like prompts to ask this guy. So we're like, hey, like how's it going. Like we didn't even we did like a little pre in like intro, like you know, what is what we're

gonna do? And it wasn't scripted at all. We just like went on a real date, like got to know each other, like where did you go to school? And our friend my friends were dying like this guy was actually hilarious and to the point I was like, wait, this guy has like a sense of humor. He's kind of cute. Like why not take this off one I was like, guys, I'm ending this right now out like I'm going to go on a real date with this guy. At this point, quarantine felt like it was not ending

for a long time, we were you know. So I actually ended up virtually dating this guy for about a month, and I would would go out like a date like a week or every other week. We just like catch up and I would played games sometimes, like I remember, like to the point of like I went home in

the suburbs and we were still virtually dating. So then I came back to the city and things are starting to like lighten up, and there were like phase one or something, and enough for a socially distance date where you can walk with each other, and that was very common at the time. People were wearing masks and parks you would see people on dates and it was a thing anyways, so cool. We got to take out cocktail because take out cocktails were such a thing in Manhattan,

and the date it was terrible. It was about the personal dating and we did not like click in person, like I guess there was no like physical attraction, like I didn't see it with him, but both of us did not feel it. So we never talked to each other again after that. Like there's no that was it. I mean, you gotta imagine, like there's so many things that you have to like go. Well, first off, I have a really hilarious question that I wanted to ask you.

Did you guys ever virtually kiss like you pull like camera. I'm not gonna like discuss even though this is anonymous, Like I'm not gonna say there wasn't like any talk of like what we would like, but like there was Well I wasn't even going there. I was just imagining how funny would be you both are like I know, well, I feel like it needed to be acknowledged at some point, like in a PG form. Yeah, okay, I get it. I mean, and that doesn't And by the way, anonymous

or not, that's nothing to discredit. I think that you were having you were talking to somebody for weeks, and I think and you, like Daniel said, you have to cut off the fat. You don't dance around anything. You gotta get you gotta get straight into it. The world might end. We gotta get straight to it. That's insane, aim though, because the thing is is like we're all on zoom. And as much as I'd like to think I can imagine what all three of your legs look like,

I don't know you like all you like. I don't know what what any the three of you guys look like under your like your what is this called solar plex? And so like getting to see somebody in proNT but and I mean that not only in like the literal way, but also like figuratively, like I don't know, you don't know much about somebody the way that they like their body language. There's like a spark in person to everything everything.

So okay, So was that the first pandemic date situation that you had, well, I would say that was like the first virtual situation, right, okay, And so where did you go from there? Okay? So and you're if you're in Manhattan, like there's a lot of at this point, like it's getting a little bit warmer, you know. I was going on, I've met this one guy and we went on a couple of dates like virtually not virtual.

We and we met on like hinge and then we would go for all in the park and I think he got to the point of like should we kiss? Should we not kiss? And I didn't like at this point, it was like still serious, you know, like you know, we didn't really know what's going testing, and I was like, um, I don't even want you up in my apartment like helping me carry up something. I didn't like him enough

to kiss him. So then it's like almost like that with the pandemic dating was like I just don't think I'm comfortable with it yet, and then we just basically like got ended too so here so so past the virtual kiss. You ever done a mask kiss? It's that you keep your masks on, but then you can you touch,

you touch what would be your lips together. No, I didn't like that guy enough to mask kiss him, not even a masks no, no, no. And I think with the apps definitely, like after being in a long term relationship and being in my twenties, I wanted to start exploring, like meeting different types of people, like seeing out there. I mean, by now I kind of know that I definitely have a type and like I'm just gonna stick to that type. But um, I was exploring, like I'm

still young, like I'm still going to explore. But I was doing a lot of park dates and just going out to get a drink and like walking by the river. I feel like we need to give these guys not name, like not like their real names, but like let's get to it. So so we have these first two, let's start identifying these guys because we gotta go. We gotta be able to draw back to somebody, all right. So

I went on one of these park dates. We actually end up going to a live out of comedy show because there was a ton of those going on in Manhattan. I had a great time. It was like a great date. Like I felt I was going super well, and I think he did too. He texted me the next day. We were texting all day and I was at a friends in the West Village and I was walking home and as I was walking home, I like, there's a lot of nuts were dyning going on, like there's no

you know, there's really no hiding. So I see this guy and I'm like, wait, is this him? Is that is that? And I was like, wait, he's not a date? Was another girl an outdoor dining? You can't hide a My radius set on these apps is super small because I like people who like get it in my neighborhood, like get like what's going on here? But honestly, so I was like, oh my god, I did my makeup, like thank god, I was wearing this beautiful dress. But I was like, did you see me? Like I thought

him in to see me? So I faced on my friend at the corner. I'm like, oh my god, Like that's let's call him. He two times, me two times. We're calling him two times, all right. So I'm like, I just thought the two timer on another date, I'm gonna go. I'm gonna don't go back, don't go back. And I'm like, oh god, to see me. So I back, he sees me, I like do a little like like a little wave, you know. And I went home and

I was like, oh god, So that was that? Wait, hold on, so had you in two time discussed anything about being like about not like it was? It was there something that gave you the kind of inclination that you guys were supposed to only be talking to each other. But the thing is like it went, I know what you're saying, and you're allowed to date back to back

like I was doing it. Kind of there's unwritten rules though, Like there's unwritten rules of like okay, if if things are going well, then like maybe let me know or like or just give me the decent you know, be a decent human and not do anything. So I'm not saying that if you don't have the talk. We've had a whole episode about dtrs. But if you don't have the talk, it doesn't mean necessarily that you're free to

do whatever. Like there's still a point of like I should still be a good person, and like it seems like this is going in a nice direction, and I like to think, like you don't really want to imagine them actually seeing each other, like you want seeing other people in your head. You're kind of like, oh, they really like me and they're not gonna want to see other people, So to see them on another day, it's like what ruins the whole romanticizing real part of it?

You know, it makes it real. But you know I had I definitely had a lot of bad ap dates, like way more bad than good. I think that's a general thing though, right, like what would we like it's the dating apps, though they've been proven people find success in them. There's also like you gotta it's like playing black jack. You know, some people of people win, but

a lot of people don't win. Yeah, but I want to make this really about like not as much about the apps as about pandemic dating, because I think it's just like it's been a wild ride, honestly. Like, so we'd go out to eat, you know, like outdoor gianting had opened. My friends and I were starting to see each other again safely, you know, in a smart environment, I guess. So we'd be at outdoor and outdoor restaurant and there'd be a cute guy and we can't talk

to them. We're wearing masks, Like if you're at a bar, like, yeah, maybe you'd go up to them, but these days, like how are you going to break that barrier? So my friends and I thought it'd be fun to like make business cards with our phone number on them and like it just said hey and like our phone number. But the thing that's tricky is, like you said, like I saw a TikTok about it about you don't know what

somebody looks like in person under their eyes. Well, if you're at a restaurant, your mask is as you can see them, but like, ok, I weren't asked what so all he sees is like it's a blind date. Honestly is what they're getting into, like an actual blind date. So I gave him my card and she was like pretty like buff looking, like he was really like he was attractive, but I didn't really know. Anyways, he texted me and it's like, hey, it's he He ends up

being a firefighter. So firefighter guy is obviously and firefighter guy and I we text backwards. We're trying to make plans and finally were he's like, let's grab a drink, you know, in the corner I can say that I live in Manhattan. It's okay, I think, who kind of colored to this? So we meet at a bar. You know, there's awkward like do you hug? Do you bump arms?

And like in that like a lot of people were like New Yorkers, but like everyone's kind of feeling feelings and there's a lot of hugging and you're kind of like you start hugging and you're like with masks on and you're like okay, and I'm always like okay, And now we're hugging and there's a pandemic and we sit down and he ends up being incredible, like like really funny sat nilot accent, like really beautiful, like the most beautiful man. I like, one of the most people man

I've ever seen. And we hit it off. He loves comedy, I love comedy, and he's a firefighter. Like how fun. Anyways, it went well, but I don't really hear from him, like back and forth. He said I was going out of town, and then I got the text like my classic line which I usually use, like I'm getting back

to my ex. So he used that on me, um, and I can see right through it, honestly, But I feel like, you know, I'm going through this like pandemic version of dating in my twenties, and like it's totally bizarre. It's it's putting a different lens on things, right, but it's it feels real, like it doesn't feel that different. It's just like kind of like dating in our generation during these times is pretty much all in the apps. Like I'm the kind of person who prefers to meet

in person, but I don't know, I don't know. I feel like it still feels like I'm doing it. The thing, the thing that I think we all need to remember as we go through all of these stories is that you did an Instagram live with a guy as your first date. And I don't think that we can forget about that. I know that, I know that we've we've gone through so many stories and they're all incredible. What

made you say this is an incredible idea? Because it is an incredible idea, And that's what I'm frustra I'm frustrated at the fact that you came up with it before I did know what to do with my roommates. You know, everyone's home looking for entertainment, and I was, I don't know. I love bringing people together and if that's on social media, you know, like I love stand up comedy. I'm not a comedian, Like I think that there's forms of entertainment that are just funny because of

what they are, which is a live date. It's hilarious no matter what we're saying. It's just I actually want to take a side note on that because you you had mentioned stand up comedy, you've actually been doing putting on comedy shows. I want to I want to like just highlight you as like a good person. You've been putting on comedy shows. Um to help out a community center that's in your area. Tell me, tell me, tell

us what what brought you to do that. Yeah, So for the pandemic, I was like putting to other comedy benefit like I've always loved of that production and stand up and when everything closed down, I like lost my opportunity. But then in New York, I don't know if you know about there, there was like this whole underground comedy scene that's been going on with part shows and everything. And the Community Center actually has an alley, like a side alley perfect for like chairs and a little bit

of a stage and a speaker set up. And I just started reaching out to comedians on Instagram and comedians that I had met previously, and they were all super excited. They were looking for stage time. They wanted to like have a platform to finally get out there and to stand up again in a safe way. Everyone was in masks like they're definitely um ever was spaced out. It

was really fun. It was It definitely wasn't totally kosher, like I would say, like I don't think it was totally legal to sell tickets to these kinds of things, but everyone is kind of doing it. Yeah, and the shows were amazing, Like I had Mark Normand on this show Joe List Rachel finds that like so many seller comedians, I like who else David's Hell came by once, which

is really fun. We had a lot of big medians that I'm very excited about, Like that is so cool, and it's also you know, I think, like you mentioned, comedians are artists and they and artists need to express their art. And so not only are helping comedians who are expressing their art, people still need entertainment, and so you're you're creating this kind of everybody wins situation. So I did as much as we're going to talk about, um,

what dating is, like, I had to. I had to highlight that as I'm not only a dator, not a serial dater, Like, oh my god, another dating story. You do other things, you expand outside of just dating. Um, So we've talked about we have four stories now. So we have Instagram Live Guy, we have No Kiss Guy, we have we have the two timer, and we have the Firefighter, and they all kind of ended with a little bit of not as good, not as good ending.

We need something what about what about the pandemic? Dating is a positive? Give us something like yeah, the great question. Honestly, I think I've touched on it earlier, But you know, I think it's a lot about not only finding myself, but also figuring out what I like and what I don't like in a person. And I think about I think dating is so important, you know, because it allows you to not only grow individually, like being in a relationships grade Like I was in a really long term

relationship since college and he was a wonderful person. I still think he's wonderful, but that long term relationship kind of was at a point in my life where I'm finding myself and bringing up with him allowed me to find stand up comedy and produce shows and grow and really like figure it out on my own. So through stand up which has given me a huge passion, you know, it's like I feel like I found my passion, which

is producing comedy. It's also been giving me the opportunity to date and just explore the different types of people. And what I said earlier, like I have a type, Like I think it's kind of like all leading me towards like this is the kind of person you want to see yourself. Yeah, that's super cool. And also on top of that, you know, when you don't have all of the time to like get to actually go out

and meet people the way that you used to. You also get to use a lot of that time, um that you're not on the apps to think about what you do want, but you also get to learn about who you are and what you might need more so, like things that you might not necessarily want out of somebody, but you like that's also really it is really good for me to have in a relationship totally. Well, look at you just grow in look at you just growing

out there. I think it's you know, hopefully, you know, we all kind of like I hope that will meet that person, and I have faith like that there will be someone. You know, I'm not. I just think it's like it takes time to get there. You know. Well, we're gonna take a quick break when we come back, got Daniel and Ali. We are going rapid fire questions. We're calling it Netflix and absolutely no chill. Welcome back.

This is let's get into it. I'm Alex Ciono, and we are now talking with Daniel and Ali about dating in the pandemic. We're gonna call it this section Netflix and absolutely no chill. Uh So, my first question is going to be usually we in these. In these third segments, all three of myself and the two guests have like kind of like a common a common you know, theme, but for this one, all three of us are different.

So I have direct questions for both of you. Um. The first one ali, what is chivalry like in like, you know, you can't open doors, you can't, um, you know, pull the chair out, and and and you can't you know, all of these things walk to your door? So what what gives you the sign of like, oh, this is a good dude. He would if we were out, he would open he would open the door for me. Um. I think a lot of the same things do apply, but the news things like how someone wears their mask

and when they wear it. So if we're really at a restaurant and the waiter comes over, like it's even better when someone puts their mask and when they're engaging with the waiter, so you know, or we're walking around like in New York everyone has their mask on all the time. Like if we're sitting down, maybe it's another story. But like if we're walking and they'll have it on, I'm like, are they safe? You know? So that's does anybody does anybody do you have a problem if somebody

like dangles their mask from their ear. I've always I don't know why, I'm like that looks silly. Don't do if you're not wearing your mask, take it off. And if you're wearing your mask, put it on, wear it properly or don't wear it at all. If they're hanging their mask from their ears, that a red flag for you, I think so, I think that I don't know. Well, we'll let it fly. We'll let it fly. Um. I have a question also, Daniel, for you, what do you do?

And my girlfriend is going to absolutely kill me for this, but like sometimes you know, sometimes you're like I love you more than life itself, but I need a little bit of me time and I need some alone time asking for a friend, of course, what do you do? Um? I make sure well before I ask for me time and make sure that we had a good amount of us time and always have to always have to earn that me time. But then afterwards it's it's just about honesty,

you know. I will say my girlfriend and I are very or Stephanie and I are both very honest with each other about the things we like and the things that we like to do. And uh, I happened to be a big fan of the old video games, and so sometimes there you go. And so sometimes we play games together. Sometimes we know, play some fall guys or play a little animal crossing together. And then I'm like, all right, babe, i gotta get in with the boys. We're we're about to we're about to say some mean

things to some small children on the internet. And she guys, you do you that's great. I'm not even gonna lie though. I I my girlfriend's gonna be mad when I say that. But the fact of the matter is is that she probably onto the alone time more than me, because, like I said earlier, I love being with her like I love I love being with people in general, but specifically her. Um So I actually take it back, Babe. If you're

listening to this, this is you. I'm I'm asking questions for you on how to tell me that you want to be alone. Um this is one for everybody that I think is just a discussion point sex. I know that it's like sex. So it used to be, um like STDs were like the thing right, Like you're like, oh, man, like,

don't get an STD. And there's still a thing by but it's actually there's something now that you have to worry about even more because there is virtually no protection from it if you go into that realm, and that is like COVID. So Ali, you we've talked about kissing, and I don't want you to get too graphic. Um, but like, how do you if you get to that place hypothetically, where do you? Like, where do you ask

each other? Like, Hey, I'd love to to go there, but I need to make sure, like you've been tested, and how does that even work? I think you have to be in a place with that person where you can have a conversation about being I hate it's exclusive because you need to make sure that they're being careful and that's like heavy, it's a real one because it's a d t R too early, honestly because the thing.

The thing is that like you usually like like if you're single, you your decision on like should I hook up with this person? Should not hook up with this person? Is allowed to sometimes be like you're cute, let's do it, Like you're allowed to like do you know what I mean? Like, but when you're but now you have to have this whole DTR essentially before you're even allowed to get there. Yeah, it definitely can like ruin things, you know. It's just

it's a really really tricky subject these days. I would say, but the good news is it makes you, It makes it like, it makes it matter, you know what I mean that I'm gonna get a red hat that just says makes sex matter again. And then so you got

you got it's got you gotta just vetted out. You gotta vet it yea, Yeah, someone really worth it, you know, for you know, totally on a similar topic, though not everybody's super into monogamy, what kind of conversations Let's say that you had kissed two timer, right, and then he's out and about with these other people? How do you have a DTR without it being like this, like this, like what are we? You know what I mean? Like? How do you just be like, hey, are you kissing

somebody else? Because I want to kiss you, but I can't have their lips on my lips. Ah, it's like really uncomfortable. It's exactly what you're describing is exactly how it goes. I think early on, like I spoke about it earlier, when I wouldn't even want to kiss that guy I was kind of it was such an uncomfortable conversation. I was like, oh, you know, I had to, like

you always constant to make up something. I feel like there's a lot of like excuses these days, and I think what happens is like updating also makes people really disposable. I'm not saying for me, but like it allows you not to really know someone super well, so you can kind of just like say things or that's what ghosting is super easy. And I don't go on off topic now, but no, I mean I think ghosting is easier than ever these days. Is you're allowed to just be like hey, sorry,

by yeah. I don't know. I think the apupdating makes it easier to just kind of be like make that. I don't know. It's a really tough question now, Like I'm trying to think, like it's just awkward when you're you're at that point. Luckily, Daniel, you and I don't have to have these these these conversations, but it's like,

what would you say, Daniel, what do you think? What do you think is the right way to figure out if that person's kissing or hooking up with anybody else so that you can in turn get to kiss and hook up with them. You know this is gonna this is gonna sound lame, broken recording. But again, I just gotta go back to communication. I just gotta go back to You have to be upfront about every single thing. You've got to be like, I am not kissing anybody else, and I would like that to be the case with

the person that I'm kissing. And if that's not the case, yeah, And the thing is, I think if that's not the case, the the the other goal, the other side of the goal is not to be dismissed. If it's not to be rude, and it's not to be condescending or anything. It's to be understanding and say, I see that, we see this differently. You know, I'll respect to you do what you gotta do. I'm sorry, I just have to remove myself from the situation. Wow, you're so you're just

such a married couple guy already. That's the thing. But I was I was gonna say again, going to dating in your thirties, Like, at this point, I just have to like you. You can't do any of that ship anymore. You can't like pretend anything. You have to be completely on the surface about everything about who you are, no hiding none of that, and so like your honesty about like what you believe in, you know, science wise, politically,

you know, sexually, all that stuff. You just gotta be upfront because the more of that stuff kind of just like hangs out in the back, the more those problems become bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger. So it's just like up front that everything. So here's the thing though, So now that now that we're talking about it, if you're single and a girl's like, oh, hey, are you hooking up with anybody else? You know, you could kind of just like dance around it. You used to be

able to. You could be like, oh, listen, I really like you and like moving forward, I want to be exclusive with you. And that was like, in my mind, a very respectable answer, like I look, you know, if you feel like it's like this, I've I'm down to get like this. But Ali, how would you react if a guys like, listen, I kissed a girl eight days ago and it's not full fourteen days of quarantine away. I can't imagine that doesn't at least make you go like like now I'm now I'm a little turned off

by that. Yeah, because because if you because if he says, hey, like, look, I kissed a girl eight days ago, I have felt no symptoms. I tested negative, and in six days from in six days from now, I'll be okay, Like I'll be clean. It sounds like talk what if it was after the first date that like what if you had one date with him and you were like, yo, this is going really well, and he's like, listen, I was on a date with another girl and like and and she wanted to kiss and I thought it was a

cool date. But then she ended up being crazy or she ended up like she ended up ghosting me. And so I want you to know, like, I like you, like, so let's really get into it, because there's some there's some ways that it can He could be a good

person and he just happens to be. The situation is he kissed somebody eight days ago, and if it wasn't in the pandemic most of the time, he wouldn't even have to tell you that, you know what I mean, because we're here, you have to disclose this type of information. Do you allow yourself a buffer of like I need to be understanding because most of this ship actually happens

and we just never talked about it. I think with the COVID lens, like I can't say, like, you know, of course I'm very not I'm not black and white, So I would in real times, like before COVID, I would say, like, well, you're you're technically incriminating me. You're saying would I kiss her? Kiss? No? No, No, I'm saying would you would it not? Not? Would you kiss him? Then I'm saying would you kiss him after that fourteen days?

Or would you be so turned off at the fact that you know now that he had just kissed somebody else? Because for me, like, I'm crazy if I had known, like if if if a girl was like listen, I kissed somebody or I hooked up or even worse, I hooked up with somebody, they were clean, they had tested negative. I obviously test negative. Let's wait the full fourteen days. But I'd really like to kiss you. I'd really like to like further this. But that turned that to me.

That turns me off. Yeah, I agree, but I feel like living in New York, everyone's constantly dating and like meeting people. Y'all are a walking gossip Girl Up York is wild. Honestly, I'm living in it's crazy, um, and I think men and women were all kind of dating all the time, and I think I wouldn't phase me. Really, that's mature, that's very mature. That's a very mature way to answer it. I think I'm more so just still in my young twenties where I'm like you, you had

sex before me. Ever, that's not fair. So I'm glad. I'm glad that you have a mature answer for it. Um, Daniell, I got a question for you, and that question is, like I said earlier, I think going out on adventures, you know, you gotta keep it spicy. We had an episode on this podcast about love and lust, and the biggest thing was, like, you have to keep everything exciting. You gotta be you gotta do crazy things and like be spontaneous and all of that that gets dumbed down.

And we talked about that a little bit. But how do you keep your relationship now that you're almost ten months in your You're almost you're pushing towards that year mark where the honeymoon phase can start to kind of slow down and you become more of a like, babe, you pete on you left the toilet seat up, or babe, like stop, you know, you know things like that. How do you keep things hot and fun and and not even in essential sense, but just even in a like man I love this girl, or man I love this

man to death totally totally. So when we first started dating, we and we accepted that we were going to be in quarantine, we wrote down a big list of things we wanted to do when we were done with quarantine, things we wanted to do when we were out. And so little things I like to do are like look at that list and start planning ahead, start like thinking

about what that is going to be. Like one of the things we want to do is throw murder mystery dinner parties, and so I started thinking about, like you know, what a character is going to be from that, or like start putting together the plot for something, and just start like thinking about like these like kind of future plans. We want to take archery classes together. So just like I like to put stories together. I love storytelling, and I just like you know, love love creating stories together.

So I kind of try to try to think of these scenarios that we can do in the future and start planning for that time. I'm I'm I'm going from being like, oh, you guys are cute to having like schaden freud and and being like jealous and envious of the fact that like archery, are you hidding me? Like, you know, are you like just dumb cute ship? We have a big I'm calling Madison right after this and I'm planning, Oh my gosh, what's the name of the list.

What's the name of the list. It's called future super Cute couple Plants. I'm over both of you. That's a pretty good, pretty good list, Pretty good, Ali, Ali, You need to find you a man that treats you the way that Daniel treats Stephanie. That's what we need to get. Hey, fellas, if you're listening to this and you want to be and you want to be Ali's Daniel, who's going to we're just getting people ideas. There's also there's always still,

you know, more that we could do. There's always, like I appreciate the pray, honestly, you are honoring me so much with this praise, But there's always more that everyone can do to just be a better partner, but also just a better human to everybody, Like, you know, that's exactly what I thought she'd That's exactly what I thought you'd say, Daniel. So this is the thing, guys, I don't love going out. And this is my last question for both of you. I don't love going out. I

love being home. I love being with my people in a private space. So this isn't his ideal for me. Like had mentioned, Daniel, I actually think that having my being in my exact situation, having my girlfriend and having a room that I love, a bed that's cozy, a big TV and Netflix and movies and and all of that. I think it's awesome. I think that's in my own opinion, it's better for me. I think that's better this pandemic dating for me is better in that one specific sense.

Is there anything for either of you that you actually are like, Well, I actually prefer this. This is great. You know, I'm a big like going out party girl, So like this has been really challenging for me. Um, I'm such an extrovert and love meeting people in person.

You said something that I don't wish would change. I kind of like, I don't know, I feel like getting to know meeting guys and having to have those conversations about like are you seeing other people up front, and like the no games kind of element of it because of the pandemic and being transparent, it's kind of nice. So I'm going to try and like emulate the transparency the honesty that the pandemic has given me, has has enabled me to do after I hopefully when things get better,

when things about it, I'm going to continue to do this. Yeah, I think no games, as you said, Daniel, it's like it's everything. And I learned that's the biggest part about dating is just don't play them. That's perfect. It's amazing, Daniel, anything great answer, Like you were saying, there are certain things about the pandemic that have been totally okay by me. I have to stay inside and play video games. Oh god. Um. But one thing surrounding that, it's not necessarily the games themselves.

And this is gonna sound like a plug for this application, but it's not really. But there's a thing called Discord. The Discord is like it's like Skype, it's like Slack, but it's a voice app, a tech stapp, but it's also a video app and a screen sharing app. It's like it's like zoom, but you know, anyway, you get

what I'm saying. And since we went into lockdown, the amount of people who have come, who have we've invited to the private Discord, who have been like, Hey, I play games, but I haven't played with anybody in a while. Boom invite him to the discord. Hey I I don't even play games, but like I use this apple lot,

Boom invite him to the discord. And just the way that our nightly group of people has gone from like five to six to fifteen to twenty to twenty to thirty every single night of just community conversation and discussion and sometimes it's games. Sometimes we turn on the Fresh Prince of bel Air documentary and I'll watch it together

and laugh. Just the community that it created has been such a warm, safe haven during this pandemic where yeah, we all got to be stuck at home, but we're stuck at home together, truly, all together in the same spot. And so I'm very thankful that people have taken to the discord and to the idea of like, you know, getting into just a chat room with a bunch of the friends and talking about life or again watching movies

or watching sports or actually playing games. Just like having a nice open form where a bunch of people are that are just talking hang out. Has been wonderful and I'm very thankful. Love. What a way to end the show. I mean, come on, and that's the way to good great way to double date if you're in a relationship, great way to double date. If you're not a relationship. Maybe you do your own little bachelor speed dating or something in that discord of you. It would be amazing. Um,

this is such a fun episode, guys. I just want to thank you both for coming on, and it is time for us to do what we call not so shameless promo is where you just get you can just get to shout out everything and and it's going to be a challenge for you anonymous Ali. Um, but but Daniel, give us, give us some not so shameless for promo. Oh okay, I work on a bunch of shows here on my heart, so obviously if you're not already, please subscribe to alex Iono show here. This is such a

pleasure and thank you for having us. I work on Fake Doctor's Real Friends, which is a scrub's rewatch podcast. I work on the daily Zeitgeist. I work on the Worst Year Ever, which is slowly kind of petering back into not so much the worst year ever. But like, you know, yeah, I want to want to hold up entirely. You can follow me on Instagram DJ Daniel, follow me on Twitter DJ Underscore Daniel, and I'm on twitch at the same place twitch dot tv slash DJ underscored danil.

That's a real pro just killed but not so shameless promo. All right, Ali, you're anonymous. We're not going to shout out your social medias, but is there anything about your life that you do want to shout out? I know you're doing these comedy shows. What do you so? I can't say anything too specific, of course, but I just want to say I feel like live stand up comedy isn't necessarily happening right now, but your comedians are all

on Instagram and doing virtual shows live shows. Support virtual comedy, That's what I would saying. Support stand up comedians because they're looking for laughter, like that's how they make a living. So you know, I love all the comedians that I've met along the way, and I just want to support them. I love that I challenge every listener, Everybody who listens to this episode right now, I want you to go and follow one stand up comedian that you like. That's

your challenge. At least one, follow as many as you want, but fall at least one. Right now, You guys know you can always find me at alex ion O A I O n oh. It's the best part about having a weird last name but more friendly. Please make sure you rate our podcast and subscribe. You can leave a review if you'd like to. That's some bonus extra credit. That is how we grow though. But I want to thank you so much for listening. Good luck dating out there.

Please stay safe where your masks, stay home, and we'll see you guys next time. We really want you to get the help you need, so if you need help, please seek independent advice from a competent healthcare or mental health professional. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the podcast author or individuals participating in the podcast, and do not represent the opinions of

I Heart Media or its employees. This podcast should not be used as medical advice, mental health advice, counseling, or therapy. Listening to the podcast does not established dr patient relationship with hosts or guests of alex IONO Let's get into It, or I Heart Media. No guarantee is given regarding the accuracy of any statements or opinions made on this podcast. Well, if that's a doozy