Alicyn
Welcome to Alison's Wonderland. I'm your host, Alison Packard. Join us as we journey through the looking glass and down the rabbit hole into the wild and wonderful world of animation and video games. A do a girl a favor, and please subscribe to this podcast and go on iTunes and leave us a good review. If you like the show, please help spread the word it really helps us to get heard by more people. Thanks so much. From the voice of Tiki and Miraculous Ladybug to the voice of lifeline in APEX legends mela Lee is blowing our minds with her iconic characters. And not only that she is one of the most inspirational people in voiceover industry. So I'm so excited to welcome mela to Allison's Wonderland. Hey, girl. Hey, I'll slip you that hundy later for that great introduction. Oh, thank you. I'm gonna go by his name or address with it. Button. One, one button. We love you, Zimmerman. Yes, we love you. They're our favorite designer. So but yes, gosh, we have so much to chat about. I really do think you are one of the most inspirational people right now and your career path as well as more importantly, who you are as a person and what you stand for in really overcoming adversity and really spreading joy and love to so many people. I was so excited we met at the hack anime convention a couple months ago I don't
Unknown Speaker
know if it was bake animate because it's Baker's feel. They can they can amaze sounds a little like different rights. Movies. Yeah. Do bake anatomy. Or I mean, I guess edibles can be Bake. I'm more of an edibles.
Alicyn
Sorry, sure. Yep. Yeah, smoker. No, it's California. I'm
Unknown Speaker
smoking. But not as much as you Ah. Oh, man.
Unknown Speaker
All right. All right.
Unknown Speaker
There's a lot going on right here. I got a she's getting her $100 Worth, right. That's exactly.
Alicyn
So now you've been working as a voice actor for a while. But originally, it was more of a part time career for you.
Unknown Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. So I mean, it was a dream, I guess. But it was so far away from a real thing because I didn't know how to become a voice actor. I mean, I'd heard of them like a legend like a Sasquatch, people making a move in voiceovers on voiceovers or as a voice actor. I was really good at math and ended up working with disaster relief and at risk property acquisition, and then got into real estate and then mortgage banking. So it's like, Where was that? This was California, New York. Disaster Relief was in St. Louis, Georgia and New York. So just around the United States, mostly. Wow. But I was kind of a ramblin man I a little bit of a gypsy after college and just enjoyed just being like a member of the planet. I'm I love first response. I love disaster relief. And I have a heart for first responders, firefighters, medical professionals, I just was something it just makes you feel like you. You're making a difference in the world when people really need it the most. Yeah. And ironically got into banking through that, because of I had a knack for finding at risk properties as well, that we could acquire to use for headquarters to to work out of for disaster relief. And and I think I was just going to float around and pay off my student loans until I went to law school.
Alicyn
And no way then I didn't go to law. So it's a different kind of stage
Unknown Speaker
is a different stage in I don't know, I actually hadn't thought about being more than maybe a transactional lawyer. So probably not, you know, in court or litigation and in that sense, more paperwork live people. Oh, yeah. I don't know how this sounds like the most boring voice actor interview ever. Like in my brain was going well, you litigation could be just paperwork. But no, just not a trial attorney. There's
Alicyn
someone out there that is like on their way to grad school for law that wants to break into voice acting and just can't figure out how so when more we can deconstruct everybody,
Unknown Speaker
let's do it. And I mean, I think there used to be a sense for me, and maybe the industry was like that 1020 years ago, where you had to pick one career. I'm seeing now where my love of math, real estate, business music, voiceover it's all you know, working together, I play a first responder type. You know, lifeline really connected me with a lot of first responders who have used that as their main for apex and getting exposed. So you just don't know when you're living your dreams, how that affects other people how it gives them permission to get through the day or to dream bigger, but also recently narrating books a lot for HarperCollins and there is this incredible author Charlene aboagye. She's a Canadian, American and get okay so she's she's all about animals. So she's like, essentially blurred. She loves anime. She's an illustrator also just finished her residency. So she's Dr. Shirley and ibobi. And how I met her as she wrote a book in her spare time during her last year as a med student. She was on Good Morning America just a few weeks ago. She does it all. Wow. And it's wonderful to see that it's a balancing act. for her as, as a human being, she's she loves to help, obviously other humans, but she doesn't not just only through a medical practice, but in literature illustration and being an advocate for diversity. Well, it's interesting
Alicyn
that you're drawn to that because you are very much embodying that as an artist, voice actor and also as a musician, and you've been making some big strides forward with that. Can you talk a little bit about your singing career?
Unknown Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I took a break from my band Magnolia memoir in 2018. To focus a little bit more on VoiceOver and voice acting, and I thought if it's meant to be music will really call me in and in about a week after taking a break. I did a show on Amazon, we've Kristen Val Jackie tone, Luke Youngblood like lots of really great actors and singers. It's a musical show for kids. DeRay me? Yeah. And then lifeline. You know, she's really into music and recently got to sing music for the trailer for a
Alicyn
week. Yeah. How did that come about? That's such an interesting story.
Unknown Speaker
You know, I Magnoli memoir. We did a rehearsal last summer, and we wanted to make it a live rehearsal. And so we invited some of my classmates and the writers from Apex. And we had a Michael herring fish is his nickname, Michael herring, who's an incredible guitar player works with Christina Aguilera and New Kids on the Block. And some other folks used to play with Prince. So an incredible guitar player and Alexander Burke, who's one of my writing partners for film composing and so we're pretty good live and we have this great time and and the Legends was right after we got Vax. So we were like, yeah, the world is, you know, let's authority. So we were all tested. It was this huge thing and center center staging, which is Oh, yeah, you Saturday sitting in a bank rehearsal space, like it's a hangar. So we had lots of social distance, but there were 1112 people in this huge place. So the band and I had a live rehearsal, the legends and the writers and dev team got to stop by and I think they Republic Oh, she actually sayings. And so through the grapevine, I guess January February this because everything's really top secret. We don't even know things until they just happen. People think that we're just holding on to secrets. They do ask you a lot at nauseam. You must know who the legends are like we don't the only one I knew for sure was Eric Ichi. And I have to stop the story right now. Shout out to Erica and she plays Valcke Valkyrie in apex. But we were in our same agency. And she came out she's oh my gosh, oh my gosh, I think I just I think I may have just bred for the thing that you're in that I can't talk about. And I was like, it's yours. When we first met in 2016, I was able to give her her first voiceover job. Oh, my God, anime. And I said, Oh, what did you and I were both like, let's be in a gas games. Yeah. Because yeah, speak it into existence. I was like, let's do it. So here it is. 2018. And I didn't know what I was in. But by 2019 She's like, I think I think so. I said, it is it's yours. Yeah, it's yours. And then I didn't hear anything for about six to eight months, right? Oh, and apparently they didn't it was like a long time. Right? Yeah. And then she finally called me and left me a message and she was like, No, and I was like Erica, she says, like, did happen. She's like, yes, we just like Rutherford. But here we are in a AAA game together. That's I mean, Dream Dream, guys. So yes, incredible story. And then she's the one I knew about. But maybe January February, one of the head writers Ashley, she said to just wanted to know if we were to do music for lifelines band, would you be interested in singing for her? Hmm, let me think. Yes, that was exactly my inside voice. I don't know it was really. But then I thought maybe it wasn't gonna happen, because I knew it was gonna come out sometime in June. Yeah, we're talking. It's may now. I guess they probably want to star something. You know, I'm wondering. But they wrote the song. I didn't hear it until I walked into village studio to record to record Oh, that's how top secret it was. Wow. When they let me listen to the few times told me some of the incredible people that were working on the project and the composer zoomed in. And we rocked it out a few hours. So it was dream come true. But it was also like stressful. I don't know what they're gonna do. Like, I've never heard the song. Nothing. How
Alicyn
that may really is a testament to your ability to work quick, though.
Unknown Speaker
I think that yes, I have a very quick study. But I think I've also been really lucky to work on projects with great teams, you know, NetherRealm respawn, these are all really tight knit groups and way before it was, it was cool. They were working, you know, with teams across the world. And kind of outside of the box. Yeah, I think we were perfectly poised for what maybe happened to a few of us here in 2020. I don't know if you guys know couple years back this maybe before your time the world ended a little bit and people were sneezing. It was crazy.
Alicyn
Yeah, they're calling it a global pastrami sleepover. Big giants hearty.
Unknown Speaker
Yeah. I mean, obviously They hope we don't go through it again. If we do at least we're more prepared. I'm pretty pleased with how it's given everyone permission to be open about mental health. Yeah, about you know, boundaries because I didn't have any. So I was at home too. And I felt so lucky that I was still working. Yeah, as a voice actor, you need to pick up at 2am. Okay, okay. I'd be working until two or three in the morning. If they wanted anything. I just dropped it cuz I'm going home. Wow. Yeah. What else am I going to do? I didn't understand that, like sleep, eat? And yeah, pray whatever. Yeah. And it took me about two years. So probably about six months ago, to understand that it wasn't just because of the pandemic or a special thing that that nourishment, both spiritual, physical, emotional, I needed to learn how to, to be a gourmet in the kitchen for that, you know, I prepare time with friends with family, and with myself, you know, so that I would be a more balanced human being.
Alicyn
Isn't that the takeaway, like the key takeaway from all this? And why is it so hard? I feel like especially for us women, it's like, we are so used to kind of be the workhorse and it was a badge of honor to get out. Yes.
Unknown Speaker
Yeah. Almost like, oh, my gosh, I'm so tired. I haven't slept in weeks. Now. People would be like, are you okay? But that's I think it's a good reminder that some of the most beautiful things in my life have come from the most disastrous,
Alicyn
yeah, and yeah, oh, go ahead, please continue on. Oh, no,
Unknown Speaker
I just think that working in disaster leave you, it took me a minute to start putting things into my house, or to learn not to be like, what to keep what not to keep, because you had a backpack, you know, Salvation Army and, and you don't really carry much everything's taken care of for you. And but you do know, in a disaster, people that had a sense of self worth outside of their job and what they owned, they're fine. They're like, Oh, my cat still alive, I'm great. And then you'll have people who had a great house, a Jag and, you know, in the driveway, and it's all gone from a flood or an earthquake, or a natural disaster, or catastrophic illness, and they're, and they're shaken, like to a core, because their sense of self worth has been erased. And i My heart goes out to working with people in any disaster. But it's important that we all know that we're more than our job. And more than even our relationships. Mm hmm. That, you know, once you have a sense of self worth, you'll stop trying to buy one. Right? And that moment, you know, any disaster I've had in my life, whether it's been a car accident, or a failed relationship, there's a moment of silence where you have to take a deep breath. And remember who you are, who you really are.
Alicyn
And do you think that that knowing is it something that only comes from that type of experience?
Unknown Speaker
I think if you're lucky, you just show up in the planet enlightened and I mean, and just know your worth. And I look at my nephew sometimes, and I think this this kid is like a miracle and just celebrated himself. He was like, almost one years old still in diapers hanging on the beach is little man bun, because he's like, totally real man, man, just kind of looking at the sunset like this. This kid is present. Super present. Yeah, I think that's possible. But for a lot of us, it takes an unexpected turn to realize that, you know, if you're on the Titanic, we hear the stories on the Titanic where people were like grabbing their fur coats and grabbed the China. Sorry, yeah, you want to make it out. And then you can only have what's essential, and that that can be friends in a relationship, it can you know, what are those things that we're carrying around as human beings that is preventing us from getting to shore?
Alicyn
Yeah. And often a lot more than we realize. Now you had a pretty significant experience that happened to you that you have mentioned was a bit of an awakening. Can you talk a little bit about that?
Unknown Speaker
Yeah. Because today, I'm a little sore, but just from actual working out that physical therapy or injury, right, thanks, Mr. London. You guys can check Mr. London out on YouTube, lots of free painful workouts. I'm working on my cake topper right now. Just yeah, some people have a muffin top, celebratory cake top. But in 2014, I was driving on Sunset and Genesee and someone was texting and they ran a red light right into the side of my car. And kudos to filmmakers and the camera crews that make it look a certain way on TV because it's literally that because you know in the in the scenes where everyone's like talking, then all of a sudden they get hit from the side. It's like bam, literally what it's like I remember seeing a white streak of a sports car and then I was floating in the gray and you don't know when it's happening. What's happening. Now I look back I'm like, Oh, you died. But I was floating in the gray and spinning for a long, long time and not spinning going down or up but just spinning and then I was floating in the gray like no pain. I wasn't scared. I wasn't afraid. I was just present. And then this voice to say If you don't breathe, you'll die. And it wasn't an alarming voice. It was like almost like Do you have a choice. And I remember thinking, oh my gosh, I have a great life, I have to go. It was a strange thing. I took a deep breath and felt the most incredible pain I've ever felt. And it takes a minute because you think remembering things in order, but I realized now it wasn't. So part of it was I wanted to call 911. And I was able to move my hands to dial but the woman kept talking to me, and I thought I was talking to her like, I've been in an accident, I didn't realize that my brain was doing something, but my mouth wasn't moving. And then I remember passing out and then seeing a woman who was calling 911. And, you know, came in and saying, you know, my name is Rose. And you know, you've been in an accident. And you know, is there anyone I need to call for you? And she was so lovely and had just moved to LA and just her dancing name was Nova. You know, she like she's like, I remember she gave me a crystal. She's like, this is my most powerful healing crystal like, and I mean, you don't realize when you're like, when you're in the hospital, you're waking be like, where are these? Like, oh, that really happened? She gave me this little tiny crystal. She's like, Here, hold this. Oh my god. And also I remember waking up so I don't know. I guess it was in and out. You know. And Mike, we need to find Mike like I work with the California Fire foundation. So guys, it was Genesee and sunset. Anyone listening? Mike the firefighter, I've got to figure out what station it was nearby cuz I need to think of but Mike was like, he knew what I was thinking. And he looked to me says your lungs aren't punctured pages. Look at me. And there's this loud noise and they were cutting me out of the car. And he's just just look at me, you know? And I think he just knew like, they do it every day. It's like, it's like breakfast, lunch and dinner for them. But for me, it was pretty profound to have someone just he's like, just breathe with me. You know? And they plated me up. I'm sure it's not considered plating to say like, they stick er like a thing. And they kind of pull you out because you can't move and I woke up in like this Kim Kardashian suite at Cedars Sinai. I didn't know because how many times are you like in like a trauma center right now. I had gone through the trauma like the ER. But then when I wake up upstairs, it was like a couch and ice view. And it turns out a friend of ours who is a drummer, he's also a trauma doctor. So he called up he's like, get her a good room. Thank you. I wake up and there's just like it was this luxury suite. Wow. And a very cute doctor, anybody hunt Spine Center, these two brothers, not only are they very good doctors. I'm just saying I woke up and I was like, oh, born again. Yes, I'm alive. But sag Screen Actors Guild, my health insurance meant that I had some of the best care in the world with 100 Spine Center. And I didn't have a lot of injuries in my face. So I looked really cute. But I was in a lot of pain. So did the walker than to the cane and had nerve issues for the last few years. But I think I didn't, I didn't rest, right, I didn't take the time I really needed and in 2020, I had a lot of time, tons of time to do all of those things that allow you to Finally Heal. And this is the year that I'm just getting in better shape. We're getting stronger, but I'm no longer you know, in physical therapy or recovery. I think now I just have to overcome the latency of us just being sedentary.
Alicyn
What were your actual injuries
Unknown Speaker
were something fractured several vertebra, rotator cuffs, you know, torn muscles. And my so has stomach, you know, tearing like similar to a pelvic prolapse that people have when they have a C section. Are you pregnant? Yeah. And so just I wish I'd been kinder to myself. Because the doctors they let you know, I mean, this is the best it's going to be for now. And you have to understand that this can be it. You have all your legs, your arms. Yeah. And then everything else is just incremental. And I think the first year and a half or so I was really kind. Yeah, I put my pants on by myself. You know, I was really proud of myself. But then I went back to some old ways where I would just like what's wrong with you? Just don't you know, I would get these headaches or I couldn't sit up straight. Sorry, I'm gonna try to remember, I would be in pain. And I would be mad at my body. Oh, that's so relatable. And now I'm thinking my body was really doing its best. You know, I gotta treat it like a four year old child. If it's tired, like we'll go to bed.
Alicyn
Well, and isn't it so much easier for me to be on this side of the glass and like, oh my god, mela like I have absolute complete empathy for you. But don't we all do that a lot. Often,
Unknown Speaker
I think we do. The fruit of Judge versus bitter. Oh, this person did this. You know, I mean, I'm gonna be in better shape. I don't know what my body will look like. But I get really sad when people were like, This was me at 250 pounds. This is me now everything's great. And I mean, I think I'm pretty sure I don't know the stats, but 50% of the people that are killing themselves are committing suicide probably in great shape. Right. So let's stop thinking that if I was thin, I'd be happy. If I'm heavy, I'm not, you know, you might have just had a child and the best you can do for your body is to sleep. Yeah. And maybe add 10 minutes of yoga or non stressful strength training. But that could be it. 10 minutes could be the wind. You know, I love JLo. God bless her, her job is to inspire all of us and probably works out like three, four hours a day. Yeah, right. It's your job. Yeah. But your job might be to, you know, take care of your parents, because you can't afford extended health care. And you're working three jobs. And, you know, I was when I finished doing disaster relief and was working on Wall Street, we had a banking crash in 2008. And all of a sudden, I was parking cars for valet with the dollars, because I could paddleshift a Ferrari, thank you to my boss, working for a catering company, you know, maid service, like whatever I could do to make money. And I was tired, I made the best I could do for me was to get three or four hours of sleep and pay bills and not file bankruptcy. And how many people are thinking, Well, gosh, I wish I could, it just wouldn't have been appropriate. And I think now of all the time I was like, but I wish I could work out like what is happening here, there's only 24 hours in a day, the best you can be is a kind of person to yourself, that allows you to be kind and loving and present for others. And sometimes that includes, you know, rock climbing and you know, going to Mount Everest, but sometimes it includes five minutes in your car, taking a deep breath and doing something kind for yourself.
Alicyn
And I think part of it, too, is like, how do we keep going through all this. And it's not easy. And you know, we're not here to say that it's easy to get up every morning and do that hard thing in the face of a chronic injury or
Unknown Speaker
illness or depression or, you know, I've I've been to what I call the death of dreams. And it's where you can take it one breath at a time. For some people like one day at a time. I mean, I don't know about anyone listening, but there are experiences of grief and chronic illness and overwhelm where a day is too much to think about. Yeah, so one breath at a time if you have to. And I mean, that's where it has to begin, you know, as if you don't have pockets to spare, you just can't carry anything. And I think having a back injury and a spinal injury, you really learned that you carry all I could carry with myself. I remember about a year in the first time I was able to push a grocery basket, I was strong enough to push the grocery basket. And it was funny because I was feeling so great. But I had not thought about how to get the bags in and out of the car. So people helped me of course, but had to be very mindful of what I could carry. And it was such a beautiful lesson. And I also thought when I wanted to go to law school, I woke up like Dorothy and like and you were there and you were there. And it was, you know, the sound supervisor from Breaking Bad and The Good Wife and some producers from bang zoom and Yuri Lowenthal and Tara Platt, Jason Charles Miller, all of these people were in the hospital with me and I thought this is a life worth living this is I want to do this I want to be I want to Betty White this and be doing this like 99 Right? And take this voiceover thing a little more seriously. And that was you know, 2014 was accent about 2016 I thought let's let's lean in. Wow, Agent 2018 Got my dream agency and started really looking obviously 2019 was Apex legends. So 2018 was Princess Sanda Black Panthers quest. And I remember being a rap party with Roger Craig Smith and thinking alright universe, I would love to be a part of a cast like a lead and a cast with someone like that. Yeah, not knowing in December because everything was NDA that come February Apex legends with Roger Craig Smith and JB blah make all these absolute legends literally. And to get to be in this game that was life changing. Jade and Mortal Kombat wrap this ladybugs been doing really great. And DeRay and me for Amazon and gamma. It's just been this beautiful thing once I focused and people ask what was the most difficult thing? And I think it was me saying what was possible. Nobody's gonna do that. And you can't do this. And along the way, I've only had people like you like when we made everyone's really encouraging. Nobody's ever told me no, but I had to get over my preconceived notions of what might
Alicyn
Yeah, or even how quickly it might happen. You know,
Unknown Speaker
I mean, it did take me 20 years to be an overnight sensation. But I don't think that was any fault of the industry. Definitely. Yeah, me.
Alicyn
Yeah. Hey guys, this is Alison Packard. Sorry to interrupt, but I just wanted to let you know that if you like the show, please please please remember to subscribe to this podcast. And leave us a review on iTunes. It really helps us to get heard by more people. Thanks so much. So because prior to 2014 You were worse I
Unknown Speaker
have to take a sip of one of these really delighted oh yes right. These are kind of these are Wonderland beautiful,
Alicyn
right? The original Mary Blair designs from Alice in Wonderland.
Unknown Speaker
Okay, nobody sneeze nobody moves. See if I can. I feel like a woman now I feel like I've arrived and I'm like, please
Unknown Speaker
do So yeah. Well tell me about you and your journey and, like this year like through 2020. And, you know, when we just met one of the first times I've been out, I think that might have been my second convention. Yeah, where are you at? Like, because a lot of times people think, oh, you know, this person we know of each other will be in franchise together, but never actually meet. Yeah. So this is a big deal. Yeah, lives are now converging, tell me where you're at. So we can see some of these.
Alicyn
I mean, I see a lot of myself reflected in you in terms of just the overcoming adversity, not anything as physical or traumatic. And, you know, maybe not to a greater extent, but just, you know, when you said the death of dreams, and like, oh, yeah, I've been there, you know, and I think that moving through that, I think my main objective is to uplift and inspire, and through light and love. And so I think, you know, really, voiceover has been the way I've wanted to channel that for
Unknown Speaker
so long. I love that we are getting together. And what's interesting is a lot of people think, Oh, you guys are in the same show together. And somehow they think we like drive home and hang out on the couch together ish. But a lot of times, we don't meet each other until a convention like you and I met in Bakersfield, lovely Bakersfield. It was hot and so hard he was. This is how you really get to know somebody like the real somebody, like we were drenched. He was like, let's talk about dreams. But one of the beautiful things about our lives is you know that we get to do these extraordinary things, but also that we can be circling each other. But we're just now getting to share space. And right now, for the first time, this is the longest we've spent time together. Yeah. Tell me about what's going on in your life. And, you know, we know where I'm at when we meet. Let's see the other side.
Alicyn
Tables. Melo, you're interviewing me.
Unknown Speaker
Where were you at? What? Why are we resonating like Well, yeah, has my story and who I am. You know, how are we together? What are we about to do?
Alicyn
Yeah. I mean, I think for me, are you familiar with human design or any of that? Yeah, yes. So I am a one three manifester. And I am moving in I've been told this a number of times, like into more of a healer role for the world. And I've always, like I found my purpose, I don't know, six or seven years ago, which is to uplift and inspire through creative play.
Unknown Speaker
That plays that plays correctly.
Alicyn
So I you know, I'm trying to figure out like, sometimes it's like going inward and removing the blocks in myself. That doesn't mean that you know, I'm like, Okay, actually, that's on me. I'm triggered. Okay. Having my son has helped me with that a lot with like, seeing him and being unconditionally lovable versus like, how come I can't love myself for the same thing, you know, but part of it too, is like, well, like you said, giving being permission to live by having permission to live your dreams and giving yourself permission. I think for a long time. I told myself, I was good enough if I work hard. Oh, yeah. And I could work hard man I can I can get a lot of things spend a lot of plates, but it was never hard enough ever. Yeah, it's just a tunnel that just black hole that will just second.
Unknown Speaker
Sure this is resonating with a few people today. Yeah, I took a leadership course. And we had like this one of those phone calls. Everyone's like what's going on in your day and had like, three people were like, at 11 o'clock, I'm gonna do this. And it's six o'clock and I was like, wait, you have three things to do. And one of them is workout. And then it came to me it I was all embarrassed. I was like 430 Wake up five o'clock Pray do the laundry. 545 It was 6am Call with leaders. And it was like and then I kept reading because I was x you know, like reading it out. And then I was like, so midnight go to sleep and I had filled up every single part of my day. And then leadership person was their job was to to help you out. And so I get this phone call and my leadership coach goes, alright, so mela at noon, I need to stop everything and take a one hour bath. It took me 40 minutes to like, take like 15 minutes in the bath. I was like
Alicyn
grab your phone, put it down.
Unknown Speaker
The bath bomb had barely even dissolved. I was like, I gotta get out of here. Like I didn't understand that in all of this scheduling. I hadn't, like scheduled food or private time or a reward or Yeah. Because I mean, maybe it's not just women. I'm sure there's you know, identifying on every level of the spectrum of people that you're like, if I work hard, I win. We didn't know did
Alicyn
we? What is winning? Yeah. What is winning? Because they're really shortcuts in life. Right? It's like we get we get there when we get there. And sometimes, you know, you meet people who are there and they're unhappy. So really the there is, it's here this moment. Yes.
Unknown Speaker
And I you know, asked several friends in the last, you know, two years that are young god, you know, I had a friend last year lead in a in a sitcom you know taking pictures in front of Times Square, you know, this is my show on the side of buses came back to LA and thought I hope I didn't catch COVID Cause had a cough and then that it's not COVID I guess it's pneumonia. But by March, we realized it was lung cancer. And by June gone, and that happened to another friend this year, and it's just not only devastating, but really reminds you, what are you doing? Like, what are you doing now? Like, what are you carrying with you don't what kind of life do you want to live? Why are you acting like you have 20 years to figure it out? When you might just have 20 minutes? What are you going to leave on this planet? Who are you going to call back? Or how can I be too busy to hang out with Alison like, I'll be there like I didn't care what was in my day. You know, I worked out a little sweaty, I was like, I'm away. Showing up for life in a way that is meaningful, not just like for everybody else. But like right now my heart is so full. Yeah. I used to not think about filling up my cup with like, for the rest of the week. My birthday is on Sunday. You're my birthday present hanging out. birthday weekend, right? I don't know when this is airing but like it's always your birthday. It's you day, celebrate yourself, like a holiday every day. That's my motto. But my I'm like getting chills like my heart is full. Yeah. And I think I don't know if like it was like you? Did you fill up your? I don't know, fill up your cup of stuff that would do. Like, I guess this will do. It's enough. I don't want to be too much. I'll do this many dreams, but not this many. Because you know, I don't want to be that thing.
Alicyn
And it was like, Wait, your turn. Quarter my Wait. What am I waiting? Yeah. For like James, like, great when I worked my way up this way. And it's like, oh, that but that's not happening anymore. It doesn't work like that anymore. The industry has changed, the world has changed. You know, we can be what we want to be right now.
Unknown Speaker
Well, I think that's the journey to the outcome not be so outcome oriented. But action step oriented. And yeah, and you're right. That's the beauty of where we are right now, I think a lot of us thought I don't want to take up space. I don't want to inconvenience anybody giving yourself permission to exist or to sleep or to rest or to dream. It's huge. 100% And that's where we are, you know, the resting. It's like when you feel like you should be resting, maybe you should be resting. I had no idea I got a little scared. I'm going to be honest, I think about I got hacked last fall, like cyber stalking hack. And I felt he was gonna have a heart attack. And then I just was like, Whoa, I don't want to die because of like, some like social like, this doesn't affect my actual biology. Social media is a thing. It's not a person. It's a and then I wanted to relax a little more. And then you know, beginning of 2022 as I gonna have to start going to sleep like I got, I gave my television away to a friend. Because it kind of was keeping me up and I started sleeping like regular. Oh God, like going to sleep at 10 and getting a bit you know, and actually get up at six no matter what. Yeah, so going to sleep at 10 or being in bed at 930. Yeah, and it's changed who I am. But I also tried to get scared. Like, what's wrong? This could be like something that keeps on happening. I don't know why I thought it was like an addiction. Like I got addicted to like, I don't know sleeping six, seven hours a night. That's okay. And then thinking How strange that that was a real question in my brain. Is it okay? If I am healthy? Is it okay for wow, if I don't live in a total ball of anxiety and fear. Is it all right?
Alicyn
We have to do this as a two parter. Dude, yeah, because
Unknown Speaker
we're about to go party. You guys.
Alicyn
Sorry. Gotta go. Sorry. You gotta go. It's been so lovely chatting with you. I'm so sorry. We Sorry, I have to run. But yes, we should definitely invite you guys, but because we also want to chat about your music and stuff to a little bit more next time.
Unknown Speaker
When is this coming out?
Alicyn
It's going to come out in a couple of weeks. So
Unknown Speaker
great. Come find me on mellow li.com. And I didn't have a single coming out September 3 yet.
Alicyn
Yes. Some big news. Maybe we should even have you back that week or something I would love. That's my birthday week.
Unknown Speaker
I would love to be your birthday and my birthday. I will be tested out and I'm coming back from Australia that week before so I'll bring you something. I'll bring you some gifts. Yeah, all I can think of is like you guys aren't here. We're just having a moment. All right. Well, well,
Alicyn
thank you melas. So much for coming. This is lovely. I could chat with you all day. And you guys thank you so much for tuning in. If you're not already subscribed, make sure you subscribe both here on YouTube as well as the pod cast and I feel like it tell a friend because that always helps spread the word spread the love. Okay, we'll see you next week guys. Thanks for tuning in to Alison's Wonderland, where we explore the wild and wonderful world of animation and video games. Please remember To subscribe and leave us a review for more episodes of Alison's Wonderland please visit us at www dot Alison packard.com See you next week