Is A Gift Card An Acceptable Present? 🎁

Flex and Frooms Flex and Firms. This is the Flex and Frooms catch up podcast.

Oh everybody, No, I'm scared. Who is Cleo nor Cleo?

Phoebe Tonkin?

Oh from H two.

Yeah, shout out Jamie Timini who was in the show Friend of Mine Mossy listeners to music anyway?

Was that a tangent?

Keep it tied?

Anyway?

So what show was that? And my friend?

Sorry, sorry, we're gonna be talking about the end of the world. I was just trying to like bring the energy up because you're about to shoot it down out of the skygirl.

Here's the body he flex and Firms Flexen fromes.

Cater Never miss a Beat.

I said.

One of my twenty twenty three outs was respectability politics, and that's you know, a lot of us find us shackled by the idea that we have to say things in the right way to be heard or the polite way, and I'm just over it.

This year.

I'm getting really annoyed because I feel like we've spent the last five years learning how to critically critically think like unpacked staff become smarter, and yet we keep asking ourselves really silly questions or ones that don't need this much thought at all. This Am I the asshole in particular? No shade to the author, but I just feel like, is this what we need to be thinking about on a.

Day to day and yet you're hooked?

You're here. I am the problem. I am what do you call it a problem?

Am I the asshole for buying a gift card as a birthday gift? Off the top woft? No, no, we'll see. So am I the asshole for buying my mother in law a gift card for her birthday? It was a marvelous night, lots of fun until she opened my present and everyone stared at me with effing, flaming daggers. Mother in law had no issue at all, or she's a

Please?

I know I'm already conflicted about the situation. I felt bad enough that the rest of the night I hit in the bathroom.

Because of the food.

It was not the food that is the real issue.

It was not the food.

You know.

That one is a little bit more complex because gifting culture, much like tipping culture, a lot of unspoken rules and not a lot of like middle ground at all. Do not say too much, missus, and not.

This is just a horrible, horrible situation on behalf of everybody but this woman first and foremost. Am I ever going to be getting my mother in law's seventy five dollars gift card?

No?

Sorry, gift full stop? Absolutely not, oh never.

I think there's either under fifty or if it's like the first birthday with your partner or like your parents, you do in the upper one hundreds. Okay, seventy five is the weirdest amount, so.

It's the number amount that's really got it.

Yeah, it has seventy five dollars, Like, how did you think about it? You may as well just have done like sixty two or something. I will say it's very thoughtful. Nike is her favorite brand, and sports where is something that's very particular. I don't want someone going out and buying me a pair of short It's like a very specific type. I personally have nothing against gift cards.

Who started anti gift card propaganda because I think a few people have Number one, overestimated their importance to assume that I have enough time, space and energy to go out and find you a physical gift. When you can do that in your own time, it's your gift. ME providing the resources for you to get exactly what you want feels like the most thoughtful thing to do.

Now as an adult, I realize why people think that it's rude to get gift cards, because I understand how hard it is to make time to get gifts. If that makes sense. Yes, I used to never think it was. I didn't think there was anything difference between going out and getting a gift card and buying something in terms of like the labor, I will.

Say there is a difference, like if there's anyone in my life who's important enough to me that warrants a gift or expects a gift. I will do the due diligence and go out and get them a gift, right, But a mother in law is a very specific niche of gift giving, Like I don't really know you like that I might know.

Of you, so I feel like a gift. But to be.

Honest, I would go to like six No six, a dip teek candle and call it a day.

I'm gonna say the hand crem not the hand crem pack from where just a body shop number.

Okay, we're not we're not doctor.

That's built different, different, and that's okay.

Mother in law is specifically with the awkwardest. Actually, a father in law might be awkward as well.

Oh yeah, I'm not getting him a gift.

I got my ex's sister A we're doing siblings. It was yeah, I was like meant to go up and see it. We ended up like breaking up, but I already got in the present.

But then we bring it up.

But I gotta like a Mason Balzac, like the carafe and the class moment before it was very popular, mind you, okay, just saying taste maker so yeah, but never met her actually either, So just be.

Careful you were doing too much. I was doing a lot, that's okay, that's okay. I went out in Style Flex and Frooms, they're the best.

What a duo.

Flex is looking at me very alarm because I've just tried to stuff a piece of paper back in my.

Fold, just that we are on borrow time right now, like there's so much to do today, so little time, and the one time for me decides to open our clipboards that Brooks so lovingly creates for us with all of our notes. She's like fussing about trying to like stuff it in neatly. It's not the time, babe, It's not the time. It is the time, however, to talk about your transformation.

Yes, my shift, my metamorphosis. As you know, I'm a blonde head girl. Maybe you don't know that if you're just listening on the radio. But I've been blonde for fifteen years, okay. My shift from a dark brunette into a light peroxide blonde started when I was in year six got my first highlights, or maybe year seven, one

Yes, yes, it was one of those numbers kind of ahead of the curve.

It was.

It looked horrible on me, shocking, one of my worst looks ever.

Yeah, it's not big enough.

Yeah, it was a bit chicken vibes with that really francy chicken. Anyway, I died at brown on a whim.

The other day.

My hair had started breaking off ferociously from the bleach. It finally said no more, and so I've gone back to my original color, which is dark brown.

Initial thoughtslex phenomenal. I actually saw a soft launch.

I don't think you intended it to be released to the public, you know, unbeknownst to you, without your consent. But I did see a story on a mutual friend's page, not hard launching the color change. But you were padding a dog at a cafe and I said, hold on, hold on, and then you did a hard launch on the feet and I was saying, it makes you look so luminous. But I don't know you as a brunette.

Is everything well? Is everything well? In your heart?

You know what it's that I was unwell?

I was always a dark brown brunette girl. And me becoming blond was because I wanted to jump up the hierarchy. I'm a social climber. What can I say? And I just one more time, and I'm a social climber. Okay, I'm not going.

To be Can I just get that on video? If we could just really quickly one more time?

No, I've been put on the spot. I'm not a social climber.

No I am.

I have social climbing tendencies, as does everybody in this society.

I think it's only fair to have social climbing tendency.

He's a social boulderer.

Up against it.

But I say this all to say going off blonde, like, to me, blonde was like my edge. I was like, I'm Paula Yates, I'm Jessica Rowe, I'm all these things. I'm different, and so to be brown to me is to be basic and to be not looked at. But I think for me, you're right, it's deeper for some people.

I think for a lot of people, hair generally is deep. I don't care what anybody says. Hair is deep, but it's good to understand what your personal relationship towards your hair is.

My relationship was like I'm either going to have a shaved head or I'm going to be blonde because I wanted to be edgy and different. But now as I'm getting older, I'm kind of like I want to get used to not having to look a certain way.

And it's not in the defeatist capacity.

It's more like I want to be okay with not having my appearance define how cool I am. If that makes sense, that's huge, and I think I only got here through starting to like who I am. As crazy as that's but yeah, it's.

All very personal.

I'm very excited about my hair, actually feel good about it, and I'm going to grow it out long. So I'm going to be one hundred percent basic, the basic of the basic, and I'm here for it.

No offense to brunettes have long hair, but.

Sorry Brooke, our producer, I'm going to be quickly looking at the corner, like where do I go.

I'm gonna have no personality.

I'm not gonna shine anymore, but I'm gonna be happy with it like the rest of you.

Damn it'd be like that. Well that's me.

So if you're seeing the videos next week of us on cater and you see brunette don't think the Friomi is gone. I'm just in a new case cater.

Flex and fromes.

You're listening to flex and frooms.

What the frick flex you?

I've got to listen to Submission. It's from a woman who will not be named. Thank you for protecting her bad Hi Freemi, hope you will for the show. Can we discuss the intricacies and complexities when it comes to

And complete strangers.

Why are you love, babe?

So the twenty first year maggot love mom.

I just want to thank you for pushing me through your birds and yeah.

Birth pain.

Yeah, it's like, yeah, that doesn't happen, babes.

It really doesn't.

And I will say because we've been very much impacted by the patriarchy, conversational daddy issues are very like, very commonplace. You say daddy issues, Everyone's like, yeah, we know exactly what this means. The complexities of it for all genders and non genders. We get it mummy issues, though people don't think they're as serious or they're not spoken of

We also watched.

Everything Everywhere All at Once, and that was a really good movie about the complexities of not only mummy issues but cross continental cultural mother daughter relationship issues. What I will say is that I really do imply to people who don't have good relationships with their mum. I haven't always had a great relationship with mine because it wasn't

Don't check in, I don't text her.

And so I remember confessing this to my mom and her are really like, it would make my life if you just sent me a text, It would make my existence if you just told me.

What you were doing.

And I was like, what, that's it, and she's like, that's all I want, and I do, and let me tell you.

It's like the best thing ever. I'm obsessed.

What I will say though, is that like it's really it's a big task, as like a young person or as a child, as an adult to try and like heal your parents. And like, if your mom's pissed off at you for not acknowledging her at your twenty first and it's been nine years, that is a problem bigger than you can fix on your own.

It's just also like, so my relationship with my mum, or my experience growing up was that mum is a saint.

She does no wrong. She's never once done something to hurt me. That's big.

That's like, how do you say that's unachievable? Like, I don't know if I could do that for my daughter, because I have to put myself first. Sometimes I'm not criticizing what she did, but there was like entirely selfless. But I understand as a person and my relationship with other people, sometimes you are mad at people. There'd be times when I'm piecing my mum off, you know, so I can.

See why the mum's upset. Because everybody has these.

Like nice figures.

I don't know some people whole grudges.

Yeah, Look, it's tricky what I will say.

It's not Karen to I just think what's happening now is you're matching each other's energy, and if you want different results, you have to try different things.

It's very hard though.

It's very hard dealing with someone who is emotional, who is convinced that you did something to really hurt them. This is a case where you have to just swallow your pride if.

You want the relationship.

I think so because something that you learn, something that I've learned with like repairing my relationship with my sister, for example, nothing in life.

Is better than not beefing with somebody. Nothing. I never thought it. I never thought it bothered me.

And now that we're friends, I'm like, my life is exponentially better. But I would have never thought of it because I just didn't think a relationship was on the cards for me and my sister. So if you could just put your pride to the side and just go full steam ahead trying to repair it with your mum and take your ego out of it, take your feelings out of it for the short term, then I think you will see results that will make it so you don't feel the need to message us.

I'm the opposite.

I think some things are too hard for you to deal with on your own, and she's not meeting you halfway, then like, act accordingly.

Damn well, can let us know how you go? Girl? Flex and frims flex and frimes cater never miss a beat.

I want to be honest, I want to be candid. I want to start twenty twenty three strong.

Sorry interrupting. Are you ever not honest and candid?

No?

But I'm setting a point, you know how, Sometimes you just have to like let people know what you're doing, put context behind your behavior.

So they don't get upset.

Yeah, and also, I told you I have this thing where because of the tone of my voice, people think I'm being sarcastic and I'm being quite serious. This is one of those moments. We are closer to the end of the world than you think. Not a bit, not a joke, although it sounds like I'm smiling. I know I think I am smiling.

Oh no, no, no, no, no no no.

This is your PSA.

Go commit that crime, send that text, fall in love, quit your job, maybe don't do any of these things. But yeah, the world is ending. An elits group of scientists who monitor the world for the possibility of an arm again and caused by humans, have released their annual report. So they've made.

This really cute and helpful clock.

It's called the doomsday clock and essentially yeah, something like goods. Yeah, And essentially, when this clock strikes to midnight visually, because you know, we're visual learners, when this clock visually strikes midnight's we know it's game over and the world has ended. So in twenty twenty, when COVID happened, we were one hundred seconds to midnight. That's very close to the end of all things.

Right.

As of twenty twenty three, in January, the scientists have updated the clock. We are now ninety seconds to midnight. It's getting worse rapidly now, you might be wondering, how do they measure, like how close we are to the end of the world. It's a combination of like social based catastrophic events, the war in Ukraine, and also climate based catastrophic events, and there's been a lot of those happening in very quick succession, and so you might be wondering, well,

Stopping on the Sydney hrbor Bridge slate Queen, doing all.

They can to let us know that we are, you know, we're hitting the brink right Like it was breaking point twenty years ago when they were like, don't water your grass anymore and we were like, oh what, the.

Grass needs to be green.

And now we're hitting that point and like, if you don't laugh, you'll cry, And I'm trying to cry more, but.

Not at work.

Here is a quote though this scientist says humanity continues to face two simultaneous existential dangers, nuclear war and climate change, that are compounded by a threat multiplier, cyber enabled information warfare that undercuts society's ability ability to respond, which means that the issue is these things are happening at such intensity so quickly that we can't respond fast enough to fix it. Shout out to scientists, number one, Shout out to humanity.

They're killing my vibe. To be perfectly honest.

It's not great, but you know, it is information and information is power or something.

Yeah, so the end of the world is nigh, Yes, we I think it was a few months ago, mate, it was like literally almost a year ago.

Now.

We were talking about how for a lot of people it kind of is the worst of the world right now. People who are hungry, people who are displaced by flooding xyz. So are we thinking that just the more it goes along, the more we will be impacted from where we are sitting.

Yeah, I think the conversations about the end of the world are very like Western centric because yeah, like I was saying, I mean think this would have been the last year most parts of the world. I wouldn't say most parts, but significant populations have been experiencing what we think is the worst possible case scenario in their everyday life.

That's not our narrative.

And so because of that, I think we also struggle to prepare because I think that some of us live in this like if you prepare for it, you're acknowledging it or you are having to commit to changes that you don't want to believe are true. But then also I feel like people think it's out of their depth because what can you really do when a flood comes in?

Like, what are you meant to do?

So many sandbags?

Yeah, and I feel like, you know what happened in was it Lismo last year? Whereas like flood after flood after flood after flood after flood, and it's like, okay, cool, you could only just like live your day to day and hope that you have enough like energy to like keep living and stuff. And I also feel like the conversation about climate change has been so like highbrow, like

Heard of it that like one day it like it rocks and rocks and rocks and one day just capsizes.

Yes.

So people often people often feel that the impacts of climate change will be like a slow burn or like it'll build sequentially, like you know, this will happen here, and then this will happen here, and then the temperature will raise zero point five degrees and this, like you know, we'll have time to adjust it every age, when realistically, no, it's going to be really extreme events and all of a sudden it's like, yeah, there it is.

I kind of liken it to aging.

So you know, when you're really young, you just think it's going to be this and then this and this, when in actuality the older you get the faster time goes, like scientifically, Yeah, you know, when you're one, your whole life is one, so it feels really long. And then when you're two you've got it dart and then by the time you're fifty, a whole year is in comparison to the other forty nine years. I do think though, it is a slow burn.

I mean time is relative, right, like it's a slow burn, like from the dinosaurs to now, because yeah, it's been kind of slow or has it been like the last couple of.

Years where every Christmas is raining? You know what I mean saying yes, that's the real impacts. No, I've had enough.

What I will say though, I do like your point about being hopeful about it because I think for me personally, it's less about.

Like what am I going to do today to make sure it doesn't.

Float in Sydney and more so how can I maintain a lust for life?

So I don't you know.

Let's look at some things. The o'son layer is healing. I don't know how, but somehow it's healing. There's new like plastic technologies where they're gonna turn plastic around, so it's the same quality is virgin plastic.

That's gonna change the game.

So solar power that everybody just seeds to get there freaking fucking act together.

I don't know. You start off following, Yeah, I'm on it anyway. One more thing.

No, no, I just found this button in the studio.

It does different.

Okay, one more and oh no no no, no, no, no no no.

Should we end?

No?

Okay? Kisses everyone.

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