Heavyweight Check In 5

Pushkin. Hello, Khalila, Hello, let me get Stevie hang on.

Hello, Hi, Hey, Hey, how are we Stevie.

I actually had a really great weekend.

What did you do?

I saw two friends this weekend.

As in real life.

Yeah, yeah, my friends Peter and Leo, and you know, we stayed six feet apart and everything. But like, like, I saw friends, and it's been so long since I've seen in person a friend.

Yeah.

I was waiting for them outside and I heard Peter go, you know, Stevie, and it was like immediately I felt like I was like lighter, you know, like it really lifted something, and I left feeling really.

Light, like.

I don't know, I don't really. Yeah, it was very hard to resist the urge to just go over and like give them a hug.

It was like.

Fighting with that, you know.

Yeah. I also saw people for the first time, you know, ten feet apart this weekend, my in laws. They came by. I think it was nice for Aggie occasionally, of course, like you would forget and kind of run towards them and we'd have to pull them back ground Rampa, Aggie, stay stay back. Can I just feel ground Rampa? And I think those were the moments that felt the roughest because you know, it's sort of like you're negating this natural,

Aggie knock knock who.

All of Augie's knock knock jokes made no sense? Knock and a doctor, doctor nas Lagula. Yeah, so that was kind of it was a mixed bag, but it was it was kind of nice. Yeah, Khalila, And what have you been up to? How was your weekend?

Just something about like this past week especially, like I don't know, I think it just hit the point of really sort of feeling like gray. Like I feel like I really was like hitting a point of like despair kind of. Uh so this weekend, Sorry you guys, I don't know why I'm getting so emotional.

It's okay, yeah.

Yeah. So well so one thing we did.

This weekend, this is you and your boyfriend?

Yeah, me and sam my boyfriend got a zip car for yesterday to just like go somewhere else, which ended up being nice, Like we had a nice day, but the planning of it sort of just like it made us both feel worse because we were like, oh, like everything is closed, Like yeah. It just really made it feel like, oh, there's like nowhere, there's like nothing to do. And we ended up going to Fort Dolden and walking along the beach and having lunch out there, which was nice. Yeah.

And you've had popcorn in a movie theater.

Yes, I've had plenty of popcorn in a movie theater. I once ate so much popcorn in a movie theater that I threw up afterwards.

This was as a child, I'm assuming.

Nope, this was like two years ago. Really so sad.

No, that sounds like living the dream. How can you be sure that it was from overeating popcorn?

This has happened to me? But before I think the problem is if I don't eat dinner and then I eat just popcorn with a lot of movie theater butter on it. It like makes me a little noxious, but I love it, so I always eat it anyway.

Wow, So you so you really love popcorn?

I love popcorn. Yeah.

And did you use the technique of like where you wait for the first kernel to pop and then you start shaking the pan vigorously?

Yeah?

And actually when I heard the first one, I was like, a pop.

That sounded like a.

Pop really makes you question yourself?

Yeah it does, but it turned out really well, and I put I melted real butter to put on it.

Did it make you less naxious?

Yeah, it actually did any success. You didn't throw up.

I didn't throw up.

What was there like something just about like having like popcorn to watch a movie with?

Yeah?

It was nice. Yeah, I mean it did make it feel more of like an event instead of just like filling the time.

I guess there's something like just about the sound of popcorn popping that I think is like, universally like one of the most wonderful sounds.

Yeah, that's great. I think we're in business here.

You know what else I've been up to, and this is going to cheer you up. This is going to cheer us all up. Okay, you ready for some good cheer? I guess I decided that as a special surprise, I was going to check in with some favorite people from the show, people that we and America and parts of Canada have grown to love, like you. My old friend.

Gregor a favorite.

Indeed, we talked for a while. He's homeschooling his kids, he's taken on their education, and we got to talking and do you remember a young man named Joey?

Yeah?

How could I forget?

Yeah?

Could we forget? Two seasons ago, Gregor and I went to Los Angeles to help him. He had been banned from his favorite pizzeria, and Joey's kind of a sloppy guy, and he was having trouble with his roommates.

Of which there were many many, yes.

Yeah, many, many many roommates, And so Gregor and I had kind of decided that we would give Joey a call, check in with him and see how he's doing during this quarantine. There was something that happened during the course of our telephone call that kind of made Gregor and I feel really good about having called him in the first place. Because it seemed like he was still in need of our help. Joey, is this so? I think it is good to hear your voice. Guess who I have on the line here.

It's a me, Joey, the one and only.

You sound exactly the same, only healthier.

I think I am healthier than the last time we were together.

Yeah, you radiate health.

My diet is a little more varied than it was when we.

Last spoke, when it was just pizza.

Yeah.

I've moved on from dale old cold pizza to some some actual veggies.

Now, go on, What do you got in your crisper drawer, Joey?

The house? My house just went to the grocery store yesterday. So okay, we got egg plant, lemons, and limes. Oh, leaks. That's a fun one. Who whoever has a leak?

I think we can pause you there, Joey. Do you still have that mustache?

Yeah?

Yeah, and I'm growing a quarantine beard as well.

Are you still keeping up with your ruler blading for.

The most part, I mean it's it's kind of slowed down because it's not super fun to roly blade in a mask.

I think last week left Joey he had a roommate situation.

That's right.

So now what's what's your deal? You're living on your own.

I I'm living in a much better situation now, living in a duplex apartment with six other boys, so you know, a little little tight quarters.

But how many roommates did you have back back when I.

Think it was five?

And now you've got sick by want.

Yeah, but it's a bigger space, it's like a real house. I'll admit. I still am in a curtained off kind of a makeshift living room turned bedroom.

Deal. Wait, so you still have bed sheets for walls?

Yeah, only one wall this time, as opposed to all of them.

I gotta say, no offense to Joey, But Johnny, I think your craftsmanship in fixing Joey's life is questionable.

No, it's way better now.

Chick up another roommate and he's got a sheet for a wall again.

Why only a sudd when Joey's not doing well, all of a sudden, he's my son, Joey.

Well, he was your charge. You said, I'm going to get this guy out of his like, no, we were.

Both Well well that's the thing. See, I'm giving you credit for elevating my life and lifting me out of where I was. I'm doing a lot better now.

I just picture him on his rollerblades on a slight grade where he's rolling back down and not realizing it, he's going backwards down the hill.

Okay, but downhills are always the funnest part of rollerblading.

So you're you have now six roommates.

Yep, we've all been friends for years since college.

You're pitching in, I'd say so.

But lately, since quarantine started, it seems like the other roommates in the house have kind of doubled down on trying to keep things clean, which, you know, I get we're spending more time at home, things get messy easier. But to me, like I, I can't, you know, clean every crumb every single time, Like that's just put going a little too far. And so this started really getting into one of my roommates. Every time I would leave a single crumb, a single knife in the in the sink,

Is this yours?

And like he just wanted to just get into it as my first thing I hear in the morning, and I just really couldn't, Like I needed to avoid confrontations, so I just basically ran away and like said, I can't hear this right now.

Now, Joey, when you went back to your room, like this would be a situation where one might slam their door, what do you what do you do now?

I did?

I mean I tried to do the same. I retreated to my room. But the difference is he was able to just walk like right on the other side of the curtain and like speak to me. So five minutes later under the curtain, I'll push it aside.

Just painting an image in my mind, okay, because it's less dignified when you frog crawl out under your curtain to get yelled at.

It's better than that. But no, he did. He did come around and try to try to talk to me through the curtain and just said I'm here to talk when you want to.

So did you ever end up having that conversation with him?

Nope? Nope. Instead he he ended up sending me a text like I think a few hours later. That was actually an apology. He wrote, my approach was not the right one, and I apologize. I haven't felt great this week. I've been overly sensitive. And then he goes, no need to respond, just wanted to send this to you so you knew where I was at.

HM.

I really care for you and don't want it to hurt you or cause the vision between us.

Wow.

I only wow.

Okay, did you not read this text until now.

I read it? I read it just one dime. I mean I was still definitely kind of heated when I got it.

I think you just heard Joey digesting the second and last emotional phrase of that text. That was definitely the first time.

Wait.

I mean we don't usually talk like that, so it's that's pretty surprising though.

Okay, and then what was your What was your next text back to him?

So he said no need to respond, but I figured I would just let him know I got it, and so I just wrote thanks.

Did you send it as an emoji or you actually wrote it?

And that's it? Just thanks?

I accepted as apology. I mean, how long ago did you get this text from your roommate? I think it was about a week ago.

Now, were you to call him over and say, hey, I'm partly to blame for this whole knife knife situation, also he would know what you're talking about.

Yeah, oh yeah. But wait, but first my question is, I mean, do I owe him in a apology. I think we need to address that first, Gregor.

This roommate seems like a prince. He's like, I'm sorry I yelled at you for leaving your filthy knife and crumbs on the floor. You're important to me, and I cherish you and I cherish our time together.

Did he use the word cherish?

Uh?

I don't think. I don't think that's part of his vocabulary.

Point is Joey should pick up after himself. This is not some complicated equation.

All right, So you think you're saying that Joey owes him a little bit of an apology, a reciprocy.

If you live by yourself and you're a disgusting slob, you're reprehensible, but at least you're your only victim. If you live with six dudes, if everyone leaves a knife in the sink, you've got a forest full of knives in the sink. You're all on the house confinement. I think it's time to be super persnickety. So he could have been nicer about it. But I still think he's apologizing for giving you some harsh treatment. I think you need to step up your game.

I think you're right.

I'm totally fine with you, like sleeping with your dirty socks next to your bed, that's in your sheeted off quadrant of the living room. But you can't leave food arounds. That's just not good.

So what is your roommate? What is his name?

His name is Pathan?

Is Paven within shouting distance right now?

I am tucked away in like the closet doing the recording.

I'm can you do it in a muffled yell from inside your closet.

Now, maybe open up the closet door and okay, let me let me get out of the closet here. And it's gonna take me so work to weasel my way out of here.

Now while Joey struggles to get out of his closet studio, we're going to have an advertisement.

What a building of narrative suspense.

You know, I've been listening to this whole thing on double speed, and now I'm gonna slow it down to single speed.

Here come the Parade of Savings, and we're back. We're back. Let's just join Joey as he struggles to get out of the closet and on with his life. It's also a.

Thousand degrees in there, so it feels good to get some fresh air. Hold on, I'm climbing over the desk right now. Oh boy, okay, all right, so yeah, I'll also mention that that Peven's room is the one right next to mine, so he we almost share a room. Really that's curtained off, but yeah, here he is now. So yeah, listen, I kind of wanted to apologize actually for for what happened like last week. I think you probably know what I'm talking about.

I do know what you're talking about.

Yeah, so I know that you sent me a very like thoughtful message, and.

I thank you for it.

That was really nice.

Yeah, probably took a lot for you to do that, and yeah.

I just you know, it's a really heightened time and I didn't want to it could have been handled better on both sides.

Yeah, but thank you, thank you.

I don't know if I fully said it, but I apologize for and I accept her for like leaving things around. I know it's my responsibility with this is like a community.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

I mean, it's just nice to know that we're on the same page because then there's no tension in the house and things are going well.

So yeah, you're doing a great job, man, Thank you, thank you.

Thanks for keeping things clean.

Yeah, you got it.

Joey, Joey, Joey.

That was magnificent.

That was so good. Really from the last time that we were with you. I mean, you've come so far.

Yeah, that was really straightforward. And I was getting ready to start sweating when you said I want to talk to you, and instead you were just clear, concise, really spit it out. It was great.

Yeah.

I think he definitely appreciated that, and I feel better too.

It was great.

I mean, this is the kind of skill set that only a gold Stein can give you to deal with your roommates.

And a Gregor.

It's all you, Johnny.

See before we were both trying to pun Joey off on each other, and look at us now.

The whole time you were talking, all I could picture was the fade and Johnny comes on in his dulcid voice where he's like, so it is the moment and.

So it is that the roommates were reconciled and the apartment found peace once again. So I spoke with another favorite, Steve Marsh from the Marshes. From the Titular Marshes. Do you remember? Do you remember? Steve likes his seagrims and seven up ayahuasca plants. We did an episode with Steve about how, as an adult, he'd found out that his parents had had a kid before he was born, that they had put up for adoption, and that they never told him or anyone about and Steve and I said

Can you hear me?

I can can you hear me?

Yeah?

Has your headspace? Because I know you're you're a pretty social person.

Yeah, that's that's been my biggest thing. So I love meeting new people and it kind of wakes up my brain and it's one of the great pleasures of my life. So now bereft of the chance to meet new people, your mind drifts to people like if you can't go outside, you go inside, And so you have these memories in nostalgia for people that you haven't talked to in a while.

Are you Are you thinking of someone specifically, because we've been doing this thing lately where we're trying to connect people with friends that they've drifted from.

There's this woman, Mika. She's in Paris. She got pissed me and when I was stuck in Africa, her now husband had to go to Paris or Lee so I could get out of Gabone.

Wait, wait, hang on a second, back up. You were stuck in France.

I was stuck in Africa.

What happened?

My friend was in a movie about people going to Gabone, Africa to do Ibiga, which is this psychedelic route. And I went down there and I met them and I was like, I want to try Ibiga. And I did. And I went into like a fugue state for like forty eight hours, and I missed my flight.

Back Holy Kat And this was pleasant.

No, it's horrible, like a waking nightmare kind of thing, and it was weird, like, so I did like thirty spoonfuls of the They grind up this ibiga into a powder, about thirty spoonfuls of it and then I also did an additional how much of the sawdust through an enema at the same.

Time, so the god, this does not sound appealing. It's like you're eating like basically like a large breakfast bowl of this of this, like.

A highly acidic sawdust, and then when.

You're done with that, they're like no, no, no, now comes the enema.

Yeah, They're like, oh, you haven't had enough. You're not getting You're like because I was like, I was like, oh, I don't I can't do it. I can't do it anymore. I was being a baby and and they're like, Okay, well come into this hut and we'll give you an enema.

What what recollections do you have from those forty eight hours? Anything stick with you?

Well? They uh, they ask you, like to describe what you what you see, and I was like, I saw some like flickering. I'm like the lantern, you know, So then that becomes that's my I began name like, I'm like whatever the African equivalent of flickering and the lantern is, which is like, who doesn't see flickering in the lantern? I was kind of quasi seeing this woman in Minnesota at the time, and I felt like she was not

Why would someone have to Why would that be the terms of getting reimbursement on your on your ticket.

You need it. It's like, I don't know.

So she had to go to this airport in France.

Her husband did. And I think Mika has found the whole escapade to be irresponsible and has really never never forgiven me.

And that that that was the end of your friendship. Yeah, how long was it since you last had actual contact?

Oh? Man? So this was in this is like right before me and I started eating. It's like eight years ago. So like then, I think it was like a couple of years later or something. I was like, hey, you know, I might be coming through town, and she's like, I don't want to see you.

Hmm.

Oh. And was that the last contact you had with her?

That was it?

Yeah?

And I love Meka like Mika's. She has a great laugh. Man. I used to love making Mika laugh. I guess it's one of the few, kind of the few people in my life that I've really hurt them.

Do you want to reach out just to say, you know, like, see how she's doing in the midst of all this.

Yeah, man, that might be nice. That would be nice. Then maybe I could actually apologize to her, maybe.

Formally, because you never have.

Really, I don't think so.

Is she still in Paris? Yeah, because I think it's right now. It's midnight in Paris. This calling her midnight might make things worse. Yeah, so on behalf of Steve. I ended up just sending Meka an email and she said, yeah, sure, we can get on the telephone. So so that's what we did. Oh you hear that European classy ring tone that it's better than you, that ringtone better than me? Hello, Mika, hold.

On, let me put on my headphones on?

Okay, Well I don't should I be talking?

I don't know.

I didn't think of it.

Hello, Hey Steve here, Steve, Hey man, how are you?

I'm good man, I miss you. I was just thinking I was talking to Jonathan and Christoph having to drop everything and bail me out of my I have beg got stupor in Africa and inviting that Condon nass guy the photographer to like crash your place and wait your mom like walked in on.

Wait, I'm really sorry to interrupt Mega, forgive me, but wait what what what is we we talked about the whole drug thing, but what what is the what is the thing about the photographer?

Oh? Well, like Mika had gone on a family vacation and uh, she let me stay in her crib okay, And then I was out with a Condon ask pho photographer and he didn't have a place to stay that night, and I volunteered Mika's place without asking her permission.

Wait, so so on top of the whole other thing, there was also this this guy.

Yeah yeah, Steve, I know, I mean Mika, that's the thing. Honestly, Like, I'm sorry for all of it, and Christophe as well, And I feel like I estranged myself from you by acting like such an ugly American.

I mean no, I was definitely wanting to help you out when you're in Africa. Act when you call me a you were like, I'm desperate. I need to get out of here. So I was totally like, okay, I we're going to get you out. And Christoph is a really great guy, and I was just like just tell him thank you, you know, please, Like I don't know if I can swear in this, but.

Like you got to like.

Something.

I don't know that you.

Better because right, I think what was really problematic was that, yeah, you invited your friend without telling me.

So when you asked.

Me like a couple of years after it to come with your sweetie, I was like I had to make a voice like do I want to have another adventure and put up with like, well, it was kind of tricky when you came, and it was a little bit, for lack of a better word, high.

Maintenance, right right, totally, Oh.

Steve, I'm I mean, I'm totally glad that you know we're friends and I'm I'm really happy to talk to you now. And I really appreciate you saying sorry and I thank you for that, and Steve, you're you're good people.

So we're cool. Thanks me. It's great to hear your voice.

Man, what's up to you?

How are you?

I'm good man, Yeah, yeah, I'm totally good. How is Paris like?

How is No Like?

So in about ten days.

And hey, guess what that's our show? Okay, yeah, well but not quite yet. A couple more.

Things, Oh well, okay, So that was a lie.

I wanted to mention that oftentimes people ask what they could do to help support the show, and you know what, don't send us any money, don't send your jewelry. All you have to do is try to listen on Spotify. You can listen anywhere you want, and we're appreciative of that, but if you want to do a solid listen on Spotify, because it won't hurt, it'll help. And what we've done to further entice is we've assembled a playlist of some of our favorite episodes as well as some of listener favorites.

Fun and there link in the show notes.

Yeah, so if you're into the whole clicking thing, And another way that you guys can continue to support us is by sending in your emails with your stories and uh, just how you're doing at this at this time, we really enjoy reading them, and among the emails that we received this week was a song by a singer songwriter named Connie she Oh.

I am Connie she I am in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, and I am currently in my bedroom, on my floor, looking out my window at other buildings. So I am having trouble processing my feelings about all this, and so I wrote a song about it, and I thought I would share it with you. Every passing day, I feel a little worse about zoos. I was good for ay oh, fill my schedule with classes, got dressed and my makeup even chrow my eyelashes. But a slump is so close

Aware?

Is the sign? I lost my marble somewhere in the bathroom, and I can feel all my atoms or shaking with what can't be done. I know that something has ended and something's begun, and I just wish someone could give me more answers, or tell me just close your eyes and then open when I

Get to one