Hello, how it goes a while? How you doing, man?
I I'm doing all right, brother, I'm you know, another day, another day of being alive on the Great Green Earth, doing my job eating food. I cooked breakfast this morning. I never do that, but I did it too.
You cooked breakfast. That's actually insane to hear that.
Are you? Are you? I feel like the way you said hi to me makes me feel like you listen to the show, and you listening to the show makes me feel like you maybe know me a little bit, and that makes me feel like you actually are not fucking with me by saying that you are surprised that I cooked breakfast.
No, I'm not fucking with you at all, dude. I've listened to you for like five years, and like in my head, like at one point I thought you were famous. So like, yeah, I've known you for a while and like you're a guy in my head that like you like order food in my head, like a lot of food. So I'm like, you cooked breakfast. That's like surprising me here off the top of my head.
I love I love that I went from famous in your head to a guy that orders a lot of food.
You were always the guy that ordered a lot of food. But but I guess, like I don't know how to explain this, but like influencers in my head went from being like famous to now just having influence. And if that makes.
Sense, they went from famous to having influence. Can you explain this?
Yeah, Like if I saw certain influencers prior, like maybe like twenty eighteen, maybe I would like freak out a little bit or they would feel more rare. But now when I see an influencer, I just think more like that they have like a following, or they have like they're have being connections with businesses in that of that nature, or maybe they have money or they have like a
good job. Like I don't always think they're famous. Like there might be somebody with seven hundred thousand followers on Instagram. They're an influencer, but they're not famous if that makes sense.
Okay, that makes perfect sense. But wait, who what influencers have you seen in real life?
In real life, I've seen Melvin Gregg if you know who that is?
No, who the fuck is I'm looking them up.
He's like a vine influencer that's now like an actor on like Netflix and stuff like that.
Oh I feel like I've maybe seen this dude before.
Yeah, other influencers, I can't off the top of my head, I can't think of other influences. Oh, I've seen Chancellor rapper walking around in Chicago before.
Okay, I know he's not.
Really like an influencer, he's a rapper, But yeah, I feel like people. I feel like Internet people are losing a little bit of.
Power, as they should. I mean, it makes total sense. No one's really famous right now. I mean, actually that's not true. The there's a few people who are famous right now, but the internet famous. Speed is famous, Timothy
Shalame is famous. Ye, Like it's weird, dude, Like, there's all there's so many fucking people who have like I mean, every day I learned about some motherfucker who I've never heard of in my life that has like however many followers and like sells out giant theater tours and all this crap, And I just have no idea who they are. It used to be there, used to be like less
of an outly But that's good. It's kind of awesome though, right because I feel like it's democratized the media landscape and it's also led to this like, I guess middle class of creator where you can make Wait, why is it scary?
Because I think like the pipelines from like I think the pipeline of having no money and like selling munch of courses online or gaining a much of influence on the internet and like making a living is like great for the middle class in the lower class of society, And I think if you take that away, that just is like another tool people can't access for like financial mobility.
Wait, why do you feel like hold on? I was just about to say the opposite. I was about to say, it's good for like the middle class of greater because you can because you can make like if you're if you're smart, you can figure out how to make like a living by even if you're not like that famous.
But you see, okay, say that, say that first part again, say that first part if you're smart. Yeah, exactly. That's not everybody. That's not everybody. Like I see people on Instagram talking like they have like, you know, twenty five
thousand followers. They put up a video that gets like seven hundred kviews or whatever, and they're like, yeah, I made you know, two hundred bucks, And I'm like, yeah, it's it's like hard to monetize off of the Internet if you're not like sad, like you have a podcast that's like I don't know, gained a lot of tracks into like twenty I don't know. I don't, I don't I remember when I started watching. I think I started
watching in twenty twenty one. But I think you started in like twenty nineteen right on like reddit or something, or twenty twenty.
Yes, twenty on Reddit.
That's not everybody's case.
It is, No, it's true. I mean I make I make a living through I make a living primarily through the like this podcast and through touring. But like there's a lot of like I don't like, I don't make I don't like I don't really make any money, Like I make virtually zero money, like posting videos on Instagram. But there's some people who, like all they do is post videos on Instagram, and I always, I serio say that,
like all the time. I look of those profiles and I'm like, how is this person making a living?
It just depends in my opinion who it is and like what their monetization model is. Like For instance, there's some people on Instagram who I see are like physical therapists rehab specialists for like a specific type of injury, Like they'll be like, Hey, if you're a jogger in your twenties to forties and you tour your NCL on November second, I gotta exercise for you. Like I know those dudes are making like twenty K a month. You know what I'm saying if you want to do videos.
Like yeah, yeah, I mean if I I think if I wanted to do like I don't know, man, some people have told me like, oh, you should like like if I was like an influencery type of person, I'd be like book book a call with the therapy gecko, but that I would never do that in my life. That sounds so.
Dude, you don't think you're an influency type of person.
I don't like I would like you. I would never in my life will I I swear, I never in my life will like make something on my Instagram where people can like pay money to talk to me, Like I think. I think that's how like most influencery people do it. Like people are like.
There's probably nobody on the Internet who I followed like more consistently than you. You're probably like you probably had the most influence on me.
Well, I guess, yeah, But like I guess, when I think of like an influencer, I think of like someone is like by my coaching or or like set up a'll thing with me and I like a one on one and we'll do a whatever.
You know, dude. When I think of an influencer, I think of somebody that influences my thoughts and my daily actions.
Oh okay, I was thinking in like a more of a well okay, whatever mayor do you have parents?
Yeah? I do have?
Are they there? Then they're influencers. They probably influence you.
Yeah, but like it's obvious they influenced me. They're my parents, that's like part of their role. But like influencer is somebody that like gained my influence through like consensual Like I saw them and I wanted to follow them, and I watched their content and I fed their content into my brain and I like allowed them to influence me.
Yeah, you know, do you feel like you are easily influenced?
I think everybody is, like have you if you've ever heard like even if you know it's propaganda, that doesn't like remove its influence on you like even if you know it's something like proven to be made to trick you, even when you look at it, it's still kind of tricking you in a way. So I think I am like impressionable, but I'm a very self aware person. So it's like a double edged sword, like I am easily influenced,
but then I catch myself. But then at the same time, I'm like wait, even though I'm self aware, Like wait, like how influenced? Would I just get right now?
I don't know, man, I feel like I feel like like advertising. Does advertising work on me?
I don't know.
I don't like buy a lot of shit? Like do you? I mean, I guess, I guess. I guess propaganda works in many ways other than like trying to get you to buy shit.
But like.
Do you, like do you when you see ads for shit on Instagram? Like have you ever bought something from an Instagram? An?
Uh No? But I'll give you an example that, like I know one thing that it's influenced me. So it's this thing called like a I forgot what it's called called, like a bull up bar or a. It's it's some type of like at home jimm equipment machine that a It's like a couple of hundred bucks, and I probably wasn't gonna buy it, but I've been seeing the same ad on Instagram and Facebook for like four or five months, and I'm like, I'm definitely gonna buy that in the future.
Did you buy it?
No, I didn't buy it yet, but I know I am gonna buy it.
Do you think that's because of the ad?
Yeah?
Huh okay, what other ways repeatedly? What other ways recently do you think you've been heavily influenced?
Hmmm? Oh you know what. Let me think. One way that I'm heavily influenced is like, so I worked with a lot of older people and I just started this job like five or six months ago, and it causes me to, when I'm not at work, be more vigilant around like older people in public.
What do you mean by like vigilant for their safety.
Like if yeah, for their safety, for their guidance out talk to the more like just anything, Like I feel just more readily available to interact with like the elderly population.
Yeah, okay, yeah, that makes sense. I mean you're talking about you do You're just talking about like being influenced by external stimuli of the world. I mean you, you're a product of your environment. You speak English. Who's fault is that? That's everyone around you's been speaking English forever. Now you've now you now you do it? Now you do it?
Yeah?
True?
You know? Yeah?
What do you do? You have a job?
Yeah, I do have a job. I'm emt Oh.
You're an emt Yeah. Who influenced you to be an emt uh?
Probably my probably probably my grandmother. In twenty twenty, my grandmother, she developed dementia and I had to take care of her. And during COVID, I saw how much like medical misinformation there was. Like I had kind of wanted to be a doctor in my entire life, so I was kind of hipped to science and medical research and the I
don't know understanding of ppe and all that stuff. So when we went through this pandemic and I kind of saw how people reacted to it and how inflammatory it caused, like all of society to be, it like scared me a lot. Like, you know, I had people that I had friends that I knew I wouldn't wear masks and didn't believe in COVID and just taking care of my grandmother with dementia. I was like, Okay, I'm going to become like a CNA or a EMT or some something
to go into healthcare. So then my grandmother passed away and then I became at EMT. M.
So, would you say that your grandmother was like an influencer to you?
Yeah, for sure, for sure, for sure, for sure. M. Yeah, it's like crazy to see somebody. It's like crazy to see somebody you know, who could like walk and talk and speak, like deteriorate day to day. Oh, it's crazy.
You seem like you have had in your life so far good influences.
Yeah, I would say so. And I yeah, I feel very lucky for that too.
M hmm.
Yeah. Oh and sometimes I I people identify that fact and say like, hey, you're like why are you good? And I go like, I don't know, I just got lucky to have good influences. Yeah, there's nothing I did.
I feel that way about my life. I feel like I'm a product of the influence of a lot of people around me, and I think that it's been it's been good influence.
Yeah, I agree. I yeah, it's been cool to Like you meet your family too, m M. My family, Yeah. Oh yeah, my dad hear and your sister to hear your dad to hear you talking about your mom. Yeah that's cool.
Yeah, I have no I have a really good family, and I have really good uh friends, and they've they've influenced who I am, for sure. But I also spend a lot of time. Uh you know, I'm influenced by the Internet. I'm influenced by random motherfuckers. I mean, I I i'd like to protect even though I don't want to like buy ship from Facebook ads, I'm still under the influence of the world I inhabit, right right, I feel like I've this podcast. I feel like talking a
bunch of people has influenced me in some way. I can't really put to words it how exactly, but.
Dude, it's so clear. It's when when you're a listener of the podcast, it's like clear that there is an actual payoff of how many people you've spoken with throughout your time. Interesting because when you're sometimes when I'm following a conversation, I'm like taking it with the person saying and I'm like I'm with them, and I'm like I'm trying to grasp what they're saying, Like what are they saying, and then I hear you respond and I'm like, what
the fuck? How does Lyle know what this person's saying? Not only you know what this person's saying, but you have like something thoughtful to saying. I'm like, right, he's probably talked to like twenty thousand people. Bro of course he's talked to somebody who's been like kind of convoluted or like doesn't really know how to make it to the point like of course you So sometimes like even the most recent episode, I forgot the guy was talking
about with some of them Loton's car or something like that. Man, the guy's kind of like kind of I don't even know what this guy's kind of saying, and you're like walking them step by Steve, I'm like, what the heck? Like it's like that is the payoff of being a conversationalist is like you're good at having conversations. So it's very clear to me.
You know what you're a You're a sweet guy. What's your name?
Please beep out that name?
All right, sure, we'll beep it out. I'll call you.
I'll call you Joe.
All right, Joe, all right, we'll beep that out. We'll call you, Joe, Joe. Uh No, you're a sweet guy, Joe. You're sweet guy, Joe. I appreciate you saying all that stuff. You know, that guy. I feel like a lot of my understanding of people doesn't come from like talking to people though, it comes from.
Just like.
Living life and a little bit and also talking to people too. I mean, that guy on the previous episode, I knew the people weren't gonna like him, but I also I found him on a personal level, Uh fascinating and yeah yeah, and also you know what's so funny, dude, I was I'm reading them, and also I I know that I know that, like, you know, thousands of folks listen to these calls and only like you know, forty
of them make comments. But I'm w but I look at the comments sometimes and I'm like, and I'm like, I know that participating in the conversation and listening to the conversation are two different perspectives, and you're gonna be understanding the person differently. But I'm listening to but like, there's so many times I have a conversation with someone and it's like I'm there directly talking to this person
and I'm getting such different vibe. Like I can tell when people are bullshitting me, and I can tell when people are being genuine with me, And I really can like tell in my guy like I know, like like I could get five hundred comments on a fucking thing of people being like this guy's bullshitting you. And if I feel like in my gut I know that they're not, then I just know that they're not right.
Right, that makes sense.
But yeah, I don't know. I don't know what that is. You know, life is crazy, all that stupid stuff you're.
Telling somebody how hard it is for like, like it's hard for me to bullshit people because I don't know how to prepare my bullshit before I say it. I don't like if I don't know what to lie about, I don't know how to say that. Like what how do people lie that fast?
What? What do you have to lie about?
That's what I'm saying. What do you have?
You're a sweet guy?
Why do people lie in the first place? Why do people lie in the first place?
People lie for so many reasons?
Yeah, that's what's comes you thing to me.
Do you feel like people lie to you ever?
Oh?
Good question. Yeah, I m the opposite. I feel like people withhold the truth from me sometimes, which I think is a type of liem.
What circumstances do people typically withhold the truth to you?
Under Like when people have some type of issue with me and they don't want to have conflict, like, they don't they don't bring that conflict forth with me. They'd rather be silent or avoid an interaction. Oh that's that's like a lion. That's like sort of you're lying to me.
Yeah, I do that sometimes. I did that yesterday. I dude.
You know what's funny is actually I'm curious about your opinion on this, just I want your opinion on this, just as like another human being is like, yeah, okay, So, like withholding the truth because you don't want to start a conflict obviously, obviously in like probly actually in a lot of situations, in a larger situations, that's the wrong thing to If you're feeling something, you don't want to let it boil, You want to let it out, and you want to talk about it in a lot of situations.
But there's totally, totally, totally a lot of situations where you shouldn't and you should just pick your battles, you know what I mean? This time told I feel like yesterday, I was in a situation where I was like, I'm not gonna tell this person that I was mad at them, because I just I don't need to start a whole dialogue of a conflict, like we can just we can move.
I don't know if I was right. I don't know if it would have been healthier to be like no, I actually felt this way because of this, and because of that, you know, it's probably always best to do that, But I don't actually know if it's always best to do that. What do you think are there's situations where you think it's like fuck, you just hold your tongue, just don't say anything.
For me, it kind of depends on how the person I'm with is operating and who they are, because I definitely asked myself the question, like what does that person want? What would they if they were me? Would they want
me to tell them? You know? And I try to, Like, like, for instance, the last person that I was with, she was a very honest person, so I operated extremely honestly, like and I told her stuff that like, oh, I probably didn't want to necessarily tell her, but like I think even in hindsight, I'm like I've left that relationship without regrets because I was like honest with that person.
But then also I've been with people that like probably wouldn't even care less, So maybe I, yeah, I might withhold my tongue to avoid conflicts because maybe that person might even like favor that or prefer that over than me telling them and like creating conflicts. So it's in my opinion, it kind of depends on who you're.
With, Okay, so you base your decision on whether or not you think they would want to hear it.
I based my decisions based on like their personality and like the harmony of our relationship kind of like I think I'm gonna choose the option which like makes me like I have the most integrity when I come out of it.
Ooh, you're gonna choose the option that leaves you with the most integrity. Yeah, that's fucking bold, man, do you I want.
To like do right by myself and that person, Like that's like my goal.
Damn, I have respect for you.
Joe.
Do you have a girlfriend.
Do you have a wife, Dude, I don't have I'm a single man right now. Uh, when you're in a when's the last time you were in a relationship about a year ago? Okay, and when you were pitting mad at your girlfriend, did you tell her?
Let me think I was like very seldomly mad at my girlfriend, and yeah I would tell her. But mad is like I don't really get mad. It's more like I'm like something is like like I think something's off, or like something's bothering me, or like I think something's weird. Like it's not more it's not like I'm mad, it's more like, hey, what's going on? I'm like confused?
Yeah, you know when you felt that way?
Dude, I'm like a really big overthinker. So like maybe half the time because sometimes I'm like doubting myself. Yeah, you know, that's what I do.
You know what, it's actually it's not funny, it's actually terrifying, is okay. I think we have an obsession just as like people with wanting to like validate our feelings. And the truth is, once you succumb to the fact that there's no objective reality, you kind of start to live in a world where Okay, so if there's no objective reality, the only person who can like really validate your feelings is you, because like you're the god of your own
existence through this sure universe. So like you can go It's like you can go and reddit and be like, my girlfriend said this, or my boss said this, or my mom said this or whatever, and I feel this way blah blah blah, and you might have a bunch of people say something and then you could go, Okay, I'm gonna take the consensus of whatever the most people said as validation. But I don't think that consensus and objective truth have like an overlap. Like consensus is just consensus.
It doesn't because something is the consensus of how everyone feels about a thing doesn't automatically make it true. So at a certain point, the closest you can really get to an objective truth is you take the consensus in as information, and if you decide to align your personal decision and your personal evaluation of your own feelings with the cons then that's the closest that you'll get to creating a subjective reality backed validation of your own feelings.
But you're never gonna nothing, You're never gonna be right, You're never gonna be trademark TM right.
You know, there's just this thing and that's weird. That's like I was, it's weird you say that, because I was just thinking about that this morning. How you can walk like they say you you'll never know what it's like to walk a mile in someone else's shoes, And it's like, but you know exactly what it's like to walk a mile in shoes in that same like brand, that same whatever size, everything. It's just not their shoes. So you just don't know, like you could you have
the same experience. You just have no clue if it's the same experience.
Yeah, you know, you don't never you'll never know. But also, to play devil's advocate to everything I just said, I think that if somebody has a similar learned experience to you, or maybe they're a little older and they've experienced a lot of stuff, you can, like you can kind of collect an aggregate of other people. And this is almost what we're trying to do on the podcast. You can collect an aggregate of other people's again, like the Canno,
I don't okay, I don't think. I don't think that like a group consensus of your feelings is like objective reality. But you can get pretty damn close to something by just collecting an aggregate, I guess that's what. I don't know if it can sensus in an aggregator, No, it can sens it's in an aggregator. Are different things, I guess.
But if you go around you collect, like you talk to like fifty people in their fifties, like advice on being married or whatever, you can kind of gleam certain things where it's like, all right, we put human beings who have similar ish brains as you're saying, they've walked that path in the same brand of shoes in the same size. They're not literally exactly your shoes because you
have your unique learned experience. But you ask you know, fifty people who've walked the same path in the same shoes and the same brand, and you get the aggregate of their experience. There's clear value in that perspective, but it's there's still not there's still nothing objective to it. Yeah, is everything I'm saying making any sense? Or am I just sounding?
Of course? Dude? Like there's probably never been a time on this podcast where you're talking and you asked that and it's like, no, you didn't make sense. Like every time. Oh my god, Yeah, that makes sense, dude. The only thing I don't know is, like, the only thing I don't know is the difference between like aggregate and consensious. I think consensus is just like a like a what like the majority conclusion, and aggregate is just like a
large group or body of folks. I don't know. You're the fucking man, Joe, dude, I'm twenty eight, Yeah, twenty eight years old.
Cool, we're the same age. Yeah, crazy.
Yeah, that's cool too. That's cool to listen to a podcast by a guy that's the same age as me.
Cool man, Fuck fuck with you, heavy, Joe. Okay, what's your You're like, Steve.
You're dude. It's like when you mentioned you listened to Stavros Harkis, or if you mentioned any like Bobby Lee thing, It's like, dude, yeah, you're like you can totally feel the influence of those people in your podcast.
Yeah, dude, Uh yeah, I I listened to Stov's podcast lies, but I well, I like listening to Stovey's World because Stavros is like almost a decade older than me, and I feel like a lot of his uh I've done. I met him a long time ago. He did comedy in my basement, like working seven years ago. Maybe I used to. I used to. I used to be an editor for that podcast like six Wow, before I did this Woor that wore. It used to be he used
to do a show called Stobby Solves Your Problems. And before I did Therapy Gecko, I had a job up where for like, yeah, like once a week he would send me like a three hour twitch vod and I would like pick the best phone calls from his podcast and then I would like make like little Instagram clips and like help run the YouTube page or whatever. And then he uh, and then I think he like stopped doing it and then he rebranded it or whatever. But it's kind of funny that I used to work for
that show before doing this. But it's fair. I like listening to him because he's yeah, he's like a decade older than me. Uh, but like it's interest and also I feel like a lot of his callers are a little older than me, so it's like it's like I'm you know, in in life, you're always like watching a little older than you, Like when you're in elementary school, you're watching like middle schoolers on TV. When you're in middle school, you watch a high schoolers on TV. High school,
you watch a college people. I feel like that just kept going. Like I'm like with podcasts, I'm like trying to listen to, Like I'm very interested in listening to people who are like a little bit older than me talking about life, like having the same problems, you know, like watching like I'm watching Seinfeld because it's like, Okay, these people are like living in New York, like dating, running around, but they're in their thirties. Yeah, yeah, a little older than me.
It's interesting because I'm interested less in the age range of who I'm watching or listening to and more of like what that person's thinking about or what they're talking about. And I find that like different age ranges think about like it's not uniform, like all sixty year olds, you're
not having sixteen year old thoughts and vice versa. So I just like to listen to the people that are thinking about the stuff that I like to think about, which is like like probably human psychology, spirituality, and philosophy. Because outside of like those three topics everything else not that it makes sense, but like those three are super confusing to begin with, So I'm like already stuck on those.
I like thinking about uh, normal stuff too. I feel like I get to uh, I get too existential, I get into too much like life feels too uh. I see people do it. I see people figure out how to I see people also who are like older than me, who can I and I don't like know them intimately. Maybe something. There's some people I know a little intimately who are like older than me that figure it out, who like can live life on a lighter tone, And
I know how to do that. I figured I figured out how to live life on a lighter tone after like feeling like every day felt like kind of heavy and weird.
You know.
I like the point of the way you do it is you just design some kind of rhythm to your life that you can get distracted by.
Hmmm, dude, I would say for me, since COVID, every single day has felt weird. Every single day even every single day feel every single day since COVID it felt like I we flipped timelines or something and we live in an inverted one or something or I don't know.
It felt like, wait, bro hold on, why why is everything? Every single day for the past six years it's felt weird to.
You because it felt like that was a life altering event that now the consequences of that event like shapes people's lives in such a way that they don't really realize. And it feels it feels like I can see the effects of like COVID in twenty twenty six, like extremely clearly, you know.
But you're talking about But I, okay, yes, I mean COVID completely completely my life. I wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't for COVID. I have no idea what I'd be doing or what my life would look like.
But like, like, dude, I'm talking all the way down to like AI and doom scrolling and the economy and all types of stuff, Ice Doyal Trump, Like it all feels like we've lived in this altered timeline that we weren't supposed to live in, and like COVID was the like the catalyst that started all of it.
Yeah, but dude, you've heard you've if you listen to the show, you probably heard me go on this rant before.
But like.
You're acting like it's all dude, it's always been like that. But we had a fucking we had two world Wars, we had a black plague, we had the fucking Internet and the printing. But like, this has always been happening. This is not the first time that there's been like corrupt world leaders or scary technology or change. Like like life is a Safti Brothers movie. You know, it's always going.
It's never not. It's never not, and you'll always look nostalgically back on like five years ago, but like it's just always it's never not been, always going, it's never not been.
Like, dude, I was watching this video came up on my YouTube channel.
I was four years old when nine to eleven happens, Like I don't remember that shit, but this video came up on my YouTube channel of Conan O'Brien like addressing his audience on like September eighteenth, two thousand and one, and he goes on this long diet, Like, dude, do you remember when all the late night show people got on their desks like March twenty twenty boom, and they were like doing this whole thing where they were like, I don't know how we're gonna keep moving on in
these unprecedented weird times. I mean the fact that all of this crazy stuff is going on, and we're we don't know how we're gonna be able to do this show. I saw Coda le'brian do that in two thousand and one, fucking twenty years earlier, when fucking nine to eleven happened. Like like like life crazy altering events that have been happening for eternity, you know what I mean, So like that's just another one of them. Unprecedented times are highly precedented.
They're yeah, they're they're constant, I guess, and because I because I definitely agree with what you're saying, and I kind of take back like half of what I'm saying, but like in a way, it still feels like some things that I haven't seen or like they haven't been
consistent throughout history. Like for instance, I'm seeing like people's atension span just be just gone, just like not there just people sunk in into their phones and like while they're driving there people are on their phones and like it's like they're not even conscious or just like one thing I think is super weird is I like I walk outside a lot, like during the summertime, there's just like I don't I don't see like lightning bugs, anymore, or just like I see less bugs out, just like weird.
When I walk into a McDonald's, there's no people in there, just like weird stuff Like I don't remember. I remember that stuff when I was younger, when I was like in two thousand and six, Like I walk into a McDonald's, I see a bunch of people, I see lightning bugs. Maybe I was just a kid, or maybe I'm getting older, But like I feel like people aren't even watching like that much TV nowadays. Like I feel like the world is shifting in a way that it hasn't and that yeah, that makes me feel weird.
You know, the world is shifted, yet the world is shifting in a way that is uh exponential as time goes on, because it's how like developments and technology goes But I try to be optimistic in the sense that I still think that it's I still think like when I look at the world and I look at like what people are doing and what opportunities like are still there, and like what's still around, I feel very genuinely that if you want to figure out how to make a
spot in the world for you to exist thrivingly, that you can do it, Like there's still.
Yeah you know, I mean I believe that.
Yeah, I mean, dude, you're fucking EMT. You like do a real thing, you don't like yeah, you don't like make AI dog videos for a living, Like you're still here.
Yeah yeah, yeah, for sure.
You still have a job where you go around talking to old people about their life. You're still here. Like it's twenty Like people are like, we live in this crazy future and then it's and we sure we do, but like it's right now, it's twenty twenty six, and we have the crazy AI technology, crazy crap open claw dog video chat cheep, but we have it all now, we have it all right. It's not a thing that's coming.
It's here right now. And you're still here an EMT being this guy having these thoughts talking to old people. But you're like you're doing where you're doing it, you're succeeding within the crazy future.
Yeah yeah, yeah, I agree. I think it's also because as a child, my expectation of what the current reality that I'm living is it doesn't line up of what I thought my future would be like, especially with like dude, it's even it's just like weird. Even when I like walking to public. I'm like, this seems like I'm being an adult. What Like, I don't know. I just thought it'd be different growing up.
I thought, what do you think it would be?
Like more innocent. I thought people would be I don't know, happier, uh, more lively. I don't know. Maybe I'm like, maybe I'm naive, But like I thought life was going to have a little bit more sparkle and joy in people's personal lives. But it doesn't seem to be a case, like especially walking around as an EMT, like whatever, my patients, they're sick.
It's obvious that they have a poor quality of life sometimes, but like I mean even talking to like receptionists or health other healthcare professionals or I don't know, just like, yeah, a lot of people days seem like they're just going through it.
Well, you're in a weird occupation. You picked the wrong occupation. If you want to see people with joy in their eyes, people don't.
People know I occupations. That's why I stick with occupation because I know it's like sad people, hurt people, miserable people. Because I feel like I have I feel like I have like a when I go to sleep, I wake up in the morning, it's like I hit the reset button. I got a clear sleep. I wake up like totally fine. I don't know why. It's been like that my whole life.
That's why I feel like, like good for healthcare, because like I go to bed and I wake up and it's like whatever, I'm ready, you know, man.
I Uh So, I was in Ukraine like a month ago shooting a documentary.
Dude, you're going crazy places.
Man, I'm going to crazy places. Uh, It's it's my new thing. I'm going to crazy places.
You talked about. You said something to Lord Miles that you said you're an adult in outer space and I was like, holy crap, lilas too, that's creeh.
But yeah, but I think i've I've I've kind of cracked the code on how to be I've cracked the code on how to be an astronaut without uh going insane. I think I have Yeah, I'm pretty sure I have it. But anyway, So I was in Ukraine. I'm making a documentary redditing it right now. Hopefully it'll be out in like a month. We'll see. But uh, I met this guy Roman. This guy Roman, uh like DMed me on Instagram inviting me there, and I stayed at his house
for a bit, and uh, he's fucking awesome. He's fucking like. We stayed at his house where he had no fucking power for a bit and he's like dealing with He's
just like dealing with at this crazy crap. He's like, you know, friends and family that have like been you know, severely affected by this war, and uh, yeah, dude, I he we I don't want to like a lot of this stuff is gonna be in the documentary, but he talks about this thing where he's just like, I think nihilism is such bullshit, and I think that this idea that we have of people being like, oh, the world is like a shitty place, and like, yeah, nihilism and
stuff is just kind of kind of bullshit. And it's people like ascribing a judgment value to a thing that just simply is.
Yeah.
And I really really fucked with his h his his interpretation life, and and it rubbed off. I mean I feel that way. I feel that way too, I feel like and also by the way, so much of that is just caused by the phone. You know, this guy Roman, he talks a lot about like trying not to use his phone, and he has like an analog room where he doesn't use any technology, and he's very like getting off the internet and stuff. And I really like when you get off the internet and you just like look around.
Like, dude, it's crazy.
I don't I don't want to say that things are quote unquote not that bad.
No, it's like everything's fine, and you're like, what was going on before?
It's not, yeah, you know, it's just it's not that like everything is fine and like it's just that the world is. I don't think people realize that the world is in like a constant state of motion.
Mm hmmm, like metamorphis almost.
Yeah, And I don't I'm not trying to say like, yeah, there's all sure, there's a lot to be afraid of, but they're always has.
Been yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah. I mean that's a very wise glory thing of you to say.
Uh, I don't know.
I mean maybe the block I completed the loop, I've seen this end all ready.
Think of you to think, well, I don't know, man, I don't know. I don't fucking know, man, I don't know, but like maybe it's because you know what I mean, maybe it's because, like you know what I mean. I think it's because like Americans, like we've like Americans have had a pretty have had it pretty chill for a
long time. I think we I think maybe it's just not Americans have had it like we've had it pretty fucking chill for a long time, right, And I feel like a lot of the ship that we're going through, like it's like it's unprecedented for us, and that we I think maybe we're we have this thing of like this shit couldn't happen to us, and now it's happened to us.
Yeah, of course, of course, but like this shit's.
You know, I don't know not to get just stuff.
But one thing that comforts to me is like whenever I have scary thoughts about the future or just like not being okay twenty years from now, forty years from now, I go, I'm someone that's that even though certain thoughts can be really rare and unique, thoughts are pretty repeated throughout human history, and I believe that like the thoughts that I've had, my ancestors have had as well. So if I've ever thought like, oh no, the future is gonna be scary, like and I'm not and I'm gonna
be unsafe. Oh my god. So many of my ancestors have thought the same thing, and I'm like proof of their safety, so I know I'm gonna be fine. My ancestors have thought the same thing for the problems that existed and their time period, because that's what I think too.
I think like I think, like, oh my god, these problems are so brand new AI and international freaking genocide from the sky, and I go, no, these are just like the features of our generation, the same way that like people couldn't predict I don't know, airplanes flying into buildings in two thousands, like things. You know, everyone has their things for their time period and it scares them and they persevere, So I know I'll be like fine
in the long run. But no, the future is it, I would say less, it's like scary in my head and more just like completely uncertainly what it's gonna look like. And that's weird to.
Me, but that's that's an inherent value of the future. This is it's uncertainty.
But I feel like the further you go back in our past, the more the future looks the same. Uh, Like, for instance, like it feels like every three months to every three to six months, we can see like a month or two lessons to the future. Like like it feels like maybe we can tell what the future is gonna be like in two months, but like maybe next months.
We'll know what the future is gonna look like. In one month, but maybe back in two thousand, we know what the future is gonna look like for like twenty years. Do you know what I'm saying? Like technology, I know, yes.
No, I know what it's things. Yeah, I know what you're saying. We've we like since Yeah, I know what you're saying. Certain technologies have emerged in the last twenty years that have been like exponential and like a weird
scary uh way, And yes, I know. When my dad was on the podcast, he talked a little bit about how like when he was like when my dad was our age, he talked about like, uh being more opted, Like people in the gen and that generation were like the future was cool, you know, like the idea of like look at like look at that iPhone, Look what this can do? Like we went we went pretty nobody's really like, oh, look what this can do. I mean, some people are some people are but things things have changed,
for sure. I'm not. I don't know all the ship about like the world's been in I feel like I say some of that ship and people think I'm being like like dismissive of things, and I'm not. I'm really I'm not. I I know that. Like, yeah, I think you.
Can hold both from a grand skill.
Yeah, from a grand scot, but you can hold both. Like things are things, you know. Fuck, Joe, I feel like you. I feel like you understand me, Joe. I appreciate you.
Dude, I understand you because like, not only have I listened to your podcast for so long, but like how you question things and the things you think about and like the reasons for why you question them and how they make you feel, especially like I can relate to that so hard, Like you have no clue and it's gonna sound weird that I'm like God in the shower and I close my eyes and I'm like washing my face.
I'm like thinking about like what was Le talking about on the podcast, Like that's crazy, like just all types
of stuff. So like I don't know like when people go to like the because the one thing I kind of realized is like some people don't challenge their thoughts, they don't engage with them, and I feel like I'm like always mentally battling my thoughts, Like I'm like especially one thing that triggers like more complex thoughts in my head is like when I I was just talking to my mom about this the other day, Like when I see facial people display facial expressions that I don't see often,
I'm like, what thoughts led to that facial expression?
I don't even make that.
I can't even make those facial expressions in the mirror, Like what type of thoughts do you have to have to like feel the emotions that lead to those facial expressions? You know? I know that people.
How often are you figuring out? How often are you seeing new facial expressions? Dude, I feel like I've seen all of them.
I guess I'm just seeing rarer facial expressions more often since I became at EMT like franstance. Just recently, we got called so we got called this like a backup ambulance. They didn't want to call the police. I don't know, I so we It was an all female crew and me and my partner came to back up the all female crew because the patient was like two hundred and eighty five pounds and he was like really aggressive. He was alerted and oriented. He was like not able to walk,
but he's able to punch you, you know. And we went and I remember the second I made eye contact with him, I remember thinking like, holy crap, Like that's so much intense emotion on his face, Like how do you have that? Like I don't even know what you have to go through to have Like he looked like he was ready to like bite somebody's a piece of somebody's skin out of their like flesh like it. I was like, whoa. And it's like I don't think people understand how unique like a human can feel in a
human in an individual body. That's what that tells me. When I see like facial expression that I haven't seen before, I'm like, whoa, you feel super unique in your body. That's why you're making those unique facial expressions.
Yeah sure, because you're like yeah.
Yeah, yeah, I think that.
This person has this person has such a unique feel in their body that that that that's coming out through their face. And I've never seen that before.
Not even just not even just like not even just their facial expression, but just like how he was emoting, like how he was sweating, how he was breathing, what he was saying like it was like whoa, I've never seen somebody operating like this, like clearly, not not even just the facial expression sprand new, but just like the what his aura in the like the cocktail of everything that he was exhibiting, just like like whoa, bro Like, I don't meet human beings that are in this situation
feeling this feeling going through this.
Joe, what's up? Mhm, Joe. I've enjoyed talking to you.
It's been it's been really odd because I did not know the format of these calls were like this, oh.
What just Jatton, what do you mean? Another format of the calls for like this you what do you mean? Have you been listening to the thing for this long?
But the podcast it's more like you speak, then the speaker speaks. It's more like a you're trying to narrate their story. But we're just like shooting the ship, dude.
We do that, we did that, we did the yeah.
But like the way you edited, it feels like it's more orchestrated, like you have not been trying to orchestrate the way we're having this conversation in the slightest that's been surprising.
No, well not really, well, not really, just because we're Jack. I haven't felt like I needed to.
Mm hmmm, that makes sense. That makes sense. I would also like to say, sure, I would not like to be on the podcast.
You would like to be on the podcast.
I would not like to.
No, you had do you hold on?
Joe?
Yeah, I'm totally putting this call on the podcast. I'm yeah, of course this is going on the talked for We just talked for an hour. Of course I'm putting that. You can't totally putting this. I'll believe your name, but of course I'm putting this on the podcast. I can't. You can't. You can't talk to me for an hour and then at the end of it say don't use this for the podcast.
All right, all right, all right?
Yeah, I mean, is there any did you talk about anything that you specifically don't want in you did?
I didn't like, you know, I'm just like a person.
Okay, yeah, you didn't like. It'd be one thing if you like, here's the thing, I would be sympathetic if you like revealed a lot of deeply personal, classified uh information about yourself. But we just shot the ship an hour. I'm totally putting this out as a podcast for sure. I'm sorry, Joe.
No, that's okay, that's okay. I'm like, I'm like kind of glad, you know. Man, all right, Man all right, asked me asking me the famous question, is.
There anything else you want to say to the people of the computer before we go?
Yeah. My favorite episodes are the Macedonia episode, in the Australia episode.
I don't remember. I know the Macedonia episode.
On Oh you don't remember now? No, I just kidding what you say.
I'll look, I'm trying to remember if I know that there is an Australia episode, and I know that there's a Macedonia episode, and now there's a Joe episode.
It was nice talking to you, man.
Nice talking to Joe. Keep it real, brother, you have.
A go on. Yeah, take care of you too. Many by Joe.
That was Joe. What a nice guy, Joe, sweet guy, sweet guy. A lot of integrity on that Joe. That's definitely the I'm definitely the most integral Joe I've ever known.
Hello, ullo, what's up.
Man. What's your name?
Hey, I'm Jimmy.
I'm assuming this is Lyle.
This is Lyle. What's up, Jimmy. How's it going?
Man?
How's life? Oh?
I guess good? Is all things?
You know, can be considering some sadder situations, but nothing too crazy at the end of the day, you know, I'm just figuring it out, also trying to It's so funny everybody says that everything, like, Oh, I talked to this guy and it's like suddenly I'm like super jittery. It's like, oh, now I'm going through that.
You said, you said, what are things? Did you say sadder things? What did you say earlier?
Yeah? Just some sadder I mean, like it's basic stuff. Just ended things with the girl recently, stuff like that.
Nothing too crazy.
But how old are you? Brother?
I am twenty eight?
I'm also twenty eight. How does it feel for you to be twenty eight?
Really good?
Actually?
I feel, you know, twenty four till like twenty six was like a really hard time for me. And from like twenty seven onwards, I think I kind of just started to feel myself a lot more and just find a lot more joy in things and be like, oh wow, like my brain is fully coming together. I guess it's fully developed, dude.
I really do feel like you get to decide when your peak is, you know what I mean. Like, if you feel like you peaked when you were like twenty four, then then that's just it. But I've decided, I've just decided I'm gonna keep peaking. I've decided I'm gonna keep
being amazing forever, you know what I mean. That's that's what you got to do, even if you're delusional, even if you're like, even if you have no evidence to actually back that up in any way, shape or form, you got to just keep rocking it.
No, dude, I feel exactly the same way. Funnily enough, I like, I feel like so many people like thirty, But now I'm like.
I'm gonna start like looking forward to thirty.
Almost lack in better words. It's like, oh cool, Like just this whole new decade starts, and it's like just new opportunities to kind of like keep exploring life and just sleep it kind of keep figuring myself out.
Dude, it keeps going. I used to think the fact that it kept going was uh mortified me, But now I'm like Okay, no, we can. This is good. I mean I saw I think I've said this on the show before, but I saw like a I was in line at the airport once and I saw like a guy in his fifties pull out his phone and take a picture of something. And I was like, oh shit, man, I can. I'm gonna keep I do that now, you know what I mean. I'm gonna keep being a guy who sometimes takes his phone out to take a picture
of something. Like I could just keep doing that, you know, you know what I mean? Does that sound insane? Do you get what I'm saying?
No?
I think it's just like, is that just like appreciating the little things still?
I don't know. I don't know what I mean by that. I don't know. I'm just like, Oh, he's still alive. He's still alive. He's still doing it. You don't. It's not like you turn it. It's not like you turn a certain age and then you can bust, you know, just keep being alive.
I know. Uh, this is stuff always like here you bring up on the show. It's like, I wonder what the like ages that you like kind of stop being alive and how you say, like oh like there's like the older person that is complaining to like the randomly grocery store worker or whatever, and it's just like, oh like, when when does that transition happen?
You know, I think it's a I mean, I don't know. I don't have the information. But my theory is that it's whatever you want. I mean, you can keep living as long as you want. I've had times where I thought I was dead as I was done, but I keep going. I keep deciding that I want to keep going. So anyway, I'm give me your name one more time. I forgot about it.
Jimmy Juny Jimmy, think of Jimmy and like j I am.
I okay, okay. I thought it was the name of the Spy Kids character Jimmy. Jimmy. Is there anything in particular that you called in to talk about today?
I too too crazy, just kind of thought it'd be fun to just like talk to like fumbling about I guess just life and something that's a similar age.
But also like a.
Third party that has no connections to any of that, you know, it can just say whatever and you'd be.
Okay. Typically, when somebody wants a third party opinion on something there is, like something is maybe going on or something about your life is transpiring that you're too close to. Is that accurate.
When you say too close to what do you mean?
Well, you said you want a third party who doesn't know you, right, and so I'm not close to you, I'm not close to your issues.
Well, I guess like I wouldn't say there's like anything like particularly like oh like a third party a bite Huh.
I don't know.
I mean I'll just like start yapping about some of the stuff that way because I head on know how to properly explain it. I'm sure now I guess in that like same same vein like of turning twenty eight, like I said, you know, finding yourself out more. Uh. Something that I've found to like battle with a lot recently is like alcohol use for lack of better words. And I really like to think that I'm like a
crazy like alcoholic or anything like that. It's definitely that is not much for sure and everything, But there's been so many times like throughout life where I'm like, oh wow,
like I would love to cut back more. But it also is I've worked in the bar and restaurant industry pretty much as soon as I got out of high school, and that's always been a thing, and like that is just like something that is obviously so ingrained into that culture and it's really hard to pull away from it sometimes, which uh sometimes I think I do struggle with that, like financials, Like, oh, like if I don't I've run into issue so many times it was like, go, if
I don't go out and drink, like I don't see my friends. But then like I can still be in those situations and not drink and it works out. But then it's like almost like a little fly on the wall, you're not necessarily involved fully, which is always just like an interesting like way to do it. I sometimes oh yeah, like but yeah, like sometimes beer, if I were like cut alcohol out of my life, is it like a social destruction social suicide f for lack of better word.
Okay, So yeah, when you're yeah, when you're going out and you're not drinking, it's like you're observing the hanging out, but you're not participating in it.
Yeah, uh, who are they like even just like and I think it's logically so from working in the bar and restaurant industry, it's a lot of people that you just like meet throughout that you know, maybe could be better word it is acquaintances or anything like that, but it's still people that like I enjoy their presence, you know, I think, but just in general, I'm a very social person, so it's very easy for me to be like, oh wow, like this person is just cool to talk to, you Like,
I like to run into them, and I think I just whether it's people I know or not, like just from being in an industry, you know, it's cool to a big A big thing I like about it is being able to just go out and meet new people all the time.
And you feel like you can't do that without drinking.
Just in that environment, Like, I'm sure there are That's kind of like the part I'm trying to find now is like, what are the things that I can do that aren't that And I, you know, continue to meet people, I guess.
I mean, you can always like be out at bars and like have a fucking I mean, I've been known to slam down a diet cookie or two on a night out. I don't really like to drink random I don't really like to drink randomly. I like to kind of save my drunkennesses for special occasions.
So I.
Mean, I don't like, are is are you running into a lot of situations where like you're out and about and everyone else is drunk, and so they're just kind of annoying to talk to.
I wouldn't say that they're annoying to talk to. I think I'm just very successful to pure pressure as everybody else I'm doing, like I might as well.
Yeah, that's the thing you gotta get really in if you want to, Like, Okay, why are you trying to cut back on drinking? Because I think if you want to, like sobriety has to like be its own thing that you're like getting into that you're like stoked about, you know, because there's a like if I'm trying not to drink, or if I'm trying not to eat food, like I
have to be I have to have good. I have certain behaviors that are bad for me that I'll never stop because I have no motivation to stop doing them. Like like the like food and alcohol, it's easy, like if you are getting drunk, Like if you're getting drunk a lot and fucking stuff up or getting drunk a lots making you fat, then you have like an easy kind of motivator, but uh, like, what's your motivator to stop drinking?
I do think at the end of the day, like it doesn't like like there are more times that I'm like, wow, I drank and regret or was like what benefit that I get out of this, versus I'm like wow, like I went out and drank and like had a really good time.
You know.
Yeah, whether it's just like regrettable text messages later, poor choices or action on and so forth. You know, there's a myriad of things that can come through all of that. Yeah, I think it's just like wanting to make better life choices. I guess, Yeah, I was just getting older and feeling better about the choices that I make.
Uh. Okay, I'm gonna say something. It's gonna sound like a joke, and it's a little bit of a joke, but I'm also dead serious. Okay. Another, here's the thing. If you go out to the bar and all of your friends are drinking. You say you're susceptible to peer pressure, But what if there was actually a force that is even more addictive than peer pressure. I'm gonna tell you what this force is. Jimmy. It's a powerful force, and
you need to learn to enjoy this force. The force is called feeling like you're so much better than everyone else. When you are out and all your friends are drinking and you're not drinking, you get the benefit of looking around at all of them, judging them, being like, these people are wasting their lives. I'm taking care of myself. I'm being mature and responsible by not drinking. And then you're gonna feel like you're way better than everyone else, and you and by the and and you should relish
in that. Don't act like don't don't act like it. Okay, don't let it corrupt your actions. Don't don't start acting like you're better than are. Acting like you're better than everyone else is a terrible idea. It's not worth anything. It's gonna make people hate you. But feeling like you're better than everyone else is genius. It's a It's a strong, syrupy pleasure, similar to that of whichever vice you're abstaining from.
You know what I mean? Mm hm, So next time you're out, just be like I'm so the next time you're out, just be like I'm above this. You know, don't and here's the thing. You're gonna connect with other people who are also doing that, and you guys can relate in your better than everyone else misses together.
You know, I will.
I will absolutely try and practice that tomorrow. So we I live onto the East Coast, so a bunch of friends we want to go watch the Olympic gold medal hockey game tomorrow and that is eight am for us. And my goal it's not drink during that, mainly because I want to go to the gym right after and
I probably wouldn't come inside. But I will practice that tomorrow and you know, like take that in the other presice like all right, cool, Like this is the feeling that I feel on that, Like you said, not express it to the people then they're like, ah, fullier than that or whatever. But you know, definitely like keep that in mind and just kind of run with those feelings.
Yeah, well, cause like I don't know, I mean, the motivation comes from the fact that you're like propelling forward on a.
Goal, you know. Hmm.
So that's got to be more powerful than the drink you're gonna your friends are gonna go drinking at eight am.
It's not Yeah, I'm not gonna say it's gonna be like a crazy rager or anything like that.
But still crazy, you know, just it's time.
I would say so that that is not the norm at all. I don't want that to come off as oh, that's the norm that everybody don't it's this friend group or anything that is just for the uh Olympic hockey games on. We like to watch sports, and it's more bad than anything, you know, and that just happens to be a byproduct of going to a bar and watching the sports getting more often than.
That when you're like out in about, like, are you the kind of guy where like any opportunity to have a beer you're gonna take it?
I think it.
I think it really depends on the mood that I'm in. Usually, Like right now, I I'm like talking about like I'm in a spot where like I feel like I could absolutely be like nah, I don't need that, you know, But there are definitely times where I'm like, oh, you know what, I'll drink a billion beers?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, what's your name again, Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy Jimmy. Is that the main thing, the alcohol usage? Anything else crazy going on in your life.
The only other thing in this is the conversation that I guess kind of sitting on my mind is that I feel like that, and this might be one that you have some interesting insights into. Is I feel like the world has become very nonchalant and just kind of like a care free and just like a lot of people are trying to be emotionally unavailable. And I think that is something that is like really kind of sucks
to see right now. And maybe it's because like I feel like I, like I said, when in twenty four to twenty six, like I was staying out that time, it was very tough, Like I just I was like dealing with like a lot of illnesses and stuff like that, and because of that, it became very nonchalant, carefree, and he was like, oh whatever, you know. So now I'm
like over through a lot of that stuff. It's like I'm trying to like be emotionally available and like out there and put myself out there more so much, and it seems like so many people are just like openly like just feel like yeah, like that's all what I want right now. Different things like that, which is cool. You know, you're not gonna wait but I have a body all the time.
But I have I have multiple I have a lot of questions. First of all, are you talking about like in general or romantically?
I guess both.
I've been like in general, I.
Mean, okay, I go to mean, yeah, like you'll be out at a bar, like talking to somebody and they're just and You're just like, why are you not feeling the intense emotion of existence with me right now? Type of ship?
Yeah, so yeah, it's like, oh wait a minute.
So do you so do you really believe why do you why do you think that the world is becoming more nonchalant?
I mean that I feel like there's so much like could be so many neighbo. I mean like I think people are scared to like an easy example for this, just like off the top of hea me, like politics alone. You know, like I think people are scared to like may say not that everybody goes and talks about politics, but like that's something that's very polarizing right now. You know, there's a lot of people that are like, oh, like if right to left and don't like to talk or anything.
Like.
It's just also feels like there's so many polarizing things emailutside of politics. So everything's made to be polarized right now, I guess.
But that's so like where where you live on the East Coast, but city you live in Pittsburgh. You in Pittsburgh, dude, I don't know. I feel like on the Internet things are kind of like life is a little like weird and scary and polarized. But like I feel like shit's so different when you are talking to human beings in real life.
I think like like things will be put aside, but I don't know they got like the connections there. But sometimes it feels like I don't know how to describe it, Like I things just feel different, I guess, And maybe that's me, but like I feel.
Like there's for me.
It feels like there's just like a general like I feel like opening up and trying to talk to people about things sometimes is like I don't know how to describe it. So maybe it's just something that's in my own head and not uh trying to project it onto others. Maybe, but hmmm, I don't know. I maybe it's also just like doom scrolling like spewing into it.
Like do you think people are trying to be cool more? Like they're just not want like people are trying to be cool. They're not trying to like wear themselves on their chest as much.
I think, Yeah, that, like, I guess that's far. Like I'm like, I'm so excited to like just kind of like talk about whatever to anybody and stuff like that, and I feel like there's just a lot of like, oh, like you know, kind of keep it in or don't vent too much or things like that, and I'm just kind of like it, let it all, let it all go, you know those people.
Yeah, but I know what you mean. I think it's like not the norm. But those people exist, don't you feel.
Yeah, for no, they absolutely do. I guess like it's just I'm trying to find that fine mind and balance a lit.
All where what I don't know if you're talking about the Internet or if you're talking about real life, but uh, where where have you been inhabiting and meeting people in real life that is leading you to these conclusions that the world has become more nonchalant.
I think, and maybe this is just like mistake nonchalance for not like everything has to be like super lasting. But I guess like I feel like anymore there's a lot of like build a friendship whatever, but like it all kind of just like lasts for a day or two and then it's like all right, either just kind of move on whatever, you know, Like that's not the end of the world. But I feel like there's it's a lot harder to just kind of find lasting really friendships, relationships,
whatever you want to call it. In general, I think there's a lot of just like so many nieces to be hit or if that makes sense, I don't know if the right word.
No, it makes it makes sense, but I mean, you gotta you gotta remember the classic. The older I get, the more I'm realizing that like so much of like friendship is about, uh, the exposure over time more than it is like an active too, because there's somebody, like life demands so much of you, so like where you are. If you're going to the same places recurringly with the
same people, you become friends with them. But if you like meet some dude at a bar once or something, the chances that that friendship is going to last are so low because they require, uh, like some form of active, pointed effort between the two of you. It's not like you guys just like recurringly see each other. Uh So that's yeah, that's meant to die about. That's exhausting too.
That's an exhausting way to make friends, like having like like you know what I mean, like if you if, if you're if some if you and some guy are talking about getting lunch sometime and you guys get lunch and it's like, let's let's get lunch once a week. Like that's fucking exhausting. I don't want to do that, and nobody wants to do that. You know. You just want to be at the same place recurringly that other people are at. That's the that's the main way to
make friends. Relationships are a little different. Uh but yeah, I mean I am I am I addressing what you're saying or do you feel like I'm not getting it?
No? I think I I think you're absolutely in the right, like hitting the nail on the head because like, oh yeah, I also have like the friend groups that I do have where like it's recurring, you know, it's like good friends stuff like that. Always happy to see them, like go to trivia consistently with them on like Tuesdays and Thursdays. So like there I go, that group exists for sure. Yeah, like that group exists for sure. It's not like it doesn't.
But I think, you know, some of the like I think I just needs to separate work more like say just working in the bar industry and stuff like that, and so you just kind of like it's a very come and go transaction, and like I wonder ifrom just like that, you know seep in. I'm like, oh, well, this is what I see is just a lot of come and go transactions.
And stuff like that.
And it's like, oh, maybe that's like just works not real life. But I have hard to not wear that as real life whenever what you experience almost daily.
See my best friends from high school, we have a we keep in touch over Facebook Messenger, but we're not like, oh, how's your day going type of shit. We're in like a we have a group chat where we just say, uh, stupid things to each other every day. I haven't had a real conversation these are my like best friends. I haven't had a real conversation with any of them in like at least a couple of months, but I have. I said, like, what I'm looking here? This morning? I
said to my friend Uh. This morning, one of my friends said, I bet Bob Dylan has said okay at least one hundred times in his life, you know.
I mean we have the we have the discord server equivalent. Well right, you know, or it's just whatever all the means and stuff into there.
Right, And that's discord. That's the that's the digital version of the the hub of where you are see each other every day. Right, you have that thing. If you don't have that thing, you're not then all your relationships are gonna die. Because also as you get old, that's what that's why people get married and shit, because I think as you get older, you start to have a finite amount of like, like what relationships can you really
actually how many human beings like relationships? And I'm not talking about like romantically or friendship, Like how many like relationships can you actually or fucking do you even want to put actual pointed effort into. The answer is probably like two or three as you get older, And so one of them should be like, you know, your partner, and then the other one is like, uh, whoever it is that gives you money so that you can live,
You don't want to piss that person off? You want to you don't have a good relationship with that person, and then uh, and then maybe pick someone else. But other than that, it's like you just have to live a life where you're naturally adding yourself to those relationships. And I guess that's why alcohol helps, because it's easy to just kind of loosen up. It's exhausting to talk, you know, I like talking to people. I wouldn't do any shit I do if I didn't, but it's exhausting.
It definitely is definitely uh takes a toll on you, just like mental energy, you know, he says, maybe not physically exhausting, but mentally, I mean, especially pointing a conversation for any like anywhere from two hours long words. I mean, but it adds up for sure.
Dude, people I really like, I don't even want to talk to as much, you know, do you know what I'm talking about?
Absolutely?
I mean that's like a weird thing. And I guess, like I think maybe on like realizing scared of like a digital age more than anything. It's like, I guess it's more like as you've like kind of talked about like the three relationship things and stuff like that, it's like, oh, like I just like want to see people in person, same I love digitally all the time.
So yeah, I love I love being around people. I want to be around people all the time. It's talking to them that I'm that like, I'm all I I I like the whole ambivert thing. I feel that way about like talking to people, not necessarily being around them. I always want to be around them, but I only want to talk to them sometimes.
See, I think that's the on mind, like as an extrovert, Like but I'm extroverted. I'm not gonna pretendly oh this or that, and like I just I do just even though I just said it can be Boston too, I agree, Like I just kind of want to yapp all the time. I don't want to never want to shut up.
I Jimmy is yeah, go ahead, go ahead.
I was gonna say, but it's like kind of weird and like that digital age thing where it's like now like everybody's so connected all the time, but also like I would not connected at the same time, if that makes any sense, Like of course you're there and like readily available, but I don't know, I guess the non in person interaction sometimes just feel shallow.
Well, the good news is, man, you can fucking you can go do whatever you want now. You don't have to wrong, the Internet is optional. You don't have to be on there, you just put your phone down.
I don't know, man, I feel some weird obligation to like be a part of it, though, like I said, like I want to.
I don't know why.
Like I I go through like wanting to delete my Instagram all the time. That's the newest thing, and I don't entirely understand why, but I'm like, that's what I should do. I should.
Are you you.
Use like for do you use it for your job or to do literally anything productive whatsoever at all?
No? If anything, it is unproductive.
Deleted.
What are you doing? Yeah, why do you even have it?
Just delete it?
I don't know, because it's another way of just trying to like stay connected with people, and that that's the part that uh appears me to get rid of him, Like, oh, you know.
It's no, it's yeah, but it's not. No, it's not you're do you watch reels.
More than I should? Right now?
Absolutely exactly, So you're not you're not actually connecting with anyone, You're just watching reels or like, no, it's stupid. You should totally delete it. I mean, I have mine deleted off my phone as much as I can, but then I'll watch reels and I hate. I hate watching reels. It's like, yeah, it's a stupid man, you don't you don't need it. If you if you feel like you need to get rid of it.
Jimmy, I'm look, it took someone just saying if you're just watching reels.
To lead it.
I'm like, you know what, You're.
Right, It's it's just it's just it's a waste of time. Jimmy, is there anything else you have to say to the people of the computer before we go?
The biggest I would say, just you know, love your friends and stay connected with people.
Thank you, Jimmy, you have a good rest of the day.
Dude.
You two le I appreciate you got blessed brother.
No man, uh, being around Like I said, being around people's great. It's the talking to them, like I sometimes they like having a one on one conversation with Like if I'm at like a Sometimes I'll be at like an event ors something and there's a bunch of people around and I'll really feel in my soul. I'm like, I like that I'm here right now. I don't want to talk to anyone here, And then someone will start talking to me and I'll be like, fuck, it's taking a lot of Like it depends, right, If I have
a lot of energy, I'll talk to them. If I don't have a lot of energy, I just start saying crazy stuff. I just I have a crazy person personality that I'll default into when I don't have enough energy to act like a normal person. So I gotta be careful because I you know, I'll say some out of pocket shit randomly that I shouldn't. Uh So I don't know. But also but also I don't. It's just some person
like I don't like I could. I don't care. I could say I could say horrible things to like the CEO of Microsoft that makes them hate me, and what is he going to do to my life that matters?
You know?
So I don't. So it's not often that, like if I am at a party and I'm talking to someone, if I accidentally pissed them off, it's not often. It's not like that person is going to then them being pissed off of me destroy my existence.
You know.
I want to be a dick. I don't say anything to be like a dick, but I just I might. I might say something that someone else is like the cause I don't know if I like that guy's a little weird. But I won't like be mean to people or like rude. You know, I don't know. I don't know what I'm saying anymore. Never goes off the line, taking your phone calls.
Every night, never goes to his I's teaching you a loud and mean to be.
He's not really an expert.