Hello, Hi, Hi. What is your name?
My name's Eric.
Eric. Where are you calling from? Eric? I see a bizarre area code.
Yeah, I'm calling from Austria.
Austria. Austria is kind of like, it's kind of like a low key Germany, right because Germany, Germany became high key because they did all that World War two stuff, and Austria is still a little germany Ish, but it's not as high key because they didn't do that. Is that true?
Is that?
Am I talking crazy?
Kind of? But Hitler was actually Austrian, so be kind.
Of really Yeah, well Hitler was Austrian, yeah, I thought. But his whole thing was like Germany is going to take over the world and like German supremacy. So why would he go from Austria to Germany and then be like, yeah, German's rock and then was not was did one guy not be like, hey aren't you You're not even German?
When he was young, he tried to be an artist and he failed at the University of Jenna, I think, and then he went to Germany to yeah, I get into politics. He took over Austria too, like Austria back then was a part of Germany.
I think so yeah, okay, I'm on Wikipedia. Adolf Hitler was an Austrian born German politician. Okay, that makes sense. Germany, Okay, like, look, be honest with me here about this and tell me. Yeah, are Germany and Austria kind of the same thing, I.
Guess for the rest of the world kind of, but here we definitely seasion differences, like yeah, Austria Austrian's talk a little bit different. Yeah, it's just.
I mean, this is kind of I mean, I guess this is kind of like if like some Canadian dudes came down to America and he was like, He's like, America's number one, We're gonna make it the best thing. It's like, well, why do you give I thought you were Canadian?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's kind of love to the Canadian US.
Well as as I say often on this show. Enough about Hitler, what's going on with you?
Yeah, it's funny you called me. I actually thought about what I'm going to talk if you pick up. I called like one hundred times. My phone bill is going up, but I don't care, and I couldn't think of anything. I just wanted to tell you I'm going to your Cologne show. On the eighteenth of November.
Oh wow, that's cool. No when Yes, So I'm doing a live show in Cologne, Germany. And when they asked me when when I saw that, when like the person who helps me do my tours was like, you want to do Colone Germany? I was like, yeah, I'll go to Cologne and do a show for the five people that'll show up to that. But but get this, I have sold board tickets in Cologne, Germany. Then like then, like, I fucking like North Carolina, which is kind of funny. One is much farther away.
Yeah, it's closest to me, but still like it's going to be like an eight nine hour car drift.
So yeah, oh shit, No, I'm excited for that one. I'm excited. I there's I you know, I went, I did all the European I did a big European tour last year, and I didn't hit Cologne, And this is I'm gonna show up there and be like, who the fuck are all these people in Cologne. I don't even know what it is. I've never been anywhere in Germany except Berlin. So I'm excited. Yeah, if you know any good Cologne spots to do math or eat food. Let me know.
Yeah, man, I need those spots too. I guess when I'm there. I ever been to Cologne, so it's going to be the first time for both of us.
So okay, so well, enough about me, enough about Hitler. What's uh? What's up with you? What's your life like?
I don't know right now. I'm kind of like hanging in there, I guess, or not much happening. I finished my degree in earlier this year, just like started working now yeah, living with my girlfriend like kind of like quiet life now, I guess been kind of not bad in the past. I'm enjoying it right now. I guess plan on traveling next year, moving away in here all my life so yeah, ready for something new.
How old are you? I'm twenty four, twenty four and and where are you going to move to? You think.
First we plan on going like on big travel. I guess like some world traveling type deal.
Nice you say that you are so you feel like you're living a quiet life? Yes?
Yeah, now now I do?
Yeah, okay, now you do? What when wouldn't tell me about? Was your life previously loud?
Yeah? I guess you could say, like just like until I found my girlfriend like two years ago. Was yeah, just dealing throughout my teen ures with a lot of mental health issues and drug use and stuff like that, and that all kinds of Yeah. I went to therapy and medication. I'm aut medication. Now done with therapy and it's all good now.
Very cool. How long were you, I mean, I don't know, I don't know if you want to talk about any of this stuff. You don't have to if you don't want to, But were you, like, how long were you struggling with that stuff before before you began your quiet life?
I guess like all start back when I was fourteen fifteen, troubles at home, Yeah, trying drugs and just hanging out with different people a big I had a big friend circle. I feel like it was like kind of like family, and we just went through everything together. I guess a lot of bad times, but yeah, and this whole friend circle kind of broke apart when like major events happened. And since then, I'm more alone, but I actually enjoy it. It's more peaceful and I can't take much more care
of myself. M So that happened there like three years ago, I think so, ah, six years I struggled pretty much. What's you say?
You feel like it's interesting to me because I don't know. I've been thinking that. I always feel like the point of life is to, like, I guess, have as many like relationships and human connections as possible. I don't know if that's the entire point of life. And everyone's a little bit kind of like wired differently in that regard in terms of how much human interaction they want to have. And for some people, you know, that stuff energizes them.
For other people, it exhausts them. And you're telling me you're feeling like, uh, you know, life without the big group of folks, you know, just kind of hanging out with your girlfriends, you're feeling you're feeling happier and better that way.
Yeah, I guess I still struggle with like loneliness. It's more like a lack of community, I think, And it's I live in a more rural part here, so it's not not that I would say, yeah, everyone knows everyone, and so I feel like I'm kind of done here, like also socially wise. So that's also a big reason why I want to go travel and meet new people, maybe find a community.
I'll fit in.
And that's why I'm also open to moving somewhere else, because I got a desire to to meet new people. And yeah, and like you said, I still have a big wish for community and people I can connect to. I just like that here a lot. But it's also I also see the positive, I guess because yeah, like I said, I could take the time and the energy to focus more on myself in the time I really needed it.
So yeah, yeah, I feel you man. I'm trying to do I'm trying to do stuff like that too, you know, form a form you know. I mean, I got, I got, I got a whole internet thing, but I'm trying to form a little bit more, you know, local community. I think that stuff is important. Where where is all? Where all is on your travel list?
We want to start, like go go east from central Europe, start in Georgia, like India, Nepal, Thailand, Philippines, maybe Korea, and also some some places and American continent, I guess, like Canada. I want to I want to look at I'm not too quite sure about the US, but also Central and Latin America.
Why are you? Why are you not too sure about the United States?
I don't know. I feel like it's so big and I don't I can't really figure out where to go.
Uh, yeah, it is a little big. It is is a little big. I mean, I don't know this. You could just pick a place you can go to Asheville, North Carolina. I don't know if you'll have a good time, but you can go there.
Oh yeah, I'm gonna go Ashville, North Carolina.
Where do you what? What do you do for work? Do you have like a remote gig? What's the what's what's that whole thing?
I'm a social worker.
Oh okay, do you work online or do you like? How how are you gonna?
I work at a homeless shelter, m so it'sficult to do that remote.
Tell me about Yeah, sorry, go ahead.
Yeah, I guess there's some opportunities where you can work social work online. I haven't looked into it too much.
Tell me about the working at the homeless shelter. What's that?
Like?
I always say, like, I think it kind of cured me too, Like I started with the fashion and stuff and just seeing I worked there like for two or three years now. I worked during my education to a few of my studies and yeah, I feel like just meeting those people and they still all got hope and smile on the face every day, but still lost everything, And that's really inspiring. And yeah, kind of cured me from being sad about stuff I was said about. I think.
Interesting. So when you so you're working at the homeless shelter and like the you're telling you're telling me the morale is better than one might expect.
I guess so yeah you could say it and h interesting.
I'm curious if you can touch a little bit more on that, because yeah, that sounds like a big, a big perspective shift of some kind. Like, so people, So why do you think that that these people are able to have a you know, still smile and still be you know, happy despite their situation, Like what do you what do you? What do you? What do you think considering like what you've observed, what you've heard from talking to them.
Yeah, the thing is when I'm meeting them, they're usually getting helped in some form or another, like getting bad, getting food, getting some money. So I guess when I meet them at our institution, they're like more a thankful mood and just appreciate a little help they get instead of outside, they pretty much receive a lot of Yeah, they're just stigmatized and yeah, they are literally on the
edges of our society. Yeah, and I think they just it's like we also have like a meeting point for the for the scene, so I feel like, yeah, it's just a positive place for them to to some Yeah, like we mentioned earlier, community and and guess some of their basic needs fulfills and that's positive thing I guess for them. But also yeah, I guess if they would lose their hope, there's there's not much reason to live
anymore for most of them. A lot of them are depressed, but you can really feel that they have big hopes and always tell themselves it's getting better, and yeah, that's really good inspiring.
Mm hmm. How do you feel How do you feel like that influenced your your perspective on your own life?
Mm hmm. Yeah, just just be thankful for what I got, I guess. Yeah, I really started to appreciate the things I have way more and I often just ask myself, it's a really reason to be not happy right now? We're not thankful and most of the time there there isn't really a reason. So yeah, that that. Yeah, that kind of stuck with me.
What's the is there? Like, what what's what's the homeless situation like in Austria? Is it because you know in in in many cities, uh, you know, across the US, it's it's it's pretty bad, is it? Is it as bad in in Austria.
I think you could generally say we have more, we have a better social system, but you can feel that there's like shift. And we also, since COVID happened, have some yeah not so good economy and the price went up like hell, especially in living and food. So we have like opportunity to sleep in. Our beds are like always full and this summer was like the first year where it was all is full and I never saw that in the summer time because most of the people
just leave outside when it's warm enough. So it's definitely getting worse, but I think, like compared to the US, it's still not that bad, especially like I said, I'm kind of living in a rural part of Austria. But yeah, we still we still have powerty here and it's definitely a problem. But yeah, compared to other places on this planet, we definitely yeah less, Yeah, is.
There because is there like a lot of drug use too, or is that also not as been.
Well, the people I work with, like I would say, like eighty ninety percent got some form of addiction, So yeah, a lot of heroine and alcohol mostly.
Have you so working how long have you worked? Have you worked at the shelter.
It's like my third year now.
Have you had any experiences where like you knew someone at the shelter who was like addicted to drugs and like really having a having a shitty time, and like you, over time you saw them get better and improve their life.
Oh yeah, definitely. I had one girl and she was pretty crazy. She had a boyfriend and they always came together to our shelter. It was like in the beginning when I started, and they were addicted to Benzo's alcohol and opiates, always eating the shit out of each other. It was really like you needed the police a couple of times, and then we just didn't hear anything from them.
Like two months ago, we received an email they just moved to Vienna, like our capital, moved away from the scene and got clean and got a job now to live together. So yeah, they definitely got better. But most of the time I always say, it's a pretty hard job because you don't see those moments of success, you know, because people come when they need help, and when they're better, they usually don't come. So it's it's very hard to notice if someone gets better because usually they just disappear.
And that could mean a lot of things.
So yeah, right right, I guess that's true. I guess if someone comes to you for help at the shelter and you don't see them again, it either means you know that they got better they got worse, but you don't really you can't really tell. I mean, it's cool that you got an email from those people, so you can like be there that situation, right right.
Some people, like years later they just come over and say, yeah, you helped us in the situation. It was really nice and we got better. Now that's nice to see. But yeah, like I said, most of the people just vanish kind of now.
I don't know if this is a question of like your experience or if this is just whether you want to be optimistic or pessimistic. But when you don't see someone after you know anymore, do you assume that things got better or things got worse?
Depends on the person. I would say, like the generation of the life they're in. Yeah, I can't say it, but most of the time they're out of my head, out of side, out of mind kind of because we got a lot of people there. And yeah, I just focus on the people that that are here and in front of me, and I try to distance myself as much as I can when I'm not in contact with those people. I would say, but yeah, obviously your mind
you start to think. But I would say, I'm more of an optimistic person now, and yeah, just generally better for my mental health if I don't assume the worst.
I guess what is your ultimate dream? Eric? It's Eric, right, Yeah, I always forget everyone's fucking name.
Yeah, I feel honored. Yeah, my ultimate dream is too, to live in a self sustaining community somewhere on the countryside or something like on a farm. I always dreamed about that.
Yeah, hmm, you know what I wanted to I'm curious about this. I'm gonna take questions from the chat for you. Uh, except this. I was talking to this guy. I don't know if you guys hurt. So I was talking to this guy on one of the other podcasts and I was about to hang up, well and not hang up, but you know, the conversation was ending, and he was like, what, I don't get any questions from the chat? And I was like, I was like, nah, you know, because I well,
I don't give you. By the way, it's not like it's it's not like getting questions from the chat. It's not like a you know, Tonight Show Johnny Carshon invites you over to the couch kind of thing. It's just sometimes sometimes I feel it. Sometimes I don't, you know, but for I don't know, for you seem like a cool guy, So I want to get some questions from
the chat. If the chat has any questions, I'll see, it'll take a little bit of them to time for them to A lot of the time chat is just dumb ass emojis and people talking about something that's nothing to do with anything. Okay, we got a we got a real quiet but not but not today, we got some real questions. All right. Someone said, if you weren't working in a homeless shelter, what other area of social work would interest you?
Before I worked at the shelter, I was working like like youth center in my town. I guess that was really cool. I could like skateboard all day with the guys there and just two cool stuff. I guess, yeah, it's more positive and more chill. But I kind of got bored after while, so I figured, yeah, I need something a little bit more action. I would say, so, yeah, but I guess something with like young people, teenagers, stuff like that.
Someone wants to know how you plan to fund your trips around the world.
The last years I managed to save a little money. Now, my girlfriend also is a social worker. We studying. We're both earning not that bad, so we're just saving up and yeah, just focus on saving for a year now and then I think it would be enough.
Someone wants to know if you think who would win in a fight between Goku and Superman.
Oh damn, I'm not into any of those.
Fuck sorry chatter. This guy has a life, all right. Someone said, let's see here. Someone's said, what city in Austria is this shelter? I went to Vienna and did not see any poverty at all.
Yeah, it's not Vienna. It's it's actually on the other side of Austria. But I'm not going to give the location. But yeah, it's generally pretty clean. But if you if you get into some areas here also Vienna, also my town, you you definitely notice some some poverty. Yeah, like I said, it's definitely not that much like different places place.
So someone someone asked, uh, what is your favorite Austrian food?
Damn cash Bedsler.
What what did you just say?
It's called cash Beretsler. It means like, yeah, it's basically mac and cheese, but with like different noodles and a lot of local cheese. So it's pretty nice.
Let's say okay, catspin say one say very slowly time cash sper cash Spetzler.
You got it.
Oh cool, we have we have craft here which is quits this rat shitty mac and cheese.
No, it's not like that. It's way better all right.
Uh okay, last question, So I want to know how you met your girlfriends.
Yeah, we met at the university. She's she's a social worker too. We graduated together. So yeah, basically just studying.
Cool, cool, cool. You seem like a cool guy.
Eric.
I hope that I like what you're doing. I'm glad you're out here doing uh real ship in the universe. You deserve all the mac and cheese that you deserve, all the weird Austrian mac and cheese that you can get your hands on and all right, and so I'm gonna meet you. You're coming to Colonna.
Yeah, I hope we're going all right?
Sick. Yeah, Well, I I meet it. I try to. I try to meet everyone after the shows. I like, you know, so yeah, when we meet, be like, I'm the guy who works at the shelter, and I'll be like, oh fuck, you're that guy. So we'll uh and then we'll and then we can stare at each other or whatever. Yeah, is there anything else? I'm looking forward to staring at YouTube? Brother? Is there anything else you want to say to the people of the computer before we go?
Love y'all, have a good night, Love.
You grek, Hey you too, take care brother?
Bye. Man.
I like that guy. He was chill, he had a good demeanor to himself, talked about I know some people are just they just got good vibes. That guy had a good vibe. He's uh uh yeah. I don't know, do I have Do I have anything else to say about the state about what we have learned over the past twenty five minutes about the state of mental health in Austria. I don't think I do. I think I'm just rambling to pad out the time of this call. I think it's what I'm doing, and I'm gonna stop
doing that in three two one, Hello, Hello? What is your name?
My name is Linda.
Linda. What's going on? How's life?
Life is great? I just I won a pinball tournament last night, so I want to talk about that. It was great.
Many how many people were we're in this pinball tournament?
We had seven people?
Okay? How does a pinball tournament work? Is it like people go back and forth to see who can get the biggest score.
So I was also running it. We use this thing called match play where it has like a set number of machines you're playing and you get randomized with like two people on each machine. So whoever gets the highest score then they get a point for that round you go onto the next one.
That space. Okay, so you you organized the pinball tournament?
Yeah?
Yeah, how did you go about? Tell me? I'm curious because you know, I'm in a headspace right now where I really want to put on more events. I mean, I have my tour, which is great, but I want to do more like local fun things. So tell and I also, you know, I want to encourage the people who listen to this to organize doing more fun local things because I think it's an incredible uh benefit to one as a human being. So tell us from the ground up, how did you organize this pinball tournament?
Yeah? Yeah, so I totally agree with that. I think it's great to have like small spaces for anyone to just either learn or you know, dive into it if they're really into that environment. But I end up getting into the pinball in tournaments and all that stuff primarily
just from going to conventions and having arcades available. So I just played a whole bunch of pinball there since it was on free play, and that kind of opened the doors to like, there's this app called pinball Map where you can find different locations that have a whole
bunch of pinball machines. I moved to a new city and started playing at the local arcade there, and since I was there pretty often, they asked me if I wanted to like host a women's tournament so that way, you know, women can have a safe place to play and you know, hang out and ask questions and learn where it's not like a stressful environment for some people because sometimes it could be a little cut throat. Women's tournaments are usually pretty chill.
The pinball scene is cutthroat.
It can be, yeah, in what sense. There's a lot of rules to some of the machines, and like if you accidentally mess up somehow, then sometimes people get really up at these and they're like, well, you can't do that, we have to like disqualify you from the tournament. Also the crap whever.
So I want to just I just want to get into this for just a second, because here's the thing about he's saying about pinball is like the the amount of inputs that you can make in this game. It's like in most games have like uh you know, kind of like an not an infinite, but like they have there's they have several buttons that you can press many inputs. I'm a big super Smash pros guy, and you know we have on the controller there's like ten fucking buttons.
Pinball really only has two inputs. It's the right trigger and the left the left bumper, the left fucking thing and the right fucking thing. And so I don't obviously you're not supposed to pick up the machine and fucking tilt the thing. But outside of that, I mean, how much of a how much is there really to fuck up or cheats? You know, with such a limited amount of input into the game and a role.
Well, I this has happened in a handful of times where I've seen people. I've done this myself, where if you're playing against someone else and you accidentally play their ball instead, oh yeah, you can mess up because sometimes it's very easy to think that it's your ball the excellent place one else is. Or if there's some other in the game where you can get an extra ball and you're not supposed to play those usually, so if
you play it, sometimes I can just qualify you. Yeah, people are just like really picky about some of those rules. But yeah, it's kind of silly. I'm a pretty casual player for a tournament player, but yeah, some people are just like really sticklers about it.
So this is cool. You move to a new city, do you know anyone in the new city?
I like a handful of people, like maybe three or four people.
What city is it? Richmond, Richmond, Virginia? How does one How does one revive their life by picking up leaving everything they know? And moving to Richmond, Virginia. They do it by hosting a pinball tournament. Of course. Yeah, I like that. I actually think that's sick. No, I think I fucking rocks. What what is there? Do you want to shout out this arcade at all? Does that interest you? So?
My favorite thought is wax Moon Records. They're ever in Scott's Edition. And yeah, it's like a horror themed arcade as well. So they have a lot of like you know, I guess Franken Stebeine, Santama's Opera, and Halldeen. So they have a ton of like horror specific arcade cabinets, which is great.
What cabinet did you run this tournament on?
We had about ten last night that we kind of you know, rotated around. You didn't get too bored, but yeah, we had you had stranger things. There was Iron Maiden, Venom was in the mix, Halloween Fan the opera, Frankenstein, and some other ones I forgot. I think, uh Kials from the Crypt or something like that. I remember. But there's a couple of them.
Which one is your favorite?
Which is my favorite of all time or at that event.
Or at I want of all time of all time?
Okay, my favorite of all time is Cubert.
It's a pretty Hubert pinball.
Yeah, dude, So that one came out a long time ago and has you inverted flippers at the bottom, like royally mess up.
If you're playing, well, there's inverted What do you mean inverted flippers?
Oh?
I see it. Oh oh that's bizarre at the bottom. Yeah, yeah, that's really bizarre. Yeah, it's inverted. It's like going to the left. Very interesting, very interesting. Do they have that cool? Where do they have that?
I've only seen it at this event called Pin Baltimore, which is up in Baltimore, of course, and that's the only place I've ever seen it, so it's kind of rare.
Bro Hold the fucking but hold the fucking phone. I uh well, I don't live there right now, but I'm originally from Baltimore, Maryland's and I have never in my life heard of PIN Baltimore. And I'm looking at the website right now and they have a music lineup. What is this? This is awesome? This is so cool. Holy crap.
I usually go every year, but this year they're not hosting it. But yeah, Pin Baltimore is over at Holy Free Holies in Hamden, Baltimore, so just north of Baltimore City. It's just like a bunch of local bands. Yeah yeah, Holy Free Holies is like really great food and like at least like fifty to seventy pinball machines. They have like some crazy tournaments too. They do like split slipper tournaments.
We have one for and then the left one on the right, So they get kind of creative with like the different types of tournaments there. It's really cool though.
That is really cool. So you won the tournament, and I say, okay, so you say you're a casual, you say you're a novice, but I I personally believe that you are being humble because I mean, you won the fucking tournament. Tell me this, what do you have any strategies that you want to share for maybe other pinball layman's who you know, maybe that maybe they're on a date at an arcade, they want to impress their date with pinball skills? What what what should they what should
they do? What should they know?
Yeah? Yeah, So honestly, what I always tell new people, I always ask them if they want to learn about the machine. So otherwise I don't want to like mansplain you know not cool, but I'll go ahead and let them know, like try to slow down the ball as much as possible, because you want to aim your shots. It's not like just hitting random stuff. Like every game does have a story to it where you can unlock certain things. Anything that's more of a stationary light, aim
for that. If it's a blinking light, that's kind of like a bonus. And usually most games have like like a skill shot option where you get a ton of points or multi ball option, so I like to point those out. But there's usually a card in the bottom left corner that gives you some of the steps and instruction so that what you get the most out of, like how many quarters you're putting in the machine. But
it's pretty cool. You can also watch it on like watch games on YouTube to learn strategy if you're interested. I don't really do that too much because I like learning as they go one more hands on rather than just observing. Yeah, if you have any questions, though, I feel like asking other people what their strategy is while they're playing, or like after they play, because don't want to interrupt them while they're playing, can be really helpful.
And I think everyone who really loves pinball. They light up when they get a chance to talk about it, like myself. So oh yeah, no it should have been though, but yeah, you say a flip out over it.
Uh So, what I guess if the people, let's say someone's listening to this, they want to go to one of your pinball tournaments, when's the next one you're hosting? Is there a thing or that you can follow or because like, I don't know when the next time I'm ever going to be in Richmond, Virginia is But how can people follow these pinball tournaments?
Yeah? For sure, I know wax Moon they post about it on our Instagram pretty often. So they do like a main monthly tournament for all walks of life, and then I host the women's tournament usually in the middle of the month. So but yeah, we just started doing the women's tournament about a month ago, so it's very very new. Welcome all all people. But yeah, definitely worth checking out if you're in Richmond.
What do you can I I'm just curious about your actual life. What do you do? Uh like for life?
For life?
Yeah, like do you have a job.
I do have a job. Yeah, so that you know pays the build, but I work for like a software company. I work remotely, and honestly, I love it. It's great, but it kind of forces me to go out and like, because I'm working from home, you don't really interact with people day to day, like face to face, So it encourages me to like go out and meet new people in the city. So got to fill that social meter.
Rock and roll. Well, thank you Linda's and anything else you want to say to the people the computer before we go.
Yeah, I think just keeping kind to yourself and that can go a long way. Good night, Linda, all right, good bye, Geck.
That was cool. I really like that call because that's uh, this is kind of a theme I think about in my own life, and a theme that we kind of talk about on this podcast is like, you know, how do you meet new people? How do you do uh, how do you become how do you get how do you get involved in a community of some kind?
Uh?
You know, Linda moves to Richmond, Virginia. I mean, what the fuck is going on in Richmond, Virginia. She moves there. She's got this work from home job, and you know, instead of sitting around and going ah, I'm in this fucking what. I don't know how to get to me instead of moping around. Linda's like, Linda's like, let me start hosting fucking pinball tournaments, you know, just like I
love that. I love that kind of creative thinking. Right, And now she's like the dawn of women's pinball in Richmond, Virginia, which is the most specific fucking thing I think I could think of, And I think, I think that's awesome and I'm inspired by that. So I'm also I got to check out pin So I do like pinball.
Uh.
I've been looking for a while for the uh the south Park pinball machine. I finally tried that at one up. I think it's called over in uh Denver, and that's sick. So I might maybe I'll go to a pinball tournament. I know they have those.
What do you mean?
I know they have those. We just talked about it. Uh cool? No, I like this, shout out Linda, Linda, Hello, how are you? Uh? You know I'm doing all right?
Uh?
I feel I feel optimistic. I don't know why I've been thinking a lot. I've I talk about this all the time, but I'll talk about it again when I get like uh uh I when I feel like depressed or whatever, I think to myself, I don't think life is about perspective. I think it's about like you either either you have problems that are solved or or not, and whatever's going on in your eternal brain that has
nothing to fucking do with anything, idiot. And then and then I and then I think think, well, I think if I change my perspective a little bit, it does make me feel better. So I am car As the version of myself let's talking to you right now, is optimistic about life. But well we'll see how long that fucking lasts. But enough about me. What's up with you? What's going on? How can I get you today?
Well, right now, I've got some ribs in the oven and I'm getting ready to go over to my parents' house to hang out with them and my sister in law and her little baby. So we'll do that later today. But right now I'm just chilling And saw your noticification come up, and I was like, all right, today is the day. Today's day. I'm going to get on and the stream and you picked up. So here we are.
Well, let me ask you this, is there anything in particular that you wanted to talk about.
Yeah, I guess.
So, I don't know.
I feel like I'm at a kind of a crossroads in my life. Just I don't know. I guess things are going pretty good. I've got a pretty solid job and we're moving to a new place. It's just been a whirlwind of change and different things like that. So just kind of working through, working through some stuff. But nothing, uh, nothing,
end of the world. It's so funny. I every time I I think I've texted a couple of times and I'm like, you literally use like chat GBT to try and be like CHATGBT, write a text that will get gets interest or something so you could come me back, and it never comes up with anything.
Well, I don't like. I don't like that. Not anything to do with AI. But I just like, I don't think, you know. I mean, look, I get it, I understand that. Uh the like the I try, yes, I try to take the phone calls that I think will be the most interesting. Sure, but I don't I that's that's weird. That's turned this into I don't want that to turn this into a competition to see who can be the most crazy, you know, Yeah, because.
It's just feel better.
It makes me feel better if you look back, I text you pretty normal things and never go with the CHEDGBT thing. I'm just like pretty normal, Like what's the well.
I just I don't want people to like lie and I don't. I don't, by the way, I don't think most people on this show are lying. I just I don't want people to be like I got to think of a crazy thing. And and also I'm going to say this too, I I the conversations that I enjoy having the most on this show are not necessarily the
craziest ones. I just I like when people are being authentic and you can kind of tell, like you can tell when somebody is approaching this authentically versus being like, oh, I'm I want to be on the show because I'm crazy, you know, And somebody can be a part. Somebody can have a crazy thing, But if they're approaching it in an inauthentic way, I don't. I don't talking to them as kind of boring, you know.
No, I get you, I get Wait me.
So I'm had whatever. I'm happy to talk about your boring life, is what I'm saying.
Okay, Well, I guess I can I can tell you a little bit about my boring life. Like, so right now I work full time. I work in quality and aerospace and defense manufacturing, so that's pretty cool. But on the side, I do like dog walking and babysitting and house cleaning and all that. So I've been out straight just completely murdering myself with work because I'm trying to prepare for a move and even though like you have a solid job, like, everything is still very expensive.
So what part of the what part of the country do you live in?
New England?
New England? I can I say something insane like forever when I hear the phrase New England, I don't know what people are talking about.
It's so funny that you say that, because my niece the other day didn't She didn't know that New England wasn't like a place in Europe. She thought it was I didn't even know that New England was a readon in the US. I was like, what, it's just funny.
Okay, okay, sow, okay, New England. What what state do you live in?
I live in New Hampshire.
Okay, so yeah, see if you said New Hampshire'd be like, okay, I know where she lives. But you said New England. No, I've since come to understand that New England is a region of America comprised of like Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont's, Connecticut, Rhode Island, right.
Rhode Island, and Maine. Yeah, well, it's just easy. You have to be fair. You did what reason I lived in. I don't think you asked me what state. But that's probably why.
Okay, I don't think I said that, but also that we have I said it on record. No, no, be wrong. It's more likely that I'm wrong than that you're wrong. But we said it on a record. Whoever's listening to this can play it back and see who's right. Do you see New Hampshire. Is New Hampshire an expensive place?
I would say it can be. It depends on where you live.
Yeah, it can be.
I mean New England's a pretty expensive cost of living for the country, so it can be. I mean I got lucky. I mean I got a good job. I knew somebody and they told me to apply, and so I got a good job. So I got lucky in that regard. But it can be expensive. There's not a whole lot of I guess opportunity here, I would say, like it depends on where you live in this state. I would say if you're in the southern region, you might have more opportunities, but the more rurall you get,
it tends to be the same small businesses. Not that small businesses are bad, but like the same things in life doesn't really change that much. So if you're looking for a change or if you're looking to like really go far with your peer, you kind of have to lead the era you're in.
Okay, I have one more New England thing. Okay, the Patriots, the football team. Yes they're the New England Patriots, right.
Yes, they are the New England Patriots.
So that's so the okay because I always that always confused me because that's like what how many states? Like six states? I don't know if it's exactly six, don't who cares, but it's like it's several states sharing one football team.
I mean, I guess it kind of makes sense because some of those states are pretty small. It's not like it's Texas and like the Dallas, Like New England is probably the size of Texas, And so it makes like different states can be tend to be bigger than our smaller ones, so it kind of makes sense that we have united behind rue teams.
Yeah, they all they all pulled together for one football team.
Yeah.
No, you know, growing up, I never, like embarrassingly recently have I learned what exactly New England is. But well, I'm glad that. Uh, I mean, is it? What's you've? Is life good? Sorry, that's I'm being a fucking idiot? Is life good?
I think life? For me, life can be good on a positive Like, I've been in therapy for like nine months now and it's really changed my life. Yeah, I was, Yeah, it really has. I mean, it can be so hard to find the right person and like feel like it is I feel like you're not sometimes, like when you're trying to explain things to somebody, they're not really it doesn't feel like they understand or listen or it's it's just really hard to find a good therapist period, right.
So I finally found somebody that really works for me, and I've made it. I think I've done a lot of work on myself and I can really tell the difference in my own life. So I would say life is pretty good. I mean, I have my own challenges and stress and trying to figure things out and family drama stuff. But I think to navigate those things like you have to be pretty.
I don't know.
Life is going to be stressful no matter what, right I guess, and in some regards, no matter who you are, what your situation is. But if you're not like good with yourself, it could be like ten times harder to navigate those things.
Yeah and yeah, yeah, I know that from some experience. Yeah, uh, life is man. I have a I say this a lot on this show, and not just on this show, but just in real life. Life is crazy, which I believe truly. I'm innna. I have a friend and she listens to this show and we argue over that a lot because she thinks. She thinks saying life is crazy is lazy. She thinks it's like, uh, that life is more complex than just crazy. But I just agree. I think that I think life is crazy, and I think
that life. I believe that saying life is crazy is an acknowledgment of the complexities of life. I don't know how you feel about the term.
I mean, I kind of agree because I was listening to the podcast a couple of days ago. And you were probably going on about life is crazy, and I thought about it after I was after I had finished the episode. I'm like, no, it kind of is, because like I was, I was driving down the street and I was looking at buildings and like you know, fancy buildings and pavement, and like all that is is just like compressed earth and we've like made all these fancy
things in cars or whatever. It's just elements that we've combined to do certain things, and we've made like certain rules and you do this and you do that, and like certain cultures and societies have different rights and different wrongs and different things. So like life is literally crazy if you really just want to dive deep into it. So it does make sense what you're saying. I don't know if i'd call it lazy. It's just how you're
how you're encapsulating, like you can't, you can't. It's like the perfect couple of words to uh condense how complex life is for everybody.
I was saying, like, if you asked you talked about chat Cheapt. I think if you ask chat Cheapt to take all of Stephen Hawking's books, how many book he probably wrote, like twenty books. I don't know. He wrote one What was it? What was the one book he wrote? Hold on, I have my computer in front of me. Give me two seconds. Stephen Hawking? All right, he what did he write? He wrote a book I think it was called, uh, the the Something to the Universe. What do you publish?
Oh?
Wait, A Brief History of Time? Okay? He published a book called A Brief History History of Time. He published another book called the Universe in a Nutshell and whatever. I believe. If you asked chat GBT and you were like, summarize all of Stephen Hawking's books in three words, it would spit back. Life is crazy. Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, I'm gonna do that. Right I'm in front of my computer. I'm gonna do that right now. Stay logged out, Okay, hold on, summer summarize, summarize all
of Steve Vin Hawking's books in three words. Let's see what it says. Okay, it says Cosmo's black holes. But that's the same thing. That's the same thing as life. It's crazy. Well, you know, what's your name again?
It's Linda.
Did you say Melinda or Linda Linda? Okay, Melinda is the name of Stephen Hawking's wife. Oh wait, no, that's I'm thinking of Bill Gates. They're both guys.
Can we talk about Stephen Hawking's wife?
Bro Quick?
Uh? Sure, I don't know. I don't know if I prepared to talk about it because I don't know anything about her because I didn't even know her name.
Just now, I'll keep it real short. But they had like they got married, they had like three kids together, and then he had like a cair nurse. Stephen Hawking cheated on his wife with his cairners, left her for this woman. I think they've been together until he died or something like that. But yeah, Stephen Hawking was a dog man.
Did he do that while he was like in the wheelchair with the voice and stuff?
Yes?
She is pretty That's that's pretty wild. That's pretty wild. Is his wife still alive? What's she doing?
I don't know. I I'm checking my bookshelf right now, because I'm pretty sure I had a book that she wrote at some point, The Beginning of Everything or some something. They made a movie Theory of Everything, The Theory of Everything. Yeah, I have the book once, but I don't know if I have it now. But yeah, it's pretty wild. So I guess maybe that can help us all feel better. Like if Stephen Hawking can still get it well in live in life at its fullest, in the condition he is, we can do it too.
You know what, I you know what I think that you know what that says to me, The fact that Stephen Hawkin did that while he was in a wheelchair, You know it says to me, I'd say, it tells me that life is crazy? Do I really? I'm sorry, I'm gonna and I'm gonna end this conversation in two seconds. But you said I was you said you said her, you were like you were like I was listening to the podcast and you were going on about how life is crazy. Do I do? I rant about that a lot.
Well, I'm not trying to make you feel self conscious, No, no, no, I'm just curious.
It was collecting information.
A little bit.
I would say, like just a little bit. It comes up a lot, But sometimes you do a good job like explaining like where you're at and like what it is that you mean by it, So I wouldn't worry about it too much.
Okay, I don't have a good I'm not good at understanding how I come off on this thing because I just do it and post it and then on other people. Like my experience of talking, my experience of the words I'm saying from the point of view of the guy saying them is very different from the experience of the words I'm saying from the point of view of someone listening to them.
If that makes sense, No, it does make sense. I mean it's kind of like watching a video of yourself, right, and then you're like, oh, I sound like that or I'm saying that and realized like that's how it's coming across. But you have such a like a good following of people like we listen to you because we like yourself. So don't worry about that.
Man. Thanks, I'm uh, I'll keep I'll keep trying. I'll keep trying it. I'm gonna go back to the lab and try to come up with other things to say besides life is crazy. Uh, thank you for calling Linda, of course, have good day, Thank you too. It is I mean, it is crazy. Maybe I go on too many rants about life being crazy, but that's that's the conclusion that I have about life. And I'm I also I was thinking about this recently, you know, I'm twenty six years old, which I think is pretty is fairly
is pretty young, and it feels weird. I feel kind of weird being uh, I don't this podcast, it's not like a I guess it is seen by some as an advice show. Maybe I try to make it more of a interview. I like to think. I don't. I like to think that I am interviewing people more than I am advising them. But I'm sure i'm you know whatever. It's a little mix, I guess, but I don't. I think i'd be a lot better at this show if
I did it when I was like seventy. Maybe I'll maybe that'll maybe that's what will happen, is you know, I'll go on hiatus for forty year, for forty four years, and then pick it back up and be like, Okay, after forty four years, I have a greater breadth of knowledge and life experience to talk to people about their life and stuff. I feel like I'm flying. I feel like I'm flying blind doing this because I feel like a little boy all the time. And so maybe when
I'm seventy seventy years old, I'll else. Part of me thinks that when I'm seventy years old. I'm also going to be like, you know what, after forty four years, which isn't that long really in the scope of time, it's really not that long. I still part of me still believes that after forty four years, I'll have no further conclusions about life other than the fact that it is crazy. I don't think I don't think life is going to get less crazy in the next forty four years for anyone, but who knows.
Really, again goes on the line, taking your phone calls every night.
Ever, Beacon goes to just teaching yous loud in the mid of your life, but he's not ready an expert