"MY EX'S FAMILY ADOPTED ME"

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Yes it is.

How is life going go?

Actually? Really well?

You said everything is good? Things are going up for you? That's good?

Yeah, definitely.

What's what's been going up? What's what's happening? That is so so well?

I just felt a lot more relieved lately. I'm just so happier, you know what I mean?

Okay, can you can you peg that to anything, or it's just sort of an arethrow feeling.

I don't like my family life is good. My life is my family and my boyfriend and things like that.

Okay, yeah, you're in a better place than before.

You say, yeah.

Well, Shelby, it says you were legally adopted by your ex boyfriend's parents. What's that story?

Yes, sir, so I dated this guy for like three years, and you know, when you know, when the time came, like, you know, we broke up, and then I created like a really good relationship with his parents. So when we broke up, I really didn't have anywhere to go. So I asked his parents if I can move back in, and you know, they were kind of already preparing for it. So I moved back in with them, and it's kind of a history from there. They take me in, you know,

So, okay, tell me this. You were dating this guy. How long have you dated this guy for?

For almost three years?

So you dated this guy for three years and then you had nowhere else to go. So his parents legally adopted you when you guys broke up. How old are you when this happened.

I was nineteen, so we got together when I was sixteen, so I've none them for like a while.

Can you get well, how do you get legal? Can you get legally adopted by someone at the age of nineteen?

Yeah, I mean, I mean you can sign like your papers over for them to be your legal guardians, if that makes sense. I kind of simplify it as to like being adopted, but they're my legal guardians.

Do you can did? What do you have a legal guardian when you're nineteen?

So my mom wasn't really around, like she left when I was about eight years old, and then I passed away a little after I moved in with them, and then my biological side of my family is just a little weird and I don't really speak with them that often and I don't really trust them. So I had, you know, my ex boyfriend's parents take over, you know, the parental responsibilities, right.

Uh, well, no, I was just talking about how if you're nineteen, I don't know if you need a legal guardian, but.

Like the legalities, yeah you don't. But it's like if anything were to happen to me. I wouldn't want my biological family to be the ones to make that choice if anything would have happened to me, like if you got to pull the plug or some shit like that.

Okay, Okay, that makes sense. Honestly, it's not really that important. So tell me that feel better? So tell me this. Tell me this. Okay, so you used to be really with them when you're in nineteen, so tell me this. What is your relationship like with the ex boyfriend? How does he fit into all this? Uh?

None of us talk to him. Actually about a year and a half of us dating, he he really he really fucked up. Like like his relationship with his parents, he he really just blew it. So his parents just didn't really want anything to do them, Like they obviously love him, but there were just things that he was doing where they kind of just had to turn away and just be like, all right, you do you and

Well, well let's get into this. What what the timeline here? You break up? With your boyfriends and then almost immediately it sounds you start living with his parents.

Yeah, we broke up Valentine's Day night of twenty twenty. So I kind of just packed up all my stuff and called his call, called his mom. I was like, I'm done, Will you pick me up? And she was like, I already got my shoes on.

You know.

Okay, the night that you guys broke up, What was the relationship like between your ex boyfriend and his parents.

Oh, they didn't. They didn't speak in that at all. They they were really disappointed. They they kind of saw it coming by just everything that he was doing to me and to them, and okay, they just didn't really have.

What tell me, Well, okay, tell me, tell me. What is it that the boyfriend and did to make his parents discontinue their relationship with him? Oh?

Just not keeping up with responsibilities and just being an adult. Like I lived with him, like I had an apartment with him and everything. And it's not like things were going good or anything. We always really had problems. But I was in high school of a sophomore in high school, and I had three jobs. I was paying most of the rent I paid for just about everything, and he could barely hold his weight with his parents. That his parents kind of always tried to implement that worth work ethic in him.

Well, Shelby, you know we're talking about him where I'm talking about what what things did he do to make them? I mean to selling your son like that. I mean, that's like, that's a really big deal. I'm looking for, Like, what is the you know, besides him not having a job at sixteen, what is the thing?

He was just absolutely narcissistic. He thought it was his way or nothing. He was very abusive with his words and making people feel guilty, and he would always try to make people feel bad for him in that sort of way. I don't I don't really know how to explain that without being too intrusive and over sharing, if that makes sense.

Sure, I mean, yeah, you know, this is your story in your life. It's just to me, you know, an interesting thing that they're like, you know, trading the son for you know, his ex girlfriend. And I'm trying to get to the bottom as to why and what's going on with him and if he's still in the picture, and why he's not in the picture and all of that.

Well, he's not really in the picture because he doesn't reach out. I would say if he reached out and just showed that he was doing better. You know, last time I heard like he was living in his car, and you know, we always argued about bills and things like that because he was always borrowing money from people and just taking so much from other people to where they didn't even want to talk to him anymore because

I would think I would say, Okay, well, I'll listen. I'm glad to hear that things are going better with with with you. You know, I hope that you know, this guy feels like he's in a position where he can come back to his parents, you know, if he wants to.

Yeah, yeah, if it wouldn't really affect anything in my life, if that makes sense. It did make dating a little bit hard for me, trying to explain that when I wanted to have a relationship with somebody, I feel like a little intimidating.

Yeah, definitely, definitely. Yeah, I mean it's a whole it's it's a strange situation. I'm not going to pretend like I have all the details on this, but I'm glad that you are doing well. And i mean, what, you're twenty one now, are you? Are you? Do you still live with them?

Yeah?

I still live with them. There's really no rush to move out, honestly, Okay.

Are you playing? Are you planning on moving out at all?

But yeah, probably in the future, live in the next few years. I love them that I have a great relationship with them, my mom and my dad, my sister and stuff like that.

Uh, you were so we gloss over? Does he Is there a sibling in this as well?

Yeah?

Okay, so so your ex boyfriend's sister, Yeah okay, so and you can you consider her your sister?

Yeah?

Of course, Okay, And you and so and your ex boyfriend's mom and dad? Do you call them mom and dad too?

Yeah?

It's with the tricky situation. I mean, I obviously consider them, you know, my parents and my sister. I've been with them for so long and they treat me like family, you know. I fonnies uh. They yeah, but I'm sorry.

What do you what are you trying to explain?

I lost my train of thought.

I'm so sorry.

What's your relationship like with the sister?

And it's good, It's it's just sibling. I mean, we live in the same house together. We have a lot of things in commons. I don't know. Okay, well, listen, person close to my age, So is.

There anything else you want to say to the people of the computer before we go.

Shout out to my mom, my dad, and my sister.

I love them.

And also shout out to Avery and Keel. Avery's honestly my biggest hater.

Who's Avery?

Avery is uh one of my friends that I work with, and I actually put them onto the podcast and he really liked it, and I always told him that I was going to get in.

Yeah, beautiful, Well, thanks for calling Shelby. Thank you, as I say, okay, chat. Did anyone else get very strange vibes from that call? Am I am I crazy? Or did anyone else get very very strange vibes from that call? I do not know what to do with that at all, because here's here was the thing, and I was going to bring this up with her and whatever, because like she literally fucking this man's family and here was here was my problem. And I just wasn't going to keep

Is this a guy?

Yeah?

Yeah, so this is Neil.

What's going on with you?

Now?

You know?

I'm just currently in rehab deck? How are you?

You're like in rehab right now?

Yeah? Like I'm literally about to get my phone taken away because we have like only a little bit of time. We only get our phones for about an hour a day.

Okay. How much more time do you have with your phone?

I got about like fifteen minutes?

All right, we can wrap it up with them fifteen minutes. Why do you only tell tell me? Okay, so you only get to use your phone for an hour?

Deck?

Yes?

Uh?

And previous to being in rehab were how often were you on your phone.

All the time? I'm in the military. I don't really do crap in my opinion, okay.

And has being on your phone less had a positive impact on you?

It hasn't really changed it. I mean, I'm not rehab for my phone USAGEM and rehab for my alcohol.

Okay. And when did you get into rehab?

It was the eleventh of this month.

The eleventh of this month. Okay, So you've only been there for about two weeks.

Yeah, yeah, about fifteen days.

And how is that going for you?

Yeah?

It's you know, honestly, it's kind of happy as I've been in about a year.

Really, Yeah, why why is it? Tell me? Tell me how it has become the happiest you've been in a year. That's pretty great?

Well, what I was what I was doing for my job in the military. I hated it. I absolutely couldn't stand it. And I really just, you know, drank every day to forget my problems. And now I feel like that stress of that job's not on me, so I'm feeling a lot better.

Interesting, But how how much of the of the alcohol abuse would you credit to the job? Is it like one hundred percent? Ah?

No, No, No, drinking was fun. I would say it was to the job. Is about sixty.

Forty sixty forty okay, So the job is sixty and then what's the other forty?

Just me having a good time having fun?

Okay. And so I don't know how rehab works. So they are you like drinking like a little bit so that you don't go through withdrawal? Like, how does how does it work in there?

Well, I handled the withdrawals before going to rehab because I basically got locked in a room and was told to suffer.

Oh, that was the beginning of rehab.

No, that wasn't even at the beginning to rehab. That was the week prior or basically the friday prior checking in, I had all my withdrawals.

Okay, So would you say you're over them.

Oh yeah, by far, I'm over the withdrawals. The cravings is the hard part.

Okay, So you're ever the with but you have your having cravings. How are you having cravings every day?

Uh?

Well, when I first got here, the cravings lasted about two weeks, but now it's every other day or so.

Okay, so there's a positive upward trajectory. Yes, that's awesome. What else are you enjoying about the rehab life.

There's also a group of messed up people here with me, so I don't feel like the only one who has a messed up life. We have people who also have alcohol addiction opiate addictions, so that's cool. And we just sit in this common area. I'm surrounded by a bunch of military people. And uh we watched cracky TV shows.

So would you say you're having fun some days?

Some days it's depressing because you can't leave. We go outside for only twenty minutes at a time.

Did you check yourself into rehab or did other people? I don't know how this works, but did other people check you in? Or did you check yourself in?

It was just a team effort with me and my command because I was I was keeping forced to regardless, because it's fourth of July. I just drank way too much and blacked out and did some crazy stuff.

You know.

I gotta say, it's kind of amazing to me that I mean fourth of July. Fourth of July. It's the day of July twenty seven. So that was, Oh god, I don't know if my math is right, but that was. Yeah, it was twenty three days ago, So it's about three weeks ago, fourth of July. I think it was twenty seven months, right, it's about three weeks ago, okay, And so three weeks ago you were getting completely totally fucked up, and then you went through withdrawals and now you're still

Yes, I've been three weeks sober on Tues or yesterday, so twenty two days sober today. So yeah, it's it's it's getting a lot better, Jack. I appreciate that.

That's pretty that's pretty good, you know, going from getting super fucked up to being able to go, you know, twenty two days sober.

Yeah, fourth of July, I drank a bottle of tequila, a bottle of sangria, nine white claws and six PBRs.

That's that's a lot of alcohol.

Yeah, it was, it was. It was a good time.

Oh it sounds like it was a great time. But either way, what else are you doing in rehab that is uh, taking your mind off the cravings?

Well, there's like we have group therapy three times a day, so that kind of helps. We have activity therapy where we do stuff like listen to music or play games, pictionary. Sometimes we have TV time and homework time. Today they made us watch Inside Out like a bunch of nine year olds.

They made you watch inside Out? Yes, like as a commentary on your brain or something like that. Yes, what what was the lesson?

I haven't got to that part. I just I just felt the anger character in that, and I thought I was supposed to connect to him.

What did you connect to about the anger character?

He was angry?

That makes sense? How much long are you there for?

I'm here for another another two weeks. Basically, I leave all your says and is.

This all being paid for by the military. Yes, that's actually pretty rad. Are you glad that you made the decision to go?

Yes?

Are you optimistic looking towards the future.

I'm nervous. I won't lie to anyone. I'm scared I won't be able to keep my sobriety. It's very challenging. I've had a lot of good moments on alcohol, so that's the hard part.

Let me ask you something. I know that they have therapists and group therapy and all that stuff, and what sorts of things do people tell you in rehab? You know, people in those sort of counselor positions, when you tell them that you're nervous that you might succumb to cravings in the.

Future, they go, It's just part of the outbound process. Is something you just got to work on. Go to these groups such as AA.

Stuff like that, And has has that all been helpful for you? The things that they've told you in response to that.

Kind of But you know, like, I've been using alcohol for ten years and it's like, am I gonna win this battle? Am I gonna be able to get to these groups. So still a little nerve wracking.

In the ten years that you've been using alcohol, have do you think there has been twenty two sober you said, you said for twenty three days? Twenty two days? Yes, okay? Has there been a twenty three day sobriety streak in those ten years?

Oh?

Yeah, for sure. I've done multiple deployments where I wasn't allowed to drink.

Let me ask you this have Is there anything I know that you say you have a lot of good times and you know you're you're trying to have fun and you're also escaping the stress of your job. Is there anything that you can think of that helps you do those things you don't have fun and escape the stress of your job that is not alcohol.

Yeah, there's a couple like I think of cornhole. I really like to play cornhole. I'm going to the beach is nice, but they stationed me in Denver, so there's no beaches.

Anything else.

No gek. But I really appreciate your time and thank you for taking my call.

Oh for sure? Man? Are you are they about to take your phone away?

I only got about three minutes. If you have any more questions.

Do you have anything else you want to say to the chat or to the people of the computer.

A BALLACEYVC this, I love you while thank you for everything. I appreciate your time.

For sure, man, and listen. I'm rooting for you. I think if you can do twenty three days, I think you can do the rest of your life. And you seem like a very down to earth and caring person at least from what I can hear over the phone. And you know I have faith in you.

Okay, thank you, I appreciate it.

Take care, Neil.

Bye wow.

I liked Neil. He had an interesting cadence to him. He I liked his description of of rehab was interesting. It sounded like it was kind of like camp. It reminded me a lot of of what day camp was like when I was a kid, because we also were not allowed to drink alcohol at the day camp that I went to when I was nine, and we also watched Inside Out. Actually no, we didn't watch Inside Out, but we watched like whatever Pixar movie was out when

It's just a gag.

Yeah, this is Josh, this is indeed, Josh, how's it going, man, it's going to go. It's going on with you? Josh?

See, I just I don't know. I just kind of wanted to talk. I don't know if you read the pre screener.

But I didn't even read those anymore. Mom's kidding. Okay, I do, I do, but I don't like people knowing that I do. If that makes sense?

Oh, for sure, for sure, I get it. I get it. You know you want to you want to come off like with no freakonceptions ready you know?

Yeah? Yeah, well I know what's going on. Let's let's let's let's we're too or we're too meta. Let's get not meta?

All right, understandable, understandable. Uh well, I guess my whole thing is I was I was bored with a disability, uh, a physical disability. So I've been using a manual witch in my entire life.

Interesting, Okay, it says here, I know, I just said that to not whatever it says here that you are both optimistic as well as pessimistic about having a disability. Can you explain that to me? What?

What?

Uh?

Yeah, economy that you're living in?

For sure? I mean, let's let's start off the bat, right, I like sending off bad for me. I think my disability kind of represents it represents me not being able to do as much things as other people. You know, I am, I am, I'm stopped from doing doing certain

What what are some of the ways that people treat you differently?

That's it's a lot, man, I think you'd be surprised. I think from from a very young age, I've had people staring at me because you know, being a witch is pretty visible, right, So I've always understood that I was different, that I looked different, that I I had to be different. Uh. People love to offer your help when even I just out of the blue, when I'm when I'm not asking for it, and I know if that kind of pisses me off sometimes, I mean like I'm just living my life, you know, and they need

So?

Right?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, let me try to think.

No, it's an interesting perspective to hear that that you that you really don't like when people ask you for help.

I think I have no qualms with you need personally asking for help, But it's just like people asking for help when I don't prompt it, you know, m m no.

I can totally see.

Sorry people asking if I need help? Right, yeah, yeah, yeah, Well, I mean I don't like to talk about the negatives that much.

Well sure, okay, let's get into the positives.

Then the positives. All right, all right, let's talk about it. I think I think recently I've been really realizing that, like I've had a pretty fundamental view from the world, at least for a very young age. I've kind of always known that that life was unfair, you know, that that life was was was it is kind of inherently unequal to an extent, and that's that's a hard thing

Hmm. Interesting. So you're you're happy with the fact that you learned that the world was unfair or you've known it since the beginning of time, not the beginning of time, since the beginning of your existence, and you didn't have to sort of learn it any sort of hard way later. And it's a perspective that I don't know if.

I'm happy about that. Yeah, Yeah, I don't know if I'm happy about that. I think it's a I'm appreciative of it, you know. Sure, I don't know if I'm happy that. The happy is a strong word. M.

So, so tell me a little bit more about this. What do you think that this perspective has done for you throughout your life that is positive?

M I think I think that I have a a very strong will, and I have a very my attitude is that of of of someone who can always push through any barrier, you know. I mean because in life, I think the ultimate barrier is not society, but rather the physical environment.

We live in.

Right. If if we are we are physically impeded by something, right, how do we how do we overcome that? And and and I think that that perspective has given me this strength to fight through, to fight through a lot of just like societal bullshit and emotional bullshit. Because like if if I, if I am able to overcome this physical barrier, right, then what's stopping me from from overcoming this emotional or social barrier?

Interesting, So you have a perspective that you know, Okay, I'm in a wheelchair, but I'm able to overcome that. I'm able to live my life despite that. Therefore I should be able to live my life.

You know.

If I can live my life despite my physical limitations, I could live my life despite any sort of emotional limitations I might be experiencing or emotional adversity.

Yeah, definitely, definitely, I like that.

Man, can you give me is there any sort of emotional adversity that you've that you've faced throughout your life that you want to share, you know, overcoming.

Yeah, I mean, I think at least with my parents. I mean, I love my parents very much. I think they're wonderful people, and I recognize how much they've done for me. But yeah, growing up in a family where they haven't really experienced disability, right, it's just kind of they don't really understand what that's like. And so it's it's just kind of lonely, you know. Uh, it was I always had to kind of have to fend for myself,

Why did you feel like you couldn't reach out to your parents when you were growing up?

My parents are I feel like they're very emotionally unavailable. My mom is a typical Asian mom. She's kind of just like distant and doesn't really want to talk about emotions or anything like that. And then my dad is a whole other case where he's like a bipolar and and he's been through a lot as well, and it's just in in my at least in my instance, he is often suck it up and just deal with it,

What is your relationship like with them now?

I think it's still along that path. I do want to I want to have a closer relationship with my parents, but I don't know if they're ready to have that conversation. I've been ready for for quite a long time to have that conversation with them, but I think whenever I try to reach out, it's it's often a denial or a rejection on their part, and that's that's pretty hard.

Do you feel like you'll ever come to terms with, you know, not having that conversation.

Mmm, I don't know. I really want to have the conversation and I want to be closer with my parents, but I think at a certain point, I might have to If it doesn't look like it's improving, then I might just have to accept that and just look elsewhere.

Mm hm.

Who else are you very close with in your life?

I'm I'm really close with my sister. I love my sister. She's great.

Mm hmm.

In Portland.

That's awesome. What what what's her what's her relationship like with your parents?

It's strained as well. She has a better relationship with my mom, but yeah, my dad it's had some very hurtful things or and that's strained the relationship a lot. And so my sister moved out pretty much as soon as she could after she went through college.

And are you moved out too, No, I'm currently.

In college, so I'm doing an internship right now, but I usually live at a home when I'm out of college or during summers.

Okay, so you're not completely you know, on your own from your family. You're still in college and you return back home when you're not in college.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely.

Well can I ask what you're studying?

Yeah, I'm studying mechanical engineering.

Okay, what do you want out of life?

What do I want out of life? That is the answer. I've been trying to or that is the question I've been trying to answer for a while now. And you know, I have a really wide array of interest. I think I really love learning and I love everything that I come across. You really, So I'm still I'm still keeping my options open and trying to figure that out up grow a little bit more emotionally. You know, I think I haven't experienced that much relatively speaking, and I need to.

So in your sort of day to day life, you know, I know, you see you you were in a wheelchair since you were born, But is there you know? And I don't. This is why I'm asking this because in my perspective, I would think that holdanominous sneeze. Two all right? What the fuck was I saying? I would think of

Yeah, that's very insightful, and it's I think it's true to an extent. But there are things that I'm constantly aware of and I just know not to expect. I think it's it's really a matter of expectations. I generally have rock bottom expectations for most things regarding what accessibility or my access to things, so so that I don't

You know, you know, this whole thing about low expectations, Hmmm, it's weird. I don't know how to respond to this because I am a fan of low expectations. I myself try to have very low expectations, uh, to not get hurt because I think, uh, I don't know, I don't

Really?

Yeah? I think I think that's a good point, and I think maybe it comes from the fact that I have pretty sky high expectations for myself, and maybe I impart out on other people a little bit. So when when I guess, I guess no, no, I guess. The thing is that I already have low expectations. And when I expect those low expectations aren't even met. That's when it's hard.

Mm hmm. Interesting.

It's when they even when they go below those low expectations.

Again, when I do like, yeah, no, please please, I'll sell my things.

Okay, yeah, yeah. So in my case, I try to make it as easy as possible for other people to accommodate in my needs. Right. I believe that that it's a it's a dance that we all have to play, right, that society plays and I play. I have to give

Yeah, yeah, it sucks, man, But uh, you know, fuck, I'm really I'm really uh, you know, wrestling with thought to think about this here, because like what I totally want to say is uh And this is why I wonder what the person who you know, has all the perfect answers on how to be a human being would say, But you can't fucking control what other people do. You can't. You just fucking can't. And I think that there's a lot of freedom and happiness in accepting that, And part

That's that's an interesting point. And I might, I might disagree with you there a little bit to say that that that I can't control that. I maybe I should accept that I can't control what other people do, because I mean, I think at recently, in an instance of disability, there's a legal element, right, there is a moral obligation or not moral, but rather a legal obligation to accommodate

Mean, look in that situation if something is you know, uh uh. And by the way, I'm totally down, by the way, in all instances of every single thing I say on this podcast, I am always extremely down to be wrong. But yeah, dude, I mean in that instance where you know, you go into a place and they don't have the accessibility options that are required by you know, the law, the question becomes to you, what do you

Okay, interesting. Interesting. You know, I'm glad because people don't often say this to me now. They usually just say, oh, it's all right, you know, poor you, right. I appreciate you for pushing back. It's uh, it's it's it's really good to hear someone that that's willing to think about it a little deeper.

Well, I'm telling you all this because you seem like you're a guy with you know, despite all of your your your disabilities and the things that you have going against you. You you strike me as a person who has a high internal locus of control, and so I want to feed into that. You know, So, so you're not a kind of guy that sits around and goes, oh, you know, poor me, blah blah blah. You know, you're

I appreciate that. I think I think that describes me perfectly. You know, I I tend not to dwell on the on the things that make me sad as I. As I've said, he and thank you for that. I appreciate it.

Mm hmm. Well, Josh, is there is there anything else that I've really enjoyed having this this conversation with you? Is is there anything else that you feel like we didn't cover that you wanted to talk about today?

Oh? I don't know. I don't know, man, I mean I kind of want to. I do want to say to anyone out there that you know you are never a burden, You are always valuable. You know that you are always a beautiful person, and to never forget that.

I love it. Ship. Was there anything else is gonna say to you? Josh?

Oh?

Yeah, final thing? What's what's next for you in the immediate future? I'm curious. We kind of covered your past, we kind of covered where you're at. Now what does the the future of Josh look like?

A fucking mega bitches?

That's what beautiful?

Thank you for calling Josh, appreciate it, Thank you, Yes, You're the best.

Hello. Hello Daniel, it says here that you accidentally created a persona called basketball Dan, and now your friends won't stop calling you that, and it's became a significant conflict in your life. Yeah, tell me more about this.

Yeah, so pretty much, I was at my Beta house and we were playing basketball, and I just happened to be holding the basketball, and then it goes, hey, let's get a basketball band. And that kind of stuck at that point, which is also kind of my fault because it changed all my social media names the basketball band, So I kind of brought it on myself.

Interesting, So you changed all your social media, you embraced the moniker of basketball Dan almost immediately, and I won't.

Oh yeah, of course I walk in the bar if people start yelling basketball Dan.

Mm hmm. And so let's get into this here, because let's get into this here, because you know, you changed your social media handles to basketball Dan for a reason. I feel like, and please correct me if I'm wrong. I'm not trying to, you know, uh, tell you who you are. But it sounds to me like, at the very beginning of basketball Dan, you actually enjoyed and found identity in basketball Dan, and that's why you changed your social media handles to it.

Yeah, Now I kind of don't want to go back to being Daniel anymore. Now I feel like I kind of want to stick with basketball dand I don't well, I don't know how I get away.

So so so where are we now?

Are we?

Do we like basketball Dan? Are we sick of basketball Dan?

I thought I would have gotten took a basketball Dan right now, but I think I kind of want to be basketball band now.

Okay, what do you like about being basketball Dan?

I don't know. People just yelled basketball Dan. I mean people singing songs and just replace all the words of basketball band. So you know.

It's gotta pros.

Now do you think I'm gonna have to learn how to play basketball?

Because I have, I have, I have, I have, I have better. I have different questions for you. You you you. I asked you what you like about basketball Dan, and then you deflected and said people sing songs? But that's not an answer. What do you like about being called basketball Dan? What do you like about these people that are singing songs? What do you get out of it?

I mean it has a certain ring to it, basketball band? Don't you think better than Daniel?

Okay? It has a ring to it people sing songs. Still not answers to the question, though, what do you get out of being basketball Dan? How does it make you feel?

It makes me feel a basketball Dan, I think. I think that's what I get out of it.

Tell me about how you feel about just the name Dan.

It's und as fun as basketball Dan. Doesn't seem as energetic.

Okay. Do you consider yourself an energetic guy?

No?

But I am when I'm basketball Dan.

Would you say that Dan and basketball Dan are two different people?

Kind of a kind of not dan, one playing basketball allegedly and the only one doesn't really care about sports?

Then much?

Okay, Well, everything that you're telling me about basketball Dan seems like it's not really even related to basketball.

I don't hate it, No, it's really not. I don't even know how I get away with it.

Okay, So tell me what what basketball Dan is like.

Basketball Dana likes getting drunk, and that's pretty much it.

Okay. So the only difference between Dan and basketball Dan, from what you're telling me, from the information I've ascertained from you on the phone call right now, is that Dan likes being sober and basketball Dan likes being drunk.

Well, I think regular Dan. My teat is drunk too.

Dan. You understand that we can't I I did. We can't go anywhere, and this is we're gonna just we can't have this phone. We're gonna go in fucking circles here. If you don't give me real answers to these questions, we don't know, we can't have time to go in complete in other circles. Dan, We need to have a through line two.

Isn't that what you do?

I feel like, yeah, I feel like I'm playing the part pretty well.

What is the part?

I don't know? Basketball? Dan? That's as far as I.

Got, as as far as you got. OK, let's go further. Don't you want to go further? Basketball? Dan? Do you really do? We do? We want to stop here? Do we want to call it quits here? Don't you see a farther mountain to figuring out what the fuck basketball? Dan is? We're here right now. Let's figure it out. Don't bullshit me, Dan? Who is basketball?

Dan?

Don't say he plays basketball, don't say he gets drunk. Take a second, don't answer right after I'm done talking. Really fucking think about this. Who is basketball? Dan?

That's a good question. I actually never really thought about it like that. I kind of just took it at face value. I'm basketball band.

Dan?

Yeah?

Who is basketball Dan?

Who is basketball?

Tayer?

Well, I know he doesn't play basketball. I know that much. I know people call him basketball band, and I think that's pretty much as far as I've gotten. I don't think I'm making it to the playoffs.

I don't think you are either. Thanks thanks for calling basketball. Then, Okay, what do you guys think of that guy? Do you think?

Like?

Who? Okay? There are many different things that that guy could have been. He could have been somebody who just wanted to completely make something up to get in and talk. But even then, I don't think that that's as shallow as it would seem. Like, what's the underlying reason as to why he wanted to do that? We could go deeper. Okay, there's one. Maybe he just wanted to call in just to talk. Maybe maybe this is what I would love,

Every night.

The Rep Can goes to his hide.

He's teaching you cloud in the mind of your life, but he's not really an expert.