Transcript
Speaker: action good morning good afternoon and good evening ladies and gentlemen boys and girls and everybody up down all around inside and outside the gender binary my name is danny guarantee i gotta go pretty quickly today because we are shooting for a t oh cook cook quickie so it's 20 minutes we only got 20 minutes so we gotta to get on topic all right i am joined today by my friend adam do you mind if i call you dadam Not at all. Okay, great. And we are on TOQR. That's our queue for long. All right.
Speaker: Pop that soda. Big soda. And then give me a question while I sip a latte. Dr. Zevia is what I'm drinking. All right. So the question is from AskReddit. Old330 is the user. Good old330. Good old330. And they say, why don't adults today seem as a adulty?
Speaker: Danny, why don't adults today seem as adulty? Why? So I agree with a lot of people that say like, um you know, when you're really young, you feel like your parents all had it together. And and even to this day, I find my parents have it really together.
Speaker: But then as you get older, you realize that like, No, most adults really don't. That being said, i feel like the advent of social media trends and all that has really pushed millennials as the first a generation to have it, really, to kind of still be a little bit more infantile sometimes.
Speaker: You know, there are still ah like the millennial cringe compilations of people doing like this stuff while they're eating their food or, you know, and like in public. That's called whimsy.
Speaker: We have whimsy. It is called whimsy. But like whimsy is being like, oh, my God, I love like I just got this food. I really like it. It's kind of worse when you get up and go pancakes.
Speaker: That's just kind of annoying, I think. Yeah, I think that's whimsy. Appreciating the little things in life, man. I don't know, man. I think when your whimsy starts intruding on other people's dining.
Speaker: it crosses that boundary. Well, I mean, I guess it depends. Like if I am I in a quiet diner filled with aged boomers that are just eating their pancakes in silence and I do a backflip and scream pancakes up at the buffet. Sure.
Speaker: I can see that being disruptive. But if I'm just like eating my pancakes at my house or i'm with my buds and it's pancake day, I'm like, fuck yeah, pancakes is good. Oh no, that's different. it it You have to read the room. But I think that social media,
Speaker: you know, you get those main characters that kind of, and this isn't just a millennial thing. This is a millennial and onward thing. Yeah. ah Where boomers have Karens that want to be the center of attention and make everything about them and and all that.
Speaker: We have a main character syndrome where people will go into a quiet diner and then scream and yell because they're filming it and they want to be the center of attention.
Speaker: And I think because of that, There's just more people still acting like children when they really are a little too old for that. um Yeah. But I think the biggest thing is just growing up and realizing that nobody's got their shit together. Everybody's just winging it.
Speaker: Yeah. And that that's exactly right, is I think. If you're able to I can look back on a lot of moments with my own parents that I can think, boy, they were still trying to figure shit out.
Speaker: You know, like I remember at one point when I was seven. No, I just a little bit after graduation. So I think it was.
Speaker: I was about like 18, 19. I can't recall, but I got a job at a Kmart. Do you guys have K? Did you guys have Kmarts in Jersey? um I got a job at a Kmart. I was still relatively young.
Speaker: um And my mom and dad had worked at the same pizza shop together for like 10 years um because my mom had to work everywhere. and My dad worked and just they could not be apart. And so they managed to land a place where they got a job together.
Speaker: But when mom wanted to call off work, she would throw a big enough of it that dad also had to call off work, which meant that two people were off work. And I can see why people who ran that pizza shop were not happy. Yeah, that would not fly very well.
Speaker: No. And that was something I think back on sometimes. where I'm like, my mom was just having a bad day and didn't want to go to work. And then she'd be mad if dad was like, well, we have to go to work. We have bills and we don't make a lot of money. We have to both go to work.
Speaker: And so there's times where I remember when he went to work and she just went ballistic because she didn't want to be at home alone. He's like, well, then go to work. You know, like, you know, but I think it's stuff like that. I'm like, they're always struggling for for money, just like me following mom and pops footsteps.
Speaker: um You know, like emotionally, my mom had a lot of things that she was dealing with that just never did. And I think about like when at some point,
Speaker: they left that job and they both left the same time. And I really don't remember why, but it was probably because they were like, Hey, you can't keep quitting work. um I mean, that would make sense to me, but like they were well into like, again, I was an adult at this point. So they were fifties, like in their fifties. At least my dad was, my mom was a little bit younger. So like, she was like probably late forties. My dad was in his mid to late. So this was relatively recently.
Speaker: Well, my dad, my dad's like fucking, 70 Oh, OK. 20 years ago. Yeah. um But like, you know, but. But.
Speaker: Just thinking like they quit their job and then I helped my mom get a job at a Kmart that I was working at. And my dad was doing something else. I think actually I think she quit the pizza shop and he stuck around a little while longer.
Speaker: ah And they were like, he was like, well, you can't not work. You know, like we're barely making ends meet. We got fucking kids. Um, and I, the w had the way that I helped was when you went onto the website, cause they didn't know how to use a computer and we had this big fucking clunky ass dial up computer and everything. And I filled out the questionnaire. There was a questionnaire that you had to fill out that demonstrated. It was probably like, took me like 15, 20 minutes to take.
Speaker: It was a bunch of things about like how well you do math. A lot of scenarios about how you deal with customers. And I was like, my mom is never going to pass these things. My mom is never going to pass these because would ask a lot of similar questions like 10 minutes later to see if you would answer it the same way but with a different scenario or something.
Speaker: and I passed mine like the first try. and so My mom, you know I felt bad for her. and so She was like, well why can't you get me a job at Kmart? and I was like, I can't just get you a job. It's not that easy. I filled out the application for her, kind of guessed what the years were that she worked at the pizza shop and then didn't know any of her other work history. But I did the test and she got a call and she was like, I got a call for an interview at Kmart. And I was like, yeah, because I fucking took the test for you. And, you know, and so I think about that moment where that was right around the time that I started of realizing, like, you know, there was a time where I thought that everybody knew what they were doing, that there was a point where my mom was like, I can't get a job.
Speaker: And I got her. a job. And, you know, just that's when it started to click. Like a lot of times you think that these people that you see everywhere have their life together or that they know what they're doing. But a lot of their decisions and conversations always happen like behind closed doors or when you went to bed, you know, like you didn't see their struggles. you didn't hear some of their fights. You didn't hear some of their, their desperate phone calls or conversations. You're a kid, you're tiny. They're literally larger than life.
Speaker: Yeah, I remember looking up at my dad and being like, I'm never going to be that big. so Not fat, just big are you big. Are you as tall as your dad now?
Speaker: Just about. He's a little taller than I am. So you'll still never be that big. I'm still never that big. Well, hang on. He'll start shrinking first. As long as you work on that posture, you got to be careful.
Speaker: My posture is fine. Does it hurt when you stretch your back all the way? up No. Good. But this goes along. I was just thinking well while you were telling your bit, this goes along with the whole a thing we've talked about with like high school kids.
Speaker: How. When I was in high school, I used to volunteer at this ballpark. With all of my friends and it was whatever. Now I went to that ballpark.
Speaker: Kids that same age, you know, 16 to 18 are working the ballpark, but they feel like to me, they feel like they're like 12 to 14. They seem so young and it's, it's the same thing.
Speaker: Like the gap between this person and adult has has gotten smaller they They're probably coming up to adulthood or at adulthood now.
Speaker: And it's just everything seems younger as you get older. Yeah, it it does. it like I do find that that is a blurred line for me for a lot of people. I do struggle to look at somebody and think, I don't know how old you are. Oh, dude, from from like 12 to like.
Speaker: 19 to me is just one long. i don't know. Yeah, I genuinely got nothing. that You would be like 17. I'll just cut it like in the middle ish. Like I was just 16, 17. I was just telling a friend today Like,
Speaker: like I think if you're like 22 and under, especially if you're a male, my instinct is just like I've I've achieved bud status where I just call the people. But oh, yeah. Like like I realize I do that now. Anybody who is like a certain level younger than me, it's like, hey, budd i do bud, how you bud?
Speaker: Hey, what's up, bud? You OK, bud? I've reached I've reached anybody about 20 years or younger is kid to me now. Kid. Oh, no. Like like I just said at the ballpark, the kids working. there Right. Right. If you're under 20, I'm going to I'm going to call you a kid. And that's and I don't mean it derogatorily. Right.
Speaker: You're a kid to me now. Like I look at you. You may be 19. I see 15.
Speaker: I'm sorry. It's just, yeah you'll understand when you're my age. You know, I'll also say that I think on the subject of adults not being as adulty, that I think there's a lot of credence to what we've already said regarding not like people are winging it and they they have private conversations and you don't see these things. It's all a perspective.
Speaker: But also, i think there's also a level of
Speaker: I don't want to bring this too much into it, but like financially things are a lot different and have been up for a long time. And I think you see adulthood as owning certain things or, or being able to have certain ventures or certain kinds of property or media or like some sort of liquidity in your life that says like, Oh, I have something like I've done it, you know? And I think,
Speaker: It's hard because I think, especially with all the financial crises we've been having and pandemics and every other fucking once in a lifetime cataclysms, that I think it's knocking a lot more people down a peg that like you would normally ordinarily have lived more average adult-y lives and like had like the white picket fences or something of that nature.
Speaker: I was telling my parents last time I talked to them, like, One of the issues with getting laid off as much as I have, it's annoying.
Speaker: Oh, for sure. Right? Like, it sucks. I've been laid off four times out of four jobs. I've never been let go for anything else. I've always just been laid off. And it's never just me. It's always restructuring. And I just get, I'm always the newest person. So I'm first on the chopping block. What happened me? Yeah.
Speaker: And um but one of the issues that I had to tell my parents that like they might not be thinking about is the fact that it constantly resets my finances.
Speaker: You know, I was just getting to the point where I had saved up six months of of love emergency funds and all that. Well, now I'm laid off.
Speaker: I can't find another. It's been almost a year since I had an actual job for more than a month. It's all gone. I'm back at square one again. I have yeah no money. I'm scraping for whatever little bit I can.
Speaker: Yeah. um Been there, brother. I made it to this long in my life before I had to ask my parents for money, and it sucks. I'm going to pay them back. But like
Speaker: at this age, you you expect to have 15 years of salary and income saving up a little bit at a time.
Speaker: But I can't get that because every time I start to, i get laid off and it all goes away. And I start from zero again. And like, you you don't think of that from the outside and it sucks.
Speaker: Yeah, and I think that's something that a lot of people are finally starting to say out loud. like We're all struggling. And I i do i will say that you know I think a lot of Gen X and gen and millennial parents and I think some Gen Zers to certain degrees as well, like I think that the culture is...
Speaker: while some things are misconstrued emotionally, I do think that people are at more willing to talk about how they're feeling to some degree. And I think a lot of us who grew up struggling and are still struggling are able to talk to our kids or or I talk to my nieces and nephews and, you know, to say like, hey, like this is what's happening. Plus, like you mentioned earlier, social media and such like, I mean, kids see what's happening.
Speaker: They might not understand it. And that's a problem. Oh, yeah. I mean, i think think of when we were... Young teenagers, 14 ish. Were you thinking about money? No, I wasn't. No, I was thinking about high school.
Speaker: I even think about politics or world issues or or or socioeconomic shit. was thinking like my Becky's pretty and Sarah's kind of hot. And right now, I can't wait to hang out with my friends after school. Kids these days are all, you part of it is social is.
Speaker: Just the way social media is, but because they can see all these issues, that's why you got kids going like, yo, you need to start early, get the grind set, start making money now.
Speaker: Money is such a big deal to kids these days because they see how hard and and crazy it is out here. Plus influencers that give you bad advice and they make money off of selling all this bullshit. And then, you know, there are children who make six figures a year by like their parents letting them be stars of YouTube. share and The ones that fake it.
Speaker: Right. Go to like there was. um It was recently found that there was like this one plane plane you could rent. It was just the interior of a plane, but you could rent it and make it look like you were on a private jet.
Speaker: So all these influencers would go out and do a photo shoot on this private jet. Mm-hmm. or a Social media is fake. his Hotels that do the same thing.
Speaker: Yeah, and and that's exactly it is It's just like people are trying to just flaunt these statuses that they don't have. i mean, even those fucking asshole Tate brothers were out there saying like, oh, our lifestyle was fake. We rented those Lamborghinis. You know, like, you know pieces of shit are in jail now. They can rot. But like, but again, even they had to say like, hey, most of what we were portraying was all BS. None of this was real.
Speaker: And like, you know. like it's just just but It's just everybody's obsessed with like these mentalities of just you have to get to certain status because I think they're seeing that people are struggling. I think what people are finally starting to get is especially millennials. And i don't I'm not one to be like, oh, my generation has it the hardest and all this stuff. But this is the one thing I really think millennials have over everyone else.
Speaker: Our lives are a lie. Our lives from children to adulthood are all a lie. You're taught, go to college, right? Get good grades, go to college. You'll land a good job. You'll be able to work a full career for however long.
Speaker: And look, if it were just me getting laid off and you know not being able to find another job, even though I have a college degree, I could bite that bullet, swallow that pill and say, maybe it's a me problem.
Speaker: but it's our entire generation and every generation that has come after us so far. It's not a me problem. It's a societal problem. Yeah. Plus there's so many other people, even in generations before us who are now maybe in situations like that, that are also struggling to find work because it's just not the same animal that it was, you know, 20, 30 years ago.
Speaker: And even more so, And this is what annoys me about the whole younger generations are complaining, snowflakes, whatever. What annoys me about that is, I don't know about you, but I was brought up on the idea of be the change you want to see in the world.
Speaker: Stick up for yourself. If something's not fair, try and fix it. But then all of these people come out, our generation and younger, some older, saying,
Speaker: The system's broken. The workplace culture is toxic as hell. Nobody can find a job. All this other crap. and everybody And all the older generations are just saying your bunch snowflakes are just...
Speaker: Pull yourself by your bootstraps. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps. I didn't struggle. Or I did struggle. And so should you? say Meanwhile, go I paid off my loans. why Meanwhile, the president had a like mini Olympics and they all got participation medals. Yeah.
Speaker: I mean, there's a lot of hypocrisy and all that bullshit. I could on for days about that, but... But yeah, I think that's part of it, though, is I think the reality of that life is expensive and that life is hard and that we're all still figuring it out and that like a lot of people, like you said, are getting sent back to square one.
Speaker: Like that's hard to hide. It's just so prevalent amongst across all generations. that And it only gets harder the longer you're unemployed. Like, how am I supposed to explain? ah this year-long gap in my resume now.
Speaker: I just straight up tell them, like, man, it's hard out there. I said that when I got a job. I've said that at many interviews already. They they say, like, what you know have you looked for a job? I said, yes, but it's hard out here. Like, there's not much going around. And when I'm asked, what am I looking for? Or, like, where do I see myself in five years? I just say I'm looking for a place that is...
Speaker: ah sustainable or a place that is steady. I just want to show up, go to work, make enough to live and go home. I'm not asking for much.
Speaker: Yeah. use off the fires I would like to be stable. I would like to still be employed. I would like stability. I've only beat the five year mark one time. Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah. How many times have i I, think maybe for me, it was only this last job with seven years is my record. I hear people are like, oh, man, I've been working here for 25 years. i want that.
Speaker: I'm a good worker, I swear. I think for what did I do? Well, I worked a total like five or six years at GameStop, but it was like a break in between when I moved and couldn't work for a little while, but then went back.
Speaker: But honestly, yeah I'm not thinking about it, I think. I think a dance studio, almost a decade there. um Wow. Yeah, I never really thought of that. Like, what's the longest streak ever had in a job?
Speaker: I cannot even imagine having a 30-year streak. Never having to worry about finding another job. I mean, never heard that word now if I have a 30-year streak now, I'll be 60, I'll be almost 70.
Speaker: Yeah. I mean, my parents, my mom had the same job from beginning to end. I cannot imagine what that's like. not having to worry about finding a new job. Can I tell you every couple of years? Can I tell you, I don't want that.
Speaker: Why not? i like now say I could work with the same company for a long time, but I, I think I've learned through hopping around trying to find my place in the nonprofit sector.
Speaker: that I've learned that there's always something that I can find. a lot of companies, this one I'm in now, has you know when there are positions that open up every now and then and they do create new ones, that like sometimes I just don't feel the same level of ah like I need novelty after a while. And I think I get bored. My job right now is flexible enough and has a lot of interesting things that happen that like not every day will be the same, but some days are.
Speaker: um But yeah, i need change. I always want to be learning something. I want like, I don't need to move up the ladder per se. I can move laterally and still find something that's exciting and interesting.
Speaker: But I think I crave that. And I'm learning that I only stuck with the dance studio as long as I did because I didn't know what else to do. Like at some point, like I say five years in, I kind of lost my passion for the dance part and just like to do the teaching part. And so like there were days i was like, fuck, I don't I don't want a party. I have to do a party every Thursday and every Friday for two hours. I have to dance and be merry and and I got great exercise. But I was just like some tweaks I don't like I'm having a bad week or like I'm sad or I'm tired or I'm frustrated. Like I don't want to pretend like I'm having a good time and go party. See, that's a level above...
Speaker: like having to fake an emotion is is so much harder than just like, you know, you gotta remember when I'm saying, I want to just do a job and go, ah I want to be in your little cube. Yeah. I don't have to pretend to be happy. I cannot do that.
Speaker: It's why retail sounds so awful to me. See, but I was struggling in your thing. I've tried desk work just where like, that's the only thing I'm doing. God, I I'm dying. So I'm, it's funny.
Speaker: ah We're learning this about each other, I'm the opposite. Because whereas you take pride in like finding new avenues and and keeping things fresh, I take pride in getting really, really good at what I'm doing, which only comes from doing it for a long time.
Speaker: Sure. Like my last real job, the seven year job I got. really good at what I did. And I was able to make a lot of really helpful, like Excel spreadsheets that did a lot of my job for me in a way that kept it all correct.
Speaker: And I took great pride in that. And that alone kept me wanting to do that task. You know, don't get me wrong. If the opportunity showed up, I would take it.
Speaker: But I am not a job hopper. I'm not somebody that wants to look for a new job every couple of years. And I've told that to companies, too. And they ask me where you see yourself in five years. I'm like, hopefully still with you guys. Like, I don't want to job hop.
Speaker: I'm not one to go looking for more money by going to the competitor. I just want to settle in. i want to be left alone. I want to just do my job and go home at the end of the day.
Speaker: I'm a simple man. i want simple things. Sure. i wish i I wish I could make myself have that mentality sometimes. Another thing is, i don't want a job hopping out like i don't want a company hop.
Speaker: I didn't do... There were times during my jumping around in nonprofit where it wasn't that i wanted to, it was that I had to. Like I got like got let go at one point because I was one of the newest hired and funding ran out. That happened to me twice in my first two jobs in nonprofit.
Speaker: I got hired earliest. They had a stipend for a certain amount of money to help during the pandemic. And then when money was out, I was the first one cut. You know, and that's ah that's what happened to me on most of mine.
Speaker: Yeah. And that happened to me two, two times in a row with two different jobs. And then other ones I left because either they were bad for my mental health, as you and I talked about with your job as well. um And then one of them I got just got let go of because I refused to do things that they asked me to do.
Speaker: um And, you know, it's um it's tough. Yeah, i hate job hopping, too. I hate having an interview. I hate looking for jobs, especially with how fucking everything is screened by AI now. And and it's so hyper competitive. And you have to send out six thousand applications just to maybe get one response for an interview. Like, oh, can I vent for a sec?
Speaker: Yeah, go for it About the whole job hopping. I'm not going to name and shame anybody. I will. No, I'm not going to. But i'm not my my last job, the one I did for about a month.
Speaker: i got phone call. I'm mad at them for you. it Just for backstory purposes, I got a phone call on Friday from the staffing agency that got me the job saying, hey, they are done with the contract.
Speaker: Don't come back. I said, okay, did they say what's wrong? I want to like know if it was me. Is there something I can improve upon? Also, I have their laptop charger. Do they want it back?
Speaker: ah And the guy goes, all right, it's Friday afternoon. I'll call them back on Monday. Ask them what happened and see what they'll say. Never heard from him again.
Speaker: Sent him emails, texts. Never heard from him again. A position showed up at the company on indeed So I applied to it and I messaged my old boss saying like hey I saw that that my position that I was contracted for is on indeed I Put in my resume and all that if you want to keep an eye out for it Never heard back Got denied the same day.
Speaker: I got the email saying that they turned which is crazy Now there's a third part I got a call you and I talked if that was the last thing I've told you about it, then yes, there's a third part now.
Speaker: It very well. I don't know if I've told you this, but yeah, no, you said that. Is this the one where like a staffing agency called and said, hey, we have a company that has a position open and then I got call from a staffing agency.
Speaker: I got a call from a staffing agency all about this one job. And after about a half hour of talking to them, they're like, oh, wait a minute. This job is for the place you were just at. I'm like, yeah. ah You know, she asked me, did you leave on good terms? I'm like, as far as I know, they just kind of dumped me one day.
Speaker: She's like, okay, well, I'll talk to them. ah I did notice that the job this time around sounded like it was for my boss's job.
Speaker: m And once again, I never heard back from them. I messaged them and just never heard back. So now I'm like, is the company bad mouthing me? Are these staffing agencies calling them? And they're like, oh, we don't want him.
Speaker: Don't even talk to him. Yeah, that's such an interesting... Like, what is happening? Are the staffing agencies not calling you back? Yeah, no, neither one. I've messaged the staffing agencies. I've called them.
Speaker: Nothing. That's nuts.
Speaker: Yeah, so I don't know. As far as I know, we left on good terms. The fact that this last position sounded like it was my boss's job. I'm wondering if...
Speaker: When I found the position on Indeed and I messaged my boss, she was getting laid off, so she just didn't even look at it. At my message, she was just like, whatever. And I got denied by an AI.
Speaker: I mean, maybe it sounds like maybe that company is not doing so hot. If they had all this stuff going on, you had to come in and get them all caught up. And then now all of a sudden this position is open. Maybe you dodged the bullet. I was about to say, like, if if I can drop everything within two days to come in and dig you guys out of this hole of work you have and do my absolute best to leave you guys with new SOPs and all these like custom made worksheets to do half your job for you.
Speaker: And then you just dump me and ghost me. It's hard to drum up sympathy. um Yeah. But yeah, it's I just I I don't believe it. I don't. And now I've gotten another one, another call come in for a job. And whenever I call them back, I get this automated voice telling me to call to say my name for Google Voice. Oh, don't do that.
Speaker: Well, the first time I did, i wasn't even thinking about it. And then it beeped a bunch and then it said, there is no user with this name. And it hung up on me. And I looked at my wife and i'm like, I really hope I didn't just say my name in my in my voice to a scam.
Speaker: Because that would not be good. Yeah. But hey, that's job hunting these days. Everything's a scam. Everything's a ghost job. And if you do happen to land a unicorn, they're going to treat you like ass yeah i mean Sorry, Mom. I know you don't like to hear it, but...
Speaker: I mean, that's the truth of it. I've struggled for a while, too. i have tons of credit card debt. I'm still paying down because of that like year I was unemployed. like it's It sucks, and it's demoralizing sometimes. and like it It makes you feel like like you're a lesser person because you don't have an income. and like you know and it's like It's not like you're not trying. Oh, dude, the depression...
Speaker: Yeah, it's hitting real hard. Yeah, it fucking sucks. I kind of was wondering about that because some because like I get sometimes that you don't want to be social, but there's other times where like it seems like you could be and it seems like you say you want to do something else. But then I just see you're on like some video game on Steam or something instead. And you're just kind of doing your own thing. And I was like, I wonder if Danny's OK and he just like doesn't want to So part of it is. um There's a DLC coming out for a game I'm playing.
Speaker: So I'm trying to get to where the DLC is going to be before it comes out in early October. I forget what else I've been seeing. The other one is Archipelago with a whole bunch of people.
Speaker: So I've been ah jumping between bunch of games for that. Sure. OK, that's probably that probably that's probably what you've been seeing. Yeah, a lot of like Hollow Knight, Sonic Adventure DX.
Speaker: ah Yeah, guys, essentially what I'm saying is Danny really only hangs out for TOQ anymore, right? We don't really hang out as... We were literally talking about doing something tomorrow. ah And you know what? I even brought it up. I said, I'm free this weekend if you want to do something tomorrow.
Speaker: Apparently, if I don't go hang out on the archipelago. Actually, ah we've already completely blown through it to you, Quickie. But I do have one last question for you before we. Oh, that's true. want to imagine. Yeah.
Speaker: I have one last question for you before we wrap up. One quickie. A real question? An actual question for you. Sure. um Why did you not say happy birthday to Mbaluga?
Speaker: huh oh shit
Speaker: she's like you know adam never said happy birthday to me like she's not actually mad but she's like you can you yell at him tonight tonight i'm like wait wait did he really not yeah why i'm like i literally just talked to him yesterday about toq today and said that i'm gonna be a little late because we're going for your to your in-laws for your birthday I don't remember you saying that part, but now that I'm thinking about it. i don't remember you I remember you saying you're going to the in-laws, but I don't remember that birthday part. I don't have my phone in here, or I would absolutely... Actually, hang on. I have Discord right here.
Speaker: Did you type it? Let me see. Shit, I don't remember. I'm not saying you didn't. I just don't remember. was nancy yeah I did see... We're actually going to visit the in-laws to celebrate some birthdays. Okay, I did just say some birthdays.
Speaker: It was her and her dad. ah Can I tell you, i I was going to and then what happened, what happened with if number one, I didn't know it was her birthday and i don't know how anybody found out about it.
Speaker: I don't know where it started. But it's funny that you mentioned this because I have a little side tangent about. She said she even posted about it or a lot of people posted about it in the. They did. And I was like, reggi thing they did. i was like, how do you guys all know this? How do you guys all know Beluga's birthday? I don't remember Beluga's birthday. but You didn't think oh it must be today, though.
Speaker: yes Is it today? it was the 14th when everybody posted about it. Oh. So here's what happened. But I need to tell you why this is funny to me, because...
Speaker: I went to a colleague who I've gotten close with. She's younger. She's like 24. but like, i I think I've talked about her once on the show before, but I'm kind of like one of the older like mentors for her. Like I watch out for her. A lot of guys hit on her and like, you know, I'm very protective of her. I've kind of taken her on as like a little sister kind of situation.
Speaker: There's another person we work with who's kind of like um the more motherly figure to her and kind of like keeps her safe from people. And so she invites us to this young kids party. We're like in our 30s and we go to a party filled with fucking like 21 to 24 year olds who are playing beer games I've never seen and heard of. And they're smoking a little something, something. And then everyone comes out and starts singing Happy Birthday.
Speaker: And firstly, i hate the song Happy Birthday with a passion. i don't I just don't like it, but like I respect that people still do it. And so everybody started singing, and I just... I stood respectfully in the same way that I respectfully stay silent when the Star Spangled Banner is playing. you know I'm not going take off my hat. i'm not goingnna you know I'm not going to stand up if I'm sitting down, but if I'm already standing, I'll stay standing.
Speaker: you know Whatever. um Pledge of Allegiance 2. Garbage. Get out of here. um But... ah but There was probably like 40 people outside singing happy birthday to her.
Speaker: And she clocks me, who's just watching with a smile on my face, watching all these people who love her sing to her and and and whatever. And then
Speaker: i get a fucking text message like, oh, the next day, this girl's already like high and drunk. Why didn't you say sing happy birthday to me? And first of all, Hitch was standing behind me, who was already very overwhelmed by everything that was going on. Hitch gets overstimulated pretty easily.
Speaker: And so I was very aware of how Hitch was feeling and how I was trying to get them out, ah like away, but respectfully. And so all I could think about was like, Hitch needs to be okay. But Hitch wasn't singing either. And I was like, now why am I being singled out? Because you know who else didn't sing?
Speaker: And she was like, yeah, I know. but you should have. And I was like, why why am I the one? But it just very funny that like in this whole sea of people who were singing, it's one of those things where you can get 100 compliments and one insult, and you remember the insult all day.
Speaker: I was smiling, so happy to see my friend getting showered with so much love, and all she was singing in that moment was Adam's I'm going to have birthday to me. It's like you turd. You're such a bad friend.
Speaker: was like, of all this stuff, you have all the inebriation and stones that in your brain that you had from all the weed pipes and everything. was like, and you remember that. That's what you remembered that night. Come on.
Speaker: So anyway, It's just is funny because it's like within a couple of weeks I've heard this. So and here's the thing with Belugas, I saw everybody saying happy birthday and I was feeling shame because I was like, I feel so shitty that I don't know my friend's birthdays. like Like it sucks it like unless I put it on my phone, I don't know whose it is. I've known these people for a while.
Speaker: And I hate that like I used to be on top of it. I used to know everybody's birthdays. i was really proud of myself for being that guy who just knew and would send that message at midnight. Like, ha ha, I'm first, you know, i like. that I would schedule messages weeks ahead of time so it will go out so i didn't even have to remember to do it.
Speaker: You know, like i was on top of it. And so I think I was a little embarrassed because I really like Beluga. And like, I think when I saw that, I was like, shit, how do I not know when anybody's like I was it's not even that I'm closer to her than I am to you. But I was like, but I've known her a little bit longer. I was like, why don't I know what her birthday is?
Speaker: So I think I was feeling like a little embarrassed about it. that like I was like, you know what? To make up for it, I should do something nice. And I was trying to think of what that would be. And so I started diving headfirst into learning how to play Dungeon Crawler Carl.
Speaker: And I was going to say, oh, hey, guys, we should get a game together because Beluga and I haven't played a game together in a long time. And then just recently, she's like, oh, we got it. We started listening to it or whatever. This was just today, I think. I was like, oh, shit. So this is actually a good idea what I'm doing.
Speaker: And so I was already talking to... Dice Ahead of Time, our friend who was going to buy the whole set. And i was like, hey, whenever you're done, make a ping and I'll pay you to have one of the PDFs.
Speaker: And so I got it and I've been diving headfirst into it. And so I really dove in today at work on company time for like four and a half hours trying to learn game. so So the moment that you guys were like, oh, I'd love to learn, we just started listening, I was oh, fuck.
Speaker: Like, like now I got like restart this effort. And I was like, maybe I'm late now, but maybe by Christmas time, it'll be an even better present or something. So like it started as me feeling shitty ah for not knowing.
Speaker: And then I was like, no, it just feels like empty and like not as good if I just drop a random message in like ah a discord chat that doesn't feel good. But also i was like, if I type something really sweet out to her in a private message, she's probably just going to thumbs up it or something. Yeah. She would. Or just say thanks.
Speaker: And it's like, you know, ah like I don't know if it's just because we're just not that tight or just because Beluga just doesn't like that kind of shower of love and affection. I don't know. she She doesn't take compliments. And so I thought this feels so empty, but she's probably fine with it. But if I do the gesture that a middling gesture that I would ordinarily do, it would fall flat and I'd probably be more pissed off if she just gave me a thumbs up for writing something nice to her.
Speaker: And so I thought this dungeon crawler Carl thing, now that I know she's locked in and you're locked in, i was like, no, I'm in. i got an idea. So I just been kind of leaning into that, not just for birthday reasons, but just because I love my friends reasons.
Speaker: So, well, I kind of where all that came. You you are not actually in trouble. She does. No, I don't feel that way at all. But I want to tell you why, I couldn't bring myself to just type it in the chat.
Speaker: It didn't feel good enough. all right. Well, I'm warning you now. My birthday is coming up. When? October 19. October 19th. That is six days after Hitch's birthday.
Speaker: Oh, really? Yeah. Hitch's is easier for me to remember because it's Halloween backwards. OK, I'm going to have to remember that. Yeah, so October 31st is Halloween. October 13th is Hitchoween. is ah i might not word it that way, but I need to remember that.
Speaker: I'm go to put it on my phone to remember. I'm going add it to my calendar right now. I swear to God, if I don't get a message from you by 1201, this friendship is over. We can still do TOQ, but I'm going to side-eye you. You know what? I'm actually going put it on October 18th. Just to um so remember sure Danny B day 19th midnight. OK, I'm putting it on my phone. 11 p.m. Huh? I I'm turning 21. I can finally drink.
Speaker: Yeah. that You said buy me a drink. Buy me. Yeah. Buy me a drink. I like. Now I've talked about my birthday a lot. Do you remember mine? No. Now I talk about mine a lot.
Speaker: You don't remember my birthday? I was thinking about it this whole time. Do you at least know what season? I have no fucking idea. Do you know what season?
Speaker: It wasn't that long ago. You're right. It wasn't. Was it just pretty recent? It's in July. July is it? 2723. on phone me. It's Hold on. Notepad. 723. 723-888. twenty third twenty seventeen on my phone on me it's my ver on no pa seven twenty three seven two eighty eight For listeners at home, that's ah that's my birthday.
Speaker: Year of the Dragon and the Chinese calendar. snake. 723. Technically, I'm a Leo, although some might say I'm a Cancer, so maybe I'm a Cleo. I don't know.
Speaker: um Or a Clancer. ah can't remember. But yes, I heard no where. But all that to say, that's where that came from. And it was very weird sensation in my brain.
Speaker: So like. to to feel that way to just think it was such a funny like i must have zoned out for a good like 10 minutes thinking like what's the best way to do this that is very funny and literally i thought you know what i'm not gonna put it in the public chat i'm gonna write her a nice maybe i'll make up a poem for her or maybe i'll write a nice little thing like hey blue it's been a long time we've known each other for a few years now i just really hope you know that i value you as a friend and All these things I was going to type I was like, is she just going to give me like a heart or something? And now ye she absolutely. is I was like, that's all she is. And that's that's nothing against you or the message. No, I know. But i she just does not take compliments. Well, right. Which is why I was like, I'll feel slighted, even though it's not a slight. That just means she doesn't want to be talked to that way. So I was like, what? You know, maybe that was a simplest thing, but I was just stuck between that's not good enough for me.
Speaker: And this is not how she receives affection. So either way, I'm fine. So I just didn't do anything.
Speaker: But if there's any doubt in anybody's mind of whether I care about them or not, because I don't say... Actually, here's the thing. I love you more if I don't tell you happy birthday. Oh, explain this one that's That's the God's honest truth. Because I'm like, they must know on a regular basis how much affection I throw their way, that a happy birthday seems like a tawdry little thing to do in the grand scheme of the everyday love that I throw in their direction. I was like, a missed happy birthday should not rock this funeral or this funeral, this friendship or send this friendship to a funeral at all.
Speaker: And like, so I am much more secure. and And that's why I thought this friend I went with, i was like, man, and she she and I are tight. Like, she'll understand. Like, I don't like to do this. But she was really upset. And I was like, well, clearly we have to work on this friendship because like we're clearly not as solid for me to think that you thought this was fine.
Speaker: But just put it out there. i love my friends and I'll always show up for your birthdays. But like, I don't remember them um and I just don't feel like your birthdays are as important as all the other days. If it helps. This was another instance where we're opposites.
Speaker: You don't want to sing the birthday song at all. I threatened Mbeluga with singing the happy birthday song to her 35 times that day.
Speaker: Since that's what she was turning. I felt it was only right. Is she turning 35? 35, yeah. How old are you? Are you 36? I'm 36, about to be seven, yeah.
Speaker: About to be seven, wow. About to be seven. I'm starting over. Yeah. As I didn't know, it's birthday season. like, you know what? This adulting thing sucks. I'm going back. Yeah, once my so once my birthday hits, adult then birthday season in the and the Role Players Guild house starts. Apparently. Apparently.
Speaker: Well, anybody else got and a fall birthday I need to keep an eye out for? Mbeluga's whole family are like they're all two weeks from each other. It's the weirdest thing. It's like her, her dad, and I think like her grandma or something are each two weeks from each other.
Speaker: That's why we went to their house to celebrate both birthdays today. Yeah, this is the season where all my um like summertime is for half my nieces and nephews and then autumn into winter is the rest of my nieces and nephews and my sisters.
Speaker: All of our friends are almost all of our friends are um fall birthdays. And then that means that their parents are getting busy in January. Yeah, it must have been born. Our friend Falcon is also, I believe, October.
Speaker: Our friend Nick, I think, is November. Maybe Valentine's Day because it's February. That's probably it. That could be it. That's probably it. You know, if you're born in October, that gives you a solid nine months.
Speaker: to gestate and grow and all that stuff. Yeah. But anyway, that's why adults don't seem so adulties because we're all just fucking figuring it out and life is expensive. You might also notice that there's less kids. That might be it too.
Speaker: Yeah. know that's like a big step in making somebody look like an adult is having a kid. And there's definitely not as much of that happening because nobody can fucking afford it or have the time for it.
Speaker: Yeah, I can barely take care of myself. I couldn't imagine trying to take care of a kid. Shout out to the parents out there that are still making it work. cause Yeah, I have no idea how you do it. Yeah, that's i had a 10 year old in my house for two days and I i don't know how you do it.
Speaker: Yeah, I'm so glad when I can give kids and pets back to people. I'm like, I love you. I'm happy to help. But yeah, it's crying. Yeah, that's the best. I think it's yours now.
Speaker: Danny, let's go get let's go get vasectomies together so we can make sure that never happens. OK, that we never have our own. I'm down. You know what? Actually, I hear those can undo themselves and everything. Let's just be Munich's together.
Speaker: That's fine. That'd be one less weak point I have to deal with. That's right. If somebody tries to kick you, you're just like, I'm a Ken doll down there, bitch. Yeah, that's that's fine. um I thought about it. I thought about just getting my own stuff snipped because I'm like, I just don't want to have any accident. It's too late in life to have a baby.
Speaker: I just, I'm pro-choice and I'm hoping she is too. And if that happens, please, please. please so Please, please, please.
Speaker: I had one pregnancy scare in high school, which was one of the most scary fucking things in my life. That is one thing I've never had in my life, and I'm so grateful for it.
Speaker: God, a condom broke, dude. It broke. And we didn't know. And like, well, ever since that day, i check so frequently when I'm with a person. Every time he comes out, he's like, wait, I was 17 years old, senior year of high school. God, 17.
Speaker: And I was just terrified. And it got to the point where we had asked a trusted science teacher and said, hey, is it like. you know, what if like, let's say this happens and maybe a girl's late, but like, does that mean she's pregnant for sure? And he tried to explain to us without like acknowledging that we're talking about ourselves because he was a cool guy. He's like, well, you know, here's some things that could happen and I'll try to find some information for you. And, you know, like this could happen. Here's some resources. Then luckily just, and it was painful.
Speaker: My girlfriend didn't get her period for like, she was supposed to get it like, that next week and it was to almost three weeks or like, and I was like, fuck, we're screwed.
Speaker: Like we went and got pregnancy tests and everything. I was like, I don't know what to do about this. And it was hard to go buy a pregnancy test without like anybody who drove us to the store to see what the fuck we got. i was like, Oh my God. Like what?
Speaker: And like, yeah. And then she was she was like, all right, well, you know, I'm going to test. And then she went to do it. And then she was like, you know, I'm just give another day like I'm not ready to find out that I'm pregnant.
Speaker: And then she got her period like that same evening. And I was like, Jesus, God was playing a cool joke. du You guys, I was like, and that's exactly what our teacher said. He's like, you know, sometimes that happens and like hormones and whatever. and Maybe things can be delayed. Like. A lot of things can be going on. So we don't know for sure. He's like, but you know, and, and what he said was exactly right. It just like, somehow, I don't know what, I can't remember what his logic was that could have happened, but something like that happened where like, she just happened to be late and then she wasn't pregnant and I don't know what changed. I don't know what happened exactly. It could have been the stress of all of this.
Speaker: Maybe, but he said it's not uncommon. Yeah. know stress can really fuck with like periods and stuff. Yeah, and I was like, maybe my little swimmers just got stuck somewhere and you know what got broken off. when ah When I was first put on my anxiety meds, one of the things you have to do after you've been on it for a little bit is have a repeat a doctor's visit where they'll ask you a couple questions like, you know is it do you feel like it's working? How do you get this effect, that effect?
Speaker: So I had to go to the doctor for that. And he walks in and he's like, hey, before we get started, do you mind if I bring like a a junior doctor in who's doing rounds?
Speaker: Sure, whatever. OK, thank you so much. And he leaves and he comes back in with her. And of course, she is hot as hell.
Speaker: And ah never saw her since this or anything, but I just, the second I saw her, I was like, oh no, I know where this is going. And so she just kind of takes a seat in the corner of the room and the doctor comes up to me.
Speaker: Okay. So you're here as a followup for taking these new anxiety meds. ah How's the sex life still good? Yeah. Good. Good. Penis is working.
Speaker: No, we get there. And I'm just like looking between him and this girl like, oh, God. Yes.
Speaker: no No issues getting it up? No.
Speaker: I mean, now I do. i'm like, of course. Wow. Of course this is when she goes.
Speaker: Yeah. Oh, God. You're like, like not I mean, I didn't, but I do now. Well, it's it's active right now, man. Yeah, the antenna is up.
Speaker: Oh, my God. i was just teaching. told Mbaluga about it when I got home, and see what she was just laughing at me. like the you umbuluga ah I know that we have a good relationship because if Mbeluga ever caught me looking at a girl on the off chance that that happened.
Speaker: She would only get mad at me if she didn't also think the girl was attractive. Right. She was just like, like you have bad taste. Yeah, right. I could see that. Yeah. That's nice when you have a girl. I used to date a girl who also would would be like her. Oh yeah. She's cute. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's the ultimate sign of trust and it's,
Speaker: deserved on my part. I would never do anything. I've never done anything. and But it feels really good to have that level of trust where, you know, and it's the same for her. If she was looking at a guy and I would only get mad at her if I thought he was an ugly POS.
Speaker: Like, really? You could do better than that. You got all this. Yeah, come on. really And then she'd make a gagging noise. I could hear it. I guess i could see it. Oh, yeah.
Speaker: Yeah, that makes sense. You know, so, I mean, hey, there's adult-y stuff. You know, those are adult-y observations and adult-y things we've gone through at different ages where maybe a adulting wasn't in the cards for us, you know? So...
Speaker: Adulty stuff happens. And I will say as a final note to all that, too, is I might have mentioned this before, but something that I think about a lot, too, when my life has changed later, like in years that I didn't think it would, is I remember one of my uncles, his name is Tim, went back to school for fun to to college and in his 40s.
Speaker: And he told me for the longest time, i was like, why why are you going to college? You have a job. Because I like to learn. I like learning, you know, and I just thought I would go to college. And I was unheard of in our family. He was actually well off. He's one of the few in my dad's overall family that went off and did a lot of good things and got a, you know, education and, you know, like had a really good job.
Speaker: ah And then years later, he ended up teaching at the very school that he went to just learn at for fun because. That's sick. Yeah. He ended up just getting ah you know, getting his master's and then it was like, fuck it. Like.
Speaker: you know, and so they let him teach there and I think he's still teaching um or at least he was last I checked a few years back and so just like you know, like I think the illusion of adulthood and being adulty and all these other things that we say like it's I don't know. i I think adult is just the technical term of when you are above a certain age and you have to pay taxes or you have certain responsibilities society says you're supposed to have. yeah right
Speaker: but out like But really, it's just a biological thing. like At what age are you like at what age like societally like do you understand like where you fit someone's society and how your actions have consequences? But a lot of it is emotional development. There's a lot of quote-unquote adults who do not act very mature and who don't express themselves well and who don't take rejection well and who don't handle challenge well and who don't handle criticism well and who genuinely struggle to understand the world around them unless the world is sculpted by people that surround them to help them understand it in a way that is so minimalistic and simple that they couldn't possibly fathom any complications outside of their own imagination.
Speaker: And like, you know, and yes, I'm talking about certain world leaders too. Like there's people you meet every day who on the outside, if you don't know anything about them seem fine, but probably have a lot they're struggling with. And it's not just finances.
Speaker: It's emotional regulation. And I think that's really where you have to look at like adult seeming adulty is, you know, there's change. Like my uncle went back to school. He was a well-adjusted guy. He had the means to go do something he wanted to do and pursue something he enjoyed doing. And he found a new passion out of that.
Speaker: He was emotionally mature enough to realize, hey, this thing isn't suiting me anymore. And I found a new passion and I'm not going to be embarrassed to change careers in my forty s you know But there are people who just see that as weakness and they see that as a mistake and like, how could you? and You had a 20, 30 year job at the fucking factory or whatever. like yeah like There's people who are very simple minded and simple viewed, I should say,
Speaker: and it's hard for them to see outside of what they're told is what life should be. And I think this question kind of comes to the root of why don't adults today seem as adulty? It's because a lot of people are just going against the grain now. Like they're just doing whatever they got to do to survive. And they're like, fuck it. only got one life. I'm going to pursue these passions and I'm going to have these hobbies, even if they never get me a dime, like what we're doing, you know? And like,
Speaker: I just think like adult is just like how old you got to the point where society sees you as such. But the emotional regulation, the mental health, the intelligence to seeking to learn new things and understand the world around you, that is way more important. And you start to recognize people who do and don't have that, especially those who put themselves in front of a camera, whether it's on social media or in the media every day.
Speaker: you know You see, oh, that guy speaks really weird or that person doesn't seem to have their head together or these people in the comments section have some really shitty opinions. you know You think like, oh, they're probably not very adulty because they're not very well developed in their head. you know So I think that's kind of where where I see this stuff and how I'm starting to recognize like – oh yeah, this guy i work with might be 30 years older than me and he's seen a lot more life than me. But gosh, I feel like I got him beating a lot of mental health and and intellect approaches, but he probably has me beating how much money he has.
Speaker: Is that the major of a successful adult? Who knows? You you touched on something that really opened my eyes just now. I think a lot of the reason why people today don't seem as adulty as you are imagining Is because ah people by and large today are a lot less traditional.
Speaker: We're a lot more open-minded and a lot more outwardly different. You're allowed to be a lot more flamboyant and gay now than you used to be able to before.
Speaker: ah You know, to the point where there's pride parades and stuff. When our parents were kids, you hid that shit like it was a death sentence. Because back then...
Speaker: there was the stick, like such a heavy stigma to it. And I think that what happened is we've lost, and I'm not saying this is a bad thing. This is for better and worse.
Speaker: People by and large have lost shame both for good and for bad. You know, like I was saying before, we have people yelling and screaming on but in restaurants and,
Speaker: so that they could film a tick tock. That's a bad example of losing of us losing shame, but a good example is courtesy. Yeah. Well, they kind of go hand in hand.
Speaker: Yeah. Uh, but a good example would be being able to more openly express yourself and your, your gender, your sexuality, whatever it may be. That's a good use of less shame.
Speaker: Uh, But it means we're less traditional. Back then, you acted as an adult because you would be shamed if you didn't. You would be seen as lesser. You would be seen as, you know, oh, that Dan, he needs to grow up already. Like he's in his late 20s and he hasn't already got a house and a kid and all that.
Speaker: Whereas today we don't have those stigmas nearly as much as we used to. We're all much more open and accepting, which is awesome. But it also means that people don't need to hide their
Speaker: quirks, their're their childishness. Fewer people do, yeah. Fewer people do. um People are more able to be themselves. And I think people were just as silly and goofy back then, but they had to hide it because you had to be more traditional. You had to go to work in a full suit with a tie on at all times.
Speaker: You know, nowadays it's usually just business casual, maybe full casual Fridays or something. It's full casual every day at my workplace. Hell yeah. Look at that orange shirt.
Speaker: I know as it tells me. yeah But yeah, I think that might be a big part of it is just there's less stigma, less traditionalism, forcing people to adhere to certain ways that make everyone seem more adult, but everybody's screaming and dying on the inside.
Speaker: Right now we're screaming and dying on the outside. Yeah, it's a very good point. And like, I think. I think that's probably the best way to put it. It's like people aren't having kids as much. People are having different kind of marriage or relationship setups that people are exploring different kinds of work.
Speaker: Although a lot of people have to work multiple jobs and still can't get by, you know, like it's, it's, there's ah it's just a different beast. Like just, just, it's a different beast than it was back then. And I think there are people who are recognizing that and there are, you know, people who have to come out of retirement or, or whatever.
Speaker: um But, you know, I think, I think at the end of the day if you if you have the emotional depth and the well is deep enough and full enough, you can recognize that there are people who you probably once thought were great, who you're like, oh, I can question that person now.
Speaker: That doesn't mean you can't like them, but you just, you question them. And I think we have a lot of people who are questioning a lot of things and you know i think especially in the situation that we're all in and life is much harder for everybody, I think more of us are able to bond over those questions and recognize like, hey, maybe even though we're on different sides of the aisle or different sides of the spectrum or different sides of a certain debate or topic that we're all learning through misery that some questions need to be asked. Yay, trauma bonding. you know um And I think that's ultimately it. It's like we're all learning that everybody is suffering and that we're all fucking miserable and there really is some truth to misery loves company.
Speaker: um But I think there's a lot of people are like, I'm tired of being miserable. and like And if we have to form some sort of coalition to get out of it, then we will. um And so it's easy to be a defeatist. but i think you know But I think it's good. I think this question highlights a good thing, though. I think at the end, i think i think It is more whimsy. It is more people being overly themselves. And not everybody can do it still. There's still lots of people who can't.
Speaker: But whether it's sexuality, whether it's just letting out your your childhood whimsy some more or refinding it, whether it's pursuing a passion and creativity or being a movie star or or you know going for that YouTube thing or getting money on TikTok or writing a book or whatever it is, I think more people are willing, especially since the pandemic happened, to just say, fuck it, I'm going to do something.
Speaker: I want to just Could you imagine being in our parents' generation? Like, and I read Smut for a sidekick. Yeah. I would never tell anybody that on my deathbed back then.
Speaker: But nowadays, I voice acts. Book talk shit. Like, yeah, it happens. It's so much more accepted now. I remember when I first started writing.
Speaker: taking a job as a dance instructor, that that was like the talk of my little town. That was a talk amongst all my family and friends. Like, I can't tell you how many times when I got the job or while I was there on the job that students came up to me and did the whole like, you know, you know, when somebody like points at you and they kind of move like kind of like the so so hand like, are you kind of, you know, are you in the middle? Are you you? li you And I'm like, no, I'm not gay.
Speaker: Like, does they ask you? But that's, and that's what I heard. It's like, is Adam gay? Some people like, Oh, I knew it. And other people like, no, no, he couldn't be. He's only dated girls his whole life. And and you know, like that was the conversation was like, is Adam gay? Like, is that I'm okay?
Speaker: Like, is is he, is this a cry for help? I'm like, it's a job and I'm trying something new that like everything I've tried sucked to this point. I want to do something different, you know? And like, yeah. But I feel like if that were even 10 years earlier,
Speaker: And I tried to do that like out of high school. God, my parent my dad would have beat the shit out of me. Yeah. For even talking about it. Literally. like Like literally he would have kicked the hell Nowadays, nobody would care. 20 years ago, people were whispering and everything. 50 years ago, you would have gotten your ass kicked behind the building.
Speaker: Yeah. So, yeah, I think... Yeah, like you said, there's better and worse. There's definitely people who should have shame and there's people who should have compassion yeah for not just themselves. But when I say people don't have shame, I more mean people don't get shamed for what they used to.
Speaker: I realized that it could be misconstrued them saying you should have shame for being gay or or trans or anything. That is right. Absolutely not true. I think gives you do you express yourself however the fuck you feel best.
Speaker: Right. I mean more of of a ah being shamed in a traditional way from society has. We should shame those who make the lives of others intentionally miserable for content.
Speaker: You know, yes, absolutely. Like I hate the idea fuck them of let me make people miserable or prank people in harmful ways because it's content.
Speaker: You know, like have you heard about the stories of that people are going to less part, fewer parties and fewer clubs because camera phones are out everywhere and people were like, they just want to catch you dancing to make fun of you. And so people don't. Oh, yeah. People don't want to do anything anymore.
Speaker: well And it's because they think they're going to be shamed for the wrong reasons. Like, shame people for being a piece of shit. That's why we tell you, don't be a piece of shit. We must have watched the same thing, because I swear I saw something, too, that was about kids today have They can't be wrong.
Speaker: They can't be uncool. They can't. They have to be so careful not to do anything even slightly embarrassing because it's not just going to be the talk for a week while, you know, you and your friends talk about how you slipped and fell.
Speaker: It's going to be captured. It's going to be on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, whatever. And it's going to be there forever. These kids can't. not be perfect at any moment.
Speaker: And that's terrible. Yeah, yeah. My nieces express that stuff sometimes when like we're out and about and I'm just like, I'm having fun. you know I'm doing spins through doors. I'm cracking jokes. I'm saying hi to strangers. You know, as you do, you've seen it.
Speaker: And they're just like, Uncle Adam, like you're embarrassing. Like ah to to whom? And I was like, I'm not even hanging out with you guys right now. Like I'm doing my own thing. And like, well, people will see you do that.
Speaker: You know, like that's what they hear. You know, and again, I get more like, you know, we used to think that too in high school. I'm not saying that you don't get embarrassed that people who are with you. But like, I think what she's saying is like, you know, People with cameras see you. People with cameras will see you.
Speaker: you know She's like, you know that's something that someone could – what if someone's watching you right now? What if someone's recording you right now? What if someone – I'm like, who the fuck cares? like I don't care. Give me my royalties if you make a big slugger. you know but Cool. Whatever. If Shmoyoho wants to do a little songify of it, give me some money. That's my likeness you're using. I didn't sign off on it.
Speaker: You know, like, like, I just don't care. But I get that, you know, in cyberbullying and everything is like, as as a whole other animal and teaching is a whole other animal. But I hope that, but I do have hope for it too, because like, I do think that when you have people out of those elements and, like you know, like kids who might be afraid of those things or adults who might be afraid of those things, I think,
Speaker: It's like, you know, the first one on the dance floor that's having fun and eventually people will join in. You know, like, I think there is something freeing about just being like, fuck it, I'm going to do that thing. And if you get others involved,
Speaker: Or if you see the cameras and you just don't care and you have fun anyway, like there's a way to get past that. And I think holding onto that whimsy and just being like, you know, we were taught for so long to lock away our childhood because we had to grow up fast.
Speaker: And like, I just don't believe that's how a lot of people feel anymore. There are people who are still embarrassed by it who only do it around certain people. you know and it's not confident for every It's not comfortable for everybody to do it in public, but you know they just need a couple of me's to go out into the club and just start bouncing around and fucking doing you know cartwheels and doing whatever. what the world needs. We meet we need more datum.
Speaker: We need more datums out there just like shaking it, trying to figure out if shaking it is the right term. you know and Is he shaking it the right way? That's okay. He's going to figure it out. He's popping and locking?
Speaker: You can do that? And the popping is involuntary. Oh, and he's locked up. Oh, no. You know, but like, ah I'll be damned if I don't try, you know?
Speaker: um So, yeah, I do hope that the whimsy stays and i do hope that people, you know, be seem less adulty and are comfortable saying, I'm still figuring it out.
Speaker: But I'm not going to let that steal my joy, you know? And I think i think that's what's important to hold on to, so. um danny this was not remotely a to quickie by the way no no it was not we did it we didn't we didn't do a good job almost well i mean we have 10 more minutes to make it an hour i can make it a three minute or a three part hour quickie a three part an hour quickie oh my that's a longie oh my goodness um well hey everybody thanks for listening Yeah, thanks for listening to us. I know we weren't, you know, it's not that much of an episode. There was only 20 minutes. So thank you for so quick giving us 20 minutes of your time. Don't look at any clocks. Don't worry about it.
Speaker: Yeah, just listen. Just stop at every 20 minute interval until you finish the episode. There you go. See, and then now we don't even have to do this for like another three weeks It's true. This is also episode 100 starting right now. so Oh, let me go get a beluga.
Speaker: Yeah. Also, this is episode 98. We have one more after this to figure out what we're going to do now. And she has to let us know what she wants that episode to be. I don't have a plan. She has all the demands.
Speaker: Do you guys want to see us do Dungeon Crawler Carl TTRPG live? That's not a Q. That's not a Q, but we can do all the loot boxes just drop questions.
Speaker: Oh, that's fun. That's fun. Hmm. We should start theorizing or come up an idea for what that is, but you know what should do for episode 99?
Speaker: because we should go down We should go down memory lane and and look at some episodes. Oh, I love that. Maybe go over the words of the day that we used to talk about. oh Remember those? Remember when we used to do words of the day or yerds of the way? Yeah, I remember our yerds of the way. We used to do those. That was a fun little segment. There was, you know, the petrichors and the...
Speaker: I still have them. What the fuck was least a lot of them. And Mount Weasels, you know We've got Melefluous, Petrachor. Yeah, no, no, don't do them all. Don't do them all. Okay, okay. We've got to save them for 99.
Speaker: You're right, you're right. I'm sorry. Melefluous. It'd be good to go through and see how many of these I can remember. I think we did it once before. or like, if you just have the list but not the definitions to see if we can, like... I just have the list, but it's my... um My bookmarks. So like I can't see what they are. i can just see a list.
Speaker: but We should like I'll see what the definition. of that We should do like a little game show to see if we can remember what they are. I know I can't. I there's a few I know, but there's also a lot that i We can try. i just I will not do well at this, but I'm with that. Stream that one.
Speaker: You want to stream that one? We can do we should stream that one and then like have the audience participate in what they think the word means or something. Oh, I like that. OK, either that or we just care or we can just do it. fry It doesn't matter. Either way, I think that would be a fun thing way to like revisit.
Speaker: ah Old you know, we can we I can set up like a scoreboard on how many we get right and how many we get wrong. Because we prefer um team building. We don't like PvP here.
Speaker: True. So it'll be us on a team. Yeah. And see if we can get more than half of them right. Yeah. except I think. how Yeah. Do you know. Have a number count. A word count.
Speaker: One, two, three, four, just count. So eight, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16. This is your warning, listeners. put two tony I did a recap of of the words of the day. Probably like no, I don't know.
Speaker: Twenty two. I think I have six months ago. Go review your words of the day. That way you can come prepared. Study for your test. I'm not going to because it'll be funnier if I really don't. Yeah, I'm not going to either. I just did a recap when Danny was sick one day and decided to do that as an episode. Yeah. um So episode 99, we're going to review all the words of the day and see if we can figure out what all the what all the episodes are. or Yeah, episodes. All the definitions are.
Speaker: Then hopefully we'll have an idea of what episode 100 will be with Beluga. Hopefully she she has an idea of what she wants to talk about. I'll talk to her. Are we going to ask her Qs? I'll find her a bunch of TTRPG We'll ask her Qs if that's what she wants to do. I'll find something.
Speaker: Yeah, unless the Qs... drag it out of her. Oh, unless That's Our Q means That's Our Quest. Ooh. We could start a new mini-series called That's Our Quest, and we have people come on and we do like a mini TTRPG run.
Speaker: Oh, I was thinking like a mini Taskmaster. A mini Taskmaster? Yeah, you know Taskmaster the show? Yeah, but how did we do that remotely? Fuck if I know, I'll find a way. Go find me your silliest picture in your house.
Speaker: Hmm. Doesn't Taskmaster usually have some sort of weird twist loopholes or something people do? Yeah. Hmm. Well, think about it. We'll think about it. We'll, yeah, drawing board this one. All right. So listen, people, this episode will come out soon.
Speaker: Well, when you're listening to it, it'll be out already. So I have to tell you that. So there you go. But when you hear it, immediately you go to funinstaller'snetwork.biz and tell us what you want Beluga to answer. Or if you have questions you want to ask Beluga, that would make our life so much easier. If you want to ask Beluga questions, this is your only chance probably that you'll get to ask her directly the true, never does.
Speaker: She likes nerdy shit. She likes books. She likes TTRPGs. If you have just simple questions about, you know. She likes socks. She likes to wear socks for different holidays. So if you have like a story about that.
Speaker: Or if you want to just ah tell her happy birthday, it'll be probably like a month late. You could tell her happy birthday. She'd love to hear that you said it even though Adam didn't.
Speaker: Yeah, that'd be really funny if a bunch of other people said it and it wasn't just me. um But there you go. That's your homework. If you're listening to the end of this episode right now, listen, stop what you're doing.
Speaker: The moment we tell you to stop being a piece of shit this year, go to funnestellersnetwork.biz and send a message to Beluga. You know, if you didn't send a message to Beluga on episode 100, that would be like pretty big piece of shit thing to do. That'd be the biggest piece of shit thing ever. a real big piece of shit. Oh my God, that would be like mountains of pieces. you imagine being that big a piece of shit?
Speaker: god Yeah, that's the Mount Everest of dung. Wow, that would... I don't even want to be your friend if you're like that. so Yeah, you're wearing shit socks and shit shoes. Yeah, man, that is terrible.
Speaker: yeah You should be ashamed of yourself. yeah Yeah, you would be what we step in on the way to our cars. you know Someone left you on the sidewalk and they didn't clean it up. I scrape you right against the sidewalk. I spray you off with a hose and not in a sexy way.
Speaker: Anyway, Danny, you want to tell them that you love the audience? Yes, because we have not reached that stage yet where you are you may or may not be a piece of shit. You are Schrodinger's shit right now.
Speaker: So as of right now, I still love you. Schrodinger's shit. That's pretty good. That's pretty good. um But yeah, this is absolutely a dream come true for me and Adam, I'm sure. Don't worry about what he has to say. I'm speaking for him through here. And please don't be a piece of shit this year or this fiscal year. It really means a lot.
Speaker: And thank you so much for listening. We will see you again for episode 99, the big quiz. And then episode 100, the even bigger guest appearance of Beluga.
Speaker: We should probably live stream that one, huh? Which one? The Beluga? Episode 100? Yeah, probably. You should probably do that. Maybe have them on all the channels. I'm sure can figure something out. Yeah, maybe.
Speaker: All right. Well, anyways, everybody, please take care of your mind. Take care your hearts. Most importantly, take care of each other and don't be a dick. And as Danny said, try not to be a piece of shit this year. yeahp And enjoy your T.O. quickie. Yeah, this is listen to it three times.
Speaker: I want to think of something punchy to put here, but I can't think of fucking anything. Oh, there it is.
