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Navigating Chaos: Reflection, Resilience, and Pluto in Aquarius (episode 94)
22 Plays1 month ago
This week, I’m celebrating the third anniversary of GatherThem Podcast! It’s been a journey, and I’m proud to have kept this project alive despite the ups and downs. In this episode, I open up about my recent hospital stay, dealing with kidney health challenges, and how it’s forced me to reflect on self-care, resilience, and the power of trusting my intuition.
I’ll also share my thoughts on navigating the systemic challenges we all face—whether it’s work, healthcare, or just trying to find balance in a chaotic world. Plus, with Pluto now in Aquarius, I dive into the rapid changes happening in technology, the push for self-sovereignty, and why I think staying ahead of the curve is more important than ever.
Through it all, I’m learning to embrace change, trust my instincts, and build a community of like-minded individuals who are ready to grow and thrive. Additionally I discuss the UnitedHealth CEO murder, the recent Jay-Z scandal, and my thoughts on Chipotle raising their prices in 2025.
Join me as I reflect on the past, look to the future, and celebrate this incredible milestone with all of you.
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Transcript
Intro
Jerome's Return and Recent Experiences
00:00:38
Jerome Hollomon
Hey everyone, welcome back to another episode of GatherThem Podcast. I'm your host Jerome, and we're back. Finally. It's been a couple weeks. A lot has happened over the last few weeks. um I can't find my light, and I was gonna do this, but then I'm like, this looks crazy. Doesn't it look crazy? Oh, if you're on YouTube, like you'll see. but Um, I move one of these lamps. The problem is that I am in the middle of packing and I do not know where I put my little light that I put on my computer, which is weird because I don't know why I would have put it away because I still have to see clients. So, um, that's been weird. And I feel like if I unpack everything and like, and find it, I'm gonna be
00:01:33
Jerome Hollomon
annoyed because i have to repack but i don't know it's just kind of like one of the things where i'm like it's gonna have to wait um but yeah like i said a lot's been going on um i was in the hospital um some people know some people don't um i complications with my kidney, acute rejection, all the fun things. um Not really, but you know, I was in a hospital from the time
00:02:06
Jerome Hollomon
was it the day before Thanksgiving um until last Friday?
Reflections on Podcasting and Personal Connections
00:02:13
Jerome Hollomon
Oh, and also happy birthday to the podcast. Like this is the third year of this podcast existing. Like that's crazy to think about that I've been, even though I haven't been like consistent and consistent and I've taken breaks, it's something I haven't given up on. I just want to note that is that like, I have not given up on this. um And it's because it's,
00:02:37
Jerome Hollomon
It's like my baby, like it's it's mine, like it's my thing. And um and I love being having access to...
00:02:47
Jerome Hollomon
people like and being able to talk about things and connect to people. I've been able to meet like so many people I'm getting side real but like I've been able to meet people on the internet um you know that found out about me through my podcast and I'm like oh you're like really cool or like oh like I can see how you you know would listen to me because like we have stuff in common so I just want to say shout out to the listeners um thank you for Sticking beside me even when I'm not always consistent um Just know that like I'm always thinking about The podcast or thinking about ways to improve it thinking about ways to grow thinking about ways to make things different, you know, because I feel like
00:03:32
Jerome Hollomon
a show that is very much the same all of the time isn't really fun um for me because i get bored very easily but then it also isn't fun for like the viewers because eventually you just kind of know what to expect and then things just you know um what's the word like you get y'all get bored you know and that's the way in which reality works so but yeah i was in a hospital kidney transplant Post, uh, you know, four years later, I'm having some ah complicated complications.
Health Challenges and Work-Life Balance
00:04:08
Jerome Hollomon
I don't know what's really going on right now. I know it was, they detected like a cute rejection, but I don't know ah what my body, they gave me the up my meds and I'm like, I feel like shit. Like I'm not going to sugar coat it, but I.
00:04:28
Jerome Hollomon
have been so tired and I've been, like my stomach it goes through these phases of like, you know, being like really gassy. Like I can eat like a bagel, like I ate half of a bagel one day this week and I like ran to the bathroom. And then I came back and I was like, all right, I'm gonna try to fake finish the bagel. And then I took a couple more bites, ran right back to the bathroom. It was like so, I don't know, like it kind of feels a little bit inhumane or like, where's the dignity, you know, because I have to go to work. Like I, there's no, like, I don't qualify for FMLA. Like I don't, you know, all of the things. So it's like, I have to go to work and.
00:05:15
Jerome Hollomon
Like I said, I'm in the middle of a move, so I need the money and like all of these things. like I don't like feeling like that. I don't like being in positions where I can't take a minute for myself. Because I had this idea, and I was like, oh, well, this is the end of the year, and like maybe I could take take a month off. But then it's like, you can't take a month off, because then what happens to your job?
00:05:38
Jerome Hollomon
um and When you don't have FMLA, you know, you could take probably like leave of absence, but then there's no pay. So you almost have to make like very difficult decisions in that way of like, is it worth it? And it's not worth it, but it's like temporary. I think that's how I'm i'm seeing it. Like for me, this is like very temporary. Like I'm not going to be doing this forever. Um,
00:06:06
Jerome Hollomon
I already have a like literally like I've already told myself in my brain when I'm like leaving because I'm like I can't do this like I can't you know work a job where you know you are required to be there like to be a body and a seat doing paperwork like that is so boring to me like I literally Just it is so boring and there's no windows. There's no like fresh air coming in like I find myself taking walks pretty much a lot because my allergies start getting like fucked up in there with all the dust and stuff and It's just as a lot like it's the gray walls. It's it is all of the things that you like think you know about when you work in an office job and I feel like I
00:07:02
Jerome Hollomon
not an office a job, but like a well yeah an off job but like also like a government job. And I feel like a lot of times like people always know or think they know what's best for me or think they know me. And I think that this has been one of those moments where I've like really had to sit with myself and reflect um the number 666 has been coming up a lot for me and up until this point and it has been about reflecting like that's what that number is a self-assessment or taking a reassessment of a situation that you're in and I feel like for me
00:07:45
Jerome Hollomon
um with Pluto and Aqua, shout out to Pluto.
Job Satisfaction and Security
00:07:49
Jerome Hollomon
um I really do feel like it is one of those things where I have to, even though it is like job security, you know, which that isn't even real, um obviously, because you see what we're gonna have in office um and how they're talking about laying off like federal workers, reducing the the federal. And that's the thing, everyone always said like, oh, working in government is so stable, working in government is so this is so that, and now they're talking about cutting and programs and doing all this stuff. And I'm like, so why are people still believing that lie? Like I don't understand. Like it it to me feels very naive to believe that anything is safe.
00:08:33
Jerome Hollomon
Um, or that you are, you have security because at any moment, like there could be a budget cut. They can like pull the rug from under you and like to not chase it.
00:08:46
Jerome Hollomon
There's snakes in the grass and I've been bit, so I stay on my own. So that's how I feel about that. um I'm hoping that ah once I can get everything really sorted with the podcast and sorted with private practice and you know be a little bit more consistent in the new year, I'm really hoping to make some moves and really just trust my instincts. I think that up until this point, I've just learned that I need to trust my instincts. And I think that ending up in the hospital was one of those like moments of reflection or moments you know where I had to reflect and say, okay, what am I doing? like What is going on in my life right now? Everyone thinks that they know me or they know what's best for me. And it's not
00:09:42
Jerome Hollomon
working like it's not I feel miserable like I honestly feel miserable when I leave work most days and I feel like crying like I'm gonna be so very transparent but I leave work and I like I left work Monday because I left the hospital Friday had to go back to work on Monday because I ran out of sick days but like I literally just wanted to cry like when my way home from work because I just felt so
00:10:10
Jerome Hollomon
like stuck in the system of, you know, I have to be here because like I need the money or because, you know, I need a job and I need the insurance and, you know, my insurance gets cut off then like, you know, I could go on Medicaid, but then like, what happens if like Trump cuts Medicaid and Medicare? Like then what happens, you know? So I feel like I'm in this era of my life where I have to be very much self-sufficient And I have to learn to be have self sovereignty, honestly. like i I'm looking up a lot of different things that are going to be really helpful for me in the future. And I'm studying a lot of stuff, especially when it comes to
Adapting to Change and Self-Reliance
00:10:54
Jerome Hollomon
like AI. And we'll talk about like some of this stuff later. But like i really do feel like I really do feel this shift.
00:11:01
Jerome Hollomon
And I feel like a lot of people aren't prepared. And I think I'm trying to stay ahead um and be prepared and just understand that like the life that we knew, making peace with the fact that like the life that we knew doesn't exist anymore, um unfortunately. And we have to pivot a little bit.
00:11:28
Jerome Hollomon
Now I will say that I am, i've and I've probably said this before, but like I feel like I'm i'm willing to like help people like get to the source or like figure out like what to do. like I have some people that have been reaching out to me and asking me questions or like different things about you know spiritual practices or like meditation or journaling or something like that like not specifically like you know um a denomination or whatever but just in terms of like the ways in which i keep myself balanced and a lot of times it is meditation a lot of times it is
00:12:08
Jerome Hollomon
you know, taking a shower, having a deep thought or um visualizing like what I really want or writing it down or that's what I like to do sometimes. It's like a petition um to the universe of like writing something down. So an example of this actually that happened very quickly um was Monday. I noticed there was no soap and that's the other thing. Like there's no soap in the bathrooms like at work at your government job is crazy like that's insane um so i ended up so i ended up like you know in the bathroom tuesday um because there was no soap and i didn't see any janitors around i was like i'm gonna just leave a note and just be like can y'all put soap in this bathroom because i'm not gonna sit outside the bathroom one day waiting to see like
00:12:59
Jerome Hollomon
Which I will do. And so I was in the bathroom stall and I like I literally was writing down like, can you please put something as bad things. And
Manifesting Reality and Learning from Experiences
00:13:08
Jerome Hollomon
it just so happened that as I'm like writing as soon as I finished writing that and I was getting ready to like finish up in the bathroom. um One of the cleaning women or staff came by and she was like.
00:13:21
Jerome Hollomon
she knocked and just kind of asked if someone was in there and I said yeah someone's in here and so she waited um thank goodness but I was able to just tell her in that moment like there's no soap in this bathroom um can y'all do something about that because this is actually the best bathroom on the floor like I think it's the best one which is why I go um because the other one usually is like a little dirtier, like it's not as, because it's like right across from my office. So I usually go down the hall because it's a lot cleaner. And she was like, oh, there's no soap in there. and So she puts soap in there. But it's just like, you almost have to like, it's it's like manifesting your reality a little bit. And it's like, the better you get at being intuitive and being
00:14:15
Jerome Hollomon
not trapped in your own head, it's like things just kind of happen. And it's almost, it's a little spooky sometimes. Like I'm not going to lie. Like it's a little spooky when like certain things happen or when I'm like meditating and then like some thought comes to me that like, it's just like really profound or like something that is like, Oh, I hadn't thought of that that way. Or I haven't, you know, considered that it's like the better you The more you do it, it's like the better you get at it and the more intuitive or the more you learn to trust your intuition. So um needless to say, I feel like I'm getting to the point where I have to trust my intuition. And part of that is just you know learning when to quit, learning when to make shifts or change.
00:15:09
Jerome Hollomon
um or when things are not, you know, going the way in which I maybe want them to go and just doing things a little differently. Um, but yeah, the hospital experience was rough. I had my contacts thrown out. That was like the first thing. So when they called me and they were like, Oh, you need to come to the hospital immediately. I was like, okay, well, I was on my way to work.
00:15:36
Jerome Hollomon
Um, it was, I had labs the day before and they, you know, saw my labs and my labs were like, my kidney labs are crazy. Um, like, I don't even know how it was like really still operating. Uh, and so they were like, yeah, you need to like, you need to come. So I was like, uh, like I was like, maybe I'll go after work. Like I was going to put it off and then something was something in my spirit was just like, just go, like.
00:16:03
Jerome Hollomon
You know, whatever. I didn't have a backpack. I didn't have anything like prepared, ready to go. Um, again, had my contacts in, so I didn't have my case on me, which is something, a lesson I'm learning, like, right. That I've like learned, you know, from this is that I need to always like carry, um, solution and like a case with me. Um, because what happened was I had them in.
00:16:30
Jerome Hollomon
you know, went to the hospital. Of course I wasn't feeling well, like, and I was trying to, you know, downplay it, but, um, I, you know, went to the hospital. They were like, all right, we're going to admit you. Um, and so I was like, okay, well, you know, maybe I won't be here long. So they gave me saline solution and little cups and they, you know, have you put my contacts in there overnight?
00:16:58
Jerome Hollomon
literally Thursday the next morning one of the doctors comes in and is talking to me one of the nurses comes in and she's just like doing stuff like she's just and like throwing stuff out clearing the table doing all this stuff and I wasn't really paying attention to her because I'm paying attention to the doctor like trying to advocate for myself and like trying to figure out what's going on and ah And then you know, I turn around and she's like after the doctor leaves and she's like, oh, yeah I just went ahead and cleaned your table off and I threw out those little cups of water and I was like like I get because I was just like What the fuck like you didn't even ask me like you didn't ask me if What these were or what this was she was like, oh I thought it was like spit or oh i didn't roll And I'm like
00:17:50
Jerome Hollomon
Two little cups. Like, what the fuck? So, I, it was from there when I was just like, oh, this is about to be some shit. So, I wasn't really getting it. Again, that was Thursday Thanksgiving. I told my uncle in my aunt, I was like, hey, not gonna make it to Thanksgiving. I'm not telling the whole family, don't make it ah like a huge thing because like,
00:18:19
Jerome Hollomon
You know, like it's, this is like stuff I deal with. Like this is not anything that's new for me. I'm very much used to just toughen it out. um when i went When in 2020, when I had the transplant, I couldn't have anybody visit me. Like I couldn't have like friends, family, like nobody. Like I was there transplanting myself um by myself and my sister came to pick me up.
00:18:48
Jerome Hollomon
from the hospital, but I couldn't have any visitors. And it was very scary um because I was, and I mean, I think in the time in the when I reflect, it was scary. But I think at the time I was like, OK, just be brave. Like, you know, you don't really know if you're going to even get this kidney. Like it's, you know, very much kind of touch and go.
00:19:10
Jerome Hollomon
um And it wasn't really until I was on the operating table and they're giving me the anesthesia where I'm like, oh, shit, this is real. And I was only in the hospital for like maybe four days um from, what was it? Saturday night until like Wednesday morning. So like four nights or whatever. um So when I had to go through this, I wasn't like, I was just kind of annoyed because I'm like, shit. And I got to like tell people I'm going through something and I can't show up to Thanksgiving, which I actually
00:19:43
Jerome Hollomon
Like Thanksgiving is a very difficult holiday for me, like ethically because of, yes, history, yes. But I also feel like it's a very, it could be a very gluttonous holiday. And that bothers me a lot um with the way in which people act like they never ate before, like,
00:20:06
Jerome Hollomon
The fact that I could literally make a Thanksgiving dinner for myself vegan, like right now, is to me, I'm like, okay, like that's I can do this whenever. Like I can make mac and cheese, candy yams, I can go buy a vegan, like one of those vegan turkey, whatever, they ham things or whatever, or turkey, you know, whatever,
00:20:32
Jerome Hollomon
And I could literally just, you know, make my own thing. So it's not the, it's not so much that I get excited about the food or anything like that. And the family time is nice, you know, to see family and and things like that. But oftentimes it feels like the holiday itself is just about eating. And I'm trying to like reframe that a little bit in my brain because I know that the holiday isn't, that's not what it's about like at the core.
00:21:04
Jerome Hollomon
um
00:21:07
Jerome Hollomon
But anyway, that's not what this is about. But you know needless to say, I wasn't like fully disappointed, but I was also like, shit, like I can't go. And I have a like legit reason that I can't go, but it's for a sucky reason why I can't go.
00:21:24
Jerome Hollomon
um And so, yeah, so basically I missed it. I missed my brother's Memorial, which was that, that Saturday, um, because I was still in the hospital. And then I had a biopsy on Monday last Monday at a biopsy. And then that's when they were like, okay, well we need to start you on thymo treatments. Thymo glob.
00:21:55
Jerome Hollomon
I can't even say it. Glavulin, Glavulin, I don't know how to pronounce it. um They're basically these treatments that are very intense. They're six-hour treatments. They administer it through an IV and it is like a six-hour Um, you sit, you can like get up, walk around and stuff, but the, it's a steroid and it's supposed to reduce inflammation and help to suppress your immune system. Um, which was happening. That was what, you know, essentially what was happening was my T cells were attacking the kidney because they, you know, thought it thought it was a foreign object. And a lot of it was because I hadn't been taking my meds because I was sick.
00:22:40
Jerome Hollomon
um, and not feeling great. And so, uh, due to that, um, there ended up being some scar tissue and and things like that, but I don't know if they, then that's the thing. I'm still kind of in limbo a little bit, but and needless to say, take care of your kidneys, kids.
Health Care and Technological Advances
00:22:58
Jerome Hollomon
Um, you only get two. Uh, and then after that, it's kind of, you know, I didn't realize actually how sensitive our kidneys are. I hate that my nose is like itching right now.
00:23:10
Jerome Hollomon
I actually didn't realize how sensitive our kidneys are and how much we kind of take them for granted, um especially given that we live in a society that is like high sodium, high sugar,
00:23:24
Jerome Hollomon
um Like we gotta really like get the shit together, especially black people. Like we gotta get the shit together. um Checking the blood pressure, checking the blood sugar, taking your meds, like all of the things. Like we really gotta get our shit shit together. Like it's so bad um across the board for us. And like I said, I think that it just gave me time to put some stuff into perspective.
00:23:49
Jerome Hollomon
um with those, you know, having to go through those treatments or having to be constantly waking up for vitals or just not really having privacy. There were times where I was just kind of crying because I'm thinking about my brother, which I'm still, you know, reeling over that, like that is still very real. And I think that that's partly why I ended up in this situation was because I wasn't taking care of myself. And so,
00:24:17
Jerome Hollomon
Needless to say, in the end, um you know, family, you know, and friends just show up. People, or you know, people, well, the people i I would say I trust probably the most showed up because those were people that I told. And yeah, it just was, it it really reminded me of a couple of things. I think it reminded me that I am not always, one I guess one, it reminded me that oftentimes I wear the face of a healthy person, but I'm actually like very sick. And that is in itself kind of scary because it feels like a very delicate balance between life and death. Like I feel like,
00:25:14
Jerome Hollomon
if I was stranded on an island somewhere, like I would just be dead. like That would be it. And how dependent i my health is on the healthcare system. And two, it made me realize, like but I don't have to be. like I don't have to be dependent on the healthcare care system. like I can figure, I'm smart enough to figure out a way to not have to.
00:25:44
Jerome Hollomon
And I know that sounds like, I don't know, Iron Man shit or like, you know, magical, like,
00:25:56
Jerome Hollomon
thinking or whatever. But the reality of it is, is that I keep telling people this is 2024. Like there's so many advancements and ah and there is about to be a boom in technology and medicine and the ways in which we cure and treat disease because the system's falling apart. There's not going to be this like hospital, the traditional hospital, I think, um,
00:26:23
Jerome Hollomon
in 20 years, or 30 years. I don't think they're there will be unless, by some miracle, ah ah you know something really shifts, and soon. But it really feels like we're getting into an an age of everyone being on their own. And that's scary for a lot of people.
00:26:48
Jerome Hollomon
um Which I get. like It can be very scary to be um independent and self-reliant. But if you don't have yourself in this world, like who else do you have? I don't really know you know. No one else is going to care for you the way you care for you. And that's the lesson I had to learn the hard way a bunch of times.
00:27:10
Jerome Hollomon
so Yeah, I'm just glad to be out. I'm glad that i'm grateful um that right now I'm i'm doing better. And you know hopefully, like I said, things are funny up and up. um i feel like Like I said, I feel better. like I'm not having the same symptoms that I was having before I went into the hospitals. I think that's a good sign.
00:27:34
Jerome Hollomon
Um, but they were like, well, we don't think you're like creatinins ever going to go back down to like the normal range. And I'm like, ha ha. Well, we'll see. Um, because I'm a strong person and i listen, I'll be making stuff happen. Um, so yeah, I wanted to talk a little bit about some of the news stories that have been coming up. Um, one.
00:27:57
Jerome Hollomon
The thing about Biden pardoning his son, um, I just wanted to say really quickly on that, that I kind of sort of understand why he did it. Um, whether or not it was right or wrong. I don't really care. You know, yeah I mean, I feel like.
00:28:14
Jerome Hollomon
Trump would do the same thing. And I mean, I would maybe do the same thing. Like if I had a Sun network and some deep legal trouble, um knowing that the rules don't seem to matter, I guess. But in that, that also then to me, like signals to me that I was right about the Democratic Party, which is that they're basically the Republicans with a mustache.
00:28:42
Jerome Hollomon
like that's You know, we talk about, you know, them being drastically different, but they're not really that different. The tactics are, you know, a little bit more sloppy on their end, but as a whole, like they're not really that
Political Dynamics and Media Narratives
00:28:59
Jerome Hollomon
different. They, they both want some kind of like law and order, you know, a following the government depending on, you know, um,
00:29:08
Jerome Hollomon
rules to you know keep people in the line. They both use fear mongering to scare people. um So it's not really that different. This whole campaign like season or past season has been about the idea of moving forward or going back. And it feels very much that like we're going to move forward regardless. like We're not going to move backwards in time. Um, that's not possible unless you, you know, you're able to, uh, unless you're sciency in that way, you can like, I guess, what does it break the, uh, was it like, I forget how, what they call it, but it's like, you have to travel faster than what to be the light or something like that. Um, don't quote me, but, uh,
00:30:05
Jerome Hollomon
yeah or like or what was it i think it's something about if you sat in like a hypothetically if you sat in a black hole or something like that then you might be able to like go back in time or whatever it's one of those theories i can't remember off the top of my head but needless to say i understand why he would um do it and whether or not it's right or wrong it's like subjective like i don't you know, like I said, if it was me, I probably would um only because I'd just be like, the rules don't matter, obviously. So um I wanted to also talk about the United Healthcare care CEO.
00:30:44
Jerome Hollomon
um Really quickly, I think that I mean, I'm going to just say that, like, yes, murder is wrong. And I also understand why he did it. Because, like I said, in my own experience in the health care system, it's been trash. And a lot of it has been insurance. Whether what they're going to pay for, what they're not going to pay for. um when i didn't When I did not have insurance, and I racked up $1 million dollars in medical bills, I was like, what the fuck? Like, how did that even happen? I'm only 23 years old.
00:31:21
Jerome Hollomon
I was gagged. And thank God I was able to get Medicaid because I was like, I would have been in debt for the rest of my life. like Maybe not for the rest of my life, but I felt like it at the time. like I felt like there was no foreseeable way of like how to get out of debt because I was like, that's a million dollars. Plus, you know like I said, plus student loans um at the time.
00:31:48
Jerome Hollomon
and Yeah, so i I get it. And I get like when you are in so much pain that it's hard to even think straight, like hard to even conceive the idea of like going on another minute. And so I get it. Like I do. um This is one of those things where I feel like it's morally and ethically wrong, but
00:32:20
Jerome Hollomon
It's almost kind of like, it's kind of like Robin Hood a little bit, if that makes sense. Like it is kind of like Robin Hood. It's like, you know, you, this man is like walking around, you know, big, Mr. Big Bucks making billions of dollars. And it's like the people that are under your insurance are like suffering. And then what was it? Unite United. It was like,
00:32:48
Jerome Hollomon
Independence Blue Cross or another insurance was talking about how they weren't going to pay for anesthesia for full, um, for full surgeries. And I'm like, what the, like, what are you talking about? Like that doesn't even make sense. And then they retracted that statement like very quickly, which is also very telling because they got, they underestimated, I think the ways in which people felt about, um,
00:33:17
Jerome Hollomon
Luigi Manjoni um Who I just want to say he's a very attractive man. Like he's like very beautiful and I'm also kind of a little lost as to how they like think it's him or like how they for certain know because I feel like his eyebrows look a little different like then I Keep looking at his photo of his eyebrows and versus the photo that they have and I'm like I don't know, in the nose, it's just a little, I mean, it's like, I guess when you look at someone's face at a different angle, it's like different, but to me, I'm like, I don't know. And it feels odd how they were able to quickly like get him and yet for whatever reason, we can't put the same effort into saving children.
00:34:15
Jerome Hollomon
Like that's to me, very wild, very wild to me how like, Oh, well we can't really do anything, you know, because if a child or 18 year old runs away, because if they run away, because they're an adult, but because this man murdered someone, like,
00:34:38
Jerome Hollomon
all of a sudden we're you know we're gun ho. And murders happen every day. And no one like has this effort or this energy to do this. like it's It's very, very interesting. When you look at it objectively and you start to kind of look at the way in which things are happening, especially because the way they're labeling him as a murderer, and it's not just some Oh, this is some lonely, you know, they're like, Oh, this was like an Ivy league, um, man that like had, you know, a bright future ahead of him and all this shit. And it's like, but he was in excruciating back pain to the point where he couldn't date. He couldn't like really, it was hard to leave the bed, hard to do stuff. And yet.
00:35:34
Jerome Hollomon
All of a sudden, he gets his label as a murderer when people shoot up churches, people shoot up grocery stores, and they're the lone wolf. It's so interesting when you start to understand the narrative and the ways in which people talk about people like him that impact the 1%.
00:36:00
Jerome Hollomon
um And I think it's also kind of like, I don't know, it's not hilarious, but like kind of sort of that um Nancy Parker, the person that turned him in, ah she's probably not getting anything because she called 911 instead of calling the tip line, which is crazy because this is what happens when people will be trying to be all fast and right and like,
00:36:30
Jerome Hollomon
you know, and doing stuff, um, you basically made your life hell and the money wasn't even worth it. Like they weren't even paying her like a billion dollars. They weren't paying her a million dollars. They were only going to pay her like $10,000. Um, I think from the NYPD and then 5,000 or no, 50,000 for the FBI. Like, so she called,
00:36:59
Jerome Hollomon
Usually y'all she called if she called the tip line. I'm also this is also like I'm recording this joint early so um Excuse me, but um She didn't even call the tip line like she didn't do like she didn't follow the rules and so And this is also the other thing like people don't fucking follow the rules like if you follow the rules then you'll you know You win, but if you don't follow the rules and you don't and that's what they're banking on they're banking on that You don't follow the rules like I don't like I just don't know how to make that any like clearer to people sometimes like if you don't follow the rules and you just don't you don't you miss out so I feel like she just made her life miserable for no reason um and I just would have turned my head to the side and let that man be like honestly because
00:37:50
Jerome Hollomon
There's so many people, like I get why someone would do it. Like I get why, like I really do. I really understand why someone would turn someone in because technically, yes, it is the right thing to do, you know, morally and ethically. But in that there are nuances, there are nuances to the ways in which we stand together as a collective. And we say no enough is enough. We're not going to keep doing this, like, this bullshit we're not going to keep playing we're not going to keep, you know, yada yada yada, maybe there's so many people that have been denied.
00:38:32
Jerome Hollomon
um claims um because of for whatever reason. And the insurance companies don't care. They don't they don't care. they're The insurance company's job is to not have to pay for anything. like That goes for anything. That goes for car insurance, homeowners insurance, um health insurance, renters insurance. like It goes for any insurance. like The point is like you have it, yes.
00:39:00
Jerome Hollomon
to you know the just in case, but they're gonna try to not pay for anything. I remember there was a client that I used to um work with back at, um one of my previous jobs. And I remember it was like a really bad hurricane or something had happened around the time. And his house got impacted by it. And um he was trying to like file a claim through the homeowners insurance. And they were like, well, we can't really do anything because um that the tree falling on your house was like, you know that's expected to happen in this area.
00:39:41
Jerome Hollomon
And it's like, okay, so what's the point in having coverage if like, you're not gonna cover me? Like that doesn't make sense. So I honestly just feel like it's,
00:40:04
Jerome Hollomon
I don't wanna say it's like, you know, all her fault or, you know, whatever. Cause I know she's probably like, beaten herself up about it. But I think it it does speak to the fact that we got to be a little bit smarter about what we are doing and what we're doing it for. Because like I said, $50,000, $10,000, that's not a lot of money. Like that's really pennies in comparison to billion. Like that is you can spend that like, and and and a lot of times people will just spend that on something frivolous anyway. um Unless you have like a game plan for it or something, but obviously not because you didn't plan the thing all the way through. So yeah, um I hope that, I hope he's getting treated well by the M.A. Tenere. They probably, I don't know. i really I keep hearing stories, but I don't know where he's like really being held. Like I don't really know
00:41:03
Jerome Hollomon
The you know extent like it's just all a lot. A lot of it is like scandal scandalous. um His lawyer spoke out a little bit and his lawyer was like, oh my God, his lawyer is hilarious. his His lawyer was like, yeah, you have to have evidence to be able to persecute someone and like.
00:41:23
Jerome Hollomon
look, there's no evidence. And I'm like, kind of right. Like if there's, unless they have actual outside of the footage, the actual gun, the actual, you know, like fingerprints or whatever, like I feel like it's kind of,
00:41:42
Jerome Hollomon
And I also don't know, like, I don't know how he's going to be judged. Like, is he going to be is he goingnna be judged by, like, his peers? Like, that will be interesting if that happened. um If it was like a jury,
00:41:53
Jerome Hollomon
um that would be wild ah to see. um So, yeah, I mean, I get it. Again, I get it. Like, I get that people are tired. People are tired of the runaround. People are tired of being led astray for so long, putting like being told to put our trust in these systems that are just failing us anyway. um Now, would I do it? Probably not. But I also, like I said, I understand why the next person maybe would.
00:42:30
Jerome Hollomon
Um, but yeah, so I, I, you know, I just hope that, you know, everyone or especially him, um, it's doing all right. Yeah. Hope he's doing all right. Plus I love a rebel. Like, i I hate to say it. I kind of love a rebel. Um, I love someone that's just like, that is going to, I love someone that takes control and they just say like enough is enough. Um.
00:42:55
Jerome Hollomon
And I've been, and I think I've said this before too, is I've been waiting for something like this to happen um because I oftentimes feel like when I, and this is as I'm learning about human design and learning about myself, um that I'm not, since I'm not a generator, um I'm a projector, I'm someone that,
00:43:17
Jerome Hollomon
someone, I'm the person that someone comes to when they need help. There's not so much that I just offer my, I hate when someone else is at you like this. I'm not so much the person that like people come to with
00:43:33
Jerome Hollomon
what is it, when they come to um me with, or I can't just like go up to people and just be like, so how can I help you today? Like I'm not the the that girl. Like a lot of times I have to wait for the invitation. Like I have to wait for someone to say like, oh, Jerome, like blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, like X, Y, Z, like, you know, um how did you do this? How did you do that? Like yada, yada, yada. And even then my energy has been like shitty lately. Like people have been asking me like questions about crypto or like tech or whatever and I'm just like girl I can point you into the direction but I can't I don't have the energy to teach you like I don't not in this moment like when I think once I like
00:44:19
Jerome Hollomon
get my life a little bit more in order and I get to where I want to be, I think I'll be able to um guide people a little bit better. But it's almost like I have to put on my own oxygen mask before I put on someone else's. um And that's where I'm at right now, I think, with this whole thing. i told I've been telling people I'm not, like, with Philly and this whole Sixers arena thing, like, I'm tired.
00:44:45
Jerome Hollomon
like i As a social worker, I feel like the only way I know right now how to navigate really difficult times is to become self-sovereign and just try my best to get other people on that level um to be more independent and to be more mentally resilient and to learn when you have to pick your battles because, again, it's all about money at the end of the day. And there's and you don't if you don't have access or you don't have money, there's just no way you can really get things done, unfortunately, um in this world. You can be
00:45:34
Jerome Hollomon
And you have to be smart. You have to play the game a little bit, unfortunately. A lot of people talk about protesting, and a lot of people talk about um doing all of this stuff. And I just kind of feel like that hasn't really worked up until now, the way it used to. I feel like it worked back in the 50s and the 60s. Well, 60s, 70s, I should say, sorry. It worked back then.
00:46:00
Jerome Hollomon
but things are way different now like technology is way different the way we get information is way different there's so much stuff that's like very misleading you have to double check you have to fact check like you can't just run with anything um anymore and it's a shame because that's extra energy like that's extra brain power that you have to put out unless you start leveraging technology and that's the only way I know how to right now get through or like help people is by leveraging technology, learning, reading, staying informed. I'm this week taking a break from like social media a little bit. I've just been on like the podcast page primarily just because I'm like
00:46:50
Jerome Hollomon
you know, I gotta have a presence. So I need to like update stuff or like talk or say things or post things. Um, but other than that, I kind of feel like when it comes to thoughts and how people are thinking lately, it's like very either hopeless or it's negative or it's not something that is really thought out or
00:47:20
Jerome Hollomon
I don't know.
Confrontation and Responsibility in Therapy
00:47:21
Jerome Hollomon
It's not really anything that's like really um helpful, if that's if that makes sense. like it's not like It's cool. like It adds to the conversation, but it doesn't do anything. It doesn't help to fix anything. And I feel like I'm more of in my fix it mode or in my preparation to like help others and and things like that. like When I have therapy with clients, I'm like,
00:47:47
Jerome Hollomon
like I feel like almost like this relief when they hear me talking and I and I can and I've gotten a little bit more confrontational with clients and just being like well it's your life so I mean we meet for an hour you know we talk about you know what's going on but like if you don't
00:48:08
Jerome Hollomon
But if you don't sorry that i don't know what was going on outside but yeah if you don't like actually do the work, then I don't know what to tell you because you actually have to do it. And that's the thing that I had to learn the hard way. And it takes it took a lot of tears to get there.
00:48:27
Jerome Hollomon
um I lastly want to just say before moving on you know to my media corner is just that um Chipotle is up up in their prices and I just want to say that there's no reason that that should have been happening. um I get it why they're doing it but the fact that people be asking for extra like cheese,
00:48:50
Jerome Hollomon
um extra sour cream, extra sour cream, all this extra stuff to fill the bowl up. I get a burrito bowl and I usually can like eat it in two days or like a couple days. Like it doesn't take me Like I don't just eat, finish a whole bowl at one time. And that's because I started like getting the beans and rice and like, you know, just trying to eat more of the vegetables. Cause sometimes I'll go and the people will be like, yeah, I just want like, you know, chicken, cheese, um, salsa and sour cream. And then that's it. And it's like, well, where's the rest of it? Like.
00:49:30
Jerome Hollomon
you could do that at home. like you know And then they want you to fill the bowl up. And it's like, whoa, that's not how this works, um unfortunately. Or you know how it shouldn't work, because likes that's not really a meal. um you know And of course, I'm not here to judge, but like this is why they're raising the price, because you're asking for more when it's not that deep. And again, it's almost like people live in this mindset of like lack of access or having lack of, or like this fear of not having. When in actuality, where if you live from a place of abundance, then you're always gonna have. That's kind of what um that means. So, excuse me.
00:50:24
Jerome Hollomon
i I'm still support. I love Chipotle. You know, shout out to them. But I just kind of felt like when I saw that I was like, well, I'm not surprised because they're raising their prices in 2025 because people keep asking for more. And it's like, okay, well, if you want more than we have to also like stay in business. So we got to raise the price. And Chipotle has been very consistent in not raising the prices. Like they're like one of the only chains that I know of that has not gotten that expensive since I started going when I was in college. And I was like 20 years ago. No, 10 years ago. Sorry. Yikes. No 12.
00:51:14
Jerome Hollomon
I can't do math. um Anyway, moving on. um Only thing that I have in my media corner, I'm having like the gastro stuff is starting to happen, but we're going to power through because we're almost done. I just want to say really quickly about the Jay-Z situation and the whole like, whether or not he, whether or not he raped a 13-year-old girl, like I don't know. like i don't We don't know. We don't we don't know for sure. I always say this, like we never know who these celebrities are. We never know like what is happening in the background. um But I will say this, and and and this I think is called a you know is the thing that resonated for for me in this whole situation, and it's that
00:52:05
Jerome Hollomon
Unfortunately, when you keep company or you keep people around that you know are doing like really nasty, dirty things, unfortunately, you're going to get associated. And whether or not it's true or not, you are still you still had an idea because everyone had an idea in Hollywood. And there's no way Jay-Z, I can say, did not know.
00:52:28
Jerome Hollomon
Like there's no way I could say that him and Beyonce didn't know. Maybe they were like, oh, well, we're going to turn our heads to the side because like, you know, we have a family and, you know, we can't X, Y, Z, but like, you know, it's unfortunate when you are in a predicament like that, where you are almost like guilty by association in that way, even if you didn't do anything, because you, it it feels like it could be believable, you know? Like whether or not I think he did it, I don't, again, I can't say, um I mean, I would like to think not that he didn't do it, um because I don't think, I don't know, like I don't think like,
00:53:25
Jerome Hollomon
he could, he would. But again, that's not to say he could, i couldn't because like drugs were involved. So in a lot of this, like stuff, a lot of this was, you know, drugs, alcohol,
00:53:40
Jerome Hollomon
um you know, really like crazy parties, um people like children getting bust out like to these parties, like it just, it turns my stomach. And to me, if I were associated with someone like that, then I don't really, I can't really fault like the public for having questions because it's like,
00:54:06
Jerome Hollomon
But why were you why were y'all friends? Why were y'all close? And I can't really say. But I do think it's a lesson in the company that you keep because you keep bad company, you're going to be associated with that bad company, unfortunately, whether or not you like it.
The Age of Aquarius and Future Changes
00:54:27
Jerome Hollomon
All right, and then my last final thoughts are just about kind of like what I talked about a little bit with the rapid um changes in technology. like We are in the age of Aquarius. Pluto is now an Aquarius, which means a lot of things are about to change very quickly. um Aquarius is a sign of innovation, change,
00:54:55
Jerome Hollomon
technology shifts, you know, all of these different things. And I just want to say that like, if you're not keeping up, if you're part of the crowd that is afraid of AI, if you're part of the crowd that's too scared to understand crypto, if you're, if you are not, and I don't say this to scare anyone, but like, if you are still hesitant,
00:55:21
Jerome Hollomon
three years from now, you might be a little shit out of luck. And I hate to say that, but I'm not to say that all is lost. Like you can still come back, but like, I think it is about to get very bad for a lot of people. And unfortunately, a lot of the doubt, a lot of the fear, um I talked about it um before and in the last episode of like, we got to move past it. Like we're not in this age where
00:55:52
Jerome Hollomon
robots are going to just take over. Like we're not there yet. but Like they don't even, like they, they are here to help us. Um, and they're going to replace a lot of people. And I think that that was by design. Um, I think that not to say that the pandemic was necessarily a hoax or, um, cause it wasn't like people died. Like, like it was a real thing, but I think that,
00:56:21
Jerome Hollomon
I think that it was maybe, there was it was almost like a way in which it stunted us as a collective to make us start to question things a little bit more, um to throw us off of what's actually happening around the world, um to care less about people um as well. I think that that is,
00:56:50
Jerome Hollomon
It was all, all of it is kind of sort of like, if it wasn't intentional, then it definitely was used against us.
00:57:05
Jerome Hollomon
um And I think that certain people see it as certain people don't. I think that people like Elon Musk and Trump are taking advantage of that. I do think that. um And they're using a lot of fear mongering to scare people um and into you know this idea that they won't have laws. And the reason I say that is because I saw this video of a Trump supporter talking about like, we don't really care that we're like the, you liberals think that all we care about is your stupid laws. Like we don't care about any of that. And I'm like, well, why wouldn't you care about that if that's what they're trying to get rid of? Like it doesn't make sense. Um, and to me, I, again, I think that it is a,
00:57:58
Jerome Hollomon
bit of a red herring. like it's something that is it is There's something else going on. And I feel like in my brain I'm trying to put the pieces together of like what's actually happening.
00:58:12
Jerome Hollomon
um And I'm trying to cut out the noise from the outside of people just complaining because it's like that that's not helping. like the The complaining is not helping. The wallowing is not helping. The hopelessness is not helping. um I think back to slavery.
00:58:32
Jerome Hollomon
and the ways in which um we had leaders during that time that just knew what to do. They were able to jump into action. They were able to lead the crowd and figure it out. And you know it was either you got left or you came with. And there was no in-between, unfortunately. like There's no, well, ah there's no him in the horn. There's none of that. That's the only reason why we are here today.
00:59:01
Jerome Hollomon
and i feel like i have to almost have that same attitude with people of like get your shit together like for real like i'm like this is not even the therapist me but this is like the like Jerome Jerome is like get y'all shit together like for real because it's getting to the point where again we can protest all day we can do all these things but like It's just going to be a bunch of dead bodies in the street and that's. And there'll be no one left to fight the fight. Like we have to think long. We have to think.
00:59:39
Jerome Hollomon
strategically, we have to think, you know, be innovative, come up with ideas, think of things that are actually going to be helpful and stop with the, I can't, like, I'm tired of that. Like, I'm tired of hearing people say, I can't do this or I can't do that or, you know, it's too hard, it's too this, it's too that. Like, well, then I don't know what to tell you because no one's coming to save you. Like, no one, the way in which I had to like realize that,
01:00:06
Jerome Hollomon
this year like I had to really really do some deep introspection and really sit down with myself and say like Jerome like why are you waiting for someone to see like why are you waiting for you know a miracle to happen or just to fall out of the sky like you actually have to go out into the world you actually have to live your life you have to meet people you have to make the connections you have to be smart you have to read you have to follow the news follow the trends like all of these different things and still maintain your own individuality like you have to do that um you can't just like fall in line yes but you also have to be smart like you can't
01:00:51
Jerome Hollomon
just be like, you can't just be emotional. like That's the thing. And that is what the conservatives understand, unfortunately. like They um operate from a space of black and white thinking. And there's no real like gray area. And as's a lot of it's illogical if you start if you really pay attention and you really follow through with the thoughts.
01:01:19
Jerome Hollomon
um And so I think in order to like, for me personally in this, you know, Pluto and Aquarius with these like shifts happening, and you can tell Pluto's in Aquarius because the fact that like this is even happening, the fact that like a CEO got shot and then like all this stuff is happening with like Diddy and like all of these things, like you can tell like there's the shift is here, like it's happening.
01:01:47
Jerome Hollomon
We have to embrace it. you know um It is what it is. And just be smart about it. We have to have our friends, our family. We have to have the people we trust the most in our lives. We have to be able to trust ourselves, our instinct, our ability to self-determine. We can't have analysis paralysis and just think about things all the time. um You have to actually put the pen to paper. You actually have to like go to the gym, you have to like eat right, like you have to do the things because other than that, like then that's it. like you don't like No one has the ability right now or the capability to, unless it's like blatantly, like if I saw someone out in public
01:02:38
Jerome Hollomon
like a handicap person or like if I saw a um a child or something being like bullied or victimized or whatever like yes step in but like when it comes to fighting for like the Sixer Stadium that's like going to happen anyway it almost feels like a waste of my time because it's like I don't have the resources to stop it you know and that's what it is is having It's to the point now where money is the thing that is that has the power. And if you have the most access or the most money, then you have power. And unfortunately, a lot of people don't understand that. um And I don't fault people because that's
01:03:29
Jerome Hollomon
That's what they're counting on, unfortunately. So my plan is to be part of, you know, there's going to either be the haves or the have nots. And I'm part of. the mindset of trying to be part of the haves so that I can like help other people become a haves and to end the long term, keep fighting the ah long fight. But I think that getting caught up in a lot of these little, the semantics of the things you really don't, you can't control.
01:04:06
Jerome Hollomon
you know, when they're gonna just do it anyway. Like they're gonna, that's the thing, they're gonna do it anyway. um You know, I think back to George Floyd, like cops are still killing black people. Like that hasn't stopped. Even though we protest, even though we've done the things they put in laws and they've done all of this and the other, like it's still happening. Like trans people are still being denied rights. Like the Supreme Court,
01:04:32
Jerome Hollomon
Did make, um, you know, a good decision recently, uh, which was like interesting because like, I think three of the judges, like abstain, but like, or whatever, but like, it just is like one of those things or the, what do you call those? The justices or whatever. My brain is like, what the fuck right now? But like, you know, it's, it's two even in there like is too, it's too,
01:05:02
Jerome Hollomon
It's flimsy, like it's too fragile, it's too, I'm looking for the word, like
01:05:13
Jerome Hollomon
circumstantial. you know It's not a definite like thing where we have the power to say what we're doing, what we're not like doing.
Blockchain and Voting Systems
01:05:25
Jerome Hollomon
There's no real democracy is is the point, is what I'm trying to say.
01:05:29
Jerome Hollomon
um And I would rather there be a real democracy. I'd rather us all like have to fucking go to the fucking polls every fucking day to be like, all right, well, or you know once a week or whatever, just to be like, all right, we're gonna vote on this, we're gonna vote on that, we're gonna collect all the votes and this is what we're gonna do. um you know I really have been getting into like this crypto thing and our understanding blockchain technology and the idea that like things are like really secure in the blockchain so you can't alter like if there were a voting system that were put up in the blockchain or a blockchain voting system that was created um there'd be no way to to manipulate that like there would be no way to to have doubts people wouldn't be able to be like oh well you know polling places caught on fire and like
01:06:14
Jerome Hollomon
or polling boxes caught on fire or like things got lost in the mail or you know things intentionally got derailed from where they were supposed to go because it would be in the blockchain. like No one would be able to access it or change it. So I'm really behind that idea of permanence in that way.
01:06:35
Jerome Hollomon
And so, yeah, I really do think that like the future isn't what we thought it was going to be. But I think this gives us an opportunity to rethink a little bit and reassess.
01:06:49
Jerome Hollomon
and figure out what's important to us now individually and create those bonds with the people and create community because honestly i'm going to tell you right now i'm not fucking saving people like codec black or like you know like i'm not saving niggas that don't really do nothing for society like i'm not doing it so I, me personally, I'm okay if like certain people kind of drop off because I'm like, I'm not, like you weren't benefiting society anyway. Um, and that's like a really like crazy thing to say as a therapist, but like, and a social worker, but like, we're in this like time where it's, it can't just be like fun and games. Like this is like real serious shit. Like people are losing their lives over
01:07:41
Jerome Hollomon
Trivials over money like trivial trivial things And I think that is just it's a shame is it really is so Yeah, um I'm gonna just keep doing what I'm doing. I'm gonna keep building my little you know many Empire um shout out to miss Jade I jade on X I'm part of her Cole which I know it is weird to say out loud, but like I mean, that's kind of what we are. We're a Leo slash Aquarius cult, which is like kind of funny because I'm like, oh, I never thought I'd be in a cult, but it's not even like that.
01:08:27
Jerome Hollomon
Like, it's not like a cult cult. Like, it's not like we're drinking a Kool-Aid, but like, it's one of those things where it's like you create this group where, you know, you create a community, you know, you create a community that is um of like-minded individuals and, which is basically a cult, and you try to help each other. And we're learning about crypto, we're learning about like different technology,
01:08:56
Jerome Hollomon
we're learning about security a little bit more. I'm getting, like I'm at the point where I'm like really invested a little bit and like learning more about Web3 because um I need to have access and security to all my shit. Like I can't trust anyone to have my best interest anymore. Like I have to have my best interest for me. And you know, if other people, you know, think that you know, I should be doing XYZ. Like I can point to specific times when I trusted myself and it actually worked out way better than, you know, had I listened to someone else. So trust yourself. You you oftentimes know what's right for you.
01:09:41
Jerome Hollomon
Um, and that's it for this
Podcasting Challenges and Opportunities
01:09:43
Jerome Hollomon
show. Um, you can follow me at gather them pod on X, um, formerly known as Twitter and on Instagram. Also see, you know, this is on with YouTube and we got, I'm trying to get this shit together with, um, Facebook and like putting this fucking, uh, what you call it together, uh, putting a page together so that I can easily link the clips to.
01:10:10
Jerome Hollomon
what is it, to Instagram from Zincaster. But for whatever reason, Marcus Zuckerberg, like why like, you're literally making my life hell right now. Like, it's really,
01:10:25
Jerome Hollomon
And it's to the point where I'm just like, I'm about to just download the clips and just do it separately. Because I was like, I can't make a page. Like, I don't know why I can't for, and I keep saying I made too many pages, but like, I don't see any pages. So, yeah um yeah. And then if you have any listener letters or, you know, you have a response or anything you want to chime in about, um send it to gatherthempod at gmo.com. um You can definitely reach me there.
01:10:53
Jerome Hollomon
um And I think that's it for the show. That is, I think that's, that's all I got to say. Again, happy birthday to the podcast. Woo woo. We, number three, year three, crazy to think that like I maintained something for this long because usually I, in the past, I'll say it that way, in the past I've given up on projects.
01:11:23
Jerome Hollomon
And so being able to like maintain something like this has been, it's felt good. It's like a highlight for me. um um I'm really proud of myself. So yeah, that's it. But you can hit me up on them socials, hit me up on them emails, and I will talk to everyone later. Bye.