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Hey folks, it s Lyle.
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Before we get into the episode, I wanted to talk to you guys about a new thing I m doing where you can help support my lizard endeavors by becoming a premium member of this podcast over at therapygecko.supercast.com
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Premium Members, or GECK Legends, as I call them, will be able to get every new and existing episode of Therapy Gecko completely ad-free.
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You ll also get a bonus podcast episode once a month, a bonus live show episode once a month from all of the live shows I ve been doing around the world, a members-only live stream once a month, plus, you ll also support my ability to continue, hopefully, doing this podcast for a long time, doing it around the world,
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and also supporting my ability to occasionally go eat a slice of pizza.
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Go to therapygecko.supercast.com or find the link in the episode description to become a Geck legend today.
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Alright, let s get into the episode.
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Hello?
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Hey, what s up man?
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Hey, what s up?
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GodKingGeck, how you doing?
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Uh, is this Parker?
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Uh, yes sir.
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What s up Parker?
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How s life?
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Dude, I m not gonna lie to you, alright?
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Fucking sucks.
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Alright?
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Alright.
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Well, where do you want me to start, man?
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It kind of sounded like you were about to start before you asked me where you wanted- where I wanted to start, and I want you to start where you were just about to start.
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You know what?
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I got a good damn point right there.
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I ll start right away.
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Okay.
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So.
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Working at Papa John s, right?
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Flipping the dough, making the za.
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All right.
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I meet this girl.
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I, uh, fallen head over heels with her.
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Right.
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I got a buddy.
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I won t mention names.
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Um, grew up with them, you know, all throughout elementary school, um, through middle school, high school, we were buddies.
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Um, and me and this girl, you know, we really vibe.
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Everything was really, really good.
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You know,
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It was beautiful.
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You know, we re going out doing stuff, going to concerts, kicking it.
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Um, and then, you know, as it turns out, uh, she has a thing for said homie.
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And this is a, this is a big kicker here.
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I should mention the polyamorous relationship.
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Okay.
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And just a quick thing that I can say... You are in a poly... Your phone sucks.
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You are in a polyamorous relationship.
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I was in a polyamorous relationship.
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Dude, your phone really sucks.
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What kind of phone?
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I promise you we re going to talk about what you want to talk about, but what kind of phone do you have?
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Okay, this is a Samsung Galaxy that came out like two years ago.
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Okay.
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Well, um, this is what s the opposite of an advertisement.
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That s what this is for Samsung.
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Okay.
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Continue.
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You re you re, you are in a polyamorous relationship.
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Um, it was in a polyamorous, um, as it turns it out, you know, she has a thing for my friend and she starts to say, you know, what would happen if me and him did something, you know,
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I was like, uh, and my mind was open.
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Dude, your phone, your phone, mate, your phone, Parker, your phone might suck too much for us to do this.
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I understand it completely.
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Uh, is this, is this better?
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Yeah, just stand still and talk and like that.
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Yes.
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Okay.
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In fact, I m just going to put it right.
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Here.
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Is that better?
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Yes.
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Okay.
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Continue.
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Okay.
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So, um, long story short, um, we re dating.
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It s been about like six months.
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Nothing crazy.
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Um, I m chilling downstairs in my room and I was, we were going to watch Harry Potter or something.
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Right.
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Uh, I ended up falling asleep and I wake up at about three o clock in the morning to her.
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and my childhood best friend having sex.
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So, yeah, I didn t know what to do in that situation.
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So pretty much I broke down.
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She leaves.
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She says that I ruined a really special thing for her.
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This is what she said when it happened.
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And I was really kind of confused as if she couldn t really read
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the situation, you know what I mean?
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Like, I just walked in on my childhood best friend who told me that he had no interest in her whatsoever.
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That I walked in on them fucking, you know, let me get some things quick.
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Okay.
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Yeah, go ahead.
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Um,
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Alright, so, your phone... Brandon, let s keep all the phones.
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I want people to know what we overcame, because your phone sounds a lot better.
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So, Brandon, don t cut out any of this guy s phone being shitty.
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Because I feel like you and I accomplished something together by even having this conversation right now, and I want people to know about it.
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I completely agree, man.
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The first thing, don t cut out any of that.
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We normally cut it out.
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We re leaving it all in for this call.
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Okay.
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The phone was being shitty, and I didn t hear you.
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You are in a polyamorous relationship, correct?
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Yes, sir.
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Okay.
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And... Or what?
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Wasn t what?
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You broke up with this girl.
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Oh, yes.
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Absolutely.
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Okay, but here s what I m... Honestly, this is a two-parter.
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I should say this is a little bit of a two-parter, and it gets really crazy.
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I want to hear the second part, but I guess here s where I m...
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confused about is you entered a relation you entered a relationship with this girl where the confines of the relationship were that you were both okay with each other sleeping with other people uh yeah yeah okay but and was at any point did you make it clear to her that like
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you know, maybe not my friends.
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Maybe we got like at any point, did you guys set boundaries of any kind at any point?
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Oh yeah.
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Oh yeah.
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So at the very beginning of our relationship.
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So, uh, the concrete ones that, uh, kind of, you know, didn t stand obviously, uh, were please don t fuck any of my friends.
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And, uh, cause we also work together.
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Right.
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So I was also like,
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I would prefer you not sleeping with any of my coworkers either.
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That would be cool.
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Um, but yeah.
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So, um, do you want me to go ahead and get into the, the, the nitty gritty, the second part here?
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Sure.
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What s the second part.
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Okay.
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Here s the second part.
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Now I should, I should reiterate.
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I m a very lonely gamer boy.
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All right.
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Very lonely.
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I spend my time grinding Elden ring and dark souls and getting pissed off.
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That s like, that s my shit.
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You know, hotline Miami, anything that s like really difficult.
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Nothing wrong with that.
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Continue.
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All right.
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You know, so.
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All right.
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So I m a little stupid and decided, you know what I m going to do?
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I m going to stay working here because she s leaving.
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Cool.
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I m working there, kicking ass, like always.
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You know, I used to be able to do these cool fucking pizza dough tricks and all sorts of shit.
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Everyone, everyone, everyone was hyped up about it.
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Um, it was really, it was a great job.
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Honestly, I liked it.
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Um, but she left, she ends up coming back.
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Right.
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And this is after about three months or so.
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So I m still roughed, roughed up.
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I m still raw, still angry, upset.
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Um, she comes back.
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Um,
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And she s talking to me and apologizes.
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I, um, I don t necessarily accept the apology, but I was more so like, okay, yeah, well, you know what, we can keep it civil and stay friends or whatever.
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Cause we re working together.
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We should probably like keep it cool.
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Um, but you know, I mean, it, it didn t stay like that, you know, um, we started hanging out more and then we almost like kind of almost got back together and then
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got back together with her.
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And then she, after about like a couple weeks, was like, I think I think we should just be friends, you know, because after what happened, it s really stressful.
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And I was like, you know what, that makes sense.
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You know, let s do that.
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Because this is really stressful for me.
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I don t want to be in a relationship.
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And she didn t want to be in a relationship.
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So we re just gonna call it off.
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call it quits, friends.
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You know what I mean?
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So, what ends up happening is, um, we re, we re not friends, uh, just chillin .
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And, and it stayed that way, um, see, uh, for about three or so months, and then, uh, we re watching, uh, The Last of Us TV show, and we get to the last episode, and I do find this kind of funny that we literally finished the series, and then, um,
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Yeah, immediately.
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There was nothing left to do but bang.
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Yeah, man.
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No, no, no.
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No?
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Is that not where this is going?
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Oh, yeah, no, it s understandable.
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Understandable.
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I did miss a couple parts.
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I m a little mixed match with my story.
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So, I mean, are you able to tag along on this?
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We re going to go back a little bit.
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Okay, I m just a little bit.
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Okay, I m you know what I the second part of the what s the what I you know what and I and I you want to know I m with you.
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I m with you.
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But and I mean this in like, sincerely, what s the point?
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What s the crux?
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What s going on?
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You know, you guys want to be the last one?
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You want to know?
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You want to know the gritty?
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Yes.
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Give me you want to know what s happening, Mr. All right, God King.
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All right, God King Gek.
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I ll tell you.
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We finish The Last of Us.
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We ve been hanging out a lot, chilling.
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She starts crying.
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Only after I start saying, hey, it s kind of like bothering me that you are now talking to my friend that I live with upstairs and he s not here.
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A lot.
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And then I m like, you know,
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I don t feel comfortable with you guys.
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If you guys get in a relationship, I want to move out because I would be forced to watch this clockwork orange style.
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Everything just burned, you know?
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And I didn t want to do that because I lived in the basement.
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So I just kind of flat out said that she turns to me and she goes, I m pregnant.
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No, I, I heart sinks.
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I, uh,
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fall onto the ground just- I- I- I stood up and I was like, you re joking.
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No.
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No, you re- you re fucking with me.
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And then she was like, no, I am.
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And I was like, what?
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And then I go upstairs.
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This dude, fast asleep.
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I bang on his door.
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I open it.
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I m like, hey, what the fuck?
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And then he lets out a sigh, like, uh, like a,
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Oh shit, here we go again, man.
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You know, let s have a sigh.
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And then I just lose it.
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I go downstairs and I just start crying constantly.
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And it really messes, it really messed with my head.
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Um, cause I had gotten into this relationship when I was very like lonely and it wasn t like, uh,
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me getting with her out of desperation.
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It was literally, like, I genuinely loved her.
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Yes.
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She s pregnant with whose child?
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My roommate and childhood best friend.
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Because she s pregnant with his child s.
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Yes, sir.
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And.
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OK.
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Um, Parker, dude, uh, I guess, I guess, I guess what, I guess what I don t, what I don t understand, what I don t understand is like, so you were crying because you, you were upset about like,
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You, there s a lot of things in here that I just don t understand.
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Um, you like, I can explain it.
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Okay.
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So you were being friends.
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You were, you agreed to just be friends with this girl, even though you still were in love with her or liked her a lot.
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Yeah.
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Okay, and then... It was because I... But you see why that s a fuck-up, right?
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Because you re like... Oh, absolutely.
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Because here s the thing, if you re agreeing to be just friends with this girl, she can do whatever the fuck she wants.
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She can have ten babies.
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Exactly.
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Ten different guys, all on different planets.
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Exactly, yeah.
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And that it s nothing to do with you because you have no say in anything that she has to do ever and you accept that when you are cool with her being in your life in a non-romantic way.
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And you understand that, correct?
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Yeah, yeah.
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And it wasn t really like out of me wanting to like control the situation or anything, you know, because I wanted her to do her thing.
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It was just it was more of like, he s really scummy.
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It s just I don t do it.
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Why are you Parker?
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Parker?
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Parker?
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What are you doing?
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What are you doing?
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Parker?
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Do you have short life is you really do you have any idea?
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What do you like just do you still do you still live with these people?
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Absolutely not.
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I moved out a couple months ago.
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I want you to know I feel for you.
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I know you feel really upset because you were good.
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This was your fucking boy and you really genuinely liked this girl.
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Bro, and I get it, because you tell me you re a lonely gamer boy, and you finally meet this girl, and things are going well, and then shit just ends up like this, and it s bad.
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Like, I want, you know, I get you.
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I get you.
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I get you.
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I do.
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But, um... First of all...
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Thank your lucky stars that that s not your kid.
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OK, because since you re 23.
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OK, so you shouldn t have been crying.
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I mean, I get I get why you were crying.
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It was an emotional thing.
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I m not going to say you shouldn t have been crying, but thank God it s not your kid because you re not ready to have a kid.
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And so thank you fucking lucky stars.
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You re actually like you oh you got out of this so good Parker you did you re you re you re you that friend obviously had his own thing going on and what it wasn t you know
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And that girl, obviously, was not the best situation for you.
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You got out of this good, Parker.
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I hope you know that.
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I know you re looking at it like you were fucked over, and this was a tragedy, and you re a lonely gamer boy and no one will ever love you.
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That s not- none of that shit is true.
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You got out good.
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Do you- do you understand- do you- can- I know there s- I know I m removed from the situation.
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I don t have the same emotions about it as you do, but do you understand the perspective at which I m coming at this from?
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Yeah, yeah, it takes a long time.
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I know just water to swallow that pill you know I know I know I know
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Yeah, dude, uh, good, good.
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Cause by the way, and I, the whole thing of like, can you be friends with, I don t think you can be friends.
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I don t think you can be friends with somebody that you have a crazy amount of affection with.
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I think that s, and that sucks, but like, like you re, it s just gonna be painful for you.
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It s just gonna be painful for you.
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And that s how it ended up.
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I ended up with you crying on the floor.
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I don t know, I guess I get why you were crying, but you re fucking lucky, bro.
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You are not fit to have a kid right now.
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You re not.
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Which is cool, because you re 23.
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You re not supposed to be.
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Yeah.
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I mean, you re going to have no time for Elden Ring if you have a kid.
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Think about that for a second.
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Think about how little Elden Ring you re going to play with a child screaming in the other room.
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All right.
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Your phone s being shitty again.
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Now, Parker.
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Oh, fuck.
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I know why.
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Hang on.
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Hold on.
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That was my bad.
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I picked it up.
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I picked it up.
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I sent.
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That s my bad.
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My L. All right.
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Now, Parker, I don t.
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All right.
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Now I m done talking about your friend and this girl.
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Let s talk about you.
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How long ago did all this happen?
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Uh, so I got the news, uh, mid-March, mid-March is when I got the news.
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You got the news.
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It s like, I had just started that didn t even have anything really to do with you.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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It was more like it just cause we, okay.
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So we had agreed to like stay friends or whatever, but the
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thing is is that she agreed that like also constituted him as well.
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in that agreement, because since I lived in that house, he lived in that house, it would be too messy for... Alright, this whole thing, this agreement... I m sorry, Parker, I want you to know I m rooting for you in life, but this agreement sounds really stupid, and I m really glad that you re not involved with those people anymore.
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Dude, it was.
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I m not smart.
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Okay, alright, I m done.
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I said I was done talking to those people.
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I fucked up.
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I asked you more questions about it.
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That s my bad.
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Parker, uh... What do you do for a living?
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Or are you in school?
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I, uh, well, I used to build gaming computers, uh, for CLX, but I actually got laid off, um, about a month ago, so I just kind of live with my parents now on a, uh, popped air mattress with some- with some pillows.
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Beautiful.
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Got some blankets.
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Oh, yeah.
2
SPEAKER_00
I got- I got my- I got my fan.
2
SPEAKER_00
I got...
2
SPEAKER_00
Well, I don t have a desk yet.
2
SPEAKER_00
So, so my desk, all my, like my big stuff is still over there because I don t have a way to move all my big stuff.
2
SPEAKER_00
So like my mattress, like all that kind of shit, my desk is still actually at that house.
2
SPEAKER_00
And I don t have a way to get it.
2
SPEAKER_02
It s tricky.
2
SPEAKER_02
You ve confirmed my suspicions that you are not remotely ready to have a child, which is okay.
2
SPEAKER_01
Oh, it s okay, man.
2
SPEAKER_01
I m a man child.
2
SPEAKER_01
Okay.
2
SPEAKER_02
In fact, I want you to know you re doing great, Parker.
2
SPEAKER_02
Okay.
2
SPEAKER_02
All right.
2
SPEAKER_02
You live on an air mattress in your mom s basement.
2
SPEAKER_02
That s great.
2
SPEAKER_02
Are you doing anything?
2
SPEAKER_02
Are you in school?
2
SPEAKER_02
Are you working on anything?
2
SPEAKER_00
Man, I ve been applying at places and got no luck, man, honestly.
2
SPEAKER_00
I ve been turned down.
2
SPEAKER_00
so many times, to so many good interviews.
2
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, no, nothing s working out.
2
SPEAKER_00
It s looking really grim, if I m being honest.
2
SPEAKER_00
Shit really sucks.
2
SPEAKER_02
What do you, what do you want to, what do you, what do you, I m not even saying that in like a toxic positivity shit.
2
SPEAKER_02
I m just, you, I can tell from the way that you ve been talking this entire time that you re just beating yourself up for no reason.
2
SPEAKER_02
And I want, I genuinely, I genuinely in this conversation want to get you to not be doing that.
2
SPEAKER_02
Um, okay.
2
SPEAKER_02
What do you, what do you, what do you want to do with your life, Parker?
2
SPEAKER_00
Well, uh, ideally, you know, I, I got a buddy and he draws, uh, he draws manga.
2
SPEAKER_00
His, his whole main thing is he wants to be like a really big artist.
2
SPEAKER_00
He s fucking amazing, dude.
2
SPEAKER_00
Fucking amazing.
2
SPEAKER_00
His shit s like Jojo.
2
SPEAKER_00
Uh, my, my whole thing, me and him, I want to write stories and make comics and
2
SPEAKER_00
have like so many ideas for like sci-fi stories i really want to be like a a screenplay writer something to do with like film yeah but that s like that s like my my big dream you know because i have so many ideas man so many ideas so many it s not a it s not a bad i
2
SPEAKER_02
You want to, let s, I want to get with you on something.
2
SPEAKER_02
Okay.
2
SPEAKER_02
Or you want to make, it sounds like you want to make stuff.
2
SPEAKER_02
You like, you want to make, uh, whether it s drawing things or making little movies or things like that.
2
SPEAKER_02
That s am I on the right page with that?
2
SPEAKER_02
Uh, yes.
2
SPEAKER_02
Okay.
2
SPEAKER_02
You can, you can, you can do that.
2
SPEAKER_02
You can do that.
2
SPEAKER_02
Do you have an idea?
2
SPEAKER_02
You have so many ideas.
2
SPEAKER_02
That s what you said.
2
SPEAKER_01
Oh yeah, dude.
2
SPEAKER_01
So many.
2
SPEAKER_01
For ideas for what?
2
SPEAKER_01
For movies?
2
SPEAKER_00
I ve written some down.
2
SPEAKER_00
Uh, be like movies, comics.
2
SPEAKER_00
Um, ideally I would like to do like, uh, animation.
2
SPEAKER_00
Not to be like a weed, not because, I mean, I love anime, you know, but like only like the good ones, not the smelly ones.
2
SPEAKER_01
Okay.
2
SPEAKER_00
So I really want to have like a, a dark gritty Elden Ring.
2
SPEAKER_00
kind of story, you know what I mean?
2
SPEAKER_00
That s like my dream, is I want to write a dark fantasy.
2
SPEAKER_02
The reason why I said it s not a big dream is because what you re saying, and I m gonna go motivational guru guy on you right now, because that s how I m feeling.
2
SPEAKER_02
You saying it s a big dream is in my eyes You re like it s just you putting a thing.
2
SPEAKER_02
That s actually right.
2
SPEAKER_02
It s you taking a thing That s just right in front of you, and you re on your Your shitty air mattress room.
2
SPEAKER_02
It s right that you re the dream.
2
SPEAKER_02
It s right there in that shitty room and You re thinking you re placing it on another planet
2
SPEAKER_02
when it s not.
2
SPEAKER_02
It s right there in your shitty room.
2
SPEAKER_02
Because you can start doing those ideas now.
2
SPEAKER_02
You can start drawing right now.
2
SPEAKER_02
You can start making movies right now on your iPhone.
2
SPEAKER_02
You can start creating comics.
2
SPEAKER_02
You can start writing things.
2
SPEAKER_02
You can start sharing things to the internet right now.
2
SPEAKER_02
You can just start doing those things.
2
SPEAKER_02
And I just would so- I just would so much rather you be doing that instead of
2
SPEAKER_02
Indulging in the melodrama of these two people that I don t give a shit about.
2
SPEAKER_02
That you shouldn t give a shit about.
2
SPEAKER_02
Um...
2
SPEAKER_02
And by the way, if you had a kid, I wouldn t tell you any of this.
2
SPEAKER_02
If you have a kid, I d be like, yeah, those are, if you had a kid, I d be like, you can work on that Elden Ring comic.
2
SPEAKER_02
Never.
2
SPEAKER_02
You just, you can t do it because you have to take care of it.
2
SPEAKER_02
But you don t have to do that.
2
SPEAKER_02
You re so, I just, you re beating the shit out of yourself.
2
SPEAKER_02
When you could- you have so many cool things you could be doing.
2
SPEAKER_02
And this is- fuck, this is something I told somebody... today.
2
SPEAKER_02
On this f-fucking livestream.
2
SPEAKER_02
Is, um...
2
SPEAKER_02
You have so many things to be excited about.
2
SPEAKER_02
And I want for you, and I, by the way, I get it, because I beat the shit out of myself constantly, too.
2
SPEAKER_02
I do.
2
SPEAKER_02
And just do me a favor, the next time you re about to beat the shit out of yourself and say that you re a piece of shit gamer guy thing, replace those thoughts with thoughts of how excited you are to write this Elden Ring comic thing.
2
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, you re right.
2
SPEAKER_00
It s a big issue that I have.
2
SPEAKER_00
I always have these dreams, but I always feel like I m kind of stuck at the starting line, redlining the fuck out of my engine.
2
SPEAKER_00
You know what I mean?
2
SPEAKER_02
The starting line is sick.
2
SPEAKER_02
The starting line is a good place to be.
2
SPEAKER_02
The starting line is a fantastic place to be.
2
SPEAKER_02
So do me a favor.
2
SPEAKER_02
And I get it.
2
SPEAKER_02
I understand the brain.
2
SPEAKER_02
I mean, I don t.
2
SPEAKER_02
I m stupid.
2
SPEAKER_02
But, um... I- anecdotally, I understand the brain.
2
SPEAKER_02
And I get that it s gonna- it wants you to marinate in this stupid thing with this girl and with this guy.
2
SPEAKER_02
And take you away from the wonderful world of cool ideas that you have.
2
SPEAKER_02
And I just want you to notice every time that that s happening.
2
SPEAKER_02
and correct it and start working on this fucking comic and just making shit and just making making things instead of marinating in this this situation which again I must remind you you got out good and maybe one day Parker you ll make it big
2
SPEAKER_02
Or not even, not even make it big.
2
SPEAKER_02
I hate, I hate the idea of making it big.
2
SPEAKER_02
Maybe one day you ll start to earn a living writing on the internet, which is something that thousands and thousands and thousands, thousands of people are out there doing.
2
SPEAKER_02
And maybe you can use some of that money to get a phone that works.
2
SPEAKER_02
And then you can call me back and we can have a better conversation where I can hear the things that you re saying.
2
SPEAKER_00
Did it get worse?
2
SPEAKER_02
No, it s actually not that bad.
2
SPEAKER_02
Um, okay, Parker, I m going to shut up.
2
SPEAKER_02
How do you feel about all the things that we re talking about?
2
SPEAKER_00
You know, I, it, it feels really, really good because honestly, like, cause in a situation like this, I can t talk about it really, uh, without causing a bunch of shit.
2
SPEAKER_00
Um, cause yeah, you know, it s just so messy.
2
SPEAKER_00
It s just so messy.
2
SPEAKER_00
What do you mean you can t talk about it without causing a bunch of shit?
2
SPEAKER_00
Honestly, that s really just, you know what, that s a cope.
2
SPEAKER_00
You know, I can t because I m not even like associated with them anymore.
2
SPEAKER_00
So why does it matter?
2
SPEAKER_00
I get it.
2
SPEAKER_02
I don t like these people are doing nothing productive for you in your life.
2
SPEAKER_02
From the way exactly.
2
SPEAKER_00
I don t even.
2
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, like it was it was it was rough.
2
SPEAKER_00
It was so rough.
2
SPEAKER_00
The amount of like manipulation and
2
SPEAKER_00
Gaslighting just it was really weird man, because I usually can sniff out bullshit
3
SPEAKER_01
shit pretty well.
3
SPEAKER_01
But like, really, really well.
3
SPEAKER_01
Like, I got my both my parents, police.
3
SPEAKER_01
I ve got like, hiding shit, dude.
3
SPEAKER_01
Like, dude, if your parents are cops, you got to be like, bro, when it comes to hiding shit.
3
SPEAKER_01
It s not the first place.
3
SPEAKER_00
What are you hiding?
3
SPEAKER_01
Oh, like weed.
3
SPEAKER_00
Oh, you re 23 smoke weed and blow it in a cop s face who gives a shit.
3
SPEAKER_01
Oh dude, we re boolin  now, we re cool now.
3
SPEAKER_01
It was just, I was back like, that was when I was growing up, you know what I mean?
3
SPEAKER_01
Had to be very careful, because sometimes I would come home and see my container open on my bed, with all my shit laid out, and I would just be like, uh, yep, yep, here we go, here we go.
3
SPEAKER_01
And then the interrogation happens.
3
SPEAKER_00
Parker, do you have any, before we leave, do you have any final thoughts, feelings, or sentiments, or things that you want to say?
3
SPEAKER_01
Uh, one important thing, if, uh, if, you know, if, if be careful, you know, this goes for like chat or really anybody, if, if you re monogamous and someone that you really, really love the company of is, uh, is Pauly.
3
SPEAKER_01
And you think to yourself, man, you know, what s the worst that could happen?
3
SPEAKER_01
Uh, think of me because it is, is not good.
3
SPEAKER_01
It s not good.
3
SPEAKER_01
Uh, we re gonna be moving into a better headspace, though.
3
SPEAKER_01
This really, really helped me out, man.
3
SPEAKER_01
Uh, GodKingGek, as I call you.
3
SPEAKER_01
I have never called you by a different name.
3
SPEAKER_01
I m just letting you know that right now.
3
SPEAKER_01
GodKingGek, right here.
3
SPEAKER_00
Thanks, man.
3
SPEAKER_00
I m really- Fucking proto-slayer.
3
SPEAKER_00
My ego s really revving up every time I hear that.
3
SPEAKER_01
Proto-slayer, bro.
3
SPEAKER_01
Proto-slayer.
3
SPEAKER_01
Got them guns, bro.
3
SPEAKER_00
I really appreciate it, man.
3
SPEAKER_00
I m gonna go find an assistant and yell at them.
3
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, do it.
3
SPEAKER_01
Do it, man.
3
SPEAKER_01
Make your blood pressure spike.
3
SPEAKER_01
Show them who s boss.
3
SPEAKER_01
Pop those vessels, my guy.
3
SPEAKER_00
Have a good night, Parker.
3
SPEAKER_00
Thank you, man.
3
SPEAKER_01
Have a good night, Geck.
3
SPEAKER_00
Man, all, you know, I feel like I ve talked about this so much on this podcast.
3
SPEAKER_00
I know, I don t, I m not, I don t know what to do with like relationship things.
3
SPEAKER_00
They re hard.
3
SPEAKER_00
Cause in relationship, you re all, you re, you re only leverage in relationships is your own choices.
3
SPEAKER_00
But it s so hard because we want so badly for our control to go outside of those bounds and into making other people feel things or do things or not do things.
3
SPEAKER_00
But you gotta fucking accept that you can t do that.
3
SPEAKER_00
I don t know, I hope Parker makes shitty comment.
3
SPEAKER_00
I just want Parker to be happy drawing shitty comics on his shitty air mattress and sitting there basking in gratefulness that he does not have a child.
3
SPEAKER_00
Cause that s a great life.
3
SPEAKER_00
That he s- I- I know it sound- I know I keep saying it s shitty, but... It s- It s a great life.
3
SPEAKER_00
I m being dead serious.
3
SPEAKER_00
So... Enjoy it.
3
SPEAKER_00
Parker.
3
SPEAKER_00
Peter Parker.
3
SPEAKER_00
Spider-Man.
3
SPEAKER_00
Sorry.
3
SPEAKER_00
Hello?
3
SPEAKER_00
Hola?
3
SPEAKER_00
Which is hello in Spanish.
3
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, it is.
3
SPEAKER_00
Thank you.
3
SPEAKER_00
Dude, is this the geck?
3
SPEAKER_02
Is this the man himself?
3
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, it s, um... Are you a Spanish teacher?
3
SPEAKER_02
Uh...
3
SPEAKER_02
If you want to learn how to say hello, yes.
3
SPEAKER_02
Any other words?
3
SPEAKER_00
No.
3
SPEAKER_00
I want the truth.
3
SPEAKER_00
I don t want any lies.
3
SPEAKER_00
I want the truth.
3
SPEAKER_00
Are you a Spanish teacher?
3
SPEAKER_00
Yes, sir.
3
SPEAKER_00
No.
3
SPEAKER_00
Okay.
3
SPEAKER_00
We re off to a good start.
3
SPEAKER_02
Dude, this is exciting.
3
SPEAKER_00
I ve wanted to be on your show for so long.
3
SPEAKER_00
Well, fuck yeah, man.
3
SPEAKER_00
It s good to talk to you.
3
SPEAKER_00
What s your name?
3
SPEAKER_02
My name is...
3
SPEAKER_02
For now, for immunity, I am Chris.
3
SPEAKER_00
It says your name is Chris.
3
SPEAKER_00
Now, Chris.
3
SPEAKER_00
Sure.
3
SPEAKER_00
All right, what?
3
SPEAKER_00
It says here you wanted to talk about gooning.
3
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, why not?
3
SPEAKER_02
Because I ve never really talked about it with anyone except like one person a long time ago.
3
SPEAKER_02
And it s just been a thing that s been
3
SPEAKER_02
on my mind.
3
SPEAKER_00
You know, you re aware of what it is, right?
3
SPEAKER_00
Um, I am friends with the porn star Kazumi who once informed me.
3
SPEAKER_02
Yes, I saw your episode with her.
3
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, she was the one who introduced me to the concept of gooning and she tried to explain it to me for like a pretty long time and I still really had kind of don t understand it.
3
SPEAKER_00
So do you want to go ahead and explain it to the people listening?
3
SPEAKER_02
I would absolutely love to.
3
SPEAKER_02
Um, ever since I saw that episode, like when I was watching it, I was like screaming at the TV, like, no, say this, say this.
3
SPEAKER_02
Like she did, she gave an okay explanation, but it was sort of kind of, uh, all over the place.
3
SPEAKER_02
But okay.
3
SPEAKER_02
So here s how I understand it.
3
SPEAKER_02
How I ve, how I ve come to know is, I don t know.
3
SPEAKER_02
I just stumbled upon some,
3
SPEAKER_02
video on the porn sites at one point.
3
SPEAKER_02
Anyway, it s basically when you re watching porn and edging, specifically edging, like as much as you can for as long as you can without, you know, cumming and like basically just fucking frying your brain with as much porn as possible.
3
SPEAKER_02
kind of trying to turn it into a marathon.
3
SPEAKER_02
Like, it s fucking insane.
3
SPEAKER_02
These people, there s like this whole subculture, like the internet, you know, which the internet is famous for, especially the porn and sex world.
3
SPEAKER_02
But like, dude, these people, I mean, I m, I m one of them.
3
SPEAKER_02
Don t get me wrong.
3
SPEAKER_02
But some of these people are really into it.
3
SPEAKER_02
They re like off the deep end.
3
SPEAKER_02
It s like,
3
SPEAKER_02
Like, I found this subreddit called Goon Caves.
3
SPEAKER_02
These dudes postin  pictures of their porn setup, like their bedrooms and stuff, that have, like, dedicated to porn.
3
SPEAKER_02
Like, you ll see, like, fuckin  three, four giant HD TVs, projectors, like, literally anything with a screen, iPads, iPhones, like, just set up, like, multiple screens, all going, all playing porn, like,
3
SPEAKER_02
for hours on end, it s fucking, it s weird, dude.
3
SPEAKER_00
It s a weird old thing.
3
SPEAKER_00
Now, Chris, where do you lie on this spectrum?
3
SPEAKER_00
What does your goon cave look like?
3
SPEAKER_02
Pretty basic, honestly, just a TV, like hook my laptop up to it.
3
SPEAKER_02
There was a point where, I ll admit, I was inspired and I tried the whole thing with like, I set up extra computer monitors.
3
SPEAKER_02
That I had lying around like That was fun, but it was like wait.
3
SPEAKER_02
What the fuck is the point of this like I can only focus on one at a time like I Myself
3
SPEAKER_00
have done the thing where, like, I ll have, you know, I ve looked, I ve taken a step back once and noticed that I ve had, like, 30 tabs of porn up.
3
SPEAKER_00
So, like, that s, but I ve never introduced a second monitor.
3
SPEAKER_00
I ve never been watching it on my phone and then on my laptop and on my TV screen.
3
SPEAKER_00
Although, I do have a free night tonight, so.
3
SPEAKER_00
Hey, never say never now.
3
SPEAKER_00
It also says here that you Do you consider this?
3
SPEAKER_00
Oh, this is you consider this to be an addiction?
3
SPEAKER_02
This is something that yes, that s a whole other that s I was gonna say that that s a whole other component to it.
3
SPEAKER_02
That s like a lot of gooners like they re almost proud and some of I feel like They re like
3
SPEAKER_02
Like they ve come up with, they came up with this term porno sexual, meaning like, like people that literally have decided no sex, no relationship.
3
SPEAKER_02
I just want to jerk off the porn.
3
SPEAKER_00
This is, this is an interesting thing.
3
SPEAKER_00
And I, and I think I did talk to Kazumi about this a little bit, but I
4
SPEAKER_01
I m not sure, but okay, so this is an interesting thing.
4
SPEAKER_01
The idea of somebody who has made a decision that they are not going to pursue any kind of sexual relationship in their lives, that they are just going to be pornosexual, and they have decided to be proud of it and not to be shameful about it.
4
SPEAKER_01
And I m not a scientist, I m a gecko, but I do think
4
SPEAKER_01
There is something interesting, perhaps freeing, about making a definitive life choice like that and making it confidently.
4
SPEAKER_01
You know what I m saying?
4
SPEAKER_01
Because if you really can remove all sense of shame from your addiction, how is it hurting you?
4
SPEAKER_01
Probably in several ways.
4
SPEAKER_01
I m not a doctor, but I do think about things like that.
4
SPEAKER_00
No, I understand, like, and I ve thought about that too, I ve thought about it a lot, and I feel like there s sort of two camps, and maybe there s some gray area in between, but I feel like most of, if not all the guys, and very few, some women, but mostly guys who are pornosexual or who would identify as that, like, most of them are not, like, if they re totally like, yeah, I m proud of this,
4
SPEAKER_01
Usually in denial like you know or you know what I we don t copia Yeah, yeah Copia machine like cuz I could see like if you re a guy and it just hasn t happened this is just not Happening for you out there.
4
SPEAKER_01
Mm-hmm, and you re like Dude, fuck it up, you know having
4
SPEAKER_01
Five monitors of porn is what makes me happy in life, and you ve made that executive decision for yourself, and you want to be shame-free about it.
4
SPEAKER_01
I could- I could see that being a legitimate lifestyle to live.
4
SPEAKER_00
Oh, yeah.
4
SPEAKER_00
Oh, yeah.
4
SPEAKER_01
Especially when you have a whole- Especially when you- Now I come to you.
4
SPEAKER_00
Yeah.
4
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, I was gonna say I didn t really- I didn t really answer your question where I fall on that spectrum.
4
SPEAKER_00
Like, what my- So,
4
SPEAKER_00
Currently, like, normally for me, it s like, every night, like, maybe an hour or two.
4
SPEAKER_00
Like, sometimes every other night, but usually every night.
4
SPEAKER_00
And, you know, one monitor, one video at a time.
4
SPEAKER_00
I ve gotten it down to the, like, what feels normal again.
4
SPEAKER_00
There was a point, like, this really blew up in 2020.
4
SPEAKER_00
You know, everybody got locked inside and staring at their screens, you know?
4
SPEAKER_00
fucking I went into a like I said that like experimenting when it was all new to me it was like oh it was kind of like discovering porn for the first time when you re a teenager again you know it was like holy shit you know it s just overwhelming like well that and also when I discovered okay here s a whole nother component there s so we could write a fucking book on this dude
4
SPEAKER_00
Um, this whole other component is the videos that people make, dude.
4
SPEAKER_00
Like, um... Like, dudes that- people are, like, they- they spend their time.
4
SPEAKER_00
Some of them even, like, have, uh, like, Patreon, um, sites that you can donate to them and they ll keep making more porn.
4
SPEAKER_00
But they re not even making porn, they re taking porn that s already up and cutting it and like making compilation videos.
4
SPEAKER_00
Yeah I ve seen that, I ve seen that.
4
SPEAKER_01
So basically, yes I ve seen these goon videos.
4
SPEAKER_01
Basically people will make... So the way it gets deep because...
4
SPEAKER_01
Somebody will make a goon video where it s actually they splice up in one frame Three different porn videos like it s on like a greater or four or five or six.
4
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, and so you have You can have like six monitors and on each monitor is six different porn videos playing which do the math that s 36 yep, and then if and then depending on how many people are in each video, that s a
4
SPEAKER_01
like 72 sets of genitals that you re staring at.
4
SPEAKER_01
That s so many.
4
SPEAKER_00
That s so many genitalia.
4
SPEAKER_01
And now let me ask you this, Chris.
4
SPEAKER_01
I know, it s overwhelming.
4
SPEAKER_01
How has this pornography addiction seeped into your real life?
4
SPEAKER_01
Has it had negative effects on you?
4
SPEAKER_01
Has it had positive effects on you?
4
SPEAKER_00
Funny enough, a lot of both, honestly.
4
SPEAKER_00
Like... Let s start... Especially because
4
SPEAKER_01
Let s start with the positive ones.
4
SPEAKER_01
Tell me the positive ones.
4
SPEAKER_00
All right.
4
SPEAKER_00
All right.
4
SPEAKER_00
Well, when I sort of like got into this, when it sort of came into my world, um, like I said, it was sort of like discovering porn for the first time.
4
SPEAKER_00
And at some point it just kind of like, I mean, it made me like, think about being more conscious of my consumption of porn.
4
SPEAKER_00
It s like,
4
SPEAKER_00
Well, I ve just gotten kind of used to this, like ever since I was, you know, 14, maybe even early, a little earlier, it s been a regular thing, like a lot of guys, you know?
4
SPEAKER_00
Um, but then out of nowhere, I was like, wait a minute.
4
SPEAKER_00
My whole life I ve been doing it the same way.
4
SPEAKER_00
I m hunched over in the bathroom or my room or something.
4
SPEAKER_00
And I don t watch even like a full video.
4
SPEAKER_00
I m like doing it quickly and shamefully.
4
SPEAKER_00
So like, but at this point, you know, the pandemic,
4
SPEAKER_01
is in full swing like 2020 when I what okay I asked you if you could tell me the positive benefits of sorry yeah yeah I m getting to that on your life and yes the one positive benefit of your porn addiction so far in your own yes it has been very that it has alerted you it s very important reading yes but also that s not what I m saying get the point of the
4
SPEAKER_00
I wasn t trying to say that was the positive, I m trying to set up the story.
4
SPEAKER_00
I kind of ramble.
4
SPEAKER_01
Don t even set it up, just launch it.
4
SPEAKER_01
Don t even tell me a story, just tell me the positives.
4
SPEAKER_00
Okay, okay, right.
4
SPEAKER_00
The positives, I have overcome a lot of shame.
4
SPEAKER_00
Like, because I, this has been like shoving it in my face, like, hey, look, this is a thing that s happening in your life, you know?
4
SPEAKER_00
Like, quite literally, like, you re screaming at me, and like,
4
SPEAKER_00
It s been like, you know what?
4
SPEAKER_00
I can t ignore this anymore.
4
SPEAKER_00
I gotta, you know, it s made me focus more on myself, like my emotional, mental health.
4
SPEAKER_00
Like I notice now, like I m, I m trying to practice a lot of mindfulness and stuff.
4
SPEAKER_00
And I ve actually like gotten a lot better at, like lately my, like I ve noticed whenever I try to quit,
4
SPEAKER_00
The harder I try, the harder it comes back, you know, like you just repress it and it just bounces back like a spring.
4
SPEAKER_01
I m going to stop you again, Chris.
4
SPEAKER_01
All right.
4
SPEAKER_01
The only, it sounds like the, again, the only positive trait that you ve given me so far is that it has alerted you to the fact that you have a porn addiction.
4
SPEAKER_01
What are some of the negative ways this has affected your life?
4
SPEAKER_00
Uh, for a while when it was bad,
4
SPEAKER_00
Like I feel like I m past the worst of it.
4
SPEAKER_00
I m getting better.
4
SPEAKER_00
But when it was bad, I would do it like multiple times a day.
4
SPEAKER_00
Like sometimes first thing when I wake up, just cause I had nothing to do.
4
SPEAKER_00
Um, especially during the pandemic, uh, it s taken a lot of hours of my life, a lot of energy, a lot of time and energy that I could have been using to better myself, you know,
4
SPEAKER_01
Get closer.
4
SPEAKER_01
Are you going to say God?
4
SPEAKER_00
Well, I was going to say like an actual human relationship, but sure.
4
SPEAKER_01
Tell me, do you have a job?
4
SPEAKER_00
Do I have a job?
4
SPEAKER_00
Is that what you said?
4
SPEAKER_00
Yeah.
4
SPEAKER_01
Yeah.
4
SPEAKER_01
Yes.
4
SPEAKER_01
Okay.
4
SPEAKER_01
What s your job?
4
SPEAKER_00
I work at a stamping place.
4
SPEAKER_00
So I sit at a giant machine, take little metal parts from one pile, stamp it in the machine, put it in the other pile for eight hours a day.
4
SPEAKER_01
All right.
4
SPEAKER_01
So you have a very repetitive job.
4
SPEAKER_00
Oh yeah.
4
SPEAKER_01
Listen to a lot of podcasts and music.
4
SPEAKER_01
What do you want to do with your, like, what s, do you have any dreams?
4
SPEAKER_00
Yeah.
4
SPEAKER_00
I, uh, I m a musician and, uh,
4
SPEAKER_00
mainly a drummer.
4
SPEAKER_00
Right now I m actually moving to the cities to basically
5
SPEAKER_00
You know get connected with more musicians like I m moving into a house full of musicians.
5
SPEAKER_02
That s exciting I feel like I m I feel like I m at a point where I m Would you ever consider making a song about your point addiction?
5
SPEAKER_00
Absolutely, yeah because I mean you could technically say I already have because I do write like poetry lyrics and stuff that like I
5
SPEAKER_00
My writing style is sort of vague.
5
SPEAKER_00
My music is more about pain in general than specifically what has caused me pain.
5
SPEAKER_00
I mean, there s definitely sexual lyrics I have.
5
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, I want to write more about it because it s such a...
5
SPEAKER_00
It s been such a wild ride, man.
5
SPEAKER_00
I can t not write this shit down, whether in just writing or in music form, you know?
5
SPEAKER_02
See, when I asked you, I gave you the opportunity to tell me if there was any positives to this.
5
SPEAKER_02
And one of the positives of your poem, it seems to be, is that it has inspired some great poetry.
5
SPEAKER_00
I guess it has.
5
SPEAKER_00
Yeah.
5
SPEAKER_00
A lot of other stuff, too.
5
SPEAKER_00
That was sexual.
5
SPEAKER_00
I ve had a very strange... I m gonna say this.
5
SPEAKER_02
I think it s good that you re doing things that aren t porn.
5
SPEAKER_02
I m glad that you have the music and the poetry.
5
SPEAKER_02
Because if it was just porn, I d be concerned for you.
5
SPEAKER_02
Oh yeah, dude.
5
SPEAKER_02
Me too.
5
SPEAKER_02
How old are you?
5
23?
5
SPEAKER_02
And you live in Minnesota?
5
SPEAKER_02
Yeah.
5
SPEAKER_02
Are you gay?
5
SPEAKER_02
Are you straight?
5
SPEAKER_02
Straight I like the females okay, that s I feel like That could be one of the reasons why you re not having a lot of sex is because of what you just said but I
5
SPEAKER_02
You re also a musician.
5
SPEAKER_02
And that is attractive to some people.
5
SPEAKER_02
So there s hope for you, I think.
5
SPEAKER_02
I believe in you, Chris.
5
SPEAKER_02
I believe in your ability to kick the gooning addiction, get really into poetry, and use that to seem cool and interesting.
5
SPEAKER_00
Cool.
5
SPEAKER_00
Thanks, man.
5
SPEAKER_02
Of course.
5
SPEAKER_02
Was this conversation helpful in any way, shape, or form to you?
5
SPEAKER_00
Yes, very much, especially because I know that strangers are listening.
5
SPEAKER_00
But I m not paying attention.
5
SPEAKER_02
It sounded like a sexual thing just now.
5
SPEAKER_00
No, I just want to say like anybody out there, if you re struggling with this, like you re not alone.
5
SPEAKER_00
It s normal.
5
SPEAKER_00
We live in a really fucked up world.
5
SPEAKER_00
We re all addicted to screens, whether it s porn or not.
5
SPEAKER_00
So I love you.
5
SPEAKER_00
You re going to be all right.
5
SPEAKER_02
It s true.
5
SPEAKER_00
It s true, man.
5
SPEAKER_02
If you re, if you re playing like, it s true.
5
SPEAKER_02
If you have this stream up on one tab and you re playing fucking rocket league in another tab and you re texting your mom on another tab, that s basically a porn.
5
SPEAKER_02
That s the same thing as gooning in my opinion.
5
SPEAKER_02
Uh, thank you very much for calling Chris.
5
SPEAKER_02
I hope you have a good rest of the night.
5
SPEAKER_00
Thank you so much.
5
SPEAKER_00
You have a good night, man.
5
SPEAKER_00
Love you.
5
SPEAKER_02
Hello, folks.
5
SPEAKER_02
It s Lyle.
5
SPEAKER_02
And it s that time again where I end a podcast with a street interview.
5
SPEAKER_02
Yes, that s right.
5
SPEAKER_02
An interview with a real life person that I happen to be actually staring at in the face instead of staring not at on the phone.
5
SPEAKER_02
OK, and this one s interesting.
5
SPEAKER_02
This one was done on the streets of Copenhagen, Denmark, which is one of my favorite places in the world.
5
SPEAKER_02
It s a beautiful country.
5
SPEAKER_02
It was voted the happiest country in the world.
5
SPEAKER_02
And I talked to a young man.
5
SPEAKER_02
asking him why exactly he thinks that might be the case, that people in Denmark are so happy.
5
SPEAKER_02
This is a guy who came up to me on the streets and asked me to chug a beer with him, and I did.
5
SPEAKER_02
That s how the interview starts.
5
SPEAKER_02
And then we got into all kinds of things.
5
SPEAKER_02
We got into the differences between Denmark and America.
5
SPEAKER_02
We got into his life.
5
SPEAKER_02
We got into a little bit of mine, I think.
5
SPEAKER_02
I don t know.
5
SPEAKER_02
I don t remember that much.
5
SPEAKER_02
But you guys will enjoy it.
5
SPEAKER_02
And let s go to the streets of Denmark to talk to a guy right now.
5
SPEAKER_02
Hi.
5
SPEAKER_02
Hello.
5
SPEAKER_02
We are.
5
SPEAKER_02
Hi.
5
SPEAKER_02
Hello.
5
SPEAKER_02
We are in Denmark with.
5
SPEAKER_01
Simon.
5
SPEAKER_02
Simon?
5
SPEAKER_01
Yes.
5
SPEAKER_02
Simon, you came up to me and what was it that you wanted to do today?
5
SPEAKER_01
I want to chug a beer with you.
5
SPEAKER_02
You want to chug a beer with me?
5
SPEAKER_01
Yeah.
5
SPEAKER_01
We re doing a scavenger hunt for our work.
5
SPEAKER_01
We have to chug a beer with a random guy.
5
SPEAKER_01
And I thought, well, the gecko want to chug a beer.
5
SPEAKER_02
I might be the randomest guy here.
5
SPEAKER_02
Yeah.
5
SPEAKER_01
And I love that.
5
SPEAKER_02
So this will work.
5
SPEAKER_02
Beautiful.
5
SPEAKER_02
OK, what kind of beer is this again?
5
SPEAKER_01
This is a Danish Pilsner.
5
SPEAKER_02
OK, a Danish Pilsner.
5
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, and we Danes love our beer.
5
SPEAKER_01
So I usually actually press down this one because then it goes a little bit quicker.
5
SPEAKER_01
There we go.
5
SPEAKER_01
All right.
5
SPEAKER_01
Skål!
5
SPEAKER_01
Skål!
5
SPEAKER_01
There we go.
5
SPEAKER_01
That was fast.
5
SPEAKER_01
Goddamn.
5
SPEAKER_01
All right.
5
SPEAKER_01
Well, I m a Dane.
5
SPEAKER_01
Okay.
5
SPEAKER_01
Any tips?
5
SPEAKER_01
How do I... Well...
5
SPEAKER_01
I don t even know what to do, just chug it.
5
SPEAKER_01
Okay.
5
SPEAKER_01
Hey, while I chug this, can you tell me what your dream in life is?
5
SPEAKER_01
Okay.
5
SPEAKER_01
So this January, I got my VAT number and I started my own marketing bureau, CETO Marketing.
5
SPEAKER_01
So my dream is to build that up as a bureau and have a marketing bureau with digital marketing.
5
SPEAKER_01
Yeah.
5
SPEAKER_02
What are you trying to market?
5
SPEAKER_01
Well, right now I study at CBS, Copenhagen Business School.
5
SPEAKER_01
So I love to do like the whole market research and stuff like that.
5
SPEAKER_01
And then with e-commerce, I want to be able to help e-commerce business to scale even higher on the digital market.
5
SPEAKER_02
Okay.
5
SPEAKER_02
What do you care about just as a person?
5
SPEAKER_02
What are your values just in life?
5
SPEAKER_01
I value mental health a lot.
5
SPEAKER_01
Okay.
5
SPEAKER_01
Yeah.
5
SPEAKER_02
How s your personal mental health?
5
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, meditating a lot, focusing on my sleep and stuff like that, that s one of my biggest values.
5
SPEAKER_02
Are you feeling generally happy?
5
SPEAKER_01
I would say that I do, actually.
5
SPEAKER_01
I only do what I like and I feel comfortable with it.
5
SPEAKER_02
Now, I remember reading somewhere, actually, I m just now remembering this, that Denmark was voted the happiest country in the world.
5
SPEAKER_02
Is that accurate?
5
SPEAKER_02
We was.
5
SPEAKER_01
We were.
5
SPEAKER_01
Sweden took us over.
5
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, they did.
5
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, they did.
5
SPEAKER_01
I think it s Sweden actually I m not a hundred percent sure but we re number two or something on the list right now Okay, but yeah, we were and I think it s just because of the way we live We pay a lot of taxes, but by paying a lot of taxes we have we get paid to go to school so instead of working
5
SPEAKER_01
35 40 hours a week to be able to pay rent while I study I get what that s about a thousand dollars a month To go to school really yeah, so I can pay my rent with that and then I work on the side on my business and also I m a waiter on the side so that money I can use to just
5
SPEAKER_02
So you do three things.
5
SPEAKER_02
You have your own business, you have a job that you do to just make money, and then you re a student.
5
SPEAKER_02
Yeah.
5
SPEAKER_02
And you get a thousand bucks a month from the government to be a student?
5
SPEAKER_02
Yeah.
5
SPEAKER_02
Dude, in the US, the government lends you a bunch of money and then you have to give them back, like, a lot more.
5
SPEAKER_01
Yeah.
5
SPEAKER_02
It fucking is crazy.
5
SPEAKER_01
But then again, right now, I think it s what, 39% of all my income I pay in taxes.
5
SPEAKER_01
Okay.
5
30, 35?
5
SPEAKER_01
39.
5
SPEAKER_01
39, okay.
5
SPEAKER_01
And then when you get to like a certain point, you get up to like a million taxes and then you get above 50% of all your income.
5
SPEAKER_01
So we pay a lot of taxes, but well, health care is free and stuff like that.
5
SPEAKER_01
So we get a lot of things out of it.
5
SPEAKER_01
And I think that s mainly one of the factors why we are, have been voted as the happiest people.
5
SPEAKER_02
What other things do you think make people in Denmark so happy?
5
SPEAKER_01
Well, it s tough to say.
5
SPEAKER_01
That is one of the toughest subjects to go into.
5
SPEAKER_01
Because I really don t watch the news because I think there s so much bad energy in news.
5
SPEAKER_01
So, personally, I don t watch it.
5
SPEAKER_02
One of the reasons why you re so happy?
5
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, I think that s one of the things, like I cut off all negative energy.
5
SPEAKER_01
So if a person, one of my friends is starting to be negative about me, I just don t talk with them anymore.
5
SPEAKER_01
I tell them I don t want this negative energy in my life because it just drags me down and my energy just goes to the floor.
5
SPEAKER_02
And the people you surround yourself with now, would you say that they have a positive energy?
5
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, definitely.
5
SPEAKER_02
If they don t, I don t talk with them.
5
SPEAKER_02
All these people that you were hanging out with, how do you know them?
5
SPEAKER_02
Do they all work with you?
5
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, we re all waiters at the restaurant.
5
SPEAKER_02
And do you guys all get along?
5
SPEAKER_02
Is it pretty chill over there?
5
SPEAKER_01
I would say that being a waiter,
6
SPEAKER_02
At a restaurant, well, especially in Aarhus, we are at something called Dining 6, and they focus a lot on the employees.
6
SPEAKER_02
So they shake us well together, so having beers after work and stuff like this just sets up a community within the restaurant that just makes us all friends from day one.
6
SPEAKER_02
So I think that s a nice thing as well.
6
SPEAKER_01
Now in the US, a lot of service workers have problems with unruly customers and people being demanding and people being shrewd and yelling and stuff.
6
SPEAKER_01
Do you have a similar problem here or have your clientele been generally pretty laid back?
6
SPEAKER_02
My position is something you call responsible waiter.
6
SPEAKER_02
So whenever we re in the evening and it s my responsible night,
6
SPEAKER_02
I take over, I see people, I take care of all situations that s there.
6
SPEAKER_02
So if people are rude, I throw them out.
6
SPEAKER_02
We don t want them in our restaurant if they re rude to waiters.
6
SPEAKER_02
People grabbing our waiter s ass or giving them compliments, but in a bad way.
6
SPEAKER_02
Obviously, you re very pretty, that s fine, but that s a tight ass.
6
SPEAKER_02
You re going out.
6
SPEAKER_02
You re not here anymore.
6
SPEAKER_01
And how often does stuff like that happen?
6
SPEAKER_02
Well, people are drinking when they re at our restaurant because it s called Kull, which is, direct translation is steak.
6
SPEAKER_02
So it s very much steak and beer and wine.
6
SPEAKER_02
And just there s somebody just, they don t know how to cope with it.
6
SPEAKER_02
So they get too drunk and then it happens.
6
SPEAKER_02
So I would say that mainly like once a week when I m there.
6
SPEAKER_02
But obviously we have other people as responsible aiders as well.
6
SPEAKER_02
So I think it maybe happens a few times a week.
6
SPEAKER_02
And that s just in one restaurant.
6
SPEAKER_01
Really?
6
SPEAKER_01
Yeah.
6
SPEAKER_01
And I have a question.
6
SPEAKER_01
Tell me this.
6
SPEAKER_01
What do you think about all day?
6
SPEAKER_01
What s like, what would you say is like the most persistent thought on your mind?
6
SPEAKER_01
Being a success.
6
SPEAKER_01
Being a success.
6
SPEAKER_01
Okay, what s success mean to you?
6
SPEAKER_02
Success for me is, and it s a tough thing, but success for me is not
6
SPEAKER_02
primarily money-wise, but being happy as I am, being focused on my mindset, and being able to, in the 31 of the month, being able to go grocery shopping without having to think about money.
6
SPEAKER_02
So it s not having Lamborghinis and stuff like that, that would be nice, but just not having to be afraid of not being able to pay for my groceries and being alive, that would make me happy.
6
SPEAKER_01
There s not, from what I ve seen just walking around, there s not that much poverty or anything.
6
SPEAKER_01
Just from walking around.
6
SPEAKER_01
I mean, I ve only been here for like two seconds.
6
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, but no, there s not a lot.
6
SPEAKER_02
There is some, but as well as why we pay all taxes, we help people that are homeless.
6
SPEAKER_02
So they get a lot of money.
6
SPEAKER_02
I would say that actually, I don t know the exact amounts because
6
SPEAKER_02
I don t even go into that.
6
SPEAKER_02
But I think it s about like a little more than $2,000 a month if you re homeless to be able to get on your... Wait, the government will just give people $2,000 a month if they qualify for it?
6
SPEAKER_02
If you re a Danish citizen, you get money if you don t have a job or something like that.
6
SPEAKER_02
And then there are some things like you have to apply for jobs and stuff like that before you can get the money.
6
SPEAKER_02
But they have the opportunities to get it quite easily, I would say.
6
SPEAKER_02
Do you like living here?
6
SPEAKER_01
I love it.
6
SPEAKER_01
Would you ever live anywhere else?
6
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, I ve lived in London so far, but and I also want to try living in New York and Australia as well, maybe Brisbane, but I will always come back to Copenhagen.
6
SPEAKER_01
How does it compare to like other countries that you ve been to?
6
SPEAKER_02
It s just my home city, home country.
6
SPEAKER_02
I think that s it.
6
SPEAKER_02
This is where my family is, and I think that s it.
6
SPEAKER_02
I love it because it s my home.
6
SPEAKER_02
But if I didn t have anyone, I m quite easily transitioning into everywhere and the environment where I m at, and I ll just be there.
6
SPEAKER_01
By the way, I want to say I appreciate you sitting down and talking to me.
6
SPEAKER_01
Have I distracted you from your rest of your scavenger hunt?
6
SPEAKER_02
We have 30 minutes to finish it.
6
SPEAKER_02
Yeah.
6
SPEAKER_02
So... What else is on the list?
6
SPEAKER_02
A lot of things.
6
SPEAKER_02
Like, we have to get a picture with the police.
6
SPEAKER_02
They want us to go into a hot dog shop and make a hot dog and get a video of it.
6
SPEAKER_02
Of you making a hot dog?
6
SPEAKER_02
Yeah.
6
SPEAKER_02
Do you think you ll be able to do that?
6
SPEAKER_02
I don t think anyone would allow us to do it.
6
SPEAKER_01
That sounds like a health code violation.
6
SPEAKER_02
So that s why we re not going to, like...
6
SPEAKER_02
Publicly?
6
SPEAKER_02
I won t tell anyone.
6
SPEAKER_02
But no, and we also gotta take a shot of Fenerbahce with someone.
6
SPEAKER_02
So we re trying to find someone who has a birthday, because you also have to find someone who has a birthday.
6
SPEAKER_02
And then we want to give that person at Fenerbahce a shot as well.
6
SPEAKER_01
What is fannapanca?
6
SPEAKER_02
That s an Italian shot of, I think it s 27 different herbs.
6
SPEAKER_02
It s my favorite shot.
6
SPEAKER_02
If people never tasted it and they taste it, they would say that I m crazy for it.
6
SPEAKER_02
You know what s funny?
6
SPEAKER_01
I don t know if you guys are all together, but there s other groups of people who are doing a scavenger hunt.
6
SPEAKER_01
And I hope that the whole, like, if the chugging a beer with a random guy thing is something in all of them, I ll be pretty drunk by the time I m done with these interviews.
6
SPEAKER_01
Yes.
6
SPEAKER_01
So I m going to stay here.
6
SPEAKER_01
Stay here and drink some beers.
6
SPEAKER_01
What s your name again, sir?
6
SPEAKER_01
Simon.
6
SPEAKER_01
Simon, is there anything else you want to say to the people of the computer before we go?
6
SPEAKER_01
Excuse me, once again?
6
SPEAKER_01
Is there anything else you want to say to the people of the computer before we go?
6
SPEAKER_01
Follow this gecko guy.
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SPEAKER_01
Follow Simon B. DuPont on Instagram.
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SPEAKER_01
You re dressed for success.
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SPEAKER_01
You re killing it.
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SPEAKER_01
I think you re gonna make billions and billions of Danish kroner, which is like 10 US dollars or something like that.
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SPEAKER_02
Yes, or something.
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SPEAKER_01
Thank you, Simon.
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SPEAKER_02
Thank you so much.
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SPEAKER_02
God bless you, sir.
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SPEAKER_02
God bless you.
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SPEAKER_01
Oh, here.
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SPEAKER_01
Is there a place we can throw these away at?
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SPEAKER_01
Oh, thank you man, appreciate it.
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SPEAKER_01
Take care, bro.
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SPEAKER_01
Hey folks, it s Lyle again.
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SPEAKER_01
If you enjoyed that little interview that I did on the streets of Copenhagen, Denmark, you can find all the little interviews that I did on the streets of Copenhagen, Denmark by going to the episode description and finding the link to the full YouTube video right there.
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SPEAKER_01
Or you can go to youtube.com slash Lyle forever and look for a video called being a gecko in Denmark.
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SPEAKER_01
All right.
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SPEAKER_01
Thank you guys for listening.
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SPEAKER_01
Gek bless you all.