0
SPEAKER_00
Hello?
0
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, who are you?
0
SPEAKER_00
What s up, Ivy?
0
SPEAKER_01
Hey, nice to meet you too, man.
0
SPEAKER_01
What s going on?
0
SPEAKER_00
I mean, you know, it s a little bit depressing, but like, I don t care that much about holidays.
0
SPEAKER_01
I like, I ll tell you this, I like seasons.
0
SPEAKER_01
I don t care about days.
0
SPEAKER_01
Days are stupid, but seasons are nice.
0
SPEAKER_01
And I enjoy November and December.
0
SPEAKER_01
I enjoy Christmas lights.
0
SPEAKER_01
I enjoy the Halloween season.
0
SPEAKER_01
You know, I mean, the holiday season is October to December.
0
SPEAKER_01
There s not really any other, like, holidays outside of that time.
0
SPEAKER_01
I mean, there s Valentine s Day and the Fourth of July, I guess, but, um...
0
SPEAKER_01
You know, I don t know why, as I get older, holidays matter to me less and less.
0
SPEAKER_01
I think they ll continue to not matter until I have kids, if I ever have kids.
0
SPEAKER_01
And then you kind of like... I feel like at that point, you vicariously relive the magic of the holidays through them.
0
SPEAKER_01
But until then, it s like, I don t care about...
0
SPEAKER_01
you know it s like i don t know i don t know i am i don t think i think i m just trying to sound cool right now what s up with you ivy what are you what s tom all right well fuck it why are you so excited for for thanksgiving what do you like about it i m excited for food but i called you specifically because i wanted to tell you about my time on the appalachian trail and how you specifically pushed me through it get the fuck out of here i was in true it s true i uh i hiked the appalachian trail
0
SPEAKER_01
Oh shit, really?
0
SPEAKER_01
I hiked not the whole thing.
0
SPEAKER_01
Maybe like 30 miles when I was in 7th grade.
0
SPEAKER_00
That s dope, man.
0
SPEAKER_00
I didn t hike the whole thing either.
0
SPEAKER_00
I hiked about like 160 miles of it.
0
SPEAKER_00
But you helped me a lot.
0
SPEAKER_00
That s cool, man.
0
SPEAKER_00
I don t have Spotify Premium.
0
SPEAKER_00
But I do have Spotify and they let you download podcasts.
0
SPEAKER_00
They do, yeah.
0
SPEAKER_00
I was like out in the middle of the wilderness.
0
SPEAKER_00
And like the only, my only company for a huge period of time was just you and the wacky people who s on your stream.
0
SPEAKER_00
And I don t know.
0
SPEAKER_00
It was, it was, it was, it was nice.
0
SPEAKER_00
It was nice.
0
SPEAKER_00
Like, cause I had never like listened to you before.
0
SPEAKER_00
And I was just like out on like a wind was like, yeah, let s, let s download this guy s stream.
0
SPEAKER_00
And I don t know.
0
SPEAKER_00
I loved it.
0
SPEAKER_00
And I was, I was just calling to tell you about some experiences I had out there.
0
SPEAKER_01
Well, let me ask you this, so you went, if I was the only, if I was your only friend on the road, who was, were you just by yourself?
0
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, I was just by myself.
0
SPEAKER_00
How many days?
0
SPEAKER_00
I graduated high school.
0
SPEAKER_00
Like, three weeks, it wasn t too long.
0
SPEAKER_00
Cool.
0
SPEAKER_00
Cool, yeah, let s hear some stories.
0
SPEAKER_00
So, you know, the Appalachian Trail is one of the most heavily traveled, like, trails in the entire world, right?
0
SPEAKER_00
But there s like huge long periods of time where you will see no one, in like certain sections.
0
SPEAKER_00
And for a long period of time, there was this man who I was with, and I would camp with him for like a couple, like just for a week or so.
0
SPEAKER_00
And that guy, like, the more I got to know him, like the crazier he got.
0
SPEAKER_00
So, whenever we first meet, you know, it s just like, hey, what kind of peer do you have?
0
SPEAKER_00
You know, why are you out here?
0
SPEAKER_00
He s like, my dad died recently.
0
SPEAKER_00
I m just hiking the trail.
0
SPEAKER_00
Cause I want to get, you know, closer to him.
0
SPEAKER_00
It s like, yeah, cool.
0
SPEAKER_00
That s cool.
0
SPEAKER_00
You know, I, I get it.
0
SPEAKER_00
You know, everyone s out here for their own reasons.
0
SPEAKER_00
Some people, they quit their jobs and they re just gone.
0
SPEAKER_00
But then like, as I m talking to this dude more and we re like sitting, you know, at night, we re like cooking up our dinner and whatnot.
0
SPEAKER_00
Like, he s just like, he s like, yeah.
0
SPEAKER_00
I m like, I m, I m high right now.
0
SPEAKER_00
I m like, Oh, sweet.
0
SPEAKER_00
So you got like wheat?
0
SPEAKER_00
And he was like, no.
0
SPEAKER_00
I m high on mushrooms, man.
0
SPEAKER_00
I ve been high on mushrooms for two weeks straight.
0
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, of course.
0
SPEAKER_00
I m like, I m like, oh, I mean, I get it.
0
SPEAKER_00
You know, it s like it s it s your nice nature.
0
SPEAKER_00
You know, you don t have any responsibilities.
0
SPEAKER_00
I m like, I m like, oh, OK.
0
SPEAKER_00
So, you know, are you just going to like eventually stop doing mushroom?
0
SPEAKER_00
And he s like, no, no, because I I quit my job.
0
SPEAKER_00
And he starts telling me about it.
0
SPEAKER_00
really sad backstory.
0
SPEAKER_00
He s like, he was like sales guy, big sales guy, and he was really top of his company and whatnot.
0
SPEAKER_00
He almost gets hit by a car.
0
SPEAKER_00
His first thought after that is like, I wish I died.
0
SPEAKER_00
And after that, he s like, I can t do this anymore.
0
SPEAKER_00
I m going to go to Mexico on a drug retreat.
0
SPEAKER_00
And when he s in Mexico on a drug retreat, taking mushrooms down there, his dad dies.
0
SPEAKER_00
So
0
SPEAKER_00
He was like, you know what, I m just got done with this crazy drug retreat in Mexico.
0
SPEAKER_00
I m going to go on the Appalachian trail and I m going to do mushrooms the entire time.
0
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, go ahead.
0
SPEAKER_01
Keep going.
0
SPEAKER_00
And, you know, I was just like, okay, I mean, fair enough.
0
SPEAKER_00
Everyone has their hobbies, you know, I m not gonna, I m not gonna, I m not gonna like be mad at the guy for doing mushrooms, but
0
SPEAKER_00
like I had this weird encounter with him like later that night because I went to go use the bathroom and it s like late at night and I m walking off into the woods and I look back and the dude s just like standing up and just staring off in the woods.
0
SPEAKER_00
I m like, hey dude, what s the problem?
0
SPEAKER_00
It s just like there s something out there.
0
SPEAKER_00
And that s all he said to me.
0
SPEAKER_00
And I was like, what do you mean there s something out there?
0
SPEAKER_00
He wouldn t say anything else.
0
SPEAKER_00
He s just like, there s something out there.
0
SPEAKER_00
So, like, I get back in my, in my tent, and I m just like, I m trying to go back to sleep.
0
SPEAKER_00
But like, that, like, that voice and it s like, how he was looking, and just everything.
0
SPEAKER_00
I m just like, I didn t see anything.
0
SPEAKER_00
I didn t hear anything.
0
SPEAKER_00
But what if he was, what if he was running?
0
SPEAKER_00
What if, what if it was a skinwalker?
0
SPEAKER_00
What if he saw a skinwalker?
0
SPEAKER_00
And I just didn t see it because I m not on that same frequency as the skinwalker.
0
SPEAKER_01
I m sorry, pause for a second.
0
SPEAKER_01
What is a skinwalker?
0
SPEAKER_00
Like, you know, like Native American, like legends of like the Appalachians, like the skinwalkers are like spirits that live in there and they have like bad heebie-jeebies.
0
SPEAKER_00
He saw like the Blair Witch.
0
SPEAKER_00
I mean, maybe, I don t know, maybe he was seeing the Blair Witch, but I didn t see the Blair Witch.
0
SPEAKER_01
But he was also high on mushrooms.
0
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, I was going to say, you re saying that this guy who s been taking mushrooms for two weeks is hallucinating?
0
SPEAKER_00
I mean, probably.
0
SPEAKER_00
I mean, I know I m thinking way too much about this, but I don t know.
0
SPEAKER_00
It just kept me up for a while because I thought that there was something out there.
0
SPEAKER_00
you know um no that s kind of terrifying what happened in the morning um so he gets up really really early and he s just gone like he i think he just hiked ahead of me and just kept going and i didn t i never eventually caught up to him that was like the last time i ever saw him was that night i knew he i knew he left so i mean i think like he was like in like late 30s like
0
SPEAKER_01
Man, and did he, and he just, um, he was just like at the sales company and he just got really fucking depressed from it.
0
SPEAKER_01
Yeah.
0
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, man, man.
0
SPEAKER_00
Yeah.
0
SPEAKER_00
I mean, it happens to a lot of people with their jobs and then it just walk on the trail.
0
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, of course.
0
SPEAKER_01
Well, I think about, I think about that kind of stuff.
0
SPEAKER_01
Cause like, I mean, you know, if you can, why would you not?
0
SPEAKER_01
Exactly.
0
SPEAKER_01
Go on a little adventure.
0
SPEAKER_00
I mean, I, I, I loved it.
0
SPEAKER_00
You know, I, I would, I had like Lord of the Rings as like an audio book and I was listening to that bitch and I was like, I m fucking Frodo.
0
SPEAKER_00
I m Frodo.
0
SPEAKER_01
How did you encounter any other folks on the trail?
0
SPEAKER_00
I did.
0
SPEAKER_00
I did.
0
SPEAKER_00
A lot of them weren t as crazy as him.
0
SPEAKER_00
Uh, actually they re really, really nice.
0
SPEAKER_00
Um, I met this, uh, this, this like his mother out there and she had just retired.
0
SPEAKER_00
And, you know, her kids are about to graduate.
0
SPEAKER_00
Me and her bonded because I had just graduated.
0
SPEAKER_00
And we ended up going, we ended up walking for the rest of the time.
0
SPEAKER_00
I actually almost walked the rest of the trail, the rest of the time of the trail with her.
0
SPEAKER_00
And she was super, super nice.
0
SPEAKER_00
She, you know, she was talking about going to van life.
0
SPEAKER_00
She was talking about her job.
0
SPEAKER_00
She gave me a lot of, like, resources for when I go into college, you know.
0
SPEAKER_00
So she was really, really nice.
0
SPEAKER_00
But she also carried, like,
1
SPEAKER_01
a whole wine bottle on her like all the time and she would take it like a nightcap every single every single night just just a glass of wine.
1
SPEAKER_01
Super cool though.
1
SPEAKER_00
And then you meet like a guy who just like is high all the time and then you meet like you just meet a new person who s always on a new drug and they each teach you a different thing about life.
1
SPEAKER_01
I mean, yeah, effectively, like, you learn a lot of life lessons out there.
1
SPEAKER_01
I learned from this other dude, his name was Achilles.
1
SPEAKER_01
That was his trail name.
1
SPEAKER_01
That s cool.
1
SPEAKER_00
Oh, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
1
SPEAKER_00
Did people really have trail names?
1
SPEAKER_00
Tell me about the trail names.
1
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, people have trail names.
1
SPEAKER_00
What was your trail name?
1
SPEAKER_01
My trail name was Old School, because all of my camping gear was old as shit.
1
SPEAKER_01
I was, like, rocking shit from the 90s.
1
SPEAKER_01
Old school.
1
SPEAKER_00
I have to ask.
1
SPEAKER_00
Yeah.
1
SPEAKER_00
The trail name.
1
SPEAKER_00
I feel like trail names are similar to nicknames where you can t really give yourself your trail name.
1
SPEAKER_00
Yeah.
1
SPEAKER_01
You can never give yourself your trail name.
1
SPEAKER_00
So what s the story of who gave you your trail name?
1
SPEAKER_01
So would you believe it if this guy was not on drugs, but he was recovering from drugs?
1
SPEAKER_01
And he was out there about like this 50 year old dude and we hiked for like, you know, about a solid two hours together.
1
SPEAKER_01
And he was just out there day hiking.
1
SPEAKER_01
We talked for a long time.
1
SPEAKER_01
He talked about going to Miami when he was younger and getting messed up on drugs, eventually getting off the drugs and getting into real estate.
1
SPEAKER_01
Right.
1
SPEAKER_01
And he was like, I love nature.
1
SPEAKER_01
It s how I got off of this.
1
SPEAKER_01
And he was really pushing me through it because he was like, as I was talking to him, he was like, you know, you have an old school way of doing things.
1
SPEAKER_01
You know, you re just out here.
1
SPEAKER_01
You re not trying to push yourself for any goals.
1
SPEAKER_01
You re just trying to be out here in nature, you know, all of your gear is old, you know, and he was just like, and he s just like, you know, and just was like, keep going, man.
1
SPEAKER_01
And, you know, I was really, really appreciated that.
1
SPEAKER_01
And like a day later, I m sitting on the side of the road, right.
1
SPEAKER_01
Cause like the trail, the Appalachian trail goes like sometimes through roads, right.
1
SPEAKER_01
And I m sitting on the side of the road, taking a break and I see a truck pull up and that dude hopped out.
1
SPEAKER_01
And he was, he said he was talking to me.
1
SPEAKER_01
He s talking about me to his wife and his wife made him go back out to give me money and food.
1
SPEAKER_01
He ended up giving me $40 and like six granola bars.
1
SPEAKER_01
And he also gave me his phone number and was like, tell me how far you get.
1
SPEAKER_01
But I also have a trail name for you.
1
SPEAKER_01
It s old school.
1
SPEAKER_01
Cause you have an old school way of doing things.
1
SPEAKER_00
That s cool.
1
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, exactly.
1
SPEAKER_01
I mean, I don t know.
1
SPEAKER_01
It s like,
1
SPEAKER_01
Crazy as the Appalachian Trail can be, it s really peaceful out there.
1
SPEAKER_01
You know, you can just, you wake up, right, and you just can look out in the sunset, see the mountains, and see just like the animals, and see just like in nature, and you re like, this is beautiful.
1
SPEAKER_01
I wish I was out here a lot more.
1
SPEAKER_01
And it made me realize that I wanted to get a job in nature.
1
SPEAKER_00
So that brings me to what I wanted when I want to know from you now is now that you And so you you did this right out of high school Yeah Okay, and so
1
SPEAKER_00
That s cool.
1
SPEAKER_00
That s a smart move, man.
1
SPEAKER_00
That s a smart move, because I feel like right when you re 18 and you graduate high school, and maybe if you want to go to college, then that s cool.
1
SPEAKER_00
Maybe you take a little bit of time after that to go and fuck around.
1
SPEAKER_00
I feel like that s a cheap, that s a fairly cheap endeavor, the Appalachian Trail.
1
SPEAKER_00
Super cheap.
1
SPEAKER_00
Is it not?
1
SPEAKER_00
Yeah.
1
SPEAKER_01
Especially if you have
1
SPEAKER_01
family that already had camping gear just like because my grandfather he already had camping gear from when he was younger he just gave me his old stuff so I mean I the trip and it only ended up costing like $400 mostly most of that was just food and just water purification not much else I didn t have to spend much money on else I had like I had tent I had bag I had you know a knife you know I had ever I had you know a stove I
1
SPEAKER_01
I mean, I d also spend some on gas, you know, like, like, you know, gas canisters, but I mean, it s a really, really cheap vacation right out of high school.
1
SPEAKER_01
And I really appreciate my time out there.
1
SPEAKER_00
That s cool.
1
SPEAKER_00
That s a good, uh, I like that, man.
1
SPEAKER_00
I think that s a smart, that s a smart, smart move to do something like that right after school.
1
SPEAKER_00
Um, what, what are you, what are you going to do now?
1
SPEAKER_01
Uh, I m in, I m in college.
1
SPEAKER_01
Um, I m trying for, I m trying, I m going on in biology.
1
SPEAKER_01
I m like a biology major focusing on ecology.
1
SPEAKER_01
I want to get like a minimum wage, like a federal minimum wage job out in the wilderness and just, you know, work on trying to protect it, you know, because I want, I want, I want people
1
SPEAKER_01
of further generations to be able to go out and be at Lasha and just like enjoy it and hopefully not get haunted by evil spirits, you know?
1
SPEAKER_00
Goddamn.
1
SPEAKER_00
You know, that s cool because like what I like about this journey is that I think the idea of going on a crazy adventure for a lot of people seems like
1
SPEAKER_00
You know, it has to be, I don t know, man, like going to Europe or doing some crazy, fancy explosion thing.
1
SPEAKER_00
But this is like a really neat and kind of efficient way of, like, putting yourself out there, meeting new people, having experiences.
1
SPEAKER_00
Because you ll remember this when you re dying.
1
SPEAKER_00
You know, you ll always remember this time you spent.
1
SPEAKER_01
And you meet, like, so many people, so many people in the world go there.
1
SPEAKER_01
Like, I met tons of people from Germany and England, and I even met a dude from, like, Japan.
1
SPEAKER_01
I only had, like, a small conversation with him, but, you know, he was still out there.
1
SPEAKER_01
There s plenty of people that love being out there.
1
SPEAKER_01
And I feel like, I feel like it s, out there, people are kinder.
1
SPEAKER_01
And it really, like, enlightened my, like, it really made me feel for other people again.
1
SPEAKER_01
because at that point, like I was, I was senior year high school.
1
SPEAKER_01
I was really, really sad, really depressed.
1
SPEAKER_01
I was lonely.
1
SPEAKER_01
And then once I went out there, people were nice to me, people would talk to me, people would give me food.
1
SPEAKER_01
So many people just gave me granola bars.
1
SPEAKER_01
I ended up getting to the point after that trail where
1
SPEAKER_01
I had to stop eating granola bars because I was so tired of granola bars.
1
SPEAKER_00
You must have had diarrhea plenty of times.
1
SPEAKER_00
What s that like when you eat so many of those fucking 501 bars and you have diarrhea in the woods?
1
SPEAKER_00
It sounds awful.
1
SPEAKER_01
I mean, you have to dig the hole you shit in.
1
SPEAKER_01
It has to be six inches deep.
1
SPEAKER_01
And you have to walk far off the trail so no one runs into it.
1
SPEAKER_01
You also have to make sure that you re not near water.
1
SPEAKER_00
What happens if you have diarrhea?
1
SPEAKER_01
So I actually did have diarrhea on trail.
1
SPEAKER_01
I had eaten a bad freeze dried pasta mix and it was not fun because every single like an hour or so I d have to run off of trail and dig fiercely.
1
SPEAKER_01
Like I m digging as quick as I can in the fucking dirt to squat down and take a shit.
1
SPEAKER_01
And every, it s painful.
1
SPEAKER_01
It was so painful.
1
SPEAKER_01
Unbelievably, one of the worst experiences I ve ever had is having diarrhea on trail and bad diarrhea.
1
SPEAKER_01
That sounds awful.
1
SPEAKER_01
Um, but, uh, a good thing is a good thing is, is I ve hacked an entire roll of toilet paper, but it took the little bit of cardboard out so I can make it squish down.
1
SPEAKER_01
So I never ran out of toilet paper and that was a blessing.
1
SPEAKER_00
Um, dude, what s your name again?
1
SPEAKER_01
Ivy.
1
SPEAKER_00
Ivy.
1
SPEAKER_00
Then that s your real name, not your trail name.
1
SPEAKER_01
It s a name I like going by.
1
SPEAKER_01
It s not my trail name.
1
SPEAKER_01
My trail name s Old School.
1
SPEAKER_01
Old School.
1
SPEAKER_00
Let s take a couple questions from the chat.
1
SPEAKER_00
Does the chat have any questions?
1
SPEAKER_01
Of course.
1
SPEAKER_01
Of course.
1
SPEAKER_00
I like this, man.
1
SPEAKER_00
Thanks for telling me about this.
1
SPEAKER_00
I find it very interesting.
1
SPEAKER_00
I like thinking about
1
SPEAKER_00
Stuff like that cool adventures, and I always think I mean everyone has different things that are important to them But like you know adventures experiences meeting people that s very important to me And I think that uh you know I like hearing about your experience like hearing about how cheap it is because I think you know hopefully it like inspires other people to Want to do something like that even if they feel like you know?
1
SPEAKER_00
Something like that is outside of their their reach.
1
SPEAKER_00
Oh Yeah, how was the hike back?
1
SPEAKER_01
oh, so
1
SPEAKER_01
Um, I hiked from the beginning in Georgia, all through the approach trail and into North Carolina to the NOC.
1
SPEAKER_01
And I didn t drive, I didn t, I was, my grandfather picked me up because there was no way I was going to hike 160 miles back to where I was going.
2
SPEAKER_01
You know, um, let s see.
2
SPEAKER_01
Um, let s see if, let me take one other question.
2
SPEAKER_01
What would you say is the absolute strangest thing that you encountered?
2
SPEAKER_01
Is it, did you encounter anything stranger than, than that guy seeing a skinwalkers?
2
SPEAKER_04
I, no, not really.
2
SPEAKER_04
Um, there was bears.
2
SPEAKER_04
Um, I never saw a bear in person.
2
SPEAKER_04
But I saw a lot of bear poop, and I would hear about this bear.
2
SPEAKER_04
There s this 15-mile section in North Carolina on Standing Indian Mountain, right?
2
SPEAKER_04
Where there was this big bear, and they called him Omar.
2
SPEAKER_04
Because he s this big bear.
2
SPEAKER_04
Like, are you familiar with The Wire?
2
SPEAKER_04
You know Omar from The Wire?
2
SPEAKER_04
Uh, no.
2
SPEAKER_04
Okay, Omar, like, he fucked a lot of shit up.
2
SPEAKER_04
He stole a lot of shit.
2
SPEAKER_04
And this bear in particular, he was smart.
2
SPEAKER_04
And he would go to these campers who would have their food stored improperly, and he would just eat their shit.
2
SPEAKER_04
He was eating everything.
2
SPEAKER_04
And normally with bears, in their poop, you see seeds, right?
2
SPEAKER_04
Because they eat fruit and stuff.
2
SPEAKER_04
Nothing.
2
SPEAKER_04
Nothing.
2
SPEAKER_04
You see plastic wrappers.
2
SPEAKER_04
And he would shit on trail.
2
SPEAKER_04
And I think that made me very, very conscious of putting your food safely away.
2
SPEAKER_04
Um, I, this is very, very important.
2
SPEAKER_04
If anyone is going out in the wilderness, especially in bear territory, make sure to hang your food.
2
SPEAKER_01
I mean, throughout history, bears have been portrayed to us as gentle folks.
2
SPEAKER_01
There s the bear in the big blue house, there s brother bear, there s, what s his name, Yogi Bear, Winnie the Pooh.
2
SPEAKER_01
But guess what Yogi Bear did?
2
SPEAKER_01
Hold on, hold on, I m not, hold on, hold on, I was gonna see how long I can name bears for.
2
SPEAKER_01
Okay, of course, of course.
2
SPEAKER_01
That s it, I only know four bears.
2
SPEAKER_04
Go ahead.
2
SPEAKER_04
It s all right.
2
SPEAKER_04
You know what?
2
SPEAKER_04
Yogi the bear, he stole picnic baskets.
2
SPEAKER_01
But he never killed people.
2
SPEAKER_04
He never killed people.
2
SPEAKER_04
And bears don t normally kill people.
2
SPEAKER_04
I mean, at least black bears.
2
SPEAKER_04
Black bears, which are normally along the Appalachian Trail, they don t kill people.
2
SPEAKER_04
I mean, as long as you re not messing with like a mother s cubs, you re fine.
2
SPEAKER_04
As long as you hang your food properly, you re fine.
2
SPEAKER_01
Real quick, somebody in the chat said Scooby-Doo.
2
SPEAKER_01
But I don t think he s a bear.
2
SPEAKER_04
I think he s a dog, maybe.
2
SPEAKER_01
Ivy, is there anything else you want to say to the people at the computer before we go?
2
SPEAKER_04
Yes.
2
SPEAKER_04
If you want to do something in your life, make steps to that goal.
2
SPEAKER_04
Because the Appalachian Trail, I had planned that for months.
2
SPEAKER_04
And I had gotten help from the internet, from my grandfather, from my mother.
2
SPEAKER_04
You talk to other people.
2
SPEAKER_04
you build slowly because I wasn t just like, Oh, I m going off the trail.
2
SPEAKER_04
Like right after graduation, I ve been playing it for months.
2
SPEAKER_04
I was working up and saving up money for it.
2
SPEAKER_04
I was getting every single bit of food.
2
SPEAKER_04
I was getting everything I needed.
2
SPEAKER_04
So the best thing to do is it s a slow process.
2
SPEAKER_04
It s an annoying process, but once you get there and you re standing on top of a mountain and you see the Eagles and the Hawks circle below you, you realize it s worth it.
2
SPEAKER_01
Thank you very much for calling, Ivy.
2
SPEAKER_04
I love you, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving, even though you re not big on holidays.
2
SPEAKER_01
Hey, you know what?
2
SPEAKER_01
Thank you very- Hey, you know what?
2
SPEAKER_01
You have a wonderful Thanksgiving, too.
2
SPEAKER_01
You know what?
2
SPEAKER_01
You ve inspired me.
2
SPEAKER_01
You ve inspired the people who are listening to want to take a step towards a thing they want to do in life, and you ve inspired me to spend at least 60 more seconds after this phone call trying to think of different bears.
2
SPEAKER_04
Of course.
2
SPEAKER_04
Best of luck to you on that bear.
2
SPEAKER_04
Remember, cocaine bear.
2
SPEAKER_01
That s another important one.
2
SPEAKER_01
Start me off on a good one.
2
SPEAKER_01
Thank you, Avi.
2
SPEAKER_01
Best of luck to you, too.
2
SPEAKER_04
Best of luck to you, too, man.
2
SPEAKER_04
Bye.
2
SPEAKER_01
I like that call.
2
SPEAKER_01
That was a cool guy.
2
SPEAKER_01
Just real quick.
2
SPEAKER_01
There s the bear.
2
SPEAKER_01
Now I m cheating a little bit.
2
SPEAKER_01
I just Googled bears.
2
SPEAKER_01
There s the bear from Open Season.
2
SPEAKER_01
He s a bear.
2
SPEAKER_01
There s the bear from Brickleberry.
2
SPEAKER_01
There s Kung Fu Panda.
2
SPEAKER_01
That counts.
2
SPEAKER_01
Pandas are bears.
2
SPEAKER_01
Norm from the North.
2
SPEAKER_01
That s a good bear.
2
SPEAKER_01
Oh, Paddington Bear.
2
SPEAKER_01
How did I forget Paddington Bear?
2
SPEAKER_01
Um... Oh, the Country Bear Jamboree.
2
SPEAKER_01
Any other bears?
2
SPEAKER_01
I think... Why is Huckleberry Hound on here?
2
SPEAKER_01
That s...
2
SPEAKER_01
This is the second time somebody s confused a dog for a bear.
2
SPEAKER_01
Thanks for calling Ivy.
2
SPEAKER_01
I m gonna try to call this guy from Denmark.
2
SPEAKER_03
You don t have enough credit to make this call.
2
SPEAKER_03
Go to voice settings and add credit to your Google Voice account.
2
SPEAKER_01
Wait, can I fucking do that?
2
SPEAKER_01
Hold on.
2
SPEAKER_01
Alright, hold on.
2
SPEAKER_01
Calling rate.
2
SPEAKER_01
Let me see how much it costs to go to Denmark.
2
SPEAKER_01
Alright.
2
SPEAKER_01
Alright, so in Denmark.
2
SPEAKER_01
Alright, so if I wanted to talk to Ethan for 20 minutes, it would cost... Alright, it would cost about 40 cents.
2
SPEAKER_01
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
2
SPEAKER_01
Says here, your name is Ethan.
2
SPEAKER_01
You are from Denmark.
2
SPEAKER_01
For those who are listening on the podcast, I just put $10 of credit into Google Voice so I could make this call to Ethan, and it s gonna cost about two cents per minute.
2
SPEAKER_01
I don t know why I included that information, but I felt like it was important to know that I am financially committed to talking to people from Denmark.
2
SPEAKER_01
You said hi?
2
SPEAKER_01
Gack, my name is Ethan, I m from Denmark, and I might be a psychopath.
2
SPEAKER_01
Is that accurate?
2
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, yeah, I guess.
2
SPEAKER_01
Uh, what s going on, Ethan?
2
SPEAKER_01
Tell me what s up.
2
SPEAKER_02
Well, you know, people say sometimes they don t think like they can feel as much, you know?
2
SPEAKER_02
But I honestly don t think I feel.
2
SPEAKER_01
How old are you?
2
SPEAKER_02
I m 20, 21.
2
SPEAKER_02
Okay.
2
SPEAKER_01
And you feel like you don t feel.
2
SPEAKER_02
Yeah.
2
SPEAKER_02
Like I don t have like sympathy for people.
2
SPEAKER_02
And I heard like you were in a podcast on like Spotify.
2
SPEAKER_02
You were like watching some brutal, brutal shit on like those leaking websites of people like dying.
2
SPEAKER_02
Yeah.
2
SPEAKER_00
Yeah.
2
SPEAKER_02
Yeah.
2
SPEAKER_02
And I just, just don t feel anything.
2
SPEAKER_02
It s like,
2
SPEAKER_01
Sympathy for you Well, um, I mean let okay, let s start Deep because I mean it s one thing, you know people you don t know, but let s start like do you?
2
SPEAKER_01
Do you parents?
2
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, no, I don t that s might be the problem Okay Do you have any friends?
2
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, I have, like, three, like, friends.
2
SPEAKER_01
How long have you been friends with your three friends?
2
SPEAKER_02
I d say, like, ten years.
2
SPEAKER_01
A bit more.
2
SPEAKER_01
Do you enjoy their company and friendship?
2
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, yeah, like, I have to, like, be with my friends, or else I can t, like, function.
2
SPEAKER_01
Would you not classify that as a feeling?
2
SPEAKER_01
Or an emotional connection of some kind?
2
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, yeah.
2
SPEAKER_02
I do have some feelings, but like, it s just the main feeling, like the family-oriented, the girlfriend, boyfriend, vibing.
2
SPEAKER_02
I just, I don t, I don t have anything like that, you know?
2
SPEAKER_02
Like the only thing, the only thing like making me want to wake up is like,
2
SPEAKER_01
like just nicotine beer and my friends i mean look those three things um that sounds pretty awesome so uh i wouldn t beat yourself up about it too bad but um do you have a job yeah what do you do i m like i m driving like so i just listen to your like podcast on podcast on the
2
SPEAKER_02
Spotify.
2
SPEAKER_02
It s pretty much like I m alone, but I like it.
3
SPEAKER_00
Okay, I guess what I mean look obviously being like addicted to alcohol and cigarettes is not great, but um I guess what I m what I m curious about is I m gonna okay.
3
SPEAKER_00
I m gonna make an observation after having talked to you for only four minutes, but it s a gut feeling that I m having right now
3
SPEAKER_00
And it s a normal thing, and I do it too, and I think everyone does it.
3
SPEAKER_00
Are you, like, comparing yourself to some fantasy version of yourself that doesn t exist?
3
SPEAKER_00
That s, like, you know, married with a family and, you know, cares about, like, saving the dogs and stuff like that?
3
SPEAKER_01
Mmm.
3
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, I think I like I want to have a family like that.
3
SPEAKER_01
I do family house dog kids wife But I just just I just don t have the feelings Like that kept what do you think capacity to like do that?
3
SPEAKER_00
I don t know.
3
SPEAKER_00
I I I I
3
SPEAKER_00
Nothing you ve told me so far indicates to me that you don t have feelings.
3
SPEAKER_01
Well, of course you have some feelings, but there s just like, I think I m like missing key feelings for like having a life like a normal person.
3
SPEAKER_00
What s your idea of a normal person?
3
SPEAKER_00
Like just like a random nine-to-five job and just a normal family House dog wife kids everything I Mean I have a few thoughts about this stuff I Think What I think you re pretty young I
3
SPEAKER_01
first of all for um you know a wife and children and a dog yeah of course i don t want to get but but i it s been like my whole life like four years i ve been trying to like have a stable relationship but i it s it s just boring and i just end up don t caring about them or anything why is
3
SPEAKER_00
Why is that?
3
SPEAKER_00
So, how many, how many times?
3
SPEAKER_00
Hmm.
3
SPEAKER_00
How many times have you been in a relationship that failed because you just realized you didn t care that much about the other person?
3
SPEAKER_00
Four, I think.
3
SPEAKER_00
Okay.
3
SPEAKER_00
Um.
3
SPEAKER_00
Where d you meet these people?
3
SPEAKER_00
Well, tell me, tell me, give me, give me the most recent person.
3
SPEAKER_00
Tell me about your most recent relationship, how it went down, how you met them.
3
SPEAKER_00
who they are.
3
SPEAKER_01
Well, we went to like just what you would like to make of high school.
3
SPEAKER_01
Met in class, just hung out, like to of course in the start it was just like a like easy hit, you know, but then you meet again and again and again and you just end up like catching feelings.
3
SPEAKER_00
Hold on.
3
SPEAKER_00
So you, you, you caught feelings.
3
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, I guess, but it s, I don t, that s the problem.
3
SPEAKER_01
I don t know if it s feelings or if it s just the need of like having someone to like, like a comfort in life.
3
SPEAKER_01
Maybe that s what I m missing.
3
SPEAKER_00
Is, when you say like, I mean, catching feelings, is it like, is it like a pure lust thing?
3
SPEAKER_00
Or is it just a pure, like, I need a girlfriend to check off the checklist of, of, of life?
3
SPEAKER_01
I think it s more of like, who else am I going to like say just all the random things to someone I can, when I feel like lonely, I can just be there.
3
SPEAKER_00
It s like a safety thing I think These all sound like I Okay If we could take a step back for like a so what s your name again?
3
SPEAKER_00
Ethan if we could take a step back for like a second I
3
SPEAKER_00
Just you you you texted me you started off this phone call by saying that you were a psychopath But it s like the feelings I m not like like, you know, the the TV psychopath killing like Patrick Bateman type shit it s just
3
SPEAKER_01
I think there s many ways you can be a psychopath.
3
SPEAKER_00
I don t know if you need to be walk- I- I just- I don t think that because you haven t had a successful relationship by the age of- I don t think because you haven t had a successful relationship and the kids and a dog by the age of 21 that you got to be walking around with this like belief that you are a psychopath.
3
SPEAKER_00
That s so- that s a little strong.
3
SPEAKER_01
It s not just like the girlfriends.
3
SPEAKER_00
Okay, and tell me about something that has something to do with that that you think makes you a psychopath.
3
SPEAKER_01
Well, since I have like no parents, like I have like these.
3
SPEAKER_01
What you could like categorize as like a step step family.
3
SPEAKER_01
Yeah.
3
SPEAKER_01
And they already have had kids like they have two kids and they were all you know every Friday night they were like having fun playing some card games or whatever and I was just
3
SPEAKER_01
Never there, I just didn t care that they were, I don t know.
3
SPEAKER_00
Tell me about your, go ahead, keep going.
3
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, but I just don t know where to go.
3
SPEAKER_01
They had a healthy relationship with each other and I was never there.
3
SPEAKER_01
I just didn t care.
3
SPEAKER_01
I was out late night.
3
SPEAKER_01
Walking I Just I feel like I m missing some key feelings in life Okay, what about your friends like you you said to me
3
SPEAKER_00
You said to me you said I might one of the like if I couldn t be around my friends I couldn t function so you you re not like a a complete you re not like um you know sitting at home microwaving hamsters all day you know you you hang out with people who are your friends
3
SPEAKER_01
I guess I guess You know I I m thinking about this because I
3
SPEAKER_00
I feel like I ve had similar feelings before of like looking at the world around me and like looking at you know quote normal people and being like I don t feel a strong
3
SPEAKER_00
you know comparing myself to other people and and their relationships and how they live their life and thinking about myself like oh why is that not appealing to me um there must be something wrong with me um but i i don t think that that makes you necessarily a psychopath
3
SPEAKER_00
Again, I think it s a strong, I know it s, I know it s, I know that, I know it s your favorite word.
3
SPEAKER_00
I know you love that word, but I think it s strong.
3
SPEAKER_01
I don t, I don t categorize myself as a psychopath, but I just don t know what else to call it.
3
SPEAKER_01
Like the odd one out.
3
SPEAKER_01
I don t know.
3
SPEAKER_00
But you have, but you have friends.
3
SPEAKER_01
Yeah.
3
SPEAKER_00
so i guess like not every person is going to be appealing to you to hang out with not every social situation is going to be appealing to you but i don t know it s not like i m social awkward or anything like i m quite open right but i think it s
4
SPEAKER_01
Might just be fake, you know, what do you mean fake?
4
SPEAKER_01
Like I m not open I m very like I m shy and I don t talk as much but like when there is people I do because I want to like seem like a Like normal normal teenager I d
4
SPEAKER_01
Like I m trying to be someone I m not.
4
SPEAKER_00
thoughts about myself like when like i ve had i ve been there before i ve had like oh there s a like normal human being who like wants to you know do these things or hang out with these people or do these things like i have in my head of like what a normal human fucking being is and throughout my life been like oh why do i not feel like a normal person but you re just i don t
4
SPEAKER_00
The more I ve gotten older and reflected on that, the more I m just like, I don t think there is a normal human being.
4
SPEAKER_00
I don t think that there is, like, some standard of a way to live life that we all must align ourselves with, or else we are evil and wrong.
4
SPEAKER_00
And psychopathic.
4
SPEAKER_00
And I think that it takes a little while to truly internalize that, but I think you gotta dispel that belief because it s based on nothing.
4
SPEAKER_00
Do you know what I m saying?
4
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, kinda, kinda.
4
SPEAKER_00
It s just fucking I mean to put it simply it s just comparing yourself to other people which is like the number one The way to hate yourself all the time but everyone I ve like met like opened up to the same thing and it s just Not working and everybody.
4
SPEAKER_00
What do you hold on what everyone you ve opened up to about this says the same thing.
4
SPEAKER_00
What do they say?
4
SPEAKER_00
Did they say what I just said?
4
SPEAKER_01
yeah no no they just say to like talk to a like therapy real real therapy oh yeah you should do that too that s that s a good idea to talk to a non-gecko guy but i honestly like just a podcast helps more than like the real real thing i think but it s it s it s everyone i ve met says like go to therapy and i ve been there but it just
4
SPEAKER_01
doesn t do anything for me.
4
SPEAKER_00
What did they tell you in therapy?
4
SPEAKER_01
That s the thing.
4
SPEAKER_01
I don t think I get anything out of it.
4
SPEAKER_00
What did they tell you though?
4
SPEAKER_01
Like they tell me, they ll tell me it s like important to like, like speak when I feel.
4
SPEAKER_01
Instead of keeping it in, you know?
4
SPEAKER_01
But I just don t.
4
SPEAKER_00
You said it s important to speak when you feel.
4
SPEAKER_01
Yeah.
4
SPEAKER_01
So like, when I feel, when I feel something, I have to like, show it, express it.
4
SPEAKER_01
I don t know, crying or something.
4
SPEAKER_00
I can see why that d be helpful.
4
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, for sure.
4
SPEAKER_00
But it s, I just can t.
4
SPEAKER_01
I don t know.
4
SPEAKER_01
I know last time I cried, it was in February, 2016.
4
SPEAKER_00
hmm so it s like i m clogged or something i mean look i think continuing to see a real therapist is good but um i don t know if you get anything out of this conversation i hope it s um just the understanding that like there s no
4
SPEAKER_00
I mean you can really fu- you can just really fuck yourself a lot by holding yourself to imaginary benchmarks of normalcy that are established by no particularly compelling authority, you know.
4
SPEAKER_00
I mean, you re- you re- you re the only authority on your own life and your own benchmarks and not- and that s- and that s- that s- by the way, that s fucking sacred.
4
SPEAKER_00
Okay, that s like the- that s like the thing that you get to have as a- that s like your birthright as a human being, is that you get to set the own benchmarks for your life of how you want to be and exist in the world.
4
SPEAKER_00
Never give that up.
4
SPEAKER_00
ever to some idea of normalcy, okay?
4
SPEAKER_01
But I just think I want the normalcy.
4
SPEAKER_00
Well then, well then, then go, then what s the problem?
4
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, I don t know.
4
SPEAKER_01
I m just like, I m not there.
4
SPEAKER_01
I m just, I m just not ready for anything.
4
SPEAKER_01
And I don t think I m going to be ready ever for like having anything to do with
4
SPEAKER_01
real relationship because it just gets boring even even though i m very attached well if it gets well hold on if it gets boring then why do you want it i don t know i that s what i m saying i think it s a safety thing i need to feel i just i think i like the feeling when people need me like some some sort of like power like i have the power over someone
4
SPEAKER_00
Well, that s a terrible reason to get into a relationship.
4
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, I know Ethan Ethan Ethan Ethan By the way, Denmark has the best fucking 7-elevens in the whole world.
4
SPEAKER_00
There s this honey chicken.
4
SPEAKER_00
Do you live near 7-eleven?
4
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, yeah, I just went in this to see.
4
SPEAKER_00
Bro, the 7-Elevens in Denmark are awesome.
4
SPEAKER_00
They have this, like, honey chicken skewer thing.
4
SPEAKER_00
They have this, um, like, meat pie sausage thing with, um, ketchup.
4
SPEAKER_00
It s so good.
4
SPEAKER_01
When have you been to Denmark?
4
SPEAKER_00
I mean, I ve been to Denmark twice.
4
SPEAKER_00
Do you live in Copenhagen?
4
SPEAKER_01
No, I live in, like, like, the complete other side.
4
SPEAKER_01
It s Aalborg.
4
SPEAKER_00
um it s up up or down i don t know see if i if i if i lived in denmark whenever i got depressed i would just go to 7-eleven and just binge it d be sick 7-eleven it s boring um ethan i i look first of all i hope you got some semblance of something out of this phone call but of course
4
SPEAKER_00
Don t don t don t be so fast to write yourself off You know, I don t I don t think that s I don t think it s logical for you to do that Yeah, I might not Might not be healthy Is there anything else you want to say to the people of the computer before we go?
4
SPEAKER_01
No, just take care and it s it s been an honor talking to you Hey, man, it s been an honor talking to you too.
4
SPEAKER_00
I still I still think it s crazy to me that like
4
SPEAKER_00
People in Denmark- People in like a random place in Denmark are listening to my Stupid Gecko podcast.
4
SPEAKER_00
I think that s sick, so, you know, it s an honor to talk to you too, man.
4
SPEAKER_01
Oh, they have many- You have many listeners on Spotify, don t you?
4
SPEAKER_00
Um... Way more than- Yeah, I guess- I guess so- Well, I did a show in Denmark!
4
SPEAKER_00
We- I don t know if you were there, you- Copenhagen sounds like it s far from you, but, um... Yeah, it s like four hours.
4
SPEAKER_00
It s cool, so... Thanks for listening to my stupid thing, and I hope that you, uh... Stop thinking you re a psychopath.
4
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, I don t know.
4
SPEAKER_01
I don t know what to think, but thank you.
4
SPEAKER_01
Thank you for your time.
4
SPEAKER_01
Take care, Ethan.
4
SPEAKER_01
You too.
4
SPEAKER_00
I think that, well actually I ll say this, I ll say this too, and this is, I didn t touch on anything cultural in that phone call, but everywhere I went in Scandinavia, I did a tour of doing my live show in Europe this summer, and everywhere I went in Scandinavia before I did my show, somebody told me, they were like, don t be surprised if
5
SPEAKER_01
Nobody laughs or talks or says anything, because the people in Scandinavia are known for having no emotions.
5
SPEAKER_01
So, I don t know, maybe it s a cultural thing, but... I guess comparing yourself to other people, I guess that s a universal thing.
5
SPEAKER_01
Or comparing yourself to, like, some standard of normalcy.
5
SPEAKER_01
You know what else is funny on this podcast?
5
SPEAKER_01
It s like I m always telling people to do s- Every- Every time I- I just- I wanna make this clear so that people don t think that I m awesome all the time.
5
SPEAKER_01
Like, anytime I... You know, am, like, saying these things to people, I m really- I really just feel like I m reinforcing them to myself.
5
SPEAKER_01
You know?
5
SPEAKER_01
When I m over here, I m like, why don t I... Why don t I... Why do I have this weird life?
5
SPEAKER_01
Why do I have to, like...
5
SPEAKER_01
you know, go do a bunch of weird stuff with my life instead of just like having a normal, you know, existence.
5
SPEAKER_01
But that s not, I don t, there s no, I, I meant what I said.
5
SPEAKER_01
I don t think that there s some imaginary fucking benchmark of how life should be lived.
5
SPEAKER_01
And I do, I do think that s a sacred thing.
5
SPEAKER_01
And I do think that the honey chicken from 7-Eleven is the best food in all of Europe.
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SPEAKER_01
Hey guys, it s Lyle here.
5
SPEAKER_01
I m about to do some ad reads, but if you re a premium member of the podcast, you will not hear them.
5
SPEAKER_01
Premium members, or Gek Legends, as I like to call them, get access to every episode of this podcast ad-free.
5
SPEAKER_01
They also get bonus episodes, recordings for my live shows, members-only streams, and they support my ability to keep doing this show for a long time,
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SPEAKER_01
do it in cooler, more interesting places, and also eat food, which is important.
5
SPEAKER_01
If any of that sounds cool to you, you can go to therapygecko.supercast.com to become a GECK legend, or find the link in the episode description.
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SPEAKER_01
Alright, let s do some ads.
5
Hello?
5
SPEAKER_00
Hello, how are you?
5
SPEAKER_01
I m doing all right.
5
SPEAKER_01
How are you?
5
SPEAKER_00
Honestly, I don t know.
5
SPEAKER_00
Grieving some friendships and, uh, oh, and, uh, my main text message or the text message, the text message I sent you was about my lawsuit.
5
SPEAKER_00
So I guess I ll talk about that.
5
SPEAKER_00
Sorry.
5
SPEAKER_00
I m nervous.
5
SPEAKER_01
No, no worries.
5
SPEAKER_01
Well, it says here that your name is Kylie, and you are, quote, in a stupid lawsuit situation over, quote, a dumb-ass hat.
5
SPEAKER_01
Wait, do you mean a dumb-ass hat, or a dumb-ass hat?
5
SPEAKER_00
Uh, it s a work hat, to be specific.
5
SPEAKER_01
Oh, okay, let s hear this.
5
SPEAKER_00
So, I have a medical condition.
5
SPEAKER_00
It s an autoimmune disorder called chronic urticaria.
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SPEAKER_00
Um, so I m allergic to my sweat and like a lot of parts of myself, which really sucks.
5
SPEAKER_00
So anyway, um, I was working at our local university here and, um, anyway, I was there for six years and, uh, this one lady ended up getting promoted and I actually did a lot of her dishes because I was a dishwasher.
5
SPEAKER_00
So anyway, uh, she got promoted and, um,
5
SPEAKER_00
So I hadn t been wearing a hat.
5
SPEAKER_00
Sorry, it s hard to explain.
5
SPEAKER_00
I hadn t been wearing a hat for like a year or so.
5
SPEAKER_00
Plenty of managers and other employees were also not wearing hats.
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SPEAKER_00
So like it was never an issue.
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SPEAKER_00
And so when this woman got promoted, she noticed I wasn t wearing a hat and brought me up to HR.
5
SPEAKER_00
And anyway, they asked me to get a doctor s note
5
SPEAKER_00
basically stating that I couldn t wear a hat.
5
SPEAKER_00
And I got it.
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SPEAKER_00
I got that doctor s note.
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SPEAKER_00
And that doctor s note got me fired.
5
SPEAKER_01
I m so sorry if you said this already, but can I ask, where do you work?
5
SPEAKER_01
What is this place?
5
SPEAKER_00
It was the university.
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SPEAKER_00
Sorry, I should have specified.
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SPEAKER_00
It s called campus dining.
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SPEAKER_00
I won t say where exactly, but yeah.
5
SPEAKER_01
When you say, when you say a hat, do you mean like when you, cause you said campus dining, this isn t something where like you re working with food and you need like a hair tie, right?
5
SPEAKER_01
This is just like a cosmetic hat.
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SPEAKER_00
Uh, it s, it s a uniform hat.
5
SPEAKER_00
Yeah.
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SPEAKER_00
Like chat thing.
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SPEAKER_00
Um, yeah.
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SPEAKER_00
So I basically denied, uh, I denied putting the hat on.
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SPEAKER_00
Basically because, you know, for like a year or so, here I am thinking it s okay to not wear a hat.
5
SPEAKER_00
You know, and there s many managers and employees who are working alongside me, you know, serving the students food and all that.
5
SPEAKER_00
And so anyway, they, it s really funny, HR, they gave me unrealistic options.
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SPEAKER_00
I don t know.
5
SPEAKER_00
Like one option was straight up like 50 miles away from me.
5
SPEAKER_00
So that would mean I would have to, you know, move away.
5
SPEAKER_00
So I don t know.
5
SPEAKER_00
It s just it s a really stupid situation.
5
SPEAKER_00
And my court date is what?
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SPEAKER_00
Three three weeks from now.
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SPEAKER_00
And I m I m confused.
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SPEAKER_01
I m I m I m confused for a second.
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SPEAKER_01
Are you suing them or are they suing you?
5
SPEAKER_00
Oh, no, I m suing them because essentially
5
SPEAKER_00
I was fired over a medical condition.
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SPEAKER_00
Again, they asked me for a doctor s note, and I got them that note, and they are trying to say that I quit, but in reality, they put me against a hard place, between a rock and a hard place, essentially.
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SPEAKER_00
So, I don t know.
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SPEAKER_00
I don t know.
5
SPEAKER_01
Do you think you re going to win this lawsuit?
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SPEAKER_01
Have you talked to your lawyer?
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SPEAKER_01
Does your lawyer think you re going to win?
5
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, he thinks I have a pretty good case, which is reassuring to a degree.
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SPEAKER_00
I don t know.
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SPEAKER_00
I ve never been.
5
SPEAKER_01
I ll say this on the bright side.
5
SPEAKER_01
You I assume would are going to win if you if your lawyer is right and you do have a good case.
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SPEAKER_01
I assume that you re going to procure much more money than you would have procured had they had they not fired you.
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SPEAKER_00
Right.
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SPEAKER_00
Right.
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SPEAKER_00
Yeah.
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SPEAKER_00
And my lawyer and I we ve we ve done a lot of the calculations.
5
SPEAKER_00
Again, it s been about two years, and I ve lost I m not too sure how many thousands of dollars, but yeah, maybe thirty to forty thousand dollars so far Okay, that s another thing I was going to ask you I how much money in legal fee you re spending like forty thousand dollars in legal fees over the past two years to sue this to sue this company oh No, no, I didn t mean that sorry I just mean like the
5
SPEAKER_00
The amount of money that I ve lost from losing that job.
5
SPEAKER_01
Oh, yes, damages.
5
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, that s $40,000 over the course of how many years?
5
SPEAKER_00
Well, it s almost been two years almost.
5
SPEAKER_00
So it s probably gone up by now.
5
SPEAKER_00
But yeah, and my lawyer was about $1,000.
5
SPEAKER_00
So yeah.
5
SPEAKER_01
So let me ask you that this happened two years ago.
5
SPEAKER_01
What have you been doing in the meantime?
5
SPEAKER_00
Right.
5
SPEAKER_00
Um, so, so, um, since they fired me, um, they tried to make it sound like I quit.
5
SPEAKER_00
So I was denied my unemployment for six, seven months.
5
SPEAKER_00
So, um, I was working with my dad, uh, mostly just trying to get by and I m still trying to pay off my Invisalign, which is hard.
5
SPEAKER_00
So it was hard trying to keep up with that bill.
5
SPEAKER_00
Um,
5
SPEAKER_00
And, uh, so anyway, uh, earlier this year I applied at a grocery store.
5
SPEAKER_00
So that s about it.
5
SPEAKER_01
Um, I m curious just, uh, like, so this thing makes you allergic to your own sweats.
5
SPEAKER_00
Right.
5
SPEAKER_00
It s, it s stupid.
5
SPEAKER_00
And, um, what made me, um, what got my attention?
5
SPEAKER_00
was I started breaking out in hives in the shower from the heat.
5
SPEAKER_00
So I think it s like, I don t know.
5
SPEAKER_00
There s something in the sweat.
5
SPEAKER_00
Supposedly it s like a protein.
5
SPEAKER_00
I m not entirely sure, but I never had this growing up.
5
SPEAKER_00
It kind of came about, I don t know, six or seven years ago after a super stressful situation.
6
SPEAKER_02
So I think it s genetic and I guess mostly women get it.
6
SPEAKER_02
I m sure men get it too.
6
SPEAKER_03
Are you, are there any other like, like you said you re allergic to other like parts of your body?
6
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, so I m allergic to my snot.
6
SPEAKER_02
I m allergic to my spit.
6
SPEAKER_02
I m allergic to my tears.
6
SPEAKER_03
Wait, you re allergic to, how does that, like when, how do the allergies manifest themselves?
6
SPEAKER_03
Like do you just swell up when you cry?
6
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, my eyes just get really itchy, like my whole face actually.
6
SPEAKER_02
It goes away though, like it s mostly just discomfort, like it s not...
6
SPEAKER_03
life-threatening or anything like that, but it s just annoying fucking kick in the ass that like something happens to make you sad and then You get double you get double sad.
6
SPEAKER_02
Mm-hmm.
6
SPEAKER_02
Mm-hmm.
6
SPEAKER_02
No, exactly.
6
SPEAKER_02
It s like come on now.
6
SPEAKER_03
I don t want to be At least I hope I hope in those moments that the physical pain takes away from the emotional pain that s the you know last half full way of looking at it and
6
SPEAKER_02
Yeah.
6
SPEAKER_02
Yeah.
6
SPEAKER_02
So it s just been really stressful.
6
SPEAKER_02
Like I actually gained like 50, 50 pounds because of the stress.
6
SPEAKER_02
And I think that s also because of this antidepressant I m on as well, though.
6
SPEAKER_02
So but stress, stress is so bad for us.
6
SPEAKER_02
Like just seeing how it s affected me.
6
SPEAKER_02
I don t know.
6
SPEAKER_02
It s crazy.
6
SPEAKER_03
How how far do you think you are from settling your lawsuit?
6
SPEAKER_02
Well, our court date is November 15th, so fingers crossed that the jury is on my side.
6
SPEAKER_03
You gonna whip up some tears?
6
SPEAKER_02
I hope not.
6
SPEAKER_03
Yeah, see that s a double-edged sword too, is that you can t, you know, you can t use your tears to compel a jury in a court case.
6
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, it sucks being allergic to your own fucking tears, dude.
6
SPEAKER_02
It s not fun.
6
SPEAKER_02
What s your name again?
6
SPEAKER_02
It s Kylie.
6
SPEAKER_02
Like Kylie Minogue.
6
SPEAKER_02
Kylie.
6
SPEAKER_03
Well, Kylie, before we go, I feel like we ve only talked about the pressing things.
6
SPEAKER_03
I do want to know if anything good is going on in your life.
6
SPEAKER_02
Thank you so much.
6
SPEAKER_02
I appreciate that.
6
SPEAKER_02
And right back at you.
6
SPEAKER_02
I m a DJ.
6
SPEAKER_02
I just try to work on music.
6
SPEAKER_02
I don t know, I m just trying to win this lawsuit and, um, just, yeah, just trying to focus on the good and mostly just music, so.
6
SPEAKER_03
I, uh, I have a great deal of respect for you being a DJ because I feel as though a nightclub is a terrible place for a person allergic to their own sweat to be.
6
SPEAKER_02
I know!
6
SPEAKER_02
Tell me about it!
6
SPEAKER_02
It fucking sucks.
6
SPEAKER_02
Oh, that s so funny.
6
SPEAKER_02
Yeah.
6
SPEAKER_03
You gotta attach some fans to your deck.
6
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, no kidding.
6
SPEAKER_02
I actually need to invest in one of those like neck fans that you see people at festivals wearing.
6
SPEAKER_03
Yeah, I like that.
6
SPEAKER_03
That s cool.
6
SPEAKER_03
That s cool.
6
SPEAKER_03
I m just glad, I m glad this lawsuit s not like, you know, encompassing every thought that you have in your brain and you re actually exerting some time and energy to a thing that s exciting.
6
SPEAKER_02
Yes, it s hard, man.
6
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, I guess just trying to be mindful and meditation is good because the more I ruminate, I can tell like even my skin symptoms start to act up.
6
SPEAKER_02
So it s like I have to kind of not let stress take over me.
6
SPEAKER_03
Are you playing any gigs anytime soon?
6
SPEAKER_02
No, not.
6
SPEAKER_02
I don t know.
6
SPEAKER_02
I had a couple gigs actually, um, here at our local beach, but, um, yeah, I think I ve had quite a few in the last like month.
6
SPEAKER_02
So I need a break.
6
SPEAKER_03
If you win your court, if you win your court case, you can have a little, you can throw a little party.
6
SPEAKER_02
Exactly.
6
SPEAKER_02
No, that s my goal.
6
SPEAKER_02
I actually really want to be, I mean, some people think it s silly, but I really want to be a promoter.
6
SPEAKER_02
My,
6
SPEAKER_02
Like, the town I m in, we don t really have a good music scene like we do.
6
SPEAKER_03
What town is it?
6
SPEAKER_02
Oh, like the music scene.
6
SPEAKER_02
A lot of it s just tech house.
6
SPEAKER_03
No, no, no, no.
6
SPEAKER_03
What town?
6
SPEAKER_02
Oh, uh, San Luis Obispo.
6
SPEAKER_03
I don t even know what you just said, so it tracks like you don t have a good music scene there.
6
SPEAKER_02
It s right in between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
6
SPEAKER_03
The way that you just said it, that sounded kind of like a DJ beat.
6
SPEAKER_03
Santa Buenos Aires, yeah?
6
SPEAKER_03
Santa Buenos Aires, yeah?
6
SPEAKER_02
Hell yeah.
6
SPEAKER_03
What s your nick?
6
SPEAKER_03
Kylie?
6
SPEAKER_02
Yeah.
6
SPEAKER_03
Kylie, is there anything else you want to say to the people at the computer before we go?
6
SPEAKER_02
Big up.
6
SPEAKER_02
Love you guys.
6
SPEAKER_02
I don t know.
6
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, big up, chat.
6
SPEAKER_03
Get blessed.
6
SPEAKER_03
I will manifest you winning this lawsuit.
6
SPEAKER_03
I don t know if I m one for manifestation, but God, I ll try anything.
6
SPEAKER_02
You never know.
6
SPEAKER_02
You never know.
6
SPEAKER_03
Take care, Kylie.
6
SPEAKER_02
You too.
6
SPEAKER_02
Bye.
6
SPEAKER_03
Hello folks, it s Lyle here.
6
SPEAKER_03
That s the end of this episode, but get this, I m releasing a bonus episode this week.
6
SPEAKER_03
That s right, an entire extra hour of the podcast that you can listen to by becoming a premium member of Therapy Gecko over at therapygecko.supercast.com.
6
SPEAKER_03
Supercast subscribers get access to bonus episodes, they get a completely ad-free podcast feed of the regular show, they get recordings from my live shows, members-only streams, and they help support my ability to continue doing this podcast.
6
SPEAKER_03
So here s a clip from this week s members-only bonus episode.
6
SPEAKER_01
I had always collected skulls, like I always loved animal skulls.
6
SPEAKER_01
I have deer skulls and big cool
6
SPEAKER_01
elk antlers and just big animal skulls, but then I guess I graduated to human skulls.
6
SPEAKER_03
Do you ever think about the human that is behind the skull, like the human that the skull once belonged to?
6
SPEAKER_01
I do, actually.
6
SPEAKER_01
I think about it a lot.
6
SPEAKER_03
How old are these people whose skulls you have?
6
SPEAKER_01
It s hard to say.
6
SPEAKER_01
I have one that is a Tibetan kapala, a skull cap used in Buddhist ritual stuff.
6
SPEAKER_01
and it s carved, but it s a very, very small skull cap, so I think that one was an adolescent or a child.
6
SPEAKER_03
You have a Tibetan child skull?
6
SPEAKER_03
If you want to hear this full conversation, you can sign up to become a premium member at therapygecko.supercast.com or find the link in the episode description.
6
SPEAKER_03
That s therapygecko.supercast.com.
6
SPEAKER_03
All right, I have nothing else to say.
6
SPEAKER_00
But he s not really an expert.