Christina Pazsitzky On Appreciating The Miraculousness Of Existence

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0:38Whether you just got started holiday shopping or you're finishing up, these PCs and accessories make perfect gifts for everyone on your list. Shop now at dell.com slash deals and don't miss out on the best prices of the year. That's dell.com slash deals. I got an amazing night's sleep last night. One, because my six-year-old fell asleep in the car at like six o 'clock and he transferred him from the car seat to the bed and it stuck, which is just magic. So he's in bed way earlier than normal. But I sleep really well every night because I have a Eight Sleep Pod 5 Ultra, which is Eight Sleep's best product.

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2:26Welcome to the weekend edition of The Daily Stoic. Each weekday, we bring you a meditation inspired by the ancient Stoics, something to help you live up to those four Stoic virtues of courage, justice, temperance, and wisdom. And then here on the weekend, we take a deeper dive into those same topics. We interview Stoic philosophers. we explore at length how these stoic ideas can be applied to our actual lives and the challenging issues of our time. Here on the weekend, when you have a little bit more space, when things have slowed down, be sure to take some time to think, to go for a walk, to sit with your journal, and most importantly, to prepare for what the week ahead may bring.

3:20Hey, it's Ryan Holiday. Welcome to another episode of the Daily Stoic Podcast. There is obviously this perception that stoicism is boring, that it's dour, that it's devoid of any and all emotions, any sort of zest or joy for life. We've talked many times about how this isn't true, but I think one of the areas that we can really combat this is by showing that the Stoics had a sense of humor. There's jokes, even in meditations, Mark Surrealis repeats this weird joke we don't quite get about how this guy's so rich and his house is so full of stuff, he doesn't have any place to go to the bathroom.

3:59So even Mark Surrealis, who people don't seem to think as, I don't think many people would read as funny, actually is funny. And the Stoics love the theater, right, which is where they would have seen comedy, not just tragedies, but also comedy. and that's why I love talking to comedians. And in today's episode, in the case of today's episode, we have an interesting quirk where we are talking to an Oxford-trained philosophy student and a hugely successful and very funny comedian, the one and only Christina Pazinski, aka Christina P. You've probably seen her many specials on Netflix. You've probably seen her hugely popular podcast.

4:42which she hosts with her husband, Tom Segura, Your Mom's House. She has her own podcast, Where's My Mom's At? And just an overall really smart, really hilarious person. I first heard her when she was on Marc Maron's podcast many years ago. And now she is a fellow Austinite. I did Tom's podcast, Two Bears, One Cave. And when I was there, I gave a book for her that I thought she'd like. this book I've been raving about called Baby on the Fire Escape, which is about the creative life, but specifically some of the struggles that creative mothers have had. And we ended up connecting. And then she and my wife became friends.

5:22They came out to our ranch recently, and we putzed around and had fun. And anyways, I'm a big fan of her work. I think she's very funny. We did a long, awesome episode here in the Daily Stoic studio. I'm splitting it into part one in part two, so you can better listen to it, so you can break up the listening. You can follow her on Instagram at the Christina P, that's Christina with a C, or on Twitter at Christina P. You can go to her website, Christina P. Online. She regularly performs here in Austin at the Comedy Mothership, among many other shows. Her first one-hour special, Christina P. Mother Inferior, came out in 2017.

6:03Then she did one called The Degenerates, which was shot in Las Vegas. You can also see that on Netflix. And then her newest special, Mom Jeans, which came out in 2022, is awesome. And you can check that out on Netflix. Also, you can listen to her podcast, Where My Mom's At, anywhere podcasts are found. You can check out your mom's house everywhere. You've probably seen it on TikTok and Instagram. The clips are very, very viral because they're always funny. And for now, you can listen to me and Christina P. talking philosophy, philosophy, parenting, life, creativity. And here we go.

6:54When I'm at like the airport, you know, like CNN has a deal with most major airports and they pay for CNN to be on in the airport. There's a special version of CNN. What? Yeah. It's like airport CNN. And so for instance, like they never show, um, airplane crashes. There's like certain things that it's, right. But, but the idea is like, if you catch it, if like that's running, you will not be able to turn away. You'll, even if there's no sound, you just, so like when I'm at the airport, I have to like physically turn away. That's how much I don't watch the news. Like this Orwellian TV, like that just can see you wherever you are.

7:28And then you just see something to be out. And like, I think I see it. Like when you turn on the, the commentary shows on ESPN, you see how you see the formula that they're doing. And it's so laughably stupid that you realize that that's also what the news it's like, is LeBron James the worst basketball player of all time? You're like, what are smart? Are people discussing that? And then like, yeah, they talked about it for an hour because it's so aggravating. And then it requires a statement. It requires Stephen A. Smith to be like, yeah, I have strong thoughts on this. And, and so like, That's the whole thing.

8:05It's like professional wrestling is basically what you're watching. So what I find like something's happening with a pandemic is that I want to read a book about a different pandemic. Exactly. From like 100 years ago. 100%. Oh, okay. I get the broad strokes. So now when I get like current information, I know where it slots in to the general framework of like how humans respond to stuff. It's brilliant because Dr. Drew during the pandemic was like, you have to read this book. What is it like? The Hysteria of the Masses or something of the Masses. It's about like how that dissemination of information lends to hysteria and what happens and blah, blah, blah.

8:42I'm like, oh, yeah. It all just repeats. We're all – history is on a loop. Yes. And yeah, it is – And people respond the same way to things. The same way. Like, wait a minute. We've never had this happen. Like, actually, we have. Yeah, literally exactly 100 years ago, the exact same thing happened. Well, even now with, and I think it's calming down, but even with, you know, the monitoring of people's language, the cancel culture, the monitoring and the canceling. You didn't like what that person said in 2008 on Twitter? Uh-oh. I mean, this is how it ramped up to communism. I don't know my dad's always telling me about that Because he grew up in Hungary And he's like this is how it starts I remember when Michael Richards got cancelled For dropping the N-bomb at the Laugh Factory Which obviously I don't agree with Yeah didn't he just scream the N-word Like a lot of times Just one N-word For no reason But I remember that You know the outrage And my dad was like oh here we go Another cycle of this stuff Once it starts happening And I was like yeah but anyway and then trump happened that was weird i don't know what's going to happen now when the aliens land in 2026 i think it is when are they landing will any of it matter yeah it's uh life is always fucking nuts that's what you get when you study history like it's always been fucking nuts and that there was like like that's what i I think it was very obvious the last couple of years.

10:11It's like, oh, this is what living through history is like. Because you think about history as being this kind of settled thing. Right. And then you go, no, first off, it wasn't. Like, we only know that they won World War II after. But, like, there were lots of moments where it looked like that wasn't going to happen. Oh, yeah. Right? And so, or, like, yes, the civil rights protesters won. But, like, most people didn't think they were going to win. And most people didn't think they should win. Like, like overwhelmingly public opinion was not on their side. And so like understanding that history was once the present and the, the next day or the next step, none of that was like preordained or for certain.

10:54I just blew my mind, bro. You just blew my fucking mind open. What? About the civil rights movement? No, no. Wait, the blacks have freedom? No, yeah, no. Because like I was thinking actually the last six weeks about fucking – oh, I was like do we actually live in a crazier time now or have there always been strange times? And then I watched this documentary about Marilyn Monroe and it talked about how both the Kennedy brothers were banging her at the same time. Meaning the president of the United States and his brother would tag team Marilyn Monroe. And you're like that's crazy, bro. Yeah. And kind of everybody knew it and it was swept under the rug and then she dies and then they scrub her apartment so that nobody.

11:36When Kennedy's like on these terrible drugs all the time, like because he had this crippling back pain, they would like inject him with this. He was like basically a drug addict. Wild. Or just in 1968, there were 2000 terrorist bombings in the United States. And now if one thing happens, we're like, what? You know, this is not normal. And it's like in 2 ,000 terrorist bombings. It's wild. And you don't, but how do we not, I don't hear about them. Right. It's on a TikTok. I don't know about it. Well, yeah, people don't know history. Even the people who are on the news don't know this stuff. Because they're just reading off fucking teleprompter.

12:19Yeah. Right. They don't know this stuff. And so because you don't know history, everything seems unprecedented and abnormal and unsurvivable and crazy. And it wasn't. But except for the aliens, I'm telling you, the congressional – so those congressional hearings, I mean, that's – that should freak everybody out. And nobody is like – I know. That guy was just basically like, you know, a lot of people have told me there's programs where we have aliens. Like, I feel like - But there's no, nobody's responding. Nobody is like, is that why? Is everyone sharing your opinion? Like, you think like that's secondhand, thirdhand accounts?

13:05Yeah, I just feel like extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Got you. And he's just like, I feel like if this were true, why would they let him do it? Let him do it. Let him testify? Yeah. Well, the way I heard it, I mean, this sounds so stupid, but they're like, yeah, there was just a day available and they took it. Like it wasn't, it was like. No, no, I'm saying if there's this top secret program they don't want anyone to know about. Right. Wouldn't this dude just be disappeared? Yeah, I think they did try to. And he also passed the legislation to protect him or something. There's been like a whole ramp up to it.

13:39Yeah, there's some like whistleblower protections. Right. But has this been in history? About aliens? Yeah. Well, yeah, I mean, for like a long time, we've been speculating about. Oh, Roswell. I guess. Yeah. But other, yeah. I mean, it does seem like there's some weird shit that we don't know about. Is it actually aliens or is it something that's actually maybe, maybe the argument is that the reason they want us to talk about them being aliens is it's actually something scarier they don't want us to be talking about, which is like the Chinese have some fucking super weapon or, you know what I mean?

14:15Like it could just be something much more pedestrian, but actually more terrifying. Oh, sure, sure, sure. Or it could be, it's something that we have and they would also rather people, like, I thought that was interesting. You know, when the, you know, when that submarine collapsed, the Titanic. Yeah. And then afterwards the Navy was like, oh yeah, we heard it collapse. Yeah. And we just didn't want to tell you. And you're just like, wait, wait, wait. So the Navy can just hear sounds two miles under the water, just in fucking the middle of nowhere. They just, they're just monitoring this at all times.

14:52And then, and so I had two thoughts, which one is they didn't hear anything. And that's just a night. It's like, you tell your kids, like, I'm always watching. I saw what you were doing. You know, it's that. Or they really do have incredible capacities. And I was talking to this guy I know who's like a general. And he was like, that corridor, like where the Titanic is, I forget the acronym, but that's the corridor where like Russia would come down towards America. So he's like, that's like one of the most intensely monitored places in the world. And yet they couldn't find it? Well, they couldn't find, like in the sense that they hear things that are happening and then, you know, within a couple of days they tracked it down.

15:30But they're not just like, they're not like, no one else is there. But the idea is they're monitoring, so they heard this suspicious sound, which they were able to date to the thing collapsing. But, like, the idea is that's a very monitored place. But I have no idea about the aliens. I really hope they exist. Help straighten some stuff out. We were talking about work-life balance earlier. One of the things I think, and then ties back to what we were talking about earlier. Have you heard this term art monsters? No. Do you know what an art monster is? It's from some woman. I'm forgetting her name.

16:02but she was saying, she was like, my dream is to become an art monster. Meaning she's like, not care about anything, but making my stuff. Oh, yes. It's easy to become totally consumed, totally one-sided to care about nothing, but like your own success. And I think a lot of the greats were that. I agree. I'll tell you, Vince Lombardi, there's a documentary we watched on Vince Lombardi, the greatest coach of all time. And you're like, okay, I get it. So he's the greatest guy on the planet. The guy never sees his family. Yeah. He works seven days a week. His life is shit. Yeah. And it's all in sacrifice of what?

16:41To be in a documentary that airs posthumously. Sure. And by the way, Sick Transit Gloria, I learned that from Rushmore, glory fades. All glory is fleeting. There you go. So like you work for this immortal status, fame, glory, and the shit goes away in a generation. There are comedians that I cherished that if you would ask a kid that works in your bookstore, they got no idea who Phyllis Diller is or George Carlin, even, who was huge. So, yeah, to what end? To what sacrifice? You sacrifice everything for greatness. In meditations, Marcus Ruhl says, the thing about posthumous fame is that you won't be around to enjoy it.

17:21And then he goes, it's also worth remembering that the people in the future will also be as dumb and stupid and as annoying as the people who are alive right now. Most definitely. So like, what do you care that much about being beloved by people seven generations from now? It doesn't bring you back from the dead. And also they still suck. They still suck. Everybody's still stupid and watching How I Met Your Mother on the 8 o 'clock show. Yeah, I mean, I agree. What's the point? And I kind of, so I broke my ankle two years ago and I talk about this on my last special, but I wrote a joke about it.

17:58But the truth is they gave me a shit ton of ketamine. Yeah. And in my K-hole, as they call it, I've never done ketamine before, I was deeply tripping. And I thought I was dying. I really did. I was like, I think this is it, man. And I wasn't thinking about my career. I wasn't stoked that I had so many specials on Netflix or that I had this successful anything. I was literally thinking about my children and my husband, my children and my husband. Yeah. And it got real narrow real quick. And I came out of that. And anytime I catch myself getting on this kick of like, I should be bigger. I should do arenas too.

18:36I should be, I go like, oh, I'm going to die. And it doesn't matter. And my kids are the only ones who are really going to give a shit anyway. And so you also might as well, it doesn't mean you shouldn't do it, but you should also enjoy it while you're doing it as opposed to seeing it as a means to another end or the next thing, right? It's like, I'm doing this theater show. So one day I'll be able to do arena shows. And then if I do the best arena shows, then I'll be the great, like you're not actually liking it as you're doing it. It's all this delayed gratification for some thing that you don't ultimately get.

19:12I know. What is the get? What is it? I don't know. Cause I've, I've had rungs of success and you have too. And every time you hit that rung, you go, Oh, cool. Yeah. Is that all there is? Yes. Oh shit. Cool. Okay. Is that all there is? Like it's a, it's a constant, it's like that song. Is that all there is? Right. Is that all there is my friends? Then let's keep dancing. you kind of realize like that's it, dude. I interviewed Rainn Wilson yesterday and he was saying that like for like three seasons of The Office, he wasn't thinking I'm starring, I have one of the greatest characters and one of the greatest shows of all time.

19:52He was like, why aren't these movies I'm doing working? You know, like why did John Krasinski get this? You know, he was thinking about that. And so you end up robbing yourself of the wonderfulness of whatever the rung you're currently at. The miraculousness of A, your existence. You should not even be here by all accounts. It's pretty random. This is insane. It's insane. We're on this rock in this room with these books, blah, blah, blah. Weird, weird, weird. Yeah. And then like you get to do the thing you dreamt of doing. Yeah. It's bananas. Sometimes with Tom, we'll be like, we'll be on your mom's house laughing at fart videos.

20:31And I'll be like, can you believe we get to do this? Like this is rad. It's a miracle. Yeah, I remember I was like, if I could write one book, like that was my thing. If I could publish a book, not like this many books to sell this, it was a book. And then you're so far past that, but you just move the goalposts. You either forget the goalposts or you move them. And so you never actually feel like you made it, even though you made it many, many, many times over. Many, many, many times. You know, sometimes if I am doing a theater and I'm like, oh, I just fucking sold this bitch out. And like, I'm so pumped, you know, but I don't want that excitement to spill into my performance.

21:11Sure. Because then you're too geeked when you're up there and it's like, who wants to watch that guy? So sometimes, this is so stupid, I will set aside time to just be stoked about that achievement. Sure. I'll be like, you can get pumped about like this whole thing. Yeah. Like before the gig, like an hour before it. And then once you're there, you're calm and you're just in yourself and you're centered and you're the comedian, you're an artist, you know? Yes. So that you don't get the too, like, I don't know. You don't want to be self-conscious, like, in your own head about it. Like, you have to, but you should also not just, like, yeah, yeah, yeah.

21:44Yeah. This fucking awesome thing. Yeah. Because, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, oh, man, that's, that sucks, too. Like, don't just, yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. That's not fair either. Because it's huge. If you get to do anything in life you want. I remember someone said something nice to me and someone else was standing there and I was like, oh, cool, thanks. And then they were like, no, no, no, no, no. Take the compliment. Take the compliment. And I think about that. It's like, just because it makes you a little uncomfortable or it's weird, like you're deliberately not allowing yourself to feel it or hear it because you're trying to be humble or you don't want it to go to your head or it makes you uncomfortable or whatever.

22:19But you're not actually being present for the thing that you worked very hard for. And then what you're focusing on is the next thing and since you're never actually arriving. I know. How do we defeat that? What did the Stoics say about that? Well, I think that sort of memento mori of like, hey, you're going to die is a nice way to sort of root yourself in the moment. Like, this could be the last one that I ever do. So I should be here for this, right? Like, I shouldn't be not feeling this because I want to feel a better one later. Like, I should actually be here for this thing. Oh, yeah. Um, I, I think that, like, I think people think meditating on your mortality is very depressing or empties things of significance, but it actually has the exact opposite.

23:09It allows you to go like, this is all there is and it's fucking wonderful. And so I'm going to be grateful for it. And this, this moment is like my whole life. Yeah. You know, this, this one thing in front of me is all led up to this. This is all there is. And so I'm just going to be present for it. Mm-hmm. Tom always makes fun of me. Because I'm always like, you're going to die. You know that you're going to fucking die. And he's like, calm down, because I'm so, like, Eastern blocky about it. But it's very liberating to fully accept that. And I, you know, especially as we age, like, I just turned 47.

23:43I'm like, dude, I'm looking down the barrel of 50. Like, how did that happen? Yeah. Whoa. And who am I now? Because, you know, you're just the sum of your past experiences. but like you're supposed to stay present. And I don't know, I don't add up to my past because who I was 20 years ago is not who I am now. It's really hard for the human brain to reconcile. Well, one of the things Stokes talk about is the idea that, you know, death isn't this thing that's at the end, but that death is happening always. And so you go, okay, I'm like, I'm 36. So I've died 36 years. And then you're like, oh yeah, right.

24:26It's not this thing you do once, but like time that passes is dead, the Stokes would say. Like it's gone forever. And so if you think actually of as death, it's being this thing that's constantly happening. First off, it makes you much more diligent in protecting your time. Like I'm not going to be this dumb thing that you're asking me to do. 100%. I'm not going to wait in line. Or I'll, oh, I can wait in line or I can pay$100 to not wait in line. I'll pay$100 to not wait in line. It doesn't - Every time. Yeah, every time. because I'm just, you know, time is the most valuable thing. Yeah. And then also though that, like,

25:07your experience, like, who you are in this moment is all that there is as opposed to like, I'm saving it for later, right? That, you know, I'll do it when I retire or whatever. Again, it might not happen. and, you know, is it worth wasting 50 years of your life to have 25 years of your life that you enjoy or like? Oh, my God. Yeah. You know, it's something so stupid even down to the clothing I choose sometimes because I'm like, like you ever buy something really good, like really expensive and fancy and nice, and you're like, I can't wear that. I'm going to save that. That's like a special shirt or something.

25:45And you're like, well, when are you going to wear it? Yeah. When are you going to wear the shirt? it and it's just wear it today yeah like even this shirt i was like oh i can't i can't wear this is so fancy it's so crisp and i'm like yeah but where where's that the podcast is special you wear your fancy jewelry like what like my mother died and i clean out her closet and in the back of the closet hidden in a suitcase zipped up in a bag route you know hidden hidden hidden hidden was all her jewelry right and i was like whoa and i know that she really valued it when she was alive and it's like that's it like it just ends up in a like you're not even enjoying it even at the end of her life i'm saying like yeah i i don't know it really bummed me out no i went to the there's enjoy it big old sort of uh historical house up the street and and they were like having an estate sale and you're just like this was like 85 years of accumulation, you know, and it's like, they could not be getting rid of it fast enough.

26:44I know. Like, like the lady's clothes were still on hangers in the closet. That's like, that's the level of, of like a state sale this was. It wasn't like the family came in and took all the stuff they wanted. It was just like, get her fucking all of it. And then the rest goes in the dumpster, you know, and that's going to happen to you. Like that's going to happen to you. And so So what are you accumulating all this stuff for? What's the shit for? My mother had sacred couches. I don't know if your mother had the couches you're not allowed to sit on. We had beautiful. My mother, we grew up very, not poor, but just lower middle class.

27:24Okay. She ends up marrying this Indian guy who's also a criminal. And he was a sociopath, but he's very nice to me. I actually really enjoyed him. He's dead now too, but he made millions with her. He used her credit and he did all these scams and he made millions. And so we got rich. So I've been poor and I've been not poor. I can tell you being not poor is way better. But - The Stoes would say it's a preferred indifference. It is. It's better to have than not have. Oh, rich people problems are so - I hate when people poo-poo money. And when you see like these actors, like even Jim Carrey is like, oh, to be rich, I don't care.

28:00And it's like, shut the fuck up. Don't you have a$30 million house in Montecito or something? Then sell your stuff and go live in a van. Give poor people your stuff. Shut up about that. But the point is, the white silk couches, I couldn't get rid of those fast enough. Because first of all, they're dated as shit. By the time I inherited them, they're from 1988. They look terrible. Well, they haven't been used actually. So they're pristine. Yeah. But they're stupid. Yeah. And guess, I just donate them. I donate them. And my mother, for the life, we couldn't sit on it. We couldn't breathe on it. She laminated furniture.

28:29It was like, what is this for? So now I'm not precious. Would your parents let you eat in the car? No. Are you kidding me? And the car seats were covered in lamb's wool or, you know. I was just, I was like, where's that car now? Yeah. You know, like, like it's still, it's still a 1994 Volvo, right? So like it's eventually became worthless. Like didn't matter how good a care you took of it. Like eventually it becomes worthless anyway, you know? Or like, you know, when I drew on the wall and I got in trouble, like somebody painted over that. Okay. you know um and when i when i walk through my garage in my car there's like so it scribbles my son did when we weren't paying attention you know and it's like i was frustrated when i was like god damn it you know and then i go now every time i pass it i'm like that is so cute because he's not a two-year-old anymore yeah that two-year-old is dead like that two-year-old does not exist anymore and i would kill to have the two-year-old again for just like five minutes five minutes only And then back to present.

29:29But yeah, so it's like, what do you, you're like, you're fighting against this thing that you have that's wonderful to preserve this thing that is stuff. Yeah. That you don't actually care about that's already becoming worthless. Yeah, I don't care. And there's something crazy about that. I don't care for, stuff isn't, look, it doesn't ring my bell. I like experiences. You know, not that I'm high and mighty. I do like nice stuff. Yeah. It just doesn't, I don't give a shit. because I saw the fleeting nature of stuff. When my mom got it and then she died and then it was all just given away. I was like, oh, that stuff's not the answer.

30:03That ain't it for sure. Experiences are great. I think money, if you look at money, the utility in money is so that you don't have to think about money. That's the greatest joy for me. And when the people say money can't buy happiness, go fuck your mother. You're lying and you're stupid and you're wrong because it's bought me peace of mind. Like I know, oh my gosh, if I get sick or something, okay. If you can throw money at it, it's not a real problem. But if you're rich and you think about money all the time, you're not rich. That's torture too, right. But I don't. I'm fine. Like, literally, I need so, I just need a certain amount in my bank where I'm like, I'm good.

30:40I can die. When people talk about fuck you money and you can just have a like, no thanks money. Or whatever. Like, I'm good. You know? Yeah. Yeah, fuck is a little aggressive. Yeah. Well, and I think people think they need like an insane amount of money to be secure. But if you have relatively simple needs, then you can feel that much earlier. And then also remembering, you know, at some point you didn't have it and you were totally fine. Yes. And that you can take care of yourself if you do lose it all tomorrow. Because I think there's also that worry too. Once you get successful, I must preserve the success and I must keep this up at all costs.

31:17Well, you think being rich will make you more secure and take those risks? Like, now they won't be able to tell me what to do. Or now I'll put out that thing. But you actually, it has the exact opposite effect because now you don't want to lose it. You want to take risks. And so you become a prisoner to the thing that you thought would free you. Mo' money, mo' problems.

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34:42So you studied philosophy at Oxford, but I heard you went through a goth phase first. Oh my God, dude, bro. So I did a study abroad program at Oxford. And then before that, I was goth from the time I was 13. Embarrassingly, until like 20. like bro like I sat in the dark for a decade I like only ate Count Chocula cereal like I was so is that a god cereal no but it is now and I yo like I did not go out in the sun and I lived in the San Fernando Valley and so even in the summertime like heat like this Texas heat I would be out there and like full velvet dresses and witch boots and capes and stuff like I was really into being undead.

35:26Yeah. What kind of music were you into? Oh, let's talk about it. I still listen. And sadly, I still listen to the same stuff I liked when I was 15. Is that normal? I think so. I don't like current things. I love Bauhaus. And I actually, when they were touring, the singer's in rehab now, but for the last few years they were touring and I would route my comedy touring schedule with Bauhaus so that I could go to all their shows. That's cool. The Cure, Suzy and the Banshees. I'm talking your classics, your standards. Do you know them? Yeah, of course. Really? I'm a Cure fan. Are you goth on the internet?

36:01No, no, no. I was like a heavy metal kid, which isn't quite goth, but it's goth adjacent. Absolutely. It's a subculture. What are your bands? Let's go. Mostly like Metallica, Iron Maiden, Alice in Chains. Hell yeah, dog. I was into all that stuff. Pantera? Yeah. Yeah. Slayer? I didn't like Slayer. Yeah. So it was like heavy metal and then sort of grunge. Like that's sort of my, that was sort of my era. It's a good time. Yeah. Yeah. I liked the first wave of goth. As far as I'm concerned, like it ended, like Marilyn Manson, it's like posertown. I'm not into that. I like the British. Yes. So if your kids were goth, would you encourage it?

36:44Yeah. Or how do you, like I've always, what do you do when your kid's turning into a weirdo? Well, first of all, I do encourage it. I have a goth room in my house. It's my office, my study, because I've realized that I don't write or create anything in sterile desk environments. I don't think I've ever written a joke sitting at a proper desk. So I was like, why don't you just build a crazy goth room? What's in a goth room? Oh, it's everything awesome. I've got like a bat, a bat light, like a fixture. I've got dope ass dark wallpaper. I've got, oh, I just bought like from Hellraiser, the Hellraiser movies, the cube that lights up as a lamp.

37:22A lot of, some skulls. Yeah. Pencils in them. Pens. Yeah. You know, dark shit, candles. And I get weird. I just get in there, I get weird. What do your kids think of it? Oh, yeah. So the point is I've been educating them on goth culture. I make them listen to Bell House in the car already in the Clash too the classics punk too I mean I think mom likes Halloween is what they say mom loves Halloween and I'm always like you guys love Halloween? I try to get them into it and I wouldn't I was dark sided because my parents were wackadoodles so I think if your kid is as goth as I was it's a reflection of you something's going on those are demons that need to be addressed you put that kid in therapy right that's what I would do honestly if my kids were doing that stuff I'd be like oh dude we gotta go to a shrink family counseling yeah do you have a goth kid already no I mean he's only six yeah that'd be a little early too early for that yeah would you want him to like meddle I think so they both do they both do yeah dude they both do cause there's like dragons and you know what I mean they like the imagery and stuff and skulls and it's loud yeah boys love that yeah yeah no they're into it that's cool My kids like the Pixies.

38:36I got them into that early. Yeah. But yeah, I mean, look, I was just a brooding teenager. Were you angry too? Yeah, not understood. Sort of a lot of time alone in my room. Samesies, yeah. Which I think makes you creative because you're like, you're in here, but you want to be out. So sort of art or creating things is like a escape. And it's also a way to communicate and be understood. Yeah. Oh, yeah. I mean, yeah, I think you have to get weird first. Sure. To get creative, like really weird. Yeah, I wasn't a cheerleader. You know what I mean? Like that shit was never in my cards. Yeah. So I didn't know how to get it out of me though because I didn't know I could be a comedian.

39:22I didn't think that was really possible. Well, because you don't know any comedians, right? Actually, no. Interestingly enough, I grew up with Roseanne Barr's daughter, Jenny Pellin. She and I were best friends from the time I was 12. and then like we split up because we were getting into a lot of trouble together but uh they split us up as friends or whatever but that would have been nice because then you're like oh yeah this is a job one of my friend's moms has it was rad and i visited the set and you know unconsciously unknowingly i was like oh gosh and then later on yeah i got into it i think that's part i've said this before but i think that's obviously nepotism sucks but i think part of the nepo baby thing is you get to see your mom or dad do a job.

40:07Yeah, that's cool. And then so you're like, oh, this is a thing people do. And it gets humanized. And you understand that there's a process in a way that you don't if like when I was growing up, like, I didn't know anyone that didn't have a job, like all my friends, parents had day jobs, like regular people jobs. So the idea that like, you could write books or like, obviously, you know, some people do those things, But those are different people. People not like you. And until you see it, like even when I started doing comedy, like until headliners take you around and go, no, no, no. Like you can make a living at stand-up comedy.

40:46Yeah. Here, like here's how you do it. Yeah. And you go. Is it the forms you fill out? You know, like it's just like. You go to DMV. It's just like. You go like. It just gets demystified. Yes. Very quickly. Yeah. Yes. Yes, I agree. But it's so hard when you're starting, which really goes to show the importance of your surroundings. Yes. Because you can get really dragged out. Like I remember going to like really shitty public school and that's kind of what turned me off. And like just like seeing fights and seeing gangbangers and like bad stuff. And you're like, oh, how do I get out of – I'm stuck.

41:21I remember feeling so stuck. So yeah, you have to see it to get out of it. were you trying to get out of some of that stuff when you moved to texas why'd you guys move to texas oh oh the texas i mean look our friends moved here and uh i think the pandy kind of ruined my neighborhood a lot and also like i just didn't want my kids growing i don't want my kids growing up in showbiz yeah i grew up in la even i was not in show business like yes my friend's mom was famous but i my dad's a forklift mechanic i grew up in like the west valley i'm not special or whatever. I just wanted my kids to have a normal.

41:56Yeah. Right. It's kind of more normal here. It is. You can learn to be an asshole later, like grow up. Well, it's like they already have, they already have exposure or proximity to show business. So do you need to over index for that by also everyone else they meet? Yeah. Into that. Yeah. I kind of, so yeah, I agree. I just didn't want that. I didn't want my kids to every house they go to, It's like a mansion and like you should see the world. No, no. I've actually found that it's also better for me not being around people like me because then I'm not as competitive. You know what I mean? Like I only care about what I'm doing and what I'm working on and I live in my own little world.

42:38And most of the people that I meet are doing regular shit as opposed to, did you hear so-and-so got X? Yeah, yeah. You know, it's like you can – it makes it easier to tune out what other people are doing and just kind of be in your own lane. So true. And I don't know why this made me think of it though, but when you're embarking on a journey of what it is you want to become, sometimes your biggest haters are people who are related to you. Oh, your family? Yeah. Or people close to you who maybe inadvertently say things that may discourage you. Like I remember in the beginning being very guarded because I learned the lesson.

43:19I'm going to be a comedian. Oh, really? Right. shut up. So I think like guarding your baby, like think of it as an infant, whatever it is you're planning and just tend to that. And then eventually they'll see that you're successful and you don't have to say anything, you know? That's really interesting. Yeah. When I decided to write my first book, Sam and I moved to New Orleans and literally not one person asked me what I was doing, you know? Like, so I never said, oh, I'm working on a book. Oh, sure. I'd love to see it you know or whatever like so when it was announced like when it came out everyone was like oh wow that's so cool and then I realized that they thought I was just a bum basically like all the people we'd met and becomes friends they just it just never occurred to them that I was doing anything at all and it didn't matter you know what I mean and so it was so nice because I got to just sort of privately work on the thing and not be self-conscious about it or guarded about it or anything.

44:19Like I was just doing it. And then by the time it was ready for people to, like it was done. By the time I was, people were talking about it, it was done. Yeah. And I think carving out that space is really important. Definitely being protective of your creative space, of your creative real estate in your mind. Even I would say keeping your mind weird, right? Like all those years I sat in a dark room being goth, that's where the sauce was. That's where the magic happened. I would read dark books and I would listen to dark music or whatever and just like marinate in my own stuff. And that's where the good stuff is.

45:02Don't let people take that from you. Don't try to – and like for many years I was so afraid of being seen as a weirdo or crazy. And now I don't care as much. You know what I mean? Like so much real estate in your mind is taken by keeping up with the Joneses. Well, it's like, why would you want to be like everyone else in the sense that then you don't stand out from those people? Like the whole, you realize like creatively from a career standpoint, like the main thing is how does your thing stand out from all the other people that are doing that thing? Yeah. Right? So if you start from, well, what is everyone doing?

45:38I'll do that. Oh my life. You've already fucked up. You know what I mean? like you were saying you're like you're the only woman at this comedy club that feels like a disadvantage and it sucks that there weren't more women who felt comfortable doing it but at the same time it meant you had uh more space right you had you were the only one so you stood out and so it's so interesting like like you can even see this on the wall like all these book covers look the same because like people see and you can i i know because i've watched a long time like i I know like which trends or when the books came out.

46:11Like everyone's doing X right now and then everyone's doing Y right now. And so you, but the whole point of the cover should be that it stands out on the shelf, not that it goes, oh, that looks like a book that belongs on that shelf. But isn't that what the publishing houses do? They go like, well, this is selling. You need, if you're a female, you need to have pink cover and black writing. So you have to know who you are and what you're doing and be very confident in that. so you can resist the pressures that make you like, you've got to get this haircut. You've got to do this thing. You've got to talk about this, you know.

46:46But that's where time alone is suffering. I think suffering is what, yeah, if you're going to be good at anything. And oh, to speak back to the Nepo baby thing is like, I worry for my kids because yes, on the one hand, if they want to be comedians or writers, great. Like you've got the blueprint. and I can tell you kind of what to do. At the end of the day, you need to be talented. I can't do that for you. There's requisite suffering that I worry my children won't have. I'm sure they're suffering plenty. But yeah, well, maybe they won't be funny. I don't know. I don't know. Well, no, like sometimes in the obstacles, the way they go like, so do you think I should like create obstacles for my kids?

47:28And I go, dude, life sucks, man. It's pretty bad. Like stuff's going to happen. They're going to have some learning disability. Someone's going to laugh at them. They're going to break their arm. Yes. You do not need to create obstacles. I think my kid has all three is what you just said. I think one of the kids has all three. And by the way, the arrogance that it's not fucking hard to be your kid. I think about that a lot. I go like, it's probably not easy to be my kid. I'm definitely aware it's not easy to be married to me. So like it's probably not – so I don't need – like they're already being tested.

48:07What do you think is the worst part about being your kid? That's a good question. I mean I am – I do have to be gone more than like a regular person would be gone. So that's already there. I'm busy. Like I have a lot of stuff going on. I like what I do. So like I'm consumed by that. So I get distracted easily. And then I also think like I haven't met a ton of creative people who are not somewhat melancholy, at least somewhat melancholy. They don't have some childhood issues. There's not some wound or insecurity that's at the root of what made them be that. So like obviously I also have that. So I think there's plenty of things that make it hard to be my kid.

48:54That's so true. Yeah. Yeah, I agree. And is anyone like, it was great to have, like, I don't know. I always wonder that. And the people that are like, my parents were great. Nothing was wrong. Those people just haven't been to therapy yet. Yeah. They haven't actually thought about, they haven't dealt with their, they haven't, they're, they're just passing that shit on to other people. They haven't been called out on their shit and had to go, why am I doing this? And then you find out, oh, it's because mom and dad. Correct. They're just, yeah, they're just creating issues with everybody and fighting with you and stuff.

49:24And you're like, go to therapy, figure that shit out, man. Yeah. Yeah. Everyone has something. Yeah.

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50:23And it works. It's got an average rating of 4.9 out of 5 for a live session based on over 1.7 million client reviews. This December, start a new tradition by taking care of yourself. And our listeners get 10 % off at betterhelp.com slash daily stoic pod. That's better help.com slash daily stoic pod. I'm picking my kids up from school today and then doing our weekly routine, which is I take them over to Whole Foods. We get all our groceries for the week. Then we have dinner. It's one of their favorite things to do. It's one of my favorite things to do. And then my wife loves it because she doesn't have to take care of it.

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51:31Now I have a question for you. Okay. I mean, you're a thoughtful guy. You think about stoicism. You think deep thoughts and stuff. But what's the difference? How come there are people that are like that and then some people that aren't? What do you mean? Like naturally stoic and then some people that aren't? No, I mean, like, there are some people who never think about this stuff ever. I think. Yeah, of course. Yeah, there's sort of the people who are blissfully unaware. Is that what that is? Well, I mean, I do think there is sort of a level of like, I don't know, I don't think a dog's thinking about any of this stuff, right?

52:08And there's certain happiness there. So I think there's that camp of people. And then I think there's the people who are deliberately not thinking about this stuff. And maybe that goes back to what we're talking about a little bit earlier, which is, um, uh, have you read, um, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas? No. Oh, we have it in the story. It's a great book. But, uh, he, the, the epigraph to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is quite, I think it's from Samuel Johnson. He says, uh, he who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man. And so I think there, I think there is a contingent of society that just chooses to be consumed by or distracted by other things rather than having to think about these questions or having to make decisions or sacrifices or whatever.

52:59I know. And I have to admit that I am jealous of those people, like envious. Yeah. In that, like, I really wanted to just be a normal blonde cheerleader. I really did. Sure. And I just, for so many years, I still flog myself like, gosh, I wish I could just be fucking normal. Yeah. And then my therapist is like, yes, but you've got the gift of comedy or whatever. And you're like, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's my superpower, all the suffering, blah, blah, blah. It's not in the cards. Yeah. It's not the hand you were dealt. No, no. It's like the, right? Like the Stoics would say, they ain't in your stuff.

53:33You're just going to be thrown to the lions. Yeah. Or, I mean, you're become the emperor or you become, like, there's good, there's good things, but it's like, yeah, you don't, there's so much that's not in our control. Like who we are, where we come from, what we got interested in, how our fucking synapses lined up and why this thing lights us up and this thing doesn't. You know, why we got this predilection for addiction or why we got this, you know, propensity to do this. You know, like we all have all of that stuff is preordained and then you have these tiny set of choices. so you know you either face that and come to terms with it and make it or you live in a sort of world of you know I was thinking about that line in the office where where she says like I can't think of that that way then he's that's because your imagination sucks he's like I live in a fantasy world and so like there is the Michael Scotts of the world that are just operating on the yeah but I don't think happy is probably not the word I would use to describe that person.

54:42They seem happy to me. I see them on Instagram. Yeah. Maybe. I don't know. I mean, I hope so. Like, I think I've gotten to a point as I've gotten older where I go, I hope so. Like, I think when I was younger, I'd be like, they're not happy. It's fucking a lie or something. Yeah. And I'd be like, sure. It seems like it's working for you. We're too tired. We're exhausted. Yeah. I don't need to prove you wrong. No. No. Or make you see what I see. It's already sucks enough for me, so I'll just deal with my shit. Yeah, that's all you can do is deal with your own shit. Yeah. Take responsibility for your own shit.

55:16Well, then when you have kids, then you have like, it's like, I have these people. Like, I don't really care what you're doing. Yeah. That's why it does seem weird. Like, I just really don't have time or energy to be mad at trans people or gay people or whatever. Like, I can't conceive why you would want to give a hard time to people who are having a fucking hard time when you yourself are having a hard time. Just focus on that. I know. So it seems odd. Yeah, but do you, like, I don't know. Maybe I'm like naive, but I'm like, does anybody really give a rip about that stuff? Like, is it just a small group of people?

56:02People seem to talk about it a lot. I know. Seem to pass a lot of laws about it. Oh, that's true. Yeah. You know? Oh, that's true. Maybe in the South here, yeah. Yes. I guess I'm from California and they don't. Well, you're only, what, like two years into Texas? Yeah. We go through periods where we really love it here and then we're like, we need to go spend some time in California. and just like a release valve or just like be around our people, which we don't actually want to. It's like you have to go home and see your family sometimes. It's like you don't actually want to live near your family or be with your family, but you need to like come home every once in a while.

56:36That's sort of how I felt with Texas. Yeah, I got that. Yeah, at the same time as an outsider here, you know, culturally, I'm like I try to be respectful and be like, look, dude, I get it. You guys don't like abortion. That's fine. I'm not gonna say a damn thing It's not fine, it's not fine at all It's totally fucked Yeah, but like, I live here So when in Austin You know what I mean? Like, I'm not gonna I'm not gonna talk to my neighbors About why they should have It's like, that's not my discussion for here Sure You know, maybe that's the immigrant in me That's very into assimilation Like, my parents came here And they were like That's it, it's very American now You know, fly American flag Like, no more Hungarian shit.

57:20I'm like, yeah, dude, I'm here. Yeah. I'm going to barbecue, brisket. Yeah, abortion sucks. Whatever, dude. Like, I'm not talking to you about it. Right? I guess. I'm not going to argue with you. Yeah. But it's like, they go like, don't California my Texas or whatever. Oh, yeah, yeah. First off, it's all in America. We fought a whole war about this. Yeah. It's all America. So you don't get to just take away basic, like, sort of American rights because it's in Texas. This is in its own country. But also like fucking California is great, dude. Yeah, it was. Well, the things we should take from California would be awesome.

58:00And then I think some things should stay there. Yeah, definitely. Whatever. We got anything else to talk about? I feel like we covered so much. We started with polyamory. Yeah. In the last episode. Yeah. Right? Yeah. Do we need to circle back? I feel like it's like almost a process. It's like first they go do an ayahuasca trip. And then they announce that they're opening their marriage. Yes, yes, yes. And it's like, come on. Oh, my gosh. You're absolutely right. Actually, the people I know that became swingers, that's how it started. Like shaman things. And then, yeah. I'm like, we're just swinging.

58:41And then all of a sudden it's like, we're divorcing. Of course. Of course. Just fast forward there. Oh, God. Yeah. Yes, to each their own. But if you shut up about it, that would be good. Just shut up. Okay, that's okay. I do feel like just shut up about it, that culture is gone. Yeah. Like, why do we have to share? It's a boundary issue. Like, I do like TikTok and Instagram. But some of the things that people fucking share. I know. I'm just like. It's so embarrassing. Yeah. You just like, you decided you're making a reel about how your husband doesn't satisfy you or something. And it's like, he's going to see this.

59:22Like, what are you doing? But just people post the weird, and people just reveal themselves to be disgusting. I know. Or they show pictures of their houses and they're like, you're showing this, you know? And it's just, overall, it's a boundaries issue. It is a boundaries issue. I'm like, why don't you have friends? Like, like there is one person, like a public figure who is, is having a mental, it happens a lot, is having like a mental breakdown right now on TikTok. And I'm like, does this bitch not have friends or a publicist to be like, get off of social media? She's having like panic attacks on TikTok and filming herself.

59:59I'm like, stop. Someone should tell Jordan Peterson that he's losing his mind. Is he now? Oh, totally. What's going on? I haven't been catching up. He's lost it. He's just like old man yells at cloud all the time. Do you show pictures of your kids on social media? I'm supposed to write an article about this. I'm wondering what your thought is. Never. I would never. I personally, look, even if Tom and I were not public figures, I would not put my children on Instagram. Why? Well, who's looking at that stuff? You don't know. Sure, it could be friends and family. Could be pedophiles. And it's like, it's the same reason I would not put a bumper sticker on my car that like my kid was student of the month at this school.

1:00:41Basically, you're saying, hey, kidnappers, here's where my kid is every day. I know our kids going in and out these shirts. And I'm like, I'm not going to walk around with the shirt on what school they go to. Never. And look, maybe that's Los Angeles paranoia. I grew up with stranger danger in the 80s. To me, protect them, hide them, don't know anything about them. Yeah. No way, man. And Duncan Trussell was on my podcast where my mom's at. And we were talking about, there's this woman on Instagram who's like, here's how you get into Disney World. The first one in. And here's my, she has four sons.

1:01:14And here's the maximum day at Disneyland. I'm up at 4 a.m. By 4.15, I'm doing my workout. 5 a.m. We're in the, it's like, shut the fuck up. My morning routine before going to Disney. Oh, my God. So the point is, Duncan goes, well, these are child actors. These are unwilling participants. If you look at it philosophically, these are unwilling participants in her stupid Instagram feed. She's exploiting her own kids to make a profit and to get a like. And these child actors get paid and there's certain regulations and laws that apply to it. Yes. Yeah. So it's not consensual. That would be my argument.

1:01:46But you talk about them in your act. No, here's the caveat, right? That's sticky. That's a sticky wicket, as they say. I like to talk about my reaction. I try to keep it within the emotional realm of reactiveness. and some shit's fabricated. Yeah. It's all within telling tales, right? Yeah. That's what I would say. Like, it's fudged a bit. It is fudged. Do you show pictures of them, but not their faces? No, I think that's stupid too. Why would I blur out? No, not their, but I'm just saying like, if you were showing something and their back was turned, would you show that? Or you, do you know what I mean?

1:02:21Like, do you deny they exist or you just don't show them on social media? Just don't show their face. Yeah. I think one time I did some video and my kid's hand comes in and like, you can hear their voice, but they're not going to be in it. No. They want to be. My oldest wants to be on YouTube already. Oh, yeah, yeah. We told my son he has a YouTube channel, but they just – it just goes – To the ethers. But what's your policy? What do you think? We don't show their faces at all. Yeah. And so, like sometimes they're in the background of stuff, like YouTube videos, but again, not – like so, yeah, they're just not – I think there's something – So fundamentally, when people are posting personal content on social media, like not like what we do where it's like promoting something we're doing, but like fundamentally, you're asking to be validated or liked or approved by to get imaginary internet points.

1:03:15It seems gross to use your kid as a thirst trap. Yeah. Is I guess what I'm saying. Yes. And so I just don't do it. And we just decided not to do it from the beginning. It wasn't like a fame thing or a safety thing, although those things came later. It was just, it just felt weird to go like, we had a baby. Give us likes. Oh, that's it. And I think too, I mean, listen, God, I'm scandalous. I'm going to say some shit right now. Like, oh God, what's her name? That model, Chrissy Teigen. Yeah. Like, this is horrible. Like she had a miscarriage. Horrible. is arguably besides, yeah, it's the death of your child.

1:03:56It is the worst thing a woman can go through, okay? I have much sympathy. That being said, it's like so weird. Like, oh, so did you set up the camera crew before you began crying in this photo? Or like, what are you doing here? Sure, you know, there's, you don't, I think you want to. Did I get that name right, Chrissy Teane? Yeah, I mean, I don't know if that's who he's talking about. The one married to John Legend? Yes. That's her, yeah. But like, as a creative person, right? Like, all right, you already go through life and you're like, is this a bit? Like, should I, could I use, like, you already think it.

1:04:28There's part of your brain that thinks, how can I use this in my work? As a writer, you think that, right? Yes. I don't think you also want to activate a part of your brain as a regular person. And then also as a creative person that's just going like, ooh, like people will like this photo of this six-year-old. There's something creepy about like, you're going, you're experiencing your life and then thinking, this will be good. Like commodify. This is good content. You don't want that. Yeah, that's what people are doing. That's terrifying. I know. And so I think just not having, setting a hard rule that that's not what you do eliminates the temptation or whatever the algorithm activates in your brain.

1:05:09I think you just don't, ideally you don't want it. So I'm friends with some influencer, like pure Instagram and pure YouTube influencers. And she was like, yeah, we went to Disneyland, this group of influencers and me. And she's like, it was the most annoying day because all day it was like, this is a moment that we can, this is a moment, this is a moment. And I'm like, oh my God, the misery. That's terrible. Yeah. You're taking yourself out of your life to share your life with other people who, yeah, it's not. But here's the interesting part. And I always think about this as like, if you're posting my amazing vacation, my amazing life, my everything's amazing.

1:05:47what you're really doing is most of the time i think inspiring envy yeah isn't the intent to show off and inspire envy not no one very few people are going good for you oh that's amazing i'm so happy for you katherine like nobody is kind of hate following yeah like i follow people that hate like the kardashians i follow just the obviously i'm up on the zeitgeist like what the fuck are these idiots up to? First of all, they look amazing. I'm thoroughly jealous, envious of their faces and their bodies. They look great. What was the point of this? I guess I'm saying I follow them. You hate following some people?

1:06:24But I hate them. Yeah, I hate them. I'm not stoked for Kim Kardashian or, you know? Sure. I don't know. Yeah, I don't know. It's a good, I think if you're getting paid for it, I have some understanding for it. Do you know what I mean? If you're not, you should stay far away from it. Oh, if I weren't a comedian, I wouldn't be on any of these things. I would not be on Instagram. I would not be on Facebook. But they make you like the schools do even. Like, you have to get on the Facebook group for this school. And you're like, I don't want to be on Facebook, dude. I don't care. I don't know. Someone's birthday.

1:07:00I don't give a shit, dude. Don't make me do this. Like, they make you. Yes. No, it takes some strength and discipline to not get sucked in. it's easier to just do what everyone else is doing. But can I tell you that the reason I'm more like, no, thanks. No, thank you. It's because I was raised analog. My brain had half of its life in analog and I didn't get a cell phone until I was 23. Do you know what I'm saying? Like this is all new. So I can go back to a distant time. My kids, your kids. I know. Especially because of the pandemic, like they got the, the device was such a soothing sort of escape when they literally couldn't go places, it forms a weird trauma bond that I think is going to be very hard to undo.

1:07:47A trauma bond. Hilarious. Do you know what I mean? Like I can feel when my son is stressed. Yeah. The iPad is a place of not stress. In the same way that your room and my room was that. Do you have a weird room now? A weird room? I mean, I have three buildings that's just all my shit. Bro, we need to build you a metal room. A heavy metal room? Hell yeah, dog. We could soundproof it. And then you can play your shit as loud as you want and your wife won't hate you. Yeah, I should do that. That would be really cool. Do you play an instrument? I was in a heavy metal band as a kid, but I haven't played a guitar in 20 years.

1:08:23I think you should start. I should. One thing you're going to learn is that you're going to have your midlife crisis pretty soon. Yeah. And so you need to channel it into something productive. Not like a motorcycle or an affair or something. Exactly. Like I just reignited my love of goth stuff, which is why I started following Bauhaus. That was part of my midlife crisis. And then I cut my hair off. Sure. And now I rebuy all the shirts that I had as a teenager. I've been doing that too. Mm-hmm. Oh, next you're going to get into vinyl. I've been rebuying. Well, you know, there's a vinyl record store next to the bookstore.

1:08:51There you go. Perfect. I saw it. My office looks out over a vinyl record store. Get ready to rebuy Metallica's Greatest It. They're playing with Pantera in LA like later this month, I think, I'm going to go. There you go. There's your midlife crisis.

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