The JTrain Podcast – “Halloween Decorations, Airport Buses, and HOA Complainers – TICKED OFF TUESDAY”

Date: October 28, 2025
Host: Jared Freid
Format: Jared reads and riffs on listener complaints, shares personal gripes, and delivers comic exaggerations around minor annoyances.

Episode Overview

This Ticked Off Tuesday episode is dedicated to airing out everyday annoyances, from airport travel woes and misguided Halloween decorations to workplace environmental scolding and HOA busybodies. Jared Freid, recording from Richmond, Virginia, invites listeners to vent and delivers his signature humorous validation and over-the-top suggestions for “fixing” the world’s petty problems. The tone is comedic, empathic, and just a little bit exasperated.

Jared’s Opening & Personal Complaints

Theme:
Jared’s approach is simple: “Are you mad? Write in! I’ll find a way to agree with you, even if I disagree.”
He stresses the communal, cathartic aspect of the show, celebrating complaint as bonding ritual.

1. Frequent Flier Problems: Middle Seat Suffering (03:30–09:24)

• Travel Credentials: Jared’s been traveling “Fort Lauderdale to LA, LA to Atlanta, Atlanta to Richmond… within three days (03:50),” sharing the classic comic’s perspective on a grueling itinerary and resulting voice fatigue.
• Main Complaint: Even elite fliers suffer middle seats when booking late. He mocks the internet myth that “Delta Diamond” status means luxe travels:
  • “If you’re someone who’s confidently saying, ‘If you’re Delta Diamond Medallion, that means you never sit middle seat,’ then you know nothing… You confidently know nothing." (05:20)
• Airport Scene:
  • A woman with three bags is forced by gate agents to combine two (as per airline rules), then rolls her eyes at Jared for being “on the side of corporate."
  • Jared affirms his allegiance:
    • “Don’t roll your eyes at me. I’m team airline. I am with corporate. I’m not with you.” (07:05)
    • Wishes for a “Delta Diamond Medallion sheriff’s badge… so people know who they’re dealing with.” (07:35)
• Memorable Quote:
  • “Turn those two bags into a Russian doll. Combine them. It’s over for you.” (08:58)

2. Mall Cookie Quest Gone Awry (09:39–11:45)

• Complaint: Jared craves a “specific cookie” at a high-end outdoor mall in Richmond, but every candy place smells like reheated lunch, not candy.
• Key Details:
  • “Candy place gotta smell like candy… I walked in, I’m like, is someone eating lasagna?” (11:01)
  • Laments loss of whimsy: “This place should be reserved for, you know, whimsy and magic.” (11:28)

3. Hotel Check-in Icebreaker Fail (11:50–14:32)

• Scenario: Exhausted from flying, Jared makes an effort for genuine human interaction at check-in.
• Awkward Encounter:
  • He tries small talk: “You ever have one of those days where you just drink no water at all?” Both staffers stare blankly and then look away.
  • "It was like two birds turned to me and said nothing at all. I was like, am I in a simulation? Did I go outside of the Truman Show that I’m supposed to be acting in?” (13:45)
• Reflection: Wants minimal human acknowledgment, “Just laugh, just go, just do something that makes me feel like I’m here on Earth.” (14:00)

Listener Complaints & Jared’s Riffs

4. Coworker Tupperware and Plastic Shaming (16:37–20:48)

• Complaint:
  • Listener’s coworker scolds her for drinking from Poland Spring bottles, supposedly due to microplastics/environmental damage—only after said coworker’s breakup with a “super anti-plastic” boyfriend.
• Jared's Take:
  • “You should not have to explain your water intake… This is them trying to find a place in the world where they can have one on their fellow person and feel other people.” (18:19)
  • “They can politely go fuck themselves.” (20:35)
• Memorable Quote:
  • “If you’re going to take that information and use it to smash me during my break, that is you abusing the power of this knowledge.” (18:46)
  • “With all due respect, do me a favor. I want you to fuck off. And I bid you fuck off.” (20:55)

5. Public Transit to LaGuardia: Still a Disaster (21:52–25:59)

• Complaint: It’s 2025 and “the greatest city in the world” still makes air travel via public transit an ordeal, especially to/from LaGuardia (listener: “perpetually poor batch,” on the M60 bus).
• Jared's Take:
  • “The fact that New York... has no direct train option to any airport... should be item one on the agenda for New York City.” (23:17)
  • “It should not take an hour and a half to go seven miles.” (25:36)
• Personal Comparison:
  • Contrasts with his new Delray Beach life: “West Palm Airport... 25 minutes from door to door. I could leave my apartment a half hour before boarding and I’d be okay.” (26:30)
• Quote:
  • "You don’t have one at the airport. Crazy.” (27:00)

6. Golf Course Dog Drama: HOA Wars (27:20–31:34)

• Complaint: Listener lets her dogs run on the golf course during off-hours; a new neighbor reports her to the HOA after “years with no issue.” She always picks up after them.
• Jared's Perspective:
  • “How is this bothering them?... Let’s call me before we go to HOA. Let’s be neighbors. Let’s be humans.” (29:24)
  • “If you come to me and you go, ‘Hey, you’re breaking the rules,’ and I’d say, ‘Well, how is this affecting you?’… ‘Well, it’s not, I just like rules.’ I would go, fuck off.” (30:10)
  • “I’m really in it today. A lot of swearing. I’m sorry if you’re sitting in the car with your kids.” (31:02)

7. Halloween Decorations or Closed for Business? (31:40–35:59)

• Complaint:
  • A PhD psychology student stops at Chipotle after a draining day. The place looks “under construction” with fake Halloween caution tape; she nearly leaves before discovering it’s just a decoration.
• Jared’s (Very Relatable) Rant:
  • “This is enraging… I look at this picture and think, I guess I gotta keep driving and find somewhere else to eat.” (33:08)
  • “No one should have to deal with that. It’s Halloween, it’s not construction eve.” (35:39)
  • “Don’t make your place look like it’s closed for business until next year! I don’t need that emotional roller coaster.” (35:27)

Standout Quotes & Moments

• On Air Travel Elitism:
  “You confidently know nothing.” (05:25)
• On Candy Stores:
  “Candy place gotta smell like candy.” (11:01)
• On Confrontational Neighbors:
  “Let’s be neighbors. Let’s be humans." (29:24)
• On the Satisfaction of Telling Someone Off:
  “Give a good strong one. Feels good, you know, it feels as good as telling someone how great you are because you recycle.” (20:33)
• On Halloween Gone Wrong:
  “It’s Halloween, it’s not construction eve. This isn’t Bob the Builder Day.” (35:37)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:30] - Frequent flier woes: middle seat, Delta status, and airport lines
• [09:39] - The search for the perfect mall cookie
• [11:50] - Hotel check-in awkwardness: seeking (failingly) human connection
• [16:37] - Listener: workplace plastic reinforcer and microplastics guilt trips
• [21:52] - Listener: why is LaGuardia still public transit hell?
• [27:20] - Listener: HOA, angry new neighbor, and dog drama
• [31:40] - Listener: Chipotle’s “construction” Halloween décor

Closing Notes

Tone & Style:
Energetic, warm, occasionally profane, always comedic—Jared makes the most trivial annoyances feel universally relatable. He’s supportive of complainants, usually siding with them and escalating their gripes in exaggerated ways.

Takeaway:
If you’re ticked off on Tuesday, Jared is your man. Whether you hate fake construction tape at Chipotle, rants about microplastics, or the lack of a direct train to the airport, you’re in good company.

Want to complain?
Send emails to jtrainpodcastmail[at]gmail.com or join the Patreon for priority!
“Ticked Off Tuesday—Back next week, boom.”