“THERE IS A PORTAL IN MY FENCE”

Summary

Therapy Gecko – Episode Summary: “THERE IS A PORTAL IN MY FENCE”

Release Date: December 1, 2024
Host: Lyle
Podcast: Therapy Gecko
Description: An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing.

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Introduction

In the captivating episode titled “THERE IS A PORTAL IN MY FENCE,” host Lyle engages with three unique listeners, each bringing their own intriguing stories and perspectives. This episode delves into themes of personal safety, major life changes, and the pervasive issue of screen addiction, all through the unconventional lens of Therapy Gecko.

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Listener Call-In: Beatrice and the Mysterious Portal

Beatrice's Story:

The episode kicks off with a call from Beatrice, a 22-year-old Pre-K teacher from Oregon, who shares an unsettling experience involving a man breaking through her fence. She describes the incident as follows:

Beatrice [02:27]: “I live next to a church, and the other day I had somebody break through my fence that separates me and the church. He proceeded to chase me down the street and call me out.”

Beatrice theorizes that this individual might be creating a "portal" through her fence to access the river nearby. She elaborates on past issues with her fence and the lack of support from the neighboring church in maintaining it:

Beatrice [05:32]: “We’re sharing the fence and half of it’s theirs if it’s on there. We’ve asked them before to help rebuild the fence or help pay for it, and they’re like, no.”

Concerns About Safety and Community:

Beatrice expresses broader concerns about community safety, particularly focusing on children affected by the COVID-19 pandemic:

Beatrice [10:28]: “These are the kids that grew up in quarantine and they don’t have socialization... some of them, they’re like, if you could just be like a solid like 5 out of the day out of 10, that’d be great.”

Religious Background and Current Struggles:

Her conversation with Lyle also touches on her religious upbringing and current disillusionment with her church:

Beatrice [14:12]: “I just had both of our lead pastors quit because they both didn’t get like, the lead position they wanted.”

Pet Enthusiasm and Personal Life:

Beatrice concludes her call by sharing her love for animals and her aspirations for her personal life:

Beatrice [18:31]: “I’d like to get married... I just teach Pre-K and I have a career that I’ve been moving up in.”

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Listener Call-In: Roa's Bold Move to Romania

Roa's Decision to Relocate:

Roa, a 28-year-old originally from Romania, calls in to discuss her significant life decision to move back to her homeland:

Roa [31:42]: “I decided that I am going to move to Romania. My life has been kind of crazy here, and now I just have all of this freedom.”

She explains her motivation stems from a recent breakup and a desire for personal growth by immersing herself in a different culture:

Roa [33:36]: “I feel like you get to learn a different part of yourself when you immerse yourself in a completely different environment.”

Safety Concerns and Political Climate:

Roa touches upon concerns related to safety and the political situation in Romania, especially given its proximity to regions of conflict:

Roa [43:42]: “It's right next to Ukraine, so I guess there's that. But I feel like Romania is just kind of a bystander and I think I would be safer there than even if technically it's closer to where it would be starting.”

Cultural and Language Adjustments:

She discusses the linguistic challenges despite Romanian being her first language, due to her family's emphasis on English:

Roa [38:18]: “It's really weird because it was my first language, but my parents started speaking English in the household. I understand like 90% of it, but I respond like an elementary student in Romanian.”

Final Aspirations:

Roa wraps up her narrative by expressing hopes for a fulfilling life in Romania, including career aspirations and personal happiness:

Roa [42:07]: “I just can't really think of anything further than just, like, being happy and having a good career and eating good food and living it up in Europe.”

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Listener Call-In: Iz on Screen Addiction and Digital Well-being

Iz's Struggle with Screen Addiction:

Iz, a 21-year-old from Maine, opens up about her battle with screen addiction, particularly centered around TikTok and social media pressures:

Iz [56:17]: “I was really into TikTok, posting like every day, like eight, fifteen times a day... I just realized how much it was consuming me.”

She highlights the hypocrisy in her behavior, where she pretended to be self-righteous while being deeply entrenched in the very addiction she criticized:

Iz [57:13]: “It was very hypocritical of me and I don't really know where I'm going with this anymore.”

Journey to Digital Detox:

Iz shares her path to overcoming this addiction by stepping away from social media entirely, which significantly reduced her anxiety:

Iz [62:17]: “The only thing that really got rid of all of that anxiety entirely was just putting it down... trying to stay off of my phone.”

Reflection on Modern Technology:

The conversation moves towards a broader critique of modern technology and its impact on human behavior and mental health:

Lyle [63:09]: “Our biology is not ever the technology that we have is so exponentially, unfathomably greater than our biological constraints.”

Personal Insights and Coping Mechanisms:

Iz emphasizes the importance of replacing addictive behaviors with more fulfilling activities, such as outdoor pursuits:

Iz [65:22]: “I’m big into the outdoors. It makes me feel a little bit more connected.”

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Host Reflections and Conclusions

Lyle's Perspectives on Technology and Well-being:

Throughout the episode, Lyle offers his reflections on the discussed topics, particularly focusing on the challenges posed by modern technology:

Lyle [63:42]: “Our biology is not ever the technology that we have is so exponentially, unfathomably greater than our biological constraints.”

He also shares personal anecdotes about screen time and the quest for meaningful engagement beyond digital interfaces.

Encouraging Personal Growth and Resilience:

Lyle concludes the episode by empathizing with his listeners' struggles and encouraging them to pursue personal growth and resilience in the face of life's challenges:

Lyle [72:57]: “Life. Thank you. Is good luck and try to keep. Keep not going on your phone.”

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Notable Quotes

• Beatrice [02:27]:
  “I live next to a church, and the other day I had somebody break through my fence that separates me and the church. He proceeded to chase me down the street and call me out.”

• Beatrice [05:32]:
  “We’re sharing the fence and half of it’s theirs if it’s on there. We’ve asked them before to help rebuild the fence or help pay for it, and they’re like, no.”

• Roa [31:42]:
  “I decided that I am going to move to Romania. My life has been kind of crazy here, and now I just have all of this freedom.”

• Iz [56:17]:
  “I was really into TikTok, posting like every day, like eight, fifteen times a day... I just realized how much it was consuming me.”

• Lyle [63:42]:
  “Our biology is not ever the technology that we have is so exponentially, unfathomably greater than our biological constraints.”

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Conclusion

“THERE IS A PORTAL IN MY FENCE” is a thought-provoking episode that blends personal anecdotes with broader societal issues. Whether it's dealing with unexpected invasions, drastic life changes, or the all-consuming nature of digital life, each listener's story offers valuable insights into navigating modern challenges. Therapy Gecko continues to provide a unique platform for unheard voices, fostering a space for understanding and empathy.

Transcript

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[Lyle]

Hello.

[Beatrice]

Hello.

[Lyle]

Hi. What's your name? What's up?

[Beatrice]

My name is Beatrice. How's it going for you?

[Lyle]

How's it going for me? You know, it is going all right for me. I'm actually, I'm happy to be here recording this. It gives me something to do, I think in life, if you don't have anything to do, you'll go crazy. So I'm glad to be doing something right now. What's up with you, Beatrice? What are you doing? How are you doing?

[Beatrice]

I am great. I just got out of a great shower. I made some sausage balls, seasonal sausage balls. And I'm very excited.

[Lyle]

It sounds wonderful. Well, Beatrice, is there a particular reason that you picked up the phone and called a crazy. A crazy person in a. In a gecko suit today?

[Beatrice]

Oh, my gosh. I have been trying to call you for so long, like so many people say. And I. I'm gonna go in another room. Sorry, my bird. Excuse my bird. No, I live next to a church and the other day I had somebody break through my fence that separates me and the church, and he, like, proceeded to, like, chase me down the street and, like, call me out and this and that, whatever. But my theory is that he's making a portal through my fence so they can just go straight down to the river, because I live next to a river, and I think. Yeah, I've seen it happen before.

[Lyle]

I'm sorry, Beatrice, you said a man is. A man came from the church and ran through your fence and started chasing you.

[Beatrice]

Well, yeah. So here's the deal. They come off of the main road, and they. They come off the main road, and they, like, try to go behind the church and, like, hang out and whatever. And I'm not really about it, because right now I'm, like, home by myself. So I'm, like, wrong.

[Lyle]

Okay.

[Beatrice]

But this guy was different. I, like, started to leave. Yeah. And I kind of watched him because he was kind of looking at my fence, and I was like, please don't. And next thing you know, he threw his bike over, and then he busted through it, and he just rammed his way through my fence, and. Yeah, he just broke a chunk through, and then he just got on his bike and chased me down the road because I was watching him and. Yeah.

[Lyle]

Do things like this happen often? Live in the. Where you live?

[Beatrice]

I won't give the town, but I can confidently say I live in Oregon. And so, like, the homeless, and, like, not even homeless, because this guy was very aware of what he was doing. It's, like, the situation, like, so this was.

[Lyle]

This was a man on drugs, not a man possessed by the devil coming out of the church.

[Beatrice]

Honestly, either way, I don't care, but.

[Lyle]

All right.

[Beatrice]

Like that. Yeah.

[Lyle]

All right.

[Beatrice]

Now I'm debating if I want to sue the church into paying for offense.

[Lyle]

Well, why. Why is it the church's fault? Did the guy come through? This is. This guy. Why is it the church's fault? This guy. Does he have anything to do with the church?

[Beatrice]

No, but here's the deal is they always. They're not coming from my side. Like, they're not coming from my side of the fence, hopping over to get to the main road. They're coming from the main road, hopping over, like. And then this is how I've been a problem before, where they come from the road, and they, like, go through the cracks in my fence or whatever. But this guy just broke.

[Lyle]

Yeah, but why. Yeah, but what does that have to do with the church?

[Beatrice]

Because we've asked them to help. Because it's some of their fence too. You know, like half of it's theirs if it's on there. If it's. If we're sharing the fence and half of it's theirs. And so we've asked them before be like, hey, we'll go 50, 50, can you guys help us like rebuild the fence or could you just help pay for it and we'll get it done? And they're like, no.

[Lyle]

I don't know if. I don't know if you have a case here to sue the church. I mean, I don't. That's an interesting. That's an interesting case though, is I guess who owns the fence, who's responsible for the fence because it fence. Yeah, cuz like, I guess you, if you were to slice a fence in half, you're. You're only responsible for your side of the fence, which doesn't make any sense, but you know. Well, I don't know. I don't know a lot about fence ownership law.

[Beatrice]

Me too. And that's all right. So. And that's why I just want to look into it. But I talked to them and I feel like they won't give me the time of day. But before I sue anybody yet, obviously I'm gonna figure it out, but I will do it, guys.

[Lyle]

All right.

[Beatrice]

Well, yeah.

[Lyle]

Are you. Are you doing all right otherwise or people always coming into your house trying to kill you?

[Beatrice]

No, not all the time. It's pretty good. My neighbor next to me got robbed during the middle of the day, so there's that. I took a picture of a burnt spoon down on the bike path the other day. It was pretty nice. I didn't want to take it. I almost took it to add to my things, but I thought. I didn't know what was on that spin.

[Lyle]

You're like the. You're like Ariel from the Little Mermaid because she has like a spoon. But I guess your spoon would be.

[Beatrice]

A crack spoon, you know, and that would be very fitting. I'd be okay with a crack.

[Lyle]

You're.

[Dr. Josie]

You're.

[Lyle]

You're the Little Mermaid of collect. Filling a grotto with drug paraphernalia from the sidewalk.

[Beatrice]

Wow, that's magic. And honestly, here I could just take a walk and find all kinds of stuff. That's a good idea.

[Lyle]

What. Who are you? I will. I. Who are you? Beatrice. What do you. What's your deal?

[Beatrice]

Okay, well, here's the deal. I'm 22, I live in Oregon. Love it. Hippie life. For real. I'm a pre K teacher. I have a career in that I've been doing that for going on four years and yeah, I just teach a three year old three to like five or six.

[Lyle]

What is the Oregon hippie life these days? What does that look like to you, dad?

[Beatrice]

Well, I'm not in Portland, so it's pretty good. Oregon hippie life for me is a lot of tie dye. I've been getting really into tie dye. Everybody is getting tiedye for Christmas this year. Tie dye, Oregon Country Fair. I recommend going to that.

[Lyle]

Okay. Okay.

[Beatrice]

Yeah.

[Lyle]

What do you. Are they. I have. Oh, I have a question. You teach three year olds?

[Beatrice]

I teach three to five or six.

[Lyle]

But I have a. I have a. I have a question. Are the kids gonna be alright? Because I'm worried about. I'm worried about the children in this. In our world. We live in a freakish world that's evolved far beyond what our biology was meant for. And I'm a little terrified of whatever the children of the world these days. I know that makes me sound like a grandpa, but it's. I am alarmed by it.

[Beatrice]

No, for real. Me too. Y'all like it's getting. It's getting biblical, y'all. Like the end of times. I'm not saying like always be watching, but I sleep with my eyes open. For real.

[Lyle]

Do you really believe? Do you believe? I mean I. No exaggeration. Do you really believe it is the end of times?

[Beatrice]

Okay, well here's the deal. It's. I mean in the Bible it's. It talks about things that will happen, you know, one thing after another. Not necessarily day to day, but in the timeline of time things will happen. And y'all. There's things been happening. So it's, it's telling. And I do think it's. Something will happen if we don't destroy ourselves first. We'll see God coming down taking us anyway. The kids were. Here's the deal. I think that my kids at my work are super spoiled. And they're like Covid babies. Have you heard of that?

[Lyle]

Like babies that were conceived during COVID see well.

[Beatrice]

And born more so born. I'm tagging this term. It's called Covid babies. These are the kids that grew up in quarantine and they don't have socialization and if the parents, they didn't do their job of like being a teacher and like parent and teacher and teaching their kids. Some kids I have now that are like where they should be like learning wise, they don't know their ABCs. I'm like, what? I said you're five years old. It's like, it's things like that. But I also did foster care. I do foster care with my family and we've been doing that for 10 years. And those kind of kids, they're, they come in feral because they've been like living under bridges. But they have street smarts. So it's like they're very aware of themselves and they're same age as my kids at work, but they're already like, they just have common sense, you know.

[Lyle]

So you're worried about the kids, the, these Covid babies who have not, who have neither of those.

[Beatrice]

Yeah, they just, I get some Covid babies and they like, those are the kids who buy. Those are the kids who like can't share and can't have like, man, I'm just trying to teach my kids how to not be like, if you could just be like a solid like 5 out of the day out of 10, that'd be great. It's good.

[Lyle]

But, and yeah, and how long have you been a pre K teacher for?

[Beatrice]

I've been doing that for. I've been doing Pre K for 2, but I've been teaching for 3, going on 4. I was doing 2 year olds and 2 year olds is great, but something about like teaching the kids and then like showing me what they've learned just from what I've taught them. It's nice. It's a good feeling.

[Lyle]

You're only 22.

[Beatrice]

Hell yeah.

[Lyle]

So they don't like, don't you have to finish college before you start teaching people?

[Beatrice]

Well, here's the deal. I, I, it's like I would say, I hate when people say daycare because I've worked so hard to not be like a daycare teacher and I'm not. I teach pre K and like a hi. And I'd say, yeah, glorified daycare. But it's definitely like I have three classes at my school and I have a class and yeah, no, you just have to be teacher qualified. You get so many hours and trainings in. I have to do like, I think they moved it up to like a lot of hours, like 30 hours or something crazy of like trainings. And so.

[Lyle]

And is it, is this a, is this like a religious school, like a private school?

[Beatrice]

No, these parents are just super rich and like one of the parents, they have, the Tesla is like the door comes up, I'm like. And the five year old comes out, I'm like, oh my gosh, what is your life? These people own like businesses around town. They like our lawyers and one of my two year old. One of the two year olds are in Colombia for just a holiday trip. I'm like, wow, nice.

[Lyle]

Are you. Are you a lady of God? You. You were speaking about that a little bit earlier.

[Beatrice]

Wow. Me and God are pretty tight. We are. We're pretty tight. And I grew up really religious. My grandpa is a child evangelist and he's been doing that for like 40 some years. And so he's kind of really into that. And my parents are very like Christian Baptist, and then I have a lot of Southern Baptist, so it's good. I just. Man. And that's the thing too. My church that I grew up in, after Covid, they're like, if you don't go to church during COVID then you're sinning and you're a bad person. And Bon, I was like, oh, my gosh. No. So, and it just turned really dark. We just had both of our lead pastors quit because they both didn't get like, the lead position they wanted. So since they both didn't get it, they both quit. And I was like, whoa. So I am very into it. And I think not everything came from nothing. But as far as like a community of a church and everything, I don't go because I haven't found that yet, you know, interesting.

[Lyle]

So you don't go to church, but you, you. I mean, do you want to? Is that like something you want to kind of create a space for in your life?

[Beatrice]

Hell, yeah. I definitely go. And I've tried different churches around town and whatnot. Doing all that thing. My partner has even said, he's like, yeah, I'll go with you. Here and there. I was like, hell, yeah. So it's. It's a thing I try to incorporate in my life. It's just, I'm very. I'm pickier about churches until I date, honestly.

[Lyle]

You're picky about churches and who you date?

[Beatrice]

Nope, I'm pickier. I'm more picky about churches than who I date.

[Lyle]

Oh, oh, oh, yeah. How'd you meet? How'd you meet your. So.

[Beatrice]

Met him on the app. Duh. When do you meet people in real life? For real?

[Lyle]

Which app?

[Beatrice]

I met him on Tinder, but actually he added me on, like all the apps and I ignored him on all of them. And then Tinder was last on and I was like, fine, I guess. But he's really great. Yeah, I enjoyed a lot, actually. He has a. What? Can I just say something?

[Lyle]

Yes, go. Say as many things as you want.

[Beatrice]

What? Here's the deal. We'll be here all day. I love talking. This is great. But no, he has a six year old autistic, non verbal and blind son that. Can I just say.

[Lyle]

Wow, he's a six year old son.

[Beatrice]

Yeah, six year old, blind, autistic and non verbal.

[Lyle]

How old is he?

[Beatrice]

He's 30. Well, he'll be 31 in December, so I'm kind of loving that, y'all.

[Lyle]

Well, he's got a, he's got a six. Yeah. What's. What's the deal with his son?

[Beatrice]

He's just like, I don't know, y'all. Sometimes it's just like pick of the barrel, just you come out blind, autistic and non verbal. I don't know y'all. But no, he's. And he's great. And I've gone over and hung out with him and his kid and everything and yeah, this is great. And I enjoy. I'm like, oh my gosh, guys, I could be a stepmom.

[Roa]

What?

[Beatrice]

That's kind of crazy.

[Lyle]

What's your ultimate Beatrice? Right?

[Beatrice]

Well, it's. I honestly. And I, I feel bad correcting you even, but it's Beatrice.

[Lyle]

Beatrice, Beatrice. I don't know, I don't, I don't, I don't know if you listen to this show, but I'll talk to someone for 45 minutes and I'll call them Sam and their name is, you know, Jared or whatever. So I, I'm gonna, I think Beatrice is pretty good for me.

[Beatrice]

Hey, you're, you could do Beatrice. People be calling me Beatrice all the time.

[Lyle]

Well, Beatrice, what, what's your ultimate goal? Goal? What's your, what's your dream life look like?

[Beatrice]

Gag. I'd kind of like to get married. Feelings, growth. But that would be nice. And I'd like to just, yeah, grow my career. I've been moving up. I've never gone down the ladder in my career, so I'm pretty happy with that. And yeah, I don't know animals. I'd like to see how many animals I accumulate. I'm kind of crushing it right now.

[Lyle]

You'd like to see how many animals you can acute. How many animals do you currently have?

[Beatrice]

I have a bird. I have a cockatiel. He's pretty great. I have two dogs. I have a sheep dog. He's a sheepdog poodle mix, and I have a Maltese poodle mix. I'm pretty, pretty proud of my dogs. And I have a hamster. His name is Killer because he might. He bites me.

[Lyle]

Is there an animal that you are trying to get that you don't yet have.

[Beatrice]

You know, I'm hypoallergenic, so I can't really have most dogs, but if I could have, like, a wiener dog, I think my life would be complete. Not saying anything about my dogs right now. I hope they're not listening, but.

[Lyle]

Well, before we go, I'll try. I'll take some. I don't know. If the twitch chat has any questions, I'll. If the twitch chat has any questions, I'll. I'll ask. I'll ask them to you. But I guess while those are coming in. While those are coming in, I'm gonna try to think of a. Of a question. Well, are you in. Are you in college right now? Are you in school to try to, like, get, like, accredited or anything like that?

[Beatrice]

No, I just bought. School is just, like, not been my gig. I was homeschooled up until high school, so I feel like I'm just like. I don't know. School is so intimidating. Everybody knows how to do it, and I'm like, I don't know. So. No, but you can make good money otherwise, so it's not too bad.

[Lyle]

Somebody said, would you walk through the portal in the fence if that ends up happening? Which kind of reminds me that I completely glossed over your theory about how the church has tried to create a fucking portal in your backyard.

[Beatrice]

Yeah, no, here's the deal. And they do. It's not even the church. It's like, the crackheads around town, they do. They make portals. I've seen them on a bridge, and they come through with, like, bikes, or they go into the portal, and I'm like, where are they going? We're on a bridge.

[Lyle]

The crackheads in your town are making portals?

[Beatrice]

Yeah. And they like. And now there's signs where the portal was, and sometimes I've seen, like, what, close up the portal?

[Lyle]

Yeah, you got you. They're. They're creating portals, and you'll see police close the portals.

[Beatrice]

Yeah, like, I've seen them close it and, like, close. It's like chain link. They break through, and then they close it, and the next thing you know, the portal's open. And I think they made a portal through my fence. They could get to the river easier.

[Lyle]

Do you mean. What, you mean like a. Like a magical portal?

[Beatrice]

I mean, there's probably something magical happening on the other side. I don't mean like, we're going to the Twilight Zone, y'all. We're not. Not. Nothing like that. But, I mean, I would Walk through if I was like that. But I think if I walk through, I just portals.

[Lyle]

I just want. I just want to clarify for you, and it's. But whatever your live, whatever your truth is, I want to know. But are you using the word portal to mean a hole or, or like. Or do you mean like a, A. A supernatural portal?

[Beatrice]

Okay, well, here's the deal. I always say to speak your truth, so I will speak my truth.

[Lyle]

Please.

[Beatrice]

I. I mean, in the sense of like a giant hole around town. But what's interesting, and it is a portal too, because you don't know what's on the other side. I mean, my portal is different because it's like right through to my road, it's whatever. But the ones I've seen around town, you don't see what's on the other side. Like over the bridge, you don't know where it goes. But people come through it and go into it, and it's like, where do they go?

[Lyle]

Beatrice, I'm sure I'm just want to get on the same page with you here about this. Are you. Do you. Do you mean by a portal?

[Beatrice]

I mean, like, I don't know. Not like they get. Not like they're time traveling or going anywhere crazy. I just mean, like, how do they have an open hole over a bridge and then come through a bike with like. Come through the hole with a bike. Like. Like we're on a bridge. Where are they coming from?

[Lyle]

So when you say that, when you say that they're trying to make a portal in your backyard, you mean like a hole or do you mean like, like where do you think this portal in your backyard is gonna lead to?

[Beatrice]

I think they're gonna go down to the river and do more crack with spoons.

[Lyle]

So you mean. You mean. Okay, so you mean a hole?

[Beatrice]

Yeah, like a giant hole.

[Lyle]

Okay, we're not talking about like, like our. And by the way, totally fine if you are. I just want to, like. You're not like, on your Narnia shit right now, are you?

[Beatrice]

No. And I'm sorry if I do sound like that. I do.

[Lyle]

No, I don't care if you are. I don't care.

[Beatrice]

I'm so serious. Like, no, it's just a giant hole. And I don't know. I recently got it fixed. My name. I. Well, my. I lied. My neighbor got it fixed because I told him about the hole and he fixed it. But still, people be like, coming through my fence, y'all. I don't know. But as long as it's not A giant portal hole. I'm fine with that.

[Lyle]

All right, I'm gonna see. Somebody asked if you do graffiti.

[Beatrice]

Oh, no. Because here's the deal. I can't. I'm. I'm not an outside the box thinker. And that's what's so shitty about being a teacher, like a pre K teacher, too, is you have to do, like, crafts and stuff. And. Oh, my gosh, I did some hand turkeys this past week, and they. I had a nightmare about them because of how bad they look. They looked horrible. They looked so bad. So graffiti is just like. It would be like a heart or something lame like that.

[Lyle]

Let me. Someone wants to know if you smoke weed.

[Beatrice]

Oh, my gosh. Here's the deal. Only because I know my parents aren't listening to y'all, but. Hell yeah, we live. I'm in Oregon. We smoke so much. That's, like, what you do. I mean, I'm not high right now. It might sound like it, but I. No, I. Yeah, we. I was high yesterday at Thanksgiving. Hell yeah.

[Lyle]

By the way, just someone in the chat mentioned this, and I'll. I'll. I'll. I'll echo the sentiment. I would push back against the idea that you are not an outside the box thinker because I think you're. I think you've talked too much about portals on this phone call for you to not consider yourself an outside the box thinker, which is, by the way, a good. It's a good thing. I think it's good to be an outside of the box thinker.

[Roa]

Huh?

[Beatrice]

I concur. I mean, I do have a. Have you heard of Bojangle?

[Lyle]

The chicken thing?

[Beatrice]

Oh, my gosh. Yeah. Well, they have these country ham biscuits. Oh, my gosh. Country ham biscuit sandwiches. Oh, they're so good. And I got a country ham biscuit tattoo with a cowboy hat because it's country. So that's pretty outside the box. I'd say.

[Lyle]

That's cool. All right, I'll give you one if. Is there anything else you want the people to know about you or your life or anything?

[Beatrice]

I mean, hell, y'all. I don't. I had so many things, and now it's like, you know, once you get on here, it's nothing. I don't know. I wish you all had more to make me think I don't. I'm. And I know I'll regret it later, but I love talking.

[Lyle]

It was nice talking to you too, Beatrice. Anything else you want to say to the people before we go?

[Beatrice]

Ah, yes. I Want to say hi to my brother Jeremy, because I'm going to be telling about him this what I'm going to be telling him about this later. And if it makes it into the podcast, I will definitely be telling him about this later. And if anybody else wants to make a portal in my fence, please don't. I'm not Bob the Builder. I did not fix the fence back.

[Lyle]

You. You have, you have hit your portal quota for your life.

[Beatrice]

I really have, y'all, and my fence can't take it. She said put me out, so.

[Lyle]

All right. All right, Beatrice. Well, good, good luck. You, you, you. I think you're going to be okay. You have a. You, you, you rank low on the list of callers that I leave the conversations worried about them. I think you're going to be a. Think you're going to be all right.

[Beatrice]

Ah, well, thank you so much and I appreciate it and I love talking to you. This is great.

[Lyle]

Thank you. Be. You have a. You have a good one.

[Beatrice]

Yeah, you have a great day. Bye.

[Lyle]

Bye, Beatrice. I think she meant whole. I don't know. I still don't know. I asked you guys heard. I. I asked multiple times if she meant supernatural portals or if she just meant holes. And she. None of the times did she really give me a straight answer. But she might. I. But I guess don't. I don't know. That's probably. That's my fault because it's me not being an outside of the box thinker. You know, doors are. Doors are portals in a sense. Yeah. That's good. I liked that lady. She added, she seemed like she had a nice life. She had. She has pets that she cares about and she looks at portals and insane things happen to her and she laughs about it. That's. Yeah, she's gonna be all right.

[Dr. Josie]

I couldn't lose weight.

[Lyle]

Fatigue, gas, bloating, hot flashes.

[Comedy Announcer]

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[Lyle]

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[Comedy Announcer]

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[Lyle]

I love the combination of the Pilates with lifting. My body literally feels like it got younger.

[Dr. Josie]

This nutrition program has taught me what.

[Beatrice]

My body truly needs.

[Dr. Josie]

I'm less bloated, I have less inflammation. Now I'm equipped with how to manage this stress. It's helping me sleep so much better.

[Comedy Announcer]

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[Lyle]

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[Dr. Josie]

I have transformed my body from the inside out.

[Comedy Announcer]

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[Dr. Josie]

Learn [e-mail] hey guys, it's Dr. Josi from InTheVet's office. Loving a pet often means wondering if you're providing the care they need. Is there a health issue lurking around the corner? Does a pet need something or feel something but can't say it? Petivity Health kits and smart products use data and best in class technology to learn your pet's behaviors and alert you to key changes that you can act on. Petivity is reimagining pet care with a family of products designed to help give your pet a voice and empower you to provide the best care possible. Visit P-E-T-I-V-I-T-Y.com to learn more.

[Comedy Announcer]

Hey comedy fans. The funniest comedians in the world are on tour and you can get tickets to see them live near you. Laugh at the biggest names in comedy like Atsuka Okotuka, Chelsea Handler, Jimmy Carr, Kathy Griffin, Matt Matthews, Matt Rife, Sarah Silverman, Sebastian Maniscalco, Stavros Helkias, Wanda Sykes and so many more. All kinds of shows, all kinds of venues, all kinds of funny. Head to livenation.comcomedy to get your tickets today. Or that's live nation.comcomedy hello.

[Beatrice]

Hello.

[Lyle]

Hey, what's up?

[Roa]

Nothing much. I genuinely did not think I was going to get through.

[Lyle]

Well, here you are and we are talking and what is up? How are you? What's your name?

[Roa]

My name is Roa. Weird name. I know. It means morning dew in Romanian. It's spelled R O U A.

[Lyle]

Are you, are you, are you Romanian?

[Roa]

I am.

[Lyle]

What's going on? What's going on in Romania?

[Roa]

You know I'm gonna find out in three months. Yeah, I, yeah. So my whole family, all my siblings were born in Romania and I'm the only one that was born here. I'm 28 and I decided that I am going to move to Romania.

[Lyle]

No shit. No way.

[Roa]

I had a doing it.

[Lyle]

I had a cab driver at a Romanian cab driver a couple weeks ago and he told me that Romania is like one of the safest places that he, he told me he has like a like a seven year old daughter or something and he just lets her walk home in the middle of the night. I mean, I don't know why she's out anywhere.

[Roa]

Okay, that's a Little concerning maybe.

[Lyle]

Maybe that's on him. Maybe that's on him. But anyway, so concerning what. What's. So why are you moving to Romania?

[Roa]

So a few reasons. My life has been kind of crazy here. Within, like the last couple of years. I got out of, like a really long relationship where I felt like I couldn't really do the things that I wanted to do. I've always wanted to experience living in a different country. And that relationship ended thankfully. And now I just have all of this, like, freedom in a sense, and I feel like I have so much more room to grow into my skin. And I was like, what better way to experience that than like, go to a different country and do that? I feel like you get to learn a different part of yourself when you kind of emersify yourself in a completely different environment.

[Lyle]

So you are moving. It's not. This isn't a trip. This is a move.

[Roa]

Yeah, so I'm moving. Doing it.

[Lyle]

Where. Where are you moving from?

[Roa]

From San Francisco.

[Lyle]

Oh, okay, cool. What? Do you know people? You have family in Romania, so you know some folks?

[Roa]

I do, I do, yeah. I'm gonna go see my grandma. She's getting old. I should go see her. I haven't been to Romania since I was 16, so this is. It's gonna be a. Interesting trip for me and I'm gonna get a lot of.

[Dr. Josie]

From who?

[Roa]

The language.

[Lyle]

Oh, you haven't been since.

[Roa]

Why? I want to go.

[Lyle]

So wait, I say you haven't been since you were 16? 12 years ago. And you're so you're not even gonna like, take a little trip first before you pack up your bags and move?

[Roa]

No, I'm just doing it.

[Lyle]

Do you have a Romanian passport? Is that. Are you like, officially a citizen?

[Roa]

So I'm in the process of that right now. I potentially might have to come back if it doesn't. If everything doesn't get finalized. And I would have to come back after like the 90 day, you know, travel stay. But I will. Will get sorted out regardless. And yeah, if I don't decide to stay in Romania, I will probably stay in another country out in Europe. But that's the plan right now.

[Lyle]

Do you have a job or anything that you're going to do?

[Roa]

I don't know. I am applying a bunch of shit out there right now. I just graduated in May and the job market here sucks. And I've been applying to jobs to get out of my nanny and gig for like the past seven months. And I told myself, like, two more rejections from all These companies, and I'm out, and that's kind of what I'm doing. So.

[Lyle]

What did you study?

[Roa]

I studied environmental anthropology and archaeology. So I might do some, like, archaeological work in Transylvania or some.

[Lyle]

That's cool. They have. They have bones in Romania about bones.

[Roa]

You know, I'm sure I can. Hopefully I come across some bones from Vlad the Impaler, the people that he impaled.

[Lyle]

I don't know why I know that. I know that it's like a whole field that encompasses many different things, but when you say archaeologists, my head goes to like, oh, this lady's going to Romania to dig up dinosaur bones.

[Roa]

I mean, I could come across those with archaeology. Like, you do come across bones that. It's mostly, like, artifacts that you work with. That'd be cool. If I come across a dinosaur bone, I don't know if I know how to identify it, but maybe I. I took zoo arc, so. Zoo. Zooarchaeology, so I know how to identify some animal bones.

[Lyle]

Are you gonna miss San Francisco? Do you got anything going on for you there that you. You're like, I don't want to leave.

[Roa]

Yeah. My friends, it's such a great city. I do love this place. I've just been here my whole life, so I think I'm gonna miss, you know, the. The random naked people just decide to walk out their door naked one day. I think. I really appreciate that. I think that's great. I would never do that. It's a city that terrifies me, but I love it so much. Like, it's just the craziest shit happens here, but it's really. It's what makes San Francisco. So I'll miss that. But I think I need to explore life outside of the US I've always wanted to.

[Lyle]

Yeah. Yeah. Hmm. Romant. What's the. What's that? What's the city that you're moving to?

[Roa]

So my family is from the city called Suchava. I was thinking of staying there for a bit because I have a place that I can stay at for free for at least a few months. But I want to spend some time in Bucharest.

[Lyle]

Right.

[Roa]

It's just more. There's more things going on there. It's more. Definitely more people speak English there. I'd be able to get around.

[Lyle]

Yeah, that's the. I guess that was the. When you said a smaller town, I guess that was. The main thing is like, are you going to get. Are you going to be fucked? That. That you don't know Romanian is the language Romanian?

[Roa]

Yeah, yeah. So, like, it's really weird because it was my first language, but my parents are, like, freaking out when I was, like, struggling, I guess, in my English courses, like, growing up, and they're like, oh, my God, like, we have to speak English in the household. Like, she's the first gen. Like, she has to know English well. So then they started speaking English in the household. So I have this weird thing where I understand, like, 90% of it, but I respond like an elementary student in Romanian.

[Lyle]

Interesting. But, I mean, understanding is pretty good. I feel like that's. I feel like if I had to, like, choose between, like, if it was, if it was binary, right? Like, I could only. I could only understand or speak English. I'm picking understanding. I could, I could shut up for the rest of my life and just look at stuff. Yeah.

[Roa]

Yeah, that's very true.

[Lyle]

Yeah, I like this. So this is cool. Go ahead, Go ahead. You were gonna say something.

[Roa]

Oh, I was just gonna say. Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm saying, like, my life here. I'm gonna go do it somewhere else in a different country. My friends are excited for me, but they just think I'm gonna get kidnapped for some reason, which is not great to hear.

[Lyle]

But you. I, truthfully, when it comes to, not to be a whatever, but, like, of all the places I have traveled, new, like New York and Los Angeles are the more Are the most dangerous.

[Roa]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Lyle]

I don't know what's going on in Romania, but a guy, A, A guy told me once that it was safe. And so, you know, if that guy said it, then it's probably true.

[Roa]

I remember it being pretty safe when I was there. Yeah, I'll be fine. I hear stories all the time of my siblings, like, taking the buses by themselves, like in elementary school. And, like, you know, you don't really hear that much over here at all, so.

[Lyle]

Yeah. Yeah. San Francisco. I don't, I'm. This is, this is a ignorant statement that is derived from no empirical data whatsoever, but my gut feeling tells me that Bucharest is probably safer than, than San Francisco.

[Roa]

Oh, absolutely.

[Lyle]

I like this.

[Roa]

To my apartment in San Francisco. So there's that.

[Lyle]

Yeah. Really?

[Roa]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Lyle]

This is a real getting chased themed episode.

[Roa]

I know. It's real. It happens.

[Lyle]

I like this, though, because I, I, I love the idea of picking up your life and moving to a foreign country. I think it's cool. I think. I hope it goes well.

[Roa]

I do too. Yeah. I've really been trying to, like, embody this whole, like, habit of, like, not just saying that I'm gonna do something. It's so easy to. It's so easy to sit there and, like, imagine, like, a new thing for your life, but it's like another thing to, like, get up and just do it. And, like, I've just been. I'm terrified, but I've just been telling myself to, like, just do. Scared, like, just do it. Why not?

[Lyle]

What. And now if this. If this move went perfectly, right? If it went 100% the best way it could possibly go, what would that look like?

[Roa]

I think I would find a career somewhere out there. I would like to have my own place. I would bring my. So I have to come back and get my cat, actually. So I would have my cat there with me. The cat. Otis.

[Beatrice]

Yeah.

[Roa]

I don't know. I just. I can't really think of anything further than just, like, being happy and having a good career and eating good food and fucking living it up in Europe and traveling and maybe finding bones and artifacts.

[Lyle]

Well, how long were you in San Francisco for?

[Roa]

So I've been living in the outskirts of San Francisco my whole life, but I moved into San Francisco, like, almost three years ago.

[Lyle]

Somebody in the chat says, are you concerned about. I'm going to take. We're going to take some questions from the chat. If the chat wants to ask any questions, I like doing that. So somebody said, are you concerned about the possibility of World War three happening in that region? Which is a funny thing to say because it's a contra. It's a contradictory sentence. Are you concerned about a world war happening in that region?

[Roa]

Yeah, I was actually thinking about that the other day. You know, I think regardless, like, we're. Wherever we go, so, yeah, I'm concerned, but is that going to stop me? No.

[Lyle]

Wait, why. Is. Is what's. I'm. I'm ignorant. Where is Romania? Near. That's. That's being. That's there's war.

[Comedy Announcer]

Well, I.

[Roa]

It's right next to Ukraine, so I guess there's that. But I don't know. I feel like.

[Beatrice]

If.

[Roa]

I feel like I would be safe in Romania. Like, who gives a. About Romania? You know, like, they're just there. I don't think they've. They've really gotten their hands in anything, like, super dirty or maybe they have and I'm being ignorant, but I don't know. I feel like Romania is just kind of a bystander and I think I would be safer there than. Even if technically it's closer to where it would be starting. I think I would be safer.

[Lyle]

Just.

[Roa]

Hide in my grandmother's village. I'll be fine.

[Lyle]

Well, let's see. Nobody has any more. Nobody has any other good questions. Oh, they said. They said. Apparently. Wait, somebody said she hasn't heard about the new Romanian Trump. Is there? And is this Trump.

[Roa]

Oh, my God.

[Lyle]

Mania have, like a crazy guy.

[Roa]

Yes. So I heard about this the other day and actually made me really fucking sad.

[Lyle]

What was it?

[Roa]

He's just this kind of extremist man who has been part of organizations that are not aligned with my morals, and I guess he's taking the lead, and that's very concerning. Yeah, actually, I forgot about that. Damn. Well, I might have to reside in a different country nearby, but. Yeah, if that guy wins.

[Lyle]

Yeah. Which. Which. Which one would you go to?

[Roa]

Maybe the Netherlands. Maybe Sweden.

[Lyle]

Oh, fuck, man. I was just. I was. I don't know how hard it is to go there, but how artists, like, live there. But I love the Netherlands. I was just there. I did. I did it. I did a show in Amsterdam. It was amazing. Yeah.

[Roa]

Yeah, that's where I'm going.

[Lyle]

Not to. Not to keep dick riding Europe. And I probably said this on the podcast already, but they. They just. It's just so much better there than it is here. It's just so much. They have all the same. They have, like, virtually. Because our whole thing is, like, freedom, but they have virtually all the same freedoms, except. Except the gun one. Yeah, they have virtually all the same ones. And you don't need a car. Is in all the cities. And a lot of those places, they have like. Like, free or cheap health care and college tuition. And it's like, what. What are we. I don't. You go over there and you're like, I asked Chat GPT. I was like, is there anything that is better about America than Europe? And Chat GPT was like, america is good if you want to be an entrepreneur with little regular restrictions or if you want to own a gun. And Europe is better for quality. And then it said, europe is better for quality of life.

[Beatrice]

Yeah, that takes.

[Roa]

That takes it all for me. You know, it's. It's unfortunate that one of the. The things that I'm really excited for out there is healthcare, which is like, right. That should just be given here.

[Lyle]

But, you know, can you. But can you do that? Can you just, like, show up and be like, hey, I heard you guys have free health care. Can I have some of that?

[Roa]

I don't know. I'm going to figure that out.

[Lyle]

All right.

[Roa]

Figure it out.

[Lyle]

Well, let's see. Somebody else. Oh yeah, someone wants to know if there's any good, good Romanian food.

[Roa]

Good Romanian food? Yeah. I really like a lot of the pastries. Like one of my favorite kind of like holiday pastries that my mom will hopefully be making around these holidays. It's called kozonak. Really good. It's like a bread sweet cozonak. Also sarmale is really good. It doesn't look pretty, but it's just. It's like cabbage rolls with like meat and rice in it. It's really good. Yeah, I would say those two. We eat a lot of like, at least from like the region where my family's from. It's like, we eat a lot of. It's like very close to like Mediterranean food. So a lot of breads and different like spreads and cheese and salami and olives and always eating a shark charcuterie or charcuterie board or whatever that's called.

[Lyle]

Someone, someone in the chat said, here in the Netherlands we have our own Trump too, and he's closing the borders. So if you want to come. Be quick, man. They got. Everyone's got. I don't know, I got. I'll look at it. Somebody also said this, I'm sorry, this is. This wasn't a question for you, but somebody said here in the Netherlands everything closes so early. And I, I w. I went to the Netherlands to do a show a few weeks ago and I woke up at like 4 in the morning and I was hungry and everything was closed. So I was just kind of wandering around Amsterdam for like. At 4 o'clock in the morning and a bunch people keep coming up to me and be like, this guy came up to me and he's like, hey, hey man, where are you from? And here's the thing. At 4 o'clock in the morning, when people come up to you and start like, where you from? They're not. They're probably not trying to make friends. They're probably.

[Iz]

No, I don't.

[Lyle]

I just assume I. I make an assumption that they're trying not to make friends. And so I said to him, I was like, I'm sorry man, I'm just trying to get food. I don't really want to talk right now. And he goes, fuck you, you pussy. I'll fucking beat the shit out of you. And I was like, alright, sorry. I just walked away. And a little part of me was like, I was walking away and. And a little part of me was like, like, I, like I. A very 1% of me. I'm not being generous. A 1% of me in my head was like, man, maybe that guy, maybe he really did just want to be my friend, you know, Maybe he really was wandering around at 4 o'clock in the morning trying to find friends. And I'm like the fourth guy he tried to make conversation with, and I. I turned him down. And I'm. I'm like, I'm. Part of me. 99 of me is like, I wanted to, like, sell me coke or whatever, but 1% of me was like, oh, I. I led him into. I was like the last line of defense between that guy and his joker era. But, you know, so be it. Yeah, well, anyway, go ahead.

[Roa]

You don't need to. You don't need to know.

[Lyle]

What's your name again? Some with an, like, row your boat. Roa, is there anything else you want to say to the people of Wisconsin and other places across the. The world before we go? Somebody. Somebody listening to this? Probably somebody listening to this. Probably is in Wisconsin right now. But not just to them, to everyone. To everyone. Is there anything you want to say to everyone?

[Roa]

Yeah. Yeah. Not just to Wisconsin. To everyone, kind of. What? Did I say this earlier? Do Shit scared. Just do it. Do something terrifying today. But, like, be safe.

[Lyle]

I like that. I like that, Roa. Good luck. Maybe I'll do a show in Romania one day and. And if you want to bring your whole family and you guys can be the only people that show up, that could be fun.

[Roa]

I'll be there. I'll bring cock.

[Lyle]

All right. See you later.

[Roa]

See you later.

[Lyle]

Bye, Roa. Forever. That's cool. I've never been to Romania. The only thing I know about Romania is that Andrew Tate is from there. I guess that's kind of a bummer that, like, he's the only thing I think maybe a lot of people know about Romania. I don't know anything about Romania. What should I know about Romania? I know. Okay, I know that. And then I know that the cab driver that I met said that Romania is cool. I just wonder if anything else, Anything else from rope about Romania. I'll go there one day just to hang out and fucking walk around. Yeah, maybe one day I'll go to Romania and walk around. I've. I'm. I'm. I'm. I feel like I'm exiting. Not exiting, but pausing. My era of go alone to a foreign country and fucking just stare at stuff. I'm pausing that for now, but I might return. Who knows? I'm glad that this lady Roa is going alone to Romania. I think that's cool. I wanna. I'm gonna do something. I'm gonna do more like that myself. I think that's cool.

[Beatrice]

I was struggling for the past year and a half, two years with trying to lose weight.

[Lyle]

I just can't get rid of the stubborn weight in my legs and in my belly.

[Comedy Announcer]

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[Beatrice]

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[Beatrice]

I just noticed changes immediately. That stubborn scale finally moved in.

[Lyle]

This first week, I lost five pounds. Just after one week, I'm down six.

[Beatrice]

Pounds and all of my bloating is gone.

[Lyle]

I just finished the Belvatel program. I have lost 15 pounds and I.

[Comedy Announcer]

Have never felt better.

[Beatrice]

I've noticed inches just shed every week that I go through.

[Dr. Josie]

I've lost 13 pounds and 16 inches.

[Lyle]

From all around my body.

[Beatrice]

I feel an entirely different person.

[Comedy Announcer]

I don't know if I've ever felt this good. Get hormone health for [e-mail] this will change everything.

[Dr. Josie]

Hey, guys, it's Dr. Josie from in the vet's office. Loving a pet often means wondering if you're providing the care they need. Is there a health issue lurking around the corner? Does a pet need something or feel something but can't say it? Petivity health kits and smart products use data and best in class technology to learn your pet's behaviors and alert you to key changes that you can act on. Petivity is reimagining pet care with a family of products designed to help give your pet a voice and empower you to provide the best care possible. Visit P-E-T-I-V-I-T-Y.com to learn more.

[Comedy Announcer]

Hey, comedy fans. The funniest comedians in the world are on tour and you can get tickets to see them live near you. Laugh at the biggest names in comedy like Atsuko Okotuka, Chelsea Handler, Jimmy Carr, Kathy Griffin, Matt Matthews, Matt Rife, Sarah Silverman, Sebastian Maniscalco, Stavros, Helkias, Wanda Sykes and Sylvia. So many more. All kinds of shows, all kinds of venues, all kinds of funny. Head to livenation.comcomedy to get your tickets today. That's livenation.comcomedy.

[Lyle]

Hello?

[Iz]

Hello, is this Lyle?

[Lyle]

Yeah, who is this?

[Iz]

Oh, my gosh.

[Lyle]

You can call me Iz is what's Up Iz. How you doing? How's life?

[Iz]

I'm doing good. I'm sorry, I'm very nervous.

[Lyle]

I, I, no, I, I, I, I, I've said this, I don't know if I said this to someone already in a, in a po. This is, this is one of the least, this is one of the lowest stakes things that you will do with your entire life. You will make decisions on what you're going to eat for breakfast that have a higher stakes than this phone call. So I hope you take solace in that.

[Iz]

I do, I do. Thank you.

[Lyle]

What's up man? How you doing?

[Iz]

I'm doing good. Just had Thanksgiving meal or Thanksgiving part two, I guess. And you get my text? You know, I don't really know how this whole thing works.

[Lyle]

This whole thing works the same way that any other phone call you've ever made in your life works, my friend.

[Iz]

Very true, Lyle. Well, I guess I, I guess I wanted to talk about screen addiction.

[Lyle]

Oh yeah, sure, yeah.

[Iz]

Like I was for like a good part of the, my high school career I was, I big into tick tock and posting like every day like eight, 15 times a day. I, it like I racked up a good amount of views or whatever, but I was like constantly on my phone and, and like also like simultaneously pretending that I was like, you know, like self righteous, I'm not on my phone, like whatever. And like a couple years ago I just realized how much it was consuming me. Especially like with the stuff that I was posting about on TikTok. It was very hypocritical of me and I don't really know where I'm going with this anymore.

[Lyle]

How old are you now?

[Iz]

I'm 21.

[Lyle]

And what kind of stuff were you posting?

[Iz]

I was, I was kind of like posting like I guess like artsy videos with like a quote overlaid over top. Like cool, very cut dry copy paste stuff. But like I was scrolling on Pinterest.

[Lyle]

All day looking for silly quotes and. Are you still a, are you still posting stuff?

[Iz]

No, no, no, no. I stopped a couple years back. Yeah, it was like I said it was just like consuming me. Like way too much time spent just over my phone like, like wondering why my videos weren't getting views and like.

[Lyle]

Like yeah, it was. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, no, that, that, ugh. I've, you know, I've, I've been there and it's the fucking stu. It's just the stupidest thing of all time.

[Roa]

It is.

[Iz]

Cuz you can never have enough.

[Lyle]

Like you get right.

[Iz]

You get one video with 10,000 views and then you're not satisfied with anything left and then it keeps going up.

[Lyle]

Can I tell you? So I've, here's the thing. My like pure. I think my, my Instagram and TikTok career have peaked. You know what I mean? I think I, I really like in 2022, there was a point where I, I was grinding out these videos of me staring at my camera while somebody said something insane to me and, and trying to get views on them. And I would, in 2022, like, I would, There was a point where like a couple months where just every single video I posted would get like a million views at least. And I'm very grateful for that time because that is like, I was able to parlay it into like an actual community of people who like, listen to this podcast and go see me live and stuff. And I'm grateful for that. But I now, but even when I was getting millions of views, I was like, if a video didn't get a certain amount of views, it would make me like it would, I would get anxious about it. You know what I'm talking about? And now I'm like, if I, if my post gets like, if I post something and it gets like 6,000 views or whatever, now I'm like thrilled. You know what I mean? I'm like. Because now I'm like, it's been almost five years of me doing this and now I'm like, oh, it's 6,000 people are still here watching me do this shit. That's incredible. You know, So I, I'm like, I've learned a lot about this pursuit of the Internet numbers and stuff, and I won. One of the things I've learned is that what you are actually doing and whether or not you're enjoying it and whether or not you're mentally sane is far more important than how many views you get. It's a, it's kind of a. I, I'm, I'm hesitant to go, I'm hesitant to blanketly state that it's a stupid metric because a lot of those metrics have allowed me to, you know, do, do what I do. And in talking to you right now and going on these tours and doing all this stuff, so I'm hesitant to completely dismiss them. But at a certain point your, your sanity becomes more important.

[Iz]

Definitely. No, I, I, as soon as I like. Cuz for a while I was like telling myself like, oh, the views don't matter. Or like the likes don't matter, the follow number doesn't matter, whatever. Then, like. But even, like, as I was telling myself that and like, my views were dropping or whatever, I was still stressing about it. And for me, the only thing that really, like, got rid of all of that anxiety entirely was just putting it down. Not that it ever was, like, crazy big, but it does feel better stepping away from it. And then also, like, that kind of like spiraled into, like, basically getting rid of most of social media entirely and trying to stay off of my phone, which, I mean, what I. What I originally wanted to talk to you today was about, like, just how everyone, like, is totally just in their phones all the time. And like, once I put mine down, even for, like, the first week, I noticed that all of my friends, everyone around me was like, in every downtime, every moment that they had was just scrolling nonsense, nothing.

[Lyle]

And dude, if you. If you want to feel like a idiot, okay, two things. One thing is, have you ever. Okay, have you ever. You ever on a train or a bus and you watch somebody else scroll on their phone?

[Iz]

Yep.

[Lyle]

And you watch them like, open a bunch of apps and tap here for no reason and tap that, scroll on that. And it just. They look like such an idiot. And then you realize. And then, dude. And then you realize, oh, no, that's what I look like every minute of every day. I look like an idiot. A monkey idiot.

[Iz]

Yeah. I feel like such a. Like a cornball pulling out my. My phone, like, doing laundry or something, like, just to pass the time. It's idea.

[Lyle]

It's the most. It's unfortunately the most terrifying thing I think happening. Right. It's like really spoo. It's really spooky. And it's like our. Because technology, you know, whatever. All these points have been made a billion times, but our biology is not eve. The technology that we have is so exponentially, unfathomably greater than our biological constraints.

[Iz]

You know, we're monkey brains with technology.

[Lyle]

Yeah. It's like the gap is humongous. And when you think about how long human. Human beings have been on the Earth compared to how long this technology that's consumed us is on the Earth, it's. It's nothing. It's just. It's nothing. And we're kind of the ones dealing with it, and it's. It. Yeah, it's freaky, man. It's freaky.

[Iz]

It's. You know. Yeah. I don't know what I was gonna say.

[Lyle]

Well, what do you do now that you're not on your computer?

[Iz]

Well, I'd like to say that I do like awesome crazy stuff that you see on the Internet, but I kind of just do school and work.

[Lyle]

That's perfectly what. That's. That's what. What do you do for school or. What do you do for school and work?

[Iz]

Well, I'm a line cook at a small little place near my school. I go to. I live in Maine, so I go to school. What do I go to school for? Parks. Reckon. Tourism.

[Lyle]

Oh, cool.

[Iz]

Yeah. It's all right. I don't know what I'm gonna do with it, but in my head, a degree is at least a foot. It's a safety net.

[Lyle]

But that's cool though, because that's. I mean, that's very antithetical to what we're talking about. Like, you like working at a park, you know?

[Iz]

Yeah, no, I. Yeah. And I'm. I'm big into the outdoors. I like. I like learning about the woods and the trees.

[Lyle]

Yeah.

[Iz]

It makes me feel a little bit more connected.

[Lyle]

I feel. I'm. Dude, I'm going crazy. Cuz I've realized I just need to be stimulated all the time, you know, Whether it's like with like a porn or weed or eating something or looking at. It's just. It's when you. When you really like take it all away and you try to sit, it's hard. I. Going on walks is easy. Yeah. Even watch. I. Even watching a movie is like this. I want to watch a movie while I look at porn.

[Iz]

Not enough stem. There's never enough stim.

[Lyle]

Never enough stimulus. Never enough.

[Iz]

I mean, my joke about it, but it's not even really a joke.

[Lyle]

Are you. Is it hard to. Are you still like pretty good at not being on your phone a lot?

[Iz]

Yeah, I mean, I. My screen time has been cut like way down. Like I remember like in high school it was up to like probably like eight or ten hours a day. And now we're. I'm like set screen time on my phone, which you can bypass pretty easily, but I try not to. Anyways, I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm doing good a couple hours a day, which I think is probably all right.

[Lyle]

Good. Good. Yeah. I mean, well, when you. Here's the thing is you try to. I like, I'll delete all my apps and I'll take everything away and it's like you. I think if you don't have something to like replace it with that keeps you stimulated in some productive sense, then you're gonna really go crazy. Even like I guess a fucking book, I think can I can. I, by the way, just to balance everything out that we've been talking about, can I make. I'm gonna make a controversial statement that by the way, I'm, by the way, I'm, I don't. I, I'm not gonna give any numbers, but I am half joking. I'm not gonna say that. Alright? I don't believe what I'm about to say. But I have to say it because I believe it. But I don't believe it. You understand? What, you don't get what I'm saying?

[Iz]

I know you're saying, let's hear it later.

[Lyle]

All right, all right, all right. Books are fine, but they're overrated. Okay. I don't think that if I sit and I play the. Not. Maybe not Call of Duty, but like I played I replying undertale like a N. It's like a narrative video game, right? And it's got a story. You know, I've said, I played, I played it for a couple hours. And I don't believe that there's anything so much more productive and virtuous and amazing about reading a book for two hours than doing that for two hours. You know what I mean? I mean, I like, or even like, like. I, I don't think that watching a movie or a, or a long season of television is that much more bad. Is that like. I don't think it's much more virtuous to read all of Harry Potter than it is to watch all of the movies. May I. I would give, I'll give it to non fiction. I, I'll actually. Okay, I, I'll play devil's advocate to myself on a few things. Say I under. I, I'll give it to non fiction. I think non fiction you kind of learn more about like, you learn a little bit more about the universe and you can learn skills and, and this and that. I'll give it to non fiction. I think I'll, I'll give it to non fiction and I'll give it to fiction in the sense that your vocabulary can probably be better by reading. But, but I believe the margins are slim is what I'm saying. I believe the margins are slim. That's all I'm going to say.

[Iz]

No, I agree with you. I was, I was going to say there's, I mean reading all of the Twilight series and then. Or like playing Smash for three hours. I mean, I don't know. Twilight is, I mean nothing against Twilight, but you know what I mean? It's kind of nothing if you're Reading, like, philosophy books for three hours a day.

[Lyle]

Right.

[Iz]

Then you're insane. But.

[Lyle]

Yeah. Well, wait, did you say if you're reading philosophy books for three hours a day, you're insane? Yeah.

[Iz]

I mean, yeah, this is for school.

[Lyle]

I don't think that. I think reading. I think reading philosophy books for three hours a day is definitely more productive than playing Call of Duty for three hours a day.

[Iz]

No. Yeah, that's what I mean. But I imagine that. That there's not very many people that do that. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe I'm stupid, but I feel like there's much more people that when they read for fun, it's just for entertainment.

[Lyle]

Right, Right. And I think. Yes, that's what I mean is, like, when the entertainment for pleasure reading, I don't think is that much more virtuous than, like, playing a video game for pleasure. But also, I don't buy it. But also, I don't, you know, forget I said any of this stuff, because someone's gonna DM me and be like, you're actually wrong. And I'm gonna be like, I didn't say that, so I don't know what you're talking about. What's your. What's your name again, sir? Is. Is. Okay, well, I gave everyone else. I gave everyone else on this podcast questions, so does that. I'm gonna ask if the chat has any questions for you real quick. They might not. Sometimes they don't. Sometimes they just. Okay to put emojis in there. Someone said maybe you could read a dictionary. Oh. Someone said, what do you. What do you do for. What do you do for fun? Someone asked what you do for fun.

[Iz]

Oh, well, I'm a big skateboarder. That's basically all I do outside of school and work.

[Lyle]

Oh, skateboarding. That's cool.

[Iz]

Yeah, it's fun. It's fun.

[Lyle]

Someone. I don't know if they're asking this to me or to you, but they asked if you still watch porn. I just talked about watching porn, so I think they're probably asking you.

[Iz]

Yeah, sad. Probably shouldn't probably.

[Lyle]

Look, look, look. You don't have to go into detail on that. All right? Someone. Oh, what. What trick. What tricks can you land? What's the best trick you can land?

[Iz]

The best trick? I can tray flip. Sometimes you can.

[Lyle]

You can do a tri flip.

[Iz]

Yeah.

[Lyle]

Really?

[Iz]

Oh, yeah.

[Lyle]

That's so cool. I. I just gained a lot of respect for you. Not that I didn't already have. Not that I didn't already have respect for you, but I Just a little more.

[Iz]

I appreciate that.

[Lyle]

Loud.

[Iz]

That means a lot.

[Lyle]

Oh, someone said you can read porn. I forgot about that.

[Iz]

Oh yeah, like fanfic and stuff. That could be cool.

[Lyle]

I don't. I don't. I wouldn't jump directly to fanfic, but I mean, you could.

[Iz]

What's the other. What's the other porn that you would read? Like Hustlers, Regular.

[Lyle]

Didn't I just like regular fan. Before there was fan fiction there. There's just. There's just like erotic novels and stuff.

[Iz]

Jack off. Analog.

[Lyle]

Yeah.

[Iz]

Yeah.

[Lyle]

Well, shit, man. Is there anything else you want to say to the people, the computer before we go?

[Iz]

Damn, I should have had something prepared.

[Lyle]

You don't. It doesn't matter.

[Iz]

I don't. But I love you so much, Lyle.

[Lyle]

Thank you. Is good luck to you. You're gonna be all right. Everyone I've talked to today, I think is gonna be all right. So I'm excited about it.

[Iz]

Yeah.

[Lyle]

Life. Thank you. Is good luck and try to keep. Keep not going on your phone.

[Iz]

Hell yeah. Thank you, Lyle.

[Lyle]

Later, buddy.

[Iz]

Peace.

[Lyle]

When I. Actually, when I was a boy, I think I was 14, I found this. I found this website and it was. I think it was. I don't. I don't remember the name of the website, but I think it was called like myfirsttime.com or whatever. And it was like for some reason when I was 14, like one of my first. Like it wasn't my very first, but it was like one of my first, like within the first, like my, my, my maybe like sophomore or junior year of. Of masturbation. Like the. The third or second year I ever started doing it. I would read these user submitted stories that people would submit about them, like how they lost their virginity and. And there was something. There's something about like you imagining it that you know, leaving things up to the imagination. I don't know why I'm sharing this, but it feels. It feels good too.

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