After Thoughts
After Thoughts
After Thoughts: High Fives
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[A.I. Generated] Pulling back the curtain isn't always pretty, but it sure is enlightening. Imagine slogging through a three-week editing marathon, the tick of the clock your only companion—this is the reality of our podcast life. We're peeling layers in our latest episode, sharing the triumphs and trials of content creation, from the technical snafus to those 'aha!' moments that make it all worthwhile. Join us as we grapple with the paradox of scaling authentically, infusing AI into our research without losing the human touch, and evolve our THC comfort levels, mirroring the personal transformations that have shaped our podcast journey.
Have you ever wondered what the blend of late-night editing, sleep deprivation, and post-vaping haze adds up to? Let's just say, it's a concoction that can test the limits of even the most persistent creators. We're recounting tales from the trenches and considering the fate of our "Afterthoughts" segment. As we traverse the landscape of audience engagement and the value of contextualizing past episodes, we also welcome the simple joy of two friends catching up, technical glitches be damned. It's an episode that's as rich in podcasting insights as it is in the casual charm of genuine conversation.
This heart-to-heart isn't complete without a candid exploration of substance use and personal wellness. We're recounting tales from THC-infused beverages to the serenity of shroom experiences, all while dissecting the fine line between self-medication and achieving mental well-being. We dive into the social lubrication of alcohol, the benefits of abstinence, and the nuances of incorporating THC into our lives—a conversation that's as much about balance as it is about personal discovery. Sit with us as we navigate the complex terrain of substance use with honesty and humor, and maybe, just maybe, you'll find a nugget of wisdom to pocket for your own journey.
Maintaining Authenticity in Content Creation
Speaker 1All right , okay , are we doing this thing ? I think we're ready . So this is the night before this episode comes out . Again , again . I listened to it today . Yeah , it's fucking ridiculous .
Speaker 2Tell me about it . I had to edit that thing . It took me three weeks to edit because I just didn't want to do it .
Speaker 1Oh my god , I kind of loved it , though , like it's one of those things where I'm really glad that it exists . You know , yeah , I , because I don't know any other podcaster in our space who would have done something like that . That's true .
Speaker 2Yeah , we're definitely trailblazers .
Speaker 1I guess . No , I know I was in some . Now I've been thinking about this a lot as I've been going through the process of creating content which everyone will start seeing pretty soon , I think . Yeah , and you know there's . I've done this in the past and like for different things , but it never really felt authentic and I've been watching interviews and things with people like content creators and stuff recently and there are a lot of people who have been like quitting YouTube or like taking a lot of time off and burning out and things like that , and the big thing that they say is that it starts you know , as you try to scale something , it turns into a business , and then you end up bringing in other people and then it kind of stops being your content .
Speaker 1Yeah , it stops being authentic to you . Yeah , you're not really careful about it and I've been thinking about that a lot in because , you know , I've developed this whole system for creating content and , yeah , and using , like leveraging chat , gpt to do a lot of the heavy lifting on the research side , and in that it's , you know , it can be really tempting to try to just let it write everything for you , even though it's really not great at that .
Speaker 2Right .
Speaker 1Yeah , but there's some things like I've tested a little sample stuff and , you know , tweaked it and just to try to see what I could get out of it , and there are a couple of times where I'm like , wow , that's pretty good and that actually does kind of sound like me , which is interesting .
Speaker 2Yeah .
Speaker 1But it's weird . I don't like it , you know , because the process of actually going , like going through the writing process , isn't just about the output , it's about the . It's really more about the input and the processing of trying to take these ideas and thinking through how to communicate them , because that is what makes you internalize them and and it's what helps refine your thinking and your process of thinking and and so it can be really tempting to leverage AI to do that for you . But you're missing so many benefits if you just do that .
Speaker 1That's why I'm using it for for research , which has been super great . But you know , through this , that's one thing I've been very conscious of is , you know , how do we scale what we're doing in a way that you know stays authentic to us ? And I think doing stupid fucking episodes like this it's a great way to kind of keep us grounded , help us remember who we are , you know , and not , you know , morph into some sort of generic voice just for the sake of getting a bunch of content out . You know .
Speaker 2Yeah , I'm just filling the space . Yeah , yeah , that's , that's definitely true . I was funny going back and listening to it and thinking about what little like baby stoners we were . I don't know . I feel like I've done . I mean , well , even when we recorded I didn't have the job I do now and I sell a lot of THC products , legally , I should probably say and and so it's .
Speaker 2It's kind of weird because I'm around it all the time and I did dry January , as I'm I know I've said on here on one of these episodes and so but it wasn't sober January , so I took that opportunity to try all of the THC products and now I'm just kind of high , a lot . I'm high right now , of course you are , and I mean , and we've been , we've I mean we've been a little high for a lot of these after , that's true , but I feel like we handle it so much
Reflecting on Late-Night Episode Editing
Speaker 2better . I mean , going back and listen to that , I was like what the hell did we do ? All I was doing was like this weak ass vape oh , no , wait , I was . I was already working this job because that vape came from my job that I had . Okay , there's a sample or whatever . So , yeah , it's , that's really funny actually . So yeah , so I think I just did it too much .
Speaker 1Mm-hmm . Well , that , and you were up until like 5 am the night before . Oh yeah , that's right , I was recording and everything .
Speaker 2Yeah , that's right . Yeah , it was . That was . That was a crazy episode . I think it was a little bit of sleep deprivation , probably for sure .
Speaker 1It was a lot of bit sleep deprivation , yeah , because we were going through it and you did do a good job of editing , because you couldn't really tell this as much , but like it was like pulling teeth trying to get you , like get stuff out of you , because you were just so out of it Like you were half asleep , yeah , and I was like that counts just really comfortable too .
Speaker 2And we ? That was maybe a mistake laying on this country . Maybe , as we sit here fully reclined in these chairs because there's no cameras . Yeah , I'd . Yeah , it was probably a rough time and we were just grinding those episodes . That was like right at the end , and we were just trying to like get episodes done so we could get a season out because we had already been gone for so long , which won't happen this year . It kind of sounds like yeah , we're already talking about season five , so that'll be , that'll be nice .
Speaker 1Yeah .
Speaker 2We'll be a lot more productive this year . Hopefully for all of you , that is still listening .
Speaker 1I don't know if we'll keep doing afterthoughts , though that's something we haven't decided .
Speaker 2Yeah , that's true . It might be just a season four thing . If you start listening after thoughts and you like it , make sure you let us know .
Speaker 1Yes . And we'll be back in the community because because , as you know , as you know , we're not going to do extra things if no one cares Right .
Speaker 2Unless we just really enjoy it . So yeah , I have enjoyed this a lot with Susan , actually , even though we were . The idea was to do it right after the episode , and some of them will be right after the episode is over . But I mean , it's kind of fun to go back and talk about an episode after the fact , way after we .
Speaker 2Yeah , I guess that is true , because we definitely have put out more information than we do . We do always seem to dig up more than what we said on the episode , so that and giving it the conversation room to breathe Right . Yeah .
Speaker 1And a lot of these conversations that we had . We had , like you know , six , nine , 12 months ago even , and so a lot has happened since then , yeah , and so I appreciate that we're able to reflect more as time has passed , you know .
Speaker 2Yeah , I hope nobody listens to these first . That's a mistake . Well , they are called afterthoughts .
Speaker 1That's true , I would have a forethoughts ?
Speaker 2Prethoughts ? Yeah , I think it is . It is really nice actually , and that having that time after is definitely great . Honestly though , it doesn't really . This is the lowest production thing we do . That's true . You turn mics on . It's already as we're recording , it's , uploading into the cloud , where we edit and which and I'm not even going to edit it You're just going to take it and post it .
Speaker 1Yeah , so I don't know , it is pretty low effort .
Speaker 2Yeah .
Speaker 1The only thing that is challenging is the like , the timing . So it right , we the honestly , the biggest thing that holds us up in production is the responses , and a lot of that is just because is me remembering to actually post the questions . Yeah , try to get the responses , because it's . It's ridiculously tedious to actually go through and like figuring out one , the questions asked , but then going through and creating all the little widgets to record and then and then bringing them in Like it's , it's , it's . I mean , when you look at it , it's really not that much work , but there's something so tedious about it that just drives me crazy . I wish there were a better a better system for it .
Speaker 2Yeah , I can . I can relate to that .
Speaker 1And so cognitively , like there's enough cognitive load where I'm like , okay , I need to do that , but I'll have to do it later . And then later keeps getting pushed back and pushed back , and pushed back , and then when that happens , then we run up on , you know , the episode being delayed and being done and so and I have to listen to the episode before we do the afterthoughts for it . And so , like that's why it's we're always doing this like the night before , because I listened to the episode like the day before usually .
Speaker 2Yeah , yesterday .
Speaker 1And so then yeah . So then we that's . That's why this is happening the way that it is , but I don't know . He also gives us a good excuse to hang out .
Speaker 2Yeah , I mean , and this is probably like a pretty . I mean , yeah , it's like we have a point to the conversation , but it's still . Really . This is more hanging out than any other thing we do together , for the podcast . Yeah , I don't know , I'm interested to see kind of what . Oh no , my headphones just died . Do , do , do , do , do , do , do , do , do , do do ?
Speaker 1We can keep talking .
Speaker 2I've got a pair . No , I've got a battery .
Speaker 1Okay .
Speaker 2I like these wireless headphones . I like to use them for things that aren't gaming whenever I can . Oh , they come with a replaceable battery yeah , and it goes in this thing and keeps charging .
Speaker 1What .
Speaker 2I don't know . It's so nice and , honestly , one of the highest quality headphones I've ever owned . They're so nice . What are those ? They're Steel Series , arctis , nova Pros , okay .
Speaker 1There .
Speaker 2I will say they're not cheap . But I got tired of breaking headphones all the time , like when I was playing games or whatever , and I was always getting this brand turtle beach , that I was always getting those , or I try a few others , and everybody kept talking about this brand . And then I saw these and I liked how you can put two different I can have computer audio , the roadcaster audio and my gaming audio in these and control them separately . What , yeah and so ? And it also has all these different options for like surround sound and stuff , so when I'm playing my games I can hear people coming up from behind me way clearer , and so it's saved my life a few times in those video games , but I've listened to music on it , I mean in the head .
Speaker 2You know this microphone like retracts into the thing , so it's like super cool . So it's got a microphone , but it just goes into the headphones . They look like normal headphones . They don't look like gaming headphones which I really like too Super noise canceling , but yeah , they're like almost $400 though , but I was paying like $120 and they would literally break in half , because I have such a big ass head . They would break in half and just or just start falling apart around the ears or whatever .
Speaker 1They were super uncomfortable .
Speaker 2So , like you know , they make your ears hot and stuff , and so these are great . I love them .
Speaker 1This episode brought to you by us , yeah , anyway , they're great though , so I got to say I was laughing a lot listening to this episode .
Speaker 2Oh , my god , me too . And honestly , this is one of those things where it's like I cut out a significant amount oh no , you didn't but it was stuff that I didn't feel like took away or added anything to the episode . So I just there was entire sections where I was cutting out . Parts of them were things where I was saying things that I couldn't understand , and so I was like I must be waking up in this moment and so I'm just gonna cut all this out . And yeah , it was definitely . I think Madison heard me a few times in the middle of the night when I'd be in here at like 1 am editing and I would just be laughing so hard because some things would just catch me off guard . It's definitely a good episode and I've been glad that we did it . I don't know if I'll feel that way tomorrow when it's in the world , but yeah , it's definitely a really fun episode
CBD and Anxiety Relief
Speaker 2.
Speaker 2That is there just because people ask for it . It doesn't really have a meat . I mean , there is some value to it , I guess , in terms of like what , how fives are . If anybody's listening , that's a five . That's thought . I really love being in control and I don't wanna try this for that reason You're afraid of it . Maybe this will help alleviate some of that for you because , it's a blast .
Speaker 2And as a five-wing six too , man , my anxiety just is so much better when I'm just like it's like having , depending on what you get . It's kind of like having a buzz from like a couple of drinks or something .
Speaker 2And then you don't ever really get like super high , and so I like that . Like I have a couple of edibles that have both THC and CBD in it , so it balances it out and one of the things that I've learned about it is like if you have a certain type of CBD strain in there , that it kind of counteracts the THC effects and then it balances you out and that's what gives you that like kind of sleepy buzz vibes from like a few drinks that you might get . And so I have those . And then I have these other ones that are literally called legal limits and they're 30 milligrams per gummy . But you gotta keep in mind that's like the legal version of THC in Tennessee , so it's like it's not the same .
Speaker 2It's like what you would get in Colorado or Washington or whatever . I mean , I think I've talked about it before Actually , I don't know if I've ever talked about this on any of the episodes about when I went to visit my brother in Colorado and I got a 10 milligram sparkling water .
Speaker 1We talked about it , I think on an after hours .
Speaker 2Oh was it . Yeah , okay , yeah , and I could not speak words . I mean , it's like somebody shot me in the neck with a horse tranquilizer . That was the worst and I never wanted to experience that again , like that was too much , I couldn't function , and so that . And my brother is over there , like I don't know what you talked about , and he was in Colorado , though he lived there . It's a little different for him .
Speaker 1Yeah , dude , you're saying it helps with your anxiety . I had the craziest week , yeah , so I posted this in the community . Last Friday or Friday before last , I flew out to Laguna Beach for work and I have some friends who live in Irvine and so I was going to see them , like hang out with them for the weekend . Then I had work stuff on Monday , tuesday and then was going to fly back on Wednesday and Saturday morning I woke up , I was fine and the wind , had breakfast with a friend , and by the afternoon I started feeling sick .
Speaker 1And I was like oh boy , I hope this is just a cold .
Speaker 2And it was it's always famous .
Speaker 1Last night it was like one of the worst flues I've had . It was so bad and so I spent like four days in a hotel room by myself with the flu and it was a really weird experience because obviously it was an awful experience in terms of I felt terrible , but I was having almost like this mystical experience at the same time , Like I there was something about it was forcing me into my body . And it was just me and myself in a room and there was no distracting myself from it .
Speaker 2Yeah , you're hyper focused on how bad you feel .
Speaker 1Yeah , I just sort of gave in . The weirdest thing happened for an entire week I had no anxiety and I don't know if I've ever experienced that . I think that you know , and I think we should do an episode about this next , next season on anxiety . Yeah , um , but I didn't .
Speaker 1I couldn't recognize my own anxiety really up until like last year , like fully right , yeah , and I feel this in my and so Because now I'm aware of it , I was acutely aware of it being gone and I'm like wait , is this how normal people feel like ?
Speaker 2Well , that's relative .
Speaker 1I know these days , I know every millennial has anxiety but uh , like literally was gone and Including like flight anxiety , because I had , you had that really bad the last couple years and and when I got home like you know kids calling all over me .
Speaker 1It's like Even my nervous system was not on Like hyperdrive , like it normally is , and I'm like what is happening ? I didn't know like is this gonna last forever or is this just like temporary , and I didn't you know . But I also didn't have any anxiety about it going away , and so it was just really weird experience , and it eventually started to come back a little bit .
Speaker 1It's much , much lower levels , um , but it gave me a lot of hope that there are things that I can do outside of , you know , getting high or taking meds . Sure , that would actually allow me to experience that as more of the norm than the exception , um , so it was really cool .
Speaker 2Yeah , that's , that's , um , that's . I've definitely had .
Exploring the Benefits of Shrooms
Speaker 2The least anxious I've ever been was the , the couple times that I did shrooms and I've talked about that before Because of the after effects . It lasts for like three or four days and you just literally have no anxiety at all and it's so nice . But I would say that that I mean that makes sense , being more in your body and Giving you that kind of like same sense of oneness and maybe like smaller doses and definitely more natural doses , and so , um , because I would say that things like shrooms just enhances which what's already there .
Speaker 2You already have that connection , but it puts you in this context in which you have to do it , you don't have any choice but to feel that and , um , it's , and it's such a warm and kind of cozy experience compared to other things , even even things like weed and stuff , I feel like is just such a different kind of high , whereas like you're just kind of along for the ride , but the ride can be bumpy , yeah , and I mean , and granted , people have had really bad trips with shrooms and I get that , but a lot of times that's other shit going on in your life that you bring into that experience Then .
Speaker 2So you're already with subconsciously framing your experience with shrooms before you take it right , and so , um , I haven't had any bad experiences , but I've also , every time I've ever done shrooms , I would the first Bite or sip with whether , no , whatever version I took of it Before I ever got there .
Speaker 2I only did it because I was in a frame of mind where I wanted to experience what , what it was going to give me , and I was in it was in a positive light , and so I very consciously was like I don't want to have a bad trip . I'm , I'm going to be okay with myself and everything in my life before I take this , and every time it's the best fucking experience Because and I highly recommend watching bright , colorful Disney movies . It's the best thing to do if you're not , if you're just wanting to zone out but also feel like , really I don't know just a little bit of oneness with self and everything around you , but then , at the same time , be just like particularly happy . My headphones just cut off again and I think it's because there's nothing happening in them . I'll have to switch headphones . Let's switch headphones .
Speaker 1Do you want mine ? Yeah , I'll do yours .
Speaker 2Um , downside to no editing , and then you gotta listen to us . Put headphones on now .
Speaker 1Do you want this adapter on it ?
Speaker 2Yeah , okay , yeah , I think that it's it's a , it's a really good experience and something that I highly recommend . But , yeah , I would definitely say you should be in a good place . I .
Speaker 1One thing , one thing that was understated , uh , from this episode we did , was how spicy the pickles were , the kodi ate .
Speaker 2I think I may , I don't . I don't know if I cut any of that out because it was such a perfect transition .
Speaker 1Well , you know you , you talked about it , but um , what was left out was that it basically like lit your whole face on fire for the rest of the time . Really , I don't remember that yeah because you were telling me about after we stopped recording . You're like dude , those pickles were so spicy .
Speaker 2You're like I was dying over here . That's really funny , wow , these headphones are so much quieter , wow , um , yeah , I don't . I don't . I remember how spicy they were , um , but I don't remember them lighting my whole face up the rest of the time . Man , you know , what I remember is just being hungry the whole time , and we ate pretty much all of the stuff that was on that . That little intermission we did when we really , I just stuffed my face with cheese and meat and spicy pickles , apparently , um , charcuterie , charcuterie , the charcut man , the best thing to have on your high , though it works with alcohol , but I think it's better .
Speaker 2Finger foods , yeah , yeah , it's definitely the best . Probably less calories too . That's something too . That's . That's a downside is getting the munchies . It turns . I've been , um , I've been Doing , I've been taking a couple of edibles here and there , like a couple times a week lately and just when I'm like I just want to relax on the couch and it just kind of forces me into that relaxed state . Um , but I'm also on pretty high dose of prednisone right now . Oh , so my stomach has been a bottomless pit , yeah , and it is the worst . Um , I'm constantly hungry and have way too much energy , so like I'm up until three or four in the morning every night and just hungry all night trying not to eat .
Speaker 2Because I'm trying not to eat at night , but right now it's probably a bad time . I probably should just wait till after the prednisons over Um . But yeah , it's just been an annoying thing , my um . I don't know if anybody wants to hear this , but I feel like if I said prednis , I don't even want to know why I'm on it . I don't do , should I tell you . I mean , I don't know .
Speaker 1I don't know what the answer is . It's not inappropriate , or ?
Speaker 2anything , um , it's . I found out that my uh , I found out in kind of a weird way that my uh eustachian tubes are not like underdeveloped and so it's just holding fluid in here . Oh right , yeah . And so when I had I had the flu , uh , in the fall , and ever since then my ears have been in this state where , like I can't really hear anything , like I'm hearing , I'm missing entire frequency bands . And when you're mixing things or listening to mixes from studio that's how I first figured it out you , that's really bad . And I remember one time I was listening to a mix and I was like this just sounds super , super muffled , and I stopped to think and see if it was my ears and I just took , you know , held my nose and blew out really gently and it was like somebody took a thick wool blanket off the speaker and I was realized I was missing entire instruments , so I didn't even hear a shaker , it was just like that certain frequency . And so that then now I've been hyper focused on what I can't hear and I can pretty much pop my ears anytime and , um , realize the difference , but then they close back up and I've gone .
Speaker 2I went to an ENT because I started feeling a tingling in my right ear . It felt like there was an ear like a air pod in my ear and there was nothing there . I'm like there's some kind of nerve thing going on . I read online it could be like an ear infection . An ear infection that , um , you just don't feel any pain from , but it's like causing issues with your nervous system . And so I went to the ENT . They looked in my ears and they're like you don't have any fluid in your ears and I was like , uh , but I know I can't hear . So they did a hearing test . I passed the hearing test . So weird , this is the weird part . So then they do a pressure test and you know , like when you go up in the plane , they say they said you experienced like negative 20 pressure and that's pretty uncomfortable . You want to pop your ears and whatever . They did a pressure test and I have negative 200 pressure in my ears . So my ear drums not only are they not vibrating , they're being sucked into my head really hard .
Speaker 2So they're like inverted and so it's causing a lot of discomfort and they're like I don't know how you're not just in excruciating pain all the time for less pressure and I'm like well , I've had this my entire life , so I'm always used to it . My head always feels pressure right here , and so it's like one of those things where it's like I don't know what to feel .
Speaker 2I wouldn't , I can't imagine it not being there . I was like , well , what about the tingling ? Like what is that ? And they were like , um , do you have problems with your jaw popping ? And I was like , yeah , actually . And they , uh , they were like , have you always had that ? And I was like I said no , actually . I remember the exact time that it started popping .
Speaker 2It was almost exactly two weeks after I had COVID the first time and they said that they had had a lot of cases where that could have been like a long COVID thing , but it caused me and Madison . Both have TMJ now from the first time we had COVID . It's really strange , that's crazy , but it's so bad and like it was getting to be where , um , it was locking up and I couldn't unlock it Like it would like my jaw wants to push forward and stay there and it's it's like all out of alignment right here . And so they said that the prednisone will hopefully relieve some of this fluid in my use station tubes but also take down some of the inflammation on my jaw , and it has helped already . So , yeah , that's . My whole head is kind of fucked up , wow .
Speaker 1I mean , we already knew that , but now it's like physically to physically to physically to well and they went ahead and scheduled a .
Speaker 2I have to go back to the ENT , but when I go back I'm not seeing the doctor I saw I'm going straight to the guy whose office it is and he's the surgeon . So they said the next thing if the prednisone doesn't work , is they're going to send a little tube up my nose with a deflated balloon on it and then inflate the balloon inside my use station tubes to force the fluid out . Oh , so no , thank you . They said it's either that or tubes in my ears . And I said I don't want to do tubes in my ears . I had those twice when I was a kid and it's the worst experience ever . So I'm like you can inflate a balloon in my head all day long , just don't don't put tubes in my ears .
Speaker 1I was just thinking about what the AI description of this episode , oh my .
Speaker 2God , yes , I've talked about it long enough to it will make that description .
Speaker 1I the reason why I do that , because I mean , the descriptions are ridiculous . Yeah . But , they make for these episodes , but I I leave them because it it's so entertaining to me . It is .
Speaker 2Yeah , they're really I always read them because I need to know what the description says and so and I always laugh at it every single time . So I think it's pretty good we're going to just going to keep doing that one . Let AI write that .
Speaker 2That's fine , I love it , but yeah , what was I saying ? Oh , I was going to say so . I don't know if I don't think he's in our community , but I have a friend who's also a five and he he also does a podcast . Actually , it's just not about an Instagram , um , and he once told me about how he and his wife took shrooms way too much shrooms , Like they . They went out into the wild , went out into the woods and laid on a rock by like a creek and just tripped for like eight hours . Oh my God , and they had a very bad job .
Speaker 1Yeah that , yeah that if I'm going to do something , I'm going to be comfortable Like I'm not going out . Oh my God , I know that's just sounds dangerous .
Speaker 2I was like , man , you don't understand yourself . Yeah , that's the terrible idea . Um , I just , yeah , no way I would want to do that . But , um , so there's things that you can and can't do , or should , or should or shouldn't do , I should say , maybe depending on your own personal preferences and resistance , I guess . But , um , yeah , I don't know , it's , it's a tool and I think that , um , it was definitely , uh , an entertaining thing for the episode .
Exploring Substance Use and Self-Medication
Speaker 2But now it's kind of like a part of my general life , because I drink less alcohol now since I did dry January and and I'm I'm learning my relationship with self-medication and how to try to deal with things . Like I don't , I won't drink since dry January I mean , it's only been like almost a month but like I'm way more hyper aware of why I want to drink or why I want to take edibles , even or anything else , right .
Speaker 2And so if I'm just doing it because it's like it'll be a fun experience , I'm not doing anything tonight , I'm just relaxing . I'll just do it to relax and it's fine . But , like you know , it's hard to kind of draw that line where it's like am I doing this because I'm stressed today , if I don't want to feel something , am I avoiding ? Is it an avoidant behavior ? And so been trying to kind of come to terms with those things in my own head and how that looks in my life , because that's definitely something that I've always wanted to keep in check with alcohol , because I work in the alcohol industry , so it's like if you're around it all the time , I mean I have probably 200 bottles of alcohol in this closet over here .
Speaker 2So , if , like , if somebody has a problem , which there are people in the industry that , in doing what I do , that are alcoholics , I know them and it's always a bad time and if you , you know , get a DUI or something , you're held to a much higher standard of repercussions .
Speaker 2You can't work in the alcohol industry anymore , and so there's like nobody will hire you , you get fired immediately , you're not allowed to hold an ABC license , it's a whole thing , and so there's I don't want to live that kind of life , yeah , stress , and I also don't want to be have a problem either , and so , lucky for me , I've never really found myself I don't know if anybody else can relate to this I've never really found myself to be a particularly like addictive personality . In general , I don't feel like I have the attention span for it to create a pattern of self medication over and over again , like even when I was drinking the most , the most was still like maybe once a week . So it's like and to me that was a lot like I didn't want to drink more than that , yeah , and during the holidays it would got up .
Speaker 1It upped a lot because all the parties and people going out and people in town and my understanding , though , is it's like it's not about how often you drink , it's about how much you drink . When you drink , like you , you're once you start , you're not able to stop . That's true .
Speaker 2Yeah , and I had a lot more like binging episodes in the holidays because everybody out having a good time and you're out and stuff , and but every time I'm like , well , I don't want to , I don't want to do this .
Speaker 1Yeah .
Speaker 2You know what I mean , but I also think too and maybe this is where the danger of being a five would come into play when it comes to something with any kind of substance is this idea of like the reliance on a substance to make you the person you want to be around a group of people . So if you're doing it socially because that's like on my bachelor trip that was easy to want to drink all night because of , or have some kind of buzz from something , because it was so much easier and less overwhelming to be around a group of people all night long yeah , and so that's probably a dangerous path as well , but I had such a good time .
Speaker 2We had such a great time . I mean it's I want to . I want to still get together again . That was a good group of eclectic , different people , all different personality types .
Speaker 1I keep meaning to post in the group chat that we should go bowling . Oh yeah , so I'll have to do that . Yeah , I keep forgetting .
Speaker 2Yeah , I think that . But yeah , I don't know . I feel like I have a I have a healthier relationship with and he cut it like generally with substances now than I have probably in a long time . That's good . So I mean I went the full , like on the 31st day I had my first drink and it was a beer and I said I never want to drink beer again because of how it's , how acutely aware I was of how it was affecting my stomach immediately and so , like it's easy , do it all the time your body gets .
Speaker 2You know you get used to the feeling , just like me with my ears and I'm pressure while you're . You get used to it . And so I definitely got rid of a lot of inflammation in my body from all the alcohol not being there and definitely noticed like a major improvement in gut health and everything
Perspectives on Alcohol and THC
Speaker 2. And so having wine doesn't really bother my stomach at all and so wine is kind of an easy thing for me to drink and there's a good limit to it . You know you only have so many because you have to open up a new bottle . If you have to , it's a commitment to open up another bottle , so there's already a limit . Easy way to like a little checkpoint there . But spirits , spirits I love , but I usually only drink a little bit , and so beer is the one that I'm like . I'm okay if I never drink beer again .
Speaker 1Yeah , I , I'm realizing more and more I just don't really like alcohol that much yeah . Like I , and I'm so happy that we're kind of normalizing drinking list and doing THC more , because I do enjoy THC .
Speaker 2Yeah , but in the way that they're experimenting with different versions , like I was talking earlier , where you can drink and just have like a little bit of a . Like I drink , I sell a seltzer to bars that and they're in like a bunch of bars in the beginning where , like I don't know if I want to carry this , because I don't want people being like super high and I'm like it doesn't work like that . That's , it's designed to work like a drink and so you can have multiple . I one time tried to test that and drank three in a row as fast as I could . Never got more than a little bit high and it still faded out of my system after a little while . So , and no hangover .
Speaker 1Yeah , see , and that's the thing , like I , there are are sometimes when I'm like , yeah , it would be nice to have like a cocktail or something right now .
Speaker 2Sure .
Speaker 1But that's the extent I ever feel in terms of wanting to drink . I just don't really enjoy it that much . I used to really like beer , but then you know realize that beer just fucks me up Same as you like messes my stomach and the gluten in it .
Speaker 2Yeah , and the insane amount of calories too .
Speaker 1In general , yeah , I'm just not , you know there's nothing good about it . There are , there are some beers that I do miss , but they would just mess up my stomach , and I can't drink red wine because it gives me a headache , and so the only one I can drink is wine , even natural wine . I don't know what that means . We can talk about it later .
Speaker 2Okay , there's a difference ?
Speaker 1Well , I it . Pretty much any red wine I've ever drank gives me a headache .
Speaker 2So could be an allergy , but it also . The thing about I've learned is it's a lot of people that get headaches from red wine . It's usually the allergy . It's either an allergy to the wood of the barrel or it's an allergy to the things they use to preserve the wine , like tannins and stuff and sulfites . So if you do natural wine , it's all natural sulfite , it's nothing added .
Speaker 1Oh , good so it's .
Speaker 2a lot of people have an easier time with that kind of thing . Yeah , but I just I'm with you on that I don't . Beer is not a great experience for me . I used to love beer , but I was in that industry a lot more . Yeah , but I just yeah . Nowadays , I mean , I do love if there's like a really , if there's really good wine , you know , if it's like high quality wine . I love that experience of drinking wine and finding the flavors in it and learning about the history of it and I get really I like nerd out on it a lot . And I'm the same way with spirits and the whole idea of like mixology and like putting things , putting different flavors together to see what happens . But I don't drink either one of those for the alcohol . I drink them for the experience of the actual fluids . So it's always been a healthier perspective , in my opinion , for those two things .
Speaker 1Do you know there is one alcohol that I do absolutely love , and that's hot sake . Oh , I know , and that's me , and you're different on that .
Speaker 2I've tried so hard to like it and I just can't . And it sucks because I have now a surprising amount of Asian restaurants .
Speaker 1And so .
Speaker 2I'm talking about like sake and like Japanese whiskey , which I do love , and different things all the time . Now I've learned so much about different types and regions , where it all comes from and having to learn how to say them also . And I just have like the new ramen place downtown they only carry Japanese products and I have a lot of products in that store and so in that restaurant .
Speaker 2So it's constantly trying to like find suppliers and bring everything in and I'm having to do it like kind of manually and be that go between . So I talk about sake all the time now I just don't like it . I've tried it so many times . I've tried like 15 of them in a line with that restaurant and I was like this is awful .
Speaker 1Just kidding , I'll keep trying . I remember I think it took me a couple of times to where I got used to it , because there's something weird about like drinking a warm alcoholic beverage .
Speaker 2I mean even cold though .
Speaker 1It's still weird .
Speaker 2There's a certain flavor that I can pick out . Every time that's like the base . It's probably has to do with rice or something . Every single time I taste it , it just like I have like a more of a visceral , like repulsive , like a repulsed feeling about that taste . I don't know why I it's probably because I mean , I know a lot of people love it yeah , a lot . Our warehouse manager actually is in love with it .
Speaker 2You look under his desk and he's just like books of all the regions and all the say he nerds out on a hard .
Speaker 1It's hard for me to go and sit down and eat at an Asian restaurant and not order a hot sake Like I just , out of all of the alcohols , that's probably the one that's not too bad for you .
Speaker 2Yeah , I would think so , man . All the you can talk about something that really wants to turn you on to THC , and specifically edibles , and not smoking THC , because that's also bad for you . But I all of the articles , especially because I downloaded an app to keep track of my progress for dry January . All the ads that I would get in articles that were being like constantly just flooding through all of my modes of communication . I would read them .
Speaker 2I have such a different perspective on alcohol in general and because of how poisonous it is for your body , dude , it's so bad for you . So bad for you and apparently , like just drinking alcohol on a regular basis , even remotely regular , and regular in healthy ways , like which they say is two to three times a week , a couple drinks , and all of that increases your chances of like 12 different kinds of cancer about like 45% . Oh my God . And you're just like no wonder we're all getting cancer , we're just drinking alcohol . But I mean , they make it seem I'm sure it's . I don't know if it's as intense as they make it out to be , but no idea , dude , but it is weird to be in the industry of basically selling substances that make people inebriated and now having kind of mixed feelings about those substances , I don't know , but I mean THC Seltors , edibles , I sell that stuff all day long . I don't care , because I like it and I haven't found very many things that are against it , as long as it's a quality product .
Speaker 2It's obviously about the word . You source it just like anything , but we have a big problem with CBD Edibles being sold in gas stations that are laced with fentanyl . So you just never know . But yeah , so it's been . I have a different relationship with it now , even since we recorded the episode , and I think that's the words more part of my life , but I do less of it Like one half a gummy for the day . And you're good , just let it like , feel the effects , let it fade off . You can get hungover from them , though .
Speaker 1Found that out . Yeah , the first time I did it , I definitely had a weed hangover the next day .
Speaker 2Oh , it's so bad , I do too much of it . You feel like you're glued to your bed . It's weird . It's so hard to get out . It's a very weird hangover , yeah .
Speaker 1One thing that because I don't get like super high anymore , there was a while last year where the first half of the year was really rough and I was definitely using it to cope . Yeah , and I definitely don't do that anymore . One thing that I use it for is I try to approach it with an intention of I mean this sounds really woo-woo , but like it's a plant medicine that's here to teach me . Yeah , and it teaches me lots of things . Yeah , and when .
Speaker 1I go into it with that kind of mindset , that intention . I get a lot out of it , yeah , and one of the things that it does is it helps me connect with my body more , because I can feel my sensations a lot more Right , and that's a having that like . I don't want to rely on it for that , but it's a good reminder for me to occasionally experience that heightened sense , because it's how I used to , it's more how I used to feel like when I was younger I felt a lot more in my senses of adult so much and but . But I forget that , and so having a good reminder is really helpful for me to Kind of get back into my body and to start doing more things that helped me Experience that that don't require Substances . Yeah , yeah , sure .
Speaker 2I feel that way , and one of being challenged to be out in public with people with no substance Help at all , hmm , it was an interesting , pretty interesting thing I've never experienced .
Speaker 2I now understand a lot more the idea of a mocktail bar . We starting to get those around Chattanooga and there's always at least one or two mocktails on almost every menu in downtown Chattanooga now and so , and then there's a whole bar that's only mocktails now and so it's definitely a need that I has been growing , that I haven't noticed . I mean , being in the alcohol industry definitely can see . I can see the numbers dropping of people not just just not drinking as much Anymore , and so it's a , it's a concern in the industry is freaking out a little bit . But but I think that that was an interesting exercise to Learn how to be okay being in social situations without any kind of like social lubricant , like alcohol , and so , yeah , I don't know , I don't .
Speaker 2I don't want to go back to where I was even before because , even though it wasn't like , by Medical standards , considered unhealthy behavior , because I wasn't drinking too much or drinking a whole . Even when I did drink , most Time is like one or two drinks , I wouldn't drink a whole lot . It was just like , you know , this particular social like party situations maybe , where you're like a bunch of people and so more like celebrations of something and so , but I don't even like , I just don't really have the desire to drink a drink . A lot better , just more like a treat now , and I feel like Definitely my bank accounts thanked me for it , that's for sure . But now I like . But now we bought . We bought those , those gummies that we have known . Those are surprisingly expensive , but you get so many of them in one bag , you know , mm-hmm , it's way better than buying , like , a bottle of wine for $50 or 40 , for $40 or whatever you buy a bag full of like .
Speaker 1It's an expensive ass wine You've been drinking .
Speaker 2I told you good wine is what I like to drink . Um , I sell only , say , $50 , because I had this one account get a wine that I really have been wanting for a really long time and they finally got it in . I was like , oh great , that's awesome , I'll come get it sometime soon . Well , how much is it ? And they're like $56.99 . I was like , oh , I Didn't know it was that much , of course I loved it .
Speaker 2No stupid expensive taste over here , but uh , but I mean either way . I mean even a $20 bottle of wine , it's still $20 and you're getting , if you share it with somebody , you're getting two glasses . Yeah , you know , you can say you go out in restaurants and the taxes for alcohol is insane , so like that's why I'll call it beverage is so crazy in restaurants . Yeah , and so I would rather spend $50 or whatever on a bag of gummies where I'm gonna half them probably .
Speaker 2Right you're getting double the amount anyway and there's like what 40 or 50 of them in a bag , 30 of them , I can't even know how much they . I feel like I've been eating them for a while and they don't go away , so it's like a bottomless bag . So , yeah , that seems way better in terms of finances too .
Speaker 1Well , I'm ready to go home . Well , fading fast .
Speaker 2Yeah , all right . Well , hope you guys enjoy the high fives episode and enjoy us Going off on tangents in this one as well . Not nearly as funny as the other one , though . Hop in the community and let us know what you thought of it , though , because I would love to hear everybody's thoughts after they listen to this one .
Speaker 1Yeah , no one's gonna make it through it .
Speaker 2They might , I don't know . Let's see if you make it to the end . Let us know that to you . I would love to know what everybody's thoughts are . We have a full conversation around this . Anyway , all right , cool , all right , see you later . Good night .