Cold Open And What’s Ahead

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Okay, in this episode, we're gonna do some amazing things. One of the things I'm gonna do is make Nick feel real uncomfortable as we talk about a hotel state that goes a little not how we want it to go.

SPEAKER_02 0:10

Uh I'm gonna tell a story about this broken finger and how stupid it was. Because you know when you do when you have an injury, it's because you did something stupid. This this story is fun.

SPEAKER_00 0:20

Yeah. We're gonna give you some tips and tricks on how to travel, how to book ahead, and how to use other partners to get the best return on investment. And then we're gonna spend just a quick minute talking about how important it is to make decisions now while you can and uh to keep your loved ones close.

SPEAKER_02 0:37

Yeah, so stick around and enjoy the episode.

The Hotel Room From Hell

SPEAKER_02 0:41

Welcome back to another episode of the Justin Epic Life podcast. My name is Nick. I'm sitting next to Kesling.

SPEAKER_00 0:47

I'm sitting next to Nick.

SPEAKER_02 0:48

Nice, and Isaiah's sitting behind you.

SPEAKER_00 0:50

Yeah. And we are at a lobby that we're not staying at. I just did a quick video I'm gonna put on my stories about how we're staying at a janky hotel. Like, um Nick doesn't complain, like honestly, about like accommodations. He won't complain about food. Um as long as there's not, as long as it's not eggy, he won't complain about food. So it's funny because last night I was like, we have to take a video of our room because there's like cigarette burns or something like them in like the bedding. Uh the light switch doesn't work, the toilet was running, there's a cobweb hanging from our ceiling.

SPEAKER_02 1:28

Summer stats hanging by wires.

SPEAKER_00 1:30

Uh when I went to plug in my phone, it's like almost falling off the wall. And that's after when we got to said hotel. And what's the best part? The like we're checking in no problem. She was a poor woman. She was amazing. She, the poor front desk count person, front desk person, she says, Oh, by the way.

SPEAKER_02 1:52

Like after we checked in, after we got all of our Oh, we checked in.

SPEAKER_00 1:54

We weren't part of the reservation for the squad. And so she says, Oh, by the way, one of the rooms, if it rains, it's gonna leak.

SPEAKER_02 2:02

And today is a big rain day. And so it's just and she said, So just be careful what you put where you put your luggage.

SPEAKER_00 2:08

And she thought that was gonna be okay. And I'm literally holding all of my stuff, and two of the other cheer parents are standing there, and I'm quite sure they would have handled it. But I was like, Excuse me, Isaiah, take my stuff. This is gonna be a thing. And so Isaiah's like taking the things off of me. We're talking about you. Uh it was she then persisted to or persisted. She then just proceeded. Proceeded, thank you, to take about 30 minutes with us. And I was like, uh, I need to see the room. So we go up to see the room. She tells us she's completely booked, so we have to have this room, and maybe tomorrow she can change us. And I go up there and I'm like, by this point, it's nine, nine o'clock at night, and the girls are almost here. And I'm thinking, We we don't have time. Why didn't somebody call us? Somebody should have called us. They should have called and said, Hey, by the way, we're gonna get raised.

SPEAKER_02 2:54

We can give you a refund, you just can't check in.

SPEAKER_00 2:55

Well, and she did say that. She's like, I could refund you, and you can just not stay here. And she didn't, like, I think some French S people would have been like, F you, you can have a refund and piss off. She did not, she was very kind about it. So we were like, Okay, we'll make it work if you can move us tomorrow, because we don't have any other options. And then she's like, Okay, well, let me get these guys checked into the king room. And what we learned was it was two king beds. So then she's like, I think you need to see these rooms. So she takes us up again to see these two additional rooms, they're huge, and so she was able to move us out of the leaking room, but I can't even believe that that was an option. I can't even believe it was an option because it's been raining since 8:30. Anyhow, so the lobby, because it's an economically friendly hotel, the lobby consists of three chairs and it's like um probably a quarter of what you're a quarter of what you're seeing just in this space. It's tiny. And so I said to Nick, I said, I really miss a lobby. I love a hotel lobby because we can work in the lobby, we can people watch, we play cards, yep, absolutely. And so I said, let's find a better better lobby. So we did. So we're waiting for my mom to fly in at the Ontario Airport, and we're we're five minutes away from the curb.

SPEAKER_02 4:08

So Isaiah, in probably 15 minutes, 10 minutes, is gonna get in the car and go pick up mom. Uh, and they'll come here. And my guest is as long as no one's starving, we'll chill here for 20 or 30 minutes.

SPEAKER_00 4:20

Back to the you don't complain part. This is what I was gonna say, because I I I now I told them all the story. When I'm taking video last night, Nick says, I can't believe we're staying in a place like this. And it was just like one of those moments where my ears were like, Did he just say that?

SPEAKER_02 4:36

And not in a this is who we are, we deserve better. No, like if I had flipped that hotel room, uh, or if I was the the manager on site, or if I was the owner of the property, I would bet I would have been uh hopefully a little more proactive with maintenance. Because we view it now, I view things as an Airbnb owner. Like yesterday when I was at our short-term rental and I saw that the the toilet pepper toilet paper holder in the master bedroom, although it was on there, it easily falls off. So then I made a calendar appointment for Monday for me to repair that.

SPEAKER_00 5:12

Uh they don't check out until Tuesday or Wednesday.

SPEAKER_02 5:14

Okay, then I'll remove it to Wednesday. Excuse me, I'm here to repair the toilet paper. Uh but I mean, being proactive with those types of repairs, my I would like if the site was now I recognize that the hotel that we're at is in a uh a part of the city where there's it's I mean, the elevators are tagged up a little bit with people scratching, which isn't fair to the ownership of the hotel, it isn't fair to the management uh that you know you're inheriting some of the behaviors of people either staying in the hotel or not staying in the hotel. So it's not fair.

SPEAKER_00 5:59

Um but I would just hope that the things that are controllable, like the the window shade, which it's it's uh I think when it was designed, it was a beautiful room because there's a remote control on the Yes, but if we don't upkeep, and this is what you're saying, if we don't upkeep, then and I'm sorry, I'm gonna go back to I cannot believe the option of staying in a room that is going to leak was even considered. Yeah, it's that I would call that unsafe, unclean, everything.

SPEAKER_02 6:30

If like I if I was ownership or management, I would have said uh we've reached maximum, and one of our rooms is uh not available due to the rain. Uh this is one of our partner properties.

SPEAKER_00 6:46

Would you like to well so best?

SPEAKER_02 6:48

I don't want to come it's let's give it 30 more seconds. Let's be move topics.

SPEAKER_00 6:53

Nah, we're not moving topics. I hate this topic. Well, it's fine because I was so uncomfortable. It's not uncomfortable. It's very uncomfortable. It's fine. Oh my gosh. When we stayed at a Marriott for Isaiah's thing, they called us a day before and they were like, we have 2,000 students here, we're gonna move you. We don't have any rooms. They called ahead of time. And this company, like it makes me wonder who's aware, right? Yeah, and so guess what? I'll be making them aware. And yeah, and what Nick said, they should have created some kind of additional accommodation immediate, and it shouldn't have waited until we got there so late in the evening. Okay, so I don't think I don't by the way, I don't think it's uncomfortable. If we live inside of a travel world, these are things we're going to encounter, and how we deal with it is considerably different. How other people, because you know, there are times I could have come in as a hothead, and when Isaiah took all my stuff, he knew I was coming guns ablazing.

SPEAKER_02 7:50

And like these are things that we go in expecting at uh properties that are off the out of the brand that we're loyal to uh when we're in other places around the world. I just I didn't expect it in Los Angeles.

SPEAKER_00 8:07

Well, and again, I mean, huge difference in in economy price and a Marriott brand.

SPEAKER_02 8:14

Yeah.

Booking Early To Beat Price Surges

SPEAKER_00 8:15

So, and it's okay.

SPEAKER_02 8:16

Now, what's very interesting is when we knew about this event, you were proactive in booking things. And you booked within one of our favorite brands within one of our favorite types of hotels for an economic stay within that brand. And you had like 18 rooms booked.

SPEAKER_00 8:34

Yeah, and too many.

SPEAKER_02 8:36

And then we heard the team was staying here, we're like, okay, it's important for us to stay there. So we released those. And when Coach found out that we released those rooms, he was like, oh the rate, because I booked so far away.

SPEAKER_00 8:48

So by the way, the rate was closer to Disneyland and Anaheim instead of we're in um like north central Los Angeles. I don't really know at all. And so um the rate that we paid was like a hundred and I don't know, thirty dollars. And the rooms that I had booked were right around that price. They did have resort fees, so it would have been a little bit more, but that same room, so I canceled it, and when I went to look to rebook it, that same room was then booking for $650 for that same room, and now they're booked completely, so it's not like I can be like, hey, just kidding, I want my rooms back.

SPEAKER_02 9:22

Yeah, but and that's one of the things that you're really good at is predicting travel, reserving things when it's before the rush.

SPEAKER_01 9:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:31

So that way when the travel happens, we we are locked in at a golden price. Yeah. And with those brands, we're able to release those rooms with no charge in most situations.

SPEAKER_00 9:42

Yeah, so your travel hack is book book way in it as far in advance as you can. The further in advance you can, the better off. Um for both flights. For flights and hotels.

SPEAKER_02 9:53

If you are part of a nationwide thing or a conference thing and you hear, you like you know, okay, we have our annual conference every August. If if there's rumors of, ooh, it might be in this city, it might be in this city, probably you have an idea as to where the conference is going to be. If you reserve your room before the conference location is officially announced, you're in before the rush for all of your people from your industry that are going there. Uh, and you you can lock in some rooms for you and some friends, and I mean you can make friends. Hey, I have I have a block of six rooms.

SPEAKER_00 10:31

And sometimes it's cheaper than the block rooms that they get as I not always, not always. I have seen like Samantha has gotten some really incredible rates in Vegas that I haven't been able to touch. But then when I get to go hang out with her, we go ahead and we add my loyalty and they give us all the loyalty um benefits.

SPEAKER_02 10:52

So speaking of loyalty, we're gonna talk about the flights.

Airline Points Through Partner Programs

SPEAKER_02 10:55

Yeah. So Kessley's gonna tell you this amazing story, but I'm just gonna like feed her by saying it never occurred to us before Tuesday of this week that you know we should sign up for an a loyalty program with an airlines based in Egypt.

SPEAKER_00 11:13

Well, so it had occurred to me because I watch all this stuff. I didn't think it would do it. So basically, uh, so my mom's flying in from Phoenix to Ontario, and I was able to book that at 12,000 points round trip, which I get it's a short flight, but for I could have sent her to LAX also for 12,000 points. Um sometimes these flights are much more. If I had booked through the airline she's actually on, it would have been closer to 30,000 points. So I booked through an airline um Etihan.

SPEAKER_02 11:45

Yeah, I'm not sure.

SPEAKER_00 11:46

I don't know exactly how to say it, but yeah. So booking through them, excuse me, allowed us to get it for 6,000 points per flight. And then and it's like under $40 in dollars. And so um we drove here and Liliana is gonna come home with us, and Liliana and I would much rather not be in the car in the car. So I said to Liliana on Thursday, I said, Do you want to fly home? And she's like, Oh my gosh, could we? And like honestly, the excitement on her face, I was like, hell yeah, we're gonna do whatever you want. So Liliana and I are gonna go ahead and fly home because again, 6,000 points per flight, and there's a lounge in Ontario, so we'll go lounge it up, and then Nick and Isaiah are gonna go adventure um an unknown adventure, depending on how weather goes.

SPEAKER_02 12:31

And so you talked earlier about how there was a transfer bonus between Capital One and Etihad. Did that pan out? No. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 12:41

So sometimes Google, so transfer bonus, just so everyone knows, is um like right now Japanese Airlines has one from where did I transfer from? Capital One. It's like 40%. So instead of getting a one-to-one ratio, you're getting a one to one point four ratio. So that means that if it the flight costs a hundred thousand points, then it's uh 40% less, so 60,000 points.

SPEAKER_02 13:04

So that's 72,000 points, 71,000 points.

SPEAKER_00 13:11

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_02 13:12

Yeah, because if it was 70,000, you add an extra four, uh, that brings you to 98,000 points. So just a sh uh hair above 70,000.

SPEAKER_00 13:21

Okay.

unknown 13:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:22

Whatever. Whatever the math is, it's whatever the math is.

SPEAKER_02 13:25

It works. So looking for those.

SPEAKER_00 13:27

Yeah, and being aware of those. Now, what you have to be mindful of is if you are transferring points, you can't untransfer. So if you're like, oh, I'm Because you sent some miles from Capital One to Etihad. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:40

But it didn't pop up.

SPEAKER_00 13:41

Yeah, it took a long time. I don't even know if it's still there.

SPEAKER_02 13:44

We then I signed up for a loyalty program, so I could transfer from my Capital One to my Etihad, and it happened instantly.

SPEAKER_00 13:52

Instantly.

SPEAKER_02 13:52

And we think that's because my last name is more simple?

SPEAKER_00 13:56

Uh I kept my maiden name, and so all my passport has both of my names, and the credit cards only have my married name. So it's an adjustment we're gonna have to make.

SPEAKER_02 14:06

So our guess is the points will appear in your account within the next five to ten days, and then they'll just be ready for us to use again.

SPEAKER_00 14:15

And luckily, because we'll do something like this again.

SPEAKER_02 14:17

That is a loyalty, that's that's an airline that works very well with an airline that flies out of Phoenix.

SPEAKER_00 14:23

Yeah, more on this. So uh when I booked it, then I went ahead and put it into my American Airlines app. And the uh I booked the seat through Etihad, and we were sitting like in the middle of the plane, which we don't sit in the middle of the plane at with American because of our status, my status, we usually sit in the first like four rows, and I was like, what the heck? And I had to pay to move us up, and I was like, I'm not doing that. So this morning I was in the chat with them, and I said, Hey, can is there any chance you can add me to the upgrade list? Because in theory, the plane is very empty, and the first class is like got four seats that are taken out of 12 or something like that. And I was like, if we could be upgraded, that would be amazing. So I'm texting um in the chat and she's like, You don't even have your loyalty number here. And I was like, Oh, she goes, let me go ahead and add it. And so she added it. As soon as she added it, I went into the app again and I could move us up for free because that's one of the up, you know, the statuses. So I moved us from the middle of the plane to row two, which is what we normally sit in, which is actually row five. Um, and then she went ahead and added us to the upgrade list. So fingers crossed, they upgrade us. I know that it's only a short flight, but that's just it's just an experience that we get to have, and that's cool. So when you when you send points from one airline partner to another, it's important to make sure that those are done. And just because you upload it into the app doesn't mean it automatically does it. So yeah. So

The Broken Finger Drill Mistake

SPEAKER_00 15:55

so I want to talk about something because I'm sure all of our people who are watching us on YouTube are wondering.

SPEAKER_02 16:01

Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it.

SPEAKER_00 16:03

What is happening with your left hand?

SPEAKER_02 16:07

Oh, you're a terrible person. Uh okay, so uh we have the big dumb stupid house and uh my son, one of his computers, because he has his laptop that he can travel with, things like that, but his preferred computer is a desktop computer. And when he purchased this computer, it was uh with the understanding that it's like a gaming type computer and gaming operates.

SPEAKER_00 16:33

He didn't purchase it by the way.

SPEAKER_02 16:34

Yeah, it was for his 16-year-old gift from his aunt.

SPEAKER_00 16:38

From his auntie.

SPEAKER_01 16:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:39

Uh but it needs to be hardwired. So you plug in your Ethernet cable from your router, and then you have the strongest possible connection for your computer. Uh so at the old house, we would just have the router in his room, and he could just do a short little 12-foot Ethernet cable, and uh the entire home would have Wi-Fi. Uh, because it was a two-story house, everything was close to that router. Now that we're in the new house, which is a single story, and his bedroom is on one side, and the Wi-Fi signal does not quite reach uh Liliana's room, which is Catacorner, we had to put the router in the middle of the room, the middle of the house. So when we moved in, we had an Ethernet cable literally going through the hallway of the house into Isaiah's room.

SPEAKER_00 17:23

Through the kitchen.

SPEAKER_02 17:24

Through the kitchen. Every time we had an event or someone came over, we just unplugged it and said, Sorry Isaiah, you can't use your computer today. Uh but that's not a way to live. So we wanted him to be able to have an Ethernet cable routed to his computer. So I finally went through the attic, fed the wires down, drilled holes in the drywall. That way we could have it done correctly. So the story is uh I had the hole saw, which if you're familiar with a a hole saw, it's like a drill bit, like a quarter-inch drill bit, uh surrounded by a uh uh like a a serrated circular saw. It's just in a circle. So that way it drills a pilot hole to keep things straight, and then the disc rotates uh to make a perfect circle in your drywall. I drilled a hole. I removed the drill from the wall, and there is a disc of drywall in the hole saw, which it's supposed to be. By the way, the logical hole long story.

SPEAKER_00 18:25

Keep listening. This it's about to get to the good part. You didn't care about all the other stuff, and now you care, so listen intently.

SPEAKER_02 18:31

So the logical person, when you have a disc of drywall stuck in your hole saw drill bit, the logical person would take the hole saw bit off of the drill. That would have solved everything. Uh, and then used a screwdriver or something else that is short enough to go through or thin enough to go through the holes to poke the the drywall out. That would have solved it. The illogical person being myself, while the drill bit is attached to the drill, I'm using my pinky, feeding it through the holes in the hole saw to try to dislodge this um disc of drywall. Now, one would think that I accidentally pressed the trigger on the drill while my finger was in there. That is not the case. What actually happened is as I'm trying to dislodge it, my mind for a brief moment thinks, you know, if you just like spin the drill bit, that might dislodge it more. So as my finger is inside, I use my other finger to pull on the drill trigger, and it luckily I just like just a little tiny tap. Uh so the the drill bit rotates and uh it essentially yanks my finger forward. Uh if I had done it harder, or if the drill was in a the reverse position, uh, there's a high chance that my fingertip would not be attached to my body right now.

SPEAKER_00 20:03

He made a sound I've never heard him make before. And like, I don't as we it was a yelp. As we get older, I'm just like aware that like we think we're still 20-something and that we can do that. Like my whole I'm on a 5k everyday kick. I can't run a 30-minute 5k anymore. And in fact, I get mad when it's 40 minutes and I should just be happy I can still do it. So he makes a yelp and I'm like, Nick! And he's like, I'm fine.

SPEAKER_02 20:29

I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine. You know, telling myself, I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine. Uh, but I I immediately know that I broke it. Uh, and then my hope is that I didn't do damage. Uh, but uh usually when I injure myself, I just tough it through, no big deal. As soon as I did it, I'm like, I need to ice my finger right now. So I immediately stopped what I was doing. I went inside, got a cup of ice water, and just immediately iced it.

SPEAKER_00 20:57

Uh let's let's let's add to this that this was in January.

SPEAKER_02 21:00

Someone's smoking a cigar indoors.

SPEAKER_00 21:02

I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 21:04

Was it just that woman that passed?

SPEAKER_00 21:06

Oh, it could be, maybe. I don't know. So in January, somehow we allowed our insurance to laugh.

SPEAKER_02 21:14

Oh gosh.

SPEAKER_00 21:15

So he of course does this in January.

SPEAKER_02 21:18

We've never been medically uninsured. We had 45 years of life. But for that one month. One month.

SPEAKER_00 21:24

And so I told him. We missed a deadline by two days. Uh yeah, she's on the ground, she's actually on the red off. Okay. Well, I just texted her and asked her if she's on the ground. Oh, I've been texting her. Oh, you're texting her. Okay. Okay. All right.

SPEAKER_02 21:34

Have fun picking up, grandma. See you shortly. Yeah, we were medically uninsured.

SPEAKER_00 21:40

So and wait, Isaiah.

SPEAKER_02 21:41

So most of our listeners, Isaiah, when you break a finger, you know that if you go for imaging, they're gonna say, Yep, it's broken, tape it. Or yep, it's broken, put it in a splint. So me being Dr. Nick, I went, Yep, it's broken, tape it. So I immediately taped it. I shouldn't say immediately, I kept working. For more for three more hours with my hands up in the attic. My language choice decayed through the day.

SPEAKER_00 22:10

You actually, so I will say you did really good because there were frustrating moments when we were trying to get I'm down at this little hole he created with a flashlight, by the way, my phone and uh oh uh the headlamp that Mooma gave us.

SPEAKER_02 22:26

Uh-huh. Uh and we're using a fishing line that that is like glow in the dark. But a glow in the dark fishing line, it only glows in the dark if you've recently shined a light on it. So, you know, if it doesn't work, you know, after two or three minutes I pull it up. This one, she's like, no, just keep trying. I'm like, you don't understand.

SPEAKER_00 22:44

Well, and I'm usually not the patient one in this situation.

SPEAKER_02 22:47

And she is comfortably seated on the ground with vaulted ceilings, waiting to see something in a little hole, while I am squeezed into where the roof rafters are. There's no content at that book. So it's not real. You're making it up. I recorded a video.

SPEAKER_00 23:03

Well, is it posted? No. Then it doesn't work.

SPEAKER_02 23:06

And you for those of you actually you have been up in the attic and you've seen those nails that are sticking down. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:14

So like from the rafters. If he stands up too much, he's gonna get 10 minutes.

SPEAKER_02 23:19

I I should have been wearing a hard hat, but then you guys would have really rolled your eyes at me.

SPEAKER_00 23:25

But like But he was getting frustrated. And I'm just like, honey, you're doing great.

SPEAKER_02 23:30

My finger is a how can a finger be numb and throbbing at the same time? Literally numb and throbbing.

SPEAKER_00 23:38

But do you want to try the other hand and see if you can do it?

SPEAKER_02 23:40

What do you mean?

SPEAKER_00 23:41

Like see if you can do the same dumb shit you did already want.

SPEAKER_02 23:45

Yeah, so uh I was resistant to going to the doctor, so I just I got a splint from Amazon. I got another splint from I like I tried out three different splints. I found the one that was perfect. Uh and I was resistant to going to the doctor because you know, we're uninsured for the next 16 days.

SPEAKER_00 24:02

And my dad says, which hand is it?

SPEAKER_02 24:05

And I said chord hand.

SPEAKER_00 24:09

And he said, You get him into the doctor right now. It could be ligaments, it could be blah, blah. I don't care if it costs you more money. This is his guitar hand, rah, rah, rah. He's giving me hell, so I come home and I tell Nick. And Nick doesn't tell me anything. And then he's like, Oh, I'm going to see the doctor.

SPEAKER_02 24:25

Yes, so I I went in for imaging and I, you know, told them that I'm doing self-pair.

SPEAKER_00 24:30

Before that, that was your second image. That was my second image.

SPEAKER_02 24:35

Uh so I was wearing a splint uh exactly one week later. Uh and we were the doctor. Before the doctor. After the incident, incident. Two days before my doctor's appointment, which is already scheduled. So uh I'm sitting in the uh dental chair at the dental office, and my head hygienist, you know, there's there's banter, there's communication, and she just like, oh, what'd you do to your finger? And I gave her the a short story and she left and she's great. Uh and she said, So you haven't been to the doctor yet? I said, No, I'm going on Wednesday, I'll I'll get x-rays. And she says, Do you want me to x-ray it? Like, sure. So she got one of the other our favorite hygienists over, and it's that way one could press the button on the x-ray machine while she's holding the the thing in the right way. And and so yeah, my dental hygienist, uh, we won't say where she's from, uh, but she they used, you know, company equipment to take a picture of the phone.

SPEAKER_00 25:36

But then they told the doctor.

SPEAKER_02 25:37

Yeah, and the doctor's like, what? And then she's like, oh yeah, every time I break my toes, I take pictures of my toes. So if you go into my chart, you'll see my toes. And like, and she didn't even hide it. Like, she it's now saved in my chart forever as left pinky.

SPEAKER_01 25:51

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 25:51

So, you know, all of my teeth and left pinky. So I I got imaging done in the uh Okay, so then you went to the actual doctor. Then I went to the actual doctor, uh, did the self-pay thing. Uh, you know, self-pay is actually quite reasonable.

SPEAKER_00 26:05

Uh and what we learned from our new healthcare um person broker broker is that even when you self-pay, submit that. It'll go towards your your deductible. I we have always self-paid. Luckily, we haven't needed like to meet our deductibles.

SPEAKER_02 26:23

Yeah, for us, health insurance, that's that's the worst case scenario. You know, we want coverage if we have a bad diagnosis.

SPEAKER_00 26:31

Yeah. But our family historically, maybe if there's a fracture, my gallbladder was the was the worst. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:39

Yeah.

unknown 26:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:40

Yeah. Imaging, there's no tendon issue, no, no ligament issue. I have a follow-up appointment next week, which will be five weeks after the injury. And my guess, and that will be the first time that I will attempt to bend my pinky. I've not done it.

SPEAKER_00 26:53

What did the doctor say about your Oh yes?

SPEAKER_02 26:55

So the doctor saw my splint, and and the doctor said, So when you went to the you know, urgent care, did they say, oh, it's a hammer or whatever the injury is? I said, No, you're the first professional I've seen. And he said, Where'd you get the splint? And I said, I have Google and Amazon. And he said, Oh, well, that's the right one. I said, Well, good. So this one, which came in a 10-pack for $10, so it's a dollar. If I had to pay for this at the provider, my guess is $60, $50.

SPEAKER_00 27:26

But it only gives you one, not ten.

SPEAKER_02 27:28

Yeah, yeah. So good times. Thanks for bringing that up.

SPEAKER_00 27:34

Well, you you wanted to pivot away from the conversation of the Icky Hotel.

SPEAKER_02 27:39

The Icky Hotel, yes.

unknown 27:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 27:41

So tomorrow

When Kids Love The “Bad” Hotel

SPEAKER_02 27:42

is.

SPEAKER_00 28:00

Yeah, it's not. This is not, no, these are people who, if they were staying in the hotel or staying in, they would leave. In fact, one of the reviews I read this morning said, I hope my company never puts me up here again.

SPEAKER_02 28:12

It it hey, we have been in that phase of our life when we need the the cheapest option possible.

SPEAKER_00 28:21

The best part about all of this, can I just say, this morning, some of the athletes come down, they get breakfast because it's a free breakfast. And I said, Did you girls sleep well? And they said, Oh my god, it was so great. The room's great. This is the best ever. And we got the bigger room because we got the smaller van. And they were so excited. Like, so they are none the wiser. And as far as I'm concerned, I'm okay with that. Like, I said to them, is there anything wrong with your room? Like, I even tried to prompt without being like, This hotel sucks.

SPEAKER_02 28:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:51

Because I feel like at the end of the day, for me, it's more important about them.

SPEAKER_02 28:55

You got to to look in each of those rooms, right?

SPEAKER_00 28:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 28:59

And you got, I mean, because the priority is making sure that the athletes got a good night's rest, they have space. Yeah. Who cares about the adults?

SPEAKER_00 29:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 29:07

Who cares?

unknown 29:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:08

I mean the parents? We'll we'll whine and bitch, it's fine.

SPEAKER_02 29:11

No. The priority is making sure that the athletes have a nice day, a nice rest, and they're well equipped to perform well today.

SPEAKER_01 29:17

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 29:18

So I'm glad that they got the good quality rooms. Uh that one of the coaches is no, two of the coaches are staying in a room where it's clear that they're mid-paint because there's still painters sleep in the bathroom. Yeah. There's a hole in the ceiling where the I don't want to pitch.

SPEAKER_00 29:36

You're not pitching, you're just saying facts.

SPEAKER_02 29:38

Yeah. Uh like it is clear if I was in charge of the project, that I probably told the contractor, hey, you have a 3 p.m. deadline on this day, and that contractor probably just didn't meet their deadline.

SPEAKER_00 29:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 29:50

And and the front desk staff probably didn't know that.

SPEAKER_00 29:54

Well, why is the front desk staff in charge of quality control?

SPEAKER_02 29:58

I agree.

SPEAKER_00 29:58

Also, at what point? So my question is, at what point did somebody call her and say, Oh, that room's gonna leak?

SPEAKER_02 30:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:06

And you're booked. So figure it out.

SPEAKER_02 30:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:09

It's just interesting.

SPEAKER_02 30:10

I hate to get back on that. So getting back on fun stuff.

Flying Versus Driving Home

SPEAKER_02 30:13

Uh, so these two, they're gonna fly out on Saturday.

SPEAKER_00 30:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 30:17

Uh, and then Isaiah and I, we're going to do a road trip.

SPEAKER_00 30:21

They have a couple options.

SPEAKER_02 30:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:23

Depending on how the weather is, will depend on where they land.

SPEAKER_02 30:26

What we know is that we will finish in Glendale, Arizona.

SPEAKER_00 30:30

On Sunday.

SPEAKER_02 30:31

That's all we know.

SPEAKER_00 30:32

Yeah. So we cool.

SPEAKER_02 30:34

Like when I said to Isaiah, you want to do a road trip? And he immediately went, Yosemite? I'm like, well, is it feasible?

SPEAKER_00 30:39

And so that's actually the moment that he realized that me and Liliana were not going to be in the car. Because I I'm here for a road trip. And I know that Liliana's going to be exhausted, even though they're, I mean, they're only competing today, but they're they potentially are competing until 11 o'clock this evening. And so, and then all day at a park tomorrow. And I'm just like, okay, well, uh, and she she's she's already, I mean, she's still dealing with National's hangover.

SPEAKER_01 31:05

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:06

So in Orlando, and I mean, I think we still are, but we're not gonna give up any second that we can spend with those two. So yeah, as soon as Isaiah was like, what, you guys are gonna fly? Cool, me and dad can do anything else. And they're and they the two of them immediately started brainstorming. I mean, if if it was if that was what we were doing, it'd be one thing, but we're returning home, and I'd like to get home to kind of get back to work and other stuff.

SPEAKER_02 31:33

So we are equipped uh for if we go to a ski resort, we are equipped not with like skis, but with like with uh bibs and jackets and gloves and all that stuff. We are equipped for a two-hour hike through snow. Uh we are equipped for um going to a pizza place. We're equipped, I mean, we don't know what is in store, and a lot of it will be dictated by the road conditions and restrictions on driving. Um, because a lot of this trip is continuing to give Isaiah the the highway training, the interstate training, the wet road driving training. Um because he's moving off to college very soon. So this this is like the last time to provide coaching on driving. So we're excited for that. We listened to an audiobook, two audiobooks when we were coming here yesterday. That was really fun. Um, I've actually never read Death of a Salesman. Haven't you read Death of a Salesman?

SPEAKER_00 32:36

I feel like I've seen the play. Isn't it a play?

SPEAKER_02 32:38

It's a play.

SPEAKER_00 32:38

Okay, so I feel like I might have seen the play.

SPEAKER_02 32:40

Like it's it's good.

SPEAKER_00 32:42

I think that that was something my first year in high school or something.

SPEAKER_02 32:46

Like as a teenager, I probably didn't understand or wouldn't have understood Death of a Salesman. But as a 45-year-old adult who has gone through highs and lows of a career, I mean, it's much differ different. I wouldn't say lows of a career.

SPEAKER_00 33:10

Since you said that, I feel like I'm bringing up the notebook because it's Valentine's Month. Oh, right. And I feel like you said that, and we just talked about how every time I watch the notebook, I'm older. And so it's the different characters, right?

SPEAKER_02 33:22

Like when I probably When we first watched it, I was related to Noah and whatever her name is, Rachel McAdams.

SPEAKER_00 33:31

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 33:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:33

When they were young. Yeah. And now, like the the scene where um the kids come to visit them and she doesn't remember them. And and the daughter says, Daddy, come home. Mom doesn't remember us, and we want you to be with us. And he's like, No, no, she's my she's my one and only. And I'm like, All right, Nick, so are you staying with me? Or are you like, here, go live your best life in the old people home? And he's like, No, I'm going to live my life. And I'm and I'm like, Do you want me to stay with you? And he's like, No, go live your best life. And I'm thinking, how tough that must be.

SPEAKER_01 34:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 34:09

I I can see it from all perspectives, but I've never been the older version until this last time we watched it.

Love, Aging, And Written Permission

SPEAKER_02 34:16

So I mean, I can only based off of where I am right now and what we want for each other. In this moment, I think that we would give each other permission to have fun.

SPEAKER_00 34:29

I think it's easy to say that we would and we wouldn't.

SPEAKER_02 34:32

I think that you're right.

SPEAKER_00 34:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 34:34

And I think that, I mean, us putting it in our legacy plan and in our trust and stuff like that gives permission to the person and give and provides documentation for for let's say you gives you permission to be able to show the family, look, Nick wrote this.

SPEAKER_00 34:51

Yeah. When he was of sound minds, this.

SPEAKER_02 34:55

So I'm choosing, and but that's the key. Setting it up that way you can choose what to do and know that you have my blessing.

SPEAKER_00 35:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:03

Yeah. But yes, right now we're only basing this off of our 44 and 45-year-old selves.

SPEAKER_00 35:11

Yeah, and so I wonder. I have your blessing now, but if in 20 years if there will be resentment.

SPEAKER_01 35:20

That's a good question.

SPEAKER_00 35:22

I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 35:23

I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 35:24

Just thoughts. You talked about, because every story I feel like I I watch or listen and I'm in a different place, right? So I see it differently. But anyways.

unknown 35:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:33

This has been a fun episode. I made you feel uncomfortable. We talked about a broken finger that you did. So what? Complaining. Are you flipping people off? No.

SPEAKER_02 35:42

I'm counting.

SPEAKER_00 35:43

Uh-huh. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:43

Made me uncomfortable talking about uh the the not perfect hotel stay. That makes me uncomfortable. Confrontation and complaining.

SPEAKER_00 35:52

I did so good. I could have come unglued. There was nothing she could do about it. So what poor Chris? What do you think?

SPEAKER_02 35:57

Oh, you should see some of the drafts.

SPEAKER_00 36:00

Okay, it's fine. It's fine. Me and I told ChatGPT I needed to be stern and mama bear and professional. It's all of those things. You just don't like it because it's fine. I made it softer.

SPEAKER_02 36:14

You did make it softer. Soft is good. I mean, you can still be stern.

Rapid-Fire Travel Hacks And Recap

SPEAKER_00 36:19

Okay, so to recap.

SPEAKER_02 36:20

To recap.

SPEAKER_00 36:21

Read reviews before you stay at a hotel.

SPEAKER_02 36:23

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 36:24

Transfer points to random airline partners in order to get a better return on your investment. Uh fly or drive, do what you want to do. Um do not stick your pinky in the hole.

SPEAKER_02 36:41

Sorry, this entire lobby just heard my laugh.

SPEAKER_00 36:43

With the with the trigger finger happy. Um, book in advance, both on airlines and in hotels, and especially if you can cancel for free. What else? Uh tell your partner and your loved ones what you want in life now while you're of sound mind. Otherwise, it's just rude if you do it later because you might not be of sound mind and they might not understand. And then you also risk the opportunity for them to decide what happens to you. Don't do that. Um, what else? That's cool. Use other lobbies that you're not staying at when you want something better. That is gonna be my A number one for the day. Yeah, I like it. And and remember, inside of all this, life is short. So do epic things. Yeah, have fun with it.

SPEAKER_02 37:28

Enjoy the moments.

SPEAKER_00 37:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 37:30

And found opportunities to enjoy the rain and opportunities to get out of the rain in beautiful places.

SPEAKER_00 37:35

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 37:35

So until next time.

SPEAKER_00 37:37

Enjoy an epic life.