Two Drinks In Again
Dave and Jeff have (at least) two drinks and talk about the goings-on in the Knoxville metro area. Sports, music, restaurants, movies, and really anything is up for discussion. Join us for some information and a lot of laughs.
Two Drinks In Again
Episode 33 - Happy New Year 2025!!!
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This episode reflects on the challenges and moments of joy experienced in 2024, touching on themes of personal loss, sports highlights, generational dynamics, and family connections. We encourage listeners to embrace the lessons learned and stay hopeful as we transition into 2025.
• Reflecting on personal experiences of loss
• Celebrating sports highlights and the emotional investments involved
• Navigating generational differences in the workplace
• The importance of family bonds and holiday memories
• Looking forward with hope and resilience into 2025
Reflecting on a Challenging 2024
Speaker 1Two Drinks and Again was not taped before a live studio audience.
Speaker 2Duke did in fact not have a quarterback.
Speaker 1Oh Lord, I can't even go there. Hey friends, it's Jeff.
Speaker 2It's me, it's me, david T. Happy New Year. Happy fucking New Year, my man, oh my.
Speaker 1God, how happy are you that 2024 is over.
Speaker 2Brother, this one was bad.
Speaker 1It was rough.
Speaker 2I already hit you with a hulk. Hogan brother on that one right that was. That was a shit show of a year. Yes, from start to finish, man. I I mean from getting deathly ill in january through deaths to just all the crap that's happening in the world like I don't know what the hell was going on. No, I hear you, I'm glad to see the dial turn. It was awful. It was awful.
Speaker 1Yeah, no bueno yeah. I mean, I had some good moments.
Speaker 2I don't want to make it sound like I'm you know.
Speaker 1No, you know, for me so it's kind of like since 2022, well, since the pandemic.
Speaker 2Yeah.
Speaker 1Each year has gotten less and less bad. Yeah, you know and 2024 was. It was okay compared to previous years. Yeah, um, you know, we were like we had attempted to do this transition out of 10 care and that didn't really take hold. So we're back in it um starting january, 6th monday yeah it's january 3rd, um, and I'm going through puberty. As I say that, I'm going to leave that in I won't even cut it. Hi, I'm playing the role of Peter Brady Time to change, yeah, 2024, man.
Speaker 2Suck my dick Big time yeah.
Speaker 1Well, you had it worse because you lost your mother, right? Well, I mean, yeah, 2024,. Man Suck my dick, yep, big time, yeah, yeah. Well, you had it worse, I mean because you lost your mother, right? Well, I mean, yeah, I mean we're not trying to. No, it's not a dick measuring contest Right.
Speaker 2But I mean it was. You know, I lost a really good friend too and then I even told you just the other night I had to go pay my respects again and I mean I make it stop, man, it was just one of those things is just as soon as I'd be able to catch my breath a little bit and, you know, have like, oh, okay, think you know, as soon as you call yourself off, yeah, it's there again to kick you right in the ass, yeah yeah, I mean it was, it was drago, all like every time I got off off the mat man, he hit me right square in the ass.
Speaker 2Yeah, yeah, I mean it was it was drago all like.
Speaker 1Every time I got off off the mat man, he hit me right square in the face again if he, dies he dies.
Speaker 2Basically, man, I, you know, I just uh, I'm looking forward to 25 and again 24, wasn't? There was a lot of good moments in there, but, um, you know, it's just an awful roller coaster that I just couldn't get off of.
Speaker 1So the last time we met was, uh, in early december early to mid-december. Uh and um, we were prepping. We talked about thanksgiving, we're prepping for the holidays, and and uh, so let's just um, let's, let's launch into sports okay, a little bit okay. So, uh, we'll hit basketball for a hot minute. Yeah, um, you know and you know. Congratulations on your number one status.
Speaker 2Hey, first time since 19, like 22 or 23, they're 13 and 0 going into the the year I remember when under bruce pearl they got, they were number one for 18 hours yeah, like they and, like I think they went up against Memphis or something like that. Yeah, they beat Memphis and then had to go to Nashville and play Vanderbilt, and that was it.
Speaker 1Yeah, it was fun, and so forgive me because I'm a little shitty and I'm like, okay, I guess you think you're all a basketball school now.
Speaker 2Well, judging by how the football team played against Ohio State, I'm going to go ahead and say it We'll get to football in a minute.
Speaker 1I'm excited.
Speaker 3I mean they're good Rick.
Speaker 2Barnes probably has his best team. I mean he's just doing it right, yeah, and he's a great guy. I hope he gets to see another Final Four before he retires.
Speaker 1Yeah.
Speaker 2But we'll see.
College Basketball Reflections and Memories
Speaker 1No, I mean that's great. I mean it's a great achievement and you guys have held onto it now for a long time.
Speaker 2Yes, the number one seed I mean it's been a very difficult schedule getting them ready. Right, the SEC this year is going to be at Gauntlet and they start with you beat the shit out of us in the ACC.
Speaker 1That was something. Yeah, duke won their game.
Speaker 2Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I mean, I think, what Duke and Clemson?
Speaker 3were the only two to win. Yeah, they were the only two.
Speaker 2Which was that's odd? Yeah right.
Speaker 1Clemson's always peak.
Speaker 2You never know what you're going to get with Clemson.
Speaker 1But within the ACC, like any game, is anyone's game.
Speaker 2Oh sure.
Speaker 1You could be the number one team and go up against fucking I don't know SMU and just get your ass handed to you. Yeah, I mean if the shots aren't falling.
Speaker 2whatever Great thing about college basketball is, you can regroup.
Speaker 3Yes.
Speaker 2A loss isn't the end of your season, absolutely. But I'm excited. I mean they've got their first game SEC games tomorrow against Arkansas, so hopefully Barnes will keep kicking Calipari's overrated ass. There you go, we'll take it, but I'm still not used to him being in Arkansas.
Speaker 1Yeah, you say Arkansas and I go back to Nolan Richardson Me too.
Speaker 3Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1Who I always felt was the least gracious winner of a national championship back in 1994. I thought every interview he did right after that he was a dick yeah he was pretty pissed. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2I get it, but it was belittling and I'm kind of like hey, bitch, please, we lost to you guys in that title game.
Speaker 1okay, what was?
Speaker 2your center's name the Big Hurt or something like that.
Speaker 1He was a big old son of a bitch. No, we had a few of those, but Arkansas's main guy was.
Speaker 2I mean, this dude was massive.
Speaker 1Yeah, and that's like during the time where Chris Collins that was that game Chris Collins lost the ability to shoot a three-pointer.
Speaker 2And that just dogged him for the next two years. It was until 97, that was grant hill's last game was grant hill's last game.
Speaker 3Yes, sir, golly, yeah, now and that now I think about these guys.
Speaker 2What is that? Like 50 years ago?
Speaker 1like a thousand like 31 years ago stop yes, that is. That's like stupid, that's the thing I can't handle, like when I reflect on anything from college in the 90s or the dental school years I'm like, because this year is my 30th year anniversary from graduating from dental school. Wow, congrats, and the 30th year from when I showed up in the Navy and just kind of made that a misery for everyone. My military bearing never found me.
Speaker 2Yeah, it was last scene trying to hitch a ride in flagstaff, arizona, right, yeah, I can't see you really conforming.
Speaker 1there were a lot of people that said that when I went into the navy like so I got this navy dental scholarship. They paid for a year of dental school and it gave me something to do for three years after I graduated, while I kind of figured out what my next move was and why not and that's what all the old school dentists used to do Be like oh, you do the military for a couple years to build up your speed and what have you.
Speaker 3Sure.
Speaker 1These are your guinea pigs, and you know what the fuck. And, of course, we didn't have online reviews then, yeah.
Speaker 3Oh sure who gave a shit.
Speaker 1No Google rating on you then and but so, yeah, so I, but a lot of people who knew me from high school and college, like I can't see you saying sir to anybody and I'm like, I'm like you know. My response to that was I will do what I need to do in the interests of survival, right and and really the thing that the military did for me was get sir and ma'am into my vocabulary. There you go. If there's nothing else they did. It thing that the military did for me was get sir and ma'am into my vocabulary.
Speaker 2There you go.
Speaker 1If there's nothing else they did. It was that, and every November 11th I have a lot of respect for the people that I served with, and what have you?
Speaker 2And you were in a lot of great places, right?
Speaker 1Yeah? Well, I started in San Diego for the first year.
Speaker 2And that didn't suck. That sounds awful.
Speaker 1That didn't suck, and with a great group of people, and I still stay in touch with those guys. That's awesome.
Speaker 1We got together for just a. It was three of us and our spouses got together in Chicago. I think this was 21. 2021 we did that. That's pretty cool, yeah. And so we've been talking about doing it again. And now I'm really talking about doing it because, like, I kind of want to ask the guys so what do you consider our 30th reunion? Because this will be the 30th year. We were at officer indoctrination school but we didn't. We didn't finish our first year in San Diego until 96.
Speaker 1So which which do you want to? Which year do you want to celebrate? I'm kind hoping they choose. Well, I'm hoping actually for this year, because I've got a lot of shit that I'm doing next year, in 2026. Well, my son graduates in 2026.
Speaker 3God, are we already talking?
Speaker 1about that. That is nuts yeah yeah, yeah, that's just crazy.
Speaker 2Yeah, so that will be going over there is he doing it in two years, like it's?
Speaker 1for your deal? No, way, way, yeah, so, um, we got off the track here. Let's get back to football sorry no, basketball basketball listen, I you know this. This duke team has finally come together. They are good, they are good, it's, it's like and you know what I told you that cooper flag was the real deal think about, though, the pre-season, the pre-conference schedule, like that was a mad ass schedule.
College Basketball and Football Reflections
Speaker 2Yep, kansas and kentucky and I mean so many says on the borderline of being a fraud right now oh, really yeah yeah, kind of like north carolina yes, but yeah, I mean, I think, I think it was my brother that sent me. The text is like uh, dickinson from kansas is like you know, this guy's close to seven foot or seven foot and he's not in the NBA yet. Like, come on, man, like there's something wrong with you, right I'm trying to think who else um? Well, they played Auburn.
Speaker 1I mean, that was right, auburn, auburn is great, they are a great team and Duke just they kept their composure and I think that and that I think, was the turning point game where they finally realized okay, we know what we have to do now. And so I just watched them play Virginia Tech on Tuesday. And they just, you know, I mean it's the standard Duke progress in a game. Like it's the first 10 minutes. They kind of toy with you a little bit. Okay, we'll make this nip and tuck for a while.
Speaker 1And then like the last five minutes of the first half bam.
Speaker 2Yeah, it's a soul-crushing run. They just knock you on your ass and do the soul-crushing.
Speaker 1They call it and all the commentators hit the patented Duke run and if it's not end of first quarter, it's beginning of first half, it's beginning of second half.
Speaker 2Yeah and yeah, they just mauled the shit out of him, yeah, and Shire's coming into his own too. You can tell he's a little bit more comfortable in his skin. I think he finally realized that they were going to allow him to be him. You know, I was really worried about that of just hey, you've got to be Coach K.
Speaker 1Yeah, here's the Coach K Bible. Please read it, chapter and verse Correct.
Speaker 2But I feel like he's getting a little bit more comfortable in his skin.
Speaker 3And hell.
Speaker 2Jesus. How old is he? Was he like 32, 33?
Speaker 1He graduated in 2010.
Speaker 2Because I watched him and the team win the ACC tournament in Greensboro and my dad and I were there for that. He's 135.
Speaker 1We almost bumped into his dad, because his dad looks just like him, right, you know yeah.
Speaker 3It's like we're walking into the tunnel, his dad, into his dad, because his dad looks just like him right, you know.
Speaker 1Yeah, it's like we're. We're walking into the tunnel, his dad's going. Oh shit, that's john chyre, you know um that's pretty cool you know. I mean, they show enough of the parents, every, you know on tv, you get to know who the hell they are. Jesus, yeah which which then leads me to my kind of inappropriate comment. Like josh mcroberts, I have nothing else to say about him as a duke player, but man, his mom was really I have even thought about that dude in forever.
Speaker 2Who has right?
Speaker 1but because I think he was, I want to say that he was like a two and done oh yeah, you know something like that and those disappeared, disappeared and disappeared completely yeah, I think like lithuania or something like that, right, and and that's the way I am with a lot of the Duke players that didn't go a full, didn't go the distance, do four years.
Speaker 2Yeah.
Speaker 1Or if you didn't win a title, yeah, you know, then I don't. I mean and I'm talking about some great people like Jason Tatum- yeah, Tatum's doing great, you know and people like that. Who or what? Marvin Bagley III? Someone brought up his name. I'm like, oh, that's right, he played for us.
Speaker 2What was the center? He had the massive hands. Jalil Okafor.
Speaker 1Yeah, right, went to the 76ers and then flamed out after that. Yeah, it was wild. Yeah, but I remember him because he was on the 2015 national championship team, even on a natty. So I care about you he's like there was a superstar. I think it was 2021, strickland was his name and other. I mean, they're just others that have played and like I can't even keep track of them anymore.
Speaker 2Yeah you, there's a long list of like who.
Speaker 1Yeah, right, right, like I mean I can tell you all the players from like 1987 right until or 1980 until you know, from when coach k started until you know, because you get to know him yeah, exactly until about 2008 or thereabouts, and then it just starts getting a little wonky. I mean, I think elton brand was the first duke to go early and he was a part of a wave of them, because it was him, it was awesome. And Will Avery, who shouldn't have gone pro, and Corey Maggette.
Speaker 2Yeah, corey Maggette should have stayed, and Trajan Langdon graduated that year and that was the 1999 championship runner-up team. He never did more in the NBA than what he did. Yeah, although he is a general manager, isn't he?
Speaker 1Trajan Langdon.
Speaker 2Yeah.
Speaker 1The last I checked was the Pelicans.
Speaker 2Okay, yeah.
Speaker 1There was a moment where the Pelicans it was.
Speaker 2It was Duke. It was a Duke team. It was like Zion Williamson was on there and it was like Frank Johnson and they were managed by Trajan Langdon.
Speaker 1I'm like, well fuck, is this just a pro Duke team? I think Redick was on them in his last year or something like that.
Speaker 3Yeah, he was Right.
Speaker 1And it's nice when I see some of the guys being able to go transition into commentator careers.
Speaker 2Oh yeah, I think.
Speaker 1Shane Braddy. Why nobody has picked him up? Because he should be the next Jay Billis as far as I'm concerned.
Speaker 2Yeah, he's better than Doris. Yeah, I can't stand listening to Doris Burke man. Yeah, I just like stop.
Speaker 3Yeah.
Speaker 2Just please put her take the microphone away from her.
Speaker 3Yeah, it drives me insane.
Speaker 2Exactly I mean sorry.
Speaker 1It is what it is. So no, it's going to be a good it's going to be a good, uh, basketball season, I think, for both of our schools, as oh yeah, and um, yeah, bring on march man.
Speaker 2Oh seriously, it's going to be a fun ride, yeah yeah, because I can't, I really can't stand january and february not just the basketball season, just like the month's period is, just like there's nothing to really look forward to.
Speaker 1It's cold, my daughter and daughter and I are going to. On the 25th, we're going to the Duke-Winston-Wake Forest game Awesome At Winston-Salem. Yeah, so we have tickets for that. We wanted to do it last year and it kind of got fucked away. So, we made a promise that we would do it this year Fantastic.
Speaker 2While she's still living in Winston. Yeah, why not?
Speaker 1Yeah, so we're going to have a good time with that.
Speaker 2Football. Oh my gosh. I'm happy and sad. That's all I got. I'm happy because it was another good year.
Speaker 1So let me start by saying I don't think anyone well, if Ohio State has proven anything, you didn't want to be the teams that followed the loss to Michigan Yep, oh, that woke them up. Didn't want to be the teams that followed the loss to michigan yep, though that woke them up, didn't they were a team on a mission. Oh, my goodness, I mean blown away by what they have done.
Speaker 2Yeah, not only what they did to tennessee, oh they destroyed oregon, just I mean.
Speaker 1And I mean of course I was expecting a decent game, I kind of love it, though, when the commentators are what's this team doing in the bitch, and then it's kind of like this big fuck you to all the analysts who are and they're like, yeah, that's why we're here because, we beat your number one team.
Speaker 2How how the playoff looks now. It will be totally different again next year, right?
Speaker 1I have a friend. He's actually the artistic director up at the Oak. Things have settled out now. You have the top four teams gone. You have the bottom four teams gone, and so it's everyone in the middle that's there. So this is kind of the Goldilocks and the Three Bears college football playoffs. It's true, I mean it's not too hot, not too cold, just right and the thing about it right.
Player Commitment in College Sports
Speaker 2So first round, no road team won. And then the second round, no one had to buy one. So round, no road team one. And then the second round, no one that had to buy one. So they're gonna, they're gonna do something different, uh, and I I don't know. I still don't know the right answer. I still want them to get rid of the ability to have the man telling who's gonna be in and who's not. I think it should be some somehow, some way it's done on the field. There is no question of who's making the playoff period. I don't want a committee Right, get these fucking people out of here that probably haven't watched a half of football saying who's going to be in and who's going to be out?
Speaker 3Sure, I can't stand that shit.
Speaker 1And so, for people that don't know, dave and I were actually texting each other in real time as the. Cfpp uh was being announced I'm still shocked and we're still shocked because because I mean in the last episode dave talked about the alabama privilege and I almost passed out we were both like texting each other. I'm like holy I go holy fucking shit and I'm like, and I'm like what just happened and and we were stunned that Alabama, I mean so the gods smile every now and then.
Speaker 2Yeah, I never thought I'd ever see the damn day. Smu got something over Alabama Like holy hell, and then Michigan turned around and just curb, stomped Alabama anyway Right right, I mean so screw you and your, you know, hey, should have been in Exactly. You know the only should have been in Exactly, you know the only one out of the three that were whimpering and crying that they didn't get in was Alabama, Ole Miss and South Carolina, and Ole Miss was the only one to win their bowl game Based on yesterday.
Speaker 3But we'll get into that in a second.
Speaker 1Yeah so let's talk about, because this has been an issue for me and then, we'll talk about the duke old miss game. So how do you feel about the transfer portal opening up and then people and players jumping into the portal when they still have, when they, when their team has been assigned a bowl game?
Speaker 2I can't stand it, I can't either it's a load of shit, it's getting way.
Speaker 2It's no wonder coaches are retiring, yes, and just saying I'm exhausted. This is ridiculous, because you just don't have seasons, and what I mean by that is there used to be a recruiting season. There's a season of actual football. You don't get any of that. I mean, the fucking Miami quarterback quit at halftime at the bowl, yes, just because yeah, and it's just like what? The hell is that right? I mean, I'll never, you know, obviously I'll never be a d1 athlete, but I can't imagine locking arms with somebody for a full season and then you get no bowl game and be like all right, man, well, I'll see you out there.
Speaker 1That's how I feel about Malik Murphy, Grayson, Loftus and Star Thomas.
Speaker 2Yeah.
Speaker 1I mean, and Murphy and Thomas, they're the reason we had a 9-3 record. Yeah, you know, but fuck you, jack, I got mine.
Speaker 2Yeah, give me a fucking break. And the thing I can't stand now is when I'm seeing deals for players like on social media. It was just like oh, sophomore wide receiver has a new deal with the university of tennessee. I'm like, a new deal like what?
Speaker 1is this fdr that's?
Speaker 21933 it just it just doesn't sit well and and I know that, um, I think it was james franklin that's screaming it the most right now of just saying a a true commissioner for college football and or college sports, really, because whatever the hell the ncaa is doing, it ain't it ain't happening, you know.
Speaker 1no, it's just no. They're lost right now. They're completely adrift. They have no script.
Speaker 2Yeah, I mean nothing, I mean if I'm the Haslams. I sell the Browns for $2 billion or whatever the hell an NFL team costs now and just go to the University of Tennessee and run it. It's the same thing right now.
Speaker 1And they would probably willingly let them.
Speaker 2Yes, tennessee and run, and that it's the same thing right now, and they would probably willingly let them. Yes, you know, because they'd roll over dead for big Jim. And right, yeah, I mean Bill and Jimmy you're either gonna be paying an NFL player that money or now it's the point where you can just pay a college kid that money and if you got the bigger right now the biggest pocket will win right now yes, it will always be that way until they change it.
Speaker 1I'm curious Did you see that Malik Murphy is going to Oregon State?
Speaker 2Yeah.
Speaker 1And so the talk on that during the Dougal-Miss game was that he's like the lineup that Oregon State has assembled is a playoff-caliber team now Right. But I can't even tell you the name of their coach. I couldn't even tell you the name of their coach. I couldn't even tell you. I couldn't even tell you who their mascot is.
Speaker 2I couldn't even tell you what their team is.
Speaker 3It's a beaver man, come on Of all things. You should know what a beaver is. Oh, so if they get lost, we get to say we pounded those beavers hard.
Speaker 2Yes, that's what I love about an oregon state ever play.
Speaker 1That's gonna be bad. Oh god, cox beavers, cox versus somebody. You know that somebody has going to set that up. I'm shocked. I know, right, yeah, okay, well, there you go, uh, but so, yeah, so it's so. It seems like now it's about designing the teams and and, but I just don't like this lack of commitment to a team that's the thing you know, and I mean I don't blame them.
Speaker 1You know what I mean. Like so you're different than I am. You should ever. Because I see a lot of people say, well, the players gotta do what's best for that, and I'm like I can't show them that grace you're given a scholarship, you're gonna make millions, millions, millions if you're able to go pro. You're going to make millions, millions, millions when you're in college. I just can't show that. I can't give them a hall pass for that.
Speaker 2I don't blame that. I see it both ways.
Speaker 1Right.
Speaker 2But right now it's the wild, wild west.
Speaker 1Yes, it is so let them do what they can do right now, but I seriously see some serious restrictions coming down the pipe.
Speaker 2Yeah, but they should have established it beforehand.
Speaker 1Well, let's talk about coaches that abandon their teams before the bowl games. Fuck you, Mike Elko.
Speaker 2How did it feel to see your quarterback win for Notre Dame, though I know?
Speaker 1You know I had mixed feelings about that.
Speaker 2Exactly. You know, his first thing he says in the interview after thanking Jesus was like this is why I came to Notre Dame. I was like, oh damn it.
Speaker 1But that's kind of what I feel like some of these players are doing with Duke's program.
Speaker 2It's like a minor league.
Speaker 1Well, or it's a mid-major. Yeah, you know, and because I mean we win enough that we go to bowls. Yeah, you know we have some national attention and everything, but there's no way in hell these guys are going to stay anything beyond a year, and so they're just kind of using it to make their profile look good. And look, Malik Murphy had a great. I mean yeah, he was awesome, you know, single season reception touchdown receptions you know, 26 touchdown receptions for the year.
Speaker 1I mean, good shit, he really. He inflated his profile, built his stock very well, and then it's kind of like fuck you, I'm going on to someplace else.
Speaker 2I'm gonna go to a real team now but is oregon state a real team I don't even know what conference they're in. I don't know if they're in the acc, the big 12 pack, 10, I don't fucking know no does the western athletic conference even exist anymore? No, I yeah. I mean like the pac-10 was seriously it was two teams this year, right. Yes, because oregon and everyone else they went to the big 10 ucla, usc went yeah, stanford and cal are in the acc, right? No, that's fucked up.
Speaker 1That's fucked up. What are we doing? It's now to a point where I think you know I look at Duke's schedule, because it's always I look at who the doubled up teams are, who the ones we play twice in a season?
Speaker 2Home and homes, yeah.
Speaker 1But it looks like now for Duke it's the North Carolina teams is really the ones they play twice.
Speaker 2Okay, everybody else, yeah, well, you know, I mean my dad cracks me up because he works at Clemson, so you know he just helps out and does his part, staying busy. But I say, hey, what are you doing? He's like well, I'm getting ready for this huge ACC rivalry basketball game, as Cal and Clemson are about to play each other.
Speaker 1It's like you want. And then you want to say hey guys, california hasn't mattered since Jason Kidd played for them.
Speaker 2Yes, exactly, I still have nightmares about that game. Oh God, he beat the shit out of us in that second round game in 1993.
Speaker 1Like oh my God, that guy could move. Oh man, he just down the court. It was like, oh, the guy could move. Oh man, he just down the court. It was like, oh, that's what a Hall of Famer looks like. Okay, yeah, all right.
Speaker 2But I mean things have got to change. I don't like it, I still love it. I mean it's not like I'm not going to watch it, oh sure, but I can't imagine trying to manage it. I mean I think that main reason why you see Saban on game day now. He's just like I will talk about it.
Speaker 1I'll talk about defense and offense all day long.
Speaker 2But what you guys are going through now is horseshit, even though Alabama was paying players forever.
Speaker 1Sure.
Speaker 2But something's got to be done.
Speaker 1It takes us to the Duke game, which you know. I mean, I had people message me yesterday with their condolences. I'm like guys, this game was lost the minute Malik Murphy went into the portal you know, right, I mean.
Speaker 3Exactly, and.
Speaker 1I didn't know about Star Thomas until the day of the game and I'm just like you know because that guy, just his girl, had a kid, had his son had a kid.
Speaker 3Oh wow, I didn't know that.
Speaker 1At the beginning of this season. Yeah, it's kind of the minute that he became a father that all of a sudden his game just became A+ and he and Malik Murphy I mean they just had this great connection and everything. But you just couldn't let us have that.
Speaker 3one more game, just one more game, not one more game Really, really.
Speaker 2Well had to protect that body. The offense can't prevent the defense from scoring 52. But how do you?
Speaker 1feel about the poor kid. That what?
Speaker 2was his name Bellin that took over for Duke you know, for quarterback.
Speaker 1I mean his first start.
Speaker 2Bless his heart.
Speaker 1I mean that he got 20 points, that they got 20 points last night. Like that to me is a win, you know, because like I just really just expected that we were just going to be their bitches all. And we kind of were, you know, I mean Ole Miss played a fantastic game.
Speaker 2You know, I mean, I feel how you will about Lane Kiffin. I don't care, I don't care, you know, I mean I just smug fuck. But you know, just again, things that should have happened long before the NIL deal came about. They should have already had all those rules in place, but then they just was like, okay, NIL, you get paid now, Right. And then everyone was like, oh okay, great, here's $8 million. Nico, come to Tennessee.
Speaker 1I think that there is a happy medium to find it because I've always said so if asked, do you pay the players, I wouldn't say necessarily pay. I think there's a better package you can put together. Absolutely so that these kids don't have to go in secret meeting with some booster to get the plane ticket to go home for Christmas? Yes, you know, I mean, those are just things. That's because otherwise what you've done is created a system that's indentured servitude.
Speaker 2Yeah, oh, I agree I mean I, I was full support of it. But it went from this dream of okay, we're finally going to be able to pay this kid to do a weigel's commercial right, to help him out to pay for a suit or to go see his parents. Yes to eight million dollar deals. Fuck that. You know what I mean? That's just. I mean, I mean, and it went from there to there in a hurry, yeah, and that's just the biggest thing that I don't agree with.
Speaker 1Yeah, it's like that heroin that Uma Thurman snorted in Pulp Fiction. I said God damn, God damn the one where she lost her damn mind and had to be OD'd because it was that special shit.
Speaker 2You ain't supposed to snort the heroin girl, that ain't cocaine.
Speaker 1So yeah, so that's college football season. So who are you kind of pulling for now for the title.
Speaker 2Judging by from what I've seen, I'm not a conference guy so I want Texas and I wanted Georgia to lose last night, but judging by from what I've seen and how people are coached and how things are going, I want Notre Dame to win it and I probably I'm the greatest kiss of death ever. So I'm sorry, notre Dame, that I just fucked your season.
Speaker 1I'm kind of impressed with the OSU run and I kind of. I kind of I. It wouldn't break my heart too much to see them win it. Yeah, I would love to choose someone else I'd probably say I'd go home and I'd say Penn.
Speaker 2State, yeah, uh, anybody with Texas at this point, for me, I just I don't like Sarkeesian, I don't like Texas, I don't like. I don't like texas, I don't like, I don't like matthew mcconaughey you know I just all right, all right, all right, just and again. If somebody in your conference is winning a national championship, don't chant sec. You are chanting for somebody that just has an upper hand on you, right? I never understand that like no, like it's not no no, I'm not either.
Speaker 1Like you know, when it comes, like when it comes to march madness, and if duke gets beaten during that, who do I root for after that? Well, I do default to the conference a little bit because you know I'll pull. But if there's a cinderella also that's having a nice little run going, I'll kind of pull for them too.
Speaker 2You know, yeah, talk about people quitting and everything did.
Speaker 1You see, the miami coach just said I'm exhausted, I'm done yeah, I did I mean it's it's, it's it's january yeah, well, it's like how, tony bennett, we talked about that in the last episode, you know, and how he just said yeah, I can't do it in this culture yep, nope, I'm out. Yeah, I mean, when you see that type of stuff, there's obviously something wrong I start to begin to wonder if that's why k decided to retire when he did I think.
Speaker 3So you know he saw it coming, yeah, and he's like, yeah, I can't do this yeah it's been enough dealing with these fucking one and one and dones I I
Speaker 2can't, I can't go this new level yeah, and, and it's a complete 180 of how he. He always changed his style of coaching anyway. That's why he's the GOAT.
Speaker 1Yeah.
Speaker 2But to do a complete 180 of how he wanted to build a program, and that was taken away from him. I get it.
Speaker 3Yeah, what do you do? Hell, we get it as managers.
Speaker 2If your style is taken away from you, it's hard to change sometimes Exactly, I know that's a whole other fucking episode. That is a whole other episode.
Holiday Reflections and Family Gatherings
Speaker 1That's one to think about for the next, maybe coming down the pipe we'll talk about that. That's part of our little conversation we had when they first came over and we started just kind of catching up because we hadn't seen each other in a while. Christmas, yeah, how was your Christmas holidays? It was good, good. Kind of catching up because we hadn't seen each other in a while. So, uh, christmas, yeah, how was your christmas holiday?
Speaker 2it was good, good uh, it was, um, the week of christmas or everything leading up to christmas. In the week of christmas it was busy right and in a good busy right, seeing faces that you hadn't seen um and just you know, being joyful and triumphant. It was good. But damn, I needed a battery charge, and I've been able to get that this week.
Speaker 1Great.
Speaker 2This is always my favorite week of the holiday season because once you get past the New Year's Eve kind of stuff you can take a few days and just one to reflect two, to just really charge the battery and get yourself ready for what the next year is going to put forth I feel, that. But yeah, it was good to. It was good I had. I had a good holiday season. Did you guys do anything special? Uh a cool thing about it? Uh, crystal's sister's daughter.
Speaker 1So her niece yeah thank you.
Speaker 2Her family came in from New Zealand. Holy shit, yeah, and they hadn't been to the States in about a couple years and they were giving them the whole East Tennessee fucking Christmas man and they were doing anything and everything. So we were involved heavily with that and that was fun to see. You know people from New Zealand just like holy shit America.
Speaker 1Do they talk like they're Kiwis and everything they do?
Speaker 2I won't go deep into it, but they were playing Cards Against Humanity. I won't get into some of the shit that went down, but that game didn't last long, but it was awesome to hear them say certain things with that accent.
Speaker 1it was incredible so my favorite card in that game and I'm gonna say it in new zealand the kiwi accent touching the tip of a pug's penis. That's my favorite card to play. Then I have to look at oscar you know my little black pug and I just say, dude, you know sorry, I'm not going to.
Speaker 3Don't get so excited. Don't get excited about that. That's hilarious, I think that's awesome.
Speaker 2Oh yeah, Were they scarred from the game. Well, I don't think they were. It was more of the people just involved.
Speaker 1You learn a lot about people when you play.
Speaker 2Yeah, it was just. It was just uh, uh, because several of us have known it. You know, we've known each other for a while. We've played it a few times during the holidays, so we knew what cards to play, because you know the person, right, right. But then, but then we didn't know people and then it was just holy mackerel.
Speaker 1That, I would think, would be better. It is better, like if you play with people you don't know.
Speaker 2Yes, Playing it for the first time again always reminds you how fucking great that game is.
Speaker 1So I have a very Dirty as hell. I have Marvel against humanity also.
Speaker 2Oh really, yeah, I didn't even know that they made that.
Speaker 1Sometimes you see things pop up on Facebook ads and you're like gotta have it.
Speaker 2I think I really need that.
Speaker 1So that was one of those things.
Speaker 2So what is it like? I'm this close to buying a?
Speaker 1King's loot wallet man, you know so.
Speaker 2So Marvelous man is just like Black Widow and Captain America, doing dirty things to each other. It's like you know.
Speaker 1Captain America's bubble butt and butt getting pegged. I don't know Something like that. Okay.
Speaker 3I'm in. I haven't really played it yet because I can't get anyone into it. I can't get anyone?
Speaker 1I can't, we haven't really. This was like a family game we'd play I mean Jeffrey and Max and Virginia and me, and sometimes Juliana and Jacqueline, when they'd be in town. And the first time Virginia bought the game and I took it with me down to Hilton Head and Virginia's like, well, do not, she hadn't met my parents yet. She's like, do not play this with, like your family or anything. Well, fuck that, I went ahead and did it anyway. I learned a lot about my father that day.
Speaker 3I made the mistake of playing it with my mother.
Speaker 2She was just part of the group and she couldn't even get through half of them. She's like uh-uh, nope, not reading that I'm like okay, well, that takes the fun out of everything.
Speaker 1There's one card I play called Bubble Buttom, bubble Butted Bottom Boys, and I'm like, oh, okay uh, whoever came out with that was a genius. No, really, that's like one of the greatest games ever. Yeah, I truly enjoy playing that.
Speaker 2Oh yeah but again you need to play it with somebody one you don't know right or two, just you haven't played it in a long time with some fresh cards or whatever.
Speaker 1But what was funny back in. It was, I guess, february, uh, when we went to los angeles to visit juliana. Um, we in in the airbnb that we were staying at, they had a, uh, trivial pursuit 90s edition, awesome. Okay, so because I, for those who are the original genus edition yeah, you know the, the blue box and everything like that I mean you are a dumb ass. Some of those questions are hard but you get to the 90s edition.
Speaker 2Dude, I was the fucking master jedi knighted the shit out of it, I Jedi knighted the shit out of that.
Speaker 1Really, the force was strong with me, always, always, it's true. No, like Juliana was like how do you know all this? I fucking grew up during this, became an adult during the 90s for God's sakes, my brain was fully developed.
Speaker 2Right, right, god's sake, fully developed. Right, that's funny yeah anyway, I've always loved playing trivial pursuit man it was always.
Speaker 1I do too. No, I love that I don't do. I don't play enough the one that, um, when virginia and I would sometimes play just the two of us, we do boggle.
Speaker 2Boggle. Okay, no, that's great she's really good at it. That is a solid game, it is yeah.
Speaker 1No, you don't go wrong with that one yeah.
Speaker 2I was a huge fan of this game up until the last time we played and it almost destroyed the whole family's Monopoly.
Speaker 3I'll never fucking play it again, picking an old school.
Speaker 2Oh, I'll never fucking in old school. Oh yeah, we, we were playing monopoly and all of a sudden, like my, my son and daughter, like it got, it got bad and I'm just like, okay, um, now that that's over. It was like jumanji, I put a fucking lock on it and threw it in the ocean.
Speaker 3We'll never oh my god, we'll never go to this again.
Speaker 2I mean it was awful man, it was just like holy shit you all know this ain't real right oh my lord no I mean christmas was fine, it was good.
Speaker 1um, we uh, you know, I had jeffrey came in from and Juliana came in from LA on the 17th and Juliana just left today.
Speaker 3Yeah.
Speaker 1Jeffrey leaves next week and then Jacqueline came in right before Christmas. She stayed for about a week and then my mom came up on the. You know well. She went up to my sister's first for Christmas and then she came down after that. My sister and I flipped that and it was great, but then it gets to be a lot. You just kind of feel like you're herding cats the whole time and, like Virginia and I this year, we were really trying to be vigilant with the kids about okay, just like give us enough of a heads up, like where you plan on eating dinner.
Speaker 2Right.
Speaker 1So that we have enough food and we prepare enough and what have you, and yeah, that they just continue to shit the bed on that.
Speaker 2So so you said that it was good for you not traveling this year. It was.
Speaker 1It was different for me not traveling this year. I think it's great you know, in the past, when the kids were going.
Speaker 2That's a whole other level of stress my ex, my ex-wife and I.
Speaker 1it was set up that every other year we'd toggle so, so like one week she'd have them the week of Christmas, and then I'd have them the week of New Year's, and then we'd flip the next year, and just whenever I had them we would just go down to Hilton Head to my parents' house and because, you know, at the time I wasn't married and there was no reason for me to have to deal with anyone else's family.
Speaker 1Yeah, and now it's weirdly gotten a little easier just because we just fly my mom up and because, you know, my ex is just one neighborhood over. Her mother moved here to loudon a few years ago when her, when her dad, was still alive and um, and, and you know, I have virginia's parents up in oak ridge and and so really it's just you bring my mother into the mix and on Christmas Day everybody's satisfied. Like we'll have dinner here. We'll have Joan and Jim down. We'll have my mom there.
Speaker 2The kids will come for dinner, jacqueline has the Christmas lunch, makes it manageable and you get to see everybody.
Speaker 1Yeah, exactly, it's now easier. I hate to say this. If my father were still alive, he'd be the one that would make it difficult Love him, miss him, but he would be the one that would make it a little difficult. Yeah, you know, because he just has to have a level of control in all of that. But no, it works nicely and so, you know, my mom had a good time with us and everything, and I think we got a little by New Year's Day. We were socialized out.
Speaker 2I got you.
Speaker 1What did you guys do for New Year's?
Speaker 2Eve I just had the kids. The kids were over Granted my daughter's going through the whole tonsil thing. Right, yeah, I didn't want to go do a whole big dinner out just for her to stare at us and flip us off all evening. Sure Would she do that. She would have been pissed.
Speaker 1Would she flip you off, because I'd love to see that she would. Okay In a friendful way, right, yeah?
Speaker 2But just didn't want to do that. So I had, um, my son had his girlfriend over and we just I cooked dinner and just kind of took it easy and watched ryan seacrest get doused with all the rain up in new york and still can't believe people actually still do that fucking shit my uh, my oldest was up there really yeah, she goes up to new york for new year.
Speaker 1She's done it as like a few years in a row, like is she doing it right by getting like in the like.
Speaker 2I don't think she goes to times square. I don't think she goes.
Speaker 1She's just in new york she's down in the lower lower east side, okay, by nyu. Okay, that's where she is, kind of east east village, yeah, where I would track her. I got you because I have all their phones chipped.
Speaker 3As long as I'm paying for their cell phone bills, I get to know. Know where they are, I know where you're at.
Speaker 1They hate it but then pay for your own fucking bill. So yeah, so she's like down, you know. Yeah, she was down like NYU area, greenwich Village it was quiet.
Speaker 2You know it was quiet and it was nice. What about you?
Speaker 3We went out to dinner with Strack and his wife and my mom came along, went seasons second in a row. We did that. Now they used.
Speaker 1Last year. They had a deal with it like they had a new year's eve sort of dinner menu planned where it was kind of like, but their chef apparently this year had just had a baby. So it was kind of off the table, so we just said, well, fuck it, let's just go over there anyway, because I mean seasons doesn't disappoint. No, it's great. Two drinks and again wholly endorses the restaurant seasons innovative cafe in turkey creek on parkside drive great little.
Speaker 2I need to put a pin in that, talking about restaurants. But go ahead. It's no, it's a good place.
Speaker 1Yeah and uh so, um, we had a good time mom had a good time, you know, and I but this was like after a couple days before that we'd had another one of our, a friend of ours from Oak Ridge and her boyfriend. She just got divorced and she's dating this guy and he's wonderful and we had them over and we get the fire pit going and everything like that. Good and that. But you know you do enough of that. End that. But but you know you do enough of that. And like as the the from so new year's eve, from the 11 o'clock to 12 o'clock hour, um, we're, we're sitting here at our house. We got seacrest on longest hour of my life I swear to god, I dozed off on them.
Speaker 2I did like a couple times well, I'm also at that age too, and they're putting up the like, the newest bands, and who?
Speaker 1the fuck are they right? Yeah, I have no clue who y'all are you know, and and I'm not like, I mean even artists like billy eilish, who everyone you know has accolades about and everything, and I haven't listened to a single damn thing she's done. No, I'm not interested in this. I mean, that's no slight to her yeah I just, I'm just old, I want to listen to, to fucking Billy Joel and.
Speaker 3ELO and fucking Boston Right, pink Floyd, you know the.
Speaker 1Beatles. I just that's music to me. Yep, Not this music where everyone kind of seems like they're in this hushed whisper. It's true, it is, or they soft whisper, but just speed it up Because it's true it is, or they soft whisper, but just speed it up because we're missing, like this, like the. The last great song I liked was uh, the recent stuff was um lotto did this. Uh well, she kind of did a um sampled mariah carey's fantasy which, for anyone who knows that, is a.
Speaker 1It takes itself from the tom tom club's genius of love. That's the original one, but she did this song called it was big, big energy, but it's also the vulgar version called big dick energy and yeah and I'm like but, but it's the kinkiest bass line ever. It's, honestly, and it's one of the first bass lines I learned when I bought a bass guitar was Genius of Love. But that's the last modern song that I really kind of enjoyed, but there's not a lot out there that I really like all that much.
Speaker 2I just can't. I had a slight weepy moment with my daughter. We're driving from one of the things over the holidays going back to the house and she takes over the radio with her phone and everything and she just throws on red hot chili peppers nice, oh yeah and so I had like four songs in a row, the red hot chili peppers, and I was just like this is, this is beautiful I don't ever wanna be it's like, because you got to give it to your mama, but I wasn't like forcing it down her throat or anything, I did have to say hey, have you ever seen flea?
Speaker 1right she's like no, and then you turn on back, yeah, and then you turn on back to the future too. There he is, there he is, and then okay, so that, just that culture, I mean, and then that makes you realize how long they've been around. Oh yeah, you know, and that's what amazes me with some of these bands, like you know, because for me, like it's just a shame it's called classic rock.
Speaker 2Now you know well.
Speaker 3Yeah, I guess, or if you're on serious xm.
Musical Reflections and Future Plans
Speaker 1It's like classic rewind or classic yeah, classic vinyl, um no. It's funny because like I look at some of these, like fucking U2 has been together for 45 years. God bless them.
Speaker 2You know, and it's like it's tough to do anything for 45 years, right, let alone keep a band together. Exactly, I mean shit.
Speaker 1And you know, because I remember growing up and just like the Beatles, so they were together eight years Wow, that's a long time. And you know, because, like I, I remember growing up and just like the beatles was like, okay, so they were together eight years wow, that's a long time. And like, everyone made a big deal when boston's third stage came out because it had been like it had been eight years since they'd last put out an album.
Speaker 1And it's like now you have bands that just like oh hey, like abba two years ago put out a new album after 40 years, you know, and it's like it's this huge hit you know, and it's you know, and it's just like, oh well, you know, like billy joel earlier this year, like I I keep going back to this I didn't know how badly I needed a new billy joel song, right, and so, for the first time since 1990, it's just different, because I don't?
Speaker 1he's done a couple tunes here and there along the way, like he did one called all my life, which I think was like 2007 ish or something like that for his then wife, his third wife at the time, and then he did another one before that that was sung by somebody else.
Speaker 2It was like called christmas in felucia and um that sounds you know, yeah, right, no, it's pleasant but I mean it's when you listen to, it's like okay it's billy joel.
Speaker 1I can hear the billy joel songwriting in this, but like a real billy joel song that he sang like and I've spent all year trying to master that song and I think I finally got it down good for you and it's. But it's like you know, but that's what I wanted. I mean, yeah, give me a new fucking boston album.
Speaker 1All right, you know all these guys are, you know, like even the new beatles song that came out a few years last year is when it came out last fall um and I say that last year I actually mean 2023 um, you know, I mean, and it's like yeah, no, I mean it's, I mean I'm down, it's you know, I mean, these guys are fucking in their 80s now right now still rocking it.
Speaker 1So, yeah, no, and you know, back on the rockers and the concerts and everything. So I'm going into this year with a limited. This 2025 is weird because Virginia and I don't have many trips. That's shocking to me, right, and we decided this year that we would not probably go to europe at all okay, which I know breaks the world's heart oh go fucking look, they're going and it's only because we know we're going next year because jeffrey's graduating yeah, I get that um but um, we we're in the fall.
Speaker 1We're going to go up to new england for 12 days and just kind of vet the area that's awesome as a retirement possibility. Yeah, you know, oh, that'd be beautiful and um, and I had spent a long time, since I've for 12 days and just kind of vet the area that's awesome as a retirement possibility. Yeah, you know. Oh, that'd be beautiful and I had spent a long time since I'd been up to New England Really long time where I've driven around and whatnot.
Speaker 2I think I would appreciate the fall, but then want to get the fuck out of there before winter showed up.
Speaker 2Yeah Well, you know, I mean for me, I don't have anything bad to say about the philadelphia snows that I used to get when I was well. I mean, granted, yeah, snow up there means it's beautiful and you can still get from point a to point b, and we have adequate snow removal too. That's what I'm saying like you can still get from point a to point b right like if it happens here, then you're damn.
Speaker 2You're stuck right, you know. But if you're retired too, like hey, if you want to just sit on the back deck and watch the snowfall for three days then hell yeah.
Speaker 1That's all you need to do. That's all you need to do so. We're doing that and she's planning right now. We're trying to land on a date. Soon we're going to go to Highlands, north Carolina, and just kind of hang out there, you know.
Speaker 2Nothing wrong with that. Now, were they hit hard from the hurricane or not? I think it's one of the.
Speaker 1I don't know if they were hit hard, but I mean it's probably one of those areas.
Speaker 2Yeah, I think anything in that It'll be an interesting way to get there.
Speaker 1I think you can see how to look there, yeah, because I guess we're still waiting on I-40.
Speaker 2Oh yeah, I went two different ways. I think i-26 now is all good to go, is it? I think so. I'm not sure I had to go two different. I went two different ways when I had to go to south carolina in october. It like straight up to the mountain and then down and then the other coming back through georgia and then up.
Speaker 1So when you say straight up, did you like go up 81, it was 77 or something like all of a sudden, I was in the ding-a-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding.
Speaker 3No guardrails and you look over the mouth, you have a really cute mouth, yeah it was like please don't stop and don't fall off the damn side of the road.
Speaker 1Exactly, yeah, right, yeah, like when you're driving through Bryceville.
Speaker 2Yes, exactly.
Speaker 1Apologies to the listeners in Bryceville, in bruceville, yeah, but uh, yeah, that'd be fun, that'd be a good trip, yeah, so that's, that's really. Those are really kind of all we have on the plate. Right, we'll go down to mom's for a week and, like memorial day week, we're planning on that concerts. Um, I've got the heart makeup concert you know from.
Speaker 1They were supposed to play back in august and so that's late, that's the end of march. And then I got I'm just me, me, going to see acdc in nashville. Wow, they were, they were a. But people would keep asking me, so who do you need to see? Yet, and I'd be like I'd get up my open, up my itunes, I'd scroll and like, well, acdc always. I mean I'm like, yeah, I want to see, how can you go bad with that?
Speaker 2you can't go wrong with that.
Speaker 1I mean, they're still just hammering it out that fucking back in black is just from start to finish is a monster album yep, it's a monster album. It's the last one. I mean it changes for best-selling albums of all time, but it's constantly like up in the top five. It usually sits at number at number three. It's like Michael Jackson's thriller um the Eagles. Greatest hits, volume one. Oh God, I wore the shit out of that and then uh, and then like back in black and it's like and then dark side of the moon is like number four.
Speaker 2Because each generation gets to hear it for the first time and it just blows their fucking eyelids off.
Speaker 1I mean, what I mean, what I love about Back in Black is just, it was the album they did, first album with Brian Johnson, as the lead vocalist, bon Scott, had died, and it was a back in black. I mean, they're mourning, you're right, you know, and it's just like and they just said fuck you.
Speaker 1And they put out this album and it was just this black cover, black and by mutt uh. Mutt lang was the producer of that, the guy who produces uh deaf leopard albums, okay, and used to be married to shania twain all right and uh um and it is just from start to finish. Just a monster it's a and I didn't really start listening to it until I was an adult. I didn't listen to it growing up. Right Mine was high school.
Speaker 1It was just like grrr, yeah, I mean college. I started listening to it because we always would put like you Shook Me All Night Long on a dance tape or something.
Speaker 2So people you know, a drink on me yes, you know, there's not a bad song on shoot the thrill yeah, I mean it's just, it's, it's uh just fucking great album so they, they, they're the and and that's.
Speaker 1That's all I have for 2025. So 2025 is kind of a sparse year for us. I like it, which, which is fine. Yeah, you know, I'm just kind of uh I'm gonna plan a trip in february.
Speaker 2I just don't know where yet. Okay, but then you know, I'm just kind of, I'm going to plan a trip in February I just don't know where yet.
Speaker 1Okay, but then you know just me and CJ just to get away yeah.
Speaker 2But March is going to be. We're going to go check out Embry-Riddle and make the final decision there for Dylan.
Speaker 1Okay.
Speaker 2And that's going to be interesting, cool. And then I'll just mentally prepare myself for him graduating high school.
Speaker 1The first graduating high school, the first one man, yeah, yeah that'll be an emotional moment. It'll be. It'll be when your daughter graduates is when you say, holy fuck, the house is really quiet, right yeah, yeah, I think the divorce has helped me a lot with that.
Speaker 2you know, it just kind of prepared me a little bit, uh, more so than what I would have been right, um, but you know it doesn't make it any easier. But yeah, I'm really anxious to see how much he pushes the Embry-Riddle thing. Sure, sure, the Harvard of the sky. There you go. Yeah it'll be good fun, I know right It'll be, good fun, right yeah? I want him to do it, but it's just like, damn man, you're in Florida. Yeah right, as I'm talking to a guy with a kid in Scotland, right, Right.
Speaker 1Well, you know it's funny because I think that's been good for him though, oh sure. And you know I mean it's.
Speaker 2Oh, it's only selfish reasons why I want him to stay close, but yeah see, I'm just not wired.
Speaker 1I'm like spread your wings and fly.
Speaker 2I am too Now while you can.
Speaker 1Yes, I'm like spread your wings and fly now while you can. Yes, you know, because I mean one day you'll be married and you'll have kids and you're just not going to have that opportunity to do it right and yeah, you can landlock yourself really fucking quick in life yeah, really can yeah that's you know, and some of the people I you know.
Aging Eyes and Podcast Plans
Speaker 1it's funny because we were. I was just talking about this with the kids the other day. I forget who we were talking about in particular, but we were saying why? Well, I was talking about how my sister's-in-law right now, what? Well, I think Jim and Joan leave tomorrow. My mother and father-in-law I think they are heading off to Well, they're heading off to Hawaii for a month, so like.
Speaker 1Virginia's sister has rented this Airbnb for a month, and it's something, because their jobs are such that they can work remotely. Oh, my goodness, and so they just get an Airbnb for a month and then, like we were originally hoping that kind of all of us would show up at different times to celebrate the inauguration, and well, that didn't quite work out.
Speaker 3well, that did it, so it worked out great for you.
Speaker 1It didn't work out well and I did it, so, uh, well, it worked out great for you didn't work out great for me, so um, but uh, so anyway and uh, so, but so I and so we're not, we're not going out there now, but I think, like everyone else is making a presence over there at some point. Gosh, that sounds awesome. Yeah, I, I know it's. I think they're doing both. Well, they're on a Wahoo for a bunch, like. I think the Airbnb is like somewhere between Waikiki and Diamond Head.
Speaker 2Wow. And so, yeah, let me shut my eyes and imagine that You're right, exactly, wow.
Speaker 1I've been there once back in 2012, and it's just a beautiful place. Oh man, I can't imagine. You know it's a good time, but I forget now where I was going with that anyway. So we don't do playbacks to find out where the fuck I lost my train of thought. Fuck it, it happens. We're old, I'm old. I'm old compared to you.
Speaker 2Speaking of getting old man, I've hit it to where I've got to go get my eyes checked. It's bad Really. Oh yeah, yeah, Any time To the waiters and waitresses over the past month and a half you're fucking welcome, because I couldn't fucking read the receipts. If you got that 50%, mary, fucking, yeah, I just, I was just writing numbers, that has been a struggle for me.
Speaker 1Oh man, the receipts like I mean it was like.
Speaker 2I was like hey, hey, cj, why don't you just hold up the receipt across the table right, and maybe I'll see it right? I mean, it's just it's brutal.
Speaker 1You could use your iphone on photograph and like zoom in.
Speaker 2Yeah, then that just puts me in a whole other level, of old too, then right, you know it's like me putting out the flashlight to look at the damn menu while the mood lighting's going on. It's just like damn it no, I I.
Speaker 1I have a bunch of readers, like all. I have a set of readers at each office in case I forget to bring mine from home, right, I've got readers upstairs.
Speaker 2I got readers downstairs, let me just borrow, but like right now sitting here.
Speaker 1I mean I have no problem reading the computer screen looking oh yeah you're not a blur or anything like that I could. You know, I could make. I mean, I could it just different times a day, it depends on what my eyesight is like. But no, it sucks ass, oh yeah my 10 years ago I reading a book and it was like I'm laying there in bed reading a book and then I moved it back three inches and I'm like fuck me.
Speaker 2It was that way with me, with just a phone, like somebody handed me their phone and said hey, read this and you had to hold it back. And next, thing I know, I was just I mean Is there more to my arm?
Speaker 1Yeah, Can I get some extra arm here? I was like Reed Richards man. I was just like. And there we go. We got the MCU reference in there right now. Nerd alert there we go, but I mean I just had to.
Speaker 2Just all of a sudden I'm like, oh no.
Speaker 1It's the worst. Yeah, it's bad, it just is the worst.
Speaker 2I got to give props to my middle brother because I texted him, because my oldest brother, seems to, always had glasses, but my middle brother hadn't. So I texted him and I said hey, how old were you when you needed readers? And if you tell me 46, I'm going to punch you in your fucking throat. And he says well, I'll be wearing a turtleneck next time, I see she had a big neck brace around just for the padding.
Speaker 2Yeah it was it's like on the dot man 46 for for me he and I just like there it is yeah, that would be about right. It's about the same for me, yeah I mean, and it's fun, it's not again. It's not like, it's just like. Oh shit, I can't see period like I like. It's just like, uh, I don't know, just yeah but then it goes pretty fast.
Speaker 1Yeah, it's like now.
Speaker 2I'm just like yeah every time I got I got cj like mutley in it rover next to me every time I start to struggle so the next time you see me, I'll probably have some readers oh my lord, no I.
Speaker 1I generally have to keep a set with me at all times right it's crazy. It's crazy. Um, I can't think of I what else? What else we got going?
Speaker 2on dude. Oh man, it's gonna be more and more as the year goes on I'm sure it always is, I'm sure you know I've got two more months of high school basketball and that'll be it.
Speaker 1So we're basically on a one podcast a month, sort of deal?
Speaker 2No, not so much Okay.
Speaker 1I hope not. I hope not yeah but not so much.
Speaker 2It just yeah, it'll be bittersweet.
Speaker 1Yeah, yeah, I was hoping while Juliana was home.
Speaker 2Yeah man Well no she.
Speaker 1I had asked her we were going to record an episode, just her and me together and with the whole thing. Hey, we have the lunch table pods, juliana Everting on our you know, one of the hosts of lunch table pod and and so, yeah, this is so, this is what my daughter does. If you guys are on YouTube, go to the Lunch Table Pod. Zach Justice and Skyler I don't know Skyler's last name are kind of the main two guys, and Juliana is kind of I like to call her the Fred Norris of the team she's sitting on the couch.
Speaker 1She's not sitting at the table but she's sitting to the side on the couch and everything and and you know she's got a nice little following going too and I've told her I said you need to learn the business side of this. You need to probably also learn a little bit of audio production and everything, just so you have working knowledge of everything, right? But it's, it's it's a cute little. It's a cute little thing that I'll check it out and apparently zach is just like he's a major internet presence and everything.
Speaker 1Like he goes to parties with celebrities like he's known and whatnot. And and it's a fun, it's a cute, it's a cute little thing, and so that's what she's doing and I just kind of thought, well hell, you're in town. But then you know it's rolling back to how was 2024 for you? If there's one word that I would define what 2024 was for me, it was pushback.
Speaker 1oh, both, both professionally and personally, I got it's just where I try to ask people to do some things. Why can't you just do what I fucking ask you to do? So she's like you know we were thinking if we probably should get clearance from her people that she could actually do this, you know, because theirs is a real podcast as opposed to you know us?
Speaker 3just two dudes in a basement yucking it up with glasses of.
Speaker 1you know Maker's Mark and but I thought you know it'd be kind of cool route to go though just to have a guest on and work on it and she's like well, I haven't checked with him yet. I'm like well, I said, why don't we just record it and I can just sit on it until you tell me it's okay and she's like well, I don't want to waste my time doing that.
Speaker 2Then oh, there it is.
Speaker 1I'm just like fuck you, you know, and then at the office I had this one employee just throughout the year. She's not with me now anymore. Her last day was last month and it's just pushback on every little thing that. I asked of and it just.
Speaker 1Gets old quick it gets old and you know, I kind of feel it's sort of a Gen Z thing. You know I don't want to make it sound like I shit on the Gen Zs all the time, but they're not easy, it's tough, they're not. I mean, it's tough to manage people anyway and really I think that would be a great topic for us to discuss managing people oh my gosh, yeah, we could spend two hours oh, I'd probably talk about that, you know.
Speaker 2I mean, it's just it's not easy and uh, no, it's not you know you try, you try to know.
Speaker 1I have tried to adapt my leadership style for every generation, because I'm a Gen Xer. I mean, so I've tried to adapt it for millennials, and once I feel like I got that done, well, here come the Gen Zs, and soon it will be the Gen Alphas, and I'm just trying to ride this thing out to retirement.
Speaker 2Yeah, I'll save it for that. Yeah, we'll save that episode for sure, like I could, but yeah, so that's.
Speaker 1That's kind of how my year was. Last year was a lot of pushback and and I'm you know. So I'm trying to decide going into 2025. How do I respond to that do? How do I handle that differently? Do I do I? Do I fight back the pushback, or do I just adapt a bit to accommodate some of that but then determine in my head what the deal breakers?
Speaker 2are. That's going to be a great question and a great evolution, I think yeah I don't think that. That is definitely not a simple answer.
Speaker 1It's not a simple answer at all. No, but that's uh, so yeah, that so anyway, you know, I'd kind of hope that we would have had an episode with her yeah too, that I would have uploaded over the holidays right about a happy holidays episode, but uh but yeah, no, it's, it's, uh. So I was kind of disappointed we didn't get that, but I also had this laundry list of shit that I want to get done with the kids while they were here yeah just administrative stuff like busy shit man well the kids.
Speaker 1The kids are all they have. Um, you know they're, they're still. Their bank accounts is with a local bank here which is a regional bank but I'm like I think, for you guys like, since you guys are still nomadic at this point, oh yeah, I just think you need to get attached to a big bank that's nationwide, like whether it's truest or chase or something like that.
Speaker 1You know, let's just set up accounts there and then you know, you guys are good to go wherever, and new routing numbers, baby, new routing numbers and all that, and it's just jacklyn's like. Well, I think I'll do that once I figure out where it is, I'm truly going to medical school. You know, right now it's Spartanburg and I don't know what we have there, and so I'm promoting Chase. Well, there's not a Chase near anywhere in Spartanburg.
Speaker 2Really, yeah, interestingly enough, that's kind of odd.
Speaker 1But Juliana's got like two branches right near where she lives in Sherman Oaks. Yeah and um and, of course, Jeffrey Jeffrey right now, everything I do with him is through the wise app, because you know that works quite nicely and and, but you know he comes back on it. I mean he's talking grad school in the Pacific Northwest. If he had his druthers um yeah so it's, it's, uh, you know.
Speaker 1Okay, let's get you on a big bank here again, I don't care who you use like chase truist bank of america, you know, um, just find something that is easily translatable, depending on where it is you go, so that didn't happen at all, juliana and I were supposed to do it yesterday, but, um, one of the things I did after I dropped off my mom at the airport is I went to the marable office to open the mail, just because that's a process in and of itself and I just didn't want to deal with that on next monday. And then I had a meeting with my office manager up at the hard and valley office and I kind of mentally budgeted an hour for that and went three and a half hours.
Speaker 1Oh, man, and just you know talking about all sorts of like plans for the new year, but right. Personnel issues and stuff like that and what we need to prep for and what have you, and it was just like an hour to three hours for an introvert is a problem, yeah, so so yeah, so that kind of ate into the time that I had earmarked for Julianna and I to set up this bank account.
Speaker 1I was going to go to lunch with her, have a talk about a few things, and then, and then you know, and then I then at one o'clock I had like acupuncture.
Speaker 2I can't miss that.
Speaker 1I can't miss that, that's what keeps me sane, and uh, but they um kind of how it fell apart, but uh, so, um, let's see, I'm getting her, getting her all sorted out, but anyway.
Speaker 1So, yeah, so, like I had this whole list of things I wanted to accomplish over the holidays, um, there there's an I mean, I don't think there's a day that's gone by over this two week period where I haven't done something related to the practice. Right, you know, just, you know, when you have a team member leave and someone who was kind of really in the inner circle of things, you know you, I just find that I have to all the logins and everything like that and.
Speaker 1I become more wired into the practice every time we have that happen. So, by the time I retire, I'll be totally over 10 years.
Speaker 2Retired december 18th. Yeah, like I, I'm not even ready, yeah, to start over.
Speaker 1Yeah, I mean it's rough, it's tough, yeah, so so just stuff like that and and stuff that I need to do this while I'm not seeing patients correct.
Speaker 2You know you need that time alone, like just saying just because I need you know I may be on.
Speaker 1Well, I had to deal with with 10 care, for I was on on the phone for 55 minutes, punted around 10 different people and you know, fix that issue so you know, it's just you know, and so it was just. It makes me want to vomit yeah yeah, that was the worst I bet, but once it's done it's, you're relieved.
Speaker 1It's done. Yeah, you know, and uh and uh, you know it's. You know you're just shutting down access to to accounts and everything. It's not that I think that any subterfuge is going to go on or anything inappropriate is going to go on. It's just any business, would tell a person. You know the person that's leaving that you know?
Speaker 2hey, this is what we do you know like we have to purge you out of the system.
Speaker 1You know, I mean you know.
Speaker 2so it's not to hurt feelings or anything like that, it's a necessity.
Speaker 1It's just what it's. Any any business would do that. So so, anyway, that's that's. You know, that's what I've been spending most of my holidays working, and then, you know, devising marketing plans for the next year and stuff like that. So you're going to do well. I hope so, I hope so I hope so.
Speaker 3And you're one year closer, yeah.
Speaker 2And so am I, but I don't even see the tunnel. But I'm one year closer. Hopefully I'll see the light soon, I mean at the end of the tunnel, not the light that would suck as the line goes from the point.
Speaker 2Pink floyd sound, song, time off, dark side of the moon, shorter of breath and one day closer to death there's a morbid thought well, all right, man, we're gonna, we're gonna kill 2025, we're gonna kill 2025 yeah, so yeah, it'll be great, yeah, it'll be great, you know and whatever on a on a macro, national level. Whatever happens happens oh man that's kind of where I'm at at this point like it's it's I just.
Speaker 1You know it's a whole different episode. We could talk about the politics, political, sure I haven't.
Political Reflections and Future Plans
Speaker 3You know, man, I'm scared.
Speaker 1So I'm I'm amazed we avoided uh talking about any of that today, because it's kind of been a interesting little world since the election and absolutely, and uh, so it's been bizarre. Yeah, yeah, keeps getting weirder it gets weirder and weirder and yeah, you know, but we'll talk about that sure in future episode. It's uh.
Speaker 2Yeah, cause I guarantee you there'll be more to talk about.
Speaker 1Yeah, no, I think we should. We should talk about managing people at some point and I think we should talk about, you know, probably post, post inauguration, what we're looking at and everything and what we're hoping for, and absolutely you know that'll be the next one I said this last episode that that, uh, you know, so long as he doesn't tank the stock market or the economy, don't get into a nuclear war and don't send your jackbooted thugs to cart my non-binary stepchild off to conversion therapy there we go.
Speaker 2Don't do that. I think you'll be three for three on that. I think I'll be fine. Yeah, you know. Yeah, I think you'll be three for three exactly, yeah love you man love
Speaker 1you too, man all right and hey people, happy new year. And you know, most of all, just again, as we always say at the close of the show please be decent to each other. Cheers. I don't know why, I don't know why.
Speaker 3I don't know why I won't look into the light. I don't know why.
