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 48 - From Burnout To Being Present: A Candid Year In Review
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What if the year didn’t just fly by—you did too? We pressed pause long enough to take stock of a season that felt like a sprint: ambitious resolutions, a surprise running breakthrough, and the harder lesson that being present is a daily practice, not a bullet point. Between a career year that started with budget fights and ended with vendor chaos, and a holiday stretch spent juggling parents moving to Seattle and kids boomeranging home, we found clarity in smaller choices: watch the movie, make the call, take the walk, protect the time.
We go candid on the sports rollercoaster—title highs, gut-punch losses, and the gnawing friction of NIL and transfer timing that makes loyalty feel optional. Then we widen the lens to the news cycle, where everything is urgent and nothing sticks. The result is a stubborn skepticism and a shared exhaustion with vetting every headline. That sets the stage for our biggest worry and weirdest fascination: AI. We’ve seen it clean photos and spit out working code, and it’s impressive enough to ask new questions about what work endures. We argue for skills rooted in trust and touch—craft, care, and presence—while admitting the future is arriving faster than any of us planned.
Threaded through all of this are the relationships that held. We talk about mending old rifts, checking on friends with intention, and refusing tables that don’t truly invite us. We also laugh at the chaos we can still control: shipping detours, gift lists gone sideways, and the shopper’s patience we wish we had. The takeaway isn’t a glossy reset. It’s a practical edit list for 2026: less scatter, more signal; fewer obligations, deeper commitments; a calmer body and a clearer calendar. If time won’t slow down, we can choose what we notice. Press play, then tell us what you’re cutting, keeping, and finally doing next year. And if this resonated, subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review to help more people find the show.
Be decent to each other, friends. Happy New Year!
Fast Year And New Year Jokes
SPEAKER_01Tutoring Sinagan was not taped before a live studio live.
SPEAKER_03This data ball of dirt keeps getting faster and faster, isn't it? I know, right?
SPEAKER_00Oh, is it really 2026?
SPEAKER_01Not yet, but it's it's happening. It's banging on the door this Thursday. Jesus. My God. That's crazy. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. I I mean, just I swear to you, it was just yesterday where it was like, yeah, 2025, we'll see what's going to bring. And then we took a nap, and now here we are.
SPEAKER_01It didn't feel like that for me. Really? No, it felt like a constant, unlubricated fist up my ass for most of the year.
Resolutions And Running Breakthroughs
SPEAKER_03Sorry, my laugh sounds like I've been smoking 20 packs of camels. You really do? Yeah, what's going on? If you're smoking 20 camels a day, I figured I could develop a New Year's resolution if I just started chain smoking. You know, like hey, right. There you go. Look at that. Boom.
SPEAKER_01So did you have New Year's resolutions at the beginning of 2025? Uh first of all, friends, we're we're gonna do a year-end wrap-up, so to speak.
SPEAKER_03And uh I I always try to do something personally, you know, just something like looking back on how I can improve and go on from that era. Um but uh nothing really stuck out. Yeah. Um but I definitely looking into 2026, I gotta do things, I gotta do things differently. Like this again, this year went why I went by way too quick, and certain things happened where it's all of a sudden now I'm just sitting there staring at myself in the mirror, like, man, we gotta we gotta do something a little bit different. Right.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, no, I my list not that things are bad. No, my list is what the for resolutions was it again is more just for self-betterment, like what you were saying. Um, you know, I had this get up to three four mile runs a week and everything. And and so I was telling David just before as we were catching up before we started this, that this morning I did my third four-mile run in a week. So nothing like getting that resolution. I'm telling you, man, cheers to you. You know, and it just I I honestly got thought it wasn't gonna happen between among my knees, lower back, and hips. I'm like, there's just uh no, that those days are over. And then something I just broke through. And next thing I know, I'm up to three miles. Next thing I know, I'm up, I I'm like, oh yeah, let's see. That's awesome. So, you know, now I feeling really good about everything and and whatnot. But other things I have like is try to be in the present, don't live in the past, you know, and and just you know, and just try to read more and you know, shit.
Being Present Amid Work And Holidays
SPEAKER_03I mean it's a simple things, but it's a it's a certain things that like with my with with me getting the job that I got, it was you know, I I I dove right into that. And even like even through the holiday season, it was, you know, it was it's it was time to take some days off, but I like I hadn't gotten into any type of holiday spirit or I don't know. I I I felt like time just flew by me way too fast, and like you're saying, being present, I I don't think that I did my part on that.
Family Moves And Holiday Logistics
SPEAKER_01I I think I was better this year than I have been in past years. Kind of the overhanging uh specter throughout this holiday season was that um my in-laws are moving to Seattle in mid-January. Wow. And as in like next month. As in like next month. Whoa. Yeah, as in like three weeks, you know. Okay. And uh it was a very fast process by which this happened. Um, Seattle made sense just because that's where Virginia's sisters live with their husbands. And you know, uh as we've you know told them and we told mom, well, don't look at us to like look for assisted living facilities here in Oxville because we ain't staying when it's over. Right. You know. And um This ain't home. This ain't home. And uh, so yeah, so we have this. And so Virginia has really been trying to maximize her time with her parents and is doing a lot of stuff more frequently with them, which means there hasn't been a lot of time for us. But I mean, I I'm there there's an end to this. So like I I mean I can I can be patient about this. So um, but no, so it was yeah, so we had that going on the whole time, and so I was trying to really up my game, like because Virginia's really big on watching all these Christmas movies and everything like that. So I tried to be a little available and present for that and and whatnot. So I don't know, you'd have to ask her how well I did. Uh but um, you know, it's no, I mean it was generally a nice Christmas, though. I mean, you know, I I had a little drama on the family front, which I'm not gonna go into detail here, but I explained it all to Dave. And my mom was supposed to come up and and we had some wrinkles coming out of plan, so it was no bueno, and that kind of that kind of was upsetting. But um, but then the kids came home. That's awesome. And uh so you know, Jeffrey's been here since the 17th, and Juliana got here on the 21st. And um and Jaclyn also Jacqueline went down to mom's house for four days and then came up here, and then um so Juliana is going to be le is on her way to Nashville right now uh to fly out tonight, and then uh Jacquel heads out on Tuesday, and then Jeffrey heads out on the 10th.
SPEAKER_03This was my first year of actually having somebody come home. Right. That was yeah, how was that for you? It was a weird dynamic, sure. It's just like shit. It's like the stranger. Have you seen him at all since he left? Well, we we went uh that weekend right after Thanksgiving. We went down to see him. Um it was just me and CJ. Um, it was just two of us just went down there on a whim. Um, and that was nice, but it was just weird having like, hey, I'm home for the holidays.
SPEAKER_00Like, okay.
SPEAKER_03Kind of cool. Yeah, no, it's it's a little surreal. It is, yeah. Again, uh I keep getting hit right between my eyes at just how fast life's getting. And that was another instance, is like you you've got a you got a man coming home into your house to visit. Yeah, he's no longer living.
SPEAKER_01Well, we talked about it earlier. I mean, Jeffrey's in his final semester now, and so it's just like, holy shit. Yeah, you know, where did it go? And so now we're trying to choreograph how we're doing graduation because the last two years they'd had their graduation like mid-July. Well, this time they dumped it on July 1st. Okay, which is a problem because Virginia's family does their annual trip to Pauli's Island during that week. So that is a weird week. So I'm going to Edinburgh by myself. Okay. And his mother and her husband, and apparently everyone else under the sun. Like now I'm hearing that her brother and his wife, and maybe some of the kids, yeah, like they're the Brady Bunch, my ex-brother-in-law and his new wife. Like, he married, she had like five kids, he's got two, like, it's insane. Okay. And I'm like trying to figure out with my daughters, well, how big of an Airbnb do I need to get? You know, I'm like, are you guys gonna stay with because like if I'm gonna do this and I'm gonna get extra bed space, I'm not doing this if you're only staying half the time. Right. If that's your plan, then go just stay with your mother the whole time. Yeah, we'll catch up. And uh, I'll see you around, you know. Cause I'm trying to plan some other things for me while I'm there. Because when Virginia and I last one of the times we went as we worked into the highlands, like we went to Sterling, and I yeah, I didn't get to go into Sterling Castle. We couldn't arrange that, and it wasn't open at the time. And then also I wanted to see the Wallace monument for William Wallace. You want to do, and and so I'm we just didn't do that, and so I kind of want to fold that in to the lineup. I got more time than God up there, you know. And I've I've worn Edinburgh out. I mean, there's nothing new for me to see up there. Yeah. Um, but uh so anyway.
SPEAKER_03Well, how are you gonna be there for?
SPEAKER_01I'll be there for a week. Oh, okay. Yeah. Uh we were gonna dovetail it. Like Virginia's doing a graduation European trip with Max after they graduate from high school. So now that's gonna be the end of May.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_01Um, and then the but originally had Jeffree's graduation been mid-July, they were gonna do it like beginning of July, dovetail that right into Jeffree's graduation, and then Virginia and I were gonna break off and do maybe a little more exploration of the highlands. Yeah. And so that just went tits up. And as the theme for 2025 has been, the universe just laughed at me. Said, no, you're not. You're not doing that.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, that sucks.
SPEAKER_01So, you know, but so it is what it is. Yeah. So, you know, but yeah, that's it's just kind of all this craziness going on.
Kids Coming Home And Graduation Plans
SPEAKER_03Yeah. It's it's non-stop, right? Yeah, anytime that you just take a moment to catch a breath, something else happens. And it's just been like it's just been one thing after another.
SPEAKER_01The last two months have been totally that for me.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and it for me, it hasn't been as as like in your face as some of the issues that you've been going on, man. But it's just always just like this one. It's like I've got a bunch of gnats. Right. You know, it's like most of the time gnats don't bother you, it's just part of life. But then there's those days that if I see one more fucking gnat, I'm gonna lose it. Totally. Totally. I hate being that way, but you know, like you just said, it is what it is on that. So the year in review. What's been so bad about it?
SPEAKER_01Well, I'm for me, just on the business front, we dealt with the first quarter that we were dealing with a government budget fight, congressional budget fight. And when that happens, it's just scary shit. Medicaid just kind of tightens the purse strings a little bit. So that we had the an absolute shit first quarter, and then fourth quarter, um, a new dental benefits manager took over managing 10 care. Okay. And to say that they kind of shit the bed going out of the gate has would be an understatement. I mean, and and I say this with PC, and they're great people, and and I I think they mean what they just weren't ready for the first day. And yeah, part of the problem was the previous dental benefits manager was not helpful at all with the turnover process and everything.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, quite being chicken shit with that type of stuff.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that it it but at the same time, I I then turn to Tencare and go, where were you in all of this? Like holding their feet to the fire. Like I'd be saying, Oh, well, okay, then you're not getting any more money from us until until you do this properly. Yeah. So it just it just has been chaos. It'll be fine. It just it's it's not been an auspicious debut for them. Gotcha. And they have me on.
SPEAKER_03You could just go open up a daycare in Minnesota. There's that, yeah.
unknownDamn it.
SPEAKER_03I hate that it's so bad like that, though, man. I mean, you're you're just out there trying to do the fucking right thing.
SPEAKER_01That's what pisses me off more than anything. Yeah. So it was rough in that sense. And then um, you know, but um, yeah, and and just kind of like uh the second half of the year, I felt like it was just all over the map, like in terms of you know, the the travel and and like and in Virginia, and I kind of just are two ships passing in the night, you know, and and and I did a play, and that was great, and I loved that. And and uh um, but you know, I'm I'm I've been hold all the speed bumps that have shown up this year, I've been saying means that we're gonna have a smoother 2026. And then I'm I'm I'm manifesting the shit out of that. I like it. You know, yeah.
SPEAKER_03My whole life How about you? It just I feel like my life this this year has just been a shotgun shell. Yeah. It was just like it just wasn't really pinpointed, directed to anything. It was just like just a bunch of sporadic shit happened and we prayed that we hit something. Pellets everywhere, pellets everywhere. And um, you know, I don't really like that. You know, I had I had a major change with the job, the career-wise, this year.
SPEAKER_01And how how would you assess that has gone?
SPEAKER_03Very good. Good. Uh, you know, it I never once like stopped and like, oh fuck, what did I do? You know, I I've been I've been living in it. Um, but again, that can be bad too. You know, like I said, I I don't think that there were phone calls I probably should have made this year that I didn't make. Um, you know, just my I allowed my battery to tell me that it was empty when I should have been telling my battery like, fuck you. Like you should be you should be more. Um and I think that's where I'm looking back and kicking myself in there, you know. Like I said, there was phone calls I should have made that I didn't. I just got home. Didn't work out as much as I wanted to, just got home. Um so those are the things I'm looking at changing. And you know, those ships in the night kind of thing, man. Like people that I'm should be the most present with, I haven't been.
SPEAKER_01I'm I've almost I don't want to say I've taken them for granted, but no, it's just you've been unable to make the time for them. Right.
SPEAKER_03And it's like, there you are. I appreciate you, whether you I'm telling you.
Travel Juggling And Trip Tradeoffs
Work Headwinds And System Frustrations
SPEAKER_01No, and I think at the very minimum, so long as we're doing that, saying how much we appreciate, you know, on my but for Thanksgiving and for Christmas, there are you know, text messages that go back to me and people who I don't get to see very often. It's like, look, I appreciate our friendship more than you can ever realize. And I again I find as I get older that I'm the I I'm not bullshitting when I say that. Like I am really serious about all of that. You know, I mean, the I have different circles of friends, and you know, depending on where in my life they they popped up. But you know, like for my right after my birthday, um, I made a point to call my high school buddy. He's his birthday is a week after mine. And you know, we haven't seen each other in 25 years. Um he and his his partner live up in Vancouver, and but it's it's um, you know, we get on the phone and it's not a day's past. Yeah, we I mean it's just we just pick right up where we left off. Yeah, our our opening thing is always is it time for us to retire? You know, and and you know, just is it and really just like just about everyone my age or older, like that's all we're talking about now. So, but um, you know, I think I think I got to, you know, maintain good relationships with everyone, and I felt that that every uh everything I did with my friends and the people who are important to me was definitely very intentional. So I'm gonna do a little sidebar here because one of the podcasts I listen to is called Orthodonic Pearls. It's it's these three orthodontists who um get together and like sometimes it sounds like a bro fest, and then other I think I've probably talked about it before, and other times like has some really good shit where like there have been days where I like leave the office, I go, I'm the worst orthodontist in the world, I'm the worst employer, I'm the worst businessman. I just all kinds of suck. And then they'll have somebody on who talks about the exact same thing. I'm like, okay, I'm not alone, thank God. Yeah. Well, there's a one of the guys is is um a doctor. I don't I don't know where he practiced. I want to say maybe Utah or someplace like that, someplace out west. Brian Anderson's his name. He has this very kind of deep resonant voice and everything like that, but he also gets very Zen-like on you. Oh, yeah. And so seriously, he always the word intention or intentional will show up when he's speaking. There were two times I went on a I went driving. Where did I go driving? I don't know. I was out, I probably was traveling down to yeah, it was when I was traveling down to mom's house. One of his, I listened to one of the episodes I was going down, and then when I was coming back, and each time he said the word intention with intention, intentional, like six times in the episode. I'm like, okay, we need to turn this into a drinking game. And so I want to meet this guy at one of our AAOs. He's significantly younger than I am. I go, dude, you say the word intention a lot, and I'm turning you into a drinking game. I love it. So anyway, so yes, but uh I was very intentional with those relationships, but I also had some interesting turns in, you know, we've talked about building bridges in in past episodes. And one I did that was really interesting, I was at my orthodontic conference meeting, and I and I I don't know if I talked about this in a previous episode, but like they they have alumni receptions for every residency school that for orthodontists, and so they'll you know, you'll be a little conference room you have and or banquet room, and you everyone has their shit going on and what have you. And so for mine at Temple University, um, a couple things were well, apparently uh what I didn't realize is it was a we were saying happy retirement to my program director. I didn't get to say fuck off in in in any of that. Um if you've ever seen the movie Whiplash, yeah, yeah, it was tough. That it was that he was J.K. Simmons, you know. Um and um but uh what a wild movie that was right. I we I just watched it for the first time over the holidays.
SPEAKER_03Well, I I just now recently seen it too.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, no, it's that's intense. But while while we're waiting for the event to start, standing out there is a guy who I went to dental school with, and we didn't like each other at all in dental school. No, no, I mean none whatsoever. And I he had gone to the program a couple years before I did, and I just always kind of avoided him and whatnot. And so he's standing out there. I just walked over to him and I said, Hey man, and we just started shooting the shit, and it was great. And and I'm like, you know, I'm gonna take a little, I'm gonna take some blame for this. That why do we do this? That it took us thirty that it took us 30 years to get to this point, right? And I sent him a card afterwards, just one of my practice, you know, thank you note cards and everything like that. And I said, look, that was really nice. I enjoyed it. It'd be great if we can just stay in touch, you know, and and uh and uh kind of help each other navigate our way to retirement and everything. And I said, you know, I mean, I'm here if you ever want to talk and and and whatnot. So he called me up and we had a nice chat on the phone and you know, he asked me, so what was your experience in the program? Like I said, I thought it was unacceptable, some of the things I had to put up with in the residency program. And he goes, Yeah. And I said, I said, you know, when the joke I always say is when you're told almost weekly that you can be kicked out of a program and and go enjoy your life as a general dentist. Well, I'll tell you what, some of those general dentists are making more than me now. Yeah, so yeah, don't do me any favors there, pal, you know.
unknownRight.
Shotgun Year And Personal Gaps
SPEAKER_01And uh asshole. Okay, yeah, kick me out, I'll show you. I'll just take a weekend course, I'll slap braces on people. There's this thing called Invisalign now. Anybody can do it. So so yeah, so it was it was nice doing things like that and kind of connecting with people, right? Kind of more just leaving the door open for people to come back in to my life. There was a girl I went to high school with, and this was when Virginia and I were up in New York last month, and she messaged me. I had kind of kicked her off my bus for a while. Just you know, we had a very close friendship. Um could have gone romantic at various times, it just didn't. And um, and uh you know, I always tried to be supportive of her, but just she just was very dismissive to me and whatnot. Yeah, I just got to a point one year I'm like, that's it, I'm out, I'm done. Fuck this. And yeah, and then um, you know, I kind of have opened the door a crack on this. Well, she messaged me while I was up and you're like, hey, I'm about to get off work. Do you and your wife want to meet for a drink or anything like that? I said, Look, I would accept my wife's sister and her husband are in town, and that would just I haven't seen you in a million years. I would like it to be just right more intentional than this. It would be very surfacey if we were doing this. Yeah. And so, but so yeah, I said, Listen, next time I'm up here, we'll
SPEAKER_03Well I think that's just what I've got to get better at. Like I I definitely don't want to eat at any tables that I'm truly not invited to. Right. Yes. And I think over the past two, three, four years, I feel like I've been at a table's at certain tables that like okay. Um any of those 80th birthday parties?
SPEAKER_01Did you get any backlash on that? I did not. Interestingly enough, I well, I I well, I don't think any of that circle. I mean, it would have to like no, I was kind of expecting Melissa maybe to say something, you know. But anybody. No. I haven't heard anything about it. And uh that's fine. Yeah. I mean, again, I go back to that, but you know, I'm being a petty bitch about this, but you know, you can I don't care, but don't don't fuck with my wife. Yeah, you know, yeah, she's been a friend of you guys forever, and you couldn't invite her. Assholes. Yeah. So anyway, okay, enough about that. Um so uh the year in sports. Year in sports. That I all sucked. Well, you can speak.
SPEAKER_03Braves suck, Tennessee sucks, Falcons suck, hawks suck, but Duke was the ACC conference champion.
SPEAKER_01How did they even get into the goddamn game? I I I don't know. I looked because I think in their division they were like they just beat everyone up the best, and then the other division just like it just the numbers fell out, and then I watched that Duke UVA game, and I'm just like, holy fuck, we're gonna win. Here they are.
SPEAKER_03We're gonna win this thing. I had in my head that they automatically went to the playoff. Yeah, that so that was if you win that was if you win the conference championship game, you're automatically in.
SPEAKER_01But that was a big conversation throughout the entire football game. Like, what do you do if Duke wins this? You know, and really you're gonna have a five-loss team go into the playoffs, you know.
SPEAKER_03I haven't played James Madison.
Friendships, Intention, And Bridge-Building
SPEAKER_01Exactly. The Dukes, Duke versus the Dukes, yeah, you know, exactly. And um, but I don't know. I I again the the it's gonna ultimately just be they're gonna have to do a fucking field of 65 64 like basketball. Oh, yeah, you know. I mean, that's where this is gonna limp its way too, because yeah, every time something like there'll always be an exception that comes, you think you've got it solved, and then something like this comes along, and it's like what the f we didn't fucking see this happen. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03I mean, because I mean it happens with the NCAA tournament. Yeah, in your conference tournament. Exactly.
SPEAKER_01I mean, there's some there's some years where Duke was like, look, the only thing we have going for us at this point, we've got to win that ACC tournament so we can get into the door, you know.
SPEAKER_03That's there. And trickle of hope.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So I don't know, man. Well, how about like yeah, when that NC State pulled that off a couple years ago, you know, and they go to the fucking final four, you know, at the right time.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. I don't know. Uh it's one of those things, man. I I just still am so distraught on sports and where they are where it's at with NILs and this Lane Kiffin shit and all this other shit and people not playing in bowl games. And I mean, there's a kid that's like a couple kids from Oregon that are in the playoffs right now being like, Well, I'm gonna go ahead and hit that transfer portal. And like, you're in you're in the playoffs right now, man.
SPEAKER_01I we said this last year. Like, fuck. We said this last year, and that no, the rules need to be you stay with that team until the last game. And if that's the national championship, I'm sorry if you don't have enough time to prepare for whatever it is you have to do to go pro or transfer. Yeah, you know. I don't know. I don't care. These kids are making too much fucking money. Millions. Yeah, too look, and doing nothing. I'm all about a stipend, I'm all about something, but this is ridiculous.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, we we've been on here too many times. They they let the toothpaste out of the tube, they opened up Pandora's box without a plan, just like every fucking thing else. You know, just helter skelter, just let it be. Tariffs! Exactly. No one really knows what the fuck's going on with anything. It's just crazy, man.
SPEAKER_02We're going to war with Venezuela.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, we're gonna bomb everybody.
SPEAKER_02Nigeria! Happy Christmas!
SPEAKER_03Yeah, buon Natale, America first, yeah.
SPEAKER_01So um, yeah, so no, I'm I've been happy with the sports thing on my front. I mean, Final Four last year. I'm never happy with my sports teams, though. And then, and then of course, I mean Duke winning the conference football title for the first time since my junior year in 1989. And um, and then and then, well, you know, Duke's recent loss to Texas Tech in basketball, that was the loss that was coming. Like, I the last five games, I'm like, yeah, there's one that's the they can only play this way for so long, and then and this bullshit where Lipscomb is only down by three at halftime, and yeah, you're you're the you're you're gonna run out of gas on that plan.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, losing in in early December is not gonna get you though. You know what I mean? Tex fucking good. They were a good ball club, but yeah, it's one of those things you're up by 17, though.
SPEAKER_01You can't give up eight. You have two guys that have fouled out, another guy, their big player has four fouls on, and you still lose by one. Inexcusable. It's a classic Duke shit the bed loss.
SPEAKER_03It is, it is. But I I do feel like you've got the the best player in the country with Boozer. Without fantastic man.
SPEAKER_01Well, speaking about best playing, I mean, fuck Cooper Flag at the pro level. That guy's a monster. That's some shit.
SPEAKER_03I don't normally see that kind of. Did you ever see the quote about her when he says that his mom told him? And when I read it, I went, huh. Have you ever seen it? She told him if if you're the best player in the gym, you're in the wrong damn gym. Okay.
SPEAKER_01And when that's that that that makes sense.
SPEAKER_03And when I was just like, man, that is so cool. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01No, that is no, that that, yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. I mean, talk about because you know he was an arrogant bastard.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03You know what I mean? There's probably not too many gyms, even at the NBA level, that he wasn't the best player. Yeah. And that, I mean, that alone would light a fire in your ass. You know, like, okay, fine. I'll just keep on, keeping on.
SPEAKER_01But it's not been too many players I've seen springboard right from their freshman year to the pros and then already be such a presence. He's he's putting up brawn notes. Con Kanipple, too. Oh my god. The all white boy. The kid, the kid is just out of slight Kanipple.
SPEAKER_03I love that name.
SPEAKER_02I there's the Renan Stimpy pit.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02I want the world to know the wondering glory of my nipples. Renn and Stimpy was a fucking shit.
SPEAKER_03Oh, it was way ahead of time.
SPEAKER_01So fucking hilarious. My friend out there.
Sports Highs, Lows, And NIL Rants
SPEAKER_03Between it's log and shaving scum. That's some funny stuff.
SPEAKER_01It's log, it's log, it's big, it's heavy, it's wood.
SPEAKER_03Shouldn't be that funny, but shouldn't be. It's damn hilarious.
SPEAKER_02What is it, man?
SPEAKER_03Some of those close-ups and stuff, you know, like with are you tired? And they show, you know, just close up, big old white head, and all that. Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_01Or there's the one episode where like the nerve-ending fairy came to pluck the nerves from his tooth socket where he pulled a tooth out.
SPEAKER_03Oh man.
SPEAKER_01Oh my lord. That was a great show. I fucking love Renan Stimpy. Um, so yeah, so I've been kind of happy with the sports and everything. And so God, Wednesday night, I I got a I got a double header. I've got the football game, uh, the bowl game against ASU, and then I've got the basketball game right after that.
SPEAKER_03Who's dude playing that?
SPEAKER_01Uh playing Georgia Tech. Oh nice. We start conference. Whoa. We start conference. Yeah. That's big time stuff. It'll be big time shit. Happy New Year. Yeah, I'm gonna love it. Yeah. It's gonna be a good time.
SPEAKER_03The playoffs, the college football playoffs are gonna be good. The games that are lined up for January 1st, I'm like, oh, okay.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I haven't focused on any of that yet. It's much like I haven't really focused on the news during the holiday season. All I've done is focus on the stock market. I'm like, okay, you can't do it. Yeah, that keeps on keeping on. And again, I I've probably said this before. I think the only reason it hasn't tanked is probably there are a lot of billionaire oligarchs funneling money into the propping up the stock market. And look, I'm happy. If they want to let me write on their coattails, yeah, you know, just keep doing that for the next six years.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, do what you gotta do.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I'm definitely not complaining about that. So um trying to think other things that happened this year. Um, Trump became president again. There's that.
SPEAKER_03Um well, outside of that, it's just been a lot of stupid shit.
SPEAKER_01Well, there is Mike Johnson. Um, and uh, you know, I mean, God geez, when your whole party starts rebelling against you, all of it. Yeah, I mean, it's just a fucking mess. All of it's a mess.
SPEAKER_03Epstein shit.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_03Like, have you ever seen this shit?
SPEAKER_01Have you ever seen any of the reels that show up like Charlie Kirk shit? Yeah. Rob Reiner.
SPEAKER_03Rob Reiner shit?
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Like, God. Yeah. Um, the Rob Reiner thing. Okay, Billy Joel's song is like 17 hours long.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, no, yeah. I mean, he and Fallout Boy, they need to get another group together to do the extended dance remix. You know, the it's gonna be a yes song at 23 minutes, you know. That's crazy. Uh it's gonna be like shine on you, crazy diamond by Pink Floyd. Yeah, no doubt.
SPEAKER_03It's gonna have intermissions in the middle of it. It's got nine sweets to it, you know.
SPEAKER_01Uh but the rock opera. Oh my god. No, it's it's been no, it's on the current events, it's been insane trying to even keep up. Because it's been so ADHD. The minute you're like able to focus on bam, squirrel, something else, you know? And it's, you know, whether it's fucking troops being deployed to cities or whether now we bomb Nigeria and we're bombing boats off the coast of Venezuela, and we're, you know, calling people in to stand tall before the Congress all the time. Like, well, I was gonna ask you if you've ever seen any of those Pam Bondi clips where like Corey Booker's in interviewing her or Adam Schiff is interviewing her. Like, it's amazing some of the people he's he's put in. They're like, they're just so fucking defiant. Yeah. And I'm like, I'm like, and and one, there's one where a senator says to her, Okay, so just so you're aware, one day all of this is going to end, and you are going to have to answer these questions. Okay, the protection that you have right now will come to an end. And it's you know, it's enough that they're all doing some shady shit going on and what and and whatnot. But it's just the bravado in your face stuff. Yeah, it's all of it.
SPEAKER_03All of it from it is. No, it is everybody over there. I mean, it needs an enema. Yes, I mean, it truly does. I mean, like, town needs an enema. Exactly. I mean, Lawrence. I just can't. I'm just ready for some sort of action being taken on some of this shit that we all know is shit. Like, is anyone gonna get arrested? Is anyone gonna get anything bad? Like the the 2020 shit, like Georgia's like finally sitting there saying, like, yep, there's about 315,000 votes that shouldn't have been counted. Yeah. And like, well, wait a minute. Like, who is anyone gonna like pay for that? Like, yeah, that's that's kind of bad. Yeah, no, it's not good. It's not good. It's like this is just some normal shit. Yeah. That we're just gonna be like put it into like a little press release on Friday night around midnight and like it never happened.
SPEAKER_01That's kind of like the way everything's being treated, though. I know it's everything.
SPEAKER_03It doesn't matter how nasty or vile it is, no matter if it's right or left. It's just like, yeah, okay. Yeah, we're a bunch of fucking crooks and hypocrites and shitty people up here just making millions while you guys suffer. Exactly.
News Whiplash And Trust Fatigue
SPEAKER_01And and that's and good good luck to you. So you wonder I'm here for your vote next year. Yeah, but I'll tell you what, you know, it's amazing with especially with MAGA, is that it's like they've got these blinders on with like every time I listen to Tim Burchett talk and I hear him say something stupid, I keep thinking I need to file a petition to run against him for Congress. Really, no, I'm like really holding myself back on this.
SPEAKER_03I mean, I want people that are actually gonna do something when they get there.
SPEAKER_01Yes, exactly. And and not fall into the party rank and file. Like Nancy Pelosi stepping down, uh, you know, saying she's gonna retire. Smartest thing the woman's done in the last few years, you know.
SPEAKER_03And the whole reason why I even saw that, I was like, oh shit, what do they have on you?
SPEAKER_01On who?
SPEAKER_03On Pelosi. Like it's like, oh shit. Like if you're if you're doing this now.
SPEAKER_01Oh, I think she's stepping down because Mandani won in New York City and she saw the direction in that the Democratic Party was going, and she did, and she has lost complete control. She does, she is not she and Schumer are no longer in control of the Republican Party.
SPEAKER_03Did you see who he just hired as like his fire chief or whatever?
SPEAKER_01No. Oh, I heard about yes, yeah. So there's misinformation out about that. Okay, you know, saying she's never been a firefighter, and everyone's like, no, she's been a 31-year member of the of of the fire department. So that makes me feel like as opposed to the previous guy who was hired by somebody else who was not. Okay. So that's good. That's the and that's the other exhausting thing. You have got to vet every bit of shit that comes out these days. Oh, yeah. And I don't have the time.
SPEAKER_03No, I don't even, you know, it's I'm just at a point where I don't believe anything. I don't believe shit. Uh nothing. Especially with AI out there. Like I saw some things earlier, like like earlier in the week, just AI videos, just doom scrolling. And I'm just looking at it, going, That AI shit's too good. That's too good.
SPEAKER_01So I need it to create my own.
SPEAKER_03Like CNN, I mean it's CNN, really. Honestly, God, it's like Wag the Dog, right?
SPEAKER_01Yes. Not the first time anyone said that. They've been saying that a lot on a lot of my podcasts.
SPEAKER_03Okay, but we're there. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. We are Bill Mars said that. We are now interviewing Barry Levinson.
SPEAKER_03Have the little girl run across and we'll take care of the rest. Right. And it freaks me the fuck out, man. Yeah. Like, there's no telling. Like, it's just weird to me, man. Like, all these all these people, like, I need an aluminum foil hat right now. But I mean, people talking about aliens all the time now and all this other shit. And like, man, somebody's gonna put out a damn movie of War of the Worlds. Right, exactly. It will be War of the Worlds. It'll be, you know, Orson Wells. Where's Orson Wells, where we need, yeah. Yeah, I mean, and it's gonna be followed up with pictures and videos that we're we're not gonna be able to tell the damn difference, and we're gonna fucking lock ourselves in a fucking house. Yeah. For no reason. I don't know. That would be like Cloverfield. Get that big fucking monster. That was fucking. Did you see all the ones that are like?
SPEAKER_01I haven't seen all the movies tied into it, but I saw the first one. I loved it. I love movies like that that are kind of like, you know, awkward camera shit, like you know, like Blair Witch Project.
SPEAKER_03Blair Witch Project was fucking phenomenal.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah. Second movie so it was terrible.
SPEAKER_03It's because they went away from what they were.
SPEAKER_01Blair Witch Project was incredible.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, the ending was superb. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Oh, it was brilliant. It was brilliant. Yes.
SPEAKER_03Like left there with your mouth. Why did you?
SPEAKER_01I remember when I saw it and I just my jaw was hanging open. Exactly. I'm like, this is the greatest fucking thing I've ever seen. That was 25 years ago. That's fucked up. There ain't no way.
SPEAKER_03David, I'm so frightened. What was it? Scary movie or whatever. Yeah, the snot droplets get it.
SPEAKER_01It was Sherry O'Terry who was parodying that, you know.
SPEAKER_03Big ass Snop dress. Fucking hassle.
SPEAKER_01Oh my goodness.
SPEAKER_03Oh shit. What a great movie, man. So but yeah, you know, all of that to get to where we're all fucking doomed, man. Like United States.
SPEAKER_01There's a lot of people talking about the AI thing. Everyone's work. People are now concerned about the AI thing. Hell yeah. We've been trying to tell you. We've been trying to tell you this is not going to work out well for us.
SPEAKER_03There hasn't been a movie yet where AI is like the good guy.
AI Anxiety, Deepfakes, And Jobs
SPEAKER_01Right, yeah. No, seriously. Or or I mean there was a a movie that came out in like the 60s called Colossus. And it was about this computer that became aware. Gotcha. And and they had it was supposed to be the defense system, and then it just kind of said, you know, I'm kind of taking over, and you all are going to be just do what I say now and everything. And and like and he paired up with his Soviet counterpart, and they just held the world hostage and just said, You do this, or else I'm going to bomb this area, you know.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And um I mean how war games. I mean the only winning move is not to play.
SPEAKER_03That's some ultron shit.
SPEAKER_01Ultron shit. Yeah, right. I've got no strings on me.
SPEAKER_03It's creepy, man. Yeah. And it's only getting like better and stronger.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, some of the videos they're putting out are and pictures that they yeah, I mean, just the crafty shit you can do with it, you know.
SPEAKER_03It's it's like, you know, you could just even with your fucking photos on your phone now.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03I mean, I I had an update on my little piece of shit phone, did it, and then I took a picture of something and I was about to send it, and it said had a little little remix icon. I hit it, and it was my little phone's AI version. It was like, well, how do you want to change this picture into a Christmas ornament? Do you want to change this, you know? And I said, Okay, just there was a 90s version. Next thing I know, I have got long hair in a Nirvana t-shirt, and it is me. And I'm like, oh shit, that is scary. It's pretty wild. Oh wow. Yeah, I I'm I don't know, man. That shit freaks me out.
SPEAKER_01Um yeah, I I tell you, I have played with AI with some photo editing. Um so, you know, my my stepdaughter um, you know, has septal piercings and will have a little kind of chain thing that goes across the bridge of her nose and stuff like that. And I took her, took their senior photo and I just scanned it, and then I uploaded a chat GPT. I'm like, can you just remove all the nasal piercings and let me see what that looks like? You would never know they were there.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. And that that's wild, man.
SPEAKER_01That's wild shit, man. It is wild to me. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Like I mean, my daughter's 14. What she's gonna be able to see and do with AI by the time she's 18.
SPEAKER_01Like, I I can't even fathom. No, I I don't know. I don't want to be pessimistic about it because I keep I keep hoping that one day learn a trade, kids. Right, learn a trade, kids. Like right now. Like, well, no, it's funny because because like we're trying to figure out like what my son's next move is gonna be. Yeah. And like, so you know, he's a history major. I don't know what the fuck he's gonna do with that. He has no fucking idea what he wants to do with his life. He talks about staying in Scotland. I'm like, well, you're gonna have to get a job or go to grad school. And uh, and somebody's gonna have to pay for that because I ain't. And um, so but it's like I regret telling him to be a history major, and I'm like, ah, maybe I should have told him to go into like coding or stuff like that and whatnot. But that's like, why? Because the AI is gonna be doing that for coders are gonna be out of a job within a decade. Or sooner.
SPEAKER_03Very sooner than next week. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01You know?
SPEAKER_03If not already.
SPEAKER_01Right. I mean, I asked Chat GPT to generate well, I wanted to create a video game, uh, first person point of view on a Dungeons and Dragons module called the Tomb of Horrors. I uploaded the entire module because I have a PDF of it. And I said, Can you just make a game based on all of this and just let me know what the code looks like? Like it generated code from now. I haven't I don't know what to do with it now. Right, but it was done in like five seconds. Done. It was about maybe 10, 10, 10 minutes it took. Okay, you know, but still 10 minutes. You had a video game. And I'm like, okay, so that's how easy it is. So I'm like, son, would you like to do video? We could be Todd Howard, we could do Fallout, we could do you know Skyrim. We could then get a mini-series going, you know. Yeah. And I'm this is just shit I'm thinking about, like stuff to fuck around with in retirement.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01But with regards to like his career choices, I'm thinking this might I should have told him to like learn accounting. You know, because that's always gonna be needed to some level, you know, because the tax codes what they are. No fucking AI can sort through that.
SPEAKER_03I don't believe you.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_03I mean, my my company's already used an AI to analyze our P card purchases.
SPEAKER_00Oh wow.
SPEAKER_03And if it doesn't line up with what it feels is necessary or not necessary, you will get an email.
SPEAKER_01Does a P card determine whether or not you took a hit off of a joint or something like that? Is that what you do? You pee on it and it like turns a certain color? No, it's like a testing strip for my hot tub.
SPEAKER_03It's a corporate card, corporate credit card.
SPEAKER_01Oh, okay, okay.
SPEAKER_03So like if I I'm taking you as a client out to dinner, and but all of a sudden we you and I rang up a fucking$500 bill, like it it processes all of that stuff to which it it will send out an email and being like, Are you sure you did that? Yeah, yeah, like don't do that shit again. And so I I even think accounting's even gonna get even processed a little bit differently. I'm talking like welding and like fucking H V I C and that type of trades. You know what I mean? Like you can't really do that.
SPEAKER_01So much for my job or anything. Like, I can get to retirement and like I don't think dental assisting has to worry about, you know, because that there's a human unless they start, you know, like creating AI robots that can do that. And I don't know, so long as they don't give me mouth back and ask for raises, I would love to go that route.
Trades, Careers, And What Endures
SPEAKER_03I mean, I I've got a I've got a fucking Robo Barista at my place of work right now. It's a motherfucking arm that makes fucking whatever latte uses Vienna coffee. If you want a latte or you want an energy drink or whatever, fucking arm just goes and makes it.
SPEAKER_01So I stopped buying Vienna coffee a while ago. And I hate it. And and no, actually, I didn't hate I didn't hate myself for doing it because it got spensive.
SPEAKER_00Oh God, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Don't even like I watched that fucker go from$10.99 a bag to$21.99.$17.99, like overnight too. And listen, Vienna Coffee, love you. Fantastic coffee and everything. I ain't paying$20 a bag for your shit. Okay. I'm gonna pay$20 a bag, it'll be a huge Starbucks thing that I get from Costco. Hell, I even I even tried a bag of the Kirkland brand coffee beans, which are pretty fucking good.
SPEAKER_03Yep. Anyway, I got mad as hell. Like, I found I found a Kirkland golf ball.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_03Yep. How was that? Well, I just found it in the woods and I was like, get the fuck out of here, Kirkland golf ball. My brother's like, give that to me. He's like, I said, what are you talking about? He said, Man, they're the same thing as a pro v1 titleist. You say they just slap Kirkland.
SPEAKER_01I mean, that I have heard. When the fuck did that happen? Kirkland products. Like they said that when they opened the Costco here.
SPEAKER_00The lowest of levels.
SPEAKER_01No, I've heard from day one when they opened the Costco here that that Kirkland products were something you could stand behind. Yeah. You know. So we today my brother's nipples got hard.
SPEAKER_03I'd have found a fucking curtain.
SPEAKER_01I'm trying to contain mine right now. No, it's we were just over there today because for Christmas, Juliana wanted a Costco membership.
SPEAKER_03All right.
SPEAKER_01And so I I was when I went shopping over there to get one. I'm like, how do you how did I get one? Well, I walk right in and there's a girl standing there going, Would you like to give the gift of the Costco membership? And she's standing in front of this whole palette of just like boxes that have you know, like gift-sized boxes that have the card in them and everything. And yeah, and I'm like, this is okay. Thank you. This is exactly what I thank you. My job is done. This was the quickest shop I've ever done. How did shopping go for you at Christmas this year?
SPEAKER_03It's fucking fantastic. Yeah. The only thing that I will uh so I I got a gift for CJ and my daughter, um, same thing. And I went through a review process, you know, it was just like, well, which one of this type of stuff am I gonna buy? And through this like review article, it was like, here's the link to purchase. And I was like, well, okay, great. Hit the link, went in there, got it. Everything looked like as professional as all professional can get. But then I realized that I'm sending my money to a PayPal. And I'm like, oh I mean, I hemmed and hauled over it for a good 30 minutes. And as soon as I was like, fuck it. As soon as I completed the order, I my bank's like, are you fucking sure, dude? Like, don't do this. And I was like, Yeah, no, I I'm I'm doing it. So, but then I was like, Oh my god, yeah. So I've had this thing that I purchased like on the 15th that's finally has shown up. Finally, I actually got like a tracking, and I was like, Thank god, now I've got something. Because before it, like it went like a full week of nothing, and like there was no like I didn't call this number, or like I was just like, fuck, I just got screwed. But that was like my only dilemma. But now I've it's it's in Chicago currently. But it's don't you find the whole thing? The whole world.
SPEAKER_01Right. The whole world of tracking though can also be maddening.
SPEAKER_03Oh I watch you're too fucking impatient for it.
SPEAKER_01I have watched some of my packages get to like Andersonville, Tennessee, and then for some reason, because I didn't pay for the expedite, it's like, okay, we're gonna send it down to like Savannah, Georgia now, just to fuck around to show you.
SPEAKER_03Yep.
SPEAKER_01Like the thing that infuriates me.
SPEAKER_03Like being in Atlanta flying up north of Detroit to fly down to Florida.
SPEAKER_01Exactly. Exactly. What am I doing? Right. And you want to, and you just want to go, you know what? I think anything can get domestically sent somewhere two to three days tops. Oh, yeah. So why do we make such a production out of it? So you can get charged more. Right. I think it's a load of shit. Yeah, it is a load of shit. All they have to do is the minute they get that teleportation, oh, it's over. Don't tell me it's not. Oakridge got it. They got it. They got it, they got cloaking devices, they got warp speed, they got it all, you know.
SPEAKER_03Just build the fucking Kirker down there.
SPEAKER_01I was gonna say, just build the fucking enterprise and let's get it over with.
Shopping Tales, Packages, And Patience
SPEAKER_03Scotty's got a demonic laugh going on right now. Exactly.
SPEAKER_01Fuck. Yeah, yeah. And Sulu's going, oh my. Exactly.
SPEAKER_03For multiple reasons.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_03But I was like, I went as soon as the tracking hit, and I was like, okay, USPS, UPS, nope, Yune Express. So evidently I bought something off the damn black market. And yeah. Like it's it's sitting in Chicago right now. I'll see it, you know, May. But other than that, as far as to answer your question, all the rest of my shopping's been great.
SPEAKER_01So I how soon were you finished?
SPEAKER_03Uh about the 20th of December? Yeah. Like just full on dun done. November 30th.
SPEAKER_01I was done. No, and I didn't plan it that way. I really didn't. It was so the kids were good to get me their items that they were desiring before Black Friday. I'm not a Black Friday shopper.
SPEAKER_03Right, right, right.
SPEAKER_01Uh, but I was out running errands and I had I was over in Turkey Creek and I was had to go by Office Max Depot, whichever one it is, there. Uh same thing. Um, and like next there is my son wanted a pair of the um because you know, Timberland boots. And I'd looked online, I'm like, fuck, these things are like$210 and and uh and I'm like lasting forever, though. Yeah. And so then, but and so next door is DSW, and I'm like, okay, I'll just poke my head in there and they'll have it. And generally they're cheaper there and whatnot. Yeah, they were, and then they were 30% off on top of that. I saved$80 fucking dollars, man.
SPEAKER_00Hell yeah.
SPEAKER_01So then my daughter wants this Patagonia puffer jacket and everything, and so I I'm like, there's a place right near Belk over there. Um, and it's called like mountain hiking outfitters or something like that. And like, so I go in there and it's like, you know, because Patagonia lists that's one of their retailers. And I go in there and I'm like, yeah, okay, look around and I find it in the size that I want, and you know, I go and it's 30% off, which Patagonia never goes on sale. No, and so I'm like for you. So like that just got me wrong, and like and then I'd ordered another one of Jacqueline's gifts online, so I'm kind of done with her. And Juliana made it really easy, and like, no, seriously, by by November 30th, I was like, all of a sudden, I was finished.
SPEAKER_03This was the first year my daughter actually gave me a list. Wow. So, you know, my son still didn't. My son gave me the whole like, well, you gave me money for my for my college, that's all I need, you know, during Thanksgiving. Yeah. And I was I was leaving there going, okay, cool. I don't have to get him anything. Yeah, and then I'm like, no, that's some bullshit. That motherfucker would be butthurt as hell if he didn't have a present to open. So, anyway, started going on that piece butt of it. But I, you know, I not having a list puts some unnecessary angst on me. You know, one, I'm trying to think outside the box, you know, and but then two, it's I don't know. I don't I don't ever want to get anything that it I don't want to put forth an effort and then somebody open it up and be like, okay, thanks.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. It's like, well, damn. So for me. Not that my kids do that a lot.
SPEAKER_01You know, when when people ask me and I tell them what I want in and everything, and like, you know, I I'll sometimes include pictures and websites and everything like that where you need to go. The subtext on that is that's exactly what I want.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, don't fray from it.
SPEAKER_01Don't deviate from the script. And people deviate from the script. Yeah, if I tell you I want something. If I tell you I want that very thing. That's it. So then there's the post-Christmas list that I always put together too. Like the shit that I really wanted, and nobody got me. But and and this has been my entire life because my parents were the champions of it. Like you give them a list, and they'll like choose items eight, nine, and ten, like the number one thing that you're dying for, you sell an organ for, you know. Um, the joke, the joke I always say is back in the 70s, there was um a company called um um Migo that made these the superhero figures and whatnot. Okay. Action figures and they had this Batcave. And I was like five, six years old. I'm like, I really want the Batcave. It was like at the time 15 bucks, which probably by today's standards is like a hundred bucks or something like that. Right. But my parents could afford it, and like they were just hell bent on not getting that. Damn it. They got me everything else, shit that I didn't want. Right. Like, just take this crap back, get me that.
SPEAKER_03And I don't know if the$45 that you spent.
SPEAKER_01Right. And it's like, I don't know if that was a silent generation thing that was like, no, you need to learn about having your heart broken all the time. And my parents were really good at that. And they that went into adulthood and everything. And that's true life. I'm just like sometimes you don't get what you want. And they're like, well, we need to know what you want. Why? Because you're not gonna get me it. Why what's the fucking point? You know? So, um, so yeah, so that's there's been a still kind of every now and then a theme where people tend to deviate from script and go by their values and not by my values. I like that. And 2026 is also gonna be we're gonna play by Jeff's rules. Uh-oh. You know. Oh shit. And no, I mean, just across the board. Like I put up with a lot of shit from employees, from colleagues, from patients and parents, and 10 care. Right. And no, we're gonna we're gonna we're gonna start playing nice this year. You know, I I'm not gonna be like, I'm not going to war with people, but I mean, it's just I'm tired of everyone's bullshit now. Yeah. And um it's time to sever. It's time, it's time to to cut, you know, if I gotta make some cuts, I gotta make some cuts.
Gift Lists, Parents, And Expectations
SPEAKER_03So one last thing about shopping thing that I've done past couple years with my kids that I I'm trying to make this like a tradition. Like we I just said we're we're going to the mall. It was a Saturday before Christmas. It's like we're gonna we're gonna go to the mall. And if you see something you want, let's get it. Like it was just like a just hey, we'll stop and get the Starbucks thing, we'll listen to the damn music and get in there and go full on commerce. But I I that always I don't know, that that helped me this year. Of that way I knew that I was getting them something that they truly wanted. And yeah, yeah, and we're doing something together.
SPEAKER_01And I am not big on the gift card thing. No, I'm not sure. I understand, but it's the I think it's the the least thoughtful gift you I'd rather have cash. If you're gonna go that rap, just hand me a binge. Well or or or get me or you know, get me just a a visa, a prepaid visa, you know. Like don't get me something to like a specific store. Yeah you know, uh just just give me a fucking visa and be done with it. But now, no, with the kids, I kind of got out of the way to like not do gift cards anymore. And um and you know, they did okay. They did all right. I mean, it was good. It was good. Um, my mom, because you know, I I I what I ended up doing for her because you know she's older and and you know, they was complaining about being cold. So I got a bunch of long sleeve t-shirts for her. Yeah, I got one from Wake Forest, I got one from UCLA, I told her don't wear that until Juliana gets us a diploma. Yeah, um, I got her the Duke ACC championship long sleeve t-shirt, and then from Jeffree School, there's um a sweatshirt. Virginia has a variant of it that in Gaelic it says Oil Hyun Asian, which is Gaelic for the University of Edinburgh. Awesome. And uh so that's still on route, but that's that's what I did for mom. And so that was all sent down there.
SPEAKER_03And um Yeah, we're not gonna me, dad, and my two other brothers got the same fucking gift to each other.
SPEAKER_01Oh, really? Really?
SPEAKER_03Just different little, like you just said, variants. Yeah. So it was one of the we went to the hall, uh, Hall of Fame in October, and we had a good picture of in front of Henry Aaron's little thing up. Right.
SPEAKER_01Henry, that's cute.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I was like, oh, we'll get a we'll get a I'll send dad a picture of that and I'll send my brothers a picture of that. Next thing I know, I get I get get it in the mail. It's for my brother Larry to open up and frame picture of of us in the hall of fame and like, oh shit. So we all got frame pictures of the picture to each we sent it to each other. Right. It's just fucking stupid. It's like, man, like how what are the chances we all get each other the same damn gift?
SPEAKER_01That's well, it happens, yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So too fucking funny though. What do you got planned for New Year's Eve?
SPEAKER_03Nothing.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, we don't either.
SPEAKER_03I I really don't. I think my I think we're may hang out with my neighbors for a little bit. Yeah, but I think Virginia and I are just planning on a whole lot of nothing. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I just don't want to. I don't either. Like, and I'm beginning to think, oh god, I wish I almost had a third week off. I know. You know, like I the the more I take time like this off, the more I'm wanting more time off. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03You know, there's a guy I didn't realize how stressed out I was until I took this past yeah, I I went again, I'm like everybody right now. It's like, what day is it? It's Sunday. So Tuesday was my last day of work this past week. So I had Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, Sunday off. And, you know, by yesterday I was like, oh my god, man, have I been really that fucking stressed? Like, shit. It it blows my mind of like when of course, you know, when you you get to the epitome of like, oh, I feel great, and then you gotta go back to work. But I don't know, man. I I didn't I didn't realize I was that stressed. It's scary how you can get that way. No, yeah. Guys like us is like, how did this guy have a heart attack? Right. And it's like, yeah, because you just fucking put your head down and you don't say anything.
SPEAKER_01That's you know what? And and it's funny, Ian, you know, one of the things I have to deal with with Virginia and and her mother at times is crush the patriarchy. I'm like, you know what? You guys outlive us already, okay? And you always win in custody in child support cases, so don't fucking tell me, you know, I don't want to hear this shit. You know, I've actually said this to them. Like I said this one to my mother-in-law. I'm like, like, yeah, right, crush the patriarchy, but you guys always win in every custody suit and everything like that. And you you take you take us for every cent we have. Don't give me that shit that the deck that the deck is stacked against you, you know. Anyway, but but um yeah, that's I don't know how ended up on that. It's okay. It is what it is, what it was was just talking about how stressed out we are. No, right, we're stressed out all the time and everything, and it's you know, the cortisol stuff, and then it ends up weight goes to the middle and everything, and it then then it's cholesterol in the bloodstream, and then you know, and then you got fucking clogged cloggage going on there, and and you're you're fucked.
SPEAKER_03No, I mean even with my even with my drinking, man. Like, just like I just all of a sudden it's like, man, uh would I rather work out? No, I'd rather just sit down and chill and have a fucking yeah.
Quiet New Year And Stress Check
SPEAKER_01We'll get into that in the next episode. You know what I mean? Like, we'll get into all of that, I think, in the next episode. Because this one has been like the year in review, and then the next episode, I think I want to do the year coming projection. Project what we're thinking, what we want to do, that kind of thing. So we need to wrap this one up and we'll get to episode Cheers to you for surviving 2025. Cheers to you for surviving 2025. Another year down. You know, I love you, man. I love you too. And it's another year down. I mean, I you know, as um Howard Jones sings, things can only get better. And as they say in Monty Python's Meaning of Life, I pray that there's intelligent life somewhere out in space because there's bugger all down here on Earth. Facts. Be decent to each other, friends.
