People at the Core
From The Greenpoint Palace bar in Brooklyn, New York writers and bartenders, Rita and Marisa, have intimate conversations with an eclectic mix of people from all walks of life about their passions, paranoia and perspectives. Featured guests could be artists or authors, exterminators or private investigators, or the person sitting next to you at the bar.
People at the Core
We Don't Have a Map: Rita and Marisa on Traveling, Work/Life Balance, and the Freedom Bartending Offers
Returning from six months of global adventures, Marisa reunites with Rita at the Greenpoint Palace Bar to share stories from her travels across Europe and Asia that transformed her perspective on what truly matters in life.
When Marisa and her husband sold their restaurant, they made a deliberate choice not to wait for some distant retirement to see the world. Instead, they seized the present moment—while their bodies could still handle walking miles daily and their health allowed for adventure. Their journey took them through Portugal, Spain, France, Switzerland, Mexico, Taiwan, and Thailand, each destination offering unique insights and unexpected lessons.
Through conversations with locals, particularly those in the service industry with strong English skills, Marisa gained profound understanding of universal challenges facing different communities. In Portugal, she witnessed how corporations were buying historic properties, driving out aging residents who'd lived there for generations. In various cities, she observed how young people struggled with housing costs, often living with parents into their thirties. Yet amid these challenges, she found beauty in seeing older couples walking hand-in-hand through European streets and the deliberate pace of life where people prioritized connection over convenience.
The conversation shifts to challenging common misconceptions about service industry careers. Both hosts celebrate how bartending and service work provide the freedom to pursue creative passions, travel extensively, and design unconventional life paths without the constraints of corporate schedules. As Marisa notes, "We don't have examples writing this script for us," acknowledging how their generation must forge new approaches to work-life planning in a world where traditional career trajectories have largely disappeared.
Now back in New York, Marisa has gained deeper appreciation for her neighborhood community—the familiar faces, the casual greetings, and the grounding sense of belonging that she missed while away. As she puts it, "Travel fortifies you when you're choosing change and choosing to be uncomfortable... it helps fortify you when change comes at you that you don't choose."
Ready to hear more stories from fascinating people? Subscribe to People at the Core and join us as we continue exploring the passions, paranoia, and perspectives that make us human.
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From the Greenpoint Palace Bar in Brooklyn, new York, writers and bartenders Rita and Marissa have intimate conversations with an eclectic mix of people from all walks of life about their passions, paranoia and perspectives. Featured guests could be artists or authors, exterminators or private investigators, or the person sitting next to you at the bar. This is People at the Core.
Speaker 3:Are we rolling? Yeah, we're rolling. Hi dear, Hello, hey it's been a minute.
Speaker 2:I know when you been, jk. Yeah, I've been on a little hiatus I don't want to say a sabbatical because no one's paying me. No one paid me to do it but after our last season I took off traveling, yeah, for like six months. Yes, not traveling the whole time. Did the downtime between countries at my mother's house in Michigan in the dead of winter. Yeah, so there was a balance of highs and lows. But yeah, no, we can. My husband and I, we decided that we were gonna just switch everything up and, yeah, didn't want to wait for retirement. Retirement from what?
Speaker 2:yeah, right to enjoy travel and our bodies are capable of walking miles every day and we have our health and all of that to travel and see see more of the world. And that was one of the things when we sold our restaurant. That we said was one of our values that we wanted to spend our time and money on was travel and visit friends and family and see more of the world. So we went to Europe for like six weeks.
Speaker 3:Awesome.
Speaker 2:Portugal, spain and France, and then a couple days in Switzerland, visiting one of my oldest, dearest friends from Mexico who is now living in Basel for a couple days. So yeah, it was quite the whirlwind. And then we also went to Mexico, wilbur's joining us and he's got a little bit of a hairball.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I have my dog with us today, so if you hear any weird noises, it's not us.
Speaker 2:Dude, it's allergies. The pollen is absolutely insane. Yeah, I know, it's really bad.
Speaker 3:I can barely walk through the park. It's awful.
Speaker 2:Oh, Ken looked like he got punched in the face.
Speaker 3:Oh man he had to get steroids? Oh, man had to get steroids oh my God, that's crazy. Which has helped. Yeah, that's good.
Speaker 2:But yeah, so Mexico. And then we went back to Taiwan to see Ken's family and since we were so close, we decided to shoot over to Thailand. No White Lotus situation involved at all and thank goodness when I was planning it it I didn't know what island they were on, and not like they were there at the same time.
Speaker 2:But uh, I'm glad we didn't not like we're going to the fucking four seasons right right just the whole hype of that, um, and like the whole island hopping thing in thailand, like that's a thing, and like I learned so much and uh, yeah, it was just fucking epic. Um, yeah, that sounds amazing so we've been back a couple weeks and it's wonderful to be back.
Speaker 3:Thank goodness, the weather is now our friend um, we got the reading series back and running reading series great poppin super excited.
Speaker 2:Uh, back to recording the podcast, um yeah, but just it's. It's surreal to like re-acclimate and and try and jump start your life and kind of go back to where we were, but different, but then also reflecting and digesting all of the things that we experience which are so far removed from this reality. I don't want to forget those things right you know the experiences, the lessons, the people. Um, yeah, I, I don't know. I'm in a weird space I mean it's beautiful, though.
Speaker 3:I mean I would love to do something like that.
Speaker 2:That sounds incredible yeah, I mean, I'm a planner and when I have a vision and a goal I manifest, and I'm very good at, like, being frugal and denying everything to make things happen. So, yeah, people are like oh, you have a trust fund, Did you win the lottery?
Speaker 3:I'm like, no, we just yeah, I mean I watch you guys. You just work your asses off and save money.
Speaker 2:Anyone can do it, really, I mean, it's's like let's eat sardines and yeah, totally, and we're thankful that you know we work in the service industry and have connections and friends and reputations, so we can, you know, kind of slide back in, uh, into that world, and you know, coming back for summer and then we've already back working again.
Speaker 3:Yeah, exactly, I know people always sort of look down on the service industry jobs, but what they forget is we do them because we can walk away and write books and make movies and go on tour with our bands and travel the world, and then you come back and you make a lot of money and you can do it again. I mean there's freedom in. You know. I just from tv and stuff, like you know you watch it. They're always like oh, you're a bartender, oh you're a waiter, you know but that's not in new york especially.
Speaker 3:I mean it is a career and it's a beautiful career because it does give you so much freedom and potential to make a lot of money, absolutely you know, and people forget and people forget that. It just bums me out Like. You know what I mean, though. Like on television and movies, they're always like oh you want a real job?
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, I don't have a 401k. I don't have all these things. You know, I was thinking a lot about that too in preparation for this trip. So part of the thing was we, ken and I, both lost some people who were very young we're talking 35 to 45 years old from crazy heart attacks and things. It's just another reminder that nothing is for sure like, no, we don't have pensions and no, we don't have that, but we also don't have an absolute with our health right, yeah, that's so true you know.
Speaker 2:So it's, it's. What are we waiting for? Yeah and my mother retired this year from 45 years working for uh, the same business company? Well, the government. Um, the same business company well, the government. Her job and her position is something that is not accessible to me Like those don't exist anymore.
Speaker 2:Even the new people that are hired into her system don't have the opportunity to have what she had. So we don't have examples of writing this script for us, our ages, middle ages, younger middle age, um for lifetime careers. Nor do I want to work in the same place for 45 years, right?
Speaker 3:yeah, I know exactly, it's not an option, but I don't want it.
Speaker 2:But I we're not into tech, we're not into finance, we're not, yeah, I can't sit at a desk from 9 to 5, monday through Friday.
Speaker 3:You know, I totally respect the people that can, but it's just not in my personality.
Speaker 2:I can't. I've tried that a few times and that's just nope yeah, me too. I need, I need stimuli and I need movement and I need surprises more regularly, yeah, and so that's the other thing. It's like what are so? What are we doing with our money? And I'm a good saver and all these things. So I'm just conscious about that, but at the same time, I don't know. Maybe some people would judge me, saying that you're being frivolous or being irresponsible, but oh, I don't think so at all.
Speaker 3:I think it's almost the opposite. I'm like do it now, while you still have your health.
Speaker 2:I want to live my life and it's a balance. And yeah, true, like coming back and working for other people has its drawbacks, you know. I'm not in charge, but I chose to not be in charge. I was in charge, but that also made me 24-7 bound to a brick and mortar and to being responsible as an employer to other people and I don't have children by choice, and having a business and and employees is also a child and I chose oh, definitely more.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I have so many children.
Speaker 2:I love them all oh yeah, but I mean it's very much a 24-7 sort of scenario.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so when you own your business, being able to.
Speaker 2:I just have to take care of my dog yeah and yeah. So and then seeing the world like it makes you, I think a better person makes you more empathetic, um, and you learn so much about yourself and the world gets smaller. I was having a conversation I had many conversations with a lot of actually service people, because those were the ones who had better English.
Speaker 3:Right right.
Speaker 2:And so we're going out eating and drinking and the staff younger, older, were like we did one tour guide thing and the woman running it was a wine thing in portugal. She was a former journalist and she had so many stories and just opinions about the state of her country and the world. The other thing is everyone in the world is so informed about the rest of the world yeah, I know, and we're just not.
Speaker 2:I'm learning things about my government, my politics, my country, my culture from people outside, because they're just engaged right, I know the world at large.
Speaker 2:Um, and and there's a lot of reoccurring themes that we heard from people Housing was one of the influx between tourism and between businesses coming in. For example, in Lisbon there's a whole older sector and older people that are dying out and they've had these apartment homes for generations, their for generations. And then this last one is like getting older and then I was like oh, are foreigners coming in and buying these up and airbnb?
Speaker 2:and they said a little, but really it is businesses oh wow, like corporations are buying the full yeah, right, right and renting renting them out through Airbnb or renovating them so that they're just inaccessible to regular people. So then you have this aging demographic that has nowhere to go yeah. And then you have young people who don't have opportunities for jobs.
Speaker 3:Right.
Speaker 2:So then they're leaving One kid in the south of Portugal. He said do you know the average age? A young Portuguese person leaves their family home? And I said I guess maybe 30. He's like yeah, he's like when you get married, Right?
Speaker 3:Yeah, which is?
Speaker 2:pretty.
Speaker 1:It's not possible otherwise. Right right.
Speaker 2:And like combining homes and combining generations and combining families and yeah, but then you're also relying on tourism to come in and rent these hotel, boutique hotels yeah airbnbs and all of that. So it's this, it's what's the answer here right, yeah, it's pretty wild. So the cool thing is the government subsidizes wine in portugal and spain so it's really cheap.
Speaker 2:So you can get really nice wine going to the grocery store for like equivalent of two dollars, like nice oh, wow um, and in portugal they're very proud that I don't know if this is a fact, but that they consume the most wine per capita of anywhere in the world.
Speaker 3:That's what they say so.
Speaker 2:I'm not going to fight them on it Right, yeah right. I did see a lot, I mean in Spain, walking around too. It's like 10.30 in the morning and I look and I see this older couple grandparents, and they're just sitting sharing a carafe of wine. A young guy is sitting next to them. They make friends, then they get another carafe of wine and they're just hanging out eating some tapas.
Speaker 2:And yeah, it's as cliche as it sounds and I know, it's like through rose-colored lenses but I saw a lot of that right and I saw a lot of old people holding hands walking down the street oh, that's so sweet I love that I'm romanticizing it, I got all the good parts yes, I know right, right of course, but, but I don't see that here as much Like it really stood out to me.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Taking time to enjoy food and drink and to touch each other.
Speaker 3:Right.
Speaker 2:And to be old and touching, and also like the mixed generations being out Like children with grandparents, which I don't see that here, of having that intergenerational kind of social life right. So that was really. I was really nice. Yeah, yeah, it's, it's just so much like and I thought I was gonna write amazing things. I journaled and I documented things that's good that you document.
Speaker 3:I mean you can always go back and revisit.
Speaker 2:Oh, absolutely Absolutely. And now that I'm back and kind of stable, but yeah, it's, it's. It was a lot.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean it's beautiful. Like I said, I just hung out with my dog Red. I actually got quite a bit of writing done, which is nice.
Speaker 2:That's great.
Speaker 3:But nothing that I really feel like is finished. You know, yeah, but that's always. My problem is like I start projects and I just can never seal the deal, you know.
Speaker 2:But I think getting back into the reading series and back with the pod helps, like also reanimate and motivate and kind of finish sentences um, yeah, yeah, I yeah. When I was, when I was at my, my mother's, it was, you know, january and like negative 12, I'm shoveling two, three times a day. In the beginning we're planning this trip. I was like, oh, it'll be a writer's residency for me I'll be you. We won't have a car.
Speaker 2:My stepdad lent us his car for a couple weeks, but there's not a whole lot to do in the winter, so the cold is prohibitive and, yeah, I wrote a little piece.
Speaker 3:But I really liked the piece that you wrote Well, thanks, I did.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, I'm like okay and I'm trying to be kind to myself, saying it was it's part of the process.
Speaker 3:Um, oh, definitely the the well has to be emptied before you can fill it, and sometimes you just need to set down the pen and paper and explore life, experience life and then go back, you know yeah it took me so long to be able to write about my experience in the hospital. You know I documented it many, many times, like you said, like almost journaling, but I couldn't really explore it in a creative way.
Speaker 2:Exactly distance when it's something so emotionally intense.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and that's I mean about you being in Michigan it's like you, that is emotionally intense. I mean being with your family that much, being in that weather you know my parents live in Minnesota. I understand completely. Like every time I go there I think I'm going to write the next great novel and I don't write shit because I'm just overwhelmed with family and cold and memories and weird things. Yeah, exactly how did.
Speaker 2:I live here, but I don't remember how to get from a to b right, I grew up, I didn't have a phone like map quest yeah, right, and printing something out. But I yeah like how did I function? How did I block these things out? And I come back and it's old and it's new and then I see people who haven't seen in you know 20 some years, who have stories or memories of me that I feel totally detached from, and and people are telling things to me about me that I just that were surprises.
Speaker 3:Right, yeah, that's a mind flag for sure.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and just to reconcile that, and then, you know, and seeing people from high school, which was really really nice.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and.
Speaker 2:I didn't plan on it, I didn't contact people and it just kind of happened and that was like like the beautiful welcome surprise and like hanging out once a week, meeting at the bar for a couple hours because we all got older and they like to do the four to six. Zelda and you know, and just yeah it was a vacation in a different space and but yeah, just it's weird to go to your hometown when you've lived so far and for so long yeah definitely so, yeah, I still need to unpack some of that, but yeah, well, glad you're back.
Speaker 2:I'm need to unpack some of that, but yeah.
Speaker 3:Well, we're glad you're back. I'm glad to be back.
Speaker 2:Yeah, missed you Missed you too. Yeah, and that's the other thing too is gratitude for home. You know when you're out, definitely. And doing like amazing things and like waterfalls, and like seeing the monkeys in Thailand and, you know, doing adventurous things, kayaking and this in the caves in Portugal and like all of these things, but feeling grounded and feeling home and like missing the smells of my house and yeah walking down the street our first week here and it was oh it was like a fucking movie set oh yeah, just like waving to everyone, the dogs and the people, and it's really nice, and I missed that feeling of where I don't have to think.
Speaker 2:You know we were just talking about travel fortifies you when you're choosing change and you're choosing to be uncomfortable and you're choosing to be in the unknown. That it helps fortify you when you're in your spaces and change comes at you that you don't choose, and how do you navigate that? How do you find peace? How do you find your place within all of that?
Speaker 3:and so that's where I am now right, totally and people forget to, like you know, tell everyone out there that doesn't live in New York. You know there's a visual of New York, of you know everyone just keeps themselves and and is doing their thing and hustling and yeah, it's crazy, but I mean, I love New York because it, to my New York, is almost the opposite.
Speaker 3:You know, I can't walk a block without seeing someone that I'm waving to the deli guy, I'm waving to the person who's with her baby every day. I don't even know her name, but we talk, we chat, you know.
Speaker 2:But seriously, this neighborhood in particular is so lovely and anytime I travel I always miss home, yeah, and I miss the people's names that I don't even know yeah you know just their faces of just everyday grounding yeah, it's very grounded, which is antithetical to what people think of new york yeah but also being away and traveling and then being in my hometown, like I now know no, I cannot move upstate in a cabin yeah, right I, I. It sounds lovely and romantic I I need stimuli. I need to be able to walk and talk to no one but have humans around and see stimuli and stories everywhere.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And to hear sounds and then have my respite in my house in my neighborhood and have that quiet. But I need to be able to just easily access. Yeah.
Speaker 3:Life Movement. Oh, totally, and for me it's funny it's like I was thinking about this the other day dumb little things too. Like you know, all my years in minnesota and I love minnesota but like I hate grocery shopping, I hate, you know, like running around doing I don't really like shopping. I thought I did, but it's so great because at new york I get my groceries delivered. Yeah, I walk every you know, in driving.
Speaker 2:You know I walk everywhere. Yes, driving everywhere. People are like oh, it's only five minutes away yeah like in your car yeah, it's stressful man and yes, I need to move. And then the winter of not walking, because I walk in the winter I bike in the winter, yeah, totally and just the movement, the movement and the stimuli with that. Um, I learned that I need that much more than I realized I did yeah, definitely so.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I learned that very quickly every time because I go home to Minnesota probably once a year for like 10 to 14 days and yeah, the, the driving and running errands and going to costco at target and like it wears me out. That's why I can't write, yeah, whereas here like I'm in full control, yeah, and a little spoiled because everything's at my fingertips you know, exactly. I mean not that they don't have that there, right, but it's just a different lifestyle, I guess well, all of for me, I love bubble water.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think all of ohio and pennsylvania nobody drinks bubble water. You? Go to the gas stations and there are coolers and coolers filled with all different types of plain flat water plus flavored flat water yeah I don't get it. I don't write. At least it's cold, but flavored flat water, just I don't. I don't get it. That's a cultural phenomena that weirds me out than all of the places that I've traveled to and like eating bull testicles and scorpions, flat flavored water where does bubble water come from?
Speaker 3:is that a Midwestwest thing?
Speaker 1:because there's like bubble water seltzer.
Speaker 3:No, I know, but everyone calls it something different. Like it's seltzer, like at the bar. Do you notice that, like I'll get a vodka seltzer, or I'll get a vodka soda, or I'll get a I think I've.
Speaker 2:I've appropriated bubble water because there are so many ways to say okay seltzer club, soda, mineral water, sparkling water, like yeah, bubbles water with bubbles?
Speaker 3:yeah, oh yeah, I know what you're talking about. I just didn't know if that was like a michigan thing, or it's just a you thing that's a you thing, that's probably me thing. What do I call? I guess I call it soda water, yeah well, when I order it?
Speaker 2:well, yeah, of course, of course.
Speaker 3:But yeah, yeah, that's funny learning. Learned something new. Marissa's a bubble water person.
Speaker 2:I'm a bubble water, especially who doesn't love bubble water? Yeah, it's just a little excitement. I'm going to start calling it bubble water.
Speaker 3:When someone orders a vodka soda, I'm going to be like, oh, you mean vodka bubbles, because I'm confused.
Speaker 2:Well, because bubbles are champagne, cava, whatever that is. Yeah, I know, I know it's a bubble of water, so it gets confusing.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yes, yes, that's funny, it's just more exciting. So I saw Sinners yesterday.
Speaker 1:Oh did you.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you have to go, it's fantastic. Okay, but you've got to go in knowing nothing about it.
Speaker 2:I know nothing about it, other than it's the director. Yeah, ryan, then it's the the director. Yeah right, um kugler who did uh, why can't I?
Speaker 3:think of it, the wakanda yeah oh, didn't he do wakanda black panther, black panther.
Speaker 2:That's what I was like I'm doing the side did he do it, I don't remember, I don't know great movie yes, and something about he did but his first movie.
Speaker 3:Not to interrupt you, but did you ever see fruitville nation or fruitville station? Sorry so that's california.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I know, but did you see?
Speaker 2:it. No, I haven't seen it. Oh my god. You know, ken and I.
Speaker 3:We lived in it's like san francisco life-changing um, but that was after a real incident exactly, exactly, but it Was the kid's name, oscar. Yeah, but I think it's his first movie with Michael B Jordan. Okay, because now they do you know a lot together those two. They're kind of like what, like Johnny Depp is to Tim Burton or Leonardo DiCaprio is to Scorsese, that kind of thing.
Speaker 2:And Scarlett Johansson to Wes Anderson. Yeah, totally. Or Bill Murray, scarlett Johansson to Wes.
Speaker 3:Anderson yeah, totally. Or Bill Murray I just re-watched last night After Sinners I went home and immediately watched Rushmore and Royal Tenenbaums and had the loveliest time.
Speaker 2:It's the only time, gwen, I think.
Speaker 3:Yeah, is perfect in it.
Speaker 2:She's perfect in it Because she's so stoic yeah exactly, but yeah, I highly recommend it.
Speaker 3:It was fantastic. The reason why I saw it actually was because Tom Cruise posted about it in Instagram, and I'm just obsessed. The new Mission Impossible is coming out. I cannot wait. I am just in awe of this person.
Speaker 2:Tom Cruise.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 2:You know it, I know Everyone does. But I love him so much. Flight. Last time we went to Taiwan. It was a flight from New York to Taipei 17 hours. We were flying EVA, which is a Taiwanese airline.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:They had a selection of films, a lot of like Mandarin, some US stuff, but like the random crap like from USA or stuff you know stuff you really didn't want to see. And you have the categories you know comedy, thriller, drama. And then there was Tom Cruise.
Speaker 3:Fuck yeah.
Speaker 2:One fucking section was Tom Cruise Dude.
Speaker 3:I would have watched all of it, twelve hours of Tom Cruise. He's just an enigma to me. I mean, I think he's just, he's an alien.
Speaker 2:He is a creation, I think he's just.
Speaker 3:He's an alien, he is a creation, but he's also a national trigger or tom ronald hubbard's like robot, ai like come to life, but I think it's fascinating. Yeah, you know what I mean. Like isn't that the whole point of america is freedom of religion?
Speaker 2:like yes, but he's a strange okay risky business fantastic.
Speaker 3:Great, I'm telling you these Mission Impossible movies though.
Speaker 2:I mean, they're very engaging, they're entertaining.
Speaker 3:Yeah, entertaining. This is a recent thing for me, this is a new. I just got into him, but you know me, I get obsessed with stuff. No, it'll change soon, like next month. I'll be like tom who.
Speaker 2:But I gotta get ready. Yeah, he's always the same you like who?
Speaker 3:liam neeson oh, who doesn't?
Speaker 2:I mean he's just, he's consistent mega babe, I know.
Speaker 3:I watched all the takens not that long ago like in a depressive state.
Speaker 2:I was like, oh, I wonder what happens what was the one was the albanians were the bad guys.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'm like oh god um, yeah, there's like how many takings are there?
Speaker 2:yeah, I think there's at least three or four.
Speaker 3:I mean same with, I guess john wicks too.
Speaker 2:Right like john, I mean the first one is the best. I mean us being dog owners, yeah, I lovers.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think I've only seen the first one.
Speaker 2:I can totally empathize that as the catalyst for revenge rampage If someone hurt my baby, mm-mm.
Speaker 3:Oh my God, I know, Done, I know. I was talking with my friend the other day about that, Like if a dog attacked Wilbur, what would I do? And I was like I would sacrifice myself.
Speaker 2:I think I would have to like there was a video of a woman, a pregnant woman, walking this big golden retriever and two dogs I won't say the breed two dogs ran after and she's protect, she's pregnant, she's protecting her three-year-old uh golden retriever oh my god these dogs were like ripping the crap out of her.
Speaker 3:Oh, that's so scary.
Speaker 2:But I'm like yeah, she's pregnant and she's like, no, this is my baby. Like yeah, exactly, jeez.
Speaker 3:Yeah, my fur baby, oh yeah.
Speaker 2:Okay, next subject.
Speaker 3:We're going dark. We went dark fast, tom Cruise into dog fighting, I know that's very true, that very true, but uh, so what's?
Speaker 2:what's? What's happened in the hood for the last six months?
Speaker 3:you know, we're still waiting on our sidewalk set up, but that's a whole nother story. I don't want to get into that, um, but you know what?
Speaker 2:nothing like I said, just hanging out with wilbs, yeah you moved, though I moved, yeah, I got a backyard now next door neighbor I'm no longer your next-door neighbor.
Speaker 3:I'm no longer a next-door neighbor, but I'm basically your across-the-street neighbor. I know Very close. I moved literally across the street.
Speaker 2:I love how you kind of stalked me and you texted you're home, because I saw your window open.
Speaker 3:Yeah exactly, I know. I always look into my old apartment and kind of see if someone has rented it yet and then See if someone has rented it yet, and then I look at yours and see if you guys are home or not. Yeah, they did a lot. And didn't make it any bigger. They did not make it any bigger. You guys listen, I was living in the smallest apartment ever. I mean, it was a dorm room. Basically, I had a mini fridge, a mini freezer.
Speaker 2:It was basically like an airline kitchen bathroom.
Speaker 3:Exactly, but it was not well kept. And then, when I room, exactly, but it was not well kept. And then they, when I moved out, they redid everything to make it look like a real apartment and then jacked the rent to, like god only knows, to the quote-unquote reno that yeah, yeah, exactly an appliance that a functioning, yeah, functioning appliance, I know, and I at first I felt bad that I left it kind of in disarray.
Speaker 3:I mean, I didn't leave it in disarray, but it was really run down, yeah, you know. And then, as time went by, I was like you know what you guys could have done, all that when I was there.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:You know Like I lived there for a long time, Five years.
Speaker 2:The rents and everything now in the apartment. I know everyone talks about the housing, but it's true, it's fucking true. Yeah, we have friends who are coming back from uh, who lived here, moved to texas for a couple years and are coming back and looking for a two bed, and it's just that's like four thousand dollars.
Speaker 3:No, oh, it's even more now. Oh my god they were looking.
Speaker 2:They looked at one spot and a newer building was eight grand.
Speaker 3:Oh my God, that's insane Like what For what yeah. Yeah, I lucked out because I so I have like a one, a nice one bedroom, and it's the same price as my, as that little place.
Speaker 2:That's so nice. Yeah, isn't that?
Speaker 3:amazing, and they're like lovely people too. I mean, they smoke in the hallways, though oh, the owners live there no, they don't live there, but I, I haven't seen it yet, but my neighbors are telling me they're big smokers.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but I mean that's fine honestly, there's not rodents and exactly band upstairs, exactly kidding me, I'm totally fine with that I'll light your cigarette for you. You know what I mean as long as I can smoke pot. You know I'm fine. I'm like. I'm just waiting for my bathroom ceiling to drop again. I'm like you can't just paint things over.
Speaker 3:That's not how you yeah exactly I love your apartment, though. It's really cute. I do, it's a really nice size for two people and a dog. You know just like I feel like mine is a perfect size for just a single person and a dog.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know I like that. I have light and plants. That's really.
Speaker 3:Yeah, exactly yeah, you have a great place. It's gorgeous. I love this neighborhood. Yay, we're glad you're back.
Speaker 2:Thanks, good to be home. Good to be home for fun. Do you want to do a question? Sure, oh, back to the old. Yeah, are you guys remember this question?
Speaker 3:question time because we're just blabbing away. I know it's fun. This is our, you know what?
Speaker 2:what the whistle? I guess that's drinking wetting your whistle.
Speaker 3:Oh, wetting your whistle, yeah well, stretching our legs, yeah well, right now you're a teetotaler, right.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:For how long?
Speaker 2:I don't know At least a couple weeks.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I well. So, being in Spain, you know it is true. The tapas situation, you know we didn't rent apartments, we stayed. Well, we stayed in some apartments. And then some hotel situations trying not to deal or trying not to upset the local area, like when I knew that airbnb was a hotbed topic, we didn't book those. Yeah, and then some things through the like bookingcom.
Speaker 2:This is not a plug or, if you want to give me stuff, bookingcom you've been very easy to work with, and some of them were kind of like Airbnbs but booked through as a hotel situation.
Speaker 3:Okay.
Speaker 2:So we didn't necessarily have kitchens in some places.
Speaker 3:Right.
Speaker 2:As we're always eating out right. And the tapas situation. Some places you order the drink and then the tapas comes with you. In other cities you order the tapas as you want, and then the drinks are still really cheap gotcha like shit, cheaper than water yeah right, you know um so we, we like, had to drink in order to eat love it, you know, yeah, yeah, you're also, you know you're. It's an 11 am sherry, so I can have breakfast yeah, you're on hiatus.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean, when you're on holiday, like I'll crack, I'll crack a drink, you know, with breakfast, I don't care it was an extended time.
Speaker 2:We're doing it, that's true leading up to that, the six months before, it was a lot of no's. No, we're not having drinks. No, we're not going out, right, we're not doing that, and then we're traveling. It's, it's, yes so we said yes a lot and when in rome baby I helped contribute to the the numbers of most drank wine in portugal population.
Speaker 3:Yes, so yeah, I remember a few face times with you and ken that you may not remember or may remember we had fun.
Speaker 2:And then in, you know, in mexico it's mezcal, so I made sure to drink a lot of good mezcal. So, yeah, so a little recharge, recalibration. Yes, it totally makes sense to me. Okay, question Rita. Yes, ask away. What's the kindest thing anyone's done for you?
Speaker 3:oh boy, that's a tough one. That really puts me on the spot hard. Yeah, I don't know. I mean I feel like it's gonna be a generic answer, but I just feel like, um, um, like, you know me, I believe in like, just like killing people with kindness. Yeah, like I try and just be the kind, find the good in everyone and be as kind as possible at all times, unless I'm behind the bar. But then I can be a little asshole, sometimes, only because people are assholes to me. But you know, I don't know, I think, just like, when people are kind back to me, it really makes me feel whole, yeah, you know, and feel good. I can't think of you know, my parents are very great to me and you're very kind to me. I don't know, that's a really hard question yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 2:I mean, if somebody had given you a kidney, that would be an easy one exactly.
Speaker 3:You know. You know I think about okay, when I was in the hospital for that long period of time, like how kind and understanding the doctors were convincing me how much help I needed, when I didn't realize that when I wasn't being very kind.
Speaker 3:You know I was being very stubborn and confused and they still treated me with the utmost kindness, so that's very memorable. Also, I don't know why this popped in my head, but there was one time I was dog sitting and the dog got hit by a school bus in front of me and died, and this woman pulled over and held me as I sobbed uncontrollably and just held me and rocked and kept telling me it was going to be okay and that was a total stranger. So that was like the first thing that popped in my head. Very kind woman, jesus, I know, is that dark? It's fucked up. Had. Oh, very kind woman, jesus, I know, is that dark, fucked up. Yeah sorry.
Speaker 2:Okay, how about you dogs? Yeah, I know um, because wilbur's here, I think. I mean, yes, I've had so many beautiful people in my life strangers, loved ones, um, but I think most recently I can, this last six months, experience strangers traveling, just being kind and welcoming and sharing food and stories and drink, and and um being ambassadors to to where, to their homes, um, and then all of my people here who facilitated helping take care of my apartment and my plants and my dog, uh, and my mother letting us just come and take over her home.
Speaker 3:Yeah, totally.
Speaker 2:And trying to make us comfortable and happy, and my stepdad for giving us his car.
Speaker 3:Yeah, right.
Speaker 2:You know, and my, my sister, for taking care of my dog when we were on trips, um and just yeah, people going above and beyond, and I'm sure they did more than I even know about yeah, exactly to help me fulfill my crazy dreams um.
Speaker 2:So yeah, I feel very lucky and obviously Ken always does kind things Like I have a dog client and he's like oh, you don't have a lot of time before work, why don't you work out, I'll go walk the dog. Or like have a dinner ready for me. Oh, ken is like the kindest.
Speaker 3:I can't. He is like I think Ken's the kindest to me, like he's an angel sent from heaven. Yeah, because we went dark for a minute. I should probably thank the guy that pulled me off the bridge too. Although he wasn't very kind about it, he did save my life, so you were like inconveniencing him, but he couldn't ignore you. Yeah, exactly, so that was a very kind gesture.
Speaker 2:And then he just disappeared.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and he was gone. Yeah, just like that. In his green hoodie Just a little daredevil. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Popping out of nowhere.
Speaker 3:Yeah, exactly, we probably have time for one more. Yeah, yeah, we crushed it man. We've just been chatting away, yapping.
Speaker 1:Yapping, oh man.
Speaker 3:We've just been chatting away Yapping, yapping.
Speaker 2:Oh okay, I don't know about this one, uh-oh. Do you have any enemies?
Speaker 3:Okay, well, no, I mean okay.
Speaker 2:I can't imagine you having enemies.
Speaker 3:I don't. You know, I used to have a lot of nemesises. Am I saying that correctly? Nemesize, to have a lot of nemesises? Am I saying that correctly, nemesis? Would it be a nemesis?
Speaker 3:or nemesis uh, when I was younger, because I was a very, very opinionated, um stubborn individual, and but then, as I age, now in my 40s, I don't. But I do have people that I will not name names, but I do have people that that I just can't stand that come into the bar, that drive me crazy. I wouldn't call them enemies, do they?
Speaker 2:know that you like them. No, because I'm so kind to them.
Speaker 3:No, I don't I mean, but it is funny because I was just like you know me. I'll turn around and be like ugh, like a mean girl, almost Like oh my God, I hate them so much, and then be like, hey hon, what can I get? Ya, that would probably be the closest thing, but no, I don't have any enemies, really, how about you?
Speaker 2:Well, I am not everyone's cup of tea that I am aware of, but an enemy I don't, I probably do and I'm unaware there was a situation last year where someone it came out that um had been kind of documenting my actions, documenting my actions and didn't like me.
Speaker 2:And I was so oblivious and I think I'm pretty self-aware and empathetic and can pick up vibes but I was fucking blindsided when I found out this person was didn't like me and not with any actual um examples of why just didn't right. I was like what the fuck? And kind of threw me off because I made me doubt my instincts. So I don't know if I'd keep calling an enemy but didn't like me and I didn't.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I know, it's always really strange when you like, when you like, find out someone hates you and you're like what?
Speaker 2:but I'm so friendly, I mean, and I know when some people they're like no, she's not my fave, and I'm like that's cool, you know. You know you're not in my apocalypse team either. Um, but, yeah, I, yeah. And our old landlord, oh, from the restaurant.
Speaker 3:Yeah, but they're like crazy, I am her enemy. Yeah, exactly, I don't know if I'm hers. I mean, I don't think you're the only one with her.
Speaker 2:She's got a long list of non-fans.
Speaker 3:Oh, there is this woman that we nicknamed Hot Mom. That comes in here, oh.
Speaker 2:I know Hot Mom yeah.
Speaker 3:Hot Mom. She finally just started saying hi to me, but she used to hate my guts. It would be like I would catch her sitting at the bar talking about me to her friend and being like just saying nasty things and I'm so then I would just be really really overly nice to her. And now she finally says hi to me, so we're frenemies. I guess I have a lot of frenemies, yeah, maybe that I don't even know about, but they're out there.
Speaker 2:I mean we're exposed, I'm not everyone's cup of tea either. That's not true. I don't know anyone who doesn't like you.
Speaker 3:Well, they're not going to tell you. You know what I?
Speaker 2:mean.
Speaker 1:Fair enough, right awkward okay. Oh my god, you know that girl you do everything with hater, you're like same.
Speaker 3:All right, there goes my oblivious yeah, exactly, exactly okay, I got it all right. One more okay, one more, love it let's see what we got what do do we got this is going to be a good one. I have a good feeling about it.
Speaker 2:That was weird.
Speaker 3:Okay, okay. That doesn't apply, okay, okay I like the face you're making right now.
Speaker 2:Would you prefer a view of a desert or of the sea, and why?
Speaker 3:Or the sea.
Speaker 2:The sea baby Desert or sea Sea.
Speaker 3:Yeah, there's like so many little creatures that can pop out. I mean, I love the beach, is like my happy place. I love being at the beach and just reading a book and just looking up and zoning out in the water, looking for sharks and dolphins and boats and whatever. The ocean terrifies me, though the sea, and the ocean terrify me Well, I mean, we both grew up with fresh lakes. Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2:You know, and those aren't scary, you can be in Lake Michigan, Superior and stuff, with the massive. There are big waves and people are like that and I'm like you look out Like when Ken first came and I was like it looks like the ocean. You don't understand. There are ships lost at sea in Superior.
Speaker 3:You know what I mean, like it's called Superior for a reason I'm like whoa. Wasn't the perfect storm that was.
Speaker 1:Was that I could be wrong.
Speaker 3:No, it was George.
Speaker 2:Clooney, oh Mark. Well, I feel like that was superior about October. Maybe I'm wrong, I don't know well, we agree on that yeah, definitely, and what I remember. So when we were in Mexico, we went down to I'm not going to name the name because I don't want people to go, because it's getting busier um, but my first real time in the ocean was in the southern coast of Oaxaca, and that's how I learned about the sea, about the ocean, and got to understand waves. And it's different everywhere.
Speaker 2:Every, every beach, every place, every, every ocean access point has a different personality a different, rhythm different geography and this place is like super nostalgic for me to be back there, because I was like, oh, 25 years ago, this taught me the ocean, this place taught me the ocean and I know this ocean and I know these patterns and I know how to play with it and and how respect it and when she's like too much and like knowing to back off and like and it was just the coolest thing of like being, you know, a freshwater kid saying now I have a relationship this ocean taught me and I know it sounds like kind of like whatever, no, it's fine, but yeah, and I was like it made me very emotional. I was like, oh, this is yeah, this. This gave me my sea legs, you know right, exactly, exactly and going other places.
Speaker 2:I don't have that same relationship, but this section of water, um it's, yeah I guess. I think that maybe surfers would really empathize or understand yeah, I'm talking about exactly of this particular yeah all right.
Speaker 3:Willow keeps putting his head on the chair and falling asleep.
Speaker 2:Sorry if you guys can hear him snoring, but my ideal place is kind of everything I want mountains yeah I want ocean right I want city and I want recluse like yeah, don't we all um yeah, fuck, I guess this is the close.
Speaker 2:I mean, I thought san francisco was that for me and it was for a time, um, but you also do need a car to go and access the beaches and these, right, but everything's like within an hour you can go skiing, you can go surfing, you can go hiking. But then the city got smaller and got more. I don't know tech, bro, we and the vibe and everything shifted and it was too small yeah, I mean we do have a lot of access here in New York.
Speaker 2:I mean you can get on train, go to a beach, you can get on train I haven't been without a car for a while, so now I have to relearn or learn, yeah how to work without that, yeah, so yeah, we should take the ferry to the beach yeah, it's very fun.
Speaker 3:I would love that. All right, well, I love you.
Speaker 2:I'm so happy you're back yeah, this is a nice um reunion recap exactly um launch to a new season. I'm excited got a fun people coming on yep. Fun combos yep yeah, I'm excited.
Speaker 3:Yay, okay, everyone go see sinners. It's really good if you see me and my dog say hi marissa and her dad say hi you know, yeah, unless I have a face yeah, unless we have the faces on okay, all right love all right peace.
