I See You've Called in Dead | Ch. 1 - 16

If you had to write your own obituary, what would you say? How would you sum up your life? Fueled by booze and fresh rejection, Bud finds himself facing those very questions. What begins as an impulsive exercise creates a ripple effect, forever changing how he understands life and death.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:06

Thanks for calling Plotline Hotline. This call may be monitored and recorded for quality assurance purposes. If you're calling because you really call in this, please stay on the line. I'm executive producer Paige Turner, and joining us are your hosts, Claire. Tiff. And Courtney. Please hold while we connect you to the hosts. And again, welcome to Plotline Hotline. Morning.

SPEAKER_02 0:31

Happy Wednesday. Morning. We're doing. We're doing. Claire, I like that mug. Thank you. It's from my deceased Uncle Paul. He had matching ones with my Aunt Jerry. And uh can you hold it closer to the camera? Yeah, of course. It um we looked it up. It's Japanese writing, and then there's this older gentleman on it. I it's something about loving and ancient men, I think.

SPEAKER_04 1:03

We'll have to look it up. Oh, I love that proverb.

SPEAKER_02 1:07

Yes. What are you two drinking this morning? Anything good?

SPEAKER_03 1:12

I got mega mega mug of coffee. Oh wow. That is a mega mug. That's bigger than wait, hold that hold of that. That is your hold that's your Instagram.

SPEAKER_04 1:23

Yeah, this is a homemade mug by Miss Amy Corson. Oh love that. She hates this mug, but I'm like, wait, let's keep it because uh it holds the most coffee.

SPEAKER_03 1:35

I was gonna say you and Mary both have just like giant mugs of coffee, and I am so the opposite. I'm like, I'm like small to medium at best. Because it gets I don't drink it fast enough and it gets too much.

SPEAKER_04 1:51

I was gonna say I drink it fast enough that I don't have to worry about it getting cold. So but I could I can understand the reason why people partake in a smaller mug. Whoa.

SPEAKER_03 2:00

This one is hold it, hold it.

SPEAKER_02 2:03

That's some clear gold over there.

SPEAKER_03 2:06

It's double walled, so I can drink it slow. And it stays hot for like a half hour.

SPEAKER_04 2:12

Oh god, sorry, Courtney. Your mouth was open.

SPEAKER_03 2:16

Yikes. You better remember that one on the Instagram. What are you gonna do? And I also have my put something in it. Chia seed uh noon water.

SPEAKER_04 2:28

Oh, nice. You could throw something in your mouth on the Instagram there, so we don't have to. We'll do nice hot dogs.

SPEAKER_02 2:37

That's that's the creativity. The only thing we can imagine in an open mouth is a hot dog or a banana. Oh god. Yep. I will say, Courtney, the the manner in which you hold your hot cups very much reminds me of all of the therapists I've seen and how they they therapists I feel like always use a hot. How many therapists are you seeing? I've seen two different ones over the course of my year, but they always use the year over my life. Um, but they always have something hot in their hands and they hold it up close to their chest. And I just feel like that's like in therapy school, they're like, hey, just feel out the vibe, just take a hot, a hot cup and just sit there.

SPEAKER_03 3:17

That's you know, maybe it's psychological. This is a crazy time to admit this to you guys. I went to therapy school, but I only got as far as day one where they teach you how to hold the mug.

SPEAKER_02 3:26

And then I'm so it's not an above. So you were like, I may need to be on the other side of this uh therapy room. I can't.

SPEAKER_03 3:38

I I was like, wait, you're teaching me how to do it. No, no, no. I'd like to talk to somebody.

SPEAKER_04 3:44

What's it?

SPEAKER_02 3:44

Uh first.

SPEAKER_04 3:45

Courtney and her sessions, they're both just battling with who can hold the mug the best.

SPEAKER_02 3:50

That is like a Portlandia skit, I feel like.

SPEAKER_03 3:53

Uh, that is, that's funny. I like to go. Okay, what's up, boys? How you been?

SPEAKER_02 3:57

Good giggles. Courtney, kicking off.

unknown 4:00

Oh.

SPEAKER_03 4:00

Yeah, let's go, Courtney. I was gonna take uh my vitamins, but I'll wait. Uh uh, what is going on with me? Been busy, been busy. Uh I was in Chicago a couple weeks ago, and then last weekend I was in Ann Arbor visiting my dear friend Mary and Connor. I had my first post Marty's martini. Tell you what, I needed I needed the two-month break, but it was it was delightful.

SPEAKER_04 4:26

And it's proof that Mary really did make where we were. Yep. Mary keeps the wheels on the bus.

SPEAKER_02 4:34

So does Ann Arbor also have a Marty's?

SPEAKER_03 4:37

No, no. I just hadn't, I like haven't had a martini since that faithful evening.

SPEAKER_02 4:41

Oh, my literal ass brain was like post-Mart. Okay, thanks for that clarification.

SPEAKER_03 4:48

And then this weekend I'm going back to Michigan for my friend Kara's Bachelorette party. And it's so fun because I feel like bachelorette parties used to really not in a bad way, but they were really like stressful, go, go, go. Like you're like, it's like three days of just constant. Um, and now that the woman getting married, I think, is gonna be 37 this year. I think she's 36 turning 37. Uh maybe 35 turning 36, neither here nor there. But now that we're in our 30s, mid-30s, we're going to a lake house and just sitting on a boat for two days.

SPEAKER_04 5:24

I want you to know that's not gonna slow me down when I have a bachelorette party.

SPEAKER_03 5:28

You know what? There is maybe just something to be said for it's who she is as a person and not her age.

SPEAKER_04 5:35

Oh boys, we're going we're doing go, go, go for three days. You better watch it.

SPEAKER_03 5:39

I mean, but I feel like that, yeah, that's I wouldn't expect it.

SPEAKER_04 5:43

Well, we will be doing stuff that I'm sure everyone here would like.

SPEAKER_03 5:48

Yeah. Mm-hmm. No, um, like one of my friends just went to one last weekend and she had to do yoga on Saturday morning that was not optional, and it was $44. And I was like, that's crazy. I feel like we could put on a YouTube video at the house and all do a little stretching together for for zero.

SPEAKER_02 6:08

Bachelor parties are insane in that thought that, like, well, it's whatever the bride or the groom wants. We'll support them. It makes sense. You this is your time to shine. It's your uh it's your last big hurrah. Was the yoga good at least?

SPEAKER_03 6:23

I don't follow up.

SPEAKER_02 6:25

Um I did see care schedule. I saw Kare and Jesse at a bar, I think, um two weeks ago. It was like the weekend after Chicago. My brain is working on slow today. So you guys are gonna have to stay on the edge of your seats.

SPEAKER_03 6:41

Um the little engine that could get that hell frame.

SPEAKER_02 6:45

Literally. But yeah, I saw Jesse. And then uh we were sitting right next to each other at rehab over in um right by Lane Grant.

SPEAKER_03 6:52

Did you tell me that or did she tell me that? One of you has told me this.

SPEAKER_02 6:55

I think they that would have been her. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 6:59

Um Jesus Christ. You guys saw that in real time. You know what, listeners? Thank God it's not a video podcast. My the uh bags under my eyes would scare anyone.

SPEAKER_02 7:15

Tiff just got locked into daze mode for like two seconds. That was the pause.

SPEAKER_03 7:21

That was good. That was good.

SPEAKER_02 7:22

Yeah, how was Ann Arbor? What's it like as a city?

SPEAKER_03 7:25

Um, it was really cute. I was I was pretty surprised. Um, it's very dense. Well, they do live in like the main part of downtown Ann Arbor, but still it it seemed very dense. Um, very cute. We were far enough away from the university and it's summertime that like didn't really get a lot of college kid vibes, which was nice. Um and they had like some good outdoor space. Like there was a really cute like river walk area and yeah, perfectly nice. I like very great things. Yeah. Yeah. Whenever they move in. I they are moving. They get the possession of the house they bought at the end of June. And then but Mary's program isn't over until August. So I think Connor will be back and forth quite a bit this summer, and Mary too, probably a little bit, but they're not gonna move all of their stuff until August. But they like bought a house, so they have a lot of furniture to buy, so I would venture to guess they'll be like half moved. Like they'll probably start buying stuff. You know what I mean? You know when you get a new place and you have to like buy stuff for it? It's that.

SPEAKER_02 8:36

So yeah, Tiff knows nothing about that.

SPEAKER_04 8:43

I know. It took me like six months to furnish my life by myself. Now it's nice living with Amy, and she's constantly on Facebook Marketplace. I'm just the approver. I'm like, that's A or N A.

SPEAKER_03 8:56

I'm with I'm I'm an Amy. I'm like, can I buy this from somebody already assembled? And I'm in the process. I bought a really um I think you guys have seen my uh my coffee table. I'm in the process of stripping the veneer and refinishing it, so I'm very excited for that. I have um oh, this is my other update. I don't I think Tiff Nose is clear I don't know if you know this. I do on Tuesdays now with my friend Brittany, Ware, and Jess, um, we do what we have we do a woodworking club and we call it garage queers.

SPEAKER_02 9:27

Hell yeah. Garage beers. That's an epic name.

SPEAKER_03 9:31

You know, thank you. I thought of it.

SPEAKER_02 9:34

Amazing. 10 out of 10. You know what? 12 out of 10. Hey, so is this is this like a garage you go to or is it one of your garages?

SPEAKER_03 9:43

Yeah, we just go to Jess's house because she has the biggest woodworking garage. And we're actually rebuilding her. We did demo last night, which was really fun, of the old workbench that was in there, like when she bought the house, and she's and we're gonna I think she's gonna spend more time on it, but we're gonna help um like rebuild her, like a like a nicer, bigger workbench, which will be fun. And then we'll all get to use it.

SPEAKER_02 10:08

Yeah, that's amazing. Because I'm also thinking, isn't Brittany a um carpenter? Isn't Britney a carpenter? I am so tired. I just saw my audio thing and I was like, wait, this should be muted.

SPEAKER_03 10:22

And then I was like, wait, I was like, you just muted yourself in it gone vote.

SPEAKER_02 10:29

Oh my god. All right. Tough one. Keep my hands off the screen. Um Brittany a carpenter.

SPEAKER_03 10:36

Yeah, Brittany is like, we're we um just and I were like, we want to learn how to do this, and Brittany, you already know how to do this, so you're gonna teach us what it is. Brittany's like, for sure.

SPEAKER_02 10:46

So hell yeah. Well, this is a good transition into my life, so I'm gonna steal the floor. Let's go. Take take the mic, Claire, please. So we are uh we're building a livable shed in our backyard. And so it's gonna be like a studio.

SPEAKER_04 11:01

I have a new project going on.

SPEAKER_02 11:02

If you need I hear you, I hear you. Um so we're contracting out our neighbor. Thank you, Courtney. I you may yes, yes, yes.

SPEAKER_04 11:12

Um well now Courtney's gonna be certified carpenter.

SPEAKER_03 11:16

So if the shed needs to be livable, maybe it does need a little more professional touch.

SPEAKER_02 11:21

I would have loved. This is this is how I know that while we bite off a lot more than we can chew, at least we're still being realistic because we did contract it out. Um and we might be getting a roommate. And I'm not gonna reveal who the roommate is, but we might be getting a roommate.

SPEAKER_04 11:36

It's Courtney.

SPEAKER_02 11:38

That would be so fun. Uh but even if we don't and that doesn't work out, uh, we'll still have a livable shed for like guests and or my office as things expand.

SPEAKER_03 11:50

And so um Okay, where's it gonna be in the yard?

SPEAKER_02 11:54

All right, so if you're on our back porch. No, it's question time. I I gave the juice. Um it's in the if you're on our back porch and you're looking at our backyard. So our neighbors, we have the fence, right?

SPEAKER_01 12:08

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 12:08

And then there's this little like railroad tide garden right to the right of our por our porch.

SPEAKER_01 12:14

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 12:15

It's like right there. So it'll be like you'll be on our back porch, it'll be like Caddy Corner to the right along the fence line.

SPEAKER_03 12:20

So at your wedding where the bathroom was?

SPEAKER_02 12:24

Yeah, close to there, but over on the fence line.

SPEAKER_03 12:27

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 12:28

Yeah. And it's gonna be uh I think I didn't know that how many square feet is it? 12 by 16. And then it's gonna have a four-foot porch.

SPEAKER_04 12:40

Nice. Do you have plans or did are like did you buy plans online and then contract it out kind of deal?

SPEAKER_02 12:47

So he's building it from his bare hands and we're giving him designs. And so right now we're debating between um like using tresses, so it would be like an A versus having it be um more of just like an angled um so one side would be lower, one side would be higher. So we gotta nail that down. Um but yeah, he's he can kind of do whatever, and he has a bunch of materials, and so we gave him like a budget. He was like, Yeah, we can rock with that.

SPEAKER_03 13:13

So a livable shed means no plumbing, but electrical.

SPEAKER_02 13:19

Electrical, no plumbing, AC, heat in the winter. Um, we could do, we might run a line into our septic tank um that would like be able to give to pour gray water in there. So that would be like you could have at least access to like sinks and stuff.

SPEAKER_03 13:35

Like a sink.

SPEAKER_02 13:36

But we would be sharing a bathroom.

SPEAKER_03 13:39

Nice.

SPEAKER_02 13:40

Yeah, it's exciting. It's um but you're right. We do have a lot going on, and that might be why I also have bags under my eyes. Just trying to hear that.

SPEAKER_04 13:50

Yeah, you did a I saw you did uh another party with the tappere.

SPEAKER_02 13:54

Hell yeah, we did. How to go. That was really cool as well. Um, so we did a birthday party, 40th birthday party, and it was awesome. We uh like we found our flow. We that was the first time we had to hitch it to the car, and so there was like a lot of learning with that, but we took our time. We've done the full end-to-end process at this point. Um and at the end of the night, Megan hooked up these lights that I didn't know we had, and it looked sexy. I don't know if I have the pictures. I'm gonna look. Uh, but yeah, it was really cool. And I finalized the contract draft. Not the contract draft, I sent over to our lawyer last night the stuff to finalize the contract. So things are moving again. Um, but yeah, the event was good, things were fun.

SPEAKER_03 14:41

Let's go. That's thrilling.

SPEAKER_02 14:44

Yeah, yeah, it's it is. I think I'm realizing the importance of like delegating what you don't need to do and doing what you need to do to keep everything afloat. It's crazy. Alright, I'm sending you guys that picture with the lights. It was like, it hit a vibe. I didn't even know it existed.

SPEAKER_03 15:03

I love when that stuff happens. You're like, wait, this could operate in such a way? I was happy before, and now I'm thrilled. Oh, those look sick, Claire. Right? Oh shit, that does look really nice. Yeah, you gotta put that on the code.

SPEAKER_04 15:19

Did you get through did you get through all your beers?

SPEAKER_02 15:21

We got through all the beers. Like, um, I think we had five cakes and everything got tapped by the end of the night. Sick. So yeah, and I was drunk. It was fun. Um, yeah, it was just fun. It was fun. And so we've been doing the shed, we've been doing that event, and then um what else you got going on? We got some other exciting things that not ready to share, but uh we'll talk offline.

SPEAKER_04 15:50

You always have okay, we could talk offline, guys.

SPEAKER_02 15:53

Yeah, so Tim, what's going on over in Chicago though?

SPEAKER_04 15:55

I do know something that's coming up. It's on my calendar.

SPEAKER_02 15:57

Yeah, that's what we can talk about offline. Um just know that we have everything ordered, ready, um, and pickup is Friday.

SPEAKER_04 16:07

Hell yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:08

So fingers crossed, bye miss. Um yeah, like life is good, work's been crazy. Work's been ill. Work has been. Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.

SPEAKER_04 16:19

That's the worst coming in the summer.

SPEAKER_02 16:21

It is. And I have an opportunity to switch to team, and the the the other team, they have a completely different work structure, and it would be it would be a shift. And I'm right now in this paralysis and analysis state of like, do I stay in my current setup? Do I leave? It's kind of like when you're in a relationship and you're like, do I stay in my current relationship? Is there something better out there? You really don't know until you try it. But if you're thinking that, then you should probably try it, kind of thing. So this if you're listening and you're thinking about it, maybe you should try it. So maybe I should try it. Maybe I should try it.

SPEAKER_03 16:57

Um, but yeah, that's so it's a different part of the product.

SPEAKER_02 17:00

Uh so it's the AI enablement team. So they actually um support the whole organization. And so it would go from like doing internal. Yeah, I would be doing like internal, how do I get other teams to use AI more, how do I unblock them, how do I build prototypes that can help them do their jobs better? Um, and it's more it's like a step up in the sense that the meetings I would be demoing in are like exec level, um, and the team is all more like senior. And so there is, I think, more growth opportunity for sure. But with that comes more responsibility and but not really, because I feel like sometimes my team, it's like, alright, guys, it's totally reasonable to make a commitment to deliver this, and then crazy thought, like let's deliver it. And even crazier thought, let's deliver it as a team. I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 17:49

Hey.

SPEAKER_02 17:51

But enough about me. Tiffy, bring us home. Strong start.

SPEAKER_04 17:59

Man, I just feel like I've been, I don't think like anything crazy's been going on. I just feel like I've had something every day. I've been playing a lot of sports. So I feel like every day after work I have to go do something. Um you guys left last weekend or two weekends ago. Oh, and then I'm on this crazy project that they like contracted me for 150 hours for like, you know, four weeks essentially, which is like a normal work week, but um, it's a lot for a freelance project. And honestly, I'm already over the hours, so it kind of is what it is. But I am just finishing that up. That's gonna be finished next week. So kind of in the grinding phase right now. Um and that's been that's been fun. Been working with some characters, been having to present to some characters without knowing that I have to present, which is always crazy. Nice surprise when you get on the meeting and then you have to present. You're like, huh?

SPEAKER_02 19:04

So, yeah, what does presenting entail?

SPEAKER_04 19:06

Um, like I made some storyboards, right? But I'm working for a company where this is their client. So it's almost like I should not be presenting to their client, because like, what if I say something crazy? Like, you guys should take my work and present it to the client because it's your client. Um so I just feel like I'm kind of client managing for them, which is crazy because that's not really my job.

SPEAKER_03 19:32

That's like so far from your job, it's actually.

SPEAKER_04 19:35

Yes, yeah, it's kind of crazy. So, I mean, they're paying me really well, which is annoying. So it's like, okay, I can put up with it.

SPEAKER_03 19:43

I'll manage some clients.

SPEAKER_04 19:45

I don't manage it, but um, and it seems like it's going well, so I don't know. It's just a whole there's just like I think so many problems could be solved at work with let's try over-communicating. There's nothing wrong with that. I think so many people are under-communicating in a crazy way, yeah. Or I'm just like, I will over-communicate, I'll be the one to do it. Because sometimes you're kind of just sitting there waiting for someone to respond to something.

SPEAKER_02 20:17

Honestly, yeah, it drives me crazy because I feel like I'm lowering my standard by working with people who operate like this, and it's really not better. It's not better to lower your standard because you still just have so much ambiguity.

SPEAKER_04 20:30

Yeah, it's just like that stresses me out more. Like, I'd rather just like let's communicate, figure out the problem. And it's not really on the team I'm working for's fault, it's like the client. Like, we started the project, and then I would like go back to look at their design files to check something, and they had already designed some storyboards, and I was like, What are you guys doing? Like, that's my job. So I was so confused. And I was like, should we ask? And then my client's like, no, no, no, just kind of go off of that. And I'm like, but what, what? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Like, shouldn't we just talk to them? Yeah, anyways. Yeah. I'm Zen. I'm gonna get through this project. You're gonna kill it. Yeah, but uh my softball team is undefeated this year. Oh, we just won two more games, and our point differential is like nine. Insane. We're beating teams like 27 to 2. Jesus. That's legal. That's crazy. That's capitalism. We're having so much fun. Just call you the capitalist. And then I'm working my way up in the pickleball league. I started at 44, I'm now 24th. Hell yeah. Out of how many? Uh out of 46. Hell yeah. I uh I've been going to Orange Theory pretty consistently, which is fun. Rough as hell.

SPEAKER_02 21:51

Um You were gonna say that you ran, so I'm assuming we made a Oh, I ran a 5k this weekend.

SPEAKER_04 21:57

I just feel like this weekend was a lot of. Go, go, go. I tell you what. I ran a 5K and then I came home and then I had to go to softball for three hours. So just like and then I had to work after that. So just like a lot of doing stuff. But I'm trying really hard to keep doing the stuff I like to do and just figuring out how to get my work done so that I can keep doing that. Because that's when I start to get really depressed, is when I'm just gonna have to cancel everything because I have to work.

SPEAKER_03 22:27

So well, and I think the physical stuff keeps the train on the tracks a lot of the time.

SPEAKER_04 22:32

I think so too. Honestly.

SPEAKER_03 22:34

And I hate doing it. Like it really does like keep it. It's crazy. I love doing it. Well, I mean, sports are fun, but like all of it together can be like a lot.

SPEAKER_04 22:47

Yeah. It's uh so it's been yeah, it's been a couple busy couple days. That was like the other last weekend Amy looked at me and was like, I miss you. Cause like it was like, oh yeah, we haven't really spent much time together. We've been just kind of like passing each other because she has stuff to do, I have stuff to do. So finally Sunday we were able to hang out, which was nice. But both of us are like, wow, we are in full swing of summer, so yeah. Summer in Chicago, I heard it was great. I know. I mean, yeah, it's we're getting there, which rocks. It's fun.

SPEAKER_02 23:26

That's awesome. Because do you Anyways?

SPEAKER_04 23:29

I don't even think I really told a linear story. I just kind of word vomited all the stuff. I think it paint it painted a picture.

SPEAKER_02 23:36

Do you have any any days coming up where you get like a recharge a day?

SPEAKER_04 23:41

Uh not until this project's over, which is the ninth. Um, and then I'm working on some other, I'm immediately working on some other stuff. So we're going to France the 14th. Um, so you know, hoping to get a bunch of stuff done before then, but I'm gonna have to work while I'm there too. So I think it's just gonna be a busy June. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. But I'll take it.

SPEAKER_02 24:04

Well, I'm seeing this for like, yeah, I'm fishing for tips because I feel like life is really good when things are firing all cylinders, but I'm at the point where I could use one cylinder less just for like a day, you know? Yeah. But then if I'm just like sitting at like I need to recharge, you know. And so I was I was hoping you and your expertise, Tiff, because you've been doing this for years, like full throttle.

SPEAKER_04 24:28

I mean, I had like somewhat of a break in my deliverables this week. I had like two days to get a video done instead of one day. So I'll be honest, yesterday I just worked really slow and took my time because I knew I could finish it today. So that's kind of like a recharge day for me is like do half my work. Active recovery. So that the yeah, it's like active recovery, it's not a full rest.

SPEAKER_02 24:52

That's true. The deadlines help like the deadline, because I I felt stressed this week because I have a demo um today, and I think the demos are never fun.

SPEAKER_04 25:01

Yeah, it's just like uh I just I also have to present something today, and I'm like, can you just be nice? Can we just be nice? Like, you can send me an email after with feedback if you want, but like, can you just be nice to my face? I don't want to have to deal with it. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 25:20

Because are you dealing with you're dealing with your client's client?

SPEAKER_04 25:23

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 25:25

Mm-hmm. What about you, Court? How's work for you? Oh. Uh-oh.

SPEAKER_03 25:32

It's fine. I mean, it's just, you know, my boss got fired and I report directly to the CEO, and it's very stressful. So.

SPEAKER_02 25:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 25:41

So let's just all quit. Today's my Friday, so. Okay, hell yeah. What were you doing? Because you're going to the batch.

SPEAKER_02 25:48

You're going no, you're good. You're going to the batch party tomorrow?

SPEAKER_03 25:50

Yep. Hell yeah. I'll be out of office on a boat.

SPEAKER_04 25:54

Yeah. Hell yeah. Well, Thursday through Thursday, Friday, Saturday. That's kind of a long, that's kind of a long party. Talk about slowing down because they're 37.

SPEAKER_03 26:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 26:07

We might be go, go, go, but we're going Friday, Saturday.

SPEAKER_03 26:11

I I like the only reason I'm cool with it being Thursday, Friday, Saturday is because it is a six-hour drive, so it's not close Michigan, it's far Michigan. Where are you going in Michigan? Higgins Lake. Never heard of it, but the water is like crystal clear, so I'm pretty excited about that. I'm bringing my goggles. Okay. I texted the group that I was gonna bring goggles, and somebody asked to buy it extras. That's awesome. Because I had to buy a couple different pairs for the try.

SPEAKER_02 26:45

That's awesome. I also love your intentionality with swimming in Michigan in June. I think that that's that's a great optimism. I think it's a great optimism.

SPEAKER_03 26:59

I think it depends on intentionality. That's very kind of you.

SPEAKER_04 27:02

I didn't think it's a good idea. I think it depends on how big it depends on how big the lake is. I think or how cold it'll be.

SPEAKER_03 27:10

Oh, I'm gonna swim.

SPEAKER_02 27:11

Oh that lake does look beautiful.

SPEAKER_04 27:14

Oh, she she popped up some page center some photos.

SPEAKER_02 27:18

Page, I need you to tone it down on what you're sending me. You're getting me distracted. Um that's awesome. That's awesome. Well, you know, yeah, maybe maybe you'll get so drunk at your bachelorette party that like you'll do something stupid, like write, like write maybe uh a love letter to to I don't know why I thought love letter, but maybe you'll do something so stupid, like write a letter to somebody or something, and then you'll accidentally like send it to that person, and then you'll like wake up and be like, oh fuck. And that fellas doesn't get it. Is our transition into our book.

SPEAKER_03 27:49

Oh, as soon as you started talking, I was like, here we go, she's doing the transition, I can shoot in her eyes. I got so much. And then you said love letter, and I think you confused Tiff so bad that yeah, I was just confused.

SPEAKER_02 28:05

I did, because I I think we should hand it over to Courtney to kick us off of here. Courtney, what did we read this past two weeks?

SPEAKER_03 28:14

Um, we read I See You've Called and Dead, which is a book about an obituary writer or a love letter writer, depending on how you look at obituaries. And he's going through a tough time, a little bit of a divorce, goes on a really bad date, and then he gets a little drunk after he goes on a bad date, writes his own obituary, and um accidentally publishes it to the newspaper that he works for. So chaos is.

SPEAKER_04 28:45

And he works at like uh he works at what seems to be like a New York Times caliber.

SPEAKER_03 28:50

Yes. He's at a big paper in New York City. Um and yeah, it's I I'm really enjoying it. I think the premise is very um good, and I like I like the writing style a lot so far. Um how are you guys how are you guys getting along with this? I don't love it. Tiffates it. I don't love it.

SPEAKER_02 29:15

I like it, but I think I think Courtney and I typically end up on the same aisle of of where we land. I'm curious to learn more about your thoughts.

SPEAKER_04 29:24

Yeah, tell us more. I feel like, you know, I understand, I understand the message of like well, there's like two things. I feel like it's just like a little heavy-handed or like a little clumsy in how it's trying to to make you feel something about like, oh, he's an obituary writer, so right? So it's like a couple times it's been like, yeah, you boil down a life into these few words, and then like I do hear, like then he shows us an example of an obituary, and I'm like, okay, that's like not that special to me, or like, and then the other heavy-handed message is like this obituary writer's trying to live. He's gotta live because, or you know what I mean? Like, he's like he writes about death, but now it's time to live. And I just feel like that's been like overtly said a couple times. I wish there was more subtext, like it was like I feel like it just kind of says it for you versus being like, oh, the message I got from this is that you know, he needed to live a little bit because he spends his time writing about people dying or whatever. But I just feel like it's been like stated a couple times, and I'm like, okay, I get it, I'm moving on. Also, this is a me problem. I have trouble connecting with a male protagonist.

SPEAKER_02 30:50

So I'm doing the audiobook and I enjoy the the male sound. Narrator. The narrator, thank you.

SPEAKER_03 30:58

The male sound the male sound.

SPEAKER_02 31:02

I I feel like it I would I would buy with him in in real life. Um so maybe that's why I'm not as as impacted. Yeah. So that are just my my brief thoughts about it. But it's interesting because you're you're picking up on subtleties and messages that I didn't pick up on. I feel like the reason I like it is I like the humor. I feel like he has really good transitions and he doesn't take things seriously. Um like the scene where he's at a funeral where his ex-wife who cheated on him is there. And somebody asked, like, what happened, and he's like, Oh, you know, like I I put my foot down and I filed for a divorce after she told me she wanted a divorce. And I was like, that's that's like like that is how I want to live my life of like just like not taking things seriously. Like everything that is serious, um, like when he published his uh his thing to the Global Network is obituary, and then people were like, Yeah, like you're not even that good of a writer, or like, or or like it's just he pokes fun in ways that in these serious situations, you know, I would have anxiety or whatever, and he's just like using humor to soften.

SPEAKER_04 32:12

Well, is that a character flaw?

SPEAKER_02 32:15

What do you mean by that?

SPEAKER_04 32:16

Like he can't take anything seriously?

SPEAKER_02 32:20

It depends on how you look at it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 32:32

But it seems like maybe he has some issues if he gets drunk and writes his own obituary.

SPEAKER_02 32:37

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_03 32:38

I think like with all things there's a balance to be struck. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And maybe he's not striking the balance correctly. However, I agree with Claire. I think like some of his like his ability to just kind of go with it after he's like really royally fucked up is in some ways good. Commendable, but balance, etc.

SPEAKER_02 33:00

And you just balanced out that uh those two sides, Court.

SPEAKER_03 33:03

I was gonna let you guys keep going, but I figured I could.

SPEAKER_04 33:06

I I felt like I was seeing what both you guys were saying, so you know, you know, you know, hopefully, maybe in the back half of the book there'll be something more profound to be said about like the living like he needs to live more. Like I that's the thing. It's like I'm like expecting there to be something profound, right? Of like, oh, the message is like he needs to live before he's you know, because exact I've said it. Anyways, I just feel like I think I was waiting for the message to hit me a little harder, but it's kind of like just laid out there for you, and it's like, okay, well, I guess we'll just kind of watch it unfold.

SPEAKER_03 33:48

But yeah. So early in the book we learn about this thing that these nuns did, and it's called Memento Mori, which is Latin for remembering that you die. So they would pray, pray or meditate, I forget, like every day about their death, which is kind of crazy to think about. But it and then they interviewed them afterwards, and this is all in the book, but I would guess it's got some truth to it, maybe not. Um, and they were like, isn't that so depressing and sad? And they were like, No, it actually like really remembers to teach you like how fragile life is and blah blah blah.

SPEAKER_04 34:22

Um yeah, Courtney, this is your second themed book, your second book themed with death. Is there something that you're interested in?

SPEAKER_03 34:30

Yeah, apparently. Apparently, that's uh that's crazy. I didn't pick that up.

SPEAKER_04 34:37

But I also like I think something that's a little tough for me is like are people really all reading obituaries so much that like he publishes his obituary and everyone is like, oh, I thought you were dead.

SPEAKER_02 34:53

He published shit on like a global network.

SPEAKER_04 34:56

Yeah. Yeah, but like I don't see the New York Times obituaries. No, for sure.

SPEAKER_03 35:02

But think about the people like the people that he are saying the people that are saying these things to him are people that he works with, so like they're keeping an eye. I feel like he's mobile like yeah, but it's like think about if like I'm trying to think of a good example. Like if if I read if you find out that somebody has died via obituary, you're you start texting. You start like laughing.

SPEAKER_04 35:24

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 35:25

The people that also like, did you hear that Bud died? You know, the two books that I was between, both of the characters, both of the main characters, or both books had a main character named Bud, which is kind of weird.

SPEAKER_02 35:37

That is. I wonder how old the author is, because I think obituaries are kind of like a dying art for our generation.

SPEAKER_04 35:44

I think um Yeah, I mean he's like probably what would you say, 50s, 60s? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:53

Because even in the the book it calls out how, with like no local newspapers dying out, like pe like even people who nobody knows, you know, they're in the local newspaper's obituary. And so there is some sense of just like losing the legacy of people. I mean, not to say that that's your legacy, it's your obituary, but just like even if you're known by nobody, you would still have that as your final despedita. And now it's it's it's I don't think our generation connects to it as much, but I do enjoy reading them, but they're always like and Sharon Cox of Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 36:28

See, that's what I agree with you, Claire. I was just about to say, like, have you guys ever read a beautiful obituary? Mm-hmm. Maybe we should reinvent.

SPEAKER_03 36:37

But how do you sum I mean you don't have a lot of for every for our next for our next meeting? I want everyone to write their own obituary. Let's see what you come up with.

SPEAKER_04 36:47

But and Courtney, I get what you're saying, but like he talks about writing obituaries like it's like some profound thing. And it's like, I don't it's really just like uh survived by these people, liked to do this, and then you know, it kind of I feel like every obituary I've read is like what Claire's saying. It's like they feel kind of impersonal and just kind of like a like a small little snippet in a history book that you just kind of glaze over. Like it's not like I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 37:21

So I'm just like I got an analogy. So, like, you know, if you're a wine expert, you're gonna sip this glass of wine and you're gonna be like, oh my god, these grapes from the fucking valley of Italy, they've never been this crisp, and you're gonna like see so much meaning and profoundness because you're invested in that art, but then like somebody like me who was a 20-year-old just buying cupcake at the gas station, like a wine's a wine. And so, like, maybe you're just not connected with like this form of the art of obituary writing. Yeah, because I do think there is something to preparing for your death by just accepting that the fact that like you could die, and I think the profoundness for me in this book is more so just seeing like thoughts of decisions other people make that like I've never thought. Like the woman who just goes to other people's wakes, and you know, it's like okay, like I see I see the profoundness in doing something like that, and how it could touch you in ways that you don't expect, and how it's just like a different way of showing up in the world. Um it's a different way of connecting with people. But maybe, yeah, maybe this just isn't your art flavor.

SPEAKER_03 38:34

Yeah, I think there would I think that if you every day for work wrote about dead people, you would I think at least for the first little while, maybe you would get jaded and gloss over it, but I think you would take it very seriously because it is like this like I am publishing something that is going to exist realistically forever. Like, I think you know, as far as we can tell. Yeah, and it's the last little bit that like in a hundred years somebody's great-great grandchildren will be able to like look back and read. I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 39:08

So I think that's what I agree with you guys. I just feel like the book is not convincing me super well that this is like a profound thing. It just feels kind of surface level, in my opinion. Like it's like I I would like to get into more of the the psychological effects of this, but it's is it we'll see. Maybe that happens in the back half. Is it I think that's it?

SPEAKER_03 39:36

Go ahead. Sorry. Um, with the nun thing, just to connect the dots really quick. I I think they're doing so. Then he goes and he meets a woman at a wake, and he says, at like his ex-wife's mother's wake, and he says, like, how did you know Janice or whatever her name was? And she was like, I didn't. And he was like, What? And she was like, I just do this, I just go. It helps me or like you know, keeps me grounded, it helps me like remind me why I'm alive, blah blah blah. It's like I'm taking it as they brought up nuns and like the Memento Mori, because this is kind of his own version of that, and so he starts going to Wakes with this woman. I think at least in part because he thinks she's cute. Um her name is Clara. Claire's her cute is Clara, and she go and he goes with his um his really good friend Ted?

unknown 40:26

What's that?

SPEAKER_03 40:27

Tim? Tim, thank you. Tim, who I love Tim. Tim, I think is Tim. I will say, Tim is an excellent character. Big thing. I like Tim. Um Tim is landlord. Go ahead. Landlord slash best and only friend. No, he has a work friend as well, but he's like his main friend. Um and Tim has really t taken him under his wing, uh, just as like um he lives right below him. Tim is wheelchair bound from a moped accident. So I think Tim is maybe oh I think that's important in the sense of like closer to like uh helping Bud with both like acceptance and like life is short and we have to kind of like live each day type of vibe. Um but Tim goes with him on these like little wake adventures that they're doing, um, which I think is very nice.

SPEAKER_04 41:28

I do think the Bud Tim relationship is my favorite part of the book. It's cute, it's really cute. It's wholesome. I think that's really fun to read about, and I feel like they do a good job there of like I don't know, kind of exploring some bigger themes and stuff, but um, yeah. I I like that part for sure. Yeah. I I do like Tim.

unknown 41:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 41:54

Um I would agree though that I've kind of hit a law. I felt like the first, probably third of the book, I was like, these transitions, this story, like I'm staying hooked, and now I am like, okay, we are I I'm losing interest, and so I do hope something grabs my attention again. Um I thought it was funny uh when he published when he published his obituary and the next day he had to go to HR. The HR woman's name was either Megan or Amy. I was like, what are you so funny? That was funny. So Easter egg the universe is giving us.

SPEAKER_04 42:32

Yeah. And I will say, like, I do like the way it's written. I think it's funny, it's like easy to read. Yes. I don't think it's I I like that. I just yeah. I think there's just part of me that's that's wishing it hit it hit a little harder on the on the live a little theme, I guess.

SPEAKER_03 42:53

Live a little, would ya? Live a little would ya? Oh, when we leave. Oh, go ahead, Claire.

SPEAKER_02 42:59

I'm just because his relationship with Tim and then Clara, this woman who we just met, like, do you guys think that he's gonna lean into a relationship with Claire? Is she just gonna be a passing character?

SPEAKER_04 43:11

I think they're gonna have a relationship. Like a regular relationship.

SPEAKER_02 43:14

That would be a little too predictable for me.

SPEAKER_03 43:18

I could see a regular relationship. I could see like a regular relationship.

SPEAKER_04 43:20

Well, you know what I think is gonna happen? You know what I really think is gonna happen? Tim's gonna die.

SPEAKER_02 43:28

When you said that, I felt that.

SPEAKER_04 43:30

Tim's gonna die. I mean, come on, he's the character, he's the character we like the most, and you did say that Trilby sobbed at the end of this book, so I have a feeling Tim's gonna die. Fuck. And he's gonna struggle with writing Tim's obituary. Yep.

SPEAKER_03 43:46

Yep. Okay, I think that's a really good thing. Claire is gonna be there. Oh yeah, Claire will be there. And he does have we've been breadcrumbed these like so he has a Work friend and he has a boss, and we have been breadcrumbed that in like their hardest times, even though they're not very close, like outside of work, they have each kind of like helped the other one through their hard times. So, like his boss's wife died, and and his boss found out about it at work, and like Bud drove his boss home afterwards and like then took care of him in like small ways. Like he would leave lunch on his desk, he would go for walks with him, like whatever. And then we also find out that after Bud's wife uh divorced him, his like work, his like co-co-part counterpart at work, like kind of did the same thing. They weren't close outside of work, but he would call him on a Sunday and say, Hey, you want to meet me in Brooklyn, or do you want to go to a movie after work? Or like these kind of like very small ways of taking care of each other, which I think is really nice. And I think we're gonna see that continue if if Tim dies.

SPEAKER_04 44:54

Yeah. Um I have a very vivid picture of Tim's boss as like the Bud's boss. Sorry, as Bud's boss as the um the guy who runs the newspaper from Spider-Man. Hilarious.

SPEAKER_03 45:10

Like that's all I could see is that guy. I think that's I think that's accurate. That's funny. Um we I think we're also gonna find out about Bud's. We've been bred the other breadcrumb we've gotten is um like the death of Bud's mom. Like we don't know much about it, but like we know that she's dead. And at one point Tim says to him, like, they're at a wake, and he's like, that must have been, you know, like sitting in the pews with like when someone you love has died, must have been really hard for a 13-year-old boy. And it's like, what must that mean? Like his m like clearly something tragic happened that like we don't know about yet, but anyway, when we leave them, when we leave them, um Bud has just gone into the HR meeting. I think. Do we think he's gonna get fired? Basically, like we kind of leave off with like we know that Bud has to go talk to HR because he's royally screwed up. He's like broken all of the laws of the newspaper by logging in after hours and publishing like this fake obituary. Do you think he's gonna get fired? And they've hired an intern. Uh yes, they've fired an intern.

SPEAKER_04 46:25

Who sucks. Um, man, it's like tough to say. I mean, it's hard to say in a book like this, because I think it could go either way. Truly. Cause I don't know. They, you know, there could be an excuse for why he's not fired, but I think he should be fired.

SPEAKER_02 46:45

Yeah, would we all like would you fire him? So Tiff, you would fire him.

SPEAKER_04 46:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 46:51

If you were the boss, Courtney, would you?

SPEAKER_03 46:56

I think like at a place like the New York Times, you have to. You know what I mean? Yeah. Like you can't.

SPEAKER_04 47:02

Yeah, you have like a standard to uphold where you can't.

SPEAKER_03 47:05

In a world where I'm at a 50-person company and Yeah, if it's a little local newspaper, that's a little different. But I think they have to. However, I don't think he's going to get fired. I think there's I think that he's gonna they're gonna feel bad for him or something. So I I would fire him, but I don't think he I don't think that's how the story goes.

SPEAKER_02 47:26

I think he's gonna get fired because um Clara's character is interesting in the sense that she was working for like a big bank, and then uh she kind of got burnt out, and then she stopped working for the bank, and then she kind of went on this like journey of connecting and finding herself, and I forget exactly what she did. Um, but I wonder if that's setting up for like a big career life change for Bud.

SPEAKER_03 47:55

I like that theory. Love that.

SPEAKER_02 47:59

Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_03 48:00

Um any other um big predictions for the second half?

SPEAKER_02 48:04

Well, Tim's gonna die, but other than crime, um yeah.

SPEAKER_04 48:07

Yeah. I mean, yeah, and that would, I'm sure, kind of dive into those themes a little deeper for us, which is what I want. I'd like to see more of that. I'd like to see Tim die. No, I wouldn't like to see Tim die, but I'd like to see like I would like to get something profound from this book. Yeah, I am kind of missing at the moment. Sure. And I think something big like that would could maybe trigger that.

SPEAKER_03 48:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 48:33

Yeah, it's interesting. I I can I feel it through the computer that you're craving that depth. Um and I I have like that, I haven't even considered it. And so it's like cool to see how different people want different things from books. And what this book is giving me is enough for me to not think of that. But I definitely felt that from Cleat Cute. So it's it's it's just interesting how how we receive it differently.

SPEAKER_04 49:02

That's so funny because I went into Cleek Qt knowing there was not going to be any sort of message. But then there were so many messages. Yeah, the author was hitting us over the head, making us straight again. Uh again, subtext.

SPEAKER_03 49:18

I like the message. Cleek was Cleek Q was what's it called? Never mind, I shouldn't make that joke.

unknown 49:25

Never mind.

SPEAKER_00 49:28

Big stretches! Do we want to move?

SPEAKER_04 49:30

Courtney, what do you think's gonna happen in the second half?

SPEAKER_03 49:33

Um Well, now I'm stuck on Tim's death, which I hate. I hate it. But maybe it's good that I know it might be coming. Um I think that he is gonna leave the paper in some way, even though I don't think he's gonna get fired, but I do think you make a good point, Claire. Um, I think that yeah, to your point, Tiff, big theme of like obituary writer doesn't live. I think he's gonna figure out like what happiness means for him in a post-divorce world. And I'm really stuck on Tim's death. That's all I can think about. Thanks.

SPEAKER_04 50:18

Sorry.

SPEAKER_02 50:20

Uh yeah, because weddings. Because why else introduce such a such a present character if there wasn't a purpose for it?

SPEAKER_03 50:29

Well, then he's an older man. His purpose could be to join Bud at the wakes. Because Bud would not go to the Wakes by himself. There's no way.

SPEAKER_04 50:37

But he's an older man, which has been made clear. He's, you know, he has some health issues.

SPEAKER_03 50:44

So I think it's just kind of set up for Do you think Tim leaves him the house in his in his will?

SPEAKER_04 50:50

Yeah. I hope so.

SPEAKER_03 50:52

I think there's gonna be something. It's like a I think it's like a three or four, three, three-story brownstone, maybe it's some sort of where like the first two floors are Tim's and the second third floor is Buds. Yeah. I'll give it a three and a half. Three and a half. Alright. I think I need a little bit more.

SPEAKER_02 51:13

I think I like it, but I need a little bit more. Like I'm losing interest. Yeah, I get that.

SPEAKER_03 51:18

I think that's fair. Tiff?

SPEAKER_04 51:20

I'm going 2.5.

SPEAKER_03 51:22

2.5. Right. I'm going four. I'm really enjoying it. I won't let you ladies dissuade me.

SPEAKER_02 51:30

Good. Be your own person. Have your own thoughts. This is great. So what's our total?

SPEAKER_03 51:38

Our average is 333. Okay. So I should make like a like a graph of like where are we normally at at the halfway point, you know? And normally hold on, I'll just do it really quick. I hear the clicks. Okay. Our average at the half is 3-3-8. So we are right. Okay. All right on the schedule. We're consistent. And then let's see what our average on the back half is. On the the final, I should say.

SPEAKER_04 52:17

That's gotta be why that's also gotta be 3-3 because I feel like we either skyrocket or go down. So 3-2-8. Yep.

SPEAKER_03 52:24

Oh, yeah. So it pretty much goes down a little bit. Pretty much the same, yeah. Yeah, I think because we had a couple books that just did an absolute nosedive.

SPEAKER_04 52:32

Yeah. Sorry, sorry, all the bunny lovers. Good times.

SPEAKER_02 52:39

I love it.

SPEAKER_04 52:40

Alright, we'll hop into the week.

SPEAKER_02 52:43

And uh it was so great to eat Bellas.

SPEAKER_04 52:46

Yeah, let's see, let's see how uh that was good, Claire. Let's see how the back half of this book treats us. I'm I'm I'm open to being persuaded that it's good in the back half.

SPEAKER_03 52:56

Open to persuasion.

SPEAKER_04 52:58

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 52:59

Excellent.

SPEAKER_02 52:59

Hell yeah.

SPEAKER_03 53:00

All right.

SPEAKER_04 53:01

All right, well, all right. See ya. Y'all later.