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Cap'n Crunch's Crunch Berries Are Delicious w/ Olivia Thong · The Delicious Culture with Jon Francois

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Hey delishies, grab a plate and feast on the
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delicious culture. I'm your host, John Francois.
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Oh my God, we are feasting on food, pop culture,
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and lifestyle with artist and it girl, Olivia
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Togg. She told me to refer to her that way and
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I could not be more happier because she is in
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fact the girl of the scene of the moment. I know
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that's a more complicated way of describing you,
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but sure, we'll take that. Thank you so much.
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Yeah, self -proclaimed it girl and proud of it.
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Here we are. There you go. Olivia and I, we performed
0:32
theater at Eastern Connecticut State University,
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oh God, like 14 years ago, like 2012, 2013 -ish.
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It's been that long. Yeah, it's been that long,
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yeah. Where the hell has time gone by? You know,
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I ask myself that question every day, John. Mm
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-hmm. So before we get into our food, pop culture,
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and lifestyle questions, why do you call yourself
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the it girl? What's so it about you lately? You
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know, it's a good question. I would say that
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I am self -proclaimed in that sense because I
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have worked very hard to cultivate the life that
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I have for myself and that being that... I work
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hard, I play hard, I've got myself a really good
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group of friends and a great community and I
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just like to go out and have fun and also get
1:19
down to business when I need to and that's pretty
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cool. I'm a version of myself that younger me
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would have really thought was really cool and
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that feels really good. So looking forward to
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knowing more through these three questions. Let's
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start with the first one. So Olivia, what is
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a delicious meal that you've had lately? Okay,
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tough question because I love food, love to eat
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all sorts of things. I recently was visiting
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my parents in France, and I ate a lot of really
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good food over there. But the first thing that
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came to mind when you asked me this question
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was this dinner that I went to with a couple
1:59
of friends. There's this place called The View.
2:02
Have you ever heard of it in New York? I've heard
2:04
of the TV show The View, but not the restaurant
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The View. There's this place called The View,
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and it's literally at the top of the Marriott
2:11
Hotel around Times Square, which at first, like
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I had an aversion to it. I was like, oh, That's
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like hell on earth. I like don't really want
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to go there I don't really know but apparently
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my friends talked it up. They said no you have
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to go trust me It's really good and it spins
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around. It's like a rotating rest. I know it
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rotates around What did that make you dizzy and
2:33
nauseous? So slowly like you don't even realize
2:36
it but like before you know it you're looking
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at like a different part of like the city Yeah,
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I don't know. It's like a kind of like it's kind
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of it's kind of magical can't lie It was delicious
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and you're kind of in this like weird glass box
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that's slowly moving around and looking out at
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Manhattan and the snow started to fall and it
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was super delicious and the company was great
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and we had really good wine. So that was a really
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good meal. Can't recommend enough. What did you
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eat? Give me the specifics. Well, they were out
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of the way too. So I had to settle for the chicken,
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but it was so good. It came with like, um, You
3:17
get like your mains and then you can get the
3:18
side separately and the fly stack is like a little
3:21
bit more up there But it's one of those places
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where i'm like no for sure like 100 I would pay
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whatever I paid a thousand times again. It was
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so good So you got like I think we got a side
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of like peas and carrots and mashed potatoes
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and all sort Yeah, it was just it was really
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really wonderful though and the chicken was It
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was good, you know Yeah. What is, what is Weigu?
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That's spelled W -A -G -U, right? Yeah, yeah.
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It's just like a really delicious cut of beef
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steak, I would say. Um, I really wanted to try
3:53
that. I thought that this, if I was going to
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have, you know, treat myself to something like
3:56
this, this, this might be the place to do that.
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But, uh, yeah. I didn't end up getting that but
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that's okay because I had the chicken and it
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was really good. Okay, so When you said peas
4:08
carrots mashed potatoes automatically I got taken
4:11
back to like daycare days as a kid when they
4:14
would serve us those basic vegetables. But I
4:16
would imagine that this is not daycare quality.
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I would imagine that this restaurant, it'll give
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you the type of food that you had to eat as a
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kid, your simple vegetables, but they classed
4:27
it up. Am I kind of going somewhere here? He's
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definitely classed up. I mean, the wait staff
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there was so nice. It was, it was kind of fancy,
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but, but, but accessible. I don't know. It was,
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it was a vibe. I'll just go with that. It was
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a vibe. It was really delicious though. Dress
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code. Do we have to dress up a certain way to
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fit with the vibe of the restaurant? No, not
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necessarily. I think... I don't know. I don't
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know. Maybe. What did you dress up as when you
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were there? I don't know. It was on such a whim.
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I think... What did I wear? I don't know, I wore
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some nice pants. I don't know, you always gotta
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look a little classy when you go out. But yeah,
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I don't know, some loafers. Loafers? Wait, like
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penny loafers? Like the ones that I like? I got
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a pair of Prada loafers I like to wear when I
5:14
go out, keep it classy. Okay. Yeah. I automatically
5:18
thought of penny loafers I used to wear back
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in big Christian school. Yeah. Yeah. It was good
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and we had a good, I mean, yeah, it was just
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a really good time. You would love it. We gotta
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go. I'll take you. Please, please. I mean, I
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was in New York not too long ago for some podcast
5:37
networking. And it's farther from me now than
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when I used to live in Connecticut. It's like
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a six hour drive from here in Vermont. But for
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a special occasion, I would love to go there
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and hopefully not... from the spinning around
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of the... I promise you you won't. It moves at
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such a glacial pace that, like, I almost wouldn't
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even know that we were moving if you didn't really
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pay attention to it. Because, like, at one point,
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you're at one... you're, like, in one spot, and
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then before you know it, there's, like, a piano
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player in front of you. Like, a pianist is there.
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Like, a pianist who's taking requests, and...
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Yeah, it's very... It's classy joint. Classy
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joint. I love a good piano player. Have you been
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to Don't Tell Mama in New York City? I... Oh,
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my gosh. I haven't been in so long. Ah, but you
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know what the vibe is like, right? You know that
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it's Yeah. Like it's, it's a, it's a piano karaoke
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bar vibe. Like everybody's in tables all crunched
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up together. It's kind of claustrophobic, but
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in the best way, because you get to build community
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that way. And, um, yeah, you have the piano guy
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and you have, uh, the, the, the, the, the workers,
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the, the employees, the bartenders, the waitress.
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Yeah, they're all singing. They're all singing
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as they're serving you drinks and whatnot. I
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mean, we had a sunny and share impersonation
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performance happening the last. time that me
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and my wife went in New York City. So that was
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definitely a good time. So the view in New York
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City, they call it the view because like, what
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kind of view are you getting when you are there?
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Like, is it just like Yeah, it's, you're in the
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center of it all. It's like right there. It's
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right by like all of the feeders and everything
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over by Times Square over there. So yeah. Yeah.
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Yeah. You're looking, you're looking at it. And
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to balance out the classiness of the view, we
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were talking just before the recording about
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how you had a nice bowl of Captain Crunch Berries.
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Well, yes. It's called balance. Oh my God. Yeah.
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Yeah. I love Crunch Berries. And not just for
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breakfast. Sometimes like, like a late - night
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cereal snack, that's like, that's the sweet spot
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right there. Love a midnight bowl of Crunch Berries
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or Lucky Charms. It's got to be like one of the
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like sinful cereals. You can't do like Pachi
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or something like that. Do you know like, okay,
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so some cereals like say your Cheerios or whatever,
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like people will put like bananas, strawberries
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or whatever. And I wonder if you could do the
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same thing with a very kiddy, fruity, sugary
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cereal like Captain Crunch Berries. Is that possible?
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Of course. Why not? You gotta try. You gotta
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live. You gotta live. You gotta live. That would
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be an interesting taste, those artificial crunch
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berries with a banana in my mouth. I mean, that
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or like, what if you did like, I raise you this.
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What if you did like a peanut butter crunch?
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kind of situation. Okay. Or like with a strawberry
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or like a chocolatey kind of syrup. I don't know,
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you know. I could vibe with the thing. There
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are people that like smear peanut butter on their
8:35
banana. So I could vibe with like the peanut
8:37
butter crunch and the... Yeah, I'm one of those
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people. There you go. Yeah, I can vibe with that.
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I can vibe with that. Yeah, I've never been a
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fan of the regular Captain Crunch. I remember
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trying it like once or twice and it just like
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had this very chewy, sticky, tasteless quality
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in my mouth. But once I try the... berries it
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was like oh cool there's berries I love fruity
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sensations in my mouth yeah and then the you
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know the alternative for that is the oops all
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berries which is just berries which you know
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I won't lie may alarm you in your travels to
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the to the bathroom later on because it's all
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just like bright blue and purple yeah really
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intense but it's Pretty delicious. Wait, is that
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under the Captain Crunch brand, or is that a
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different kind of berry cereal? No, yes, I believe
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it's in the Captain Crunch family. The dynasty.
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Okay. I'm also thinking of Frankenberries. Have
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you ever had Frankenberries? I have had a Frankenberry,
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but I haven't had the Frankenberry Count Chocula.
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Isn't there a third one? Like around Halloween?
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Oh, God. Frankenberry, Boo -berry, maybe? Boo
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-berry? Yeah, okay, okay, okay. We can just name
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them. Yeah, we could just name a laundry list
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of Fruity Cereals. It's insane. I used to be
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big on Froot Loops. I don't know if you were
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big on Froot Loops as well. Yes, of course. I
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welcome all cereal, honestly. Truly. Now I'm
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boring. I used to do the sugary fruity cereals,
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but now if I'm going to do a cereal once in a
10:07
blue moon, I'll have a big bowl of Cheerios like
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I had this morning with some bananas. Classic.
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There's a difference. Yeah, it's classic. It
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tastes good. Also, I just see the heart healthy
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advertisement on the box and I'm just like, yeah,
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I'm 34. I probably shouldn't be eating unhealthy
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cereals. That makes me feel good. Do what makes
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you feel good, whether that's heart healthy Cheerios
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or Captain Crunch Berries at 1 a .m. Yeah. Now,
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what is it about cereal? I don't know. Have I
10:44
had a late night cereal session? What is it about
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cereal at 1 a .m. that really gets you going?
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I don't know. I mean, it's just sometimes it's
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like at that point, you don't want to kick anything.
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And you don't really want to do like a fried
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like food. I don't really want to do like a fast
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food I don't like a french fry burger like it's
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like for pasta I know and it's just like you
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want comfort Maybe you want a little crunchy,
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but you also want a little creamy. I don't know.
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Maybe a little salty depending on Wow And cereal
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is just always there for you in that moment.
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I always have that moment of I'm going to make
11:20
myself a bowl of cereal and it never disappoints.
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Yeah. Yeah. I mean, cereal, peanut butter and
11:26
jelly sandwiches. I mean, there are no certain
11:28
foods where it's like, all right, I'm really
11:31
hungry. I'm lazy. I'm coming home late from work
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or I have insomnia and I don't want to make anything
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too, um, too complicated. Let me just whip up
11:40
something real quick and it'll be satisfying
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and digestible in my tummy. It'll be great. Oh,
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good. Peanut butter and jelly. Have you tried
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the Uncrustables? No. Is that like the frozen
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thing that you get at the? So I am so weird about
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that. I remember like I would, like when I used
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to do DoorDash deliveries, like I would get that
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for so many customers. And I just thought like,
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oh my God, like is this somehow. lazier or more
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complicated than it needs to be for a peanut
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butter and jelly sandwich? Like, what's so good
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about the Uncrustables? They're just good. I
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don't know. I mean... So is it a hot version
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of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? Is that
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what it is? Like, you just put it in the oven
12:18
and you... No, no, not even. You literally just
12:21
defrost them. Like, you just put them in the
12:22
fridge and you just eat them from frozen. Although,
12:26
if you're cattle wild, like me, sometimes I like
12:30
to eat them, like, a little bit frozen, because
12:32
there's, like, a puck. in the center of like
12:35
jelly and peanut butter. And it's just the texture
12:39
thing. It's good because like the, the bread
12:42
around it's like a little chewy little. Yeah.
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Yeah. Yeah. So they have the peanut butter and
12:47
jelly kind. They have, I think they have like
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peanut butter and honey. Is that one of those
12:50
other? I do have that. I think there was even
12:52
like a ham and cheese version, which like probably
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wouldn't be great, like frozen. You can't even
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thaw that one out. Yeah. I mean, there's, there's
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something going on every day all the time. I
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guess there's always. something, something new
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to find and try in the frozen section? For sure.
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For sure. I mean, I mean, my wife and I go to,
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let's see, chicken patties, seasoned fries. I
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like to do a French toast, a cinnamon French
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toast from the Kodiak brand. Very protein patch.
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Oh yeah, you're into your protein. I get that.
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Yeah, I see that. Yeah, I know. Is that, is that?
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Wait, wait, is that what we're doing? Protein
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pot right now. People are, people are really,
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they're digging it. It's so annoying. It's like,
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oh, protein in your coffee, protein in your popcorn.
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It's like... Yeah, I'm just waiting for, like,
13:40
protein water. It's like we're, like, on the
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precipice of that, I feel. That sounds heavy.
13:45
That sounds heavy. Yeah. That's probably the
13:47
equivalent of, like, drinking five gallons of
13:50
water at once, is to have one glass of protein
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water. Yeah, I'm sure it exists, you know. Oh,
13:56
my God. I know. Well, let's do the next question
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here. What is a delicious piece of pop culture
14:05
that you're consuming lately? This could be a
14:07
TV show, a play, a movie, book, music, just anything.
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Oh gosh. Okay. Once again, really hard to narrow
14:13
it down here. I love consuming things. Okay.
14:18
Pop culture and things like that. But I have
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to say I've been really hot on this new artist
14:23
that I've been listening to. Yeah, I just, like,
14:26
really can't stop. Her name is OKLOU. OKLOU?
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Spelled literally O -K -L -O -U. Yeah. She's
14:35
this, like, French artist. And it's kind of like...
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It's like... It kind of brings me back to, like,
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90s, like, dance, trance, house, pop, ethereal,
14:48
very whelm vibes. OK. Yeah. How did you discover
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this artist? I... I don't even know. I feel like
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I was just at a point where I was trying to find
14:58
new music to listen to. And I was just kind of
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sorting through a lot of the artists that I was
15:04
enjoying at the time. I think one of them, I
15:07
think what led me there was FKA Twigs. You listen
15:09
to Twigs at all? FKA Twigs, you said? I've heard
15:14
of the name. What do they do? Twigs is more than
15:18
just a musician, I would say. She's more of a...
15:22
performance artist. She makes, like, amazing
15:25
music, but also, like, does, like, sword fighting,
15:30
pole dancing, like, all sorts of, like, movements,
15:33
and just, like, just a really cool gal. She's
15:35
very fashion forward, um, and she's been playing
15:38
around with a lot of this, like, electronic dance
15:41
stuff, as I think a lot of pop divas even, like,
15:44
a lot of artists I feel like are kind of moving
15:46
in that direction. Pop for spring, I don't know.
15:48
Summer it's coming. It's like really it's just
15:52
really good Yeah twigs had an album called you
15:58
sexual that came out and then there was I think
16:00
something called like afterglow that was kind
16:02
of like Piggybacking off of that and there was
16:04
a lot more like really dance tracks and I don't
16:07
know I was I was really into I've I've been really
16:09
enjoying like all of that kind of stuff recently
16:11
and yeah, I was just kind of diving into that
16:14
and looking around and Okay Lou just kept coming
16:17
up and I was like, what is this? And I was like,
16:19
it's kind of weird. I like him. Describe Okay
16:22
Lou for me one more time. Okay Lou, it's like
16:24
fairy realm music to me. It's like, it's like,
16:28
like, like trance pop, trance pop dance music.
16:34
It's really cool. So, so give me like a state
16:36
of mind that you're in that would. fit well with
16:40
this music, like a kind of vibe, like a kind
16:42
of mood that you are in. Yeah, okay, I would
16:44
say I'm seeing like blue, I'm seeing the color
16:47
blue, I'm seeing like teal, I'm seeing like hues
16:50
of blue. And iridescence to it, kind of. And
16:54
I would say like the state of mind is like either
16:57
you're like... In the car like on the way with
17:01
like with the windows down and you're going to
17:03
the beach During the like late afternoon during
17:06
golden hour or later in the night You're getting
17:09
ready with your friends and you're you're going
17:12
out, but I would say, you know Actually, I redact
17:15
that I would say more so than before going out
17:18
it's like when you come back and you're kind
17:19
of like winding down but you're still kind of
17:21
up like from the from the height of the evening
17:24
or something and you're just kind of you know,
17:27
decompressing a little, but you're not quite
17:29
at the point where you want to listen to, like,
17:31
meditative or, like, bilateral sounds or anything
17:34
like that. Yeah, it's just really cool. And it's
17:40
so fun to find artists who are doing different
17:43
things, I think. It's so, I feel like there's
17:46
so many, there's just so much that's, like, regurgitated.
17:50
And that's fine, you know. There's something
17:53
for everyone, and I will never yuck anybody's
17:54
yum. But I was kind of just like wanting to find
17:57
things that didn't sound like everything else.
17:59
And OKLU is like, OKLU is doing cool stuff. I'm
18:03
really into it. I'm actually going to see her.
18:05
My friend Jeff got tickets for us to go and see
18:07
her. I think she's going to be, she's going to
18:09
be in New York like in April or May, something
18:11
like that. So I'm really excited. Where so so
18:15
did like did you find her on Spotify like Spotify?
18:19
Yeah, she just kind of kept popping up and I
18:21
kept I remember being like oh clue Okay, Lou,
18:23
like what is this? Why does it keep why are you
18:25
shoving this person down my throat? And then
18:27
I was like, oh because I love them. Okay. Yeah.
18:29
Yeah No, you're reminding me of like so I have
18:33
the serious XM app and what I like about serious
18:35
XM is that like the music channels that they
18:38
have the basically all the channels for the many
18:42
types of sound that you have, it's just endless.
18:44
So not only can you get all the usual mainstream
18:47
genres, like your country and your pop and your
18:50
alternative rock and whatnot, but there's a yoga
18:54
and meditation channel. There is a channel that
18:57
I've been hooked on called SiriusXM Chill, C
19:00
-H -I -L -O, Chill. And it's very calming house
19:05
music. Like, I don't know if you're familiar
19:08
with house music. Lofi Beats kind of situation.
19:11
Exactly. Lofi Beats, like not romantic. Not romantic
19:18
music in the sense of like, oh, I have like someone
19:21
physical with me and we're about to do it. But
19:23
like, um, you know, I think kind of what you're
19:26
saying, just like a visual romantic, romantic
19:29
aesthetic. Like you're imagining like a nice,
19:32
relaxing, quiet sunset drive on a summer night.
19:37
You want to hear this music to just vibe you
19:40
into the end of the day. Like that kind of thing.
19:42
Totally. It's so vibey. I have like a, like a
19:45
core four group of people. myself where we've
19:48
kind of all been like oh wow like we're really
19:51
liking this and we're really vibing to this and
19:53
it was my friend Jeremy's birthday a couple weeks
19:56
ago and we were supposed to have this party like
20:00
this big party for him but it got cancelled because
20:03
of the blizzard so we ended up all just staying
20:06
in at my friend Jeff's, who I mentioned earlier,
20:09
and we just had so much fun. Jeff always likes
20:12
to play things on vinyl when we're at his place,
20:16
which really turns into like Studio 54 at his
20:18
place. We have like a fog machine, we have the
20:20
lights, and we just like, we just have so much
20:23
fun together, and we literally just dance and
20:25
just like hold each other and just like have
20:27
fun. Yeah, and that's another channel that serious
20:30
XM has that I'm obsessed with studio 54. Yeah
20:32
Yeah, I know I'm like sounding like an advertisement
20:35
for serious XM right now Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Trust
20:41
me. If you, if you let them bother you with emails
20:43
that they will. Um, but if you like that seventies
20:46
eighties disco vibe, they have that channel.
20:47
I mean, that's what we're doing. So like, it
20:49
was crazy. Like he has so many, he has such a
20:51
great selection. Like we started off the evening
20:53
with like Avril Lavigne, like, and then we like
20:56
went to like Kylie Minogue, uh, like her disco
20:59
album. And then we did like an ABBA seventies
21:03
press. We did Lady Gaga mayhem. Like we go all
21:06
over the place. But the last thing that we played.
21:09
was OKLU and her album was called Choking Up
21:11
and I remember all of us were just kind of sitting
21:13
there and it was... It may or may not have been
21:17
the wee hours of the morning at this point. And
21:20
we're all just kind of sitting there, like, you
21:22
know, on the edge of the fairy realm, if you
21:25
will. And we were just like kind of like, whoa,
21:28
just like blissed out, just being with each other
21:30
and just listening to this music. And yeah, it
21:32
was just really nice. So I always kind of hold
21:34
that memory with it as well. But yeah, it's a
21:37
vibe. You should go to listen. I'm curious to
21:39
hear your take on it. It may not be free, but
21:42
you might like it. It's spelled OK Lou for me.
21:44
It probably will be for me. Literally, O -K -L
21:46
-O -U. Okay, all right. Yeah, so I'll definitely
21:49
have to give that a listen. That sounds very,
21:51
very fascinating. So, how about a delicious event
21:57
that's happened in your life lately? That is
21:59
the third question and the lifestyle sort of
22:02
area of our podcast. Sure, a delicious event.
22:06
Yeah, like just anything positive that's happened
22:08
in your life lately that gives you the, I don't
22:11
know how to word it, the springs, the jumpy leaves.
22:16
Sure, yeah. So I won't lie, I actually... I kind
22:20
of, I went through something like kind of traumatic
22:22
about a week ago. I was in a car accident. I'm
22:25
okay. We're here. We're good. We're fine. Yeah.
22:28
But it could have been bad. And there's definitely
22:31
a world where like things didn't work out as
22:34
well. And like we're aware of that. I was in
22:35
the car with my best friend Sean. It was like
22:38
right around the corner from my apartment. So
22:39
like I kind of had a weird week, but this past
22:42
weekend, the party that I was actually just talking
22:44
about that got canceled during the blizzard was
22:47
postponed to this weekend. Um, and it was kind
22:50
of, uh, like it was kind of a crazy theme. It
22:53
was, are you familiar with heated rivalry? Uh,
22:55
I did an episode on it with a friend of mine.
22:58
I'm obsessed with that show. Yeah. So it was
23:02
a K -pop demon hunter heated rivalry themed party.
23:07
Yeah, we did an episode on that as well. It's
23:09
awesome. Well, there you go. Um, yeah, my friend
23:12
Jeremy and, um, Tristan, it was their birthday,
23:15
but, um, it got postponed. So we ended up just
23:17
celebrating them and, um, It was really, it was
23:20
such a lovely evening. We were at this place
23:23
called Balcon, which is like a bar that like
23:24
we all know and love. We were all dancing and
23:27
they're like our crazy little outfits and we
23:29
had such a good time. Um, and you know, what
23:32
character did you dress up as? Oh, I was, I was
23:34
the net. From which one? K -pop or heat of robbery?
23:38
Oh, it was the hockey net. Oh, the hockey net.
23:42
Okay. Yeah. I, uh, I. My my friends so graciously
23:47
put together like for their party full event.
23:49
They have like a a Pinterest link with like inspiration
23:53
which is like so great, you know, it's like here's
23:55
some inspiration I was like, I don't know like
23:57
what to do. So I ended up just ordering this
23:59
like full Full body net suit. Okay, and I kind
24:05
of wore it with some other fun little things
24:07
and it was it was great It was a hit and then
24:10
as an homage to kpop demon hunters I had this
24:12
like I mean my hair is pretty long in general.
24:14
Yeah, I got this like ponytail extension. So
24:17
my ponytail was like It was I was like swinging
24:21
it around, you know Yeah, you know as an it girl
24:24
does right? Yeah But anyway, yeah, so long story
24:28
short, we had this great night. We hit a couple
24:30
bars or whatever. And our friend, he lives in
24:33
Jersey, but he gets a hotel sometimes when he
24:36
knows he's going to stay in the night. And he
24:37
ended up having this amazing room in the middle
24:40
of Times Square. Which like as someone who like
24:44
when you live in New York or when you live near
24:46
New York, you know Like you don't really find
24:48
yourself needing to stay in a hotel or anything
24:50
So it's kind of something that like was kind
24:52
of foreign to me. I've never really like stayed
24:53
in a like hotel in New York It was like kind
24:55
of fun or like, you know And it was an amazing
24:59
room. It was literally smack dab in the middle
25:01
of Times Square, and there was this terrace,
25:04
and we were, like, overlooking everything. Now,
25:06
the reason I'm giving you all of this kind of
25:09
backstory is because I was on the terrace with
25:12
a couple of my really, really close friends who
25:15
I adore. And, you know, being the, you know,
25:19
theater nerds that we are at heart, I guess.
25:21
Yeah. And Jeff, the curator of music, it's, you
25:25
know, as you can gather at this point, he started
25:28
playing Being Alive from Company. Oh, of course.
25:32
Yeah, yeah. Which, you know, we were, like, unsing
25:36
all night and having, like, a great time and
25:38
dancing and... Um, yeah, I'm sorry. I'm not familiar
25:42
with the musical too, too well. So that's, is
25:44
that the, like the climactic song in company?
25:46
It's just a really, yeah, I would say it's, you
25:49
know, up there. It's, um, it's a really beautiful
25:51
song. And I think depending on where you are
25:54
in your life, it can mean a bunch of different
25:55
things to you, but, uh, we were all just, there
25:59
were four of us on the balcony, just overlooking
26:02
Times Square. once again the the wee hours of
26:06
the the night slash morning, whatever just having
26:08
so much fun and There were the four of us and
26:12
like all four of us were all like like hugging
26:14
holding each other but like we were all like
26:17
each of us was touching all the people there
26:20
it was just like it was like a love cuddle puddle
26:23
kind of moment it was really cute but it was
26:26
extremely emotional for me the lyric itself like
26:28
being alive and just kind of reflecting on the
26:30
week that i had and everything that had happened
26:33
and Um, it was, it was a really magical moment.
26:37
And I could feel just like the energy of everybody
26:41
else up there, just kind of feeling that, knowing
26:44
what I had gone through and just kind of having
26:46
their own connection. And we all were just kind
26:48
of looking at each other like, oh my God, like
26:50
how lucky are we to just have each other to be
26:53
here in this moment listening to this. song that
26:57
like, you know, it's just like one of those Broadway
26:59
musical songs, but it's, uh, when the moment
27:02
strikes, as musical theater does, you know, it
27:05
really, it really did it. And we were just kind
27:08
of misty eyed and we're like, you know, looking
27:10
at each other and then we're like, okay, guys,
27:13
you know, like, wow. It was like, I can't, we're
27:16
going to unpack this later. We're all going to
27:18
go our separate ways to talk about this later.
27:20
And the song is simply about like the joy of
27:22
being alive. Is that, or is it more complex than
27:25
that? Yes and no. Just give it a listen. See
27:28
what it says, what it speaks to you. I encourage
27:31
all of your listeners to listen and see how they
27:34
feel. It's a beautiful song. It's really beautiful.
27:38
Yeah, timely. I don't know. There's a lot going
27:39
on in the world right now, you know? So it's
27:42
kind of nice to have those moments with your
27:45
people and just kind of... take a step back and
27:49
realize yeah like I'm really lucky like there's
27:53
there's a lot going on but I in this moment have
27:56
like everything I need and like I feel okay and
27:59
that's like really beautiful so I love that Yeah,
28:02
it was delicious. I don't love the podcast. I
28:08
love that. So the dress code rule at the party
28:11
was like, everybody has to have a mixture of
28:13
K -pop and heated rivalry to wear. I think it
28:16
was like, it must be inspired by some of that.
28:20
So there was a lot of K -pop, like Demon Hunter,
28:26
like roomie shirts and things like that, or there
28:29
are a lot of... Boys and like hockey padding
28:32
and that's it, you know Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it
28:36
was great. It was sexy. It was fun. We had so
28:39
much fun lots of great dancing great vibes and
28:43
celebrating like one of someone that I love so
28:48
much. So I was blessed out just being there seeing
28:50
how much he was being loved by everybody as well.
28:53
So just lots of love. It was just a really good
28:55
time, really good night. And it's always a good
28:58
night when I'm with my friends, which is why
28:59
I love my life. If I may ask, and how long after
29:03
the accident was this party? It was a week, a
29:07
week and one day. Okay, okay, gotcha, gotcha.
29:11
Yeah, no, speaking as someone who's been through
29:14
a good share of accidents. Oh, no! Yeah, I mean,
29:20
look, I... I, there was a time where I just wasn't
29:27
a great driver. I just, I'm a very daydreamy
29:31
kind of guy and sometimes I've slept behind the
29:36
wheel, you know, driving, driving too late when
29:39
I shouldn't have. You know, I don't pay attention
29:43
like there's been various reasons why yeah, I've
29:46
gotten myself into accidents But uh, yeah, I
29:49
think the last one was like four years ago So
29:50
I think I've been on a pretty good track record
29:53
said good but um, yeah No, no, I've been through
29:56
I've been through quite a few of those and especially
29:58
when it gets to a point where you know Your car
30:00
is totaled and you could have had it worse, you
30:03
know Yeah, you're a serious injury or lost your
30:05
life. There is a sort of state of shock depression
30:10
if you will that that you go through and it can
30:13
be easy to. isolate and sort of like trap yourself
30:18
in this sort of darkness of what just happened.
30:21
But it doesn't have to be that way. I mean, the
30:24
fact that you have a community, like you had
30:26
mentioned, a nice circle of friends who are reminding
30:29
you that like, Hey, we're here for you. And,
30:31
you know, we'll get through this and life still
30:33
moves on. I mean, I think that's just profound.
30:36
I mean, for me, family, friends, my wife, especially
30:39
like I've had some important people in my life
30:41
get me through those, those very tough times.
30:44
So I definitely. I know what you mean. Yeah,
30:46
it's really special and, you know, like you said,
30:49
like, I knew, you know, the gag all week for
30:52
me was, I'm not gonna make this my entire personality.
30:55
But, like, you know, it's a really, like you
30:58
said, it's a profound moment, you know, to really
31:00
kind of realize, like, what could have been and
31:03
accept and be happy that it's not and have the
31:06
people that you surround yourself with, your
31:08
friends, your family, for me, even Dan, my boyfriend,
31:11
you know, just like... Just everybody kind of
31:15
checking the people who like check in like three
31:17
days later Yeah, you know just like you know,
31:20
it's just like when you forget even how how you
31:24
know how how serious it was because you try to
31:27
maybe like block it out. Um, yeah, just people
31:30
yeah, just it's it's really nice to to have a
31:33
good community And uh, yeah being alive. So when
31:37
next time you drive don't listen to okay lou
31:39
because that You can listen to being alive and
31:44
you can scream it from Yeah, from the top of
31:47
your lungs. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah Yeah, no any time
31:50
I sense myself getting sleepy behind the wheel
31:53
I always put on some like really upbeat loud
31:56
rock music to really get me going and My fist
32:00
and stuff like that, but yeah, yeah, we should
32:02
establish that your boyfriend Dan We also did
32:04
theater with at Eastern Canada State University
32:06
all those years ago How long have you guys been
32:10
together? You know, John, it's been 12 years.
32:13
Yeah. Wow. That's wonderful. In October, I think.
32:18
I love that. Yeah. It is sweet, isn't it? Oh
32:22
my God. That's so great. Yeah. You're reminding
32:24
me, um, cause a friend of mine from the ECSU
32:27
days, also my high school days in Connecticut,
32:29
uh, Brandon, he's been with his significant others
32:33
since, or right around the same time, 2012, 2013,
32:36
and they just got engaged. Um, yeah, I, I love,
32:41
I love, love, love, love those stories. We did,
32:45
so we did theater together at ECSU and I think
32:48
we did one show together. We did the last days
32:51
of Judas Iscariot. Oh, yes. One of the best,
32:54
one of my favorite experiences in school. For
32:58
the audience. Phenomenal in that show, by the
33:00
way. Oh, stop it. You were phenomenal in that
33:02
show. You were. You were. You were phenomenal
33:03
in that show. Amazing. For the audience, it's
33:07
this really funny, profane, religious satire.
33:13
I forgot, I played El Feyoumi, a lawyer who is
33:18
sort of on the wrong side of the courtroom because
33:23
I think, was it actually Judas that was on trial
33:25
or was it somebody else? I think, well, Judas...
33:28
Judas was there, but he's, like, in a catatonic
33:31
state. It's like, yeah, it's a good show. I don't
33:35
want to ruin it for anybody who hasn't seen it.
33:38
No, no, it's OK. And who did you play? I forgot
33:39
who you played in the show. I played St. Monica.
33:42
OK. OK. Yeah. Which is, uh... The take on St.
33:47
Monica in this play is she's really like punchy
33:50
broad and she's got a lot to say. I had a lot
33:53
of fun with that character and I remember, I
33:55
remember there was one show that we did where
33:57
like there's like a bit with like olives and
33:59
I like literally had olives and I was like throwing
34:01
them and I was wearing like heels that were like,
34:03
I don't know, like they were like beyond platform.
34:06
They were like huge and I slipped on one of the
34:09
olives and I like had to play it in as a bit
34:12
in my thing and just like keep going. Oh my god.
34:15
So really quickly, I did get the summary and
34:17
I don't think this spoils anything. Last Days
34:20
of Judas Iscariot tells the story of a court
34:21
case over the ultimate fate of Judas Iscariot.
34:24
The play uses flashbacks to an imagining childhood
34:26
and lawyers who call for the testimonies of such
34:28
witnesses as Mother Teresa Caiaphas. St. Monica,
34:34
who you are, Sigmund Freud and Satan. So I played
34:37
one of the lawyers, Alfey Umi, who was this just
34:40
goofy, charming, just stupidly jokey guy. Had
34:44
a lot of fun with it. Had a lot of fun with it.
34:48
Yeah, I just, I remember almost breaking on stage
34:53
because I set a particular line in a really like
34:57
exaggerated over the top way. It was, to one
35:02
of the witnesses, Missy, Missy. It was Missy's
35:05
character. And I could have just said, you know,
35:09
speak into the microphone, but I literally was
35:12
just like, speak into the microphone! That's
35:18
a choice. And that's what we like to see. And
35:20
that's good theater, babe. That's good theater.
35:22
And then Amanda, who was the judge, was like,
35:26
oh, there is a microphone or whatever, just refuting
35:28
my point. And then like without a beat, I'm like,
35:30
yes, this is true, your honor. And I just remember
35:32
turning away and just trying to hold myself together
35:35
because it was a really electric Saturday night
35:37
audience that we were dealing with. And it was
35:40
just, it was a really fun show. It was a great
35:42
show. We did some good stuff. We did some good
35:45
stuff. Is that the only thing that we did together?
35:47
Was it? I feel like it might have been. Yeah.
35:52
If I remember correctly, didn't you take a break
35:55
from school shortly after that? Sure did. I took
35:58
a little gap semester. Oh, well, we did do the
36:02
showcase together, too, like our senior showcase.
36:05
Oh, yeah, yeah, the New York theater showcase.
36:07
Yeah, we took a class where at the end of it,
36:09
we went to New York and performed a theater showcase.
36:12
And I think I did a scene with someone and I
36:15
did a monologue on my own. That was great because
36:18
I actually like, how did you, how did you find
36:21
that time? Because I think we spent like four
36:23
or five days in New York city and I had more
36:26
fun, like experiencing the city with you guys,
36:29
like going out to stand up comedy, going out
36:31
for drinks. Like I had more fun doing that than
36:34
the actual showcase, which I didn't expect. Yeah,
36:38
I mean it's so funny now like looking back on
36:40
that now and like my life now is literally I
36:43
just like live out of that city and yeah I mean
36:45
it was such a wonderful experience. I think looking
36:47
back now, Dan who I mentioned before, we were
36:50
besties at that point but I feel like when I
36:54
look back on that specific period I really do
36:57
see that kind of as like the beginnings of our
36:59
love story without like really even realizing
37:01
it at the time. We just spent a lot of time eating
37:05
sour gummies. and walking around New York City
37:08
and talking. And yeah, that's like my biggest
37:13
takeaway from it. Just like, yeah, I feel like
37:16
we like. just got a lot closer during that time.
37:19
So, yeah, and it was just New York City, you
37:21
know? It's like, I remember just kind of being
37:23
like, yeah, like, I'm gonna live here one day.
37:26
Yeah, I had the same thing, too. And I remember
37:28
me, Dan, and Cory, another one of our theater
37:32
classmates, we were dreamingly talking about,
37:35
like, oh, maybe we should, like, all, like, get
37:37
an apartment together in the city, like, after
37:39
we graduate college and stuff like that. Yeah,
37:40
because there is something about, like, you're
37:42
in New York City, you're an early 20 -something
37:44
-year -old college theater kid, and this is the
37:47
city. where the theater happens. So yeah, of
37:49
course you're going to get all dreamy -eyed about
37:51
moving out there. Yeah, yeah. Of course. It's
37:55
so sweet. Yeah, I mean, that was such a fun time.
37:58
And now being around the friends and community
38:03
that I have, a lot of my friends are performers
38:06
on Broadway and just seeing people achieve their
38:09
dreams and just living that out every day. It's
38:13
such a great city, Broadway. just theater in
38:17
general. It's so magical, and I'm just so glad
38:20
that... Who do you personally know who's on Broadway
38:23
right now? Um, I mean, a couple... I know a couple
38:28
people. I mean... You don't have to shout them
38:31
out if you don't want to, if you're not comfortable.
38:32
No, I mean, of course. I mean, you know, there's,
38:35
like, half the cast of Wicked, for instance.
38:37
Oh, wow. Yeah, yeah. I've got another close friend
38:42
who, uh... I won't say too much, but you'll be
38:46
seeing them in something pretty soon as well.
38:48
I'm really excited about that. Yeah. I mean,
38:52
I could go on. I'm surrounded by a lot of really
38:54
talented people all the time. And a lot of them
38:58
are Broadway performers, yes. But they're just
39:01
like you and I. They're just wonderful people
39:05
who had a dream, and they went for it, and it
39:08
worked out. And how did you meet them? Through
39:11
school? Through just being in the city? and...
39:13
Yeah, just, yeah, friends of friends and going
39:17
out and, you know, just like -minded people.
39:20
And, yeah, I think that's kind of part of the
39:23
pool in that direction for me as well. You know,
39:26
Dan and I are planning on properly living there
39:29
probably by the time our lease is up here. We've
39:31
been living in Connecticut, but enough is enough.
39:33
I'm like, I just got to get back to my creative
39:36
roots and, you know, if my circle of friends
39:39
and the company I keep and, you know, the things
39:42
that interest... It's just me. It says everything.
39:45
It's just time to kind of get back to that. So
39:47
it's great. Yeah. And prior to moving back to
39:50
Connecticut, you guys lived in Los Angeles for
39:52
a while, correct? We did, yeah. For how long?
39:56
We were there for about seven years or so. OK.
39:59
How was, how was it? Tell me about it. LA was
40:02
great. I mean, we, we, there was, there was a
40:06
sprinkle of COVID, the pandemic there. Yeah.
40:10
So that made things a little wonky and strange
40:12
for a while. But I mean, LA wasn't a terrible
40:15
place to do that. Once we realized that outside
40:18
was like a mostly safe space. You know, at that
40:21
point in the pandemic being in LA was great.
40:24
You know, you could be outside a lot. The weather
40:26
is always like 75 and sunny. Nobody. He was driving
40:30
anywhere because everyone was working from home,
40:31
so there was no smog. You could hike run in and
40:34
see all of the city. Yeah, it was really wonderful.
40:40
I mean, we made a lot of great friends out there.
40:42
There was all sorts of auditions and things.
40:45
Dan really thrived. He had a cool... He had a
40:50
cool couple jobs that he did out there. Me too.
40:53
We didn't, we didn't like more voiceover work
40:55
than anything. It kind of feels like there. Like
40:58
a Superbowl spot while he was out there. It's
41:02
just like a wild place, you know, it's like Hollywood,
41:05
baby. There's, there's so few for everyone. It's,
41:09
it's similar to New York, but very different
41:11
in the sense that like, there's a lot going on,
41:14
but the pace is different. The people are definitely
41:17
different and it was good for what it was. And
41:21
like I said, we met so many great people and
41:24
we had a lot of fun, but I think we are East
41:28
Coast people. I think we are New Yorkers at heart
41:30
and we know that. So it was kind of just getting
41:33
back here to Connecticut. I had to help move
41:36
my parents out of the country. Dan wanted to
41:38
spend some time with his family. So it's kind
41:40
of been like the long journey back to the coast
41:43
and that. coast being New York City. So we're
41:46
almost there, but it's been a journey, but it's
41:49
good. Well, your parents, do they want to retire
41:54
in France? What made them want to choose to go
41:57
to France? Yeah, fully. I mean, my dad is a native
42:00
Frenchman, so it's not completely off base for
42:04
him to be there with my mom. But yeah, I think
42:07
they just kind of reached a point where they're
42:09
like, oh my gosh, everything here is just a lot.
42:13
I mean, like, health care in general, having
42:15
universal health care there. My dad, he's a diabetic.
42:17
He's got, like, some things he's dealing with.
42:19
That alone was, like, a huge driving factor,
42:21
to be quite honest. But also, I think he just
42:23
kind of missed European life. And now that I've
42:26
spent some time with them over there, I really
42:28
kind of understand, like, it's different. Not
42:32
that they're worse necessarily, but different.
42:36
And they seem to just be really thriving there.
42:37
They're really happy, you know. They're foodies,
42:40
so they live in Brittany, which is like this
42:42
really lovely region where the gastronomy there
42:46
is like to die for. There's like the butter,
42:49
the meat, the wine. There's... That region has
42:54
a really good cider, hard cider. Really, really
42:58
good. And they live near the Bruxelles, which
43:01
is the enchanted forest where there's a lot of
43:05
King Arthur and Merlin, all that lore is over
43:09
there. So it's a really fun place. And I don't
43:13
know, I can only hope that when I'm 65 that I
43:17
can just uproot my life and move to another country
43:20
and just like, you know. I I've been bothering
43:25
my wife Tony about like we got to go out on a
43:29
cruise to anywhere in Europe Because there's
43:33
just something about the the cuisine certainly
43:37
the better lifestyle. We already talked about
43:39
it, healthcare. I mean, I feel like they get
43:43
like three months vacation off of work if they
43:45
want to. Like it's just, it's a model of what
43:50
America can be, but chooses not to be. And I
43:55
just want to be there for a week and experience
43:57
that. Like, is that so bad to ask? No, not at
44:00
all. I mean, I totally understand. And I obviously,
44:03
I've got all sorts of friends where people would
44:04
meet. They're like, Oh my God, like, why don't
44:06
you just move there? They're like, why are you
44:08
here? And I'm like, no, I mean, yeah, for sure.
44:11
Maybe one day, but I gotta have my New York moment
44:15
first, for sure. But France isn't off the table.
44:19
The time that I spent there has been so lovely.
44:21
And especially the region, again, Brittany, where
44:23
my parents live, the people are just so wonderful.
44:27
And I don't know if you know this about me, but
44:29
I'm like, I'm a horse girl. I love horses. I
44:31
did not know that, so. Yeah, yeah. Please expand.
44:35
When did this start? Anna, I mean, I've been
44:40
an equestrian for, like, a long time. Probably
44:44
since I was about, like... I don't know, like
44:47
eight, nine, 10 years old. Yeah, I've been riding
44:50
horses for a long time. And yeah, all of this
44:52
is just to say that when I'm in France, I fully
44:55
have this double life where I just ride horses
44:58
all day and then I go home and hang out with
45:02
my parents. And not that I don't ride horses
45:04
here, but it's just, I don't know, it's a different
45:07
vibe. Here, I feel like equestrian sports. Not
45:12
always. I don't want to generalize it in general,
45:14
but like it's kind of, it can be like a Richmond
45:16
sport. It's like not accessible for everybody
45:19
all the time. Even me, myself being who I am
45:21
growing up, like I worked at the bar and I was
45:24
like mucking stalls and like trade for like lesson
45:27
time and things like that. So, you know, I wasn't
45:31
like one of those kids that like had like this
45:33
like lovely pony that like my parents bought
45:35
for me. And not to say, you know, not to poo
45:37
poo anybody who has that, you know, good for
45:38
you girl. If that's you, like. You you do that
45:41
because I would do that if I could right but
45:44
yes You know like 30 euros a lesson versus like
45:47
70 to 150 dollars USD for a lesson here. It's
45:51
like the horses over there It's just kind of
45:53
like part of like them It's just part of the
45:55
life there. It's really cool. So I spend a lot
45:58
of time doing that when I'm over there. It's
46:00
very, it's a very like back to nature moment
46:03
for me when I'm over there. So. So when you were
46:05
eight, nine, ten, like were you telling your
46:07
parents like, oh my God, I want to ride horses
46:09
or did your parents like recommend that you try
46:11
this? Like how? That's a good question, John.
46:15
So funny enough, horses are kind of like. Like
46:19
a thing on my dad's side of the family, for sure,
46:21
the French side. My aunt, she lives in Turkey.
46:27
She at one point had a barn of like 24 Arabian
46:29
horses that like she was working with. She's
46:32
like a huge equestrian. Her kids now, they're
46:34
grown up and they're showing. They're jumping
46:37
pretty high, like show jumping levels and things
46:40
like that. They're doing really well. Yeah, I've
46:43
got cousins, like everybody's, you know, like
46:45
we've got nationally ranked Olympic riders almost
46:47
even on that side. So it's kind of in the family.
46:50
I think my dad kind of had like a traumatic experience
46:52
with a girlfriend of his who... he was like riding
46:55
with her and like something happened. So I think
46:57
he kind of had like an aversion to me riding,
47:00
but like, I don't know, somehow it like got to
47:03
me and I, I expressed an interest in it and you
47:07
know, being an only child and being spoiled,
47:10
but not being spoiled rotten. My parents of course
47:12
obliged my, my wishes and yeah, I've totally
47:15
been hooked ever since. So yeah, all the while
47:18
where we were in school, I was riding, so. Yeah,
47:21
and I did not know that and I didn't know I did
47:24
I feel insulted that I did not know that when
47:26
I was on stage with you as El Fahoumi and What
47:30
was it Saint Olivia Count Olivia Princess Olivia?
47:34
Hey Monica, I'm sorry Olivia will do yeah, you
47:38
know horse girls will get a bad rep, you know,
47:40
sometimes and yeah You know, it's like but I
47:43
don't know if it's kind of having a comeback
47:45
right now I feel like it's kind of in vogue to
47:47
like horses are very important. It is the year
47:50
of the fire horse. What does that mean? That's
47:52
the zodiac here. That's what it is. Okay. All
47:57
right. No. Wait, wait, wait. So tell me about
48:03
that. Like the fire horse. What is a fire horse?
48:05
What does it mean that it's the year of the fire
48:07
horse? Like what about that? The year of the
48:09
fire horse. Here I'm reading it. It begins on
48:12
February 17th, 2026. It's a rare 60 -year cycle
48:16
that brings intense, fast -paced energy, high
48:19
passion, and significant change demanding careful
48:22
management of energy and emotions rather than
48:25
just expecting disaster. The last fire horse
48:27
year was 1966. Wow. So every 60 years, we get
48:35
that. The first wise is hard work, independence,
48:39
and boldness, which is amplified by the fire
48:41
element. The year can bring volatility, burnout,
48:44
and emotional impulsiveness due to high energy
48:46
nature of the combination. So experts suggest
48:49
that you stay grounded, you practice mindfulness,
48:52
and you set boundaries for rest and avoid impulsive
48:55
decisions to manage the intensity of the year.
48:58
Oh, that's going to be hard for me. I love making
49:02
impulsive decisions. Well, reel it in. Oh, God.
49:08
Yes, I love having Captain Crunch at two in the
49:11
morning when I have a colonoscopy the next day.
49:16
Well, who's to say? Maybe that's your meditative
49:18
state, you know? I kid I'm too young to have
49:23
a colonoscopy. So I just want to make that clear.
49:25
But last question, New York and LA. So what I've
49:28
heard the whole discourse about New York and
49:30
LA, what I've often heard is New York, you don't
49:33
have a car. You could walk everywhere. It's more
49:37
lively. It's you're always around people. It's
49:39
more easy to find community to be social. LA.
49:43
Yes, it's pretty much the home of show business.
49:46
Yes, you can shoot TV and film out there, but
49:48
I always hear that you're in your car all the
49:50
time. You're stuck in traffic and it might be
49:53
a lot harder to meet friends because they're
49:56
most likely going to be two or three hours away
49:58
from you with traffic. Like, is that part of
50:02
why you guys are like, eh, we're more East coast
50:04
people. Is it something else? Like, I'm curious
50:06
about that. I mean, I do think that there are
50:09
elements of everything that you just said about
50:11
both that are true, but it's, I hate to use the
50:15
word again, but it's really just like a vibe.
50:19
Yeah, I think, I think we just, you know, Dan
50:23
and I just kind of got to a point where we're
50:24
like, yeah, I feel that we've been here long
50:27
enough. First of all, being there seven years
50:30
was way longer than I even thought we would be
50:31
there. I didn't think we'd make it past two years.
50:34
And maybe the pandemic had something to do with
50:35
that, but. I mean, we really spent some time
50:38
out there. It really felt like home for quite
50:41
a good chunk of time. And in a weird way, it
50:43
still kind of does, like, if I go back and visit.
50:46
But the thing for me, and again, you know, so
50:50
much love to all my people in LA, okay? Like,
50:53
for real. I have family out there, you know,
50:56
some chosen family out there. But the thing for
50:58
me is that in New York City, you shoot from the
51:02
hip. It's just, it is what it is. You just...
51:06
Straight up. In LA, I felt like there was a lot
51:09
of like, oh yeah, totally. No, not totally. Yeah,
51:15
yeah. A lot of fakery. Not a lot, but it was
51:19
out there. And it's tough. I mean, it's a tough
51:21
city. And yes, you gotta have a car. I, unfortunately,
51:25
towards the last bit of time of my tenure there,
51:30
Dan and I had really bad luck with cars in LA,
51:32
which made me play a part of it as well. Our
51:36
cars were murdered on the street, literally.
51:39
I had catalytic converter that was just literally
51:42
sawed off the bottom of my car on a Christmas
51:44
Eve. Dan's car, there's... He had one of those
51:48
smart cars and for whatever reason that car just
51:51
pissed people off So we got so much hate all
51:53
the time and like bad energy, but there was like
51:55
a transient person who Had a chain and just decided
52:00
to wail on Dan's car and just like busted all
52:03
the windows in and like told Yeah, and like we
52:06
had he had like just paid it off like it Said
52:09
what is that? What about my other car? Yeah,
52:13
what about the smart car piss people off? What
52:16
does it look like like how does it? It's just
52:18
tiny and I don't know like it just Like it hit
52:23
it hit a chord with some people like you could
52:25
just feel it It just piss people off people have
52:28
nothing better to do than to be pissed off Even
52:30
now like my my car me she rests in peace Gina
52:32
who I just lost last weekend She was a kia soul
52:35
and she was lovely and wonderful. But even so
52:38
like now I'm borrowing my best friend's dad He's
52:42
letting me borrow a truck that he has it's like
52:44
a red Dakota Pickup truck people treat me different
52:47
in that car. Nobody messes with you when you're
52:50
in a pickup truck. It's weird. It is what it
52:52
is. Yeah Yeah, but yeah, and then I got a Jeep
52:56
out in LA I got like a Jeep from this mechanic
53:00
who I had brought so many cars to him at this
53:01
point. And he was like, I can't like, do you
53:03
need a knife? He felt bad. He was like, can I,
53:06
let me help you find this car. It wasn't a lemon
53:08
that he sold to me, but it was not not a lemon.
53:12
Yeah. Yeah. Did you guys live in a rough neighborhood
53:15
with, with sketchy characters? Is that what you
53:19
mean? You know, I think can we live in Korea
53:22
town. Like we lived in a nice part of Koreatown.
53:25
I don't know. We really liked it It was it was
53:28
nice. There were a lot of families Um, but you
53:30
could talk to other people who live in la who
53:32
are like, I don't know Koreatown is not a good
53:34
part of town, but I don't know. We weren't that
53:36
far from Larchmont, which is like a pretty bougie
53:39
kind of place Um, I don't know, but we loved
53:41
it. It was home and it was great. But yeah, so
53:44
then we lost all of our cars Uh, so I ended up
53:46
taking the bus everywhere at one point which
53:48
was like fine um, but Yeah, I had a bus and an
53:54
electric scooter, and that's how I would get
53:56
around. I would take my, yeah. It was a really
53:58
humbling experience for me. Yeah, but it was
54:02
okay. But you know what, LA is a great town.
54:05
Learned a lot about myself and, you know, met
54:09
some great people. That's really the takeaway.
54:12
I met some really great people when I was out
54:13
there. But it can be a really lonely place, I
54:16
think. Yeah, I think you're right about that.
54:17
It's not always easy to find your own out there,
54:20
whereas I don't know, New York, like I was walking
54:23
around a couple weekends ago, and I don't know,
54:27
just some stranger struck up a conversation with
54:29
me, walking by, you know, asking for a light
54:31
for a cigarette, and I had a lighter, and I don't
54:34
know. It's just a different energy. And not that
54:36
that's not out there in LA, but I didn't find
54:38
it anywhere over there, so. Yeah, you know what?
54:43
where it is over there. I'm just finding so many,
54:46
it seems like so many people I know who moved
54:48
out there are not there anymore for whatever
54:51
reason. I mean, I have someone who I used to
54:55
do high school theater with, he went out there
54:57
and realized that he wasn't there for acting
55:01
anymore. He started doing other stuff and then
55:03
was like, all right, well, I'm not here for acting
55:05
anymore and it's too expensive, so let me move
55:07
elsewhere. I think he's currently in Baltimore.
55:10
Our mutual college theater friend, Jessica, I
55:12
think, used to be out there for a while. And
55:14
then I think she's back east. I think she's in
55:17
Rhode Island right now. I have a guy who I used
55:21
to do church theater skits with who made the
55:24
move out to LA. And he came back east to like
55:28
take care of a family member. I think he like
55:31
moved back during the pandemic when things weren't
55:33
so great. So yeah, I mean, it's And then you
55:38
have the actor and writer strikes that happened.
55:43
And a lot of film and TV production has moved
55:45
out of there. So LA is going through a weird
55:49
phase right now. Yeah, it was a weird time. I
55:53
mean, the strike was the writer strike. And we
55:55
had a friend that we went to school with. Her
55:59
husband had worked on a show that came out during
56:03
that time. And I remember... Like it was on Amazon
56:07
and he had like his red carpet night But like
56:09
it was during the strike and like he just didn't
56:11
really get that like moment and like knowing
56:14
him He's the type of guy where, like, we went
56:16
to Joshua Tree, a couple of us, and, like, he
56:18
was in his office working and writing and, like,
56:20
just so dedicated. So knowing someone working
56:23
that hard on something that, like, he's so passionate
56:26
about and having come to fruition and then it
56:29
being a time where, like, he can't even really
56:31
feel celebrated or, like, feel like he can celebrate
56:34
because, you know, like, it was tough. And there
56:36
are a lot of stories like that out there. So,
56:40
yeah, I mean, L .A., it's... I mean, it's beautiful.
56:46
I mean, the weather, you can't beat it. You know,
56:48
Southern California, it's dreamy. I mean, it's
56:50
great. But I think, I think, yeah. You know,
56:54
kind of like your friend, I personally got to
56:57
a point where I felt like I was surviving and
57:00
not living. And that was one of the driving factors
57:04
where I was like, all right, let's go home. Let's
57:06
kind of like recoup for a second. You know, I'm
57:08
like not happy. I'm not feeling the vibe of like
57:13
a lot of these people out here, like let's just
57:15
like recoup and go back and we haven't been back
57:17
since. I think it was one of the best things
57:19
we could have done for ourselves. But I know
57:21
people who feel the opposite, who've been in
57:23
New York and they go to LA and they're like,
57:25
oh my God, like where's this place been my whole
57:27
life? This is my place. So you find your own.
57:31
But you'll never know until you try. So I'm glad
57:34
we at least put the seven years of trying into
57:37
it and knowing for sure that. That's a good amount
57:38
of time. Yeah, and I know it just came to mind.
57:43
Another college theater classmate of ours, Abby,
57:47
was in New York for a while, and then she moved
57:49
out to LA with her husband for a time, and then
57:52
they moved back to New York for whatever reason.
57:55
So yeah, yes, it's interesting. But I've kept
57:59
you longer than I should. I feel so bad. Catch
58:04
up with you, honestly. Oh my god. Yeah, it's
58:06
been so great. We definitely have to do this
58:08
again. So let's do that. Anything you would like
58:14
to promote to the people out there before we
58:16
sign off? The only thing that really comes to
58:19
mind is Dan is going to be in a show that's coming
58:22
up soon. Yeah. He is going to be in a show called
58:27
The Circus Fire, I believe. It's about the great
58:30
circus fire that happened in Hartford. Hartford,
58:33
Connecticut. Yep. Yes. Yes. It's through Hartford
58:36
Theater Works. Yeah. Yeah. So keep an eye out
58:39
for that. I think it's happening sometime around
58:41
like April, I think. But he's been really jazzed
58:45
about the rehearsal process and like what that's
58:47
going to look like. They've had a couple of readings
58:49
and he says it's going to be really great. And
58:51
Dan is one of the great... I know, and I would
58:54
say that even if I wasn't dating him and in love
58:56
with him, but he's really amazing, and he says
58:59
that this cast is gonna be great, so it looks
59:01
like it's gonna be a great show, so everybody
59:03
should get their tickets to go and see that.
59:04
Yeah, he's fantastic. Was he in Last Days of
59:08
Judas Iscariot at Eastern? No, it's like one
59:10
of his, like, gripes of his experience. He ended
59:15
up doing Biloxi Blues instead. Which, um, was...
59:22
They'd like it? I think it was fine, you know.
59:27
Ellen, bless her. She just loved him and wanted
59:30
him to be in it. And everybody did a great job
59:32
in that show, but Dan, he really, he kept the
59:35
juice flowing there. He was that, what was it?
59:38
His name was like Don Carney or something. Something
59:40
like that, yeah, yeah, yeah. He was like singing
59:42
songs and just like really good energy. Yeah.
59:46
Yeah, I remember seeing that show. I enjoyed
59:48
seeing him there. David Pellegrini actually called
59:50
me the other day and he said... Oh yeah, another
59:52
professor. One of our professors as well and
59:54
he was like, hey, I heard... I heard Dan's in
59:57
a show. He like left me this message. I was on
59:59
the plane. I was listening and he's like, yeah.
1:00:02
So like, I think that like, maybe we should like
1:00:03
get a group of people together and like, maybe
1:00:05
we can get Ellen to come. Oh, that's awesome.
1:00:07
I love that. So go, yeah, go see Dan. He's great.
1:00:11
And, uh, yeah. Other and Wicked. If you've maybe
1:00:15
you've heard of it, go see Wicked on Broadway.
1:00:18
I haven't heard of it. No. Friends in Wicked
1:00:20
on Broadway. Yeah. Okay. So we have, uh, so we
1:00:24
have the Circus Fire show. at TheatreWorks in
1:00:27
Hartford. What dates? I don't know. Let me look
1:00:31
it up. What is it? April 23rd. April 23rd. Love
1:00:36
it. Love it. Yes. Yes. That's good. That's good
1:00:39
that we're still doing theater. I'm going to
1:00:41
be doing a production of Rhinoceros at Vermont.
1:00:43
Oh, great. Yeah, at Vermont stage. Oh, good.
1:00:46
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, it's like, have you heard
1:00:49
of it? It's a really. Yeah. They're doing it
1:00:51
at Yale right now. I think there's a production
1:00:53
of it happening at Yale Rep, I think. Wonderful,
1:00:55
wonderful. I love it. And yeah, and I did an
1:00:59
internship at TheaterWorks in Hartford, like,
1:01:01
shortly after graduating from Eastern. So they're
1:01:03
a good group of people. Nice group of people.
1:01:05
Yeah, they do great productions. So I was so
1:01:08
excited when he told me that he got the gig.
1:01:12
Yeah, go Dan. Alright, go Dan, go theater, go
1:01:18
performing, go New York, go LA, go everything.
1:01:21
That's right. Cool. Well, thank you so much,
1:01:23
Olivia, for your time. Do you want to give out
1:01:26
your social, if you want people to follow you,
1:01:28
your Instagram? Sure. Yeah. I mean, if you're
1:01:31
down for a wild ride, then you can follow me
1:01:33
at Olive Flow on Instagram. It's a good time.
1:01:38
I love it. And as for the Delicious Culture,
1:01:40
you can follow us at the Delicious Culture on
1:01:43
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1:01:46
the Delicious Culture. Find us wherever you get
1:01:48
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SiriusXS... If you have any feedback about this
1:01:53
episode, thedeliciousculture .gmail .com. Once
1:01:56
again, that's thedeliciousculture .gmail .com.
1:01:59
Olivia, that's it. Thank you so much for the
1:02:02
conversation. Say hi to Dan for me and for all
1:02:06
of our audience listening and watching. Let deliciousness
1:02:09
ring.