Latest / onefjef / Holy Mole, Oaxaca and a Tooth Being Yanked From My Face

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Holy Mole, Oaxaca and a Tooth Being Yanked From My Face · onefjef

• 0:01
  We're on the bus going home.
• 0:05
  And I have to get dental surgery in two days.
• 0:08
  Oops.
• 0:09
  This is episode 57 of onefjef
• 0:18
  Hello once again, my friends.
• 0:20
  Hola, mis amigos y amigas.
• 0:24
  I went to Oaxaca last weekend, this past weekend, which is another place in
• 0:33
  Mexico, for those of you who don't know.
• 0:35
  I think may- maybe you pronounce it Wocks Sock Kaah, if that's a ton
• 0:38
  how it's spelled to a lot of people.
• 0:40
  Not to me, of course, but that might make it easier to understand.
• 0:44
  Anyway, I went there this past weekend with a lovely companion named Este.
• 0:50
  We had a wonderful time, but I didn't bring my computer
• 0:53
  or my podcasting equipment.
• 0:55
  Actually, that's a lie.
• 0:55
  I have an interview that I did with Este on the bus back.
• 1:00
  We went to see the biggest tree with the biggest trunk in the world.
• 1:04
  A tule.
• 1:04
  The big girth.
• 1:05
  It was a girth.
• 1:07
  Yeah.
• 1:07
  Over height.
• 1:08
  Yeah.
• 1:09
  It was, uh, the biggest tree trunk in the whole world.
• 1:13
  How was that for you?
• 1:15
  I would've liked to be able to touch the tree, but only one day
• 1:18
  a year may you touch the tree.
• 1:20
  Yeah, the second Monday of- And there's no way I'm going there on that day
• 1:23
  'cause that's gonna be a madhouse.
• 1:25
  Can you imagine if we wait in line to touch a tree?
• 1:27
  Yeah, I very might have been.
• 1:28
  What are we doing?
• 1:29
  Um, then we went to the, uh, Aguas de las- Yerbabuena.
• 1:33
  What are they?
• 1:34
  Si, that one.
• 1:36
  The drive was the big adventure of that whole j- that whole thing.
• 1:39
  The drive was- That was quite a- … rough.
• 1:41
  Yeah, almost thought about throwing up a couple times, um, but did not throw up,
• 1:46
  and you were hungover, so- Yeah, I was
• 1:47
  yeah.
• 1:47
  Un poco
• 1:50
  tequila, mezcal- Mezcal … the night before, so.
• 1:52
  Too much mezcal the, the night before, but it's beautiful out there.
• 1:56
  It is.
• 1:57
  Yerbabuena.
• 1:57
  It is.
• 1:57
  I mean- It's very free … what can we say about it?
• 2:00
  What can you say about- It's nature … yeah.
• 2:02
  Well, it was in a Cor- And it's crafted … it was in a Corona ad, so that's…
• 2:06
  What?
• 2:07
  Doggy.
• 2:09
  See the dog.
• 2:10
  Oh, si.
• 2:10
  Oh, he's just walking down the street.
• 2:12
  Wow, we're driving down the highway in a bus right now, and there's a dog
• 2:15
  just- Oh, my God … walking down the street on the side of the highway.
• 2:18
  Oh, there's people there, though.
• 2:21
  What are they doing?
• 2:21
  I don't see them.
• 2:22
  I think that was an accident.
• 2:24
  Anyway, the dog will be fine.
• 2:26
  You often see dogs just wandering around.
• 2:29
  Mm. Um, what's the prettiest place you've been to in Mexico?
• 2:37
  Ooh No pressure Actually, the pressure.
• 2:41
  Yeah, probably Holbox in Quintana Roo.
• 2:44
  Is that… That's down by Tulum and all that.
• 2:46
  Yeah.
• 2:47
  Si.
• 2:48
  Colebox it's called.
• 2:49
  Holbox.
• 2:49
  What did you like about it?
• 2:50
  It was, it was, uh, beachy?
• 2:51
  It's quiet.
• 2:52
  It's beach, uh, but, um, it's quiet, not crowded, no cars.
• 2:57
  I like that.
• 2:58
  No big, uh- Yeah, I like that
• 3:01
  like that, hotels.
• 3:03
  Yeah.
• 3:03
  It's tiny.
• 3:04
  But there's probably a lot of that seaweed there this year.
• 3:07
  Oh, yeah.
• 3:07
  'Cause they've got real issues- That's a problem in Holbox … this
• 3:10
  year, this year- Yeah, yeah … it's been a nightmare.
• 3:11
  Yeah.
• 3:12
  Huh.
• 3:12
  When did- I wanna go back … when did you go there?
• 3:15
  Mm, like, after COVID, immediately after COVID.
• 3:20
  Oh, okay.
• 3:21
  We went there to celebrate my birthday.
• 3:24
  Holbox.
• 3:25
  Yeah.
• 3:25
  How do you spell that?
• 3:27
  H-O-L-B-O-X.
• 3:31
  Holbox.
• 3:31
  Holbox.
• 3:32
  Exactly what I thought.
• 3:34
  Like a box full of prostitutes.
• 3:37
  That one I got you.
• 3:38
  Si.
• 3:40
  That's where you put all your prostitutes, in the Holbox.
• 3:46
  And then what else?
• 3:47
  You bought about 80 pounds worth of m- mole.
• 3:51
  Oh, yeah.
• 3:51
  Yeah.
• 3:52
  Because we love mole.
• 3:53
  Si, pero I can't eat- And Oaxaca- Si … pr- produces good mole.
• 3:56
  S- So if I'm here- The best mole … I need to get mole.
• 3:59
  Si.
• 4:00
  I wish I could eat the- Mole rojo, red mole.
• 4:02
  I wish I could eat the mole, but- Yeah, sorry.
• 4:05
  No … it's okay.
• 4:06
  It's okay.
• 4:07
  Just don't tell me how amazing it is afterwards.
• 4:09
  It is amazing.
• 4:09
  Yeah.
• 4:10
  I thought of a great name for a mole company that Espi does
• 4:14
  not care for, but that's okay.
• 4:16
  And it is Hole Mole.
• 4:18
  Holy Moly.
• 4:19
  No, I, it's, if you, uh, people are, uh, if I play this on, it, everybody will be
• 4:26
  like, "Incredible, Jef." Right, everybody?
• 4:30
  And I'm gonna make a sticker restaurant that will sell stickers and mole.
• 4:35
  You like them.
• 4:36
  New businesses.
• 4:37
  Si, in the same place.
• 4:39
  Wow.
• 4:39
  Yeah.
• 4:40
  Me and Espi have a long… No, this is not those shoes.
• 4:42
  This is something else.
• 4:43
  Me and Espi have a long-standing d- d- like, a competition as to which c-
• 4:48
  language has the best version of the word.
• 4:50
  Like, uh, Mexican or Spanish is, for puzzle, yeah, English, puzzle.
• 4:55
  In Mexican or Spanish, rompecabezas.
• 4:58
  Which, rompecabezas wins.
• 4:59
  I mean, hands down.
• 5:01
  But then what's oops?
• 5:04
  Oops in English is oops.
• 5:05
  In- Well, you could say that in Spanish, but- Right, but- … it,
• 5:08
  algo salió mal … which, I mean, no.
• 5:10
  I mean, by the time you say it, you've a- already fallen on your face.
• 5:13
  Algo salió, boom.
• 5:15
  So there, put the tie there anyway.
• 5:18
  We're on the bus going home, and I have to get dials for Adrian in two days.
• 5:25
  Oops.
• 5:27
  What?
• 5:28
  Pal que palta, so what's the- Algo salió mal.
• 5:31
  Algo salió mal.
• 5:32
  Algo salió mal
• 5:40
  Anyway, how are you, my friends?
• 5:41
  That's great.
• 5:41
  That's great to hear.
• 5:41
  I'm so happy for you.
• 5:41
  So profoundly happy.
• 5:42
  How am I?
• 5:44
  I'm not great at all.
• 5:45
  I have to get dental surgery in a matter of about two hours.
• 5:51
  I know I mentioned my dental issues the last week or the week before, maybe
• 5:55
  both, and I mentioned how anxious I am at the dentist and so forth and so on,
• 5:59
  but we're at zero hour now, my friends.
• 6:02
  Like, I have to go in in about, uh, two hours, as I said, to get a tooth pulled
• 6:08
  out of my face, and then I guess a implant of some sort placed in the bone of my jaw.
• 6:15
  Let's not talk about it.
• 6:16
  Let's not talk about it, 'cause talking about it makes it sound like some sort of
• 6:21
  a medieval torture, which, again, perhaps it is, you know, dentistry and all.
• 6:32
  but it's necessary because the tooth hurts and it's gotta go
• 6:36
  apparently, according to the dentist.
• 6:40
  So I have to go through this thing and I am feeling
• 6:45
  a profound level of anxiety about the whole thing
• 6:49
  I don't understand how people don't get profoundly anxious about having
• 6:55
  to get this kind of thing done.
• 6:57
  I'm trying to think if I would be as anxious if, if I was going in for
• 7:01
  like, I don't know, like a regular surgery that's not mouth-related.
• 7:06
  I think I probably would be.
• 7:09
  But for that, I'd probably be put asleep, so that's the biggest difference, is
• 7:13
  that I'm going to be awake for this, and the idea of being awake while somebody's
• 7:18
  yanking a tooth out of my mouth, it's not pleasant to think about, nor will
• 7:23
  it be pleasant to experience, I imagine.
• 7:26
  Who knows?
• 7:27
  Maybe it'll be wonderful.
• 7:28
  Maybe I'll wanna do it again.
• 7:30
  I don't think so.
• 7:32
  But again, I'm open to the idea that I may just enjoy this experience
• 7:39
  I'm not putting money on it though, at all.
• 7:43
  Why didn't you get anesthesia, Jef?
• 7:45
  Why didn't you ask them?
• 7:46
  Well, I did.
• 7:47
  I did, in fact.
• 7:48
  And for some reason, it costs an incredible amount of money in
• 7:52
  Mexico City, or Mexico in general.
• 7:55
  Almost $1,000 to get anesthesia.
• 7:58
  So we're foregoing that, and we're going to raw dog it through this.
• 8:05
  I mean, they're gonna numb my mouth, I assume, but gonna get headphones.
• 8:08
  I'll listen to headphones.
• 8:10
  Everything will be fine
• 8:13
  Deep breaths.
• 8:14
  Deep breaths.
• 8:14
  Anyway, so that's why there's not a very long episode this week because I
• 8:20
  went to Oaxaca, got back late Monday night, and then scheduled this dental
• 8:26
  appointment and was overcome with anxiety for the last few days about it.
• 8:33
  And now as the clock ticks closer and closer to the time I have to walk over
• 8:37
  to the dentist office and get this done,
• 8:43
  It'll be fine.
• 8:44
  It will be.
• 8:46
  I'm trying to ask myself what exactly it is that I am so anxious about.
• 8:53
  Like, nobody wants to go through unpleasant things, of course, and
• 8:58
  that's really all that this will be, is an unpleasant thing to go
• 9:02
  through, and that can build character.
• 9:05
  Am I right?
• 9:06
  Like, although the idea of a dental procedure building
• 9:10
  character is somewhat absurd.
• 9:12
  Uh, I'm grabbing at whatever straws I can grab at here.
• 9:16
  So yes, there's a positive thing.
• 9:19
  This experience will build character.
• 9:21
  Also, it will prevent my tooth from rotting and falling
• 9:25
  out, so forth and so on.
• 9:29
  And this is only part one.
• 9:30
  I guess I have to go back in, like, three or four, five months once the
• 9:35
  gaping wound in my mouth heals so they can put the fake tooth in or whatever.
• 9:42
  Ugh.
• 9:44
  Honestly, it wouldn't be so bad.
• 9:46
  Like, a lot of my anxiety comes from the fact that I am in Mexico.
• 9:51
  I'm in a foreign country where I don't speak the language very well, and
• 9:56
  I've only been here five months, and it, it's just… Like, were I going
• 10:01
  through this in, in the United States, yes, I would be anxious, for sure.
• 10:07
  But there's another level of it here.
• 10:09
  Do you understand?
• 10:11
  It's a lot.
• 10:11
  It's a lot for my poor, anxious mind to deal with But it's gonna happen.
• 10:20
  It's confirmed.
• 10:21
  Although I did think this morning, I was like, "Oh, what if I just
• 10:23
  tell them I'm not feeling well? I can reschedule it. I can put it
• 10:26
  off." No, you can't do that, Jef.
• 10:30
  You gotta do it.
• 10:31
  You gotta be a man.
• 10:33
  God, it's embarrassing how anxious and scared I am of
• 10:38
  getting this dental work done.
• 10:41
  And honestly, I think that anxiety and fear is why I've been putting it off
• 10:46
  for so long, and probably why I'm in the situation that I'm in right now.
• 10:50
  But don't look back.
• 10:53
  Don't look back.
• 10:54
  Just get your teeth yanked out and move forward.
• 10:59
  I don't wanna make this entire episode about my teeth, so let's talk about a few
• 11:04
  more things just so I can make it seem like this episode is actually an episode.
• 11:11
  Oh, I got a voicemail from a friend of the pod and a friend of mine, Kirsten.
• 11:17
  Here's some of it.
• 11:18
  We have quite a bit of bougainvillea here in California, and we call it
• 11:23
  bougainvillea, not bougainvillea.
• 11:25
  So I didn't look it up or anything.
• 11:28
  I don't know what the pro- correct pronunciation is, but there's quite
• 11:30
  a bit of bougainvillea talk here in California, and we call it bougainvillea,
• 11:33
  so I thought I'd provide that tidbit.
• 11:36
  Maybe helpful, maybe not.
• 11:38
  Anyway, thanks for the new episode.
• 11:40
  Thank you for the correction.
• 11:42
  I appreciate it.
• 11:44
  Uh, yes, that is the way it is pronounced.
• 11:48
  I was wrong.
• 11:50
  You are correct.
• 11:50
  It's pronounced the same in Mexico as it is in the United States.
• 11:56
  I would say it right now, but I'm editing in the voicemail message,
• 12:03
  so I don't actually remember what the word is that I mispronounced.
• 12:07
  I know it's the flower on my porch.
• 12:10
  Bougainvillea?
• 12:12
  Is that the wrong way to pronounce it?
• 12:14
  I don't know.
• 12:15
  I don't have access to the message right now, so
• 12:21
  Wow, very professional.
• 12:23
  Anyway, thank you Kirsten for the voicemail and for the correction.
• 12:27
  Uh, very helpful.
• 12:28
  I will no longer mispronounce bougainvillea.
• 12:33
  I'm still mispronouncing it, I think, but I will check it when I edit this
• 12:36
  episode, and I will write it down to make sure that I never mispronounce it again.
• 12:41
  However it's pronounced, that flowering bush on my terrace,
• 12:45
  the flowers are going away.
• 12:46
  I don't know if it's a seasonal thing, but they flowered a lot, and then they are not
• 12:50
  flowering right now, which is unfortunate, but to everything turn, turn, turn.
• 12:55
  There is a season turn, turn, turn, and so on and so forth.
• 12:59
  Thank you God for the reminder.
• 13:04
  When I was in Oaxaca, I learned that the name for toes in Spanish
• 13:15
  is the same as the name for fingers, which is dedos, dedos
• 13:21
  So literally toes in Spanish are just foot fingers.
• 13:26
  Wha-
• 13:31
  Which is, I'm sorry, it's wrong.
• 13:34
  It's not right.
• 13:35
  Estee and I have this longstanding kind of competition.
• 13:38
  She's a Spanish teacher, and I'm a longstanding friendly competition
• 13:41
  about which version of the word is better English or Spanish.
• 13:47
  And for this one, I would say having a word for it, toes, is much
• 13:52
  better than having foot fingers.
• 13:57
  Foot fingers, I mean, there's many things that I think about.
• 14:01
  There's a name of an indie rock band, Foot Fingers.
• 14:04
  There's the name of the first album of some band.
• 14:07
  There's, uh, something sexual.
• 14:09
  I'm not sure exactly what.
• 14:11
  Uh, there's a lot going on there, uh, but none of it's great.
• 14:14
  None of it's great.
• 14:15
  So if you are a purveyor of the Spanish language, a person who is developing
• 14:21
  it, if you're listening to this by some random thing, let's work on a word.
• 14:26
  I would never be one to encourage you to add words to the Spanish language
• 14:30
  because there's already so many.
• 14:31
  But in this case, I think, yes, you need a word.
• 14:36
  Instead of foot fingers, you need a word.
• 14:38
  I imagine there's other languages that use foot fingers too, but I just
• 14:41
  don't know, and I don't want to know.
• 14:43
  I don't wanna know
• 14:46
  I'm gonna have to call this episode Foot Fingers now.
• 14:49
  Oh, well
• 14:51
  Worse things happen.
• 14:53
  Oaxaca.
• 14:55
  We took the bus to Oaxaca.
• 14:57
  Took about seven hours to get there.
• 14:59
  Beautiful drive through the mountains.
• 15:01
  Mexico's a beautiful country.
• 15:03
  Lots of different landscapes, really pretty.
• 15:07
  And the bus drive wasn't-- the ride wasn't bad at all.
• 15:10
  You know, it was long, but we stopped a few times.
• 15:12
  It wasn't terrible.
• 15:14
  One thing I did notice, though, I haven't really been on the highways much here
• 15:17
  in Mexico, but people drive… Like, in Mexico City, people drive crazy, but
• 15:22
  in the highways, like, it's nuts, dude.
• 15:26
  We were in a bus, of course, as I said, and, like, I, you know, I imagine we
• 15:31
  were going quite slow, and part of it, we were on, like, two-lane roads.
• 15:34
  So basically, people just pass you whenever they want.
• 15:39
  They would kinda just pass, and then the cars c- oncoming
• 15:41
  cars would go into the berm.
• 15:43
  Like, it was just like how traffic language works here.
• 15:46
  It was just, like, natural.
• 15:48
  Single line, double line, doesn't matter.
• 15:50
  We'll pass whenever we want to.
• 15:51
  It's nuts, and I can't believe that there's not more accidents because,
• 15:56
  uh, uh, yeah, it's some crazy driving.
• 15:59
  It's like the berm is another lane, to be honest.
• 16:03
  And I was thinking about my friend Gary, who biked all the way to, to
• 16:07
  Chile, how dangerous it would've been to, to bike on these roads 'cause you'd
• 16:11
  be biking in the berm, and if cars are just using that as a lane, Jesus.
• 16:16
  I'm glad he survived.
• 16:17
  Congratulations, Gary.
• 16:20
  Oaxaca is also the mezcal capital of Mexico and the world, I imagine.
• 16:26
  So everywhere there are mezcal distilleries.
• 16:29
  Everywhere.
• 16:30
  I mean, boom, boom, left, right, left, right.
• 16:33
  Just everywhere.
• 16:34
  We went to a tour for, of a mezcal place, learned how it was made.
• 16:38
  I don't entirely understand still, but it was interesting.
• 16:41
  Uh, tequila is a kind of mezcal, as they say.
• 16:46
  Like, all tequila is mezcal, but not all mezcal is tequila
• 16:52
  Tequila's made with blue agave.
• 16:54
  That's the only thing you can make tequila out of, whereas mezcal
• 16:57
  can be made of all different kinds of agave, I think, apparently.
• 17:03
  Anyway, we drank a lot of mezcal.
• 17:06
  Not a lot, enough.
• 17:09
  It was fun.
• 17:10
  I don't know if I like mezcal or not.
• 17:11
  It's like wine here, to be honest.
• 17:13
  Like, people are very serious about their mezcal here.
• 17:17
  They showed us this way to drink it.
• 17:19
  Like, they poured some into a shot glass, and they said, "You put your
• 17:22
  finger over the middle of the shot, of the opening of the top, and then
• 17:25
  you smell of the top of the finger and then below the finger, and you're
• 17:28
  supposed to smell something different."
• 17:30
  I did not smell m- many different things, but I lied and said that I did.
• 17:37
  I didn't want to upset the, uh, mezcal maker.
• 17:43
  We saw the tree with the biggest trunk in the world.
• 17:47
  I forget what it's called.
• 17:48
  It's in Oaxaca City.
• 17:50
  It's not a tall tree.
• 17:51
  It's a Mexican cypress.
• 17:52
  Beautiful tree, beautiful, but, like, literally massive trunk, and all
• 17:56
  I could think of is, like, girth.
• 17:58
  It's the only word I could think of when I was there.
• 18:00
  It's weird, and girth kind of comes off as a sexual… Like, length is girth.
• 18:05
  Anyway, it was a pretty tree, and my brain ruined it by thinking of girth.
• 18:09
  'Cause there was a church right there too.
• 18:12
  There were churches everywhere.
• 18:13
  Oaxaca is so full of churches.
• 18:15
  Like, every single block, giant, old, amazing-looking biblical church.
• 18:20
  And right when we got there, like, the first evening we were there, we were
• 18:24
  walking around, and we had just had dinner or something, and we just stumbled upon
• 18:28
  this, this huge parade that was apparently for, like, graduating people from
• 18:33
  college or starting college or something.
• 18:36
  I think starting college.
• 18:38
  But huge parade.
• 18:39
  Like, bands playing, people marching, people with giant, weird costumes with
• 18:43
  all this… I can't even describe it.
• 18:46
  I'll put some pictures on the Patreon page, patreon.com/onefjef.
• 18:50
  Sign up now.
• 18:51
  See, that was quick and painless this time.
• 18:55
  Anyway, it was a magical way to begin the trip.
• 18:57
  Like, it was just like we were, like, in the parade.
• 18:59
  We just kinda walked down the street, and boom, there it was.
• 19:02
  Fireworks, all sorts of things.
• 19:04
  Super fun.
• 19:05
  That's kind of the nature of the whole trip, really.
• 19:07
  It was just kind of a magical trip.
• 19:10
  Yeah, super fun.
• 19:12
  One night we were drinking in this bar, uh, sitting on this patio, like
• 19:14
  just a second-floor patio, and I looked down, and there was a person dressed
• 19:19
  in, like, a rabbit robot costume.
• 19:21
  It was like a rabbit but had, like, glowing eyes, uh, holding a, a knife,
• 19:26
  which I assume was fake, but just kind of walking down the street holding a knife.
• 19:30
  So I don't know.
• 19:31
  I don't know what to say about that
• 19:34
  I didn't see them stab anybody, the, the knife-wielding rabbit costume person
• 19:40
  And we had this meal at this restaurant, the first word of which is yeast, which
• 19:45
  is not generally a word I would suggest is a good word to put in the title of
• 19:51
  a restaurant, at least not in English.
• 19:52
  But I guess in Spanish it works out better.
• 19:55
  I don't remember the word for yeast, but apparently the first
• 19:58
  word of this restaurant is yeast.
• 20:00
  It's a very well-regarded restaurant.
• 20:01
  I think Michelin-listed or something.
• 20:03
  I don't know.
• 20:05
  So we went there, and we had this, like, appetizer, uh, tomato salad thing.
• 20:13
  This was possibly one of the best things I have eaten in years.
• 20:18
  I didn't think tomatoes could taste so good.
• 20:21
  It was all different kinds of tomatoes arranged beautifully, and there
• 20:25
  was kind of this, like, uh, was it beet, like, puree underneath it.
• 20:30
  My friends, I would go back to Oaxaca just to eat that tomato dish again,
• 20:34
  and I'm not a big foodie, to be honest.
• 20:36
  I like good food, but I'm not like, "Uh-huh, I don't know how to do it."
• 20:40
  This was… It was transcendent.
• 20:44
  It was transcendent.
• 20:45
  Now tomatoes taste like shit to me because they're not made like this or whatever.
• 20:49
  They're not-- I don't know what they did.
• 20:52
  Maybe there were drugs in them.
• 20:53
  I don't know.
• 20:53
  It doesn't matter to me.
• 20:54
  It was still good.
• 20:55
  So yeah, if you're in Me- if you're in Oaxaca, if you go to Oaxaca, find
• 20:58
  the restaurant th- the name of which starts with the Spanish word for yeast.
• 21:05
  I wish I could help you out a little more than that.
• 21:08
  But, you know, it's fun to have to look things up and figure
• 21:12
  them out yourself, isn't it?
• 21:14
  It is.
• 21:15
  It is
• 21:19
  We took a tour bus out to this place called Monte Albán, Monte Albán, and
• 21:25
  it's this, I don't know, 500 BC was founded, this, you know, the ancient
• 21:29
  Zapotec people, I believe, who were the original people who were in Oaxaca.
• 21:34
  This is where they, you know, hung out, this whole amazing structure
• 21:39
  on the top of this mountain that you can kind of see the whole city from.
• 21:43
  It's incredible, and as you're driving out there, like, you understand why
• 21:47
  Oaxaca is the mezcal capital of the world because there is literally
• 21:50
  agave growing everywhere, like as far as the eye can see, agave,
• 21:55
  agave, agave, agave, agave, agave.
• 21:56
  So if somebody was like, "Oh, look at all the… What can we do with
• 21:58
  all…? Oh, we can make mezcal." That's how I imagine it started.
• 22:03
  Anyway, this Monte Albán was kind of spectacular, and our
• 22:07
  tour guide was very good.
• 22:08
  I wish I could, um, explain why or how, but he was good.
• 22:15
  He was like a performer, you know?
• 22:21
  Yeah, that was fun.
• 22:23
  Anyway, I am becoming distracted because I need to prepare to go to
• 22:28
  the dentist in about 45 minutes.
• 22:32
  So I'm gonna do some yoga.
• 22:34
  I think it's a good idea, and I will finish this later or not.
• 22:38
  Maybe it's already done.
• 22:39
  Maybe it's done.
• 22:40
  If it is done, please like, rate, subscribe, and review.
• 22:43
  It always helps.
• 22:45
  Uh, send this episode to one of your friends or send a different
• 22:47
  episode to one of your friends.
• 22:49
  These things spread by word of mouth, my friends, and any word of mouth
• 22:52
  you can give, I really appreciate.
• 22:54
  Speaking of mouth, I'm getting dental work done today.
• 23:00
  And I'm trying to think of a good teeth-related quote if I'm
• 23:03
  really gonna end this episode.
• 23:04
  Uh, I don't know one offhand.
• 23:07
  I'd have to look one up, a tooth-related quote.
• 23:10
  Did Rumi say anything about teeth?
• 23:13
  I doubt it.
• 23:14
  I doubt it.
• 23:15
  What was dentistry like in Rumi's day?
• 23:17
  I wonder.
• 23:19
  I bet I could have, like, AI write a poem about teeth in the style of Rumi.
• 23:24
  Let's do that right now.
• 23:24
  Okay.
• 23:26
  Write a poem about teeth or dental work.
• 23:33
  Let's do dental work.
• 23:34
  Dental work in the, the style.
• 23:39
  This is exciting, isn't it?
• 23:41
  Rumi.
• 23:43
  Here we go.
• 23:44
  Oh.
• 23:45
  All right.
• 23:47
  The dentist takes the tooth, and I say, "But this has always
• 23:51
  been me." The tooth laughs.
• 23:55
  "No, beloved. I was only something you were holding onto."
• 24:00
  Then the drill begins, and the old pain leaves through a tiny door.
• 24:04
  What remains is empty.
• 24:06
  What remains is space.
• 24:08
  And Rumi whispers, "Wa- what? Why?" Rumi does not insert
• 24:12
  himself into his poems, whatever.
• 24:14
  And Rumi whispers, "Do not fear the space.
• 24:17
  This is where the new thing will grow
• 24:22
  Six or seven out of 10, I'd say.
• 24:25
  I, I disagree with the ending because nothing new is going to
• 24:28
  grow in the socket of the tooth, but it's a good effort, ChatGPT
• 24:37
  Hello all.
• 24:38
  I thought I'd give you an update.
• 24:40
  I just got back from the oral surgery, the extraction of the tooth, and the
• 24:50
  implant, which involves putting some sort of a metal object in my jaw.
• 24:54
  I don't know.
• 24:57
  The good news is I'm alive.
• 24:59
  I am in pain, and I am drooling blood, but I am, I'm alive.
• 25:06
  It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.
• 25:08
  Of course, your anxiety gets the best of you, and you… Yeah, I
• 25:12
  didn't really feel much of anything.
• 25:17
  And there's a new neighbor with dogs
• 25:22
  And it may drive me to the edge of my sanity
• 25:28
  Anyway, I'm really exhausted, uh, but I did wanna just throw an update in there.
• 25:33
  It's not over.
• 25:34
  I have to go back next week and get some stitches removed or
• 25:36
  something, and I can't exercise.
• 25:40
  I can't eat solid foods.
• 25:41
  Uh, I'm gonna be drooling blood for a day, so that's exciting.
• 25:46
  Uh, but it's over for… The worst part is over, I think.
• 25:51
  I hope.
• 25:52
  Yeah, there's a sense of relief
• 25:56
  And also a sense of, "Now I have to pay for this."
• 26:01
  But I'm gonna go lie down now and, uh, continue, get a Kleenex to
• 26:06
  mop up the blood that's pouring out of my mouth right now.
• 26:08
  Not pouring, but you know what I mean.
• 26:11
  Okay.
• 26:13
  Sorry if I'm mumbling.
• 26:14
  I can't really move my, my entire side of my face is numb, so that's exciting too.
• 26:18
  Love you guys.
• 26:19
  Very good, Jeffrey