333: The Mental Health Corner Episode

The Mental Health Corner Episode

[00:00:00] Jeff: Hi, everybody. I’m home. Uh, this is the Overtired podcast and I am Jeff Severns Guntzel and I’m here with my co hosts, Christina Warren and Brett Terpstra. Um, and I haven’t been here with either of you in a long time. And by here, I mean a virtual room where I can see you, but the listeners can’t. Hi.

[00:00:22] Brett: Hi, welcome back.

[00:00:24] Jeff: Thank you. I didn’t,

[00:00:26] Jeff goes to Kenya!

[00:00:26] Brett: So tell us where you’ve been. Tell us what’s been going on.

[00:00:30] Jeff: Um, Yeah, I just, I’m back. I’m a week now back from a really incredible family vacation. Um, and we went to, uh, we went to Kenya. Um, initially like a, we went to Kenya, um, first of all, to stay with my friend Wanja and her partner, Mel, who have a farm in, um, just outside of Nairobi.

[00:00:51] Jeff: Um, like an amazing farm. Like you walk out of their house and not only are you met by four of the best dogs in the world who it turns out keep the monkeys [00:01:00] away, okay. But also if you walk at just past their two offices made out of shipping containers, which are also amazing, you’re in an area like, uh, like basically a farm that has like banana trees and they grow mangoes and avocado and, um, like everything you can imagine, including in, in her case, she’s trying to bring back a certain type of banana that’s gone, um, like almost missing in Kenya.

[00:01:22] Jeff: Um, and, and so, uh, yeah, so we went to Kenya, um, stayed with my. My two friends who are just amazing people. I met them. I met one doing, um, other work in the past and her partner Mel does this amazing work with this, um, feminist, um, action group in East Africa mostly. Um, and so it was just like, It was just great to be in a completely new place.

[00:01:48] Jeff: I’ve never been to the continent of Africa. Um, and I recognized that I was only in a little piece of it. There’s an understandable sensitivity of people coming and being like, I’m in Africa, [00:02:00] um, when in fact you’re in one little part of Africa. Um, and, and so, yeah, we went, then we went to like a national park, um, where should I just talk about the trip?

[00:02:10] Jeff: Is that okay? I’m not just giving an overview.

[00:02:12] Christina: Yeah, I want to know all about

[00:02:13] Jeff: So we went to a national park. Um, West National Park and, and there was a, like a resort there. Um, and we didn’t really know much about the resort. We especially did not know that like, okay, so you walk in, uh, to the entrance, but the entrance is actually like this, this large, um, massive, like.

[00:02:33] Jeff: Ballroom type entryway. And on the other end of it is just the same size hole looking out over, um, over the national park. And, and like, so we just kind of wander up to the edge of that where there’s like a dining area and stuff and it’s all wide open. There’s no screens or windows or anything. And there’s like a watering hole that is a natural watering hole, but of course, uh, kept, um, alive through all the various seasons for the sake of tourism.

[00:02:58] Jeff: But it’s, it’s, [00:03:00] we, we like, we walk up to it and. It’s like 50 yards away or less, this watering hole, and it’s completely, um, filled with, or surrounded by, let’s see, giraffe, ostriches, warthogs, God bless them, baboons, God bless them, uh, zebras, um, like everything but like hippos, rhinos, and, and lions. And, and they were all so real and huge and graceful, graceful, except for when you ever seen a giraffe try to drink?

[00:03:36] Jeff: It’s very awkward, but

[00:03:38] Brett: actually, it’s actually physical, physically very impressive that they even can

[00:03:43] Jeff: that they even can they get they like spread their legs really awkwardly and the knees look like they’re gonna buckle.

[00:03:48] Brett: that their heads don’t explode when they lower their

[00:03:50] Jeff: Yeah, exactly. It takes a long time for the blood to

[00:03:53] Brett: Evolution at well, evolutionarily giraffes are very impressive. Like it’s very [00:04:00] impressive.

[00:04:00] Jeff: And so like, I, you know, last year we were supposed to go on this Kenya trip, but I got COVID. And so we ended up driving like a total improvised trip out to Yellowstone, which by some grace of God was empty because up until a week before it had been flooded and nobody knew it was open. And we went to the sort of Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.

[00:04:19] Jeff: And I remember I stopped at the edge and I could not believe what I was looking at. Like I, my brain just couldn’t fully take it in. And that’s what happened here. Like, I was like, I was just staring at him like that’s. That’s real. And it’s not like we were in some like fenced in special tourist area.

[00:04:32] Jeff: Like we were in like a gigantic national park, right? Like the size of a couple of states in the US. And, and that knowledge was like, I need David Attenborough to call me to calm me down to give me context to tell me what’s happening here. So we stayed, stayed there for a few days after the farm. And then we went to Mombasa to the ocean.

[00:04:55] Jeff: And, um, and that was, I mean, it was just like, It was a great trip. [00:05:00] And for me, um, it couldn’t have come at a better time. Uh, and it was just a wonderful time to be challenged a little bit, to be in a place that I didn’t know at all. And I didn’t exactly forget how much I loved that, but I had lost touch a little bit with how much I love having to sort of improvise in a place where.

[00:05:19] Jeff: I’m not familiar, but also like being conscious of trying to improvise in a way that isn’t like taking up too much space or just being whatever. When I’m in Europe, I’m very comfortable being an ugly American. I feel like that’s part of my role. I feel like that’s our, you know, we are just, we’re locked in that relationship forever.

[00:05:35] Jeff: I’m totally okay with it. Um, but when I go anywhere else, I’m like, I try to be. boisterous enough to be at least, like, break down some tension with some kind of charm, but not be, uh, a big, giant asshole. Um, but anyway, so that was that trip. It was with my family. I have two teenage boys, one of whom is going into his senior year of high school, so, you know, we won’t have too many more of, like, [00:06:00] these types of trips where, like, we all leave from home, the same house, and come back to home, the same house.

[00:06:07] Jeff: It happens that our family gets along wonderfully. Um, as long as I’m not having a met adjustment, this is another topic, which will did not happen on this trip. Um, sorry, no topic just came up. Um, but it was like my boys by some. Lottery have never fought. Um, they’re two years apart and I can’t remember a single fight except like when, when my youngest was very young, he, he had this amazing fight move, even when they weren’t fighting, where he would go up to my oldest, who’s always been very tall and just grab him by the legs below the shins until he fell like total, like at, at Walker, like battle style.

[00:06:44] Jeff: But anyway, like they get along great. They’re just chit chatting the whole time. So it’s just super nice. And, um. What was a little piece of this that was amazing, and I still can’t believe it was just a little slice, was… On our way there, um, we stopped in Egypt, a [00:07:00] dear, dear friend in Egypt, who I haven’t seen in a few years, but we’ve spent six weeks traveling together in three different countries over time.

[00:07:08] Jeff: Um, and so we, we made it a 25 hour layover in Cairo. We saw the pyramids in the morning and went to his house for an Eid meal in the afternoon. Um, He taught my youngest, my youngest is super interested in how you roll cigarettes. Um, he watches a lot of old Westerns and stuff. And so when my friend Ahmed started rolling his cigarette, I was like, Oh man, Anthony’s definitely interested.

[00:07:34] Jeff: And he’s like, come on over. And so he not only teaches Anthony how to roll a cigarette, but teaches them the fine distinctions between rolling a cigarette and rolling a joint. And I have this amazing picture of the two of them, and it was just such a kick, it was a blast. And seeing the pyramids was insane, it was like, it was awful, because it’s just one of those dynamics where like, there’s a lot of people coming up to you and trying to sell you things or whatever else, and I’m like, not, I’m not down on those people at all, it’s just that [00:08:00] dynamic sucks, and I’m definitely on the good end of it.

[00:08:04] Jeff: But like, standing at the base of the pyramids was pretty wild, like, it is, turns out it’s pretty cool. It’s pretty cool. Um. And so, yeah, it was just like this amazing trip. The piece that I haven’t talked about is my wife is an incredible miles hacker, like credit card miles hacker, like incredible, which meant that all of our flights were free.

[00:08:23] Jeff: We’d have never been able to afford this. Not only were they free, but two nine hour legs were fricking business class.

[00:08:30] Christina: Oh my God.

[00:08:32] Jeff: And which I’ve never flown and, and again, I want to just emphasize the listeners. We could not even have afforded to do this and coach had it not been for this thing. And so have you flown ever business

[00:08:44] Brett: Oh,

[00:08:45] Jeff: Okay. I have not like in the pods and whatnot. Um, so I have

[00:08:49] Christina: I’ve done this. I’ve done the Singapore suites, which was actually first class, uh, international first class, but that was only once. And that was with credit card miles. Sorry.

[00:08:57] Jeff: Awesome. Yeah. This is like the, totally like the lay [00:09:00] flat pods, although it turns out me and my oldest are too tall to actually lay flat. It ends

[00:09:04] Christina: still amazing.

[00:09:06] Jeff: Yeah, it’s still amazing. So um, that was so funny for me because I spent most of that time being like, these motherfuckers have had this all, like this bathroom that I can not only stand in, but walk a circle in and when I sit down, I’m looking out a window dedicated to like pooping and peeing.

[00:09:25] Christina: No, exactly. Exactly. No, once you experience it and you realize that there’s been this whole other like class available, like at this point, I will not go international unless I’m flying business class. Um, I will not do it. And, and I used to always like work always covered it. But, um, They’ve cut budgets significantly.

[00:09:43] Christina: So I have to either upgrade myself or, you know, pay or whatnot, or, or just have it. And, but I haven’t gone on an international trip, um, in, in a year at this point, but like I did premium economy, um, to Copenhagen last year. And on the way back, I upgraded myself. I was like, I am not [00:10:00] doing like, it was like a, it was like a 12 hour flight.

[00:10:02] Christina: I was like, ah,

[00:10:04] Jeff: Yeah.

[00:10:05] Christina: it’s full business class or nothing, not doing it.

[00:10:08] Brett: that’s, that’s what terrified me when they were when they were planning to send me to Spain. It’s what like a 1313 16 hour flight. I don’t remember.

[00:10:17] Christina: No, I mean, for you it’d be like, it’d be like, uh, because for me it’s ten, so for you it’d be like eight.

[00:10:24] Brett: No, I don’t think that’s true. I’ll take your word for it. Either way, like I get, I get freaked out in even with even like an exit row and coach. I get freaked out after about two hours. I just I go, I go insane. I can’t handle it. And the cost to upgrade this.

[00:10:46] Christina: but there’s, but, but, but, but that is with one stop.

[00:10:49] Brett: And the cost, the cost to upgrade The, cause they would buy me a coach ticket and to upgrade it would have been like 1500 bucks.

[00:10:56] Brett: And I just wasn’t sure, for one leg, I [00:11:00] just, I, I, I, I decided to bite the bullet. Then they canceled my trip and it was a moot point. But, um, yeah, like flying coach for nine to 12 hours seems insane to

[00:11:13] Jeff: in the, go ahead, Christina.

[00:11:16] Christina: I was going to say, and I’ve done it. I’ve done it. And it is,

[00:11:18] Jeff: Well, and in the middle of this, so our flight, our, our journey home from Mombasa was five flights over 46 hours. Um, and in the middle of that was a nine hour coach flight. And it wasn’t just that all of a sudden I was crunched and I had been to the promised land. Um, it was that, like, the poor, like, entire row of kids next to me were coughing,

[00:11:42] Christina: Oh yeah.

[00:11:43] Jeff: nine hours, and I’m like, oh, that’s it, I’m dead.

[00:11:45] Jeff: But also, the funny thing is how swi how quickly my sort of class allegiances can change. So, like, I I did notice, like, I’m like, my first time in business class, I’m like, oh, this is why nobody looks me in the eye when I’m walking through to coach. And, like, and then when I was [00:12:00] going to coach, I was like, look me in the eye. And, like,

[00:12:03] Christina: one of you.

[00:12:04] Jeff: Yeah, so like the only okay, so two other things about this one, I had an amazing the one thing I didn’t realize about business classes, how many people are doing it for the first time, whenever you’re there, which gives it kind of a fun feel. And so I sat down in my like, pod, and the dude in the pod next to me must have been about like, Yeah, mid seventies.

[00:12:22] Jeff: And he’s drinking a whiskey, um, instead of the champagne that they give you right away. Right? He just went straight for the whiskey. He’s gruff. He’s got a beard and all of the stuff they give you is stacked in his lap. And, and as I’m putting my, my stuff away and kind of trying to figure this out myself, I mean, what the hell is all this?

[00:12:36] Jeff: And he goes, you ever flown first class before? And I was like, no, he’s like, yeah, What do I do with all this shit? And like, as I settled in, I’m like, I don’t know, because by the time I settled in, it looked like how I live at home. It was just shit everywhere. And like, I dropped something behind the seat or whatever, but I want to say one last thing about the business class experience, which is not strictly business class, but mostly I had [00:13:00] never been in an airport lounge and

[00:13:02] Christina: was the best experience.

[00:13:03] Jeff: I what this here’s what pisses me off about it and almost nothing pisses me off about it.

[00:13:08] Jeff: But the one thing that pisses me off about it. It’s like, okay, so when I’m flying in coach, I’m walking around the airport paying shit tons of money for stupid, terrible food. And all along, these people were in here with outlets, showers, and a buffet that included free gummy bears. Like, I was like,

[00:13:27] Christina: Now, now I will say, uh, it is very easy for anybody, regardless of what, um, class you’re flying to get into an airport lounge,

[00:13:35] Jeff: Yes.

[00:13:36] Christina: the airport lounges are now very crowded. So,

[00:13:39] Brett: 70, 70, 70 bucks, I think is what it cost me. When I was flying coach, I got into the Delta lounge.

[00:13:45] Christina: well, yeah, but you can’t buy, because they’re so crowded now because of credit cards, you can’t buy a day pass anymore. Lounge is unless it’s prior to past lounge, however, and this is the thing and this is what all will I will give to listeners out there? There are few credit cards that you can get if you’re a credit [00:14:00] card person that if you travel even a moderate amount are worth it The the big one.

[00:14:05] Christina: Yes, I was going to say is the American Express platinum card that card if you’re a Delta flyer Especially Is an amazing value. All right. I will be honest. The annual fee is either six or 700. However, you get a Delta, um, SkyClub with it, which is more than the cost of the annual fee. If you buy the individual membership, you also get access to all of the American Express Centurion lounges.

[00:14:29] Christina: You also get access to the entire priority pass network and the Delta SkyClub thing also means that you have lounges to all the Air France and KLM and. And other things. So, plus you get free, um, uh, clear plus, which is the clear that also gets you through TSA pre check and you get a TSA pre check, um, global entry things.

[00:14:48] Christina: All that is like comped. So. The annual fee is high, but it’s worth

[00:14:53] Brett: If you’re traveling, it’s

[00:14:55] Christina: if you travel more than I’d say five times a year and you have like a lounge, [00:15:00] especially if you’re Delta flyer. It’s worth it. The alternate card is also high. Annual fee is the chase Sapphire reserve. That also gives you priority pass and it gives you a certain amount of like, uh, you get a couple hundred dollars like actual money, um, airline credit each year and other stuff.

[00:15:15] Christina: So if you travel a lot and you want to do the lounge system, the, the Sapphire reserve is, is second best for lounges. But the. best one is the American Express Platinum.

[00:15:25] Jeff: Go ahead.

[00:15:26] Brett: I will say that the lounges change an airport entirely once you discover the lounge. Like the San Francisco airport, it’s, it’s generally pretty nice, but it’s so boring if you’re there for more than an

[00:15:39] Christina: Yeah. No, I, I,

[00:15:41] Brett: the lounge changes everything.

[00:15:43] Christina: I call it my happy place. Like I still check in, um, on, um, on, on swarm, which used to be four square. And I literally call it the lounge, my happy place because it is one of those things like, and, and it’s also great, especially if you have like TSA pre check or clear and whatnot, like. I’ll have, I’ll, I’ll, I usually get to the airport [00:16:00] late.

[00:16:00] Christina: Um, and, and I’ll, I might have, you know, 45 minutes before my, my, my plane, you know, is boarding or sometimes even half an hour, and I’m just like, no, I’m gonna go to the lounge. I’m going to get a drink and, and, and maybe grab a snack, maybe grab some chips or something. I’m gonna go to the bathroom, you know, if I have longer than that, like if I need to do a meeting, if I need to do something like it’s.

[00:16:19] Christina: It’s now, not all airport lounges are great. It depends on the airport you’re in, depends on other stuff. But like, um, Chicago, uh, uh, has, um, uh, you know, good airports and probably has good lounge situation. Minneapolis where you are, Brett, like that amazing lounge, um, stuff. Delta

[00:16:36] Brett: launch in Minneapolis is awesome.

[00:16:38] Christina: The Delta lounge in Seattle is also great.

[00:16:41] Christina: Uh, because, uh, it’s, um, uh, we’re a hub. So it was Minneapolis. So, um. Yeah,

[00:16:47] Jeff: And, and I will say that on the 46 hour, five flight journey home at about. Our 26th, we were in a really nice lounge, I think we were [00:17:00] in Frankfurt, and I took a shower,

[00:17:02] Christina: that’s the best thing,

[00:17:04] Jeff: and I, I thought, why would I ever want to take a shower, but Laurel, like, my wife did it, and then she sent a picture of it, she’s like, this is amazing, and I was like, okay, I’ll try it, and it was like, uh, the flow from the ceiling,

[00:17:16] Christina: Yeah, and it like changes everything like what you can also do is a great thing to do You did it perfectly because you were like in between legs But what I’ve done is I’ve either gone to the airport and like been about to leave and like taking a shower But my favorite thing to do is either what you did like in between a layover or a shower on arrival Like, if I take a red eye, I’ll go to the lounge, and like, I’m, I’m, and then before I go, like, I’ll go to the lounge before I even get my bags or whatever, um, if I’ve checked a bag, and I’ll take a shower, and then, like, I will have, like, a change of clothes with me, and then I will, like, be able to go to my hotel and just be like, Ah,

[00:17:52] Jeff: Yeah. Awesome. Two. Okay. Two things to close this out. One, putting compression socks back on after a shower is a drag. Um, and I’m old. [00:18:00] Two, the Amex Platinum card, if you live in a snowy region, is an amazing ice scraper, which is how I lost mine. Cause it’s metal.

[00:18:09] Christina: it is metal, it’s great. You can also get it in rose gold, um,

[00:18:12] Jeff: That’s right. That’s right.

[00:18:13] Christina: sorry, that’s the gold one, no, the platinum is just platinum, but, uh, yeah, but they do have, because I both have the platinum and I have the rose gold gold card, but yeah. Platinum heart is, is metal. It’s great.

[00:18:21] Brett: All right.

[00:18:22] Jeff: That was great.

[00:18:23] Brett: Thank you for sharing Jeff. That sounds like an amazing experience. I’m actually very jealous. I have not traveled for so long now.

[00:18:32] Christina: I love that your kids and your whole family have that experience. Like that to me, what you were saying about like, you know, it’s the last like big family, you know, one of the last big like family trips like this, where you’re all, we coming back to the same house, like they’ll, and what’s great is everybody’s old enough to remember it like this.

[00:18:45] Christina: It’s going to be one of those things that everybody was old enough to remember it and enjoy it and, and be together. And that’s, that’s fantastic.

[00:18:52] Jeff: Totally.

[00:18:53] Brett: very

[00:18:54] Jeff: I’ll submit a photo for show art.

[00:18:56] Brett: Yes, please do. Um, all right. So how do [00:19:00] you guys feel about a little mental health corner?

[00:19:03] Jeff: I’m already in that corner.

[00:19:04] Brett: I have some shit to talk about, but I can go last.

[00:19:10] Jeff: Christina.

[00:19:10] Brett: Yeah. Christina go.

[00:19:12] Mental Health Corner

[00:19:12] Christina: All right. I have some shit to talk about too. All right. So, um, I’m doing pretty well right now. I’ve just started a new antidepressant called Ovelity, A U V E L I T Y, and it is, it’s only been on the market for just under a year. The data that my psychiatrist told me about, because he follows all this stuff, is very similar to S ketamine, which, um, is, um, you know, the, the, the, um, nasal infusions, um, that it’s the only way that, that ketamine is approved.

[00:19:43] Christina: It’s not, it’s some similar like formulation, but it’s not the same thing. Um, but the, it’s like part of it as well, we’ve turned it and there’s some other compound that they’ve combined it with, but the results are very, very good. Um, in, in all, in all the studies, like the, they’re, they’re off the [00:20:00] charts.

[00:20:00] Christina: I’ve only been on it. I think I’m on like day four or day five. Um, and I’ve. Um, I’m already noticing a, a market improvement, which is good because I’d been pretty depressed and I’d been in a pretty depressed state for a while. Um, add to that, um, Um, the last week, uh, plus has been really, really difficult.

[00:20:19] Christina: Um, a friend of mine and a guy that I worked with closely for five years, um, died unexpectedly, um, at, uh, at age 37. And, um, that’s, it’s been incredibly, incredibly difficult to, um, to navigate that. And, um, I’m, um, yeah, so like last week was really, really rough. Um, but, um. We were, we were talking pre show about how sometimes you can take a medication, it can impact you and you don’t even, you’re not even aware of it.

[00:20:56] Christina: Like I, either you have like a bad reaction or you have a good reaction. And [00:21:00] honestly it was one of those things I think like took me like two days because I typically, however my body is wired, I react to, to med changes very fast, like very fast. Like I will usually get a side effect almost immediately or like it’ll kick in or it’ll, it’ll work or it won’t.

[00:21:17] Christina: Um, I will also say that things have a tendency to not work forever. So I’m going to have to like, keep, keep a watch on that. But, um, uh, this was one where honestly, like, and I don’t think it’s placebo because again, I was already depressed and then adding grief on top of that. Um, and, and I’m like feeling like.

[00:21:38] Christina: Immeasurably immeasurably bit better. Like, I’m still obviously, um, working through the, the grief of, of losing my friend. Um, and, and the circumstances and the whole, everything that was kind of involved in that. And I have some guilt that’s involved for, for myself involved in that too. That, that I’m, that I’m not gonna dive into.

[00:21:56] Christina: Um, but, um, I’m [00:22:00] feeling so much better than I was a week ago when I literally couldn’t get out of bed and was just from a combination of just everything. So, so that, that’s it.

[00:22:11] Jeff: helping. And I’m sorry about your friend. And I, without you going into it, like you said, like that, there are so many ways to have guilt when someone dies. It’s like. It’s terrible.

[00:22:24] Brett: Yeah. So it’s a, uh, Ability is a combination of dextromorphophan and, and bupriapine, which is Welbutrin, as you said. Um, but I can’t find the information on its titration period. It sounds like you have really quick titrations, like you adjust to medications faster than average. Um, I know Welbutrin usually has a 30 day titration period.

[00:22:52] Brett: Yeah.

[00:22:52] Christina: I think so. And I remember, and I remember when I took well, we turned and obviously this 20 years ago. I remember that kicking in relatively [00:23:00] quickly,

[00:23:00] Brett: Yeah, I mean, it’s entirely possible. I’m not, I’m not

[00:23:03] Christina: Yeah, no, no, no, totally. Well, no, but I mean, there have been things, I mean, again, like, I will, like, I remember the first time, I don’t remember what it was.

[00:23:09] Christina: It was Prozac or Paxil, one of them. I remember taking it and then like, oh, I don’t remember what it was now, but there was one drug that I took that immediately gave me migraines.

[00:23:17] Jeff: Mm.

[00:23:18] Christina: first migraine I’ve ever, I’d ever had, like, could not open my eyes. Um, migraines. Um, now that’s a side effect, but yeah, for me typically, like, and again, I’m not feeling like a hundred percent, but, um, there’s been like a market improvement and

[00:23:33] Brett: really hopeful.

[00:23:34] Christina: yeah, like, like, like I would like, like my, like my bedroom has just been kind of a complete disaster.

[00:23:39] Christina: And like, I did a lot of work on cleaning it last night with like very little.

[00:23:43] Jeff: Always a good sign.

[00:23:44] Christina: No, it really is because and, and, and, and I went to two movies yesterday and, and I’m, you know, like I, I was worried because I’ve got this big thing that I’m doing today. I’m going to Taylor Swift with a friend of mine who’s had the worst year that anybody could have.

[00:23:59] Christina: And [00:24:00] um, she, um, she lost her husband unexpectedly while they were on a family vacation. And Turks and Caicos, um, with, uh, two kids under five, um, uh, you know, he like dropped out of a heart attack at age 39 and she’s genuinely the nicest, kindest, sweetest person I’ve ever met. And, you know, I was like worried that I was going to have to like, almost like fake it to sort of rally, you know, to be there for her because I’m, I’m, she’s flying in, but like, I, I, I’ve got us a hotel room and, and I, I gave her my, my extra ticket, um, because I wanted to do something for her and, you know, I was really worried that I was like going to have to, Uh, you know, like really have to like fake excitement and, and whatnot.

[00:24:45] Christina: And, and I’m certainly not feeling the same euphoria that I was feeling when I was in New York two months ago, but, um, like, cause my mental health was better then, but I’m definitely like feeling like I can be in a place where I can actually be in that moment and not be like [00:25:00] besotted by the grief of my friend and guilt over that and the depression and all that stuff.

[00:25:04] Christina: Like, I’m actually feeling like I can go in and I can enjoy myself.

[00:25:07] Jeff: Yeah. Oh,

[00:25:08] Brett: I like house cleaning as a measure of wellness.

[00:25:13] Jeff: it’s huge in my life.

[00:25:15] Brett: and, and it’s, it’s, it has this compound effect where like cleaning the house indicates that you are in a better place to begin with, but then having a clean house puts you in an even better place. Um, so it’s kind of, it’s kind of like crawling your way out

[00:25:32] Christina: it really is. It really is. It’s one of those things where it’s it’s like it’s it’s um kind of like how you have to, I think, treat agoraphobia and and things like that, which is that you go, you have to go against the grain, which is like you have to actually get out and do things and do the hard thing and then you feel better the more you do it.

[00:25:52] Christina: Um, but, but I, cause, you know, like, yeah, I think that, that you’re right. It’s a really, really good barometer for [00:26:00] health because like, you feel better when your house is cleaner, but there can be those points when, like Grant and I, we say that like, you can tell like how we’re feeling based on like, kind of like the cloneliness or lack thereof.

[00:26:10] Christina: And like bedroom is just like a disaster. Um, because I was just in a really, really bad place and had been for a really long time. And then having to still fake it, you know, uh, for work as much as I could until that was even breaking down. And so I’m, I’m hopeful, you know, like I’m, I’m not like feeling like this is necessarily going to be a complete win, but, um, the, the hopeful thing, and then, then they’ll shut up.

[00:26:34] Christina: Cause I know that you have a lot to say, uh, Brett and I know you

[00:26:36] Brett: no, please go ahead.

[00:26:38] Christina: but, um, is, um, in addition to going on this new medication, I’m also coming off of a I’ve been on and off of for a really long time effects are, um, I was on the lowest dose, 37 and a half milligrams. The reason I’ve still been on that, even though it’s a very low dose, um, in addition to this other pill that I’ve taken is because, um, frontalics is [00:27:00] because The side effects like the withdrawal is so severe and I’ve gone through that withdrawal before and it’s awful and so I’ve been trying to withdraw from it while I’m the ability.

[00:27:11] Christina: So what I’m doing is I’m literally I’m like taking a capsule I’m I’m opening it up. I’m putting half of it in my hand, you know I have little pellets in my hand taking those and then you know Putting the capsule back together and then taking the the capsule the next day. I could You know, like order my doctor was like, Oh, you could get, you know, capsules off of Amazon or whatever.

[00:27:32] Christina: I’m like, Dr. Wah. I was wonderful for you to think that I will do that. I was like, and, and that might even be a fun project for my husband. He might even enjoy playing pharmacist. I was like, however, I can tell you right now, I’m not going to do that. I’m going to eyeball it and get close enough. You know, I was like,

[00:27:52] Jeff: You’re not gonna borrow your friend’s drug scale?

[00:27:54] Christina: no,

[00:27:54] Jeff: I’m not saying your friends have drug scales,

[00:27:57] Christina: I mean, I do have

[00:27:57] Jeff: probably don’t have to reach too far.

[00:27:59] Christina: Oh, [00:28:00] not at all.

[00:28:01] Jeff: You know anybody in the restaurant industry? Boom.

[00:28:04] Christina: all. Or the software industry. You know?

[00:28:06] Jeff: Or the software industry. That’s true.

[00:28:08] Brett: I have a, I have, I, I have a milligram scale. It’s actually very good.

[00:28:13] Christina: Um, And we might even have one. I don’t even know. Grant might have one for… Honestly, Grant probably has one.

[00:28:19] Jeff: but the point is that’s not how you’re doing this.

[00:28:21] Christina: Fuck no. Absolutely not. That, that, that, that’s a level of effort and precision. Um, so anyway, again, like just to finish out, like why this is hopeful is that I’m, you know, trying to, um, get myself off of this thing that I’ve been on for many, many, many, many years while trying a new thing as well.

[00:28:39] Christina: And I was. And this was before the death, I was like, oh shit, this is going to be a really difficult time to have this concert and have this weekend and have all this stuff, um, but um, but I’m doing okay. So that’s, I’m, I’m really hopeful about that.

[00:28:55] Jeff: So as long as Taylor Swift is on this world bending tour, are you just going to be occasionally going?[00:29:00]

[00:29:00] Christina: Yes. I mean, honestly, I would love to go to some of the international shows if I can. Well, if I could reliably get tickets, like the Asia legs, there’s no way in hell I would, I would try that. I wouldn’t do South America, but I would, I would go to Australia. I would go to Europe. And the only reason I wouldn’t go try for the Asian legs, Singapore would be amazing, but I think they are going to be impossible to like buy, um, regularly.

[00:29:22] Christina: And then the other things I’m just like, the, the insanity in those countries around her. I’m just like, I don’t know.

[00:29:33] Jeff: Be something to see.

[00:29:34] Christina: I would, but I’m also like, I like, like, like South, like, I’m just trying to imagine like what it’ll be like when she’s in Brazil because I’ve been to Brazil, um, a few

[00:29:41] Jeff: everything insane when somebody comes

[00:29:43] Christina: Yes. Yes. And, and that’s the thing.

[00:29:45] Christina: And, and I’ve spent like, I feel like I know Brazil because I’ve spent like, Uh, total time of like a month there and, and, and I’ve been in a bunch of different cities and so I don’t really know it. I only know parts of it, but like everything I’ve seen, like, I’m like, I, I’m like, [00:30:00] Oh my God, that is going to be.

[00:30:02] Christina: Absolute insanity because there are people who are like, Oh, the tickets are cheaper. I could just go to Brazil and said, I’m like, Oh, wow. A prepare yourself for one of those flights that, that, that, um, you know, you were on, uh, Jeff, you know, getting there, like it’s not 46 hours, but it’s 27. Um, and, uh, and, and B, um, I just, I feel like, I feel like I’d be worried genuinely about like the size of the crowds and the other stuff like in, and I’m not even being hyperbolic here.

[00:30:31] Christina: I’m like, And I’m not scared by crowds and I’m like, I feel like this would be like a World Cup sort of situation and I’m not really sure if I want to be a part of that, but I would go see her in Paris or in, in England. I would love to see her in Paris.

[00:30:45] Brett: That would be fun.

[00:30:47] Jeff: yeah.

[00:30:47] Christina: I’m done now.

[00:30:49] Brett: I will say on the house cleaning thing, um, my, we, we have house cleaners come about once a month and, um, our, the, it’s [00:31:00] a couple that cleans our house and, uh, the woman in the couple, it’s a heterosexual couple. The woman, um, is big into like energy and astrology and stuff. And she. After Yeti died, she advised me that cleaning the spaces where Yeti was, was important to my grieving process.

[00:31:26] Brett: And one of those spaces was my bedroom, which I always ask them to leave alone. Like, well, like clean the whole house, but my bedroom is kind of my like safe space and it’s, um, it’s a mess. Like, I don’t, I don’t, I don’t want anyone touching it, but this time I like, uh, I, I, I, I put a bunch of shit on the bed, um, just to get it out of the way.

[00:31:50] Brett: But I did clean up the room enough for them to come in and do like a deep clean on the floors and surfaces. And actually she was right. It [00:32:00] actually was really good for. For my mental health and for my grieving process. And yeah, it was, it was, it was nice.

[00:32:09] Christina: That’s great.

[00:32:10] Jeff: That’s great. Yeti.

[00:32:13] Brett: Jeff, how are you doing?

[00:32:16] Jeff: I’m doing good today. Uh, I had a hard time once I was home. It’s weird, like there’s, there was two things happening at once. And, and one is that like something shifted in me about a couple, maybe a month and a half ago, where all of a sudden I was like performing my work at a level that I had wished I always It had been that I knew I could, um, work came easy.

[00:32:40] Jeff: Getting things done came easy. When I raised my hand for something, I didn’t feel like everyone was going, dude, no, Like, you’ve, you’ve raised your hand for everything. And so when I came back home, that feeling continued, but I found myself in my office just feeling like, Really kind of depressed. And I think it was partly probably just that I dove right in after the trip and that [00:33:00] on the trip, I felt so good.

[00:33:01] Jeff: And I don’t know if you have this experience, but when I travel, when I get away from everything, like a lot of what. weighs me down, goes away. And, and I’m a lot lighter and, um, I just feel a lot better internally and, and all that stuff. So I think coming home to my office is like a little rough, even though I love my office.

[00:33:19] Jeff: And speaking of offices getting dirty, there’s actually a point where. I changed my fans and it blew down a painting on my shelf that blew down a little baby lost cause aloe plant that I’ve been trying to like nurse back to life, um, which broke on the floor and I left it there for two days. And finally, my wife came in and she’s like, we have this policy in our house where like, if someone’s like, say you’re like, you’re, you know, you’re trying to make your breakfa