Hello and welcome.

My name is Christopher Chandler.

And my name is Chris Schauer.

And we are Generally American.

In our podcast, we discuss events,
culture, whatever else we want from a

generally American perspective.

From our differing viewpoints, our goal is
that we can offer others and ourselves

nuanced opinions on fascinating topics
related to the US.

We invite you to be part of the discussion
and we hope that you'll stick around to

see where the conversation takes us.

So let's dive in.

And we're back.

We're back in live for the first time.

Yeah, for the first time in Toy24.

Yeah, the first episode of the new year.

I think it's been about like six, six
weeks, seven weeks, maybe.

So, yeah, I hesitated a second before I
said first of twenty, twenty four.

Like I had to think about it, but we've
been gone for a bit.

Yeah, I don't know if we could say happy
new year anymore because January is almost

over.

But since it's the first episode for us.

for the new year, I'll say happy new year,
so.

So will I, happy new year.

Let's try and have a better one.

Yeah.

So we got to get that out of the way
really quick.

Do you have any resolutions for this year?

Yes and no, because mostly because it
lined up with just me moving.

But with me moving, part of my goal was
like, cook every meal, don't do takeout,

things like that.

I'm not like making it a firm resolution.

Like I treated myself to a take out
burrito last night because it sounded

good.

I'm not going to let that like, oh no, I
failed.

I'll never cook again.

Like, no, it's just something I'm going to
do like 90, 95 percent of the time.

Yeah, I think resolutions should be more
or less like guidelines, not something

that you should like adhere to
religiously.

My New Year's resolutions, like for almost
everyone, you know, be more active, lose a

bit of weight.

I've lost almost like two pounds, so I'm
getting there, but I need to lose about

like ten more and I'll be happy.

Oh, that's great.

I probably want to lose like 80 to be
honest.

In one year.

Maybe not in a year, but just, you know,
as an end goal.

Yeah, I think we could all stand to lose a
little bit of weight.

Unfortunately, some more, some less.

But yeah, also the weather.

because we definitely can't forget the
weather.

So I am happy to report that we actually
had a lot of snow, which is very untypical

for the region that I live in.

We almost never get any snow.

So we got a lot of snow.

We got a lot of ice.

Unfortunately, there were a lot of
accidents, but that only lasted for, God,

I want to say like four or five days, and
then it was gone.

It's now it's just rainy and windy and
it's terrible.

So I'm really looking forward to spring.

I know we still have a few months left,
but do we get there?

I'm definitely looking forward to spring.

So a little foreshadowing, it is much
better than it has been.

Right now, it's beautiful outside.

It has been for a few days.

This coming week is supposed to be even
warmer.

Definitely not normal weather, but
considering what we just had that I will

talk about later, it is amazing.

Yeah, so that was...

more or less the resolution and weather
report.

So this episode is basically just a catch
up for what we've been doing for the past

oh, seven weeks.

So why don't you start?

What have you been up to?

Well, like I was talking about before we
took our break, it was moving time for me.

I'm still not technically done.

I still have some small stuff and some
small cleanup I need to do that I've kind

of been putting off more than I should.

I'll do some more today.

I'm in the new place.

There's still little projects that need to
get done around here.

Like to get my mattress up the stairs, we
had to take down all the railings.

So my my stairway just doesn't have
railings, which is fine.

But that's not like a thing you can leave.

I don't have blinds anywhere.

At all.

No, I curtains at least.

No.

Oh, wow.

So I have a couple of shower curtain rods
and cardboard boxes up in some places.

I hung some blankets, but it's it is we
actually ordered some blinds on a Black

Friday deal.

So, you know, near the end of November,
and it was taking so long for it to get

done.

And the delivery date was the 25th of
January.

We opened.

We opened up the website to check on it on
the 25th of January, and it said it had

been pushed back to the 15th of March.

So were those custom -made blinds or did
you get them off Amazon?

It was blinds .com.

But I mean, it's...

Blinds are always kind of custom -made
because you have to measure your window

and give them the dimensions so that they
can basically...

They're not custom -custom, but they have
to make them to the size.

We canceled that order because five months
to get blinds is insane.

Oh, wow.

Five months.

So we placed an order at Lake Home Depot
and they're gonna be here next week.

Yeah, so for those who don't know,
blinds...

They're not the same as curtains, I would
say, but curtains are, I would say, like

more in front of the window and blinds are
more on the window.

But it's, you know, it's basically so that
no one can see, you know, like see into

your house or see through the windows.

So it has nothing to with like being
blind.

I always thought that was a weird term for
them anyway.

But...

I don't think a lot of you are familiar
with that.

People who are learning English at least.

I wouldn't even think of that.

But it's a I'm looking forward for them
coming, especially because so I live in a

in a townhouse with like four or five
units in this building.

And the HOA is redoing all the siding and
things on the building.

So and they're getting to me.

So I work at home in this place I'm
sitting right now.

to my immediate right there's a window.

There is almost definitely tomorrow, which
is Monday, going to be a man in this

window that I'm gonna be making awkward
eye contact with for like a couple hours.

And I really wanted the blind stunt before
that, so I didn't have to deal with that.

But here we are.

But you know what, I don't know how we got
stuck on that.

By far the most interesting thing in my
move has been the temperature.

So...

You may not know this and people outside
the US might not know this.

The whole country, like 90, 95 percent of
the country just had a massive cold wave

move through.

And I think Montana, I think Chester,
Montana might have been the coldest place

on Earth for a bit.

Not that I'm anywhere near Chester, but
giving you an idea of how bad it was.

So we were getting routinely like negative
20 to negative 30 in there.

like for a week.

And I got here on a Friday after work.

I started moving things over and I got
inside and it was 52 degrees inside.

Because of a mix of all the siding was
stripped off the building.

So I had less insulation and there was an
issue with the heater, which we couldn't

get fixed for a few weeks.

We only learned about it because of how
cold it got.

And I couldn't even get my bed here on the
first night.

So I slept on like a cold couch outside
or, you in my living room on the first

night, ran space heaters, opened my oven,
ran the oven.

I just had to keep it warm so the pipes
wouldn't freeze.

Yeah, that reminds me of...

Go on.

I think if I didn't do anything, it would
have gotten colder and colder and I think

the pipes would have frozen.

I think it would have gotten like that
cold in here.

That reminds me of a lot of things I used
to do when I was a kid, because I used to

get really cold.

My family still lives down in Missouri.

It's not that cold anymore, but it was
kind of cold for a while.

So I had a couple of relatives where their
pipes burst, too.

Unfortunately, I haven't had that happen
here to me.

So.

Knock on wood.

But what I forgot to ask is have so are
you officially moved in?

Like, would you classify that as
officially being moved in?

I mean, I'm like 95 percent moved in.

There's.

I would say I'm more moved in than I'm
moved out and I'm mostly moved out.

Like, I still have a handful of things
over there.

I still need to go deep clean my old spot.

You know, things like that.

But I have just about everything I need
here.

Oh, you know what?

My bike is still over there.

with how nice it's gonna be, I'm probably
just gonna walk over there and ride my

bike back, that'll be fun.

Like a mountain bike?

It's a road bike.

So you haven't had like a housewarming
party yet?

Uh, no, we were gonna watch, uh, the
chief's game the day after I moved.

Um, which actually would have been really
appropriate because of how cold it was

there.

Uh, he was like the fourth coldest.

It was either the fourth coldest playoff
game or fourth coldest football game ever.

Uh, so it would have been really
appropriate with how cold it was at my

place, but everyone ended up canceling or
having other plans.

So I went over to my old place and watched
with my older mates.

And who won?

I didn't watch.

The Chiefs won and the Chiefs are playing
today.

Oh, that's good.

That's good.

Yeah, I definitely everyone knows that
you're the football expert and I'm kind of

the complete opposite.

Yeah.

Other than that, let me tell you, moving
furniture in like negative 25.

Like that's horrible.

Did you do by yourself?

Did you?

No, but, you know, like.

moving like desk like I disassembled my
desk into like, because I have a pretty

big desk.

It's like an L shaped desk.

Moving the pieces for this in the cold
like hurts.

Like just everything hurts when it's that
cold.

Yeah, but hopefully you get moved in soon.

So looking forward to hearing about that.

Yeah, other than that, it's awesome here.

It's weird not having windows.

Like I having cardboard up in my bedroom
window and my kitchen window and hang

blankets.

Like it looks, you know, not great from
the outside, but again, lines are coming

next week so I can do that and actually
have some privacy.

It's weird, it kind of feels like you're
living in a glass box when all your

windows are just open.

Yeah, I mean if it makes you feel any
better that's what I did when I first

moved to my apartment.

Oh god, like 10, 11 years ago.

We didn't have any blinds, any curtains,
nothing.

So we just put a bunch of cardboard in
front of the window and it looked really

bad from the outside.

Like it was kind of abandoned.

But it gets the job done and I like my
privacy.

So...

I'm looking forward to getting my privacy.

But that's about what I got going on here.

How about for you?

Yeah, so we, so my wife and I were looking
for a new apartment.

We got an offer.

We went there, but unfortunately it was
too small.

So we're trying to find an apartment that
is about like one or two rooms bigger than

where we're currently living at because...

We're parents now.

Yay!

Yeah, so my daughter, or our daughter was
born about like three weeks ago.

So it's been like a roller coaster of
emotions.

A lot of sleepless nights, a lot of
changing diapers, all that.

So that's been my main focus for the past
three, three weeks.

Well, actually four weeks because we had
to prepare everything.

Yeah.

I took work off for about four weeks and
so now I have to go back to work next

week.

I'm not looking forward to it.

To be honest with all the new parent
stuff, when I sat down this morning on my

PC, I was like, all right, probably 50 -50
chance Chris messages me.

If not, totally fine.

I'm not going to bother him.

He's probably dead tired.

Yeah, it was in the...

God, when did it start?

So it started like three in the morning.

So when my...

started to have contractions.

So it was about like three in the morning
and I was freaking out and you know I

called the hospital because you so the way
it is in Germany is basically you have to

go to the hospitals beforehand and have
like a whatever you call it a consultation

you know they kind of walk you through
everything like how are you feeling is the

baby okay is the baby healthy then they
talked to you about like complications

what would happen.

you know, and if complications do arise,
like how they would react.

And so we did that with a couple of
hospitals and that was pretty nerve

wracking.

And then we finally settled on one that
was pretty, pretty nice.

And so I called that hospital up like in
the middle of the night, so like three or

four, and they're like, oh, don't worry,
you're fine.

You guys have plenty of time.

And the nurse on the other line was pretty
nonchalant.

So kind of put me off guard a little bit
because I was kind of freaking out.

And I was freaking out so much that I
missed called the hospital like five

times.

I was so mad.

I was like, there's no way that the line's
busy because I kept getting like a busy

signal.

You know, like a busy signal is basically
when someone else is calling them so you

can't get through.

And I was like, no, no, no, you forgot a
number, which is why the number wasn't

going through properly.

And so then I got a hold of them.

And then they were like, yeah, it's OK,
it's fine.

Yeah, and so we drove there and the
hospital was about, it's about like 20, 30

minutes from here.

I mean, it was probably one of like the
longest drives of my life.

I believe that.

Yeah.

But I mean, it was a good hospital.

So it had a really, like really good
reviews on Google of all things.

Honestly, I'm, I've like been to so many
different like businesses in the past

couple of weeks.

And my wife and I have been looking at a
lot of Google reviews to see if business

is okay.

And it's really strange to me how many
businesses people actually rate.

I would never think to actually rate a
hospital on Google, but people do.

And they're like, oh, this is a terrific
hospital.

We love it.

They're all so kind and friendly.

And lo and behold, they were.

It was a pretty tough birth.

It took a really long time.

It felt like that.

Like in the grand scheme of things, it was
actually a really quick birth, but still,

you know, in the moment, it feels like
forever.

Yeah.

Well, yeah, of course.

Yeah.

And yeah, at around noon we were done and
yeah.

So now the fun begins with like changing
diapers, paperwork.

We have a lot of paperwork.

Cause my daughter will also be an American
citizen.

So.

but I have to file all of that paperwork
and go down to the consulate and go to

interviews.

I have to pick up documents, sign things.

It's a nightmare.

Fun, fun, fun.

Yeah, but it'll be worth it.

So yeah, so that's what I've been up to.

Well, it sounds, at the very least, it
sounds like it's been rewarding.

Oh, yeah, definitely.

I'd like to have a house, too, so I'm a
bit jealous.

But because we definitely could use the
space.

But we're looking.

We're definitely looking.

I everyone's like, oh, be prepared for
like sleepless nights, which is true.

I didn't sleep that much tonight.

I think maybe like four or five hours.

Oh, that's not bad.

Nah, I mean it's not bad.

I mean the first week was terrible because
we slept like two hours a day maybe.

So we're trying to get her into a rhythm,
get our daughter into a rhythm, but it's

almost impossible with newborns.

So, you know, they sleep when they want,
they wake up when they want, they eat when

they want.

So it's, you can't really get them into a
rhythm.

People try.

They keep like the babies awake during the
day and then try to make them sleep during

the night, which is not healthy, not
recommended.

wouldn't do it.

Yeah, definitely not that.

I feel like the baby probably gets
whatever whatever they want for for at

least a little bit.

Yeah.

And then every day something new happens.

And so we look it up on the Internet
because we're freaking out and they're

like, oh, this is normal.

And like babies do this and babies do
that.

Or like in the third week when the baby's
born, this will happen.

And then something happens.

We Google it and it's normal and we're
relieved.

But in the moment, we're like freaking
out.

It's like.

You know, like, why is this?

Why is she doing this?

Like, I don't know if you know this, but
like one thing like newborns like to do is

move around a lot, like constantly, like
they're constantly moving.

They're constantly like wiggling and
squirming.

Yeah, I'm freaking out thinking like, so
there's something wrong with the baby

because the baby won't stop moving.

Well, she's probably just enjoying her
freedom.

Yeah, that's what everyone says is like,
yeah, they're just, you know, the baby

just getting used to being alive.

experimenting with their, you know, like
their limbs, their fingers, their feet,

everything is new.

So they're just, I guess overstimulated
maybe would be the word.

But yeah, but I thought like maybe there
was like some like some disease or like

maybe it's like she fell because she just
kept moving the whole time.

But no, so yeah, I'm definitely looking
forward to this year and...

We'll be going down to the US hopefully in
a couple months.

We got to get the passports first though
Do you have to get a passport for her too?

Yeah.

Yeah, everyone.

That's a fun fact like babies need
passports.

I still have my passport from when I was
like three and They're not they're not

cheap, but they're not expensive.

So the American passport I got a renew on
a couple years, but it's like a hundred

and thirty dollars maybe And the German
passport is probably like 80

But you definitely need one.

So you definitely need a passport.

Another fun fact is that if you're an
American citizen, you have to go to the US

on an American passport.

You can't like go in on a different
passport because that's illegal.

Oh.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So she'll be a dual citizen.

But when she travels to the US, she has to
travel on American passport.

She can't do it on a German one.

For whatever reason, that's a crime.

I don't know why, but...

I'll arrest you for that.

I wonder if it's like some kind of cold,
Cold War era thing.

That could be.

That definitely could be.

kind of anti -espionage thing.

Yeah.

Speaking of passports, so they recently
changed the laws here in Germany.

This is obviously not news in anywhere
else other than in Germany, but it's news

for me.

They changed the laws here.

So now I can apply for a German passport.

So I'll be a dual citizen too, hopefully
within like six months.

Hey, that's exciting.

Yeah, it's definitely exciting.

It's also nerve wracking.

So most Americans can have two passports.

Some people have three.

I've met people who have three passports.

I don't know how that's possible, but
Germany didn't want people to have dual

citizenship.

So it was against the law, basically.

And they changed that law three weeks ago.

weeks ago.

So now people like me who've been living
here for god knows how long can apply for

dual citizenship.

So and that's that that'll cost three
hundred dollars but it's worth it.

Three hundred dollars in like a year's
worth of time.

Well that's exciting though.

I mean what what all comes with your
citizenship aside from the right to vote?

Yeah that's actually one of the biggest
things is the right to vote.

So in the past couple weeks

I've become somewhat more politically
active not in the sense that I've actually

gone out and like, you know done anything
but I've become more I would say more

politically interested so I can definitely
vote They can't deport me Which is a good

thing Technically they can't deport me now
because I'm here legally.

I have a visa.

I'm like I'm documented and everything But
it's really hard to revoke a passport as

opposed to like a

like a residency permit or for people who
are familiar with the US, a green card.

Also, I found out that green card holders
can't vote.

I'm almost certain they can't vote.

Yeah, they're not citizens.

Yeah.

So that's the thing is you're not a
citizen of the country.

You're a resident.

So I enjoy most rights in Germany.

Like I have most rights, but I can't vote.

I can't hold office of like any like
political kind.

I can't work for the state, so I can't be
like a civil servant because you have to

be a citizen for that.

So like those things.

And like the biggest thing is I can leave
Germany for as long as I want.

For most people who have like a residency
permit, be that like for Europe or for

like the US, if you leave the country for
longer than like six months or a year, you

lose that.

And so that could happen to me if I left
Germany for too long, I would lose my

residency here, which I don't want to do.

And I would like to spend more time in the
US as opposed to in Germany.

So having a German passport would make
that easier.

And the final thing, the biggest thing,
the most important thing is I would also

be a European citizen, which means that I
could stay in other European countries

indefinitely.

I can't do that on an American passport,
it's not possible.

Oh yeah, you got the EU multi -pass.

Yeah, basically.

Yeah, so I could live in other European
countries on a German passport.

I couldn't work there, that's a big
difference.

You can't work, but you can live.

If you want to work, you have to apply for
a work permit.

But yeah, but it's not official yet.

I haven't applied because they have to
ratify it.

So they passed the law, but they haven't
ratified it yet.

And ratified means like you have to sign
it to make it official.

And that'll be in April.

So after I apply for that, then we'll fly
to the US and.

Yeah, let my whole family meet the new
member.

So that's our plan.

Well, that's you got a really exciting
2024 in front of you.

Yeah, I guess those are my resolutions.

Yeah.

Become a citizen, raise a kid, small
things, small things.

Yeah.

Yeah, a lot of all the small things.

Yeah, it's true.

So I don't know.

I was just like a lot of things to like
raising, you know, our child to be like

bilingual is also a challenge because
everyone asks me like, oh, are you going

to raise her to be, you know, like fluent
in English and in German?

Yeah, I mean, I am, but it's hard because
I'm the only person here in my circle that

I know of who speaks English natively.

So it's if I don't do it, then no one
will.

You know, it's my job.

I mean, she'll stay with my parents and
whatnot in the US for like a couple of

months a year, but still, for the most
part, we'll be here in Germany.

So I'm kind of finding a couple of months
a year over there.

That would be that's going to be hugely
helpful.

I hope so.

I hope I don't know about you, but I've
met like a lot of people, not just like

here, but in the US who are like second
generation, third generation, and they

don't speak the language they don't speak.

or they don't speak the language, they
don't know the culture of where like the

parents are from.

And that always breaks my heart.

So I definitely don't want to be one of
those people.

So I'm trying really hard to just speak
English with her.

Well, sometimes that's intentional.

Like one, the parents are trying to, you
know, take on that new culture.

So they're like, don't speak the old
language.

Do this, do that.

We don't do this anymore.

don't speak the old language around the
kids.

A lot of families were intentional about
that because they wanted to become

American as much as possible, as quickly
as possible.

Yeah, that's actually one of the biggest
reasons.

So the parents thought that they were
doing a positive, that's a net positive

for the kids.

And I'm not going to criticize people for
how they raise their children, because I

just got started.

So I don't really have like...

I don't have like any clout to criticize
other parents.

Everyone has like their own reasons for,
you know, teaching them or not teaching

them.

But in my case, it's like my whole family,
my family is very big.

None of them speak German.

So if she doesn't learn English, then she
won't be able to communicate with them.

And she'll learn English either way,
because you have to learn in school.

Like English is mandatory here.

But that's the difference between like
learning English in school.

and then like speaking it, you know, it's
the same with Spanish.

Like I think everyone in the US has had
Spanish in school and no one can speak

Spanish.

Yeah.

And being fluent in both in, you know, in
our era, like that, that'll be hugely

helpful for her professionally.

Yeah.

I mean, I'm also going to teach her
French.

My wife kind of fought me on that because
she she doesn't speak French and she's not

like the biggest fan of French.

But I studied French at the university, so
I really liked the language.

But I can't do both at the same time,
that's impossible.

I can't teach her English, German, and
French all at the same time.

I think it would just kind of like, you
know.

You'd turn it into like a language soup.

Yeah, pretty much.

So I'm just thinking.

Every third word's a new language.

Yeah, so I'm sticking to what I know best,
which is English and then German,

obviously.

So my wife does that.

So my wife speaks to our daughter in
German for the most part.

And like so does her family.

And babies, they don't understand
anything.

They're just babies.

I think they're just overwhelmed with
their own existence.

But still, you know, even though she can't
really understand per se, they definitely

notice.

So babies, when they're first born, they
have the ability to pretty much hear any

sound.

So you're born with that ability, but as
you get older, you lose that.

So they definitely get used to like the
speech and all.

Yeah, that's my year, so pretty jam
-packed, hopefully.

It's a good thing you let me go first,
because there's no topping that.

Oh, definitely.

I wouldn't say that.

I was like, well, I just had a kid, Chris.

What were you up to?

Well, it was cold.

That was cold.

No.

That's about it.

I mean, I think a house is also very
important.

And to be honest, I think, especially now
with not just like in, in Germany, but

also in the U S but how it's so difficult
to get a house.

Um, first you gotta, yeah, first you gotta
find one and then you gotta find one you

can afford.

Um, and that's no small feat.

So I definitely think that's like
something super important.

Um, you know, that used to be like the
standard way of doing things is you go to

school, you go to college, you get a job,
then you.

get a house, then you get like a wife,
then you get like a fence, then you get a

dog named Rover.

And so that used to be like how you, you
know, you did things.

So I definitely think a house is super
important.

You know, I hate that I had this thought
while you were describing looking for a

new apartment.

So my, my current setup, there's like a
main floor, living room, kitchen, dining

room, pretty open, open floor.

Then upstairs is a loft looking down on
all that with a main bedroom and like a

guest bedroom.

The guest bedroom is like super tiny.

I'm just going to use it as a storage
room.

But as you were describing it, I was like,
with this kitty cornered across the loft,

this would be like a perfect like young
child's room.

And I felt bad.

Like this would be perfect for you.

I mean, obviously, I think, I think
depending on what you're doing, I think

you want like young, young children, like
in your bedroom to start with.

But yeah, but pretty soon, I mean, it's
like, you know.

you know, what, 15 feet kitty -cornered
across the loft?

It's not very far.

Yeah, I mean, that's the thing is, like,
we could buy a house.

The problem is I don't know where.

And so I don't know if we would like to
buy a house here or like buy a house in

the States.

I mean, granted, you can always just sell
a house if you don't want to live there

anymore.

But that, that to me is like an extra
hassle.

So I wouldn't really want to go through
that.

Especially international, because if I
sell a house here, like if I buy a house

and I sell it, what am I gonna do with the
money?

Well, I have to transfer the money to the
US.

And so that's a huge sum of money.

And then the IRS gets involved and like
tax laundering laws or money laundering

laws and all that.

And I just don't wanna go through any of
that.

And moving just sucks also.

It's less than a 10 minute drive from my
old place to my new place and it sucks.

I don't even want to imagine
international.

Oh, yeah, I'm dreading it.

Like, we're not like leaving Germany
anytime soon, but I don't know if I'm

going to stay here for like the next 10 or
15 years.

So like I've been slowly selling stuff on
eBay just because I have a lot of junk.

That was also one of my New Year's
resolutions is to sell stuff, which I'm

happy about.

I've made like three hundred dollars.

Just selling old things.

There you go.

Yeah, so now I have a lot more room.

I bought a bunch of fitness workout stuff
that I never used and just sat there in

the corner mocking me.

So I finally got rid of all of that and
sold it with some students.

Hopefully they'll use it because God knows
I haven't been using it for like six

years.

But yeah, now I think a house is super
important.

I think it's just as important as...

baby.

I don't know if you're familiar with the
term dink.

Have you heard of that?

When I think dink, I think the only person
who ever heard use that is like my dad and

it's like you call someone a dink like
they're being dumb.

Oh okay.

Don't be a dink.

Okay that could be.

Or you're dinking around like you're
wasting time going slow.

But I'm thinking of something completely
different.

So it's actually like a new word.

So it means like double income, no kids.

So I don't know if you've heard of that
concept.

Oh, yeah.

Some people refer to it as DING.

Those people love life.

Yeah.

So that's one way you can kind of
structure life is have no kids, but

replace them with pets and then just live
off having double income.

We thought about that, but I don't know.

I mean, we have cats and they're not,
they're definitely not as fulfilling as a

child.

I love my cats and I kind of hate them at
the same time, but because they're cats,

but I couldn't imagine just like replacing
them or I couldn't imagine them being a

replacement for like a baby.

But yeah, so a lot of people who do like
this, like this dink lifestyle, their main

motivation for that is getting a house.

You know, cause like if you don't have a
kid, then you save a lot of money.

I think I read some studies saying that
like, to raise a kid is like three or

four, three or $400 ,000 over the course
of like 20 years.

And with them, the number used to be like
180 ,000, but I guess like when I was a

kid, so things change.

Yeah, and people like to put things into
numbers.

So it's like, do you want to raise a kid
or do you want to buy a house?

Because.

You know, I used to think when I when I
was a kid, I used to think like, oh, you

could buy a house like one hundred
thousand dollars, and that would be a nice

house.

I don't know what house you're going to
buy for one hundred thousand dollars right

off the market unless you get like a like
a terrific like.

awesome deal.

But like you're spending a couple hundred
thousand dollars on the house like no

matter where you go and

I don't know.

So I definitely want a house, but I'll
settle for like a nice apartment for the

foreseeable future.

Yeah, and you know, just if you're happy,
it's good enough, right?

Oh, yeah, definitely.

Like, I'm not jealous of, like, anyone
who, like, has a house, per se.

Like, I'm happy for them.

It's not like that.

But it's it's something you got to, like,
really, really work towards.

So it's not something just like just falls
into your lap, so to speak.

Yeah.

So so I know people who have houses for
the most part really work for them.

So.

But yeah.

Uh, you know what, just to keep us topical
because you know, that's, that's what

we're about here.

Yeah.

I have, uh, ever since I moved, I've not
really allowed myself like much like free

time.

It's been a lot of like, if you have free
time, you should, you know, unpack a box

or go pack some more boxes, stuff like
that.

I, uh, let myself take some time to get
around to playing pow world yesterday.

Have you, have you heard of that?

I have, I have heard of it.

I held off for a long time because there
was some accusations of AI being involved

in its creation and I won't...

Oh really?

I didn't hear that.

Yeah, it sounds like it was just people
just making dumb accusations.

Ah, okay.

So I played that for like what, five, six
hours?

I had a fun time with my friends.

I recommend it.

Huh, yeah, so a lot of people have accused
Pal Ward of being like a ripoff of

Pokemon.

Pokemon with guns, as they say.

I mean, it's so different and the Pokemon
company hasn't done anything interesting

with their IP in like forever, so somebody
had to.

For those who don't know, IP is
intellectual property.

So like just, you know, what the company
owns, like on characters and whatnot.

Yeah, I mean if you look at the sprites on
Pal World, they definitely look like

they've been inspired by Pokemon.

Oh yeah, they don't hide that.

Yeah, I mean you can definitely see that.

But I mean honestly it's a survival game.

I'm not really into survival games.

The only survival game I've ever really
liked was like Resident Evil, but I

haven't played that in god knows how long.

Yeah, they're pretty different.

I'm not a huge fan of like these big open
world survivor games usually, but...

Uh, there's something about it that's I, I
am having a good time with.

I don't have a gun yet, but I have a
crossbow.

That's pretty close.

That's knocking on the door.

Speaking of unpacking, did you do like the
whole like, uh, what's, what's her name?

Like Maria condo thing?

Oh my God.

All right.

So this is a little bit embarrassing.

So when I was like, man, this would have
been like 10 years ago.

at this point, I spent an obscene amount
of money on a gaming laptop.

Like, I don't even want to say the number
aloud.

It was stupid.

It was way too much.

Eventually, I got the desktop I have now
and I've upgraded it a couple of times.

So I've hauled this gaming laptop from my
original home to my first apartment, to my

second apartment, to where I lived like
the last five years.

And it's just sat there.

And I was like, I spent, you know,

a gross amount of money on this and I'm
not like I can't sell it at this point.

Like it's so old.

Yeah.

I finally just got myself to throw it
away.

Like maybe I could sell for a couple
hundred.

Like I just want it gone.

And I was in that mentality like, oh, I've
been I've hold this for like four

different, you know, places I've lived
over the last decade.

Like throw it away, throw it away, throw
it away.

I do not want to take clutter to the new
place.

Throw it away.

Maybe not the smartest thing, but just
like mentally, I just wanted to free

myself from all this garbage.

So I threw a lot of stuff away.

I still am.

Yeah.

So, so like in Japan, they go on.

I was going to say there was a couple of
times where I was like borderline on

something.

So I packed it.

I brought it here, unpacked the box.

Like, why did I bring this throw it away?

Yeah, so in Japan they have this concept
of osōji, which is basically...

like it literally means like the big
cleaning.

And so it's this ritual that a lot of
Japanese people do at the end of the old

year, the start of the new year, where
they go and, you know, just clean

everything, you know, kind of get rid of
like old stuff.

And that's pretty much what I've been
doing.

Honestly, I wanted to follow your model,
which is just throw it all away.

And...

I just threw a lot of stuff away.

And my wife's like, we could sell it.

I was like, we could sell it, but throwing
it away is easier.

So I just threw it away.

And it was like, you know, if I had sold
it, I would have gotten, I don't know,

like $2, $3 for like every like bitten
piece.

And it's just not worth, you know, the
effort.

And so I just threw the stuff away.

And it breaks my heart because at one
point I really loved it and now it's

trash.

and maybe I'm a bad person for that, but I
love having the space.

I love having more space here.

And the important things, I saw them, you
know, I'm definitely not a believer in

eBay or anything.

I hate eBay.

I hate using it.

It's a nightmare for me.

But my wife's like, oh, just try it.

And so I tried it and you know, it kind of
works, but there are a lot of people there

who aren't serious.

So it's kind of annoying.

There was a, not on this move, but on the
last move, one of the things I threw away,

I had a Nintendo 64 box, just the box, but
it was like in perfect condition.

And it's actually worth some money.

Yeah, I was gonna say.

So I moved it one, I moved it twice and I
was like, oh, I could just go online and

sell it, make like 20, 30 bucks.

And then I never did.

So I just have this cardboard box I'm
hauling around.

taking up space for nothing.

So I ended up throwing that away too.

It's just not worth it.

I get where you're coming from.

I mean, I couldn't have done it.

That would have broke my heart.

I used to work in construction and we had
to clean a couple of houses that were from

a bunch of like hoarders.

And you know how that is.

And there was everything.

Oh, it was disgusting.

It was terrible.

And a bunch of kids used to live there.

And so they had like a bunch of like
computers and like gaming consoles.

And I found like a PS1.

I was like, oh, this is awesome.

Like, does it work?

It didn't work.

It didn't work at all.

Um, but I just kept it anyway.

Just why not?

So now I have a PS1, two, three, and four.

I don't have a five, but I was like, you
know, it completes the collection.

So I'll take it.

Um, I couldn't, you know, I couldn't, you
know, make myself throw it away because

it's a PS1, but you know,

different strokes for different folks.

So I get that.

You know, I hate having stuff, but I have
a lot of stuff, you know, as they say,

like the things you own eventually own
you.

So I really try to follow that philosophy
and downsize.

But man, it's real hard.

And the fact that the place I'm in right
now was a hoarder house.

Yeah, like I walked through it.

It's kind of.

extra hammered home the point like Don't
let that happen ever Yeah I think with a

lot of people who are hoarders, I think
they just become overwhelmed with their

own their own life like their own
existence and they just kind of stop

caring and They just kind of ignore the
problems.

So that's why it just gets so bad and then
they just get used to living with it Yeah,

and then and then honestly you get so much
junk through your life.

So

I have some elderly family members who
have just said they don't want more stuff

like get them gift cards for Christmas and
stuff because you know imagine 70 plus

years you know birthday and Christmas
people give you stuff like you're getting

clothes you're getting little appliances
yeah even if you use half of it like that

stuff all has to go somewhere

Yeah, I mean, I would say about like 90,
95 % of the things that I own, I could

part with and I wouldn't feel bad.

A lot of things are just kind of spur of
the moment.

They're nice to have, and then they just
sit and just collect dust.

The only things I would never get rid of
are my books because I love my books.

I have like 400 books and I could never
get rid of them.

Oh, that's actually on my to -do list.

I have a whole bunch of books that, um,

My dad.

So it's kind of hard to explain my
downstairs area.

There's like this weird shelf that follows
the wall for like half the downstairs.

Like it's like chest height.

And it just is like this natural shelf.

Like they put like a concrete shelf and
then they covered it with wood.

It's not explaining it well.

But my dad was like, oh, I could like
build a bookshelf into and above this

here.

And I'm like, yeah, that would be super
cool.

We should do that because I.

would like to display my books, because I
think that'd be fun.

Oh, I love books.

That's actually one of my resolutions this
year too, is to read more books.

So I have to read at least five books,
which doesn't sound like a lot, but I'm

busy, so it's a lot for me.

That was one of my co -orders resolutions.

Oh, before we get out of here, I think
this was after our break.

I had just...

offhandedly mention to my coworkers
because someone made a joke about how

everyone has a podcast.

And I was like, well, I actually do.

And they're like, oh, what's it called?

I was like, oh, and I was kind of being
like evasive.

I was like, all right, here's what it is.

And they found and listened to I can't
remember what episode, but they were they

were fans.

So that's good.

Yeah.

I don't know if they'll come back, but
that was.

I won't lie, part of me was stressed
because I was like, I don't think I would.

And I don't think this way, but the
paranoia inside of me is like, did I just

have like a bad day and decide, you know
what, those people, I hate them.

Don't like them.

Even though I don't feel that way at all,
just the paranoia in my mind is like, what

if I said something horrible?

Yeah, that's definitely true.

The world's a small place and the internet
never forgets.

So you definitely have to be careful with
what you put out there.

But I'm appreciative of all of our fans no
matter where they come from.

We have a lot of people from the US, which
to be honest, surprises me.

Because this podcast I really originally
started out, well, with me just doing it

by myself.

And it was just for people to learn
English.

And if you're from the US, there's really
no point.

So you kind of know everything, more or
less.

But as we kind of progressed more into
like culture and stuff like that, like

language, idioms, customs, traditions,
then it became more interesting.

So yeah, so I love our fans.

I love, yeah, I like doing the podcast and
hopefully we'll do lots of episodes this

year, even though you and I are super
busy.

We'll make it work.

Definitely.

Yeah, so I got nothing left to add.

I don't know if you do.

No, I think I squeezed my last thing in
there.

All right.

So thanks so much, everyone, for
listening.

We look forward to a terrific year.

I hope all of your resolutions come true.

Don't forget one last tip.

What I did is I just wrote them down and I
try not to look at them.

And then hopefully at the end of the year,
I can go back and look at my list and see

how many of them I actually achieved.

And it's not about doing 100 percent.

It's about like, did I do any of them at
all?

Like even 1%.

Anyway, take care and we'll see you all
next time.

Bye everyone.

Bye.

We really appreciate you taking the time
to listen to our podcast.

We hope that it was informative and that
we were able to expand your worldview,

even if only just a little.

Welcome feedback, comments, and
constructive criticism.

If you'd like to provide us with any,
please reach out to us at our Discord or

email address, both of which will be
listed in the description.

Thanks again for listening and until next
time.