Ride Along: Ann Talks about Knee Pain

Litsa made a new friend named Ann at the Team Snacks Early Bird Special Thursday morning. They bonded over knee pain.

Podcast

Transcript

All right, I'm gonna test it. Hello. Hello, you want to say something? Hello? Okay. It sounds good. I'm glad it's not smellivision because my jersey is clean but it kind of stinks. That I know that happens like you can't like even if you wash it it just still has like some weird.

Yeah. Like a little mildew or something because our jerseys are like wet for hours at a time. Well, and everything goes in our utility sink and my husband. I don't want to like throw them under the bus but he would acknowledge like he's a stinker and I probably got under some of his clothes.

I tried to put my stuff to the side but I also has his well, so sense on. I've only really known guys to be mildews. Yeah. Like close getting mildew. Yes. Oh yeah. Sometimes I'll smell it. Like on the color of my jersey or so. Yeah, I'm a little dude, too and I put this on as like he's the small fresh.

So I'm right, I just separate washes. Well, me and there's mosquitoes.

Oh, we have to So if they're like make a big clap that way I can sink or Mike's. Okay. So one, two three, right? Nice. Cool technology.

Very like,

Hi impressed with her at the socks and matching too and amazing. So matchy Ready? Well, have you done this slow your roll without have you done this slower before? Um, no. Is that let this we just call or I'm sorry that early bird special. I have not written with you guys in it but you know what, I wrote it by myself last week later like could knock it at this early.

Oh, that's funny. I'm coming you previewed, they're out. I previously and loved it and I actually ran into my neighbor who he rides with BC. You're gonna run, I was like, I'm going on this cool route. I'll send it to you. Um, but yes, I'm coming off an injury.

Oh no. Well, I have crappy knees and I had PRP injections like six weeks ago with this PRP platelet-rich plasma and when they take your blood and they put in a centrifuge and the other plasma and they inject it in the icky spot and it didn't go well, it's supposed to help your knees, like repair them.

Yeah. Like bioregeneration. But I think my doctor did not do a great job. And so they're worse than before. Oh but I wasn't allowed to write or anything for like weeks and weeks. And So all I'm on the bike, really like a week and a half, so I'm not you'll notice my RPMs are crazy because then a lot of do resistance.

So I'm like a little hamster. Yeah I actually can relate to you extremely strongly because my my cartilage in one knee is shredded. Yeah, it's like completely worthless and then my cartilage and my other knee is just real thin. Yeah, So I have really terrible knees, too. And if I I mean like I learned that like your knees rely on mechanical motion.

Yes. Order to get blood flow. Yeah, So having an office job killed me. Like yes, my knees were just burning. Yeah. And and they always sound like what potato chips? Oh yeah, that's down. Oh yeah. So it's like I I can totally relate. They're just terrible. Did you have you done like have you done a PT and worked on it or anything or well, I don't know what they would do.

So I will tell you one thing that I had the same because my cartilage. Yeah ostrich. What's it called them Condro Malaysia, or whatever? You have car left, I'm learning all about my knees from you. So, all the ingredients are new to me. So I went to and I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you.

Now Glowing. I'm sorry, totally miss. What you said? Oh, I I said, I'm all of these words and all of this information is getting new to me. Oh, sure. So like I'm learning about my niece from. Yeah, right. Oh good. Okay, I had any problems since 16, I was a skier in tennis player and the overlapping seasons jacked up my cartilage at a young age.

Okay. I think I think that's not an expert. Well, I I played soccer yes and then I did and I ran. Yeah. So by age 25, my knees were just shy. Yeah. Like I couldn't like, I couldn't starting at age 25 and ever since thereafter were heels. Oh yeah, just mess up making these burn.

I also played soccer and ran and I get it was just not did not darny's favors or the same person. Yes, we are and I probably holding you. I just have a deceptively young voice. Okay. How old are you? 39. Girl, I'm turning 50 next and in November, I will be.

I'm holding behind. I'm holding on the 49 for a little more. Okay, you do not place with no sign for most of my life. Oh, dye my hair? Um, yeah. And being active still. Yeah. Just pretty much same except things are starting to hag around here. But people just think I've around her face but if old pictures a little bit different but it's just since you're thin.

It's like still a youthful face shape. Like there's not many time now. Well crazy though you look like see but you're 10 years. You're this. That's 52. Oh nice. Yay. Okay, finally someone older than me. So you're usually like 52 as well. 51. Yeah. You're in the middle age?

Lady site. Oh yeah, I'm happy to hear. Um, so knees. Um My latest PT Adventure, I finally found a really good PT here in Austin who's actually reasonably priced. Um, and a lot of he's like, okay, your quads are strong, your hands are strong, You're not firing your glutes and we just need to like basically beef up every muscle around and when you bike and you don't find loads which is a really common cycling thing.

Um, if a profession on your knees. Well okay. So I did have a related issue. But so, I used to race in like 2017 and 2018, I raced mountain bikes and I raced road bikes. Uh-huh. And with road bike We We were on a really like rigorous training schedule.

Yeah. So I was writing, you know, 120 150 miles a week. Yeah. Doing lots of like workouts on the trainer and then for strength training would do lots of hill climbing so but not like weights. Did you like actual like resistance with weights or anything or just all on the bike?

It's mostly all on the bike. Yeah. So Because one thing about when you're racing yeah is a lot of people are reluctant to do any kind of cross training because the problem is a cycling is mostly cardio. Yeah. And so it's like if you're spending your precious hours, not cycling.

Yeah. You're not doing like your heart training. And yeah, so it's like too much of a like, you're sacrificing. Yeah, precious out. Like saddle time. Like where are you gonna? Yeah. Like the, What does it call? That's I was a finance, major, and there's a term. It's like like, give me a chance.

You only have time, like, that's your currency. So how do you spend it, right? Yeah. So all my free time was spent on a bike, but the thing is, my, my quads got really strong. Yeah. And they pulled my patellas out of place. Yeah. And so then it was like, it was horrible.

I can't walk. Like, I couldn't step down. I couldn't step up. I was like, people, like you look so fit and your balls of calves are like this big and throbbling. Yeah, it was a mobilize. It was terrible for like a long time. It was scary too awful. I was like one in my Carla.

When am I not gonna be crippled like is yeah, the rest of my life and you were so young then too. You're like how's talking to me right now? Yeah like mid-thirties. Yeah. So which was depressing because it was like well you're too young to have me surgery and also this is degenerative will only get worse.

I'm like what? Oh my god, it's terrible. Yeah, so I went to physical therapy and they were like, oh, we need to work for the muscles around your legs. But the thing is, I'm one of these physical are in therapy machines. Yeah. And I'm an athlete. Yeah. So they were, they're like, set up for like the elderly.

I know we're absolutely ineffective and then, right? So even if they were, yeah, Like, my muscles had developed from spending 14 hours on a bike every week, right? So there was no way I could pack in enough, physical therapy, right to, like, build up the other muscles to be anywhere.

So it's like, okay, this is a losing battle, like, y'all are not doing the math, right? Yeah. So what ended up happening was my But tell us finally kind of settled back into place like we're really rest kind of or yeah from getting weak again. Oh, I just had to like by listening to equalize the rest of your.

Yeah. Yeah. It was easier to to let my muscles get even out by just not exercising. Oh, try to build up muscle. Yeah. To match like So additional 14 hours for the rest of your legs to build. Right. So I my PT. So I my first PT that my knee doctor who is going to be?

My former need doctor sent me to. It was the same thing. It's like always old people. Like I get had a bad night I hurt and I'm like, I want to like Huntington miles a week, so I was training and I'm like, now, I'm going to zero. Can you help me out in this girl?

Was like, I mean she also of an active, the PT. So couldn't identify put me on these little dumb Weakbands, you know? Like Hello. Okay, my new PT. It's all athletes Claire rolling. I guess it is all stops. Um, and it's hard. Like, I was so I couldn't do anything yesterday because I'm so sore from PT the day before and it's firing everything because they have the craziest gear that I've never seen before.

Because everyone, there's like a triathlete or somewhere like some kind of thing. Yeah. So highly recommend, I mean, I don't know how your insurance is to know. You're, it's just owner. Yeah, it, um, so if you're my, I would happily share all the yeah exercise lifting a lot of her.

A lot of my problem is like my Plies and hamstrings are compensating or like have always just done this. And now it's to the point where my Glutes are lazy. Yeah. And it's like, pushing in on my knees, an exacerbated by it makes sense because we're always like, our groups are always stretched.

Although when you're sitting yes, such as even more and then if you have an office job, it's even more. Yeah, I always thought, oh, my glutes are strong for cycling. I didn't realize that. Oh no, they're just swelling. Let me okay. So for me, rolling my I feel like so much tightness.

Yeah. In my like um, I guess I see band is that what I see. Yeah. And I guess that's the compensation. That's really common. And when you like you do you ever role your legs out to get that have before? Yeah. I mean, if you can get yourself, it doesn't feel good in the moment, but you get the recovering blood flow back in there and flexibility and everything will operate as it's supposed to.

So because your IT bank, it's really tight running also. Yeah, and because what happens? If it's too tight, they'll start shoving your finger around as well, which is then, again, put pressure on your that happened me? Yeah. I have like a weird date to my walk. Yes. And my sister's like, you walk like a Barbie because it's like, yeah.

IT bands yanking you around? Yes. It's like spreading my legs. It's like making me a goal-legged. Yes. So um Rolling. Um, what else I tell you? Oh and lacrosse ball like sitting like rolling across ball when you're sitting on it basically. Yeah. And rolling your body on your glutes releases as well.

So how are you help to engage your glutes when you're actually need them? How are you strengthening your glutes? Um, it's with weights. Wait. Yeah. Like Russian deadlifts. I can't just squats right now because the continues you may not be able to either because of the. Yeah, I feel very cartilage here when it comes to.

Yeah. Me stuff, right? But rushing down looks feel pretty good and I also helps your hills. What is a Russian day? It's I can show you later. It's just a big, a lot of emotions. Are you need to do a squat and you're kind of tucking your butt down.

Yeah, a Russian deadlift, or a life posterior, things your hinging out, your butts going backwards. Oh, you're feeling all along here. So your knees feel great makes me think of like chair pose or something. Um, chair does does more quad? That's a loss that you means. Yeah, similar That does a more quad.

So you get the IT band again but So I love himself because also that helps you in real life like picking up crap off the ground. The groceries are from a weird position, whatever. And so those Donkey kicks get those are it's like old school thing. I can imagine you're just like kicking your leg up and out behind.

Yeah, it's just in the it's a bent knee and it looks like really in a tabletop pose. They're either in tabletop. I have a problem. I have a problem with them arching, my back, which was so for special in your back. So I just standing with my hands on like a counter.

Okay, to keep my back Neutral because I just have no discipline in that area. Oh I see you're supposed to keep your back straight but you never do I. Yeah our problem was kind of arching. Yeah, I see I have a problem. Like keeping my ribs kind of closed over my body.

Um, and your life. I'm forgetting to like point the camera at you. I'm so engrossed in our conversation. Yeah, just talking now, right? You're gonna tell, oh, don't tell me actually one. We're talking about other things. I mean, I think that this is great stuff to put too because like, of course, cyclists with me trouble one.

Yeah, We're doing the best thing for our knees with cycling rather than running and playing soccer. And skiing in those other things. So at least there's that.

Wow. So whole you wanted to talk about. So you were saying that you're from Seattle, but you lived in Portland for a while, I've actually from Portland originally, but I lived in Seattle, my whole adult life. So, 24 years. Do you have any experience writing in Portland? I have none.

Uh okay so okay no comparisons to Portland correct but we can compare writing in Austin to writing. Yeah yes so just off the top of your head like what are the major differences? You've observed. Well, topography is different. To be fair, Seattle's really steep, hilly, hard to avoid a lot of in, with the aggro drivers here.

But in Seattle, we're passive aggressive. And a lot of mortalities with bicycle actresses with quite dangerous around the roads. Jeez. Yeah. So, but at least my experience was. It wasn't the community that we have here in particular for men and women, but in particular for women I just rode by myself for 10 years.

Yeah. Did you attempt to find groups or anything? Or I know I probably didn't, I think I just didn't even think they existed, because if you go to a bike up, many different bike shops, No one would mention it was here. Yeah. Every bike shop knows about something and they can point you to and from there, you would have now, it never happened in Seattle.

There is a Rafa on location of a coffee shop but at least to me and I had some I the only people I could ride with before guys. Had no, I knew no girls that rode. Um, at all. And so one of the guys I read with, he would go to Rafa but just to buy clothes and he never mentioned any kind of any rides are kind of community there.

And lots is actually located in a really hilly neighborhood in Seattle. Would you how often would you see female staff at bike shops like 0.0 times ever? Okay, not even sales people. No, I only saw one woman writer like a non beach cruiser. I've only seen one female bike rider and she was public.

Seventy had an amazing sleeves. Wow. But Hey buddy. Go home bud. Go home bud. There is a collar on.

Watch the cars back.

I think she's trying to locate the Adagone, dog's owner

Cat. Chelsea has stopped. She's adopting a dog or stealing it. I don't confuse like are you my mommy? I know. Um, sorry about that. Okay, back to the story. Yeah, so okay. That's really interesting. So like the cycling shops were full of dudes. Yep. Everyone, you knew that road was a dude.

So you're pretty isolated. Yeah. As a woman. So then that's interesting because your reason for getting into cycling, was it different like, was it still social or? I got into cycling as my last bastion of fitness. Woo. What's up? Um, we can well, we could do whatever slow roll.

Whatever you want to do. Um, because I broke my body playing soccer because we have no idea when they're gonna do this. Um, If y'all pull off over here, that's good. Okay. So you're like, I used to play soccer. My knees are terrible and you do something that is like, okay, with for knees?

Yeah, basically. Yeah. Well, I did yoga first, and then I was too competitive and broke my hips so that I went to cycling the competitive. I'm gonna become yoga. Mindfulness was not my forte. So, yeah, so I went to cycling. My husband came home. One day I came home away from work and I was a road bike in the dining room and I was like, why is there a bike in the dining rooms?

It's for you. So um he had also by himself one. Oh his idea like oh we can have together and I'd never I don't lay mountain bikes. I was scared of the skinny, little tires. And I like this guy. Sweet. So like helped encourage he like lunch launched cycling.

Oh years ago. Yeah. So like was it were you like sad about not being able to find a sport and so that was a solution or um probably I'm I'm sure he was probably ready for me to be done with soccer before I was because once you have all, you know, when you have a love for it I would dream about playing soccer.

Yeah. So I'm sure he's trying to help replace what I lost. And I like being, you know, active and flowers. Yeah. Yeah. It worked out really great. So. Okay. You both had road bike. Yep. But then you kept doing it and he stopped. Or does he ride to? He also rise.

He's just way faster than me. Okay gotcha Yeah. Wow, okay. So it sounds like in. So you mentioned that you did see women writing like beach cruisers? Yes that's like that. Yeah, so like commuters there was like some yeah, the gun Amazon. You know, we lived in Amazon town.

So you see them on the bike trails and a little cruisers and on your left well but not they weren't doing it for community or fitness. It was a motive transportation and a crunchy town. Yes, it's gotcha. Yeah, So then being like one of the rare birds on a competitively, right?

Yeah like how how are you treated or what was your relationship with other cyclists? There wasn't any there was that was a void. It was something I never even thought to look for because I didn't know it could exist. So it's been a real. It's been a real treat to be here and find.

What was your experience in bike shops there? I mean it was just a transactional I mean people were cool but yeah you know you're gonna buy your your bag or your like my dorky mirror. That I love so much, the same traffic at, you know, whatever bike shop and but a lot of, you know, the bike shops would, you know, we would go to REI there weren't maybe the armor but at the time it felt like There are a couple multi-sport shops.

What decade is this? This is like two thousand, okay? Right. Um, it's like 10-15 years ago. Let's see what year was 2000. Like 2005 ish, no 2010 10ish. Okay, got you.

Today's lead. So that's a challenge. You have to like steer, not crash.

All right. So then you had the experience of coming here. What were your expectations before you did your first ride? All right, like when you vary first road here? Yeah. Um, I my so, we first looked out in Barton. We were renting in Barton. Hills got yet. And a neighborhood, it is really nice.

But but I was not used to the different ways. People drive their cars here or trucks here, and I was scared. I was like super, super scared. So I didn't really ride my road bike for the first nine months, is this and we got any mountain bikes. Okay, so you're a mountain biking.

Again, we were mountain biking, but I'm really athletic in the mountain biking. Here is quite a different animal from the northwest. Oh yeah. Well, it like touch on that. Um, I'm used to you. Maybe how like some rounded rocks, you don't have the elevation which is yeah. So, let's mountain.

And then when it gets technical, here it gets technical fast. Yeah. And you know, I'll be honest like all the scars. You see on here from mountain biking. I'm not a good mountain biker not either, but I love it and I don't actually love it. I love being on a bike and being outside.

Okay. That's also so hot for us here. You learn to not put sunscreen on your forehead because you know, it's gonna end up in your eyes. There's no nothing on. There's no make that I couldn't do anything because I was like blowing my eyeballs out. I, We go to the meteor because it's kind of in the neighborhood and They mentioned breakfast club, you know, the babes and everything like that.

But I and I guess I didn't consider. I think I found it really intimidating. Um, oh, yeah, you were like, okay. There's this pack of woman that rides road bikes, but I'm nervous. And they're all friends. They have cool kids and it's okay in Seattle is like not cool here like You new dividing or not but they're, It's intimidating until you show up and then everyone's super lovely.

Yeah, but it was my back neighbor. You are clear his girlfriend at the time, it just started writing and he knew I wrote and he's like, hey can I just introduce you? So she has someone to ride with And I said sure and We became fast friends and she environment to go to a babes Monday night at night ride and I had to pay time and that was kind of where we are.

Even though it's a year ago. But okay. So he had another blues a little call out. So okay Thanks Liz. Wow okay. So since then yeah, from a perspective of a Seattle Earth, how would you describe the Austin like scene? Um, massive. And I mean, I think there's a place and if you like to be on a bike, there's a place where you have a community in some form, whether it's you have to be a super speedy and, you know, you have to be a writer to go find somebody to ride with and then probably even more.

So For beginner writers because they're selling people, just picking it up, they're new to the city. So, I mean I just think it's so We have so much here and so beautiful and so many people that want to be out there and share it with you. Whether I mean, perfect strangers.

Um, I don't know, that's not very good way to put it. I'm just, it's very, I'm still very blissed out by the whole bike and community thing, because it's I've made so many friends. I've never expected, I decided it would be people to ride bikes, but it's way more than that.

So You had been in team sports, you had played soccer with a bunch of other women for a long time. So you're not new to the concept of like playing sports with other ladies, right? How If you think of the women of Austin kind of being a team, huh?

Like how do the add it can compare to like when you've done sports with women in the past, I think they're more supportive. I mean, soccer's. Awesome, sockham, soccer's, pretty burly and can get at least rise from, um, the way I've played co-ed soccer. Also I was like first soccer.

Players are mean, you know, the book take you out but like in cycling and even when like riding with these girls on the race teams locally, They're so flipping supportive and and fun and encouraging and there's no expectations. There's um terms of like how good you need to be to hang people.

Let me drop behind. Yes sure. Thank you. It smells like birds. I see the fluff too. Don't see. Is there one more?

Oh, that was you. I thought you were a stranger. I was like. When is this person gonna pass be done? Do you need us to be okay?

So, Anna was talking about how basically in Seattle, there aren't hardly any Women. Competitive cyclists like road riders recreationally really? I saw one lady in many many years. Does she rode her fun like or she rode for exercise? I guess and just kind of willed herself out there but it was like very solitary experience.

Yeah, but there was occasional group ride like organized. Yeah. How did you find out about them? Oh, good ones. Okay, those would get a lot of rider but not, there was no like regular weekend and we like, well people training, why don't I see people? Are you? It makes me think that Austin has the concept of social competitive cycling.

Yeah. Like we're very social about our competitive versions of writing and I thought there's like a natural development sentimentary. I mean, like everyone wants to help everyone else get better and and maybe compete whether it's in cyclocross or road or yes. So speaking of yeah do you what all kind of rides are?

Like pockets of social writing, have you discovered or do you think you'll try next? Um, I haven't tried cyclocross. I don't think it's for me. I have I started my first biking was When I was yeah like my 20s. I mountain biked for years As I mentioned and then went to road biking.

I'm actually writing a gravel bike. I and I've done a gravel event but um I just I find I I enjoy road biking more. I don't know if it's like, you know, the wind in your hair type of thing and that feeling of speed versus grinding it out on a graph on gravel.

So, I don't know. I might just be. I think I'm really happy where I'm at, if that makes sense. And maybe a bummer. So you found the breakfast club babes, right? Yeah, and you found TeamSnacks and this is your first team snacks. Ride was my first morning, what? I did the the Rafa training the Roth 100 training ride.

Okay. Um, That was what, like, a month six weeks ago or so right. And so that was my first experience with team snacks. And I was just really curious to meet the folks that road with y'all. And yeah, such a lovely group. So, I'm happy to be back out here unofficial one.

I'd also surprised to hear I was writing with Tiffany, I mean, it's Tiffany and then maybe is our season. I think. Uh-huh. And I didn't know how you guys have like a very long history in Austin, which I had no idea about how it was really neat. But Tiffany and Susan, I think there's a there's a was I wrote it wasn't here.

It was told me. I think I'm Susan. She's a long kind of braid to the side. Usually dark red hair, maybe. Oh I think Susan and she's so I know She's what Well I think she's she's It seems next. Oh gal. Well, she's an OG teams next. So maybe I must have her name wrong.

Okay, um, which I'm really good at being bad names. Hey, I'm like what? Yeah, Harrod redheads doing long. Yeah. And she I'm gonna, she could be my age or an offend her, maybe she's younger, He knows with you. I don't benefits because you look like you're you know, 37 it.

Oh but she had mentioned that team snacks been around like 10 plus years and had originally been like you know Eric got to like hundreds of people. I think she's overestimating because I joined snacks in 2016 and it was pretty new at the time. Oh, okay. And there were hundreds of people on the Facebook group.

Okay. But not on the ride, not on the ride. Okay. Yeah, but yeah, the like the first group of ladies that started it like they basically just wanted to have some kind of intermediate ride. Yeah, and I think that's something that you see a lot in Austin. Is there are some really incredibly fast women and yeah like these These write like team snacks is too slow for them.

Um like the raffle 100 was it was like a zone two ride for them, it wasn't a big deal, right? But they still Well attend stuff. Like yeah you were writers. Yeah. And like you know volunteering a lot or ride leading because they have the confidence too. Right. So it's kind of nice that there's like this.

Reaching back component. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, I love that.

Yeah, I had written in the Seattle area. I went to Duthie Park. What it's called. It's a bike park. Oh, I don't know about that. Yeah, they have. It's really cool. It's like one of those sculpted mountain bike part. Oh okay. No, the train is not supernatural like but and it's extremely flowy.

But I noticed in Seattle ability mountain bikers are people that like to do tabletops and I noticed they had like kids mountain bike classes. Yeah. And,

They were kind of oriented around like learning. Yeah. Like BMXers almost. Yeah, but like when you have super flowy trails like that it's like tabletops and it's like people learn. Get it. Which sounds so fun today. Sexy. Oh I wish I could do that. Like yeah. I wish to be able to

Are you okay? Like hear that? Okay.

Just sick of being fixed perhaps, which, that is entirely different than here. It's like here. Like you learn how to navigate rock gardens. Yeah, and ledges. Yeah, I am more help with that. It's like very high consequence here. Yeah, exactly. Like if you crash out, you're probably crashing out in a bed of rock.

Yeah and rattlesnakes. And yeah a bit of rocks in a rattles, white sealing an armadillo. So sir. Yeah, nothing that's one thing about like the South. It's like everything wants to murder you. It's like up there right there. There aren't mosquitoes. Yeah, like we have the mosquitoes. Oh yeah.

And the snakes and sugars chiggers scorpions. Yeah, we yeah, yeah, we have. Yeah our grass has sticker burrs in it. Yes although not as much in Austin as in West Texas it's like horrible there. Yeah. You know, it's up there and it's easy to have some rain via glasses for that.

You don't stop any of your activities because of rain. Oh yeah. That is something I didn't ask you about. So you would still road ride even if the streets were wet? Yes, but you're trying that you're kind of trying to stay off the, I mean, you definitely want to put yourself where there's a bike path.

Um, there aren't a lot of, um, like bike path. Networks like go Valley. Although there's two there's like the inner Enter Urban which went north south and an east-west was the. Oh, that's really funny that. I forgot that. Um we're gelman shell, okay. And that was kind of for devoted safe away from traffic places.

See you might put yourself on that. If you're writing for exercise but I would like to work and I just had areas. I remember bike lane that and you have all the gear You have all the reflectee, Seth all the waterproof stuff. What all lights, what about doing? Like a road ride?

Like would you do like a 40 mile ride if it was raining? No, no. Like 20. Maybe. Yeah. So like in in town commuting. Yeah, definitely. And then my Office. So I had changed jobs, I used to downtown, I was an easy commute from my house and then Irish across the lake and they put huge bike lane across the bridge.

So I was able to do that. That was almost 20 miles. Okay. And you do that. But it was safe because it was Sorry. I'm breathing hard. Yeah. Like yeah. But once it got to those rainy and below 60, which is about, I don't know, mid October maybe before that was my new.

It was like back to the car and then you're not writing again until a fourth earliest. Wow, so yeah, so cold cycling with seasonal. Yeah. So did you read it? Indoor training. I did. Yeah. Um, not the same. It sounds like spin class was a thing there. Definitely some class.

Yeah. Also cycle. And The other one.

I can't remember, Do you? And then I have one at home as well. Do you know if like there was more of a community with school class? Is that where all the ladies at? A lot of these were there but I wouldn't call community. It's yeah, well, in Seattle's a different culture too.

It's was a thing called the Seattle Freeze. It's Googleable. Okay, everyone's nice. It's hard to make friends. Why do you think that is? I don't know if it's the weather. People have talked about it for decades. Yeah. And whatever it's like, yeah, we should get together super great exchange information and then they never call, but you never call them either.

Oh yeah, I just didn't offer it up because I knew it wasn't happy. Yeah, it's very insular. I don't know if it's the Nordic Heritage or if it's the weather, everyone has kind of like a of pessimistic view because it's like either of those people could have called the other person for sure and both of them chose not to yeah.

Okay. What's that? We're gonna like go around that way. Yeah, no, it's definitely both ways. I think if you're new, You're already insecure. Yeah, right. So I won't I won't put it on the new person because they're a new place. It's already kind of scary and it's human to want to belong to a tribe and be accepted So I won't put it on the new person but yeah for sure.

I mean, and you saw everywhere. So most of our friends, we're not from Seattle. We are from there either. So we had a lot of you know, So do you think a Texan would be like depressed if they move to Seattle that initially, for sure? Yeah, it's hard. I mean, the weather change and the change in because I mean here we still laugh, it's so easy to make friends.

People are warm.

I guess the difference. People are warm in Texas, people are nice but not warm in the Pacific Northwest and maybe they're depressed by the weather and they're just trying to hang in there case. Um but here we still laugh because we might meet somebody and they're like well Texas.

The next name, like you want to come over and have dinner and so worth. It's like, Wow. It's very soon, that's awesome. But that sounds really soon. We don't even know each other. Yeah, I mean for example in the like, within five minutes of meeting you I got your number.

Yeah, 5 minutes now so I'm acclimated and yes, it's not a big deal here. It's like, of course, we're friends but it's happening with people out of brewery and they're like, welcome over tomorrow. Like um, let us. Let's talk like yeah being non-committal. We have to kind of wrap our heads around it.

I noticed that Well, uncertain sides on you sorry. Yes. Well, that was my fault outside.

Excuse me. So I think it's Seattle once. Uh-huh. And I've been to Portland a few times. Well, I'm sorry I missed even the cello once. Am I going to start again okay. Oh yeah, that's fine. Sorry. Um, it's okay. I can, I can turn this camera. It's on like a pivot.

So Yeah, I've been to Seattle once and I've been to Portland a few times and compared to Austin and Portland. Seattle seems really masculine to me. That's a, like, Portland. Is this mecca of small business? Yeah, lots of designers. All the interiors are soft. There's like house plants everywhere.

It's very feminine. Yeah. Um but Seattle is like it just struck me as being much much more like Urban but not in a village way like yes urban but it's like a series of villages or Seattle was more like industrial like new industrial and there were it was more fetishy.

Uh, I saw way more like it was masculine kind of in the way that like, kind of hyper sexualize. Yeah. In like a leather kind of? Yeah, well it could be so that I'm just two things. Very The first is I. So, Seattle also is many villages, but if you're not from there and you're not directed to it, you don't know, but it's been a bigger city for much longer than Portland has.

Yeah. So I think that's easy to miss, like, we were in a village in Seattle, but people only people from, Seattle know, or lives by being pretty central. Um, and the other thing is, it could, but it could be really masculine. Because it's I mean, it's Land of Microsoft and other software companies so you have a lot of Jerry.

Oh yeah, I just So you have a lot of engineers. IT which just are historically. Male dominant. Yeah. Like like a lot. An indoor kids. It seems like You get fetishy by spending too much time in your basement. Yeah. For sure, horn, really our computers. Yeah. Yeah, yes, I mean that's very valid he has thought of it but yeah, for sure.

But yeah, I was in Telecom. Last limit Telecom and which there's a big rock right here. Thank you. And I was the only women that wasn't an admin until like seven years in with my company. Wow. And the only other females where accounting not discrediting accounting, but those generally are like more women professions.

Today, we're female people and email accountant. Yeah. What about female management me? It was you and I have to like a guy to get along. So you manager or something? Um, no finance. Yeah. Oh finance investor relations. And strategy. So um, yeah. All my counterparts were male and little dummy a c-suite and they're all male.

So did you How did you dress them? Because you said you tried to assimilate in this nail environment? Yeah, I didn't it didn't change my dressing. It changed my language and my alcohol consumption. Okay, tell me about that. I speak like a trucker. I swear like a trucker and comment is also like a big drinking industry.

Anyway. Yeah, we had a kind of fit in not to make the guys fall uncomfortable. I because my they would stop a meeting if someone swarned like, oh, sorry. And And I was like like oh I can take swearing back and not pause meetings to apologize to me. Oh which I appreciate that.

So they would there was this like with you, there you are. The token female, you got more attention than what you wanted to do the job. It's like the fact that you're a female was something that was floating around and people's heads and then they felt like they had to like baby use somewhat.

Yeah. Well I think I think it was gentler than that and not conscious. I think there was I wasn't hired as a token. I, you know, happily and is doing my horror organization, Everyone's been hired because of their on their merits, not their, you know, presentation of gender etc.

But at a meeting there was a where an awareness that I was a female that they should act a lot of differently. Yeah. And you know, too far I mean I guess that's gallant to be on your best behavior but it helped things up and it it bothered me.

I thought don't treat me differently because I'm right. I'm I'm gonna worker. Yeah, give me yeah. It only took about six months but you had to like prove that you could keep up with the boys in terms of swearing and drinking like fitted. Yeah. Like, it's easier if I sit in more because then their interpretation of what they thought they needed to do is not, I think what was needed to be done.

Like, let's not interrupt business. Um, you know, it's not interrupt productivity no apologize for dropping an F-bomb or, you know, you know, I think too. Probably those guys had similar social pressures to drink and swear. Oh yeah. Because guys are pretty self-conscious. Yes, I had a colleague who who never and maybe it was my bad for conveying the culture.

I told them I said, because Here's at two weeks in the job and people are going out for drinks after and he's like, I don't know if I got like you should really go like if you want to do. Well, If you want to fit in like as quickly as possible think that we get things done over cocktails, and this is where we like bond.

We don't bond in the conference room, we're bonding like at the bar, which is, that's kind of the definition of toxic masculinity. And to it, guys. Trying to go sober. Yeah. I just don't like drinking now they have to assume a culture. Yeah, that isn't even a healthiest culture, but everyone has to do it.

And interestingly your feminine presence helped. Then I believe our self-conscious about like fitting in. Yeah, Probably worse than women. Now, you have a token. Help them position themselves? Yeah, you know, it's like anytime they say, oh, I'm sorry for swearing. The subtext is. I swear like a man. I haven't thought about it that way.

I wonder though if this culture is changing because you certainly, it's been us 20 years ago. You know what you think about? Okay. You grew up in the 80s like you were a kid in the 80s. I was a kid in the 90s. In both decades, Children's movies and everything.

We were in a very misogynistic world. Yes. Where he insult to compare. Someone to a female. Yes, throw like a girl. You're such a sissy. Don't get a pansy. That's a girl's job. Yeah. So it's like, all these guys in the conference room, were taught from a very young age that girls are pansies.

Yeah. You don't want to be like them and probably their parents. There's nurture nurture is real right? Oh, yeah, for sure. It's like media and baby boomers, right? Yeah, that's fair. I think of my grandparents against like I was way back and they can't get their heads around, you know.

Well, even like I worked I'm in corporate America. Like so what do you Sonic and sell anything? I'm in finance. Like, Okay. What yourself Like still not selling anything. I sell ideas to my cars, I look at numbers but numbers together and I look at what they're doing. That is decipherit.

I Okay, so like you're career is mathematical in nature numbers all over the place. Watch watch, lots of logic required. It's like applied math. Very analytical. Yes, analytical to answer questions scientific in that nature even but this is what gets me. I feel like stem is well intentioned haha, but it but this narrative about being girls being afraid of math.

Clean up not painting a complete picture. Yeah, because the truth is the vast match. Majority of financial advisors are women. Yeah. You know, like there's women all over finance. It's like women are actually good at math. They're out there in the world doing math. You are CPA is probably female.

Yeah and yet we say girls aren't good at math. I think um and I guess I have a different interpretation. I have my interpretation is not that women are afraid of math but that because of call it culture or maybe it's parents or um they Math wasn't emphasize for them as something that they should pick up or that was appropriate from the pickup.

I don't think there's an actual fear by women of math. I think it was not girly. It wasn't girly, Mandy Math. Now and I'll go back to you but you're thinking about the CPAs and financial advisors Those are so counting is healthy female dominant or at least 50/50 um finance will finance because financial advisors also sales people.

Uh-huh. I'm gonna pull behind you. Okay. Whoo. Wow. Haha.

So, like analytical finance or just high finance, like investment, brokers that New York Finance? I'll call it. Yeah, Toronto Finance. Oh, that's like 80% men. What do you think 90%? Maybe men, what do you think happens? Because they're both math. They're both humans that gravitated towards an analytical profession.

Yeah, I don't know, honestly. I mean in my but even in college I was a finance major. There were More guy finance majors than gal finance majors. I think that a long time ago of course, as well ago. This is my theory. Yeah, because we see girls good at math and we see In the workforce fields that are mathematical logical analytical and nature that are women dominated.

But it's like It's almost like oil and water. Go. Okay, they won't go. They won't go. Oh okay. What does that mean? Elect check. Are we turning around here? A what? Check Pumpter.

Um, Oh no, that's scary. It's almost like Like men and women are segregated into these like

So like cultural or like social circles but in the career world? Yeah, well the other piece there too. And this is getting more and more documented is. And I think why you don't see women in board roles as much regardless of the function does not be finance but you know, senior executive roles.

Um, women after they become mothers, I mean, they just get like a great nanny and be okay with that or you pull yourself out of your career and you lose years. Maybe you never come back. That's true. Yep. So then there's an absence in there. Yeah, I feel like I think if I ruled the world, I would change the messaging.

Such that we show girls where like we just focus on where women are owning those fields because I think it's impostor syndrome, you know, like you were in an environment where all the cyclists were men but you still wanted to do it so you did. And similarly, your career is the same.

They're just like, okay, I'm just gonna do this. Yes, so you let your it's not me being a female, right? Yes. You just were who you were and you didn't but not everyone does. A lot of people have imposter syndrome and so yeah. It's like, well, Feel like if girls knew like believes and what good at math, we're actually better at it.

Like we're most, you know, like if you could point at the numbers, maybe one percent of financial advisors in Texas are female. Like yeah, Then they wouldn't have the impostors. Yeah, you have to see people in the just like, we're talking about the, you know, they're talking about in movies and stuff.

You have to see someone who looks like you. Yes, to believe you can do it. I have one thing I noticed because I was looking at, I guess for male nurses too. Do you know? I mean, like, yes, men have hard time with their nurses because people like well, no, you're a man.

Yeah, because I'm just trying to be. Yeah, it's true. Yeah. To be fair like we segregate ourselves based on like these these biases. Yeah, narratives. But The rollers of orange, into one of the arrow. Wow, I'm not doing that. That looks scary. Cat is crazy. Wow. It was scary and if it goes wrong.

Nope. Well she's brave. She's awesome. Hehe, I'm not doing that But I will support you if you do that. Well, that first little drop the drop off. I don't like the way that looks. It's so narrow. See there it is again. Yeah. I mean that's awesome but I'm happy to be watching it.

Not doing it. I kind of want to dare myself to do it to prove to myself. I can You can do it. It's just that little piece is so narrow.

How neat? That's really cool. Yeah. So I was in software for the longest time software companies. All right, I filmed as much as I could, That was awesome. I was impressed. Follow me. Oh god, okay, yeah, follow and film. Yeah, I die. You're not gonna die If you die, it's all on some, just kidding.

He know who to blame amazing. It looks like steep stuff. I don't like how steep it looks.

I am, I thought I'm following you, you

Their characters. There are leads to goes. I i like okay, click riding around on an art project. Oh, I don't like this part. Oh, I don't like this part. Oh, I don't like it. I don't like this at all. Cat Yuck. Oh,

Home. It's so like, Nero. Ah, I don't even want to go up that. I don't like it.

Here are we are bases. So big. Everything felt very pinched.

Well, now it's properly stressed out. I got it. Like I wouldn't know, like, oh yeah, my tires are okay, there was some of the background but I got y'all. Oh cool. Okay. It was awesome. It looks so like then too. I was like, oh, there they go. I didn't feel then it didn't feel that.

It looked then, you looked very calm. I felt very nervous. Okay, good? Ready? Yeah, Let's get at it here for letting me play. I just go my gosh. Alejandro should do it on his fixture. Yeah. Your elevation? You just You're climb members. Just went up.

Who makes those those bibs cat but who makes your bibs? Yeah, I don't know what that is, but okay or Australia. Okay, they look cool. This is our right. Okay, if that same thing was made of grass, I'd feel better about it. Going, If I was made twigs and fart, If it were a beaver, damn it really bad, happily right here, animals around it.

Now, we're going to write this Nice here. Look of concern. Like, please don't. Please crazy people. Is that a bird or what was that shoot without a huge butterfly or little bird, you see that thing? That was flying over. I mean, I'm not used to the size of bugs and things here still.

Oh, yeah. We have them. They hang out, our neighbor's yard. They're so cute. They are really key. Love them. We had them in Seattle and they would spar. And they make these like Star Wars fighting sounds when they're mad at each other, because they're really territorial. Yeah. Hummingbirds are extremely aggressive.

Yeah, they're so funny like and I learned that they're anti-social because they need so much food. Oh to because they burn so many calories. Yeah. That they can't have any other hummingbird. Anywhere around them. Like get out of here. Oh my god. Out of my flowers. It is right.

Yeah, like, they'll get together to mate and then otherwise they're like, that's it. Scram, We had to whenever big garden in Seattle and I got watering with them just the wand or whatever and they love water and they'd come and like like bobbing around like in the very curious like checking you out right here.

And then I always freak out and like run away at someone said like, okay, that's it could get me. They're wondering if your eye is has like right? Yeah, it really pointy weeks. It's true. Slowing clear.

Yeah, there's so many dynamics that play and systems and cultures. And and we all we all feel it, right? I think I think Feminism would have won when men don't have to feel self-conscious either you know. Yeah, it well I think it's sorry to interrupt. Oh that's okay. Um, I And the last thing that this is kind of probably, maybe more like, more taking a step back.

Um, I think what drives so much behavior is fear-based. So, yes, sitting in is a fear-based thing. But so is like if you're getting upset because you're worried someone's going to take your job or, you know, your I and I think in our culture In America, at least like careers like what Amanda does for a living Often.

Like they're defined by that. Yeah, versus women too. It can be, I guess the women I have known our slow. Right. Is a It's more of an amazing and like, you know, I do this, that's not how I am. I'm always out of things. In addition to that, whereas men might be more, like, I am whatever.

Their job title is and there's a fear that being taking away from them and because I can't, Well, I'm going to go, we're going with this but not making. A lot of sense. Is M equal pay. I understand why we don't have equal payment and I can only guess that sphere base They're like, well we can't let those women you know what if they take our places or to you know, take This thing from me So we have to keep them down.

I think that's fair-based. Oh yeah. Like like how is this lady deserving of this raise? When I don't have a raise obviously like it's a comparing. Maybe. Well, I don't even think it's a self-worth thing. I think, because fundamentally In most jobs, shut up computer. Women are, you know, in, I don't know what the stats are at each state, but I think nationally we're still being paid 25% or 25% less than a man for the same exact job.

So it's not a racing, it's literally what we're taking home, right? And being offered, I'll accept this money. I won't, I won't call your bluff. I'll be thankful and I'll hope you're watching out for me and you'll always hear you're watching out for me. It's not even like it's like well why would I think badly of another person?

Of course we're gonna be treating equally, like you're not my manager. Would give me a raise if they're like deserved it. Like, yeah. Kind of hoping that they'll have that nurturing mentality. Yeah, and then you realize you have to ask for it. But then it's like It can be that can be scary.

Like you're a emotionally charged because I don't know how tall not to talk about money. Yeah. It feels like comfortable. Yeah, I think too though on a macro level fields that are dominated by women are sorely undervalued. Yes. Like why is it okay? So and like in the tech industry.

Yeah. In particularly in R&D because they tend to get paid on a completely different pay scale than marketing and everybody else. Yeah. Um, you don't need a degree, you just need to demonstrate that, you know, the language. You have some kind of click the programming language, you have some kind of portfolio, whatever.

Yeah. If ability to learn, yeah, you can talk the talk. Yeah. So you can drop out of high school and walk into a job where you're making a hundred thousand dollars a year. Yeah. Because you're a tech braille. Yeah. Yeah. Meanwhile, If you are a social worker, yeah, or a teacher.

Yeah, you have to go and get a college education, then you have to get a certificate, then you have to be underpaid for at least a year while you do an internship and a masters of your teacher. Then you have to go back for a master. You have to get a series of licenses.

Also, you essentially get hundreds of thousands of dollars into debt for the privilege of your salary. Thank you going from 30,000 a year to 40, right? Yes. So messed I agree and as an American phenomenon teachers are underpaid like that in Europe and how is it that these highly skills highly educated people with difficult jobs.

Get paid one fourth. As much as R1/3 is what as a high school dropout that like to play with computers. Yeah, it But it's like, but you see that again? And again, like the female dominated counterpart is going to be a lower paid job, generally. Like the doctor is going to get paid more than the nurse and like we like to segregate those in our minds, you know or the social workers gonna get paid.

Less blue tech bro. Even though she's higher educated like it ends making it direct impact on the people that she's working with versus yeah. I don't know. Yeah, I don't know if it's a supply and demand thing like when they're saying there's a lot of demand for. So I think there's also systemic.

Here's like the police department. Yeah. Police department. Everyone's well paid. They have gear. They even have like military here. Yeah. You know like they have a budget they're supported by the city? Yeah. I yeah, you and a pension. So they're taking care of all this training and everything that they don't have to pay for they just get it.

Yeah. And but social workers are the same like they're the other side of yeah. Peace officing. Yeah. And yet, for whatever reason, they're completely different system there, it's like, why couldn't the police force include trained, social workers, and have that be a department and you have like traffic cops and you have crisis intervention, social workers and, you know, it's just like another well social workers.

I don't know how they're pay like, the police are paid by the city, right? Right. So um, so particularly, if you're, If the social workers are also paid by the city, that should work, right? I don't know how they're paid that. Are they paid by nonprofits, which have fundamentally less spending?

Usually it's like state grants. Okay. So Grant, that's a whole different and so grants and it's the state paying them. Yeah, but if it's a grant, you're always. Yeah, I spent some time in nonprofit and the grant system is very difficult because the organization gained the grant isn't always not only having to do their work but they have to employ people to get the flipping grant, right?

So they can survive and then you're extremely limited when you're talking about the state. Yeah. Like in Texas. Yeah, you're screwed because Texas hates poor people. Texas hates my already. It's people. Texas hates women. It doesn't value humans. No. So yeah, Texas hates children. So if you're depending on the state, it only likes unborn for fetuses.

Yes. But then as soon as they were born, when I recording more, right? I mean it's true. Yeah, Bradley known. You just look at how how poorly all these diagrams are funded.

Yeah, they're they're less than an afterthought. Oh sure. Yeah. And but you still have these you know young ladies that go to school for social work. Yeah, their career path. Yeah. But oh so one thing that kind of enlightened me to this is in 2007 There was a homicide in my boyfriend's front yard oh my god.

And so the his house and the house next door were, were sectioned off as a crime scene. And so, you know, we had to basically That year, the city of Austin had gotten the police force, a whole bunch of brand new Dodge Chargers. Uh So all these new cop cars.

Like Holy six or more different cop cars, circle the crime scene, okay. All these police officers asked us all these questions. We answer the same questions multiple times in front about Bangor, which is not how it's supposed to go. Yeah. But basically, oh, Oh, I hashes right behind us for wearing over speed.

Bump. You want to call her? Do you have her number or you want to suite here? Yeah. Let's cross over so people aren't like, oh, so that thinking that, we're thinking that we need to that we're waiting in.

I don't know if he's gave me a thumbs up sarcastically or authentically. Oh that guy. I don't know if he was like thanks dumbass. It feels like okay so we were supposed to wait for the detective to at some point someone was like oh you don't want the witnesses to cooperate stories or to mix up their stories so let's separate them.

So we were all put in police cars So we'd be separated but by then we had already told. Yeah, happened five hundred times. Yeah. Anyway, so while we were waiting for the detective to show up um, a victim advocate came around and gave us paperwork like literature basically like if you

Okay. Oh, Do y'all want to ride back to like investigate or just? Wait, I'm well you I would say no, but I'll do whatever. Okay. Um you when I go going to take a look you're gonna go down. Look or do you want to say? Okay. Well, let's do it.

Wow, it's been busy.

Oh okay. Thank you.

Much car backing up.

All right.

Okay. Oh, man. Okay. Oh, and it's very silly.

Okay. So yeah she gave us all these papers saying oh if you need a counselor or whatever like whatever and I was like oh what an interesting job you. Yeah. And She had told me about how, like, just the week before a like, prostitution thing was busted up stopping.

Like, I guess it was Sex trafficking.

Like some kind of sex trafficking trafficking thing was busted and she was the one that made sure all the women were I've got to shelters and everything. Yeah. What an in like an important? Like a huge awesome thing. Yeah I said like How big is your team? Yeah and she said oh it's just me and my boss oh my god and she's a volunteer.

Oh my god! Paid! Wow! And I was like, well, what do you do for a living then? Yeah. So, she basically doesn't sleep. She's a victim advocate by night and an accountant by day. Oh my gosh. Wow! It's like okay I'm looking around. Couldn't they have bought one less Dodge Charger to pay that woman a full year salary.

You know, that's not how the budgets work. It's so mess. I mean, it's so massive. I don't know who makes the budget, but and that's the same thing with grants When you, and you may know this already. But when you get a grant, you can only use that money for certain things.

Yeah. You can use it for like furniture. Yeah. Right. Or they have something sustainable. Like, let us get people's faster. Um, yeah, so it's either so many things we can work on and improve. Holy cow, yes running. Yes, we are like a dark edge. Yeah, I think too. It's like Well I mean Texas is just full of scorpions and sticker birds.

Not the second most popular state in the Union. I mean and we have money, there's tons of money. I don't, I don't have. Yeah, look, I don't know what's going. But what's like that I suppose the government people against each other. Yeah because the thing is this, Everyone thinks they're middle class even though they're technically lower class.

Yeah. You know they overestimate their station. Yeah. And then Whenever social programs, like they're against social programs, because they're unaware of how wealthy the top is. Yeah, it's unfathomable to them. Yeah. So they're just comparing themselves to people lower than themselves, that's all they know exactly. Right. That's a good point.

I haven't thought about that. But yeah, You don't know what you don't know. Seemal thing, Is that perfectly clear that I and schedule? Yeah, of

Yeah, but that's true. You only compare yourself to what you can see what's around you and thank you.

I love, I love waving it like the street guys. And also like, like a neighborhoods. Like the same, like Homeless people are out in the morning like leaving at these guys and also happy when you went back like oh yeah, I'm a human. Yeah you are. Yes. Like he just observed.

You're human and I acknowledge your humanness this thing. We share. Yeah, it's true.

I had talked to one guy Once at a bus stop named Brother Joseph. Uh-huh. And what is that guy doing? Not rolling.

Brother. Joseph. He had a pretty like, apocalyptic outlook. Yeah, he was basically like okay us Almost people when the second coming comes will be fine because the week the week shown here there. Oh absolutely. Everyone else is going to suffer because the loose so much, but we're already at the bottom.

Yeah, that's fair. Will survive but also sounds like the Cucaracha mentality. That's here, doesn't it if there's an apocalypse only, the cockroaches will survival well inherit the earth. Yes. I mean I you know what, if it If that helps provide him hope? Yeah you know I mean like I'm all about it.

It's the same mentality that a Russians have. Oh, I was a kid. We belong to this Russian Orthodox Church. Uh-huh. And the whole mentality. They have is the meat shall hear like, you have to humble yourself? Okay. But if you live, they post in an impoverished society. Yeah, if you're agrarian, if whatever It definitely gives you purpose.

Yeah. Like you're lacking gives you purpose. Wow, it's be honest. Humility. Like our humility will be rewarded. Yeah. It's like really, it seems like a lot of a lot of aspects of religion, just give you a sense of control where there is none like this person was a real asshole.

I can't really fight back, but I'll believe to myself that he'll burn and hell forever. And I feel better.

You know, what is that saying? Like religious opiate of the mat opiate of the masses? Yeah, it's true. Like it, we're just people without religion and it takes different forms depending on the wealth of your action. Yeah. Like that whole meek shell inherit the earth aside from like homeless people like brother Joseph.

Yeah, embracing that. It's like oh well American religion is extremely material. You Hope your job is awesome. That person. Thank you. They stopped Your karma. Bank is full or going up in Seattle. Do people stop for pedestrians? Mmm Better than here. You said that they have like a passive aggressive.

Yeah, so it's better than here.

Like you don't see honking there, either difficult really mad when you hunk. So, the path that aggressive thing comes out in a different way. Like, oh, nice to your face. Like you can't straight up punk at people so you'll like not let people merging your lane or something like that.

Emerging is bad, the news talks about like everyone a few years ago, the news started, telling people how to zipper the zipper theory of getting on the freeway here Like every other every other just everyone every other person go. Yeah. But but that being said, like it's way more aggressive on the roads here than it's faster.

But the feeling is higher here and people drive faster. It's getting, it's kind of scary. What there's so many mortalities here, it's unheard of like I told my friend, she couldn't believe it because it never allow it in the Northwest and the police they make money off of like, okay, you want to go 20 miles over great.

You just paid the state for the city 200 bucks. I would, they pull you over? How do they prevent it in Seattle? I mean, they're just there are traffic cops And there's radar like there's radar on most or quite a lot of like city traffic lights and it automatic like the robot sends you a ticket with a picture of you and it's and the light that I feel like we need that we make so much money for the city.

Yeah, like something that is terrible here. And Gaston is people don't even stop her school buses as awful. And it's like, okay, well that's just disrespectful. Yeah, that's like, you're gonna murder a child. I'm just, yeah, any kind of reverence for anything. Yeah.

Yeah, I think there's quite a bit of me first. I think what happens in a car too. Like, I thought it was surprised me. Um here too, like, oh in person, like I'll come behind you. Okay.

People are so nice face to face here. Regardless of, I mean, I think we're careful with speaking up about our social, or political beliefs, with strangers, just in case, but they're so nice. And again, like I said, warm, when you put them in a car here and then they kind of maybe, Oh, crazy.

Like these are the nicest people. We put them in the car that was evil flipping people. They just don't care me. First, you know, I would say that Austin has some bike infrastructure. It's not. Yeah, I mean it's like okay, it's good. Yeah. But there's but the people who ride here, there's just so many people who ride uh that they'll ride whether they're infrastructure or not.

Yeah. And and the cars just have to get used to there being cyclists on the road. It's just like a brute force type of thing. Yeah.

Sorry, I'm bad at talking and writing at the same time, like, oh, we've been chit chatting. I would wholeheartedly disagree. I can't, I can't like a quickly. Yeah. We've oh I wonder what this oops. I'll jump first. Look okay. Sorry on your left. It's a beautiful dog.

Wow, Morning on your left. What is this?

Oh, neat girls. Oh cool. Hi. Do we recognize each other? I'm sorry. I was like, do we recognize each other? But then there was like a The sense of recognition dropped. Well, I will, I will carry on but that's cool. I love what y'all are doing. Thank you.

So, I should have worn my sorry. I cut you off like and putting it about position. Oh no. I stopped to find out who they are. I've had the golden rollers and it's a senior citizen bike ride. Don't look old to me though. Well, I know.

What do they call the kasala The Golden Rollers? But really, I think, I don't know their name tells you nothing. I know that they do. Yeah. They organized that. Oh, advocacy group, okay?

Oh, this aphid excrement is just so gross, that's sticky. Sticky sticky that everything is sapping, right? Disgusting it all over the car doors. We've washed in the cars. Everything like yeah, dunk. It's true. Oh well, I don't remember it like in previous years. Oh it's it's a thing. All the pecan countries.

All the hackberry trees. Yeah, they all get stacked up their aphids, you know, that, right? It's not that the aphid, it's aphid excrements or honeydew, which I think is the not coolest thing to call poop. I know because I love the melon. Yeah. Me too. Just disgusting stuff. Dripping off the cars.

I used to think honeydew is just disappointing cantaloupe but now I completely reversed that decision. I was like I didn't countless kind of. I think it's okay. But I just stopping stopping. Wow. Careful man. Like as if as if he needs to give us permission to use the bike lane.

I think you shall line us up so we could hit us more squarely. Yeah, y'all just go right here. Um, papaya That to me is like rotten cantaloupe, What are your thoughts When I lived in New York? I had massive papaya cravings. Yeah, orange one. You know, it does have like a funky taste.

Yeah, it tastes rotten to me, but green papaya, like Thai like that foam tam salad? I'm all about it, right? I can't eat that without giving myself a stomach ache. Oh no, it's just between green papaya and like raw onions, which that salad is. That's all it seems to be.

Oh, and lime, and fish sauce, I guess it's kind of a cocktail for indigestion. Oh my god. Yeah, I can't. I loved as one thing I missed from the Northwest. I miss having more plentiful, good Thai food. I only know. One. Good Thai food place. Here I tried others but is your entically Deedy.

Slowing car left. Where's that? It's out of a food truck on South Lamar at radio, whiskey, or radio coffee. I mean, radio is just a place in Seattle. So, radio coffee on South Lamar, right? Just north of Ben White. Have you been there? I've been to radio, I didn't in a lot.

They've got a couple food trucks, three of them. Actually, that's where Veracruz all natural moves. Their truck that used to be in East and the deity, which is Northern Thai and it's Amazing. What does? Okay. What does make What makes DD type better than the other Thai restaurants? You, It's the only way I've had here so far.

That's authentic like not Americanized, you know, they come with they come with all like the big flavors and textures that I just haven't seen other places. I don't know what better place they're doing. I can't I can't figure it out but they're not. Thank you. Oh, and dodgy. You ahead To me.

So I never tried Didi. So I have no basis of comparison, I'm sorry. Say again, I used to work in a Thai rescue did which one Madam Nams But I I worked there when they were on the drag. Huh? Was it good? Well, I mean people really liked it but that's the typewait in Austin is kind of the same, to be honest.

Yeah. They all use the same brand of red, yellow and green curry. Oh, they all come from the same, like, little cat food cans. Yeah of See. Nothing is can't all like fresh made. Yeah, I would using like the big they're gonna call it a comal but you know that big like granite bold and mashed up the spices.

Wow. So they're curry and legit like Wow. It's everyone needs just hurry. Yeah. No, they're not doing that. And Didi. I think it's all fresh mates. Like she has a gut she's tie. He's American. Yeah, They have their own garden. That's where she gets all our peppers and things That's good.

It's like the basil leaves. And that's the flavors are really. Like there's a balance to like the how you combine the flavors box. Yeah, try it's amazing. You, it's so popular. You often have to like order online in advance. Maybe the best is the day before they're gonna dishes.

You're probably not familiar with because it's northern Thai rather than, like, there's no pod tie, you know. I mean, okay. Yeah here. It's Oh Oh, menu over too. Like there's Patsy you and Pat pink cow? Yeah, pride pick whatever. Yeah. Hockey now. Yeah, hide chemo. Spaghetti chemo. Spaghetti came out.

That's a thing that I think it's had came out with tomato. Oh, maybe that's funny. Oh, I used to that. I think called MenCom they have. They use battle leaves. And and, like six different little cups. They've got fresh. So like fresh coconut in one. Not the sugar kind.

Like just the chipped, kind, honey. With coconut in it. Um, another one has Those Thai like birds eye chilies. Chopped up, chopped up. Fresh garlic and topped up fresh ginger. And you take a bed of leaf. Oh and peanuts tough to peanuts that are roasted and it is combined and make a little bite with it.

And I swear like these like flavor explosions that that's so amazing. I used to have a roommate from Central India. Uh-huh. And oh my god, her cooking Chuck. Yeah, flavor exclusion. There's a combinations of like rolling spices and herbs and all this that I had never tried both. Yeah, right.

I didn't even know what I was eating like we didn't. How did we ever know to put it together? I don't know. Yeah, I'm obsessed. And similar things where it's like, oh you take this? This dome shape.

It's like a bread made with potato, like potato flour. Some people may use like dehydrated mashed potato and you pan-fried a puffs up and I'm kind of I try to stay away from cards. I like carbs I try to stay away from them because I quickly turn into like an addiction.

I can't stop. But betrayal are so good. Yeah, I've only had it for or my best friends is Her parents are from India and we did, like, Indian Thanksgiving one year. Her mom would make it. And I was like I'm done with Turkey. We're having like Indian Thanksgiving every year.

So good. Do you like to travel, right? I haven't really done much of it, and I'm kind of bound to Austin right now because your business, because my business. Yeah, as if you get a chance, like, Thailand is really, really wonderful. And the people are so wonderful. And um, how easily can you get around if you don't know the language.

Oh, so easily like, no one knows language. Okay, no, they're used to know, they're used to know annoying. It, The thing I forgot about because you land at night or at least weeded to go to your hotel. Like their language is in characters, right? It's not in, you know Roman letters, you don't even like what we have And so I was like showing the guy he's like looking at like oh shit I should have figured out how to print it out and like tie oh the address of ours.

I had an art. Yeah, exactly. Oh, gotcha there. I think they're alphabet is so pretty. It's beautiful, right? Like the sound of the language to me isn't very pretty but the alphabet is yes. Makes up for it. Totally. It's gorgeous little tattoos. They're like, oh, look how pretty? Oh, hey, Abby.

Wow. Well, thanks so much. Oh thank you Carnival. That was fun. I'll have to send you my that video. I took of you guys to. Oh yeah. Okay, to be okay at some point, my SD card filled up, so it stopped itself. Oh, that's funny. So we'll find out where that happened.

But we'll have the Ann edition. Oh, geez here, Okay, I'm gonna run home, I've got a tree guy coming but also happen to be oh, shoot, yeah, you don't want to hear me all the way. Yeah, you that's where you're post it. I try to do this. Here was like,

Here I am interested in. Yeah. Like okay. Yeah yeah okay so definitely okay. Okay, so cool. Yeah which if you look terrible opinion situation like that and if you want me, I know but either they're just the fact that once the guy went by doing that today you turn videos and really happy but a big crash and the next book but the other guy.

So anyways when I'm I believe in writing for three years but People are trying to difficulturally and people that I don't get advised but there were some kind of amazing matches on that textbook but he's like, I'm out I'm doing, I'll do the root on maybe half an hour before I click have, didn't like all this is a two surprised.

They're all going with them. You should just the primary breakfast. Club isn't so big and detected so many writers, but they don't know how to paint line. Yeah. You'll ride every kid. There's no safety protocol. They're just like obsessive picking up with either bad that I think and these are all these, they're still basically surprised.

It's not even A so and I don't think I was writing with DNA and the guy next to me every day at writing and I want to do that you guys. So we did last part of the road and you get, he's going free time, not possible, but we create fields pretty fast guy.

Next to me is not working, which freaked me out, and then ride around a little bit laid out across the world. It's not But I'm trying to worry. Like, okay, it's not Like anything. Yeah, So anyway so it's okay but I'm fun to see their maybe afterwards it, Okay?

Please give my regards to the others. It to other photos together, glasses. Okey dokey. Well, see you

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