Tog grapples with the feedback they receive for the first hard-copy edition of their new zine, the Grackleton Gazette.

Featuring:

• Adam: Parker Spoon, additional voices.
• Don Faucet: additional voices.
• Jen deHaan: Tog Chesterfield, Dan from Bulk Bins, and additional voices.

Stick around to the end for a special trailer for Season 2 of Escape from Morina! Where you get your podcasts. More info below!

Credits, contact, and more info

This comedy audio drama / audio fiction series was created, written, improvised, edited, and produced by Jen deHaan. All dialog in the episodes is fully improvised.

Voices: Jen deHaan (any voices by guests are noted above)

Artwork, logo, and graphics: Jen deHaan.

Transcript: For each episode on their page on this show's page at StereoForest here.

More show info/contact: stereoforest.com/uyl

Support the show (one time tip): stereoforest.com/tip

Review this show: On Podchaser here www.podchaser.com/unfuck

Chat in Discord about this show: discord.gg/qBQCJP8Swf

Comedy and audio fiction newsletter: StereoForest.com/subscribe

Follow on social media: YouTube, Bluesky, TikTok

This podcast is a StereoForest production. Made and produced in British Columbia, Canada.

Mentioned in this episode:

Toque and Trowel! Coming soon from StereoForest.

Ready to dig in? To find nourishment and strength right in your own kitchen and garden? Stereoforest.com presents Toque and Trowel, hosted by Jen deHaan in Canada. This is your weekly podcast for practical gardening tips for easy to grow food that works. Learn how to whip up affordable, low-effort plant-based meals that are healthy and taste amazing. And discover ways to tend to your mental well-being in today's world. Find resilience in the connection between Kitchen, Garden, Mind. Join Jen deHaan for Toque and Trowel. Find it wherever you listen to podcasts, or visit StereoForest.com to learn more.

WEBVTT

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:: 00:02

This week on the show, Tog grapples with

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:: 00:04

the feedback they received for the first hard

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:: 00:07

copy edition of their new zine, The Grackleton

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:: 00:10

Gazette.

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:: 00:20

You're with Tog Chesterfield here on 101.7

6

:: 00:25

FM The Grack.

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:: 00:26

I'm trying to pick up the pieces and

8

:: 00:28

fix up my life after I hit rock

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:: 00:30

bottom, and I'm taking you along as I

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:: 00:33

try new things and attempt to embrace life.

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:: 00:37

Unlock your life with Tog Chesterfield.

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:: 00:40

Welcome to the show.

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:: 00:43

Right now it's 5.06pm. Shoot.

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:: 00:50

I'll be here with you for your commute,

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:: 00:53

or while you prepare your dinner, or while

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:: 00:56

you furtively stare at that patch on your

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:: 01:00

carpet that was ruined by your rainbow bridge

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:: 01:03

cat, Kevin.

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:: 01:03

Oh, seven years ago.

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:: 01:06

That you have yet to fix because it

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:: 01:08

makes you feel more nostalgic than lazy.

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:: 01:12

I'm your uninvited guest for the evening, or

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:: 01:15

I guess invited if you chose to dial

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:: 01:17

into the show.

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:: 01:20

So, listeners, if you've been in any Grackleton

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:: 01:24

shops in the past couple weeks, you've probably

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:: 01:27

seen the first full hard copy release of

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:: 01:31

The Grackleton Gazette.

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:: 01:33

It includes my interviews with Marianne Foote and

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:: 01:37

Pastel Pumpernickel that you heard on this show.

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:: 01:41

And I also wrote a couple community announcements

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:: 01:44

and my opinion piece about the rising cost

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:: 01:48

of grout at home hardware.

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:: 01:50

It was pretty hard-hitting.

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:: 01:53

I was so excited to drop off boxes

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:: 01:56

of my zines all around town, such as

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:: 01:59

at the bulk bins and the Nested Bean

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:: 02:02

and Boone's Tackle and Thrift, the Kohl's Bookstore,

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:: 02:07

and of course, the Community Center.

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:: 02:09

I was really nervous doing it, too, as

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:: 02:12

you might imagine.

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:: 02:13

But I was also so excited to share

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:: 02:16

what I'd been working really hard on for

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:: 02:19

so long, what I'd been finally committing myself

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:: 02:22

to doing, too.

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:: 02:24

Well, for myself, Tog, but also for all

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:: 02:28

of you, the people who live and work

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:: 02:30

here in Grackleton.

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:: 02:32

After I got all the zines out, I

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:: 02:34

announced them on my website and Pastel told

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:: 02:38

her baking class students and, well, Dan at

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:: 02:42

bulk bins.

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:: 02:43

It was great.

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:: 02:43

He walked them around the store and handed

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:: 02:45

them directly to the customers.

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:: 02:49

Here, take a Grackleton Gazette.

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:: 02:51

No, no, I'm all right, thanks.

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:: 02:53

No, take it in your hand.

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:: 02:54

Oh, oh, okay.

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:: 02:56

Thank you.

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:: 02:57

Oh, hi, honey.

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:: 02:59

Here, take a Grackleton Gazette.

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:: 03:00

No, I'm okay.

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:: 03:02

I don't need one.

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:: 03:03

Thanks.

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:: 03:03

Oh, you're just putting it in my hand,

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:: 03:05

okay.

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:: 03:06

Here, take a Grackleton Gazette.

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:: 03:08

What, what, what, what, what is this?

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:: 03:10

No, you have to take a Grackleton Gazette.

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:: 03:12

Oh, well, you're just putting it in my

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:: 03:15

cart.

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:: 03:15

Here, take a Grackleton Gazette.

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:: 03:18

I do not want that.

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:: 03:20

I'm just going to put it in your

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:: 03:21

basket.

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:: 03:27

Marianne Foote was great, too.

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:: 03:29

She did a little feature on her latest

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:: 03:31

episode of Mailbox Decor.

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:: 03:33

Marianne was my roommate, well, until last night.

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:: 03:37

She had to leave because she finished sponge

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:: 03:39

painting her basement.

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:: 03:41

It looks great.

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:: 03:42

It's dark gray and teal.

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:: 03:45

And you wouldn't think it works, but it

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:: 03:47

actually does.

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:: 03:48

She showed me.

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:: 03:49

I also added a thread on the Grackleton's

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:: 03:52

subreddit, the one that allows self promos.

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:: 03:56

And I just checked the comments on that

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:: 03:58

subreddit, and I checked my email obsessively.

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:: 04:02

Well, the subreddit had only got two updates

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:: 04:04

and no comments, and my inbox sat at

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:: 04:07

zero for days.

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:: 04:11

And that's kind of how it went for

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:: 04:13

that first little bit.

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:: 04:15

There was no reaction to my zine from

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:: 04:17

any source.

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:: 04:19

The copies, though, they were disappearing from the

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:: 04:22

shops in the community center.

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:: 04:24

I had to refill the box at the

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:: 04:26

community center three times.

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:: 04:28

Boons at the tackle shop told me that

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:: 04:31

some people were returning to pick one up

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:: 04:33

for their friends.

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:: 04:34

But at first there was nothing.

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:: 04:37

A giant gaping void, and that hurt.

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:: 04:41

Listener, it hurt a lot.

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:: 04:44

All that hard work for nothing?

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:: 04:46

At that point, I thought even hate mail

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:: 04:49

would be better than the void.

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:: 04:50

But then suddenly, the feedback started.

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:: 04:56

And it was truly Grackleton in Grackleton's truest

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:: 05:00

form.

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:: 05:01

But first, a break.

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:: 05:03

This is Un-Fuck Your Life with Todd

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:: 05:06

Chesterfield.

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:: 05:07

That's me.

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:: 05:08

We'll be back after this.

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:: 05:10

Un-Fuck Your Life with Todd Chesterfield.

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:: 05:21

Back to the show.

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:: 05:23

So, the feedback for the Grackleton Gazette started

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:: 05:26

trickling in.

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:: 05:28

And then, it became a flood.

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:: 05:30

It arrived in my inbox, and comments on

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:: 05:33

Reddit and social media.

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:: 05:35

Some people called me at my house.

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:: 05:38

I got handwritten letters, too.

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:: 05:40

And I had notes left in the windshield

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:: 05:43

wipers of my Transit Connect.

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:: 05:45

I had the side painted with the Grackleton

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:: 05:47

Gazette's logo.

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:: 05:48

I got some positive and some motivating comments.

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:: 06:27

Well, it seems so, anyway.

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:: 06:31

I'll email you my phone number to call

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:: 06:34

me back.

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:: 06:35

Look, it'll be after I hang up the

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:: 06:38

phone here.

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:: 06:40

The email will come in about...

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:: 06:43

Well, let's see.

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:: 06:45

It'll take me about four minutes to get

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:: 06:47

to my computer from here at the desk.

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:: 06:50

At my phone desk.

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:: 06:52

And then I'll boot up Netscape Navigator, which

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:: 06:55

has my email inside of it.

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:: 06:58

That's where I have your email address.

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:: 07:03

So, yeah.

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:: 07:04

I'll email it to you in about seven

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:: 07:06

minutes, give or take.

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:: 07:08

I was so excited to hear that people

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:: 07:10

liked it.

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:: 07:12

But, then I started getting some interesting takes

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:: 07:16

from the community.

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:: 07:20

Hi.

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:: 07:27

Why wasn't the thick raven beak part mentioned

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:: 07:30

in the Marianne interview location description?

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:: 07:33

Accuracy matters.

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:: 07:36

Hi, Tog.

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:: 07:37

This is Dan from Bulk Bins.

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:: 07:39

Pastel mentioned RPFs in your interview.

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:: 07:43

My cousin calls them RFCs, which stands for

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:: 07:47

Red Flake Chilies.

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:: 07:49

Maybe do a poll so you say what

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:: 07:52

terminology most people utilize as part of their

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:: 07:55

everyday vernacular.

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:: 07:56

Anyways, bye, Tog.

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:: 07:58

See you on your next shopping journey.

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:: 08:01

And along with the interesting takes, I got

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:: 08:03

some pretty hot takes, too.

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:: 08:13

...has real issues, like the upcoming vote about

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:: 08:18

the portables behind the community center.

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:: 08:23

...looks unprofessional.

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:: 08:24

I mean, it's okay, but it's no Grackleton

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:: 08:27

Weekly Chronicle.

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:: 08:28

Where's the hard-hitting news about the water

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:: 08:31

main break on 3rd?

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:: 08:32

The Weekly Chronicle was so valuable.

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:: 08:38

...and this next one?

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:: 08:40

This next one hurt the most.

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:: 08:42

It came as a letter to my townhouse.

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:: 08:45

It read, This just feels like Tog trying

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:: 08:49

too hard to be relevant again after the

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:: 08:52

apocalypse dot cloud potato thing.

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:: 08:55

At that point, listener, I put my laptop

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:: 08:59

in the Oh, it's time for the weather.

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:: 09:10

Tonight's weather for your drive at 5 with

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:: 09:13

Unfuck Your Life is brought to you by

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:: 09:17

Deep Dive Reef and Snorkels, your source for

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:: 09:21

the latest snorkeling gear.

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:: 09:23

But we're still landlocked.

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:: 09:27

Tonight, Grackleton is expecting an abundance of moderate

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:: 09:31

cloud cover over Grackleton East.

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:: 09:36

And that's it for the weather on your

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:: 09:38

drive at 5 from Deep Dive Reef and

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:: 09:42

Snorkels.

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:: 09:44

Our grand opening is this Saturday at 2

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:: 09:46

.30 p.m. Join us for 5%

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:: 09:48

off all purge valves until 4 p.m.

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:: 09:59

The feedback about my first issue of the

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:: 10:02

Grackleton Gazette started living in my head.

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:: 10:05

Just like the well, just like the potatoes

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:: 10:09

from the potato incident, the way that they

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:: 10:12

still do, really.

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:: 10:14

My identity was still tied to what I

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:: 10:17

did and either losing that or having it

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:: 10:21

criticized, it makes me want to hide, to

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:: 10:25

sit on the floor of my bedroom in

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:: 10:27

the dark.

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:: 10:28

I didn't realize that I was so sensitive

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:: 10:31

to feedback still.

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:: 10:33

How it hit my core identity, that my

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:: 10:37

identity was still tied tightly to my creative

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:: 10:39

output and productivity.

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:: 10:42

I thought that I had moved on.

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:: 10:44

I thought I was moving on, away from

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:: 10:47

rock bottom by now.

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:: 10:50

And if I didn't address it right away,

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:: 10:54

I might end up back there again.

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:: 10:58

Because sitting on my bedroom floor with my

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:: 11:01

favorite comfort potato it sure felt like I

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:: 11:05

was back there again right after everything happened

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:: 11:08

and I was laid off.

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:: 11:11

And I was probably at real risk of

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:: 11:13

abandoning the Gazette entirely.

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:: 11:16

See it as like some other failure of

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:: 11:19

mine.

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:: 11:19

Just as I was getting started, I turned

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:: 11:23

the Gazette into the next thing to quit

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:: 11:27

again.

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:: 11:29

So I realized then and there on the

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:: 11:32

floor in the dark, I would try to

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:: 11:35

process this criticism constructively.

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:: 11:38

To sort between the helpful things people said,

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:: 11:42

the personal attacks well, criticism, their irrelevant takes,

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:: 11:49

and just what was, well just somebody's subjective

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:: 11:52

taste.

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:: 11:53

It wasn't relevant to me.

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:: 11:56

Tog, well none of it was.

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:: 11:59

Listener, putting creative work out there just invites

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:: 12:04

these kinds of opinions and takes and reception.

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:: 12:08

And the human I am, Tog, isn't attached

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:: 12:12

to that feedback.

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:: 12:14

And universal approval?

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:: 12:17

I mean, I'll never get it anyway on

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:: 12:20

anything creative when we don't get universal approval

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:: 12:24

for anything in this world.

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:: 12:27

And being this hard on myself, it wasn't

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:: 12:31

fair to myself, to Tog.

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:: 12:35

So just like I wrote an apology letter

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:: 12:38

near the beginning of my journey off of

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:: 12:40

Rock Bottom, to Louis Pepperoni of the HOA,

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:: 12:44

and to the Super Appreciation Club, the letters

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:: 12:48

that I shared with you on this show,

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:: 12:51

I wrote an apology letter to myself, to

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:: 12:55

Tog.

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:: 12:59

Dear Tog, hi.

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:: 13:02

I'm very sorry about being so harsh in

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:: 13:05

your head about the work you're doing on

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:: 13:08

the Grackleton Gazette.

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:: 13:10

You're new at this.

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:: 13:11

Give yourself a chance.

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:: 13:14

Tog, Chesterfield.

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:: 13:21

So the Gazette, the first hard copy edition,

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:: 13:25

even if it wasn't perfect or even as

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:: 13:28

good as I thought it might be, that

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:: 13:30

didn't matter.

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:: 13:32

And it made me stronger doing it.

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:: 13:36

So I got up off the floor.

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:: 13:39

I put a note on the fridge that

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:: 13:40

said, Feedback is for the Gazette.

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:: 13:43

It's not for Tog.

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:: 13:44

Tog!

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:: 13:47

Gazette.

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:: 13:48

That means Tog is not the Gazette.

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:: 13:51

It's like programming speak.

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:: 13:52

I learned that at apocalypse.cloud. I also

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:: 13:55

wrote a second post-it note about why

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:: 13:58

I started the Gazette.

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:: 13:59

I wrote goals and under that I wrote

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:: 14:02

to connect this quirky community.

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:: 14:04

I wrote it just in case something made

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:: 14:07

me forget so I could look at that

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:: 14:08

too.

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:: 14:09

I sorted through the useful feedback, the stuff

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:: 14:12

I could think about, and the irrelevant complaints

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:: 14:15

that I could just throw into the garbage.

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:: 14:17

But I did run that poll about RPFs

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:: 14:21

versus RFCs because I just wanted to know

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:: 14:24

what terminology most people used and if I

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:: 14:26

should switch for science.

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:: 14:30

Oh, I have a caller here on line

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:: 14:33

one.

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:: 14:33

My first caller to the show.

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:: 14:37

Hi, caller.

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:: 14:39

You're on the show.

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:: 14:40

This is Un-Fuck Your Life with Tog

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:: 14:43

Chesterfield.

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:: 14:44

Hey, Tog.

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:: 14:45

It's your roommate.

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:: 14:47

Parker.

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:: 14:47

Parker Spoon.

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:: 14:49

Oh, Parker.

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:: 14:50

Oh, you're calling the show.

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:: 14:53

Yeah, I'm in the apartment, but I didn't

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:: 14:56

want to bother you because I know that

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:: 14:58

you're in your studio right now.

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:: 15:00

Oh, so you're right in.

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:: 15:03

You're still at home.

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:: 15:05

Wow, most of my roommates just walk right

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:: 15:08

in.

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:: 15:10

No, you're doing a regular show.

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:: 15:12

This has got to be a big deal.

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:: 15:14

Oh, wow.

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:: 15:15

Well, anyways, welcome to the show and welcome

315

:: 15:19

to the house.

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:: 15:21

I'm glad that you moved in.

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:: 15:23

Can I be calling in on this?

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:: 15:25

Is this bad?

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:: 15:26

No, that's fine.

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:: 15:27

I saw the number written by the SodaStream

321

:: 15:32

and I didn't know if it was okay

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:: 15:33

to call.

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:: 15:35

Oh, no, it's perfectly fine.

324

:: 15:37

Can I use the SodaStream?

325

:: 15:39

Yeah, you can use the SodaStream and did

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:: 15:42

you get my note about the fridge?

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:: 15:46

Yeah, I'm sorry.

328

:: 15:47

I don't want to pry, but there's a

329

:: 15:51

lot of potatoes.

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:: 15:52

Oh, yeah.

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:: 15:53

A lot.

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:: 15:56

Just don't touch the potatoes, but you can

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:: 16:01

have half the fridge, whatever half you want,

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:: 16:03

wherever you want to put your stuff.

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:: 16:05

Do you need any help with the potatoes?

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:: 16:08

I can come after I finish broadcasting and

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:: 16:11

just move the potatoes for you.

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:: 16:14

Oh, okay.

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:: 16:15

I only have a couple things of smoothies

340

:: 16:17

to put in the fridge.

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:: 16:19

Oh, you're a smoothie person.

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:: 16:21

I'm trying to be better.

343

:: 16:22

Yeah, they're pretty healthy, aren't they?

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:: 16:25

Yeah, I got to stay healthy for my

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:: 16:30

kitty cat.

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:: 16:32

Oh, you have a cat?

347

:: 16:34

Yeah.

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:: 16:34

Oh, I'm sorry.

349

:: 16:35

I thought I told you about Scott.

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:: 16:36

Yeah, Scott's moving.

351

:: 16:40

Unless you don't like cats.

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:: 16:43

No, I love cats.

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:: 16:45

I used to have a cat named Kevin.

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:: 16:47

Oh, my gosh.

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:: 16:48

Kevin and Scott.

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:: 16:50

Kevin's a Rainbow Bridge cat now, but I

357

:: 16:53

love cats.

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:: 16:54

I'm so excited that Scott's coming to live

359

:: 16:57

here, too.

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:: 16:58

Scott's a handful, but it's always been me

361

:: 17:03

and Scott.

362

:: 17:05

Oh, the best cats are a handful.

363

:: 17:07

Kevin was a handful, too.

364

:: 17:09

Can I ask you a question?

365

:: 17:12

I noticed there was a towel that said

366

:: 17:14

PS on it.

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:: 17:16

Oh, you got the towels.

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:: 17:17

That's for you.

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:: 17:18

I always do monogrammed towels for my roommates

370

:: 17:22

when they move in to make them feel

371

:: 17:23

welcome.

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:: 17:23

Oh, my gosh.

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:: 17:24

That's so nice of you.

374

:: 17:26

Can I ask you a weird question?

375

:: 17:28

Of course.

376

:: 17:29

Is that a Camino stitch that you did

377

:: 17:31

the monogram with?

378

:: 17:32

Yes, it is.

379

:: 17:33

I just learned how to do that from

380

:: 17:35

Marianne, my last roommate.

381

:: 17:37

My mom, Melinda, was the head seamstress at

382

:: 17:42

the Crackleton Shirt Factory.

383

:: 17:44

That's incredible.

384

:: 17:45

I got all my shirts from there.

385

:: 17:48

It's amazing because when I was a kid,

386

:: 17:51

I used to walk around and I used

387

:: 17:53

to see her do the Camino stitch all

388

:: 17:55

the time.

389

:: 17:56

Wow.

390

:: 17:58

Maybe that's where Marianne learned how to do

391

:: 18:01

it.

392

:: 18:02

Oh, that place is magical.

393

:: 18:03

She used to let me walk all through

394

:: 18:05

the different t-shirts, all the different colors.

395

:: 18:07

It was like the Lion, the Witch, and

396

:: 18:10

the Wardrobe, except instead of emerging in Narnia,

397

:: 18:13

you walked right into a chemical bath.

398

:: 18:15

Oh, that sounds kind of painful, actually.

399

:: 18:18

Hey, the scars heal.

400

:: 18:20

Yeah, they do.

401

:: 18:21

They do, don't they?

402

:: 18:23

I gotta go.

403

:: 18:27

Headlight News is on.

404

:: 18:28

Oh, I love watching that.

405

:: 18:30

I'll come join you after I'm finished broadcasting

406

:: 18:33

the show.

407

:: 18:33

Okay.

408

:: 18:34

Bye.

409

:: 18:35

Bye, Parker.

410

:: 18:38

So that's it for this week's episode of

411

:: 18:41

the show here on 101.7 FM The

412

:: 18:45

Crack.

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:: 18:46

Stay tuned for Municipal Water Quality Report Redo

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:: 18:51

at 6 with Bartholomew Bardibondle, formerly of the

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:: 18:56

Weekly Chronicle.

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:: 18:58

Huh, you should all like that.

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:: 19:00

For a show that details Bardi's improvements to

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:: 19:02

the latest local municipal water quality reports.

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:: 19:07

Huh, okay.

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:: 19:11

You have been listening to Un-Fuck Your

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:: 19:13

Life with Todd Chesterfield, a Stereo Forest production.

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:: 19:16

This episode was written, directed, edited, and produced

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:: 19:20

by Jenda Hahn.

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:: 19:21

This episode features the voices of Adam, Dawn

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:: 19:24

Fawcett, and Jenda Hahn.

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:: 19:26

You can find all of our shows, show

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:: 19:28

notes, transcripts, and sign up to get notified

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:: 19:30

about new episodes at StereoForest.com