K: So, lately I’ve been thinking about how, like, in the past three months, our lives completely changed. So, like, 2021… is not at all what I imagined. Like, in the least. Not even close.

C: Well, it’s still going to be the Musicks in Japan. That part hasn’t changed.

K: Yeah. We’re still doing the podcast.

C: I meant we didn’t change our names, and we didn’t move.

K: Oh, okay. (laughs)

C: We’re not on the run.

K: And we still have a kid.

C: Yes.

K: But big like – so, at the beginning of 2021… he was engaged?

C: No, that was the end of 2020. Like, September. Early October.

K: No.

C: It wasn’t past Halloween because Halloween’s always an event here.

K: No. It was right around Halloween because they were gonna do

C: Right.

K: A Halloween date.

C: Right.

K: So, some things happened in really quick succession in his life. He… broke up with – so, he got engaged, then ended the engagement, then decided he didn’t wanna get married and then decided he didn’t want to have children. Which, for us – and this might make me a horrible person – thrills me to no end. I really like it being the three of us. I really like this being our family. I really like not absorbing anyone else into our family. Absorbing their family. And, in Japan, it’s really… awkward for me because I’m not Japanese.

C: Yeah. There is that. I think that… I’m happy that he didn’t marry somebody just because he was engaged to them. Because I’ve done that, and it’s not – it’s not good.

K: Yeah.

C: It’s not good for either person.

K: Yeah. His first wife. Not me.

C: Yeah.

K: Hey, they might just be like

C: Oh, mine. Yeah.

K: Their first episode.

C: Yeah. Rasta hasn’t been married at all.

K: Yeah.

C: I was married once for about a year when I was in my early 20s. And it was a mista

K: Yeah. Me too.

C: Yeah. And it was a mistake for both me and my ex.

K: Yeah.

C: No ill will. Just was not a good fit. I was too young.

K: And it was a mistake for both me and my wife. My… ex-wife is happily married 14 years with her current partner. And… I’m completely thrilled for them.

C: Yeah.

K: We don’t really talk as much as we used to. New wife not so interested in ex-wife being friends with their current wife. Which I get.

C: You know. Funny that. I’ve met her. We went out to breakfast or something, the four of us – the five of us with your mother-in-law.

K: Yeah. So, we used to do like… we used to do a lot of things with my ex-wife. She was like part of our family. We had more of like a sisterly vibe going on. Like a sibling vibe going on

C: Yeah.

K: Than an ex-vibe. And her mom was very much… a mother figure for me.

C: She made your wedding dress for our wedding.

K: Yeah. Made my wedding dress. And… my ex-wife came to our wedding. And…

C: Yeah.

K: It was just a lot of fun. Like, we still have all those – all of our joint friends that we had, we were still joint friends with them. Nobody had to choose a side or any of that business. And… so… all of the girlfriends before the one that she’s been married to for 14 years – I think 14 or 15 years now – were really tolerant of me, I guess is the best way to put it.

C: Yeah.

K: And tolerant of us. Because… you and my ex get along really, really well.

C: Yeah, we do.

K: And this new one was like salty when we met. And… sent off clear “I hate you” vibes and wanted, like, the friendship to end. And so, I was like, “okay. I’m gonna take a step back because I don’t wanna encroach or impede on your happiness.”

C: Do you think it would’ve been different if you had been marrying – if you had married a woman?

K: I think it would’ve been worse.

C: Yeah? Okay.

K: Yeah, I think it would’ve been worse.

C: I wasn’t sure.

K: Yeah. So… that was a weird, like, side-jaunt.

C: Yeah, so

K: But it was saying, like, why you shouldn’t get married just because you’re engaged. so, we’re really happy that Rasta made that decision. And then in really quick succession made the decision, “I don’t want to be married at all” because of the same reasons that I was just saying. “I don’t want to accommodate somebody new.”

C: And I think, too, that his ex was – like, there’s nothing wrong with her.

K: No.

C: It was like everything should line up, and he just… it just didn’t work out.

K: Yeah.

C: And so, now it’s not bitterness. It’s more like, “oh, hey, even when everything is good, this isn’t something I want.”

K: Yeah. And… too, it’s… interesting how similar it is, culturally, in Japan as it is in the United States.

C: Mhm.

K: It’s not, “we all become one big happy family.”

C: No.

K: That’s not – it’s – so, I know some in-laws, like everybody gets along really well, and it’s all one big happy family. And that’s the fantasy. But, in Japan, there’s – like – because of the custom of not going and hanging out at people’s houses, it’s a thing. Like, only family comes to houses.

C: Yeah.

K: And your friends don’t really, so it would’ve been really difficult. And I think I would’ve been the favorite grandmother, and that would’ve been awkward.

C: That would’ve been awkward because you would’ve been.

K: Yeah. Totally. And so, all of the renovations that I saw coming… and happening to our house in like the next three to five years are completely different.

C: Mhm.

K: And so… deciding whether or not to do renovations now and what the timeline is to renovate the house – like, I feel like 2021 is now completely open to us. To, like – for whatever we want to do in our home. Do we want to keep our home closed; do we want to entertain in a post-vaccination life. Like, what is it we wanna do with our futures Because I feel like not being grandparents means that we can do whatever we want.

C: Yeah. I agree with that.

K: Yeah.

C: Because, what? Do like my grandparents did and just spend that money. No need for an inheritance.

K: Yeah. And Rasta knows that we don’t believe in inheritance. Like, whatever’s, you know

C:  He already got his. We paid for his college education.

K: Yeah.

C: Supported him for years getting into a job he enjoys.

K: Yeah. Well, and he gets the house.

C: Yeah.

K: That we currently own. And… I told him just throw everything else away – and jewelry, we paid retail for our jewelry, so you’re not going to get what we paid for it. But I guess it would be a come up for him. I always told him pop the stones out.

C: (laughs)

K: Like, pop the stones out of the settings because the sto – unset stones are worth so much more than set stones.

C: Yes.

K: You know. But it’s not like I own a Brinks trun – a Brinks truck worth of jewelry. I have a nice little jewelry box from pier 39.

C: Yes.

K: And I have no idea what the song is.

C: Yeah, I don’t remember either.

K: Yeah.

C: It was a music box company, so it was one of their songs.

K: Yeah. And we have matching jewelry boxes. But we’re so like not big on remembering a lot of stuff. I remember you ate a whole chicken at William & Sonoma on our first overnight date. No, that wasn’t our first overnight date. On one of our overnight dates. And I was well impressed because, when you ordered that chicken

C: Okay, so

K: I was like, “you are not gonna eat this chicken.”

C: Okay, so William & Sonoma’s a kitchen store.

K: Okay.

C: But our first overnight, we took to Sonoma Mission Inn, which has since been purchased by the… Fairmont Hotels.

K: No, we didn’t go to Sonoma Mission Inn. We went to Monterey and stayed at the Best Western on the… the beach shore. And that’s why we got married there.

C: No, that’s not why we got married there. Our first overnight was Sonoma Mission Inn.

K: Was it?

C: Yes, it was. We got married in Monterey because we spent so much time in Monterey and enjoyed it, and we didn’t want everybody to drive up to Sonoma.

K: I swear our first overnight was at the

C: No. No. Absolutely not.

K: Okay.

C: October 22nd,Sonoma Mission Inn, 1999.  Because that’s why we – we chose the wedding date, and everything was the one year from that trip.

K: Okay.

C: Because there’s no beach or anything. So, if you get married in Sonoma or Napa or whatever, if you’re not on the beach, then what’s the difference? Why make people drive all that way?

K: Yeah.

C: But Monterey, we had the beach, and we go to the aquarium all the time.

K: Yeah. So, now I feel like… not being grandparents… we can… forge our own paths. And it takes the pressure of off me for building a family business.

C: Yeah, I agree with that.

K: And I feel like I can be selfish and go after the things that I want. And my dream is being a podcaster.

C: Yeah.

K: I’d love it if we had a bunch of different podcasts. That’s what I want to be into my… olden years and everything. And that’s because… the older I get, the more disabled I become. And the more bedridden I become. And so, I feel like we could totally be… podcasters. Like, I could do podcasting the rest of my life. Because I’m like a total motormouth.

C: I’m not sure I – that’s the word I’d use. But… I agree with the sentiment that you are able to produce a continuous stream of cogent words.

K: (laughs) Well, and if you look at any of the transcripts, 80% of the words come from me.

C: That’s what I’m saying. And they’re cogent.  Some people are able to talk because they just spew

K: Cogent…

C: Nonsense.

K: I think it might be pushing it sometimes. Oh, something I’m wondering about is sound quality. We got new beds. We’re no longer sleeping on – well, I’m (laughs) So, we have western bedframes now. For medical reasons. For me. And… we – I put all of my traditional Japanese tatamis on top of the frame.

C: Futons.

K: Oh, I said tatamis.

C: Yeah.

K: Yeah, tatami’s flooring. The Japanese futon – I put – they’re just really bedrolls.

C: Yeah.

K: So, I had a stack of bedrolls that I slept on, and I put the stack of bedrolls on top of my frame, which Chad finds extremely blasphemous. But score for him because he got two box springs. So, now I have a really soft bed, and he has a really hard bed. And I wonder if the elevation is making the sound quality better.

C: Well, I think you having a desk that just hovers – you have a hover-desk now.

K: Yes, I do.

C: So, you’re no longer propping the mic up. So, it’s not gonna fall over, you don’t have to hold it. That’s the thing I was thinking.

K: Oh, you were thinking less fumbling noises.

C: Yeah. Exactly.

K: Oh. Okay. I was thinking that there would be less drafty noises because it was really drafty below.

C: Yeah, it was.

K: It’s much warmer at this height.

C: Yeah.

K: So… for me, not being a grandparent was the biggest change in – and like letting that sink in and truly believing that Rasta doesn’t want kids at least… in my lifetime. Like, he may want them when he’s in his 40s. But by then, like, the whole grandparent thing – I will have aged out of it.

C: Yes.

K: So… I feel aged out of it, already.

C: I was just thinking about somebody who had a kid when they were 50, and I was thinking, “would I want a kid 5 years from now? An infant? Why would I do that to myself?”

K: Yeah. We always say that. We’re so bad. Like, any of our friends that have kids – like, in their mid to late 40s – I’m like, “why? Why are you doing that?”

C: (laughs)

K: Why are you su – but I guess they like… put the party at the front end.

C: Yeah. So, that is not the big change. Rasta not being engaged is a big change, but that happened late last year.

K: Yeah.

C: But early this year, my book came out. Which I think everybody knows by now.

K: Yes. (laughs)

C: But if you don’t, look it up. It’s called Not My Ruckus. Good reviews. Leave a review if you read it.

K: Please leave a review if you read it.

C: But the other thing is I got a promotion at work because my boss left unexpectedly. And I stepped into his position. And I go back and forth between calling it a promotion and just calling it a role change because… I don’t know. I don’t feel like I’m… above the other people at the company so much as it’s my job to manage time.

K: You got a promotion.

C: Okay. I got a promotion.

K: It’s a title change.

C: Yeah.

K: And more responsibility.

C: Yeah.

K: Everything that goes with a promotion.

C: Okay, yeah, I guess it’s a promotion. Bu

K: Yeah.

C: It’s meant I’m a lot busier.

K: Yeah.

C: Because the other thing was that… I had an – I didn’t have a replacement for myself. So, I had to hire a data engineer. Who only recently started and is wonderful, but for… almost two months, I was doing two jobs at the same time.

K: Yeah. And that was really tough.

C: That was a lot of work, yeah.

K: In addition to your book launching and all of that, so that was like a really… really hectic time. So, it’s weird because our life is really hectic, but I think of it as really static.

C: I think because we don’t go out. Because we’re still quarantining. Japan is like, “okay. So, what we’re gonna do is… sometime in February, we will immunize a couple hundred people.”

K: As the test group, and they’re hospital workers, to see what the side-effects are of the vaccine.

C: “And then, after they’ve had both doses, after a month, we’ll use them to immunize some more medical workers. And then a month after that, maybe we’ll do some senior citizens.” And then all of a sudden by June, everyone will be immunized for the Olympics.

K: Yeah. I’m not believing that.

C: Yeah, so… I mean, we’ll see. Maybe. But I’m doubtful. Especially after

K: Yeah. I’d be really surprised if the Olympics still happen. That would blow my mind.

C: (laughs)

K: I would trip out. But then, you know, if you had told me that they would be doing – still doing Travel Japan

C: Yeah.

K: That would blow my mind. So… I guess my mind is just gonna be blown all this year.

C: Well, what if we go on a cruise? I think that would blow your mind more than anything. You’d be like, “what am I doing on a cruise?”

K: Like, I don’t enjoy cruises.

C: I know you don’t.

K: We went on a several cruises because you had a fantasy of living on a boat.

C: We went on three, yes. And they just reinforced how awesome it would be, but recent events have made me change my mind.

K: Okay, what recent events?

C: Like all those people being stuck on the cruise ship for a couple of months because they were the first… mass-Covid thing.

K: Yeah, but if you wanted to live on the boat

C: But they didn’t build the boat. Because we had seen this boat on a T.V. show about things that are gonna happen in the future, and it didn’t happen.

K: I think it was called, like, the Freedom Ship or something like that?

C: It was called the Freedom Ship, yeah.

K: I was not on board with that, but I – I didn’t think it was gonna happen because the size of this boat was… ginormous.

C: It was gonna be an entire city of just people who didn’t want to talk to other people but wanted to be out on the ocean. What doesn’t sound perfect about that?

K: But now they have rollercoasters on cruise ships, so like what do I know?

C: (laughs)

K: I think that’s so weird. And, like, the other roller coaster – there’s a lot of rollercoasters, and a lot of like “I’m just gonna look like it’s gonna fall off the side of a building, and that’s the whole ride.”

C: Mhm.

K: You just look like you’re going to plunge to your death. And like that glass bridge where it’s set to, when people walk on it, to imitate cracking.

C: Mhm.

K: I’m like, “who’s thinking of these things?” And then – I like watching people walk across glass bridges because they have to put on special booties and stuff. And some of the people are shaking and trembling in fear and crawling across the bridge. Why?

C: Okay.

K: Why are you doing that? I have a fear of heights. I am not going on a glass bridge. I do not want to look down.

C: Well, the reason is they have a fox and a hen and a head of lettuce, and they can only carry one of them at a time.

K: What are you talking about?

C: It’s a puzzle. The fox will eat the hen if it’s left alone, the hen will eat the lettuce if it’s left alone. So how do you get them all to the other side?

K: I thought it was corn.

C: Corn, yeah, you’re right. It was corn.

K: So, what’s the answer?

C: The answer – you want me to come up with it on the fly?

K: Yeah.

C: The answer is that you carry the chicken across, you leave the chicken and you come back, and then it leaves the fox and the corn on the side.

K: Uh-huh.

C: Then you come back. You carry the corn over.

K: Mhm.

C: You carry the chicken back.

K: Mhm.

C: You drop off the chicken, carry the fox back. Go back empty to carry the chicken back.

K: (laughs) Is that the real answer?

C: That’s the real answer.

K: So, why did you say, “do you want me to make it up on the fly?” Did you want to seem more clever than you are?

C: No, solve them on the fly. I had to think about it.

K: (laughs)

C: I am that clever.

K: What a strange comment. Like, “are you trying to seem more clever than you are?” (laughs) I think by now our Musick Notes know that you are incredibly clever.

C: Yes. These logic puzzles? Yes.

K: Yeah. So, how does this promotion – like, I feel like it completely changed 2021 for us.

C: It

K: Like, the trajectory for 2021, the projects we were expecting to launch – a lot of things are going on hold because of your promotion, I think.

C: Yeah, it did. So, I think it’s gonna calm down now that I have somebody doing the job that I was doing before.

K: Uh-huh.

C: But it was a decision between, “do I value my technical skills in computers more or my skills in management more?” Because the company was very clear that you can get a promotion without becoming the people manager. But I went to school for people managing. I’ve done it for a lot of years. My first people management job, I was 17 working as shift manager at McDonald’s, so I’m comfortable with that. And, for me, I just felt like we had something really good and wanted to maintain that. And I didn’t trust – maybe it’s cynical of me – but I didn’t trust that we could hire a people manager who wouldn’t disrupt he dynamic.

K: Mhm.

C: And so, I said, “okay. I’m gonna use my people management skills. And we’ll hire somebody for the technical skills.” Because everybody I work with is a professional. It’s not… you know, teenagers who don’t want to be there, but their parents are forcing them to get a job. Like, that very outdated notion that goes around with the minimum wage thing. When I worked at McDonald’s, about half the people who worked there were adults supporting their family. And knowing that the number is even higher than I was when I worked that

K: Yeah. So, I’m really happy that you took the promotion, and I’m really happy for the personally growth I see it causing in you and seeing how much you’re enjoying your job and seeing how fulfilled you are. And it’s kind of bittersweet because I’m at this sort of impasse – I have some stuff – if you follow us on Twitter, you know I have stuff I’m going through. And it’s kind of up in the air whether or not I’m going to be able to continue being a therapist.

C: Yeah.

K: And it’s… because I can’t be in the rom with people because… not everyone’s going to be vaccinated. And it’s not yet clear how the vaccine works. And they haven’t done enough post-exposure trials to know how long the vaccine works for.

C: Right.

K: And so, for me, to go back into doing in-person therapy at my office is going to take several years, and that’s just the blunt truth. Because they don’t know if the vaccine’s good, good for a year, they don’t know how long after the second shot if you do the Pfizer one or…

C: Yeah. Just from the fact that they haven’t existed for that long.

K: Yeah.

C: Just like when I was younger, and they were asking for 5 years of Java experience when Java was one year old – it’s just not possible. They can’t know the five-year effects of the vaccine because it hasn’t existed for 5 years.

K: Yeah.

C: It’s barely been available for 6 months in the earliest of places.

K: Yeah. And anti-vaxxers don’t announce that they’re anti-vaxxers.

C: This is true.

K: And I know that because I’ve found out, incidentally, that clients were anti-vaxxers. And I’m like, “I have an auto-immune disorder because I have lupus. And I have hereditary coproporphyria. It’s actually quite dangerous for me to be around people who aren’t vaccinated.” I am able to be vaccinated – I’m lucky that I’m able to tolerate vaccines. But not knowing – so, it’s going to be a couple of years before I would be able to be back in office, but in those couple of years… my disability will have changed substantially.

C: Yes.

K: So, right now I’m experiencing a new level of disability, and I don’t know where it’s going to settle. And so, lupus is degenerative. And… I’m degenerating. And… hereditary coproporphyria’s also a degenerative, and I’m degenerating. And so, 2021, I’m experiencing – and it caught me by surprise – a new level of disability. And learning how to cope with that. Learning what that means, how to… basically, I have to relearn everything that I do.

C: Yeah.

K: And figure out how to do it. And so, I’m still in that figuring out how to do everything process. And… part of that process is being able to sit upright and be on camera and do therapy. And so, I don’t know how many clients would be happy with just voice therapy.

C: Mhm.

K: Because I can do voice – like, I know some of my clients would be – and I know others that wouldn’t be. And, just like the ones that are waiting for in person, and… in the month of March, my doctor said absolutely no work. It’s kind of up in the air for April. And the health stuff is up in the air, and so having… all of these health issues and having a new level o disability is also quite shocking.

C: Yeah.

K: But not… something we weren’t prepared for.

C: I think you’ve been fortunate to be able to work for so many years because you’ve worked at this for more than 20 years. And more than 10 years here in Japan as a therapist.

K: Yeah.

C: I think that’s really fortunate for somebody with lupus and porphyria. And… so, we knew that it was going to come to an end at some point. I think neither of us was prepared for it to be so abrupt.

K: Yeah.

C: It was more like, “well it’s going to be slowly increasing difficulty” or like… slowly becoming evident.

K: Yeah.

C: That you need to phase it out. And instead, it’s like… you know, pending medical results, maybe just – that was it. That was the whole run.

K: Yeah.

C: And so that is a bit shocking.

K: Yeah. And… the pending medical results is a little bit tough.

C: Yeah.

K: And not knowing where things are going to land. Luckily, knock on wood, that hasn’t impacted my ability to work on my PHD. Since I’m not seeing clients, I have more time to work on my PHD, so it’s actually speeding the process up a bit.

C: And I think the timing is a bit different, too. If you wake up at 2 in the morning, and you have a little energy, you can do a little writing on your PHD.

K: Yeah.

C: If you wake up at 2 in the morning, you’re not gonna have an appointment scheduled.

K: Yeah. And, so, for sleep regulation: my sleep cycle is just out of whack. Completely out of whack. And… doesn’t make any sense. But, luckily, you’re really used to the dynamic, and so we have eyes and ears. So, it’s basically an eye mask and earplugs so that you can sleep regardless of what you need to do with the light.

C: Yeah.

K: And so… I find that I can work on my PHD – especially now with the new setup, it’s really nice – because I have… tray dust – so, like, it’s basically like if you’ve ever been in a hospital room. I basically have that tray.

C: Yeah. You have a hydraulic, c-shape desk. On wheels. So, you can raise and lower it, and it slides underneath the bed. And across the – for the wheels – and across the top for the surface, so that you can use it in bed.

K: Yeah. It’s super convenient.

C: Yes.

K: I love it. And… I think you’re gonna love it, too.

C: I think I will. Because we – we said, “oh, we need another table” because the bed’s gonna be higher.

C: Yeah.

K: And so, we looked up tables, and I saw these, and I said, “oh. We need these.”

K: Yeah. And I was like, “mmm. I don’t know.”

C: And now that they’re here, what do you think?

K: I’m absolutely loving it. So, we just did the bed.

C: This is how 2021 has changed our life.

K: Right. We just did the bed and tables like right before we sat down to record this episode, literally.

C: Yeah.

K: So, that’s a positive change, but it is kind of like being in the hospital. I wish that I had a way to prop up my back. So, I don’t know. I think I’m gonna look into…

C: Wedges?

K: Fitting one of those – yeah, getting those wedge pillows and such. So, that’s a big change, and I’m… kind of messed up a little bit about it. Like, if I’m not a therapist, who am I? And I know as a therapist, I would tell somebody, “there’s so much more to you. There’s so many cool things that you do.” But therapy’s what I do. There isn’t… therapy PHD podcast and family. That’s what I do.

C: Yeah.

K: So… I don’t know. I guess make more time for friends.

C: Yeah. I’m just thinking everything starts with a p or could start with a p. Because you’ve got psychology, PHD, podcast. And then phriends with a PH and family with a PH. Everything’s gonna start with ph.

K: And what would be the purpose of that?

C: Just so that everything starts with p. That would be the whole purpose of it. Just my own internal

K: Okay. Do you need to go pee?

C: No, I don’t. Just my own internal amusement.

K: Oh, okay. Are you amused right now?

C: I am amused right now because it encompasses several different sounds. It encompasses the silent PH, it includes the PH sound. As well as the hard p in podcast.

K: (laughs)

C: See? It’s funny.

K: Yeah. So, I guess… once we’re vaccinated, I don’t know if that means we can travel. Like, how long after being vaccinated do you think we could travel? Because 2021 is down – it’s a no travel year for us. And I wonder if that’s going to change.

C: I hope that changes, personally, but I hope that it changes in a safe way. So, I hope that we get vaccinated in June like they’re saying.

K: Mhm.

C: Because they say don’t travel for… I think 3 weeks after you get your second vaccination. And… right now, the place that I’d want to travel to isn’t letting anybody in, so it doesn’t matter.

K: (laughs) Yeah. This is true. Not even their own citizens.

C: Yeah.

K: So… yeah.

C: But it would be nice to go to – back to Hakone or somewhere else and have a little getaway.

K: I would love to get a tattoo. Like, I would up to be able to get a tattoo in 2021.

C: Mhm.

K: That would be awesome.

C: We’ve been talking about this for several years. You getting at a tattoo.

K: Yeah. Having tattoos mapped out and planned, and all ready to go – artist picked. And then foomph. That’s just one more thing that I’ll – you know, I’ll push to the side. So, I’m finding that 2021 is a looser year. I’m usually pretty good with – y’all know I like to do the 1-year, 3-year, 5-year plan kind of – 10-year plan – kind of thing. And this year, I’m just really grappling with even doing a one-year plan.

C: It’s like one week, three weeks, five weeks kind of.

K: I’m just doing, like, day by day.

C: Day by day? Okay.

K: Yeah. I’m taking it one day at a time. And… that’s like… that’s all I can do. I really can’t do much more than that.

C: Mhm.

K: When I start looking at beyond today and start looking to tomorrow, I start to really – my mood shifts, and I start to feel really unhappy. And I think I’m – I feel like I have tunnel vision, and that I’m… the further down I look, the darker it becomes. And so, I like to stay right at the mouth of the tunnel where the sunlight’s still shining, and they’re still brightness, lightness, and hope.

C: I could see that. I feel like… we’ve been hunting around – and it’s not to bring the podcast down or anything – but your doctors have not provided any insurance that you’re gonna have… a year or three years or five years from now.

K: Yes. This is true.

C: And it may be that they come back and say, “you know what? This is a suck thing. This is gonna suck, but it’s not a risk to your life.” And that will be great.

K: Yeah.

C: They haven’t yet said that.

K: Yeah. So… maybe this is the year of limbo.

C: I think so. And as everybody knows, you have to be very flexible.

K: Yeah. I see a lot of good things for you – I just moved my mic. And Chad gave me such a look.

C: Yeah. We will find out

K: Like, “ugh.” And I’m like, “no. I still need to roll around and be comfortable.”

C: I get that.

K: Which causes the distance to my mic to change. Should I move my table instead? Yeah, that’s probably better than moving my mic.

C: I’m not getting why you’re moving either one. I think we have normalizers that can make the volume relatively constant

K: (laughs)

C: Why not just leave it?

K: (laughs) I do not know why I was just like rolling it back. I’m like, “mic going out. Mic coming in.”

C: Why are you doing this

K: Because it’s fascinating to me. I have all of this new stuff. I have a new bed, I got new tables.

C: You’ve got new toys. Yes.

K: Yeah. Lots of new stuff. I have a whole new lifestyle.

C: Oh, okay.

K: I’m a whole new Kisstopher.

C: Okay.

K: Yeah. That’s what I’m rocking today.

C: Overhang desk Kisstopher is very different.

K: Yeah. Very, very different than using a foot stool to put my computer on because my bed’s so low.

C: Yes.

K: It’s completely different.

C: It is completely different.

K: And then the whole thing of figuring out whether or not I was gonna have a box spring that I knew I did not want.

C: Yeah. See, for me, box spring… is completely stiff.

K: Yeah.

C: Like no give whatsoever.

K: Yes. These are not box springs – I told you it was not a box spring.

C: And I told you I didn’t think it was, either. It’s not called a box spring on the website. They don’t claim it’s a box spring.

K: You were like, “but you have to get this – you have to get the mattress. Because it’s a box spring, you have to get the mattress. You have to get the mattress.”

C: I didn’t say box spring. It’s a pocket coil mattress. I did say you have to get the mattress. I did say that part.

K: Yeah. And I said, “I don’t want it. I’m not gonna use it.” And here I am. Still don’t want it. Still not using it.

C: Yeah. We’ll see how that goes. For me. Because I’m gonna use it.

K: Yeah. I know exactly how it’s going for me. Fabulously.

C: (laughs)

K: Like, I am really happy with my choices.

C: I’m glad you’re happy with your choices.

K: So, if you had to make a prediction of what you’d be doing a month from now, what do you think it’ll be?

C: A month from now?

K: Yeah.

C: I think it’s gonna be the same thing.

K: Same thing?

C: Same thing. Yeah.

K: So, you don’t think it’ll be different because your employee – the new higher will be taking on more responsibilities… you don’t think that you will be shifting more into just purely managerial work.

C: I don’t think so. So, the data engineer is fairly junior – which is not an insult. It’s just a statement of she’s got a master’s degree, she knows how to do the work, but she doesn’t have a lot of years of experience. So, I think it’s gonna be a few months before she’s fully up to speed on everything. Because it took me a few months before I was, I would still be thinking think. So, I think that I’ll still be good providing a lot of guidance.

K: Yeah.

C: And maybe there’ll be less technical for me to be doing. Already, she’s taken on some of that. But I already know my hiring schedule, and I’m not gonna have anybody new at that point that I don’t already have.

K: Mhm.

C: So, a month from now I feel like is pretty much gonna be the same thing it is now. If you say, three months from now, I don’t know. If you say it’ll probably be more people management work and less technical work. More… kind of… overview and as much as I cringe at the word leadership

K: Mhm.

C: But a month from now, I think it’s gonna be pretty much the way it is now.

K: So, for me, a month from is just a blank spot.

C: Yeah.

K: Just white noise. And I think… a day from now, I’m going to be focusing on Cinnabar Moth stuff, and… marketing stuff and marketing plans and all of that stuff. Making sure that those get enacted and put in place and tighten down – like batten down the hatches.

C: Yeah. WE have two more books int eh works. Books not by me.

K: And at some point in time, I plan to start watching the Netflix series Vikings.

C: Okay. Yeah. You mentioned that you liked the first half episode or however much you watched.

K: Yeah, I watched like maybe five or ten minutes. So, I liked the commercial. The commercial got me into it because it was fairly historically accurate from what I’ve read about the Vikings. And then the best line, spoiler alert, the husband goes off, and these marauders come into the house, and the woman picks up the weapon. And they’re like, “don’t make us kill you, wench.” And she’s like, “you could not kill me even in a hundred years.” And I was like, “oh, that’s right.” And then she gave them one heck of a beatdown. And I was like, mm. Strong female lead. I love shows with a strong female lead.

C: Yes.

K: And so, I think at some point in time, I’m going to watch it. But I’ve been so busy these days, I haven’t really been watching a lot of T.V.

C: Well, plus, you know I’m Norwegian, so… my Viking heritage.

K: What about it?

C: I don’t have any. That’s what about it.

K: (laughs) So, yeah. I guess 2021 – a big question mark. And who knows? By next week, it may have all completely changed.

C: That’s the thing about it. It changes so fast.

K: Yeah. 2021 is the year of flux.

C: Yes.

K: The year of being in flux. When I think in flux, I can’t help but think of Aeon Flux.

C: See, I thought, “she’s going to say Aeon Flux, but I’m thinking about the flux capacity from”

K: Aeon Flux – Aeon is spelled the exact same way as the Aeon mall here.

C: Yes, it is.

K: And… it bothers me. It’s spelled A-E-O-N. So, I think it should be aehon.

C: See, the only reason that I know for sure that it’s “e-on” is because it’s written phonetically, too, in the katakana – in the Japanese script. So, I know that it is “e-on.”

K: What is the a? Is it silent?

C: Usually, it’s written with the ligature to the e, and together they… they form a vowel sound that I assume is “i” but I don’t know.

K: Because the “i” – a, i, u, e, o.

C: Yeah. You could not get – you could not get the pronunciation of it from the… spelling that’s used.

K: Yeah because there’s no i.

C:  But – which is why they always put the phonetic pronunciation as well, so that you know that

K: So, it should be “ayon.”

C: It should be. But that’s not the way that it is phonetically spelled, so everybody knows that it’s Aeon because it literally says, “you pronounce this “e-on.”

K: Yeah. I guess. Their name. They can choose. So… we hope that you tune in next week. And we hope that you found this interesting, and we hope that your 2021 is going groovy. And that al of my positive plans come to truth fruition. And that this is a year of blossoming and growth and all good things. And I’m sorry if you can hear me brushing my leg. I’m always apologizing for some weird noise that I’m making. There might be somebody who listens for the weird noises. I don’t know.

C: I don’t know. They can be like, “this is my amsr.”

K: (laughs) I so highly doubt that very seriously. And so, we’re going to be heading on over to the take two. And this week we’re going to talk about marketing for – marketing and publishing and how to sett a timeline for when to launch a book, and what goes into that, so if you’re interested in that, follow us on over to Patreon and check out the take two.

C: Talk to you later.

K: Bye.

C & K: Bye.