Hi! Just wanted to drop in and say I’m really missing Sam and Allison’s podcasts. My Tuesdays are feeling lonely sans Pop Chaser and Hot Off the Mess!

I've been trying to kick the habit, but I just can't seem to — I apologize for literally EVERYTHING. Someone bumps into me? I'm sorry! Someone interrupts me? I'm sorry! Someone declares war on another nation? I'm sorry!

I know we're socialized to say sorry and be deferential, but I honestly can't seem to stop. It's just a default that's burnt into my brain.

How do we stop this madness? Is there a way we can still be polite, without apologizing for our mere existence?

When I was a kid, my brother once told me that our remote control would explode if I put the batteries in the wrong way (i.e. the + in the opposite way).

I’m pretty sure I believed this until… college?

What lie did you believe until way too late in life? That you’d get arrested if you turned the car light on? (That’s another one for me!)

I am an American living in the UK, and after living through 3 to 4 long lockdowns the last two years (honestly so many lockdowns it’s hard to count), I feel like I’m not as extroverted as I used to be. I think I still gain energy from seeing people, but I am EXHAUSTED after a lot shorter period of time. It used to take me many hours or all day to get exhausted by hanging out. Now I got to brunch and leave pretty much depleted and needing a nap or a large iced coffee. I also feel like I need to rest a lot more before meeting up with people so I have enough energy to keep going.

I think it’s a combination of all of the lockdowns, working from home and not needing to be “on” everyday in the office anymore, and less socialization in general. I still love hanging out with people and find that it energizes my soul, but physically and mentally, I’m exhausted. I’m hoping my energy improves as I continue to increase my social activities, but I think it’ll be a long road back to my old self.

Has this happened to anyone else? I’d love to hear!

Your three most recently used emoji describe your upcoming weekend. What are you up to?

I would say about 40% of the people who choose to sit down at Starbucks are actually there just to eat and drink their purchases. But the rest of the Starbucks people who are taking up space at the sitting areas are working from their computers, meeting a friend, or having a coffee date. It makes me think about how on Friends the coffeehouse is hub where people do more than just order coffee and muffins. But I wonder why that is? I know that Starbucks has the free wifi but there’s nothing comfortable about those seats to me and my local locations are so tiny. Do you visit Starbucks just to get your order and go or do you use it as the hub for work/social it has come to be?

I need to know what’s your closest encounter with a cult. I actually have no stories thank God but I know a couple people who do.

was it Scientology? Jehovah’s Witness? Something different completely?

We are going to lose an hour this weekend. The good thing? It will be lighter later, keeping us from turning into mole people. The bad thing? We lose an hour of our weekend.

So, I ask: if you controlled daylight savings, when would you choose to lose an hour?

I vote a Wednesday at 11am. Suddenly, it’s noon. You get to eat lunch earlier, leave work earlier, and we get to sacrifice The View for one day to the daylight savings gods.

What hour of the week would you cut?

I understand years back when the names were popular. But what would possess a person to look a baby dead in the face and give it a serious and adult (non-generational) name. Like how do you see a newborn and be like ‘This is Phillip.’ I know this is irrational and the baby will grow into it once they reach adulthood but it is just beyond my understanding. This doesn’t apply to cultural or passed down names it’s just more about people who pick such a grown up name out of thin air and decide to go with it.