Meanwhile in 2025. Cali fires, RVA without water. (Ep.32)
Sneak peek of Episode 32
Show notes and sneak peek
2025 is here, y’all and it’s our 2-year podcast-a-versary! You know the best gift you could give us? A review and a follow - and sharing an episode with a friend! Our website is pushingpastpolitepodcast.com, and you can find us on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube @pushingpastpolite)
On Episode 32, we acknowledge how 2025 started off with a bang - raging wildfires in California and an ice storm with no water for most of the Richmond, Virginia metro area. We trace so much of the climate crisis to removing control of the land from indigenous peoples! Other topics include State Farm dropping coverage for folks due to fire risk and trying to remember which spokesperson represents them in the commercials. Also, words are hard, Dora the Explorer, Tinder, the Red One Christmas movie on Netflix, Luigi being charged with terrorism, universal health care, reproductive rights, election fundraising, Ukraine, Gaza, capitalism, a great quote from Maggie Smith, Gwen Stefani teaching us to spell bananas, a beautiful duet popularized by Sara Bareillis and Jason Mraz, Hope Floats, Debbie from Alabama, modern friendships described as water features, pulled muscles and snow blower sales, Washington Commander suite seats, Maryland Governor Wes Moore, the Lion King, our current reading lists, and the Santa-Mommy connection.The core of this episode is a reflective pause at the start of a new year using a set of journal prompts from Laura Tremaine:
What will you remember from 2024?
Who mattered to you in 2024?
Where did you find peace?
What were your triumphs?
What was the biggest lesson you learned?
What do you want to leave behind in 2024?
What do you want to carry forward into 2025?
Think about it, journal if you want, and talk about it with people you love and trust. Let’s buckle up for 2025 together! Talk soon!
Resources
Transcript
[00:00:00] Kori: Oh my gosh.
[00:00:01] Laura: Speaking of alligators, I had them in my dream last night. I had alligators in my dream last night.
[00:00:06] Kori: Did you see the thing I sent you about the crocodiles in Indonesia?
[00:00:09] Laura: That's why I couldn't figure out why that was in my dream. And that's why Kori sent me a video. We're posting this. of a crocodile or alligator in Indonesia who got on his back and threw his little arms up so it looked like a human was drowning.
[00:00:26] So a human would come out and rescue the human and then he could eat the human. And that, fucker, is why that was in my dream last night. You're welcome. Oh, I was fighting. Well, that's a whole not this dream was wild, but that's another conversation for another time.
[00:00:42] Kori: Yes.
[00:00:43] Laura: Crocodiles. Watch out. Crikey. It's 2025.
[00:00:58] Hi. Hi. Happy 2025. We're still alive. I mean, we are. Jimmy
[00:01:04] Kori: Carter was like, you know what?
[00:01:06] Laura: He's out. I'm out. But how amazing that the, the flags are half mass for an inauguration.
[00:01:12] Kori: I know.
[00:01:14] Laura: Oh, his final message from the beyond to all of us. My God. Um, yeah. Welcome to Pushing Past Polite. First pod of 2025 where we talk about what matters.
[00:01:27] And make the world more just and if there was ever a time for that, Oh man, it is now. It is now. So we've made it through holidays. Hopefully you all have too. Um, and the world's kind of on fire, right? Literally. We've got, of course, ongoing conflicts in Gaza, Sudan, Congo, all the places. And Now we've got California with five fires, displacing people, ruining financially people of, again, regular folks as well as folks in Hollywood, right?
[00:02:02] Not just the rich and famous here. And yeah, uh, a firestorm right after the holidays, I just, I can't imagine that level of devastation.
[00:02:14] Kori: Yeah. I was talking to my cousin yesterday, um, and she grew up like San Diego y. And I grew up in Southern California, but farther north. Mm hmm. And we were talking about, like, our childhood, we didn't have fire season.
[00:02:30] Mm. Right? Like, that wasn't a thing.
[00:02:34] Laura: And that's only 30 years ago. Mm hmm. Holy crap.
[00:02:37] Kori: And so, like, this has become a thing in the last, like, 10 to 15 years that there's a fire season. And even right now, it being January, it's not typically part of the fire season. That's what I thought. I was like, isn't it normally summer?
[00:02:50] Mm hmm. But it's because of the Santa Ana winds, right? It's part of it. It's like, and I don't know if, if, if they have identified the roots of the fires, like what started the fires, but they were struggling very hard to contain them. And the winds blowing, the Santa Ana winds blowing, just makes them move so fast, like hundreds of thousands of acres of land just gone.
[00:03:17] People's homes, schools, um, you know, cars abandoned just on the street, um, just complete. It's just horrible, just complete devastation, devastation. And, and I just want to acknowledge like the thing about this happening here in the United States is that there is, there are resources available to support people.
[00:03:50] Um, people have been mobilizing to get hotel rooms for the most vulnerable, for um, you know, like get water, clothes, toiletries. all of that stuff for people. Um, you know, strangers have been opening up their homes to each other. Just like if you need a place to stay, if you want a place to sleep, like whatever.
[00:04:17] And that doesn't exist in some places, right? Like that doesn't exist in Gaza. There's nothing there to open up. People are turning mud into water by being resourceful and ingenuitive. Is that the word?
[00:04:33] Laura: Uh, yeah. So I know what you mean. Ingenuity through ingenuity. We'll use the noun. We'll use the noun. Yeah.
[00:04:39] Kori: There we go. Um, but it's been just like devastating. I've been reading like my, my sister's close to one of the, where one of the fires was the Eaton fire. And, um, she was sharing just like the schools are closed. Three, four schools burned down, I think in the area. Um, people are just like completely. With nothing.
[00:05:02] Um, and then in Palisades State Farm Insurance after this fire last year I think dropped 30, 000 people because of the risk of fire and there was another fire and so I'm like just hopeful that those folks had some sort of coverage or protection. Like what do you
[00:05:23] Laura: even do with that information? Like what do you do with the information that my insurance company has dropped me?
[00:05:29] Like, how do you even ha like, well, it's funny, funny timing. We got a cancellation letter from our homeowner's insurance recently, shit you not, just this week, and I was like, call our agent, I'm like, what is going on? She's like, well, apparently because you're hi we switched to a new company this year because our insurance rates went crazy last year with our renewal with who we did have.
[00:05:48] They wanted to order, you know, uh, what do they call it? Assessment. Yeah, like an inspection, that kind of thing, like come out and make sure, because you're a high value home, whatever the heck that means. So anyway, Bernie had to like take all these pictures of our plumbing of the roof, which is really convenient with snow on it, all this stuff.
[00:06:04] Um, but anyway, I just panicked because I thought like, I've got kids in the house right now. I've got the oven going for frozen pizzas for all the kids coming in for snow, snow after sledding on our hill, the fireplace is kicking. We are rolling in, in, you know, maximum season of risk right now. I'm like, what do you mean?
[00:06:22] What does this mean until this gets resolved? We have until the 28th or whatever of January. All this, it's not about me. We're fine. We're going to get reinstated. We'll figure it out. But like, what do you do with that information? You cannot pick up your house in California and move it to another area that is lower fire risk, right?
[00:06:38] Like you are tied, especially given, you know, uh, what home values are and what interest rates are. It's not like financially families can just be like, you know what, let's make a change. Let's move somewhere else. You've got your whole family there. It's the whole
[00:06:51] Kori: state. Like, what are we talking about? Dude, where are we
[00:06:53] Laura: going?
[00:06:53] Where are we going to go? You can't go to Florida. That's a risk, too, with water and sea level rise and hurricanes. And we can't go somewhere else in the state. Like, where else are you supposed to go? What do you want me to do with this state farm? It's true. What the
[00:07:07] Kori: fuck?
[00:07:08] Laura: Right. You're in good hands. No, you're not.
[00:07:10] That doesn't feel like a good neighbor. No. Oh, That doesn't feel very neighborly. I love the farm. All right. We'll talk soon. Yeah, despite that really great, uh, the actor with the great voice, that voice. No. Like butta. Does not feel neighborly at all. No. Not neighborly
[00:07:22] Kori: like mayhem.
[00:07:28] Laura: Yeah. Yeah. We got, uh, that's not who I signed up for. I did not sign up for that guy. I signed up for the I want the black guy with the great voice. That's what I want. That's what I wanted. Neighbor. Mm hmm. Yeah. You're in good hands with Allstate. With Allstate. I wait. No, like a good
[00:07:42] Kori: neighbor. State
[00:07:43] Laura: Farm is there.
[00:07:44] Then it's State Farm is Jake. I don't really Yeah, Jake with the chinos and the red shirt. Doesn't do it. I don't feel safe with him either.
[00:07:49] Kori: Oh, Jake is Yeah. Jake is But isn't the Isn't Isn't it also the other, uh, older guy, um, He just had that Christmas movie with the rock.
[00:08:01] Laura: What? Um, Oh, the action movie, the action Christmas movie.
[00:08:06] I have no idea who's in it. We'll figure it out later. You're going to Google it? Red zone, red one. Red one, as in like the sleigh. But who was the actor that you're thinking of? I'm
[00:08:15] Kori: looking, I'm looking. Oh,
[00:08:17] Laura: JK Simmons. I have no idea who that is. Yes, you do. I need a visual. Gimme. Oh, that guy. That guy. Fake
[00:08:25] Kori: warm too?
[00:08:26] He might be. I feel like he's
[00:08:27] Laura: teaching the classes. Okay. I clearly need to watch some more commercials. Yeah. Well, just a note, because a lot of our listeners are in California and in Virginia, we wanted to, Oh, I do. I know that guy. Um, just want to let you know that we are thinking of you, that we are, uh, with lots of empathy and affection.
[00:08:49] Kori: Yeah.
[00:08:50] Laura: We are, you are on our hearts and then our minds in a very big way. And then in our other area where we have lots of listeners in Virginia, we have Richmond, in Virginia with no water for like five days. The whole, I don't even know What the fuck is up with the water? Yeah, apparently these, these, these plants, the sanitation plants or whatever, have battery backup.
[00:09:14] What? Like, where do we live that we have battery backup instead of generators? And so, apparently, once the batteries died, there was a lag in time between that and the generators starting up. Because it probably took a human to do that. And, um, now City of Richmond, yeah, just like catastrophic problems with the water.
[00:09:34] Every day there's a press conference. It's like, it's not that poopy. It's just a little poopy. You're like, why isn't even, um, so, and, and then there are surrounding jurisdictions that have connections to these water systems. And so we're talking like multiple counties, like Henrico, Boyle, Notice, Oh my gosh.
[00:09:51] Richmond City, nothing coming out of their faucets, parts of, nothing like for days, for days. My friends. Like the
[00:09:58] Kori: hydrants and the palisades. Nothing. Yes. Nothing coming out.
[00:10:01] Laura: Yeah. Because people are hoarding it for farming. WTF people. Yeah. Kori and I were talking about this before we hit record, but like, okay, water is a gift from the universe that we all need.
[00:10:13] Why are we privatizing this and turning it into a commodity that is a profit?
[00:10:17] Kori: You know, it's like, I feel, I feel like this is really the universe just being like, hey, Indigenous people were tending to the land for It
[00:10:27] Laura: never was like this before y'all showed up.
[00:10:30] Kori: Okay, like Controlled burns, so there were no fire seasons.
[00:10:34] And it would also create foliage that was more, um, It was, again, what is it like? I know what you're saying,
[00:10:40] Laura: um, words are hard. Words are so
[00:10:43] Kori: hard right now. Our
[00:10:44] Laura: kids have been at home for so many days.
[00:10:45] Kori: My
[00:10:48] Laura: kids are on week three. Fire resistant, fire
[00:10:50] Kori: resistant foliage. Like fire resistant foliage. So that meant that everything wouldn't light up, right?
[00:10:56] Right. If you have the control burns, it begins to create the things that are more resistant to burning. And then, so everything does not just skip, skip, skip, skip, skip, light up.
[00:11:06] Laura: Tender. Right.
[00:11:08] Kori: Tinder.
[00:11:09] Laura: And I don't mean that Tinder.
[00:11:10] Kori: No. Not the one where we're making friends.
[00:11:13] Laura: No swiping. Swiper, no swiping. Swiper,
[00:11:16] Kori: no swiping!
[00:11:19] Dora the Explorer, shout out. Cute little backpack. No, but truly,
[00:11:23] Laura: like, yeah, our existence, like, what? We have done this all wrong. We have done this all. We're doing
[00:11:29] Kori: it. Not done. Past tense. We are doing it wrong. Doing. Actively doing it wrong. And the people who like to just pretend that there's like, climate change isn't a thing, like look around.
[00:11:42] What do you call this?
[00:11:44] Laura: Yeah. Wait till
[00:11:44] Kori: it's coming. Wait till it's
[00:11:45] Laura: your camera. Your phone camera filming this on your house. It's coming. Look
[00:11:49] Kori: around.
[00:11:51] Laura: I know.
[00:11:55] Wow. So yeah, life is here. I am thinking it's gonna be a calm 2025, at least for the first 20 days. . It's like the heat of our like, you know what the fuck, , we might as well get you primed for what's coming. Yeah. It's like
[00:12:09] Kori: we're just gonna start the burn now.
[00:12:11] Laura: Mm-hmm .
[00:12:12] Kori: Start the chaos now so that when the 20th rolls around.
[00:12:17] You're just like, Oh, right. I was expecting this already because I've
[00:12:21] Laura: been living through it already. I started my workout routine for different disaster January one. Yeah. Okay. So given that. We're, what do we want to talk about today? We want to be a little reflective. We want to be a little forward thinking.
[00:12:38] We want to be a little, do you like those questions I sent you?
[00:12:41] Kori: I know you sent, you did send me questions. I thought that they were good.
[00:12:45] Laura: Okay. Well, let me tell, let me give credit to who developed these questions. Let's start there. So there's an author and podcaster named Laura Tremaine, and she shared on a recent, uh, journaling, like webinar thing.
[00:12:58] Um, some questions for journaling prompts for end of year 2024, looking forward into 2025. And her prompts were, what will you remember from 2024? Who mattered to you in 2024? Where did you find peace? And that's kind of like a prompt for us to be thinking about places we're going to be finding our peace in 2025, because insert hellscape here.
[00:13:22] Um, what were your triumphs? What was the biggest lesson you learned? What do you want to leave behind? And what do you want to carry forward into 2025?
[00:13:31] Kori: Yeah.
[00:13:32] Laura: We don't have to do all those, but let's kind of dance around some of the
[00:13:35] Kori: things that I need to just do, like, I, is get a jar. You've seen this thing, getting a jar every week.
[00:13:43] Laura: No. Oh, then we're talking about different things.
[00:13:45] Kori: Yeah. What are you going to do? Put your, is this for your essential oils or for your what? What's going on? No. For like, uh, affirmation type things. Just putting in there like something that you are proud of, you accomplished, a highlight each week. Right? And then at the end of the year, you're Before the new year, just read them and remind yourself of all the things that you really did over the course of the year.
[00:14:09] Laura: This is what I was getting at with kids. I know, like I've heard of like the blessing jar, like things that you enjoyed or great experiences even with little ones, put it on a slip of paper and then in New Year's you pull them out and read them together. Oh yeah, I remember that. So anyway, same idea, different audience, right?
[00:14:25] Kori: Mm hmm. Mm hmm. It's not a bad idea. And at this point It's like, yes, we need to be doing that because look around. We need to be like counting every single blessing that we, that we encounter
[00:14:40] Laura: because it's real real out here. Yeah. This goes from being a good idea, like, oh, and nice to have strategy to like survival and essential.
[00:14:49] Yes.
[00:14:49] Kori: Yeah.
[00:14:50] Laura: For mental health, for wellbeing, for contentedness and gratitude, for faith and hope that things will get better.
[00:14:59] Kori: Yeah, all of that.
[00:15:00] Laura: Keith, it's our anniversary.
[00:15:03] Keith: Wait, sorry. Huh? What anniversary?
[00:15:05] Laura: I'm talking to you. It's our anniversary. January 2025 is our two year podcast versary. Oh my god. And
[00:15:12] Kori: January 2025 is our one year job swap anniversary.
[00:15:16] Keith: Job swap.
[00:15:19] Laura: Freaky Friday. Kori left an org. We tapped Keith in. Oh my god. Freaky Friday. Yeah. It's not
[00:15:28] Keith: working out well for me, by the way, because nobody ever wants to be in a Trying to fill the shoes of, of Kori Hamilton. It's not, it's not great.
[00:15:40] Kori: Oh, I have little feet. Okay. I don't know what you're talking about.
[00:15:43] I wear eight years
[00:15:45] Laura: that tell me people love you too. You're just you, you're, you're, you're nobody has to be a Kori. Just Kori, be a Kori, please. We need you. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Happy anniversary. Everybody
[00:15:55] Keith: anniversary.
[00:15:56] Laura: Everybody cheers. Cheers. Cheers. Cheers. Mushroom coffee. Mud wall. Well, see, he wouldn't feel good before.
[00:16:04] Look what you did. You pushed him over the edge of the fungus. My damn fungus talk. All right. So what are some things that, uh, you'll remember from 2024 as you think about what, I see your eyeballs. I know. First thing on my list. I journaled about this, right? Election outcomes.
[00:16:22] Kori: Oh, I was thinking for 2024, I left, I changed, I made a huge shift by leaving a job.
[00:16:27] Laura: Yes.
[00:16:28] Kori: In January at the beginning of the year, right? Like that was how I started my year.
[00:16:33] Laura: In faith, in boldness. How you feeling about that? Best thing ever, right? Yeah. I mean, I kind of got another job, but. Say
[00:16:42] Kori: more. Wait, you mean other than your own? Yeah. I kind of just, I kind of accepted a job like today. Oh, excuse me.
[00:16:50] We're not talking about it on the podcast. I mean, not, just like a part time job. Still. I've been,
[00:16:55] Laura: yeah, I've had somebody, uh, knocking on the door too. We need to talk about this later. Um, okay. But yes, big, big, big, big transition. Election. For sure. Election,
[00:17:05] Kori: for sure. But I, I'm going to go back to the beginning.
[00:17:08] So it's like at the top of the year, that happened. Um, and then we got, G turned four in February. So we had like our first real birthday party, friend birthday party. And then that was February. And then March, this is, we're in 2024, right? We're in five now.
[00:17:31] Laura: But yeah, talking about, we're talking about 2024, I'm just making sure, cause this is a time warp.
[00:17:35] We just need to make sure we're on the same page. I don't even know after that. That's okay. Well, again, I had the advantage of like having journaled about this, so I've got like a list, but I understand. Get your list. Roll your list. Well, bought a new car, sold a car this year. That was big because it caused some angst between my husband and I about what we really wanted and what our values were.
[00:17:52] That was big. My dad had a stroke back in March. That was really big. That was huge. Yep. Um, the election and even Biden, Biden stepping down and for that period of time having like such hopefulness about like what could be, wow, a black female president and the Olympics hit at the same time and this sense of.
[00:18:08] Odd patriotism, which I don't normally feel to that degree. It was like this hopefulness, which is now all the much more bitter. It's hard. Um, it's hard. Oh God. Um, I think those are like the big things. There were little things like, you know, my son having an undefeated soccer season for the middle school, like that my daughter's in the school play.
[00:18:29] Like that was really cool. But in terms of the big, like, I will never forget this. I think it was a combination of election and, um, the things with my dad. So. Yeah. Keith, I bet I know a hurricane that made your list.
[00:18:43] Keith: Yeah, it wasn't great. Not just the hurricane itself, but the, the after effects, um, it's really changed the city in a lot of different ways and it hasn't recovered at all.
[00:18:54] It's still going to be a long process. And, um, yeah, you know, it doesn't feel great to like go to the beach and have like a fun party day when across the street, there are just a bunch of like gutted homes and piles of debris and stuff. Yeah. Not great.
[00:19:11] Kori: Yeah. It's like that reminder. We took a big trip this year.
[00:19:16] That was something. Say more about that. That was your, your cruise. It was my mom's 70th birthday and she mobilized 34 people to fly across the Atlantic Ocean to celebrate with her. That's a well loved woman. Yeah. And so that was cool. And it was a really great experience to be there with like, My family and the kids, they're, they're still talking about it actually.
[00:19:42] Um, so that was like our huge, big, huge thing. That one big thing, another big thing, the election, you know, me in the election, it's kind of like, no, it didn't rock you the same way it, because it's like, this is America, so, I mean, I. was not that hopeful. And honestly, I feel like, you know, the oligarchy is so much more exposed in our society and that like it, it mattered, but it didn't like it does.
[00:20:12] And it, but in some ways it doesn't too, right? Like there are so some pieces that we're fighting for that are important, but also just like, so like the thing with the women's with reproductive rights, okay. That's obviously a very critical, important issue, but like, why aren't we talking about universal health care.
[00:20:34] Right? Like the bigger issue.
[00:20:36] Laura: You
[00:20:37] Kori: know what I'm saying? Of which this
[00:20:38] Laura: is a part. Yeah. Of
[00:20:39] Kori: which this is a part of. And, and I feel like that's how we stay so kind of divided is we kind of hone in on these narrow strips of stuff. And the reality is we should, everyone should be able to go to the doctor and not have to uh, lose their home, their job, or something.
[00:21:00] In order to pay for it.
[00:21:01] Laura: Hell, we shouldn't have to tie our employment or our insurance to our employment. That's how our employers keep us longer than we want to be there.
[00:21:08] Kori: Exactly. Like that kind of stuff. You know what I mean? It's like, but we weren't talking about that. That wasn't something that was coming up in the election.
[00:21:16] The cost of college is absolutely astronomical, and people who are our age are still paying for something that we finished 20 something years ago, which also means that our wages aren't matching the expense. Why aren't we talking about that? You know, like, and we're, and no one wants to cancel debt, but we can, we can cancel things for trillionaires and trillionaires.
[00:21:41] We can put people on the pathway to be the first trillionaire. But we can't give people relief of cancelling student loan debt and having a universal healthcare system that doesn't bankrupt you, or you don't have to rob a bank, or you don't have to do something extreme in order to have a procedure.
[00:22:01] Like, doctors get called out of surgery by insurance companies to like prove that the person who is in, under anesthesia actually needs to stay a night to recover. Or have a full dose of anesthesia to keep them under. Oh my god, don't even get me started. But that kind of stuff, like, though, it's, you know, like, this, this Luigi kid is being treated like a hero because he killed a, uh, CEO.
[00:22:22] And like,
[00:22:30] don't, I don't condone the murdering of somebody. And at the same time, it's like, In that walk that he took before he got killed, hundreds of people died because of system in which he leads that does not allow people to get the treatment that they actually need and deserve in a system that is designed around sickness and not health.
[00:22:55] Right. And, but, but that's not like also part of the conversation, right? Like, why is he a terrorist? Because the rich people are
[00:23:04] Laura: scared. But yet the kid who shot up United Methodist Church is not, that was not terrorism.
[00:23:10] Kori: But why isn't the CEO considered a terrorist? Millions, like hundreds of thousands of people are dying at his hands, but because he sits behind a big, Uh, oak desk and makes millions and millions of dollars and has stockholders to, uh, to think about.
[00:23:29] That's okay that he is authorizing. Because we glorify profits. Exactly. You do whatever you need
[00:23:36] Laura: to do for the buck and everything else is to the election,
[00:23:38] Kori: that's why I'm like, we're, we were still not getting down to the things that people, the people actually need, right? Like, why are we celebrating the fact?
[00:23:49] That Kamala was able to raise so much money so fast. Why the fuck did she need all that money? We have a broken election system. That's what I'm saying, you know what I mean? Like, so she's able to raise all this money and, and we're still paying off student loans. People still can't afford their medical insurance.
[00:24:09] Like, that doesn't move me. That doesn't move me.
[00:24:15] Laura: Well, let's tie this to biggest lesson from this year. I feel like, again, capitalism, Imperialism, colonialism showed its head very clearly there, very clearly. If you can't look at Gaza and Israel and know that something's wrong, And then Russia and Ukraine, and then Russia and Ukraine, right?
[00:24:35] Mm hmm. Because we're supporting Out of one side of our mouths, we say this about this kind of power and abuse. And on the other side of our mouths, we say this, Because Our tie to Israel and money and, and, and, right? You've got Elon Musk wielding ridiculous influence as an immigrant, kind of running our country with Trump in the backseat.
[00:24:57] As an illegal
[00:24:57] Kori: immigrant, actually, he did not, he didn't come here with documented. He did not come here documented.
[00:25:06] Laura: But like, I just, unsee it. You know, this idea of. You know, capitalism not working for us is something that I feel like 2024 has revealed in such clear and glaring ways. And people are
[00:25:18] Kori: tired, right?
[00:25:20] People are tired of the grind, the constant grind. It's like there is, you grind, grind, grind, and for what? Where is the reprieve? Where is the, the, uh, the land of milk and honey? Like , I am doing all the things that I'm supposed You doing the formula to do? Yeah.
[00:25:39] Laura: Mm-hmm . I'm working the formula and it's not, and I still
[00:25:41] Kori: can't afford to buy a house or a condo or a car, you know, like I am still having to supplement my life with debt because I can't, I don't make a living wage.
[00:25:59] Like, I have, like,
[00:26:02] Laura: Yeah, what one income could comfortably do and yield a generation ago is now side hustles.
[00:26:09] Kori: Yes.
[00:26:10] Laura: Yeah. Like, constantly working.
[00:26:12] Kori: Constantly working. Constantly working. And I also feel like that is an America thing, right? Like, that is very much an America mentality.
[00:26:24] Laura: In rugged individualism, hard work, bootstraps, that kind of idea.
[00:26:28] That kind of
[00:26:29] Kori: idea, and it's like, you know, why do you need so many side hustles? You have a full time job. Why does anyone need a side hustle? Why is Walmart one of the most supplemented companies in the, in the United States? They have more staff collecting food stamps, while on the other side, they're record profiting again.
[00:26:54] Laura: Mm
[00:26:54] Kori: hmm.
[00:26:55] Laura: Yeah, we're subsidizing that.
[00:26:56] Kori: We're subsidizing that.
[00:26:59] Laura: Mm
[00:26:59] Kori: hmm. But they're adding yachts to their collection. Like, what? So someone goes to work every day for every day, works 40 hours a week, and still has to have government assistance? How does that make it make sense? Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Mm hmm. And, or have a second job, or a third job, make it make sense.
[00:27:25] Laura: It doesn't, it doesn't, no, and, and the flip side of that curtain did come up. Mm hmm. Mm hmm. And the importance, the other piece of this, the other side of that coin for me, is how well being is something that has to be so prioritized. Again, there's privilege in being able to prioritize that as opposed to needing to work that third and fourth job, to maintain your housing, feed your children, all of that.
[00:27:48] Mm hmm. Um, but, you know, the world's on fire, and we, the systems are crumbling, the curtain is raised, and we have to prioritize our well being, or else we're going to be a casualty of the system. Right?
[00:28:05] Kori: Yeah, and so we're just like we keep on keeping on at the same time, you know with all that information It's like we're still at the place and Jay started school and that's exciting and you know we're still creating magic in our homes for our children as much as possible and We're still trying to advocate and we're trying to take care of ourselves and take care of people.
[00:28:30] The cost of food is through the fucking roof. And we're still trying to like, eat well enough that, you know, the food isn't the thing that's gonna give us the cancer or the whatever. And take the supplements and drips and the drops and the lifting and the walking and the,
[00:28:46] Laura: you know, like. Yeah. Yeah, there's a, I'm gonna butcher it terribly, but, um.
[00:28:53] Maggie Smith who passed away. I don't know if that was 2024 or 2023, but sweet. It was 2024. I might have been. Um, there's a something about how we have to, we have to tell our children. We have to try to sell the idea to our children that the world's good, that there's good bones here, right? We have to make this happen.
[00:29:09] So they have hope. So there's, you know, a reason to fight and we can't live in despair, right? We can't.
[00:29:17] Kori: Yeah.
[00:29:17] Laura: Yeah. We can't live in despair.
[00:29:18] Kori: We have to keep fighting. And still it's like, Uh, forever. It's like, why don't you just give us what you promised? Or what, what's fair? Or what you promised. What we say we're supposed to be doing, right?
[00:29:34] Liberty and justice
[00:29:35] Laura: for all, and yeah, life, liberty, pursuit of happiness.
[00:29:38] Kori: Yes. It's like, people aren't even getting that. Meanwhile, we have somebody who has 34 felonies, who was elected to the White House, and, uh, People who have felonies who live in regular people life can't get a job.
[00:29:56] Laura: Mm hmm. Meanwhile Me, there's this, there's the topic, there's the, there's the title of this, uh, this episode.
[00:30:03] Meanwhile.
[00:30:04] Kori: Meanwhile. Meanwhile. California's on fire. On this episode of the
[00:30:06] Laura: US. Yes. Yes. On the season finale. On the season finale. On the series finale. Right. No water in Richmond. Fires in California. No
[00:30:16] Kori: water in Richmond. No water in California. Mm hmm. Any questions? Any questions? But we have snow that's melting into water, but we just can't do anything with that.
[00:30:26] No, that's what people are doing. They're getting
[00:30:28] Laura: buckets of snow, and that's how they're flushing their toilets. They're just defrosting it in the house. It's bananas. It's bananas. But no, that lesson for me. B A N A N A S. We say that at our house. It's bananas. B A N A N A S. Thank you. Go ahead. Yes. Lasting legacy there.
[00:30:46] All right. So who mattered to you in 2024? So many people,
[00:30:52] Kori: you, you know, that's all you matter to me.
[00:30:55] Laura: It's beautiful, Sara Bareilles. Mm hmm. And
[00:30:58] Kori: Jason Mraz. And Jason Mraz. One of my friends, his name is Tommy Hobson. He is a actor, singer, dancer, producer, amazing guy. Um, like a couple of years ago, he did a cover of that with somebody, and like, I cried.
[00:31:11] The whole time. I'll see if I can dig it up.
[00:31:13] Laura: I would love to find that. It was so good. That was Merit's favorite song, My Youngest Baby. Yeah. That was her favorite song forever, and she would play that every night on her little Alexa when she would go to sleep. Oh, yeah. That's a beautiful song. So, yeah. Or if she'd be really, if she'd be in a really bad space and crying and like hysterical, That would help to that song on, and that would just, vroop, vroop, vroop.
[00:31:32] I'm at her. Okay, I'm good. Yeah.
[00:31:33] Kori: Yeah. That reminds me of, did you ever see a movie called Hope Floats? Oh my God, I loved Hope Floats. Remember that scene in the beginning when they, uh, when the grandma dies or whatever and they like slide in and Sandra Bullock is like performing and she has, she like,
[00:31:47] Laura: do you remember that?
[00:31:48] I don't remember that scene. I remember the, I mean, I remember Bernice Matisse. Bernice. The little girl's name is Bernice and Harry, Harry or Henry, Henry Matisse was the guy dating her mom. And so when they got engaged, she was like, does this mean I'm going to be Bernice?
[00:32:01] Kori: Bernice Matisse.
[00:32:04] Laura: I need to watch that with my kids.
[00:32:06] Kori: Yeah. Okay. So you two for sure, Keith, Laura, your families. Yes. Uh, obviously my family, my immediate family, um, and my grandmother, you know, um, my sister and my nieces and my nephews and. So many people, there were so, there were, there are so many people, like, um, and just trying to stay in touch with everybody, you know, my bestie around the corner and my little sister, my, my fam here, my teachers, the staff at my kids schools.
[00:32:39] Laura: What a huge role they play in your life when you think about how many hours your kids spend with them. Yeah. Their investments are
[00:32:45] Kori: huge. And so I try to just like treat them kindly. Um, and do little things for them to just let them know that I see and appreciate what they do for us, our kids, our families.
[00:32:56] You're very good at that. You're very good at that. Um, I mean, I could be better though. I could be better. I could be better with like my, my closer circle. I'm like, I'm good at that with like the wider people just to be like, Hey, I don't, I don't want you to feel disconnected, but I could be better at that with the people who I hold even more closely to my heart.
[00:33:17] Laura: I listened to a podcast about modern friendship recently. And talking about how there's no, uh, comparison in past, in past generations. Like imagine asking your grandma, Hey grandma, how do I handle this group chat situation? Right? Like, Hey, I've got this coworker or this person I met in grad school and they, like they don't have that frame.
[00:33:35] Right? So, so much of what we're dealing with in terms of, um, how to maintain friendships over distance and time. Like, that just wasn't a thing. They had, like, their village that they raised their kids with and that was that. And, and letters. Mm hmm. Yeah. Which is very different than texting and meme sending, which is also a love language and friendship.
[00:33:53] Kori: Yeah. Um,
[00:33:54] Laura: which we know well. But
[00:33:55] Kori: there more time and distance. Yes. In, in friendships, right? It's like you might go years where you, where you hadn't seen somebody because they lived across the country and you guys would talk occasionally and that's like my mom's friend Debbie from Alabama. Yeah.
[00:34:09] Laura: Did she come to the cruise?
[00:34:10] Kori: I don't think so. But like, I know Debbie from Alabama. I don't think I've ever met Debbie from Alabama. I just know Debbie from Alabama from my mom talking on, on the phone with Debbie. From Alabama. And they made, I love it. I love it.
[00:34:23] Laura: Eighteen of red ship over years. Um, But that's so, in, in our modern life, because so much is demanded of us, you know, to make the magic and put the fires out and do all the things, it's much more about proximity, right?
[00:34:35] Who's with you right now. Yeah. Who is your, that's one of the things I'm actually really proud of. I think we said this in our, one of our last pods, it's like the fact that we've maintained a friendship and a connection despite not being coworkers anymore really makes me happy. Over years. Mm hmm. Mm hmm.
[00:34:50] It's pretty magical. It is. But anyway, this, this person talked about. different like levels of friendship because you can't, you can't give yourself to your point to like everybody all the time. So they talked about like a bathtub friend. And the idea that she used water features to talk about how it's fluid and it changes.
[00:35:07] Yeah. So your bathtub friends, like your one or two, your spouse, your partner, your best friend, whatever, your jacuzzi friends, you know, another like four to eight people. Right. Right. Right. Your swimming pool friends up to 50 and then your water park friends, like people you care about in the broader community, but like you can't, you can't be the best friend possible to 150 people.
[00:35:25] Right. So, but yeah, no friendships for sure. People who have encouraged me were quick to sign up as first clients who really believed in me this year. Oh my gosh. mattered so much. Friends that I have kept up with despite losing a little bit of distance and all of that. Marco Polo ing all the time has been such a gift.
[00:35:43] And my kids, I know that sounds like, like an obvious, but I think as they're growing and maturing and changing and I'm more available because my time is not owned by a company right now. I have connected with them in different ways and deeper ways that have been really special this year too, which is something that'll stick with me.
[00:36:04] Kori: Yeah. Same. Same. That has been one of the best parts. And it's like I feel a little sad, um, because, you know, my husband hasn't had that same experience, right? And with me or with them, you know, because he works outside of the home. He works out and even when he's in the home, it's like we're small business owners and he's has our teams and, you know, people out there doing stuff that he's trying to make sure other people's families are, can eat too, right?
[00:36:34] And so that part. He's like made some time and we've had some really fun special moments like we've we do our day date sometimes, you know about those And so we've we discovered a couple of places that in 2024 that I definitely want to go back to Nona Angela's we did we just we didn't discover but You know, it's been there, but we, we hadn't.
[00:36:56] Not like in Columbus discovered. Not Columbus kind of thing. Like, Hey everybody, if you've never heard of it, I just found this place that didn't exist until I'm telling you. Um, but we kind of stumbled onto this place and it's one of G's favorite places. And he asked to go there when my mother in law was in town.
[00:37:15] He wanted, we call her Nona. So he wanted to take Nona to New Angeles. Yep. That has been cool. Watching
[00:37:24] Laura: them. Especially your baby, now that he's in school and in a social situation. Bro. Language blew up. Bro! Independence blew up.
[00:37:35] Kori: I'm
[00:37:35] Laura: like, are we having a full ass
[00:37:36] Kori: conversation right now? I think we are.
[00:37:38] You're three years old. I think we are. I think we are. I think we are. That, like, that transition from being, like, a baby to, like, a big boy, even, you know, he can put his own socks on, he can put his own shoes on. He, and he's so proud of it. He, yeah, those two, watching them just kind of, you know, now, G has like a established friend group of like his homies, his boys, and one of them was over yesterday.
[00:38:12] His mom called to see if I could get him from school because she had to work later than she thought. And so like, they're all hugs and arms around each other. And like, It's so sweet. It's so sweet. We had a boys only, uh, was this your sleepover? Okay. Well, I did, we did do that. I had my first 20, 24, we had our first sleepover.
[00:38:39] Um, but we did a boys only holiday pajama party daytime. It was like a couple of hours.
[00:38:45] Laura: So it
[00:38:47] Kori: was so cute and it was so great to kind of, to meet The other mo uh, the other parents of the boys in the, in the class, because in G'S class there are 35 kids. That's huge. No, it's three. It's broken up into three classrooms.
[00:39:03] Okay,
[00:39:04] Laura: okay, okay. I was like,
[00:39:04] Kori: what? But in his, like his grade graduating, his cohort, his grade level, his cohort,
[00:39:08] Laura: okay.
[00:39:09] Kori: There are 35. There were 36 kids, I think, and there's only a dozen boys. Hmm.
[00:39:17] Laura: So these boys really do need to stick together. Mm hmm. Get your jammies and come on over to the Biagas house.
[00:39:22] Kori: And so, well, they didn't come to my house, not for this one.
[00:39:24] We did it somewhere else. But one of the parents, while we were there, was like, Oh, we should make this an annual thing and like, we can rotate houses and whatever. But it was fun. They were just running, jumping, roughhousing. The dozen dudes. The dozen dudes. The dozens. Yeah, man. That was cool. Being on the board this year has been really interesting and like a, a learning experience.
[00:39:45] Thanks. That's notable, like, just, like, being on the, that side of things, that governance side. I am often, I've been a classroom teacher, you know, I've been on the other side. And I've been, like, a consultant for schools and school systems and stuff. But to be, kind of, like, in that governance role has been, uh, has been cool and interesting and, um, yeah.
[00:40:08] learning experience for sure. A hallmark of this year. I love it. And we had our first guest.
[00:40:17] Laura: Oh, we did have our first guest. By the way, people love Jared. How could they not? It's impossible to not. My husband was raving about it. My friend Colleen was like, Oh my gosh, this was so helpful. What a great perspective.
[00:40:29] Love you, Jared. Love you, Jared. For real. Um, How about, what do you want to do next? Um, where did you find peace and where, what were your triumphs? The sauna.
[00:40:40] Kori: We got a sauna. That's right. That was huge. That place is amazing. I'm like trying to get in there tonight, today, or, uh, over the weekend. The sauna has been amazing.
[00:40:50] I love that you did that for yourselves.
[00:40:52] Laura: It was so funny, man. It just happened. You're like, I love a sauna. I love
[00:40:58] Kori: a sauna. Really?
[00:41:00] Laura: Don't mind if I go to
[00:41:00] Kori: Lowe's. Don't mind if I do. Yeah. That has been a huge, uh, space that we have shared in kind of like, Relaxation and connection, which has been really great.
[00:41:14] Laura: I love that for you, a physical place that you can, a physical place in your home where you can be like, Nope, I'm not, I'm not dealing with anything else. I'm focusing on my wellbeing for this next however, how long do you typically stay in there?
[00:41:25] Kori: I mean, it depends. Uh, like I try to be in there for at least 30 minutes.
[00:41:30] That's a, that's a time. Yeah, it's like 15 minutes is the minimum and hours the
[00:41:35] Laura: maximum. That's like a good, that's enough for a good conversation, that's enough for like a problem solving session as couples.
[00:41:41] Kori: And sometimes we'll just be like in there, soft music on and just like my feet up near him and his feet up near me and just kind of like connecting like, you know what I mean?
[00:41:55] Laura: Yes. So that's been really super
[00:41:57] Kori: nice.
[00:41:58] Laura: I love that for you.
[00:41:59] Kori: And it's like, you know, some people are like hot tub people. But it's too cold outside, so.
[00:42:04] Laura: Yeah, I don't like cooking myself, guys. I don't know about, I would, I'm still keeping an open mind on the dry sauna. But I just don't like, I get out of a hot tub, I feel lightheaded and sick.
[00:42:14] And like, I'm the chicken in the, in the soup. Like, I just got cooked. Mm mm. I don't like it. Yeah, yeah. I don't like that. I understand that. Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Um, I like being warm. I love a heating pad. Oh, I love a heating pad. Speaking of, I pulled a muscle. I pulled my, one of my butt cheeks. Bang, bang, bang, bang, we're old.
[00:42:33] Pulled my butt cheek about a week ago. One butt cheek. So it's like not even an even pain. It's only one side. Then I was by myself solo in the snow because my husband was at a conference. And so between shoveling and walking the dogs three to four times a day on the ice and like bracing myself and my muscle and all,
[00:42:48] Kori: everything
[00:42:49] Laura: hurts.
[00:42:50] My back, my butt cheek that I still not healed and my calf, both my calf muscles. Yes, ma'am. Fix me. Put
[00:42:58] Kori: an
[00:42:58] Laura: alert on
[00:42:59] Kori: for somewhere to get a snowblower.
[00:43:02] Laura: Oh, that's not a bad idea.
[00:43:03] Kori: Do it. in like when the, at the end of the winter. Get you some sales. Get a sale. Get a snowblower. You have too much property. It's a long driveway.
[00:43:14] Would be out there shoveling. Okay. I'm sorry. Get a snowblower. Daniel was kicking himself that he, he was shopping for one. He found one last at the end of the season last year. And then he's like that guy who's like, I don't need that. No, he's like, I'm gonna do some research. I'm gonna do some research.
[00:43:31] And then it goes away. That guy, that guy. I'm married to
[00:43:34] Laura: that guy. Yeah.
[00:43:35] Kori: We're both married to that. We are
[00:43:36] Laura: married to that guy.
[00:43:37] Kori: We're married to that guy. God, I love you guys. What happened to all that research? What happened? And it's like, I thought you landed on one. He's like, yeah. And I put it in my cart.
[00:43:45] I just forgot about it.
[00:43:47] Laura: Go to checkout.
[00:43:49] Kori: Add to cart is only half the battle. Half of the battle. Gets you to the checkout. We can't get it. If it's in the cart, it won't come here.
[00:43:58] Laura: I need it to go from computer to my life. Computer to my life. Okay. Snowblower it is. I'm going to have to look for that too. Yeah.
[00:44:06] Kori: So anyway. And if we find one, I will, I will,
[00:44:08] Laura: if we see a
[00:44:08] Kori: good one. I'll send
[00:44:09] Laura: you one. I, so basically the heating pad has been my friend. That has been where I've found my peace this last couple of weeks. Heating pad on my tush in the bed. Oh, I love my bed. Can I just tell you, like, I do find so much peace there.
[00:44:22] I love. That's great. I love my bed. I love snuggling with my kids in my bed. I do. I like that. Oh my God. I love setting up all my pillows and getting like a good back support because I'm, we're old. Hashtag we're old. Right. And reading a book on a heating pad in my bed. Oh my God. Keep the rest of this world.
[00:44:40] I don't need anything. I don't need capitalism. I'm going to have a low spending year. Let me tell you, I'm going to be in that bed with my kids reading and doing work.
[00:44:47] Kori: Yeah. Love it. We have a projector. I told you we have a projector in our room now. Yes. We don't do the TV, but the projector gives us like that specific, we're going to have this one time event kind of thing.
[00:44:57] Yes. And so like, that's like our weekend tradition now is like we do. And, and G is, he's all, he's like, okay, so tonight, can we go up a little early and take our shower so that we can watch a movie in the bed? I'm sorry, did
[00:45:13] Laura: I just have my four year old convince me to go to bed early? Yeah. Hell yeah. Hell yes.
[00:45:18] Oh, that's adorable. Mm hmm. That is adorable. Yeah. I love it. I love it. I love it. That's great. Yeah. Okay. And what about some triumphs from this year? I think it goes back to that first point about things you're going to remember, right? Leaving your job, doing things your way. And
[00:45:33] Kori: making it. It's like, that's the other part, right?
[00:45:35] It's not even, the, the success isn't necessarily the departure as much as like, you know, Go after that, then what, right? And being able to do all of these things to grow and be, stand on my own two feet and pay for my own insurance and, um, pay for school still and be able to travel a little bit still and still be able to do the things that need to be done and that I enjoy doing.
[00:46:07] Yes. Um, and that was. Huge. That is a triumph. That is a triumph. For real. We're going to be okay.
[00:46:16] Laura: We're doing fine.
[00:46:17] Kori: Yeah. We're making it.
[00:46:18] Laura: Yes. Yes. And my time is my own and no one owns me. Yeah. Oh my god.
[00:46:22] Kori: Yeah. Yeah. That's a triumph for sure. That was just notable and fun. Was this year I went to a lot more commander's games?
[00:46:28] Oh yes you did. Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Sports baby. Yeah. Yeah. That was, That was a lot of fun to just be in that space. It was like, um, you know, my friend, it was an executive and has a suite there, had a suite there. And, and so we were able to kind of like, it was, it was a warm and loving place, you know, it's like not necessarily what you would expect at a game, but that's what it was.
[00:46:51] Um, it was like a very family kind of everyone kind of talk to everyone and. You know, it was, you would see the same people. There was like a staple group of folks that were there. And then there was other people who kind of rolled in and rolled through. And that part was really nice. Making some connections and relationships from just being in that space was also something that has been.
[00:47:20] Notable and memorable. Did you watch the game? Yeah, I did. I mean, like, my No, but what you're describing My nickname
[00:47:26] Laura: was coach. Oh, that's so funny. What you're describing is how I like to watch football. Like, I or or any sport. I want to talk to people in the stands. I want to be with you. I want to connect with you.
[00:47:34] Oh, yeah. Hey, good job! Woo! Okay, back to this. Yeah. So, the fact that you could do both, that you formed relationships and were like, Yeah. Coach level feedback and, uh, commentary is pretty impressive.
[00:47:46] Kori: Mm hmm.
[00:47:46] Laura: You're good.
[00:47:47] Kori: Mm
[00:47:48] Laura: hmm. You're real good.
[00:47:48] Kori: I mean, I used to be so, so crazy heavy into football. We talked about this before.
[00:47:52] I know. Um, and so it was like riding a bike kind of thing, you know, exercising, uh, a muscle. I love that. Um, and I got to get some, I got some good hugs from our governor. Oh, Maryland. I
[00:48:04] Laura: was
[00:48:04] Kori: like,
[00:48:04] Laura: you don't
[00:48:05] Kori: want to hug the Virginia
[00:48:06] Laura: governor. Maryland.
[00:48:06] Kori: Maryland governor.
[00:48:08] Laura: Love it. Um,
[00:48:08] Kori: I ran into him and I got to chat with him and he's so gracious and kind and wonderful.
[00:48:14] Go Wes. Mm hmm. And so we have like a mutual kind of familial connection. So we got to just vibe on that. He's a really kind and kind and generous person with his time. Um. That's wonderful. Mm hmm. That's it. That, those kinds of things were really cool and fun. I love that. Mm hmm. And then I got some, like, mom friends.
[00:48:34] I, like, started relationships with some moms. Look at you! Look at you
[00:48:38] Laura: in the mama club.
[00:48:39] Kori: Yeah.
[00:48:40] Laura: You know, your start to motherhood was pretty isolated because of the pandemic. Yeah, understatement as her eyes are getting big. You can't see, this is not a visual medium. But Cory, I just saw all the whites of Cory's eyes.
[00:48:52] Um, to say the least. I started out like that too because of where we lived at the time. We were so far out. And Daniel was traveling. So, I was like literally by myself. And now you've got a community and you've got a dozen dude mamas and preschool class mamas and.
[00:49:10] Kori: Yeah. That's a gift. And then like my bestie brother around the corner and uh, T.
[00:49:15] T. which right now she's here is around the corner and Tia and Zio are around the other corner and um, and we can go outside.
[00:49:26] Laura: Mm hmm. Yeah. What a gift. And
[00:49:28] Kori: interact with them.
[00:49:30] Laura: That's awesome. Yeah. That's awesome.
[00:49:31] Kori: That's awesome. Yeah.
[00:49:32] Laura: Yeah. Well, as we think about strategy forward, community is everything.
[00:49:36] Kori: Yeah.
[00:49:36] It's for reals. Truly. How can we help?
[00:49:38] Laura: What do you need? That's everything.
[00:49:41] Kori: Yeah. Good job.
[00:49:43] Laura: Gold star
[00:49:43] Kori: on that one. Gold star. And that's part of the reason we moved over here though too, right? It's like, uh, being in a place, the community has grown and changed. Like randomly my, some family friends from California who I've known my whole life, they live down the street too.
[00:49:57] They're much older, but they're like, surrogate great grandparent type people, you know, still very active. And so there's, there's, There is. The community is here and it's like, it's beginning to expand. It's wonderful. Which is awesome. Love it.
[00:50:13] Laura: How about lessons you're, or things you want to leave behind or things you want to carry forward?
[00:50:18] Kori: If I could leave, um, Donald Trump behind, I would, that would be really cool. But I don't think I have that
[00:50:24] Laura: power.
[00:50:24] Kori: We could
[00:50:25] Laura: leave
[00:50:25] Kori: oligarchy and
[00:50:26] Laura: capitalism and racism and sexism and misogyny. We could just leave that behind. That'd be great. That would be really hawesome. Let's stick that in a box. Awesome.
[00:50:32] Awesome. Awesome. Stick that in a box, put it on a conveyor belt and watch it just go. And let it go. Just watch
[00:50:37] Kori: it go and then drop off into the fiery pit
[00:50:40] Laura: of, uh, wherever. Yes. Anywhere. Anywhere but here. Yeah, an
[00:50:45] Kori: incinerator would be great.
[00:50:46] Laura: Oh, jeez, trash compactor, I'll take it. Or both, right? Well, to that point, the thing I'm gonna leave behind, cause I have, I have learned.
[00:50:55] Tell me. I am not giving this asshole four more years of my life and my constant attention. When Trump was in office the first time, I was obsessed with keeping up and making sure I knew, and all the references and the, you know, what did he say today? What did this fucker say today? I'm not doing that anymore.
[00:51:12] Yeah, good. I want to be aware and mobilize and advocate where I can and I'm not giving him four more years of my life. Yeah, good. Because this, this hair can't go much whiter. This is about all I got. I want to keep a full head of it. I don't care what color it is. But there is no way I'm giving him that much more of my, my one wild and precious life.
[00:51:33] You can go fuck yourself. I'm gonna, I'm gonna get through the next four years and I'm not giving you any of my attention.
[00:51:38] Kori: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:51:40] Laura: Not my energy is I guess what I mean. Yeah. I'm paying attention, but you're not getting my energy.
[00:51:44] Kori: Right. Exactly. I'm
[00:51:46] Laura: not doing it.
[00:51:48] Kori: Hmm. What's leave behind?
[00:51:50] Laura: I'm looking at my notes, too.
[00:51:51] Kori: It's like also just like leave the past in your behind. In your
[00:51:56] Laura: behind? In your rear view?
[00:51:58] Kori: As Pumbaa, who was it, Pumbaa said? And it's like, no, leave the past behind you. As in Lion King? Pumbaa? I don't think I know that part. Yeah. It's like, leave the, leave the past in your behind or something like that.
[00:52:12] Yeah. And he's like, no, leave the past behind you, Timon says.
[00:52:15] Laura: Cute, cute, cute. Oh, he fixes it. That's
[00:52:16] Kori: behind you. He fixes it. Got it. I love that. Um, but you know, it's like some things, it's just kind of thing. Wash it. Dust it. What is it? Dust
[00:52:26] Laura: the, brush the dust off.
[00:52:28] Kori: Yeah. And keep rolling. Like, keep moving. One thing I'm not going to leave behind is I'm not going to stop talking about Gaza until it's, until it stops.
[00:52:36] Yes.
[00:52:37] Laura: Yes. Um, that's a carry forward. That's a good thing. That's a carry
[00:52:40] Kori: forward. Yeah. You're bearing witness
[00:52:42] Laura: and documenting and not letting people hide. Yeah.
[00:52:47] Kori: And, yeah. And, and it's like, it's not just there. It's like, it's, it's all connected, I think. And that's part of it. It's, it's so much of what we're experiencing here in these United States is, is connected to the things that are happening in DR Congo, the things that are happening in Sudan, the things that are happening in.
[00:53:07] Gaza, West Bank, Jerusalem, Yemen now, Lebanon, um, you know, it's like, it's linked. And so the idea, um, that we look away, it's like, if we look away, then it's going to end up on our doorstep. And so we can't, we can't look away. We can't stop saying things because The blueprint that Israel was using they got from us and they now and they have the political cover from us to use it and They have yeah, but now they're refining it and they're expanding it and they're going to return it to us right, and so it's like we can't stop talking about it and and shining a light on it and Because what is happening there is
[00:54:00] Laura: going to be returned to us.
[00:54:03] To a very willing administration to take it, leverage it, and use it to. I mean,
[00:54:07] Kori: it's already here. It's like, when, when it's more dangerous to talk about Israel than you're, to talk about a foreign entity than your own country and your own government. That tells me it's already here. Right? When, when there is more pushback and, uh, policing response for demonstrating and speaking up against a foreign state.
[00:54:37] Laura: Things you'll lose your job for on an academic campus. What is going on?
[00:54:41] Kori: What is going on? When you're the same person who is teaching about these kinds of things that happen here in this country and how they still happen here in this country, right, you know what I mean? Like, wait a minute. What's, what's up with that?
[00:54:54] That, you know, it's like, it's already showing evidence that it's here in, in various ways. And so we can't like look away because it'll just keep expanding and growing and it'll be come to a place where you, you just literally can't.
[00:55:14] Laura: No, carrying that bravery and that willingness to speak up in 2025 is, uh, for sure. Mm hmm. Top of the list. Mm hmm. Mm hmm. I want to, uh, be open to connecting with my kids in new ways again in 2025. Yes. And be open to how that might change as they change, right? That may not be the same. They might wanna be in their room more that whatever it, whoever the it is, I'm, I'm here for it and I'm ready to meet you.
[00:55:40] Yeah. You know? Yeah. Mm-hmm . Uh, and on a lighter note, I'm here for more fiction reading. I have been reading a little bit of fiction. That's not my mo I'm normally a nonfiction girly. I have read read. What are you reading? I, okay, so I've already read two books so far in 2025. Like, I'm cooking, I'm ready, I'm on my third.
[00:55:59] Oh geez. It's, I know it's January 10th everybody. Day 10. Um, I read a really funny one. It wasn't like the best book I ever read, but it was funny. It was called Several People Are Typing. And it was the idea that accidentally this guy, it was kind of like a post capitalism like comedy, like, but not really, it's kind of commentary and comedy.
[00:56:16] A guy got, got accidentally sucked into the Slack channel at his work and his body is like alive outside, but his consciousness is in this and he's stuck and he has to fight his way back out. Him and the chatbot are like, it's all written in Slack messages. And there's lots of workplace funny that happens around it.
[00:56:34] And anyway, that was really funny. It was a super fast read. I think I read it in two sittings. Um, the other one I really loved is the seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Oh my God. So I know this has been, I'm old news, right? This was published, I think in 2021 and people loved it and it was huge for a long time, but I finally got around to it and it was.
[00:56:52] Beautiful, so good, so fun, super fast read, Paige Turner, um, lots of twists, things you don't expect, and tale of love, and somebody who denied themselves for a long time finally coming out, and it was just beautiful, so good, so, so, so good. And what am I reading now? Uh, something by R. Eric Thomas, a black gay man.
[00:57:14] It's a collection of essays. Actually that technically is nonfiction. Look at me. I'm back to nonfiction. But that's where I am for now. How about you?
[00:57:23] Kori: Nice. Okay. So that, when I am in the sauna by myself, I try to read or listen to podcasts. And so my book that I'm reading is
[00:57:36] Equity Now,
[00:57:37] Laura: Love, Love, Nonfiction, that's my girl.
[00:57:40] Kori: Um, and so What do we want? Equity. When do we want it? We want it now! It's really, really good. I'm, you know, I'm not that deep into it, but one of the things to carry forward is like I want to do more professional development for myself and kind of get back into a space of learning with others.
[00:57:59] Um, and, and the reading, but it's like, I just know that at this stage of my life that that's just I, I'm not going to set myself up for that failure. No, that's right. And so that's why it's the sauna time. I usually, if I'm in there by myself, I have a good 30 minutes or 40 minutes and I can read for 15 or 20 of that and just kind of do some growth in that way.
[00:58:22] Mm hmm.
[00:58:23] Laura: You just happen to be doing good things for your skin at the same time. Exactly.
[00:58:26] Kori: And
[00:58:27] Laura: for
[00:58:27] Kori: my body. I want equity and clear skin. Exactly. Exactly. Sign me up. And yeah, I think, um, spending the time with the kids and I was literally, you know, G's birthday's coming up and he wanted to travel and now he doesn't want to travel and I was up at 6 30 this morning talking to my husband like, yo, we need to solidify what we're doing and I can't do it all.
[00:58:48] And so that means that whatever we decide, you have to help execute. Yeah. I like, and it doesn't have to be anything extravagant, but I just know that I am not capable. Of being in two places at once. I can't take them to a play space and set up a movie night at the same time. And so like,
[00:59:11] Laura: whatever works You're already doing the lion's share of the work with the conceptualizing and the planning.
[00:59:15] So I need some help with the execution too.
[00:59:17] Kori: Yeah, right. So I'm like, we just have to, we have to decide because once we decide, you're on the hook for exit part of the execution.
[00:59:26] Laura: Let me do a little run of show for how this is going to go and your name is going to be in that column.
[00:59:31] Kori: Yes. And I'm, and I'm verbalizing this to you now because I want, I don't want it to be a surprise to you later.
[00:59:38] Right? And if you don't intend on participating in this execution, then I need to make a plan that I can execute without you.
[00:59:44] Laura: Mm hmm. Yes, with help.
[00:59:47] Kori: Yeah, with some other help. Insert
[00:59:49] Laura: new person in column.
[00:59:50] Kori: Right, exactly. I got my little show. I don't know who
[00:59:53] Laura: I'm plugging in, but it's going to be somebody.
[00:59:55] Kori: Right. Yeah. And so it's like, and my usual suspects are, I know, not as available that weekend. It's like a busy weekend. So
[01:00:08] Laura: anyway.
[01:00:08] Kori: Alright. Listen, he changed. It's your birthday. He changed his mind. Yeah, exactly. Yoho, you pick.
[01:00:12] Yeah. All right. And so he's, he now he's throwing out like play spaces and. And stuff. So it sounds
[01:00:20] Laura: like the Halloween costume where they change their mind the night before and you're like, I'm dying. Yes. Or they talk to me with, cause they see Santa at the mall and you're like, that was never on your Christmas list.
[01:00:28] Kori: Never.
[01:00:29] Laura: I already made my plans.
[01:00:30] Kori: Yeah.
[01:00:31] Laura: And it's already at the house. Lordy, lordy.
[01:00:34] Kori: Santa already done came,
[01:00:35] Laura: honey. My kids, I've never, I never lied to them about it, but I've always, you know, tell the truth. Tell the story. St. Nicholas was a good man. He loved God as an outflow of his love for God. He was kind and generous.
[01:00:47] And that tradition continues on. There's lots of Santas all over the world that help, right? And so whenever they're like, I saw that box come in and that's what you wrapped, that wasn't from Santa, Santa isn't real. And I'm like, listen, you think that Santa hasn't modernized over the ages? You think that Santa comes in one night?
[01:01:02] You know, that doesn't make sense. Santa and Mommy are working together all the time. All the time. Spirit of
[01:01:08] Kori: Santa, come be with me. Come be with me. Be with me. Get me through this. How else do you, why else would it be so fucking jolly around here?
[01:01:16] Laura: You think
[01:01:17] Kori: this is me?
[01:01:18] Laura: In my natural state? You think this joy is me?
[01:01:22] I'm summoning all the Santa. All the Saint Nicholas. Oh God, help us. I love that. Why else is
[01:01:30] Kori: it so
[01:01:31] Laura: fucking magical? Santa has more magic in his pinky than I do in my whole body. Whole body. Girl, we made it. That's so funny. We made it through 2024. We made it through holidays. And you know what? We're going to make it through 2025 too.
[01:01:47] Together. Yes. Together. With our people. Yes. Building community, resisting, finding places we can Daniel turned 40
[01:01:53] Kori: this year.
[01:01:54] Laura: Is he gonna make it? I hope so. He's already like, my knee, my back. Welcome. Welcome to your new decade. No wonder you got the sauna ahead of time. That was very wise of you. Right? It's gonna be good.
[01:02:06] We're gonna find goodness in it.
[01:02:08] Kori: There's already goodness in it because the end of the year was, there was a lot of, like, the end of the very beginning, there was a lot of loss, you know, like coming through that with joy and happiness and being more connected with people. There's already happiness and good and stuff.
[01:02:31] Yes. That's, that's
[01:02:32] Laura: coming out. Well, a reminder to find people who can help you celebrate your joy, can help you think through what you learned, think through what you want to carry forward, think through what you want to leave behind, what has not been serving you. And it
[01:02:47] Kori: could be, that could be some people.
[01:02:49] I feel like that may be what I need to do too, is like, there are some people I probably just need to be like, love you, not mad, don't need to break up, not mad. Yeah. It's just like less of an investment. So hard. Yeah, right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And that's okay too. And that's totally fine. You can get booted
[01:03:04] Laura: out from the jacuzzi
[01:03:05] Kori: to the pool, or from the pool to the water park.
[01:03:07] It's fine. It's totally fine, but I'll see you at the water
[01:03:09] Laura: park. That's right. See you at the water park. I'll see you at the water park. Meet you by the, meet you by the inflatable tubes. Exactly. Pick them up in the bin, see you at the locker to go get our dry clothes. Exactly. That's cool. I wish you well.
[01:03:20] Kori: Yeah. That's it. Those right there, those are t shirts. Catch you at the jacuzzi. See you in the tub. Catch you at the jacuzzi. Um,
[01:03:27] Laura: booted to the water park,
[01:03:28] Kori: right? Uh, uh, I'll do laugh with you in the pool or I'll get you, get you at the water park.
[01:03:34] Laura: Don't forget that's with our socks of the, if you can read this, you are too close and not respecting my boundaries from Jared's episode.
[01:03:44] Well friends, it's been fun. Thanks for joining us for another episode of pushing past polite. We talk about what matters and make the world more just until next time. I'm Laura. Bye. I'm Kori. Hang in there, y'all. We'll get through it together. Stay away from the crocodiles.
Kori: Thanks for listening to Pushing Past Polite. We encourage you to go deeper in your trusted spaces and find new space for good conversation.
Laura: You'll find episodes, transcripts, and lots of other goodies at our website, pushingpastpolitepodcast.com. You can also connect with us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok at Pushing Past Polite.
Kori: Pushing Past Polite is an independent podcast with Kori and Laura from Just Educators.
Laura: Our cover art was designed by Rachel Welsh De Iga of De Iga Design, and our audio is produced by Keith at Headset Media. Until next time, don't get stuck talking about the weather. Push past polite.
Kori: See you next time.
Little Dude: Bye bye.
Laura: Jay, you did perfect!
