July 1, 2021 • 22 mins
While sipping on some Star Wars themed cocktails, Anney shares the origins of her tradition Sunday, Sunday Sunday, and we discuss the power of routines.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hey, this is Annie and Samantha and welcome to stuff
I've never told you production of I Hiart Radio. Yes,
and welcome to another happy hour. Yes, it's actually Friday. Answer.
We record this, so we're doing this right, And it
(00:26):
is in the afternoon, so I feel a little appropriate
for this one. We always have to disclaim something also
with that as I always drink responsibly if you choose
to do so, be in an alcoholic or a non
alcoholic beverage. Yes, and yes, we have decided to make
this a special episode because I feel like you and
(00:49):
I brag a lot about our Sunday routines when we
used to get well, we still are because we're planning
to get together soon when we do the little routine
of your Star Wars watching party essentially, and you've named
it which way You've named it what Sunday Sunday Sunday
which has a whole has a whole backstory for sure,
(01:10):
and everybody in your world knows this backstory and have
been fighting over to participate with you, like we all
kind of trying to get our way in there. I
think I love it. It's become like an actual thing
instead of something I just started a couple of years back. Right,
So another disclaimer, we're not sponsored by anyone. Every time
(01:32):
we do an episode is typically it's because we've found
something that we love and are so excited by, and
it is centered around women in that industry, whether they
are the CEO, CEO of the creators, a brewmaster, whatever.
We love highlighting that and decided we want to uh
honk our own horns about the things that you and
(01:53):
I have created. So I was like, any today, We're
gonna do simple, which is we're going to talk about
our cocktails that we have created for this lovely new
tradition called Sunday Sunday Sunday. And because you are you,
everything's centered around Star Wars and must have Star Wars
puns because I am me. I'm like, I'm gonna make
(02:14):
ten different types of dreams and try to figure out
if I could actually be a mixologist because I want
to be so bad in my lifetime. So what have
you created today? Yes, so I have created It's called
the yub Nub, which is ewa kias just the official
language of the e walks for basically like Gay Triumph.
(02:35):
You probably saw it a lot. It gets passed around
when like uh. In the last election, when the announcement
finally came through, a lot of people were like yeb
nub uh. And it's the song that the Ewoks sing
at the end of Return of the Jedi, which George
Lucas later changed because he said it was too childish.
But I wanted to for that because the Ewoks live
(02:57):
on kind of a foresty moon. I created this drink,
which is gin and grape fruit juice. Fresh squeezed grapefruit
juice is the best tonic water and then some basil
leaves and pepper. And I want you know, shout out.
I know, Samantha, I think you're the person that introduced
me to this drink. But I was inspired by the
(03:18):
drink at a local restaurant, Wrecking Bar. Yes, because they
have a very similar drink. But it's it's a very nice,
like tart, refreshing light drink for the end of the
Return of the Jedi. Yes uh, and I think it's perfect.
It's one of my favorite drinks because A I love gen,
B I love basil, so those two things to me
cannot go wrong. And then you add the acid of
(03:39):
the grapefruit. Such a delight is one of my favorites
and you're doing it with the fresh squeeze. And by
the way, for the grapefruit, this Samantha dropped off the
grape fruit in my apartment. I'm like, look, we're doing this,
so you're gonna need a grape fruit. She's like, I
can do an altar. Was like, no, we have to
do this right home. Gonna allow it, which I had
(04:01):
to go for myself because I created what we are
calling the Tattooing Sunset because of course that's her like
favorite scene every time it comes on, and she just
sits there and stairs and we will share pictures of
these drinks and we will share our cocktail recipe um online,
so you will have this. But which any that means
you're gonna have to give a specific measurements, so hope, okay,
(04:25):
a dash of this. But my tattooing Sunset is I
muddle up about four berries. It's accord to how many
drinks you do, about four blackberries, rosemary, simple syrup, and
a squeeze of lemon juice into my shaker, and then
I add an ounce to an ounce and a half
gen half boozy. You want to be, it's up to you. Well,
(04:46):
you don't have to. You can do this without the
gin and our replace that. I'll tell you how in
a minute. And then you muddle it up and shake
it with ice you put it into I typically use
a flute. Annie has slowly tried to kill off all
of my flutes because she's slowly, one by one breaking them.
It has been a delight to watch. One time it
was just on the ground and she just stepped like
not even I don't think you. I thought you stepped
(05:08):
near it, and it just fell over right. Yeah. And
one time I was making the grape fruit. I was
squeezing the grape fruit and it just fell off a
counter that I wasn't even using soots everywhere. She bought
me a whole new set, and I'm like, I'm excited
for you to break these, but yes, I'll put it
in champagne foot and then I top it off and
(05:29):
and honestly, it's more champagne because it's gonna have like
probably a third of that is that cocktail mixture, and
then you fill it up with champagne and it comes
at to this beautiful pink purpleish color. That's why we
said tattooing sunset and then up the two little blackberries
and usually like a sprig of rosemary in there, but
the blackberries represent the two sons on tattooing, and yeah,
(05:51):
i'll put a little lime lemon wedge sometimes some real
fancy I'm gonna do that, but not all the time.
But that is the tattooing Sunset. And it inspired from
one of my other favorite drinks, which is a French
seventy five. So you take the original French seventy five
as some berries, some rosemary, and it's the light. Yes,
it's one of my favorites. So that is our drink
(06:12):
and mine again, tattooing Sunset. Man, should we trademark these?
I feel? I was so impressed because I was getting
text messages from Samantha and she was like, I want
to drink that represents like being tempted by the dark side,
but sting like it's so happy this was happening. I did.
It's a very artistic drink. I've tried to make it
and I could never make it as good as you.
(06:33):
So I'm like taking in this recipe and seeing where
I'm gone wrong. To be fair, you also are missing things,
which is why I have to drop things off to
you when I'm like, we're doing this recipe and you're like,
what kind of Like when we did um Hanky panky,
I knew you didn't have an orange, so I'm made
sure to get you an orange as well. But we
(06:53):
were celebrating these drinks and talking about these drinks specifically
because I thought it's necessary that we talk about routines
and why is import and the reason. If you don't
mind any can you tell you exactly why you did
Sunday Sunday Sunday and how it's become this absolutely So
Sunday Sunday Sunday started as something that was something that
(07:15):
I needed for comfort because I used to it used
to be called Sunday Runday Funday because I would do
my long runs on Sunday and I would always call
my mom on Sunday nights. And at the time that
was a very difficult thing for me to do because
my dad was dying. It was tragic phone call, like
a difficult phone call every time. So on Sunday I
(07:38):
would do this run and then I would make sure
to have plans like I would go with one friend hiking,
and I would go with another friend. I go see
a movie, I go to a restaurant. It was just
kind of just like day of really filling it with
activities and things that I really liked to prepare myself
for this difficult thing. And then I would usually stay
up really late and watch John Oliver. So it became
(07:59):
like this whole old day and I did it every Sunday.
And then from there quarantine pandemic happened and I can
no longer do all of these things that were associated
with it. And by then people have started getting in
on it, like they had started, you know, every Sunday.
I would hear from, you know, a group of friends,
like what are you doing for Sunday? Sunday Sunday, I'll
(08:21):
meet you for this part or this part or this part.
It was very low key like that, and it was
also I'm not a very spontaneous person often, but it
could be very spontaneous. So it was kind of a
nice break from the rest of my week. Like there
was the routine of it, but it could be like, oh,
let's go one time, we saw like three movies, right wild.
So then yeah, pandemic happened. And I can't remember the
(08:44):
specific reason. I think it was because I wanted to
get Mark cambl to treat at me, but I decided
I was going to watch the original trilogy Star Wars trilogy,
which is something that had always brought me comfort. And
even though I by no means watched them at the
rate I watched them, now, I can think of times
in my life where I was really stressed and I
(09:04):
watched those movies. I can remember them because I was
stressed and they just brought me so much comfort. And
I was telling people about, you know, like, yeah, I'm
just every Sunday, I'll be doing watching these movies. And
I would have virtual watch parties and people would drop
in whenever they wanted, and it was really cool because
it it was movies we've seen a lot for a
(09:27):
lot of us, and it was cool to have people
come in and still be really excited about it and
having that friendship and camaraderie over it, and it is
something that from their blossomed into UM. I was hanging
out a lot and creating cocktails and so much like discussions.
I've had wonderful discussions, and it is it does surprise
(09:51):
me how every time it is such a comfort and
like of relief, even if I am working on dungeons
and dragons are costuming lots in the background. It's just
like it makes me feel lighter, right, And you're not
the only one. According to one health site, they talk
about how that it does allow for a sense of
(10:13):
accomplishment and how important routine has been. As one says,
routines can be important anchors to maintain good mental health
and dealing with anxiety, especially during times like the pandemic.
They create a positive level of stress that keep us
focused and may help avoid some of the depression that
many people were feeling, especially during the time of a
(10:33):
pandemic and isolation. And I remember like knowing when you
would text me my media responses are you watching Star Wars?
And you're like, yes, I know that that's the thing,
And for myself that's something that I do as well,
not necessarily with Star Wars, of course, I got to
jump on the bandwagon. This was partially because you've been
pushing me to watch it for so long anyway that
(10:54):
I was like, well, I have nothing better to do,
so might as well. But it became a whole. But
it's become something that I started looking forward to. So
we may not do it every weekend, but every month
or so you would come over and we would have
a whole thing. But it was something that kept me active, like, Okay,
we were going to do this, but we have Hey,
I need to go grocery shopping and make sure we
(11:14):
have these items because these that are part of these
traditions and traditions as well make us feel safe because
that means there's a place of belonging. It means that
you have an importance to you because you're part of
something bigger than yourself, and that's kind of the tradition.
Of course, there's bad traditions as well. Um, we're not
necessarily talking about all of that. But I think what
I wanted to focus on, as much as we love
(11:36):
these times, that it was for part of your mental health.
It is for part of your anxiety. You lost something,
but you gain something. And now because we're quote unquote
normal times are back, not really um, and I'm still
waiting for the bottom to fall out and for us
to go back to the quarantine days. Honestly, I'm kind
of scared. But it's now becomes something that's because as
(12:00):
it was so it was such a help, it's sentimental.
Now it's kind of like, oh, this still feels good,
and I don't I still kind of want to hang
on to that. And there is that level, right yeah,
And there there's a bunch of hearts to that of
you know, especially like I'm a big proponent or a
(12:21):
believer that nostalgia can be great but it can go
terribly wrong. But it's also like it just it does
to me feel like kind of an old friend or
something I can be like, oh, yeah, I remember these
good times associated with it, and to have these conversations
aout like it's easier for me to complain about Darth
Vader's psychology just for one afternoon, to take my mind
(12:41):
off of like a pandemic and all of this dark stuff,
to be like he's a bad dad and everyone's like yes, no,
one's arguing that point. Yeah, and having those conversations and
it's something too where on Father's Day and the anniversary
of my dad's death, I now watched them because it
is we there are things that here in that movie
(13:03):
I can't not hear him say because he quoted it
all the time, and it does feel like, in a
very dark humor kind of way, like a bad day, right,
it is honestly, Yeah, but it does give me comfort
to know, like on days like that that could be tough,
I have this thing that I feel will provide me
(13:25):
some level, some semblance of safety and normalcy and happiness,
Like I get so happy. Yeah, I've seen him a
million times and like this part, I really do want
to do a live video. Just were you watching this
for the million time and your response as if it
Like I thought it was so funny because when we
first watched it and you were so into it and
(13:48):
your reactions were so into it them like how many
times have you watched this? What? No, but it's so
good that that's your response. Oh. I mean that's the
thing too, is you know how it ends, right, So
you don't have that, but I do get swept up
in this is so dramatic, right you do, and it's
it's and it's a delight to watch. I feel like
(14:10):
I'm watching it with you for the first time in general,
like you're watching it for the first time, watching you
enjoy it. But yeah, I think that's what we wanted
to talk about and why we're doing Happy hours in general,
why we did happy hours while we started Happy Hours
and we kind of did it in late in the season,
obviously because it was finally coming to the point that
people are getting vaccinated, which, by the way, there's a
new statistic out those people who are actually being hospitalized
(14:30):
are the people who are not vaccinated, just in case
you'all need to know that. But the level of for me,
because I am also a person that needs I don't
do well with routine, like I'm not gonna do job
type things, not in my wheelhouse. It's like, I don't
love that. But what I do love is the consistency
of something. So I will rewatch something to the point
(14:52):
that everybody else is so tired of me watching it
that they walk away, But there's a comfort and knowing
what's coming next and then I'm not going to be
tragically surprised. So we watched Lovecraft, my partner and I,
and I was really on edge and it took a
long time for us to get through and because there's
so much trauma in there, and there's so much history
that's just so gross and dirty, and I hate it.
(15:14):
I hate it so much. But I finally got through it,
and it was to me, I think it was great,
So I was able to rewatch it knowing what's coming
up and to enjoy it instead of being anxious about
what's coming up. And I'm kind of like that in anything.
When I watched I comfort watch to nobody's business. That
was my coping mechanism while working my really hard jobs,
(15:34):
while watching kids die while we're moving kids from homes
or or trying to fight for kids to stay at
a home like that was my release because my life
and my work was so unpredictable and so hard to
deal with on a daily basis. Like my therapist at
that time, I canna tell you, we could never get
to the root of my trauma, my childhood trauma because
before dealing with daily work related trauma, that never got
(15:57):
and it was every time I went through a therapy session,
I was out for the next three days because we
could not process enough in that forty five minutes to
fifty minutes. I've finally gotten to the point because I'm
not in that field anymore that I could get past that.
But because of that, because of those vulnerabilities, and because
I would always constantly feel raw, emotionally raw, having things
(16:20):
like parks and wreck that I would watch on a
consistent basis, I watched uh, dirty rock factor body and
it's definitely problematic, scrubs, problematic, there's so many things. I
was like, Oh my god, this is so sex in
the city, all of those things. But it was a
comfort because a I knew it was coming, It was
a routine, and it made me feel something other than
(16:41):
the horror of whatever was happening in that time, because
I was able to connect on a different level and yeah,
complain about this is so dumb or this is so hilarious. Oh,
this is what exactly why I feel about this and
being able to, as I have said before, a term
that my friend used to tell me in college babysit
your brain. Just being able to remove yourself in a
(17:02):
different manner. And I think that made a lot of
difference and how that is important and allow for that
that it's not anything about being lazy, it's not necessarily
about being um. And focus is literally about finding that
place that you just don't have to think, you don't
have to worry about whatever. That is an allowance to
(17:24):
give yourself that freedom. Yeah, And I think we've talked
a lot about self care, and we've talked about how
important it is for people. A lot of you listeners
who are in like activism or in difficult jobs like
you are, women and minorities just in general will have
this onslaught of difficult things to deal with and how
hard that can be to make space for that in
(17:44):
time for that. And there was a point where we
were coming to the end of the pandemic quarantine, at
least it seemed where I was like, and I know
people have talked about this in public a lot, but
I did have a moment of well, what did you
do in quarantine? And you watched Star Wars a lot,
(18:04):
and I was like, don't feel bad about that, because
you know, it was just something that I couldn't go
anywhere really, and uh, it did give me comfort even
if I wasn't like super paying attention to them. That's
one of the nice things is that I can say
the lines, so it's I don't have to be like
(18:25):
watching it and I can be doing something else. But
just having it on gave me such a sense of comfort,
and it prevented my brain from like spinning out of oh,
you can't leave and do what Sunday. Sunday used to be.
The world is all of these issues that you feel
you can't control. So it just gave yeah, like babies
that my brain of like in the background. It occupied
(18:46):
it enough where I could do something else and not
feel like completely overwhelmed by everything right, And we talked
about this, and obviously in the U s as things
aren't slowly getting to normal. Have friends in Canada who
were talking about they're still in lockdown. They are still
in lockdown, and they're still trying to deal with it
in I feel so bad because I'm like, you did
(19:08):
everything right, and unfortunately you're being punished for that. You
actually went into lockdown and did it appropriately, but because
you are not high priority, because you've actually been able
to maintain a little bit of sensibility in this time.
And so therefore the hospitalization was not as bad as
compared to the US because of the US, much like
the Center of Georgia decided, hey, it's fine, everybody out
(19:29):
for themselves. They don't have access to the vaccine as
as we've had as fast. I know it's coming and
I know it's slow going, and therefore they're still in lockdown.
At least my friend does in UM Toronto. So she
was like, I'm about to lose it, And we had
a zoom conversation with her and my friend in England. Uh,
and we're all three very different places and where we are,
(19:51):
and all I can think is what I'm saying, Yeah,
I'm about to go work out for the first time.
Her face is like, I'm gonna punch you. Like that's fair,
but it's complete be fair. So we're talking about all
this and and and with that against this ability of
like it's okay to feel like all you've accomplished this,
I've watched this for the time in a row during
(20:11):
the pandemic, that's okay, and that's fine. And then you
have to do what you have to do to keep
yourself to that place where you are healthy. And unfortunately
that might have everything to do with finally just giving
up for a day. That's okay, there's nothing wrong with that.
And when I say giving up, I mean deciding not
to clean the house that day, It's okay. Or if
(20:34):
you need to clean the house for the fiftieth time
that day, that's okay. Of course, there's always extremes, and
you definitely need to care for your mental health and
listen to your own body when it tells you to stop,
or when it tells you to go or when it
tells you it needs help, you need to be able
to do all those things. But it's also good to
know that there is routine, and routines look different and
(20:55):
that's okay. And if it includes you having to try
to make your own cocktails or mocktails or whatever, that's
okay too. Yes, Yes, I've had some wonderful, wonderful Sunday
Sunday Sundays, a lot of them with you, Savanta. Thank
you for this journey, going along this journey with me,
(21:17):
It's been fun. I love all the cocktails you've created
and cheers so anymore cheers, cheers, virtual cheers and choose.
To all you listeners, we would love to hear what
your routines and traditions are. If you've made any cocktails
throughout this Star Wars Theamed or not. You can email
us at Stuffy your mom Stuff at I Heart me
(21:38):
and dot com. You can find us on Instagram at
Stuff I've Never Told You are on Twitter at mom
Stuff podcast. Thanks as always to our super producer Christina,
Thank you and thanks to you for listening. Stop under
told these production of I Heart Radio but a podcast
and My Heart Radio because I hear radio, have a podcast,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. The MO
Hey, this is Annie and Samantha and welcome to stuff
I've never told you production of I Hiart Radio. Yes,
and welcome to another happy hour. Yes, it's actually Friday. Answer.
We record this, so we're doing this right, And it
(00:26):
is in the afternoon, so I feel a little appropriate
for this one. We always have to disclaim something also
with that as I always drink responsibly if you choose
to do so, be in an alcoholic or a non
alcoholic beverage. Yes, and yes, we have decided to make
this a special episode because I feel like you and
(00:49):
I brag a lot about our Sunday routines when we
used to get well, we still are because we're planning
to get together soon when we do the little routine
of your Star Wars watching party essentially, and you've named
it which way You've named it what Sunday Sunday Sunday
which has a whole has a whole backstory for sure,
(01:10):
and everybody in your world knows this backstory and have
been fighting over to participate with you, like we all
kind of trying to get our way in there. I
think I love it. It's become like an actual thing
instead of something I just started a couple of years back. Right,
So another disclaimer, we're not sponsored by anyone. Every time
(01:32):
we do an episode is typically it's because we've found
something that we love and are so excited by, and
it is centered around women in that industry, whether they
are the CEO, CEO of the creators, a brewmaster, whatever.
We love highlighting that and decided we want to uh
honk our own horns about the things that you and
(01:53):
I have created. So I was like, any today, We're
gonna do simple, which is we're going to talk about
our cocktails that we have created for this lovely new
tradition called Sunday Sunday Sunday. And because you are you,
everything's centered around Star Wars and must have Star Wars
puns because I am me. I'm like, I'm gonna make
(02:14):
ten different types of dreams and try to figure out
if I could actually be a mixologist because I want
to be so bad in my lifetime. So what have
you created today? Yes, so I have created It's called
the yub Nub, which is ewa kias just the official
language of the e walks for basically like Gay Triumph.
(02:35):
You probably saw it a lot. It gets passed around
when like uh. In the last election, when the announcement
finally came through, a lot of people were like yeb
nub uh. And it's the song that the Ewoks sing
at the end of Return of the Jedi, which George
Lucas later changed because he said it was too childish.
But I wanted to for that because the Ewoks live
(02:57):
on kind of a foresty moon. I created this drink,
which is gin and grape fruit juice. Fresh squeezed grapefruit
juice is the best tonic water and then some basil
leaves and pepper. And I want you know, shout out.
I know, Samantha, I think you're the person that introduced
me to this drink. But I was inspired by the
(03:18):
drink at a local restaurant, Wrecking Bar. Yes, because they
have a very similar drink. But it's it's a very nice,
like tart, refreshing light drink for the end of the
Return of the Jedi. Yes uh, and I think it's perfect.
It's one of my favorite drinks because A I love gen,
B I love basil, so those two things to me
cannot go wrong. And then you add the acid of
(03:39):
the grapefruit. Such a delight is one of my favorites
and you're doing it with the fresh squeeze. And by
the way, for the grapefruit, this Samantha dropped off the
grape fruit in my apartment. I'm like, look, we're doing this,
so you're gonna need a grape fruit. She's like, I
can do an altar. Was like, no, we have to
do this right home. Gonna allow it, which I had
(04:01):
to go for myself because I created what we are
calling the Tattooing Sunset because of course that's her like
favorite scene every time it comes on, and she just
sits there and stairs and we will share pictures of
these drinks and we will share our cocktail recipe um online,
so you will have this. But which any that means
you're gonna have to give a specific measurements, so hope, okay,
(04:25):
a dash of this. But my tattooing Sunset is I
muddle up about four berries. It's accord to how many
drinks you do, about four blackberries, rosemary, simple syrup, and
a squeeze of lemon juice into my shaker, and then
I add an ounce to an ounce and a half
gen half boozy. You want to be, it's up to you. Well,
(04:46):
you don't have to. You can do this without the
gin and our replace that. I'll tell you how in
a minute. And then you muddle it up and shake
it with ice you put it into I typically use
a flute. Annie has slowly tried to kill off all
of my flutes because she's slowly, one by one breaking them.
It has been a delight to watch. One time it
was just on the ground and she just stepped like
not even I don't think you. I thought you stepped
(05:08):
near it, and it just fell over right. Yeah. And
one time I was making the grape fruit. I was
squeezing the grape fruit and it just fell off a
counter that I wasn't even using soots everywhere. She bought
me a whole new set, and I'm like, I'm excited
for you to break these, but yes, I'll put it
in champagne foot and then I top it off and
(05:29):
and honestly, it's more champagne because it's gonna have like
probably a third of that is that cocktail mixture, and
then you fill it up with champagne and it comes
at to this beautiful pink purpleish color. That's why we
said tattooing sunset and then up the two little blackberries
and usually like a sprig of rosemary in there, but
the blackberries represent the two sons on tattooing, and yeah,
(05:51):
i'll put a little lime lemon wedge sometimes some real
fancy I'm gonna do that, but not all the time.
But that is the tattooing Sunset. And it inspired from
one of my other favorite drinks, which is a French
seventy five. So you take the original French seventy five
as some berries, some rosemary, and it's the light. Yes,
it's one of my favorites. So that is our drink
(06:12):
and mine again, tattooing Sunset. Man, should we trademark these?
I feel? I was so impressed because I was getting
text messages from Samantha and she was like, I want
to drink that represents like being tempted by the dark side,
but sting like it's so happy this was happening. I did.
It's a very artistic drink. I've tried to make it
and I could never make it as good as you.
(06:33):
So I'm like taking in this recipe and seeing where
I'm gone wrong. To be fair, you also are missing things,
which is why I have to drop things off to
you when I'm like, we're doing this recipe and you're like,
what kind of Like when we did um Hanky panky,
I knew you didn't have an orange, so I'm made
sure to get you an orange as well. But we
(06:53):
were celebrating these drinks and talking about these drinks specifically
because I thought it's necessary that we talk about routines
and why is import and the reason. If you don't
mind any can you tell you exactly why you did
Sunday Sunday Sunday and how it's become this absolutely So
Sunday Sunday Sunday started as something that was something that
(07:15):
I needed for comfort because I used to it used
to be called Sunday Runday Funday because I would do
my long runs on Sunday and I would always call
my mom on Sunday nights. And at the time that
was a very difficult thing for me to do because
my dad was dying. It was tragic phone call, like
a difficult phone call every time. So on Sunday I
(07:38):
would do this run and then I would make sure
to have plans like I would go with one friend hiking,
and I would go with another friend. I go see
a movie, I go to a restaurant. It was just
kind of just like day of really filling it with
activities and things that I really liked to prepare myself
for this difficult thing. And then I would usually stay
up really late and watch John Oliver. So it became
(07:59):
like this whole old day and I did it every Sunday.
And then from there quarantine pandemic happened and I can
no longer do all of these things that were associated
with it. And by then people have started getting in
on it, like they had started, you know, every Sunday.
I would hear from, you know, a group of friends,
like what are you doing for Sunday? Sunday Sunday, I'll
(08:21):
meet you for this part or this part or this part.
It was very low key like that, and it was
also I'm not a very spontaneous person often, but it
could be very spontaneous. So it was kind of a
nice break from the rest of my week. Like there
was the routine of it, but it could be like, oh,
let's go one time, we saw like three movies, right wild.
So then yeah, pandemic happened. And I can't remember the
(08:44):
specific reason. I think it was because I wanted to
get Mark cambl to treat at me, but I decided
I was going to watch the original trilogy Star Wars trilogy,
which is something that had always brought me comfort. And
even though I by no means watched them at the
rate I watched them, now, I can think of times
in my life where I was really stressed and I
(09:04):
watched those movies. I can remember them because I was
stressed and they just brought me so much comfort. And
I was telling people about, you know, like, yeah, I'm
just every Sunday, I'll be doing watching these movies. And
I would have virtual watch parties and people would drop
in whenever they wanted, and it was really cool because
it it was movies we've seen a lot for a
(09:27):
lot of us, and it was cool to have people
come in and still be really excited about it and
having that friendship and camaraderie over it, and it is
something that from their blossomed into UM. I was hanging
out a lot and creating cocktails and so much like discussions.
I've had wonderful discussions, and it is it does surprise
(09:51):
me how every time it is such a comfort and
like of relief, even if I am working on dungeons
and dragons are costuming lots in the background. It's just
like it makes me feel lighter, right, And you're not
the only one. According to one health site, they talk
about how that it does allow for a sense of
(10:13):
accomplishment and how important routine has been. As one says,
routines can be important anchors to maintain good mental health
and dealing with anxiety, especially during times like the pandemic.
They create a positive level of stress that keep us
focused and may help avoid some of the depression that
many people were feeling, especially during the time of a
(10:33):
pandemic and isolation. And I remember like knowing when you
would text me my media responses are you watching Star Wars?
And you're like, yes, I know that that's the thing,
And for myself that's something that I do as well,
not necessarily with Star Wars, of course, I got to
jump on the bandwagon. This was partially because you've been
pushing me to watch it for so long anyway that
(10:54):
I was like, well, I have nothing better to do,
so might as well. But it became a whole. But
it's become something that I started looking forward to. So
we may not do it every weekend, but every month
or so you would come over and we would have
a whole thing. But it was something that kept me active, like, Okay,
we were going to do this, but we have Hey,
I need to go grocery shopping and make sure we
(11:14):
have these items because these that are part of these
traditions and traditions as well make us feel safe because
that means there's a place of belonging. It means that
you have an importance to you because you're part of
something bigger than yourself, and that's kind of the tradition.
Of course, there's bad traditions as well. Um, we're not
necessarily talking about all of that. But I think what
I wanted to focus on, as much as we love
(11:36):
these times, that it was for part of your mental health.
It is for part of your anxiety. You lost something,
but you gain something. And now because we're quote unquote
normal times are back, not really um, and I'm still
waiting for the bottom to fall out and for us
to go back to the quarantine days. Honestly, I'm kind
of scared. But it's now becomes something that's because as
(12:00):
it was so it was such a help, it's sentimental.
Now it's kind of like, oh, this still feels good,
and I don't I still kind of want to hang
on to that. And there is that level, right yeah,
And there there's a bunch of hearts to that of
you know, especially like I'm a big proponent or a
(12:21):
believer that nostalgia can be great but it can go
terribly wrong. But it's also like it just it does
to me feel like kind of an old friend or
something I can be like, oh, yeah, I remember these
good times associated with it, and to have these conversations
aout like it's easier for me to complain about Darth
Vader's psychology just for one afternoon, to take my mind
(12:41):
off of like a pandemic and all of this dark stuff,
to be like he's a bad dad and everyone's like yes, no,
one's arguing that point. Yeah, and having those conversations and
it's something too where on Father's Day and the anniversary
of my dad's death, I now watched them because it
is we there are things that here in that movie
(13:03):
I can't not hear him say because he quoted it
all the time, and it does feel like, in a
very dark humor kind of way, like a bad day, right,
it is honestly, Yeah, but it does give me comfort
to know, like on days like that that could be tough,
I have this thing that I feel will provide me
(13:25):
some level, some semblance of safety and normalcy and happiness,
Like I get so happy. Yeah, I've seen him a
million times and like this part, I really do want
to do a live video. Just were you watching this
for the million time and your response as if it
Like I thought it was so funny because when we
first watched it and you were so into it and
(13:48):
your reactions were so into it them like how many
times have you watched this? What? No, but it's so
good that that's your response. Oh. I mean that's the
thing too, is you know how it ends, right, So
you don't have that, but I do get swept up
in this is so dramatic, right you do, and it's
it's and it's a delight to watch. I feel like
(14:10):
I'm watching it with you for the first time in general,
like you're watching it for the first time, watching you
enjoy it. But yeah, I think that's what we wanted
to talk about and why we're doing Happy hours in general,
why we did happy hours while we started Happy Hours
and we kind of did it in late in the season,
obviously because it was finally coming to the point that
people are getting vaccinated, which, by the way, there's a
new statistic out those people who are actually being hospitalized
(14:30):
are the people who are not vaccinated, just in case
you'all need to know that. But the level of for me,
because I am also a person that needs I don't
do well with routine, like I'm not gonna do job
type things, not in my wheelhouse. It's like, I don't
love that. But what I do love is the consistency
of something. So I will rewatch something to the point
(14:52):
that everybody else is so tired of me watching it
that they walk away, But there's a comfort and knowing
what's coming next and then I'm not going to be
tragically surprised. So we watched Lovecraft, my partner and I,
and I was really on edge and it took a
long time for us to get through and because there's
so much trauma in there, and there's so much history
that's just so gross and dirty, and I hate it.
(15:14):
I hate it so much. But I finally got through it,
and it was to me, I think it was great,
So I was able to rewatch it knowing what's coming
up and to enjoy it instead of being anxious about
what's coming up. And I'm kind of like that in anything.
When I watched I comfort watch to nobody's business. That
was my coping mechanism while working my really hard jobs,
(15:34):
while watching kids die while we're moving kids from homes
or or trying to fight for kids to stay at
a home like that was my release because my life
and my work was so unpredictable and so hard to
deal with on a daily basis. Like my therapist at
that time, I canna tell you, we could never get
to the root of my trauma, my childhood trauma because
before dealing with daily work related trauma, that never got
(15:57):
and it was every time I went through a therapy session,
I was out for the next three days because we
could not process enough in that forty five minutes to
fifty minutes. I've finally gotten to the point because I'm
not in that field anymore that I could get past that.
But because of that, because of those vulnerabilities, and because
I would always constantly feel raw, emotionally raw, having things
(16:20):
like parks and wreck that I would watch on a
consistent basis, I watched uh, dirty rock factor body and
it's definitely problematic, scrubs, problematic, there's so many things. I
was like, Oh my god, this is so sex in
the city, all of those things. But it was a
comfort because a I knew it was coming, It was
a routine, and it made me feel something other than
(16:41):
the horror of whatever was happening in that time, because
I was able to connect on a different level and yeah,
complain about this is so dumb or this is so hilarious. Oh,
this is what exactly why I feel about this and
being able to, as I have said before, a term
that my friend used to tell me in college babysit
your brain. Just being able to remove yourself in a
(17:02):
different manner. And I think that made a lot of
difference and how that is important and allow for that
that it's not anything about being lazy, it's not necessarily
about being um. And focus is literally about finding that
place that you just don't have to think, you don't
have to worry about whatever. That is an allowance to
(17:24):
give yourself that freedom. Yeah, And I think we've talked
a lot about self care, and we've talked about how
important it is for people. A lot of you listeners
who are in like activism or in difficult jobs like
you are, women and minorities just in general will have
this onslaught of difficult things to deal with and how
hard that can be to make space for that in
(17:44):
time for that. And there was a point where we
were coming to the end of the pandemic quarantine, at
least it seemed where I was like, and I know
people have talked about this in public a lot, but
I did have a moment of well, what did you
do in quarantine? And you watched Star Wars a lot,
(18:04):
and I was like, don't feel bad about that, because
you know, it was just something that I couldn't go
anywhere really, and uh, it did give me comfort even
if I wasn't like super paying attention to them. That's
one of the nice things is that I can say
the lines, so it's I don't have to be like
(18:25):
watching it and I can be doing something else. But
just having it on gave me such a sense of comfort,
and it prevented my brain from like spinning out of oh,
you can't leave and do what Sunday. Sunday used to be.
The world is all of these issues that you feel
you can't control. So it just gave yeah, like babies
that my brain of like in the background. It occupied
(18:46):
it enough where I could do something else and not
feel like completely overwhelmed by everything right, And we talked
about this, and obviously in the U s as things
aren't slowly getting to normal. Have friends in Canada who
were talking about they're still in lockdown. They are still
in lockdown, and they're still trying to deal with it
in I feel so bad because I'm like, you did
(19:08):
everything right, and unfortunately you're being punished for that. You
actually went into lockdown and did it appropriately, but because
you are not high priority, because you've actually been able
to maintain a little bit of sensibility in this time.
And so therefore the hospitalization was not as bad as
compared to the US because of the US, much like
the Center of Georgia decided, hey, it's fine, everybody out
(19:29):
for themselves. They don't have access to the vaccine as
as we've had as fast. I know it's coming and
I know it's slow going, and therefore they're still in lockdown.
At least my friend does in UM Toronto. So she
was like, I'm about to lose it, And we had
a zoom conversation with her and my friend in England. Uh,
and we're all three very different places and where we are,
(19:51):
and all I can think is what I'm saying, Yeah,
I'm about to go work out for the first time.
Her face is like, I'm gonna punch you. Like that's fair,
but it's complete be fair. So we're talking about all
this and and and with that against this ability of
like it's okay to feel like all you've accomplished this,
I've watched this for the time in a row during
(20:11):
the pandemic, that's okay, and that's fine. And then you
have to do what you have to do to keep
yourself to that place where you are healthy. And unfortunately
that might have everything to do with finally just giving
up for a day. That's okay, there's nothing wrong with that.
And when I say giving up, I mean deciding not
to clean the house that day, It's okay. Or if
(20:34):
you need to clean the house for the fiftieth time
that day, that's okay. Of course, there's always extremes, and
you definitely need to care for your mental health and
listen to your own body when it tells you to stop,
or when it tells you to go or when it
tells you it needs help, you need to be able
to do all those things. But it's also good to
know that there is routine, and routines look different and
(20:55):
that's okay. And if it includes you having to try
to make your own cocktails or mocktails or whatever, that's
okay too. Yes, Yes, I've had some wonderful, wonderful Sunday
Sunday Sundays, a lot of them with you, Savanta. Thank
you for this journey, going along this journey with me,
(21:17):
It's been fun. I love all the cocktails you've created
and cheers so anymore cheers, cheers, virtual cheers and choose.
To all you listeners, we would love to hear what
your routines and traditions are. If you've made any cocktails
throughout this Star Wars Theamed or not. You can email
us at Stuffy your mom Stuff at I Heart me
(21:38):
and dot com. You can find us on Instagram at
Stuff I've Never Told You are on Twitter at mom
Stuff podcast. Thanks as always to our super producer Christina,
Thank you and thanks to you for listening. Stop under
told these production of I Heart Radio but a podcast
and My Heart Radio because I hear radio, have a podcast,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. The MO
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