EP. 315 — Attacked By Birds Listening to Beautiful/Anonymous (Live from Sacramento)

Chris [00:00:06] Hello, Sacramento. It’s Beautiful/Anonymous. One hour, one phone call, no names, no holds barred.

Theme Song [00:00:28] THEME SONG

Chris [00:00:28] Hi everybody. Chris Gethard here. Welcome to another episode of Beautiful/ Anonymous. Very psyched to bring you this week’s episode. This is an episode where this person’s life and job gives them stories that seem insane to the rest of us. I can’t wait for you to hear them. This was a live episode from Sacramento. I greatly enjoyed performing in Sacramento. It was a good time. If you’re listening to it and going, I’d love to see Chris Gethard live sometime, well, you’re in luck if you’re in Florida May sixth and seventh. Oh and fifth. Went out of order on that. The fifth I’m in Tallahassee. Sixth I’m in Tampa. Seventh I’m in Orlando. If you’re in North Carolina, May 13th and 14th, Durham and Asheville. These are not just stand up dates. These are our first live, Beautiful/Anonymous tapings back since we pushed this whole tour. And then Michigan, May 20th and 21st in Ann Arbor in Grand Rapids. Thanks to anybody who goes to ChrisGeth.com for all the ticket links. I would love to meet you guys live because these live shows are so fun. As you’re about to hear, this caller works a job where she lives in the middle of nowhere. Antarctica. Antarctica? How do you pronounce? I don’t know. We’ll go over it. Studying birds. And we talk about that and the specificity of that and and how that affects one’s life. How do you come back? How do you come back to the rest of civilization and function when this is your life? How do you have relationships? How do you how do you deal with things? It’s a really fun conversation that I will not soon forget. I think you’re going to enjoy it as well. You know, all these years in I just go, I feel like now I’ve talked to people from every walk of life and then I go, no, I haven’t talked to somebody who almost got in a fistfight with a bird in Antarctica before. Enjoy this one, everybody.

Voicemail Robot [00:02:20] Thank you for calling. Beautiful/ Anonymous. A beeping noise will indicate when you are on the show with the host.

Chris [00:02:29] Our-.

Caller [00:02:29] Okay.

Chris [00:02:30] Our theme music was still playing and the crowd was singing along. And I heard you trying to speak. How are you?

Caller [00:02:35] I’m doing pretty well. I’m a little shocked right now. How are you?

Chris [00:02:40] I’m really good. I’m on stage at Harlow’s in Sacramento and it’s a rad place. And the crowd is here and they got your back and they’re ready to have some fun, so don’t worry about them.

Caller [00:02:51] That sounds great. Hello, Sacramento. (CROWD CHEERS)

Chris [00:02:58] Caller, it’s lovely to speak to you. I like your energy already, and I can’t wait to hear what you’d like to talk about.

Caller [00:03:05] Well. Uh there so many places we could go. But first off, I just want to say that Sally has nothing to worry about from me. There’ll be no sorry Sally’s on my end.

Chris [00:03:18] You don’t curse ever. As a rule.

Caller [00:03:20] As a rule.

Chris [00:03:20] Okay, then I’m the only one who will get scolded for this.

Caller [00:03:25] It’s true. But I just figured I should put that out there so that everyone would know ahead of time.

Chris [00:03:31] Good to know. This will be a family friendly show. She did recently texted me that she liked the call from the barber in Kansas and I thought she had stopped listening to the show years ago. So she does still listen. She- if you’re listening, hello Mom.

Caller [00:03:48] I kid you not, I listened to that only 3 hours ago, that episode.

Chris [00:03:53] All right. So you’re right in the rhythm. Right in the groove.

Caller [00:03:57] Uh huh.

Chris [00:03:58] That’s cool. That’s cool. So how- you never curse? Nothing makes your curse ever?

Caller [00:04:05] Okay, so there may have been one time way back in high school. I was on my high school’s bowling team, and let’s just say that our coaches were- they were professional bowlers and not teachers. And so they really put the pressure on us and I really put the pressure on myself. I think there was one time I remember where I let that ball go and things did not go according to plan. And I think before I headed back to my seat, I let out a word. But that was the only time.

Chris [00:04:37] This that’s the only time you’ve cursed in your life? Is one time when bowling in high school?

Caller [00:04:45] I’ve quoted other people cursing, but I just don’t have a need.

Chris [00:04:51] I have to ask, which word did you drop when bowling in high school?

Caller [00:04:57] You just want me to say it, don’t you?

Chris [00:04:58] No, no, no. You can use the shorthand if you want. Was it the F-word? Was it the S-word?

Caller [00:05:05] I believe it was the F-word.

Chris [00:05:07] The F-word. Wow. If you want to- if you’re only going to drop one in your life, that’s the one, right? If you’re going to just try it out once.

Caller [00:05:17] Probably.

Chris [00:05:18] And I ask this with affection, not judgment. Why are you such a goody two shoes about cursing?

Caller [00:05:26] Oh, goodness. I could take us down a whole a whole track. I’m from a Christian conservative family, and I’ve never heard my mom swear. I’ve never heard my older brother. I think my dad may have a few times when he’s out with his hunting buddies. But my mom from from the get go, it’s been a no go. And I’ve been out of the home a long time, but that’s stuck with me. When you’re raised that way, that’s what you do.

Chris [00:05:59] All right. All right. Well, I love this bowling memory. I love this image of you throwing one ball that was so off track that you dropped an F-bomb in high school. And I’m sure beat yourself up about it afterwards, huh?

Caller [00:06:13] Oh, I did. I’m very good at that.

Chris [00:06:17] Yeah, I hear you.

Caller [00:06:18] Very good at that.

Chris [00:06:19] I hear you. Okay. So, no, sorry Sally’s will be necessary on your end. I’ve been a big potty mouth while warming up the crowd, and I don’t know why. I’ve usually gotten better about it. But I must have said the F-bomb like seven times in 90 seconds here in Sacramento.

Caller [00:06:36] While I was sitting here waiting and shaking I heard that, and it did make me laugh.

Chris [00:06:41] You did? Okay. Good. Okay. Okay. Good. Good, good. Good. Okay. So this will be swear free on your end as we as we continue to talk about what? What are you thinking tonight?

Caller [00:06:52] Um, well, I heard you talking about how your son thinks we should talk about dragons.

Chris [00:06:58] Uh huh. You got anything on dragons?

Caller [00:07:00] I don’t have a lot of experience with dragons, but I do seasonal wildlife work, mostly with birds. And I’ve been attacked by a number of birds that we could just consider dragons.

Chris [00:07:14] He loves birds, too. He was at this there’s like this bird preserve in New Jersey called the Raptor Trust. And he was there today and he was telling me how he saw eagles today and an owl. It’s a place that, like, helps rehabilitate injured birds and then releases them. And he saw an owl. And then there were a bunch of vultures. But then he told me there was one that wasn’t in the cage. And he loved that one. He was like, flipping out. He’s like, Daddy, there is one not in the cage!  And his mom, my wife Hallie, was like, Yeah, there was there’s one vulture, like, they must have been from the same group. Like one of these vultures was just hanging out, waiting for the others to get released, just like waiting in a tree above the cage. And he loved the uncaged bird. And I was like, This says so much. My so is- I love that. I love that.

Caller [00:07:57] That is great. Let them be free.

Chris [00:08:01] Now, how come you’ve been attacked by so many birds?

Caller [00:08:08] So I do wildlife research. I studied, well I ended up making my own degree. I had studied wildlife biology, but then I learned it boils down to statistics and reports. And I just wanted to be outside in the middle of nowhere. And so I made my own degree. And that degree has allowed me to do field work. And I have mostly worked with birds. And when you’re handling birds and bird eggs, the parents don’t always appreciate it.

Chris [00:08:37] So you came up with your own college degree that involved touching a lot of bird eggs? And then you got attacked by a bunch of birds?

Caller [00:08:46] Uh, not quite. I did come up with my own degree. I guess indirectly that’s what it led to. My degree is a combination of wildlife biology, natural resources management, and photojournalism. And I’m the only person with this degree. Like I created it with a committee and magically it got approved. And you’d be proud, I pretty much worked the system to take the college courses that I wanted.

Chris [00:09:13] I love that. I love that. So. Huh. Resource management, wildlife and photojournalism. That’s cool. That’s very smart. Did you manage? And I say I’m asking this genuinely. I realize it’s going to sound condescending, but when you when you kind of pitch your own degree and you’re the only person with your degree, does it make it harder to find work? Or is it like you’re now specialized in a way where someone needs you or are people just like, we don’t know what you’re talking about?

Caller [00:09:41] Um, to be honest, I don’t use the photojournalism side as much. In field work it’s about science. And when I got my first field job in college, that opened the door to all the future jobs. And pretty much I proved that I can live in the middle of nowhere for three or four months at a time with no cell service, no internet. And that’s more important than your education, really. You learn what you need to know in the field. And so long as they know that you can get along with three or four people and not wanna murder anyone, that’s, that’s good enough.

Chris [00:10:20] Okay. All right. This is getting weird. I like this.

Caller [00:10:25] I was exaggerating slightly. There are no- no concerns about murders ever. Don’t worry.

Chris [00:10:30] That’s good. No, I feel like that’s good on the resume. Not inclined to murder. Don’t need the Internet. You’re hired.

Caller [00:10:37] Yes.

Chris [00:10:38] And what type of stuff are you doing these days? Where you go out for three or four months at a time?

Caller [00:10:44] So I worked a lot in Alaska. And I also spent time in New Zealand and a couple of seasons in Antarctica. And for all those jobs with birds, you go out and you monitor during the breeding season. And that goes from when they first build nests to laying eggs, and then when the eggs hatch and the chicks are around and being fed by the adults until when the chicks leave the nest. So you’re there the whole time, checking the nests daily, hiking around, cooking for your little field crew.

Chris [00:11:20] What’s the scariest bird you’ve been attacked by?

Caller [00:11:27] It wasn’t scary. So I’ll I’ll answer that in a second. But first, I’ll say I’ve probably listened to you in the most remote place of any listener. I’ve listened to you in Antarctica while I’m wandering around all by myself.

Chris [00:11:41] Whoa!

Caller [00:11:41] And there we have brown skuas, which are… Maybe don’t quote me on this, chicken sized, but they actually fly decently and they are very protective of their nests. And I had one pair whose territory I would enter and as soon as I was in the area they would get off the nest and come toward me. And I called them terror pair because they just terrorized me with divebombing and I’d carry a stick to wave over my head and they didn’t care. They’d fly into the stick and try to knock the stick out of my hand.

Chris [00:12:18] And you were listening to me this whole time?

Caller [00:12:19] I kid you not. I absolutely have listened to you while being attacked by skuas in Antarctica.

Chris [00:12:35] Let’s go ahead. Let’s pause right there. That’s baffling for me to know. Someone’s been attacked by animals while listening to my voice. Strange feeling. Hey, let’s do some ads. We’ll be right back… Thanks to all our advertisers. Let’s go ahead and return to the phone call.

Caller [00:13:04] I kid you not. I absolutely have listened to you while being attacked by skuas in Antarctica.

Chris [00:13:14] I like this life I’ve been able to live. So you’re getting attacked by, like, mean flying chickens that dive bomb you. And I’m in your ear and there’s like a woman on the line like, yeah, I dress up as a pirate on the weekends. Like, you had that experience.

Caller [00:13:30] Yep, pretty much.

Chris [00:13:31] Nice. Antarctica. That’s cool. And this is still your line of work that you still go out and do this?

Caller [00:13:40] It is. I spent three seasons in Antarctica and my last one was actually right before COVID started. We got picked up mid-March 2020, and as the ship was heading north back to South America, that’s when all the countries were closing their borders. And technically the border was closed. We weren’t supposed to be able to dock in Punta Arenas, Chile, but we said, Look, we’re coming from Antarctica. We don’t have COVID. We’re the safest people in the world to allow in. And they let us dock and let us go straight to the airport. And that’s the last time I was in Antarctica, but I’ve worked in Alaska since then. And today I was actually looking at pictures of goose broods like little goose families. And I was counting pictures on the computer screen when you tweeted the number.

Chris [00:14:35] This that it feels good to hear a crowd of people laugh about a COVID story. I guess if COVID is going to erupt, Antarctica, pretty good place to ride it out I would imagine. Social distancing has kind of been your whole thing for a while, huh? This was not new to you?

Caller [00:14:54] Yes. No, definitely not.

Chris [00:14:57] Now, this is a very cool life. And you went out and you built this degree and you made it happen and you got hired and you’re doing it. And it sounds awesome. And it sounds like we could talk about it forever, just the specifics of the jobs. But one thing I got to know right away, I go- my instinct is it’s it’s got to make it hard… Like it’s got to be hard on human relationships to have you gone for months at a time going into super remote areas to interact with angry birds.

Caller [00:15:28] You you are quite a genius, sir. You nailed it.

Chris [00:15:33] Thank you so much. I’ve been waiting for you to call me a genius. You, the scientist who is studying resource management and its effect on birds. Yeah, that’s what you need, is me telling me, an idiot in a corduroy jacket in Sacramento, that I am a genius. Thank you. Thank you. That’s nice. But yeah, it’s hard to-.

Caller [00:15:54] You’re welcome.

Chris [00:15:54] It’s hard to hit up the dating apps when you’re like, I spend half the year in the wilds of Antarctica.

Caller [00:15:59] Oh, my gosh, you have no idea what- it’s it’s the dark side of the life is the best way to put it.

Chris [00:16:08] It- really outside of living in Antarctica and fending off bird attacks, dating apps. That’s the dark side of your life. Not living in a frozen, frozen tundra and being attacked by wild animals.

Caller [00:16:22] I mean, it’s not the dark side, like the app specifically, but so I’ve done seasonal wildlife work for over a decade now, if you include college time. And until last fall I had never lived anywhere. I just had a storage unit in the town where I went to college and I had a friend who would let me crash on his couch or in his spare room when I was in town. And I just had a bike, had never owned a car until last fall. And so I was pretty much a nomad. And the people I worked with are spread across the country. Pretty much none of them live where I live. And so… Some college friends are still here, but most are gone. And so my friends base is very sparse, to say the least.

Chris [00:17:16] How do you handle it? Are you are you are you more lonely when you’re back than when you’re in Antarctica?

Caller [00:17:24] Absolutely. 100%.

Chris [00:17:26] Wow. That’s weird.

Caller [00:17:29] Because. Right? Because even when I’m here… so during- after I got back from Antarctica, I ended up working as a baker for ten months because I bake in field camps all the time. I love baking. And when I realized last summer there’d be no field work, I thought, well, I should probably find a job. And there was a restaurant that was hiring, and they said, You don’t have to have legit experience, we’ll train you. If you love baking, this is for you. And they ended up hiring me. And I loved it except for going to work at 4 a.m. That was a little brutal. But I made some friends there. But field friends and town friends, they’re not the same. When you when you live with a couple people for a few months and you’re cooking for each other and you have inside jokes and working together all the time in your field, it’s completely different from baking next to someone else who’s never been to middle of nowhere. Never been to the middle of the Bering Sea. And there’s just a disconnect that’s hard.

Chris [00:18:37] It’s like it’s so strange to think about that, that you’re around people, but there’s, like, this whole part of you that most people are never going to get. And it’s a huge part of how you live and what you take pride in. It’s gotta, it’s a- you are in one of the more unique positions I’ve ever heard of and that’s saying a lot with this show. We have some reactions from our crowd here in Sacramento that they filled in. They’ve been filling me in via Twitter. You want to hear some of the questions coming in?

Caller [00:19:07] Yeah, go for it.

Chris [00:19:08] T Wade says you’ve been bit by birds multiple times and you never cursed out the birds?

Caller [00:19:16] I have not. There was- ohh- there was there was one penguin- because I was working with penguins in Antarctica- where I was I was fixing its band because sometimes they open slightly and if they open enough over time, that can become a problem and be a danger to the penguins. So if we see a band that’s a little bit open, we’ll grab the bird and tighten it back up. And I had one bird… I, we wedge them in between our legs, their flippers are free and their head is free. And when those birds bite, they bite hard.

Chris [00:19:51] Penguins?

Caller [00:19:52] And this bird got me so badly that I, I so wanted to punch this bird. I was so close to being so rude and such an awful person, but it got me so good. But I did not. And I don’t believe I cursed. No.

Chris [00:20:08] Wow. Okay, well, there was another person that did also reiterate impossible to not curse during a bird attack. Everyone knows this. That’s from empty gas can. Oh, there’s someone who compared your life to the life of an astronaut, which I think is actually a really interesting comparison. People want to know what your favorite bird is, which I think is a nice, simple question. Elliot heard that last story and just on your behalf, Elliot, just because you can’t say it, just, you know, Elliot just tweeted, fuck that bird. So just so you know, Elliot has your back on that. People want to know-.

Caller [00:20:46] Thank you so much, Elliot.

Chris [00:20:48] People want to know your your favorite bird and Andrea, who’s actually here producing the show tonight, wants to know your position on the shoebill stork if you have any, if you have any do you have any opinions on the shoebill stork in particular?

Caller [00:21:01] Unfortunately, I don’t have any positions on that particular bird. I’ve worked mostly in very cold weather places and we do not have storks where I have worked.

Chris [00:21:13] The people ask, asking about- now people are asking about different birds. And Brianna, I think just to get you to say it, does want to know if you’ve ever seen a blue tit.

Caller [00:21:25] Oh, no, I have not seen a blue tit. Thank you.

Chris [00:21:29] Okay. The bird. The bird. This was the bird. You’re not. You’re not.

Caller [00:21:33] I know.

Chris [00:21:33] We’re not even treading upon cussing. You did not say it that way. Although nice try, Brianna. So you went you and you’ve been back and you you came back from COVID. You were baking. Then you said you did eventually get back to Alaska.

Caller [00:21:49] Yeah.

Chris [00:21:50] Now I’m going to ask you a question.

Caller [00:21:52] That’s where I live.

Chris [00:21:53] That’s where you live.

Caller [00:21:55] I do.

Chris [00:21:56] And is that where you’re baking or like you’ve been out there for field work? Just so I’m clear.

Caller [00:22:01] Both. I’ve done a lot of field work in Alaska, but Alaska has been home base for years now.

Chris [00:22:08] So you’re saying you go out in the field to places that are so desolate that when you get back to Alaska, you’re like, Man, there’s all these people around and I don’t know how to deal with it. In Alaska.

Caller [00:22:20] It’s true.

Chris [00:22:23] Do you ever hang out in cities? Like have you ever come through New York City or like, do you ever go to the metro? Do you even bother?

Caller [00:22:31] I I’ve been to New York City once. It was way back when I was a kid with, I believe, my mom and brother. And I love travel. That’s the other side of this life I’ve built is when I take field jobs that are not in Alaska, out of state, out of the country, I usually tack on travel. So I’ve spent… I don’t know, six months total probably in South America on either side of my Antarctic work. And we’ll get back to my favorite bird, but I spent ten months in New Zealand traveling and then popped over to Australia. And I love travel. The pandemic has been terrible for me on that front as well. And while I do prefer being in the country and backpacking, hiking, seeing all of the beautiful scenery, um cities do fascinate me. And I sometimes wonder, like, if I were to try to live in a city for a year, what I would think. And I haven’t decided.

Chris [00:23:34] I- because I lived in New York City for 16 years. I’m sitting here going, who would last longer? Me in Alaska or you in New York City? That is a 50/50 toss up, my friend. I wonder who would break first. Someone in the crowd just went “you” at me. It’s clearly true.

Caller [00:23:59] I would definitely do my best to last longer just because of my ridiculous nature.

Chris [00:24:05] That’s yeah. I mean I would probably go cra- I wouldn’t- you have a- oh I’m about to say something sad. I was just about to offhandedly be like, you got all that alone time with no people around. You must have to really like, be honest with yourself all the time about who you are and how you feel. I don’t know if I could handle that.

Caller [00:24:25] It’s true. So my very first field job was after my second year of college, and it was up on the North Slope of Alaska. And I learned like I didn’t know anything about birds when I got that job. And that was my my lucky break in the fieldwork. Because if you don’t have experience showing you can handle living remotely, it’s taking a gamble to hire you. And if you don’t know about birds, that’s also another gamble. But I learned later I was hired because I knew nothing and I would do what my boss wanted. So once I got up there, I learned that I was going to spend three weeks just hiking around all these little ponds all day by myself. And so the first couple of days I thought, Oh my goodness, how am I going to do this for three weeks? Like it did not seem like I’d be able to pay attention properly. And then I just started talking to myself out loud and I had great conversations and time flew really quickly.

Chris [00:25:33] And you leave that a changed person, right? You come back and everybody you knew back in the- when you get back to the people you’ve been hanging out with before you left, they must be like, you’re slightly different. That- have to be, right?

Caller [00:25:46] For that job, I don’t know. Maybe. That was a long time ago. But. I all these jobs definitely definitely impact me big time. The ship just headed to Antarctica a few days ago and I saw pictures from some people who I know who are going down. And the fact that I’m not going down is killing me. I mean, it’s just awesome down there. And part of the whole reason I hadn’t lived anywhere was to save money. And now that I’ve lived somewhere and had a car for a year, I’ve learned just how much of a money suck those two things are. And it’s just easier if you’re not living in town. You can save a lot more money.

Chris [00:26:33] Now when you’re- having spent time in Antarctica, are there things that like regular people like me who have never been there, like, are there things about Antarctica that are like that we should know? Like, are there things where you’re like, This is unbelievable, or This is really rad and you have no idea? Like, in my mind it’s just a big sheet of ice. And then there’s penguins and occasionally bears maybe? Are there bears down there?

Caller [00:26:57] No!

Chris [00:26:59] The crowd started grumbling in a way that makes me realize I said something dumb. No bears, just penguins. I want to retract my bear statement.

Caller [00:27:08] Okay.

Chris [00:27:09] Sacramento got legitimately kind of angry at me for not being sure if there were polar bears in the South Pole or just the North Pole. I’m retracting the bears thing. Okay. What are the things about it down there, though, that it’s like it’s not just ice? Here’s here’s the stuff you would find unbelievable.

Caller [00:27:27] Oh, so where I am, I’m just in a small 5 to 6 person camp. I’m not at one of the main U.S. research bases. And so I have a different perspective from most people who have been down there. But where I am is an island, and at first in the early spring when we get down there, everything is snow covered and you get snow. But then by Christmas time, the snow has largely melted and there’s no longer enough snow for skiing. I used to ski a mile to work where the penguin colonies are, which is the greatest sentence of my life saying I skiid to work to get to penguins. But over the course of the season, pretty much all of our snow melts. And so it’s not just a snowy frozen wasteland. This island also has hills. They look really big when you’re at the base, but the skuas territories are on top of them. And actually when you climb them, you go, Oh, that took me all of 3 minutes to climb. It really wasn’t that high, but it looks high. There’s just something that makes perspective different down there. So it’s not a flat wasteland where I am. I can’t speak for the whole continent, obviously.

Chris [00:28:47] One of our attendees here in Sacramento wants to know your opinion on dinosaurs being that dinosaurs and birds are related. Do you like dinosaurs or are you just into birds?

Caller [00:29:00] I’m into birds. Having impelled so many different kinds of birds and seeing their feet, there’s definitely a connection there. The feet of some of these birds are very, very otherworldly. You wouldn’t think, Oh, that’s a nice bird foot. You would definitely think, that thing can do some damage. And they do. To link back to my favorite bird, my- I don’t- yes- so, I’m not a- this is the weird part. I’m not a birder. I don’t keep a life list of birds to see. You won’t see me flying to places just to see a bird.

Chris [00:29:41] Are there people who do that?

Caller [00:29:42] Oh, yes. Oh, absolutely. You don’t know about birders?

Chris [00:29:46] I mean, I know that there’s birders and birdwatchers. And actually, where I live in New Jersey, we’re not too far from an area called the Great Swamp that like people show up with like high end birdwatching equipment and they get mad if my son’s there making noise. Like and they have binoculars that are like three feet long and, and all sorts of stuff. So I’m aware that it’s a culture. I didn’t realize there’s people who- I guess that makes sense, right? Take take a trip to a place where there’s birds that you don’t usually get to see. I guess I get it. But to hear you just phrase it like that of like I’ve never gotten on a plane just to see a bird, I’m like, Oh, I guess, I guess there are people who do that. Yeah. So you.

Caller [00:30:24] Yeah, there definitely are.

Chris [00:30:25] So you’re saying your favorite bird?

Caller [00:30:27] Yes. Right. So straight out of college, eight days after I graduated, I left for ten months in New Zealand, where I worked with North Island brown kiwi, those funny looking birds that don’t really have wings, they just have this tiny little nub and they run around on the ground and they’re nocturnal.

Chris [00:30:46] Caller, hold on. Can you hear the reactions? I don’t think you can hear the crowd reaction.

Caller [00:30:51] No, I missed it.

Chris [00:30:52] I’m not kidding when I say a legitimate applause break for the bird you just named. This bird has fans in Sacramento. Very popular bird in Sacramento.

Caller [00:31:05] Good! Excellent.

Chris [00:31:06] And you sound so psyched.

Caller [00:31:07] Yeah.

Chris [00:31:08] You sound psyched, they sound psyched. What is it about the kiwi that’s getting everybody’s rocks off tonight?

Caller [00:31:15] Oh, well, partly it’s just New Zealand in general. It’s the greatest country in the world. I completely fell in love with the country. And Kiwi are just so unique. The fact that they can’t fly and they just run around on the ground and they’ve got this huge, like their bill is so long and they use it to poke around and find food underneath foliage and they’re just such helpless little birds. And New Zealand is so passionate about trying to protect them. And just my whole experience with the country is also what made me love them so much. And I don’t know, maybe, maybe the crowd has some information about Kiwis they could share for why they get so excited. But that’s my general overview of why I love Kiwi.

Chris [00:32:04] I’m going to echo what the caller just said. If anybody is using Twitter and wants to use our hashtag to let me know why you love Kiwis so much that they just got a room wide applause break, I feel like it would become a real kiwi love fest between you and the caller. So I’m happy to facilitate it. In the meantime, we do have there’s a question that popped up from someone named Justin, I believe. Yeah, Justin asked a question that’s been on my mind too. And for a live show, it’s a little bit of a grim one. So I’m saying let’s tweet the Kiwi appreciation so we can get back to the fun stuff. But I do have to ask, you’ve been going to these remote areas. You know, you’re doing fieldwork. We’re all hearing about climate change. I think for a lot of us, we’re starting to see some actual effects, even living in like very, you know, civilized areas. Are we screwed? Like, what are you thinking out here? Justin brought it up. It’s been on my mind, too, but I’ve been nervous to ask… Scary question, but I had to ask. We’ll get the answer from someone in the know when we come back… Thanks to all our advertisers. Now let’s finish off the phone call… We’re all hearing about climate change. I think for a lot of us, we’re starting to see some actual effects, even living in like very, you know, civilized areas. Are we screwed? Like, what are you thinking out here? Justin brought it up. It’s been on my mind, too, but I’ve been nervous to ask.

Caller [00:33:41] Honestly, this is where you you find the other strange part about me having come from a conservative background. Most people I work with are very liberal and would say, absolutely, we’re screwed. My opinion is that we’re not- we’re not destroying the world. We need to we need to be better. But saying- things aren’t going to hell in a handbasket, as the phrase goes.

Chris [00:34:08] And for you to use that h-e-l-l word, that’s that’s pretty extreme for you.

Caller [00:34:15] Pretty- no, it’s not. If you want it to be, go for it. But that’s something I’m okay saying.

Chris [00:34:22] Okay. Okay. So you feel you feel like it’s you feel that you see a lot of your colleagues freaking out. You’re not freaking out personally?

Caller [00:34:33] I’m not. And I should also say, as part of making my own degree and avoiding the statistics and reports, I’m not the one who analyzes data. I just go collect data, play outside, and then mostly hand it back to a boss. And they’re the ones who analyze. So I am not as informed as most scientists to be honest. So there’s that caveat.

Chris [00:34:57] Okay. Okay, a fair and measured response. Now we’ve got a lot of Kiwis opinion, Kiwi opinions coming in. Are you ready to hear them?

Caller [00:35:11] I am.

Chris [00:35:12] Okay. I first of all, I’m just getting gifs of Kiwis running and man, they are cute. They look like they lost their arms and they’re looking for their arms.

Caller [00:35:23] I know. They’re so cute.

Chris [00:35:25] Yeah. Elliot sent me a good gif. Kathy says Kiwis, you’re not going to like this, Kiwis so goddamn adorable. Not how you would phrase it. Lily says Kiwis are just cute as heck. Lelina said- so many people have opinions on Kiwis. Lelina says, Birds that look like food are cool. Hashtag team Kiwi. Josh says, Kiwi birds look like little walking coconuts. Sky muffin again says, Fuck yeah. Kiwis, baby. Zero KFE says, New Zealand is just the best in every way and the Kiwi embodies all of it.

Caller [00:36:04] Yes, 100%.

Chris [00:36:06] Okay. T Wade says, My sister would like to say Kiwis are the cutest goddamn birds and it’s amazing that New Zealanders refer to themselves as Kiwis. You literally can’t walk dogs in some areas for Kiwi protection. It’s incredible. Andrew says, Kiwis are adorable. They look like feathered fruit. The fact that people call- so many people care about this- they are a country of people that want to be alongside their bird. And oh and then Elliot says, Hey, do they taste like the fruit? Which is dark. And I like the joke, Elliot.

Caller [00:36:39] Yeah.

Chris [00:36:40] The crowd is groaning. But, Elliot, you nailed that. Well done. Well done. Erin wants to know if you have any opinions on the Shrike other as far as other birds coming out? Or Troy just saying, Any thoughts on the Southern Cassowary?

Caller [00:36:59] So many birds. This is what would be helpful if I was a true birder. Shrikes are a little- if I’m thinking of the correct bird, they’re a little bit brutal. I think they’re I think they really stab their their food.

Chris [00:37:12] Okay.

Caller [00:37:14] That’s all I’ve got on shrikes and cassowaries, sorry, I’m very limited in knowledge there.

Chris [00:37:20] Jacob wants to know how do Kiwis get up if they trip? And it’s a really good question, having seen one now.

Caller [00:37:30] I was there ten years ago now, which is depressing to me. It’s been too long. But I think that I recall actually seeing one get up because I did see them run in daylight and I think they use their bill to kind of right themselves, like to get back onto their feet.

Chris [00:37:49] Like a little walking stick hanging off their face.

Caller [00:37:53] Yeah, exactly.

Chris [00:37:54] I love that. Now there is another tweet in there. I stepped away from the computer, so apologies to the person that tweeted. Can’t call your name. But we talked about how you do this remote work. And that’s very interesting. And we talked about how you’ve said it affects your your personal life and personal relationships. And that’s very interesting. And one of the people in the room wants to know, have you ever found a relationship, like a fling, let’s say, in the field? Do people ever hook up out there in the in the wilds?

Caller [00:38:23] They do. I honestly don’t know if it’s happened in my field camps, but I know it does happen. For me personally, let’s just say I’m pretty much- I’ve done very little dating and I think I’ve just known since college that this would be my life and that there is no point in getting attached. And there was one guy in a field camp where we kind of had a thing, but then we don’t live in the same place. So we went backpacking in Denali after the season with another field worker and then a dad flew up and joined us. We had like a four day thing in Denali where we were testing the waters kind of, but we don’t live in the same place, so that was kind of that.

Chris [00:39:19] And Denali, remind me, is the mountain in Alaska, right?

Caller [00:39:26] Yep. Denali National Park.

Chris [00:39:27] Formerly Mt. McKinley. But now Denali.

Caller [00:39:31] It’s always been Denali to Alaska natives, and most Alaskans refer to it as Denali. But yes, McKinley’s name, I believe, was stripped away from it. Which.

Chris [00:39:41] Uh huh.

Caller [00:39:42] I don’t know. I could go either way on that topic.

Chris [00:39:45] Do you to do that? That’s just your life. Stuff like, yeah, we decided, you know, let’s, let’s get out of the remote- out of this remote area, see if there’s anything here. We’re feeling this crackling bus. We’ll just spend four days on Denali and figure it out. Most people, it’s like, you want to go get coffee? Like, that’s it. You’re like, you want to go climb one of the largest mountains?

Caller [00:40:08] Well, no, I wasn’t climbing the mountain. There’s a huge national park where you can do a lot of backpacking, where you can climb mountains. But it’s not all that huge one.

Chris [00:40:16] I know.

Caller [00:40:18] But originally, I was going to just do a solo trip in the park. But then I heard that these two guys were also doing a trip and that a dad was flying up to join them. And usually you can tell I do a lot of things solo and I love it, but I thought, I like these guys. Why should I take my solo trip? And they do their trip? And so I just said, Do you guys mind if I join your trip? And they said, No, that’d be great. So that’s what we did.

Chris [00:40:48] But it didn’t work out. You didn’t find love out there in Denali?

Caller [00:40:51] No. And. Part of the part of it I think over the years I’ve discovered that field work has given me commitment issues. I am pretty sure. Cuz really field jobs, I know that they’re a couple of months long and then it’s going to end. So I, I love my field families. I’m all in. And I don’t drink coffee, but in most of my camps I wake up early to make coffee for people. I mentioned I bake. I love baking. I’ll wake up early to bake for these people. I’m like a field camp mom by my own choice. And when we all split at the end of the season, I cry every time. And it’s terrible because that’s my family. And then I’m coming back to town and people don’t get that whole side of me, and that’s a bummer.

Chris [00:41:46] What do you envision? I’m sure you must think down the line like I’m sure you’re going to work in this field as long as you can. How content are you with the set up right now? And what do you how long do you see it lasting? And what do you hope for once you move into whatever the next phase is? Because it it it has to be physically strenuous. You can’t do it forever, I’d imagine.

Caller [00:42:09] No, you can’t. This is this is what I think about a lot and discuss it with my coworker. I don’t know how long I go on like this. I, I love the work. I absolutely love it and going to see these beautiful places. But it’s not a sustainable life to come back and feel like I don’t really have friends. And since being back, like I’ve been in town now mostly for over a year now and I’ve tried the dating apps, but the right people are not on the dating apps. Alaska’s dating scene is not quite ideal. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard jokes about it.

Chris [00:43:04] Nah.

Caller [00:43:05] No? So they say that for the case of women, the odds are good, but the girls are odd. (AUDIENCE LAUGHS)

Chris [00:43:23] Uh huh.

Caller [00:43:23] So I mean, there are people who love extreme hippies, but that’s not me. I don’t want someone with a two foot long beard. Sorry, guys. That’s not quite what I’m looking for. There are people who live completely off the grid. They. I mean, I live in a dry cabin. I don’t have running water. It’s pretty common. But some people don’t have electricity through the system. They have a generator and batteries and solar panels and inverters and just kind of an extreme life and, well, yes, I have an extreme life. If I’m going to be in town, I would rather kind of enjoy the amenities of town a bit more. There’s also a whole lot of military. And anyone who knows me knows that I am not an Army wife. So there’s a dead end there probably, even though my mom wants me to give it a little more of a look. I don’t think it’s worth it.

Chris [00:44:26] I’m going to be honest. It bums me out because you sound great. But what a what a corner to be backed into of like you’re living this miraculous life where you get to do this thing you love so much, but then it also means that the time you’re not doing it is inherently lonely. That’s why it’s a bummer. It’s breaking my heart a little bit.

Caller [00:44:50] Oh, I’m sorry.

Chris [00:44:51] No, it’s okay. It’s okay. I. I say that because it’s my honest reaction. I’m not trying to make you feel bad, but I’m like, wow. Like, last night, I did a live show in San Francisco, and most of what we talked about, it was the guy who just spent a week at a clothing optional gay resort in Palm Springs. And then one night later I’m talking to somebody who goes to Antarctica and Alaska, to New Zealand, to interact mostly with birds and small handfuls of people at a time, then looks upon, ponders the nature of human loneliness well not doing it. The fuck’s going to happen in Phoenix tomorrow?

Caller [00:45:33] I don’t know. I don’t know how long I continue this or like I’ve been trying to find people to meet. But I’m also definitely an introvert and I don’t I don’t go out to bars or anything and I don’t have like girlfriends to take out to go do social things. So. Chances are I’m going to find some puppies to hang out with and just stay home and love on some puppies. Right now I’m housesitting and I was housesitting for my landlords who have two chocolate labs and I had them for two weeks and I had- I didn’t care about anything else for two weeks. I had my labs and I cuddled every night. And it was pure heaven because dogs are the greatest.

Chris [00:46:20] Now, you’ve talked a lot- well, this brings up an interesting question, because you’ve talked so much about birds and how you talk about like this, this warmth towards dogs. Do you do you feel like you understand more about the animal kingdom or humans?

Caller [00:46:35] I don’t know if I’d say I understand more, but I’ve been a dog person my whole life. I have an older brother who’s very smart. He went to MIT and he’s a computer science guy and he’s always been extremely intelligent. And my parents, my dad wanted two kids. My mom wanted three. So the third was a dog. And I was definitely closer to the dog than my brother. And so I think that shaped me big time. I like to say I was the middle child. That’s how much I love my dog.

Chris [00:47:18] Wow. Okay. We’ve got some thoughts coming in from people if you’re into it. How are you feeling?

Caller [00:47:23] Sure.

Chris [00:47:25] T Wade wants to know when you were at Denali, do you think was something would have gone down with that potential crush if that dad wasn’t there?

Caller [00:47:38] Maybe more would have gone down. So I shared a tent with the guy whose dad wasn’t there, so that the guy whose dad was there was the one where there was maybe interest, and it was the other guy and I who were in a tent. But I think he realized there might be a thing, and our very last night, the two of us ended up in a tent together.

Chris [00:48:00] And wait. And then the dad and the friend are just in another tent?

Caller [00:48:05] Yes.

Chris [00:48:06] That’s an awkward hookup. If you think your dad knows and he’s like, yeah, yeah, yeah, I don’t want to talk about it.

Caller [00:48:16] It wasn’t quite a hookup. We don’t have enough time to dive into everything.

Chris [00:48:22] Sure. Sure. Andy wants you to know- says me and my husband of five years met on Tinder. Don’t give up hope. I like hearing that. Sarah says, I’m here with my boyfriend I met from Tinder and I love him. You can do it, Queen. People are saying get social with some online gaming. Go on Twitch. There’s some great communities. And then Jacob, I think it was Jacob asked- oh, no, Justin, again, asked a very important question. No running water? Does she burn her poo? Is that a thing?

Caller [00:49:04] No, it’s not. At least not usually. I have an outhouse.

Chris [00:49:09] You have an outhouse? Yeah, that makes more sense. I didn’t. I was surprised to hear that burning poo is a thing, but I was scared to express that because I got yelled at for not knowing about the location of polar bears on the globe. So I got a little nervous about expressing it. It sounded weird to me. Also, T Wade wants to know, how does your family feel about these stretches where you’re gone?

Caller [00:49:32] I think they’re I think they’re pretty much used to it, to be honest. I missed three Christmases in a row when I was in Antarctica and they were bummed, but they knew that Antarctica was a dream. I honestly hadn’t thought it would happen because there’s not that much penguin research and you kind of have to know the right people and get your foot in the door. And I just lucked out. Some people I worked with in the Aleutians had walked down there and told their former supervisor, Hey, we’ve got someone. And that was that was my way in. So my family, they’re happy for me and I- the other perk of this life is that I don’t work year round. My jobs are all separate. I’ve worked for Fish and Wildlife, Ph.D. students, worked for Noah. And I think other places. Anyway. But it’s all different. And I can I can travel in between. And so I go home and see my parents. My brother, not as much, but they they get over it. They get it.

Chris [00:50:40] What’s Christmas like in Antarctica?

Caller [00:50:44] At the camp where I was, we we don’t have any days off. And so we work on Christmas, but on Christmas we do as little work as we can do and we have a short day and then we make a total feast. We have a little fake Christmas tree that gets put up in early December and on Christmas morning, I make cinnamon rolls. And we have that for breakfast and whatever else, and open little gifts that we exchange and then we head out into the field for 3 hours or something. Get back home as soon as we can, and then we cook up a total feast because our camp is amazingly stocked with food and we eat as well as anybody else. We have a smoker and a grill and a full oven. An ice cream maker like a hand crank. We can pretty much do anything.   

Chris [00:51:41] You bring an ice cream maker to Antarctica?

Caller [00:51:45] Yeah. Ice cream is great in the cold.

Chris [00:51:49] That has to be the most useless item packed on that entire ship. That. I’m sorry. There has to be something else that is better used than an ice cream maker.

Caller [00:52:00] Well, it stays at the camp year round. The camp does have buildings. It’s a permanent place, so it only had to get there once.

Chris [00:52:08] Got it. Got it. Just down there baking cinnamon rolls in Alaska. Oh, someone said do you hunt-  Elliot, again, the same guy who asked if Kiwis tastes like the fruits said, Did you ever hunt birds for Christmas dinner? Elliot, you’ve got a dark mind and a dark soul. But it’s funny. Sky Muffin just arbitrarily said- this seems a little too Northern California for me- apropos of nothing, Sky Muffin says, You should try a little acid and just see.

Caller [00:52:42] What? I’m so confused.

Chris [00:52:46] Alejandra says me and my husband met online playing video games. Give it a try. A lot of people vouching for the the apps and the online life. Sky muffin vouching for acid.

Caller [00:53:00] The route I’ve tried there’s there’s a running club that meets on Wednesday nights for runs and they call the runs Fahrenheit be darned because it’s very cold. When I ran today, it was -17 degrees out. But there are no guys my age that have been showing up for these runs. Like, what do I have to do?

Chris [00:53:22] How weird that there’s like no single guys coming out to run around at -17 degree weather. I don’t know if that’s like most people, that’s just how specific your life is that to you that’s like I’m that maybe that would be a good bike hook up spot. Outdoor runs in -17 degrees. Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness.

Caller [00:53:44] Yeah. I don’t know, I, I’m still trying the dating apps, but. Uh. I don’t know. I think I’ve thought for years that it’s corny, but it’s going to be when I’m either playing with puppies somewhere or walking, traveling, like, just on my own. And solo travelers, that’s, that’s when you meet people. I’ve made great friends, and maybe that’s what will happen. I’ll be on some hike and the right age person and I will start talking. And who knows?

Chris [00:54:15] And his beard will be an appropriate length. .

Caller [00:54:19] Exactly.

Chris [00:54:20] All the utility companies that you hope are on your checklist. All those bills will be coming showing up in the mailbox. We never really got we got a little sidetracked. You know, you had started the thought of saying, like, I know this isn’t a job that lasts forever, but we never totally got around to what your game plan is when when it is time to move on or if you have one yet.

Caller [00:54:42] I don’t have one. I do have and idea that kind of works, kind of doesn’t. So I love baking, but I don’t have any actual training. I love baking and cooking, but I don’t like people having expectations. So I have this idea for a a little, little restaurant where there’s no set menu and whatever I feel like cooking or baking is what’s available. And when it’s gone, it’s gone and people pay a fair price and that’s it. And obviously that doesn’t really work as a business model. And one friend of mine said, so basically you want to run a soup kitchen?

Chris [00:55:29] Well, it sorta just sounds like you want people to come over for dinner.

Caller [00:55:35] Or that. So that doesn’t quite work. But it would work in a place like a small mountain town, like on the Pacific Crest Trail or the Appalachian Trail where these people are starving and they want food.

Chris [00:55:52] Just you take what you get style restaurant.

Caller [00:55:57] Yeah, exactly. And I. I don’t make bad food, but it’s just I have so many recipes saved that I’ve not tried. And when I’m just cooking for myself, food lasts forever. So I’m never gonna get to all of these recipes. But if I had people to cook for, then I could.

Chris [00:56:14] I kind of love it. If you set up a little outpost alongside one of those like long hike trails and just whoever’s passing through that day and grabs a seat at the table, throws you some cash and you throw some food down in front of them. I bet that would go over like gangbusters.

Caller [00:56:28] I think I would.

Chris [00:56:30] Have you do you do you want to do those those hikes? Have you thought about the Appalachian Trail or the the Pacific one? The other one. The Pacific Coast, right?

Caller [00:56:40] The Pacific Crest.

Chris [00:56:43] Pacific Crest.

Caller [00:56:44] Yeah, I have thought about it.

Chris [00:56:47] The west coasters in this everyone’s here is West Coasters just got mad at my completely blasé dismissal of the entire West Coast version. The same thing.

Caller [00:56:58] I’m sure. I’ve thought about it.

Chris [00:57:03] I’m sorry to interrupt but I just have to say I’m learning a lot about Sacramento, which is like it’s a city that’s very fun and very weird in a way that I like. But you don’t want to cross it. You don’t want the city mad at you. And they’re ready to be mad. They’re ready to be mad at almost anything. The polar bear thing. Me not remembering Pacific Crest. Like they’re ready to be mad at you in Sacramento. I don’t feel totally comfortable on this stage. So you were saying you have thought about doing these trails or you’ve done them?

Caller [00:57:42] I’ve thought about it. The only problem- I feel like I always come up with problems. But in this situation, field work mostly happens in summer, and summer is when you want to do these long hikes. So I think I’d need to take a summer off from work in order to be able to do it.

Chris [00:58:00] I would love that someday. I hope someday I read an article about this little innovative restaurant that’s just perched along a trail in the middle of nowhere. People go, Oh, if you want the best food in this area, you actually have to hike ten miles into the wilderness. And then you get a Michelin star, you get one of the stars that everybody fights for. And and it’s like they don’t take reservations. It’s just whoever shows up and needs it. And they once they run out of food, that’s when they stop cooking for the night. And it’s the best. And I’ll sit here and I’ll go I bet that that’s- I’ll bet that is that caller who was getting attacked by the flying chickens.

Caller [00:58:36] It could happen. Very well could happen.

Chris [00:58:42] Caller, oh, someone in the crowd just very sweetly- they didn’t yell it, just very quietly and sweetly went, Call it The Kiwi.

Caller [00:58:54] Aww. The Kiwi. That is cute.

Chris [00:58:58] Every time you speak about Kiwis, there’s like actual love that immediately comes through the phone and I can feel it.

Caller [00:59:05] Oh, you have no idea. That makes me very happy. But my love for New Zealand and my time there is it’s so strong. And the fact that they’ve been so locked down has broken me because I actually I really, really, really dislike politics, U.S. politics. I can’t stand it. And so my plan before everything happened, I was going to finally make my return to New Zealand last fall to flee election season.

Chris [00:59:36] Mm hmm. Mm hmm.

Caller [00:59:39] And then I couldn’t. I was stuck here.

Chris [00:59:45] If you are someone who likes to live in isolation and get away from politics, yeah, that was a long year. That was a long year. We’ve got people saying-

Caller [00:59:53] So bad.

Chris [00:59:54] People saying, I would go to that restaurant. Kathy says, There used to be a super successful tiny restaurant here in Sacramento that did that. Long live Le Bon Soup. So apparently that was the place. And now Jacob wants to know what’s your favorite recipe and can you share it?

Caller [01:00:13] There are probably a couple favorites, but my aunt introduced me to balsamic pork. Which is extremely easy to make. You saute some onion and garlic in some oil and then throw in some pork loin that you’ve chopped into bite sized pieces and then add some balsamic vinegar and some sugar and let it simmer and then serve it with rice, cous, cous, barley, whatever you want. It’s so good.

Chris [01:00:47] Everybody’s ready to come to your goddamn restaurant in the middle of nowhere now, Caller. Hey, we’ve got one minute left. I’ve been I’ve been fascinated speaking with you, and I’m wondering how you would like to end this. You’ve got one minute left. Is there anything you’ve learned, any wisdom you’ve accrued in your time in these remote areas that you want to make sure it gets on record and out there to the world?

Caller [01:01:08] I have two things. Not actually from remote places, but one is I just have to let you know that you’re rockin the red hair and freckles. I’m a fellow ginger.

Chris [01:01:18] All right. Okay. Okay.

Caller [01:01:21] And also, since you’ve been talking about Sacramento, I actually did spend two winters living just south of SAC on the Cosumnus river preserve, working for the Nature Conservancy in the area.

Chris [01:01:37] Look at that. Meant to be.

Caller [01:01:37] I’ve been to Sacramento climbing gym. I bet there are some climbers out there or gym goers who know that one.

Chris [01:01:44] I love that now you’re just getting cheapie naming local reference. You live in fucking Alaska and you’re somehow charming the crowd in Sacramento with local references. What other Sacramento shit do you want to name to get these people on your side?

Caller [01:01:58] New Helvetia Brewing. That was a go to when I lived there.

Chris [01:02:03] These people love you and they hate me. They’re mad at me and they love you. What else?

Caller [01:02:11] You should go in Woodland- I was just down there a couple of weeks ago. There’s a delicious Afghan food restaurant, and I know there’s one in Sacramento, too, but I went to the one in Woodland. It was so tasty.

Chris [01:02:25] Caller. This has been a lovely conversation. I just want to end on a couple of things, just a couple of last minute thoughts here from the crowd. Like farquad says acid. Try the acid. We have another person endorsing acid as something that will help get you where you need to go. And a question that I wish I had thought to ask and I’m so glad it came up. I want to close with this, sweet and simple. Maggie wants to know, Do you still bowl?

Caller [01:02:54] Oh, I kind of avoid bowling.

Chris [01:03:00] Because you saw a side of yourself that day and you don’t want to face it down ever again. You know what lives deep inside you. You don’t want to unleash that monster ever again.

Caller [01:03:11] No, it’s a dark place and I’m too competitive. I beat myself up still to this day, even though it should be fun.

Chris [01:03:18] I love it. And I have loved speaking with you and hearing about your fascinating life. And I hope that you start that restaurant someday. I hope that you find all the love you’re looking for someday. I hope you find some goods that aren’t odd up there in Alaska. And I hope you wind up with everything you want. And I hope that no- may no dad ever cock block you again. May no dad ever cock block you again.

Caller [01:03:42] Thank you so much, Chris. This has been fun. Keep doing what you’re doing. I appreciate it so much, especially when I’m out being attacked by birds.

Chris [01:03:52] Thank you so, so much, Caller. And thank all of you here in the live crowd in Sacramento. Thank you guys very much. I think the caller’s off the line? All right.

Caller [01:04:04] I’m still here.

Chris [01:04:05] Oh! Okay. Thank you so, so much for calling. Thank you all for coming. What a joyous thing. Thank you for the people who contributed with the hashtag and made it so much fun for me and added to the show. And to anybody who is sticking around for the late show, I’ll see you in just a little while. To anybody if this was all the time you’re spending with me tonight, thank you so much for supporting me and the show and and being a big part of things. It means the world. So for a lot of you, I think I’ll see you in a little while. I’ll be right back out doing some standup. And and again, anybody else if you’re splitting tonight, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you so much for coming. And I can’t wait to come back. And thanks again. Caller, thank you so much for calling in. Live crowd in Sacramento, thank you so much for attending the show. Andrea Quinn, thanks for coming on the road with me and handling all the sound. Anita Flores and Marcus Hahm and Jared O’Connell back home in the home office, thank you for taking care of everything. ShellShag, thank you for the music. Again, if you want to know when the live shows are, ChrisGeth.com. And hey, wherever you’re listening, there’s a version of a button that says subscribe or favorite or follow. Hit that button. It helps us so much when you do. If you want to know about our merch, go to podswag dot com. If you want ad free episodes, Stitcher Premium is where you’re going to go. Stitcher dot com slash beautiful. You go ahead and get a free month. It’s good times. Thanks for listening.