IWD- Ceasar from Houston

Right now being a teenager is stressful because it's too hard to fit in. Like, is it better for me to break it down to him and let him know, like, look, man, you're gonna have different topics? Like, you know, I, I think that takes—

that takes his entire life of being groomed that way to, um, I think it's a couple things. Do not care what other people think. So like, just not have that affect who you are. You don't change who you are to try and mold into something that's trendy. Um, like, be yourself.

Let's go.

And that's just— I feel like takes an entire life of being told that along the way. Um, and at the same time, having such a good support system at home, having just a loving home— that's where I think, you know, that mom and dad relationship's super important. And having such a strong, loving base at home to where you are loved unconditionally, uh, no matter what you do, um, uh, that other people's opinions don't matter. Much. That makes sense?

Yes.

No, I think that, that— because, because that's a real issue. I mean, we've heard that a lot as far as teenage anxiety, teenage depression, teenage suicide is skyrocketing, uh, simply because everyone's trying to compare themselves, everyone's trying to be better, be who they are not, and try and fit in and try and be cool. And everyone's posing for like the perfect picture and adding filters to make it look right. And then other people are seeing that and trying to compare themselves to it. And I think just the— it's my natural skill. Like in high school, I never cared about fitting in. It was just, I'm gonna go my way. If you guys come with me, it's great. If you don't, I just think you're idiots. So like, I just— I was so cocky, I guess, that I just always felt I was right. Like, I didn't care what I wore. I wore, um, I went to San Jose High School, and the football team and weightlifting team sports, which I was involved in, they give you maroon shorts and gray shirts, and it says your sport team and, you know, the school name and logo. That's all I wore for 4 years. I wore gray shirts and maroon shorts because they gave them to me free, and I just did not care. They were usually not super clean. I'd wear them 2, 3 days in a row. I had, you know, 30 pairs of each. Um, but I never cared about fitting in in that sense. And it was just my innate personality. Like, I, I don't remember specifically being like groomed or raised that way, but I probably was. It's just, who cares? Like, fitting into something trendy is just stupid. Like, the trend is going to change. The people that are cool right now in middle school aren't going to be necessarily cool in high school, and those kids aren't going to be cool later on in life. Like, um, So, the ability as a parent to kind of navigate that depending on your child's personality, just say, "Fitting in just isn't that important. Like, be a good person, you know, be a moral person, be who we raised you to be. We're going to love you at home, so who really cares about what other people think?" And then just find things that, that fit your culture and fit your morals and values and are also good people. And if they're not the cool kids, fine, don't hang out with cool kids, but, you know, do what's right and, you know, be who you are. And just— you're always going to hear and see that outside noise, but just developing the ability to not let it through you. And I'm not sure 100% how you do that. So I think part of it's just— I think part of it's just, you know, the first 14 years of their life kind of every opportunity that presents itself, uh, to try and hone that skill. I mean, we're doing that with our oldest right now. He's 9 and he's very, uh, he's the entrepreneur. He's also a little on the OCD side, um, and, and probably cares more about being cool than, uh, than I ever did. That's something, you know, every chance I get, I, I, you know, we work with him on it. I've, you know, Buying those cool jeans so you can fit in doesn't mean anything. It doesn't do anything. Like, it doesn't add value to you as a person. It doesn't change who you are. And in the end, nobody really cares anyway. Like, what, one person? It's the same thing. I feel the same way about cars. I've never cared about vehicles. Like, I've never cared what the guy sitting next to me at the red light thinks about my vehicle. I drove older beat-up trucks just 'cause it gets me from A to B. It's loud, which I like. It uses a lot of fuel, which I like. And it's a 4x4, which I like. And it's big. And when it gets dented at the store, I don't care. And when my kids make messes in it, I don't care. So it was never aesthetically pretty. And the people around in the shopping centers and on the street probably didn't think much of that vehicle. But I just, I so genuinely did not care what they thought. They thought they were stupid and they were wrong. I mean, they're gonna try and judge me based on a vehicle, you know. So that's the story I usually go to with him, um, you know, when it comes down to clothes or buying something to be cool. Uh, that's my story and I'm sticking with it.

Yeah, I mean, I, I agree with you, 100% agree with you on that. I'm the same way. I, you know, like you said, I wasn't really— I didn't fit in, I'll be honest. I didn't really talk to a lot of people in high school. I had a small circle because I was really— I just didn't care, you know. Like you said, you know, you, you are who you are at the end of the day. If they like you, they like you. They don't, they don't. But it was just— I— it just like, it blows my mind how a lot of, a lot of kids growing up nowadays, they don't have that mentality. Like, you know, growing up, a lot of people are more worried about the other what the person is doing versus what they're doing with themselves, you know. And I just, I see that a lot. And, you know, I try to understand, but I just can't. And, you know, I try to break it down to them. I try to explain it to them. Like, it's, it's something that you can't really go up and beyond and try to look at what other people are doing versus you. It's like, you know, like I always tell them, like, you drive looking forward, you know. You don't drive looking back.

And it's difficult when they're raised watching their parents try and fit in, when they're watching their parents buy cars that they can't afford to impress other people. That's because they— when their parents are buying the clothes to fit in and be cool, when their parents are buying decoration to fit in with what's trendy so that their neighbors think they're cool, you know. So And there's a lot of that. There's a lot of keeping up with the Joneses, just trying to fit in as adults. So, and that, that is, that's gonna be a tough thing to teach. I think the model is probably, probably an important thing as well. All right, we'll start. Uh, welcome to 100% Dad, interviews with dads. Uh, Caesar, I know nothing about you, so you gotta, you gotta fill me in on the basics. Name, Uh, if you're married, how many kids you got, all that kind of jazz.

Uh, yeah, 20 years old, 28 years old, you know.

Okay.

Yeah, I've been with somebody for about already 12 years, so, you know, that's where my 4-year come from.

Somebody, does somebody have a name?

Uh, her name is Jaritza.

Okay, so you got high school sweethearts?

Yeah, we've been, we've been, you know, we had our ups and downs already, you know. Yeah, a lot of, a lot of good moments, a lot of bad moments, but you know, we're still sticking through.

That's every relationship.

Yeah, I mean, eventually I had to figure it out the hard way, you know. Obviously you trying to figure out there's something best out there, but it's not always greener on the other side.

So yeah, so you know, they got a 4-year-old, you're, you're, uh, got a long-term girl. 12 years since you were 16. Uh, what do you do for a living?

I work for an oil and gas company. I went to the fracking business.

You're in Texas then?

Yeah, you're in Texas. Okay, what part of Texas? Oh, we're— I'm located in Houston, Texas.

Okay, I know where that is.

Yeah, that's where, uh, that's where we located at. Uh, it's pretty much in this assembly line. Obviously right now Texas is getting hard, hard hit with oil and gas, but You know, we're still managing to stay alive for the moment.

Oh yeah, gosh, has that changed at all? I remember when oil was crashing. I mean, it was great at the pump because, yeah, it cost— it went down insane.

I mean, right now I was doing— there's a lot of contracts that's been canceled due to the whole pandemic stuff going on. Oh, pretty much, you know, these are— Alred, the governor, and everybody else trying to maintain it. I just have one kid where like they don't want to currently close. I wouldn't say, but right now there's been a lot of layoffs, a lot of Pretty much.

How do you say— I need you to speak. I need you to speak up a little bit. I'm having trouble hearing you.

I know, sorry, sorry. For the most part, slowly but surely picking up. Have one 4-year-old. Everything's promising 2021. Obviously you got, uh, going on. So yeah, same girl for a long time. And they're pretty much planning for 2021.

Common law, got it.

2020, it's already out the window.

What do you do in the oil and gas? I'm having trouble hearing you, so I might go grab some headphones on.

Okay, so we, uh, we assemble the frac— oh, they call frac pumps.

Okay.

Yeah, so pretty much right now we're just— right now we're just doing anything that comes up, to be honest. I mean, there's really not a lot of sales going on. Work for, you know, for all these oil companies that are in the west, west side of Texas, like, uh, Odessa, Midland, all that stuff right now. But yeah, uh, so they had a lot of layoffs as well. So, you know, we're just trying to figure out what's going to happen.

You ready for that if that happens to you?

Um, I have no choice. I stay ready, you know, that's just my motto. I always got to stay ready just because because, because you never know, right? I've been looking at other jobs as well.

How long you been with them?

I've been with them 5 years, started with them 2015.

Okay, and you've already survived a few rounds of layoffs, it sounds like?

Oh yes, a couple, a couple rounds. But you know, do they like you? And that, and I like to learn, so I have, I have more than, you know, one skill trait, you know. I move around, I know how to do more than one thing. So obviously right now they have me bouncing from one department to a different department, just do whatever they need me at the moment.

How are you getting prepared in case that— or that day does happen?

Oh, right now at the moment I'm actually just enrolled at this, uh, life insurance as a sales guy. So I'm, I'm getting my fingerprints. Yeah. No, I have to take the test, but I got to get my background check first and then do my fingerprints and all that good stuff. And then after that, I have to take the test.

Okay.

Yeah, you know, like I said, I just want to get ahead and be proactive about it. I don't want to get caught off guard.

That's smart.

Yeah, because I mean, you got, you got a couple months and then, you know, the year's over and then you got Christmas and then I'll be the That would not be a good thing to, to go through again.

Now, do you guys, uh, is— I wouldn't think that business is too seasonal, is it?

Uh, well, in December we get— it's a 2-week shut off. They do a whole facility shut off because there's no sales going on. So we get Christmas and New Year's paid off. But, uh, seeing the things— are seeing how things are going right now, I don't know. They probably just tell us, you know, either you have a choice, 2 weeks no pay, or you can use your sick time or your vacation time. So we'll see how it goes.

Yeah, you stockpiling cash at home?

Yeah, so you know what I mean, you haven't— I have no choice, you know, start cutting a couple subscriptions, you know, Netflix had to go, Amazon had to go, and you know, it's pretty much just cutting all expenses that I don't that I don't really need.

And yeah, but, and you know, hopefully it doesn't happen, correct? And then, you know, then you have a nice pile of cash at the end of all this and everything goes back to normal. That'd be a pretty sweet situation.

Yeah, it would. But like I say, you know, you always got to prepare for the— you know, hope for the best, prepare for the worst, right? So you never know what's gonna happen.

So life insurance, um, which I'm big on— I'm big on term life insurance. I feel like every dad needs to have that. It's, it's Yeah, it's one of those things that it's almost irresponsible not to have in my eyes, just because if you go and you're the provider, my gosh, you just left your family, the people you supposedly love, in a real tough spot. So, and so, dagum cheap. Uh, all right, that's a good— I mean, that could be a really good career. I've seen people, you know, I've seen a few people flame out of it, but, uh, I've seen a lot of people do really, really well.

Yeah, like they were just pretty much showing me how you got to stay consistent, you know, keep pushing, pushing, uh, you know, within 2 years I could watch you make a good amount of cash. And like, it depends on the person, you know, every— each individual is different. I mean, me personally, I like to be ambitious, like to keep going. I mean, yeah, I have my set— my, my setbacks, but you know, I still gotta keep going, you know. I have a motive, you know. Especially my little one. Yeah, he sees you, so let him keep going.

Anytime you're starting from scratch in sales, it's, uh, it's challenging. I mean, that first year is not gonna be great. It's just, that's the reality of it, no matter what they tell you. And they'll all tell you, you know, especially the bigger companies, the Aflacs and things like that, where they're always hiring and recruiting, um, you know, they'll kind of dangle that big carrot and show you a few examples of some people that did it real fast. But the reality is that stuff just takes time. Time. It takes time to, you know, to build that pipeline, to get those sales, and they kind of perfect your pitches and, you know, the way to handle some rejections and things like that. It just takes time. Yeah, but it's a good career. I really think it is. Yeah. Are you wanting to do that like part-time first, or you just—

at the moment? At the moment, yes. I have a schedule that kind of helps me out. I only work Monday through Thursdays, so pretty much I could do my afternoons and my weekends. So it's gonna be more of a part-time thing.

Is it a 1099 position or is it a company kind of hiring you on payroll?

Uh, pretty much. I really don't know much information on that yet. Okay. I just— I didn't get that far with her. She's gonna get me into all that details on Monday. She's gonna have a one-on-one. Obviously she had more than one person at the conference. She had a Zoom. So, uh, on Monday she's gonna have a one-on-one with me and I'm gonna ask her every single detail that I want to know You get a bulk cut now.

There's nothing wrong with 1099. It's— you're, you're in a sense in business for yourself. You're just selling her, uh, her product. What is that?

Okay.

And so like, you have to withhold— make sure you withhold your own taxes. So like, take at least 25% of everything. Every time you get a check from her, take 25%, set it aside, because that's going to the government. And so you don't want to get to the end of the year and, you know, have made $40,000 and they ask you where their $10,000 is and you've already spent it. That would be a bad thing. So, but you get some more, you know, some tax write-downs for expenses and things like that, unless they've changed all that.

So it can be a good thing, but Yeah, well, according to her, they updated a lot of stuff, and she's gonna fill me into that. Like, I'll tell you, you know, there's a lot of— like, like you said, there's a lot of things that play factor, you know, taxes, and then a lot of commission percentage, you know, who gets what cut. And like, you know, there's a lot to it in the background that goes on, and I want— I really want to know. Like I told her, I want to get myself to that just to be—

is it Is it a— do you know if it's term life or whole life?

Uh, like term life, as in like—

so, so term life policy, so that would be, uh, you know, you come to me, want me to buy life insurance, you say, hey, a 20-year policy for $1 million is going to cost you, you know, $40 a month, and that's it for the next 20 years. And if you die, you get $1 million. If you don't die, we get to keep the money. That's—

oh no, no, no, that's not like that.

Okay, so it's whole life where you're paying in, then you can get some cash back at certain times, things like that? Correct.

Yeah, right.

I don't like those.

Well, why is that?

So from the consumer standpoint, uh, the good news is on the sales side, your commissions on them are massive, uh, especially if you get into like the higher dollar clientele. I have some friends that are in the insurance business and they'll sell a really rich old guy on a $5, $6 million whole life policy and they'll make like a $30,000, $40,000 commission. It's a big chunk. It's so expensive for the consumer. So I've had a lot of insurance guys pitch them to me before as ways of tax sheltering or saving or transferring wealth to the next generation, things like that. And they're so insanely expensive for the amount of coverage they provide. And then they're kind of— they kind of act as an investment vehicle, so they grow, you know, you can't see my quotes, they grow in value. And if you look at what that thing will grow in value to in 10, 20 years after you've paid into it, it's a terrible investment. So you're better off getting, in my opinion, getting the term life insurance policy So like I have a million dollar policy, I pay $400 a year for. So I only pay $400, I got a million dollars worth of coverage if I die. And then we do investing with our investment team and that stuff's making, I mean, it's all over the board, but 12%, 15%, 8%, 16%, it's depending on what it's plugged into. And this whole life policy seemed to be paying out like 1, 2, 3%. At the end of 20, 30 years. So, okay, it just, it becomes really expensive coverage and a really bad investment tied into one. And then, and then you're just made to believe that it was a good thing. So from a consumer standpoint, I don't like them.

Okay.

From a salesman standpoint, man, you guys can make some big bucks on them.

Okay, well, that— yeah, yeah, I mean, that's good information, you know, to take because, you know, also, you know, you also want to see both sides of the of the situation because, you know, I'm just only hearing what she's telling me, right? But like I said, I wanna, I wanna know more. And I told her Monday so I could do my own research as well.

Yeah, the people that sell them truly seem to believe really strongly in them. Um, and whenever I bring up that argument that I bring up, they tell me I shouldn't look at it like that. And it doesn't make sense.

Why not?

I forget the reason why, because it's been about 4 or 5 years since I've had that conversation with an agent. Oh yeah. But yeah, he was telling me, yeah, if I look at it from that standpoint, that viewpoint, then not good. But if I look at it from his standpoint, it is good. I just can't exactly remember what that was. But I was like, well, it's very expensive insurance and a terrible investment. So, you know, this is something I'm spending money on and I want insurance coverage, life insurance coverage. And I don't necessarily need the investment, so I'll do the much cheaper life insurance. Correct. And, uh, and then I'll just do the investing on my own like we have always done.

Yeah, I mean, yeah, there's no way to see it too, you know, like you also wanna— you wanna get the best of both worlds, right? You wanna get good life insurance and good investments as well. But like you said, yeah, she only explained to me as a salesperson, you know, she didn't explain to me the other side. But I mean, I guess I just heard trying to get her build home network, you know, at the same time.

Well, anybody in sales, um, you know, you're always trying to recruit a team and build up a team. And, uh, you know, if you go that trajectory, then you'll probably get to that level too. Um, because most salesmen, even though a lot of them probably should stay in sales, they end up going to the management level where you go from selling the product to selling people to join your team to sell the product. Makes sense.

Yes.

Um, so I mean, that's how companies grow, that's how more products get sold. So, um, you know, it's perfectly normal. It's, it's what every single company does that has a sales team.

Question, uh, so what was the, uh, what initiative started 100 Dad, or how did that come across with—

so the abbreviated, the abbreviated story was, um, I used to get these dreams where I would die. Like, it was just, it was a weird thing. So I just, I didn't feel like I was very lucky. So I thought somehow I was going to die, like, by the time I was 30, and I didn't want to leave my family in a pinch. And so I started writing, uh, uh, we owned a few small businesses, so I started, like, writing details, like a binder, put it together, um, about how to run the business, like, the day after I died. Like, you know, who my wife needs to call, what we need to tell the employees, what we need to tell our vendors, our customers. That way the whole thing didn't like crumble and collapse because that was our only source of income. So I wrote that out, it was super detailed, and like I went, went back and looked at it, it was really, really good. It was like 2 inches thick, and it really helped me with the business as well because I gained a new understanding of how we operate and was able to change some things. But I thought that was so good that I replaced Townsend Russell, the business owner, that I thought I would just kind of continue it and say, all right, let me start writing down things for my kids that in the event this actually does happen, um, that I'll be able to, you know, be a father past my death. Like, I'll be able to pass the lesson why I think this way and things like that. That way I don't leave them words and kids that grow up without a dad. Um, so that was kind of how it all started. Um, I wrote that, um, I kind of turned it into a book, which is a terrible book. We never released it, never published it. Or anything like that. His parenting books sucked. And then we were getting ready to— we just felt like the call to sell our businesses. And so we sold them in 2019. So in preparation for that, we started kind of creating a brand around it and starting to put out just little bits of information. Figured we just— we had the financial ability to kind of retire and travel the country. So we combined that um, with, you know, pushing the brand and, and getting more exposure and getting better at releasing the content. That's kind of what we've done so far. So we're kind of taking pieces from that, that, uh, those initial writings and just releasing them a little bit, little, little bite-sized pieces at a time.

Okay, that sounds—

and then the goal is to grow. If we can reach a lot of people and, um You know, I feel like it's nice to have a positive dad voice out there because there's a lot of good dads. There's just, there's just nothing that really gives them, uh, like an affirmation, like, uh, oh, I agree with this. There's usually just all the dads, all the dad stuff's about jokes. All the dad stuff's about, you know, stupid, stupid things dad does or mistakes or, um, goof-ups or, you know, something sports-based or Uh, yeah, it's all comedy-based stuff. So to have something that's kind of, um, strong and valid and moral and in a positive light, I just feel like good dads appreciate and can agree with. And if a dad out there is struggling and comes across it, then it's something they could help them. Um, and then, uh, maybe if there's somebody out there without a dad that's watching it, you know, it's kind of they can get some wisdom from, or good dad wisdom from someone else, since they're not getting home, you know. So that's the whole kind of concept about it. How we, how we twist that and turn that into a business, not 100% sure yet. We'll just see how it goes. We'll kind of, we'll kind of just keep pushing the content out for now. You know, everything's free, we're not selling anything. And then maybe one day we'll flip the switch and and maybe get on some advertisers and things like that. I don't think we'll ever sell the content in a sense, so it'll always be free to consume, but we'll see. But that's kind of how it started, that's where we are, and that's where we may or may not go.

So yeah, you know, just see how it goes, you know, try it out. Nothing wrong with that, you know.

Yeah, I mean, I have, I have plans for it, we just don't know if they'll come through. So, and then I've always been the business owner that's been willing to just change everything at a moment's notice. So that'll probably happen 3 or 4 times. So all my original plans with all of my businesses did not play out. So my, it's also why I think business plans are stupid. So I never wrote a business plan 'cause if I had, we would've sunk up. 'Cause whatever the business plan, whatever my business plan would've said, like we ended up going 180 degrees a different way. Uh, just because you go where, where it makes sense, you know, circumstances change, factors change. You got to be able to be fluid.

Yeah, I mean, not everything goes as planned. I agree with that, man. That's a, a big one for me. I had big plans this year, and, you know, even before pandemic started, you know, I started, uh, last year, 2019, Uh, I had a— I was playing, uh, soccer and I had my ACL, you know, I had to get my ACL restored and, you know, had to get surgery on my knee. And after that, the pandemic started and now we're here. And like you said, you know, so that's not where I wanted to be at, but like you said, no, as you go, you change, you change direction, man.

So you've been on like house arrest for what, like 6 months? Because ACL is a long recovery, isn't it? Yeah.

Yeah, so I've been, I've been quarantined before even quarantine started, kind of way. Yeah, so I was, uh, I, I tear my ACL in October. I got surgery like first week of November, and I was in bed for 2 months. After, in January, I was back to, you know, walking. February, I start, I start going back to work, and the next time you know pandemic came and start all over again.

How were you paying the bills without working?

Oh, well, good thing I had that, uh, I had a third party insurance.

Oh, okay, good. Like a short-term disability?

Yeah, so I had a short-term disability, so, you know, that was pretty much covering part of it. But at the same time, you know, couple savings went down with that.

What percentage did that cover?

Uh, they only covered 65%.

65%, okay. Yeah, that's doable.

Yeah, 65%, of course, you know, that's— it's not— it's not bad, but it's not that great either, you know. Obviously I had— the good thing about it— yeah, the good thing about it is I already had some time there, so I kind of used a whole month worth of vacation time just to kind of— just to kind of make that time up. But even Even besides that, it was still quite a good challenge for me. I say it's a challenge because, you know, that's the way I like to put things out there.

Is your girl mad at you for playing soccer and then ruining your career?

Well, she wasn't like career, but she was more like, ah, this is it for you. I don't want to see like a ball or anything around. She just said like, she just put it like this, if you ever want to go play, just think about the time you were in bed and not be able to move anything. And I was like, oh, that's good. That's a good way to put it. I'm an active person, you know, I like to stay active. Like, at the moment, all I could do right now is just bike, you know, bike ride, you know. I'm starting to, you know, run a little bit, but still, I'm not— I'm not 100% there yet.

I'll tell you this much, if you own a bike shop right now, you're making— are blowing up because everyone's biking now because there's nothing else to do.

Correct. I had my bike for over— for 2 years now, but, uh, we try to go get a bike for her on Walmart Academy, all the bike shops are, are gone. Like, literally, they're gone. You know, people would have known that he would have invested some money in a bike shop, like you said.

Or we had a friend with a bike shop right before we left, and he was just— I mean, he was stressed out because there— he was just getting pounded with so many people in the, in the store all the time. He just wasn't used to it. This guy's— yeah, there's just, there's just nothing else to do. You got to go ride your bike. I mean, can't go anywhere. And, uh, yeah, that was it when everything was shut down for, for like that first month. Um, but yeah, raking it in though.

Yeah, I mean, yes, right now it's like a good way to do it, you know, stay biking, stay active. Uh, you know, unfortunately a lot of people have gained weight during this whole pandemic because, you know, all they've been doing is just eating, staying home. And of course stress plays a lot of a lot when you're— when you're, uh, it makes you gain weight as well.

Yeah, no, it does. I've been on that trend for like 2 years now.

Oh, the which one?

The gaining weight.

Well, that's more of a personal thing or more of a I just, I just like to eat a lot, or I like food. You like food, a lot of cars. Yeah, you should probably come to Texas.

How'd you, uh, how'd you end up, uh, finding out about this and us and all that jazz?

Just pretty much, uh, it popped up as a— and, and, um, an Instagram. I just pretty much like what, you know, I have some quotes in there that I kind of like, so as you know, I went ahead and liked the I like the page, you know. Obviously, yeah, obviously there's a lot, you know, going on right now with, you know, pandemic, society, people thinking a certain way and all that. And I just think being, being, having a, a father figure in part has a lot to, you know, play a factor, you know, in my opinion, right? Uh, you know Obviously, you know, we're trying to, we're trying to raise our children. Well, me personally, I'm trying to raise my children better and give them a better future than what I had. But when there's a lot, a lot going on around, it's like you're trying to prepare him for something that is way out of your control.

And so, uh, have you talked to him at all? Uh, it's a him, right? Your boy?

Yeah, yeah, he's a boy.

But he's 4, right?

He's 4.

Yeah. So you're not having super in-depth conversations about what's going on around the world?

Uh, no, I'm not. Uh, me and him, we— a lot of— we used to spend a lot of time at Chuck E. Cheese, Dave Buster's, you know, a lot of me and him. And right now he's more like, what's going on? Why can't we go to Chuck E. Cheese? Or, uh, what— well, let's go to Dave Buster's. Let's go play Angry Birds at Dave Buster's. And in my mind, I'm like, We can't go right now, it's closed. And the other day he asked me to go to the trampoline park. I said, we can't go, it's closed. And he's like, no, it's not. And I was like, how much you want to bet, uh, it's closed? I'm not even gonna make no deal or anything, let's just go see if it's open or closed. So we went to the trampoline park, he saw it was closed. He's like, okay, Daddy, it's closed, you know. But pretty much other than that, I haven't really explained to him what's really going on. It's just more of a— he's kind of— he does—

he's just bummed out because he can't do the fun things he used to do.

Correct. But he does kind of like sees things different, like he's like questioning things, like why can't he go out to certain places, why can't he see certain people, you know?

Yeah.

And you know, a 4-year-old is really kind of hard to explain it to him.

No, I, I have a 4-year-old, I understand completely. It's tough to make them comprehend what the hell's going on.

Um, correct.

Is that half the time? I'm not even sure. I don't know. I don't know why we can go to this one but we can't go to that one.

Correct, right? So what makes one good, what makes one bad? So we're like, you know, even ourselves, we did a tour bus—

not a tour bus, a tour boat the other day. Um, we were at Grand Tetons in Wyoming, and so you got to take a boat over to the other side on the lake, and so they're doing social distancing and all. Okay, so like there's only, there's only so many people on the, on the boat, which is not 6 feet, um, but then like we're all, we're all like packed into this tight line waiting for the boat. Yeah, because there's way more people that can fit in there, so you all just jammed like sardine cans waiting for the boat. I'm like, just fill up the freaking boat. Like, we're already like within 2 feet of each other waiting because you can't put enough people on the boats to come across. It's like 150 people waiting to get on a boat. You're only putting like 6 people on a boat at a time. Just load that sucker up. We're already jammed together. And I mean, the kids were pointing that out, like, why we're all just standing next to each other here, why can't we just stand next to each other on the boat? Like, I don't know, it makes no sense to me.

Yeah, there's a lot of that going on. Uh, same here. We went to, uh, to a water park down by, uh, by Columbus, Texas. It's kind of half, half of uh, road to San Antonio, and we thought that we were going to get a certain amount of people there. That thing was packed. Yeah. And we're like, whatever happened to full capacity?

And you can't wear a mask near water because that's called waterboarding.

Correct.

Yeah. Luckily, if you do go— if you do go to those places, uh, 99.9% chance you're surrounded by people who just don't care about the wearing of the mask. So that's the only— you won't get like screamed and yelled at and become YouTube famous because you weren't wearing it. That's the only— that's the only positive that'll come out.

Do you personally wear a mask or no? What do you— what's your, uh—

we wear— we wear them where we have to. Um, you know, there's— we're, we're out— we're on tours, we're outsiders everywhere we go.

Uh, okay.

So I'm not— so I'm not looking to make a scene anywhere. Um, You know, if I'm standing next to somebody, we'll put it on. Um, you know, if they look nervous and they're wearing theirs, you know, if it's an older lady, you know, I'll just go ahead and throw mine up because I just wear my, uh, my fishing gear where it goes around your neck. But I had that stuff anyway because I'm a redhead and I get burnt easily. So pull it up if you're near somebody. Um, you know, if someone has a rule, I'm, I'm not looking to make a scene or cause trouble or anything, but I don't like it for certain. Like, the second I'm like— the second I'm not near anybody, I pull that thing down because I just, I don't enjoy it. So I do view it as— I do view it as a tremendous loss of freedom. Um, you know, I, I understand to an extent why they're doing it, then at the big picture, I have no idea why they're doing it. That's why this is getting all the attention and so many other things are not getting the attention. Um, Boggles my mind. Yeah, but I mean, we're pretty much respectful. That just tells you how much we're respectful of rules and, and the towns that we're going to.

Okay, that's good. Uh, yeah, you know, me personally, I do the same. Whenever somebody's around, I'll take it off. Uh, work at the moment, they're making us wear it. Uh, personally, when there's a lot going on I just take it down and I'm like, look, I'm sorry, but I need to, I need to, I need to get some air because the mask really does not allow you to breathe, especially when you're in tight places. Like, you know, you try to get under any tight places and try to, you know, tighten up a bolt or something, it's, it's pretty hard. So I kind of break it down, I take it down as well.

And then we also had COVID, so, so we're technically immune to it and we're carrying immunity. So because we were up in New York City, we were up in— so like the need for us to wear it is not there. But we were up in New York City in February before COVID like happened and reached the US. And then when we left New York City, 2 days later they had their first case. And then we just had the worst freaking flu. All 5 of us got it. And, you know, loss of taste. And then we didn't realize we had it until like 2 months later when it became a thing. We're like, oh my gosh, we had all those symptoms. All the medical people we've talked to said we probably have. I guess we don't know for sure.

I like— it's funny how you say that because around January I felt the same thing. Like last week of January, I felt sick, real— like you said, same symptoms, everything. I usually— I don't really get sick, but when I do, you know, I'll be in bed for like a day or two. And that's how sick I felt. Uh, my partner, she, she went— she got sick around the same time. She went to the doctor, uh, she, she tested negative for flu and, uh, I forgot what the other one— strep throat. And she came negative for both and she's like, oh, I don't know what it is. And then like, like you said, a few months later she's like, oh, it was probably It was probably—

yeah, there's a lot of people who are suspecting that they had it before it was, you know, you can't see my hands here, or is quote unquote here. Uh, yeah, yeah. So I don't know.

Yeah, it's a lot of—

it's all been— it's been a little surreal. It really has.

Yeah.

So, and then I was hoping this whole thing would be done by now, is the way— that's why we went on tour. We're like, man, this will be 2, 3 months, this will all be done, and then everything will open back up. So we decided we just go like the middle of the country where things are less crazy, because we originally were supposed to go up the East Coast where like it's like the worst. Um, and, uh, you know, we figured by now— we're actually supposed to go into Canada next week over to Banff, and the border's still closed, so we scratch that. And then, you know, it's, it's all rearing up again. So, so we're going to be going down— we are going to Texas. Um, We're in Montana right now, uh, Great Glacier National Park. And so we're looping across Montana, going to Minnesota, then the Dakotas, I think Oklahoma, then down to Texas for like late fall, early winter. And so we'll be in Texas for about a month, um, and then heading over like New Mexico, Arizona, that area, uh, because you got to ride the winter out where it's warm. Okay, so we will be down there. Anything I need to do while I'm down there? Any cool things to see?

Uh, depending what you're into. I mean, I haven't really visited Dallas, to be honest. It was more of Austin, San Antonio. Uh, there's a lot of cool things to do in Austin, you know, like what? Kind of more like, you know, if you want to go kayaking, kayaking, or, um, you know, there's a couple rivers. Like, there's a, you know, you want to, want to go in the river or you go tubing, it's what they call it. Yep. You know, can you do that in the winter? Uh, nah, there's an indoor, there's a water park in Dallas.

I'm gonna be there in the winter. Help me out for the winter.

Oh, for the winter?

Don't tell me what else to do in the summer. I won't be there in the summer.

Oh man, well, there's a water park, indoor water park in Dallas, so—

okay, but, uh, indoor water park?

Yeah, but ain't no fun. That ain't—

what's the weather like down there in, uh, in the winter?

Still, for us, it's summer, man.

Oh, that's good. So I'm from Florida, like, I'm used to— we might get like 2 weeks of winter and there might be 1 or 2 days below freezing if if that. Um, and that's at night, so I mean, during the days are still like, you know, 50s, 60s at the coldest.

Um, yeah, a little bit of that, but not, not like you say cold, cold. Like lowest would be like 65s.

Oh, that's great. But yeah, so that's what city— and what city is that?

Uh, well, that would be here in Houston. That's how, like, pretty much it gets hot out here, you know. Pretty much in the winter, we, we get winter like max is like 3 weeks.

And other than that, other than that, so what do I need to do near Houston? What's there to do come wintertime? You got any like national parks, state parks, anything worth seeing?

Or just—

I just need to go to the oil fields and give you a hand at work.

Uh, nah, well, more like an outdoor guy, right?

Yes, I like being outdoors.

Yeah, yeah. So it's like, there's really not much in Houston. It's more of a city, you know. It's a lot of bars, you know, a lot of, you know.

I'm not, I'm not taking my kids to a bar.

Yeah, I know. So there's a lot— there's really not a lot of—

I guess we're skipping Houston.

Yeah, you skip Houston for a while. It's getting a little too— it's getting too crowded over here.

So we typically don't go to the big cities. We stay like more remote areas, like outside the city, uh, because that's where the state parks and national parks are, usually some trails, things like that. But what I hate is like when we go on like a day hike or something and it's all pine trees, you just see nothing but pine trees. It's like the worst hike in the world to me. Like, I like it when you can see water, when you can see like a waterfall or a stream or some rocks or cliffs or you know, maybe some different trees or, you know, some different geography shapes or a canyon or, you know, pine trees suck. We got enough of them. That's all Florida is, is pine trees. I've seen enough pine trees for my life. I don't need to see any more.

There is a place over there, it's called Concan, Texas. It's south of San Antonio. That is a nice place. They do have a park there, uh, you know, they have a lot, you know, couple of things you could do there, you know. Of course you got your trailer, but yeah, it's a nice— it's a nice place, man, especially in the winter. But it's kind of south, south of Texas, so it is kind of far.

We'll be heading to the south of Texas.

Oh yeah. Oh yeah, Conroe, Texas would be a nice place to visit. It's a lot real nice, nice view. It's a nice park. Only thing is that, uh, there's hardly any phone, cell phone reception over there.

Did you hear that train? Yeah, I didn't even know we had a train here. We do. Um, okay, so maybe we'll check out, see where Konkian is. Uh, I don't care about phone reception, we don't have it half the time anyway.

Ah, that's good.

Like, the whole time we were in Colorado, which is about 3 weeks, like zero reception, nothing. I couldn't do anything. I couldn't do any podcasts. We— I ended up going to a hotel for a night because I just had to like plan out all of our social media posts like the next month. Like, I, I scheduled them all in advance because I just knew like we weren't gonna have reception anywhere.

So that was a— that's the best way to do it now.

Not when you're trying to run it on— not when you're trying to build an online brand. It makes it very difficult to not be online. Kind of one of the key factors in the online space.

You're gonna have to go back to the old times, get a satellite phone or something.

No, those suck. Usually I can, I can drive somewhere, usually to find like the nearest town, and I can usually get signal and get somewhere, answer comments and things like that. Um, So it's not end of the world, but I certainly prefer it when we do have it. Like here in Glacier, like we are in one of probably the most beautiful national parks in the country, and we're like in the town that's inside the national park. And so we have— I'm on LTE right now, we have great signal.

That's good.

Yeah, best of luck to both of you then. Yeah, view's pretty good here. This. Well, you see a lot of campers.

Yeah, well, besides that, besides that, it's better than, than being in the middle with all those people, a lot of, a lot of traffic, a lot of houses, a lot of honking and all that.

Yeah, we got, we got away from people. That was our goal. We just, we just wanted to remind you, I guess, some of the more remote areas of the country. That was— if, if cities are going to go crazy, then we'll just not go to cities. I'll just go walk in the woods for the next year. I'll be good.

There you go.

It's actually been surprisingly more crowded than I thought it would be. I thought we were going to be out, you know, with no people anywhere. Like, every park, every RV park we go to is sold out, max capacity. Uh, you know, the trails we're going, there's people everywhere. I don't think they're as busy as like a normal summer busy season, but Um, it's definitely, it's definitely more crowded than I thought it would be. I haven't had a barber in months. Do I need to cut my hair? No, I'm looking at myself, I'm like, my beard's out of control, my hair is out of control.

It's actually good to let your hair grow and beard grow, you know, because they say you get more connection to, you know, to yourself. You find yourself, you find your, your other side of you. You're like, you know, you, you— so people are so used to getting the haircut, looking fresh and this, and then like when they let their hair grow and everything grow, they're like, all right, you know, they start more worrying about who they are and what they do versus how they look, you know.

So you're saying I'm turning into a hippie?

Nah, that's not it. I don't know what I said.

That's easy advice, uh, for a guy that's sitting there with a fresh cut.

I don't have a fresh cut, man. I've been letting my hair grow for a while.

That, that looks pretty fresh compared to this.

I still don't look bad though.

All right, good, because it froze out on me. It's super here. I have to wear a hat half the time, otherwise I look like Bozo the Clown. It just— it gets height. Go back 4 or 5 years ago when you guys found out you were pregnant. Uh, was that something you guys were attempting to do? Was it a surprise? You excited about it? Nervous? Scared? What was the— what was the mentality there?

Well, the moment I found out, it was more of a surprise, uh, but it was also as I'm like, oh, I was happy for it, you know. And I never, uh, you know, honestly, never— it never came across my mind. My goal was to be 30 and, you know, have a kid, right? But then later on, I was like, wait, probably is this the time? I don't know, we'll see what happens. But you know, this one they say you gotta From my personal experience, I had to have a different perception of life, right? And not just be selfish and think about myself. Now it's more of a, I need to start looking out what I need to do next, what's my next step, because now my decisions don't just go towards me, you know. I have somebody to look out to, you know.

Sure.

Like, uh, you know Luckily I have my dad, so, you know, I wouldn't want my kids not to have that, you know.

How's your relationship with your dad?

Uh, pretty good, you know. We, we still talk, we still, you know, we, you know, we still have moments, you know.

Do you guys live in the same town?

Yeah, we— I always get to see him, you know.

Okay, cool.

Yeah, we still, we still got good communication.

Did you grow up in a house with Mom and Dad, or was it just Dad?

Yes, yes.

Are they still together?

Yes. Oh, so that's— yeah, so you know, me personally, I, I'm lucky enough to have both parents, you know, pretty much. You know, not a lot of people could say that, but you know, growing up I thought that was really common. But then, you know, as you get older, you see other people, you see other— you know, you interact with other people, and then and then you're like, oh, my parents been separated since I was 4, since I was 6, you know. And I was like, oh, I didn't know that, right, right. But, you know, luckily I didn't get— I didn't have that.

So that is nice. I, I think that does help out. It's not a deal breaker by any means. I mean, I came from, uh, a divorce house. Uh, my parents split. I think my dad left when I was like 6 weeks old. He was always involved in my life, like every other weekend, things like that, or custody. Wise. Um, uh, but certainly I, I grew up thinking that was normal. Like, I— it was abnormal when both parents were home to me just because that's how I grew up. Yeah, but no, statistically it pays off tenfold if both mom and dad are at home raising kids. So I mean, that's just pure statistics. When, when you break up that home That's when you see the risk of, you know, criminal behavior, rapes, lower education, poverty, that stuff just skyrockets. And it's boring to get into the actual data and statistics. Like, it's very tangible. You can, you can just see it clear as day. So yeah, try and keep that house together. That makes me wonder. So Uh, you came from a house with mom and dad, and now you, uh, you said you're kind of married, kind of sort of married, common law married.

Yeah.

So like, is there a plan? Is there a plan to get married? Obviously you guys have a, you know, the intent of a long-term relationship. So what's the—

I mean, obviously right now we're actually— we're talking about that, uh, last week, and yeah, the plan is to be married.

Okay.

You know, get everything.

What are you waiting for?

Oh, kind of, uh, how do you say— I don't know, I guess they say it's different. Me personally, I just, I just have like, you know, growing up it's like, oh yeah, they kind of— once you're married, it's like that's it, right? But it's not like that.

It's just that I mean, you already said you, you pretty much already are. Yeah, you're just missing the paper.

Correct, correct. I'm just missing the paper and all that. It's just that, you know, I guess women have a different view of, oh yeah, I'm married, you're married now, so it's like I kind of like I own you, in other words. But in my mind, I'm like, nah, it's not like that, you know. So it's like, you know, a battle, but I guess it's just, you know, part of growing up and part of mature— maturing in a way. Okay. And And right now, that's where I'm at right now, you know. Of course, like I said, I'm 28, so now I see it's like, okay, now it's, you know, I already been through my young life, already been through this, you know. We've been together for this long, you know. Like you said, just make it happen. I'm not— there's no other reason why I shouldn't. So right now, at the moment, it's like, yeah, let's just go ahead and do it.

Yeah, as long— you guys been together a long time.

Yeah, man, it's been together Like I said, we had our quite a good ride. It's been a lot of difficult moments, you know, not everything seems, you know, like you said, it's like you have your—

just like that happens in marriage too. Yeah, I mean, 100%, it happens in both.

So yes, like you said, right now I feel more comfortable and I feel more more, I guess, mature and wise enough to say, yeah, we're married already. Versus, versus you was to ask me that like 2 years ago, 3 years ago, I'll be like, oh no, right? But like you said, we've been long enough to know, yeah, we're already married. Like, technically we're there for each other. I mean, she has my back, I have her back, you know. We all have the same goal.

So yeah, planning a future together, raising a kid together. Living together. There you go. You just need the paper.

It's the paper.

I'm not pressuring you.

No, I know, I know. I mean, you're not the first one that's been telling me so. I've had a conversation with a few, uh, a few other people as well.

But that— your parents in on that conversation?

Uh, yes, they do. It just— they just don't bring it up as often because they're like, just, just do whenever, you know, just do you, you know. They kind of don't— like right now recently, like, they don't really pressure me a lot of— there's a lot of things because they're kind of like letting me fly, I guess you could call it like that. They're letting me do my own decisions. Like, well, that's one of the things about my parents that I'm really like— I like. They don't really like get too much into my life, you know. Obviously, if there's something like doing wrong.

I think that's really good parenting, to be honest.

Yeah.

And like 100— like 100% to not try and change, because they already raised you, really. Now they're just kind of— this stage of life, you're already a man, you're already— you're in a long-term relationship, you have a kid. Like, for them to tell you what to do all the time, you know, they can be there for advice and counsel, but yeah, yeah, to try and force or dictate or mandate things at your age, it wouldn't even work. You'd probably do the opposite just because piss you off, or hurt, because it just feels wrong, you know?

Correct.

That's how it would be with me. Like, my mom or father were trying to tell me something and told me I had to do it, I'd probably do the opposite. Just as—

yeah, man. Uh, yeah, so luckily— and I'm saying it like that because I have friends and I have a couple family members that they do that to them, and you know I always tell everybody, you live your life however you want to live it, because you know, everybody, every individual has their own— has the right to live their life how they want to live it. But later on, don't be like— how do you say this— don't come at me crying about your problems and stuff like that, because you're allowing to do that. Like the other day, my cousin was saying, like, oh, her mom wants to control her life. I'm like, yeah, because you never put a stop to it. You never put your foot down and say, you know what, this is my life. You're already she's older than me, and I'm like, you need to make decisions upon your own, you know, whatever you think is right, you know. But like you said, you know, it comes to a point where you have to, um, you have to learn when parent— like you said, you, you— they already raised us. They know, we know what's right or wrong. And from now on, whatever decision we make is upon us, not them.

Yeah, that feels— I feel strongly you get like you get like that 12, 15 to the 18-year mark, and then, uh, you know, what you taught is what you thought. You know, you're there, you're there to kind of a shoulder to lean on. Beyond that, you've already raised them, you know. So now it's time for them to man up or woman up and go live their lives. Correct. Yeah. So, and I think, I think we're missing a lot of that because a lot of, a lot of, you know, 18-year-olds, they're still staying home, they're still relying on mom and dad. Can't cook and clean, can't, you know, get their own insurance or handle their own finances. You know, they're so dependent on mom and dad where, you know, like, like they're still a child.

Correct. So like, like, like on that view, like, it's funny how you say chores and stuff. I'm reading a thing that said that this guy said he doesn't pay his kids to do chores. But he— because that's a— that's something that each individual has— is responsible to do, right? Sure. So what he does is he, he makes him read books to teach him a skill trade or a skill, and that's how he pays them. Like, do you think his point of view is more Acre, which I agree, you know.

So, so he pays them for reading books?

He, he pays them if he learns a new skill by reading a book.

So meaning, uh, so they read like a woodworking book and then you bring him like a, a bear made out of wood, you'll pay him for that?

Correct. He gives them money for that, but he won't give him money— he won't give him money if he does his chores, meaning he'll clean his, you know, make his bed, clean his dishes, or throw away trash. And, and, and that's, that's— it was when I read that, when you said like chores and stuff like that, like it came to my mind right now because, you know, when I was growing up, they're like, okay, do your chores, uh, here you go, throw away the trash, you know, you cut the yard, okay, you get like $20 allowance. So that kind of he— what he's trying to say is like, you kind of, um, mentoring your kid that he's gonna have to work for a job when, when he could learn a skill and pretty much make that his job. Like, you know, make that skill evolve and pretty much, you know, have, have better chances out there.

I, I don't think that's a bad philosophy at all. Um, I think kids that don't like to read, that's going to be a struggle for. So His kids probably, and their personalities and their mindsets, they're probably more of a reading family. I think that'd be a struggle for some families. But yeah, my opinion is I don't think chores need to be paid for. I mean, there's certain things you do because we're all a family and we take care of the house together. But if there's things that are above and beyond, I don't know. Redo the garden or something like that, or, you know, deep clean, you know, detail my truck or something like that. I don't mind paying for that kind of stuff. But yeah, brush your teeth and take out the trash and do the dishes and make— clean up your room. There's just things we all do as a family. We all pitch in and keep the house in a good order. But I do like the idea of paying to read. I don't have a problem with that at all. I just think some kids hate to read. And some kids love to read and some kids are motivated by money, some kids are not motivated by money. So, no, I think it's smart, but I don't think it's going to work for every kid. She's kind of got to navigate those seas and figure out what's what and what works for your kid. Yeah, I, you know, I think kids that are— I have one kid that's super entrepreneurial and, you know, we'll hone that as best I can because that's my natural my natural style as well. Um, but you know, if the other ones— I wouldn't force the other ones that way if they didn't want to. But if they do, you know, I'll kind of figure out what their talents and skills are, kind of help get them there. I'm not going to make them all entrepreneurs and try and force it that way just because I was and that was my talent. Um, but if they all three turn out that way, great. It's something I can easily teach, so it'd be certainly easier for me. But, you know, you know, we'll, we'll just kind of play that as it comes. They're all pretty young right now, so, uh, none of us really dictated a career path they want to do. You know, my— for my stick bro, it just changed every town we go to. And when he learns something cool, I mean, it's changed every town we go to. You know, first he's going to be an archaeologist because we find some really cool dinosaur bones, and then he's going to be a magician, and then he's going to be a skydiver. And then he's going to be a boat tour guide. I mean, there's— there's— he doesn't know. Yeah, yeah, that's good.

That's good. At least he, you know, he has his mind out there busy besides just, you know, besides just being like, uh, for example, I'll be seeing a lot of kids over here just on their tablets or, you know, phones and Like, that's one of the things that I kind of— I'm really big on. I don't really like my kid to be on a phone or a tablet. I like him to be more of a hands-on, you know, get, get yourself out there, get dirty, you know, go run, you know, do something a kid would do. Well, what I would do when I was younger, you know.

So why do you feel that way?

Uh, I just feel that way because From my personal experience, like, I've seen him be more engaged whenever he's doing physical stuff versus just sitting there on a tablet. And either, you know, yeah, some videos, they might teach you how to do 1, 2, 3, but I think he's more engaged whenever I teach him, like, for example, to count those numbers or, or letters, you know. And also too, like, when he's out there playing, I feel like he, he's learning more stuff, in my opinion, you know.

So do you notice any behavior changes when he's on a screen a lot versus when he's not? Does he act any differently?

Uh, for me, he personally, when he's, when he's like in, in the tablet, because his mom lets him be on the tablet and I don't like it, he kind of like he kind of likes to— so he like zones out sometimes, right? Versus when he's like physically playing or doing nothing, he stays active the whole time. He doesn't like— he's like, hey Daddy, let's play. Okay, let's play, you know, let's play ball, let's play catch, let's play something. Like he's always wanting to do something physical. Okay, hey look, 1, 2. Then he starts counting his numbers. Let's go count. And I'm like, I count with him. So he's more— he interacts with me more, right? And yeah, when he was growing up, uh, he had like, uh, he had to go to speech therapy according to specialists because he wasn't really talking as much. But I blame that on the— in my personal experience, I blame that on the tablet. Because whenever, whenever I— it was a time I didn't allow him to use no electronic devices for 2 weeks. He was, he was talking more. He was pointing things out, you know, he'll say his colors. And then we go back again, the tablet came back, and then I see him going back again, starting all over. Like, he had trouble saying a couple words. He was struggling. He was like stuttering a little bit. And then I was like, okay, it's just what I think, right? I'm not an expert, but I just think it's what I observe.

No, you're a real-world case study.

Yeah, yeah. And I paid attention to everything that he would do, so I was like, okay, maybe we're gonna put that away and let's see how it works. So, you know, like I said, I tried, I tried both ways. I took it off 2 weeks, it worked fine. And then to now, it's like you can only use it for like an hour, that's it.

Yeah, no, that's smart. I mean, if you're noticing, you know, really easy to measure differences you're doing the right thing. We notice behavior changes pretty significantly, especially like if it's rainy or something like that, they're on their tablets or TV a lot more. And, you know, they're just— they're a lot more short-tempered, at least my kids, a lot more easily agitated. You know, they kind of get more of a fuzzy brain. You got to repeat things more often to them, kind of zone out a little bit more. You know, they don't listen as well. Lot brattier, uh, versus when we've been out in the woods for, you know, 5, 6, 7 days at all, they're, they're almost on point. Like, you, you wonder how you raise such good kids. Man, these kids are freaking awesome. Then we go back to the RV in a couple days with a tablet, you're like, who are these monsters? So I get it. And that might not be the same for everybody. Yeah, we definitely know that, like you did, I've measurable there.

Yeah, and I mean, like I said, I was never born on— I was never raised with tablets or phones, right? I was more of a let's go outside, let's play ball, let's ride the bikes, let's play baseball, you know. It was more of an active person. Of course, you know, once the sun went down, then there was time to go home. But other than that, there was no really no technology. Internet was only available to those who could afford it at that time. And yeah, me personally, I'd never, you know, up to this point I'm really not— I try to stay as much as I can from the phone, but other than that, you know, still try to— I like reading, you know, I like buy a couple books every now and then, but other than that it's just staying off the phone as much as I can.

Yeah, I wish I could do that. Um, every year that goes by, I'm more and more consumed by this thing. I'm staring into it right now. I have been for the last hour. I mean, it's just, it's so much a part of my life. It does everything. It's like, it's all my communications, uh, whether it's email or social media or phone. Um, it's, you know, that's where we keep all our documents. You know, I access everything. You know, I scan all the receipts in there. Um, all our investments, you know, it's on an app. You know, all our banking's on an app. Even controlling this RV behind me, everything's on an app. So I mean, you know, all of my maps are on an app. You know, it's, it's everything. So I find myself staring at this thing all the time, which, uh, I don't enjoy, but it's kind of become more and more of a reality. I'm just waiting for them to come up with a chip they stick in our eyeball. We just see it.

Well, I think they're already kind of working on that, I think.

Yeah, wouldn't doubt it.

Yeah, it's halfway there, you know. Elon Musk is really coming up with some good high-tech stuff. So I was looking at one, he has, uh, Solar City, I guess that's what he's gonna call it. Like nothing but solar panels, like literally the whole city is gonna be controlled with solar panels. I was like, I did not know that. That's kind of It's kind of cool, but it's kind of like interesting at the same time, you know.

So what does that mean, the whole city is going to be controlled? That's just how they're generating their power?

Correct. The whole city is going to be generated by solar panels.

So how are they going to do— they're just going to stick it on everybody's roof whether they like it or not?

No, he's going to make, uh, according to, to what I was reading, he's going to make— he's going to have a whole— his own like own land or however many acres he has. Oh, he's in a car.

Is he doing this— is he— he's doing this for his factory, correct?

So he's gonna call it— he's gonna call it—

so he's probably putting it on the roof of his own massive factories.

Yeah, yeah, he's gonna have everything already set up. And I'm just like, yeah, that guy has, you know, he has a lot of imagination in his mind.

Um, so I don't follow him a lot. I know of him and a few things about him. I know he's a genius at getting the government to subsidize his projects. He's so freaking smart. Um, I've never had that kind of leverage or ability to do that because everything I do is small time. Um, but it's— it— that kind of stuff amazes me. Trump did the same thing. I was just watching a documentary they put out on Netflix And he got like freaking, was it a few hundred million dollars in tax breaks on like one hotel over like 50 years or something like that? Yeah, the ability for some of these guys to get the government to cover the cost of their project, and then the government's stupidity in saying yes with, with tax dollars.

Hey, you know, when you have that, that mentality and you know the right people, man, you need to move some, some chips around and I admire—

listen, I admire the business skill and acumen it takes that stuff off, uh, any amount of risk it takes as well. Uh, at the same point, man, those are tax dollars. That pisses me off.

Yeah, like, uh, wasn't Amazon, uh, was it tax-free? Was it this year, last year?

Yeah, they all do it. That, uh, yeah, that H2, Headquarters 2, whatever it is. Listen, anytime any of those big companies build something to move somewhere, they get, they get massive incentive.

Yeah, I think that's like, you know, when you start breaking that down, he's like, you start getting amazed, like, what? Oh, they could just do that, you know?

Yeah, so like that, I admire the talent for them to pull that off. Uh, I just hate the stupidity of the elected officials for doing it as a taxpayer. If I was— if I was the business owner, totally different opinion. Sorry. All right, that's a taxpayer irritation.

Yeah, you go be along with them, be like, yeah, no tax, tax-free, dude.

If I was building a $30 million building, I'd try and get $10 million worth of credits too. I appreciate you coming on. Have a good night.

All right, you too, man. Thank you.

Yeah.