cover of episode Overindulgences

Overindulgences

Publish Date: 2020/8/1
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Hello and welcome to the Jan Arden podcast. This is show 10,370. It is December 2041.

No, it's not. Hi, Caitlin. Hi. It does kind of feel like that, though. Even though I'm looking outside at the sunshine, it might as well be December since I feel like a goldfish. I barely leave my condo these days. Really? Still? You know what? I've realized it's less right now about the...

about the virus, even though obviously it's partially about the virus and more just about my schedule because I work from home. And so because I work from home and I work early in the morning, the show's done at 10 a.m. And then I end up on calls and doing a lot of work afterwards. And all of a sudden I blink and it's my time, like 1 p.m. And I'm ready to fall asleep for an hour or two because I'm so gassed. And then I wake up and it's five. And it just like that just keeps happening on repeat. And I saw you had a great tweet the other day about the importance of going out for a walk.

Yeah. And I thought, I got to do that. I need to start doing that. I don't know what I would do without it. And even when I really don't want to go, like I do my mind, well, everybody's minds, the stuff we do to talk ourselves out of engaging in physical activity and walking is relatively very easy. It's quite benign. I'm not telling people to go do the grouse mountain grind. Yeah.

I did that once. It just about killed me, but I think I was super hungover. But just strapping on some shoes.

and walking down the road, even when I walk around the yard, it's undeniable how great I feel when I come back in the house. And even when I'm walking, that first three, four, five minutes, I'm like, oh God, this is not, why do I put myself through this every time I want to get motivated to go for a walk? And it is so important. We're going to spend some time today talking about

You know, I'm not going to go into, you know, mental health to the point where everyone's kind of been inundated with mental health issues and being reminded of all that. But I just want to talk about some things that are specific to what's going on now and that we're all being, we're all asking a lot of our bodies and our minds and our souls and our spiritual well-being. We're asking a lot of ourselves because it's hard to keep up with all this stuff.

Yeah, I feel I also think, you know, I feel tired already, like from my job. But then you put in the emotionally taxing portion of the news and like processing so much news that you really have no control over all the time. And the news just keeps getting crazier and crazier every single day.

And I think it mentally exhausts me so much that, yeah, like simple things like, you know, going out for a walk and making a nice meal, stuff that I think I was actually maybe doing a better job of earlier on. I'm not doing even as good of a job of it now because I, and I do think the working from home thing is a huge part of it.

because it's like work is just always in my kitchen, in my bedroom. Like I'm all- There's no barrier now, Caitlin. No. There's nothing to tell you this time is over and now this time is beginning.

And our minds and souls kind of need those reminders. We drive to work in the morning. We do our thing. We're in our car driving back to a different space. So I think when you are in your condo, in your house, the environmental part of it doesn't change. The geography doesn't change. You know, you're...

Oh, I'm back sitting at my kitchen table again. Oh, I'm in my bedroom on the floor with trying to find something decent behind me for this zoom meeting. Keep in mind, you know, when you're talking about the news and the news getting crazier and crazier and more outlandish,

You're dealing with a lot of journalists when you're speaking about working from home. And what every, these thousands and thousands and thousands of journalists, media people, which are doing a great job of keeping us informed. But having said that, they need eyes on the things that they're writing. So in order to do that, and I have friends that are journalists, they really do need outlandish things. The things that they are picking out of the basket to report on and to focus on.

sometimes can be really, really out there. But they're so desperate to make their way through that crowd, that myriad of voices and opinions and op-ed pieces and blah, blah, blah, that I think some of the stories that we are seeing are directly the result of wanting to be seen. And the more nutty they are, the more seemingly unique and out of this world they are that people are clicking on,

the better for them. Like people get really, journalists get panicky when they're seeing, you know, 200 views of something that they've written. Yeah. They're looking for that viral hit. Yeah.

Did you see that story? This was like that, that whole like, you know, topic just really reminded me of the story that kind of blew up this week. It was trending, at least here in Toronto. And it was a story. It was an op ed piece. I don't want to even call it a story. But it was a writer from the Toronto Star who reported on, I would say, the worst case, most reckless, dangerous example of a young woman accepting the CERB plan. So she's on the CERB.

And the whole story was kind of like a financial diary of things she's spending money on. And it included things like marijuana and alcohol and Botox. And it was basically using it as an example of neglectful spending when you're accepting government assistance. Now, that's fine. That's one story. And it's not to say that that isn't irresponsible. It clearly sounded like it was.

But it also then didn't counterpoint with the, you know, hundreds of thousands of Canadians who desperately need government assistance because their job evaporated thanks to a viral pandemic. And they're spending it on boring things that don't result in a lot of clicks online, like, oh, I don't know, rent and utilities and food for their families.

But that doesn't get the page views. What gets the page views is inciting outrage and a whole bunch of people that are millennial and they're avocado toast. Yeah, you're backing up exactly what I said. So I think it's up to us as the consumers, it's up to us, the eyes on these stories to take into consideration that

That's exactly what's happening. You're looking at things that are desperately seeking the approval, the likes, the shares. I mean, my God, we have an entire generation of people

not just young people, it is, it's our age, it's, it's fricking seniors. It's everybody that, you know, check their Instagram, check their, check their, their, all their social media, their Tik Toks, you know, the Snapchats to see how many people have looked at this, um,

TikTok is a whole thing in and of itself of the lengths people are going to to create content. Some of the bigger stars, and that's what they're calling them, stars on TikTok that have no other task in life but to sit and create content at 30 seconds a pop are getting agents, managers, and are being paid millions of dollars.

um, to, to curate their pages. And I am, I'm not surprised by it because I, I think for me, I keep thinking, well, what's the next TikTok? So, you know, that there's people in Silicon Valley or New York apartment or in Red Deer, Alberta, trying to, you know, trying to get millions of dollars to develop their software to be the next TikTok.

Yeah. I mean, look at, look at unboxing videos, even, you know, who would have ever thought that some, you know, YouTube stars would make their millions. And I mean, millions from unboxing toys or presents or whatever. And it's huge. It is a massive, massive industry. And it's just content that I don't understand how it connects with anyone, but here we are.

I am totally guilty of watching the new iPhone unboxing video, and I am all over it. I'm like, oh yeah, take off the plastic slowly. I am so into those videos. I don't get it. Well, I've never seen one. I don't go on YouTube very often, but I am guilty of spending probably too much time on Instagram. I enjoy it. I find it to be...

the least aggressive, the least critical, intolerant, mean platform. I find it pretty nice, you know, for the most part, even when someone, and people do share quite openly on there, whether it's anyone from Justin Bieber to,

Selena Gomez or you know There's been so many celebrity people that have really poured their hearts out on that platform because I think they're met with quite a bit of fairness Anyway, we are going to talk about that today Ed Sheeran in particular Caitlin brought this, you know to our attention. I like Ed Sheeran a lot He's a singer-songwriter from the UK and he talks about a period in his life in 2014 where

fame had hit hard, obviously. He's had an incredible seven or eight, nine years. He's gone from opening for Taylor Swift to reaching the top of the charts. Anyway, the guy drank himself into oblivion and did drugs and slept on the bus all day long until like half an hour before he had to go on stage. And I'll

I'll just explain to you when these buses pull into these big arenas, they go into a garage door, they go down underneath the basement of the arena. So while the 18,000 people are funneling into the building on top, downstairs, there's a whole world going on. The catering's down there, the dressing rooms. And Ed would sleep all day, eat two meals. They called him Two Meal Teddy.

because he was hung over and trying to get even with the day and feel better. He would do his show, be pumped up high on adrenaline and start the whole cycle over again. But he went on to say that he did not see like literally and physically the sunshine for four months. So for like 120 days, the man was just, and then he, you know, he was lucky to

kind of catch himself and get out of it. But he said, it's so easy to go there. And maybe all of us on our little COVID mini scale are sort of in cycles like that. Yeah.

of being in our houses, not seeing the sunshine, eating two meals a day, maybe smoking a little more weed than we normally do, having that extra glass of wine. So we're going to talk about that when we get back and things that we can do. We talked a little bit about walking, but, and yeah, just to see, I'm going to check in with Adam and Caitlin just to see what

what we're doing. I know we keep hearing the word self-care, but we're going to inundate you with maybe some positivity today on what we can do moving forward to help ourselves a little bit. So stay tuned. You're listening to the Jan Arden Podcast. And thanks for joining us today. We'll see you in a second. We're going to play a little clip of Ed Sheeran. We were just talking about Ed's sort of plunge into a really dark

period in his life going back to 2014. Let's just listen to Ed. This is a little bit of a clip from an interview that he did. I have a very addictive personality, very, very addictive personality. And it's weird, watch, I'm reading Elton John's book at the moment. And there's so many things that he did that I do. He would be like, I would just go on like an ice cream binge and eat four desserts until I threw up. And I was like, I've done that before. Yeah.

Or like his like martini binges where he sees how many martinis he can drink. And I'm like, I've done that before too. And there's like loads of, and in that book, he ends up getting really sad and depressed and all of these things can add to that. And I think with addiction, it's just very hard to moderate, but moderation is the key. You know, just dealing with an addictive personality, Ed had been reading an Elton John book, an autobiography about,

And Elton spoke very much about how he overate and overdrank and just overdid everything just because it's sort of that all or nothing mentality. I don't know if you guys are like that, but I know for me starting out in the music business, I mean, I work with a lot of these guys still. We were all young versions of ourselves. Now everyone's got kids, but I'm like, do you remember how much we used to drink and what we used to eat at that bus? We had full meals at 1.30 in the morning.

On a bus rolling through Calgary, I mean, we had like eight boxes of pizza stacked on the little table in the kitchen. And I mean, literally just drank beer and wine. And I just remember opening bottles of whatever. And you'd get yourself out of the bunk at four o'clock in the afternoon the next day and then start it all over again. I don't know.

I don't know if it's avoidable. I hate to think of young artists kind of going through that, but I really can really empathize and recognize myself in what Ed said. Have you guys got similar youthful stories or periods in your life when you were like that?

Yeah, I think when I was probably in university, I was really like that because I also think there's an aspect of that lifestyle that's glamorized a lot in pop culture. That kind of destructive behavior is seen, I think, probably especially to young people as cool or kind of this rite of passage. So I probably did that more when I was in university. And I think that the saving grace for me has always been work.

Um, is that the, the schedule of work and the fact that I naturally take work seriously and, and want to do a good job. I think I take work more seriously than I ever did school and, you know, skipping class, not a big deal for me, but, you know, taking a day off work, not a thing. And so, um,

When I started working, which was right after I left school, that was it. If I went out drinking on a work night, I got up and went to work the next day. There was no calling in sick because of the hangover. And you learn pretty quickly getting up to go to a long day in the office that you're not going to want to do that hungover. So I stuck with just the partying on the weekends, which I definitely still did. But I couldn't go on those four or five day long vendors where I was going out every night. Oh my word.

Yeah. And like, that was what university was like. I mean, university was you had a bar that everyone went to together on a set night of the week and like you maybe took off Monday.

It was wild. I don't know how I survived. Adam? In university, I wasn't so much into alcohol. Not that I didn't have it. But like for me, I remember more freedom and being able to go out with friends. I ate a lot in university. Yeah, you've talked about that you had quite a lot more weight on you. Would you say like 50 pounds, Adam? Or what are we talking? 70. 70 pounds for sure. 70.

And I ate, I mean, at the time I enjoyed it. My friends, we'd go for dinner and then we'd go to the university and like pick a classroom and study. Then we'd order a pizza to the classroom. And then after that, we went for wings. Like that's an evening. And I was a big boy and my metabolism is the worst. And if I think about a pizza chocolate cake, I will gain weight. So I was eating like that. And I think,

I mean, oh, I was gaining weight, but it didn't bother me. Like, I didn't feel sick because I could sleep until noon the next day, my schedule at school, whatever. So I just ate whatever I wanted and I didn't think about it. If I did that now, I would not be in good shape the next day. Even if I did that once, it would hurt.

So what was the, and if you don't mind me asking, I don't want to pry, but what was that turning point for you, Adam, when you're like, you're looking at a body and you're a very slim guy, you're a fit guy. No, you always look great. So it's hard for me to picture you in that context. I think Caitlin is probably like, wow, I can't.

picture it either but 70 pounds is an awful lot that's that's an eight-year-old nine-year-old child that you literally got strapped in a granny pack around your waist I will find an old fat picture for you and share it with you well what what what what was the what what made you stop and and go no I can't do this

I think when I was 23, 22, 22, that's the year. So by the summer, so it took a, it took me a year to lose the weight and it, and I don't think it was about eating healthy. Like now at this stage in my life, it's about eating healthy and feeling good at that point. I'm like, whatever I can do to lose the weight. So I wasn't, I was probably not eating as much and, and just making better choices or leaving out dessert or not eating after a certain time. But you made a conscious effort.

Yeah. And I can tell you, I think what made me decide is I was a 36 in jeans and then I had to go to a 38. And I'm like, this is not good. Yeah. So was there exercise involved, Adam? Like, did you like, I got to start walking. I got to, what? I mean, I know everyone's going to say, how did you do it? Because that is the question. I totally worked out. I worked out often. And I think what was in my favor is I had finished...

university like a whole semester early. So I had from January till the end of the year. So for six months, eight months, I worked out religiously and I was eating better and I was taking care of myself. So yes, diet and exercise. But everyone wants a magic bullet, Adam. Nobody wants to hear diet and exercise. They want to hear you just say, oh, I found a pill.

At the drugstore. No, diet and exercise. But I'm way healthier today in terms of knowing like nutrients and balancing carbs and proteins and omitting sugar. Like I think I just probably ate less. Yes. Like good fats, healthy fats. Like that's what it is now. I think I just ate less then and I was working out religiously. Well, the thing you don't want to do is go up and down and up and down in your life.

it just screws with your entire metabolism I've been every weight in the world in my life I mean I've been I mean I wasn't never really really big but I mean the last time that I lost weight like going back five years five and a half years I was I was lost 50 pounds like that's how much needed to come off my body but it was unbelievable amount of work anyway I don't know how we got talking about this but making me depressed just thinking about dieting

You're listening to the Jan Arden Podcast. I'm with Adam Karsh, Caitlin Green. We'll be right back. We are so excited to welcome another new sponsor, our friends at Cove Soda. Have I pestered Cove enough to come and join us here at the Jan Arden Podcast? I love them so much. They are Canadian, first of all. They are a natural, certified organic, zero sugar soda, which includes, get this, one big

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laying in your bed, sitting in a chair. You've been listening to the Jan Arden podcast, and I'm just changing the timbre of my voice going into the second half of our show. Adam Karsh was talking about eating pizza.

And then thinking that that was only the appetizer and then going out for wings afterwards. If you saw the stuff we had on the bus, you guys, the stuff that we ate, I remember going for grocery runs, you know, and Canada is a big ass country. Like sometimes you're driving for 10 hours without really seeing anything. I encourage everyone to take the drive from Winnipeg to Thunder Bay sometime.

Because it's a long-ass drive. So you've got to have the snacks and the pops. We didn't drink water back then. No, why would you? We didn't buy bottled water. But when you opened those cupboards and you saw the salty wonders that were...

you know, sitting there that the, uh, I don't know everything named something. We had it. Well, I think if I saw Cheetos anytime, I would be going for it. Not the big puffy ones, but the crunchy ones. I cannot say no to them. They have just enough MSG that I will not be able to stop eating them. So that's my weakness.

Did you have chocolate covered almonds on the bus? Oh God. Yes. We'd have bulk bags. I've heard friends talking about, I'm really going to miss the bulk stuff because of COVID. The bulk barn? Well, you know, you go through one of the big stores and there's always that bulk area and the candies and the yogurt covered frigging everything's in the

And people would just be digging their hands in there. If they couldn't find a scoop, they thought nothing of just sticking their mitts in there and grabbing some chocolate-covered raisins or whatever. There's so many things that are changing. You can feel us moving ahead now, folks. There's so many things that are changing.

because of COVID that I don't know will ever come back. And I know we've landed on these topics before, but what are some of the things that you guys think you'll lament, Caitlin, like about, oh, this isn't going to happen again. We're never going to see that. Like the handshake, for example, is that ever going to come back? The hug, is that going to come back? Where are we with that?

I think we are, that is like a vaccine only interaction now, like a handshake and a hug to say hello. Anything where it's like somebody who's outside of your bubble and you're just meeting them, seeing that running into them for the first time in a long time. I don't see that happening. I will, I have to say, this is something I thought of recently because it was a friend's birthday and something fun my friends and I used to do in Toronto is along Bloor Street West and in lots of different neighborhoods, they have these private karaoke rooms.

And so you don't have to, it's not a karaoke bar in front of everyone. You rent a room, 15 people go in, you sing, they bring you rounds and rounds of beer. It's a great time. And I just thought to myself, that is going to be a long time until we can go back into a small indoor room, yell into a shared microphone and consume alcohol. That's going to be a ways away. And I kind of miss it. Yeah, no, absolutely. I mean, the bowling thing comes up quite a bit, you know, bowling balls, right?

And people have talked about, well, you have your own ball. Go ahead. The weekend before lockdown, like the weekend leading into March 16th, which was when the firm lockdown was in Toronto, I went to Collingwood and they have a like black light bowling alley there. And we went and it was already on everyone's radar. And I remember all of us are there and you're jamming your fingers in the little holes. And I just thought you're wearing someone else's shoes. And I just thought, yeah, this might not be the smartest thing for us to do right now.

Well, I think the minutia of all the things that we never had to really think about before, you know, sharing food at a restaurant, there's nothing I love more. My manager, Bruce Allen, I love having dinner with him because he orders for the table.

Like, I don't, I don't even have to look at, and he always has vegetables and like stuff for everybody to eat. It's not just, you know, a stuffed pig shows up and, you know, you can get your knife and fork out. And to have someone that makes those decisions in a restaurant for me is really lovely. He orders the wine, he order, you know, everything's done and things just start showing up and it's super fun. You know, seafood towers back in the day and

But I wonder, okay, the seafood tower. Not that I eat a lot of seafood anymore, but gosh, that was fun. The shrimps and the clams and everything. And everyone would come in and you would just grab stuff off of there. Like that kind of meal sharing, which is such a beautiful human experience. I think it's one of the things...

That is so compelling about being a human. I think the only reason I'd want to keep staying alive as a very elderly person, like I wouldn't mind living to 105 if I had really good food to eat because I would enjoy that.

Well, and I think in Toronto, like they have all these amazing, you know, dim sum restaurants, you know, on Spadina in Chinatown and they, they cram you in there and you sit at a big table for 10 with the carts and also in the middle, they just, they toss the plates down and it's on the lazy Susan in the middle of the table. And if you're a group of five, then you sit with another group of people who are five and you inevitably wind up chatting a little bit as you rotate the thing in the middle to get your food. And it's just kind of fun. And,

To me, those things, once again, that's a vaccine. That's a vaccine only type of scenario now. And what about like Korean barbecue where you go and you all sit around a table with, you know, a hot plate or whatever, a little grill and everyone's, you know, taking the raw meat and taking turns grilling. Like when's that happening? I know. What's that thing that you do with the, is it the hot pot? Do you have your own hot pot?

I can't remember how that works. I think you do. It's not just a big vat of liquid in between you. I think you're right about that. Well, there's just so much compassion and love and enjoyment. It's such a decadent thing to share food and such an act of friendship and camaraderie and celebration. And for me, I've gone to bed many, many nights.

the last few months, kind of lamenting that you guys, I've, it's one of my favorite things to do. And if anyone were to ask me, gosh, you know, what's the nice thing about having a little extra money in your pocket, you know, when you get your first check, and I would have to say unequivocally, sharing a meal and taking someone to a nice restaurant, or any, any restaurant, freaking

my gosh any any place you could sit at a table and share food with people so i'm kind of bummed out i think like so now okay so in toronto we moved into stage three of reopening on friday so yesterday and uh basically that means we can dine indoors with lots of new rules in place like you stay seated at your table if you get up to go to the bathroom to pay that's the only reason you can get up and move around you got to wear a mask when you do those things etc etc

So I do think that some parts of the dining with friends, even inside, will come back. But everyone's just kind of, it's a different vibe when you're in the restaurant, of course. It's a very different feeling. And it's that freedom you sort of miss, like that blissful unawareness of, oh, there could be a virus lurking around the corner. I mean, that stuff.

That's really, really changed. And then of course you've got the like the big, big things like the big events, like a parade, like think of the, a parade, like the St. Patrick's day parade was supposed to happen obviously right around the time of lockdown in Toronto. And that's always such a big, huge party in the city. And for the kids and to sit on the curb and I have wonderful parade memories of going with my parents. Yeah. Yeah. I think there are literally thousands of things, guys,

that fall into this category of will some of them ever come back again? Will some of them be modified slightly? I agree with you. I think certainly eating meals out will kind of come around the corner.

I was telling you guys before we went on air about, I've been on a movie set all this past week, not a movie set, a popular television show. It's not, not our show, not the Jan show on CTV coming up Monday nights in the fall. But yeah, just briefly as we go into our next break here, it was fascinating how they made it all work. I mean, you're looking at a crew of 60, 70, 80 people,

They had different pods. We'd all been tested. There was a pod B pod. Everyone was masked at all times. The only time we didn't take the mask off was when we were actually shooting scenes and

How the food was done was different. Obviously, the buffet was gone. And we were six feet apart, standing, ordering from the truck. They were all gloved and masked and prepared our trays, handed us our trays. And we went and ate them either in the A area or the B area. Anyway, lots to talk about there. But I felt safe. I felt positive. I felt optimistic.

I felt creative. People were really, really positive and so compliant and very willing to follow these rules and new regulations. You're listening to the Jan Arden Podcast. We're going to be right back. Lots more to talk about. Jan Arden Podcast with Caitlin Green and Adam Karsh. Yeah. I just, I wanted to have you guys be part of the jingle and I feel bad. As much as I always say the Jan Arden Podcast, I want everyone out there to know that

Caitlin and Adam and I have such a good time. And we are just happy to have you along wherever you are in the world right now.

And don't ever hesitate to drop us a line on Twitter. It's the Jan Arden podcast on Twitter. Easy to find a lovely photograph of me with very, very fricking blonde hair. And we need to change that picture someday and we will, but yeah, drop us a line. If you're ever curious or want to ask to talk about things or, you know, if you're interested in,

If there's things you want to point us towards, please, please do that. You don't even have to follow us. You don't have to follow us. You can still comment. Yes. The, the TV set that I've been on, I'm so desperately wanting to tell you what it is.

But it started playing last Sunday on the CTV Science Fiction channel. So maybe you'll figure it out yourself. I'm just a little guest star. That's all I am. But I spent four days on the set. And once again, talking on the break, I was just saying to Caitlin and Adam that it gave me so much hope that

going forward here you have all these people so compliant so positive nobody screwed around nobody was like i don't want to wear this mask i don't want to wash my hands every time i take a crap i don't you know isn't that a beautiful picture that i'm painting but if you hypothetically we talk about live music all the time and the gathering of thousands of people

would it be so much to ask people? So yeah, we put the stage a little further back. So the front row in the pit, the mosh pit isn't right there anymore. People are seated maybe 10 feet, 15 feet back from the stage. Fine, great. And that everybody wears a mask in the arena. Like for me, even if I was standing beside somebody, which I was on this set many, many times, they had masks on. I was not nervous.

And further to that, we were all tested. So let me preface that by saying everyone that stood on that lot had tested negative for COVID. So we created this space. So everything else was the honor system. Yes, people are going back to their hotels. Yes, people are going back home. We're fully expecting these people not to go to raves that are underground illegal things at 4 o'clock in the morning.

Yeah. But it did, like I said, it gave me hope to imagine a future where people really were respectful of each other and like, I'm going to do this because I want to get back to live music. I want to get back to, you know, being in a room with, anyway, you know what I mean.

People are dying for any little taste of reality. And I mean, we saw it here in Toronto when the first patios opened and patio life is such a big deal in the city where so many people have no outdoor space. They are willing to wait in line for patios. Like it's a real thing. And I think multiply that by a million when it comes to things like a concert, a sporting event, you know, even movie theaters, going to go see a play, all that stuff, people are dying for a little bit of a return to it.

So do you guys think it would work, Caitlin? Do you think it would? I am optimistic about it because I just know how badly people need it. They miss that. They miss those special moments and those things to look forward to in their everyday life. Do you think it would be worth...

Like even pondering the idea of, you know, let's say a vaccine is a little bit further away than we think, whether that's a year or whatever. I'm just trying to be the devil's advocate here. Do you not think that it would be, behoove all of us, scientists and doctors and all those smart people to get one of those instant tests? I would almost liken it to an at-home pregnancy test.

Oh, so yeah, those are on the way. Those are on the way. Are they? Are they? Cool. Yeah. So they have those on the way and they're saying that they think this will be the key to mass openings of schools and workplaces before the vaccine comes into effect. And they would be priced between US one and $5 was the last story that I had read. I forget the company that was discussing it and they said it would be exactly like an at-home pregnancy test.

instant results. You'd have, you'd have many of them and they'd be very effective. I don't know if, I think it was a saliva swab. I believe that's what it was. I don't think, I don't think you're jamming an extendo. My test was saliva. My, my, my, my, I didn't have the nose thing. I, I, it was so quick. I said to the guys that it, he's like, yeah,

And you know what else I read about this week? They did a, I think it was a 10 day study of dogs and they found that dogs can be trained to sniff out coronavirus with 94% accuracy in the same way that they train dogs to smell out certain types of cancer, malaria, bacterial infections. They're talking now about training dogs again in public spaces like public transit. So train stations, airports, busy subway stations, all that, that, you know, especially airports, you know,

You'll have like, we were laughing on the morning show I work on saying that the drug sniffing dogs and the coronavirus sniffing dogs have like different hats. Like what would they, how would you differentiate from them? But that would be a very effective way apparently of being able to, you know, create some sense of security around going back to the airport. Well, if nothing else, human beings are the most inventive, adaptable, resilient people.

we were built for change and the amazing things that people have done to spend time together has been so inspiring. I saw people hugging, you guys might've seen this picture, but they were hugging through these giant plastic bags. It actually made me start crying. I don't know why I kind of just started crying. I'm like,

I think it was a senior mom or senior dad in a home. And then the kids that haven't seen their parents and they're all in their plastic bags. I know. I saw that.

It's so sweet. And I think of all the people who, you know, prior to COVID people, I know who were really, really curmudgeonly and like, I don't care about seeing people. I'm an introvert. I'm at home with the internet. That's my life. Like, you know, and I would always laugh and thought it was a bit of a shtick. These people miss everyone so much. You're just so desperate for connection. So you might've thought before all this that like, I don't need anyone, but you realize that you do people like human connection.

And you need each other. Sorry. I mean, I know there's, you don't need jerks. So I'm not saying keep the jerks around in your life, but you know, find the people that make you feel good and hang on. Yesterday. I had a scene with an actor that I just met yesterday. He was a lovely man. And anyway, we were all dancing. I don't think I'm giving anything away by telling the story. We were all dancing and I was a very close dance and I was with this man and

And he was holding me very closely because that's what the scene was. And I had my head on his chest and my eyes were shut. And I said to him at one point, at about the third or fourth take, I looked up at him and I said, you are the second person that I have hugged in four months. And we both looked at each other like...

I had to really kind of keep my crap together because I thought, I don't want to be a wacko here. But it had dawned on me, it felt so good to be held. And I was just like, we can shoot this scene as many times as you want. And I hope that doesn't sound too silly, but...

And the fact that it was a stranger, I thought about it coming home. I mean, obviously we had a chance to chat throughout the day. I spent a couple of days with him. But wow, you're right, you guys. It's just so important. It has not made me yearn to be in a relationship. I will say that. I'm still quite happy to have navigated this kind of on my own in the trees because...

I just, I think it was the right thing for me at this time in my life, but yeah, it felt good. I think humans are like naturally, and I understand why I have, have their issues with vulnerability and like needing other people. It can, it's a, um, a multifaceted issue.

And so this has really though driven home that ultimately you might not need a lot of people, but you do need your few, like you need your little team. And when you lose them, it just drives people up the wall. That's why when everyone was talking about the, you know, we talk about the masks and the hand washing and the social distancing, blah, blah, blah. I don't think anyone's denying the fact that these things are all very different from what we're used to and a huge pain in the ass. But if it gets you back with your favorite people, who cares? Well, yeah.

Say what you will as the days go by. I'm seeing much more positivity than negativity.

I'm seeing much more human resilience and kindness and optimism as much as like we spoke about early at the beginning of this program about, you know, the headlines being very, ah, you know, this thing is happening and they're reporting on things that are loud and obnoxious and kind of negative because they grab the headlines, they grab the eyes. But, you know, let's take a moment, you know, just as we close this show off and

Try and take a moment to find those good things, to find the stories that really do pick you up. And it does make an effect on your day. As much as I was talking about going for a walk, at some point today, get yourself, if you've been at home and you've been feeling really sedentary, please, please, please,

Just go for a walk, even if it's five or six minutes. What it does to your body, like I'm not going to spew out science. We need somebody much more qualified. But the stuff that it does for your blood pressure, for your moods, for your sleep, for your everything, just concentrate on being in the air, I think. We've been inside a lot.

I've been aside a lot and I feel like, you know, it was seeing that tweet from you the other day, really where you're saying it's so important to go for that walk every day, my daily walk like that, that makes such a difference in my mental health. And I have to prioritize it a little bit more because it's just laziness that I want and laziness and work. I don't think it's laziness though, Caitlin, you're being hard on yourself. I don't, you are the least lazy person that I know. I'll tell you, we all have had low grade depression.

Whether you are the most, I am the most optimistic person on the planet. Like I'm really consistent. I have been low ball depressed.

Like it has been hanging on me like an old wet sweater. It's like someone threw me into the river with a wool sweater and I come out of the river and this thing has been on me and I can't get it off. And so don't you be hard on yourself. You are the freaking hardest worker. You, and the fact that it's hard to stand up and walk out a door, gosh, there's you in millions, Caitlin.

Yeah, that's true. Okay, fine. I'll be nicer to myself. Yeah. Off the ledge. Well, no, I and a real friend would walk with you from, you know, a few feet apart.

Adam, you can go too. Okay. Adam's giving me the rap sign. Adam just gave me the finger. Thank you, you guys, for listening. Jen Arden Podcast, Caitlin Green, Adam Karsh. We're here every week. You can subscribe. You can listen to us on Spotify, iTunes, or on iHeartRadio right across this country. We'll see you next time. Toodaloo.

This podcast is distributed by the Women in Media Podcast Network. Find out more at womeninmedia.network.