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cover of episode Having a Laugh with Michael McIntyre

Having a Laugh with Michael McIntyre

2021/5/18
logo of podcast A Bit of Optimism

A Bit of Optimism

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Michael McIntyre
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Simon Sinek
以真诚和学习态度著称的领导力专家和激励演讲者。
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Simon Sinek: 认为喜剧演员在高压时期能够带来积极作用,并与Michael McIntyre探讨了疫情期间喜剧表演的挑战与机遇。他认为幽默能够缓解负面情绪,并对疫情期间涌现的幽默视频和表情包表达了肯定。同时,他也关注到疫苗接种类型带来的社会细分问题,以及人们对未来的不确定性。 Simon Sinek还谈到了疫情期间人们对手机使用量的变化,以及人们重新审视生活节奏和价值观,并对疫情带来的积极变化表达了乐观态度。他认为疫情促使人们重新思考幸福的意义,并对未来生活充满期待。 Michael McIntyre: 分享了疫情期间线上演出的失败经历,并分析了缺乏观众互动和反馈的困境。他认为现场观众的反应至关重要,线上演出无法替代现场表演的独特魅力。他谈到了疫情期间的创作经历,包括写作和电视节目的制作,并表达了对重返舞台的渴望。 Michael McIntyre还分享了个人感染新冠病毒的经历,以及对疫苗接种的看法。他认为疫情期间人们对幽默的反应各不相同,并探讨了社交距离和戴口罩对喜剧表演的影响。他与Simon Sinek分享了各自在舞台表演中对灯光和观众视野的不同偏好,并对疫情期间人际交往的改变表达了感慨。

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Michael McIntyre discusses the challenges of performing stand-up comedy during the pandemic, including the lack of audience feedback and the difficulties of transitioning to virtual performances.

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I just filed for divorce. Whoa. I said the words that I've said like in my head for like 16 years.

Listen to Miss Spelling on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I am Lacey Lamar. And I'm also Lacey Lamar. Just kidding. I'm Amber Revin. Okay, everybody, we have exciting news to share. We're back with season two of the Amber and Lacey, Lacey and Amber show on Will Ferrell's Big Money Players Network. This season, we make new friends, deep dive into my steamy DMs,

answer your listener questions and more. The more is punch each other. Listen to the Amber and Lacey, Lacey and Amber show on Will Ferrell's big money players network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Just listen. Okay. Or Lacey gets it. Do it. The last performance I saw before COVID was Michael McIntyre live at radio city music hall in New York. Radio city is actually a small venue for Michael.

He's one of the world's most successful stand-up comedians, and he usually does venues the size of stadiums. These past few months have been a bit stressful, so I decided I needed a bit of a laugh. And so I called Michael, and that's exactly what we did. We laughed about many things, including his shitty Wi-Fi. This is a bit of optimism. So I force quit.

I'm not very savvy. I'm going to just start force quitting. Hold on. Okay. I'll tell you what, I'm now force quitting Adobe Flash Player Install Manager. I don't even know what that is. Oh, yeah, you don't really need that anymore. I'm going to force quit the calculator. Okay, that's not doing anything either. Now I'm going to force quit my scanner. Basically, I just scan signed invoices. So that I can't do during this podcast. Okay.

No messages, no more pinging Excel. Never used it. I don't know why it's open. I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do either. This is live, right? This is going out live. All right. Here I am. So tell me when you want to start the podcast and I'll have to try and be optimistic. The only requirement is you have to be optimistic. So we're going to start now. You ready? Yeah.

It's a bit of a stretch. Michael McIntyre, the indefatigable. Hang on. What does that mean? There's a fat in there. Uh,

It means you don't get fatigued. Oh, fabulous. But I have also put on weight. The endless energy of Michael McIntyre. That's what endless eating will give you. That's one of the pluses of this lockdown weight. So yeah, sorry, you were introducing me. Give me a big intro because to be honest, I need it as much as anyone. Ladies and gentlemen.

All right, you haven't done a show. When was the last time you did a show? Wait, is that my big introduction? Ladies and gentlemen, this is an American thing. You have to give me a big up. You've got to tell everybody how sensational I am, no? Michael McIntyre is perhaps one of the greatest comedians that has ever lived. He's unbelievably famous. He's unbelievably funny. And I cannot believe that he agreed to come on my little podcast and

This is the most humbled I've felt with any guest ever. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Michael McIntyre. Thank you very much, Simon. It's actually a pleasure to be with you today on your wonderful podcast, A Bit of Optimism. We're going to have to have a lot of optimism with regards to the quality of Wi-Fi currently in my house. It's true. Because I hate to tell you, I actually missed a lot of that intro, so I'll need to hear it again.

Now, I'll take your word for it that it was fun. It was really... I mean, I big-upped you big time. I said you're one of the greatest comedians that ever lived, ever. Yes, and I love the way you're using the past tense. The greatest comedian living. I was...

I used to be a comedian, Simon, as you well know. And you came to one of my last ever performances. I did, in New York. No, it's amazing to think back to what used to happen and performing because it's been, well, it's been over a year since I've been on stage. I dream about it sometimes. And I have tried a Zoom gig. That's been an absolute catastrophe. Why was it a catastrophe? Because you didn't have the audience energy? You need feedback, Simon. It's really a set that laughter is really needed.

the whole process. Because that's why you do it, right? You do it for the laugh. I can't tell you how encouraging laughter is. I took it for granted. But sitting at my desk trying to be funny, and there was like thousands of people watching, and I had no idea whether they're enjoying it. And also the CEO of the company, he made a speech before me, and he was the only person I could see. And I didn't realize, but he had gone. He had actually signed off. He wasn't watching the gig.

So what remained was the final shot of his face before he signed off. But I thought he was still there. And I'm here to tell you that final shot was not a smiley one. He looked incredibly upset because he was obviously looking, you know that face you make when you're looking for the leave button. So it's a sort of frowning, looking down. Then I started laying into him, but not laughing. He wasn't even there. It was just an image of him. So yeah, these are very taxing times. How?

How's it been for you? I adjusted with my work. Also, feedback matters. And so I stopped giving speeches. I prefer interviews because then I can actually engage with someone, even though I don't have an audience. You're very good with an audience, Simon. And you're very funny as well. You have a good sprinkling of laughter in your talk. Oh, you're very kind. And you need that. It breaks a room. You need to sprinkle. The best speakers will sprinkle comedy in there just to bind the audience together at key moments. It's vital, isn't it?

I think that comedians play a more vital role than people realize. Stephen Colbert said once that you can't be angry when you're laughing. I think you're overlooking tickling.

I think when you're being held down and tickled, you have an enormous amount of rage. That's actually true. Still, you're laughing your head off. But other than tickling, you can't be angry and you can't be sad when you're laughing. And I remember when COVID first happened, when we first went into lockdown, all these funny videos and all these memes were...

just sort of pouring out that we were all forwarding to each other and laughing out loud. And it sort of really did help when we had so much uncertainty as what was going to happen. And can we touch the milk we just bought for fear of death? That was a weird period. It's obviously...

I think we've sort of come to terms with the fact that you can't get it from surfaces. Correct. But yes, shopping and cleaning while you were shopping and then cleaning, eventually buying cleaning equipment and then using other cleaning equipment to clean the cleaning equipment you bought. And then squirting the cleaning equipment all over the table, then rolling the cleaning equipment. It was sort of mad. It was so easy.

It was sort of go on ad infinitum. You've got to clean the next one and then you've got to buy that one to clean that one or who is going to clean this one? There was endless cleaning and rubber gloves and it was a very, well, it still is very scary. But yes, you're right. There was a lot of comedy. It took me a while to engage comedically. I didn't find it particularly funny for a long time. Still don't.

Have you avoided it, son? I have fortunately avoided COVID, yes. I have not had it. Have you had a vaccine? I have. I just had my second shot last week. Fully vaxxed. I'm fully vaxxed. I mean, it's a thing. My favorite thing is like when somebody says, did you get vaxxed? I'm like, yeah. And then they always ask,

Moderna or Pfizer. Like it matters. And I do the same thing. I go, which ones you get? And they go, Johnson and Johnson. Okay, cool. Moderna. Okay, cool. Like I have no opinion. You say, okay, cool. But then you walk away and delete them from your phone. That is an unfortunate follow-up question. It's almost like we're slightly worried that the future of society is going to be divided into these subsets of...

Like, like Pfizer's can only marry Pfizer's. It's exactly right. It'll be like a Moderna singles night. They're having a mixed wedding. It's a Moderna and Pfizer. Yeah. Or when you could wait until a bride or groom. Okay. Pfizer's on the left. Exactly. Did you, were you able to avoid it?

I didn't avoid it. I got it in November. I mean, it wasn't awful. I was very fortunate because, but it's scary as many people, obviously more than many people know, because you go through it and then there's that sort of wait to see if you either get a lot worse or get better. So yeah, I got it. It lingered a really long time. Thankfully, I was the only one who got it in my house. Weirdly, I got it, my housekeeper got it and my wife didn't. So you can read into that however you want.

Let's just say a lot of questions, which I coughed away. LAUGHTER

Yeah, I just, I'll tell you in a minute. I got off my way through that. And luckily, I think I got away with it. But yes, and I'm getting the vaccine, I think, on Sunday. So this is happening. Which one are you getting? Well, I'm going to get the Pfizer. I think the Pfizer. You don't get to choose, but I think it's the Pfizer. My wife's had the AstraZeneca last week. So obviously, I'm just hoping the housekeeper gets the Pfizer. LAUGHTER

One of the things that's been impressed me, you've been really actually productive during COVID. You wrote a book. Yeah, I actually, it's been all right. I wrote a book. I wrote a second autobiography. I mean, it begs the question, how does one write a second autobiography? Well, it's exactly the same as the first. Or are you just picking up where the last one left off? No, it's the same. It's actually the same words. It's just a different cover. Yeah.

That's why it was so easy. Yes, it picks up where the last one left off. My Life, Volume 2. Well, yes, because the first one was called Life and Laughing, and I wanted to call it More Life and More Laughing, with a view to a follow-up, Still Alive and Still Laughing, and then the final, incomplete, it's still... On my deathbed, nearly done laughing. Yeah, barely alive and dribbling. LAUGHTER

But the publisher thought it wasn't good to do that. So at the moment, it's called A Funny Life. And they like it. So that's good. That's good. At the moment, it's all the grammar and stuff, which is like, I didn't realize I was so hopeless. Like words, I literally had no idea. I've spelt wrong the whole book. Lead. I didn't know lead was L-E-D.

Yeah, I think we were taught it was L-E-A-D, wasn't it? Maybe. I mean, I write books on leadership and I'm actually not 100% sure. Well, I wrote a book on leadership. I've got this thing I like doing when I just put things on their own line. I hate too much text. Yeah, you and me both. It just makes me take a breath and take this in. So I'll just put it on its own line. Also, it means I end up with more pages. Yeah, it's good. It's like a poem. I like writing...

in a manner that helps people read it the way I want it said.

you know, ellipses and spaces and gaps so that you're forced to take the breath. So you're forced to take in whatever line is the next line. I love doing that. Well, it reflects the way you speak and it's your voice and people need to hear your voice and everyone can write Simon, let's be honest. I mean, writing is just, it's just saying stuff, but written down, isn't it? I mean, it's not, it's, it's no great shape. No, I think it's different because otherwise everybody would just talk into a tape recorder and then have it transcribed. And that would be a book and those make bad books.

Right. Well, I'm sorry. I wish I hadn't have done it that way. But that's wonderful. I think that's so fantastic that you spent the time to write a book and you developed a TV show. Like, how can you say you've been unproductive?

I don't know how, I know on paper it looks like I've been very productive. I had an idea for a TV show in the bath. I don't know why I always mention that I was in the bath. It's just because I was in the bath. I literally thought I'm going to come up with a TV show idea. I wanted to come up with a game show. So I came up, well, I came up with two. One of them was awful. Is it something you can talk about publicly? Well, yes, it's on the back burner. I mean, we can bring it off the back. It was just a quiz show where the other person has to quickly ask the question.

and know the answer. So it would be me versus you. I would just give you a subject. You have to come up with a question. Okay, let's try it. Let's try it. Okay. So you're going to give me a subject and I have to come up with a question and an answer for myself. Yes, but I've got to answer it, but you have to know the answer. And you've only got five seconds to do it. Oh, jeez. The theory here is that under pressure, you're going to say something silly. Okay. To be honest, this is an idea I've not voiced outside of once after this bath I had. But

Okay, so I'll give you the subject. Okay. You see, it's even hard to think of a subject. I'm going to give you the subject of, oh my goodness, of podcasts. You've got five seconds. How many podcasts have you done since before this one? You have to know the answer. I know the answer. You know how many podcasts I've done. Before this one. You know that? Yeah. Oh my God. Now I'm going to have to guess. I don't know. Three? One.

As you can see, this idea doesn't necessarily have legs. I would like to try it one more time. Okay, so now let me do it to you. Okay, I've got one for you now. Okay. Let's do zoos. Name a zoo in London. The London Zoo. That's the correct answer. I get a point. You see, there could potentially be fun in this game. I...

So you're winning. This is the idea I didn't go for. The other one is called The Wheel. And so we made 10 of those. We're making 16 more, and it's going to be on NBC, I think, early next year. Oh, that's fantastic. Oh, I have to see if I can watch it on BBC iPlayer or something like that. It's a really, really fun.

Sure. As I say, we're making more in a couple of weeks. That's really good. So I want to understand how you wrote a book, devised and produced and executed a TV show. Are you sitting writing jokes like you used to? I don't write jokes. I tend to write notes of things that make me laugh, and then I just perform them over and over again in little gigs and build them up. So...

Home life has always been very relaxed and, you know, not high pressure and overly creative. I'm just sort of dad and a husband here. So no, that sort of disappeared, which is awkward, and I really wanted to come back. And with regards to working, I need to keep busy. And now that I've finished the book and finished the TV show, I can feel myself getting a bit sort of confused about stuff and inarticulate and going slightly mad.

But yeah, everybody was forced to pivot. That's an American. We're all pivoting. Yeah. I didn't know about pivoting until an American mentioned it was a possibility. So I pivoted away from stand up and started doing the TV show. And yeah, I went back to writing a book. And writing is a lovely thing because you're cocooned in your own bubble. You can write rubbish, but then fix it the next day. Yeah.

It's a different type of creativity. Do you want to go back to life as you had it before COVID? Or do you think that this will permanently change the way you live your showbiz life? Well, we have to appreciate things more. I mean, it would be criminal not to appreciate everything should the world come back. Because I think everyone was quite excited about appreciating the small things at the beginning. But now it's going on and on and on. It's getting really, really serious. It's like...

How far into this are we? Is this year one of five? Is it year one of 10? Are we nearly out? You know, every time you get a bit of good news, suddenly there's a triple mutated something coming in from India. It's coming in from Brazil. And it's just terrifying. It's humanity versus Mother Nature. It absolutely is. And there's so much to learn from it. But whether we will, I'd love to find out, which means it would be over.

But you want to go back to sort of doing your gigs and doing your shows like you're craving going back to the way life was. Or do you think that something happened? Because for me, I realized that I was on this hamster wheel and I was enjoying the speed that I was running. But one of the things that COVID did for me as I looked, I was like, oh, my God, I wasn't running fast. I was just trying to keep up.

And COVID stopped the wheel. The terrible thing is when you're trying to keep up with other people and you can't be doing that. What a waste of life that is. And that's the lesson I've tried to learn. Because competition is a natural instinct. It's a drive, which is good. But ultimately, it's kind of meaningless. Because like you say, if you're always chasing something, if you're always... I think the thing that people struggle with is how much people need something to look forward to. And not knowing the future is really damaging to that.

because living in the here and now and the present is not an easy thing to do. We're not used to that. What we're used to doing is knowing something good is coming or thinking it's going to be good, or even if it's a goal. It could be a holiday or it could be I need to achieve that. That's such a great insight. That's like telling your kids we're going to Disneyland on this date. And like the kids count the days down, the excitement, you know, they have to get their chores done and get certain things so that they can go to Disneyland because there's conditions put on the trip.

But if you just said we're going on holiday one day, it's kind of a little unnerving, actually. And that's what we have. We keep being told we're coming out of this and then the target keeps moving. With regards to holidays, it's fascinating how that is what people are desperate for. But what is a holiday? It's something that it's a change. It's a break. And every single person who came on my game show, when I said to them, what would you do if you won?

that every single person, not just the holiday, they wanted to go to where you just said, Disney. They wanted to go through those gates into fantasy land of everyone smiling at you saying, welcome home. And the rest of us is,

smiley characters and just stay there for a bit to not have to worry. That was Walt Disney's vision, which is a place to escape depression and sadness and the drudgery and grayness of real life and come to this place that was always bright and sunny and fun. I mean, that was his vision. Whether it's a reality or just a fantasy, it keeps people going. That's one of the many things that's been taken away. But you still haven't answered the question. Do you want to go back to the life you had

before COVID, or do you think that there will be changes to the cadence or the way you live your life because of COVID? It's weird because I'm always complaining. So when I'm working, I want to be at home, and when I'm at home, I want to be working. But that's also how I function. It's also how I find things funny. It's that kind of mania and neurosis that creates comedy. I know, because I've had a lot of time to think about it, but I'm happiest when I'm being creative and I've come up with something good.

And I was able to do that a bit under these circumstances, but really nothing beats live performance and the instantaneous reaction. Because it's very cathartic because it washes everything away. You know, everybody worries about how they're being perceived. Are they on good form? Are they thinking right to people like me? Nothing is more magical than just saying something to an audience of people and everybody appreciates

you know, confirms it and laughs with you. And it's just, it's instant feedback. It's not like you have to write a book and you have to put it out. There's one person likes it, another person doesn't. Why is, you know, you're on Amazon. Why is that person giving me a two-star review? It's just like...

I said something funny. I thought it was funny. It was, they're all laughing. Then I followed it up with more stuff that just came out of my head and I didn't even have to think about it. And it's just joyous. And it, and it fuels me. It keeps me, keeps me going. And without it, I always go a bit weird and now I've been forced to be without it. So I've had to sort of find a sort of self confidence. I'm here to tell you, still looking. I,

I wonder if comedy will work socially distanced because one of the things that happens when somebody laughs, everybody laughs. It's like things are funnier when you're with a friend. My test if something is really funny is if I can watch by myself and laugh out loud. That's like the greatest test if something's really funny because things are funnier with your friends.

And so if you're socially distanced, the question is, will the laughter spread across the audience like it does in a packed house? But it's obviously going to be more difficult. And of course, the funnier you are, the more dangerous it is because people, I mean, if you're physically laughing at that, it's...

You know, if you're not funny, you're not spreading. You're sitting there slowly and calmly breathing in and out, and then you're leaving early. You know, that's the animation it costs us, seriously. That's so funny. So obviously there's that. But look, it's a nightmare, Simon. I mean, and then think about masks. I mean, you're performing to people. That's right. You can't even see them smiling. You just hope they have smiling eyes.

Listen, I'm a huge one for resting faces. I mean, I'm always scanning the audience. And if anybody looks miserable, I start to really, I focus in on them. Why are they not smiling? Why are they not on the edge of their seat? Why are they, what do they do? Why are they even here? Do they hate me? I start to lose my mind over it. But now, you know, you can't even see their face. You know, their faces are behind a mask. They're socially distanced. I mean, it's like all of my work is like this in regards to performance. You and I have different strategies when I'm on a stage.

And of course I'm scanning and I can see somebody looking very angry and disapproving. And then I see somebody else who's nodding and smiling and agreeing with everything I'm saying. I fixate on the person who's nodding and agreeing with me because it makes me, I'm like, Ooh, this is going great. And my, my energy goes up and my confidence goes up. When I focus on the person who's scowling at me, I'm like, this is over. I can't do this. Like, and then I spend my whole time trying to convince one person. Well, I can't cope with when people go to the loo because I'm waiting for them to come back. Cause I'm always thinking they might walk out. Yeah.

Sometimes I accidentally, I'll be mid-joke and they'll come back in and go, yes! Because I'm so thrilled that they were so desperate to go to the loo and it's not that they've literally just walked out. And not only that, I see sometimes they're in a couple. I'm like, I'm so awful. They've left the show. They've left their part to just walk. Oh no, they're back. I'm fine. No, I'm definitely viewing it in a more negative way, which is why, honestly, I've had the best gigs of my life.

When I can't see the audience, I always ask for the spotlights. Just hit me in the face. I don't want to see anything. Especially when I do the bigger rooms, I can't see a single person. And you just relax and you're dealing now with one noise. It's like one animal is laughter as opposed to lots of individuals. I find this so fascinating because we are the total opposite. I always request the house lights as bright as possible so I can see the people. Yeah.

so that I can make eye contact with somebody, so I can talk to a person. If I'm talking to a blank void, I don't know what to do. My worst gigs are when the spotlight's on and the house lights are off. Well, you're obviously a much more positive person, hence the name of your podcast. But I would like to perk mine a bit of pessimism, which is also going to put on my Apple iTunes or whatever it is.

Also, the pandemic has cut short our burgeoning friendship. We've only met a few times. You saw me in New York after my show. And of course, that's when this was all... That's right. I came to see your show right... What was it in March of last year, right? It was February. February. So it was right when this thing was just beginning and we was just hearing the first reports of it in the West. And I came to see your show at Radio City, which, by the way, was fantastic. That was the last show I did. And I started that show by saying...

as a joke, this could be the last show I do. And it was for a long, long time and ongoing. I mean, it's absolutely wild. But it's an experiment. You know, if you look at aspects of it like an experiment and try and get the positives out of it, like when I finally get back on stage and, you know, and like I said earlier, we've got

We've got to learn from this. I mean, you're going to help people do that. That's why you're so brilliant, is that you can get people thinking about the right things, which is so important. And also, let's not forget that the world didn't seem to be going that great anyway before as well. It's not like everyone was flying. Everyone was quite stressed, not really understanding. Social media was going crazy. I do think that when there's this kind of massive disruption, I'm a great believer in balance. In all clouds, there are silver linings.

And for all of the stresses and strains that we've gone through because of COVID and the murder of George Floyd and what that started, that good comes out of things. And even though I think we're in a period of extreme stress and we don't know how things are going to pan out, there's a momentum and an appetite for things like police reform in the United States and really focusing on race relations in the United States and other places around the world. And what does happiness mean? I think, you know, I think that this is a big opportunity for us to reevaluate the

Happiness is not just how much money we make and the promotion we get, but it's the time we spend with our families and the time we have to ourselves and doing creative things. The balance took too far for COVID, but I think it forced us to reevaluate. And I think that's ultimately, I think a lot of good will come out of this period of darkness and uncertainty. But that's the optimist in me. That's very optimistic. But having said all that, when we are allowed to leave our homes for good, this is all over.

I'm going to feel like such a loser if I'm ever staying in. Can you imagine having to, I mean, I feel like I have to go out every night. Can you imagine having to say the words, yeah, I'm just going to stay in and have a quiet one. I was like, I think we've got our fix. Well, I'm an introvert. So I've been planning my whole life for this pandemic.

I always like talking about phones with you. How are you feeling about the whole obsession with mobiles? Because the problem, of course, with the pandemic is we've been forced onto our phones and to give up any sense of rules with kids and stuff. It's just like, what else are you going to do? How much has your usage got? I mean, your screen time. My personal screen time? How much time?

I like the phone. One of the things that was great about COVID is people actually picked up the phone. Like people who would never dream of phoning and would just text were actually making calls to hear the voice of another human being. And I love that. So that I think is great. You know, I don't think technology is bad. I mean, I don't have a, I'm not anti-phone. I think it's the balance of technology in our lives. And I think a lot of people were spending times with their family and watching TV, you know, which is great. And people didn't have the phone at the dinner table. They put it away. Well, I've certainly been on my phone a lot more than,

Are you texting friends? Are you playing games? What are you doing? No, I'm just sort of scrolling around the internet. I mean, at night, the terrible thing is I'm sort of embarrassed about it. My wife and I are both on our phones sometimes. Sometimes I wake up in the night and just start looking at my phone and I'll catch her doing it. There's a sort of glow. You get to sort of give away bedtime glow in the middle of the night.

And I sort of build a sort of pillow wall between us so that I can hide the fact that I'm on my phone for ages. Sometimes I'm holding it lying down over my head, reading my phone. And I fall asleep. This has happened to me for occasion. I fall asleep and the phone drops out of my hand. You know, sometimes they're emotional from out of your hand. Hands on my face wakes me up and then I just carry on scrolling. I think that is addiction, by the way. Yeah.

And my son, his bedroom is above us. And we know that he's gone to sleep because this is terrible. The phone falls out of his hand and lands on the floor. We can hear it hitting the ceiling. And I'll be like, oh, Luke's just gone to sleep. And we hear it go crash. And it's like, oh, he's gone. Oh, bless him. It's terrible. It is terrible. But you know, isn't it all? But you know, we'll address that. Michael, it's such a joy to talk to you. I just...

I adore it. This has made my week. I just love the way you see the world. I just love talking to you. It's a constant, constant giggle. I just adore it.

It's been very fun. I'm sorry about the Wi-Fi, but I think it just about held up. Look, I think we've all become a lot more patient with people's children running through meetings and frozen Wi-Fi and turning on cat filters and not knowing how to turn them off. No, you're right. I think it's actually made us just a little more empathetic. And so I have empathy for your shitty Wi-Fi. Thank you so much for having me on. And you're brilliant. And you help people think in the right way. And you're an excellent person.

And on that note. Thanks, Si. You're the best. You're the absolute best. If you enjoyed this podcast and you'd like to hear more, please subscribe wherever you like to listen to podcasts. Until then, take care of yourself. Take care of each other.

For 25 years, Brightview Senior Living has been dedicated to creating an award-winning company culture so residents and families receive best-in-class services. Across our 50 communities, Brightview associates help deliver peace of mind, safety, security, transportation, daily programs, delicious food, and high-quality care if needed.

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