“Sequestering Yourself in a Corner” | Work Parties
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Don't gossip. Next, next, next one. Next one.

Welcome. Sorry. You know what? This is what it is. It is what it is, guys. If you don't know by now. If you don't know me by now. Okay. Really off-key. Welcome to More Better, a podcast where we stop pretending to have it all together and embrace the journey of being off-key and becoming a little more better every day. Or at least trying to. That's Melissa Fumero.

And that's Stephanie Beatrice. Oh, man. We're off to a great start. Great start. Great start, guys. We're doing great. We're doing great. Melissa, what have you done lately that's a little more better? Melissa, let me just take that back. Let me try to more better that. Okay? Hold on. Yeah. Melissa, what have you done lately that's a little more better? That's all natural? So natural. So natural. Well, Stephanie, I...

Literally can't think of anything because I am drowning currently. No, that sounds dramatic. You know what? I'm just tired. More better this week is just being okay with the bare minimum. We're just keeping it basic. Yeah, that's good. So we can come up for air. That's good. You got a lot going on. What have you been doing, Stephanie? That's more better.

You know, I am the opposite right now. I don't have anything going on other than like I'm in a little bit of a waiting game because my next job doesn't start for a little while. So I took it upon myself to, you know how you read in the mom blogs and stuff that you're supposed to cycle their toys out? If you don't have kids, what that means is

to help them have a better brain. I don't know. Be a better human. I'm not sure. You're supposed to take some of their toys away and put other ones out so they're not overwhelmed by like a bunch of toys.

And also you you like it's like introducing new toys to them because they're kind of goldfishy a little bit about toys or like this is new. What's this? Exactly. I've never done it before. I did it today. I had some time. I took a bunch of stuff out of her toys. I put it in some bins. I moved them to the basement and she didn't notice. I don't know. Is that good or bad?

Yeah, no, they want out of sight, out of mind. Like every kid at that age, every toddler, they'll just forget. I love hiding things all the time. Toys that annoy me.

Yeah. Yeah, man. I mean, fingers crossed. This child is not barely playing by herself. She's like, Mommy, you want to come and play with me? And I'm like, man, I get paid to play pretend. I don't want to play pretend for free. I'm not trying to do this every day for free. I'm putting on voices. I'm doing a whole show. You know, that's how I feel. I can't do it, bro. Are you cutting me a check, little person? You know?

Then the answer's no. Yeah. Speaking of work. That's what we wanted to talk about this week. We're going to be discussing work parties. I already feel anxious. How do you feel about work parties? You know, work parties specifically, they are not...

Regular parties, right? No. I would say like normally big work parties around the holidays, right? I feel like there's summer soirees too, like summer's another big kind of time. Or like if your work has some kind of big event, like if you're going to a... Oh, conventions. Yeah, we're going to this convention and then on Friday, we're hosting a dinner for everybody from blah, blah, blah. So come on down to the TGI Fridays and hang out.

Yeah. The thing about it, though, is that you're not only with friends, right? You're at work. You're at work. That's the thing. Yeah. You're not at a party. You're at work. You're working. Do you like work parties? I really struggle with this. I really struggle with this. Yeah. And I've learned to do better at it as I've gotten older. But, like, the hard thing about them is, like,

They're with people from work. So these are sometimes the people that are going to give you another job later, maybe. You know, for us, it's slightly different because like for us, we really do go job to job.

Yeah. We're not necessarily freelance, but we do kind of as actors, we kind of function that way. Whereas like we'll wrap a job and then, you know, we can go for many years on that job. But then oftentimes we'll go to another job or we'll go to do a movie or we'll go to do something else in another forum of this art form. And so like work parties, you're really partying with a lot of people who are

Either in the cast or their crew or production. Heads of studios, executives. Heads of studios sometimes. Oh my God. You know who's really good at these? Lauren Ashe. She's great at a work party. She knows everyone's name. She remembers everybody. I am not good at it, bro.

Bro, I'm not good at it either. I can't. I'm really bad at it. They make me feel really anxious. Yeah, same. I think same. I've gotten a little bit better over the years. I remember the first few that we had to go to for Brooklyn, like even my manager being like, maybe you should have a drink. Yeah.

Just have one drink when you get there. Just have one drink when you get there to relax. Yes. To just like kind of take an edge off. Right. But like if you're not drinking, I'm not drinking. So like I was super nervous about this wrap party because I was like, I can't have a beer. I can't like do that right now, you know, but from, you know, it's a choice that I'm making, but like.

It's definitely easy to lean on substances when you're sort of feeling like, well, I feel nervous and anxious, you know? There's nothing wrong with that. No, no, no. There's nothing wrong with that. But also, like, you have to be careful, too, because sometimes overindulging at a work party is the most anxiety-inducing thing that could happen of just being in the middle of a work party and being like, oh, my God, I'm drunk. I'm drunk. Do you remember that first dinner we went to?

That very, very first dinner that we went to after, I think we shot the pilot for Brooklyn. Yes. Maybe... Do you remember what I'm talking about? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Was it Mozza, I think? It was Mozza in the private room. Mozza's this great, wonderful restaurant here in LA. So good. Really good, like, pizza, Italian food. Nancy Silverton, right? Anyway. Yes. We were at this work party and, you know...

for me, it was really my first big TV thing that I'd ever done. And so like, I'd honestly never gone to a dinner where the studio was like paying for the dinner and it was like, you can have whatever you want to drink, you know? So I was like, I'll get wine. Do you remember this? Yeah.

so many glasses of wine because I was so nervous. And I was sitting next to Mike Schur and I turned to him at one point. I was like, I think I've had too much to drink. And God bless Mike Schur. He was like, you should go home now. You should call a car and go home right now. And I was like, I should without saying goodbye. He was like, you don't have to say goodbye. Just go home. God bless him. Because I was ripped, man. I was ripped.

remember that did you just go to do Irish exit disappear yeah I just left I just left because I was like if Mike Schur says I should go home I should go home right now remember that yeah I think I do remember turning around and being like where'd she go where'd she go

bottle of wine by myself because I was so nervous. Yeah. Ridiculous. Ridiculous. I also remember we would have to do these parties for people that are listening that are not in this job that were the TCAs were always the biggest, most anxiety inducing kind of parties for me. So the TCAs were like Television Critics Association. They would have this big party and

twice a year, right? There was like a fall and a spring one. And it's essentially this party where you go and all the heads of studio were there and like everybody, you know, if it's Fox, all the people from Fox shows are there. So it's full of actors and it's full of journalists.

And they tell you, you will be on the record when you go to this party. And you basically just walk around. And then they give you alcohol. And then they give you alcohol. And you walk around this party. And journalists just come up to you and they're like, so tell me about your show. And they'll just like, it's like random interviews. But then also sometimes you just are having a conversation and halfway through you're like, wait, I'm talking to a journalist. Yeah, this is on the record.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then you're like, oh, what did I just say? Did I get too comfortable? And those were, oh, my God. I would be – I think that was one of the parties where my manager was like, have a drink because, like, you need to relax. And, you know, there was always that thing of, like, make sure you go up and say hi to, like, the heads of the studios, which was, like –

And I would always forget their names right as I was going up, which is really, really bad. And.

And then just like seeing actors from other shows, like I'm really good with faces and not names. And I don't even know how to get better at that. But it was just awkward. And I felt awkward the whole time. And like sweating and just in this like high state of anxiety, just trying not to like sound dumb or look dumb and stuff.

just trying to relax and like have a good time. And I remember there was one where we, it was like a few seasons in. So we had done a bunch of them and I think we were all like a little more comfortable with them now. But we basically went to like the back of the restaurant and found a corner and we all just hung out like the whole cast. We just hung out. Do you remember this?

I don't remember that. Where were we? It was like the one at Soho House. Oh, yeah. You know what? I don't remember that because I was with Joel and Dirk eating. With them at the buffet, at the dessert buffet. And I was eating with them. We were just like standing there as close as we could to the dessert, eating.

That's why I don't remember that. I was like, where's everybody? Yeah. I thought it was all of us. We were all just there. I wasn't over there. And then it was great because then- The three of us were eating. Some journalists came up and talked to us, but I think that then as a group, I don't know if we were intimidating or not that many people came up to us. And we just- Oh, that's so funny. Hung out and ended up having a great time. And I was like, is that the answer? Just sequester yourself with a group of people? Sequester yourself?

That is funny. In a corner, but probably not. I mean, sometimes.

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Text BVJOBS to 97211 to apply. I think it depends on like what you want out of the party. You know, like that's the thing I think I've started to get to. Yeah. Like as I get older, I'm like, oh, okay, so...

what is it that's making me anxious about this party, right? So because I'm going to see all these people and like I don't know if I have anything to talk to you about. It's like the thing that I have to remember is every single person at that holiday party or at that work party, it's like everybody there. First of all, sometimes I get caught up in feeling like I'm responsible for other people. Like, oh, I have to stay in this conversation with this person because like what if I leave the conversation? I don't want to be rude. Right.

But everybody at the party is like, oh, I want to talk to multiple people at this party. Every single person that came to that party wants to talk to a bunch of people at that party. Even if they're nervous. You know what I mean? They want to see like their work friends. They maybe want to like meet someone new. They don't, they also don't want to be like stuck in a conversation with you the whole time. So it's like very freeing to be like,

I'm so glad that I got to talk to you for a little while. You know how these things are. I'm going to go see if they put more cheese out or I'm going to like, I'm going to go see if I can find so-and-so. Like it's okay to leave the...

The one-on-one conversation. Yes. I love that. You know what I mean? Like, giving myself permission to do that is big. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I feel like, yeah, I've just started to get a little bit better at that. But hearing you just say that out loud is, like, such a good reminder of, like, oh, yeah, I can just, like, have short conversations and just be free of the expectation and understand that, like –

It's good for the other person too to be like, hey, it was great to see you. And what are your favorite like getting out of a conversation kind? Like do you use like you just said like a food thing is a really good one.

You know, I think getting a drink too. Oh, you know what? I'm going to go get another drink. Like, you know, I'll see you in a bit. I appreciate the honesty of... Like, I was at a work party the other day. And I met this actress that I really, really liked. And we got along like gangbusters. And we were, like, having a great time. And then...

sort of not abruptly, but she was like, okay, so me and my husband are going to, we're going to go like, see if we can talk to some more people. It was so nice hanging out with you guys. And like, I really appreciated how frank she was. She was just like, we're going to go do our rounds. Cause that's kind of what you have to do at those work parties. You're there to do your rounds, you know? And like, I just like, I think it's, you know, it's part, it's, it's two parts of it, right? Like there's the, I want to be frank with people and,

And I also understand that if somebody's frank with me, they're not being like, you're the worst. I don't want to talk to you. It's like, I'm not going to take that personally. Right. I'm going to be like, oh, yeah, there's like 50 people here that you probably need to talk to before you leave. At least two, you know, at least two other people you probably saw out of the corner of your eye and you want to make sure you say hi before you go home super early. Because that's what I also like to do at the work party. I like to leave early. I just like to leave early.

I don't like to stay till the end. I like to get in and get out. Be in that first shift, you know? Yes. Get there on time. Leave an hour or two later. Yes. On time and then get out. The other thing is like, I like to have, it doesn't have to be like a notes list, but I like to have a list in my mind of like, okay, I'm going to talk to this person. I want to make sure I see this person. Okay.

If I see this person, I want to tap them on the shoulder and be like, hi, it's so nice to see you or whatever. So in my mind, having a

a sort of, oh, if I see so-and-so, I really want to make sure I say this to them or that to them or whatever. That's really smart stuff. Yeah, because you're going into it with like some goals, some markers, and then once you hit those, you're like, okay, I did the thing. I did the work party. Yeah. If I'm having a good time, I can stay, but also like I release myself, I can go and feel good about this. Exactly. Exactly. That's so smart. Like at this wrap party,

I really wanted to say hi and bye to Ted Danson, who is the lead in this show that I just did a part in. Icon. Legend. Icon. Legend. Fantastic. Wonderful human.

And I did, I, like, made sure that I, like, had, like, I made time to, like, go back over to him when I saw he wasn't busy. Yeah. And also, like, you can't really have too much shame about interrupting. We're not in prejudice, you know? Like, we're not. Like, you just have to be, like, tap, tap. Yep. Like, maybe don't interrupt right as they're putting down the fucking, I don't know.

I tapped him on the shoulder and it was right when he was laying down the punchline to a joke. And I was like, oh, sorry. It was really bad.

But how could you know? I mean, I could have figured it out. I am also funny. So I could have figured out like his gestures are such that he's about to lay down the punchline. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But that, you know, and then my other like goal that I had in my head was like, oh, get this one person's phone number because you don't have it. And like, you don't know when you're going to see them again. And I'm not on social media very much. So I was like, I want to get her phone number before I leave the party. And I did. Yeah.

And the other goal was eat all the pretzels. Like they had a they had little, you know, those little soft pretzels. What are they called? They're like sourdough sauce. You know what I'm talking about? Oh, yeah. Like a big soft pretzel. Yeah. The big soft pretzels. They had big soft pretzels. And I was like, eat as many big soft pretzels as possible. Yeah. So I had a lot. Those were my goals for the party. And I did it.

God, this is so smart. Okay, goals for a party, being okay with being frank about short conversations with people. These are hot tips. I am learning from you, Steph. Yeah, don't be rude, but like, oh, thanks. Thanks. I do think...

Especially at work parties for us. And I think for everybody, there's so many times where it's like a high emphasis is like there's an open bar, there's free drinks. Yeah. I would say like the main thing, as I said earlier, the main thing for me is like.

Don't get drunk at the work. Don't get stupid at the work party. Don't get stupid. You could go ahead and like go to, like if you really want to, you can go to another bar afterwards. Like that time that I was like, do you remember that time? This was recent at a recent work party. And I was like, do you guys want to go to a second location? Remember that? Oh, wait. Me and Brad asked...

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. We were at that party. Yeah, the Oscar party thing. And then I was like, do you want to go to another place? And you guys were like, we're going to go home. I was like, good for you. We wanted to go, but it was late. And we're always thinking about how early our children wake up. And so that makes us kind of lame. Yes.

Um, but then I just tell myself. Well, I don't care about my child, so. No, your child sleeps. Your child sleeps. Yeah. Not anymore. She hit that two, two year old mark. She doesn't care anymore. Oh, she's in that regression. I'm sorry. Yeah, she's in the, she's in the fuck sleep. Uh,

Yeah, but my children wake up at like 5.30, 6 a.m. But one day they will be older and we can stay out later. Yeah. But yes, yes, I do love a post-work party hang. Party, yeah. Party. Because at work –

It's very... At the work party, it's like your bosses are there. You're... You gotta act right. You're... You know what I mean? Like, you gotta act right because, like, you don't want to get fired because some dumb shit you did at the work party. Like, it's not worth it, you know? It's not worth it. No amount of free alcohol is worth getting fired. And everybody remembers the person who got stupid at the work party. Oh, my God. It's so embarrassing. It's so embarrassing. Sometimes it's me. Sometimes.

No, I don't think it's ever been you. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. What's your most memorable like Brooklyn work party or work? No, it doesn't have to be a Brooklyn one, but like, do you have a work party that you were like, this was amazing and I totally nailed it and I had a great time and I was just like killing it. I was like, I don't know that I, no, I don't think I ever feel like I'm really killing it at a work party, but I, I also think like,

And separating the idea of like a party party from a work party is really good for my brain. It's like, yeah, there's certain pressures that are on a work party like your bosses are going to be there. There you might need to like make an impression on people. But like also if you put that much pressure on yourself about it, it's like you're never going to succeed. And everybody at that party, except for like, I don't know, everybody.

you know, J-Lo is like just as kind of like anxious about the work party as you are. So like, just relax. Yeah. Also tell people that you like their work, you know, like,

If there's someone at your party that you, like, admire their whatever it is, whatever job you have, if there's somebody that you specifically are like, you do such a great job or I look up to your work so much or, you know, I don't know how you got to where you are. But, like, if you ever want to, like, have coffee, don't say pick your brain because that's gross. Yes.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, that's why I got that number because I wanted to talk to that actress because she's a writer too. And I just think she's so cool. And I was like, I don't have her phone number. I'd really like to chat with her. Not necessarily because I want her to be my mentor, although I think you could do that. I think you can also just like talk to people that you think

As an equal, you want to like exchange ideas about work outside of this work party situation. Yes, I 100% agree. That is such a good point because I feel like I've gotten a little bit better with that too. And it has led to collaborations.

collaborations or friendships or yeah. I mean, I used to feel so weird. I think when I was starting out being like, I like your work. Like, I don't know. Like I was like, Brayden made me look thirsty or like something, you know, just like overthinking it desperate or, you know, and then the first time I did it was actually with Phil Augusta Jackson and it was kind of a work party and

And he had like screened some stuff and there was like a get together after, but there was like a lot of people there and it was at an agency. And I just went up and I was like, I love what you do. And I'm like a fan. And I just, if there's ever a way that I could like support you or show up for you, like, please let me know because I really think you're so talented. And yeah,

He immediately was like, I have a short film I want to make. You want to be in it? And I was like, yes. Oh, my God. And that was kind of like how our little relationship started. Yeah. And it gave me so much courage after that to be like, oh, just say it. Just say the thing. Just tell people that you like what they do. Like, people like to hear that. Yeah.

And then sometimes it leads to, you know, more and creative relationships and collaboration. And it can be amazing. Yeah. I don't know. It doesn't have to be like a thirsty thing. You know, I think some people are thirsty. Right. Or not thirsty, but it's like, what are you doing? What are you working on? Oh, yeah. No, please don't do that. Gross.

But when it comes from a real place of like curiosity because you want to know what they're creatively doing, you know? Yeah. Like what are you, what is, where is your brain like leading you? Like what is your curiosity right now? What are you working on next? Like what are you doing so that I can watch it when it comes out or whatever? That's specific to us. But like I do think it applies to a lot of people. Yeah. I think so.

♪♪

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Text BVJOBS to 97211 to apply. Okay, so I wanted to read you this thing from Forbes, which, listen, I don't read Forbes very much, but I was like asking about holiday parties, office parties, whatever, and there was this executive coach that wrote this article. It's called, Why Your Office Holiday Party is a Secret Evaluation and Possible Job Interview. I hate this writing. Ha ha!

I think it's so yuck to be like, okay, wait, this quote. The office holiday party serves as a covert evaluation of employees' social skills, professionalism, and ability to navigate informal settings. I advise you to prepare for your holiday party in the same way you would a performance review or interview. Oh, baby.

I hate that. I mean, I think that's taking it too far. I don't know. The performance review or interview needs the same like intensity. I think that's so yucky because like it's also like a holiday party. It's like celebrating. It's gross. You know. Can we not scrutinize people in casual settings? At every turn. Can we just? Yeah. Yes.

I mean, I get that people are going to do that, but just, like, be... I hate that. I don't know. That one, that's so gross, right? It just back-eats me. It's so gross to think that, like, the...

The ick. Like they said, like the kids say. It gave me the ick. You know where that comes from? It comes from Love Island. You remember when I talked about being embarrassed that I watched Love Island? That's where it came from. Uh-huh. Gives you the ick. Oh. That's where it comes from. Just so you know. Just so you know, America. You wouldn't know the origin of ick without your Love Island love. I do think there's some truth to it a little bit. But like, ugh. Why?

As far as, listen, if you act a fool at the holiday party, yes, should you be judged or possibly evaluated? Sure. But I think it's gross to have that approach. I feel like holiday parties and work parties should also be just like

Places to make connection, bonding time, team building, you know, all those kind of like just...

A time to cut loose with these people that you spend so many hours with in a sensible, professional way. Sure. Like I said, we don't need to get stupid at the work party. Yeah, we don't need to be ridiculous. It's not that kind of party. We don't have to get sloppy. Yeah. But, oh, to put this pressure of you're being...

scrutinized or evaluated like a performance review or interview yikes man

Don't do that to yourself. Don't do that to yourself. No. Because I will say that's how I used to, not exactly, but I would put, especially in the beginning of work parties for me, like when I was entering into, I'm a responsible adult, now I'm getting a paycheck, now I'm going to work parties. Yeah. I would put that pressure on myself. I'd be like, oh my God, they're going to like, they're going to think of me as X, Y, or Z. Or like, I remember being at a theater in my early part of my career. Yeah.

And hearing all these like little whispers and stuff from other actors saying, you know, you have to show up at the company bar afterwards and you have to schmooze and that's how you get cast and this and that. And I was like, oh, that's so stressful. Like, I want to go to the company bar to like hang out with my new friends and like have some drinks and stuff. I don't want to, you know, and this wasn't a work party. It was more of like a social situation, you know? Right. And...

It's too much pressure to think about every single move you're making. You can think about some of your moves, but like, I mean, like I didn't wear makeup to that wrap party. Don't be so calculated. Yeah, I didn't wear makeup to that wrap party because I didn't have time. I didn't have time. Good, good, good. And I was like, uh, people are going to know what I look like. Oh, that's true. They do. They already know what you look like. It's fine.

Well, before we wrap it up, I do have one more fun thing that I wanted to read because our producer Isis, she asked AI how to be better at work parties. And I think that this list is hilarious. Parts of it. So the first one is be on time. Sure. Which I think is debatable because I think it's okay to be fashionably late to a work party. Nobody wants to be the first one there. How fashionably late? How late though? No, like within the first half hour?

Yeah. If it's a dinner, you need to be on time. Oh, yes. If it's a dinner, you need to be on time. We both remember a dinner we were invited to that I didn't know was a sit-down thing. And I arrived fashionably late. And it was very embarrassing to come into the room with a big round table of people sitting down. And thankfully, I wasn't the last person to show up. But I was the second-to-last person to show up. Yeah. It was fine. It was embarrassing. Dress appropriately. What do I –

I put that one. Yeah. I don't want to, you know, ask your, if you're curious about what you, is appropriate, maybe, you know, if HR wouldn't appreciate you wearing it to a

work you probably shouldn't wear it to a work party that's good that's solid yeah don't bring a guest unless asked that's yeah I like that I like that I like that this is my favorite watch your guest behavior so do not bring that friend people

Okay. Bill from accounting had six beers, you guys. Don't bring that friend. No, don't. You know who they are. Snack before you go. I love that one, actually, because I have definitely expected a Trey Pass situation at a bar.

work party and been sorely disappointed by the snacks. Yes, I have definitely showed up to a work party ravenous and then looked like I don't know what attacking every plate that came out or whatever small buffet and just like a stockpile of a plate and being like maybe. That's fine. Yeah,

The stockpile is actually totally fine. If people are going to judge you for how much you eat at a work party, that's messed up. No, I mean just more like not talking to anyone because I'm just in search of food because I arrived starving. Housing snacks.

One time I went to a fancy work party and they had Trey Pass little burgers and they were raw. They were raw. Ooh. Yeah. I had eaten half of one in the dark before I realized it. I was like, this tastes weird. No. It was bad. So eat before you go. Eat a little something before you go. Eat before you go. That's a good tip. Don't gossip. Next, next, next one. Next one.

Drink responsibly. We discussed that. We've discussed. Yes. And then this one has a big question mark. Hold your drink in your left hand. Why? So you can shake hands with your right? Oh. Is that why? Is that why? Probably. I don't know. You probably just nailed it.

I like to have things in both hands so that I don't have to shake anyone's hands. Oh, yeah. And then I can be like, oh, sorry, I'm holding my raw burger. I know in this post-COVID world, I find it very like, are we back to shaking hands? Yeah.

I've also learned as an adult that when I was younger, I just used to hug everyone without asking. I know. Oh, my God. That's such a Latin thing, right? It's so Latin. I just used to hug people and some people don't like it. I've kissed people on the cheek without asking too because it's very Latin as well. I know.

And then I, yeah, have had to be like, oh, well, that makes some people very uncomfortable. And like, just because it's my culture, like they shouldn't have to be physically uncomfortable because this is how I greet people. Yeah. That's really real. You can't, you can't. Yeah. Yeah. I've gotten better about asking questions.

Or waiting to see that awkward moment where you both go in for it and then you're like, oh no, do they like hugs? And then I just go, I'm a hugger. I like hugs. And then the other person goes, me too. And then you do it. Oh, that's nice. But yeah. But are we shaking hands? Are we back to shaking hands? Because remember during COVID when nobody was shaking hands? Are we back to shaking hands? I think you can like – I think it's okay to say like –

You know, what I do is, oh, I just sneezed or like, oh, I just I just ate a burger. So I'm not shaking hands or like I do that a lot. I'll be. And it's usually pretty honest. I'm like, I just, you know, X, Y, Z. Yeah. Yeah. But you're you're smart to have like, yeah, you're both your hands occupied.

Yeah, I like to have that. Because I don't love a shake hand situation. I do like a hug, but I try to wait until the end of the conversation to see if I feel comfortable enough approaching with a hug. So in the beginning, I'll just like smile and be like, hi, it's so good to see you. Yeah. That kind of thing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.

I feel... Listen, I'm going to ask you. Do you feel more better about work parties after this discussion? I do feel more better about work parties because I got some real hot tips from you. Oh, thank you. I feel like they're a little less nerve-wracking for me after this conversation. Do you feel more better about work parties? I'm so glad. Yeah, I feel... I mean, weirdly, I feel like the stuff that I was doing was just to manage my own anxiety. So it's nice to hear that...

that it might be helpful to you. It's nice to hear that because I was just going, how can I not be in my head this entire experience and actually be present? What can I do to be present? So it's nice to hear that it's helpful. Well, yeah, you were very proactive about it as opposed to I've just been floating through them trying to survive. Yeah.

I'm just trying to break it down, break it down into little bitty pieces so I can crack the code. I like it. I like it. They're good tips. Crack that code. So, yeah. Well, we would love to hear about your work parties because we'll be real honest. Like this is a very specific kind of work that we do. So we want to know, like, is your work party super different? Is it like really, really casual? Do the things that we talked about apply to your work?

you know, maybe corporate, maybe non-corporate job. Like also like the freelancers get together and have work parties or is that just a social party? I don't know. Let us know. Let us know. And we'll see you next week. Yeah. Bye guys. Bye. More, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more

Do you have something you'd like to be more better at that you want us to talk about in a future episode? Can you relate to our struggles or have you tried one of our tips and tricks? Shoot us your thoughts and ideas at morebetterpod at gmail.com. And include a voice note if you want to be featured on the pod. Ooh. More Better with Stephanie and Melissa is a production from WV Sound and iHeart Media's My Cultura podcast network. Hosted by me, Stephanie Beatriz, and Melissa Fumero. More Better is produced by Isis Madrid, Leo Clem, and Sophie Spencer-Zavos.

Our executive producers are Wilmer Valderrama and Leo Clem at WV Sound. This episode was edited by Isis Madrid and engineered by Sean Tracy and features original music by Madison Davenport and Halo Boy. Our cover art is by Vincent Remis and photography by David Avalos. For more podcasts from iHeart, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. See you next week, suckas! Bye! Oh my god.

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