Summer Starts in the Turbulence

It’s the first episode of summer - and the start of a new solo series on Unscripted Turbulence. 

This week, it’s just you and me.

I kick things off with a shoutout to the Chief Swag Officer for an amazing custom mic windscreen, share why being under the weather may be the universe’s way of clearing out old energy, and pull back the curtain on PilotLife after summer storms left Pilot stranded in Fort Lauderdale during recording.

I also reveal my summer plans for the podcast, reflect on what the past three June episodes taught me, and read journal notes from November 2023 that prove just how powerful intention can be.

A personal episode. A seasonal reset. And a reminder that turbulence often leads us exactly where we’re meant to go.

This episode is sponsored by Dude Wow Cocktails — bold flavor, real ingredients, and yes… it’s really good.
Get 10% off with code TURBULENCE26. Thanks for supporting the show.

New Episodes Take Off Wednesdays!

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Watch the video version: YouTube 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Before we get into the episode, shout out to the sponsor supporting Unscripted Turbulence, Dude Wow Cocktails. Now, I love its Lloudy Mary mix without alcohol. So you could really make it your own. I've had it both ways, even made a Mezcal martini with it. Shout out martinis with Megy. Smoky, sultry, honestly, so good. If you're curious, use my code Turbulence26 for 10% off. The link is in the episode description. Take what lands, leave what doesn't, and please follow or subscribe. It helps more than you know. All right, let's get into it. All right. Are we ready? Are we ready, Freddy? Okay. Welcome! Oh wait, actually, you know what? I have to turn off the air. This is what happens when you're not firing in all four cylinders. Okay. Shall we begin? Welcome to Unscripted Turbulence. I'm your host, Reagan Metchie, and if you're watching, you'll notice a little sweet treat on the screen. That's right, friends. I got me a little windscreen on my microphone that says the name of the show. Unscripted turbulence. Where am I pointing right here? Big, huge, enormous shout-out to Chief Swag Officer. I ordered from them. I've got more treats on the way. So thank you. You are making the debut. So last uh before I had this thing on, I had one of these. This this is a windscreen. So what it does is when you say a P or a T, it kind of softens it. And I had one that was given that was part of the road microphone setup. And now I have a new one. I have other things coming. So yay! So again, huge shout out to Chief Swag Officer for this. After I ordered three other items, they provided this for me. So thank you, thank you, thank you. And happy summer, everybody.

SPEAKER_01 2:27

It's here. Yes. Praise, preach, hallelujah.

SPEAKER_00 2:33

All that to say, if you've been watching my socials, feeling a little under the weather, I have a fever. I don't know what's going on. So I'm not feeling like tip top shape, was hoping that I would feel better today. And now, as I say that, it is raining outside. We are taping this on Monday, two days prior to the official drop of this specific pod. But that's okay because we're alive and kicking today. Glory be. Glory be to God. Okay. I'm going to start off this podcast with a quote because we're going to do a little what we like to call in the TV world, even though I'm not on TV anymore, but whatever. It's like my craft. It's called a donut. We start with an idea and then we wrap up with the idea. So we're going to start this episode with a quote. This is a quote that I created. I saw, I saw the beginning of this quote, and then I changed it to something that resonates more with me. And um this is the quote we're going to play off of today in today's episode, which is a solo episode. If you can build someone else's dream on a deadline, imagine what you could build on your own terms. We'll say it again. If you can build someone else's dream on a deadline, imagine what you could build on your own terms. Love it. So I'm going to put that to the side. We'll say it again later on. We wrap this bad boy up. So yes, it is the summer. Which means not only does it suck more when you don't feel good. I mean, I think I think I went through the entire winter season without feeling sick. Oh, no, no, no. I like to say though, this little thing I have, this bug. And by the way, if you're watching, I put makeup on, girl got all nice and dazzled for all of you. I don't feel as dazzling as I look, which reminds me of my TV days when I would feel like absolute shit and have to do a live shot. And I couldn't even mention how I felt because, and I understand the viewers want the facts. They want the story. They want the entertainment. They don't want to hear you not feeling your top in your best shape. But now, because you all tune into this podcast, which I like to think mainly because of me, and then, you know, guests I have on, it's okay for me to openly admit I don't feel very good right now. I just, I, I'm just like a little like a little fever. Not totally off because I'm still bringing it. Because oddly enough, when the cameras are a rolling, I am a going. So I kind of like ignore the fact that I don't feel great. But I just wanted to mention if I seem a little off, that's why. Not any other reason, just that. Um, so yeah, summer. So it sucks when you don't feel good, especially in the summer. But also summer storms as what is happening out right outside right now with the rain, which is also another reason I'm able to record a little later in the day today, because Pilot, Pilot is stuck in Fort Lauderdale. So I'm gonna let you all in on something. I'm still working on him getting on this pod, by the way. So Pilot woke up today early. Again, it is a Monday, and he usually flies out of JFK. And today he was able to fly out of LaGuardia, which is very close to where we live in Astoria. I'm not gonna give you my address, but you get the drift. So he um he woke up, had to leave by 5:30. Now, typically I start waking up at that time and I do my workouts with Louisa. I did not do that today because I want to reserve all my energy to tackle whatever's going on in my body. So I'm taking off the week. I already text Louisa. I don't owe her a text, but I feel guilty because I always show up for her. Anyway. So Pilot wakes me up, says goodbye, yada yada. He took an Uber to work today. He didn't feel like driving, understandably so. And um, you know, usually I hear from him. He'll usually say, now he's a man of few words, so he'll usually send me a plane emoji that's taking off. He usually says, love you, landing at whatever, whatever. Well, he didn't when I woke up, like at nine. Yeah, I I slept in because I said, I gotta, I gotta sleep is my my medicine right now. So I'm like, this is weird. So I I sent to him, where was the text? I don't even know where it was. Oh. Okay. So I woke up, it was nine, right? And he wake, he, he already had text me. Usually it's the emoji, but it was delayed about two hours. Like you're already delayed. That sucks. Okay. I can only imagine what's going on in his head, right? Oh no, I say I'm sorry. Because I am, because that sucks. Because now when when he's delayed, that means his whole day is delayed. And I'm talking about the pilot. I'm not talking about the passengers. We've been there, the crew. I know flight attendants that this is I feel bad for the flight attendants. I really do. I have a flight attendant friend. Jorge, I'm gonna shout out, shout you out. The stories, oh the stories. Now, Jorge and Pilot don't work for the same airline, but it's pretty much all the same thing. So now, fast forward, it's you know, I'm I'm waking up, right? So I already see that pilot had text me, and oh no, no. And then I and and I said, Well, what's going on? He said, No, no, I'm boarding now. So he had a B, he left here at 5 30, he had a B at the airport at like six. Now it's nine o'clock, and now they're boarding. Okay. He's taken off. So he doesn't tell me when he's expected to be home because usually at that point, not that it's like 1952 here, but I like to have some kind of idea of dinner. I I like cooking, but sometimes like right now I don't feel like cooking anything. So he tells me he's not, he doesn't tell me anything. No time frame, no timeline at all today. So I'm also thinking to myself, good, because I need a little bit more time to warm up to take my podcast today, because on that end, I'm not feeling too hot, right? So now it is 115 in the afternoon. All right. And I look and he went to Fort Lauderdale. Okay. And he texts me, return flight canceled, not sure what I'm doing yet. Oh, jeez. So I thought, okay, that buys me a little bit more time. And then I think, oh, maybe I don't have to cook dinner. I know, that's awful. Meanwhile, the poor thing's like stuck in an airplane in an airport, whatever. So I give him a little phone call. Like, what the heck happened? Well, turns out he was delayed for maintenance, maintenance, if I can speak, maintenance. I don't know what maintenance thing it was, but they couldn't leave. They had to get their plane fixed. Okay, I can understand that. But I also knew that there was weather coming today. And I thought, oh boy, this isn't good. You're delayed, not for weather, which is coming to the northeast. You are delayed for maintenance. So I'm speaking on the perspective of the pilot here. So take this as you will, okay? So the FAA does not allow them to do overtime. Okay. So unlike many other jobs out there, they have a hard in and a hard out, wheels up, wheels down kind of situation. I'm not gonna quote the hours because I always mess it up somehow, but it's there's a specific time frame he can fly in a day. All pilots. This is across the board. Unless you're a private pilot, from what I understand, you can do a little bit, yeah, a little bit more wiggle room. So he then tells me that he is awaiting information at the moment. Seems like I'm spending the night here in Fort Lauderdale. No official word yet. So when passengers get all disgruntled, and I get it because I've been there, like, what the heck? Why is this? Why is this happening? And Pilot's favorite moment is when somebody comes up to him and says, Quote, my daughter says it's sunny. Where we're going, why are we delayed? It's just so he's now I can only imagine because they kind of all hide out in the crew room, right? I don't know what the crew room looks like. Spouses are not allowed back there. I have tried. I have tried, Lord, I have tried, but no. So, you know, he, like the passengers and the flight attendants, are all wondering like what is going on because they're at the mercy of the weather, of time, and of equipment not failing, right? So now I'm about to record this right now. Time check. So we all know it is 3:55 p.m. on a Monday, June 22nd, I believe today is, right? Yeah. So, right? Yeah. So I just because I have to record this, I went quiet on the set, which I'm getting today, but I just in case. So I text him and I said, status check, because if he's gonna call me in the middle of this thing and then I gotta stop it, it's not gonna, I just, you know, I just wanna I don't want interruptions. So this is what he receives. He says, or I receive, he says to me, just got a notification. The plan at the moment is to DH back to LGA. DH is deadhead, which means you literally, as a pilot, sit in the airplane seat as a passenger and you get a free ride back home. That's DH deadhead. Okay. Some of you might know this, others might not, but back to LGA, which is LaGuardia. That's their call sign. On a 1835 departure. Yes, we speak in military time here at the household. Um, 1835 is 635. Okay. Personally, I don't think it's gonna happen. LaGuardia is on a ground stop right now.

unknown 12:56

Poor thing.

SPEAKER_00 12:57

So, yeah, summer, summer storms. So if you are gonna be going on a flight this summer, I want you to remember this text exchange because this is what it's like for the pilot. I'm not talking about me. I'm happy as a clam over here, other than the fact I don't feel 100%, you know, I'm recording, I'm here with you, I'm talking to you, we're having a chat. So there we go. That was not really part of my plan to explain the text interaction, but since I just received a fresh text before recording, I felt it was necessary. And plus, it kind of goes in alignment with the summer and traveling and delays. So, yes. So happy summer, huh? 2026. I remember last year at this time, feeling like I couldn't breathe, and I was backed into a corner because I thought, what am I gonna do with the podcast? What is the name gonna be? What is the flow gonna be? I was like all over the board. When you start something new, you're all over the board, rightfully so. Um, but this year is different. So I already have my name. I got it on the little windscreen in front of you. So we're off to a good start, right? Yeah. All right, summer plan, summer plan. Speaking of what last year versus this year. So here is my plan moving forward for the summer. I'm gonna test out a little something, something. July, we're going solo. We are going solo. It's just gonna be you and me because I know that some of my topics do get a bit heavy, always impactful. I always learn something, and it's just like astounding at what people go through and how they get through the turbulence, right? But I have a lot of turbulence myself. I do talk about my TV thing and like, you know, not knowing what the heck I'm doing on social media and all that stuff. But I thought, you know what? I kind of feel like this is a good pause point, July, to kind of just well, right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So well, I guess starting today, right? So it would, you know, the whole month of July. We're gonna test it out, just the solo episodes. And I thought um, I wanted to kind of share a little bit more about the journey I took to get to the point I'm at now, right? I was recently at an event, it was a promotion ceremony for a former colleague, now friend. She was a friend too, anyway. And she got promoted in the US Army reserves. Very proud moment. And I had a little chat with somebody at the event. And if you're listening, you know who you are. And she brought something up, and I thought that was a good idea, and it was actually something I kind of thought about too. That, you know, she is very interested in hearing the journey and like the insider information inside baseball of making a leap like I did. And it was something that has been on my mind because I'm starting to see some of the people who I interviewed on this pod really lean into that story, specifically Jackie Devalos, Davos. I always mess up her name, the um former Bloomberg journalist, now a pastry chef. I think she's doing an exceptional job at her journey, explaining just leaving something and starting something new and all the confusion and the fear and the excitement. And I kept a lot of that private last year because for me, it was harder for me to talk about because I was trying to figure out like what am I gonna do? Um, and I have such a wired TV brain wired that way that I just I felt like I needed to have like an actual story, but the story is the mess, right? It's like this messy middle I'm in. So I thought, you know what, I'm really trying to break apart what I've learned and I'm gonna, I'm gonna return to the beginnings. And my friend at this event suggested I go back into my journals and read excerpts and kind of talk a little bit about that. And I I think that's a good idea. Obviously, I'm not gonna go into all of the nitty-gritty because let's be honest, not everybody needs to know everything, but I think it's really interesting when you do take a step away from what you thought you were gonna do for your entire life and you pivot, and you're like, yep, doing something different because what I had been doing no longer serving me. So I want to lean more into that. And I um I'm excited, a little nervous, but at the same time, like when I when I get that way, I just think at the end of the day, we're all gonna die. My lord, that's really a hard pivot, right? I mean, at the end of the day, if you're here to hang with me, that's a win, right? I love you for that, and thank you. So we're gonna we're gonna get real. We're gonna get real, my friends. All right. Let me see what else I want to check off my list here. Yes, I do have a a list that I like to I organize this because I'm again not running all four cylinders today, so I don't want to screw up anything. Um yeah. So we're gonna put a pin in the um the excerpts of the journal because I do have something. You hear that? It's a piece of paper that I wanted to read from during my great purge of spring 2026. And then when I did that solo episode, I kind of forgot about it. But because my friend had suggested I read old writings, I'm thinking, my goodness, how serendipitous. So we're gonna put that to the side because I just got off the phone earlier today, the first human I spoke to in about four days because I've been under the weather. Um, new friend and a friend who's gonna be on this podcast, real excited. So super excited. We had such a great, such a great conversation. OMG. And we were talking about at one point social media beginnings, and he had mentioned about how he loved, um, he had he got he really got to know me on. I thought he got to know me when I was at Fox Five. No, he got to know me when it was at Channel 7 Eyewitness News. And I thought, all right, that's so great, you know? And uh we we chatted back and forth, and he had mentioned how he he really thought I uh I brought this like certain energy and all that kind of jazz. And I said, Yeah. And I said, but it and he said you had personality. And I said, Well, it's a funny thing you mentioned that. He's like, Yeah, because you had the martinis, and I do have the martinis, as we know, I do the martinis with Medgie. Again, took a little break because every Friday I started getting real busy and throughout the week. So I said, you know, getting to that martini point was actually really complicated. And I wanted to share this part of the conversation with you because just to explain my journey into trying to be a little bit more open on social media and why it's maybe a little bit more difficult for me. Way back when I was studying to be a journalist in school at Temple University. What do we say? Go owls. It was kind of drilled into us. Now, this I entered college in 1999, the fall, and I graduated in spring of 2003. Okay, so this is this is before Instagram, this is before Facebook, this is before my space. Like this is way before all of that. I cannot even believe I'm saying that. Oh God, that's 23 years ago. Oh. So way before all of that. So when you're back then, when you went to school, it was like, you know, you are a journalist, facts, that is it. That's what you learn, that's the world I grew up in. Like attribute sources, ask the sources, don't lift out of newspapers, which happens often in the media now, but whatever. So, you know, like, but you have to make sure that, you know, if you do lift something, which lifting something from a news article is basically seeing a quote or seeing some piece of information, you're lifting it, but you're supposed to then call the source it came from or double check to confirm that the information is correct. In the morning, you don't have that time. You just have to trust that it's right. Oh, pulling back the curtain there, but anyway. So, anyway, so we're we're taught all these things. Social media was not part of it. Number one of the biggest things is you're not supposed to have an opinion, right? So you can't you can't slant anything, you can't show you're biased anything. It's literally black and white. Like you can't, so Being raised in that and I followed that, right? And it got to the point where when social media started happening, I just did not show who I was on my social media Instagram account. So I have two Instagram accounts. I have a personal one where I'm like, woo, and then my professional one where you all see. I no longer post to my personal one, and we'll get to that. So it was, you know, I kind of always straight and arrow. I was on Twitter a lot, you know, all that kind of jazz. And then Instagram starts, and you know, or Facebook starts, Facebook starts, Instagram starts. So now fast forward to 2021. I know, I know. I mean, we are really jumping. At that time, I was still very much straight and narrow, straight, straight and narrow, walking the straight and narrow, not showing a lot on my professional Instagram page because it was all work, no play. That was it, right? Like that's that's it. I'm a newswoman, that's it. Until I had a conversation with a PR contact of mine. And he was looking at my Instagram account and he says, Oh, you like don't post, and who are you? And I was like, Well, I'm a reporter, that's who I am. And he was like, Yeah, no, no, no, no. Like you, like it's it's safe to post more about who you are. Oh, and that was around the time I was going back to school for meteorology at Penn State University, the World Campus, go lions. I'm an owl with knitting lion paws, right? Yeah. So I was, yeah, I was going back to school at that time and I started really um leaning into my love of martini because I would have a martini every Friday after I would do a week of schoolwork and I would post about the martini on my personal Instagram account, right? So I would never let anybody know on my professional one that I like the martini. And this PR guy was like, well, why? And I was like, because I don't want people to think I'm an alcoholic, because I'm not. I just happen to like martinis and I think they're fun and they're sexy and they're sophisticated, and I like to make them on a Friday and as a little like treat to myself after, I don't know, going through, you know, at that time was still kind of pandemic-y, you know, and then studying and then having a full-time job, like all of that. Like I needed to unwind, right? So he said, yeah, but like you should show that because that shows like you're more well-rounded, like you're bigger than just a reporter. And that is how the martini was born in terms of putting it on my professional Instagram account. So the reason the martini even started, beyond, I mean, obviously, the getting, I just wanted a like, you know, little treat, it was also to blow off creative steam that I was not able to or allowed to freely do at my job at the time, which was Fox Five New York, I'm just gonna say. I I was able to do certain things, but no matter where you work as a reporter, you can't like totally let your hair down, understandably so. It's not entertainment tonight, no shade to them, but it's the news. It's local news, for goodness sakes, you know? But there was a level where I just wanted to be a little bit more creative, and that was the way I could do it through martini time, and I could make a story around sipping a martini. So all of that together was perfect. So that is the hard lesson I learned to kind of like come out to my own on the Instagram for my professional page. So my new friend and I were talking about that. He had no idea, nobody knows that backstory. But I said, Yeah, like that, that's what was hard for me because I couldn't, I it was hard for me to really show my true self and my colors because we were trained back in the day as journalism students not to show that part, but social media kind of switched up everything. So now you can and you're kind of encouraged to. Um, so I thought that was interesting because I really I want to bring back the martini, but I'm finding it hard to find time to. And I really do like a martini. Right now, I'm not feeling that at all. I'm on a cocktail of Tylenol and what did I have? Salt stick, electrolyte capsules or something. So, but you know, in my month of July, I'm hoping that this girl will feel a little bit better and have a teeny while talking to all of you. It will be a tantalizing tale, if you will, by the end of the pod. I might not even know my name. No, we'll have one teeny, one teeny, one at a time. Okay. Um, so when I was also talking to my friend, which was really cool, is you know, we were in talking about, you know, walking the straight and arrow for media on my end, you know, he had been in the media too, not the same kind of media as me, but he said, you know, what's interesting, he he said, is I thought you were so good on news, on the news, but seeing you what you're doing now, like you really are meant to be there, which really made me just feel like, oh, my God, like I'm on the right, like my little godwink moment. Like, I get those, like a reminder, like you're on the right track. So I felt like so super good about that. And then I started reflecting about the pods this past month. I mean, we had uh Sam, a jiri, the marathon runner. And I do want to make mention of something on that pod that I didn't really get to dive into um as much because we just kept on talking. It was so much fun. Um, do you remember? If you didn't listen to it, this will be new. If you did listen to it, this would make sense. When I said that Pilot and I broke up, I even teased it. So yes, that did happen. Not recently. It happened back in before we before we got married. So it was 2010. Um, so when we got together, it was I was 25 and fabulous. So it was 2006, right? Because I was gonna be 20. Hang on a minute. I was 20, yeah, it was 2006, right? Because I turned 26 later on that year, so I was 25 and fabulous. Every year I have a new theme, as we know. I then so we were dating long distance. He was down in Florida, I was in Pennsylvania, and then he moves back up to the Northeast, gets a job based at a JFK, and then I move up to Elmyra, New York to work in news. So it was back and forth, you know, for really like three years where you had a long-distance relationship. In 2007, no, right? Yeah, whatever. 2000, let's say it was 2007, 2009. 2009, I came back to Pennsylvania, pilots in Pennsylvania, and you know, being away and doing the long distance thing and then coming to not be long distance, there is an adjustment period. Well, we we were not adjusting very well, and uh kind of had to take a little pause there, broke up for a hot three months. That was at that time during that time is when I started really getting to running because, like I had said, my fitness instructor, Bruce John, Bruce J, shout out. I heard from him, by the way, when I when I posted that. It was really sweet. So he, you know, he noticed that I was like not happy. And when you run, endorphins just go. And he said, We're gonna go for a run. You're not okay, let's do that. So that was part therapy for me. But I wanted to dive more into that story because I feel like it was kind of abrupt. I didn't get to finish my thought because Sam and I just had a phenomenal conversation. So that was like the whole story. So so I started running more and more and more, and I really got into it. And then Pilot and I got back together, and then we got engaged and yada yada. Now we're married, and now he's stranded in Fort Lauderdale. But regardless of the fact. So running has always been kind of a refuge for me. And this is not a push to make people runners, but if you're dabbling or thinking about it, or why do people run, they're nuts. It's everybody has their own vice. And for running for me, when I run a super ton, it's usually because something's going on. I need to clear my mind, I need to get myself adjusted, or I need clarity. It is good to do every day. I don't do every day. I try to do once a week, but if I'm doing more than once a week, it's probably because I need to just clear my mind. Which brings me to my next thing. I wanted to touch base on during Sam's interview. So, as you see, I have a marathon medal in the back. And it was the New York City Marathon in 2024. And there are moments in your life where you start seeing things a little more clearly. And I don't know that I've ever mentioned this to the depth I'm gonna go here. But the marathon, one of one of my girlfriends, Sherry Israel, she was episode number two, three, four, five, I think. Um, she ran the marathon. Now she is one of my besties. And she, after I got done with the marathon, she said to me, Wasn't that life-changing? And I said, Well, kinda, I guess. I mean, it ran 26.2 miles, sure. At that time in my life, I was passed over. It seemed like I was passed. I mean, was I? I guess. I don't know. I wasn't, there were four freelancers. This was in one of my earlier episodes, but I was at uh Channel 7 Eyewitness News, and there were four freelancers at the time. Uh, two of the freelancers got hired staff. I was one of them who was not selected to be hired as staff. And for whatever reason, it was meant that way. And I believe that, but that didn't take away the sting of, well, I've done everything I possibly can do. Like, why am I not getting drafted? Right. So when I was training for the marathon, I was not one of the new staff hires at at ABC 7. And it and running got me through that realization that I didn't make the cut. I was still freelance, I was still working there, but I wasn't staff. And, you know, staff meant something to me because I thought, okay, well, if I'm staff, it's more security. You have a steady paycheck, you get the perks of being a staff employee. Um, but freelance, you actually have a little bit more freedom, which is kind of like what you give up when you become a staff member, because then that's when you have like the two-week vacation thing. And so there was just like a lot going on. And I, and I'm just, you know, I'm just kind of spinning my wheels thinking, what else can I do? I went back to school, you know. So running became again a refuge, right? So it got me through a breakup. Now it's getting me through this work situation. Here I'm at this like awesome station, and I like wasn't selected to be like one can argue, as Pila would say, part of the starting lineup, right? So I'm running through it, I'm running through it. You know, I finish it. That's when Sherry says, Hey, wasn't it life changing? I was like, I guess. It took me a couple months after that to then realize, oh my God. I don't even know what when it dawned on me. And it probably was in 2025, absolutely. And I think it was around the time where we were moving the building from the Upper West Side, which right now the Upper West Side location where Channel 7, Eyewitness News, and ABC Network used to be, is now a pit. There's nothing there. It's all knocked down. So sad. And now everybody's down in Soho. So we were making that transition. And it was around that time that, you know, either something, something's got to give. And I remember that's when it hit me. The marathon was life-changing. And Sherry was right, but in a different way for me. It's not the 26.2 miles I ran in four hours, 19 minutes, and 35 seconds. Still so proud. You know, the training and all of that. It was the effort I put into it. And I realized here I am, a marathon runner. I know what I am capable of when I put effort into something. And then I started thinking about what I did with the marathon, all the time, effort, the focus, the drive, the ambition, all of that. And I put that, all of that, that bucket of effort next to the effort of TV. And this is where it really shook me. And I started thinking about all the effort I had put in TV, the sacrifices, the I can't do this because I got to wake up early, or I can't do this because I only have two weeks off a year, or I can't do this, or I need to do this to show them I really want it. I need to sacrifice this. I can't go on this vacation because I have to show the bosses I really am here. I'm here, I'll do anything. Say yes, I'll do it. I'll hear yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. All the effort I put into that, and I got passed over for a full-time job position. Two were open. I got neither of the two. And I went back to the marathon and I go, I finished a marathon. All the effort I could put into something, I know what I'm capable of doing. I got a medal. TV. Where the hell's a medal? I mean, I had, oh, done. I literally don't think I could have done. I don't think I could have given any more yes, I mean, yeses or done anything more, gone back to school, got a master's degree. Nothing. It didn't matter. And that's where the running for me makes all the difference. Like it clears everything up. So I wanted to mention that. Again, not to make you all runners, but when you realize when you when take something that you put so much effort into, that that you put all your effort into something and think about what you got out of it. Right. And I'm talking about the thing you put the effort in, you got something out of it. And then think about other things you're putting effort in, into, right? Are you getting anything out of it? And does it matter what you're getting out of it? Oof, ah. Ooh. So yeah. That that's pretty deep, isn't it? So, so Sam's Sam's pod listened to it. It was really good. And then we get to Melissa Welch. Ooh. We're talking about, you know, cleaning and purging. Mmm. So there was one quote that she said, and I'm gonna grab it because I don't want to mess this one up. As we were talking about, because she's a professional organizer and a minimalist. She's also the sister to one of my best buddies, Chris Welch, who is currently at New York One. He and I worked at Fox Five, New York together. So Melissa, and talking about, you know, cleaning, because it was all about cleaning, and if if you if you just need to kind of have focus in your life, clean your space, start something little and something small. And she says, when you have clutter, you pay for it with your peace. Think about that. Any clutter you have in your life, it could be physical, it could be mental. You're paying for it with your peace. Because you have to move around it, you have to clean around it. It's there, you're trying to make it work, and it just doesn't fit in. You're paying for it with your peace. Which then comes to my spring purge of 2026. It's something I want to read to you. Okay, so as I was purging through things, and I had to get it rid of books, and I like to write in books. There was a book that I had that I did pass on to the thrift store, and it was about pivots. And you know, you get the book and you make sure you like first of all, did I did I stash any money in it? I did not, but I did stash, I did stash some words. Here's the paper, everybody. And this I thought was interesting because again, I I wanted to read this when I found it in my last solo episode, and I and I totally forgot. But then when I met up with my friend at the at the ceremony I went to, and she suggested reading old journal entries, I thought, oh, this is where we're gonna do it. All right, so the date for this bad boy, because I date everything, was November 12th, 2023. Which like tickles me. So a month prior to this, I was at Fox Five New York. During this time I'm writing this, I am in the waiting period because of contracts, going from Fox Five New York to Channel 7 Eyewitness News. Because there's like a contract thing where you have to wait, it's not non-compete, but like you have to wait a certain amount of time to go from one station to the next station when you're in a the same market. Um, that's it might not now it it exists still to this day, but it's that's one odd thing that we have in our it's probably gonna die off, but it's one thing that is kind of a little glitch in the system. If you're at one station and you want to go to, you can't just hop to the next station. Like you can't. You just you have to wait it out. I mean, it's kind of archaic if you think about it, but whatever. All right, so I had to do a pivot exercise in this book. And step one, it says, my ideal day. Again, this is time-stamped. I wrote this back in November of 2023. My ideal day would be to wake up as the sun rises, go for a run some days, other days do a group boot camp with friends, journal with coffee and meditate, create a healthy breakfast, take a warm, relaxing shower, find an inspiring outfit in my upgraded, joyful wardrobe, head to my inspiring job where I impact others. The job ends, head home to create a healthy meal or meet up with friends for dinner, prep for the next day, maybe journal them, meditate, read an inspiring book, catch up with loved ones on the phone, and sleep by 9, 10 o'clock at night. I'm doing all of that right now. That is not a joke. That's not a joke. It is crazy. First of all, many things here. When you write something down, it's like creating a written vision board. I have found many things I've written down have come to be, which is woo-woo, godly. My uh, my friend Godwink Dana. That's my first interview episode. Listen to it, it will make sense. I mean, so there's other things I want to add here. So it also says um challenges I'm currently facing again in November of 2023. An unanswered question at the moment. Will I love ABC 7? I will say when I started, I absolutely loved it. And I say looking back, overall, I did. I do. Because it means a lot that I ended up there. It really truly does. It really does. But I even knew going in, this was my last. Because again, remember, I left Fox 5 because I knew my worth, right? And I was like, they were lowballing me. I'm like, I'm not, I can't. After everything I've done, I'm not, I'm out. And then I said, you know what, let me just give it one more shot. I ended up at ABC 7. I'm holy crap, are you kidding me? This is awesome. Number one station, hell yeah. And I just wanted to test and see do I really still love reporting local news? Because, like, you can get totally blind, blinded by the the the shiny new thing, right? Or, you know, the people you work with, and which by the way, most all people I've worked with in TV. Freaking love them. It is a different group of people. I will never, I will never knock working with TV people. Mm-mm. Man, we we we go through shit together. So, but you never know where, you know, was it was it the industry or was it me? I didn't so I got my answer at the end of the day, right? Other things I wrote down on this little piece of paper. It asked about values, right? So you had to like write your values. You really see it's values and then offshoots. One thing was passion. What's your value of passion? And I said, I want to work to create impact and change. I don't know that I'm creating change, but I like to say, I like to believe I am impacting people. Courage. No shit. Courage is on here. To say no and take risks.

SPEAKER_01 45:04

I certainly said no. No, I'm not doing this anymore.

SPEAKER_00 45:09

All right. Oh, yeah. What's this one? Right here. Broad one-year vision brainstorm. It asked to do that. This is what I said. Do work that inspires me to jump out of bed each day. Run, run my first New York City marathon with time and consideration to train. Friends, November 2023. I wrote this a year later in a couple of days. No, less than a year later, ran my marathon. It was November 4th, I believe. Nope, November 3rd. November 3rd, 2024. All right, how much more of this stuff? Not too much more. Stay with me. Stay with me. Define success one year from now. Again. Okay. Some things may have taken a little longer, but what do I want to give? I want to impact others. Run a business. I had that in there. So clearly, my soul was telling me I'm not staying in the news for the long run. So inspire people to be their best versions of themselves. Lead a movement. I mean, I'm not leading a movement. Have everybody leave TV, or I think I'm leading a movement just to lean into the messy, right? Umfo I want to share with others, positive outlook, positive energy, my message. Know your worth, trust your gut, take that risk, live that dream. Oof. This is all I did not write this today. I wrote this November 2023. One year vision statement. Here we go, baby. I am starring in my own show. It took a little bit more than one year, but inspiring people, energizing people, and giving them the uplift they need to be their best versions of themselves. Lastly, I'm relaxing after my first New York City marathon. I encourage all of you go back to your old journals and read them if you have journals. Maybe not the ones that you had in elementary school. What the hell? I still do. You know what? That would be funny to go back and see. You're right. Crazy, right? It's crazy when you write down things. Holy crap. Oof. Well, that was something, wasn't it? And then, of course, my last episode of this month, which we just heard from uh Scott Moreau, the Johnny Cash Tribute artist. How good is his voice? Oh my gosh. And he definitely leaned into the grief part too. I wasn't expecting. I wasn't, I mean, we were gonna talk about it, but he really went through a journey. And then it starts making you think of just life and legacy, and it makes you think of, you know, if you can do it, do it now. Like, why are we waiting? Why? And why do we care what people say? Like, yeah, do I have trolls that say weird things? Yes. I had one person say something weird. I'm not even gonna mention it too far beyond this, but I thought, uh, and then you know what I did? I quickly turned to all the positive things. Because why do we focus on the negative? Why? Why? For what? You know what I'm saying? Not me. All right, so let's return back to our quote to end this bad boy. This has been a good conversation. I don't know about you, but I'm really enjoying it, right? So, what have we learned? Go back to your journals, revisit where you were two years ago, five years ago, ten years ago, check in with yourself. If you're scrambled in your mind, go for a run or go for a walk, have a moment. You deserve the martini. Post about it. Who the hell cares what people are gonna say? You know what I mean? Clean up your spaces so you have room to think, breathe, and live. And don't let that overtake the peace that you can have if you have a clean and orderly space. All of these tidbits of knowledge I actually actively use. And then turn on some Johnny Cash, grab yourself some bourbon and slowly sip to the beautiful weather we have ahead. And be patient with your pilot if he tells you the reason we're delayed is because it's stormy where we're going, not because it's nice here. I can't wait to hear what that's gonna be. Oh. Oh, and side note, he told me this story. Okay, he's probably not gonna listen to this. All right, so before I get to the quote to end this, so he was he was in LA and they were about to take off, and he gets a call from the flight attendant that there's a fist fight breaking out. He was like, What? They're literally about to take off. So he's like, What do you mean? Flight attendant's like there are two brothers, seven and fourteen.

SPEAKER_01 50:46

And they started throwing punches.

SPEAKER_00 50:48

This is not funny, but it is, whatever. One had the a phone and didn't want to go on a trip, but they were flying together, and then the other one was like, We have to go on this trip, and there was like this fight.

SPEAKER_01 51:02

So pilot was like, Well, tell him to stop. So the flight attendant was like, Can you can you go back because you're tall and scary, and maybe maybe they'll listen to you.

SPEAKER_00 51:18

I was like, Well, I mean, he is tall and he can be very like mean, but not mean, like he's not mean to me, but he has like that edge. Okay, he's just he has that edge. And I'm thinking those kids probably, if you came back, those kids would have been terrified and cried for a much different reason. So Pilot was like, I'm not doing that. I gotta no, no, just separate them. So the brothers had to get separated, and Pilot was 17 minutes late taking off. Not a happy pilot, but the job was done and they landed. I don't know if those brothers are fighting now, but they sure probably got a talking to because they were fist fighting. Okay, and it caused a delay. Anyway. Things not everyone knows, but I do. Okay, so to wrap this up, here's the quote we started with. Think about everything we discussed, or me talking and maybe your thoughts too. If you're thinking of doing something for yourself, or if you're thinking you gotta make a change, walk away with this. If you can build someone else's dream on a deadline, imagine what you could build on your own terms. We'll say it again. If you can build someone else's dream on a deadline, imagine what you could build on your own turns. That's right, baby. We'll see you next week. Bye, friends.