Episode 48: Jess - Part 2

[Draft version. To be completed. Please ignore all timings here. They are incorrect.]

Jess: [00:01:55] All part of my world domination plan.  [00:01:57][1.3]

Owain: [00:01:57] Yeah, yeah, well, I mean, you're obviously not far behind our mate, Donald Trump, are you? He's he's...well, it seems like he's failed, doesn't he? He hasn't managed even to dominate the U.S.. (Jess: No) He's on his way out, isn't he?  [00:02:13][15.2]

Jess: [00:02:14] Yeah. So, yeah. So Biden did win. So in January, we will have a new president. And, uh, cautiously optimistic, excited to see what they bring and...  [00:02:23][9.8]

Owain: [00:02:24] Does it make a difference to you (Jess: Hopefully.)? Does it, does it...will it make it any difference?  [00:02:27][3.1]

Jess: [00:02:27] Yeah, it does. It does make a difference to me because I just feel like...  [00:02:31][3.9]

Owain: [00:02:32] Apart from not having an idiot as your president, then what's the difference?  [00:02:36][4.4]

Jess: [00:02:38] Well, that's the main one. And then I just, erm, I'm not really sure yet. I just I...I think it's kind of a wait and see. (Owain: Yeah.) And I think that's the way that a lot of Americans feel, um... You know, I feel like it's kind of like: this is such a strange election and it's such a strange time and things are so divided. And the more I read about how people get served up different information in different news, that kind of helps you understand where the different groups are coming from, but it also is frustrating because you don't really know what's real. (Owain: Yeah) So I think everyone's just trying to, you know, maybe this fresh blood and fresh ideas and hopefully is a step in the right direction. I don't I don't think they have all the answers. I don't think we're going see like (Owain: No, no.) All this great changes right away. But I think I think maybe what America needs is a pause. (Owain: Yeah.) And I think that's OK. I think that, you know, going from like Obama to to Trump is like that...That was a really huge shift. (Owain: Yeah, yeah.) It's a huge shift for both sides. And I think that I think that the way that we're going to make forward is like, let's just take a breath and figure out what we need to do. (Owain: Yeah, yeah.) So that's that's what I'm hoping that this administration can do. (Owain: Yeah.) It's going to be a little bit more...  [00:03:49][70.8]

Owain: [00:03:51] Normal? [00:03:51][0.0]

Jess: [00:03:52] Yeah, exactly. Like, not not on Twitter. Like, I don't want to get information from my president on Twitter, like.  [00:03:59][7.1]

Owain: [00:03:59] Yeah, yeah, yeah, uh you know, I don't know why I asked...why I mentioned Trump cause I don't...I don't particularly want to talk about Trump too much, but it is quite interesting to hear your your perspective on on the election and stuff like that. But I really want to talk to you about...Can I can I talk to you...Can I ask you about family? Can I ask you about (Jess: Sure.) Luis and Lucia and...'cause, 'cause I haven't spoken to Luis for, well, since...since Spain. (Jess: Yeah.) And the impression I get from Facebook, and I don't know if this started before, before we saw each other in Spain or not, but, um, Is he...has he become like Mr. Cyclist. Is he just a super super cyclist now? [00:04:42][42.7]

Jess: [00:04:42] So he was for a while. He was really, really into Bicycle's and he's got he was fixing bicycles and building bicycles. And he was doing really, really long, kind of like the equivalent of marathons. But like what? Cycling. Like they'll go for like 50 mile cycling trips and a lot of stuff like that. And he's not really doing that anymore. But, you know, he got...is the motorcycle.  [00:05:04][21.2]

Owain: [00:05:05] Oh, nice.  [00:05:06][1.3]

Jess: [00:05:06] Now he has a motorcycle. He got like a 1970s BMW motorcycle...(Owain: I don't...)  [00:05:10][3.7]

Owain: [00:05:11] I don't know what that is, is that a really cool one?  [00:05:13][1.5]

Jess: [00:05:15] Yeah, I guess.  [00:05:16][0.6]

Owain: [00:05:16] Yeah, yeah. (Jess: He loves it.) Is it one of those like if you if you watch the film Easy Rider and you know, you've got a big moustache and you riding down the highway...? Is it that kind of...(Jess: Probably) Born to be Wild kind of thing?  [00:05:28][12.2]

Jess: [00:05:30] It is a pretty cool...It is a pretty cool motorcycle. But, er, yeah, he got that maybe in spring or early summer and he's been riding it a lot. And now that our weather is getting colder and he any chance he gets, he's like, oh, the weather is warm today, I'm going to go for a motorcycle ride. So he's doing that and really enjoying it, and...  [00:05:46][16.7]

Owain: [00:05:46] Does he wear a leather jacket? (Jess: Yes, of course he does.) Of course. Yeah. Does he wear shades as well?  [00:05:52][5.7]

Jess: [00:05:54] He's got like a really big helmet that like has all that stuff built in, I think.  [00:05:57][3.4]

Owain: [00:05:58] Did, did he watch Chips when he was when he was young?  [00:06:01][3.0]

Jess: [00:06:01] He probably did because...(Owain: Do you remember that?: Chips.) So, Chips was like a little bit before my time, but, um, but in Guatemala, they get everything later.  [00:06:10][8.4]

Owain: [00:06:10] Oh, yeah. We probably did as well, actually, over here, because we're ki...we're kind of the same age, aren't we? I think. I think so.  [00:06:17][6.3]

Jess: [00:06:18] So, yes. So 'cause Luis...So I was born in 1980 and so was Luis. And then...(Owain: 19-7...79) so he would all the 70s shows...He w...He watched all the 70s shows. I didn't.  [00:06:26][7.9]

Owain: [00:06:27] Okay, yeah so um...And we go...and we got them later. So that's why I...when I was growing up, I saw chips quite a lot. (Jess: That's interesting.) Yeah. Yeah, but I think we must've been, we must've been some...(...sort of delay - 'Jess talks over')  [00:06:35][8.0]

Jess: [00:06:36] Or what's the other one? Was it Knight Rider?  [00:06:37][1.1]

Owain: [00:06:37] Yeah. We used to watch Night Rider a lot as well. Did you watch that one?  [00:06:40][3.1]

Jess: [00:06:40] Yeah. I never had that either.  [00:06:41][0.7]

Owain: [00:06:42] Ah, so it was before your time. Interesting.  [00:06:43][1.3]

Jess: [00:06:44] Yeah. I was also like not allowed to watch a lot of TV, so and if I was going to watch something that wouldn't uh bin (have been) my choice so. [00:06:49][5.5]

Owain: [00:06:51] Okay yeah, well, it's kind of cars, boy stuff, innit. (Jess: Yeah.) You're not allowed to say that nowadays. That's, that's not, that's not true.  [00:06:58][7.3]

Jess: [00:06:59] Yeah. Girls from like cars (Owain: Of course. Yeah. Yeah.) Yeah, so this wasn't really my[unclear]. Yeah, so, but he's, he's doing that and teaching and running the business and I don't know, we have a lot of backyard bonfires.  [00:07:11][12.1]

Owain: [00:07:12] Oh, that's that's quite interesting because I, um, have a back garden now. I haven't had a backyard in for years and we don't really do bonfires. I mean, people in the area do because we live, we live out in the countryside. I don't know if I've told you this just but, you know, I live with my dad at the moment. (Jess: Ok.) And we live in the middle of the countryside, er, in a small village. And Martin goes to the local school and it's great, actually, it's really good. But for me, it's just like going back in time. I feel like I'm living somewhere that, you know, it just it just reminds me of my childhood because it's the kind of place I used to live when I was...up until the age of about, yeah, even 15, 16, that kind of age, yeah, so but yeah, you can have a back-garden bonfire, but only certain times of day and it's not really something that people say, yeah, we're going to have a back-garden bonfire is [that a thing...?] [00:08:15][62.9]

Jess: [00:08:16] Oh, yeah, we do all the time. Like we've got our fire and our neighbours have the fire. Like our whole [block]. Everyone has a fire.  [00:08:20][4.4]

Owain: [00:08:21] Oh yes. Like a like a like a club. It's like or like an event.  [00:08:25][3.8]

Jess: [00:08:26] [I'll be like] Hey I ran out of wood, can you give me some wood and they give you some wood over the fence.  [00:08:28][2.5]

Owain: [00:08:29] But what do you do? What you do at the fire, what do you...you just kind of warm your hands and stuff or...?  [00:08:33][4.1]

Jess: [00:08:34] Yeah. We sit there sometimes we play music or listen to music or just, you know, have a drink outside. And, you know, especially with Covid, you can't really do anything or go anywhere. (Jess: Right.) So that's kind of what everyone's doing. But that's...and that's the safest way to see anybody. So we're still seeing our friends. And it's...now that the weather is getting cold. (Owain: Yeah.) Like Karen comes to my house, they have a bonfire. (Owain: Oh right. You see Karen. [Do you see her a lot?]) I see Karen all the time. Karen's coming to my house on Sunday I'm making, uh...(Owain: Well, say...) Mexican Pozole and we're going to have a bonfire.  [00:09:01][26.7]

Owain: [00:09:02] [Well] say hi for me. I haven't spoken (Jess: I will.) to her for years either. Yeah.  [00:09:04][2.5]

Jess: [00:09:04] Yeah, Karen, actually, um, we saw Karen in Spain because she, uh, she came to Spain for the wedding as well.  [00:09:10][6.1]

[402.4]

Owain I can't actually imagine you ever having done that, Mike. To be honest, I can't imagine you punching anybody. 

Mike /Owain No, I've never punched anybody. No, I have. I have, uh. 

Mike /Owain OK, do you want to tell us the story of why you punched somebody? I started karate, so I had to punch people in the face all the time. (Mike) Yeah, very good. That was part of doing karate. Made you quite good at it, I imagine. 

Owain Well actually it didn't.  But you do have to be quite good. Because because I went to do a competition once with guys who were a lower level and I had my head taken off a few times because the idea is you supposed to try to hit someone in the face, but just just touch them with you, with power, but just let you just touch them. And if you haven't got a lot of practise, then you tend to go too far. And then if you're aiming at their face, you go through it rather than just. 

Mike /Owain Yeah. Yeah. So yeah. 

Owain Yeah. Have you ever done any martial arts Mike have you? 

Mike I've never done any martial arts, no. 

Owain How about internal martial arts?

Mike Internal martial arts....Now, let me just take that in. 

Owain Taichi, for example? 

Mike Beating myself up? Oh, well, plenty of times I do that regularly. 

Owain Well, there here's the misconception that martial arts is not about violence. It's about control and. Control of the body. Yeah, and how you connect that with, I mean, internal martial arts, many, many martial arts are both internal and external, but say something like Tai Chi is very, very much an internal martial art. Like it's all about the mind and and how you focus the mind and use the mind. 

Mike Uh, I've done I've done some meditation. Yeah. 

Mike Um, I wouldn't say I was a regular practise of meditation, but I have done some and which has proved quite useful, especially in getting to sleep actually, uh, at night. Sometimes I've I've in the past used an app called Headspace guess is quite good for meditation and but I practise yoga regularly, which I find. Increasingly is the one form of exercise that that helps me become more productive during the day, really. And I feel if I don't do my yoga. Yeah, I feel. Like a sense of imbalance, like something is missing right in in my in my sort of balance to life. 

Owain OK, that is interesting. And how long have you been doing yoga for now? 

Mike Coming up to a year. 

Owain OK, and what is it like you do online or video? 

Mike Yeah, yeah. I follow a 30 minute video from a YouTube yoga instructor. And I happened to my girlfriend is is a is a quite an experienced practitioner,.  So when we do it together, she's super helpful. Yeah. 

Mike In terms of correcting my posture and really just reminding me to breathe, it's amazing how much I'm like I'm like, if you imagine just maybe like someone who's just not breathing and is going very red and looks very uncomfortable. That's me on the on the mat. I see I look like a tomato, you know, like I just forget and I'm going red and red, red, red and red and red. Yeah. 

Owain That's really funny because you're an athlete right. I mean you play tennis, you go swimming you're the most inflexible athlete I've ever met. I remember I remember the times we've been stretching or something. And you be there trying to touch your toes. I could just see the discomfort as you reached down and like, oh, like an old camel. Yeah, your muscles are so tight. (Mike) Tense, tighht. Yeah. 

Owain So is it do you feel like you, you relaxing more with the yoga? Is it, is it, is it doing its magic? 

Mike It is. It is. And if it feels like. 

Mike They I wouldn't say I would say there's an awful long way to go, but then that sort of suggests that I'm worried about it, I think just every which I am a little bit, because I still can't touch my toes.  But I think to me, it's it's just.. It reminds me that just just being able to breathe and and just do things really simply is the spirit. 

Owain Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's just... just for me.  I don't do yoga, but I do kind of I have a routine that I've kind of developed, has a few different things involved. But for me it's just about being aware of your own body and actually consciously being able to relax different parts of your body in movements, connecting it to your breathing and just feeling your whole body sort of relax. For me, it's brilliant. And I it's not enough for me and it's own just to kind of do yoga like exercises and and, you know, focus my mind and and concentrate on the breathing. I need to go out and do a run first to to warm myself up. And then I come in and I feel that energy and and I yeah, I do that to the movements and I feel so much better if I've gone, gone and done something really kind of high intensity before, before that, you know. (Mike) Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And but I really enjoy kind of the peace of it where you literally you, you're just focussing on what you're doing. Nothing else. And a long time ago I learnt from a book somewhere about, about realisation, about breathing, how we spend most of our lives not realising we're doing it. But when you stop and you think about it is.....the most fundamental thing about our lives, because if if you stop doing it for a few minutes, you're dead, right? And yet we take it for granted now. Of course I do some breathing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 

And we don't notice. Yeah. 

Most of the time, I think that's as good a place to put in a swear word as any. Yes. Yes, yes. Breathing is fucking important. I think I've moved on from that. 

So that's the explicit ticked on the... 

I love breathing and it's it's so simple. So easy. 

Yeah. It's free.