Dear Chelsea - Mallorca on Mushrooms

Episode Date: October 6, 2022

This week, Chelsea is joined by co-host Catherine Law at her villa in Mallorca, Spain. They chat about Chelsea getting kicked out of a private dinner, what a 60-mile bike ride will do to a person, and their drug-induced private Opera performance.  Then: A maybe-autistic wife receives a diagnosis from an unlikely medical medium.  A Pole finds herself stuck dating a series of meat-heads.  And a 40-year-old professional wonders if it’s time to move from Norway to New York.   * Need some advice from Chelsea? Email us at [e-mail] * Executive Producer Nick Stumpf Produced by Catherine Law Edited & Engineered by Brandon Dickert * * * * * The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the Podcast author, or individuals participating in the Podcast, and do not represent the opinions of iHeartMedia or its employees.  This Podcast should not be used as medical advice, mental health advice, mental health counseling or therapy, or as imparting any health care recommendations at all.  Individuals are advised to seek independent medical, counseling advice and/or therapy from a competent health care professional with respect to any medical condition, mental health issues, health inquiry or matter, including matters discussed on this Podcast. Guests and listeners should not rely on matters discussed in the Podcast and shall not act or shall refrain from acting based on information contained in the Podcast without first seeking independent medical advice.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm Jason Alexander. And I'm Peter Tilden. And together, our mission on the Really Know Really podcast is to get the true answers to life's baffling questions like why the bathroom door doesn't go all the way to the floor, what's in the museum of failure, and does your dog truly love you? We have the answer. Go to reallyknowreally.com

and register to win $500, a guest spot on our podcast, or a limited edition signed Jason bobblehead. The Really Know Really podcast. Follow us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, Katherine. Hello, Chelsea. You guys, we are coming to you live from Mallorca. In Spain. Yes, we are.

This is an episode called CSI Mallorca, where we will be solving short murder mysteries. We're here with a group of women and a token male who happens to be our sound engineer and podcast editor, Brad, who's Catherine's lover slash husband. Indeed. So he's the only male in a house filled with 10 girls, is it? Nine girls. Yeah. So he is exhausted.

He's been making the rounds, having a great time. We told him this was a swingers week and that he was going to have to service all 10 women. And so he has been taking a lot of naps. Yes, that's absolutely true. All the gals seem to love him, though. I know. I know. Very nicely done, Catherine.

Great choice making. He fits in. He does the little eye masks that we were all doing when we had our little spa moment. Yes. Jamie Greenberg is here. She's administering. She's trying to contribute since her personality is not enough. She is giving us eye shades and facials and all sorts of little treatments, I would say. Yes. Yes. She's going to do all of our makeup before we go out tonight. And it turns out, is that what's happening?

No. Okay, good. Because that sounds fucking annoying. Sounds like a wedding. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. We make her work for it. But we've been having some weather in Mallorca, which has been kind of delightful, but it was unexpected. So there are people actually surfing in front of the house today, which is funny because the waves don't seem big enough to be doing that.

The weather is sunny during the days and it rains a little bit at night, but we've had crazy waves. Like today, these waves are really- And there's electrical storms a lot. And I love an electrical storm. But then I've been hearing about all these people getting electrocuted. So I'm now scared of electrical storms. Weren't you saying somebody died from an electrical storm that was like two miles away? Yes, yes. I've heard a friend of a friend, her husband was electrocuted.

Then on the island of Majorca, there was an electrical storm and two men were electrocuted. And so I usually sleep with my window open. And now I am like, every time there's a storm, I'm like, I better shut that window because the lightning is coming after us. It's like sharks. Like sharks weren't bothering us for a while. And guess what? They are bothering us now because of climate change. I believe, I believe everything is to blame on climate change. That's my new theory about everything. Can I tell you something I think I heard in the night with my window open? Oh, my God. Was it a sexual act? I mean, it might have been actually, but I think for the last two nights, I have heard whales from the ocean. But also, it sounds like whale sounds underwater. So

maybe I am hallucinating at four in the morning. Are you taking a lot of edibles here? Mushrooms? What have you ingested so far? Well, we did have some mushrooms on one of the first evenings. My favorite moment from that was when we were all giggling and laughing and having dinner on the terrace. And we thought we heard the most lovely man

singing opera music. And we went to go check it out. We leaned over the terrace wall, and we heard a man walking by just going, we thought it was opera. It was my favorite moment. My cousin Molly was like, Chelsea, can you please turn the music off? I think I hear opera. So seriously. And I just was like, Oh, shut up. First of all, do you know how long it takes me to get the fucking music on with fucking Sonos? I hate Sonos. I've named my baby Sonos. He's upstairs in the crib in my closet. And I tape his mouth shut every night so that he can't work just like my Sonos can't work. I don't know if I have an electrical charge within me that,

speaking of electrocution, I don't know if I'm, there's something that happens when I touch music that makes it stop working. Anyway, we turned it off so we could hear opera only to find out that there was a man drunk in the street. But it sounded so beautiful to us. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Well, I'm glad everyone's partaking. We do need more drugs, though. This is a very light drug vacation.

Yeah, I wasn't prepared. I just assumed people would bring them like they always do. And not enough people did. We all just assumed you would bring them. Yeah, well, I'm out. I've been here for about a month. I did want to ask you this. Of your time in Mallorca, what was your worst, your weirdest, and your best experience so far? My worst experience. Let's think about worst experience. Other than Sonos. Oh, Sonos. Yeah. Well, let's see. I've been doing a lot of biking. So I think the day that we pushed it too far probably would be one of my worst, not worst experiences, worst experiences here, I guess, or biking experiences. I probably biked like something like 60 miles and I'm pretty sure I had heat stroke and I went to bed at 630. We had a chef

that night coming in, this woman, Dorothea, who's incredible. And I went to sleep. I went upstairs to take a nap and warned everybody that if I went down for a nap, I might not get back up, which is exactly what happened. And every time she comes, I've had heat stroke or I've been sick or dehydrated or too drunk or something that I couldn't have dinner. So Dorothea just thinks I'm a hot mess. And I'm fine with that. So I guess I wouldn't call that worse. But that was the most

that was the worst my body felt like I felt like I was sick and I had heat stroke. My best experience would also involve a bike ride. Oh, scuba diving. I've been scuba diving three or four times since I've been here. And that's been awesome because that used to scare the shit out of me. And then the strangest experience. Is that what you asked? Yeah. Strangest. Oh, I was, well, not strangest, but it was funny. I was at this, I was at this kind of little yacht club the other night. We all went, a group of my girlfriends before this group came, my group from whistler was here and we went to the yacht club and there was this guy having a private party and i went in and to order a drink and he's like are you with the party and i was like no and he like motioned for

me to like get the fuck out and i was like okay and then as i was walking out somebody's like i think that was chelsea handler and i went down to sit at a different area. And then slowly, one by one, the entire party came down to my area. And that guy was left by himself at his own party. So that was actually one of my best experiences now that I'm thinking about it. I liked when that happened. That was very funny, because I didn't argue. I just was like, okay, buddy, I don't need to be at your party. And then I was like, but guess where the party's going to end up? Exactly. All his friends need to be at your party. And then I was like, but guess where the party's going to end up? Exactly. All his friends wanted to be at your party. Yeah. So that was good. I did like when we were walking along to dinner the other night and two girls,

two American girls stopped you and were like, we're just such big fans. You're amazing. And then one of them that we were passing by them and one of them was like, can we maybe get a pic? And her friend just cut her off and goes, no, we're not doing that. And we all cheered. We're like, this friend knew what was up, did her friend a solid. It was great. Yeah, I like that. I like when somebody interrupts that. It's like, that's not necessary. That way you have an even better story. We didn't interrupt our evening. I'm excited for the jet lag that I'm going to have, that we're all going to have when we go home.

But probably mine will be the worst because I've been here for so long, for a whole month, that I will be waking up at 3.30 to 4 o'clock in the morning for the next probably month and a half. You also are flying back and you have a show the next day. I don't know how you do it. Saratoga Mountain Winery sold out though. But I do have lots of shows coming up in October and November. Yeah. So you could check chelseahandler.com. And then I'm doing tons of

dates in Paso Robles, California, Bakersfield. I'm doing Tampa, Florida. I'm doing Daytona Beach, Florida. I'm going to all the hot spots, you guys, that I haven't hit already on this tour. I would also like to point out that you are doing what we now know because of many emails that I have gotten. Thank you, Pennsylvania is pronounced Redding, Pennsylvania. Oh, yes. Yes. I'm sorry. I've been mispronouncing that. And I've gotten a lot of DMs about that as well. In addition to all the photos of feet that I get now of bare feet on airplanes, bare feet in lounges, bare feet at airports, bare feet at movie theaters, bare feet at live concert events. I have been bombarded with bare feet, pictures of bare feet.

Honestly, you just need to start an OnlyFans and start uploading them. I know. Well, I do need to start an OnlyFans because I'm ready to have sex on camera. But can't you do OnlyFans without sex? Like, aren't there like fetishes? Some people are like, this is my cooking show on OnlyFans.

Right, right. I think that's what it's less known for. So you don't have to have sex on camera, even though that's what I'll be doing. That's what it's for. It's time. Yeah. Well, are you ready to take some questions?

I am. Always. Well, let's take a quick break and we'll be back with our first question. Okay. I'm Jason Alexander. And I'm Peter Tilden. And together on the Really No Really podcast, our mission is to get the true answers to life's baffling questions like

why they refuse to make the bathroom door go all the way to the floor. We got the answer. Will space junk block your cell signal? The astronaut who almost drowned during a spacewalk gives us the answer. We talk with the scientist who figured out if your dog truly loves you and the one bringing back the woolly mammoth. Plus, does Tom Cruise really do his own stunts? His stuntman reveals the answer.

And you never know who's going to drop by. Mr. Brian Cranston is with us today. How are you, too? Hello, my friend. Wayne Knight about Jurassic Park. Wayne Knight, welcome to Really, No Really, sir. Bless you all. Hello, Newman.

And you never know when Howie Mandel might just stop by to talk about judging. Really? That's the opening? Really, No Really. Oh, yeah, really. No Really. Go to reallynoreally.com. And register to win $500, a guest spot on our podcast, or a limited edition signed Jason bobblehead. It's called Really? No, Really? And you can find it on the iHeartRadio app, on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

And we're back. Here we are. So our first question comes from Natalie. Natalie says, Dear Chelsea, this is probably the pettiest email you'll get. I started a new job about two months ago, and even though I have never introduced myself as such, absolutely every single person calls me Nat. I hate it, and makes me cringe and no one in my personal life calls me that. Is it too late to correct people or is this just something I now have to live with? Or do I quit?

Respectfully yours, Natalie. Do I quit? Natalie, emphasis on the alley. No, you could just... Do I quit? I like that it's that horrible for her. I know. No, I understand when you're not called the right name.

Well, no, actually, I don't because people call me Chelsea. I don't really care about that. But if you do care about Nat instead of Natalie, just correct them. Just tell them you prefer to be called Natalie and that you had an uncle named Nat that, you know, didn't turn out great or something, if you need an excuse, but you don't really. It's your name. You're beefing with Nat King Cole. Yeah, yeah. You hated Nat King Cole. No, you should just tell people.

Yeah. See, I get this because I get called occasionally Kathy, and I'm like, no, that's everybody's aunt. It's not me. Or, you know, sometimes people will call me Kat, which is kind of fine, but I don't prefer to go by it. I prefer Catherine. But I have a hard time correcting people in the moment because of my Midwestern nice. But I think, Natalie, honestly, since it's workplace, maybe it could involve a small, funny workplace memo, email, or, you know, something that goes around to everyone. That's a great idea. Yeah, make it funny. Send everyone an email. Go, I know everyone started to call me Nat, and I have a real issue with that name. For reasons I cannot explain in this memo,

can you please refer to me with my full name? Yeah. So like, you know, make it light, make it silly. But like that way, everyone gets the picture all at once. Or, you know, when you meet people just saying like, oh, you know what? Actually, people refer to me as Natalie. Two months in, I think it's due for a funny memo. Yeah. Yeah. Well, Natalie, your problem is solved. Okay, Natalie. I like how she opened that with this might be the pettiest question we've ever gotten. I don't think petty, I don't think petty is the right word, but it's the least consequential email we've gotten. But I love that. Like, it's okay to send stuff that's not all about trauma. Absolutely. We're very here for that. Yeah, exactly. It's a nice breath of fresh air.

We need like questions sometimes, guys. Our next question comes from Lisa. Lisa, oh, and by the way, our theme for today's episode is colors from Europe. Oh, perfect. Because we're here, there's a time differential, and we wanted to record in the mornings. We've got European colors. Okay. Dear Chelsea, my name is Sana. I'm almost 30 years old and I live in Belgium with my wife and dog. All my life, I've been different than the rest. Not that I ever

really cared about that, but I do a lot of self-reflection and sometimes I feel like too much of an outcast. I've had a pretty traumatic and heavy past and tried therapy a few times because I tend to self-destruct. I stopped going since it was so expensive and I wasn't clicking with any of them. I started smoking weed a few years ago and it has helped with my depression and anxiety. A few psychologists hinted that I have ADHD. After reading as much as I could find about it, I do think the same, but it always felt more than that to me. After hanging out in the dog park one day with a lovely lady that was on LSD at the moment, she hinted that I seemed to be on the spectrum. She felt like that because she also is. I was convinced I wasn't and did an online test to see if I had similarities. I scored the second to the

highest score on this test. It kind of wrecked me already knowing that I might be on the spectrum, but now I don't know how I feel about actually getting diagnosed properly. In a way, it would help me with my relationship with my wife and especially myself. Maybe I would be less hard on myself, but it also freaks me out and it's so expensive to get diagnosed. So I'm hesitant. What should I do? Go for it and get tested. I'm really lost.

Love, Sana. And she's here with us. Hi, Sana. Hi. How are you? I'm really good and you good Very good. We're excited to be talking to you today Yeah, me too So I love your story First of all that you met a woman in the park who was on LSD who may have diagnosed you as being on the spectrum I didn't realize that it was that expensive to get diagnosed. What's the situation with that? So it costs like a thousand euros just to get

diagnosed. And then you didn't even have like any help or any guidance or they just tell you if you have it or not. And what kind of testing is that? Is that through a doctor? Is it that through a government agency? Like what is that? Yeah, it's like with psychologists and it takes a few days. So it's like proper testing. Like they test you on everything. It's not just like for the autism or the ADHD. So it's good because then, you know, like if you have the full package, you know, but it's expensive, you know, I think it's really expensive.

No, it does sound expensive. Is that something you can afford? I could. Yeah, I don't want to. Right. But do you not want to because of. Yeah. I don't want to. Right. But do you not want to because of the money or do you not want to because you're hesitant about finding out the results? I think it's a little bit of both.

People have like such a thought, like they already have a judgment about autism. There's a lot of freedom in knowing what your diagnosis is. You know what I mean? It opens up a lot to understand yourself and to have a better understanding. Like I have my friend who's diagnosed her husband with autism. She just kind of realized, oh, and saw all the signs and asked him if he wanted to get his testing. And once he found out he had it, he understood all the things that he wasn't connecting. You know, there's a spectrum. We're all on the spectrum. I joke with my friends all the time

because it's like one of us is on one end of the spectrum. The other one is on the other end of the spectrum. But it's like, these aren't shameful diagnoses anymore. It's powerful to know, just as powerful as it is to know if you have a personality disorder, if you have ADD, how ADHD plays into something like autism and how those two things work in conjunction. Like, what do you notice about yourself and your personality traits that would lead you to

think that you were autistic or have ADHD? I think I'm a very socially awkward person. Like I mimic a lot of situations from TV and like watching people. So in my head, it's like, oh, that's how you talk to people. Or like, that's how you behave. Or my wife, we're together for seven years now. And she helped me so much all the time. She has to like kick me and be like, you can't say that. That's rude. Or like, you're weird.

You don't react in this way. And I'm like, oh, fuck. Yeah. And then I look it up and I'm like, oh, yeah. So weird. Like, wow, how could I not think about it? And like my emotions in general, I tend to spiral into an emotion or I'm emotionless or I spiral in one emotion and I have like a breakdown, things like that. I just have a lot of anxiety.

If things don't go according to how it will go in my head, like I tend to like freak out a little bit. But since I had such a heavy past and I had to grow up really fast, so I learned how to do a lot of stuff. So I realized like, oh, I'm what they call masking. I feel like I've been masking a lot in my life. And I feel like I'm always almost underwater, like trying to breathe. And I think that has a lot to my life and I feel like I'm always almost underwater like trying to breathe and I think that has a lot to do with it and maybe being diagnosed and finally know like okay like it's all masking like it's normal that you're like this maybe it will make me like breathe after a while I don't

know and are you taking any medication for your ADHD no I, I smoke. Smoke weed? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think you should definitely just use the money, get diagnosed. It's going to give you a lot more freedom. It feels like what you're talking about, you're kind of stuck. Like when you said you're underwater, it would be so nice to be above water and not have that feeling anymore. And there's a lot of liberty that comes with understanding your personality. And there's a lot of liberty that comes with understanding your personality. And there's no shame in that. You know what I mean? Like, you don't have to tell everybody that you're autistic or that you're on the spectrum if that's what you end up being. I know in America, everyone's talking about this right now. And everyone's interested, and everyone's curious. And if anyone's on the spectrum, they do want to know about it.

And maybe it's taking a little bit of a longer time to get to Europe in that way. But I think that you should embrace it. You know, it's nothing to not be proud of. Autistic people have so much to offer. And it's so like you have things to offer that people who think in a linear way and that don't suffer from that social anxiety aren't offering up, you know, because that's considered normal. Whereas what you're what you have is a different version of being normal,

you know, and there's probably a large community of people. Once you find out what your exact diagnosis is that you can connect with. So you don't feel so alone and you don't feel so unique and abnormal, so to speak. Yeah, that makes sense. And I would also say you've had this confirmation from like a lady on LSD and an online test. Official testing might be a great way to go. But you might also because I know you're sort of like, well, that doesn't give me any treatment. That's just the confirmation. So you might maybe potentially skip a little bit of a step and talk to a therapist who specializes in people who are on the spectrum. And they might be able to, after interacting with you for a little while, kind of sort of tell you if you need to get official testing and get a real diagnosis or, you know, whether they can just start treating you.

Because they'll be able to see some of those signs. But I really think with anything like this, because I have ADHD and it's something that I didn't. I was very lucky. I found out that I had ADHD amongst a group of people who also had ADHD and were super successful entrepreneurs, interesting people. And in that context, it was like, that's a superpower. We know how to get things done. We know how to start projects. We're leaders, that's a superpower. We know how to get things done. We know how to start

projects. We're leaders, all these wonderful things. And I really think that some of these things that are posed as limitations in a lot of ways can absolutely become superpowers. But you can't find the tools to help you until you kind of know whether that's what you're dealing with or not. Yeah, that's true. That makes sense. Do you take medication for ADHD, Catherine? I don't take medication. I've tried it a little bit, but it kind of made me feel a little bit almost like hyper-focused. Yeah, I had the same. Yeah. For me, it's more about having built-in tools around me. So for example, I make excessive lists. A lot of people don't

like to make a list. But you know, anytime I need to remember something or something comes up, I write it down if I need to follow up on it, because otherwise it's gone. Oh, I see. I see. Yes. And I love to write shit down that I already did. Yes, exactly. And then I get the satisfaction of crossing it off. Yeah, it's delightful. Or for example, you know, if I'm talking to a friend at a party and I'm like, oh my gosh, you got to check out this Netflix documentary or whatever. I'll be like, text me tomorrow and I'll let you know because I know I'm never going to remember to send it. So it's just about building in those tools to help you relate to others,

to help you in work with your wife, whatever it might be. Yeah. I don't think it's anything to be afraid of, though. No, definitely not. It shouldn't be. You should like run towards that, you know, because knowledge is power. The more you know about yourself, the more power you have over every situation. So you should definitely go get that testing done or find a therapist that you can work with who can kind of help guide you to figure out what your diagnosis is. Yeah. Let's see if the lady on LSD was right. She probably was. She probably was.

She disappeared though. I wonder what happened to her. I haven't seen her in a while. Oh yeah. But also, you know, a therapist and expert in this field or related fields will also be able to help you figure out the relationship between everything you have going on. So when you have anxiety and maybe ADHD and maybe you're on the spectrum a little bit, there is a relationship between those things. And I think once you get tools to deal with some of those things, like for me, having tools to make sure that like I know that I'm good at my job or I know I'm doing what I need to in my interpersonal relationships that also helps my anxiety go down you know so it's all sort of interconnected as well yeah you're right all right now I know I'm gonna get tested good good and report back let us know what happens okay I will okay thank you so much thanks Sana bye Sana bye how cute was she cute I know I think everyone's on the spectrum and we Okay. Thank you so much. Thanks, Sana. Bye, Sana. Bye. Bye. How cute was she?

Cute. I know. I think everyone's on the spectrum and we all just need to accept that. You just have to find out what part of the spectrum you're on. Yeah, that's a good point. I mean, everything she was describing, like her wife has to kick her under the table when she says something at a dinner party or kind of spiraling when you said something dumb in a friendship relationship. I mean, I think that's all very normal. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But I mean, it's like the sexuality spectrum, you know,

it's like gender identification and all of that. It's like, we're all finding out that it's not one thing or the other. There's no black and white. There's a whole array of possibilities. And it's like, who cares? You know what I mean? At this point, like there's no nothing to be embarrassed about. Yeah. It's just like find out what works for you and then do that. Yeah. Because if you look at it as a deficit in one area, that means even if that's how you view it, like, oh, this makes me deficient. It's like, no, that makes you excel in other areas. Yeah, absolutely. Even watching like Love on the Spectrum, that Netflix show, which I absolutely love. You see these people who, you know, one, for example, he's like, oh, I've never had a girlfriend, but they can be

like, what's 75 times 142? And he instantly knows exactly what the number is. They can be like, what day of the week was, you know, April 14th, 1978. And he knows like it's a Monday. I mean, that's obviously sort of on a farther end of the spectrum. But there are absolutely superpowers that come with that. Well, that was how what was it? How did they frame it with the Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise movie, Dustin Hoffman was was he identified as autistic in that movie? Because I feel like that was before. They called it savant. Yeah, right. Like in that Rain Man.

Yeah, that was before we even were talking about like autism in the way we are today. Totally. That was sort of viewed as a binary, like you're a savant or you're typical, you're normal, so to speak. But I think Sana's got some good work ahead of her and she's going to be a-okay. Yeah. I like that she's got, I mean, she's in a healthy relationship, it sounds like. So that's a good thing.

Totally. Totally. I'm Jason Alexander. And I'm Peter Tilden. And together on the Really No Really podcast, our mission is to get the true answers to life's baffling questions like why they refuse to make the bathroom door go all the way to the floor. We got the answer. Will space junk block your cell signal?

The astronaut who almost drowned during a spacewalk gives us the answer. We talk with the scientist who figured out if your dog truly loves you and the one bringing back the woolly mammoth. Plus, does Tom Cruise really do his own stunts? His stuntman reveals the answer. And you never know who's going to drop by. Mr. Brian Cranston is with us today. How are you, too?

Hello, my friend. Wayne Knight about Jurassic Park. Wayne Knight, welcome to Really No Really, sir. Bless you all. Hello, Newman. And you never know when Howie Mandel might just stop by to talk about judging. Really? That's the opening?

Really No Really. Yeah, really. No really. Go to reallynoreally.com. And register to win $500, a guest spot on our podcast, or a limited edition signed Jason bobblehead. It's called Really, No Really, and you can find it on the iHeartRadio app, on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Okay, well, our next question comes from Lisa. Hi, Chelsea. Thank you for your fun and enlightening podcast. My name is Lisa. I'm a 40-year-old woman from Oslo, Norway. No kids, no husband, but a dog. Two years ago, I moved far north for a job, but also to get some distance between me and my family, friends, and network. I've spent this time doing lots of therapy and healing work, and it turns out there's really not many people I want to keep in my life. It's been a really sad and lonely realization that I'm pretty much on my own in life, but at least now I can move forward with clarity. I just quit my job up here and I'm ready to start something new. My question is,

is it crazy to move to a new country alone at 40, starting my life from scratch, or is it better to go back to my hometown of Oslo and make a new start there? I want to be adventurous like I was in my 20s, but it feels a lot scarier now. Some advice would be great. Thank you and take care. Love, Lisa. Hi, Lisa. Hi. Oh my God. Hello. Can you hear me? Yeah. Hi, how are you? I'm good. Awesome. So Lisa, where are you living now? I'm living in Norway in the north of Norway. Okay. And I was in Barcelona. You guys are in Spain. Uh huh. Yeah. Cool. So you are contemplating picking up and moving. Yeah, I'm kind of in a little of a midlife crisis situation because things hasn't turned out the way I probably had envisioned for myself being at this age and time in my life. And I just think that that's an opportunity to do something completely different. Like I have I don't have kids.

I don't have anything. I don't have anything. Like I have a dog that I have to bring with me, but apart from that, I'm pretty free to do things. But at the same time, it feels kind of scary. I did this move. I mean, I moved a few times before I've lived in other countries before when I was younger, but it was different then because it was with studies. And now it's more like, you have to start all on your own. And so you were saying that you're contemplating moving to a completely new city or back to your hometown? Yeah, I'm kind of in between right now. And I just found like this really cute little dream house that I might be able to get here. So everything

is at the moment, it's I have a job interview tomorrow. So it's like, it's a lot of different directions at this moment. And I'm not really sure what's the best thing to do. Okay, so you have an opportunity to get a little dream house where? In Oslo? Here in the North.

Okay. And moving home would be moving to Oslo. Is that correct? Yes, that's right. Okay, and the job interview would be in the north. Okay. And moving home would be moving to Oslo. Is that correct? Yes, that's right. Okay. And the job interview would be in the north as well. The job interview is in the one that's now is in Oslo. And it's a really cool opportunity for me, actually. And I was really excited to get this interview. And so that's cool. But at the same time, there's a lot of things that I don't want in Oslo. Like I have some really golden friends and people that I miss a lot and that would be great to see.

But I also feel after I moved here that I've changed so much and I've changed perspectives a lot. And I find that maybe it would be better to just try something completely different. Okay. And when you say your life hasn't turned out the way that you thought it would, what do you mean by that? What did you picture for yourself or envision? I guess like I've never been the kind of, I've never had like, oh, I'm going to get married and have kids by that age. I've never had that kind of thing. I was really just shocked when people

in the early thirties, when everyone around me was doing that, I was like, what are we there already? Like I couldn't relate to it at all. And so I, I just felt like I had all the time in the world. And then I met a guy and suddenly I was like super in love. It was in my mid thirties and all of that was suddenly happening for me. And I just felt like, obviously that's, what's going to happen, right? Like this is it. And I was really happy about obviously, that's what's going to happen, right? Like, this is it. And I was really happy about it. But I was also unsure, which I mean, now I'm so, so glad it didn't happen. Like it was completely the wrong guy and everything. But after that, I had like a real

like, what the fuck is going to happen now? I felt like the train had left the station. And wasn't there even a move to New York in the picture or somewhere totally fresh and new that you're considering? Yes, exactly. Because I talked to this woman and she was like, she said, I don't think you should live in Norway at all. And I've always heard that I'm not very Norwegian. Like I've never felt that I've completely like fit in. For instance, I live in Italy and my temperament and my personality is much more Italian than Norwegian. With the politics in America, I was scaring the shit out of me. So that makes it not so like tempting, but it seems like there's more options for women. Like there's so many more lifestyles to explore. I've always wanted to live there and that's

something to consider now, right? So yeah, I mean, the advantage about being a foreigner and moving to America is like, you know, if the politics gets too bad, you can always bounce out of there. It's not like you're tied down to staying, I would say, like, I'm always up for an adventure. And at 40, like, if you don't do it now, you might not do it. So I would always lean towards like, oh God, take a huge leap of faith, you know, get doing it, try something new, you know, kind of infuse your life with some excitement that you can really like be excited about. You know, you, there's a lot of reasons you don't want to move back to Oslo and you'll see what

happens with this interview. And if it becomes a job opportunity, then you'll be considering that more. But I would always err on the side of taking a leap of faith. I just think that that always yields much more exciting results than falling into what has worked for you before or an old pattern or yeah, like going back home to me doesn't sound like a great move. That doesn't sound like a new life or or what you're looking for. And it's always going to be there. Like that's my hometown, like that's where my family lives.

And I have friends and it's always going to be there. So that's the security about, of course, living in Scandinavia or any Western countries that you can always go back if things don't turn up. But even just moving to another like up in the north here was like under the pandemic. And I didn't know anybody. And people here are really kind of in the beginning, very close off. And it was really tough because I'm a very social person. And I've never been so lonely in my life that I've been up here, but it's been an amazing experience. So I feel like if I could do that, then with Americans, it seems like you're really good at like small talking and all that, but it's

very surface level, everything. Is that true? Well, it can be true. I think it depends on where you are. A friend of mine just moved to New York and he was sort of in a similar situation where he'd like always wanted to move to New York. He turned 50 and he'd had a little bit of a health event in the last year that he was just like, you know what? I need to get my brain doing stuff that's like brand new, break out of my mold, create some new neural pathways. And I've always wanted to do this. So he moved. And when he did move, he was like,

you know what, every time I go out, I make five new friends. And they're sort of like single serving friends where it's like, super exciting and new. But now he's been there for three months. And he's really becoming like part of the fabric of the community that he's in. He's calling up these people that he met and they're going out and he's sort of like starting to make friends. And that's only three months in. But New York feels like a good place for that. If you're like, yeah, ready to go have an adventure. I mean, look, you're you're smiling from ear to ear when you when you talk about it. Yeah, about it. I think you have to follow things that make you light up.

Exactly. It's just so easy to get constricted when you're like reaching a certain age and you feel like, well, that was what you did in your 20s or whatever. And it's like, well, does it have to be? You know, it doesn't really. No, I don't think it does have to be.

And you just already exhibited that you can handle a situation by moving to the North and not having that social kind of fabric that you were used to. And surviving that, it's not going to be like that in New York City. There's just by the sheer volume of people, you're going to find people and you'll be able to sort through them pretty quickly. Like I would say, yeah, LA can be is probably much more shallow than New York, there's a lot more substance there. So while Americans in general, like as a stereotype might not have that much depth, like, you're always going to find people, you know, you kind of attract what you are. So like, you're going to find people who have more to offer than just surface talk, just by the nature

of you having more of that to offer. Yeah. And 40 is so young. It's so young. I love that you say that. Yes. No, I mean, you are absolutely in your prime. You seem like someone who's very open to adventure and seeking adventure. And I think it would be, you would be making yourself smaller to do something that feels like it's not the right choice to go somewhere where, you know, like you said, all eyes are on you. How are you living your life? Are you going to settle down anytime soon is sort of the question that's in the air. I mean, this is absolutely a time to go have an adventure. Yeah. I'm going to go and look at LinkedIn and see what options there are for me. Good. Do that. Do that and try and set up some, yeah, try and set up some

interviews and stuff like that. So you can keep the ball rolling in the right direction. Yeah. Yeah. And it's really cool to take that kind of risk and take that kind of chance and to like, always act bravely, you know, because it's a brave action and a bold notion to pick up and move and good things are going to happen because of it. Yeah, right. It's true. I've never regretted any like risks. I mean, you never regret the things you do, right? It's the things you don't do.

Well, depends. Yeah, agreed. Well, Lisa, let us know how it goes and what you decide to do. I will. Thank you so much. Thank you. And just remember, you will be welcomed with open arms if you're 40 and not interested in having children in America. Exactly. Exactly. That's good. Nice to talk to you. Enjoy Spain. Bye. Take care. Bye. Thanks. She's cute. Yeah. Yeah. She's going to go have a fabulous adventure.

Yeah. Wherever it is. I like how people think it's 40s too late for things. It's like, we're going to live till we're fucking 80. I mean, probably longer. Yeah. My folks, when they were in their like late 50s, picked up, took my 13 year old brother and moved to Costa Rica for a year.

Oh, really? Yes. And they in their 50s, learn Spanish from like, not knowing anything. My little brother started in the language school where they were studying. He after a couple of months, of course, surpassed the language school. And they were like, What would you think about enrolling him in regular school here? So he did. And where were you at this time? I was a freshman in college. So yeah, so I went off to college and they abandoned me for Costa Rica, but I can't blame them because you know, I went down for vacations and stuff. I love that. That's bold. Yes. Yes. So

I mean, it's truly it's never too late. No, yeah, no, it's never too late, everybody. Okay. Okay. And our last call today comes from M. She says, Dear Chelsea, I'm 36 and I'm often told that I'm too intimidating for guys to date me. I have a small business, which has been going pretty well over the years and has given me financial stability and independence, and I guess also confidence in my field of work. However, shortly before the pandemic started, I ended a long-term relationship. Among other issues we had, he was quite bothered with my career and would often let me know, directly or in a passive-aggressive way, that he didn't feel needed because I didn't require support, as he would often put it. For him, support meant being a

provider. He was right about that, as I really didn't need a provider. I needed a partner on equal footing. After that relationship ended, I've dated a few guys, but the issue has reappeared time and again. I've noticed guys are put off by my career and don't like my independence. I know that it's their own insecurity and I don't intend to apologize for my success because it's taken a lot of effort to get here. So my question for you is, how do I find guys that will not be insecure like that will not be insecure like that and will be willing to take on a relationship of equals? I feel like the patriarchy is so deep rooted and I don't fit the standards guys are used to and feel comfortable with. So essentially, I'm screwed. What's your thought on this? Thank you. And I love the podcast.

Best from across the pond. Hi, Em. Hi there. Hi. How are you? I'm really well. Thank you. It's lovely to meet you guys. Nice to meet you too. Where are you? Poland. So really across the pond. Oh, wow. I've never been to Poland. Oh, you should. Well, Krakow is really beautiful. So that's what I hear. Yeah, I hear Krakow. Yeah. Are you Polish? Are you American? I'm Polish. Yeah. Oh, oh, God, I thought you sounded American. Okay. I was like, wait. Thank you. That's a high compliment. Is that a compliment, though? Well. me or turned off by me. I think they do get turned off. I don't know that there's much you

can do about it other than try to own your own self-esteem and knowing that it's not necessary. Obviously, you want to find a partner, but it's not necessary to find a partner. And as long as you have the line of thinking that you have to find one, I always find that to be a little bit more limiting than being open to the possibility that you may not need one. Even if that's not what you're looking for, it's like, it's better just to not have a need for that, you know? And I think once you kind of let go of that need to partner up with somebody, I feel like more opportunities seem to present themselves. Yeah. Yeah. No, I get what you're saying. I, I also will say I don't really date that much. And it's sometimes, sometimes I get the feeling that maybe it's

because I'm not very girly, you know, like I don't do the whole, like batting my eyelashes and being like flirty, I guess, in a very girly way. So that sometimes maybe is, I don't know, maybe I'm not that approachable. Sometimes I'm kind of doubting myself as to how I act around guys, or although I do feel confident in approaching them or talking to them, but I'm not girly in that sense. Yeah. Yeah. But I don't think that's something that you want to change. You know what I mean? Because that's like almost putting on an affectation. I've been told that so many times, like you don't know how to flirt or you're not. Yeah, exactly the same notes that you're talking about people have given me. And I'm like,

but that's not who I am. That would be like fake. And I that's the one thing that I do not I can't be fake. I can't pretend to be something that I'm not. So I would stay true to who you are, and kind of like, let go, you know what I mean? Believe that your person is coming. And it's probably not going to be in the time frame that you would desire. But to believe that and just let it go and continue to be who you are and stand in your real power of like being a strong, opinionated woman. And some guy is going to love that and love you for all of those things. And he's not going to want to change anything about you. Yeah, that's the dream.

Yeah. Yeah. And those dreams become a reality for so many people, you know, and it can be true for you, too. It's a matter of just not holding on to this idea of something so much and twisting and shaping yourself to meet someone else's needs like that's unnecessary. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, I know what you

mean. I also, that's the, what I'm telling myself constantly. Cause I also, I don't want to be like hung up on the idea of trying to find a partner just for the sake of finding one that that doesn't work either. So I'm just kind of trying to go with the flow, but, but it is sometimes kind of, you know, like it, it gets into my head, like, am I doing something wrong or is it just the world that it's just, you know, not there for me yet? Yeah. I, I don't think you're doing anything wrong. You know, I mean, honestly, I, so many women have this issue and it's like, the world's always in a weird place and we're definitely in a weird place. People are weird after COVID just, I think things like this come to you when you take the pressure off of yourself.

And so I think that would be your takeaway. Stop putting so much pressure on the situation and stop second guessing yourself. You know what I mean? You have a life, live it, enjoy the people that are in it and be open to, you know, the possibility of meeting somebody in a situation that may not be the most typical one, or, you know, just keep of meeting somebody in a situation that may not be the most typical one or, you know, just keep your eyes and ears open. And as long as your heart is open and your mind is open, things will come to you. Yeah, that's that's hopefully what's going to happen. Yeah. Yeah. And this, you know, this idea of like, I need to be flirtatious or I need to be, you know, batting my eyelashes, that's sort of playing into these gender roles and stereotypes that like are exactly not what you're into, not what you're

going after. You know, the kinds of guys who will respond to that and not just like, whoa, she's so smart. She's so fun. Like she's so cool to be around. Those kind of guys are the guys who want to be the be the hero and, you know, need to be supporting you sort of thing. And I think Chelsea said this on the podcast before, but if you're not finding the right guy, you're finding these kinds of guys who feel like they need to be in control or they need to have a heightened power dynamic with you in a relationship, then you just haven't found the right guy yet. Yeah. Yeah. And it might be, I don't know, do you think it's a little bit of a cultural thing as well? I don't because I've, I've dated people from all over, like the long relationship was with a guy from Spain and I dated Polish guys. I dated British guys. So

I kind of find the same thing every time. Yeah. I mean, guys everywhere are a little bit like this I mean yeah or a lot of guys are you on dating websites and stuff like that is that how you know the the thing is that I hate the dating websites or apps or I don't I don't know I just I don't find myself in you know like just putting a picture and saying yeah hi this is me I don't know I don't that's not how I like to meet people sure so I've met guys through like acquaintances of like, or like former coworkers or like just people that I've hung out with. And then I kind of felt the connection.

So that's kind of my style of dating. And, but yeah, maybe the dating apps are the next thing to explore. I don't know. And how old are you? I just turned 37. Oh, okay. And so you've been in a few long-term relationships well it was the one like really long-term one really and then I just dated for like maybe

several months but not not too seriously like the one serious was the one that ended um when COVID started so yeah okay well that's good I think you're going to be just fine. You know what I mean? I think it's just like, relax. Like people get a little bit like, yeah, they get a little bit of anxiety related to dating and to meeting the right person and all of that. And it's just too much pressure to put yourself under and it doesn't yield good results anyway. You know, you get into a situation where you almost start to feel a little bit desperate and you don't want to feel that way. You know, you want to give off the good vibes, not the desperate vibes, and you're not desperate. So, you know, you don't have to feel that way in

any way, shape or form. Yeah, I think it's also like my family, my parents never hint on the fact that I don't have a partner. But then like the aunts and uncles and my cousins are sometimes like, why are you going to bring someone home like for Christmas or something? And I'm like, well, you know, if there's someone to bring, then sure. But you know. Yeah, I wouldn't worry about anything that anybody else says anyway. So just ignore that. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. That's what I'm doing. Yeah. I do think it's a little bit of a numbers game, right? The more people you meet, the more likelihood that you're going to meet the one dating apps. I don't have a lot of personal experience with them. But one of the best stories that I have heard, my sister-in-law,

my now sister-in-law, she came back from visiting her cousins in Ireland. And they all were like, you're about to turn 30. You know, you don't have a man, blah, blah, blah. And she was so pissed at them that she went and like signed up for a dating app. And she just decided to go on every first date. So she, this was my favorite thing that she did. She had three date outfits. She had a first date outfit, a second date outfit, and a third date outfit, so that she would not be repeating the same outfits for like a first and a second date with a guy. She said by the time she met her now husband, my brother-in-law, her first date outfit was rags. It was just like absolutely ragged. But she was like, I went out on lunch dates. I went on dinner dates, sometimes two in a day. But she just like made it her job for I think it was about six months. And she met the guy. You know, they both were like, wait, why are you single? Oh, my gosh, I can't believe you're still single. Like,

you're still out there. So, like, that person who is your wonderful match is definitely out there. Yeah, wow. Yeah, that's very encouraging. Whether it's on apps or whether it's going and finding a meetup group, joining some group that likes to go to museums, whatever it is that might yield an older crowd, but you know, different groups where you can meet people, I think make it a numbers game and you will find the one. Yeah. Thank you guys. That's actually really helpful. Wonderful. Well, let us know how it goes. Okay, Marta. Thank you so much. All right. Bye. Bye Marta. Take care and thank you guys.

Okay. Well, Chelsea, with that, I think we have to take another break and we'll come back to wrap up. We will be right back. I'm Jason Alexander. And I'm Peter Tilden. And together on the Really No Really podcast, our mission is to get the true answers to life's baffling questions like why they refuse to make the bathroom door go all the way to the floor. We got the answer. Will space junk block your cell signal?

The astronaut who almost drowned during a spacewalk gives us the answer. We talk with the scientist who figured out if your dog truly loves you. And the one bringing back the woolly mammoth. Plus, does Tom Cruise really do his own stunts? His stuntman reveals the answer. And you never know who's going to drop by. Mr. Brian Cranston is with us today. How are you, too?

Hello, my friend. Wayne Knight about Jurassic Park. Wayne Knight, welcome to Really No Really, sir. Bless you all. Hello, Newman.

And you never know when Howie Mandel might just stop by to talk about judging. Really? That's the opening? Really No Really. Yeah, really.

No really. Go to reallynoreally.com and register to win $500, a guest spot on our podcast or a limited edition signed Jason bobblehead. It's called Really No Really, and you can find it on the iHeartRadio app, on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

And we're back. And we're back. We're back. We're back from Mallorca, everybody. We're in Mallorca. We're back in my orca, everybody. We're in my orca. We're back in my orca. We thought about opening the

windows so you could hear the waves crashing. I feel like they can hear the waves outside. It feels like we can hear them, so maybe our listeners can also hear them. I know. Well, I have a quick update from one of our recent callers, Chelsea. I'm pretty excited to tell you this.

I received an Instagram DM from a listener that says, Hi, Catherine. Bit of an atypical request, he says. Just listen to today's episode. Noah, the queer historian, sounds like a true dream of a man. I'm a sex positive gay man with a love of nerd culture and luckily a kinky top for his kinky bottom needs. Aside from all that, Noah's intellect really stood out to me. So I responded. I let him know that I would pass on his socials. And Noah said, and this was from the Ross episode, by the way, for those of you who want to go check this out. He said, thanks, Catherine. I appreciate it. He reached out to me also.

Turns out queer historian plus Noah plus Minneapolis narrows the search. If any more reach out, fingers crossed, feel free to send them to my Insta DMs at Libra Arts Major. I'm happy to receive my own suitors instead of you dealing with them. So you know what? We might have a love connection, Chelsea. Well, you'd better give out your Instagram handle to all of our listeners who are trying to hook up after they hear an episode. You can find me at Kath Elizabeth on Instagram. And yeah, let me know if you need to be hooked up with a lovely caller who's intellectually loved. A listener, a caller, anything really. I love that he was asking like, how do I meet a guy to even start a long distance relationship? Because I'm open to that. Well, apparently right into a podcast. Yeah, right. Right. That'd be great if they hooked up. I know. I just like I

really need to be invited to this wedding to ask for an update. Also, please let us know how it goes. I know they are in different cities. So you know when and if that visit happens, please let us know. The kinky bottom was in Minneapolis. Where was the other guy from? Other guys from I want to say Colorado. I think he just moved, but you know what? Planes happen. Planes exist. Well, he can move to Minneapolis

and be the one guy that he hasn't met in Minneapolis. Exactly. That was his big complaint. Hopefully Colorado needs some queer art historians. So I keep saying art. I don't think art was part of it. Some queer historians. Queer historians. Okay. so I keep saying art I don't think art was part of it some queer historians okay well our wrap up is that we are headed back to

Unidos Estados in a few short days we're gonna go get you some jet lag yeah we're gonna go I have yeah ordering up some jet lag and I'll see everybody at my shows in the fall

amazing thanks Chelsea thanks Catherine and thanks for inviting me to this beautiful place oh my god my pleasure all. We'll see you guys next time. Bye-bye. So if you'd like advice from Chelsea, just send us an email at dearchelseaproject at gmail.com. Dear Chelsea is a production of iHeartRadio, executive produced by Nick Stumpf, produced by Catherine Law, and edited and engineered by Brad

Dickert. I'm Jason Alexander. And I'm Peter Tilden. And together our mission on the Really Know Really podcast is to get the true answers to life's baffling questions like why the bathroom door doesn't go all the way to the floor, what's in the museum of failure? And does your dog truly love you? We have the answer. Go to reallynoreally.com and register to win $500, a guest spot on our podcast, or a limited edition signed Jason bobblehead. The Really No Really podcast. Follow us on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.