Hi, welcome back to Eat Your Crosse Podcast. I'm Crystal and I'm G-Soo. Nice.
All right, so I actually have a story before we start our topic today. Basically, the NBA has been in
sort of playoff season slash semi-season or something like that. It's playoff season.
Yeah, you can tell that I don't know much about basketball, but James's cousin Chris was kind
enough to get me and James tickets to see the Warriors versus the Lakers last Tuesday. And James
has been a huge Lakers fan like pretty much his whole life. So it was really cool to kind of go
to Chase Center and like see the game, see LeBron in person and just like be with all of the fans
for both the Warriors and the Lakers at the stadium while we were watching the game. I thought it was
really funny because the Bay Area is known for having a lot of huge Warriors fans through James
showed up in his Lakers jersey and we were a little bit nervous because the Bay Area being the Bay
Area Warriors fans being Warriors fans, but also just like we weren't sure how many Lakers fans were
there. I feel like usually there's some sort of mix, but you never know. So James had his jacket on
the whole time, but the Lakers are doing pretty well. Yeah. And we realized that we were actually
sitting in like the Lakers section of the stadium or something. Because anytime the Lakers made a shot,
me and James were cheer. Well actually honestly I chured for anyone who made a shot because I was like
I'm just I just want to watch people have fun. You are Switzerland. Yeah. I'm like great shot guys.
But yeah, like we realized we're hearing more Lakers cheers from our section than Warriors cheers.
So James like finally took his jacket off and he was like a proud Lakers fanboy for the rest of the
game. Wow. I'm going to have to bag on James a little here because I actually went to a playoff's
game this season as well. Chase Center. It was Kings versus Warriors. And I wore Kings gear.
Like from even before we entered the stadium. Like going in and everything. Like I kept it on. I never
hid it. So James like hiding his Lakers and and Warriors and Lakers are the same color too.
That's true. So you blended more. It was all yellow. Yeah. Yeah. Did anyone make any comments to you?
Actually yes. So I went with another person and I had given them also a King's T-shirt to wear with me.
I can't be in this alone. I mean if they really wanted to you know cheer for the Warriors that's
fine too. Yeah. But I was like here here's some Kings gear because I'm cheering for the Kings.
Right. And actually that person got picked on more than I did. And there's I have two theories here.
One is maybe because he's a guy. So other people might have been like oh it's easier if I just
joke around with this other dude versus like trying to shit on this girl right? Because I
attacked this woman. Because I think everyone who like picked on him were also guys. And then if
they did pick on me it was like when we were next to each other. So then it's like safer I guess
to be like oh you two like fucking Kings fans or whatever. Yeah like you're like the collateral down
yeah exactly the other theory though is that I gave them a choice. I was like okay I have one
bright purple t-shirt and I have one black t-shirt. In my mind I was thinking like oh he'll probably
choose the black t-shirt. It's like the easier safer color. But he actually ended up choosing
the bright purple one. So the thing is I actually was prepared to wear the bright purple one
because I had like a black sweater under so it would be like you know purple black. But I ended
up just wearing like black on black. So maybe that also like blended in a little more versus him
out here wearing just bright purple. Dude that's brave. That's brave too because I feel like I can
sort of see the argument that Lakers has more fans in the Bay Area just because you know one of
James' reasons for loving the Lakers is like when we were growing up they were the biggest team
for a while and I'm sure that's similar for a lot of people in our age group. But the Kings I guess
I just don't personally know that many fans so I'm sure you guys stuck out a little bit in the crowd.
There were probably less Kings fans in this stadium but there still were like a decent amount.
I'm not like super sure how many Kings fans that are in like the Bay Area. But it was cool
because there were a couple of Kings fans sitting around us. We would see them be like nice.
Are people? Man I just think it's so funny. I mean Chris like you watch way more basketball
than I do so some of the things that I find jarring you might already know of. When people are
shooting free throws I guess if you're not on like the second level and you're on the first floor
level sort of you're kind of in the view point of the person who's shooting the free throw.
He's like sitting at that angle and then all of the people there would shake their little handkerchiefs
oh yeah so that it's like distracting colors I guess like in the crowd or something and then
I'll just like that is so fucking funny like I don't know why no one else is laughing I would just
crack up every time oh my god and then what's also crazy to me is the booing oh yeah is so mean like
dude it's kind of crazy yeah something that I also found was weird was when it was like the home
team so when the warriors had the ball and they were charging to shoot it or whatever right they
were playing music oh yeah yeah and I was like I don't remember this from the two other basketball
games that I've been to so is this like a new thing or something no I think they always play that
but it's like not lyrical music right it's like the didn't right kind of like they were playing
real music oh really I can't remember if it was just the instrumental or not but they were playing
pop music and not like that basketball like you know how usually they play the duh duh duh yeah
yeah or like the defense like back no to whatever but this time they were actually playing like
pop music oh and I was like what the fuck is going on maybe I just like don't focus on the music too
much but I do know for sure like when it's the opposing team they'll play like suspenseful music
because I I think it like messes with their mind a bit like oh fuck like I need to shoot this
ball or like things feel suspenseful but yeah for like the the home team they'll play more like
hyped music I guess like more easy to listen to or like excited so that it's like cheering them on
versus like building suspense dude it's like auditory more fake actually though see this is
the music and stuff this is what you pick up when you don't actually watch for the basketball
and just like they're like what the fuck is going on you're like this player banger playlist yeah fire
banger playlist okay but also they did give you because it's a playoff game right they gave you
like a warrior's t-shirt and stuff right right so did you wear it yeah I did wear the shirt but I
took it off later because I fuck it like kind of a phony because I first I was cheering for everyone
right and then the game was really close so there was no true I guess underdog that I needed to like
cheer up I see my energy is like very important anything but you know James was cheering for the
Lakers so I was like I should be a good fiance and also a cheer for the Lakers and I'm also an
Anthony Davis fan sort of so you know cheering for my boy yeah yeah you have no reason to cheer
for the Warriors when I went for the Kings Warriors game we also got t-shirts so I was like damn maybe
if the Kings lose like I should change into Warriors gear when we leave the stadium you know just in
case we get heckled or something but it was fine well actually there was like a bit not me but
to the person I went with they like went to the bathroom at the end of the game and came out
they're like oh I got bullied in the back oh wait I'm so curious like what are the things
that people would say I think like sometimes people would be like Yo King suck or like kind of laugh
at you I guess if you're wearing Kings gear but there were a few fellow Kings fans who would come
by and be like we'll get them next time like fist bump sad fist bump that's so cute you know I
love that I think a couple of people came up to James well not came out to him but just in passing
they're like Lakers baby James would be like for show for show and I'm just standing there like hello
oh wait I guess that's another one like sometimes people might walk by and be like boys and you're
just like oh okay so the the particular game that I want to see the Lakers actually won right and
when we were leaving the stadium I kind of feel like the Lakers fans were being kind of annoying
about it or I'm sure that always happens like yeah the winning team is like gloating or whatever
the whole walk to the parking lot back which is probably like 10 minutes or something there was
this one guy who was screaming at the top of his lungs like like and then people in the cars like
on the street were like rolling their windows down and also screaming Lakers and then it was just so
funny because all the Lakers fans were so loud and the Warriors fans were silent and I heard a Lakers
fan go god like why is that atmosphere so dead in here and I was just like because they're too
lost you're like cuz we're in the bay hello yeah I think after the game that I went to the Warriors
had one and it was very very obnoxious I was like damn we need to get out of here so funny I think
also cuz it's playoff so it's like high intensity everyone's like extra happy that their team one
that's true I was a little concerned for the couple we were saying next to oh my god I'm like
horrible for this because anytime I go anywhere I feel like I have the most fun people watching
like you around me not even watching the game yeah pretty much but we were sitting next to this one
like ardent Warriors fan and then this couple who are also huge Warriors fans James is kind of
dawning his jersey and like also cheering for the Lakers so it's obvious right so then anytime
LeBron would miss a shot that guy and the couple would go oh LeBron James is so good sarcastically
and who would repeat it over and over and then the lady would get up and boo anytime like the
Lakers were touching the ball or anything which I think is like very normal behavior but I was
worried about them cuz I was like are you guys having fun like you guys aren't smiling like I'm
concerned yeah don't worry booing is part of the fun I'm much too tame for that I like even when
the King scored and stuff when I watched I was just like yes like soft claps can't go too crazy
I was also surrounded by mostly Warrior fans like especially immediately next to me because it's
also a little scary right as you said yeah totally now that I think about it you did leave James
alone to Don the Lakers here he had no ally true but we're in the Lakers section yeah yeah that's true
that's true no ally in his immediate vicinity I can understand a little bit I guess it's fear
it's actually interesting I think I've never been to a home game where I'm rooting for the home
team oh interesting actually that might not be true but more often than not I'm actually not
rooting for the home team like in New York I went to see a couple games with the Raptors so of course
it's not the home team right and I usually wear some Raptors gear I went once to Madison Square
Garden and at that one I was kind of nervous for but it was a regular season game so I think it
wasn't too bad I just like wore my Raptors gear and like tried not to make any eye contact you know
but when we were leaving this lady came up and she was like oh like you're a Raptors fan too
and she's like I am too but I was like too scared to wear Raptors gear and I was like okay luckily
no one really bothered me at this game but you know it was just a regular season probably like
low stakes no one really cared that much but yeah shit goes down at like sitting on some time like
the stuff I see on TikTok or like especially I feel like with the Celtics or like some of the more
long-term legacy kind of teams I'm like that is terrifying do that so true I've heard Boston is
like very sports centric city so like everyone's pretty into it and like big supporters of their
teams so I can imagine that would also be kind of scary yeah would you go again to a basketball game
I think so so this was my third NBA game that I've seen my first playoff game that I've seen
though and it was by far like the most fun one so I think I would go again maybe to see a team
that I kind of like yeah or if like a player that I like is there nice oh like Dallas Mavericks maybe
true you know I am a Dallas girl you know yeah I feel like they're a fun team with Luca and
everything so enough about basketball let's talk about this week's topic which is about our
work life now that return office is a bigger part of our lives yeah I noticed that more and more
companies have been announcing X number of days a week and wanting to be back in the office
my company in particular is currently one day a week but with the way tech has been in the
way I feel like it's gonna increase soon so I think anyone who is kind of in crystal and eyes
college graduating class or year we all had about two years or so maybe a little bit less of working
in like what I guess is the past work life before entering the whole COVID era of work and now that
we're back in the office even if it's just one day a week I feel like I revert in some ways back to
who I was in those years and then when I'm home I'm like regular old me COVID me oh I see yeah
COVID you yeah I guess like in a sense kind of true I work in the same building as before COVID
it's kind of crazy because it's like as you and our listeners know for a period of time I was in
New York right and now I'm like back in the bay at the same building pre-COVID that is crazy actually I
guess it's not exactly the same building but it's the building next door that looks exactly the same
oh you know like it's twin yeah it's basically the same building right but yeah it's definitely like
a pretty interesting if it feels so familiar but like so different the same time right yeah so
you're back in the office a little bit more often than I am right now right yeah so I think
basically we're being asked to go in about three times a week and so I go in around like three to
four times a week depending on how busy I am and how I'm feeling there have been some weeks where I
only go in two times a week that's like less and less now honestly I think my average for the past
two months is probably like three days a week dude that feels like a lot to me I feel like the
one day a week is already kind of like oh you know that's a little bit of a commute but are there
any things that you feel like you like about going into the office okay I will admit free lunch is
a big plus for going into the office honestly probably one of the biggest motivators in the very
beginning when I started to like slowly go into the office more right because I would be like nice
like what should I eat today yeah exactly and then I'd be like okay cool I can go to the office
and eat this and then I guess that helped build up the habit a little more like okay like I'm used to
just like you know picking certain days to go into the office now right okay so one thing about
me going in the office I actually love going in on Mondays because Mondays have the least amount of
people and it's just nice because it's quiet and I work better right that way sometimes if it's
like the office is too busy it's a little harder for me to like focus dude I feel the exact same way
sometimes I'm like the library side of me comes out yeah we need to use our inside ways
everyone shut up pretty much but it is nice because seeing like my team in person more
hmm definitely makes our bond I think developed faster so like the team that I'm with right now we all
got together or like we formed in the pandemic definitely for the first bit of time it was like
we knew each other but like most of the time we see each other is just business right it's like
meetings but now that it's like oh we're actually just in the office so sometimes we're gonna just
turn around chat with each other that is nice for like personal development that's true like I
feel like there's a lot of small things that you learn to appreciate about someone yeah when you
see them in person versus like on Slack or on video call it you know there's so much distance
between you yeah and I feel like also on like the zoom calls and stuff you're always like I'll
give you some time back and you know that like the other person also appreciates that so it's just
like oh well less small talk which is I guess ultimately good for productivity but sometimes it
just like in terms of the like personal bonds and stuff it slows it down a little bit I think I
felt that way too about like cross functional teams that I work with definitely within my team
because it's such a small team I feel like we're relatively close but with other teams especially
people joined during the pandemic it's kind of like we know each other but we don't know each other
so then I found that when I was seeing people in the office I was kind of like oh shit I will say
like I don't know what it is but I kind of feel like before the pandemic a lot of people at my
company had a similar vibe uh-huh and the connection in between teams was strong as in like the
culture across the teams felt similar yeah now I feel like each team has developed its own
sense of culture maybe because of the pandemic because you're not seeing other people like very often
uh-huh and I feel like the office vibes are a little different now oh that's interesting I could
totally see how that could happen too like yeah what you're saying right like during the pandemic
you mostly just have meetings with your nuclear team I guess you could call it right right I guess
you build inside jokes I don't know yeah and I think like my company kind of tried to reinforce
like oh the team should still stay closer in the pandemic so my team specifically has a lot of
cross-functional meetings but happy hours were only our team specific like we would never have a
cross-functional happy hour right right and then I'm sure a lot of other teams are also like that
yeah so then it's like you're only kind of like friends with your team yeah even if like your
coworkers with other people so sometimes like when I'm in the office and I guess this even goes for
like slack conversations or something like my team has a really specific culture of being really nice
and I don't mean that in like a two-my-own-important way but like I feel like we're very polite
okay so like always the full greeting like the thank you lots of lots of thank you you know things
like that smiley's yeah exactly but then other teams are totally not like that kind of culture they're
just like did you send this or like can you send this today straight face yeah exactly so then
sometimes you know when I have conversations with those teams I'm like should I match your energy
or should I be me like should I do me you know yeah so I don't know like one of those weird
adjustments thing too I haven't thought about that too much I just usually end up doing me
throwing some smiley's because if anything I'm actually more thinking about me I'm like oh my god
I hope I know it sounds too stoic to these people throwing a bunch of smiley's in there you know
yeah yeah yeah I feel like it's just tough I think I'm thinking more about how I'm portrayed at work
now and it could be in the office thing it could be like my ambitions and what I want to achieve
kind of thing yeah you know there's a lot of like small nuances there I think right I guess
there are moments where I just like match other people's energy if they if they just send like
pretty serious stuff I'll be like okay I guess you smiley's on this one
haha sometimes when I match people's energy I feel like I'm a little petty about it or like the
the intention is kind of petty yeah because sometimes I do a favor for someone who's on a different
team and maybe I'm just closer to whatever that they want to know I send it over to them I'm like here
you go instead of saying like oh thanks they're like oh can you add this and this and this and
this and then it's like multiple back and forth right it's not like can you add items one two and
three it's like can you add item one and then I send it back can you add item two if I don't get
like I thank you I'm just like here or like I won't I'll just send like the file or whatever
instead of saying like here you go exclamation smiley like I normally oh my god okay I totally
understand that though I feel like when that happens you're like okay at a certain point you have
to realize that I'm not just doing your thing yeah right like I have other things going on too so
this is like not only extremely inefficient for me but it's also inefficient for you
right like it's totally it like you just you know take a second gather your thoughts and then email
the list I feel like that's so much better or even if they like email you the first time and then
just like add on and they're like oh shoot sorry forgot this thing right like you know they don't
have to wait for you to respond yeah yeah and I think like if you know it's already kind of like
on you for not doing that then you can be like kind of a polygenic or like grateful about it I
feel like as long as the attitude of like oh thank you slash I'm sorry is there like I don't care
I'll do whatever but if you're kind of just like oh can you add this I don't know as if you don't
know that I'm doing your favorite I feel like it just makes me kind of annoyed oh my god so kind
of on a similar vein I usually sign off my emails with thanks crystal but then I start realizing
that sometimes I'm saying thanks for nothing like like I gave them something right and then I'm
like thanks crystal and I'm like wait what am I thinking who for like who's this thanks for yeah so
now if there's nothing for me to thank them then I just sign off with dash crystal oh yeah
oh damn so thanks is also my go to silence okay but I know what you mean sometimes I'm just like
I am the fucking best like you're so welcome in this email you know and then the sign off is like
thanks yeah like god damn no actually though oh another reason is because sometimes I'll say thanks
in the beginning of the email like oh thanks for sending that over or like thanks for sharing
the feedback and then like at the end I also sign off with thanks so I'm like okay wait did I
really do the second thing that's true or like sometimes I'm trying to end the email with
thanks or like thank you yeah and then I'm like thanks oh yeah so then I'll just put like best
or something but anytime I sign off with best I always feel like a little kid you know being like
dear whoever sincerely like I'm like I feel like I'm giving off that by yeah I feel like
dash crystal is like a pretty easy one especially if the rest of the email is nice
hmm then it's like it's not like I'm like all right crystal signed off but like it's like
bubble a nice heavy and then like crystal yeah that's true I need a good like go to
mm-hmm I think they should bring back like funny sign off oh my god yes maybe I'll slip some in
and see what happens yeah the crowd has to be right though that's true yeah but I do feel like a
lot of sign offs just feel very formal so thanks is like one of the ones that feel less formal right
yeah totally but then if you were to sign off with like sincerely you know kind of shrug off
yeah that's true yeah no that's true it's hard to find like a good one I did have a cork
or an old cork or he's to sign off with her initials and I was like that is such a baller move
but my initials are jk which I feel like could be miscontrored extremely easily yeah
they're like ways of this whole email is a joke yeah maybe I should take on James's last name
as my middle name and sign off jk oh my god they would be like wow I'm honored
but honestly I feel like the signature stuff is an easier battle than the awkwardness I've
been feeling at the office mm-hmm because when I walk past corkers who I'm not that close with
but I like kind of know I am like the most awkward human being ever like I think I just have
an inability to make small talk understandable I mean like coming from someone who hates small talk
I can't completely relate yeah just hard like you don't really need that long of a greeting on
slack you know you can just be like hey good morning or you can even just be like hi right and
then go into like whatever you need yes but I guess when you're like walking by someone at the
office you don't really need anything from them you just want to kind of greet them right right
so then I'm just like should I say hi or sometimes they're like not looking at you and I'm like
this is so awkward wait I had a super awkward interaction one time oh yeah where like I was walking
forwards and someone else was walking like coming at me and my eyesight was bad that day I guess
I wasn't wearing glasses or anything yeah not that my eyesight is even that bad but I think it
it took that day for some reason it took me like an extra second to recognize the person
we like got really close as we were about a cross paths and I gave like a delayed high
and it was so awkward because I think I kind of like like leaned over it to be like
hey you know like in her path yeah and and she like because it was so delayed she also like
responded a little delayed she's like oh oh hi and then we like you know continued walking
but I was just like oh god like should I have just not said anything oh my god the struggles
but it is kind of hard to find that timing so the way our office is structured is there's kind of like
a long walkway and then along the walkway on the left side there's like a bunch of rows of
desks right that are like perpendicular to the walkway I was leaving my desk and going towards
the walkway and there was someone walking down the walkway towards where I was I was kind of walking
to so we were about to intersect at like that exact point right okay so I was like oh shit like
there's someone there I'm gonna walk really slowly from this desk to the next so that like I don't
bump into him or have to like cut him off or do the whole like oh sorry excuse me and then he
also slowed down so I'm like fuck fuck fuck fuck so then we're kind of like looking at each other
peripherally and we're like both like literally tumbling down like respective walkways and then I'm
like I'm gonna really I'm gonna like go back to my desk and pretend I dropped something and like
grab it or whatever right okay so then I do that and then he's still kind of like slowly walking
so then I go and like grab my thing but I forgot off my desk and then I'm standing behind him
on the walkway right okay I guess all he had to do was go to like the row of desks right in front
of my row of desks so then he like pulls over to the side so basically like if he had just walked
faster you know like went to that row of desks then I wouldn't have to like do a circle loop back
and then like walks quickly and like all that shit but I was just like dude I have like this is
like a social skills problem you know I easily could have just been like hey huh like gonna slip
by you or just like hi what's up and then just like walked around him or something but I was just
like freaking out there is one person in the office who when we walk by each other there's kind
of not at each other that's like the ideal probably right yeah yeah I could not but there's also
been times where I've like walked around the office but I I like know someone is nearby I have
known my peripheral but I just don't turn my head I'm like don't turn my head like just don't
turn around then we don't have to interact not that I like I'm not trying to interact with them
but sometimes it's just like oh god like I'm not ready for social interaction right now yeah
yeah yeah don't turn my head like pretend I don't see them oh my god I know I feel like there's
like a specific mood or like you know the right timing to talk to people yeah in like almost like
the transitive times like if I'm just walking back to my desk or something I just want to get to my
desk as fast as possible you know oh for sure I think there's like a balance to find between like
office chatter and like working because like as we said earlier it is pretty nice to like socialize
with your teammates in person but also it's like you can't talk for too long because you also need
to get some stuff done okay I kind of have a funny thing that's been happening to me lately
so I'm not sure if it's actually the correlation or causation here but um basically
sometimes when I'm like chatting with my co-workers in the office like my eyes kind of tear up
wait what what I actually I don't know why so me and my friend we were like joking that it was
because of the social interaction like I'm just tearing up my body is rejecting the social
interaction you're like arms get itchy but yeah like sometimes if we talk for more than like
five minutes my eyes start to water a little oh my god but like never crying you know like no tears
are dropping but like I'm a little nervous like do they notice that my eyes are like getting
glassy oh my god so sometimes I try to blink a little faster to like suck back to your
but yeah like that's been a uh an occurrence lately and it makes me nervous too and I think maybe
when it makes me nervous like maybe I tear up a little more oh my god dude I got your body has a
way of doing that though where you're like thinking don't do this don't do this and then it like
doubles or triples like okay yeah so yeah that's been a quite the experience lately I'm like oh
shit like my eyes are tearing up maybe we need to end this conversation dude it's like you look at
a screen for so long but I'm looking at like a non-screen like hurts your eyes you're like where's
the blue the what is it called the UV yeah I mean like just this past week when I went into the
office I was chatting with one of my coworkers and I was like oh my god nice like so far so good
but then like a minute later my eyes started tearing oh my god your body is trying to tell you
something maybe hopefully by like summertime I'll stop tearing up yeah let's monitor this closely
this is concerning but yeah I think in general I feel either of like I think I tend to be a
little bit less productive in the office just because of the catching up with people and like I'm
also really snacky when I'm with the office for some reason which is horrible one of the things
that I find kind of funny about being back in the office is like lunchtime is no longer sacred
rest time it's kind of like social performance time in a sense yes yes I completely understand
yeah we're like at home you know lunch is like me and Jay I'm sick of break from work and like we
lunch together watch a show if I have time leftover I'll like rest for a little bit and then
jump back into my work day in the office at least for a company that's as small as mine like I feel
like you usually don't want to sit by yourself just because it's less like anonymous it's kind of like
everyone knows exactly what you are you're also eating lunch by yourself right I'll usually go and
like eat lunch with Chelsea who I'm close with at work and then like my teammates and like you
know other cross-functional people I'm close with but last week I went into the office and Chelsea
wasn't there some of my team members too that I usually see also like all weren't there so it was
just like me and my boss who was really cool but it's just like us two a couple other people but
they were already seated that specific day it was kind of one of those like fireside chat lunch day
okay where someone really high up at our company was doing like a Q&A while we all ate lunch and
it was like really cool because she was sharing a lot of stories about her past work lives and like
inspiration and things like that but basically like me and my boss ended up sitting next to her
because those were the only two seats available and it's like a table for like six to eight people
but it's just us three because there weren't any chairs left I'm just like shoveling my attorney
food down my throat while this amazing person is sitting next to me like sharing her life stories yeah
everyone is obviously watching our table because she's talking and I'm just like I cannot fucking believe
I'm like sitting here I'm like spilling rice on my shirt like wiping sauce from my mouth like
what the fuck is going on was it recorded though like was it on a oh my god it wasn't okay thank god
yeah but basically like after I ate I was like I feel like I'm indigestion because I was so
subconscious the whole time and I also feel like I need a lunch break from my lunch break dude I think
at that point I would just not even eat I'll just sit there smile at everyone and be like yeah yeah
for sure when this is overall eat my food like cold food dude and I was so thirsty too because like
I didn't grab a drink yeah so that was like parched as fuck and like if I get up you know I
would have to like push my chair back oh my god it would be like you know like a chair pushing back
noise and I have to like open the drink fridge and like grab my drink and open my soda and all of that
so I was just like I don't know it's just like a horrible you're like I'll just die here yeah
like this is my last supper luckily I haven't had any experience like that but I think one thing is
I do kind of like to eat lunch alone sometimes I'm like damn is it rude if I like get up right now
and I leave and go eat lunch and not invite all of my team members yeah yeah like but sometimes I'm
like I just need to like eat alone dude I know exactly what you mean yeah feel so awkward to like
do it though you and then sometimes like if I cross paths with like people that I know in the
office they're usually super nice they'll be like oh we're about ahead to lunch you want to join
and usually it's like yeah of course but sometimes you're just like like how do I say no
with that sounding like a bitch yeah yeah I mean I don't know how your company is structured but
I feel like the go-to at our company is like oh I'm just gonna eat it at my desk like I have
something to do I see and then it's like you know no one can touch you if you're eating lunch at
your desk look at his fuck right okay I think like at my company it's less common to eat at your
desk there's like a lot of seating for lunch so usually people grab lunch together go to the
cafeteria what if you brought your work laptop to the cafeteria oh that's okay
right yeah that's not bad actually yeah that is not bad okay maybe I'll try that sometime
then spill food all over my laptop so one thing that I do is sometimes I'll like run away
to a far cafeteria dude genius that way no one can follow me no one will know where I am I know
my old office like if I really was tired and like just had no social energy or something I would
just like grab food out of restaurant nearby just like by myself okay one time I was sitting by
myself in the cafeteria that was in my building and then I heard people that I knew come in I was
like oh my god so I just like glued my eyes to the screen of my phone yeah so that it looked like
I was really busy or like absorbed in what I was doing right and I just like didn't move my
head at all so I just can't make eye contact with anyone in this cafeteria for the next 10 minutes yeah
I feel like this conversation makes us sound really anti social but I feel like it's not an
anti social urge it's more of like rest and like me time I'm not gonna lie it's probably my
anti social behavior you're like nope don't you excuse me this is this is who I am yeah I'm very
anti social because I mean like my team is awesome and I do enjoy all like hanging out with them
talking with them eating lunch with them but sometimes I'm just like you know I need to be anti-spotial
verb yeah as evidenced by my Monday office business I'm like nice no one is here right no I mean I
I think I get it like at least in the way that I feel it like anytime I eat lunch with people at
work I always have a good time but sometimes like I don't know there's just too much effort that's
required like too much thinking and like worrying of like do I have food on my face oh my
talking you know eating a friend of this person or like what's the next topic that we should
talk about that isn't politics and work and whatever and I'm like I don't want to do this today
yeah for sure and I think also another aspect of it is like you said earlier during the pandemic
lunchtime was like a break from work usually by yourself for you it was like with James I think
for me it was throughout the pandemic mostly by myself so like kind of yeah like kind of grew that
habit right of like this is my break time alone yeah and then we're thrown back into work we're like
I mean yeah I would really enjoy having lunch with you but maybe not right now but I have something
on my schedule so another thing you asked earlier in this episode was what are like some perks of
going into the office or like what are my favorite things about going in the office so my office
has a gym and it's free to use for employees so I'm like okay well why am I not taking advantage
of this perk right so I started going to the gym and then I think it's pretty nice because I'll
usually go after I've done like some decent work throughout the day and then go to the gym for like
quick 30 minutes I mean I don't do much I just go on the treadmill get your endorphins up and
and feel extra productive I guess for the day because it's like worked a bit and then even like
did something healthy and then like go home but the only downside to that is that it digs me deeper
into the like traffic hours oh yeah I almost feel like traffic is like worse now than pre-pandemic
or maybe my memory of that era is just disappeared or something maybe but even when I leave early
to try to beat traffic home I still am like in the full throttles of traffic dude yeah it's pretty bad
there have been some days where I've left as early as 330 but even then there's traffic
on the way back already yeah and I'm like damn I guess like everyone else had the same idea like
trying to beat traffic yeah and I feel like the companies that are you know requiring people to
beat back in the office like x days of week I feel like they choose the same days oh true so it's
like no one is going in on like Monday and Friday and that everyone in the middle of the week is
like going in dude that's so true I have noticed like Monday traffic tends to be on the lighter side
another pro of going to the office on one day right right I think Wednesdays and Thursdays are the
worst from my memory yeah I could be wrong though yeah I think honestly on some like sometimes
for those busier days it's like oh well if my meetings are all done then I might as well just
leave a little earlier hopefully beat traffic and then just keep working at home
hmm I feel like mine is like I tend to have more meetings in the evening or like late afternoon
like four to six usually so then I'm like maybe I should leave at like three oh yeah
home and then I'll work till six anyway right yeah because I feel like this is a thing that I felt
since pre-pendemic you stay in the office especially during the summer until it's dark outside
it just feels really bad like driving home yeah that's so true yeah like in the winter it's inevitable
but spring summer fall it's like okay hopefully I can beat the sun home I think like people's
attitudes have changed a lot about work though and like in office culture and stuff because back
in the day no one really left the office until like five thirty or six and I used to have a long
commute home so then I would leave around like sometimes as early as like five and then I felt like
I was one of the only people leaving at that time and then now like if I'm stuck the office
around five half of the people are gone and like in ten minute increments like ten people will leave
and I'm like oh yeah that's true I do appreciate that flexibility because it's like hey if you
got to leave to like beat the traffic or leave a little early pick up your kid from school or
something like it's totally fine because we know working from homework so it's like you do whatever
you need to and then just finish up at home yeah I feel like maybe that's good too for traffic
overall right spreads it out a little bit more there are sometimes when I stay in the office
pretty late though if I have like plans in the south bay still so maybe I'll stay to like five
thirty or six but dude by the time it's like also depending on the day but like by the time it's
five thirty like the office lights are automatic motion right so like all the lights are gone they've
like they've like turned off except for where my desk oh my god and then like when I get up to leave
like they're all turning back on to light my path to the exit sometimes it's pretty funny yeah like
maybe five thirty not all the lights are off but like half of the office's lights are off but then
by like probably six six thirty at least my building most of the lights are off my building has like
pretty good work life balance most people are out of the office by like five dude I that's so
funny you say that though because I had a really similar experience uh-huh so my company has two
office buildings one of them is like closer to me but it's close as a little earlier than
for their office because it's not like the main one so usually everyone's out by like four
mmm but since I have like like some days I have a lot of meetings like back to back so I can't
actually find like a thirty minute window to leave yeah so I was in the office I like five thirty
I was like fuck I need to leave soon like I can hear people leaving yeah so the last person who
is there um aside from me hmm actually came by like the room that I was in and was like hey you're
the last person here I'm gonna leave now there's like a cleaning lady here I'm gonna tell her to
like lock up after you leave oh shit don't be sure to like tell her you're like leaving oh I was
like oh my god I'm gonna get the fuck out of here and when I was leaving it was like completely
dark except like the light in my room too and I was like this is scary so did you make the cleaning
lady wait long no after he said that I like got chilled down my spine because I am very easily
frightened and I was like I need to go so I packed up all my stuff I like saw the cleaning lady
and I was like I'm gonna go now she was all the way across the building I was like I'm gonna go
good night like have a good one yeah and then I left wow did you take the meeting in the car
yeah I did car meeting club oh my god I just thought of like something that's kind of bad that's
been happening to me since we returned to the office my company started giving out free lunches
free drinks and we always had free snacks but like the lunches and the drinks are pretty new right
I don't know like maybe I'm just excited that it's free now but I've been drinking so much soda
every time I'm off oh no and I'm also very snacky just in general but usually at home I try not
to keep too many snacks because I know I'm gonna eat it but in the office like you know there's
a ton of fucking snacks everywhere yeah there's no obstacle yeah exactly so I'm just like going to
the snack room like once an hour grabbing stuff I mean it's kind of nice because I can walk over
there with like a friend and just catch up a little bit yeah I feel like I drink at least two so
it does on office days which is bad the snack room is the new water cooler exactly actually that
was kind of happening to me too it's just like the it's too much temptation yeah it's too accessible
yeah yeah so I used to do that as well drink a lot of coke in the office but the thing is like
I drink the regular coke oh so as one of my coworker friends puts it the full fat coke
whole coke yeah I was like down this can't be like that healthy right so recently I've been trying to
eat healthier at work and drink healthier I guess right yeah I try not to give into too much
temptation because sometimes there's like dessert too you know you know something is like sounds
delicious and you just want to get like a heaping pile of it I'm like no I gotta control myself
no I know what you mean I feel like I have phases where so the way our lunch works is we place a
group order so you get to choose what you want from a specific restaurant and it's like a new
restaurant every week so it's kind of cool where it's like you are ordering your specific meal
but sometimes I'm like ordering like the most heinous shit around like this is probably like a thousand
calories right here and then other times I'll order something kind of healthy so one week the like
restaurant of the week was this pizza place and I was like I'm gonna try to be like healthy today
so I got like a vegetarian pizza but that day like I woke up and I was like I feel like shit like
I don't think I can go into the office because I'm like starting to get a fever and stuff
what happens is I already placed like my meal right so then sometimes people will go in without
having placed it on time so that they take like whatever meal that people kind of left behind sort of
yeah so my coworker was like oh I forgot to order a meal can I take yours and I was like yeah go
for it and then the next day he was like yo why'd you get a vegetarian pizza kind of weird okay wait
I just want to say I actually love vegetarian pizzas me too me too it's not usually what I go for
but when I have it I'm like this is delicious it's so good okay so round table has a vegetarian pizza
I think it's just called like veggie delight or something and me and my friends discovered it at UCSD
because we had the round table on campus right right we were like dude these pizzas actually the best
so every time we got pizza at round table we always got that one yeah actually there's like a place
called cicero's pizza and it's like a kind of local joint here in the bay and I think it was
that place they do something called like a spicy vegetarian and that one is also bomb dude people
are sleeping on vegetarian I can't believe your coworker flame dude for that was he not like wait
this is fucking delicious thank you for ordering the vegetarian pizza I think he was like damn I'm
still hungry after I ate this because there's no meat on it and I was like oh he didn't appreciate
what he had dude at least I didn't order a salad I feel like with all of this you know kind of
return to office but also kind of flexible what do they call again hybrid work I think I have found
a good balance with it so so far I'm pretty happy with it three days in the office with two days
at home is working for me and I mean we talked through it there's like pros and cons to both things
like being in the office versus being in home being in home versus being in the office but I think
overall I'm like pretty satisfied with it I think your optimism is making me feel more okay with it
I'm glad for soda when your days get upped hopefully you'll feel not too bad about it if they get
up if they get up pray for me I will I will so for our listeners out there if you all have any
pros or cons of working in the office slash working from home feel free to share it with us you
can find us on social media at eat your crust pod we also have email eat your crust pod at gmail.com
and if you'd like to catch our other episodes then feel free to follow us on Spotify or Apple
podcasts or any other podcasting platform we upload new episodes every Wednesday morning shout out
to Mel for your Spotify Q&A answer for what advice would you give your past self she said that
the advice she would give to herself to her past self would be to not be so attached to how people
perceive you and be true to yourself pretty good one banger and also shout out to DnRs who responded to
our what's your opinion on splitting the bill on the first date Q&A he responded that I have no
problem with the other person offering but I will give them an out just in case they were just
being polite and if they insist then we do like bananas and ice cream and split love that one yeah
how considerate forgiving and out I know that's actually really thoughtful yeah just in case
so we'll put up more questions like that for this episode so please click on it check it out share
your thoughts with us thanks for listening and don't forget to eat your crust
