EPR Minisode 5: Happy Holidays 2022!

Welcome back to Environmental Professionals Radio, Connecting the Environmental Professionals Community Through Conversation, with your hosts Laura Thorne and Nic Frederick! 

We have a new minisode for you today! There's no interview, just a timely and important message we wanted to share with everyone as we come up on the holiday season. This is taking place instead of our regularly scheduled episode on Friday this week, but we will be publishing a very special outtakes episode next Friday. Thank you so much for listening!

Help us continue to create great content! If you’d like to sponsor a future episode hit the support podcast button or visit www.environmentalprofessionalsradio.com/sponsor-form

Please be sure to ✔️subscribe, ⭐rate and ✍review.

This podcast is produced by the National Association of Environmental Professions (NAEP). Check out all the NAEP has to offer at NAEP.org.

Transcript

Transcripts are auto-transcribed

Nic 
Happy Holidays that's a way to start. Yeah, we're actually going to sing to everyone our holiday cheers

Laura 
but then we might set you off in a horrible tone.

Nic 
I might well you don't have a great way for me to meet you are looping well. I don't know. Okay, so it's the holidays is the craziest time of the year and sometimes the best sometimes the worst. It's really challenging for work sometimes because we are trying to get everything done on our plates and hoping that the people that we need answers from didn't go on vacation right? And sometimes that's what happens and sometimes it's not so

Laura 
it's always kind of strange. I'm in the office are the ones who like not having anybody else around.

Nic 
You know, yeah. I work from home maybe so.

Laura 
It's different now.

Nic  
So different is different. Now. It's different now. We're all kind of half a half away from home at this point. What has changed honestly, it's been a really wild shift to see there's a lot more working from home and there has been pre pandemic which you know, honestly, it's been pretty great. And there's some really, really positive benefits. I don't lose my mind sitting in a car 30 minutes, or an hour or however long you communities.

Laura 
I think Sam had a question for us holiday question.

Sam Bartleson  
Do all right. What do you guys think about Christmas trees?

Nic 
The trees Oh, man. So you know, there's an emotional side of this for me. You know, I don't love the idea of using a tree for no reason and then getting rid of it. I don't I just don't love it and that's when people need the pine smell and you know fire hazard and wildlife inside their house. I get it. I understand. But for me it's just yeah, I one plastic tree. The last thing your entire life. And, you know, let it go. But if you're gonna, if you're gonna do it, you got to donate the tree somewhere afterwards. Don't just throw in the dump.

Laura 
So where do you donate the tree to was that mean?

Nic 
You can take it to like, you know, zoos in particular pretty for that. Okay, you could take it to like

Laura 
into like rallies largest Bonfire of the years.

Nic 
Also, yeah, fine, but you know be responsible people and this was not burned down the house. Which I know that's the will say that story for another time. That's another field note. story about fire but you know, you got it. Yeah, so I don't know. i That's my take on it. I can say I know that kind of fits right in line with what you think I'd say about trees. I don't know. Are you the same or different?

Laura 
Well, you know, minimalist, me is kind of like an eyeball. I don't even want to have a tree. The last couple of years we've had this little miniature winged victory statue and I hang ornaments on that.

Nic 
That was awesome. I found grant for Laura too.

Laura  
But this year, my worship people keep giving us fake Christmas trees. So we have a little one that someone gave us and then so it found its way up here so there's a little Christmas tree and my boyfriend got it out and put the ornaments on. But yeah, I could not I would probably cry you know you know me a bleeding heart. So I would I couldn't cut down a tree just to take his life so I could sit it in my house for a little while. I can't do that. Plus, like pine needles and vacuuming and watering and then like you said disposing of it afterwards. This is all a waste of my time.

Nic 
Yeah, it's yeah that's a lot of energy in Africa I'm also I'm also very much for like let's let's do this as easily as possible. If you use a plastic tree, you don't have to go anywhere and see people and tackle someone to get the tree that you want. You just pull out all the liable and I whatever you want. To call it and and go to that so that's that's that's the answer, Sam There you go.

Laura 
And you know, scientifically which one is more sustainable or the right choice? I really don't know if it's six one half dozen the other. This to me is one of those The Good Place decisions where our decisions are so complicated. Come have a car so complicated. You just got to do the one you think is the best one. Yeah, for you. At least hopefully it's an organic tree farm if you're doing a tree in the forest and ripping out natural tree like the results.

Nic 
We've all seen Christmas vacation. Right, right, Sam? No. I knew it. Immediately. I hadn't seen it. Oh my goodness. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So watch. Watch it. Watch Christmas vacation. If you haven't seen it. It's really it is a fun movie. It's a very fun movie.

Sam Bartleson  
I tried watching it and I'm like, I'm like this.

Nic 
Wow. It's so much worse. That is hurt hurts a little bit here.

Sam Bartleson  
Because Peter tried getting me to watch it like a couple of weeks ago, like nonseasonal like, ooh, it's on Netflix or something. Let's let's give it a watch. And I'm like, sitting there and like, I don't I don't like this.

Nic 
Okay, well, I'll say I'm sorry.

Sam Bartleson 
I know. It was nice while I had it. See you guys Yeah.

Laura 
Do you like Sam?

Sam Bartleson 
I like all the claymation ones like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus coming to town. Muppets Christmas Carol?

Nic 
After one. Okay, there we go. I can't do the old old claymation ones. I guess you get the Muppets were in line with that. Nice and Scrooged I mean, that's another one. There's another off brand holiday movie for everybody.

Laura 
Oh, it's one of my favorites. I watched it every year and it's good. I don't know it might be too weird for Sam. Maybe.

Nic 
I mean, it's much greater than Christmas vacation.

Laura 
But I mean, Bobcat Goldthwait is just so I don't know. I think he was part of the time capsule.

Nic 
Yes. That was added a moment in time. If you if you want to just Google it's hard to even. I think the highest power is last name bobcat. Goldthwait, probably Google him. That is the 80s if you want to see it, and like a person like him and Madonna you put those two together you get the earrings done so that's movies i don't know i don't i i refuse to do any of the Black Friday anything. Go into like a store for black for Is there a version but like I don't like doing it at all? No shopping like I don't like going out at all retail anywhere like I hate like accidentally walking into like, you know targeting like oh crap. That's right. I wanted like, you know, like breakfast bars and everyone's here buying gifts.

Laura 
You couldn't go anywhere in the last two weeks. Because everyone is out doing everything.

Nic 
Yeah. Yeah, like going to the post office like I did this morning. And

Laura  
this on a heartfelt unkind note for Christmas Eve. Oh, it's Eve. Let's

Nic 
always say like the holidays are hard times are lots of different people for lots of different reasons. Right? There's a lot of emotion involved. There's a lot of stress. And we always have to take time to rest and relax you know, try to do what you what you would normally do to relax, like, try to find those moments. I know that's really hard. And you want to be there for people all the time. But if you are worn out, and you won't be there for them anyway. So you've got to be you've got to take time for yourself. Don't forget to do that. And don't forget to enjoy it, you know, especially it's unbelievable how fast life moves and the older I get, the more I feel that you know not even that old. It's just crazy that it's just, yeah, it keeps moving. So don't forget to take the time, enjoy, you know, sip a cup of coffee, spill it on your lap, you know, whatever. So enjoy it. You know, that's my advice. That's my suggestion. I hope everybody does because it's a really hard time of year. rest and relax, recharge come back. And you know, tackle on the new year. What else you got? No.

Laura 
I got nothing. It's time for some eggnog and to watch it again for the fourth time this season. Or maybe funny form. That's my top my funniest best. Regardless of whether you're spending your Christmas with a plastic tree or a real tree, I hope everybody has a wonderful holiday and eats a lot of cookies whether they're gluten free or full of sugar and butter and gluten and everything else. Whatever however you decide to spend your holiday weekend I hope it's great

Nic 
for you to get up Alright, see you everybody.

Laura
Bye.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai