Tag: anxiety

  • Bumperpodcast #296 – Laser Lightning Trees

    Bumperpodcast #296 – Laser Lightning Trees

    Lasers – Lightning – Explosions – Trees! It’s a hyperactive and hyper-short edition of the Bumperpodcast!

    Do you like trees? Let us know by sending an email to bumperpodcast@nattybumpercar.com.

    This is a ‘Laser Lightning’ version of the Bumperpodcast – which is an oftentimes hilarious weekly romp around Headquarters, in Coffee-Can Alley, with Natty Bumpercar and his entire gaggle of pals! 

    About This Episode

    In this laser lightning episode of Bumperpodcast, host Natty Bumpercar shares the exciting (or "inciting") news that a dying oak tree in his backyard is about to be removed. The giant three-story tree has been dropping branches and threatening to fall on his house, so professionals are coming to take it down. Natty reflects on the tree's long history and how it's been there much longer than his three years at the house. He recounts his children's hilarious reactions to the news, with one son spiraling through various concerns about the house, the swing set, and even their dog Socks potentially being traumatized by the tree removal. This charming episode captures the comedy of everyday family life and childhood anxieties.

    Memorable Quotes

    “i got so excited that i actually said inciting so this is so inciting that i can't even stand it”

    — Natty Bumpercar

    “he was like change i don't like change and i was like bro relax and he was just like but they're gonna drop it on our house”

    — Natty Bumpercar

    “his next one was like what about socks that's our dog obviously and i was just like what why are we worried about him”

    — Natty Bumpercar

    Topics: #trees #family #homemaintenance #children #pets #anxiety #change

    Featuring: Natty Bumpercar

    Full Transcript

    Natty Bumpercar: okay bumper podcast this is another laser lightning episode of the bumper podcast and today i gotta tell you it's something it's inciting inciting that's not the word i wanted to say i was trying to say exciting but i got so excited that i actually said inciting so this is so inciting that i can't even stand it in fact oh it's inciting excitement that's where we are right now uh so today the excitement that has been incited is that there is a tree in our backyard is a giant tree it is an oak tree it has a sickness it is dying it is dropping branches everywhere it thinks that it wants to sleep on my house i do not want it to sleep on my house the man is going to come with his tools maybe several men i don't know maybe a truck i don't know maybe a robot i don't know and uh the tree is going to be removed now it's kind of sad to me because this is a tree that is big it's probably uh three stories tall about 35 feet or whatever uh but i and so it's been there a long time it's been it's been here a lot longer than i've been here i've only been in this in this place uh three years or so and uh this tree it's been there all right it was it was maybe it was a little acorn is that what oaks would what oaks come from oak nut maybe it was you're gonna granola i don't know maybe it was but maybe it was here maybe it like a bird ate something a seed flew over and then deposited the seed and then the little sapling came up and then the people said oh that would look nice in 30 years or 40 years or however i don't know how old 100 years i don't know how old the tree is it won't tell me it's not polite for me to ask how old the tree is but uh the tree is going to go away and i told my children this and they freaked out not because the tree was going although one of them did because he was like change i don't like change and i was like bro relax and he was just like but they're gonna drop it on our house and i was like well we're hoping they don't do that okay that's kind of the goal is to not drop the tree on the house and then he was just like but what about art and he starts looking around the yard for things to freak out swing set and i was like the swing sets on the other side of the yard it's not gonna not gonna hit that and then he his next one was like what about socks that's our dog obviously and i was just like what why are we worried about him and i don't he couldn't really articulate what he was trying he was worried about but he was kind of freaked out that the dog is gonna be upset about it maybe you know like oh that's the dog's tree that's his best friend he hangs out with well no he's a dog he's a dog he's a smelly smelly dog the uh the uh we were we were putting some clothes away i mean my wife and i this little transition and uh i couldn't figure out whose clothes were whose whose clothes belonged to who and she i was just like which one is which one does this go to

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  • Bumperpodcast #236 – Good spirits

    Bumperpodcast #236 – Good spirits

    Bumpercar is back and filling you in on all of the reasons why he has been gone. He seems to be in good spirits – so – let’s enjoy it while we can!

    Do you have good spirits? Let us know by sending an email to bumperpodcast@nattybumpercar.com.

    About This Episode

    In episode 236, Natty Bumpercar returns after a long absence to share what's been happening in his life. He opens up about the recent passing of his 95-year-old grandmother, a painter who studied at the University of Georgia before moving to New York City—a path Natty himself would later follow. He explains how a series of unfortunate events including a computer breakdown and a bout of bronchitis kept him away from the podcast. Despite dealing with anxiety, illness, and falling behind on life, Natty remains optimistic and excited to reconnect with his listeners. He promises to return to a regular schedule and shares his enthusiasm about new social media strategies.

    Memorable Quotes

    “It has been anaconda snake long it has been snake river long it has been as long as an anaconda and the snake river and the summer breeze long.”

    — Natty Bumpercar

    “The hip is evidently the key to life it's the cradle it's where everything you know can go wrong.”

    — Natty Bumpercar

    “I'm pretty happy right now. I'm pretty excited to be back. I missed you so much, Bumper Podcast Coutures.”

    — Natty Bumpercar

    Topics: #lossandgrief #familyhistory #illness #catchingup #personalstruggles #resilience #anxiety

    Featuring: Natty Bumpercar

    Full Transcript

    Natty Bumpercar: oh bumper podcast it is natty bumper car and it has been so long it has been so far too long incredibly long how long has it been it has been anaconda snake long it has been snake river long it has been as long as an anaconda and the snake river and the summer breeze long it's a lot of snake references really don't know what's going on there um i have missed you so much it has been so long and i'm so sorry i uh a lot of stuff happened let's just get some things off our chest bumper podcast uh my name is natty bumper car this is the weekly bumper podcast you weekly yes i realize that several weeks have been missed i know this let me tell you what happened first one's sad first one is really sad you know i'm not looking i'm not looking for i mean i pity i appreciate uh thoughts and prayers and everything uh so uh my my my grandmother died she passed away she's 95 years old she fell and broke her hip and it's that's what happened to my other grandmother too the hip is evidently the key to life it's the cradle it's where everything you know can go wrong and it was it's very sad it was it was like a month ago uh maybe three weeks and um so it was unexpected uh obviously uh but you know she fell broke her hip went to the hospital got that fixed went to rehab uh that didn't work out and here we are sadness sadness sadness a couple cool things uh about my grandmother um she was a painter i'm a painter she went to the university of georgia i did the same thing and then she moved to new york city after she got her painting degree from the university of georgia she studied under a guy named lamar dodd the uh art school at the university of georgia is named after lamar dodd that's kind of cool i don't know if you've seen that one and i'm not satisfied with that one that' noughts dot dot dot dot dot an 800 including a iphone fifty 50 again and never saw a cop for them that's kind of cool to me that she was like in the in the beginning right and then she moved to new york and that's and here's a weird parallel i ended up going to university of georgia for painting and then moving to new york to paint weird stuff weird crazy stuff um so that happened recovered from that had a had a pack up real quickly fly down to georgia do all that stuff came right back and then my computer broke just died this is the second time this year this sad computer's had a hard time but it's back it's better it's a happy computer again please stay happy computer after the computer now we're in a week and a half in i got bronchitis this is one thing on top of another thing on top of another thing and normally i bounce back pretty quickly from all the things i'm pretty resilient when it comes to things but for some reason this series of unfortunate events was enough to really knock me on my tuchus and we're just now getting back into the swing of things i uh i i don't know i'm really i'm behind in life i'm behind on a lot of things and i don't like that it drives me crazy it means i have nightmares at night because i have uh anxiety it's like oh gosh i gotta do all this thing and this thing and then my brain's like oh don't forget about that thing that thing too and then i'm like ah and then obviously you throw in the job and the kids and everything doing shows here and there and it's brutal and that's the thing i haven't even been able to do shows in the past couple weeks because i've been so silly sick i've been on antibiotics and a steroid and last night i had to have emergency do an abuteral treatment which you take for asthma which i have bronchitis asthma seasonal uh what is it called seasonal allergy onset asthma is what i call it I think the doctor called it or something silly like that. And I got home and I couldn't breathe at all. Like even right now talking. I'm talking a little bit too much. Which, it's awesome. Means I'm probably going to have to take a little thing before I go to work. Yay! It's a great time. But I think you can hear it in my voice. I'm pretty happy right now. I'm pretty excited to be back. I missed you so much, Bumper Podcast Coutures. And I'm thrilled that I'm going to get to chat with you again. And we'll do it again next week. And we're going to get bigger. And we're going to get better. And I figured out a cool thing with Periscope last night. Where I can actually cut my videos up and put them on Vine. And put them on Instagram. And that way even more people won't actually see my videos. It'll be amazing. Hooray!

    Unknown: Hooray!

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  • Bumperpodcast #215 – April Fools …

    Bumperpodcast #215 – April Fools …

    It’s April Fool’s Day – and Bumpercar realizes that the only person that he really tricked was himself. Is this the best day of the year or the worst day of the year? Who cares?!

    Do you like muffins or cupcakes? Let us know by sending an email to bumperpodcast@nattybumpercar.com.

    About This Episode

    In this April Fool's Day episode, Natty Bumpercar shares his anxiety-filled experience planning an elaborate prank that he ultimately couldn't go through with. After spending a week preparing an April Fool's joke and scheduling it to post automatically, Natty wakes up at 1 AM in a panic and spends 40 minutes frantically undoing everything. He reflects on pranking his kids with breakfast muffins disguised as cupcakes and dresses, which doesn't go over well. The episode explores why April Fool's Day might be the worst holiday ever, though Natty does find joy in putting googly eyes on items in his refrigerator, inspired by Pee-wee Herman.

    Memorable Quotes

    “I apologize because I pranked myself basically. Hey bubba got you really did a good joke there who'd you trick me that's who”

    — Natty Bumpercar

    “I put googly eyes on the stuff in the fridge because Peewee Herman told me to and now every day when I open my fridge my ketchup is staring at me which is great”

    — Natty Bumpercar

    “I don't want this to turn into another cupcake muffin situation like I dealt with this morning you're better than that I'm better than that let's live for April 2nd”

    — Natty Bumpercar

    Topics: #aprilfoolsday #pranks #anxiety #parenting #holidays #regret

    Featuring: Natty Bumpercar

    Full Transcript

    Natty Bumpercar: what's going on everybody it's me natty bumper car and this is the bumper podcast and today is the first of april it's april fool's day and i had such a big thing planned and i mean like i spent pretty much a week on it got everything set up and i uh i it was it was gonna go out i had it set to automatically post in a few different places and then last night i woke up and like i well i couldn't go to sleep because my mind was kind of racing and then i uh i woke up at like one o'clock in the morning and i was just like i can't i can't go through it i just it's not worth it it's too much you gotta stop it and i had to like write it go stop the press we can't you don't do it the repercussions are too much it's just gonna be too much to deal with people's feelings can be hurt babies can cry dogs can run around in circles and chase their tails for reasons other than the fact that dogs love running around that was my lewis black i apologize uh so i got up and i was totally totally freaked out and um i had to come i came downstairs to the office here and and i just had to undo everything and then i got weird and ocd about it and when you schedule things to post in places and even if you move it over to you say i want you to be a draft now then it still says scheduled for this time scheduled for 5 38 in the morning was where one of them was scheduled and and and so i i i set it on to be a draft and then i was like i walked away and i walked back and i saw the scheduled thing i was like i'm still scheduled and and i mean it was like 40 minutes last night in the middle of the night of me undoing of practical joking myself basically hey bubba got you really did a good joke there who'd you trick me that's who the one person in world who really loves to sleep and really loves to not be awake in the middle of the night to undo something that we put a few days into doing ah so and then i'm driving around this morning and i'm like well maybe i'll put it up i'll just put a disclaimer like hey this is an april fool's trip that's stupid it's not how it works it's not it's it's just i don't know and so like then what do i do with it i just throw it away it's so frustrating so then i i started pranking here so then we we amped it down a bit and i started pranking my kids i was just like hey here's your dress to go to school today son and my kid was like what why do i have a dress i was like i don't know april fool's and he was just like that's not funny dad and then i took a picture of him and i walked into the room with uh these little mini muffins for breakfast and i was like hey kids who wants cupcakes for breakfast they freak out get super excited see that they're actually muffins and then lose their minds at me which i deserve because kids they don't they don't need that i don't need that i think april fool's might be the worst day ever i don't think it's a very nice day i mean i put googly eyes on the stuff in the fridge because peewee herman told me to and i was like that's a cute idea and here's the thing it's gonna be it's a gift that keeps giving because now every day when i open my fridge my ketchup is staring at me which is great don't know why i haven't done that before don't know why i waited till april fool's because that's more like christmas that's more like hey look the world is an amazing place anthropomorphic butter 10 butter 10 it's not 10 butter tub butter tub hey you guys want to come down to the club and see my band we're called butter tub we play funk rock fusion with a little bit of style butter tub i um all right i apologize because now i mean i've been through this entire podcast all i did was complain about april fool's don't april fool's people don't do it it's not worth it it's you're just gonna make people angry or sad or confused or whatever uh and i'm not and i didn't even tell you what i did and you know what i'm not gonna i'm not gonna do it i'm not gonna do it i'm not gonna do it i'm not gonna do it i'm not gonna do it because it's not worth it because then I'll have to explain it to you and I feel like I've been explaining for the last five minutes I don't want this to turn into another cupcake muffin situation like I dealt with this morning you're better than that I'm better than that let's live for April 2nd all right you

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  • Bumperpodcast #186: There are no rails.

    Bumperpodcast #186: There are no rails.

    Natty Bumpercar talks about roller coasters, life, kittens, clouds in the sky, ice cream, apologies, and about a hundred other non-related things …

    If you are never on the track, is it possible for the train to go off the rails!? Let us know if you missed us by sending an email to bumperpodcast@nattybumpercar.com.

    Peep! Peep!

    About This Episode

    In Bumperpodcast episode 186, host Natty Bumpercar takes listeners on a stream-of-consciousness journey through his surprisingly good mood and the anxiety that comes with feeling happy. Natty uses a roller coaster metaphor to explore his emotions, worrying that what goes up must come down. The episode meanders through topics including kittens with needle-like claws, funny accents he's collected from strangers, and a sweet moment cloud-watching with Baby Bumpercar. True to form, Natty reflects on how many times he's apologized across 186 episodes and whether he can just issue one blanket apology instead. It's a charmingly scattered episode showcasing Natty's trademark improvisational humor and self-aware rambling.

    Memorable Quotes

    “I was having a really good day I was pretty happy right when the show started and now that I'm talking about it I'm realizing that maybe there's terrible things on the horizon. God, and now wait here's what I just did to myself is wow who's being really manic today this guy.”

    — Natty Bumpercar

    “I wonder how many times in this show I've apologized. There's like 186 episodes now and I wonder out of those 186 episodes how many times in those I have apologized.”

    — Natty Bumpercar

    “It was one of those days where there were clouds everywhere and he was like 'where the shapes' and I was like I've got a decent imagination but I couldn't there was just nothing to work with.”

    — Natty Bumpercar

    Topics: #anxiety #happiness #kittens #accents #parenting #rollercoasters #cloudwatching #self-reflection

    Featuring: Natty Bumpercar

    Full Transcript

    Natty Bumpercar: what's going on bumper podcast how you doing it's me natty bumper car and i gotta say i don't know what's going on maybe something in the air maybe it's something in the water maybe it's something in my food but i'm feeling pretty fantastic these days and the scary part of that is like now i've ridden the mine cart all the way to the top of the hill and i can see the whole world and i can see the sun is shining and i can see the birds are chirping and where do i have to go from here i hope it's not down but the thing is with a roller coaster is it really doesn't go you know just laterally or laterally straight for very long like you don't go click click click click click click click click click click click up the hill and then all of a sudden it's just sit at the top of the hill like that's not how it works you go up the hill then down the hill and maybe go around the corner then you do a loopy loop and then maybe go up a hill again and then you're done um so now i just made myself nervous huh i was having a really good day i was pretty happy right when the show started and now that i'm talking about a little bit and i'm realizing that maybe there's terrible things on the horizon god and now wait here's what i just did to myself is um wow who's being really manic today this guy uh so just by saying oh maybe something bad is gonna happen have i then invited something bad into to happen i hope not i i think i'd rather talk about kittens do you guys have any kittens i used to have kittens kittens are fun and adorable and cute and cuddly and their little claws are just like little needles they climb up your pants like when kittens are fun and adorable and cute and cuddly and their little they're first born and they can't even really walk i'm having some real uh uh dry throat thing happening i don't know if you heard that when i'm gulping uh to talk to talk uh i was at a show the other night and i guess this is non-tangental as if they ever aren't uh and uh this woman i was at a show and for some reason i got into the subject of uh dogs and cats and i said are you a dog person or a cat person and the one was like dog and said it in the most like i have an accent that you can't even believe dog and i was so thrilled by that because i love it when i hear people with like crazy thick accents because then i can put i try to remember what they are and i put them in my brain so that i can use them but the fun thing is is like if you're talking and you like want to put on an accent or whatever to talk to people you know i'm going to put on a funny voice to talk to you all right uh you know if i wanted to speak in a different manner such as this for instance um then i guess i could um but i like to go for the really extreme ones and then people are like oh people don't talk like that and it's just like no i really met a person and they talk crazy town like this and they're like all right all right all right um i don't feel like we've really talked about much today i feel like we've talked about well let me rephrase that a lot of things that didn't really make sense or relate to each other and i apologize i wonder how many times in this show i've apologized there's like 186 episodes now and i wonder out of those 186 episodes how many times in those i have apologized where i'm just like oh i'm sorry the mic wasn't working i'm sorry music didn't work or i'm sorry it's been four months since my last episode or whatever like um can i just do a general apology and then we'll go back and scrub all those other ones out god that just sounds like so much work i can barely manage to put up a new episode and all of a sudden i'm talking about scrubbing old episodes it's not going to happen bumper podcast cateers it just isn't how's your summer how's your kitten i mean i'm just asking these are questions that people ask people is it cloudy there the other day i was in the back porch with baby bumper car and we were looking up in the sky and we were looking at the clouds and we were trying to find different shapes but it was one of those days where there were clouds everywhere and he was like that where the shapes and i was like i and like i've got a decent imagination but i couldn't there was just nothing to work with and i was just like i i don't know that maybe looks like an ice cream cone and he was like what where ice cream man and i was like no ice cream cone in the sky and he's like i want

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  • Bumperpodcast 115 – My good side

    Bumperpodcast 115 – My good side

    Tomorrow … Natty Bumpercar is going to go into the hospital to visit a mouse photographer – who will then walk down his throat and take some photos …

    This is just a bit of bumpercar burning off some of that pre-hospital nervous energy with a bit of bibble-babble.

    Have you ever had a mouse in your throat taking photogrphs? Let us know by sending an email to bumperpodcast@nattybumpercar.com – and then – we will bond.

    Best pals!

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    About This Episode

    In this episode, Natty Bumpercar nervously prepares for an upcoming medical procedure. Broadcasting on a Monday instead of the usual schedule, Natty explains he's heading to the hospital the next day for an endoscopy at 5:45 AM. With characteristic humor, he describes the procedure as having a mouse with a camera walk down his throat to take pictures. Despite some anxiety about the early morning appointment and uncertainty about what to expect, Natty maintains his comedic perspective throughout, joking about hospital gowns, Jello, and waking up before the rooster crows.

    Memorable Quotes

    “From what I understand they're going to give a camera to a mouse and tie a string to his tail and let him just kind of walk down my throat and take some pictures.”

    — Natty Bumpercar

    “I have to be there in my own physical form at 5:45 in the morning. That's stunningly early. The cockadoodle do crows at like 6:15.”

    — Natty Bumpercar

    “Mouse in throat with camera, oh okay, deep breaths everybody, deep breaths because I'm gonna need them.”

    — Natty Bumpercar

    Topics: #medicalprocedure #hospital #endoscopy #health #anxiety #humor #earlymorning

    Featuring: Natty Bumpercar

    Full Transcript

    Natty Bumpercar: hey bumper podcast it's me natty bumper car and why am i talking to you today it's a monday i know that you know that because why because it's monday but i'm i'm here's why i'm talking to you tomorrow there's there's a there's nervous excitement it's not excitement is there's nervous energy in the uh in headquarters today uh because tomorrow uh yours truly natty bumper car is going to go dun dun dun into the hospital why well it's not too exciting probably it's um i'm going in to uh to have a uh i think i believe the way they're going to do this there's going to be a camera shoved down my throat uh so i from what i understand they're going to give a camera to a mouse and tie a string to his tail and let him just kind of you know just walk down my throat and take some pictures and uh then come back up and i assume that he will go to the mouse dark room where he will uh uh develop the pictures and then uh you know we'll have a maybe we'll put together a picture book i don't know what happens uh it's called an endoscopy which i've had a hard time not referring to as an endoscopy because just the way you look at the word it looks a lot more like oh am i excited about it no no i'm not am i nervous about it's weird i have i have a weird uh not really trepidatious just kind of just like oh i have to go to the hospital and get this i have to be there in my own physical form at 5 45 in the morning that's stunningly early that's that's so like from what i understand the cockadoodle do he crows at like 6 15 so i'm going to be up and at some place before the rooster even like is like unless i poke him before i leave and i'm like hey wake everybody else up because if i'm up i think i would like everyone else up as well just because i don't want to get lonely there's a little cough for you so i'm assuming that uh i'm going to give you some sort of an update on this uh later in the week maybe tomorrow i don't know if i'll be able to talk i don't know i don't know what's going on so i'm assuming that i'm going to give you some sort of an update on this uh later in the week going to happen that's the crazy thing when you stick a mouse down your throat with a camera i don't know what the results are will i be eating jello i mean is that too bad i don't know will i have to wear like a hospital garb where people look at my tush and be like hey bumpica that's quite a tush you got there i don't you know i don't hope that those things happen but maybe that'll add a little bit of levity to the situation and not that it needs it it's not a dire situation mouse in throat with camera oh okay deep breaths everybody deep breaths because i'm gonna need them keep your fingers crossed endoscopy