Tag: work-life balance

Bumperpodcast #436 – Season 3 – Problem

Step into the whimsical world of Coffee-Can Alley with the Bumperpodcast, your go-to destination for uproarious improvised comedy. In this episode, Natty Bumpercar does some lamenting. A whole lot of lamenting.

You should send us an email to bumperpodcast@nattybumpercar.com. We’re here and we’re listening!

Go like our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/TheBumperpodcast/)!! Also, The Bumperpodcast can now be found on the https://non-productive.com/ network. Yay!!!! Also, also, we have a Patreon page now!!! https://www.patreon.com/nattybumpercar

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About This Episode

In this introspective episode of the Bumperpodcast, host Natty Bumpercar opens up about his recent absence from recording. He candidly discusses his struggle with prioritizing creative work when life gets overwhelming, describing his tendency to take on multiple projects while pushing aside the things he truly loves—like making the podcast. Natty introduces his "rock tumbler" theory of creativity, explaining how he mentally processes ideas while juggling responsibilities. He reflects on the challenge of seeking validation, doing things for others versus himself, and finding happiness in chaotic times. Despite feeling overwhelmed, Natty reaffirms his love for the show and his commitment to returning, ending on an optimistic note about eating tiny seedless oranges and declaring that the Bumperpodcast is back.

Memorable Quotes

“I like to push away the things that I care about that I really want to do and that are meaningful to me and uh slotting in some silly stuff that I know I can accomplish.”
— Natty Bumpercar

“The joy at finishing the thing is nowhere near the depths of uh of depression and annoyance in myself at not doing the thing that I really want to be doing.”
— Natty Bumpercar

“I miss doing the podcast and and i don't know where everybody is right now i hope they didn't give up on me.”
— Natty Bumpercar

Topics: #creativity #mentalhealth #procrastination #work-lifebalance #self-reflection #podcasthiatus #creativeprocess #happiness

Featuring: Natty Bumpercar, Producer, Robot

Full Transcript

Natty Bumpercar: so i'm not saying that like i have a problem or anything necessarily but i will say that something weird is going on where i haven't had the will or i will i was going to say the desire but i've really had the desire i just haven't had the will to come and record i don't know what's going on like every day i'm like i really want to go in and make a new bumper podcast i miss doing the bumper podcast and then invariably inevitably indubitably something else would come up and say hey i'm a bigger priority right now you gotta take care of me or else everything's fall apart and i don't know necessarily if that's the case or if my brain is just so overwhelmed by this this cacophony of other priorities in life and responsibilities that for some reason it uh it just kind of swept the podcast into the corner i don't like that because you i think i've told you before i love making the bumper podcast it's my it's one of my favorite things to do it's high on the list of favorite things to do like like very high i don't know what else is on the list but i know that this is very high i don't feel like i know i've been overwhelmed and i feel like i've been a little bit down maybe a little bit depressed um just with life you know sometimes you you just it gets to be a bit too much and um i i don't like to admit it but but sometimes normally okay well normally what i like to do when life gets to be too much and i get to be too stressed is i just kind of keep pushing forward and adding more to my plate because that's a great idea right it's like hey i'm about to fall to pieces why don't i take on six more projects oh those have deadlines oh great and they're all oh great like so i should just never sleep again perfect oh wait i'm also gonna be doing a lot of shows and you know just like thing on top of thing on top of thing um which even by themselves feel like they're kind of a a large undertaking and you know i'm not like well that large undertaking is going to be enough for me for right now no no i'm like let's spin the die and see how many other things that i can take on and i was i was talking to somebody about it and they said well you you must enjoy that and i was like why they're like well you always enjoy that and i was like why you're always seem to do it you always seem to be really busy you always seem to be doing a lot of stuff and i said yeah i don't know if i enjoy it because i think what i'm doing and uh you can call me out on this if you want to but i like to push away the things that i care about that i really want to do and that are meaningful to me and uh slotting in some silly stuff that i know i can accomplish um and i know i can kind of you know feel great because i finished something and then the stuff that i really want to do is still sitting over there uh like hey what about me i'm like oh yeah yeah okay you're next and i start making my way over to that thing i want to do and i'm like oh you know what i gotta do i gotta do this other thing make that appointment go to this thing do that thing and for the most part I'm pretty on top of that stuff but just just because I'm moderately organized doesn't mean that I'm getting done the stuff that I want to get done and it's it becomes a really annoying loop because what happens is I push off the thing that I want to do for instance making a podcast and then even though I feel good that maybe I finished this other thing I feel bad and I feel guilt that I didn't do the podcast or whatever it is and so and it doesn't even like even each other out right the uh the joy at finishing the thing is nowhere near the depths of uh of depression and annoyance in myself at not doing the thing that I really want to be doing and um so like even though I'm getting stuff done I'm I'm coming in at a feel-good negative is what I'm going to call it um the the bank has been depleted of good feelings and we've actually we're we're in debt from feeling good wise um so it's weird I need to stop doing that um and every so often what I like to do because I used to really beat myself up about this like I would and because I've done this forever is I would have the thing I want to do but then I do other stuff but I would have the thing that I want to do in my mind kind of rolling around and I always try to make it like a uh a rock tumbler if that makes sense where the things I really want to do I put them in the rock tumbler of my brain and even though I you know I'm not looking at the rocks because they're in the rock tumbler but they're they're just spinning and rolling and going and doing their thing and becoming like you know pretty little rocks and the hope is that when I finally get to do those things I'm going to be able to do them that it's weird because sometimes I will just knock out five or six things and then then whoa I feel amazing I feel like look at me look at natty bumper car and people are like how did you do where'd all this stuff come from and I was like it came from my rock tumbler and they're like I don't know what that means and I don't know if I want to know what that means and I'm like I gotcha so I just have to kind of accept that things are in my rock tumbler and try not to force them because when I force stuff out it never turns out the way I really want it to and it feels like even though if it's done and it doesn't turn out the way I want it to it feels underwhelming and that's kind of pointless so it's a real juggling act for me mentally to have stuff I want to do and I want to do it and I want to do it and I want to do it and I want to do have stuff I have to do get stuff done get the stuff done I want to and not drive myself bananas doing all that so you know and I I'm not complaining I said I think there's a lot of life going on there is but everybody's got a lot of life going on right but sometimes I have stuff in life that like I don't know I would like to be better and I put a lot of energy and effort and emotion and time into trying to make things better uh for other people um and it doesn't always translate it doesn't always work out and so then you have the thing where it's like all right I've poured all this energy into helping this situation or trying to make this thing better or whatever it is and it didn't work out and it didn't work out and it didn't work out and it didn't work out and it didn't work out and it's hard to reconcile with myself that that that's okay you know like you gave it you gave it your best shot there bumper car you really tried you really went in there and and you gave it your all and that's all you can do it's not always going to work out in your favor it's not always going to be uh you know end up great but even if it doesn't end up great that's okay because you still went through it and so you still have to acknowledge the experience and I don't know a lot of times it feels like I'm doing smoke and mirrors with my brain where I'm like you you got through it you made it that was a good experience you learned from it next time's gonna be better but you don't I don't know that next time could be worse you know like but I do like to try to come at things with a little bit of a silver lining and hope that you know you're putting all this effort in or trying to do all these things and what are you doing them for are you doing them for yourself are you doing them for other people you know and then why would you do it for other people like are you trying to gain their acceptance or their love or you know their appreciation and you know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't and there's zero you know percent you know positive chance that that's gonna happen because they're their own people and they're going through all these other things by themselves so you can't look to other people to make yourself feel good that's you know to get validated by other people that's that's hard so you just gotta like do things for the sake of doing things that make you happy right and i don't know i'm just mostly i'm just saying i miss doing the podcast and and i don't know where everybody is right now i hope they didn't give up on me and um hopefully you know the next episode won't just be me uh bibbling and babbling as it were about not doing stuff and doing stuff and you know being happy and satisfied i i certainly don't know the answer to being happy anymore feels like the world's on its ear and so yeah i kind of you have to live life and look for all the positives and look for all the happy things because if you don't oh boy it weighs you down right oh i think i need to go eat i don't know what i want to eat maybe like oh you know what i want to eat we have some of those little oranges in the house those tiny little oranges that don't have seeds that are delicious and you can eat like five in a sitting i think maybe it's time for me to go and peel an orange or two and then i'll have energy we don't have vitamins and i'll be ready to hit the ground running and take the world by storm because can i tell you what the bumper podcast is back

Producer: the bumper podcast is an oftentimes hilarious weekly romp with natty bumper car and some of his pals it is family friendly clean and ridiculous thanks a bundle for listening if you love our show and you'd like to help support the podcast check out our patreon page at https colon forward slash forward slash www.patreon.com forward slash natty bumper car also pretty please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts share it with everyone everywhere post about it on all of the social medias or leave a rating and review the bumper podcast is produced at headquarters in coffee can alley it's recorded mixed and produced by producer the bumper podcast features contributions from aloicious j pig rufus t rufus doodle poodle robot trunks and a gag all of other silly rascals our head talker is probably natty bumper car we also have an absurd newsletter check it out and subscribe at natty bumper car.com slash subscribe also you can follow me on instagram and twitter at natty bumper car hugs and hearts see you soon you

Robot: this has been a non-productive media presentation executive producer frank hablawi this program and many others like it on the non-productive network is distributed under a creative commons attribution non-commercial no derivatives license please share it but ask before trying to change it or sell it for more information visit non-productive.com

January 19, 2024
Bumperpodcast #385 – Car talk

Natty is stuck in a car – hiding from probably nothing at all. It’s a nutty time in a car. The Bumperpodcast is an oftentimes hilarious weekly romp around Headquarters, in Coffee-Can Alley, with Natty Bumpercar and his entire gaggle of pals! You should send us an email to bumperpodcast@nattybumpercar.com. We’re here and we’re listening! Go like our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/TheBumperpodcast/)!! Also, The Bumperpodcast can now be found on the https://non-productive.com/ network. Yay!!!!

About This Episode

In episode 385 of Bumperpodcast, Natty Bumpercar records from his car while on the run from headquarters, lamenting his lack of proper podcasting equipment. He shares tales of exhausting daily drives to his child's new school, performing live outdoor comedy shows during the pandemic (including an awkward handshake encounter), and the chaos of multiple car and tractor breakdowns. Natty discusses the booming success of Yum-Yah sales, including a massive 35-unit catering order, and reflects on maintaining a positive attitude despite life's mounting challenges. The episode showcases Natty's characteristic humor while dealing with the absurdities of pandemic life and family responsibilities.

Memorable Quotes

“I have things to do I have naps to take by and look at and wish that I could go into them. I have snacks to scout and terrible fast food options to think about.”
— Natty Bumpercar

“Why are you touching me? Why are you grabbing my head right now? Who shakes hands? Who does that anymore? There should be no handshaking.”
— Natty Bumpercar

“I want to have a strict lack of doom in my diet, in my daily diet. I want to look for silver clouds… or silver linings in the clouds? I'm not sure.”
— Natty Bumpercar

Topics: #pandemiclife #parenting #comedyshows #cartroubles #yum-yah #positiveattitude #work-lifebalance

Featuring: Natty Bumpercar, Producer

Full Transcript

Natty Bumpercar: okay so here's the deal i'm sitting in my car because this is what i do now i'm on the run i'm on the lam i'm i'm a i'm a real scalawag i'm a real ne'er-do-well and so i had to i had to get out had to escape headquarters and and now i just sit i hang out in my car all the time and the problem with that is i don't have my podcasting studio but the bumper podcast studio the lab is out of my reach i can't get to it and so that means i don't have my proper microphones i don't have my my proper headphones and my i don't have my swivels chair you just have this car seat i mean not like a car seat like a baby car seat but like a car like i'm sitting in a car in a seat okay i mean it don't make no sense it's nutty going on here why am i in my car why am i on the run those are great questions bumper podcast kateers why have i not been recording much lately another great question you're like oh it's a quarantine you've got all the time in the world you should be recording every single day first off no one wants to hear me talk that much and secondly i don't really have that much time if i'm to be completely honest one of the bumper children is going to have to go to a new school he was accepted into a new school hooray problem being this new school is like 35 minutes from my house which means i have to get up in the morning and leave at 7 0 5 to get him to school on time and then they're trying to acclimate him to the school they're trying to get him used to the school and so they let him out at 11 45 and then they let him go and they tell him he has to go before the school starts and he has to be on time to drive 35 minutes down drive 35 minutes back that's an hour and 10 minutes and then turn around and drive all the way back down and then drive all the way back home that's two hours and 20 minutes of driving before noon i can't do that i have i have things to do i have naps to take by and look at and wish that I could go into them. I have snacks to scout and terrible fast food options to think about. Everything's gone really haywire is what I'm telling you. And so like right now, I can see on the little sound thing that little sound doodles are moving. So I know something's being recorded, but I don't even know how this sounds. Remember when life was so much easier a while ago, that guy, uh, Sal, I forgot his first Sal came in and he was going to take everything over and he was kind of scary. And we, he got rid of Rufus T. Rufus. That's a few episodes ago, probably. I don't even remember, but all these things definitely happen. And, and I was at the time I was like, Whoa, this is really hard. This is really difficult. How am I going to continue to podcast? I had no idea. I had zero idea how difficult life was going to get. Now here I am. I missed you. And I wanted to catch up a few things. I've been doing some live comedy shows. What live? What are you thinking? It's a pandemic, a global pandemic. Well, these are, these are out outdoor shows. So we're not indoors. Uh, I bring my own microphone. I have my mask and everything. And so I feel pretty okay and safe about it. It is scary though. For instance, the other day, this is very large man. He was giant. And after the show, uh, and I had had a little bit of a back and forth fun time, jokey with him during the show. And he came up to me and I was just like, Oh no. And he grabs my hand and starts shaking it. Hey, that was really funny. You did very good. Ha ha ha. And I was just like, my whole stomach went into a knot because I was like, why are you touching me? Why are you grabbing my head right now? And then I just, I had, uh, I carry a, a squeezy thing of hand sanitizer in my pocket. And I was just like, ah, just putting it all over my hands because like, you don't, who shakes hands? Who does that anymore? There will, there should be no handshaking. How do we seal the deal? I don't know. Do you remember bumper podcast? When it was an accepted thing, I think probably in the old west, when people are making a big deal, I'm going to buy your farm and I'm going to buy all of your man. Well, that's never happened before. You see, this is what I'm talking about. I'm sitting in a car. There's phones ringing. That was like six phones. And why? Because I put my phone on my phone and it was like, would you like to make phone calls on your phone? And I was just like, sure. I do make phone calls on my phone. Well, how about your computer? And I was like, okay. And how about your watch? And I was like, this seems very excessive. How about your tablet? And I was like, holy cow, that's a lot of places to get phone calls. But sure. I said, sure. And then now anytime somebody calls me, there's like 18 things ringing and they all ring with different, like, it's like, you heard it. It was like, and then and then my vibrate, vibrate. There's just too much going on. Anyway, I apologize for that. This time is just for you and me, bumper podcast. I don't need people horning in on our time. And here's, you might, well, why did, what was the call? It seemed very important. You had to go to take it. Yes. One of our, so one of our cars, uh, went to the shop last week, the car that I'm in right now. And then it came back and they had fixed one thing, but not fixed the other thing. And there were all these lights on the dash and they were like, Oh, that's no good. You got to bring it right back in right now. And I was just like, okay. And I was going to take it over last night. And so my family was going to follow me in our other car and I was going to drop this car for the shop. Now, but, uh, my, uh, the other little car we have, we had to pop the hood cause I had to look at something. And then when I went to close the hood, the hood wouldn't close. And it was just like, what's happening? Why, why world? And, uh, you know, so we ended up dropping at the other car off because the hood wouldn't close and we didn't want it to fly open on the road and, you know, turn into some crazy comical shenanigans. Cause you know, that the road is not a place for crazy comical shenanigans or the road is a place to keep your hands on the wheel, your eyes straight focused and, uh, paying attention to the road around you anyway. So now he was calling me to let me know that our little rabbit, his little hood is, is better. Oh boy. Isn't it fun when, not just when things break, but when multiple things break. So the big car kind of sick, the little car, a little bit sick. Then I was, I was, I was working on our tractor. We have a tractor and it's, it's not doing well either is, is the, is the moon and retrograde. I don't even know what that means. I don't really do that stuff anyway. Oh, although I did see someone that I know on Facebook offering to do, I don't know what it's called. It's like a reading or a card reading or a Tara Tara, maybe it's a tarot card reading. And I was just like, I don't really believe in that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I am sitting in a car doing absolutely nothing for hours a day. Why not? So I'll let you know if that happens and how it goes. I can't wait. They're going to be like, how are you feeling? And then I, here's my theory. They're going to, you know, like you can read my Facebook posts and they're going to be like, let's see. The card says that your child is being difficult. And I'm like, how did you know that, ah, the card says that the dog pushed you out of bed the other night. Do this like, oh my goodness. How do you know all this about me? Oh, you read my Facebook posts. Okay, now this makes a lot more sense. So here I am. I've been doing comedy shows. People are grabbing my hands. Yum-Yah selling off the shelves. We just made a new batch last night. We had an order for, what's it called? When people, like a catering order. They were having an event and they bought, they ended up buying 35 Yum-Yahs. That's more than I've had, that's so much. And it was just like I was making it. It was like, time to make the Yum-Yah, time to make, and I was just like, wow, this is, taking this is, this is less fun. This feels like an actual job all of a sudden. But that's okay because we're bringing the joy of Yum-Yah to the world. Ah. So anyway, I'm trying to think of what else is going on. Oh, I know something big that's going on. But I can't talk about it yet. Because every time I talk about something big happening, it doesn't happen. So I'm going to settle on that one. That one's on the shelf, okay? Remember to tell me to go to the shelf and get this in about a month. You're not going to remember because I'm not going to remember. And that's fine too. What else? We have a few other shows coming up, outdoors, obviously. But then it's going to get cold. And what do we do when it gets cold? We can't keep being in a tent. It's going to be too chilly. And people don't like to laugh when they're chilly. They like to be at home, snuggled up in their blankies and whatnot. That's what I want to do. We haven't turned the heat on in our house because the heat, the temperature has become so confusing. And sometimes it's frosty, chilly, yucky, cold, rainy, foggy. Did I already say foggy? Misty. You know, very October. Like, oh, the mists are rolling in off the hill. The hills of the quagmire or whatever. But then like right now, it's full on hot. I'm sitting in this car sweating. And so that's the other thing. Remember, when I was growing up, car seats, you would just pull a lever and you could like lay the seat back and relax or rest or whatever. This is like one of those electronic seats. So it's like, it's like all these buttons that you have to push just to get the seat to move back. And it takes so long. Which I feel like I'm complaining about. But I think I'm just complaining about everything because I don't know what to do anymore. Might as well complain. I had a doctor the other day say, they were like, how do you keep such a upbeat spirit, such a happy attitude? And I was like, I don't. It's all a facade. It's all a ruse. No, I'm just, I, the thing is, man, you got to just accept that you've got a good life. Right? And you've got food in your belly, I hope, and a roof over your head, I hope. And hopefully there's love in your house. And, you know, and, and, and maybe if things aren't all going super duper spectacularly well, what I like to do is try to find a couple of things that are going pretty well and focus on those. Because if I just focus on all the terrible stuff, I'm not, I'm doomed. And I don't want to be doomed. I want to be undoomed. Right?

Unknown: Right.

Natty Bumpercar: Less doomed. What's the opposite of doomed? Saved? No. If you're doomed, then you're doomed. And if you're, hmm, yeah, undoomed. I want to be undoomed. I want to have a strict lack of doom in my diet, in my daily diet. I want to look for silver clouds. Is it silver clouds or silver linings? Or silver linings in the clouds? I'm not sure. But I know that's what I want to look for. And I thank you so much. Thank you so much for listening and I miss you desperately and I miss my studio and I can't wait for the world to be better.

Producer: This has been a non-productive media presentation. Executive Producer Frank Hablawi. This program and many others like it on the non-productive network is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License. Please share it, but ask before trying to change it or sell it. For more information, visit non-productive.com.

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October 15, 2020
Bumperpodcast #322 – Days Off

Here it is – the new podcast that everyone is talking about. The Bumperpodcast is an oftentimes hilarious weekly romp around Headquarters, in Coffee-Can Alley, with Natty Bumpercar and his entire gaggle of pals!

Natty gets a couple of days off – and decides to try to make the most of it. There is a doughnut involved!

You should send us an email to bumperpodcast@nattybumpercar.com, or to call in and leave a message – 646.847.7976. We’re here and we’re listening!

Go like our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/TheBumperpodcast/)!!

About This Episode

In this episode of Bumperpodcast, host Natty Bumpercar shares stories from his eventful days off that turned into work-from-home days. Between work calls, Natty tackled DIY projects including installing a tow hitch on his Tiguan and re-screening his back door, indulged in delicious treats from his favorite donut shop (featuring a tres leches donut), and enjoyed an Indian buffet. The episode takes a poignant turn when Natty recounts the passing of Glassy the Pleco fish and his son's surprisingly casual reaction, leading to humorous reflections on mortality. After all his productivity, Natty ultimately spent his second day off simply watching TV, embracing the importance of rest and not running out of 'you.'

Memorable Quotes

“If you do too much you run out of you and if you run out of you you what have you got then you've got nothing you've got the zip you've got bupkis.”

— Natty Bumpercar

“I was like laying on a little my little blanket on the ground trying to do this stuff above my head because it wasn't on like a lift rack so it was way up high.”

— Natty Bumpercar

“Buddy, I'm sorry, Glassy didn't make it. Glassy moved on to a different place. And he just shrugged his shoulders.”

— Natty Bumpercar

Topics: #diyprojects #food #work-lifebalance #pets #mortality #homeimprovement #self-care #parenting

Featuring: Natty Bumpercar

Full Transcript

Natty Bumpercar: oh hi bumper podcast it's me natty bumper car and this is my favorite time of the day and i'm hoping that it at least ranks somewhere among your top 10 favorite parts of your day i'm you know i just want to crack the top 10 i'm not saying this is your favorite part of the day because that's way too much pressure for you and it's so much pressure for me i can't just please please please top 10 that's all i'm asking for but for me number one this is number one right up there at the top boom bumper podcast here i am there you are you're looking very nice today did you know that i was gonna be here you look like did you take a shower good for you i haven't i haven't taken a shower i took a couple of days off of work and um i've been i've had these clothes on now for this is my third day so i do need to change because i am going to the office today uh but here's the thing when sometimes when you like I have a job and I took days off and that was supposed to be exciting but you know what I ended up doing on those days off working that's right working so I in essence actually I just worked from home so days off turn into work from home days which is pretty fun except not so much uh but what I would do so I had a lot of end up having meetings I was trying to get some stuff fixed and so I was on a lot of calls um and actually doing some work myself as well um but what I would do is in between each of these things I was I had this huge list of projects and I was like I'm gonna get so much stuff done in these two days and and I had my list and I had checked it twice to find out which of my projects was naughty and which one of my projects was nice uh none of them were nice they were just annoying projects but I would go through my list and I would try to squeeze in a couple of things here and there so that uh you know I could get something done um the first day the first day started off really good my first day was there's a donut place near my house and it's my favorite donut place in the world on the planet and it's called Montclair Bread Montclair Bakery Montclair I think it's Montclair Bread and they have oh the donuts are so good I think I've talked about them before but I haven't talked about them I had a tres leches donut what does that mean three leches what does that mean three milks how does that work I don't know I know one is whipped cream so that's milk and then there's kind of like this sweetened condensed milk like bit to it so that's two milks the third milk I don't know I it's in there I mean it's not it's not dos leches cake no it's tres tres leches it's tres leches cake and you're gonna eat it and you're gonna love it and it's got it's got a cherry on top and it's just donut oh it's so good so that's how my day started right that was actually before I knew that I was gonna have to work for the day so and then after that I don't really remember what I did because I think I had so much sugar in my system that I passed out no I went to the tool store and I got some tool stuff so that I could do my tool project and then I came home and I did my first project my first was I put a a tow hitch it's called a tow hitch on the back of my Tiguan my little car and so I had to actually I watched the YouTube video like a hundred times for this because I was getting very much more nervous every single time I had to take a utility knife and cut into the bottom of my bumper there was a pre scored square rectangle there that like from the manufacturer from Volkswagen so I had to take a utility knife and cut into the bottom of my bumper there was a pre scored square rectangle there that like from the manufacturer from Volkswagen but i had to actually cut through it it was so scary i was afraid i was like i'm ruining my car i'm cutting into my car i'm destroying my poor car but i got that off and then i put the the tow hitch in and there were four bolts and i was like laying on a little my little blanket on the ground trying to do this stuff above my head because it wasn't on like a uh like in the video they're like they had the car in a lift rack so it was way up high so that it was easier for them to do these things but me uh i i didn't get i didn't get that i was on the ground so that's fine i got it done got it all in there and um i was very excited it's very cool it actually looks nice and it looks right and it looks like it's like i didn't do it then i found out i had to do some work so i got on a call after that call i what did i do oh i did i went to uh i went on my second project and my second project was i had to re-screen the back door my back storm door and so that was pretty cool because like i had to watch another video and learn how to do more like doodad thing and um there's like this thing called a spline which is like a cord that goes around this little channel on the screen door she had to pull the spline out and then pull the old um screen out and then clean it all up really nice and put the new screen on and then uh get it cut into the corners and put the new spline in with a spline roller it's called i had to do all this stuff and uh my mother-in-law she was like why not just take that screen to the screen place and have them re-screen it and i was like because i'm learning a cool new skill and instead of it being you know like a 50 project for them to do it or maybe more i don't know it's and now it's a 15 project so i feel like i won in that one at least and then i had i'm trying to think what else i had um i did some other projects i don't know i oh oh oh oh after i did the second project i went and i had i went to an indian buffet and it was so good and i ate so much food so part of my day off was like i'm gonna eat some good food so i had my donut and then i had indian buffet indian buffet, all you can eat it was ten dollars and fifty bucks it's 20 bucks only, 10 dollars and 15 cents $10.50, $10.47 if I'm to be exact, and you know I am. I had two plates of food. And so what I did, the first plate, I went around and I had little tastes of everything. Little tastes, little tastes, little tastes, little tastes, little tastes, right? Oh God, it was so good. And my mouth was actually watering from it. And they gave me a little basket of naan, which is this kind of bread. And then on my second plate back, what you do is like, you're like, all right, I sampled everything. Now I'm going all in on the things that I really like. But there was some chicken, well, there's some tikka masala, which I put on some biryani rice. And then I had some tandoori chicken. Oh, it was so much chicken goodness. And then some, what else was it? I don't know, man. There was so much, there was just a lot of food. Let me just be clear with you that a lot of food was eaten. And then I went back and I had like this tiny little bowl of this rice stuff that was vanilla-y and yummy and just amazing. And then I came home and then I did another project. My brain is not telling me what that other project was, so it must not have been that important. And then I got everything kind of, the house kind of cleaned, did a little bit more work. And then that night, after I got everything good, I went and I saw the Avengers movie, which was a big movie, a big crazy movie, a big what, what in the what, what, what, what, what, what, what in the what movie. So that was my night. And then I came home that night, and guys, it was a little bit sad. Glassy, our Pleco, our Fish, the fish who keeps everything clean, he moved on to another fish world. He said, I can't take this anymore. I'm not gonna be in here with these snails and this shrimp. And then he died. And the sad thing is, is I feel like I might be responsible, because he was a big hardy fish he was like i was like this fish is good look at this fish i think that the snails might have eaten whatever he used to be eaten is my is my thinking so and which makes me feel like a horrible fish parent um but we you know what you move on you move on you move on and so when i had to get him out of the tank at the little fish net and everything and it was like 12 30 at night and so it was late i was kind of tired and uh one of the kids has this little robot dog this little very frustrating robot dog and i guess he was on the kitchen table which is where the fish tank is and my motion of getting the fish out was enough that uh and it's you know it's quiet in the house because it's so late i'm focused on getting the fish out i don't want to disturb any of the other fish and i'm i'm contemplating uh death because of the fish and then this is this robot dog just goes and i like flung the fish the fish just ah i threw everything because i didn't i thought i was being attacked by an adorable robot dog uh thankfully though i was not being attacked so but it took the kids uh two days two days to figure out that the biggest most giant fish uh was no longer in the tank and by the kids i mean only one of them he was going around he was doing like an inventory he was like oh there's snail there's that fish the shrimp is the shrimp gone I was like no the shrimp is right here he's not moving it's like no his little his little antenna are moving he's fine okay there's another fit wait dad where's that other fit where's the where's where's glassy and I had to break it down I was like buddy buddy buddy buddy I'm sorry glassy didn't glassy didn't make it you know glassy moved on to a different place glassy's no longer with us and he I was that I kind of I was just like does that make you sad does he was just like man he shrugged his shoulders so all right you know our dog is 15 at this point at some point he's probably gonna go to a farm or dog college or wherever dogs go and I'm wondering if it's gonna be a similar reaction and then I'm wondering if it's gonna be a similar reaction and then I'm wondering after that at some point in life I might die I don't know I hope not but as I from my understanding it it's it's it's an inevitability and is it gonna be the same reaction oh where's dad he's I see Ollie is he mommy I see the snails I see the oh he's did he die and shrug his shoulders yeah oh it's not a natural reaction it's a weird reaction anyway ah what are you gonna do so then you know reaction anyway ah what are you gonna do so then you know gonna do so then you know really hot here yesterday it was it was tanVI tanVI 92 degrees which is warm for it's spring we kind of skipped spring went straight to summer and i uh i got the list out and i started looking at it and i was just like i uh i think today i'm going to uh watch tv and that's what i did i just watched i watched tv from the beginning of the day until the end of the day i got nothing done but i felt fine about it i felt great about it and and because you know what i do too much and if you do too much you run out of you and if you run out of you you what have you got then you've got nothing you've got the zip you've got you've got but but bupkis what's bupkis what's a bupkis i don't know but i know what you are you're the bumper podcast kateers and i know what i am i am natty bumper car and i know what this is this is a bumper podcast and again this is my favorite time of the day i hope it's your favorite time of the day you go and make all that magic happen why don't you make

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May 4, 2018
Bumperpodcast #289

Bumpercar talks about shows and opportunities and stretching thin and stuff on this week’s episode …

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

The Bumperpodcast 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 episode 289 of Bumperpodcast, Natty Bumpercar returns solo after the popular Ollie episode to share tales from a wild comedy weekend. After accidentally putting flour in his tea instead of sugar, Natty recounts performing three shows in three days, including hosting at Pennsylvania's oldest operating movie theater and bombing at a show with only three people in the audience. He celebrates finally connecting jokes that have been in his act for years and discusses exciting opportunities to develop kids' shows, though he's struggling to learn guitar for the performances. Natty hilariously wrestles with balancing family life, show business, and whether his multiple creative pursuits are spreading him too thin.

Memorable Quotes

“Let me be the tester, let me take the heat, let me take the bad stuff and you stay away from it. You don't need that flour tea at all.”

— Natty Bumpercar

“There were three people in the crowd and I'm like, is it a good dream? And I'm like, I don't know. Yes it is a good dream, you know why? Because I get to talk and make people giggle giggle giggle.”

— Natty Bumpercar

“I've been trying to figure out how to play guitar for decades. I can't even say the word 'guitar' – that's how bad off I am.”

— Natty Bumpercar

Topics: #comedy #stand-upcomedy #performing #kidsshows #guitar #work-lifebalance #parenting #theater

Featuring: Natty Bumpercar

Full Transcript

Natty Bumpercar: good morning bumper podcast that was so fresh and happy and energetic good morning it might not be morning where you're listening i don't know hey good day to you bump good evening to you this is hard this is harder than i expected it was gonna be good good good good times do you bumper podcast it's me natty bumper car and it's the bumper podcast and hooray for that unfortunately there's no ollie here today because everybody loved the ollie episode episode they're like oh give me more of that ollie give me why isn't he there every week i wish it was the ollie podcast well it's not it's still the bumper podcast and i'm natty bumper car and today today i was making some tea some lovely tea and uh the containers were switched and i accidentally put two scoops of uh of flour uh all-purpose flour ap flour they call it into my tea two scoops and uh instead of sugar and no no no no nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope not good i mean i didn't taste it i mean i knew immediately like the second i was like and i looked at i was just like like for a tenth of a second in my brain i was just like maybe it's powdered sugar maybe i've maybe i've invented some sort of powdered sugar tea thing because it's weird powdered sugar to me does taste different than sugar sugar how can sugar taste different it's all the same thing how can potato chips taste so different from mashed potatoes i don't understand oh what's that potatoes on grass oh that tastes totally different than my french fries my friend what about those pierogies or those latkes huh potato pancakes oh well those taste totally different than my uh my uh hischbruns i couldn't think of any other potatoes no but so uh yeah it it it just tastes like flour tea it's just it's not it's bad don't do it don't make that mistake let me make bumper podcast here's the thing i feel like we've been friends for a long time and i feel like i share and i feel like you know you listen which i appreciate and uh here's the thing let me be the uh the tester let me you know take take the heat let me take you know the bad stuff and you you stay away from it you don't need that you don't need it at all just let me you know do it and then complain about it and then it's a shared experience and you can go and you can talk to your friends and you can be like bro i totally blur blur blur like that um and then you don't have to worry about it so good good made your life easier that's what i'm doing that's what we're here for to do for do that's what we're here for do we're here to make your life for easier i um i had such a great weekend man i had man i did uh i had i had show friday and uh it was at a hotel like in a room and like 70 people it was just it was good it was fun and then the very next night um i opened i was uh but i was hosting at a theater in pennsylvania and it was like this old theater uh someone told me it was the oldest operating movie theater in the country it's called the new town theater and there's like i don't know the seats 320 and i think we had around 270 to 300 something like that i don't really know um and i mean it was it was great i don't get to do a lot of theaters and so it's a totally different experience like you go on stage and you're i don't know 10 12 whatever feet away from the crowd and you're elevated and the lighting is different and the sound is different and sometimes it's it's hard to hear them uh the the laughs come in if there are any which unfortunately yes fortunately uh there were there were laughs thanks for laughing uh and then um you know it was just it was a great night the rough part it was about an hour and a half away uh so to get there was i was just like oh tired and then you got to go up and do a show and then you got to drive home and it's late like i pretty i think i got home at around two and then uh i think i slept until like six so that's a big four hours of sleep for you and the night before uh i think the kids had gotten up at like 5 20 or something like that why uh and then sunday night had another show so it's three in a row boom bam boom and uh sunday night no it didn't work out so well there were three people in the crowd three people there was talks of uh the show but that's hard to do because all the comedians have come out you know and those three people are there um and so we kind of just turned into a loosey-goosey open mic-y type thing and had fun with it and then two people showed up like halfway through the show and watched um but you know you have good things you have bad things you know things happen it's it's all good fun it's all good times and you know everybody needs a stage time everybody looking at me needs the stage time so it's good to uh to get up there and bibble babble oh and this so uh at the uh the saturday show uh i had done a bit so so i was doing i was hosting so i was up front and then i was in between the comics and so and in between a lot of people got up to go use the restroom or whatever and so i had to um kind of stall for time a little bit to make sure they could all get back and sit down before the headliners start right makes sense so i did some stuff up front and then when i hit the middle i found connective tissue between what i was doing in the middle and the stuff that i had done up front so i could call back to it and i was so happy because i've been doing these jokes for a long time and it's just weird like for they just had never connected and then on this night it was like boom so then sunday uh i think i did i only did like four minutes because i wanted to get up and see if if it worked together and i wish i could i wish i could remember what it was uh but you know so i just quick ran through the setup and then uh the initial part and then went to the second secondary part and then did the little connection and i was like oh i'm so happy it works of course the three people in the crowd were like does it work though and i'm like i don't know they're like this is your dream and i'm like sure this is my dream they're like is it a good dream and i'm like i don't know yes it is a good dream you know why because i get to talk and i get to talk and i get to talk and i get to talk and i get to make people giggle i make them giggle i make them giggle giggle what i make them giggle like it i giggle giggle and the cool thing is lately i've had several people come to me and talk to me about doing kid shows hey maybe you want to do a kid show here hey do you want to do a kid show here and i've done a few kid shows and um in the past but they're talking about like hey it's going to be your show you're going to be the main guy you're going to be the headline or whatever which i don't know if there's a headliner in kids shows i'll take it sure i don't know if it is uh and and so what i gotta do now is develop specific material for a kid show because i i tried some of my normal stuff and it doesn't always work and so i've been trying to learn how to play the guitar i have my guitar and i've been pulling it out and trying to and it's hard i'm not i don't know why ever since college i've had guitars and i've tried to figure them out and i think it's not a figuring out thing it's just a matter of um actually working on it and i've been trying to figure out how to play the guitar and i've been working with it a lot and i've got like i think my fingers are too big or my guitar is too small like i've got it's it's kind of a tiny guitar i can't oh it's upstairs i was gonna tell you what it was and i love how it looks and it's so fun and cute but i think it might be too tiny for me and all the guitar lessons that i look at online the uh there's like a little circle thing that they're using as a uh visual point to a reference point and it's just mine's in a different place and i don't know what to do i don't know i feel like if i uh sat down with somebody who can play and they showed me things then maybe i could figure it out but it's not true i mean i've really for a long time decades been trying to figure out how to play good car good car i can't even say the word that's how bad off i am good car um but i want to so i want to have songs and i want to have visual stuff and like figure out little games because with kids you can't just tell jokes because they're going to be like nope sucker so i need to figure out how to play guitar and i've been trying to figure out how to play guitar now we're doing this now we're doing this and still have it be quick and moving and keep them engaged and here we go over here and now we're over here and now this thing is happening now that thing is happening oh now there's pig and everything oh and now we're singing a song um and i think it'll be great and i think it'll be great fun the only downside the thing that freaks me out is the kid shows are going to be during the day during the day on weekends um i'm pretty busy on weekends you know why because i've got kids okay i've got two kids i don't know if we have them before if i've ever mentioned them but i do i have kids and um so that'll be a bit more juggling um but then i was thinking about it and i was like oh well maybe you know they're getting a little bit older maybe they can come and help out or something and i can quote them a couple bucks but then i was just like oh i don't want them to get involved with show business ah so it's kind of a up and down debate so what i've decided to do Come back after a 10-year hiatus. The cartoonist, animator, that guy's going to be here. The writer, that one's going to be there as well. And, you know, probably the one who goes to the gym so he can look fit, so he can look good. You know what I'm saying? And then there's the one who cooks a lot, like a good cook, cooker. And there's the baker. There's a lot of bumper cars is what I'm saying. That's a lot of stuff. I don't even know if that's a lot. I mean, it feels like a lot of stuff. Is that too much stuff? Am I stretching myself too thin? Is that the whole point of everything?

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March 10, 2017
Bumperpodcast #187: The balance

Natty Bumpercar has a box next to him that is making a lot of noise – but – mostly, he talks about the balance of organization and creativity in his life.

How is your life? Let us know by sending an email to bumperpodcast@nattybumpercar.com.

About This Episode

In episode 187 of Bumperpodcast, host Natty Bumpercar records from a noisy basement with a dehumidifier running, embracing the chaotic audio quality rather than doing test recordings. He explains his recent absence from podcasting, detailing the challenges of moving headquarters and dealing with the disorganization that followed. Natty shares his struggle to balance getting his life organized with his creative need to make content, comparing the process to spinning expensive plates overhead. He reflects on how he goes "crazy" and "verklempt" when he doesn't create regularly, and discusses the delicate equilibrium between life organization and his threshold for creative pain. The episode showcases Natty's signature rambling, improvisational style as he contemplates emotions, friendship, and the word "please."

Memorable Quotes

“A lot of podcasters would do something for you like run a test listen back see how it looks but where's the adventure in that where's the fun.”

— Natty Bumpercar

“When I don't make things I go crazy I go bananas I get verklempt I get I start spitzing these are all words that I learned on the subway.”

— Natty Bumpercar

“It's all a bunch of plates that are spinning over my head and plates are expensive and they break when they fall.”

— Natty Bumpercar

Topics: #podcasting #creativity #moving #organization #work-lifebalance #improvisation #basementrecording

Featuring: Natty Bumpercar

Full Transcript

Natty Bumpercar: hey bumper podcast it's me natty bumper car how are you doing today i am in the basement and the uh there's a thing what is it the there's a dehumidifier yeah i was gonna say there's a box that makes noise that's next to me can you hear it it sounds like i'm in a wind tunnel at least to me i don't know how it's coming through in the audio feed a lot of podcasters would do something for you like i don't know run a test listen back see how it looks but where's the adventure in that where's the fun i'd rather make something go back listen to it after i've posted it and be annoyed that it doesn't sound the way i want it to we throw it to the wind and by it i mean adventure we throw adventure to the wind no we throw ourselves into the wind and let it the wind take us to the adventure that the wind will take us to wind adventure this month on windy channel you guys are gonna watch probably right i think you should it sounds like it's gonna be a great show especially if you love wind and adventure um so anyway there's a dehumidifier down here clearly something i need to figure out yet another hurdle that's coming in between you the bumper podcast kateers and me natty bumper car and this boat that we're living on right now the bumper podcast so people were asking me like people were annoyed they were like oh yeah we're glad you're back but you know why do you all you like every so often you just disappear and like this time it's like well i moved we moved headquarters and it was a big move and it was like it really just i don't deal with discombobulation and i don't deal with tumult very well like i need to uh i need to reorganize and reconfigure and and get stuff back together and to be honest like we're not back together there's the the i can't even my desk is in front of me my computer's on my lap uh the microphone is being held up by what is that like a coat hanger like it's we're not together yet we're trying to get together but we're not together um and but so what happened was basically like i was trying to get everything together as quick as i could and was failing miserably and um then finally there's like different levels like on the left hand side we'll say is the level to get everything ready so that i can then start making stuff again on the right hand side is my threshold for pain when i haven't made stuff that just grows and grows so when i don't make things i go crazy i go bananas i get verklempt i get i start spitzing these are all words that i learned on the subway and um so there's like i try to keep a balance between all right where is my life organization wise where's my life pain threshold haven't made stuff wise and i try to keep those as level as possible because i mean like if i start making too much stuff oh look all of a sudden life's getting better and better and better and better and better and better and better and better less less organized so it's all a balance it's all a bunch of plates that are spinning over my head and plates are expensive and they break when they fall and then when the plates fall you have to put them back together which just shoots the organization column all the way up to the sky and you know what happens then well i'm not making stuff that's what happens you know i hope that make sense to you it made sense to me a lot of things make sense to me though that don't make sense to a lot of other people for instance when i say there's a box next to me oh all right box how's it going i um want to know more about you though that look in your eyes tells me that tells me there's something there is it happiness is it sadness is it excitement is it sorrow is it sadness is it happiness is it sadness is it happiness is it sadness is it sadness is it is it please is it please that's not an emotion is it i don't know i'm gonna see how please i can act today please please listen to me please be my friend please oh please oh please does that work like if i walk around and today and i'm just like please listen to the nanny bumper car bumper podcast

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August 13, 2014