Guest: Lee (DIYer, Lighting Designer, Traveler, Language Learner)
[Transcription in process]
Phill
Wow. me and this guest to go back to before Napster, from working at the beach, to changing the brakes on our cars in the snow, to drinking on rooftops in Spain, to playing soccer tournament in Japan, to watch the vineyards in Germany. We probably should write a series of numbers on our adventures together in different parts of the globe. I would like to welcome a hero I ca;; by their first name, Lee.
Lee
Hey Phill,
Phill
What's going on, man.
Lee
Yeah, man, good. Thanks for the invitation. Glad to be here and speaking to everyone out there. And it's five in the morning here. I snuck out a bit. I have a child sleeping upstairs. And hopefully, we have not interrupted but
Phill
That's all good. It happens. It happens if your kid comes downstairs it's all good. All right, man. So yeah, like you know, as we spoke, you know, this podcast is mainly, you know, an opportunity for, you know, learners of English to listen to, you know, people just chatting in English. But like just friends talking, and also as a resource for teachers, if they want to use the podcast, for any kind of learning and stuff. So I really appreciate you doing this podcast, man. And and thanks for, you know, for the for taking a time out, man. I appreciate it.
Lee
Yeah, yeah, you're welcome. And for everyone, that's learning English out there. Good luck. It's difficult, isn't it? Because of the the grammar.
Phill
Yeah. Yeah. And it's tough, you know, something that, um, you know, a lot of languages don't have is the, the s that, that denotes plurals. like apples, you know, oranges. And, you know, if I remember if I remember correctly, they got people who spoke English as another language together in a room. And they were listening to like language features. So these people were have- had different first languages. And the first thing that they were able to, like, mediate and kind of omit was that s of like, the plural acid. If I'm correct, I could be wrong. So yeah, and you don't really need it. You know, like, because there's numbers like you can say to Apple, three apple. Or some apple, right, you know, it's, you don't really need the s but yeah, it's something that trips up a lot of people who are learning English.
Lee
Yeah. Or just the complete word change from like mouse to mice? Yeah. Yeah. Where's this come from?
Phill
Yeah, exactly. So yeah, there's a it's, you know, it's very interesting, isn't it? You know, even with like different meats, you know, poultry, chicken, beef, cow, you know,
Lee
The whole thing with that, isn't it is to separate the animals from what you're actually eating.
Phill
It could be Yeah, and that could be a function of it. Yeah, but I think they also come from different languages as well. But that's something I'd have to I have to read up on I haven't. That's my bed.
Lee
Well it's like, "Yeah, I'm going to eat beef." And then like, then the child says, "Oh, this is good." And then, "What is this?", "This? This is a cow." And then it's like, "Oh..."
Phill
Yeah, maybe? Yeah. Cuz I think and he kind of talked about that her episode. About the pork chop right?
Lee
Oh, yeah. "Wait, this is a pig." Because, yes- Was it the other day? I grilled fish. So like a whole fish. This is like, the first time I did this, and I put it on the table. And Ellie, my daughter, she was, "wait..." This is a fish and like, "Can I touch its mouse and stuff?" So we were like, "How it should play with your food", but I made fish talk. But like, she still ate it. And loved it and I was I was very happy about that.
Phill
Yeah, it's a trip, isn't it? Right, you know? Yeah, like, it's- Yeah, I'm sure like, she might even remember that for her whole life, right?
Lee
Yeah, but I really thought it was the moment that she was gonna be a vegetarian. I was like, "Dammit, this was a bit earlier than expected."
Phill
Yeah. What's funny too 'cause some vegetarians still eat fish.
Lee
Yeah, that's a pescatarians or something like this? Well, this is Christina, my wife is a pescatarian. So she eats fish.
Phill
Oh really?
Lee
Yeah, we eat sushi and stuff but uh, yeah, she won't eat the cow.
Phill
No cow for dinner. All right, cool, man. So yeah, man. Um, I guess I'm Once again, thanks for doing this. And, you know, as I mentioned in the intro, you know, we go back to before Napster and maybe people who were born. You know, after the Matrix came out. I mean people born after 1999 have no idea what Napster is. So yeah would you like to give a run through you remember when you when Napster first came out?
Lee
Yeah, I mean, what's the statue of limitations here? .
Phill
I'm not saying that we used it. We just knew that it existed.
Lee
Someone else was using my computer.
I think my, like the best memory I have from Napster was downloading the video for At the Drive In. One Armed Scissor. Were like they're driving around in a van. And like going in fast motion. Yeah, Napster was just basically was downloading, yeah, downloaded music, but the legality of it was always questionable. Because there was a whole lawsuit with I think, Metallica.
Phill
Yes. Yeah, that's right. It's like, "You wouldn't download a car" It's like, "Yeah, I would."
Lee
If I could. You print that nowadays. Yeah, it was, I would say, kids nowadays are lucky with Spotify, you have all this music at hand. And Napster
Phill
YouTube.
Lee
Yeah. YouTube, too. And back in the day was house, you could afford to explore it looking back at it. I you know, I questioned myself, like the morality of it. But um, yeah, I found really interesting. Music. Yeah, back in the day.
Phill
Yeah. I mean, I think that's what, you know, I think, you know, it came up a few times on this podcast, but you know, you weren't really listening to Nsync, or, you know, Britney Spears, like, you know, we were trying to find really obscure music, and a lot of times that kind of music and that kind of media wasn't available for us to consume, right? Because even like, a lot of music from overseas and, and stuff, right? You know, when we were just confined to, you know, Tower Records, because even when they were younger, they had, like, legit record stores that, you know, were like, kind of Mom and Pop-y be whatever you want to call it, but that they slowly went out of business. Because of these, you know, big record stores and, you know, these big record stores generally only sold, you know, kind of mainstream music or music that was attached to the bigger labels. So that was really cool with Napster is that, you know, as you said, you could explore and find new things and go off of recommendations as well. So, yeah, we weren't downloading, like, you know, popular stuff that we could easily get, right? It was it was really abst-, like you said, like the, that the driving video, like, there was no way to access that unless you stayed up and watch MTV to at like, not not like nine in the morning, or like, one in one in the morning. You know what I mean?
Lee
Yeah, no, I mean, definitely, the exploration of music was a benefit of Napster. But I also, you know, I questioned nowadays, too, like, even with Spotify, my consumption is so high of music. On one side, it's good, because, you know, I have different moods, I can listen to some instrumental stuff while working. And if I need some energy, I can, you know, put something on heavy, because I have to do dishes and it's the worst thing in the world. I need to rock through it. But, uh, but on the other side, like, I had this wish this, this idea of, you know, I need to reduce my consumption, I want to just get rid of Spotify, and either just have a record and say, "Okay, this is the time I'm going to listen to music." And, and then say, "Okay, what record I'm going to buy, what am I investing in" and to spend 15 euros on, on a record, and that I'm actually going to listen to that I'm going to appreciate that's going to, you know, feed me,
Phill
Interesting, I like that "feed you", Yeah.
Lee
And because, you know, I still listen to some music that sometimes a year later, I look back like, "Why I did a listen to this?"
Phill
Yeah.
Lee
But uh, but like, I think about the most important albums in my life. And these are the albums that I listened to a lot and and they affected me and would this be the same if I had, so if I had Spotify in the past, for instance, so the Silent Majority album, right,
Phill
Yeah, it's kind of like in one ear out the other. Right? You can you can do that. Right now. It's like the danger of having full access.
Lee
But I had 10 CDs at that time. And this was always on rotation. Yeah.
Phill
Yeah. Yes. Interesting point. And also like the locality of music as well. You know, like you'd kind of, you know, we were confined to, you know, what was what we're able to see live, you know.
Lee
Well, we were very lucky in where we grew up at the time we grew up. And I was thinking about this earlier, too, because, you know, we went to shows in Lindenhurst. I don't know the VFW was it? Yeah, yeah. Yeah. And like, you know, we saw glassjaw when they were performing in this VFW Hall. Yeah. And these were amazing times. And then like, Sons of Abraham.
And Silent Majority. We were lucky in the time we grew up. And with the music that was available, and I totally agree with you supporting the local artist and being there and say, "Yeah, I paid for this. I want to hear this."
Phill
Yeah, yeah. And I think you know, that, yeah, like, you know, I think that I kind of, you know, comes comes around, like, back to, like, the function of Napster, where, like, it wasn't necessarily was stealing anything, like, if we were, you know, we were kids, so we were broke, so we weren't gonna buy it anyway. But the other thing is that, you know, we, it helped us find new things that we did end up supporting later, right, like, you know, that when we had the means, or the opportunity to see to see live music or to buy band T-shirts- to buy merch, or whatever. You know, it wasn't about, like, this kind of transaction of capital, but it was support, right? And I think, you know, that is, um, you know, that's something that, you know, I think would be an interesting topic, you know, to talk about in terms of current consumption of music and stuff will be the supporting of artists, so, or even like this a podcast, right. So like, Do you listen to a podcast? Do you make sure that you rate, you rate the podcast? And do you write a comment? Right, the supportive aspect? You know, is that still, is that a thing? Should it be a thing where younger people begin to? You know, do they? I don't know. We're not 19 anymore, right? So. Yeah, no, it's interesting, you know, yeah, that, uh, yeah, you brought that up just about the supporting of the local artists and stuff.
Lee
Yeah, I mean, it's definitely- I'm not a musician, and the lifestyle of a musician. This is definitely difficult. And especially now with Corona where this- they can't get out there and play the live shows and get the money from merchandise and does Spotify, you know, pay them enough. It's difficult, but I love good music. And
Phill
Yeah, man. Yeah, definitely support your favorite artists. You know, it's important, especially in, you know, if you have the means, if, you know, not everybody has the means.
Lee
Yes, of course.
Phill
You know, that can be with like clicks and likes and recommendations and stuff, too. So,
Lee
Or just backyards. So, when we're when we were, so we known each other for a long time, we played in a band together or two bands, and we played backyards as young kids.
Phill
Yeah, man. I was-. So yeah, so let's Yeah, we kind of, you know, started off on a different different tangent than, you know, usual but yeah, man. So let's, let's go back, man. So as you said, we, you know, that's how we met was through playing in a band together. But before that, man like, What got you into playing music? I know you've mentioned- you said that you're not a musician. But you know for a while, you know, you were in the past. But yeah, what what got you into music, you know, you know, have you always been into music? Because that, you know, I know now that you, you know, obviously we're friends. But you know, music has something that's been something that's been a huge part of your life and you've always, you know, introduced me to new bands and stuff and always have given me CDs and stuff. So, yeah, man, if you, if you don't mind, could you share a little bit about, you know, like life, you know, before we met and how music became a big part of your life?
Lee
Yeah, sure. Well, if I had a music teacher, Mr. Foty, who I think Chris mentioned in this podcast, and I was in seventh grade, playing trombone in his class, and at this time, I was listening to mainly rap music. And at this time, we got introduced to so Green Day the dukey album. Then, also Pearl Jam. Okay, cytology came out at this time. By the way, that song Better Man, for the longest time. Well, at least a year. I always thought it was Butter Man. Yeah, of course, you can't find a butter man.
Phill
Oh, my God.
Lee
But yeah, so so I got into this, like, alternative music at this point. And then I got a guitar from my dad's friend. And it wasn't a great guitar. But it was enough to like, you know, just to figure out how to play and I never had lessons and I just remeber basic questions like, oh, if I, if I make a chord with my left hand, it can I still display individual notes. It's just was such a mystery.
Phill
Like arpeggio, yeah.
Lee
Yeah, then I played in a bandwidth friend, Steve and Ewan. Oh, we had a we had a small band. It was just we were playing Nirvana covers in backyards at this time. And at the same time, it was maybe two years later that I did band camp. Well, we did Green Machine. And I was with this how I got to know Chris and you because we had that summer camp at the high school.
Phill
Oh, yeah.
Lee
Yeah, yeah. Everywhere. Just hanging out after with Nelson as well. I got to know Chris and then you and then you guys were playing some shows as NQP maybe even that summer at Hechsher (State Park) and just came out and then after a few months, you guys invited me to play with not quite punks. Would you be now a great time for you to put on a Not Quite Punx song.
Yeah, so we played this punk music which was you know, it was great. Chris introduced me to a lot of great local bands at this time. And some other more popular bands Sick of it All and Deftones at the time. So it was this mixtape addict gave me and this was such an important mixtape I still have this that my parents home. And then after this we graduated high school and we live together for a couple years. And then, eventually we we dormed at Stony Brook together.
Phill
You summed up a lot of a lot of memories, man. So quickly, dude. Good job, man.
Lee
Yeah, well summing up the memories, but at the time, like musical was always like, playing this background role. So like when we live together. What I think about is we always have one CD playing over and over.
Phill
Yeah, yeah.
Do you know which CD I'm thinking of?
CD they're gonna for me? I was I was playing probably to a disgusting amount. The Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Ah, yeah, but we lost a lot of Weezer at that time, Pinkerton? Wait that might be after?
Lee
This is a bit after which are both great albums. We will listen to sneaker pimps.
Phill
Oh, yes. Sneaker Pimps. Yeah, man. Yep.
Lee
This was like the good night music in the house.
Phill
It was man it was man. Yeah, Sneaker Pimps?
Lee
It was you and Mike that came with me to the Sneaker Pimps concert.
Phill
Yeah. And they had to be kicked out.
Lee
Yeah.
Phill
They had kicked out the, you know-
Lee
The girl singer.
Phill
The female. Yeah, the female lead. Yeah.
Lee
We were like what is this? What's going on?
Phill
Yeah, I remember that one guy. He was like, "This is blasphemy!" Like Jesus, but they ended up having a pretty, you know successful career, actually. But she she does solo stuff now actually bought one of her albums a couple years ago.
Nice.
Yeah. I forgot about that. Yeah, I was so excited. And like, yeah, it was a completly different band.
Lee
And then at the same time. I think Jeff got me into like Portishead.
Phill
Yeah. Excellent band.
Lee
And then I think when we're dorming the soundtrack was Hot Water Music. At the dorm.
Phill
Yes. Yeah. That's right. Yeah. Yes. Yeah, man. It's thinking back here. We all we always had, like, yeah, a CD went on album that like we just would just play non stop. And it was just like, yo, yo, put on your Hot Water Music or put on a Sneaker Pimps. Right And yeah, just kind of like our soundtracks. We only the soundtracks that we would do, especially at our part-. Remember the- We had parties in the house.
Lee
Yeah.
Phill
Yeah, man. That was Yeah, that was nuts, man. Like, all those people, man. Like that was? You couldn't do that today? Yeah, man.
Lee
No, no.
Phill
But it was it was really centered around music. And that's like, how we met people too, right. That's how we got new friends. We're like, "Yo, what band you listen to?" You know, I remember that. Like, it was really like, I don't know if it was like, kind of jerkish of us to do but we definitely only hung out with people that we had- we with similar music with. I dunno if you- Is that- or am I just remembering everything wrong?
Lee
No, no, I i think i think it's a good point. I want to say it is a bit general because I can hang out with people that listen to mainstream music, but mainstream music this is something that's easy. And and so talking about music is always- It's always interesting. And, and I listen to a wide variety of music. So even here in Germany, you know, I met one guy that has a kid in the kindergarten with with my daughter, and we, the kids are friends and we got hang started hanging out. And this is, you know, a regular guy that works very good- So has an office job. So we started talking about music. And then he was telling me about this great concert that he went to when he was 18 where he saw Bad Religion and all this. And yeah, exactly. It's my exact reaction. We started talking about Bad Religion. And this is Yeah, it's just a normal guy. But like, you really have this connection. And you say, "Ah, if you listen to battle it, you're alright. You're alright." But what could be wrong?
Phill
Yeah.
Lee
And, and this is maybe the better way to put it. Like, if you meet someone that listens to similar music, and you have, you know, these define tastes, and you have these reasons why you liked this music. And then something comes out, you have to say, you know, maybe these people, this person has similar reasons of liking this, or, yeah, or has had these similar memories of listening to this music, and you can share this. It's such a great jumping point to get into a conversation with someone.
Phill
Yeah, kind of you kind of you realize you're part of a kind of community of people, right? Because, you know, especially if you're the same age, and, you know, yeah, these kind of can relate to particular things and have like, assume shared experiences, possibly. Yeah, man. Awesome, dude. So we met through music and our friendship, like flourished through music, like, there's probably albums and lyrics, we can just like, site off to one another to one another. And we're like, yeah, that's me. Even when I met when you came and visited me, you know, you had a CD and you know, like, some of the some of the songs and there were songs I hadn't listened to in a long, long time. And, and, you know, I just remember like, Yeah, man, this is this is something that we've always kind of shared. And, you know, like, shout out to Nelson.
Lee
Yeah.
Phill
You know, because he was a big part of that, as well. You know, and I think, you know, we were able to laugh at certain lyrics and enjoy music, you know, in a way that was so unique. And maybe other people are doing the same thing. I don't I don't know. But I remember like, we were definitely- we would definitely, really into, you know, listening to full albums together. You know, like, and that was just so much fun.
Lee
And this is the great thing about about music is this. This nostalgic effect to it, especially when a song is tied to such strong memories. And this is exactly what I did. So before you came out, I went on Spotify the day before and just made a playlist. And, you know, these are songs that immediately transported us to a particular place and time. And
Phill
yeah, yeah, there's, um, there's a good, there's a good article in some papers about how music between ages like 15 to 20, whatever this kind of brains work in a way where we have this kind of nostalgia thing for music during a certain time in our life kind of adolescence. So I'll link it, but it's really, really good read. And I'll share with you later as well. But yeah, definitely. It's, um, it was so cool that we, we have this together. So it's kind of like we have lots of shared memories through music, right, and they kind of can trigger, you know, certain situations, certain moments of time. It's so cool that we can share together, right? And and, yes, that's awesome and we kind of like having a shared dream or something like that.
Lee
So it's a good point. So in German, I don't know if you said this also in English, but impressions, right. In Germany, they always say something left an impression. Well, it's a phrase they use often. And this age 15 to 20. So is a very impress- impressionable age. And, and we were lucky that the things that made impressions on us were, you know, good things, or, or had a good effect on us in the end.
Phill
Yeah, they think has been different. Because we had each other We had lots of support. And yeah, man, you know, that's why this podcast exists, man, because so many, you know, so many good memories, and so many people in that time of life, even after, you know, even, you know, even after the fact, but definitely those formative years. But, but yeah, man, so we've been talking for about 30 minutes. And, yeah, just wanted to, to just just, you know, bring up the fact that you have always been a very proactive person. And by that, I mean, like, you always were able to kind of have a plan, and then put it into action. And like, what's been really cool is that you've made so much stuff, right? You've always kind of like- Yo, I remember, like the PA system that we that we made for like, you know, Akin and Not Quite Punks, like, you know, you use like, made a stereo with your dad or and then even transfer it to like fixing your, your car. And then that's something that you know, you and your dad, you know, you know, shout out to your dad, like, you know, something that was always something I really admired about you. And just, thought it was amazing that you were able to, like, you know, see, so many things come to fruition just by saying, I want to do this, I want to create this. And it's something that you've done, you know, up until you know, today even like going to Germany and having your garden and stuff. So yeah, can you can you? Do you mind sharing a little bit about, like, where that comes from is where it's something you've always kind of had that has been a part of you?
Lee
So I say I have three major influences in this aspect. So first, as you mentioned, my dad, my dad's a very DIY guy. And, and when I was growing up, if there was something broken, he was fix it and, and he showed me how to approach problems. Mainly, it had to do with cars. So a car breaking down, she would bring out the manual, and he taught me how to troubleshoot and, and solve a problem. I would say the second major influence is my mom. So she's a computer programmer at Stony Brook University Hospital. And she's been there for 35 years as a programmer. She's super logical person. Her mom was an English teacher. And at an early age, she she showed us the alphabet and eventually how to read. And she always brought us to the Brentwood Public Library. So we were always at the library. And I would say then, in terms of getting out there in traveling and wanting to be at other places. The third major influence was Iwan, my friend, he want his family. So his family, they come from Indonesia, and they were antique dealers. And growing up, I was at their house a lot. And they opened me up to different cultures. So there was always really good interesting food in the house. They were always traveling. either going to Europe or somewhere in Asia, and they would send me postcards where I was in Brentwood
Phill
Somethinh that you do a lot. Now I can see the influence now. Yeah, so you always send postcards. Yeah.
Lee
It was like a- it was a huge influence on me because here was in in Brentwood and a small place, the only place that we would go to on vacation is Indiana. My mom is originally from Indiana. And so he showed me, his family showed me that, you know, there's this whole other world out there. And from a very young age, I wanted to have these adventures and see the world.
Phill
It seems like you know, all those things, kind of- it made major impacts on your life, up until today, so yeah, man. I mean, that's, you know, really cool that, you know, you're able to, you know, have your parents play such an influential role in your life growing up, and you know, it seeing it happen, you're just looking from the outside and also knowing your parents as well. Yeah, I can see, I can see it, you know, your dad taught me a lot as well, a lot as well about just, you know, not, you know, not not giving up and you know, exactly, if something's broken, you know, to fix it, you know, nothing is, is out of your hands. And, you know, even like even the other day, you know, my PlayStation, PlayStation was you know, getting old and stuff. So I opened- my wife was like, "Yo, your PlayStation id too loud." So I, you know, went, got the tools, open it up, cleaned it, you know, like, you know, it's not, it's not the biggest thing in the world, but you know building more computers and, you know, little things and as always, you know, that kind of that, like, What's the good- I can't think of a good word to say but that kind of "Umpf" that kind of, you know, feeling I'm gonna do this definitely came from you know, you and your dad, you know, about you know, up your alternator is not- is shit, you know, you know, remember that, you know, your gaskets, whatever, you know, all this kind of stuff. So, you thank you for that. And you know, yeah, thank your dad, especially opening up your home and stuff and giving me all the all the snacks and stuff.
Lee
I'll tell him. And, you know, it didn't need to it's like Brentwood also was like a grounding force. Like I didn't grow up in a richer neighborhood. And I am in the thankful for that. And for the people that I met in Brentwood. But I don't know if I ever told you. Maybe I did have how we ended up in Brentwood.
Phill
No, no.
Lee
So my dad grew up in Brownwood in North Brentwood where we eventually had the house. And they were living somewhere in Smithtown. And my parents have won a house in a lottery.
Phill
Holy shit. Ok.
Lee
Yeah. And so they so we moved in when I was maybe two or three. And, and this was also we lived in a half finished house, and my dad was always working on the house. But it wasn't until years later, when I was in my 20s that my neighbor was moving. And then she she goes to my dad, like she says, "You know, I can't believe you move to this house." And my dad says, "Why?" And she goes, "Oh, because of the murder."
Phill
What?
Lee
And supposedly, like, it was a newlywed couple moved in the house. And the man's mother was sick moved into the house. Had like a side room. And then something happened where she like stabbed one of them to death.
Phill
Oh my god
Lee
In the house.
Phill
Jesus.
Lee
Yeah, dude, I tried to do some research on this. I haven't found this and I don't know if it was like a jerk move. I thought they liked us. But maybe they're just like yeah, we'll leave them something Yeah, So we moved into a murder house.
Phill
Wow, geez man. Wow, man. That's- so how did your- How did you parents win a house that's they just like- they just entered it some lottery and?
Lee
Yeah. There used to be lotteries from the town of Islip. They still actually do it. It's, I think set up a bit differently. And basically, they showed they were low income, they had a family and they really needed place to move into. And so they they won this house and it was crazy because I do have the memory of when we moved in the backyard had like these hills in it and it was overgrown, and they hired a bulldozer. So they come in and kind of level it. But it turns out where we live used to be an orchard. So a tree farm. Oh, wow. And and basically, the guy is somewhere in the early 1900s slide buried his garbage in the backyard. So like years later when- when I was a kid my mom was making a garden and she was like digging and found like a rusted paint can. And so she started pulling on the handle and basically the can gate where just smacked me in the head. So I crawling nearby and I have a tiny scar above my eye from this.
Phill
Oh my god, man. Your house is- Your house is haunted, man. Yeah. He's it isn't that's why it's interesting man. Never knew that. Oh, that's cool, man. So, Yeah, dude. So, you know, I'm also you know, I remember going Iwan's house and stuff. And yeah, seeing, you know, like, the cool like artifacts and you know, statues and stuff. And yes, I totally forgot. I used to hang out with you over there as well. Yeah. Yes. Shout out to Iwan.
Lee
I saw this parents. So his father used to live in Germany for like, 20 years. And they came out here. Right before Corona, so in January, they were out here for a little bit. So it was it was great to see them and that they're still getting around. And I had a really nice dinner with them eating typical German food and
Phill
That's cool.
Lee
Yeah, it was nice.
Phill
Awesome, man. Yeah, man. So yeah. And I think that has kind of, you know, that made an impression on you. Because, you know, I guess, you know, after Stony-, you know, not after Stony Brook, but like, after the, you know, the house didn't didn't work out, you know, with us, and, you know, at another time, but, uh, you know, you kind of ended up at Stony Brook. And then you kind of ended up in England. Yeah, so, yeah. How- So did- was that kind of the influence that you kind of got from Iwan's parents? Like, you know, that drive to, to study and live abroad?
Lee
Well the drive to, to have these experiences abroad or to to travel was definitely from them. And the opportunity was to study abroad in England. And I had, well, my friend Mary, studied abroad in England a year before I did, and I saw that this was something that could be achieved. And so I went to Stony Brook had one semester there, I found the program, enrolled in it. And it was a year at Sussex University in Brighton. And because it was a year abroad, not many people signed up for it, everyone did the six months. And so I had no problem getting in. And I spent a year in England, where it was great. It was a great home base and backing great people, and was able to see a bit of Europe at that time. And at that point, I loved it every day was was an adventure. And, and then since then, I just always had a desire to live in Europe. And going back to New York. Afterwards, I lived in New York, in the city for two or three years. And then I was just plotting and trying to figure out how am I going to go to Germany. Go go to Europe and live in Europe.
Phill
Yeah, I remember that. I remember like, you know, because I thanks again, man. Like I remember, you know, going to visit you, man. And I remember you said yeah, "Hey, come on, man, you know, come out. I'm going to be staying here over the summer." And I had never had a passport. I never, I never even imagined going on a plane to another country. It was something that just was just not something I ever even thought about, you know, you know, for me, it was it was like a million dollars and I don't know how much that shit costs, you know? And you were like, "Nah, man, you can do it for..." you know, you know, you know, it's like cheap at the time. You know, it's just like right after 911 and stuff, so yeah, cheap. And I was like, "All right", you know? And dude, man that changed my life you know. It literally- like it evolved my mind. You know what I mean? Like it just remember getting there and just being like, "Holy shit. You know? It's a different place."
Lee
Yeah,
Phill
You know something weird. trip, man. Yeah.
Lee
We were talking before about impressions and yeah, and impressionable ages. And it just happened at the right time. It happened at the right time for me. And I also want my nephews and nieces to to experience this as well, just that, you know, there is a whole world out there. And yeah, it's just, it's nice. And it's not an easy thing to do to to make such a jump. I'm glad you came out. And it was really a great time. And like, one of my favorite memories is that I was working at a this restaurant when I was out there, because England is also really expensive and...
Phill
Yeah.
Lee
And you had some, just some change on you. And it was like my last day before we made a trip to Barcelona. And, and I had to work a couple more hours. So you came down. And you said, Yeah, you walk around. You'll be right back. And you came back. So you had like one pound on you. You came back. Yeah. And you were drunk. "What happened?" And you're like, "Oh, yeah, I decided instead of eating a Mars bar that you got a Guinness instead". Because it's like a meal.
Phill
I was like, Yo would like one pound for the biggest pint of Guinness. I was like, "Yo, man. I can, you know, quench my thirst and feel full at the same time."
Lee
Yeah.
Phill
Yeah, man. Yeah, man. It was uh, yeah, it was a great deal. Excellent deal.
Lee
Yeah. And then so we went to Barcelona. And we were staying at this hostel. And this is where you met this couple? Yep. from Canada. Canada.
Phill
Yeah. Yeah.
Lee
And they told you about the JET Program. Right?
Phill
Yeah. JET Program. Yeah. They were like, "Oh, what are the countries you want to go-" You know, they were free spirited, you know? And they were like, what are the countries want to go to? I was like, "Man, I don't know. I don't- I'm not rich, you know, I'm gonna go back to school and, you know, try to become a teacher or a social worker or whatever." And they'll like, "You should go to Japan", I'm like, "What? How the hell am I going to do that? So how much does the ticket cost?" You know, like, 10- they could they get a ticket was $10,000. And I would have believed them, you know, what I mean? I had no concept. You know, for me any- you know, for us anything at the time, that was over $1,000 might as well have been, you know, a million dollars, right? I mean, there was no- it's just like we're never gonna have that much money. And, and they were like, "Oh, no, like, they'll pay you for your, flight. And in your apartment and your though, you know, you get paid like 30 something thousand dollars a year." And I was like, "What!?" They were, like, "Yeah, you just have to, you know, apply after you get your four year degree." And I was like, "Man, this is- mfkers are lying to me". But um, it just stuck with me. And, you know, as soon as I got back, I, you know, semester started went went back in on campus, you know, set up my computer and stuff. And the first thing I did was, um, was Google even a thing then? I don't even know I had a might have been Yahoo. Yeah, I don't think I used it. I think I used Yahoo. I just, you know, when on Yahoo whatever? I just like, searched JET Program? And I was like, "Oh, oh. Oh, okay". And I was like, you know, I was like, "Okay. I'm gonna give it a shot". When I you know, I still had a year to go. But uh, yeah, I ended up getting it a year later, surprisingly. Yeah. Thanks, dude.
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