93. An Irreverent Q & A with Erica and India
Summary
If you’re in search of a little fun on this journey, Erica and India have gotcha covered. There has been a lot of heaviness in the world lately. Your nervous system could probably use a break
To lighten the mood, Erica and India play a few rounds of Q & A with an assist from PodDecks™. It’s your typical chat between two friends and colleagues - only recorded for posterity.
In this discussion:
Conversational icebreakers
Deep thoughts and shallow inquiries
A tangent about potato chips
Belly laughs
Innuendo
Personal *ahem* grooming revelations
Take a little time to laugh along. The work will be here when you return.
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Article
This is...different. An irreverent, tangent-laden back-and-forth, existing wholly at the intersection of humor and vulnerability, isn’t the first thing you’d expect to find in this space. Or the second, for that matter. That’s precisely why Erica and India dug into their PodDecks™ of prompts. “We figured that with all of the conversations you're having, with the big things you're planning,” says Erica, “all of those things, for a second, a reminder to be human and to laugh...it's necessary.”
Although India assumes the head question-asker role, she’s quick to provide supportive (and hilarious) commentary to Erica’s answers. Once they get rolling, though, things devolve into fits of laughter.
Question #1 is a fluff-ball. What do people compliment you on? For Erica, it’s her smile. India says she receives the most compliments about her eyes.
Question #2 - What’s your most terrible memory? - prompts Erica to take a mulligan and India to announce an end to the ice-breaker round. “Let's go into the wtf deck [which] has 101 cards. It says, ‘enjoy these off the wall questions that your guests or co-host would never expect.’”
Question #3 What nickname have you been called that you hate? Erica responds first. “Reekie.” India requires some background details to which Erica blames her mother. “It's like, I don't have a name that has a nickname to it. Like, you just had to find something.” As for India, she’s sure there’s a poop story associated with Booboo, an early nickname that eventually morphed into just Boo. Later nicknames included Ms. Jackson, which she swiftly put an end to because of the OutKast song of the same name.
Question #4 adds a bit of spice to the mix. What set of items could you buy that would make the cashier the most uncomfortable? Erica offers a disclaimer about her answer before going all in. Assuming the cashier presented as male, she’d opt for a box of tampons, a bottle of lube, a prescription for Viagra and, depending on geographical location, a vibrator. India suggests Vagisil.
Question #5 hit differently. Would you ever consider writing to someone in jail as a pen pal? This question is a big one and has a lot of nuance to it. Erica and India both have thoughts on what it would have been for them at a younger age, and also what it would be like at their current ages and level of context. What are your thoughts on this question? This is a great one to dig deeper on and reconsider your normal with as Erica often suggests we do.
Question #6 leaves it all on the table. Have you ever had anything waxed? Full Brazilians. Upper lip. Eyebrows. They have done it all - in the name of love (Erica) and bodybuilding competitions (India). What’s left to say? Only that Erica has a vault packed with stories from her years in the beauty industry - enough for a book someday.
Question #7 - Have you ever eaten a whole tube of Pringles by yourself? No hesitation: Erica and India give that one a big yes! “I still can't wrap my brain around whether or not they're actual potatoes,” Erica says.
After additional potato chip musings (Herr’s! Utz! Lays!), India moves on to the philosophy deck. But the tone of question #8 has Erica thinking about the munchies. Do you believe that human potential is capable of anything? “See, these are the questions that have you sit in a puddle in the corner. Like you smoked too much weed.”
Question #9 - What do you wish you knew when you had started out? Erica delivers straight-up facts. “I wish I knew to make my first hire a bookkeeper.” Here too, a seemingly innocuous question leads to an answer with larger implications when examined through the lens of equity and social justice. “Everybody listening is very aware that logic does not always have anything to do with laws and tax codes. Nothing.”
Question #10 - What is one thing that doesn't add value to your life, but you still do? Erica: “The first thing that came to my mind was eat shitty food.” India: “Same!” Massive leeway given to each other and to anyone who’s less-than-desirable coping strategies have helped them survive the last year especially.
Question #11 - What's the last thing that you took a picture of? Erica: ”It was a selfie, and I don't like selfies!” She admits that the whole process is a struggle. “I don't know why this seems so complicated for me.” On the flip side, she has tried to step up her game by practicing new angles and finding her best light.
India wonders if a screen-grab of a potential client gift counts. “This is what quarantine does.”
Fresh off the heels of 2020 (and early January tbh), the final random question feels intentionally chosen by the universe. What are a few things you need to cleanse from your life? “I need to go back and cleanse out the bad habit that I picked back up which is not putting my phone down long enough before I go to sleep,” Erica says. Sitting too long, and worrying too much about shit that doesn’t matter also top her list.
India agrees with the latter, adding that she’d like to cleanse the lack of meal preparation from her life. “Ain’t no room for the bad stuff when I have all the good stuff pre-made.”
And, with that, the PodDeck™ party comes to an end. But not before Erica plots more of these moments of being human in the future. The experience reminded her that getting real, having fun, and enjoying the moment is an essential part of the work, too. “We're people, we're humans,” she says, and all of us need to take time to laugh.