Trends, Dips & Travel Experiences With Natalie Harris

Tommy: It's The Daily Talk Show, episode 578.

Josh: Nat Harris, welcome.

Natalie: I know you warned me about the intro music, but boom, it got you.

Josh: Yeah, it got me really good. Bit too loud, Mr. 97? Would you—

Natalie: is that feedback you have for it? I loved it. I loved it. It's really brought me into the day. Um, 578 episodes. Yeah, I'm coming at you. So it has taken 578 episodes for you guys to invite me on the fucking show. Unbelievable. Are we allowed to swear? Yeah, you can. Oh, watch out. No, I'll be— I'll keep it cool.

Tommy: No, you can swear.

Josh: Our catch-ups usually consisted of the Fox FM Street Team car when we used to drive around. Yeah, those days.

Natalie: Yeah, I remember those days. I mean, we know each other. Like, there's not— there's very few, like, what is it, 6 degrees of separation? Like, there's very few people that we— we have a lot of mutual friends is what I'm getting at.

Josh: Lots of mutuals.

Natalie: And it's taken 578 episodes for you to get me in a proper car.

Mason: What is the Street Team?

Tommy: Street Team like that.

Natalie: I'm furious.

Tommy: What is it like there?

Natalie: It's amazing.

Josh: Fun memories.

Natalie: We've all got tats.

Josh: Do you remember, like, a bit of reminiscing with a fellow Street Teamer? We did the Foo Fighters concert. Was that you and I? We were out the front there and then there was so many people giving away their Foo Fighters tickets.

Natalie: Yeah, why?

Josh: And then we ended up going into the concert. Just locked the car that was up on the concrete, locked it and just went in and watched Foo Fighters. Why were they giving them away?

Natalie: For us now.

Josh: Because you can't sell tickets. Scalping is illegal. So selling tickets out the front is actually illegal.

Natalie: Has that ever stopped people before?

Josh: No, never.

Natalie: Wait a minute.

Josh: But what happens is the scalpers, that's where I draw the line. You push them to the last minute and they give you them. That was the point. They gave us, mate, can you give this to somebody? Or, you know, do you want this ticket?

Natalie: And so we had a couple of tickets.

Tommy: I actually had that.

Natalie: Best night of my life.

Josh: Yeah.

Tommy: Was it really?

Natalie: No.

Tommy: No, I actually had that same thing happen in New York, in Times Square.

Natalie: Yeah. Okay, someone went to New York.

Tommy: We get it. I mention it on every show. No, but when I was in New York, a guy came up to us and tried to do the whole selling of the comedy club tickets.

Natalie: Oh yeah.

Tommy: And he started off by saying, hey, like, you know, want $50 or $25 each or whatever. And then by the end of it, he said, look, free. Yeah, you can have them for free. But can you just like, you just buy a drink?

Natalie: Oh, comedy. It's a sad and lonely existence.

Josh: You've been hustling in the comedy scene for quite some time. I remember, I don't know what number gig it was for you, but on 578, you know, on Victoria Street, Fitzie and I.

Natalie: Oh, that was my second ever gig.

Josh: Second ever gig.

Natalie: I bombed.

Josh: No, you didn't.

Tommy: I did.

Natalie: No, you didn't. I did. It's okay. It was a long time ago.

Josh: Fitzie and I thought you were great.

Natalie: Did you? Well, you and Fitzie have got poor taste. You need to raise your standards. Just quickly, before we go into comedy, I'd just like to say, when we're talking about selling stuff and scalping, I remember a pretty dark point in my life. I was selling raffle tickets for the Collingwood Football Club.

Tommy: Oh yeah, like during the game?

Natalie: Yep. Out the front of the MCG. And for money, I think we got like $0.50 per ticket.

Tommy: Okay.

Natalie: But then I realized, but we could get passouts to go in and out of the ground. To sell the raffle tickets. And then I started selling the passouts. I know. And so I was making heaps of, not heaps of money, but better money than 50 cents.

Tommy: So can you not? But no, I was always confused with passouts. I thought growing up, I thought it meant like, don't drink so much that you pass out, you know, where it says no passout.

Natalie: Yeah.

Tommy: And so was the idea. But I understand how it works now. So, so, but for football games, do you not normally get passouts?

Natalie: I'm not sure. I, we got it because we were selling the raffle tickets. So maybe—

Tommy: what does it look like?

Natalie: Oh, this was a long time ago. It was just a piece of paper, I remember. So he's very easy to, um, to forge. Absolutely.

Josh: Once we— we saw it simpler times, uh, if we're admitting to it, 1902, naughty shit that we've been up to. One New Year's Eve, there was a a party. Remember, um, the venue in St Kilda on the rooftop? I can't remember the name of it, but New Year's Eve, uh, got the ticket and we're like, fuck dude, New Year's Eve party. It was like at my place, barbecue. Someone's like, I'm going home. They went home, scanned it, printed out like double-sided. We made up the tickets.

Natalie: Yeah.

Josh: And got like 20 people in that night.

Natalie: That's fine.

Josh: Yeah, it was amazing.

Natalie: It's so good doing that. I remember I made my own, um, proof of age card so I could get into the Blair Witch Project.

Josh: I remember which project? Low level, used it at a cinema.

Natalie: Yeah, I know, just I remember using Dad. I'm like, can I use your laminator, Dad?

Josh: Like, duh, that's great. So what was the— what was it? It's MA 15+.

Tommy: Yeah, I actually saw— I was at the movies the other week and I saw a guy getting stopped because he didn't have ID. He couldn't go see a movie. And I was just like, guys, this really a thing? Yeah, you, you forget that it's a thing when you become older than 15.

Natalie: I know. Now what I'd give to be 13. Watching Shrek.

Josh: And so, okay, second comedy gig.

Natalie: Okay. Yeah, you were there. Okay. Yes. On Victoria Street.

Josh: I'm glad I came to your second. What was your first?

Natalie: My first? Oh, no. So no, actually, that was my third gig. Okay.

Josh: It's going down. It's getting worse.

Natalie: No, it's going up.

Josh: Top 3 is still good.

Natalie: First gig was at actually a really good comedy room. And what's it called? Well, it was called Checkpoint Charlie then, but it is now called Crab Lab.

Josh: Crab Lab.

Tommy: What suburb?

Natalie: It's a comedy room. It's on every Wednesday night. It's free. And it's— I would say most Melbourne comedians, it's a really good night.

Mason: Where is it?

Natalie: It's in the city. It's on— I can't remember what it is.

Tommy: Something like CBD.

Mason: 16 Coors Lane.

Josh: Crab Lab. Oh, well done.

Natalie: Thank you.

Josh: I told you he's good. I said watch him.

Natalie: He's brilliant. 16 Coors Lane. Yeah, definitely. It's always got really good lineups. And so a friend who was running it, who started it up as Checkpoint Charlie, just said to me at a party one time, he's like, you should do a gig, you should try comedy. There's not enough girls doing it. And yeah, we should do it. Just pick a date and I'll book you in. And so, yeah, I did it and it was all right, actually.

Tommy: Did you do open mic stuff?

Natalie: I did plenty of open mic stuff, but my first gig was maybe not your typical first gig. It wasn't, you know, obviously an arena show or anything like that, but it was a decent room and I was lucky to get on there because I was doing some stuff on Community TV with a bunch of other comedians at the time. So it was just kind of in that little network.

Josh: Is that brave for you? Like, I think this is probably some person's nightmare trying to do comedy. I know you're into comedy. So before you even do a show, you don't land there because you have no interest in ever doing comedy.

Natalie: Yeah.

Josh: So what is that?

Natalie: Well, it's just like the same thing as like riding a roller coaster. You're like, oh, but I'm going to try it. That kind of thing. You're just like, and it's exhilarating. And once you get a taste of it, then you get hooked. Yeah.

Tommy: But I think if using the roller coaster analogy, I probably, you get to a point where you get over roller coasters.

Natalie: Yeah, you're right. You're like, I'm dizzy, I'm fatigued.

Tommy: Even after you've done them, right? You're like, I've done that. I don't need that negativity anymore.

Natalie: Yeah. So you're implying that—

Tommy: no, no, but I'm just— where the analogy, like, I think comedy potentially has a longer, longer runway than a—

Natalie: yeah, I suppose.

Josh: Yeah, you're right. The, what do you call it? What's the Luna Park?

Natalie: You've really chipped some holes.

Josh: The scenic railway at the Luna Park has been going for a long time.

Natalie: Yeah, rickety. No, I suppose just saying in being something being frightening. But why do you do it anyway?

Tommy: 'Cause you have a bad back like me, don't you? I think I heard on a podcast you like taking a bit of magnesium sometimes.

Natalie: I love magnesium.

Tommy: So do I.

Natalie: What do you take?

Tommy: So I think it's Mega Magnesium, maybe. It's the blue. I think you have to get it under, like over the counter.

Josh: Oh, that's the same as the—

Natalie: Ultracuticals or no, that's a skincare. I always forget the name of it, but it's blue, kind of a gorgeous bluey violety color. Yeah, that's the good stuff.

Tommy: They're real big tablets.

Natalie: Oh no, I take a powder. Yeah, it's disgusting.

Josh: Are you a no tablet person?

Natalie: No, I'm definitely not a no tablet person.

Josh: I know a guy, Tim. I know you might be watching. He's not— he doesn't do tablets.

Tommy: Oh yeah, I thought you meant a guy for if you wanted tablets.

Josh: No, Tim, I know he cannot swallow tablets.

Natalie: It's gonna grip Tim.

Tommy: It's hard. I mean, it's hard. Yeah, no, so I guess like the other thing on that analogy Yep. Roller coasters, bad backs.

Natalie: Yeah, you're right. I'm a met— yeah, I'm a broken human being as the result of too many roller coasters and comedy.

Tommy: Do you have a favourite stretch?

Natalie: Um, oh, good question. Yeah, I like the one, I don't know what it's called, but where you kind of lie down and you put your arms like you lie on your arms and go back. I think it's called something fish. Wait, so you lie on your back Yeah, and then you put your arms underneath.

Tommy: Can I just do it now?

Natalie: And you kind of prop yourself up.

Tommy: Is this right?

Josh: Hang on, there's no camera on him, so Nat, take over in explaining.

Natalie: Okay, so he's lying down on his back. Oh, is your back okay?

Josh: Oh God, he's nearly injured himself trying to do it.

Natalie: So put your arms completely stretched out underneath shoulders, and then can you prop your head up? No. Oh God, no. Yeah, no. So put your arms, tuck your arms and shoulders Have you really hurt your shoulder?

Tommy: Oh gosh, yeah, well, I'm trying to get into, um, stretches more.

Natalie: Oh, okay. Yeah, that one, it's something—

Tommy: oh God, do you know what it's called?

Mason: I mean, I typed in dead fish and it's just come up with a river of dead fish.

Natalie: Sorry about that.

Tommy: Google, isn't it?

Natalie: Dead Fish is also a fantastic game if you just— oh yeah, yes.

Tommy: Was that just Dead Fish, the game, is just, um, you've got to stay still and the teacher points out if you move.

Natalie: Exactly. It's fantastic. This one's a good one.

Mason: Oh yeah, it's called the fish pose.

Josh: Fish pose.

Natalie: The fish pose.

Josh: So it's almost like some kind of yoga move.

Natalie: Yes.

Mason: Oh, you put, you put your elbows on the floor.

Natalie: Oh, okay, that's a variation.

Mason: But you sort of like arch your back.

Natalie: Yeah, yeah, it's beautiful.

Josh: That's lovely. How did we get to—

Tommy: what's the other—

Natalie: yeah, it was just the magnesium.

Tommy: It's the magnesium.

Josh: What's— I mean, men get stiffies from magnesium.

Tommy: Yeah. So I had a, is there an incident if I, if I take more than 2?

Natalie: Yeah, there's a daily amount.

Josh: Yeah, they call him Hugh.

Tommy: Yeah, no, so there is. Yeah, I, because it's a relation.

Natalie: Yeah.

Tommy: And so an erection is actually a relaxation of the muscles, which I never knew.

Josh: Is there no side effects for women?

Tommy: I'm not sure. You could look it up, Sev's. Yeah, experience. Yeah. So that was one thing. I, I've overdosed on magnesium before and been woken woken up by my own erection.

Natalie: That's just good.

Tommy: Mate, wake up.

Natalie: Yeah, yeah, you need to chill out. I get a weird headache from it, kind of a dull headache directly after, but my back hurts that much that it's worth it.

Josh: Roller coasters— I spent a day at a park in America, I was fucked by the end of it. The adrenaline, I was so tired. If we're trying to relate it to anything to do with comedy, do you— is it— are you wrecked after you've done a show or done a bunch of shows?

Natalie: I've been doing comedy now for I think 7 years and I am exhausted. I am a shell of a human. I'm so fatigued. You're dead fish. Exactly. That's why dead fish is my favourite stretch.

Tommy: What's your bed routine? Or like, what's your night routine? What time do you go to bed?

Natalie: I don't have a routine because I'm always doing something. She's not a baby. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. I don't have a routine.

Tommy: You don't have a routine?

Josh: It's funny when you're like, Bodhi has a routine.

Natalie: So therefore you have a routine.

Josh: Like bath, dinner, bath. Like, yeah, when you call it that, that. But I thought it was funny.

Natalie: Do you have a routine?

Tommy: Yeah, I like, I have a time that I wake, like go to bed.

Natalie: Yeah. Oh no, definitely not. And so no, because you're always doing something different, like whether you're working during the day or you are doing a gig at night and I just keep odd hours. So no, I think I'd probably benefit from a routine.

Tommy: Is that the shell shell of the human thing. Like, you're a shell of a human because you don't have 8 hours.

Natalie: Yeah, yeah, probably.

Josh: What time did you go?

Natalie: There's a lot of things I could do differently and better. Um, what time did I go to bed last night? Or probably, you know, like 11, 11:30. Not late.

Josh: It's not too bad.

Tommy: Do you watch TV in bed?

Natalie: I try not to. I try to watch it in the lounge room. I, I do try and like have good sleep hygiene.

Tommy: You have a TV in your bedroom?

Natalie: No, I don't. Okay, in the lounge room.

Tommy: Oh, well, that's good.

Josh: You watch laptop though? Yeah, yeah, in bed.

Natalie: Yeah, I try not to. I try read in bed.

Josh: Okay, that's good. Drinking while doing shows?

Natalie: Yes, definitely.

Josh: Alcohol?

Natalie: Alcohol.

Josh: Do you beverage up before you start?

Natalie: Yeah, I do. I'm pretty relaxed about my approach to comedy. Um, And yeah, that definitely involves a few beers.

Tommy: I mean, are you funnier when you've had a few?

Natalie: Oh no, look, do you know what I think? And there is a lot of people who are definitely like, oh, I never drink before a gig. And I think you are a bit sharper. I think one though is good, you know, just to kind of loosen you up. Everyone's got like a bit of a different ritual, but I have definitely noticed over the years, like you get comedians who like count their gigs you know, make a record of every, you know, what set they did, what jokes they did at what rooms. And, you know, a very, I don't know, organised and strategic about it. Maybe I don't drink before and blah, blah, blah.

Josh: But I think it's Simon Taylor who we had on last week.

Natalie: Oh, he would be.

Tommy: Gets right into it.

Josh: I could imagine. He doesn't drink. He mentioned that.

Natalie: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And he would be, yeah, very like strategic. And I don't know. I don't know if strategic is the right word, but just professional.

Tommy: Maybe spreadsheets. He has a night routine.

Natalie: There's a lot of people that are just not my approach. Approach and all the type of person I am.

Josh: And so cool.

Natalie: Yeah.

Josh: But I guess what you find it like what works for you.

Natalie: Yeah.

Josh: I mean, it's probably, it'd probably be hard to implement that as a routine or a strategy for you as a comedian.

Natalie: Yeah. Like a drink beforehand definitely suits me. And because a lot of the time, you know, doing and writing comedy is, you know, you're on your own a lot. You know, I like going out to the gig and seeing people and socialising like I get, you know, lots of different aspects out of the gig.

Josh: One of the best house parties was actually at your place.

Natalie: Oh yeah, I had some good house parties.

Josh: Remember I told that storey about the amol?

Natalie: What? What story?

Tommy: What's an amol?

Josh: Amol. Amol. We're on the dance floor.

Tommy: You mean animal?

Josh: Amol. It's something that you smell.

Tommy: Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

Josh: I was on a dance floor and someone put that on my head.

Tommy: That's right.

Josh: I woke up, my head felt so dry. It was like a sponge. That was in the sun for 2 days.

Natalie: That was in my house.

Josh: That was at your house. It was one of the best house parties.

Tommy: It was a lot of Amel. We can have to cut this out. Amel, no, it's fine.

Josh: It's just actually legal. You go and buy it.

Tommy: I know, but if you sniff paint, like some people don't want to be associated with.

Josh: No, but it's nothing to do with her. It was someone at your party.

Natalie: I'm totally fine with being associated with Amel. I'm absolutely fine with that.

Tommy: It's common in Melbourne.

Natalie: If anything, I'm absolutely thrilled that you brought it up and relieved. Off your shoulders now. Yeah, no, they were. We had some fantastic house parties at my share house over the years, and I feel like they were a real gift to the community.

Josh: Oh mate, they were.

Tommy: And so is Amel like a kitchen cleaner or what actually is it?

Josh: We looked into this.

Tommy: Service, can you look up? Were you saying it's big in like the gay community for sex? Yeah.

Josh: People use it as they're orgasming, smelling it. It's bizarre.

Natalie: I think it's meant to relax the muscles and open things up.

Josh: You don't shit yourself, just in case you're reading between the words.

Tommy: It's like ayahuasca or something.

Josh: Oh no, it's nothing like that. I don't know, who knows. I mean, we look at it like—

Tommy: what is the—

Mason: a, um, it's pain reliever and a fever reducer.

Natalie: Ah, anything about sex? Yeah, it, um, sex, xing.

Josh: It does something to like your oxygen levels. So once you've had it, it's like gives you that lightheaded feeling.

Tommy: Sounds good for you.

Josh: It's not good for you.

Natalie: It's really—

Josh: but it's one of those things that's sold as like boot cleaner, and everyone knows it's not fucking—

Natalie: you get a bit of a— just an instant high and then it's gone. Yeah, in like you smell. It's fun, it's fun, it's fun. What is it?

Tommy: Have you found anything more? He's looking confused.

Mason: Oh no, so just quickly, the mouse battery ran flat.

Tommy: On your computer? Oh, that's annoying.

Mason: So I'm just searching on my phone.

Natalie: Oh, okay.

Mason: Give me a second. Unbelievable.

Josh: He's having dead fish.

Tommy: What are you finding?

Josh: Sifting through that dead fish.

Tommy: You can talk while you do it.

Mason: Oh no, I'm just going through Urban Dictionary and stuff.

Tommy: Oh yeah, is it related to what we spoke about?

Natalie: Or maybe we can ram back to it.

Tommy: Yeah, I think that sounds right.

Mason: To sniff it to get an intense but short-lived high. Okay, you just say sexual pleasure.

Natalie: That adds to sexual pleasure.

Josh: Could be found in the freezer at someone's house.

Tommy: The freezer? Why do you put it in the freezer? Yeah, so it's an alcohol, but it's like a pure alcohol liquid.

Josh: You don't want to touch it, touch it with your mouth or your hands or anything. Anyway, there was someone—

Tommy: so good parties, really good parties. I mean, that's— what's your, um, if you had to bring a plate to someone's house for a party, what would you bring? What sort of food?

Natalie: Oh, that's good. Probably I'm into making dips at the moment.

Tommy: Oh yeah, have you ever made a cob loaf?

Natalie: No, I haven't.

Tommy: Okay, can I guess? I feel like you've made like a real good corn dip recently.

Natalie: No, no, never a corn dip.

Josh: What about just a straight up hummus?

Natalie: Yeah, they're all a variation of hummus. Oh really?

Tommy: So base chickpeas?

Natalie: Well, actually, yes, normally, but I used cannellini beans. Cannellini beans as the base instead of chickpeas.

Tommy: What's the difference?

Natalie: Just a bit, I don't know, slightly buttery, more buttery in taste.

Josh: And then what do you— what flavor? How do you flavour them?

Natalie: Beetroot.

Josh: Okay.

Natalie: Um, carrot, um, beetroot and mint.

Tommy: Are you grating them?

Natalie: I'm roasting them and then I'm blending them with a bit of oil, some herbs, and yeah, like the base, which is either chickpeas or cannellini beans or whatever you choose.

Josh: Do you think you need to make a big song and dance about it when you rock up to a house party and you've got a dip? There's a lot of effort that goes into the dip. You don't see the effort. No, it's in a little container, so you don't— I'm not eating and going, that's definitely been roasted.

Natalie: That's a homemade dip.

Tommy: Like a cake has real cut crust.

Josh: So my point is you need to fucking just communicate.

Tommy: Guys, this one, yes, homemade special dip. Yes.

Josh: Try it.

Natalie: Let me—

Josh: can you taste the roastedness, the effort?

Natalie: I know. Well, I actually made a song and dance about it before, like going to this like kind of intimate dinner party. I'm like, I'll bring a dip. And I'm pretty— I don't— I'm not a great cook or I come from a family of like entertainers. They know how to entertain, put on a good spread. But that is my sisters and my mum are so good at it that a lot of the time I never end up needing to bring anything. I'll be like, oh, what can I bring? And they'll be like, I'll just bring a drink, or you take care of the ice, or, and you know, it's ridiculous. So I will kind of preface this storey with saying that I'm not that— I'm not known for my culinary skills.

Tommy: Yeah, but I just bring the ammo.

Natalie: Exactly.

Tommy: I'm like, ice and ammo, Mum.

Natalie: Here we go. No, but I did get into making dips because it was because of Christmas. They were like, everyone makes a dish and brings it. And again, it was like, oh, Natalie, you just do— you just bring some snacks to start off with. You know what I mean?

Josh: I'm always helpful.

Natalie: So that's why I embraced the dips, because I was like, all right, if I'm going to do the snacks, I'm going to show you guys how it's done. I'm going to show you that I'm not useless and I can make, you know, I can be of some value. So I made all the dips myself.

Tommy: And I made dips, like a trio of dips.

Natalie: I made a trio of dips. Yeah, maybe, maybe even four.

Josh: What does it become then? A family?

Natalie: A quad bike of dips.

Josh: A quad bike of dips.

Natalie: Yeah.

Tommy: And so do you have to bring, do you have to bring something to dip with?

Natalie: Yes. So then even that, you could buy biscuits, you could buy crackers, you could buy bread. I said no, no, no, no, no. And my sister is vegan and she also is celiac. So there's, you know, you've got to be creative. So I made chickpea pancakes. Wow. Yeah. And it was delicious and it was a hit. And then I was like, this is the new me.

Josh: So the Christmas—

Natalie: I make dips from scratch and I take them to parties and I'm a hit. And the dips were delicious on Christmas Day. Anyway, so my friend's having a dinner party and I'm like, I know what I'll do. I'm like, I'll bring a dip. Just trust me. I've been making these beautiful dips. I'll bring it. And then I left it too late. I didn't organise myself right, but I'd made a real scene about the dip.

Tommy: Bringing the dip before the event.

Natalie: Exactly. So I don't have to do it when I'm there. And I'd laid, done the groundwork, and then I had to make this dip in a rush. And I think I was making like a carrot hummus, you know, something gorgeous. Um, and then I just boiled the carrots instead of roasting them in different things. Why? Just because it would be faster.

Josh: In a rush?

Natalie: I was in a rush. And anyway, it the dip was so bland. You have no idea. It tasted literally like it was just chickpeas and boiled carrots blended together. Then I was like, that's all right, I'll salt my way out of this. And then I just salted it. I put every spice you could imagine in there and it just kept getting worse and worse. And then I didn't realise how bad it was until I got there. And then I put it out and I'm like, look, I made the dip, it's not great. And then I think I finally, I finally took a bite and I was like, this is horrendous. It's bland. But then with this late, like, onset of flavour in your mouth, it was all wrong. And I'm like, sorry, this is horrible. I have to get rid of it. But then because I'd made such a scene about the dip, they were all like, no, it's beautiful, and trying to make me feel better and eating all this dip. And I was worried they were going to get sick, so I had to sneak into the kitchen and throw it out.

Tommy: So what's it?

Natalie: So that's what I bring to a party.

Tommy: Did you bring the chickpea pancakes?

Natalie: Oh, I don't think I had time for that.

Tommy: So how do you?

Natalie: I'm a very, very busy woman. Chickpea pancakes, chickpea flour and water.

Tommy: Are they crispy? Or are they like a pancake?

Natalie: They can be.

Tommy: Do you like, what do you, how are you dipping soft pancake? What do you like? Because bread is commonly used for dip, right? Yeah.

Josh: Yep. Yeah, it holds its shape though, doesn't it?

Natalie: Yeah, definitely. I think, yeah, it's like kind of like a thick kind of savoury pancake, or you can do it much thinner like a crepe, and then you just can kind of— obviously they're bigger. Yeah, like I would slice it up and then you can grab like two bits of the crepe. They're quite— the trickiest part about making chickpea pancakes is that you need to— they're known to stick to the pan, uh, so you need a really good, uh, fry pan, um, which I don't have.

Josh: Yeah, maybe those pikelets. Yeah, I mean, they're not— you don't really have I don't have a pikelet as an adult. It's one of those things that was at school where people were told to bring it. Yeah.

Tommy: I feel like I may have been in charge of a pikelet. I've got a bit of Dutch in me. Is pikelets Dutch?

Josh: Well, you know, the Dutch one is the— it's the little— they look like they're like not as— pikelet seems like a sad pancake.

Tommy: What's a Dutch pancake?

Natalie: Yeah, there's—

Josh: you get them, they're like little bits.

Mason: It's charging.

Josh: You can actually start using it now.

Tommy: It's a bad design of the Mac that they've put the charger for the mouse so you can't use it.

Natalie: That—

Tommy: it's very silly.

Josh: You should. Yeah, once every year.

Natalie: What is the trick to that though? Trying to get something else? To buy a second mouse?

Josh: It's once every 3 weeks. You have to just plug it in.

Natalie: Stop defending them. Remember they changed the charger on us?

Josh: Yeah, yeah, that was fucked.

Tommy: I want them to go to USB-C. They reckon they're going to get rid of the everything, all— what's that called? Like all sockets.

Josh: All sockets, yeah.

Tommy: So it's going to be socketless. Okay, so you'll just streamline, and so you'll just charge your phone wirelessly as the only option.

Josh: How does that make you feel, Natalie?

Natalie: I'm not sure. Yeah, I mean, as long as it doesn't require us buying another device.

Tommy: What is it? How would you pronounce that?

Natalie: Poffertjes. I'm not sure.

Josh: Dutch pancakes. Yeah, but yeah, I love them. You get them in Toorak. I used to go get them, like get chocolate on them all. Yummy. Like lots of, um, lots of sugar, like flour. Like, what's that? Yeah, like dusting sugar.

Tommy: Did you guys do Multicultural Day at your schools?

Natalie: Uh, I can't remember.

Josh: No, we're pretty racist.

Tommy: No, like, you know, you would— everyone would like bring something from from their country?

Josh: No, no, but I think it was a lot of just Lamington.

Natalie: Yeah, we have tons.

Tommy: That was a big deal. It was a huge deal. It was great.

Josh: Yeah, but there was a— it was more multicultural.

Natalie: What did they bring at your school?

Tommy: Oh, just like they had a, um, one of the countries did a whole, um, pig on a spit.

Natalie: Okay, there was, um, a pig on a spit. Yeah.

Tommy: Like, I wonder if you can do it nowadays.

Josh: What, bring it, just wheel it over to school?

Tommy: It was at the school.

Natalie: There would be a protest.

Tommy: In the English department, you just see the, the pig just moving around.

Mason: Really?

Natalie: Yeah. Where were they from?

Tommy: I should know. I don't know. But the, uh, there was heaps of, what's the other one? Oh, croquettes were big, like from the Dutch side of things. We did croquettes.

Josh: Have you travelled much now?

Natalie: Uh, yeah, I think so. And not a huge amount. Been to New York?

Tommy: Yes.

Natalie: Yeah. I've been to Times Square.

Mason: Really?

Josh: Has he told you that story?

Natalie: Yeah. About the time he was in Times Square. Yeah, I guess. Yeah, I've definitely travelled.

Josh: Yeah.

Natalie: I'm lucky. I feel fortunate. The amount of travel I've done. What about you?

Josh: Yeah. I mean, if you're asking, I've done a bit of travel.

Tommy: Yeah.

Josh: I've done some Europe.

Natalie: Where was the last place you went?

Josh: Oh, we went to LA last year.

Natalie: Okay.

Tommy: Yeah.

Natalie: How did you find that?

Tommy: That was good fun, actually.

Josh: In terms of travel, like, it's more the understand, like we're talking about someone who likes a pig on a spit, which is quite normal for them. And so America is like, that's— I don't see it as kind of exploring that cultural diversity. There is, it's Mexican.

Tommy: What's the weirdest place you've been to?

Natalie: The weird— I wouldn't say I've been anywhere that—

Tommy: or maybe culturally different, that's a better way of putting it, because I wouldn't know how to answer weird either.

Natalie: Culturally different would probably be Um, like, that's unbelievable.

Josh: No, I think, um, I spent a bit of time in Japan.

Tommy: Oh, cool.

Natalie: Working for, um, a family-run business there, which was a cultural experience. So I was working in a Japanese hot pot restaurant. Wow. Yeah, and they didn't speak any English. I spoke very little Japanese, so that was an experience. And Japanese hot pot restaurant.

Tommy: What does that mean?

Natalie: So they serve like hot pots, like they had 3 dishes. So the shabu-shabu, so where you serve like raw meat and vegetables, and then there's like a little gas stove on the table, and then you get a boiling pot and you cook your own meal. So you put them like really thinly sliced like marble beef into the hot— into the boiling water, which is normally like a miso soup or flavored, and then you dip in all different vegetables and different sauces. And then there's a seafood version. And yeah, it's kind of like, yeah, the different types of hotpot. And so, yeah, I worked there like cooking in the kitchen with— so my bosses, they were very traditional Japanese. So they were called— we'd have to call her "Oksan" and "Shacho," which means— "Oksan" means "wife of the boss" and "Shacho" means "the boss." Yeah, I know. So it was another world. And so I'd be in the kitchen there with her. What did they call you? Oh, who knows?

Josh: How did you end up in a hotpot restaurant?

Natalie: The internet. It's a wild, wild place. You can get jobs.

Josh: You know, it started at the spruiking tickets at the MCG, raffle tickets, ended up selling passouts and then ended up working at the Saison Club.

Natalie: No, it was because it doesn't— it sounds way more interesting than it actually was. It was actually a job because I went over to do a season in Japan with like—

Tommy: what does that mean?

Natalie: Every other Aussie.

Josh: The ski season.

Natalie: Yeah.

Josh: Yeah.

Natalie: And so we ended up getting this job. Um, just over the internet. But it was— I'm really glad we did end up working there because it did mean that we actually got to experience the Japanese culture rather than just be in a bar with every other Aussie. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Oh, there is a little bit, maybe. Maybe. Yeah. Um, so yeah, that was a really good experience.

Josh: How do you work alongside someone you cannot speak the same language as?

Natalie: Yeah, it's tricky. But also, yeah, she— I talked about this in my show, but she punched me in the head. Yeah, she ruled with an iron fist. She actually really liked me. But I remember my friend— I did. So we worked with and lived with 3 other Japanese girls, and they all had different levels of English. So one, Ami, spoke no English. And then there was Yuko, who was learning English. She spoke pretty good English but wanted to learn more, and Japanese. And then there was, I can't remember her name anyway, but she spoke, she lived in Sydney for 2 or 3 years, and so she spoke perfect English. And so there was a lot of translating in between, and we were picking up Japanese and they were learning English off us. But, um, what's her name? It's really annoying me.

Tommy: Um, WhiteMr97 can find it out.

Natalie: Yeah, I know. And so that, she did a lot of translating. She did a lot of the heavy lifting. But how I got hit on the head was, um, my friend didn't turn up for a shift and she was like, where's Cassie? Where's Cassie? Kind of making— trying to— and I was just kind of like giggling, just trying to keep out of it. And then she opened the dictionary and, um, in— I think it was the Japanese word was then translated into— the word she was pointing out translated into severely punished or something like that. She's like, Cassie, Cassie is going to be severely punished. And I laughed. And then there was something to do with dinosaurs underneath, and I just pretended I wasn't saying the right word. And she got quite frustrated with me and she just—

Josh: Oh, geez.

Tommy: Thumped you on the head.

Natalie: Thumped me on the head.

Josh: What did you do?

Natalie: I laughed out of shock.

Tommy: And that was the wife of the boss?

Natalie: Yeah, that was wife of the boss. And but then she—

Josh: The enforcer.

Natalie: Yeah, she— Oxan, she apologised with a cookie that said I love you on it. The next night, she did love me. Yeah, I know. So yeah, that's, that's my cultural experience.

Josh: And hasn't travelled since.

Natalie: Yeah.

Tommy: Do you like flying?

Natalie: I'm fine with flying. I think I'm getting better at it. I feel like everyone is afraid of flying these days. Are you guys?

Tommy: No, I just, I accept the fact if we go on a plane that I'm going to die.

Natalie: Okay.

Tommy: And when you set that up as sort of the expectation, then anything else It's quite meditative.

Natalie: Yeah. Is it?

Tommy: We're just being like, you know what? Whatever happens, happens.

Natalie: But don't you think, wow, there'd be a better way to die if this plane's going down?

Tommy: No, because I just think about like if an A380 fell out of the sky in Melbourne. Yeah. We're going to be on the news.

Natalie: Okay. So, think about it.

Josh: Has there ever been a commercial airline flying between Melbourne and Sydney that's gone down?

Natalie: Oh.

Josh: Like it actually gone down. It doesn't happen much.

Natalie: No, I think that, yeah, there's like the stats are out there, like it's crazy. You know, I think you're more likely to be eaten by a shark than die in a plane crash.

Josh: So the fear that we experience—

Tommy: I'm scared of sharks.

Natalie: Pardon?

Tommy: Sharks, I don't like. Like free water swimming. I see in WA they're doing all that stuff with roping them off.

Natalie: Oh yeah. And you're fine about that?

Tommy: Well, they're roping off a very small, like near the beach. I think it's quite ethical.

Natalie: Okay. Yeah.

Tommy: Yeah.

Natalie: Oh, good, good, good to hear.

Josh: They do that in Sydney. But yeah, it's— there is a fear there. But the point being, the fear of flying doesn't meet the reality as of what we experience. So there is an extreme number of people who are scared of flying. Yeah, but then they're not scared of getting in a car and driving.

Natalie: Exactly.

Josh: Higher chance of dying in the car that they drive to work in every day than the plane. So it's this weird sort of It's because we have—

Natalie: Oh no, yeah, that's interesting that you compare it to the car because it's like you can, you see it all the time in movies, you know, people being eaten by sharks or going down in a plane crash. You know, we, it's like we can so easily imagine that ending in our mind.

Josh: Yeah.

Natalie: But I guess it's less glamorous to worry about a car crash than it is a plane crash because what you just want to be like, whoa, you'd be on the TV.

Josh: Yeah, yeah.

Natalie: Plane crash. Well, you're just another stat out there, just another figure on a TAC campaign.

Tommy: Boats? Are you a boat person? Like, ever done Spirit of Tassie?

Natalie: No, I don't know, not into that. I get a bit seasick, bit motion sickness. I think that it would be cool to do the Spirit of Tasmania though, but I looked into it once and it's quite expensive. Yeah, because the reason you'd take it—

Tommy: car.

Natalie: Yeah, exactly. And my mum's got a van, so I was like, let's take your van over and we can go on the Spirit of Tasmania. And then I'm like, hire a camper van when we're over there. It's way more affordable.

Tommy: Yeah.

Josh: Once I did the—

Natalie: hot tip.

Josh: I did the— it was paid for though, but I did the Spirit of Tasmania.

Tommy: What does that mean? Like an influencer thing?

Josh: It was when I was stripping. Here's a connection. Nat's sister taught me my strip routine.

Tommy: Oh, really?

Natalie: I've seen you strip. Have you? Yeah.

Josh: Where was that?

Natalie: That was at Emily Polo. She hired you for like—

Tommy: You were hired? Like, it wasn't even some sort of—

Josh: I guess that's what happens. You're saying a freebie?

Tommy: Is that what— why? I just, I think I never really made—

Josh: higher than just—

Tommy: I never, yeah, I never made the connection that people are— I never made the connection that people give— gave you money for it.

Josh: That's how I made cash.

Natalie: That's what stripping is.

Tommy: Well, no, but he also did the whole tour thing. I'm guessing it was a tour thing, but it's, it's not direct. Someone's not saying you and giving you cash. You're part of like a crew. Oh, what you're saying is someone pays a ticket to go see— this is actually like, nah, we like Look, I got my day right.

Josh: Yeah, I got my day right.

Natalie: Yeah. Okay. Yeah, yeah. Well, yeah, it was just a little get-together. Small event. Yeah. Hey, hey, hey. Painting quite a sinister picture here now, isn't it? Just slowly the storeys that are coming out. Amal house parties.

Josh: I've seen you strip.

Natalie: Jesus. No wonder it's taken 578 episodes to get me on. Don't want your dark past coming back.

Tommy: And so you went I went, TJ, to Tassie for a stripping gig.

Josh: Yeah, on that.

Tommy: Yeah.

Josh: For a tour.

Natalie: So you stripped on the boat?

Josh: No, not on the boat.

Natalie: It's more like a cruise ship.

Josh: But we had a cabin and we— and it was, it was fine. It was an overnight one. So you left at 6 PM and got in at whatever, 6 AM. But yeah, we should do it for the show.

Tommy: I vomited when I like the whole way.

Josh: Oh, really?

Tommy: And then I had a bratwurst sausage. I thought that would help. A cheesy My mum said, oh, you need something to eat, you need something in your stomach. Everywhere.

Natalie: Yeah, that's worse than Amel. Sniffing Amel after getting off that boat would have been a smarter choice than a cheesy bratwurst.

Tommy: Have you been to Tassie before?

Natalie: I actually haven't.

Tommy: It's meant to be— oh no, I've been, it's fucking great.

Natalie: I know, I really, really—

Tommy: it's meant to be really great. I went on the flight on the, on the plane.

Natalie: Have you guys travelled much of Australia?

Josh: The— I've never done Adelaide, Perth. Yeah, I've only done Queensland, Brisbane and Noosa and the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Sydney, bit down that coast. So not, not a great deal. Like, I reckon I've been to more states in America. Yeah, I've been through more states in America than I have in Australia, which I think is common for a lot of Australians.

Natalie: Like, if you know, most of us have been to London, but You know, have we been to the desert?

Josh: I have. Oh, you did? Yeah, yeah, you climbed it.

Natalie: Strippers and climbing.

Tommy: No, but it was like I was 15 years old in a low socioeconomic school. We had no idea. No one fucking knew. The teachers were doing it, everyone was doing it, and I— it was like a whole health challenge for me. I was like, I'm gonna fucking do it. Yeah, I wouldn't do it now.

Josh: Why was it a health challenge?

Tommy: Because I used to weigh a lot, 120 kilos.

Natalie: Oh wow.

Tommy: And so I did, I went I probably weighed 110 then, but yeah, I lost all the weight for it.

Natalie: Oh, wow.

Tommy: Yeah, but I ended up, I got sunstroke. And so, because I didn't carry much water. And so I just remember being the back of the bus and the bus driver was like, "Get him a jam sandwich." And so like, it was quite, yeah. Which is probably karma because yeah.

Natalie: No. Like you said, you were led astray by the teachers. No. And so I think if I was 15 and on a school trip, I would have climbed it too.

Tommy: Yeah.

Josh: I don't think you had an option to bring in your political stance on those things at 15.

Tommy: Like, yeah, well, the other thing now, like, but 2020 now, I'm sure like '97, like, you guys would have been— your school is very socially conscious. Yeah.

Mason: No, we wouldn't have done it.

Tommy: Yeah.

Josh: I mean, the time. Yeah, definitely not. But the time back then. Think about the conversation around gay marriage. There wasn't one. There wasn't even in our vocabulary. Not that like most of my— not homophobic. Like it just wasn't even a thing to talk about. It's like, yeah, some people are gay, some people are not. It wasn't some conversation about is it legal or not. It's amazing how these things just kick into this gear and it just shifts, which for the better.

Natalie: Yeah.

Josh: What if we're talking about Tasmania? It was still illegal to be gay in the '50s, I'm pretty sure. Can you confirm that?

Tommy: 1950s. Oh, Hannah Gadsden talked about all that stuff in her comedy special, I think.

Josh: Maybe she's from down there.

Mason: Yeah.

Natalie: Is she?

Josh: Yeah.

Tommy: What do you think, uh, 2020, what do you think it's going to be the year of? What do you, what are you, what are you feeling, futurist?

Natalie: Oh, do you mean in terms of trends personally?

Tommy: Like, what's the— so we had, what, 3 years ago, gay marriage stuff. Like, there's been—

Josh: it feels like it's taken a bit lighter. It was the year of the podcasts that were crime I like crying. It'd just be something a bit lighter than the political stance.

Natalie: Political—

Tommy: Iran, what's gonna happen?

Natalie: Yeah, what is gonna happen? That's why we're going into World War III and the world's gonna burn.

Tommy: You've been on Twitter.

Natalie: Yeah, I have. I have been.

Tommy: What do you think the future looks like? 2020, what do you think it's a year of? Oh, it can be fashion related, it could be, you know, what do you think I should—

Josh: comedy, what kind of— oh, it's going to be really in. I don't know, something.

Natalie: Oh God, what do you guys think? Let me— I'm panicking.

Tommy: I think like panic and anxiety will be big.

Josh: I think it's already huge.

Natalie: I think it's going to, you know, top the charts. Well, I think obviously with all the fires and everything happening at the moment, like climate change is obviously at a point where it can't be ignored. So I think that that will be— hopefully we'll see a change in there. Okay.

Josh: Okay.

Natalie: I'll leave that with you.

Tommy: What else?

Natalie: Hopefully I'd like to— I think that a lot of people who've maybe been ignoring that will think differently about who they want leading this country. And what else? I think mockers are going to be huge. Yeah, because mockers to drink.

Tommy: Yeah, I thought you meant moccasins.

Natalie: No, I'm not good at the drink.

Tommy: Oh, mockers as in—

Natalie: yeah, good for you.

Tommy: No, they're good. Or no, you think so?

Natalie: No, no, I'm not being sarcastic. I love them. I, I just think that we've gone, you know, it's quite trendy to drink what, like filtered black coffee, and now we're gonna go, oh, we're done, and we're gonna start the cycle again with mochas, and we're just gonna put everything we can in our coffee, in our drinks.

Tommy: Like, yeah, pumps, pumps, pumps, and so what sort of sprinkles What sort of milk do you go?

Natalie: Are you a— Yes, I drink soy. Okay. Or Coco Quench.

Josh: Coco Quench? So that's coconut? Coconut milk?

Mason: Yes.

Tommy: What do you think of— I'm more of a Milk Lab guy.

Natalie: A milk— what's Milk Lab?

Tommy: Really?

Natalie: Yeah.

Tommy: I'm surprised you don't know.

Natalie: Oh, is it like a—

Tommy: It's a brand and they do it like a barista almond milk.

Natalie: Okay.

Tommy: It sort of keeps it— it doesn't curdle.

Natalie: Okay. Oh, lovely. I've never gotten into the almond milk. Almond milk, because I've always thought, meh, it's a fad.

Josh: Yeah. I mean, it has gone really hard into those areas, like milk, for the reason that you have.

Natalie: I think it's ridiculous.

Josh: Solid opinion about the whole almond milk thing.

Tommy: Yeah.

Josh: Is this a thing, right?

Tommy: Well, now it's got a coconut brand that like Coco Quench.

Josh: It's—

Natalie: I have that for cereal and smoothies.

Josh: Yeah, I know that.

Natalie: I try avoid dairy. Do you guys drink milk?

Tommy: I don't drink.

Josh: Does nothing. Yes, I do.

Tommy: You don't have to be defensive.

Josh: No, no, no.

Mason: Yes, I do.

Tommy: To answer your question, yes, I was going to say that.

Josh: I don't— I think the reason these things get so much momentum is they start with health observations. So it's like, I do better off dairy. And so there's a whole bunch of people that do fine on dairy. I think I fit into one of those camps. Yeah, I fit into the camp of doesn't— I could, I could start drinking almond milk or drink dairy milk.

Natalie: It's the same as why, but you know, people wear— start wearing a certain type of sneaker or whatever. It just comes into fashion. Milks are a trend.

Josh: Milks are a trend.

Natalie: Yeah, they are.

Tommy: No, I believe it.

Natalie: Yeah.

Tommy: Have you had any New Year's resolutions?

Natalie: Um, not a resolution as such, but more just I'm hoping that I will be pleasantly surprised in 2020. That's just like, that's just how I'm going into 2020.

Josh: Is it, is it, um, you've done the work and something should pop?

Natalie: Or yeah, I suppose recognising maybe that in 2019, uh, it was like not a bad year, but it wasn't my greatest year. There was good stuff that happened, but just my overall kind of feeling about the year was just like, okay, enough. And I was a bit I just became a bit complacent and over it. And then I'm like, okay, I probably need to adjust my attitude. Yeah. And I am a bit— can be quite cynical. And so I'm like, oh, you know what, 2020, let's just hope I'm pleasantly surprised. I'll be like, oh, that was nice.

Josh: So you're saying I'm just hoping—

Natalie: I'm trying to adjust my attitude. That's my attempt at having a positive attitude.

Tommy: Have you been pleasantly surprised? What are some of the things that have happened?

Natalie: Oh, I mean, how many days are we in? Not many. But yeah, I just was happy Sydney doing gigs and the whole week. I mean, I won't take credit for it because these were good rooms, but the whole week I had like a run of awesome gigs. Like every show was, it was amazing. People laughing, people laughing so much. It was insane. It was, you almost couldn't enjoy it because you're like, I haven't even finished saying what I was going to say and you guys are already laughing. I don't even think it has anything to do with me. I think you're all drunk. Um, so that was nice. Yeah, so there you go, that's me being positive. Um, my housemate bought a Dyson vacuum cleaner.

Tommy: Oh, which one?

Natalie: Enjoying that.

Tommy: Is it the animal stick?

Natalie: Yeah, the big ball animal.

Tommy: Yeah. And wait, so it's not a stick ball?

Natalie: Yeah, it's not a stick, but it's like—

Josh: yeah, I know, it's got a, it's got a base, it's got a body. It's like that one.

Natalie: Congratulations. Yeah, we have to plug that in. Oh yeah, god, no, no, long gone. Onto the— so that's nice. I vacuumed before I came here. And what else has been going well?

Josh: Any house parties yet?

Natalie: No, we're living in an apartment now, so if anyone out there has a house— So, you know, we have house parties in an apartment.

Josh: No, not the ones that she would have.

Tommy: So we had— we— there was something going on on our floor, and we actually just got a letter yesterday saying that there's been like a noise complaint. Or— but because you do wonder, like, there's like really, really loud.

Natalie: Yeah, I— someone wrote because I— yeah, in my apartment building, um, quite early in the piece when I just moved in, next to my door on brick in permanent marker, "Loud people live here." Really? It's still there. I can't get rid of it.

Josh: The person that's trying to help that, like, he's still being a nuisance by writing on the wall.

Natalie: And I really feel like I know who it is. It's like the woman who lives directly across across the stairs from me. And I have a plan. And this has been, you know, 2 or 3 years now. And I just have a plan to just go and she's not very friendly at all. We barely talk. Okay. But, but I'm like, next time I see her, I'm just gonna, my approach is gonna be, I'm just gonna try to catch her off guard. I'll be like, oh, hey, nice to see you, Jane. Anyway, hey, just a quick question. Did you write that on the brick wall next to my, next to my house? And I feel like, okay, I know. Well, you have to because, hey, nice to see you. Hey, yeah, quick question. This is years after.

Tommy: That's so good. I was gonna go way more passive, like, have you got a permanent marker I could borrow? Yeah. And then when she's like, oh, it's in my pocket, it's like, you fucker, you.

Josh: No, but I think the just flat out asking in a weird sort of upbeat tone, yeah, could it just be the reason she's like, oh, do you need a hand with that?

Natalie: Let me carry that up.

Josh: Quick enough to lie about it. Because it's been so long. She's like, yes, I did.

Natalie: Yeah, exactly.

Tommy: And so what do you do then?

Natalie: Oh, can I carry that up for you? Hey, did you write that?

Tommy: So what do you do?

Natalie: And then I'll be like, well, can you look into a way of removing that? And just go, you sure? And then I'd be like, why didn't you knock on the door? You definitely did not knock on the door. I know the night that it happened.

Josh: So it's your house. So it's about you.

Tommy: We thought that potentially you had moved into the place.

Natalie: No, no, no. It was about me.

Josh: Okay.

Tommy: 100%.

Natalie: I know the night it happened. We had a dinner party and it was quite loud, but it was a Saturday night.

Tommy: What sort of music?

Natalie: I can't remember, but it was loud. We were being loud, but it was Saturday and we were done by midnight. Okay. And I think that's fair enough. And if there was a real issue with the noise, like she did not attempt any.

Josh: What a fucking loud people.

Natalie: We live here and then graffiti artist.

Josh: She's a graffiti artist. She's just something gronk.

Natalie: Yeah, I'm not sure what else I'd say. I'd be really lost for words. I'd be like, well, I'm just disappointed. What do you think?

Josh: Knocked on the door.

Natalie: Yeah, you could have knocked on the door, you bitch.

Tommy: Is there something, is there something that you could— because then the whole neighbour thing is interesting. I'm not, uh, I've never— I've actually once had a neighbour that we've spoken to, it's been great and we ended up enjoying it. I've never had the sort of the cut-through of a neighbour that you end up like Like, does anyone hang out with their neighbor? It's like, oh, I'm just going over to the next apartment across to play PlayStation.

Josh: Yeah, like friends.

Natalie: Yeah. I did as a kid, but I think that's a different kettle of fish. We're talking about being adults here.

Josh: Small— is it— are you in a small block or a big block?

Tommy: Or you're in an apartment? Oh yeah, yeah, sure, sure.

Natalie: Yeah, no, it's a pretty big block, but it's kind of like we're in sections. So, you know, there's only 2 apartments per level.

Tommy: Okay.

Natalie: So yeah, you kind of— You definitely know the people. There's what, 2, 4, 6, 8?

Josh: We got friendly with ours and there was only sort of 8 apartments, but out of the 8, there was only 2 people we really spoke to.

Natalie: Yeah, we had a threesome with our neighbors.

Tommy: Tommy's neighbour is actually Michelle Timms, the basketballer.

Natalie: Oh, what? I play in a basketball team. We're looking for a coach.

Tommy: Really?

Josh: Yeah.

Tommy: Okay.

Josh: This is good.

Tommy: Where about? What sort of?

Josh: He's a professional.

Tommy: What region?

Natalie: Um, so it's just, uh, social basketball.

Tommy: Yeah.

Natalie: Um, so we're called the Dirty Bloomers.

Josh: Oh, the Dirty Bloomers.

Natalie: The Dirty Bloomers. And we play on Tuesday nights, um, all-female team. Yeah, yeah, we're definitely looking for a coach.

Josh: Does she do anything with the Bulleen Boomers?

Tommy: I believe potentially. Can you look nice at where Michelle— when she played for Australia?

Mason: Yeah.

Tommy: Um, Dandenong Rangers. Oh yes, as well.

Josh: Yeah, just a bit of basketball banter.

Natalie: Yeah, I'm looking to upskill.

Tommy: And so what, what nights are you playing?

Natalie: Tuesday nights. We're on break, we start back in Feb. Yeah, it was training kicked off last Sunday, I couldn't go.

Josh: Why?

Natalie: Um, oh, I was up in Sydney.

Tommy: Okay, what do you—

Natalie: what sort of like, are you doing ball drills or what's the Yeah, just general shooting. We're really working on our shooting.

Tommy: Where? Like, do you go to a general—

Natalie: do you go shooting, dribbling, passing, all of it?

Tommy: Like an indoor basketball court?

Natalie: Oh no, we train at an outdoor basketball court. Yeah, normally in Carlton. There's a lovely one on Canning Street.

Tommy: Do you bring your own ball?

Josh: So if you rock up— because I've been playing more basketball since— there's a basketball out the front of my townhouse.

Natalie: Okay.

Josh: And so it's actually Michelle's. So I shoot and it's great.

Tommy: Is it good? Is it not on a hill or anything?

Natalie: Did she ever play on there?

Josh: Oh, I shot a few with her and she's just swishing.

Natalie: Oh, wow.

Josh: Anyway, I went down.

Tommy: Did you do an Insta storey with her doing that?

Josh: She's going to come on the show.

Natalie: I asked her. Is she?

Josh: I asked her. Yeah. And so I went to a basketball— there's only like, it's only like one ring and three, you know, the sort of half, like the three, three-point line and all those sort of things. I went there, I was like, fuck, I didn't even think, what if there was someone here when I got here? Do I go and play? Like, what's the etiquette? Can I work in? And so there wasn't. And so I started. Then I saw someone come up, this guy with his young daughter, and they had a basketball.

Natalie: I was like, damn it.

Josh: I was like, is he gonna come up here?

Natalie: Yeah.

Josh: And so what I ended up doing was kind, I left.

Natalie: Yeah.

Josh: Amy wanted to get out of there, but I was like, I took it and I went over and did some exercise and then he ended up backtracking, coming and playing. Yeah. So the etiquette in his mind is don't go there if someone else is there.

Tommy: Swings are big with that. I think that you and I have been on a swing before, and I think the rule is that if kids come up to use the playground, you just have to move. Like, if you're over 25.

Natalie: Yeah.

Josh: Why are you in a park?

Tommy: Well, no, but if you're using a swing, if you're using a swing, you have to get off as soon as a kid gets there.

Natalie: I wouldn't say as soon as. I would, I would say that, yeah, maybe if they're like giving you the eyes.

Tommy: Well, you just don't feel comfortable.

Natalie: It depends what time it is as well. I mean, if it's like 5:36, I reckon they should be getting home.

Tommy: They should be like a night routine.

Natalie: Yeah, I think, yeah, exactly. They should be getting bathed. Yeah, yeah, bedtime story.

Josh: Exactly. Are you a bath person?

Natalie: Yes, I am.

Tommy: Bath bombs? When was the last time you used a bath bomb?

Natalie: Oh, I don't think I can remember the last time I used a bath bomb. No, I'm mainly into baths because of the magnesium.

Tommy: Yeah, so the magnesium, what do you do, put it into the water? Yep, the same one that you consume?

Natalie: No, I buy a different one from, um, I buy like, yeah, magnesium salts flakes actually.

Tommy: Oh, that's nice.

Natalie: Yeah, from, I mean, it's all making sense. Exactly, it's all coming together. Oh, your magnesium, magnesium.

Tommy: They do a spray now, which—

Natalie: yeah, I That makes me itch.

Tommy: You sure you don't want that?

Natalie: I overdid it on the spray and it would sting and itch. It was horrible.

Tommy: It's an easy—

Natalie: I don't recommend the spray.

Tommy: It's an easy— magnesium is an easy one to overdose because you think to yourself, more, like, the more I have, the more fluid I'll feel. Yeah, it doesn't work like that.

Natalie: Same as Deep Heat.

Tommy: When was the last time you used Deep Heat?

Natalie: Yeah, a couple of months ago. Yeah, I went too far.

Tommy: What happens if you go too far with TP?

Natalie: It just burns. It's really— I was alarmed. I put it— I nearly called my sister. I was really like, I've gone too far.

Josh: Yeah.

Natalie: And you can rub it in your eye.

Tommy: Oh yeah, that's a real issue.

Natalie: It's like cutting chili. You got to be careful.

Josh: Oh yeah. Or onion. You gotta make sure. Are you doing the Comedy Festival this year?

Natalie: I am.

Josh: How many shows? So you do like a sprint of a bunch of shows or like a—

Natalie: Oh yeah, it's more like a marathon.

Josh: Yeah, marathon.

Natalie: Yeah, it's not a sprint. It's, I think, 23 shows.

Tommy: Oh wow.

Natalie: Yeah. So you do 6 nights a week. So yeah, it's from— Yeah, it's a lot. What's the—

Josh: Have you got everything dialled in?

Natalie: No, I don't. So You have to submit it. It's such a bluffing exercise. You have to submit your show name and blurb and photo in like October to the Comedy Festival and sign up and apply for venues and everything like that before you've written the show.

Tommy: So you go super generic then? Is that the idea?

Natalie: That— yeah, but you don't want to go too generic. Sometimes you want to trick yourself into— you want to trap yourself. But yeah, so I've done that. Now I'm writing the show. So I did try go be specific. I'm like, nah, fuck that, I'm not going to be generic.

Mason: What is that specificity?

Tommy: What does it look like for you? Is it like the— have you gone really—

Natalie: well, yeah, like I wrote like a bit of a plot, like in my blurb of like expect this and expect that.

Tommy: You say, tell us now, or is it—

Natalie: oh yeah, so the show's called Under the Influence, right? Um, so it's actually a character show, so sketch, so it's not stand-up, so something different. And because I kind of play a bit of a character on Instagram.

Tommy: Oh yes, yes.

Natalie: And so it's I'm being this girl, she's like a wannabe influencer, beauty influencer. And so I'm doing a show with her, like it's a meet and greet at a shopping center. And I also playing another character who I do on Instagram, who's Sal, and that's going to be her mum. And so yeah, I wrote kind of a bit of a plot of what's going to happen— not the plot, but I went a little bit too specific. And so then I just emailed Comedy Festival just the other day, I'm like, can I edit my blurb on the website just bit before it went live. They're like, yeah, that's fine. I'm like, that's good. Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah, I'll be doing that. So I'm writing it now. I've been trying to write it this morning.

Josh: Have you locked in the venue?

Natalie: Yeah. Yeah. So I'm going to be at Bob, which is an independent venue. It's on Little Collins Street, 240 Little Collins Street. So it's really close to Town Hall and it's got an awesome bar. Like, it's where a lot of comedians hang out and people who go see shows and they've got a room up the top. Right, yes.

Josh: So that would be 6 nights a week?

Natalie: Yep.

Josh: Wow. Yeah, 3 weeks, 4.

Tommy: Yeah, what are the dates?

Natalie: Uh, I don't know them off the top of my head. I think it's like the 24th of March to like the 19th of April or something like that.

Mason: 26th to 19th.

Natalie: Thank you, I was close. 26th to 19th. Yeah, it's called Under the Influence. I think it's going to be fun, but it's a different show for me because normally when you do stand-up up. This is the time of year and end of last year where you're writing new jokes and you're going out and you're doing open mics and you're doing rooms and you're working it up. And I'm not used to— I don't know how to work in a show. I mean, I do, like, you just got to find different rooms and different ways and try shows. But yeah, it's just a bit of a different process. So I'm nervous slash excited.

Tommy: Is there anyone up and coming that you think we should cheque out or even have on the show?

Natalie: Oh yeah, so many. God, um, Sonia Di Iorio, she's awesome. She's absolutely killing it. Jacqueline Mifsud. Um, who do you know in there? Like, I don't know how much comedy do you guys consume.

Josh: I just, I watched a, uh, was at my wife's parents' place and, um, they use that TiVo thing, a recording device. And so I was watching a comedy gala from last year. Okay, yeah, so I saw a bunch of people because it was like Small, small little bits. Yeah, I was impressed by a bunch of them. I can't remember the name, so yeah, yeah, yeah.

Natalie: Um, I could send you a bunch, there's so many. God, I'm always— um, Danielle Walker.

Tommy: Um, what do you think of the— like, I was thinking of during the comedy festival doing like the themed The Daily Talk Show, like having heaps of comedians come in. Do people do that? Like, if if the festival's on, people are just gonna be fucked, or would they actually come on?

Natalie: Oh no, definitely. Yeah, I think that'd be great. And like comedians are desperate to spruik their shows because they like, there's just so many. There's just more and more shows every year. It's really competitive. So yeah, people are out doing whatever they can, you know, handing out flyers, begging, you know, saying, begging. Oh, it's $25 a ticket. Do you just wear them down with your You'll be doing this. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I always flyer you out the front of the town hall and, and she actually just ends up selling the passouts.

Tommy: Yeah, exactly.

Josh: To the other shows.

Natalie: To other shows.

Josh: Yeah, that's great. Oh well, we'll, um, we'll have to get you back on Closer.

Natalie: Yeah, yeah, definitely. Under the influence though.

Tommy: Yeah. So who, what's the character on your Instagram account that you're, uh, what's her name?

Natalie: Oh, her name's Nat.

Tommy: So it's easy.

Natalie: I didn't really plan on doing it. It's just something that It just evolved really. So I never, she never started out as a character. I just had an idea for, I always just thought it'd be funny to do one video where I'm like, cause they go through their daily, they take you through their morning routine. And so.

Tommy: Night routine? Does Nat have a night routine?

Natalie: No. I wash my face.

Josh: Okay.

Tommy: Yeah, sure.

Natalie: And try and.

Tommy: As in the character Nat, does she have a nighttime routine?

Natalie: Yeah, she did a video on a nighttime routine.

Tommy: She was drunk.

Natalie: Yeah. It never ends up being any Beauty Tips. But that's how it started, doing the videos. And because I thought it would be funny to do just the idea of a girl going through a nighttime routine, and then she goes out of shot, she's washing her face in the sink, and she just starts to cry hysterically. So that was the idea. And then it just kind of snowballed from there. So now I'm like, oh, it would be good if I didn't— she didn't have the same name as me. But like most things, I'm just like, oh, I've got a funny idea, I'll give it a go. And then I keep going. And then Yeah, I'm not very strategic.

Josh: I love it. It's good. I think you've— but in some ways you are because you've worked out that you're on to something and you do a comedy show around it, then it all kind of happens.

Natalie: Oh, hopefully.

Josh: Pleasantly surprised.

Natalie: Yeah, exactly. God, I'm going to be so pleasantly surprised with all of your listeners coming and purchasing tickets to my show, aren't I?

Tommy: Can people even buy them yet? Can they?

Natalie: Yeah, they can. There's early bird tickets. Oh, oh, and I am donating. I am donating all of the tickets that are sold. In January to the bushfires.

Josh: It'd be cancelled otherwise.

Natalie: Yeah, exactly.

Josh: I hope that other people are doing that too.

Natalie: Absolutely. But yeah, you guys should get out and see some shows.

Josh: Oh, we're gonna. Yeah, I think we should.

Natalie: We should actually get comedians on for sure.

Tommy: I think we should like actually have some structure around it, like say this is what we're going to because it always like when the festivals are on, they go, they go like, oh yeah, we're going to fucking do it. And then you don't end up seeing it or you see one Yeah. And it's like, yeah. So I think that there's something in really being specific and saying, okay, we're going to go to a bunch and then getting a bunch of comedians on. Yeah, I think that would be fun too.

Josh: I love it.

Natalie: You should see if you can get media passes.

Josh: Maybe then you can go to any show.

Natalie: Yeah. Yeah. As long as it's not sold out.

Tommy: Fuck yeah. Great.

Josh: All right, we'll get on to that. Mr. Sevz, get on to that, please.

Tommy: Thanks for coming on the show.

Josh: We're looking forward to having you on for another 580.

Natalie: Yeah, I'll see you on on the 2000th episode.

Josh: That would be interesting.

Tommy: Maybe we could do a Spirit of Tassie show.

Natalie: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's great.

Josh: Bring all the seasick individuals.

Tommy: There could be something on the motion seasickness, or maybe the next time if we're radio.

Natalie: You strip, you have bratwurst, and I'm on the Amel. That's a trio of dips.

Tommy: It's a daily talk show. Have a good one, guys. I'll see you tomorrow. See you guys.