Valerie and Reggie got the "male's perspective on dating" at a cougar-y workshop facilitated by a Suze Orman-esque Rock Rose ex-therapist, current charlatan. It made Regina discouraged and Valerie temporarily into Bumble. Former public access star and all-around delight Arcie Cola joins Help Wanted to tell us what tarot is and what it isn't. Arcie is a self-taught tarot card reader who first learned while hosting a live, call-in show. Today she does readings for Austin.com. We talk DIY tarot cards and she gives Reggie and Valerie readings. Arcie also dabbles in conspiracy theories, and helps us figure out what happened to that Malaysian plane. The episode sponsored by Anxies, a new line of leggings to wear when you're feeling anxious.
Reggie's leg is healing nicely since her fall into a hole. Valerie is taking a memoir writing class and everyone needs a new tub. We talk with Susan Schorn, a Karate double black belt, writer (Smile at Strangers), and self-defense instructor, about activism, communicating with assertion, nonviolent protest, and how she uses the martial arts to channel anger. Plus tips for dealing with street harassment and effective resistance. This episode sponsored by Breakroom Food, for when you'd rather eat a chocolate Santa wrapped in foil than question your life's choices, and from City of Exhausting t-shirts, tees with love hate relationship with the city of Austin.
Help Wanted talks with comedic performer and all-around fun person Amanda Smith about the law of attraction and Abraham Hicks, aka, Esther Hicks, a guru type who taps into source energy that we can all also tap into if we want to manifest our dreams. Amanda shares a story about going to a hippie retreat in California introduced her to positive thinking, which ultimately ledd her to make a move to Austin, and an eerie thing that happened after her move. Plus oh my! Reggie fell into a hole, (kind of, just her leg), saw bone, and had to celebrate President's Day in the ER, instead of buying a mattress. Valerie can't count in Spanish past 12, or actually 11 if she's being truthful. This episode sponsored by DIY IUDs; you can make an IUD out of plenty of household items: old receipts, a chopstick from Panda Express, or a wad of old twist ties from that drawer in your kitchen with the batteries and melted gum.
Turns out Valerie's hubcap bandit from last week wasn't actually a thing. Reggie can't figure out her world since rearranging her bedroom and she may or may not have had an attempted break-in. We turn to bad habits often to help us deal with stress. Overeating, overcouching, overworking, over everything. BBQ potato chops and tears are Regina's way of coping. But we can have more fulfilling lives if we build good habits and change the bad ones. We have tips for how to make good habits stick (don't focus on changing everything in one fell swoop you'll fail). Plus, many interruptions from Valerie's new kitten who has many names and you can still buy Tang. Who knew? Sponsored by Lash Catastrophe, the lash lengthening serum sold on Facebook by women you went to high school with.
Valerie and Reggie talk with licensed therapist, Elizabeth Dossman LPC-S, about shopping for a therapist. We discuss questions to ask the therapists you're looking at working with, awkward first sessions, different types of practitioners, what therapists are really writing in their notes, how to "break up" with a therapist, how can get services even if you don't have money, equine and art therapy, and much more. You can find out more about Elizabeth Dossman and her approach at www.elizabethdossman.com. Plus Regina shares her weird apartment therapist story, and Valerie reveals she has a hubcap bandit. This episode sponsored by Flatbreads, a tasteless menu item for when you want to make pizza great again, but it actually already is.
Writer and funeral director Sarah Wambold makes her second visit to Help Wanted to discuss political activism. Sarah shares her experiences getting involved as a college student with marijuana legalization and how post-election her activist tendencies have increased times a million. She gives insight on protests, social media, canvassing and phone calls. Plus some tips on how to be an activist if you're an introvert or don't have a lot of energy. Reggie and Valerie both want someone to teach them how to shoot weapons to prepare for the impending apocalypse. Sarah advises going out without your phone. And also, Valerie went to LA for ice cream, amazing pancakes, beaches and to witness a homeless guy humping the sidewalk. Plus AirBnB hidden cameras and Costco broccoli soup. This episode sponsored by Sharpies, the number one writing utensil for the resistance.
Reggie's relaxing these days contemplating men's messy sheets and painting perfect fingernails. Valerie adopted a kitten that might be named Vincent and received a shoulder tap from a stranger on the street who wanted to inform her about her height. Shame is a normal, but icky feeling. Regina has tips for getting over shame. One way to get rid of it is to talk that shit out. Share your feelings. Give it attention. Tell someone you trust. More than likely that person has experienced that same feeling and it will disappear. Brene Brown says that secrecy, silence, and judgement are what shame needs to exist. Valerie talks about EMDR therapy as a technique to get to the root of our shame and change negative beliefs locked in our nervous systems. Plus Wheatsville Co-op is our safe place during the Trump administration. This is Us is apparently a good show. This episode sponsored by Skype Cave, the best way for baby boomers to Facetime their loved ones. With Skype Cave parents can finally stop searching for darkened walk-in closets to make calls to their millennial, gen X, or gen Y kids from while still achieving the look that they’re being held hostage in an underground bunker. Skype Cave also offers views such as right nostril and popcorn-textured ceiling. Skype Cave!
Reggie and Valerie deconstruct the the doomy, gray, rainy, and white inauguration. And the jazzy, colorful, and diverse women's marches in Austin and around the world! Valerie marched beside a sweet 76 year old woman named Val who offered her Skittles and Werther's. Because that's what women do in the Trump Era. Regina doesn't believe in phone cases. Who has 4 thumbs and overthinks? Both of your Help Wanted hosts! We talk about the reasons we overthink: we've been conditioned to, we're fearful of being "wrong," and we often have too many choices. Regina talks about not worrying about "wrong" decisions but trusting that we have the ability to maneuver and course correct. Plus the story of St. Thekla, who ditched her fiance to take a vow a chastity, a pretty feminist thing to do way back when, wherever saints lived. This episode sponsored by Kittens! Grab a pussy while you try to protect your own.
Valerie's new thing is Korean sheet masks. Reggie's starting off 2017 with a freer schedule and training sessions. We discuss the mysteries of the calendar and why we all have other people's events on it. Comedian and performer Tim Brewer talks with us about relationships and how and when to define them, dropping the L-bomb, break ups, and the secrets women may reveal in the way they kiss. He shares the story of how he got together with his wife—a story with twists, turns, a renunciation of faith, some bands Valerie's never heard of, and a raccoon-infested Wes Anderson-type house. Plus a trip down memory lane to a simpler time, called the early 2000s, on a show called Sex and The City, when Carrie Bradshaw wore Aidan's whitey tighties. This episode is sponsored by Desk Sandwich, a snack that seems not that great anywhere else, is actually not that bad while scrolling through your Facebook feed, reading depressing stories on Politico during your lunch break.
Feminist filmmaker Juani Begood joins Help Wanted to chat about rape culture. What is it and how pervasive is it? We chat about how women minimize their own rape experiences, how partners can be supportive, and why talking about sexual assault is so important. This is perhaps the most overshare-y episode of Help Wanted to date. Lots of talk of unwanted jacking off and compulsive VHS masturbators. The world is divided into 2 kinds of people: those who have tonsils and those who don't. Plus Valerie is sad post-surgery, keeps visiting an orange tabby kitten at the shelter but can't commit to adoption, and would get her bathroom remodeled if she had one million cajillion dollars. Reggie's jotting down her gratitude and wants to have neighborhood cul de sac parties. View Juani Begood's work at juanibegood.com.
Valerie and Reggie talk NYE, surgery, and share clips from some of their favorite episodes of 2016: bathroom etiquette, imposter syndrome, settling (with guest Wyatt Tall), comparison, and vulnerability (with guest Lauren Cohen of Hope and Humor Therapy) and polyamory (with guest Jessica Taylor). Plus buttery nipples and dirty hospital floors.