On this episode of The Antidote, Amy and Grace introduce a new segment, ‘Storytime,’ where they tell each other a story about themselves! Grace and Amy share their happiest childhood memories, which include Narnia, teeny weeny afros, and redefining beauty. 

Amy and Grace also share their bummer news of the week – rent in Manhattan reaches a new high, and sitting all day can cause health problems, even if you exercise. They also share their antidotes: the two of them went to a beautiful patio restaurant for a de-stress dinner date.

This week’s Creative Tap-In: 

“Make up a story... For our sake and yours forget your name in the street; tell us what the world has been to you in the dark places and in the light. Don't tell us what to believe, what to fear. Show us belief's wide skirt and the stitch that unravels fear's caul.”

― Toni Morrison

Do you have a favorite antidote, or need an antidote suggestion? A question for Grace and Amy, or something you loved that Amy, Grace or one of their guests has said on the podcast? Share a message with The Antidote team: https://mpr.tfaforms.net/111 or tag us on Instagram, with the hashtag #ThatsMyAntidote

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FULL TRANSCRIPT

Amy The world is a dumpster fire. I'm Amy.

Grace And I'm Grace. We are comedy writers in Los Angeles.

Amy And you know what? We're here to help.

Grace So as a reflex to the f---ing madness on the news, we're keeping it positive, uplifting, but opinionated.

Amy Damn straight. We talk about cultural moments we love.

Grace We talk to people we adore.

Amy Crushes we have.

Grace And self-care we stan.

Amy During these trying times. We all need to show that focus is on joy.

Grace This is the antidote. Oh. Hi, everybody. You know what? I am looking at such a great day in L.A., but I'm so happy to be here with my friend and be here with you doing the antidote for another week.

Amy Yeah, you guys. Grace is about to leavin on a jet plane. She's about to be out of here.

Grace Oh, you too, bitch. Like we going to be cruising. We going to be high fiving in the sky. You know who says yes? Actually, you're. You're leaving, actually, before me. But tell us, where are you flying off to, my lady?

Amy Oh, well, by the time this airs already, be back, y'all. But I am on my way to France, you know, my other home. And I haven't really spent considerable time there since before the pandemic, so I'm really, really excited to go. Yeah, yeah.

Grace Yeah, yeah. You got to have some cheeses and some breads.

Amy That's right. You know. Yeah, exactly. So.

Grace You know, I am sort of lactose intolerant, but when I go to I can eat that cheese and nothing happens to me. What are we putting in our cheese? And the American.

Amy Literally, America is a cesspool like, what? They're just like,.

Grace Why does our bread taste so bad?

Amy I used to think I hated bread, and then I went to France and I was like, Hmm, say, roses, take them numb because they have.

Grace Laws that make sure that you can't put too much extra sitting there, which is great.

Amy Yeah, it's so true. I'm like, everything in France tastes better is a little better. By the way, I saw that one of our listeners shared an antidote.

Grace Oh, great.

Amy Her handle is Ruthey Morris. That's R-U-T-H-E-Y  Morris. And she said, My antidote for this week is morning meditation. I love that, Ruthie. Before I even get out of bed, I check in with myself and set intentions for the day. It makes me feel so much more relaxed and confident when I have a busy day ahead of me. Ruthie, you and me are speaking the same language. This is also my morning antidote, if you will.

Grace Yeah. And you know what? I've just gotten recently a little bit more consistent with meditation. Like, I have some affirmations that I say in the morning, but just recently I started doing meditation more religiously. And yeah, I do the same thing. I just lay there in bed. I have the Headspace app and I just pull it up and I do my morning meditation. And yeah, it really helps center you before you get into the craziness that is life. So thank you for sending that in.

Amy And other listeners, if you'd like to send in your antidotes, please use the hashtag. That's my antidote and also tap the show if you'd like. And we would love to share them on the pod.

Grace But Amy, we wouldn't need the antidote if we didn't have something to get an antidote from.

Amy Starting out of top with our bummer news of the week. So, guys, have you heard that rent in Manhattan has now reached an average of $5,000 a month? Guys, this is nuts. Literally, in July, it reached this new high 5113 is the median rent.

Grace And this is even more than 5000 I was hoping under.

Amy It's over 5000. According to the same report, average rents in Brooklyn landed at $3,883, and one in four apartments in the boroughs are bidding wars for the fourth month in a row. This was the latest report from Douglas Elliman, which is the realtor company. But yeah, it's like. Literally why are rents this high?

Grace Yeah. Here's the thing that bothers me about this the most. Brian is too damn high, and then wages are not keeping up now. So I moved to New York when I was 23 years old. I wanted to become an actor, and so I hopped on my little ass on a Greyhound bus and I came out to New York, you know, with all these dreams and stars in my eyes. And, yeah, you know, I was able to stay with my family for a couple of months, so that was a blessing. But I moved out after like two months. I was staying with my aunt and I moved out with a friend into a one bedroom apartment where she used to sleep in the living room, and I used to sleep in the bedroom and our combined rent was 1100 dollars and it needed to be 1100 dollars because, you know, my first job right out of college, I was like an editorial assistant and I was getting paid like $24,000 a year and my friend was like working at a club, you know what I'm saying? And she also came to New York to be an artist. So like, we would not have been able to do that. If rent was $5,000. It would have been impossible for us sometimes the 550 each that we were paying in this, you know, one bedroom in Queens was still kind of tough, you know, to to swing at that time because I wasn't getting paid very much at all. So I don't know this like New York is an artist's mecca. Yeah. So. People who want to be come designers, people who want to become actors, writers, so many different things. They come there for that. So how is the city going to be transformed for the worse if artists are not able to afford to live there?

Amy Yeah, I agree. And I'm like, Oh, so it's going to be like 19 people in a room.

Grace New York is one of those places that if you have a big dream, that's where you got to go. Like, you know what I'm saying? I could have never done what I have done if I did not move to New York. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. So it just breaks my heart for anyone. Even if you have a dream to be on Wall Street and you got a degree in finance or whatever, you're going to be working like an assistant job, a low level job. How are you going to be able to afford that? I'm mean.

Amy You gotta have roommates. Yeah, yeah. You're going to have roommates til you're in your thirties. But that's not the only bit of bummer news. Up next is, hey, did you know that sitting all day can cause health problems even if you exercise? Yeah. A new study which involved more than 3700 men and women in Finland. It was actually done by Vahid Ferrar here. I hope I'm saying his name right. A postdoctoral scientist at the University of Eau Lu. This study found that many dutifully exercise for a half hour, but then sat almost nonstop for another ten, 11 or even 12 hours a day. In the study, they were called active couch potatoes.

Grace Oh, no.

Amy And their blood sugar, cholesterol and body fat all were elevated. So exercise might not be enough. Okay. It's not going to be enough to counter the health issues created by prolonged sitting. How's this make you feel, Grace?

Grace Wow, um, I am a writer, so I'm going to say. I mean, like, I can't. I can't. Not like I sit a lot because I'm at the computer typing scripts.

Amy Yeah.

Grace What am I going to do? And even when I'm like on set, like you're sitting at Video Village, you get up to talk to the actors, you know, every few minutes, but you're mainly sitting down. And I live in Los Angeles now. I used to walk a lot when I was in New York, but now I work. You know, I live in a walkable neighbor of Los Angeles. But, you know, I just don't have to go as far to, like, run errands anymore, like, you know, walking wise. Like, if it's something is a mile away, I actually do drive, you know? So this is a bummer for me because then now it makes me think I should get one of those treadmill desks. And those are a bummer to me. No offense if anybody has one, but like every time I've been on a zoom with somebody who's doing it. It's a bummer. And also, I don't want to be working out like slowly all day long so that I've got my little peloton time or whatever was enough. I thought that it was enough to keep me awake, but I guess not.

Amy No. But also, I will just say this study, I was kind of like, oh, it's like eating bad food is related to illness. Like to me, there was a little bit about this that just felt like fear mongering. I'm like, Tell me something I don't know. This just in water as well. Like, I'm not because I'm like, Yeah, of course, sitting is bad for your health. We know, but y'all invented these damn computers and made us do it. So I'm just kind of like, do you want us to be productive or do you want us to be healthy? Because I don't know if the two go hand in hand.

Grace Yeah, I mean, well, you know, we we live in America. So, you know, the answer to that question is.

Amy Yeah, I definitely do. 

Grace It's all about productivity in this capitalist society. I mean, now that I know this, I guess I will just try to get out and maybe add a walk to my morning. But, you know, once I'm actually at work, like, there's nothing I can really do about the fact that I, you know, sit most of the time.

Amy Well, one thing that I've started doing, Grace, if if maybe something maybe our listeners can do is I used to be so mad that I don't have a bathroom right next to my office. But now here and stuff like this, I tend to walk down like to a further away bathroom so that I'm like getting some steps in there so that that helps a little bit. I hope to also just do a lap like maybe like you're working and get up because we're all working from so many of us are still working from home. Yeah. Like get up. And instead of just going to the bathroom and going back, do a lap around your studio, around your one bedroom, around wherever you live, just do a lap before you go back to work.

Grace Yeah, yeah. I'll definitely try to get out more for sure. But yeah. So sometimes when it's just necessary to sit for like.

Amy I know. Uh. God, I got to write. Oh, yeah. Oh, my God. How do you feel, Grace, having heard all this?

Grace Well, I mean, I. I feel pessimistic about the the future of New York. And I also feel sad that I now I have another thing that I have to f---ing get it to by day, which is to get a bitch at work. If you don't want to die early death, how do you feel?

Amy I mean, about the same. So, yeah, this is exactly why we need the antidote. So this is the segment where we tell you about the culture we consumed and things we did this week that made us feel better about the bummer news. What was your antidote this week, Grace?

Grace My antidote had to do with you. Oh. It did because, you know, I'm going away for a few months to supervise a production and Amy's going to go to France a little bit. And so we decided to get together because we won't be able to easily see each other for until December. Frankly, we want be able to.

Amy That's wild. When you say that, it makes my heart hurt. Yeah.

Grace But so as a result, we decided to have a little drink slash dinner moment. And it came at a moment where I was dealing with a lot of stress. Like there was something that happened earlier, I won't say, because it's regarding a certain person that owed me a certain product, but things did not go as planned. And so I was very, very upset arriving there. So we sat. We got a drink. I told you what happened. And it really was what I needed in that moment, because I was so stressed out, because I have so many things to do before I get on this plane and go on this trip. So, so yeah. Just sitting there with my Amy having some delicious food. I think we had some pasta.

Amy Yeah, that was the. I mean, that really was the best part of it for me was like it was restaurant that I don't ordinarily eat at because it's like, mostly like carbs and cheese. I was like, why don't I eat here more often. Then I sat down and looked at the menu because it's so it's like there's a beautiful little patio moment. It's like the cocktails are good, the vibe is right. And I was like, Why don't I eat here more often? And I'm not saying the name of the restaurant because I'm kind of dragging them because they hand out the menu to like, Oh, it's just cheese and bread.

Grace Cheese, bread and butter. That's what it is.

Amy Even the vegetables come with a plate. Literally one of the dishes I was like, Could you do? What is this? And he's like, Oh, so it's served on a pillow of cheese.

Grace And you know, we're Black. Our lil tum tums, our tum tums can't handle that much, you know, we lactose intolerant.

Amy Yeah, we are both lactose intolerant. But on this night, we chose it because it was in a good location for what we both were up to before. And it just ended up being the right spot. And it was so nice, even though our waiter got too busy and kind of left us alone too long. It was really nice to just, like, sit, like sit which is going to kill us.

Grace Oh no. I should have been doing laps around the restaurant.

Amy But it was really nice to sit and we got these cute cocktails that came in, like take home cups that were shaped like cats. And I was like, Why is this a thing?

Grace I was just like, because we saw the thing and we both love whiskey. Like, we're both whiskey drinkers. And so we're just like, Oh, this one has whiskey in it. I was like, Why is it f---ing $30? And then we really just both were just like, F--- it, we're just having that guy tonight. So, yeah, so we ordered it. It came in a ceramic cat with a flower and then they're just like, guess what the treat is? You get to keep the cat.

Amy And I was like, You charged me to take care of this cats. I was if we were know what this wicked cat. But I was just like, you know what? We do want it because now we each have something in our homes to remind us, you know, that night or that specific dinner that we have. Exactly, exactly. Yeah, we have a souvenir. Oh, yeah. Well. De-Stress dinner was also my antidote this week, so this is beautiful. So, yay. Listeners, if you are looking for an answer, grab a friend gallery, go to a restaurant. You don't go to that often that you think the vibes are going to be noise and just go have a de-stress dinner, kvetch about what you're going through and then enjoy a good drink.

Grace Yeah, yeah. And then sometimes like we were right, we did make a bad, bad decision about the dessert because at first Amy was just like, Oh, Van Leuwen is nearby. Like, we should go there to get some ice cream. And then I was like, I don't know, we're here. That's zucchini cake. Looks pretty okay, then we had it. And it was not.

Amy But I'm like, Don't you pass off vegetables as dessert. How dare you.

Grace I thought it was going to be a zucchini bread moment. Like, you know, because I do like zucchini bright if it's like moist, but it was not moist. But, you know, sometimes it's cute to share dessert with your friend, too, because you're sort of cutting back on the calories, but at the same time, having a little treat with your friend and you're like, Ooh, we're going to be bad.

Amy We're gonna eat dessert. 

Grace Which, you know, I don't know why we think that way. Dessert is not bad. It's the patriarchy, you know.

Amy Well, it all dates back to white supremacy, like, literally. Any time in your day that you like. Why do I think that? Well, it's either the patriarchy or white supremacy. I'm sorry, darling. We've been infected.

Grace Oh, no. But yes, it was such a lovely, lovely, lovely, lovely time. And. Yeah.

Amy Focusing on the antidote. Great. Yes. Yes. Oh, man. Now I want to get another friend's dinner with you. Well, we will see.

Grace I know, but it's impossible till December.

Amy I know, but we're going to figure it out. We're going to figure it out. I know we are, though. And I look forward to the day. We'll be back after the break. And we're trying a new segment today, so make sure to stay tuned. Welcome to Story Time.

Grace Yeah, we keep getting feedback that our listeners want to hear more about us and thank you for that actually. So we're excited to try out a new segment on the show. And yeah, just let us know what you think.

Amy We're going to ask each other a question we've never spoken about before, and who knows where the conversation will go. Grace, you ready?

Grace Let's do it.

Amy What is your happiest childhood memory and what makes it so special? Mm hmm.

Grace Happiest childhood memory when I was a little girl. I had a best friend. And as you know, she was kind of like me, not super popular at school. And she, you know, she and I stuck together because we got to know each other in preschool. You know, I'm from Guyana. My parents are Guyanese. And so when my parents came over, they put me in like early preschool. Caribbean people love schooling, you know, I know you go early as a Nigerian, but they love you. And also they like put me in school as soon as they could. And so I made friends with this girl named Sarah. And we were just a little swirl, little best friendship as little children. She's white. I'm black. She was just my best friend. And so we had so many fun times going to Oak Park. Park. I used to live in Oak Park, Michigan, and so did she. And I just remember us, like, riding bikes, like, down the hill. And like going into the forest and playing Narnia together because we were both nerds. So we read like a lot of the Narnia books, so we would pretend to be like Narnia in the forest. And I was just like, Oh my God, like our parents just let us go to the forest. The eighties were a different time. You know, I just remember just playing dress up with her. She always used to have a box of dress up clothes in her closet. And so I go over to her house and play dress up. And a lot of times we would read books together, so we'd be like, okay, the new Nancy Drew just came out, so we'll agree to read it together. So she was just my very, very best friend and I still know her. She lives in like the Chicago area now. And now she's a librarian, which is very sweet. We were friends with the librarians at the library because the the library was in like in the park area. And we'd go to the library and go get ice cream cones at the ice skating rink after. So just that time, because she was kind of like my only friend at the time.

Amy Yeah, I just like the idea of knowing that you have a deep connection, that someone from your childhood. That's awesome. Yeah.

Grace And after this, I should hit her up. I should hit her up.

Amy And this is so sweet. It, like, became a tribute to your friend. I love this.

Grace Yeah, it's a sweet person. Sweet person still. So what would you say your happiest childhood memory is, Amy?

Amy I don't know the answer to that. I feel like most of my childhood memories are pretty bittersweet. It'll be like, Oh, when I was playing and then that dog. But my brother. You know, it's just like everything. It's like, Oh, my first coed birthday party. And the cops got called. I'm like everything. All my memories are like real weird, yeah, yeah. It's so funny because when I first heard the question, I thought, proudest childhood achievement.

Amy Oh my God, of course, you would.

Amy But maybe my happiest. It's a little bittersweet, but actually I think this might be one of my happiest memories. So when I was like maybe six or something, my parents, like my whole childhood is like littered with like Nigerian weddings. My family was always going to Nigerian weddings, like because there's a big Nigerian community in Dallas. And I remember when I was six, there was a wedding coming up and my mom said I could pick my outfit and I picked like this green and black. It was like aqua green and black striped dress that was not very fancy, but it was just like kind of like three quarters sleeve, like scoop neck dress that was kind of like a calf length. And I wore like white tights and like black shoes, and I was like, I look cute. And I was like.

Grace That sounds very nineties, you know what I'm saying?

Amy Yeah, it was super nineties, so I don't think I looked that cute. But that's not even the memory. The memory is in the dress is relevant because my mom kept saying she was going to do my hair for the wedding and I had kind of like hair like I do now, like shoulder length kind of hair. And my mom pulled a fast one on me and she f---ing shaved my head. Not all the way loss, but like into a tiny little teeny weeny afro. And which is what Nigerian parents do. Like if you look at pictures of Nigerian kids, they all the girls have teeny weeny afros. It's just like we don't have time to do your hair. You going to have a teeny weeny. But like as a kid in Texas, I felt like I was like, What are you doing? I remember crying and being so mad. I was like, Why did you cut my hair off? And she was like, So you look nice. And I was like, I don't look nice like this. And the dress having a scoop neck, I was like, My hair's going to be on my shoulders. And instead there was no hair. So I was just like, it's just all neck. And I was I was so upset.

Grace Beautiful neck and a beautiful head. 

Amy Yes, and this little chocolate face like I was adorable. But at the time, like, you know, you're in f---ing Texas and you're over here just feeling like I want to fit in. And my mom took the one thing that I was, like, kind. It made me fit in with like my longish hair and cut my hair off. And we got to this where I was sobbing the whole way to the wedding. I got there. I was so upset. I was just like, I didn't want to talk to anyone and I just felt so, quote unquote ugly, which I now know is like, you know, the patriarchy and like, white supremacy and my poor childhood mine. But after the wedding happened and there was a reception, we're like sitting with our families and stuff like in Nigerian weddings, dancing. It's like a huge thing. Like everybody dances, you throw money on the bride and like all this stuff. So people are starting to dance and they're playing good music and music that I knew. Some of it was Nigerian, some of it was pop music. And I remember people kept coming by and saying how pretty I looked. And obviously it's a mostly black wedding. It's mostly Nigerians at this wedding. And I was just like, Yeah, okay, layers. And then I was kind of like, maybe I do look cute. I don't know. And then they were playing a song I like. I'm in my chair just kind of dancing, and my dad was like, Dance now. And I'm just like, No, I don't want to. I don't want to be okay. And he's like, Just go dance. You loved the song Go Dance. And then my dad, like, took me out on the dance floor and we started dancing. And then he left me and I was cutting up. I remember being so happy because I was like all these people here and like I'm saying it now as an adult at the time, I couldn't like fully conceptualize this, but as an adult, I'm like, all these people here don't have the standards that the world that Texas had. And they all said, I was beautiful and they all said I was cute, and they all said I was a good dancer. And so I was like, it was one of the first moments I remember being around people who were like me, like holy, like me, and feeling like I fit in. And so I was dancing. And I remember somewhere in one of my parents like photo albums, there's a picture of me, like, with a huge smile on my face in that green and black dress with my arms spread wide just like so happy in the middle of this dance floor. And and I loved to dance like I've always loved to dance like I used to dance like, you know, I took dance my whole childhood. I danced in college. I was on dance teams. I choreographed things. But like, I've lost that. I can't I'm not that great a dancer now. You don't use it, you lose it. so guys keep twerking. But I literally.

Grace Keep twerking. Put that on a T-shirt.

Amy Literally keep twerking or you lose it. But I used to dance a ton, and that was one of my earliest memories of just like loving, loving dancing. And it was photographed, so it was real. I was like, Is this a fake memory? But it's real.

Grace No. I love that story because it has a whole emotional arc. How writerly of you. Like, she cut my hair and I'm just like, Oh no. And then you're like, I got there, and I was just like, Oh, maybe I'm cute. Oh, yes. And then, oh, I had such joy. Oh, yes. So you took about a whole journey.

Amy It's so funny, but it's indicative of the fact, like what we both said is like, all our stories are like, bittersweet. And I'm like, most of mine start happy and end sad, but that's one that started sad and ended happy.

Grace No, that's great. I mean, yeah, I can relate because my story was just like we bonded because we were bullied and then we found joy in one another, which is the happy part of it. But yeah, I do think like being a little black girl, especially the way we grew up with in mostly white spaces, that we're not kind to us that you know. Yeah, sometimes it is challenging to find those happier memories, but I'm glad we took a moment to like, reflect on that, you know. Like, it makes me feel better. Like, so often when I think of my childhood, I think of like all the things that were unfair or racist or, you know, sad that happened to me. But I'm glad that I could take a moment today to, like, just pause and reflect on, you know, something happy or something good that got me through those tough times, being a kid, you know?

Amy Agreed. Yeah.

Grace Well, I mean, we've been friends for such a long time, but yet I'm still learning about you. So I actually like this little story type thing that we do.

Amy Yeah, it was fun. So much fun. I think we should do this again sometime. LOL. I always say that.

Grace So if you enjoyed our Story Time segment, let us know and send us some questions you would like us to answer. Like, you know, send us some prompts like.

Amy Mhmm.

Grace Out here. That would be great. So hopefully the next time we do this will have a prompt from you guys. That'd be fun.

Amy By the way, Grace, do you remember those quizzes in the back of magazines that we used to take back in the day?

Grace Oh, yeah, like, you know, Seventeen magazine and things like that.

Amy Yeah, like what fruit is your identity? 

Grace Oh, yeah. And now? Now.

Amy Are you pretty enough to deserve a boyfriend?

Grace How does your comforter tell you what period underwear should you should have? I don't know. Like I had- BuzzFeed is now the new Seventeen magazine.

Amy I know BuzzFeed really is. But I think we should take one of those quizzes to close out the segment. I found one online.

Grace Okay. Sure.

Amy It's a friendship quiz. It's. Are you a good friend or a bad friend?

Grace Oh, no. I hope we're friends.

Amy I have a feeling we're going to pass.

Grace Yeah, I feel like they're going to f---ing, like, crush this sh--. You know what I'm saying?

Amy If anyone else wants to take this quiz, it's on Oprah.com. Just Google it. But here's the first question, Grace.

Grace Great.Mm hmm.

Amy Do you initiate contact between the two of us, like by calling, emailing, dropping by for a visit? Do you do this? Never. Rarely, sometimes. Often or always.

Grace Often I would say.

Amy Yeah, me too. I feel like you often call me or email me.

Grace And text you. Usually texts.

Amy Is this quiz dated? And how come texting isn't- drop by for a visit? I mean, I don't do that so much, I can't even be in your building. Yeah, yeah. Drop by.

Grace But like, calling, I was like, if you call me, I'm just. I'm usually a little alarmed that just like, I guess I was just like, oh, is something wrong? Yeah, cause actually, that's just the world we live in right now, you know?

Amy Exactly. Exactly. Well, I would say we both passed because we both they often question, too. Do you create a supportive atmosphere? Making a point of being cheerful, encouraging, and caring enough to make me feel good. Never. Rarely, sometimes. Often, always.

Grace I'll say often. I wish you were always. But.

Amy Yeah, Yeah. I think it's often. I would say I do it for you. Sometimes I think I'm a Virgo. So I'm often my tendency is often to want to like support through feedback. And I'm like, it's an annoying tendency of mine, I would say, but I default to that. So I don't know if I always am a cheerful, encouraging, caring presence. I hope I am. I would say sometimes slash often.

Grace Yeah, I would say often. Yeah. I think you're you're often encouraging. Yes, I would.

Amy Oh, good. Oh, I'm glad to hear that. Yes. Okay. Great checks for both of us.

Grace You know that dream you have great crush it. Oh, yeah. I don't do that. I don't do that. Okay. I was like, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's true. Yeah. Okay, we do that pretty typically. Okay.

Amy Question three Do you prepare a special event like a dinner, a birthday party, or a fun activity for both of us to do together? Never, rarely, sometimes, often or always.

Grace I would say for that one, rarely. It's just because we're we're just busy. Yeah. You know, if I can help out with any of your stuff, I try to do that. I've never been like a big planner of like, things. I don't even really do a birthday party for myself. I just. I kind of like to just travel on my birthday, so. So yeah, I would say rarely, but mainly just because I'm too busy to do so.

Amy Yeah, I would say rarely as well. I mean, we've planned a few dinners and you planned for us to go get our OR photography done. So we've done a few little things, but agreed it's rare because we're busy people. This quiz makes it seem like it's rare because we don't care about each other, but we respect each other's need for time. Okay. Question four Do you stand up for me with other people? Defend or support me when people aren't treating me well? Oh my God, who's not treating me well? Do you do this? Never. That often. Always

Grace Always. I mean, I have to say that Amy is the mayor of L.A., so I so I have to very much, like, defend her when she's out there because people generally like her a lot. So, you know, on the rare occasions it has happened or whatever, it's it's literally just somebody saying something like, oh, yeah, she's so busy. Well, she's busy because she's a bad bit, you know what I'm saying?

Amy That's hilarious.

Grace So, I mean, so it doesn't happen that I have to do it very often because I think also people know better than to speak ill of you in front of me. But yeah, I mean, if it did happen, it would be an always 100%.

Amy That's what I keep thinking of. I'm like, who is coming to me and talking about Grace? I'm like, That would be a wild choice.

Grace Yeah, yeah. I'm just like, Do you have you ever seen either of our social?

Amy Like, I'm like, my social media is a tribute to Grace.

Grace Yeah, literally it stayed with mine or whatever in every other picture. It's me and Amy. What are you. What would you be?

Amy  I'm also like, where are we that people aren't treating either of us well and the other one is seeing it?

Grace No, I mean.

Amy I mean, not often.

Grace Yeah. I mean, honestly though a one time I can't think of it because remember when we went to Italy and there was a mix up with our villa. But like first world problems guys.

Amy Relatable content.

Grace Amy did a very, very sweet thing where she decided to like pay for the villa for me and Tash for like two nights. And we were so attached because she, like, didn't tell us. And so we had gotten there and we were, like, asking our travel agent, we're just like, We have to pay you for this hotel. He's like it's not due yet or whatever. But then Amy was just like. Just so you know, you guys, I am taking care of this villa for two nights. And I was like, Oh my God, that's so sweet. So when we get there and the villa is not the villa that she ordered, oh, bitch. All three of us went flames because we were just like our friend tried to do something nice and y'all are playing her shady. It just turned out that it was a genuine mix up. But and they and like so many people, came to apologize to us. So we're not mad about that. But, you know, in the moment we were at we me and Tash went into protection mode, so.

Amy Yeah. Yeah. Like, do you know how she got away? Notice I was verified on Twitter. I'll ruin you. You see this blue check. You better check the receipts.

Grace Yeah. So, yeah, we have evidence. For always.

Amy Yeah, yeah. Exactly. That is true. Well, I'm going to ask you one more question. Okay. Do you focus on my problems and offer empathy, understanding, kindness, comfort and verbal reassurance? Never. Rarely. Sometimes, often or always.

Grace Always. I would say yeah. Whenever you bring it to me. Yeah, for sure.

Amy Yeah, I feel the same way. I feel like I do that for you always. I think it's almost like the basis of our friendship. Because like, do work, girl.

Grace You, you, you doing great. Yeah, that's literally what we do for each other. Like, uh, I'm so stressed. Oh, no, but you're doing great. It's you're stressed because you love everything you're doing, you know? So I think that we constantly do that for each other.

Amy I agree. This quiz was very sweet. It didn't drag us like I feared it would. So, so glad to know that based on this quiz and our answers, except for that one rarely, we are great friends.

Grace That's great. Great to know. I mean, you know, was there any chance that it wouldn't be. To close this out. We're going to do our creative in, which is our segment about creativity. Amy, are you ready for this week's quote?

Amy Oh, yeah, sure.

Grace I can make up a story for our sake and yours. Forget your name in the street. Tell us what the world has been to you in the dark places and in the light. Don't tell us what to believe, what to fear, show us beliefs, wide skirt and stitch that unravels fear's call. And that is Toni Morrison. And that's from her Nobel Prize lecture in literature in 1993. I'll read it one more time. Make up a story for our second year for Get Your Name in the street. Tell us what the world has been to you in the dark places and in the light. Don't tell us what to believe. What to fear. Show us beliefs, wide skirt and the stitch that unravels fears. Call Toni Morrison.

Amy Well, Ms. Morrison, you is deep.

Grace Yeah, that's what she known for.

Amy I think that the first sentence kind of made me think of traveling and like just picking an identity. Like, Yeah, I drive cars in Portland. Like, I'm a, you know, I'm a venture capitalist. I'm originally from Copenhagen, but I lost my accent. But, you know.

Grace Yes, Black people are everywhere. Yes, I'm from Copenhagen.

Amy Yeah, that's right. That's right. Be confused. It's like I think of that for make up a story for our second year. Forget your name in the street. I'm like, okay, girl, my name is Trinity. But I think what she's saying is I hold on to the second part of that sentence, which is say what you are in the dark and the light where it's sort of like, forget the story that you've been forced into or like what you've been told or what you were led to believe that, you know, quote unquote, sacred contract that you had with your past self. It's like, forget that story and live in both the dark, in the light and and just be as opposed to being prescriptive. That's what it makes me think of. It is pretty deep. That last sentence to show us beliefs, the wide skirt and the stitch that unravels fear's core. I'm still wrapping my head around that. But, Grace, what does this quote make you think?

Grace Well, it makes me think of losing yourself inside of your own stories. And and so, you know, when you're working in TV, a lot of the times you it's a collaboration, basically. You know, all the all your favorite shows there is anywhere between, you know, 3 to 12 writers that work there. And we all sit around and we brainstorm ideas and and whatever show you see is, is, is our collective imaginations. Our collective lives are collective stories. But, you know, when it's your own project or your it's your own thing, you do get to just lose yourself within your characters and stuff like that. And recently I've just been thinking about that more because I've been doing a lot of work for others, which has been a joy in a way. I mean, I literally love everyone and I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to work on all the amazing shows that I have. But every so often I'm just like, What's the purest expression of an artist? It's like me sitting there, like coming up with something that shows the dark and the light parts of myself. And so, you know, and that's also why I became a comedy writer. It's just like I want to take the dark parts and make them light and like, take the dark parts and make you think about them through laughter. So to me, this is reminding me today that, you know, craz, you know, try to find yourself like an artistic project that's either just for you or, you know, start something new that you're developing from scratch where you're not thinking about like, you know, this, this studio is looking for this or that studio's looking for this. Maybe I should come up with something like that. Like, you know, it would be really nice, especially this time when I'm going into production on another show and I actually really don't have anything to write other than the scripts from the show that I'm working on right now. It might be a time for my own joy and stuff to really just sit and be like, Maybe you want to write a book, maybe you want to write a novel. I really love them romance novels. So I was like, Maybe I want a-

Amy Ooh, girl. You could do that.

Grace I'll write it. Write a little.

Amy Make us one, Grace.

Grace Romance novel. I do it because the romance is lacking in my life. So, you know, sometimes I like to pretend. But, you know, I think that, you know, it's just the reminder. And, you know, Toni Morrison, who gave us some of the most incredible works of American literature that have ever been written. Just remembering like how signature her work was and how you could read a sentence like Show US Beliefs, Wide Skirt and the stitch that unravels fair's call. Is there a more Toni Morrison sentence than that?

Amy Literally now.

Grace You know what I'm saying? She loves flowery and and elaborate language. And I was just like, I want to have that, too, someday, where somebody can read a sentence of mine, like, you know, I've had the pleasure of working with Robert Carlock and Tina Fey. And, you know, you can read one of their jokes and, you know, that's a that's a Fey Carlock joint. So I, you know, I guess I have aspirations to have that kind of voice for myself, but I need to make time to do it instead of just, you know, responding to the industry. So thank you, rest in peace. Toni Morrison.

Amy Yeah, and I agree that she's deep, but one of the simplest things she ever wrote, I actually posted as my away message on Labor Day this year. There's a piece that got reprinted in The New Yorker that's called The Work You Do The Person You Are and she gives sort of like for tenants about labor. And I'm not going to give them now where we've got it long enough, but you can look it up. It's in The New Yorker, but just about like how to think of yourself as a worker. And it's something that like, I don't know if I was just in a mood to hear them that day, but it's not it's not the usual. Toni Morrison Like poetic language. It's very straightforward and direct and a little didactic, and I really enjoyed it because I was like, Oh right. Even someone as prolific as her needed rest and being able to separate yourself from your work is so important. Yeah. And so I really loved all the things that she has said and and the ways we continue to celebrate her. Cool. Thanks for pulling that quote, Grace. It was great.

Grace Thank you. Well, you're welcome, I should say. I was just like, thank you for thanking me.

Amy I get it, we love each other.

Grace That's kind of supportive friends.

Amy Exactly. We ain't that bots.

Grace So thank you for listening to the antidote. We hope this injected a little bit of joy into your week. I know it did mine. How about you, Amy?

Amy I feel good, girl. We should do this again sometime. We'll be here next week.

Grace And in the meantime, if you'd like to follow us on social, follow me. Grace. At Gracyact. That's G-R-A-C-Y-A-C-T.

Amy And follow me. Amy at AmyAniobi. That's A-M-Y-A-N-I-O-B-I. And follow the show at theeantidotepod.

Grace That's thee with two E's.

Amy If you like feeling good about yourself, please subscribe at Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Grace Goodbye.

Amy And go make up a story. The Antidote is hosted by us Amy Aniobi and Grace Edwards. The show's production team includes senior producer Se'era Spragley Ricks and Marcel Malekebu.

Grace Our executive producer is Erica Kraus and our editor is Erika Janik. Sound Mixing by Derek Ramirez.

Amy Digital Production by Mijoe Sahiouni. Talent Booking by Mariannne Ways. Our theme music was composed and produced by TT the Artist and Cosmo the truth.

Grace APM studio executives in charge are Chandra Kavati, Alex Schaffert and Joanne Griffith. Concept created by Amy Aniobi and Grace Edwards.

Amy Send us your antidotes at antidoteshow.org And remember to follow us on social media at theeantidotepod. That's thee with two E's.

Grace The Antidote is a production of American Public Media.

Amy Buh-bye.