WEBVTT 00:00.171 --> 00:02.753 [SPEAKER_00]: Hey everyone, welcome back to Room for Us. 00:03.174 --> 00:04.895 [SPEAKER_00]: A space where queer voices thrive. 00:05.436 --> 00:07.177 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm your host P and every single week. 00:07.237 --> 00:12.021 [SPEAKER_00]: I like to sit down, get vulnerable, and talk about all things queer with all of you. 00:12.702 --> 00:19.527 [SPEAKER_00]: And for today's episode, it's going to be a little bit more of like an open discussion that I'm kind of going to throw out to you guys. 00:19.587 --> 00:25.913 [SPEAKER_00]: And if you're interested and you want to chat more, please DM me so we can kind of talk about these ideas. 00:26.453 --> 00:31.816 [SPEAKER_00]: and also a bit of housekeeping because I'll be so honest with you guys it has been a week. 00:31.976 --> 00:33.917 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't even know where the days went. 00:34.118 --> 00:41.922 [SPEAKER_00]: I feel like I blinked and it's already Friday and I've just been so busy but it's been a good busy and I love this season. 00:42.382 --> 00:46.865 [SPEAKER_00]: There's something about like September October well basically fall. 00:47.145 --> 00:51.348 [SPEAKER_00]: there's something about fall that makes everything feel like a new beginning. 00:52.109 --> 00:55.151 [SPEAKER_00]: I love the fall fashion around this time. 00:55.351 --> 00:59.995 [SPEAKER_00]: I love the coolness in the air and wearing like a little jacket but it's still sunny. 01:00.515 --> 01:11.584 [SPEAKER_00]: It's been so nice in Vancouver and I've really been like romanticizing my daily walks after work which I definitely have to go for a walk today and get some steps in because it was also 01:13.445 --> 01:21.234 [SPEAKER_00]: no complaints there because I do like being busy but I also think it's good to slow down and I feel like sitting down to record this pot episode and just talk. 01:21.775 --> 01:25.439 [SPEAKER_00]: So openly to all of you is really really good for me too. 01:25.719 --> 01:31.246 [SPEAKER_00]: So it's gonna be that kind of episode today, no particular topic, but 01:32.367 --> 01:41.694 [SPEAKER_00]: I wanted to run an idea by all of you as well that was actually brought up to me by Grace who is a lovely listener of this podcast. 01:41.734 --> 01:47.238 [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you Grace, I love you and she has been listening to the podcast since Girl On Girl. 01:47.559 --> 01:53.023 [SPEAKER_00]: She's such an amazing supporter and she brought this idea up to me so I want to give a shout out to Grace. 01:53.723 --> 02:08.088 [SPEAKER_00]: But before we get into that, I really wanted to talk about this competition that I entered, called Top Host, and it's a national contest partnered with Ryan C. Crest and I Heart Radio to find the next great podcast and radio voice. 02:08.908 --> 02:17.371 [SPEAKER_00]: So instantly when I saw this ad for top post I forget when I saw it it might have been in the summer I instantly was like, I need to apply. 02:17.631 --> 02:35.477 [SPEAKER_00]: As you all know, like this podcast is my number one love I have become so in love with like long-form videos and conversations I feel like I always have podcasts playing when I'm cleaning when I'm walking I love watching on YouTube as well and like seeing a studio and seeing two people banter 02:35.957 --> 02:53.391 [SPEAKER_00]: I feel like what we've done, like even what Sarah and I do with girl on girl was incredible and I'm so happy that I'm continuing to rebrand and you know now it's room for us and some of the conversations are a little bit more focused on that South Asian queer visibility and my story and I'm going to get into all of that. 02:53.631 --> 03:00.837 [SPEAKER_00]: I was thinking about how much I love what this podcast has done for me in terms of building those friendships in terms of 03:01.437 --> 03:23.383 [SPEAKER_00]: Talking about my sexuality so candidly on the internet and also in more of a long form way I was like, I need to take a chance on room for us and apply for top post It feels very vulnerable because All the contestants who are in it have to ask for votes right and I feel like that's so not my style I feel like I don't really just go and ask 03:23.943 --> 03:27.765 [SPEAKER_00]: for votes and you can basically vote every single day. 03:27.905 --> 03:33.427 [SPEAKER_00]: It's free every day up until October 15th and then I think that's when the next round happens. 03:33.467 --> 03:42.810 [SPEAKER_00]: So I'm not exactly sure what that process is like but I know the contestants will make it through if they're at least ranked in the top 20 in their particular group. 03:43.271 --> 03:46.692 [SPEAKER_00]: And right now I'm ranked number four which is amazing and I want to thank 03:47.252 --> 04:02.062 [SPEAKER_00]: Every single one of you who has been voting every single day, I can see the names pop up and it makes me so happy because I've been seeing Some familiar names and like close close friends and family and then also some new names, which is like very, very exciting. 04:02.102 --> 04:02.902 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm like, oh my gosh. 04:03.002 --> 04:03.303 [SPEAKER_00]: Okay. 04:03.503 --> 04:03.983 [SPEAKER_00]: Let's go. 04:04.063 --> 04:05.224 [SPEAKER_00]: It's like motivating, right? 04:05.404 --> 04:07.505 [SPEAKER_00]: So that's kind of a housekeeping thing. 04:07.545 --> 04:10.747 [SPEAKER_00]: I just wanted to announce that let's try to keep the momentum going. 04:10.847 --> 04:11.828 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm so excited. 04:12.528 --> 04:14.690 [SPEAKER_00]: And you never know what could happen. 04:14.970 --> 04:16.271 [SPEAKER_00]: Honestly, I feel like 04:17.232 --> 04:21.936 [SPEAKER_00]: When I think about podcasting and radio, I think back to me in school too. 04:22.617 --> 04:31.626 [SPEAKER_00]: Most of you may know this for listeners who've been listening to the podcast forever, but my background is in journalism, and I specialized in radio and broadcast. 04:32.146 --> 04:37.391 [SPEAKER_00]: So that's always kind of been something I want to really pursue seriously. 04:37.912 --> 04:41.195 [SPEAKER_00]: And I feel like this chance with top host would be amazing. 04:41.835 --> 04:50.766 [SPEAKER_00]: The winner actually gets a six episode series produced by I Heart Radio, which oh my gosh You guys that would be life-changing. 04:50.786 --> 04:59.857 [SPEAKER_00]: I would love nothing more for room for us And I feel like as I reflect on 31 and this new year and what I want to manifest it's like 05:00.577 --> 05:01.337 [SPEAKER_00]: Let's go for it. 05:01.357 --> 05:04.599 [SPEAKER_00]: Let's go for these things that we might be nervous about. 05:04.699 --> 05:07.960 [SPEAKER_00]: We might even at times be like oh my gosh Do I have the potential? 05:08.420 --> 05:21.725 [SPEAKER_00]: The seams like too big for me, but also it's good to remind ourselves that we can do anything We really really set our minds to and I know that is the most generic statement ever, but I get in my head all the time 05:22.165 --> 05:28.849 [SPEAKER_00]: I really, really do and I feel like going for this top post position is exciting and I'm just going to give it my all. 05:29.289 --> 05:35.313 [SPEAKER_00]: So the link is in my bio if you haven't had a chance to vote yet and just a reminder you can vote for me for free every day. 05:36.153 --> 05:37.274 [SPEAKER_00]: And I'll keep you posted. 05:37.314 --> 05:38.935 [SPEAKER_00]: We'll see what happens October 15th. 05:39.275 --> 05:50.562 [SPEAKER_00]: So the next thing I wanted to touch upon and this is what Grace had brought up to me is that there's this idea she had to introduce something to the podcast called Book of the Month. 05:51.362 --> 05:59.085 [SPEAKER_00]: And she brought this up because she was saying that, you know, the podcast that has been, you know, it's been running since 2021. 05:59.165 --> 06:00.346 [SPEAKER_00]: It's been a good five years. 06:00.866 --> 06:05.448 [SPEAKER_00]: The community that has been built through room for us, slash girl on girl has been incredible. 06:05.908 --> 06:08.969 [SPEAKER_00]: I've made some awesome friends here and I love the chats we have. 06:09.509 --> 06:15.152 [SPEAKER_00]: But Grace was saying, is there a way we can bring everybody together a little bit more? 06:15.312 --> 06:18.433 [SPEAKER_00]: Like maybe there's more discussion or even people can meet each other. 06:19.193 --> 06:32.366 [SPEAKER_00]: And when I first moved to Vancouver, that was one of the things I was always looking for was queer community here in this new city, right, like going out and actually meeting people and actually talking to people. 06:33.067 --> 06:35.810 [SPEAKER_00]: And the internet can be such a good connector in that way. 06:36.270 --> 06:42.897 [SPEAKER_00]: That's probably one of my favorite things about social media is the access that we can actually have to people and you can 06:43.617 --> 06:45.319 [SPEAKER_00]: genuinely create friendships from it. 06:45.419 --> 06:48.583 [SPEAKER_00]: I think that's awesome and that's something that we never really used to have before. 06:49.284 --> 06:57.835 [SPEAKER_00]: And what better way to actually do something with room for us where there's prompts or there's discussions where maybe we meet every single month. 06:58.075 --> 07:00.157 [SPEAKER_00]: And it could be something we test out at first. 07:00.578 --> 07:01.499 [SPEAKER_00]: And if we really love it, 07:02.420 --> 07:05.041 [SPEAKER_00]: let's do it and the idea is book club. 07:05.481 --> 07:08.081 [SPEAKER_00]: So let me know what you guys think about that. 07:08.922 --> 07:12.222 [SPEAKER_00]: I have also been trying to get better with reading. 07:13.243 --> 07:22.125 [SPEAKER_00]: I think I mentioned this on a past podcast episode and my last episode was actually on a thousand splendid sons by Khalid Hocini because I loved that book so much. 07:23.205 --> 07:24.246 [SPEAKER_00]: Can't stop thinking about it. 07:24.466 --> 07:25.507 [SPEAKER_00]: I still think about it now. 07:25.747 --> 07:32.492 [SPEAKER_00]: I was thinking how cool would it be to introduce You know a new book and We can all talk about it. 07:32.972 --> 07:46.402 [SPEAKER_00]: We take the month to read it and then we either meet on Zoom like a book club And we can actually have open discussions or maybe we start it with like a discord chat So there's like less pressure and we'll see if people are interested to join like an actual Zoom conversation 07:47.082 --> 07:54.384 [SPEAKER_00]: So it's just an idea, and I want to give credit to Grace for giving this awesome idea for book of the month. 07:55.005 --> 07:56.765 [SPEAKER_00]: But let me know what you think about that. 07:57.045 --> 07:58.846 [SPEAKER_00]: It doesn't have to just be queer books. 07:58.906 --> 08:03.267 [SPEAKER_00]: It could just be anything you're interested in, different genres, certain authors. 08:03.287 --> 08:05.008 [SPEAKER_00]: We're going to discuss even like an author. 08:05.328 --> 08:08.049 [SPEAKER_00]: We can focus on, and we can do a few of their books. 08:08.569 --> 08:09.790 [SPEAKER_00]: But I'm very open. 08:09.930 --> 08:11.652 [SPEAKER_00]: So just let me know what you're thinking about that. 08:11.852 --> 08:13.733 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm actually currently reading Yesteryear. 08:13.753 --> 08:22.300 [SPEAKER_00]: I've already started it and I'm still like kind of in the beginning stages of it, but I was thinking that could be the book for November. 08:22.480 --> 08:31.948 [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe mid-November I'll do a check-in and if the listeners are interested in this and they've already read Yesteryear or they're curious about reading Yesteryear. 08:32.168 --> 08:36.051 [SPEAKER_00]: We could jump on a discord chat or zoom and talk about this. 08:36.411 --> 08:44.137 [SPEAKER_00]: I know I'm kind of rambling because this isn't like solidified, but it would be awesome to hear if this is something you'd even be interested in. 08:44.317 --> 08:49.261 [SPEAKER_00]: For those of you who don't know what yesterday is about, the book is insane so far. 08:49.761 --> 08:56.106 [SPEAKER_00]: It's basically about this influencer who is showcasing this Tradwife lifestyle. 08:56.166 --> 08:58.448 [SPEAKER_00]: She has like millions of subscribers and followers. 08:59.188 --> 09:08.596 [SPEAKER_00]: And because she's showcasing this on her social media, she tends to get a lot of, like, I think there's a lot of suspicion, but she also gets like a lot of hate for the content she posts. 09:09.177 --> 09:17.483 [SPEAKER_00]: And then one day, she wakes up in the 1850s, and she's actually living the real, Trad wife lifestyle. 09:18.024 --> 09:23.068 [SPEAKER_00]: It's so fascinating, so far, and the way the writing is depicted is very much like a satire. 09:23.809 --> 09:25.370 [SPEAKER_00]: And I won't give anything away. 09:26.050 --> 09:30.092 [SPEAKER_00]: So maybe we'll check in in November and we can all discuss yesterday. 09:30.132 --> 09:36.174 [SPEAKER_00]: I think that would be really fun And of course, I do also want to highlight queer authors and queer books. 09:36.234 --> 09:39.856 [SPEAKER_00]: So if anyone has any suggestions We should definitely get into that as well. 09:39.996 --> 09:45.858 [SPEAKER_00]: That's kind of what I just wanted to say for today It was kind of a short and sweet episode, but I always appreciate you tuning in 09:46.378 --> 09:55.520 [SPEAKER_00]: And if there's anything else you're interested in me covering or researching or if there's certain guests you'd really like me to reach out to and get on the podcast, I can definitely get on that. 09:55.940 --> 09:57.741 [SPEAKER_00]: But I am going to wrap it up here. 09:57.861 --> 10:01.942 [SPEAKER_00]: I hope you all have a fantastic, long weekend. 10:01.982 --> 10:04.962 [SPEAKER_00]: It's actually Canadian Thanksgiving on the Monday. 10:05.542 --> 10:11.864 [SPEAKER_00]: So we do get that off and Kristallina are going to try and make a really, really nice dinner together, which will be nice in our new loft. 10:12.504 --> 10:14.386 [SPEAKER_00]: But yeah, I'm going to be taking it easy. 10:14.406 --> 10:17.188 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to be relaxing after this really, really busy week. 10:17.909 --> 10:21.452 [SPEAKER_00]: But anyway, thank you all as always for listening to room for us. 10:21.532 --> 10:23.273 [SPEAKER_00]: It means more to me than you'll ever know. 10:23.894 --> 10:25.375 [SPEAKER_00]: And I will see you all next week.