TAYLOR SOLO CRASHOUT VAULT EP4: Welcome, welcome my spooky spiralers. I'm Taylor Coker and you're listening to Casually Crashing Out. Because if the broom fits, hold on tight and fly it, baby. Hello, my bad witches. Grab your snacks, turn down the lights, and wrap yourself in your favorite emotional support blanket because this is the very first hauntingly good Halloween special episode of Casually Crashing Out. I wanted this so bad to be the 10th episode, by the way, but unfortunately it didn't work out that way. I did not get an episode done last week like I had planned, almost didn't get an episode done this week. But I forced myself to sit down and get shit done. I know. Guys, I feel your frustration with me. I really do. I've just had so many things going on, per usual, I don't know if any of y'all have had puppies, but it literally is draining for the first few months. It helps having a fence backyard and another dog to keep the other busy, but in the same breath, it's like having two toddlers wreaking havoc everywhere they go. I will clean my whole house and mop my floors, set the couch up on nicely, light candles, and the dogs will run inside at just the wrong time with their dirty ass feet that my husband swore he wiped off, and they completely ruin all of my hard work in one foul swoop. Love that for me. And Zoe is now in heat. So she's wearing a diaper for the time being. And that's always fun. It's so fun. I was very productive this morning though. I have to say I got a lot done. And with ADHD, that's very impressive. I'm not good at doing one thing at a time. I have to be doing a million things all at once because I get bored of doing the same task for too long. I'll lose interest rather quickly. So I have to do 10 different things all at once. And they will all get done. Just won't be in any particular order that makes sense. and I also have to have a show on or a podcast or an audiobook in the background. I have been really getting into audiobooks actually. It's amazing for someone like me who can't sit still or focus long enough to read. I can just listen while I do my dishes or the laundry. Or get dinner ready. I cannot believe Halloween is officially here, guys. I have watched more scary movies this month than I have in a long time. My husband and I really notice our age difference, by the way, when it comes to movies we pick for the holidays. Halloween. I like Hocus Pocus, Halloween Town, Scary Movie, you know, the millennial classics. He likes Poltergeist and Pet Cemetery. It's kind of fun though, because we get to introduce each other to very nostalgic movies for us. So he introduced me to National Lampoons Christmas Vacation. That is the funniest best Christmas movie ever, by the way. I binge that movie every year now. The day after Thanksgiving, it's on repeat. Hi, Clock. my God, that movie is so funny. The turkey scene, stop it. All thanks to my husband. I never would have known about it if it wasn't for him. who is all dressing up this year? And if so, what as? What are some popular costumes this year, guys? I'm gonna be Poison Ivy. My department at work is doing Batman characters, or I guess Batman villains more so. We were the golden girls last year, so yeah. Quite a jump. I literally wore a green pantsuit with a short gray wig and a goodwill scarf. It was classic. This year's gonna be a whole different ballgame. It's also the first Halloween that I have felt confident enough to wear a tight outfit in a long time. I recently lost some weight. And before you ask, or judge, yes, it was semi-glutide. I'm not gonna deny it. I don't know why I would. I'm sick of people judging other people on their journey of how they decide to get healthier. Mind your business. Okay. I gained over 30 pounds after a thyroid health scare and got on antidepressants. My body was all out of whack and I just could not get the weight off. I gained 30 pounds, guys. I would eat good and then I would slide and then I would eat good and then I would slide. So I watched my husband lose 50 pounds from semiglutide, which by the way, he was put on by his doctor because he was prediabetic. He had high blood pressure. He wore a CPAP at night because he had sleep apnea. He lost 50 pounds and all of those health issues went away. I watched his blood pressure go back to normal. He stopped snoring at night. No more CPAP. He looks healthier. He feels healthier. So yeah, after my doctor started getting on to me about my cholesterol, which I've never had that problem with before in my life, up until that point. Decided to go ahead and give it a whirl. See what all the hype was about. I lost 30 pounds in three months, look better than I've looked in a long time, feel better than I've felt in a long time. I know people are very divided when it comes to GLP ones in general, just because I think like anything else, they do have the ability to become addictive. People like being skinny. What can I say? It's society's quote unquote beauty standard to be thin. Being fat is a little less accepted, I guess. So, I think it intrigues a lot of people. I've watched GLP1s save people's lives, by the way. I've watched people that were in the depths of depression, unhealthy, unhappy, didn't have energy to play with their kids anymore. And now they live a totally Different life because they can. They aren't carrying around all this extra weight. And not to mention they feel great about themselves. So they are just a happier person in general. When you look good, you feel good, And when you feel good, good things happen. It's all about perspective. Whatever makes you happy, whatever gives your inner self peace. Now, with that being said, I have recently come across this girl on the internet. And I'm not gonna say her name because her name really doesn't deserve any type of platform, in my opinion. And I don't want to encourage anyone to go listen to her because it makes me furious that she even has the fan base that she does. Social media is a slippery slope, guys, where the wrong kind of people can get a lot of recognition very quickly. And when that happens, The wrong people can send the wrong messages in the very wrong way. This woman gets online. She pretty much bullies you into under eating, not healthy eating, just under eating. glorifies under eating to be skinny. She says things like, You aren't hungry, you big back bitch. You're just bored. Go drink some water before you stuff that fat face. She's the size of a toothpick, you guys. She is tiny, tiny, tiny. And the fact that she's still restricting herself the way she does is one thing, but then encourages others to do the same on a platform where thousands and thousands are watching. Like what? do what you do in the comfort of your own home, baby girl, with your own money that pays your own bills, but preaching this lifestyle to others. I don't know. It's mind-blowing to me. At first, I would just watch them because it was like a dumpster fire. And I just I was like, my God, who is listening to this girl? Who is listening to this trash? And I would go through and read her comments and all of these people, my gosh, you are so beautiful. I hear your words in my head every time I go to eat. What? What? You are encouraging these people to create an extremely unhealthy relationship with food for no reason. So yeah, I'm a bit divided when it comes to skinny culture. I think there's a difference between being skinny and being healthy. I encourage all to do what makes them feel good. If you know your weight or lifestyle or relationships are causing any unhealthiness in your body, things gotta change. We know that. And only you know how that can be. But I do not think creating more problems for yourself, trying to maintain being skinny is the right way to live either. I don't know. Did any of that even make sense? Sometimes I go off on a tangent, guys. And I read it back and I'm like, what the fk was I even talking about? Like, did anyone even understand my rambling brain or am I just a psycho that talks to myself? I don't know. I don't know anymore. On a brighter note, I don't know where everyone is listening from, but here where I am, the weather has been beautiful for the last two weeks. Not a cloud in the sky and highs in the sixties. Bitch. Fall is my favorite time of year. Have I said that before? There is no weather better than sweater weather. Just the vibes alone. The feels, the smells, the holiday cheer that follows. You don't know what I'm talking about? and I gave my husband his birthday present early. Per usual, we suck at waiting to give each other gifts. The second we get them, we get so excited. We just end up giving them to each other. But yeah, I got him a new pit boss, one of those smoker grill combos, and it's been our favorite new thing to do. We both love. Being outside. I love cooking. He loves grilling. It's something we can both do together. And it's been healthier. We find ourselves eating a lot cleaner because we just do proteins and veggies on it every night. And breathing the fresh air while we do it, by the way. So healthy. We've also been enjoying our $200 blow up hot tub. Finally, my husband could not be any happier. I'm just ready for it to get even colder. I'm sorry. I said it. I know people are gonna cuss me for that. I am so ready People complain about the snow around here constantly. I'm sorry. It never gets old to me. Every time I see it, it brings me back to the first time that I ever caught a flake on Bao Chi. I guess I can relate to the weather thing though. Every person and their mom talks about the hot and being in Florida and how much they love the beach and this and that. And I just I have really had enough of all of that to last a lifetime at this point. Nothing about Florida beaches excites me anymore in the slightest. Now a Caribbean beach, those clear blue waters. I don't know if anyone has ever flown over the Caribbean and just seen the water from the sky. Jason and I saw on our first trip to Jamaica, and I literally cannot tell you how incredibly beautiful the water is. Just turquoise and baby blues. it looks like someone painted it. I remember on that trip the guy sitting next to us was Jamaican and he told us when to look out the window. And I thought that was so sweet. I love Jamaican people. I miss Jamaica. Yamon. They actually say that, by the way. I always thought it was just a gimmick. Nope. They say it. They are just so chill over there all the time. No worries, man. I remember our butler lady. Yes, we had a butler. We were bougie. It was our honeymoon. Judge me, I don't care. She was always telling us No worries. You're on vacation, man. Speaking of relaxing, the other night I got home and my husband had put together this cute little Halloween paint and sip date night. I had been bugging him about wanting to do it because we both love painting, we love being artsy. And yeah, it was so cute. He got me wine, he had dinner in the oven, the house was clean, it smelled good. Take notes, fellas. If there's one thing my husband is good at, it's being romantic. He knows romance and he knows how to make his wife feel valued and appreciated. Plus, he never says no to me. He does what he's told. And I don't want any pussy men to say, he's whimped or whatever you guys say nowadays. I'm so sick of men. And you know what? Not just men, it can be women too. Making others feel bad about having your partner as your best friend. my husband is my BFF. We do everything together. And when he's not around, I wish he was. We've been together 10 years now, and our relationship has matured and grown a lot. And one thing that's only gotten stronger with time is our bond and our friendship. We just have a lot of respect for each other and we value each other and we laugh together. We laugh a lot together. I hope that all of you find someone that makes you laugh as much as my husband does. Since this is a special Halloween episode, I wanted to make sure we celebrated properly with a few new Halloween-themed segments, if all y'all are cool with that. And if you aren't, then well, this episode is already made, bitch. Sorry. Let's open up with the first segment. This one's called Dumb Witch Energy. In this segment, I, over the course of the last couple weeks, have been keeping track of all of the people who I will be mentioning in the following rant Starting off strong with the lady at the grocery store who tried to cut the whole. self-checkout line because she only had one loaf of bread. Which let me clarify. If she had come in with different energy guys and been like, hey, I only have one thing. Do you mind? I probably still would have been annoyed. Because like, what witch wait your turn, you know? We all got places to be. But I might have let her cut me. I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. She didn't even have the courtesy is the point. She legit just Bypasses this long line, acts like she doesn't even see us and is standing there creating a whole new line because people are starting to get behind her. And then our line was getting mad at her line, like, witch this been the line over here. She over there creating new lines, like this is in kindergarten. And we're walking to the lunchroom. You ain't no line leader, bitch. she ended up throwing her bread in the magazine holder thing and ran out upset because she was flabbergasted. People were upset with her for making new lines. My goodness, what does this world come to? Second shout-out I want to give is whoever is the person that is responsible for putting together my FYP right now. Whoever is in charge of my for you page, I'm gonna find you. Okay. I'm an empath, I feel too many things. I feel so many things. Lexapro does help, But I can't help but to get in my head when others are going through it. my whole for you page lately is just sick people, dying animals, starving kids in other countries, asking me to share, like, comment, watch the whole video. What kind of personal prison am I living in right now? I'm over here just trying to cook dinner and watch a funny golden retriever video. And I see this dying cat that needs emergency surgery or this little girl who has no family and needs help right now. And if you don't help her, you piece of shit. You're better not scroll past this. Guys, I'm not kidding. That's what it feels like. I'm over it. I'm over it. I want to be face to face with that dumb witch who did this to me. Where are you? Next, we have the DoorDasher that delivered our food to our neighbor's house that is infested with feral cats. I just want to say that our porch light was on, guys. His was off. There were like 10 cats sitting on his porch, and they thought that's where the food went. they were sure of it, no doubt in their mind. It definitely couldn't have been the house with the well-lit porch and the freshly cut grass. It was indeed the one with no lights on, feral cats on the porch, and grass that's probably not been cut in three weeks. Yeah. I don't think I need to say much more about that. Y'all get the point. let's see. whoever Keeps taking the chicken roll-up taquitos off the menu at Taco Bell, stop it. Stop it. You're a dumb witch Just do like McDonald's did and bring what works back. McDonald's got so sick of people asking to bring the snack rack back. They were just like, do it already. Y'all don't understand how I feel about these taquitos. I wait and wait and wait, and they never announce when they're coming or going. My heart is at war with Taco Bell. And last but not least, we have anybody that yelled at or was mean to any of my friends All of you guys as a unit are equally dumb witches Leave my friends alone before I put a hex on all of y'all. this week's spooky crash it of the week submission comes from Kelsey from Lakeland, Florida. We're calling it a creepy case of deja boo. Kelsey writes, Dear casually crashing out. Every year I throw a Halloween party at my house. I love Halloween. This year I went all out. I got the decorations, the food, the drinks, everything was planned and coordinated. perfectly and obviously I wanted my costume to match the theme. I had been planning this party for months. I was so excited about it. And two weeks before my party, I was hanging out with one of my good guy friends. He had brought his new girlfriend along. We're all chatting and I mentioned my party to him, obviously making it a point to invite him and his new girlfriend. In the midst of this conversation, I bring up my costume. I explain to him the whole theme of my party and how I wanted to match the theme. His girlfriend was sitting right there, listening to this whole conversation. The night rolls around and I'm getting ready to host my party. I'm feeling myself. My costume is looking on point. The house looks incredible, and I'm ready for everybody to show up so they can see all of the hard work that I've put in this year. People finally start arriving. And then this girl walks through my front door. Tell me why this woman is wearing the same exact costume as me. And I don't mean we happen to dress like a witch or a vampire. the same costume. Costume, the same concept, the same colors, the same accessories, the entire look. I had specifically planned to go with the theme of my party I just stood there, staring at her, trying to figure out if I was literally being punked. I pulled my guy friend aside and asked him what the hell was going on. He said his girlfriend thought my costume idea was cute and decided she wanted to wear it too. really? What a coincidence. Out of every single Halloween costume on the planet. This girl heard about mine and suddenly decided she needed to wear it too. All night people were saying, wow, did y'all plan this together? no, no, we certainly did not. I don't want to be that girl. But I also did not understand the audacity And before anybody says imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, let me tell y'all something. I don't want to be flattered. I want to be unique. So, ladies, am I being dramatic? Or is this some next level weird shit behavior? Dude, people are weird. Who copies someone's whole ass idea? I get admiring your idea and using it for inspiration, but to completely copy someone is a little odd. Or maybe she could have messaged you and been like, hey, I really love that idea. Is there a world? Where I could dress similar to you because I like the idea, but completely copying yours and then just showing up is definitely pick me behavior. And now she's got her hooks into your friend. That sucks. My petty ass would be cropping her out of every picture from that night. Acting like she never existed, bitch. manifest it long enough. It will happen. The power of manifesting, y'all. In this week's Don't Come For Me segment, I'm gonna talk about something that may or may not piss a lot of people off, but isn't that the point? Y'all have really liked these controversial topics, by the way. which actually makes me so happy because I feel like it means that I'm reaching the right audience. Because I did go back and forth about it, especially with the Lindsay Clancy case. I want my audience to be able to just listen and let it marinate. No need for arguing. No need to let it stew. We're all allowed to say how we feel. Freedom of speech. And thank God am I right? My podcast would for sure put my ass in jail by now if freedom of speech wasn't a thing. There'd be wanted posters everywhere at this point. Speaking of jail and wanted posters, there has been quite this scandal going on here in Ashland. And this actually wasn't planned for me to talk about it, but. Because it is super current and recent, it's something that happens too often. I deemed it necessary. So where I live right now, it's a small town. Everyone knows everyone. We're also about five to ten years behind bigger cities. I mean, I come from Tampa, which is now one of the fastest growing cities in the US. So you can imagine the culture shock. in small towns, you get a lot of small businesses that unfortunately end up closing. They can't keep up with the cost of food or materials, et cetera, depending on what type of business. But yeah, we all know prices are going up, wages are staying the same, which that's a fucking problem. But moving on. We did have a business open here a couple of years ago, maybe, if that, I don't know. It was one of those situations where it was another business for a long time that unfortunately had closed, but the previous place had left everything behind, all the furniture, all the decor left in the building. And I guess they sold it as is. So it came furnished essentially. Nothing wrong with that. but am I wrong to think, you know, if I was buying a restaurant that closed down. Where people obviously were not having good experiences at anymore. Maybe at one point they were, but restaurants don't close for nothing, guys. Patrons keep places open. If you don't have patrons, there's a reason. people that have had bad experiences are not gonna come back. And if I was buying a place that I wanted people to be excited to come in and try, I would probably not leave it looking almost identical to the place that just closed down. I would want to completely rebrand everything. I would want to be new. I would probably sell everything they gave me and just buy new stuff. And if I couldn't afford to do that, I probably wouldn't buy a restaurant. But that's just me. What do I know? I've just worked in food and beverage for over ten years. I digress. This restaurant ended up closing last week. Didn't tell their employees. I guess their checks were bouncing. The owners were gaslighting their employees. Like one girl posted actual text thread receipts of the owners, Let me let y'all in on a little secret. If your employer is not paying you or paying you with bad checks, there is only one reason, bitch. I'll give you a hit. It's not the bank's fault. It's not payroll's fault. if your employer isn't able to pay you, it is because they are running out and or ran out of money. And if the person that is responsible for paying you is running out of money, that means they no longer have anything more to offer you. Leave. Now. Money has the ability to make people very greedy and very selfish. This happens too many people. It's happened to me too. Back when I lived in Florida, I worked at a restaurant. it was this. we'll just say it was a nightclub at night. I feel like that's how you always knew a restaurant wasn't doing well where I came from is when it started being a nightclub at night. Do y'all remember? There was Green Iguana, the Rack, Fuego, just it was a restaurant until it wasn't, you know? Until no one wanted to come to the restaurant anymore. Then it was a nightclub. So the place closes down, employees weren't notified, they weren't paid, Owners have since ghosted and deleted their whole business page. Well, like I said, this is a small town. People know these business owners. These business owners own other businesses that are still operating. It would be another thing if they were actually trying their hardest to make this place succeed and were struggling. But from what it looks like, they were putting all the responsibility, good and bad, on the employees. These employees, who make next to nothing an hour. But I guess it doesn't matter. They're not getting paid to begin with, right? People suck. That's all I have to say about it. Don't come for me. I have said so many times before, my hubby is my best friend. And what good would a girl be without her partner in crime? I just want to set the scene for you guys. We are on our back patio. we've got a pork loin smoking. We are sitting by the fire. We are enjoying our home thoroughly, honey. Is there something you want to say? What do ghosts use to wash their hair? I don't know, honey. Shamboo. it's so funny. Thanks, buddy. I got more if you need another one. Okay. I'll let you know when I'm ready for the next one. I wanted to bring you on here because we're gonna do a segment for the Halloween episode called Trigger Treat. So I'm gonna name something that we do in our relationship and you decide whether it's either a trick or a treat. Okay. Okay. Okay. So the first one is color coordinating our outfits on vacation. Treat? what I don't get it. Okay. I guess it could be however you want to take it, but trick would be like you feel tricked or treat you're like you thoroughly enjoy it. yeah, treat. you like color coordinating. Yeah. No, you do. I do. You actually do it more than I do. I don't do it on purpose. You just yo, we match. You do that a lot. We just think alike. Yeah. Okay. Well that's see the do are you getting the game now? Okay. Me offering to pay for our expensive dinner. A trick or a treat? Trick. Immediately. Trick. yeah, I don't ever offer. So if I did, I feel like I would be wanting something or needing something. getting a second dog. Trick. That was a trick. It was a Trick and a treat. It's a trick or treat. She's a treat. I love her so much. Right now, I don't understand what they're going through right now. What do you mean? There's something in the tree. Yeah, it's probably a squirrel. Number four, me asking you to go to the grocery store with me. Trick. Why is that a trick? You don't want me to go to the grocery store with you. You trying to get me out of house for something if you want me to go to grocery store with you. Me asking you to go to the mall with me. trick because we ain't going for me. Ain't no treat involved when I go to the mall. It's just you come out with a headache and a cold sweat. my gosh. You actually literally. Yeah. L he almost died last time I went to the mall. Jason. We went to go get a massage. He was in such a good mood. I think that was the day after you won a bunch of money on that Icy Box app. My husband won a bunch of money randomly on the app Icy Box. we don't know how, we don't know why, but it happened. And we're moving forward. So, anyways, We got a lot of bills paid. So it really was honestly a blessing in disguise. But moving forward, you were in a great mood the next day. you're like, I'm gonna go out, we can get some lunch. I was in great mood that day because that morning we won more, remember? Yeah. And I was like it was like I'm about to quit my job and do this for a living. Yeah. You know what I mean? We quickly we un downloaded it because we were like, we could see how people would become addicted. But yeah, we went to the mall, so Jason decided to treat himself with a massage, which he hasn't done in so long. And I was in TJ Maxx looking for clothes for the DR and you texted me and you were like, Well what well first let's explain the arm. Let's explain the arm. So me and Taylor are Taylor and I. Sorry, Andy. Good job. Taylor and I, we both have bum arms. And hers is her right arm. Hur it's like tennis elbow. It hurts. And then mine is my left arm. So anyway, arms have been hurting. So I went to this it was in the mall. It had windows, fellas. So it was massaged. it was an Asian massage place at the mall and it was open in the afternoon, didn't open at three AM. Yeah. It's just your typical just your typical mall massage place. Mall massage place. It's really nice. Well so and I don't know why every time I talk to I go from saying, Hey, my arm's really been hurting from here to here to arm hurt here, here and here. You rub Here, here. And I'm like, I think about it later, and I'm like, wow, that lady's probably like, this guy's an idiot. Yeah. I'm like, arm hurt. You rub now. You rub now. So she started rubbing all of a sudden, girls, spiral squad, let me tell you. and I was the only there was one other guy in there and he was a big dude and he was just sitting there waiting. All the rest ladies. Well then all of a sudden I started cold sweating and I started getting nauseous. So I I sat up and I was pale and I noticed little tiny little Asian lady was like, shit. So I said, you got a bathroom? And no, they don't have a bathroom. I've asked them if they had a bathroom before and they have no public bathroom. So I got to go in the back room of the mall, Massage place. wow. Nobody goes back there. Yeah. What was back there? It was a hallway. At the end of the hallway was a bathroom. And it looked like a a workbench. And there was one lady standing over the bench with every kind of looking raw. It was all raw Chinese food. I don't know what it was. It None of it had skin. It didn't look cooked. It looked raw. All of it looked raw. And it was the back of this massage plate? Yes. And it was like you can tell that they just Wasn't lunchtime? No, no, it wasn't. You can tell that they leave this shit up so like w they can as soon as they're done with their massage from some white guy they just zip back there and start eating on some raw shit, You should probably cut that out. Jason. And I went in there and I know I was in there for a minute. you know what? When I came out That lady was just standing by my chair ready to go. And I said, No, no. I'm good. So we get to the thing and she's like, thirteen dollars, because it's a dollar a minute. Yeah. I said, I'm gonna pay you for the whole time. She goes, No, thirteen dollars. I said, No, no, no. I'm gonna pay you for the whole whole thirty. So I paid her for thirty. I tipped her another 10 and she goes, thank you. Jeez. Well, that's a I mean It's a long story. You probably won't even use that whole story. I'll probably cut it a little shorter. Yeah. Yeah. Because you do l you you get lost in the sauce. I didn't get lost in the sauce, buddy. I was on it. It's just if you're hearing this story, I definitely cut it shorter. It was definitely cut shorter. Whatever. okay, next one. Matching Charlie Brown. Halloween pajamas. that's a treat, but yeah. Yeah. I love my Charlie Brown pajamas. They're the softest. And they're long sleeves. But they're cool. Yeah. They're so soft. They're the softest pajamas ever, actually. They're great pajamas. From Walmart. Yeah. Go get some. I can't wait till the Christmas ones come out. my god, I can't wait. They're probably already out. Would you ever wear Sookie pajamas? Like Hugh Hefner? Yeah. Hell yeah. I love Sookie pajamas. You should get some. I love silky everything. I'm glad everyone knows that my husband will soon be wearing silky pajamas. Hey man, listen, only the elite of the elite wear silky pajamas. Okay. Next one. Traveling around the holidays. it's got the intentions of a treat. Yeah. But it's so full of tricks. You're right. Lately it's been trickier. Gotta go check the tenderloin. Honey. Sorry. We're smoking a pork butt. Okay, what's the temperature on it? Hang on a second. So You can't smoke shed, ladies and gentlemen. I just can't hear you. We're in the smoke shed. Smoke shed. Okay, well yeah, it's it's it's it's bitterly fantastic. our two hundred dollar hot tub. that's that's a you know, some would say it's a trick. But that sucker right there, now that the sproming safe for the skin. Serving its purpose. Yeah. It's nice. I cannot wait for it to snow though. I want it to snow and get inside of it. okay, last one. Getting married to me in general. man, that was you can't even put that in Halloween. That was trick or treat is is ghetto for that. We need something more like she'd be more like Christmas. She'd be like you know, she'd be Thank you. It's definitely a trick. I'm just kidding. You'd be a lump of coal. I'm just kidding, it wasn't a trick. Well, that was my last one. you want a joke? Sure. Okay, I got jokes. Okay. What do you call a witch that lives on the beach? A sandwich. when I'm at work and someone comes up to me and tries to tell me a joke, I don't ever get the joke. And if you ever see me laughing at a joke, especially a long, drawn out joke that requires multiple scenes and parts, I promise you lost me in the first three words of the joke because of my age. We're gonna cut that. We're gonna cut that one. I got one. Here. Why did the witch get divorced? Her husband couldn't handle her spell of emotions. on a more serious note, our next segment is about something even scarier than what might be lurking under your bed. I don't know about you guys, but have you ever listened to that podcast called Betrayal? I am obsessed. With that podcast. If you haven't listened to it, go listen to it. Betrayal. I want to say the host name is Andrea Gunning. I have listened to every episode of that podcast, and there is six full seasons of six different individual stories. And then there's seasons she does in between those seasons where it's a different story every week. opposed to one long continuous story. I couldn't tell you how many episodes that amounts to, but it is a lot. Some of these stories she gets into, guys, are insane. And I think what fascinates me so much about these stories is when you think about monsters, we all think about ghosts and ghouls and serial killers, but sometimes the scariest people aren't the ones hiding in the woods outside your house. Sometimes they're people you know, sometimes people you loved and trusted, somebody who knew your secrets, knew your insecurities, somebody who you never could have imagined that would hurt you in the ways they did. So listening to all these stories about betrayal gets me thinking about my own life. Because, yes, I know it's hard to believe, but I, Taylor Coker, the wonderful, beautiful angel that so graciously blessed Earth with my presence, have been betrayed before. And I figured in the spirit of the holidays, why not share my own story? So sit back, grab your popcorn, and welcome to Real Life Monsters. Because sometimes the worst things that haunt us are the people we never expected. Back when I was a kid, and I know I've said this before, I was what they called a dweeb. Like I would say nerd, but I wasn't very smart in middle school. Actually, I was smart. I just didn't really apply myself. I also had undiagnosed ADHD. So learning was a little difficult for me. I couldn't hold my attention towards anything or anybody longer than a few minutes. So I was mostly doodling and daydreaming all day in class. I wasn't popular by any means. And I was still very shy at that time. You listen to my podcast and you see me at work engaging with lots of people. And you would automatically think, wow, she's such an extrovert, right? But I promise you, when I'm at work, I am working. When I am podcasting, I treat it as a job. I just have to be good with people. It's part of service and entertainment. I'm not saying I don't like people. I'm just saying my first instinct isn't to talk to strangers. I'm very content. With doing things solo. So an introvert by nature is what I'm getting at. I have a small circle of friends that I stay near, and that's my social life. But when I was in the eighth grade, I met who would soon be my first real best friend. And for the sake of not getting sued, we'll call her Raquel. Now, Raquel was not your traditional eighth grader at that period in my life. She was. Beautiful, short, tan, blonde hair, and I remember even at 13 had great tits. I mean, why she wanted to be friends with my frizzy-headed, chunky, awkward ass, I don't know. But we were inseparable from the moment we met, guys. She was my soul sister. Like the conversations I have with this girl at the age I was having them, she knew everything about me, my whole life, all my secrets, all my crushes, my family issues. She was my person. I remember she was also really spoiled. Her parents would take her to so many things for every birthday, every holiday, every Saturday. I don't know. And she always got to bring a friend, and I was always that friend. So I reaped the benefits too, is what I'm saying. I do remember even from the youngest of ages, she was very boy crazy. And me, you know, being the duff in the relationship. designated ugly fat friend for those that don't know what duff means. It worked in her favor, because no guys wanted me. Like if being hot AF wasn't enough, she also had zero competition. So I was a late bloomer, y'all. And when I say late, I mean age 17. I didn't get cute until I left high school. Anyways, we were best friends all through the end of middle school, all through high school. I had made a couple more good friends in high school, who I, of course, introduced to Raquel as well. And we were all in this little friend group, but she was like my main bitch, You got a main bitch. I remember towards the end of high school, she started dating this guy who was older, and he had a totally different friend group. He wasn't in school anymore. He had his GD. He just ran with a totally different older crowd, and he lived with his older brother. So She basically moved in with him and we never really saw her much after that. I mean, we would see her at school and stuff, but once school was done and we graduated, we just never really saw her anymore. She was always with her boyfriend. But, she was still my bitch. I loved her. And that kind of shit doesn't change my love for somebody. I didn't love the way her boyfriend treated her. He was kind of a dick at that time. I don't know who or how he is now. Again, we were all kids. I mean, relationships are hard. When you're still trying to figure out your own life path. I commend anyone who has stuck with their high school sweetheart or their childhood love. That takes a lot of work and commitment to keep an adolescent relationship growing together and staying So time goes on, we graduate, she goes to college locally, I go to hair school, we both were doing our own thing. She was still dating her boyfriend from high school, and I had just started dating a guy. for the sake of not getting sued, we'll call him Rick. He had his own friend group that I started getting close with, and then I introduced him and his friends to my friend group. I mean, we dated for four years. So eventually our friend groups were pretty tightly intertwined. Everybody knew everybody. During that four years we were together, Raquel had since broken up with her ex from high school. And she actually had started dating one of Rick's best friends who she met through me and Rick. We all lived together at one point, no bullshitting. Me and Rick did break up a few times. I'm not saying our relationship was a healthy one. We had our issues, but again, who doesn't when they're young like that? I was also an idiot who never should have given him as many chances as I did, but I digress. Every time we broke up, Raquel was there for me, bitch. Like she was right there for me. Just, he sucks, Tay. You're so much better than him. He's ugly, blah, blah, blah. Just Talking so much shit about him every time. that's what best friends do, but yeah, she played the part for sure. Me and him eventually end up splitting up for good after he decides to leave me for a girl that ended up leaving him two months later for somebody else. Karma is a bitch, isn't it? Love it. Anyway, so yeah, some time goes on. As I say, our friend group at the time, at the end of our relationship, was pretty intertwined. So there were quite a few things I had to remove myself from, like places I couldn't go or parties I couldn't attend for a while because. I didn't want to see my ex and his new girlfriend out. it was just a really fresh and painful time. But as time had gone on and I started seeing other people and he started seeing other people, it was just whatever, I remember one night there was a mutual friend's birthday party gathering thing, and it was gonna be at my ex's house. And I hadn't been there in months at that point. But I remember texting him, asking him. I said, Hey, do you care if I come to the party tonight? No drama. I just want to come and hang out with everybody. And he messages back, yeah, whatever. I don't care if you want to come, then come. And I remember calling Raquel to tell her I was going, thinking she was gonna be excited. Because remember, she was still in that old friend group because she was dating now actually engaged to my ex's best friend. So she's at every gathering, every party. She just gone on this huge group cruise with all of them. She was always around these people. But instead of her being excited to see me, it was more she was wanting to know what time was I going? And she didn't want me to get there before her. And did you ask rick if it was okay? Well well, what did he say? I just thought that was so bizarre. Anyways, I was obviously thinking something because when we got there, I remember I was on high alert. Like my spotty senses were tingling, bitch. I knew something was up. We were all standing around the fire, and they kept shooting each other these weird looks. And just being Extra touchy things that maybe you wouldn't notice if you hadn't already been suspicious. But she was acting so strange all day, up until that point and all night, that it was almost hard to ignore it, But this is my best friend. I have to be imagining this because why would she do this to me, to her fiancé? She said he was fucking ugly, right? I saw my ex go inside his house. And a couple minutes after, so did she. So I smiled, I waited a couple minutes, I calmly got up from my chair and I told everybody goodbye. But before I left that party, I had to confirm or deny. I had to see it with my own eyes. So I walked in the garage. Opened up the front door, and there they were. Both of them all curled up in each other's arms. Her with that gross, familiar, flirty look I've seen so many times, and him the same. I was disgusted. That was my best friend. And the person that knew everything about me, she knew all of my secrets. She knew all of my thoughts all of the nights I was up missing Rick crying to her. And here she is playing kissy face in the laundry room with him, while her best friend and her fiance are right outside. And luckily for y'all, I actually have the receipts for this whole thing. I had to dig through my archives, by the way, but I found them and I'm going to read them to you right now. So give me one second. Okay. So the first text I'm gonna read to you is what I sent to her the next day this is what I said verbatim. I don't care what excuse you want to pull out of your ass, you're in the wrong, and I know you both well enough to know that what I saw was the furthest thing from innocent. You are fucked up, Raquel. I don't even care about Rick. But I care way more about you and I thought we were way closer than that for you to pull some shisty shit, especially when I'm right there. I honestly have never been so hurt or felt so betrayed by anyone ever. Please don't write me back. I don't want to talk to you at all. I just wanted to say all that, and I hope your grimy intentions are worth losing a best friend of twelve years. Goodbye. She writes back. She then writes back. and I'll read those right now. Taylor, seriously, you're being so ridiculous. I'm sorry I hurt you like I said. Shelly asked me to pull Rick aside. By the way, Shelly, I had to change the name of somebody, but she was somebody that was also in our friend group that had dated Rick after me and Rick split up. So so Raquel was also friends with Shelly. And Shelly had asked Raquel to go talk to Rick for her anyways. So I'm sorry I hurt you. Like I said, Shelly asked me to talk to Rick. I saw him walking inside, so I took the chance to talk to him about Shelly, but he wanted nothing to do with it and kept laughing and saying, Yeah, yeah, woman, I hear you. And he hugged me, and that's when you walked in. I never wanted to be with Rick Taylor, not in any way than what we are now. I seriously can't believe you would think that. I'm happy with so and so right now, she talks about her fiancee. If I lose our friendship, that's on you. But I did nothing to purposely hurt you, but you just assumed something and ran off and didn't even want an explanation. You expected to come in and things be how they were years ago, and that's just not the case. I'm close with rick He's one of my best friends, Which, by the way, that's fucking weird anyway. That what do you mean he's one of your best friends? That's my ex-boyfriend, you fucking ho. Sorry. Moving on. I'm close friends with Rick. He's one of my best friends, but anything more than that, I would have to be the dumbest person alive to want that. Dumbest person alive to want that. You say you know me so well, but obviously you don't because I would never come to you with this drama. We're not in high school anymore. We're grown up. I don't respond because ew. she writes again, I can't help but think how truly ridiculous this is. I'm done explaining myself to you. I don't need this. I never have drama in my life anymore. We have grown and gone our separate ways. I still consider you a great friend in my longest, but I'm so happy and content with my life right now. I'll always be here for you if you need anything. and because this is my best friend, my person, right? I don't want to believe that she would do this. Maybe she made a small mistake. Maybe she's regretting it. Maybe she just got wrapped up in something. And now that I've caught her, she's gonna switch up real quick and she's gonna get right, or she could be a fucking manipulative two faced lying hoe, which I I didn't want to believe. At all. a few months go on. I did keep my distance a little bit just because I knew something was off. Like something just still didn't sit right with me about the whole situation. And I remember this day like it was yesterday. It's engraved in my brain. I was at Winghouse in Brandon. that was like my spot. Back in the day. That and the Hooters off 60s, bitch, I swear I went for the wings. Okay. I went for the wings. They used to have these Thai chili wings. I would get them extra bread extra crispy and a big old ice cold draft McUltra with a lime. those weren't the days. but yeah, I'm just there enjoying a nice cold one after a long day at work. Pretty sure I was still in my uniform because I used to go out and drink in my uniform because I was young and like I said, I was an idiot. I had a mutual friend of ours come up and he told me that Raquel had left her fiance. And now her and Rick were together. Y'all, when I tell you this was four months after she told me that I was crazy for ever thinking she would ever be stupid enough to do that. Anyways, I have the text I sent her then when I found out. but I won't bore you with those because I went the fuck off. and that was the last time I ever talked to her. It was the last time I ever spoke with her, my best friend at that point of 12 years. And when you're only 25, that's a long time. You know, that's half of your life. I blocked her on everything. never had even the slightest urge to see her or speak with her again. I was heartbroken at that time for sure. It was something that changed me forever. In that moment, I felt like I was just done letting everything slide, especially when it came to friends and people doing fucked up shit to me. I was afraid people were gonna walk all over me. I think, and in that moment, even the slightest thing someone could have done to me, the slightest small thing going forward, I was just like, Yep, cut you out of my life, don't need you. I just felt like everyone sucked. everyone's intentions were not pure, which is not the healthiest way to think. But I did that for a while because of that. I didn't trust anybody. I questioned my whole reality, my whole friendship with her. I was like, how the fuck do you give up a whole-ass friendship for a dude? Not even a good dude, a piece of shit who you said was ugly. I don't get it. I'll never get it. But honestly, I've reached a point in my life where I really just don't care anymore. And for all the people out there, what if she hears this? Bitch, I hope she does. I hope she does. And if you know who I'm talking about and you have her number, go ahead and send it to her, honey. Tell her Taylor says hello and make sure you give her two double birdies while you do it. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed that true yet still incredibly fucked up story. And maybe a few of you can relate to it. Does anybody else find comfort in murder documentaries? Because I know I can't be the only one. It's one of those few things I can listen to over and over again. And it's not because I want to murder anybody. It's just I'm genuinely interested in hearing how other people's brains work. For me, it's the psychology behind it. It's the behavior, the decisions, the warning signs. I guess you could say I'm intrigued by other people's craziness. I want to understand what makes somebody do the things they do and what goes through their head. I think we're all a little curious about that to an extent though, right? I think that's partly the reason why there's such a huge market for horror movies and true crime documentaries, because we're all a little fascinated by things that scare us. We try to wrap our heads around something that feels completely out of The realm of our own lives, right? I think it's human nature to be curious about the things we don't understand. There's a reason we're drawn to scary stories. And we also get to experience that fear from a safe distance without actually being in danger ourselves. Although I will say, sometimes watching too much true crime will have you questioning everybody, guys. You start looking at people like way differently. somebody does one slightly weird thing and your brain is like, hmm, that's suspicious. So tell me I'm not alone in this. Do you guys find true crime comforting too? Is it your background noise while you're cleaning the house, folding laundry, cooking dinner? Because I can literally go from watching a documentary about a serial killer to watching a video of somebody making sourdough bread. it's the most normal transition in the world. Why am I like this? All right, Spiral Squad. It's time for this week's Pause for Perspective. And for this episode, I want to talk about something that I think a lot of us struggle with, whether we want to admit it or not. and that's boundaries. With the holidays approaching, I feel this is probably a good time to revisit our own personal boundaries and make sure they are all still valid and working for us. I feel like boundaries have become one of those words that everybody throws around these days, but I don't think we actually stop and think about what they actually mean and the value they hold. Because setting boundaries sounds easy in theory, right? Just tell people what you're comfortable with. Stand your ground and do not let people cross that line. But in real life, it's a little more complicated than that, right? Especially when we're talking about people we love, people we've known for years, family members, friends, people who have been a part of our lives for so long that we almost feel like we owe them something. News flash, guys, you don't owe anybody unlimited access to you or your piece. I think sometimes we get. Caught up in being a good friend, a good daughter, a good wife, a good sister, or just a good person in general that we forget. We're allowed to have limits. You can be a good person and still disappoint somebody. I'll say it again for you guys. You can be a good person and still disappoint somebody. Do not confuse being understanding with having to tolerate everything. You can understand why somebody acts the way they do without accepting that behavior in your life. You can understand that somebody has been through things, that they're struggling, that they have their own issues, and still recognize that those things don't give them permission to hurt you or disrupt the peace in your life. And just because you've known them for 10, 15, or 20 years doesn't mean they get to automatically treat you however they want. Boundaries aren't punishment, guys. Not everyone is gonna like your boundaries, but a boundary isn't you trying to control another person's behavior. It's just you deciding what you're willing to participate in and how you're going to react when something crosses a line. And you cannot make everybody comfortable with a decision. That's necessary for your own peace. Now I want to talk about the guilt that comes with boundaries. And I think that's where so many of us get stuck. You finally say no to something you don't want to do, and then you spend the next three hours replaying that conversation in your head. Hmm, I wonder if I sounded rude. Did I hurt their feelings? Should I have explained myself more? Maybe I should just do it in a way where no one's upset with me. And suddenly the boundary that you set. To protect your peace has turned into another thing that you're stressing over. And I think a lot of us have been conditioned to believe that being a good person means being agreeable, being available, being helpful, being the one who understands, being the one who lets things go. you are allowed to say no without writing a five-paragraph explanation. You are allowed to change your mind. You are allowed to need space. You are allowed to decide that something doesn't work for you anymore, The goal is to understand that you can care about somebody and still have limits. You can wish somebody the absolute best in life without needing to be a part of every chapter of it. So your homework for this week. I want you to pay attention to the places in your life where you are feeling resentment, exhaustion, or even a little bit of dread. Guys, those feelings are telling you that something needs to change. ask yourself, where in my life am I saying yes to other people at the expense of saying yes to myself? And sit with it for a minute. You don't have to fix everything today. You don't have to make any dramatic decisions. Just be honest with yourself and honest about the answer because protecting your peace doesn't mean you don't love people. Sometimes it means you've just finally decided to love yourself more. In the process. All right, Spiral Squad, that's a wrap on our ninth episode of our very first hauntedly good Halloween special episode of Casually Crashing Out. I hope you guys had as much fun listening as I had putting this one together. Whether you're listening up with the lights on, driving around in your car, or curled up on the couch questioning every little noise you hear tonight. As always, make sure you're following Casually Crashing Out on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Amazon Music, and iHeartRadio. Leave me a rating, a review, and go ahead and share this episode with your fellow spooky bitches. and if you've got a crash out of your own that you need to get off your chest, send your stories to casually crashingoutpod at gmail.com. That's casually crashing out pod at gmail dot com. until next time, stay spooky, protect your peace, and remember, just because you're casually crashing doesn't mean you're crashing alone.