Speaker 1
I am a new mother with twins. My husband often travels for work and I am a stay at home mother. We regularly attend worship services every sunday. I am from sweden and have lived in the us for 12 years. I love tennis and play every week if I can.
Speaker 2
I live on a houseboat. I just graduated with my master's degree. I work as a bartender. I have four brothers and sisters. My mother works for fedex.
Speaker 1
I have twin children. I enjoy tennis.
Speaker 2
I just received my master's degree in history. I live on a houseboat. I currently work as a bartender. I have two brothers and two sisters. My mom works for FedEx. I enjoy going to the movies, shopping, or just hanging out with my mom. My mom is my best friend. I like the Indianapolis Colts. I have played tennis; I enjoyed it.
Speaker 1
Hello! How are you doing?
Speaker 2
Hi! I'm great. I just graduated with my masters degree!
Speaker 1
Oh that is wonderful! What did you major in?
Speaker 2
History. Now I'm living on my houseboat and working as a bartender.
Speaker 1
Enjoy your free time while you have it! My twins keep me busy as anything!
Speaker 2
Twins wow! I have 2 brothers and 2 sisters.
Speaker 1
Oh jeez, that must have been hectic growing up. Do you have any hobbies?
Speaker 2
I like to hang out with my mom on her days off from fedex.
Speaker 1
That is really sweet of you, what do you two enjoy doing?
Speaker 2
Shopping, going to the movies just hanging out.she's my best friend.
Speaker 1
I hope I have that relationship with the twins. Do you enjoy sports?
Speaker 2
I like watching the colts.
Speaker 1
I am not sure who they are, but I enjoy tennis!
Speaker 2
I've played that before and enjoyed it.
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Speaker 1
I have twin children. I enjoy tennis.
Speaker 2
I just received my master's degree in history. I live on a houseboat. I currently work as a bartender. I have two brothers and two sisters. My mom works for FedEx. I enjoy going to the movies, shopping, or just hanging out with my mom. My mom is my best friend. I like the Indianapolis Colts. I have played tennis; I enjoyed it.
Speaker 1
I looked away for a minute, and the twins managed to find the magic markers and graffiti up the the living room wall during that time. Thank goodness the markers are washable. 
Speaker 2
Oh no! That does show some creativity though! What did they draw?
Speaker 1
I feel like a bad parent for saying this, but I really have no idea! Dinosaurs, maybe? At least they didn't draw on each other this time.
Speaker 2
They draw on each other? haha. You're not a bad parent at all, maybe get them some paper and show them they can draw all over that instead
Speaker 1
That's the funny thing. They've got so many supplies, but they seem to prefer everything else as a creative surface. Maybe they'll be famous some day and pay me back for all my labor :)
Speaker 2
Wouldn't that be amazing. I think it's great that you let them explore themselves like that. Are they old enough to be signed up for art classes?
Speaker 1
Yes and no. As you can see, they have some behavioral issues. Maybe a tutor would be better. I certainly can't help them with art, but maybe someone else can!
Speaker 2
That's a great idea. You know what's best for them, and hey maybe the tutor can make it stick that they shouldn't draw on your walls anymore!
Speaker 1
I would love that. I'm sure they'll grow out of it, and I'm looking forward to that day. By the way, tell me more about your houseboat! Is it as interesting as it sounds? Maybe I ought to get one in my retirement.
Speaker 2
It is very interesting to say the least. I'm still getting used to it, but I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and do something i would not usually do. Rocking on the water can be very soothing, but also terrifying because sometimes I worry if I'll sink!
Speaker 1
I'll bet! I think I'd have nightmares for sure. Is it dangerous?
Speaker 2
I did a ton of research and have insurance in case anything happens, so that calms me down a bit. If I have it in my mind that I'll be safe it stops me from panicking
 2 hours
Speaker 1
I have twin children. I babysit twins. I work taking care of my children. I enjoy tennis. I'm not artistic. I plan for my future. I'm scared of water.
Speaker 2
I just received my master's degree in history. I live on a houseboat. I currently work as a bartender. I have two brothers and two sisters. My mom works for FedEx. I enjoy going to the movies, shopping, or just hanging out with my mom. My mom is my best friend. I like the Indianapolis Colts. I have played tennis; I enjoyed it. I'm an understanding person. I like to try new things. I have insurance. I have peace of mind.
Speaker 1
I'm thinking about signing up for an art class with my kids!
Speaker 2
That sounds like a lot of fun! If I had the time, I would do the same thing. Growing up with a big family, I never really had the chance to do it. Are you excited?
Speaker 1
I am a bit nervous, since my art skills aren't the best. But anything for the kids eh? 
Speaker 2
That’s right. Who knows? Maybe you’re a great artist and just haven’t realized it yet because you haven’t had a good teacher. I was never any good at tennis until I found a good instructor. If not, maybe there’s something else you can do. Do you think there’s any other hobbies you might want to take up for your kids?
Speaker 1
Well I guess I can try swimming. What are your tips when you want to try something but are afraid of it?
Speaker 2
I think the most important thing to remember is that it’s okay if you fail. You can always get back up and try again. I do that when I play tennis but I do it with everything else I do, too. I like cooking. I like basketball. I even like playing video games. I always just try to have fun and if I fail, I try again. I know you like tennis but what else do you like to do?
Speaker 1
As it turns out, I really do like tennis! I would really like to emulate the slam action Roger Federer did in that French Open, for one.
Speaker 2
I'm a big fan of Roger Federer. I think he'd be a good role model for you, too. Maybe you can use his champion attitude to inspire you to do something else.
Speaker 1
Hah yes! I bet if I had all his energy, I might just take my children on a sailboat! How's the houseboat life for you?
Speaker 2
I love living on my houseboat like always. I just bought a new grill, so I can barbecue on the dock. I love grilling beef and chicken. Do you ever grill?
Speaker 1
About once a month, given how much prep has to be done to the grill, vs how much grilling my two children seem to give me when they want their cereal just the way they like it.
Speaker 2
Yeah, it's a lot of work. You can never go wrong with cereal though. I love Lucky Charms. What kind of cereal do your kids like?
 3 hours
Speaker 1
I have twin children. I babysit twins. I work taking care of my children. I enjoy tennis. I'm not artistic. I plan for my future. I'm scared of water. I might try swimming. I might sign up for an art class. I don't have great art skills.  I'm nervous about art class. I grill about once a month.  My kids like to eat cereal.
Speaker 2
I just received my master's degree in history. I live on a houseboat. I currently work as a bartender. I have two brothers and two sisters. My mom works for FedEx. I enjoy going to the movies, shopping, or just hanging out with my mom. My mom is my best friend. I like the Indianapolis Colts. I have played tennis; I enjoyed it. I am good at tennis. I'm an understanding person. I like to try new things. I have insurance. I have peace of mind. I grew up with a big family. I like cooking, basketball and playing video games. I like to grill. I love Lucky Charms cereal.
Speaker 1
Do you travel anywhere on your houseboat or do you just stay in one place?
Speaker 2
I enjoy traveling all over on my houseboat. It is a little bit of an older boat so I can not take it out too far in fear that I will hit some rough water. But it is nice to travel around the lake during nice weather. You can come out on the boat sometime.
Speaker 1
I would love that. Have you had the houseboat long?
Speaker 2
Not too long, I have lived on the houseboat for the last 5 years. I bought it off of one of my mom's work colleagues, he had inherited it from family and did not want to put in the time and effort to fix it up. It has given me a great place to stay while I work on my masters.
Speaker 1
That was super lucky. Are you quite handy then? Have you had much joy looking for graduate jobs?
Speaker 2
I am not very handy, but through trial and error and many YouTube videos I have been able to figure it out. It took me nearly a year to complete all the maintenance done on the boat. And yes, I have gotten a job at the local museum as a curator. 
Speaker 1
Youtube is the greatest so learning things. Well-done on completing the maiteance
Speaker 2
Thank you so much. You mentioned before that you are scared of water, but you are more than welcome to come visit me on the houseboat any day. If you would like, we can leave it docked and maybe that will lessen your fear. You can bring your kids too.
Speaker 1
I have booked swimming lessons, so hopefully I will become less scared. I think I'll leave the kids at home. I don't want them picking up my fear. And congrats on the new job. Are you liking it?
Speaker 2
Oh good, I am happy to hear that you are committing to swimming lessons. Yes, I have been enjoying my job very much! It has been such a joy to interact with all of the historical art that the museum acquires.
Speaker 1
Yes, I start next week. I've even bought a costume so I'm really committed now. Great that's you enjoy your job. Do you have a lot of colleagues?
Speaker 2
You will have to keep me updated on  your endeavor. No, there are not many of us that work at the museum. The museum employs only 50 people, and there are only 5 other people within my department. But I do like them all. 
 7 hours
Speaker 1
I have twin children. I babysit twins. I work taking care of my children. I enjoy tennis. I'm not artistic. I plan for my future. I'm scared of water. I might try swimming. I have booked swimming lessons to get over my fears. I might sign up for an art class. I don't have great art skills.  I'm nervous about art class. I grill about once a month.  My kids like to eat cereal. I would love to go on a houseboat. I am going to swimming lessons next week, I have bought a costume for it.
Speaker 2
I just received my master's degree in history. I live on an old houseboat. I currently work as a bartender. I have two brothers and two sisters. My mom works for FedEx. I enjoy going to the movies, shopping, or just hanging out with my mom. My mom is my best friend. I like the Indianapolis Colts. I have played tennis; I enjoyed it. I am good at tennis. I'm an understanding person. I like to try new things. I have insurance. I have peace of mind. I grew up with a big family. I like cooking, basketball and playing video games. I like to grill. I love Lucky Charms cereal. I like to travel all over with my houseboat. I don't take it too far in rough waters, but I do like going around the lake in nice weather. I bought my houseboat five years ago from one of my mom's work colleagues. I have been living in it while I work on my masters. I look at YouTube videos to help me with maintenance for my houseboat. I have a job at a local museum as a curator. I love my job as a curator, I especially like interacting with the historical art of the museum. I work in a department with five people in total, I get along with them well.
Speaker 1
I went to my first swimming lessons yesterday, and it went terrific. I felt much more comfortable in the water, and I even learned a new swimming technique. I am excited to continue taking the lessons so I could continue to get over my fear of water.
Speaker 2
That's great news! What new technique did you learn?
Speaker 1
The backstroke? I didn't realize I could swim so easily even with my head out of the water! Of course, I need more practice with my face IN the water, but this was an easy technique to start with.
Speaker 2
Wow great job. I can swim but I still struggle with getting water up my nose lol. do your kids know what you are doing? You are setting a great example for them of how to walk through fear
Speaker 1
They know I'm taking a class, but I haven't told them what it is about yet. I will wait till I can show them confidently what I've learned. I'm always a person who hates letting others see me make mistakes. Do you ever feel like that?
Speaker 2
Yes definitely. I usually do stuff on my own for that reason. You should really let them know what is going on, because they can get strength seeing you work on this everytime you go to a swimming lesson. For me, I don't tell people because I feel it puts pressure on me and I worry about failing or letting them down. It wounds like you are doing really well though!
Speaker 1
I know that worry really well. I'm so embarrassed of this fear, and if I don't conquer it, I'll feel ashamed for a long time. It's so mortifying to be an adult who can't swim!
Speaker 2
That is understandable! I feel like no matter what happens you have already learned how to do the backstroke, so technically you do know how to swim. Everything else is icing on the cake! FYI, I'm an introvert which is why I love working at the museum but I have to fake being an extrovert when I bartend. 
Speaker 1
That makes a lot of sense! I bet it's exhausting to be "on" all the time.
Speaker 2
Yeah totally. You should plan a surprise swimming weekend to surprise your family and keep you motivated. Like a beach weekend, but maybe not the ocean cuz waves can get crazy lol.
Speaker 1
Yeah, perhaps just a lake trip could work. I also don't like crowds, so hopefully the lake would be a little calmer. Which lake is your houseboat on?
Speaker 2
I don't like crowds either. It's at Lake Bass which isn't very crowded. I would never go to Havasu because of the crowds there. I love the museum because it's rarely crowded and it's so quiet.
6 days 7 hours