Your Life Does Not Have To Be A Spectacular TED Talk (Vad Interviews Erica)
In this back-to-life episode, Montréal’s favourite self-deprecating Russian interviews Erica. Riveting questions include:
Erica, why did you decide to start a podcast?
How’d you come up with the name, This Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life?
Tell us all about your creative angst and writer’s block!
Have you ever been diagnosed with autism? (Vad told me to cut that part out but I decided to keep it in.)
Erica and Vad go deep into creative routines, the quest for authenticity, Erica’s youthful longings to go on Oprah, the drama of the gifted and difficult child, and how to reconcile this with the fixings of adult life. It all comes together with a tome of a listener question from My Vision Board Jumped Off a Bridge in 2011. Vad and Erica can’t fix it—but we have thoughts.
And for even more thoughts, this listener question comes with all-new FREE AND EXCITING BONUS CONTENT. Please hit up Erica’s longform blogpost answer to MVBJOABI-2011.
FREE AND EXCITING BONUS CONTENT RIGHT HERE
Follow Erica on Instagram @erica.j.schmidt or check out her website at ericajschmidt.com
Full show notes at ericajschmidt.com/podcast/your-life-does-not-have-to-be-a-spectacular-ted-talk
About Vad
Vadim Gran is famous for his elaborate beard, and Eeyore sense of humour which he infuses into his storytelling and barbecue banter. In 2019, he made his fringe festival debut, performing the wildly popular show Happy-ish, A Russian Immigrant’s Guide to Smiling. It was by all accounts a smash hit. These days Vad is ultra busy first-class adulting and flipping burgers at the epic summer barbecues he hosts with his partner Andrea and previously his darling dog Jake, may he rest in peace. Vad recently upgraded his skills in computer programming, and he’s hoping to also maybe upgrade his skills in podcasting. This interview was a great start. Thank you so much, Vad!
About Erica
Erica J. Schmidt is available on all your favourite podcast platforms. She is not particularly famous but she used to be the Mile End’s most famous cleaner as the founder of Deep Cleans with Erica J. Schmidt. May it rest in peace with Jake the Dog. She is also a little bit famous for twirling her hair incessantly. Erica’s life’s greatest joys include creative projects, friendship, library books, exercise, cleaning routines, and em dashes. Her creative life includes a bunch of writing, storytelling, a tiny bit of stand-up comedy. And in the spring of 2023, she fulfilled her lifelong dream of starting her own podcast, This Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life.
Links, Resources, and Recommended Episodes
Why Fish Don’t Exist, book by Lulu Miller
Behind the Bastards presents: Part One: Is Oprah Winfrey a Bastard? There are many parts, available on all the platforms.)
Erica’s old blog The Ecstatic Adventures of the Exuberant Bodhisattva
And if you enjoyed this episode, you might also like: Taking the Pressure Off with Erica J. Schmidt, First Date With Amir, and Caroline and Erica Can’t Fix it—But We Have Thoughts.
Listener Question from My Vision Board Jumped Off a Bridge in 2011
Dear Erica and Vad,
I'm in my early forties and I've recently made peace with the modest fixings of my adult life. When I was in university, I studied International Development and I thought I'd end up joining the Peace Corps and working for the UN or doing something similarly praiseworthy and altruistic. Instead, I am trucking along at a humble 9-5. It is not particularly glamorous, or even fun, and sometimes it takes up more energy than I have. But it lets me pay for my life with relative ease, and I can splurge on treats to make up for some of the inconvenience.
One of my favourite parts of my life is my group of friends. We met in university and never lost touch. At least once a week, we get together to eat and shoot the shit and online shop for deals and laugh at reality TV clips. I know I am so lucky to have these people and this outlet, but lately I've felt a bit triggered by one of my friends. Let's call him Alex. Alex has a similar livelihood as I do, though maybe it doesn't drain him quite as much. But it's like he feels oppressed by steady income with benefits. He's constantly berating the complacency and grind of a day job, how the 9-5 is a crime against humanity, stripping us of our joy and physical health and creative potential. He's constantly pouring himself into self-improvement projects: impossible fitness regimes, the keto diet, life coaches, empowerment conferences, and mysterious online "communities" where bright-eyed and Botoxed high achievers exchange life hacks for optimizing their existence according to their Vision Board. At least two of these endeavours reek of some kind of cult or pyramid scheme. Alex always claims to be on the cusp of some pinnacle of ultimate growth. But he never seems to get there. I watch him ride up and down these waves of hope and possibilities only to fall into deep discouragement and depression when the diet or the ahayuasca journey or conference failed to launch him into the life he was meant to live. It's exhausting to watch! And it makes me feel like because I'm accepting of my own gig and simple life, that he's probably judging me for being complacent and unambitious. Do you think I should say something? He is more or less driving me nuts.
Love, My Vision Board Jumped off a Bridge in 2011
THANK YOU, WITH LOVE
Thank you so much for listening! To support this independent podcast, please consider purchasing a Lil and Bud dog greeting card at ericajschmidt.com/merch. You can also make a one-time donation here at The Donate Button. Feel free to get in touch for other sponsorship possibilities. My infinite thanks for all of this.
More infinite thanks, as always, to Taes Leavitt (darling big sister, Big Heart Journey), Sherwin Tjia (technical and creative advisor, Sherwin’s Quirky Events, Episode 22) and my dearly departed aunt Eileen Gun, whose generous gift helped to fund my new podcast equipment.
And infinite thanks to you, my dear listeners! Stay tuned for more episodes extra soon. Don’t forget to follow This Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life on your favourite podcast platform. And if you enjoyed the episode, I would be immensely grateful if you could share it with a friend and/or leave a kind and enthusiastic rating and review.
