Subtitles (191)
0:00There's an English proverb that goes, "When
the cat's away, the mice will play." When
0:05the cat's away, the mice will play. Do you
know this one? Have you heard it before? It
0:10simply means that when an authority figure, or
someone who enforces the rules, isn't around,
0:16then people will often break the rules and do what
they like and have fun. Think about a boss who's
0:22away on a business trip. Maybe the employees won't
work as hard when the boss isn't around. Or when a
0:28teacher leaves the classroom, then maybe students
are more likely to have some fun and play some
0:33games and not really study hard in the classroom.
That's what this proverb is all about. And today,
0:39in this episode, I'm gonna tell you a story
that's a little bit, at least a little bit,
0:43related to this proverb, "When the cat's away, the
mice will play." So we'll get started with that
0:49story in just a second. But before we do, let me
introduce myself. My name is Andrew. I'm the host
0:54of the Culips English Podcast, and this is bonus
episode number 161. Here in the bonus episode
1:00series, what I do is I tell you some stories from
my everyday life. I'm a Canadian guy, but I live
1:06abroad in Seoul, South Korea, and I hope that by
listening to these stories you will be able to
1:11improve your fluency. That's what I'm here to help
you do and help you achieve. So, if you want to be
1:17a better and clearer and more confident English
speaker, then I think you're in the right place.
1:22To accompany each and every episode, there's a
100% free, no strings attached at all interactive
1:28transcript and vocabulary glossary. Please check
them out. I think they're awesome study tools,
1:34and you can get them just by clicking the link in
the description for this episode or by visiting
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2:38a huge thank you, massive thank you, to all of
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2:43do Culips without your support, so thank you so
much. And now let's get started with this week's
2:50story. When the cat's away, the mice will play.
So how does my story relate to this proverb? Well,
3:02I don't really think that my wife is the authority
figure in my home. I don't really think she's the
3:08boss, but she is away for the weekend, and that
means I'm alone for the weekend here at my house.
3:15My wife went on a trip with her mom and they
went to Fukuoka in Japan and they're gonna have
3:21a mother-daughter away time for the weekend, which
is awesome. I gotta say I'm a little jealous. I
3:27wish I could go on that trip as well. It sounds
like they've got some really cool activities
3:32planned. But that means I'm on my own and alone
for the weekend for the first time in a long
3:39time. I can't even remember the last time I was
on my own for a full weekend at home. Of course,
3:47I've been on trips myself and my wife has been
in this situation where she was home alone, but I
3:53think this is the first time that I've been home
alone for a full weekend without my wife, maybe
3:58since we've been married. It's been, yeah, a long
time. So it's a little different, and she's away,
4:06and so I'm here and I'm allowed to play. I was
thinking that this could be a cool topic for me,
4:11to talk about what I'm gonna do different while
my wife is away. And I had this idea and I thought
4:18it connected to the English proverb that I wanted
to introduce to you and teach you about. But then
4:23I was actually brainstorming and making a little
list of the things that I was gonna do different
4:29now that I have all the freedom in the world, like
I'm totally by myself. I can live like a bachelor
4:35again if I want to, here at home for this weekend,
and nobody's gonna say anything. Nobody can stop
4:41me. However, when I was doing the brainstorming
and putting together my little list, I really
4:46didn't think of anything else that I wanted to do
too differently alone this weekend than I would
4:53if my wife were normally here. So, I guess that's
a good thing. I think that means that we have a
4:57strong relationship and we really see eye to eye
on most things. "See eye to eye" is an idiomatic
5:04expression that means that you agree on things
and you see things the same way. And I think
5:10my wife and I have a pretty healthy relationship
because we're really perfectly aligned on almost
5:16everything. We see eye to eye, we have similar
tastes and preferences, and although our habits
5:22and our lifestyles, of course, are different,
we're different people, but we really do align
5:27on so many things so well, and so I think that's
why we have a good relationship. But nonetheless
5:34I did some brainstorming and I made a short list.
Three things. I could only think of three things
5:40that I'm gonna do differently this weekend when
I go nuts while my wife's out of town. And so,
5:46let's get to the list. I'll talk to you about
them here now. So, let's see. Where should we
5:53start? OK, I'll start with number one because
maybe this is the one that, yeah, I guess is
6:00maybe where my wife and I don't see eye to eye all
the time. And frankly, I don't think anybody would
6:08see eye to eye on this all the time. It is about
music. And music taste and music preferences are
6:14so different from person to person to person, and
that's fine. That's totally cool. People can like
6:20whatever they like. I tend to be one of these
people who has, I think, pretty varied music
6:27taste. I like lots of different genres and I like
listening to lots of different styles of music.
6:33And to be honest with you, my wife and I really
do like a lot of the same styles of music. We
6:40really enjoy listening to music together. We enjoy
going to record stores together, and she's very
6:47open-minded about the music that I like to play as
well. I think she would probably say that I listen
6:53to a bit more music than she does. The different
styles and genres that I listen to, there's maybe
7:01a wider variety than what she likes to listen to.
However, we really do agree on so many different
7:08styles. However, there is some music that I like
to listen to that I just don't think is maybe too
7:17enjoyable to listen to for many people. So I
want to call this kind of music quote unquote,
7:24"difficult music." This includes genres like maybe
drone music or IDM electronic music that can be
7:32very glitchy and mechanical sounding, electric
sounding. I like some styles of heavy music with
7:39very heavy guitars and drums. Think metal or death
metal. I'm not, like, huge fans of these genres,
7:48but from time to time I do enjoy listening
to them. Rap is another genre that I like,
7:55hip hop, maybe some gangster rap even. And some
of these genres my wife will enjoy as well,
8:03but others, it's not that she tells me not to
play it, but at the same time, I feel almost
8:11guilty about listening to them because I think
you really have to be in the right mindset and
8:15the right mood to listen to them. So, like I said,
these are not my go-to genres that I'm a really
8:22big fan of all the time, but I go through phases
with my music listening. And sometimes I get into,
8:28like, a zone where I'll really listen to a
lot of, like, really heavy music for a week or
8:34two and then I don't listen to it anymore. And
usually when I go through one of these phases,
8:39it's totally fine because I can just listen with
my headphones. I can listen to music when I'm
8:44going on the subway or the bus or walking around,
walking the dog, even in the home, and yeah,
8:50it's amazing these days. You know, we have AirPods
and Bluetooth headphones and we can just listen
8:55to whatever we want and we don't bother anyone.
However, I've got a pretty sweet stereo setup. I
9:03got some nice speakers, and from time to time I do
like to turn up the volume a little bit and really
9:09get the full experience of listening to the music.
I wouldn't say loudly, but at a good volume,
9:16and really just getting the most out of it and
enjoying my stereo that way, which, like I said,
9:22sometimes I can feel just a little bit guilty
about if the music is, like I said, quote unquote
9:28“difficult music.” So these days I've been
listening to some drone music by this artist
9:34named Kali Malone, and it's like, it's actually
very beautiful music, but she makes it just on,
9:40I believe, a pipe organ, this record that I've
been listening to. And if you're into this style
9:45of music and you want to know more, just send me
a DM or leave a comment on our Discord community
9:50and I can send you some YouTube links so you can
check this out for yourself as well. But she makes
9:55this really amazing, beautiful, drony music with
pipe organs, and so the music is just like long
10:05sustained chords and with slight changes.
And I'm not the person that can really talk
10:11elegantly about music, so I apologize for that.
However, although it is beautiful, I think it's
10:19very hypnotic and almost meditative, and when you
start listening to it, you really have to be in
10:26the right mindset to interact with the music in a
certain way. You have to be in a mindset to listen
10:33to it really carefully. And I could imagine if my
wife were listening to this style of music and I
10:40was just trying to get some work done around the
house or do the dishes or something, I'd be like,
10:44“Ah, can we change it to something different?”
Like, it's not really that household chore
10:50soundtrack that you want to listen to. It's more
something that you have to sit down and listen
10:54to carefully. And so I've been enjoying this music
while I've been out on walks. I think it's because
10:59the seasons are changing, and when the seasons
change, then I start, yeah, my music taste changes
11:07with the seasons and this sort of dark, eerie,
beautiful, drony organ music seems to be a great
11:14fit for the fall. So, I've been listening to it
in my headphones for the last week or two. But
11:20now that my wife is out of town, I'm gonna play it
loudly through my stereo and enjoy the full beauty
11:27of that pipe organ, and maybe some other music as
well. The musician that I mentioned, Kali Malone,
11:35she's actually married to a famous guitarist
who has this band called Sunn O))), and he
11:40makes similar music. Interestingly enough, maybe
this is why they're together because he makes like
11:46similar drony style music, but it's with a very
heavy, distorted guitar. And so I also wanted
11:53to listen to his band, Sunn O))). They're called
Sunn O))). I've been like kind of in this drony
11:58heavy music phase the last couple of weeks.
So I'm gonna pump up the volume on my stereo
12:04while my wife's away and enjoy listening to some
music. And yeah, looking forward to doing that.
12:10So that is the number one thing. The number two
thing, what did I write? Ah, I also want to watch
12:16a movie while my wife is away. I love watching
movies. Unfortunately, I don't watch them too
12:23often just because they take up a lot of time,
and it's really hard to watch a movie these days.
12:30I feel like, I don't know. For whatever reason, I
do it less and less and less than I used to. Maybe
12:37it's just I have less time in my life, or maybe
it's just that my attention span isn't what it
12:43used to be. I'm not sure, but I find it harder to
watch films than ever before. But I really feel,
12:51again, maybe it's now that the season is changing
and it's the fall. I feel like watching a movie
12:57and this is a great time to do it while I have
the place to myself. Because when I watch movies,
13:02I really try to recreate the theater experience
as best as I can. And when I say recreate the
13:09theater experience, what I mean is have like a
dark room, only the TV on, and have the sound
13:15a little bit louder, or sometimes I even wear my
Bluetooth headphones so I can get like a fuller
13:20sound experience and I can hear the dialogue
clearly. Because for whatever reason these days,
13:27I find it hard to hear the dialogue and the spoken
words in films. I don't know if that's just me or
13:34if that's a thing that everybody experiences,
I'm not sure. But when I wear my headphones and
13:39then watch films or movies or TV, it's easier for
me to hear, especially if I'm doing it in Korean,
13:46my second language, which I'll probably try
and watch a Korean movie tonight as well. So,
13:51I'm looking forward to doing that. And like I
said, recreating a theater experience is going
13:56to be totally possible because when my wife and
I watch TV or the movies, she likes to have a
14:03little light on in the room. She doesn't like to
have it pitch black. I'm the opposite. I want to
14:09be as immersed in the film or as immersed in the
TV show as I can, and having other distractions
14:16around like doesn't work for me. I like to have
it dark and like I'm in a movie theater as much
14:22as possible, like I said. So, I don't have to
compromise on this this weekend. I can just
14:28turn off the lights and enjoy the film. My wife
says it's not great for your eyes. I don't care.
14:34I'm not gonna do it forever. I'm just gonna do it
for the one time while she's away. And so yeah,
14:39I'm looking forward to watching a movie with the
lights off tonight or maybe tomorrow night before
14:45she gets back, anyways. I'm not sure when I'll do
it and I'm not sure what I'll watch. If you have
14:49a good movie recommendation, something that you've
seen recently that you think I would enjoy, again,
14:54drop me a comment on our Discord community, and
I would love to hear about your recommendations.
15:00OK, let's get to the third and final thing on my
list, which is something that I'm excited about
15:06for tonight, and that is sleeping alone in my bed.
Sleeping alone in my bed. I know it sounds crazy
15:14that I'm looking forward to this. But my absolute
favorite sleeping position is the starfish
15:22position. I don't know, for whatever reason, when
I starfish in the bed, I can sleep just so much
15:28better and so much more deeply and so much more
comfortably than I can when I have to sleep on my
15:35side or on my back or on my stomach, any other
position which requires me to be more like in
15:41a pencil shape rather than a starfish shape. So,
I usually don't get to starfish on the bed very
15:47often. Maybe if I take a nap, but I haven't even
been taking too many naps lately, so it doesn't
15:53really happen very often. But now that my wife's
away, that means the bed's all mine. So I'm gonna
15:59starfish away tonight and for the next two nights
while she's away. And I'm really looking forward
16:06to it. I think as I get older, I'm starting to
prioritize sleep more than anything in my life.
16:13I feel like for me, and probably for most people,
but I've really noticed for me, I feel like sleep
16:21is the cheat code for doing almost everything well
in my life. Like it's more important, I think,
16:27than exercising or eating well. Sleep is like the
number one thing that I can do to make myself feel
16:34good. And then as a result, when you feel good
and you're rested, then I can be successful at
16:39the other things that I want to do well in life.
So, I've been prioritizing sleep more and more and
16:46more and just trying to go to bed early. Like,
put myself in a situation where I'm sleeping
16:51earlier and then waking up later as well so that
I can maximize the sleep. And you know, I used
16:58to be for the last like, well, through my 30s, I
was really always trying to like, OK, gotta wake
17:03up early and get the day started and grind and do
the things that you need to do. And now I'm like,
17:09if I can push it back 15-30 minutes and get some
extra sleep, that's just gonna result in, like,
17:16me feeling better and being more productive in
the day. So, huge focus on sleep these days in
17:22my life, trying to get as much of it as I can
so that my hours where I am awake are enjoyable
17:28and productive and less stressful. All of that
starts with a good night's sleep. And so, yeah,
17:35I'm definitely, definitely gonna get some good
night's sleep here while I can starfish in my
17:40favorite sleeping position while my wife is away.
That is the wild and crazy bachelor weekend that
17:51I've got myself planned while my wife is away.
I'm gonna pump up the organ music, I'm going to
17:58watch a movie in the dark, and I'm going to sleep
in the starfish position in my bed for the next
18:05three days until my wife and my mother-in-law
return from Japan. So, I guess that'll bring me
18:11to the end of this week's story. I'm curious about
you. I know that some of our listeners definitely
18:17are in relationships with your partner or husband
or wife or whatever. And maybe from time to time
18:24you get to spend some time alone. And yeah,
it's just like a different kind of situation,
18:30right? Being alone, and I guess I imagine I
don't have children, so I could imagine that
18:36if you were alone after living with your partner
and children, and then you had some time alone,
18:42that would be a massive change, probably a
real big break from your routine. For me, it's
18:47not quite that big, but if you ever find yourself
alone for some time, like I am alone this weekend,
18:54let me know what you like to do. How do you like
to go crazy? How do you like to play when the cat
19:00is away? I'll be waiting for your comments on our
Discord and I'm looking forward to hearing what
19:05you have to say. So that's gonna be it for this
week's story, everyone. Pat yourself on the back,
19:10OK? You did a good job doing some English
listening today. And keep going, don't forget
19:15we've got hundreds of other episodes over on our
website, Culips.com, to help you with your English
19:20learning journey. And please check those out.
And also don't forget about the Culips classes
19:26upcoming this week. We've got three of them and
we'd love to have you join us there. Just click
19:30the link in the description to see the schedule.
And yeah, we'll see you in the classes. Guys, have
19:36a great week. Please take care, and I'll catch
you in the next episode. Until then, bye-bye.
