4. Meeting Famous Comedians & Getting Morbid

Wherever This Is With Mike Okay

Mike begins the episode from a rainy car on the English coast, launching into a humorous rant about the 'invasion' of American fast food lik

Key takeaways

• Mike expresses frustration over Taco Bell's rapid expansion across England, including motorway services.
• A recent US Embassy appointment in London involved long queues and intense questioning about travel history to Syria and Afghanistan.

Main topics

• American fast food in the UK
• US Visa application process

Notable quotes

England is being invaded... I'm talking of course. About Taco Bell.

Conclusion

A deeply personal episode that transitions from lighthearted cultural

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:00) I am sitting in a cozy, fairly warm Ford Fiesta on the English coast and it's wet and it's rainy and it's cozy. It's cozy because it's wet and rainy outside. There's something about the weather being Speaker 1 (0:31) wet and rainy and windy outside that makes indoors i.e. a car just feel that much cosier especially when you're on the coast like if I just had a little a little like bag of fish and chips it's 7 in the morning on a Saturday by the way so that would be insane but if I had a little bag of cod and chips Speaker 1 (1:01) And I was just looking out at the sea and it was wet and it was stormy. And I was wearing a dry robe and I'd just gone for a surf. I don't surf, I wish I did surf. Speaker 1 (1:13) I woke up this morning with the plan to go for a run along the beach which I did do that's why I am a little bit a little bit flushed and a bit sweaty let's maybe open let's close this window oh it just got oh my goodness it just got that little bit more cozy in this car I'm a bit flushed and I'm a bit wet, but goddamn, I'm cozy. I woke up today thinking I'm going to come to the beach and I'm going to record on the beach. And when I saw that it was wet and windy, my first instinct was, oh no, I can't record my podcast. And then I was like, hey, just do it in the car. Why don't you just do it in the car? Welcome back to wherever this is with Mike. Okay, the podcast where we talk about travel and we talk about life and we talk about navigating life through travel using travel as a band-aid to throw over the wounds of Our lives that makes it sound quite bleak and quite dark. It's a fun podcast England is being invaded. I'm gonna go out and say it. I'm literally just gonna go out and say this. England is being... My country is being invaded. The shores of the UK are being infiltrated. And I'm sick of it. And I didn't notice it until I came back to the country. I've been away for a while. And I came back, and everywhere I look, in the small towns, even... On the motorways. Okay. All over London. Our country is being invaded. You know what I'm talking about. I'm talking of course. About Taco Bell. There is a Taco Bell. On every. Blimmin street corner. In England. At the moment. Now then, we had McDonald's, right? We got McDonald's. McDonald's isn't even... So McDonald's I wouldn't even really call American anymore because it's so global. Same with Burger King, same with KFC. You know, there's nothing American about Kentucky Fried Chicken. And I can take all of those. I can accept them because they've been around for a while. There is a Taco Bell on every street corner. I was then, I drove up to my parents place recently to go and visit them I went to Membry, Membry, Membry Services on the motorway, on the highway if you're American. I know there's a lot of lovely Americans listening and I appreciate you and I love you. Okay. I went to Membry and there was a Taco Bell there. I was eating a cheesy gordita crunch in Membry. Membry, okay, or Cobham. I was in Cobham Services on the way back. Did I get... Did I get Taco Bell on the way there and on the way back? Yes, I did. Okay? Because when am I going to get the chance to have Taco Bell? Only every day for the rest of my life if I come to England. It's making me fat. Okay? I've only had two Taco Bell. But food in general is making me fat. This is what I'm going to be doing. As someone that's gaining weight, I'm going to blame... Speaker 1 (4:52) Big fast food Okay, I'm gonna blame America American fast food is taking over the UK and I don't know how to feel about it and I've realized that if I can't get away from Taco Bell and American fast food in England How the bloody hell am I gonna do it when I'm in the when I'm in the US? I'm going I'm flying to America today. I need to leave for the airport in one and a half hours and I'm already on the back foot when it comes to food. They've got Taco Bell, they've got Chick-fil-A, they've got American diners where the portion sizes are like feeding an entire family for a week. And I'm just concerned that I'm going to get really fat. And this is the thing. I'm not even concerned that I'm going to get fat. I know I'm going to get fat. I'm going to America for six weeks. I know I'm going to get fat. I'm going to go to a sweet diner. And I'm going to get pancakes for breakfast. I'm going to eat dessert for breakfast. I'm going to get a stack of pancakes. And I'm going to get extra bacon. And I'm going to get a vat of maple syrup. And I'm going to... pour it all over the pancakes and I'm gonna do that at 7 a.m. and then I'm gonna shit myself because I think I probably have a little bit of IBS. Not diagnosed, but sometimes when I eat food, especially fast food, I feel like I'm gonna shit myself afterwards. And I'm worried that in America, I'm gonna shit myself loads. And that's okay. But if you are American and you're not a fat person, you must be a robot. Because I don't know how you do it. I've always been a bit of a yo-yo. A yo-yo, not dieter, a yo-yo. Speaker 1 (7:04) I gain weight super easily when I first I thought I was quite fat when I was younger but I look back at pictures and I wasn't Speaker 1 (7:18) I would travel around Southeast Asia and I was pretty slim in my early 20s. But I could just gain it really easily. Like if I take my foot off the pedal, especially now that I'm 30 years old. If I take my foot off the pedal for, you know, an elongated amount of time, I will gain weight. This is the fattest I've ever been currently. I'm over 100 kgs. I don't feel... comfortable with my body at the moment. Does that stop me from eating Taco Bell twice in one week? No, it doesn't. I basically go up and down in almost everything I do. I'm an extremist when it comes to fitness and food. I'm either eating incredibly clean for like two months and working out eight days a week or, okay, so I'm either doing that, which is insane, or I am eating burgers and pizza and cheesy gordita crunches and snacking and eating candy and drinking beer and drinking lots of alcohol and smoking cigarettes and doing very little movement. There seems to be no middle ground. And if I don't sort it out soon, then, um... You know it's gonna get bad, but why this is why I decided is what decided I'm gonna go to The u.s.. For the next six weeks Okay, and I'm gonna just I'm gonna try not to gorge and try not to overeat at every single Opportunity and then after the six weeks. I'm gonna fucking disappear I'm gonna absolutely... You're not gonna hear from me. You're not gonna see me. I'm gonna try to make enough content in six weeks to last me up until like