307: Reuben's Curious Gyrating Tapestries
Reuben Coutinho
EPISODE SUMMARY:
"Why don't you just go and do the things you enjoy and do the things you love?" - Reuben.
Ever pondered the power of words and how they define us? Sit back and join me on a captivating journey with our guest, Reuben, a tech-savvy foodie with a secret nerdy side, as he uncovers the synonyms that best describe his persona.
I describe Reuben with words - marshmallow, assembling, and kind-hearted - encapsulating the essence of his personality and experiences, from being a first-time home buyer to finding love. His belief in pursuing passions forms a roadmap to happiness and progress. So, buckle up for a thrilling ride through Reuben's life - a tech-savvy foodie's journey into love, dance, food, and superheroes.
Listen to the Episode
MAIN TOPICS:
00:00 - Episode intro
03:07 - Reuben's intro
05:03 - Reuben's journey
12:10 - Cultural Influence and Passion for Dance
26:25 - Exploring Cultural Connections Through Food
32:31 - Cuisines and DC vs Marvel Comparison
46:18 - The Power of Curiosity
50:08 - Reuben's important words to share
52:22 - Wish's important words to share
53:48 - Outro
FEATURED WORDS:
Reuben's synonyms to self: gadget (n.), hug (v.), curious (adj.)
Reuben's word : Likes: progress (n.) Dislikes: none yet!
Wish's synonyms for Reuben: marshmallow (n.), assembling (v.), kind-hearted (adj.)
An essential word from this episode: curiosity (n.)
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
QUOTABLE QUOTES
"There should be like a manual given to guys once they turn in the teen years or when they're ready to date. You're like: this is what you need to be aware of. "
"I don't know what it is, but it's just like you got that shake in your bone."
"It's a starting point for us to discover who we are."
"Food is a way for all cultures to discover who they are."
"You got to find meditating your own way."
"Always try new foods. Because you never know what's going to fancy your palate."
"Be curious. Try new things as long as it doesn't harm you or harm others around you."
”You can't just give someone a creativity injection. You have to create an environment for curiosity and a way to encourage people and get the best out of them.” - Ken Robinson.
REFERENCES FROM TODAY'S CONVERSATION
First printing press in the world
First film ever made - fact correction
Sans Rival cake
LISTEN, RATE, REVIEW, SUBSCRIBE & SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS!
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0:00:02 - Wish
Hello, dear humanity, welcome to season 3 of Human Thesaurus. Human Thesaurus is an engaging podcast where I invite a diverse range of friends and acquaintances to have a conversation with me, your host, Wish Ronquillo Peacocke. Each episode takes you on a wild ride through personal journeys, profound experiences, relatable rants, hilarious moments and insightful opinions within different industries, with a focus on individuals who are defined by multiple words synonymous with who they are. My podcast explores various perspectives and personalities, resembling words with several meanings. Through these conversations, you are invited to eavesdrop and enjoy a captivating exploration of the human experience. While you're at it, you can rate and subscribe and you can check out my show notes at humanthesaurus.co.
Reuben is a tech-savvy foodie with a secret identity as a nerd who can't get enough of both the DC and Marvel worlds. When he's not busy building software or honing his cooking skills, he enjoys going on hikes, dancing, learning about new cultures and exploring new places. I met Reuben through work in Australia, same with Coco, my last guest. He was from our team in Melbourne at that time and I was mostly Sydney-based when he came in. He's one of these super young, wide-eyed, very eager type of worker. I immediately got really close with Reuben. I call him Roobs, it's our nickname for affection for him and I really enjoyed working with him and we became very close, and we've been - I think, when it comes to going through some difficulties at work together, you get closer to some people that you can trust, and Reuben is one of that. I consider him as one of my little brothers that I just feel like I needed to watch after him from time to time. It doesn't mean that he's incapable he's very capable, but I want it to be there while his success is and everything is unfolding. His personality is unfolding because it's a beautiful thing to see. My synonyms for Reuben are marshmallow as a noun, assembling as a verb and kind-hearted as an adjective. Within this conversation, you'll understand why I describe him as such. So here he is, Reuben Coutinho.
0:03:07 - Reuben
Hey, my name is Reuben. Name is the word gadget as a noun, hug as a verb and curious as an adjective. I like the word progress and I'm not sure what word I dislike yet.
0:03:27 - Wish
Wow, you're not sure. Yet there's nothing in your life that a word can annoy you.
0:03:39 - Reuben
I've not come across words that really trigger or annoy me per se. I've come to like. If there's a word, I just learn to pass it under the bridge and not react to it. If that makes sense. I don't know how to like yeah.
0:03:55 - Wish
I think it does make sense, that's very much you.
0:04:00 - Reuben
Yeah.
0:04:02 - Wish
What's your verb is hug right.
0:04:05 - Reuben
Yeah, my verb is hug.
0:04:06 - Wish
Oh my gosh.
0:04:09 - Reuben
Yeah, I don't know. I was thinking about this. You know what would be my verb? You know, when I started listening to your podcast for the first time, I was like oh, that's an interesting concept. And then since then, since episode one, I've been thinking what would describe me as a verb. And then, you know, you said hey, do you want to come and talk?
And I was like, oh my God, I need to really figure out what my verb is, and I was talking to my partner, Liz, and she was, like you know, hug might be a good one. Yeah, that is true, I do like giving nice warm hugs. That is my thing. You know, when I first meet someone I'd go in for a hug. Then I'm a hugger. So, yeah, it kind of makes sense, doesn't it?
0:04:45 - Wish
That's why we get along. We're both huggers, but this is what I love, right? I mean, my definition of you as a noun is marshmallow. It's kind of the same marshmallow and a hug.
0:04:59 - Reuben
Exactly, it's like they go well together. Like you'd love something like that.
0:05:03 - Wish
Yeah, oh, wow See. I mean there's an alignment there, and I really appreciate about you, and also like there are so many things happening with you right now, it seems. So what have you been up to lately?
0:05:19 - Reuben
So I've moved into my home. I've become a first home buyer. Before that, I met someone special. Her name is Liz.
Wish
Oh, hi, Liz
Reuben
And I've always had the most worst luck with dating apps or things like that. And it's so funny the way Liz and me met and I'll come back to that later, if you want. So I met Liz, I bought a house, she moved in. Big things have happened in my life. Yeah, it's been exciting. It's been an exciting change, and that's why one of the words that I like progress is because you're moving forward and you're learning things about each other and you're building on your relationship. So you're making progress in a way.
0:06:05 - Wish
That's right, so that's great. I'm always proud of you when it comes to that. Everything just fell into the right places. So let's get back to that. Since you've mentioned it how did you meet Liz?
0:06:22 - Reuben
For the longest time. I always had this weird vision of you know, when you, like you grow up in Asian countries and you watch these US films and you go. Oh my God, that's so easy to meet someone and fall in love and get married.
0:06:35 - Wish
And.
0:06:36 - Reuben
I always tried that approach and it never worked. And then I went into dating apps because everyone in you know you see these things about oh, the dating app is awesome, let's use that. And I tried using that. I was funny enough one of the dating apps that I'm a lifetime member.
0:06:52 - Wish
It was so hopeless.
0:06:54 - Reuben
With my dating life, I actually become a lifetime member and I was like someone will click somewhere because you know it is what it is.
But then someone said you know, why don't you just go and do the things you enjoy and do the things you love? And I think you know from like a previous relationship, like when I came out of it, you know it was really early on when I moved to Australia as well. So there were a lot of things about myself that I didn't know and I was learning. And one of the things that I found out is I love to dance. I use, apparently I used to love to dance, like you know, when I was younger.
And for some reason I just suppressed that, so moved to Australia, learned how to dance, loved doing it. I, you know, in recent months I haven't just because of the recent changes, but the way Liz and me met was after, you know, the whole COVID times things were on lockdown, yeah. Once things opened up, a friend said, oh, let's, you know, let's go dancing.
And I was like, oh, yeah, you know, I came to do it and yeah, and there she was. She was in one of my classes which I wasn't going to take because I was going to take some completely different class. It was some weird reason she was there and, yeah, just things connected, you know, we started talking, you know, and I was still a bit like, I was a bit shy in a way and I was like, you know what, you go, if you, if you think she's cute and you like her, like you think you like her, you should just go and ask for your number or her number. And I was like, actually, no, hang on, let's ask at the end of the class, because at least then, if she says no, you don't see her again. And then, just, you know, you save yourself from embarrassment, in the way.
But what I didn't know at the time was she was not going to attend the last class. And so the class the week before she came up to me and she said, hey, look, I'm not going to be attending the next class, here's my number and can you please send me the video of the dancing. And at the time I was like, oh, okay, she just wants the video. And then, you know I, and I was like you know what. Let's just, let's keep it, let's message us, keep in touch. You know, see what happens.
0:08:53 - Wish
And.
0:08:54 - Reuben
I messaged her, we started talking, we started talking more, and then I was like, oh my God, she actually did that so that she can keep in touch, not just because of the video. You know what I mean.
0:09:02 - Wish
You guys should take a hint. Guys have no idea sometimes. No, no and.
0:09:09 - Reuben
I still sometimes, you know, have no idea, and she has to then explain and be like, oh, this is what it is, and I go, oh my God, that should be like a. There should be like a manual given to guys once they turn, like, you know, in the teen years, or when they're ready to date. You're like, this is what you need to be aware of.
0:09:25 - Wish
I kind of gave a little bit of that with my brother. Yeah, Wait what type of dance class was this.
0:09:34 - Reuben
Yeah, so this was salsa. I was doing salsa classes.
0:09:38 - Wish
So did you partner with her? Yeah, oh my gosh. So.
0:09:44 - Reuben
I didn't. I didn't necessarily partner with her for the entirety of the course, but we it was like because it was a big group of people learning, we would swap with people but I would kind of like sneak in, like cut in line and be like, oh I'm sorry, I'm just going to jump in there and you know, practice with her because she wants my help, kind of thing, and I would do that very subtly.
And you know people didn't mind because, like because I've been dancing for a while, I had that. You know, when you dance you get that rhythm and you can pick up your moves really easy.
So people are like oh, he knows what he's doing, like let him, let him jump in, or whatever. So, yeah, that's, that's how Liz and me met. And then, yeah, we kept in touch, we kept talking, and then one day I was like, oh, you know, you want to come, you want to hang out with me, and and she was like, yeah, let's, you know, let's go. And yeah, from there things, things for history. And now, two years later, you know we're going strong.
0:10:39 - Wish
Yeah, it's, it's. It was so endearing when you announced that in our group chat with the boys, so we were so happy for you because, yeah, I mean it's, it's a next step for you and you're such a lovable guy so you deserve all of that happiness, you know. But I didn't realise that you and John's common denominator is dancing salsa. Wow yeah.
0:11:12 - Reuben
Yeah, me and John. Would you know, whenever I came to Sydney and we talk, John would be like, oh, you want to come dancing, or you know, we'd always be like talking, dance things, apart from tech things as well.
0:11:23 - Wish
Wow, yeah, I didn't know that part of you. That's why, when you put here dancing, I wasn't aware that you were a dancer, you know. I know a lot of different facets of yourself, but not this part, and it's wonderful. So where did that come from? You said you were dancing, even like when you were younger. Where did?
0:11:47 - Reuben
it come from.
0:11:48 - Wish
Can you tell me, for everyone to see, how beautiful you are? What's your culture, background and when did you move to Australia?
0:11:58 - Reuben
Yeah, sure, so I'm from a place in India called Goa. Goa is like the southwestern part of India. It's a really small state. It's really beautiful. It was colonised by the Portuguese, like in the 1600s, I believe. I forget my history, so don't put me on that, but they were colonised by the Portuguese far longer than the British had colonised India as a whole.
And even under the British rule, for the longest time, the Portuguese still had a strong influence in India and I think that sorry, in Goa, I mean. And so I think because of that strong cultural influence that the Portuguese brought to India which, on the side note, because I'm also a foodie, Vindaloo came from Goa because of the Portuguese.
0:12:46 - Wish
That's why Okay.
0:12:49 - Reuben
Yeah, Vindaloo literally is like they sort of like bring casks of wine and it's to firm in the meat in that, and that's how it all the magic happened there, wow, okay.
So because of the whole cultural influence of the Portuguese lifestyle. You know, Goa is very westernised in a way, so a lot of western foreigners who come down would like appreciate it because they didn't feel a bit different, although the rest of India provides a very different culture and it's beautiful to experience that as well. Go ahead it's own little charm and go ahead a lot of beaches, a lot of coconut trees, a very chill lifestyle. There's a word, like we say in Goa, like in Konkani, which is the language spoken there, is Susegad, which means relax, just chill.
0:13:33 - Wish
Again, again. What can you teach?
0:13:34 - Reuben
it's, yeah, it's pronounced, it says Susegad, susegad.
0:13:40 - Wish
Susegad, susegad.
0:13:42 - Reuben
Yeah, yeah.
0:13:43 - Wish
Susegad Okay.
0:13:44 - Reuben
Yeah, Susegad. So it's like Susegad. Take it yeah, just chill, just relax, take it easy, like kind of a chill vibe. You know what I mean. Yeah, yeah, and so like, because of that, there was a lot of like dancing that would have, like you know, there was. I think dance was a common thing across a lot of different cultures and I think it was more common for a lot of social events that we would have in Goa. So if there was like a house party, there was dancing. If there was a if weddings, obviously there's dancing.
0:14:15 - Wish
Yes.
0:14:16 - Reuben
You know, if it was a birthday there was dancing, almost everywhere there was dancing and I think growing up I saw my family kind of enjoying that.
0:14:24 - Wish
And.
0:14:24 - Reuben
I would always be shy to learn it because you know, growing up you're like oh she. You know you got to hold a girl's hand and do all that.
And so I would be shy, but I would always, I would always enjoy expressing movements through body. I think Like I remember much younger I used to do like these little moves and no one knew what contemporary dancing was back then. But you know, when I think back and I was like, wow, if I had to actually continue down this path, I'd probably be doing some some different career, for sure.
Like so, yeah, that's, you know, that's where I learned dancing, like that's where my, where I've got the roots from. But my passion really kicked off when I came to Australia. Just for a bit of context, before I came to Australia, I knew how to dance jive, cha-cha, foxtrot, waltz, because these are things you just you learn, you're like part of like a passage of right almost with your dancing, and because it's very common in Goa, you just, you know, you pick it up. And then when I came to Australia, you know, I didn't even think of dancing, for like it wasn't all in my mind. And when, like the other thing. So I'll come back to my dancing story I'll give you a little bit of context about my story to Australia.
Right, I came here nine years ago, as of two weeks back, which, which, yeah, I can't believe it's been nine years, but it's been nine beautiful years and I came here to study, and so my focus was, you know, let's head down, let's do well, let's find good jobs and hopefully, you know, good grades will get me into where I am. So I was, you know, very focused on what I wanted to do, and so I was concentrating a lot on on my studies. And I had good friends as well, so, you know, people who would look out for me, and I had a small bunch of really good friends. One of them said hey, why didn't you come? I'm going for dance classes. The uni is providing free dance classes.
0:16:21 - Wish
Why didn't you come?
0:16:22 - Reuben
along After a lot of hesitation, you know, one day I decided all right, let's go, let's, let's do this. What's? What's the worst thing that can happen? Yeah, I did like three weeks of dancing, or salsa dancing, and I didn't, you know, it was this thing that, wow, like there's a different way to express express yourself. Well, dancing, you can be a little flirty. If you want, you can be really close, you can, and and I kind of like I don't know why just kind of enjoyed it. And then I think that was when I went down my path of learning different dance styles and dance moves. And so when one once that happened, I remember the dance instructor who was teaching us salsa said why don't you come to my dance school? I'm having a party and you know you'll get to practice your moves and meet other people around and maybe that might be a good networking opportunity for you.
0:17:13 - Wish
You know.
0:17:14 - Reuben
So we went down, we were dancing and we were all uni students, so we were having good fun. You know it was. It was a good break away from studies and it was nice. And I remember I'll never forget this because there was this dance teacher. She's. Her name is Anara, I think. Now she's. She lives in Sweden, I think but she was from. Perth and she, she just randomly rocked up to me and she said oh, I'm going to teach you Bachata.
0:17:41 - Wish
Wow, it's so hard.
0:17:43 - Reuben
Yeah, and on the spot, she taught me Bachata without me having any background to Bachata, and it was the most. I was like wow, like, and she's like you're really good, have you been dancing before? I was like not, not really, I've just been doing salsa. She's like you've got a really good movement in you know, like they say it's Jenga, like it's your body expression your body movement.
0:18:06 - Wish
Yeah, Bachata's like that. I tried, I tried.
0:18:12 - Reuben
What? What do you think about Bachata?
0:18:14 - Wish
No, I love it, it's, it's, but you do need that rhythm to begin with. I sort of have a similar background from you, but I think yours is more serious than mine because my eldest aunt and uncle they are almost pro, not not really doing well, they do amateur competitions. But I grew up in the environment where they do ballroom dancing and I love dancing too, so I could completely relate to you right now about like growing up surrounded by that. So I sing and I dance, but I even dance, like when we have parties I also dance with. We have dance instructors, you know that is being invited in our parties and you dance with them.
Even though I was a tiny little girl, nobody thought that I'm going to grow like literally, it's like I'm really like a tiny, tiny girl. But, yeah, I dance with dance instructors and I was very natural with it because, yeah, of the environment, like you. But I think you pursued it more. You pursued it until now, which I actually didn't I. The last time I really did this regularly was, let's say, 2004, 2003, 2004. I even had like a private salsa instructor for it, you know, because I needed to be confident again to go to salsa clubs.
Yeah and it helps establish a salsa club in Makati before in Manila. But yeah, that's the end of it. Yeah, so in terms of Bachata, it's just the next level. When you get to know salsa and even foxtrot and Bachata are really, it's a different world and it's quite difficult, still technical, even if you're saying that you know it attaches to your soul and the rhythm of your body. It's because, also, you're a natural, it sounds like you're a natural Roobs, because I really find it hard.
0:20:35 - Reuben
You know, I don't know what it is, but it's just like you got that a shake in your bone. You know what I mean. Like I find myself when I walk down the street and I'm waiting at the lights for it to turn green to cross the road, I'm just if I'm listening to music, I'll find myself either tapping my foot or, you know, practicing a move Me too. It's so cool, Like you know and then people look at you like what is wrong with them, and you're like, eh, the dance. Like the world's not watching.
0:21:00 - Wish
Exactly. I love that that's true.
0:21:03 - Reuben
Yeah.
0:21:04 - Wish
Like who cares?
0:21:05 - Reuben
Exactly. Yeah, no, I loved it, but you know I should. I should also let you know like I went into Kizomba and that was like that is my love, like that is, that is my love language, with the dance. It's a beautiful, beautiful dance and that all came through this whole journey right, like I found it because of, because of dancing, and like it's, it's, it's very, it's from the, from Angola, it's from Africa, like in Africa, the country Angola, yes, and it's, it's a, it's a hug dance.
0:21:36 - Wish
That's how I describe it. That's why it's so you yeah.
0:21:41 - Reuben
Yeah, it's a hug dance. You know, if you, if you look up on on YouTube about Kizomba, you see like all these, you know moves and you're like very like sensual and you're like, oh, okay, wow, like this is. This is not a hug, there's no hugging there, but like what you see is a variation of the of the dance.
0:21:58 - Wish
In a way yeah.
0:22:00 - Reuben
From what I learned about the dance itself, it comes like in Angola, because that was also colonized by the Portuguese at some point, and then when they left, you know, in the community, kind of started dancing and apparently the story I was told was when they, when they started dancing, they would hug each other to console themselves because of the trauma that happened with the war, and it was like I think there was a civil war, something that happened there or something, and so they would hug each other and dance and that then led to this, this dance from Kizomba, which was yeah, I don't know it was.
It was in between me trying to find my dance self and my cultural identity in a way, yes, and so, yeah, that's. You know, that's how I came across and again, like just happened to come across the dance as well, which was pretty cool, and this was like back in the United States as well. And so, like you know, when I say I was trying to find my cultural identity, when I came to Australia, a lot of people would rock up to me and be like, oh, hey, todo bem, and be like talking to me in Portuguese and be like what is going on, and they'd be like oh, you're not Brazilian. I was like no, do I look Brazilian? And they're like yeah.
0:23:13 - Wish
Yeah, you do, and your surname is Coutinho Hello.
0:23:18 - Reuben
Yeah, but you know, the thing is like when you live. Like, for me, I never really thought of Portuguese as part of my identity, because growing up they've always like, oh, the Portuguese are bad, you know they are. You know like, oh, they colonised us and they did horrible things to us. And but then, you know like, once I came out of Goa and then I came to Australia even, and people were like, oh, you look more Portuguese than Indian. And then I was like so what am I Like? You know, it was very confusing at a time and then I started doing a lot of research into it and then I found out, you know, like there's different, there's different aspects of the Portuguese that we still use today. Like the road systems that are built in Goa were like because of the Portuguese.
0:24:02 - Wish
The architecture, that's there.
0:24:04 - Reuben
Yes, Portuguese, and the first printing press in the world, I think, was by the Portuguese. That was made in Goa and the first film ever made, I think, also was from Goa, but don't quote me on that.
We'll research on that, yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, you know, there were like all these interesting things that I started finding out and then I was trying to, like you know, try and create like a family tree to figure out where we, like you know, did we move in Portuguese, or we, like you know, just Indians, and now we have the Portuguese name, and you know.
So it was a very like interesting time in my life. And then finding our like finding Kizomba at that time was like it just seemed to be the right fit at that time because it was a Portuguese. Like you know, it's an African dance style but it's got Portuguese songs in it.
0:24:54 - Wish
Like all the songs, are sung in Portuguese.
0:24:57 - Reuben
And then, because I love dancing, it just, you know, it felt natural and, yeah, I didn't look back after that, I was, you know, I tell people they're like, oh, you know you can dance. And I'm like, yeah, yeah, I can dance. But if you ask me to dance Salsa, it might take me like a couple of minutes to like remember the steps. But if you ask me dance Kizomba, I can like wake up.
You could like wake me up right now and say dance Kizomba with me, and I'll do it like instantically, Like yeah, it's amazing.
0:25:23 - Wish
So do you think that, trying to find yourself culturally, you know your roots and all of these like? Did this shape who you are right now versus a few years ago? With this entire journey, what have you picked up from finding your roots or understanding even the background of your culture, of Goa, of your dancing?
0:25:50 - Reuben
Yeah, yeah, it's definitely been. I mean, I've, I don't know. Like you know, they say don't praise your own tail, in a way. But Go.
0:26:01 - Wish
You have a permission to.
0:26:03 - Reuben
But in like you know, when you're in Goa, you're always sheltered in a way like by the community. So you'll you never, you never have your own thought. You're always you know, you're always listening to what the community says, because you you listen to the elders, you listen to your parents and you always never try to like question our reason. When I had to come out of India and had to like try and Succeed for myself in a country by myself, without my parents or the community being here, in a way I did not in. In nowhere Do I mean that I didn't have any support or friends. I had a lot of friends, a lot of support here.
But I had to start thinking for myself, you know yes and so that's when, you know, I was like trying to like figure out, you know, just just figure out things about myself. And then you know, there were a lot of things like why do I do this? Like I don't know why I do this, you know, just like silly, like yeah, it was, you know what. Like you know, just like I was always so be home by be home by 8 pm, always be home by, be home early. But you know, it was a different time and a different place and different lifestyle back then.
But here, like you know, when I moved here, sometimes had to work late because you know working at like, say, Maccas or, you know like fast-food joints, you can choose what hours you want to work. You have to kind of work with the times and you got to figure that out right.
Yes so it was just like expanding my mind, I guess, in a way to kind of Accept other things. Right. And so once you go down that path, then you start figuring out and you say, oh, actually you know why. Why are we so super proud that like adobo is popular and go like you know? And then you like I didn't know Until I moved to put that adobo is like a popular dish in in Philippines as well right like you have, like whatever meats you want and you have adobo there and I was like, oh hey, I didn't know that.
You know there was a popular dish there as well, yes, and then I think I told you I made Sans Rival, which is another like popular dish in Philippines, but in Goa we have a version of it Sans Rival, Sans Rival.
0:28:09 - Wish
Sans Rival, oh yes.
0:28:11 - Reuben
Sans Rival, Sans Rival.
0:28:12 - Wish
Oh, nice cake yes.
0:28:14 - Reuben
Yeah. Yeah yeah, yeah, we make it in Goa too.
0:28:19 - Wish
Wow. Well, the common denominator between that? I mean it's nice to learn about Goa further, because the only thing I know about Goa is like it's a beautiful beach place that's a little bit more Western in a way, our common denominator is that we're both conquered. Well, we were conquered by the Spaniards, but, but the one who discovered the Philippines is is a Portuguese guy and, yes, he's Portuguese. Ferdinand Magellan is a yeah, okay, yes, he's a Portuguese guy who was appointed by the King of Spain. So now I could connect that as well. Now, understanding that that we do have a connection, then, and this will add to my repertoire of knowledge when it comes to my history as well, being Filipino, because, apparently, like Goa is also conquered by the Portuguese and we do share some of the same thing, mostly in food right. I mean, I think it's a starting point for us to discover who we are.
0:29:31 - Reuben
Yeah, you know, I think. I think food is a way for all cultures to discover who they are Right like. You go to like different cultures and you're like huh, you have something similar like that. I wonder who brought it first, but it tastes great and then when you're having food with someone, you're never angry with anyone. So you know, I say food's the way to go.
0:29:50 - Wish
It is right, food will create world peace.
0:29:56 - Reuben
I believe that 100%.
0:30:00 - Wish
You know, we're such foodies that this is how we think. This is beautiful, really, and coming from a foodie perspective you as a foodie. What are the main factors in food that you are always excited about?
0:30:21 - Reuben
So for me, I think what I'm more, you know, obviously one is the Understanding, the different tastes and flavours in the food, because some ingredients you can use but they might taste differently. You know, some people use spices differently and so just trying to get that. But I think what I look for is like, huh, if it's very similar, it excites me even though, because I'm like, oh wow, like we have something in common, like you know, you know that's something we can bring closer to ourselves, because I think, like a lot of people, they're like, oh yeah, no, we, we are from this part of the world and so we got everything great. And you're like, we have the same food. What's different? And it's not different in any way. You, you know we, in anything, we are more similar than anything, if you know what I mean like so that's what I kind of look for.
When, you know, when looking for food, you know what's exciting, what's new, and then also, like you know, there's always like new restaurants, new places that pop up. I'm always trying them new to see. What have they tried? You know, mustard ice cream. Who would have thought?
0:31:25 - Wish
Sounds wonderful. Yeah, yeah where did you try that?
0:31:31 - Reuben
There's a I haven't tried it yet, but I've heard of this show like this ice cream place here in Perth. Oh my gosh and it's on my list of things.
0:31:38 - Wish
Alternatively, on please try it, take a video of it and tag me.
0:31:45 - Reuben
Yeah definitely, definitely. I've been trying to, like, make a list. You know, I have a list of things that I want. A place is that I want to visit, and some of them are in Perth and some of them are, like you know, you overseas, and I go and try them. So, yeah, no, I'll definitely do that when I go and try the ice cream, for sure.
0:32:00 - Wish
Oh my gosh, you know that I've got just to share with you my trip to London because you're going tomorrow. So I discovered Because it's such a great opportunity when you're in London another melting pot like it's a completely different melting pot than Singapore the similarities that you can find authentic cultural food From different cultures, from different countries and you can get it authentically, you know, like in Singapore and then in London it's the same, or also in New York, but in London I always make sure to find Things that are that I can't get authentically down here. Number one is African food, and then number two would be like Jewish food or Israeli food you know those kind and also like Italian food as well. Like you know, I've spoken more Italian London that I've ever like I haven't spoken the language in quite sometimes, so it's so nice to speak it again, but I was surrounded with so many Italians in London restaurants. And also like Indian food. English British Indian food is also like super delicious in another interesting layer, because you know it's, it's part of that culture. So, yeah, I discovered new things to eat which I'm going to recommend to you, because this is a, you know there are so many similarities, but now what I found is something completely different. Like I went to a me and my friend, I took her to a Palestinian restaurant in Nothing Hill.
Okay and it's something that I never, ever had before. The flavors are familiar, but still new. The presentation or the way they bake things like most of the meats are Enveloped in a type of pastry or bread. That's how it's presented, so you can kind of like pick it up as one like a pie, but it's not really a pie, and then you can just eat it like that. But you're like, why? Why did they put everything in a pocket, like a elevated hot pocket? But so it's something that I wanted to discover some more. But it's just wonderful to see these things because, in experience, these different types of food or, for example, like African food, for me is something that I wanted to explore more, but I don't have an opportunity down here, so every time I'm in London, you know, but everybody was saying that there are more northern, northern African food in London. It's like, yeah, so be it. It's just because I know they, they use spices differently, they prepare food differently, so it's something that's just beyond Me. So I really I'm gonna give you this list and hopefully you can kind of try and have the same experience as I do, because this is what our, our commonality is we both love food.
0:35:14 - Reuben
Yes, please send me the list. That would be amazing.
0:35:17 - Wish
Yes, absolutely Okay. I also wanted to rehash more about you know, trying to catch up with you, because you know, what I appreciate about you is that when we don't speak for a while, you always ping me and I, you know that's so, so, so endearing to me. I always appreciate that, even if you forward me one Funny kitty video. I appreciate that about you because we're you know we're maintaining to be in touch and you know you're you're a very, very good friend. I consider you as a good friend, so it's something that I really value. So now, apart from you building complicated Lego, lego models, I need to ask you, because you love both Marvel and DC universe and I have. I'm not gonna tell you which one I More inclined to, but if you're only gonna choose one Marvel versus DC and why?
0:36:33 - Reuben
Look, you know, I think, if I, if I think back to what I loved growing up, it was, it was DC. Right, dc was the one that I kind of Kind of fell in love with more than Marvel. Marvel has been like a recent addition to my thing I never considered model. Recently. Yeah, I, when I say considered Marvel, I mean the entire Marvel. You know characters. X-men was part of my thing. I still love X-Men. I was like ah, I'll be Cyclops any day. I love being Cyclops, even like, like, even when I lived in India. Well, some of my friends call me Colossus. Which is you know the, the one of the X-Men.
0:37:17 - Wish
You are Okay.
0:37:21 - Reuben
Yeah, cuz you know he's very protective of people as well. So I was like okay, I see, you see, that, you know, I saw, was like our cyclops. They're like nah, not Cyclops, you're Colossus. So I said, okay, okay, okay, I can, I can fly with that. That's cool.
But you know my love for DC I think I'm, you know, was like Superman to start with yes he was this dude who, as a kid found out like, ended up in the foreign land and People loved him to care of him. You know he has so much power that he could do almost anything, but he chooses to do the right thing.
Yes and help everyone that he can right. And then Batman, which is like, yes, he's just a man, has no superpowers, but he's so smart that he can, you know, defeat the most toughest of superheroes. And and yeah, my appreciate. Like you know, initially Batman was like, oh, he's just a man, he's. Yeah, he's cool.
But growing up, you know, when you, like you kind of like, look at Batman, you're like, wow, mm-hmm, either a lunatic or he's fascinating, like yeah because you know, like there was one of them I don't know who, it was a animated show or it was a movie, but there was one thing where Batman is imagining his whole life and the Joker is actually his psychology is helping him.
0:38:39 - Wish
Oh my gosh.
0:38:41 - Reuben
What the heck that is cool, like you know, to take that like in a.
0:38:45 - Wish
It's like a comic version. Comic book version.
0:38:49 - Reuben
Yeah, I'm sure it's the comic book version.
0:38:51 - Wish
I think I've read that.
0:38:53 - Reuben
Yeah, yeah, I think it's the comic book version and then then they adapted that into. I can't remember it was a movie or if it was a TV show, but they adapted it into like media like you know, yeah, you, you mentioned when you mentioned that, I kind of look, I kind of looked familiar, like I could visualize it. Yes, yeah, yeah, so you know, dc, sorry, marvel fans.
0:39:18 - Wish
Thank you, we're really friends. I'm a DC. I'm an OG DC fan.
0:39:26 - Reuben
Yeah.
0:39:27 - Wish
I know it better. I mean, I know it better growing up and I could resonate with it better. I think my love for them elevated in college days, when you're a little bit more aware, you have a little bit more perspective about life, especially during when Alex Ross made Kingdom Come. So I had more, like I've been more in love with DC and the characters. Yeah, the respect that I have and yeah, we're so we're so much alike, what the hell.
0:40:01 - Reuben
You should. You know, when you come visit I should show you my. I'll send you a picture, but when you come visit, I'll show you my collection of Batman, like well yeah, all Lego, everything Lego Batman. I've got his car, I've got the Batcycle from the new movie.
0:40:18 - Wish
Wait a minute. So you've been sending us your video of you building Lego models for hours. Like these are complicated stuff, so it has been your hobby for a while now.
0:40:31 - Reuben
Recently. Yes, I used to like doing Lego when I was younger. My dad introduced me to Lego, to the techniques.
You know they have these you know building like these complicated Vehicles, but they work you know what I mean Like so I kind of liked it then and then, growing up, you know, you never really got Lego because it wasn't the most accessible gift, I guess, yes, at the time, but now that I yeah, I don't know, I don't know how I actually even got into doing Lego recently, it kind of think back. I think I had the, the Lego from the Christian Bale Lego oh sorry, Christian Bale Batman. Yeah, when he was in the Dark Knight Rises he had you know how he had that, the bat that just flew in the air. Yes, I had a Lego of that.
Yeah, and you don't get that anymore, Collect the edition. So I had that and then I brought that over to Australia when I went home last yeah.
And then, and I think something, I don't know something, then must have ticked in me to like oh, I should. You know, look at the next Lego thing. Hmm, they say there was like a sale going on and I saw the Batman cowl on sale. So it's just the, the, the headset, that yeah, and I built that thing and I was like wow, okay, I, you know, there's some some piece that it brings you. You it's, you know, very mindful like you and you're building that. You're not thinking about anything else, you're not focused on anything.
You know you just focused on getting one piece at a time and building the whole thing and then, when you look at it once you're done, a like wow, that's fascinating, that was amazing.
0:42:13 - Wish
That's a good type of meditation, isn't it?
0:42:16 - Reuben
It is. I think there is, you know I everyone would say how try, try, just meditating, try doing something, but you got to find meditating your own way, I think. And this is my way of just yeah, being mindful, and yeah, no, I said that's. That's how I started my Lego building.
0:42:32 - Wish
Yeah, keep on sending us the video because I find it fascinating. It's just like, okay, I don't have the patience for that, but he's doing it. I'm just gonna watch it because yeah for me like, oh, it's so cathartic to see someone building it and then you finish it and it's like, yay, finish. It's like I don't do it.
0:42:53 - Reuben
You know I was, I was thinking about this and you know almost doing it like a service and be like hey, you want Lego but you don't want to build it. Send it to me, I'll do it for you.
0:43:01 - Wish
Oh my god, you should have an OnlyFans for building. I'm sure it's somebody else's fetish, also with your beard! Don't shave your beard. It's like a bearded guy building Lego on OnlyFans.
0:43:19 - Reuben
Yeah, can you imagine like, if I go like into the bush and like I set up in like some quiet tent? Yeah, I built Lego in remote cabin.
0:43:30 - Wish
Oh, oh, my god, you're doing, you're doing your meditation, you're doing something you love, and then someone's watching you and paying you for.
0:43:38 - Reuben
That's it. That's it.
0:43:40 - Wish
This is a great idea. I'll be your manager. I'll be your agent right now. Yes, I'll be your agent Roobs.
0:43:53 - Reuben
No, seriously.
0:43:57 - Wish
Wow, oh my gosh.
0:44:00 - Reuben
Yeah, no, and you know, I, I make time left, like make videos of them, because I think, you know, people Underestimate how long it actually takes to make Lego and they're like, oh yeah, it's easy to make. And then you like I tried, I was like, oh my god, I don't know if anyone's actually doing like these time left this, or videos of building the actual Lego. People review it and they're like, oh, this is cool, yeah, this is what it is, but no one actually like builds it up.
0:44:24 - Wish
Hmm, so yeah, it's inspiring, you know, like sometimes you, you wanted to do something but you don't know how to start, and then you just search on YouTube and then there's always this one person, even just one user, normally five YouTubers who would show you how to do it. And it's so inspiring. And then you just do it, and sometimes it's ultra-niche, but someone will always do it, and then you can get a guide and then you can get started, because I think what's hard for any of us as simple as just looking at a box of a very expensive, complicated Lego model you're like how am I going to start? So you did some inspiration sometimes. So sometimes, looking at your video, it's like, oh, probably I could do that.
You know, so it's just a wonderful media really YouTube. I really appreciate that about them, yeah definitely. Yeah, so with this talk you've, you know, like seeing you throughout the years. I remember when you were a little bit unwell with your kidney and I was worried, sick, about you, because you were on your own too and you just moved to, I believe, right, you just moved to Perth that time.
0:45:49 - Reuben
Yeah, yeah, I just moved to Perth then.
0:45:51 - Wish
Are you feeling better when it comes to your health?
0:45:55 - Reuben
With regards to the kidney stones, yeah, they've gone like it was 14 mm.
0:46:03 - Wish
My gosh, that's huge.
0:46:04 - Reuben
And apparently the size like the whole from your kidney to you know. When you have to flush it out, that whole size is like seven or eight mm, and so it would never have passed out, ever. So it was always in there. And here's another shocking fact. I don't know if you knew this, but I had that for the last time when I got it out. Finally, I had it for about six years.
0:46:28 - Wish
Yeah, you told me about how long has it been. So I all the more that I was worried for you and it wasn't pleasant anymore, because it's difficult. It must be so difficult. It was challenging, yeah.
0:46:43 - Reuben
It was definitely challenging. For whatever reason, I just decided not to go to the hospitals at the time. But you know, I eventually, I think a friend saw me in pain and he was like, nah, you're going to the hospital right now. And I went to the hospital and then one thing led to another, and then they were like, nah, you got to get this out ASAP. And so you know, finally I was like, yep, let's do it, went to the hospital, got it removed and when they took it out, you know, they showed me the thing and I was like my God, they look like little baby teeth, like it's creepy.
0:47:16 - Wish
Oh my God.
0:47:17 - Reuben
It was like I had that in For years you carry that in why did I?
0:47:22 - Wish
Years, but that's it. Guys are like this. You guys, men, are passive when it comes to their health. Oh, it's fine. Oh it's fine until it's worse. I mean, you're not the first one who does this to themselves, but anyway, I'm so glad because that's also a wake-up call that your body's telling you something. You have to. You have to heed that call.
0:47:50 - Reuben
Definitely.
0:47:50 - Wish
Listen to it. You're, you know you're young and you can't take that for granted. Health journey starts when you were aware of it already, and that's it. You know, I want you to really have a fulfilling life with Liz, you know.
0:48:08 - Reuben
Oh, thank you.
0:48:08 - Wish
That's that's very important to me, to make sure that you're okay, and I'm always confident about that. Also, you know you've gone through leaps and bounds in the past few years. So from now, what? What do you think was the biggest reality check or the biggest reflections you've gathered from your journey so far, being an Australia on your own and evolving, and all of these?
0:48:38 - Reuben
You know, some of the things that I've learned over time is you can't do things alone. Yeah, you definitely need help and support, you know, in whatever it is like whether you want to learn how to cook or you get things on YouTube, yeah, sure, but sometimes you just need that human, human touch or human perspective and the human element in it. That's right. So always make sure you have your support network. You've got your people that you can count on and rely on in. You know the good times and bad times.
The other thing I think that I have, you know, if I reflect upon, I think, always be curious and never be like. I want to say never be judgmental. To begin with, you know if someone's acting weird, you never know what they're going through, and so you just have to like, obviously be very for your health, your safety as well, but at the same time, don't you know, don't be like, oh yeah, now let's ignore them completely in a way. That's, I think that's what I've you know most, mostly at the end. The other thing which obviously, through this whole whole time they've been talking, is try new foods. Always try new foods. Yes, because you never know what's going to. You know you never know what's going to fancy your, your, your palate, and you know, you might just be the next. You might just get inspired to start cooking and be the next Masterchef, all year round.
0:50:03 - Wish
I agree.
0:50:05 - Reuben
Yeah, so that's my three takeaways.
0:50:08 - Wish
Oh, that's beautiful, that's, that's really really beautiful Roobs. So, in closing, what's the word that you can impart to our listeners about you and why?
0:50:21 - Reuben
Alright. So the word about me, I think, is I think I would say curious and food. I don't know if there's a word that encapsulates them both, but be curious.
0:50:32 - Wish
Curiously hungry.
0:50:34 - Reuben
Yes, I'm curiously hungry. I'm always interested If you have food. I think you know. If I ever got like you know I had some secret and someone had to like get it out of me, food would be the answer. I think that's my weakness also, but you know that's that's my thing Like be curious, try new things as long as it doesn't harm you or harm others around you. You know, explode. Just find out what the that's why I like traveling is because when you go to places you're like oh that's new. No one, no one ever listed that on the travel website. But that's an interesting thing I found out and that's cool, so you can tell others about it. Yes, yeah, I don't know if that answers the question.
0:51:13 - Wish
Anyway, but it does. Thank you, Roobs. This is just a wonderful conversation. Thank you so much for hanging out with me. It's nice to finally catch up with you in this way.
0:51:27 - Reuben
Yeah.
0:51:27 - Wish
Oh my gosh, so are you really going to shave your beard later?
0:51:32 - Reuben
I will, I will, I want to, I don't want to, but I will have to, because I've been told that if I my dad's like oh, if you come here, I will shave it off for you, and I was like, oh dear, yeah, let's not, let's not get into that.
0:51:48 - Wish
Okay, then after your shave, can you send me your profile photo that I'm going to post on my website?
0:51:56 - Reuben
Sure, sure Sounds good.
0:51:57 - Wish
Perfect. Thank you so much, Roobs. Take care and have fun in London.
0:52:03 - Reuben
Thanks Wish.
0:52:04 - Wish
Thanks, bye.
0:52:06 - Reuben
See ya, bye, take care.
0:52:22 - Wish
From this episode. One of the most important words about life is curiosity. It is a strong desire to know or learn something. It's similar to words interest, oddity, spirit of inquiry, nosiness, inquisitiveness. Ken Robinson, a British author, speaker and international advisor on education in the arts to government nonprofits, education in arts bodies, quoted: "You can't just give someone a creativity injection. You have to create an environment for curiosity and a way to encourage people and get the best out of them". End quote. Learning stems from our willingness to be open to our environments, cultures, histories and the rest of our lives. Being curious takes our learnings to the next level and does not happen in just schools and books, but the way we interpret our imagination and you know what Curiosity is, that force that will always take us places.
Thank you for listening to Human Thesaurus. Please help me rate and subscribe, because your support means a great deal. Join me again next week for another episode and while waiting, why not listen to my past few episodes? You may find one of them amusing. I'm your host, Wish Ronquillo Peacocke. Have a fantastic day and thanks for listening.
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