Jess Janz

Like, maybe that's the deeper, that's like the next layer to this of like, how are we interacting with the Norbert for ones around us when we're out for dinner?

And of course that it's like, you might be celebrating an anniversary.

Maybe that's the only night a week that you and your partner have to like catch up and connect and like

That's OK.

But are we in general in the way that we move through our communities and in our neighborhoods, like interacting and like inviting more people to speak with us, whether it's sitting down for dinner is a significant commitment of time.

Uh, but I think, I think that we kind of practice individualism in the way that we move through our day to day.

And that's like another element to this of like, are we, we look at Norbert and we're like, you're so sad, but we're like, okay, am I interacting with Norbert at any point throughout my movement throughout the neighborhood?

Yeah, well, I've been running this dinner since 2017.

It started in my friend's hair studio, and I would invite four friends who didn't know each other, and he would invite four friends who didn't know each other, and the only rule is that no one can say what they do for work.

I like that.

Which is...

So fascinating either people people love it because they like don't particularly like you know they're like my job is fine whatever neutral to not liking their job and then other people like twitch out if they have their entire identity and their job so both ways it's like a good character building experience.

And it's interesting because everyone comes along to dinner with strangers.

So everyone is like has a mutual and collective discomfort because we don't go places alone.

And so dinner with strangers, they are eating alone, but eating alone together.

And it's been this really fascinating thing to see.

Basically, it's been a nine-year anthropological unofficial study on my part, I guess, of like how quickly can we share something about ourselves and break down those barriers and like get past small talk and share something real about where we come from or what we're thinking about or learning about, what we care about, where we're going.

Yeah, I think that there's like, well, something that I think is really magical is that like or unique is that it's not about necessarily like, oh, come here and meet your new best friend.

Like you also could sit next to a circus clown for the night and be like, wow, that's fascinating.

Like I would have otherwise never met that person.