(relaxing music)
- Being in your thirties is weird, man.
You're not officially old yet, but you're not young either.
You've lived long enough
to have some formidable experiences and learn from them,
but it still feels like you've yet to settle into existing.
Hopefully the work you put in
during your teens and twenties paid off in some way.
But if you're anything like me,
you've questioned what it was all for
at least a few times at this point.
I guess the weirdest thing about being in your thirties
is that mentally you don't feel it, at least I don't.
In my head I still feel like I'm in my early twenties,
but my body though. (chuckles)
My body is making sure to remind me constantly.
Girl, you is 32.
Act accordingly, babe.
(upbeat music)
So I'm here at the OfficeMax Depot
because your girl got got the carpal tunnels.
Let me tell you something, aging is no joke.
You gotta have your wits about you
with this aging thing, okay?
I, and it's hilarious 'cause I always thought
as a filmmaker, as an editor,
I always thought I would get got
like with by my eyes or by my ears.
You know what I'm saying?
Never, I wasn't clocking from my wrists.
Didn't even cross my mind to think
that my wrists would be the one that played me.
And so yeah, your girl got the carpal tunnels.
And I'm here to pick up a standing desk,
so that way, essentially I just need a desk
that I can move up and down,
so that way I can set it up to where my wrists
are not doing this or doing that
and my arm is fully extended.
Because apparently that's the thing too, you have,
so like people think of carpal tunnel
it happen at the wrists.
But it also can happen,
that's a different type of tunnel,
it happen up in at your elbow too.
So you know when you're doing this all the time
sitting in bed doing this,
bending your arm more than a 90 degree angle,
you're also messing with the nerve
from your elbow to your wrist.
You know, my whole job is like doing this.
So yeah, I'm trying to rehab my body.
My body-ody-ody.
So that I can maintain my livelihood and my skill set.
We out here for better or worse.
Aging semi-gracefully at the OfficeMax Depot.
(bright energetic music)
I forgot I filmed this morning.
So I can't build my desk yet
because I need to break all of this down.
So let's do that.
(bright energetic music)
You're not aching yet,
but you're also not bouncing back like you used to either.
Gradually you're adjusting your habits
to try to maintain what you had,
knowing full well it's impossible.
(Hallease sighs)
Yeah.
(bright energetic music)
What up?
(bright energetic music)
Y'all, look how organized this is.
A, B, C, D, E, F, G.
Lowkey I actually really love building furniture
like IKEA furniture.
I just really appreciate good instructions.
You know what I'm saying?
And this seems to be constructed very well,
so let's get into it.
You're also incredibly impressed
with the most mundane things.
Anything that makes your life remotely easier is celebrated
at nauseum.
Oh my gosh, I didn't even noticed this.
This guy USB-C ports on it and USB-A ports.
Dude, I didn't even notice this when I bought it.
- [Mr. Hallease] Like, holy crap.
- [Hallease] You can charge stuff like through it.
- [Mr. Hallease] Wow. Wait, but that's USB-C, what's?
- [Hallease] And then two USB-As
and then I think that's just the light to let you know
that it's like working. - [Mr. Hallease] Oh, okay.
I was like, dang, they cheaped out and didn't-
- [Hallease] I only lifted it,
so I could get the plastic off.
- [Mr. Hallease] Oh yeah, there we go.
Yeah. - [Hallease] Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So I gave Mr. Hallease my original IKEA desk
and now he's got real estate,
and I also gave him my monitor
that I had been using at the office,
but my office closed.
So I just gave him my monitor to use.
So now he can edit his podcast on it
and not have to use his laptop to use a monitor.
The thing that's throwing me the most is the fatigue.
The fatigue that comes from living in a world
that is so blatantly unfair
and making a conscious decision
to fight back and thrive in spite of it.
I was re-listening to "To Pimp a Butterfly" the other day.
When that album first dropped,
I understood and resonated with every song,
but "Mortal Man" hit different.
I think I am ready, yup.
Listening to the samplings
from Tupac's interview gave me pause.
I remember hearing those lyrics at 25
and already feeling it,
already feeling the hunger becomes satiated by conformity.
Feeling the push to make a difference
become replaced with, "This is enough, I guess"
because I'm tired of fighting this
I find I keep going because,
well, I'm ready to give back.
There we go.
Oh. - [Mr. Hallease] Ooh, okay.
- [Hallease] Whoa.
I'm ready to leave the ladder down behind me
and see who I can bring up with me.
I don't want it to take this long
and be this hard for the next person.
And now I'm experimenting,
trying to find ways, tangible ways, to give back
with my friends, family, or with you.
In the comments below,
let me know what keeps you going
because I just really would like to know.
I'm Hallease.
Endeavoring to persevere as always
and I'll see you when I see you.
(lively music)
Oh my gosh, it goes so tall.
- [Mr. Hallease] Whoa. Whose is it?
Like Lebron James?
- [Hallease] I guess this is so tall right now.