My answers to five big questions

I was interviewed by Between a Rock and a Card Place's Caroline Cala Donofrio and I think it went pretty well actually

Alex Dobrenko`

Sep 07, 2023

Hey goobers hOw are you! Lot of new people here and to them and them only allow me to just say, “hey goobers how are you?”

Astute readers with experience in the ‘find the five differences between these two babes’ arcade games probably noticed that the hello to the n00bs did NOT have a strangely capitalized hOw. Why?

Because the nOObs are not ready for it yet but after reading this, they are. Don’t ask me hOw I know I just dO.

Not in love with intro but hey you win some you lose most.

Let’s quickly shuffle right onto the main event for today’s post: I was interviewed by the inimitable

Caroline Cala Donofrio

for her amazing newsletter

Between a Rock and a Card Place

!!!

Caroline asked me five questions and I answered each and every one:

Between a Rock and a Card Place

Five Big Questions: Alex Dobrenko

Welcome to Five Big Questions, the short interview series where awesome people share a bit about who they are and what moves them. Today’s guest is the inimitable Alex Dobrenko`, a writer, comedian, and actor who writes the newsletter Both Are True, which blends absurd comedy and vulnerable stories in a way that is heartwarming, entertaining, and (at least in my household) begs to be read aloud. (If you’re not familiar with Alex’s work, allow me to direct you to his essay on…

a year ago · 37 likes · 6 comments · Caroline Cala Donofrio

Also, and this is most important, everyone go and subscribe to her newsletter:

Caroline writes about all the same stuff I do but is emotionally balanced enough to not need to hide it amidst several consecuitive poop jokes. This is something I am working on.

big news alert: Caroline and I are working on a lil collab that is gonna be out soon and could perhaps blow your minds and might involve her giving me a tarot card reading but don’t quote me on that what are you a reporter?

Still not convinced you lil weasel? Here’s the first question and answer from the interview:

What’s one thing you struggle with that people might be surprised to hear?

This one’s a toughie because my writing focuses exclusively on the things I’m struggling with, so most of that stuff—self-loathing, anxiety, and never feeling like I'm enough (as a writer, father, husband, son, friend, etc.)—would not be things anyone would be surprised about.

I asked my wife, Lauren, if she had any idea about other struggles and here’s what she said:

Smells
Organizing group events and who to invite
Putting away the protein powder
Leaving your socks all over the house

An interesting list. The first two items are definitely accurate, but then halfway through it sorta becomes an airing of grievances, but that's okay, that's healthy, that's love.

My answer—and something I don't really write about because I don't yet know how—is that I struggle a lot with body stuff. I’m not even sure how to describe it—maybe it’s body dysmorphia or a term therapists have taught me called orthorexia, which is an obsession with proper or “healthful” eating in a way that becomes very unhealthy for your life and mind and body, too.

Growing up, I decided that the reason for all of my problems, most notably that girls did not want to go out on dates with me, was because of my weight. If only I wasn't fat, I told myself, then and only then would the ladies come a'swoonin. And so began a lifelong obsession with eating only “healthy food,” counting calories, weighing my food, etc. As with all the best mental distortions, this has become so deeply a part of my being that I usually forget it even exists. It's definitely not a fun one, but it is a real one and hey, both are true, so there ya go.

Personally I like that I wrote a’swoonin. 10/10 for that. Good job Alex.

Ok enough babbling go read the interview here and become a subscriber to

Between a Rock and a Card Place