For his 40th, Josh received a group gift of money earmarked for a specific piece of DJ equipment - which he then went and found secondhand himself, negotiated the price on, and organised entirely on his own terms. Does that still count as a gift? Is there an obligation for a present to be new, wrapped, or at least a surprise? Or is this just what gift-giving looks like once you're old enough to know exactly what you want?

We also debate what to do with any leftover gift money - is it fair game to spend on something mundane, or does it need to stay "fun and special"?

Plus: an entire tangent on the strange economics of buying a discount code off Facebook Marketplace, whether that counts as consumer justice or just a very good scam, and an unprompted deep dive into secondhand speaker systems that nobody asked for.

Follow us on Instagram and YouTube to see clips from the show: linktr.ee/welcometopatchwork or login to Patreon for the YouTube video link to this Bonus Patch.

For his 40th, Josh received a group gift of money earmarked for a specific piece of DJ equipment - which he then went and found secondhand himself, negotiated the price on, and organised entirely on his own terms. Does that still count as a gift? Is there an obligation for a present to be new, wrapped, or at least a surprise? Or is this just what gift-giving looks like once you're old enough to know exactly what you want?
We also debate what to do with any leftover gift money - is it fair game to spend on something mundane, or does it need to stay "fun and special"?
Plus: an entire tangent on the strange economics of buying a discount code off Facebook Marketplace, whether that counts as consumer justice or just a very good scam, and an unprompted deep dive into secondhand speaker systems that nobody asked for.
Follow us on Instagram and&nbsp;YouTube&nbsp;to see clips from the show: <a href="https://linktr.ee/welcometopatchwork">linktr.ee/welcometopatchwork</a> or login to Patreon for the YouTube video link to this Bonus Patch.

Have you ever wondered if it’s acceptable to bring food to someone's house and take it back home if no one has eaten it? Well if you have, then you’re in good company. Christian, Dion and Josh are Welcome to Patchwork: An Australian comedy podcast that thinks too hard about the monotony of life. By debating the obvious, challenging social conventions and improvising sketches, we're more concerned with the crumbs than the cookie.

Welcome To Patchreon

**Nominated for 'Best Comedy' at the Australian Podcast Awards 2018 & 2019**

Have you ever wondered if it’s acceptable to bring food to someone's house and take it back home if no one has eaten it? Well if you have, then you’re in good company. Christian, Dion and Josh are Welcome to Patchwork: An Australian comedy podcast that thinks too hard about the monotony of life. By debating the obvious, challenging social conventions and improvising sketches, we're more concerned with the crumbs than the cookie.

Have you ever wondered if it’s acceptable to bring food to someones house and take it back home if no one has eaten it? Christian, Dion and Josh are Welcome To Patchwork: An Australian comedy podcast that stares far too hard at everyday life.

Welcome To Patchwork

Does A Gift Need To Be A Surprise?

Do people think you look your age? Christian's been forced to find out the hard way after a shaving mishap wipes out an entire winter's worth of beard growth in one accidental swipe - and the office small talk that followed was brutal. Does more hair genuinely buy you a few extra years of guessing wrong? And is "you look different" ever actually a compliment?

Then: how much is too much when it comes to eating a meal that's gone slightly wrong? Josh commits to a week of pre-made dinners that turn out to have a distinctly gritty problem, and refuses to let it stand between him and sunk-cost dinner satisfaction. Where's the actual line between "this is fine" and "this needs to go in the bin"?

Finally, a full audit of small talk - who's naturally good at it, whether confidence is doing more work than substance, and Josh's awkward run-in with a very senior colleague that neither party walks away from unscathed. Plus: is it ever appropriate for a stranger to comment on the size of your shopping order?

Follow us on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Twitter and Facebook to see clips from the show: linktr.ee/welcometopatchwork

For a couple of dollars a month you can sign up to our Patreon page and get a bonus Patch every off week! Check out: www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork

Do people think you look your age? Christian's been forced to find out the hard way after a shaving mishap wipes out an entire winter's worth of beard growth in one accidental swipe - and the office small talk that followed was brutal. Does more hair genuinely buy you a few extra years of guessing wrong? And is "you look different" ever actually a compliment?
Then: how much is too much when it comes to eating a meal that's gone slightly wrong? Josh commits to a week of pre-made dinners that turn out to have a distinctly gritty problem, and refuses to let it stand between him and sunk-cost dinner satisfaction. Where's the actual line between "this is fine" and "this needs to go in the bin"?
Finally, a full audit of small talk - who's naturally good at it, whether confidence is doing more work than substance, and Josh's awkward run-in with a very senior colleague that neither party walks away from unscathed. Plus: is it ever appropriate for a stranger to comment on the size of your shopping order?
Follow us on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Twitter and Facebook to see clips from the show: linktr.ee/welcometopatchwork
For a couple of dollars a month you can sign up to our Patreon page and get a bonus Patch every off week! Check out: <a href="http://www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork">www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork</a>

Patch #163 - Do People Think You Look Your Age?

Josh spends an afternoon dismantling his girlfriend's bathroom sink after the plug refuses to pop back up - a full DIY education via YouTube video and trial and error. What's the actual limit of your patience when a job you don't understand keeps getting worse the longer you're in it? And is there a universal ranking of who in a friend group gives up first?

Then Christian's Airtasker history gets interrogated - a shrub removal job that spiralled into an entire garden's worth of listings once he realised how easy it was. Is hiring someone to do a job you're physically capable of doing a fair use of money, or a symptom of something else entirely? And how much coffee and biscuits do you owe a tradesperson before it stops being hospitality and starts being guilt?

Plus: the case for Airtasking an entire dinner party, and whether you're even allowed to leave someone a bad rating for something as subjective as taste.

Josh spends an afternoon dismantling his girlfriend's bathroom sink after the plug refuses to pop back up - a full DIY education via YouTube video and trial and error. What's the actual limit of your patience when a job you don't understand keeps getting worse the longer you're in it? And is there a universal ranking of who in a friend group gives up first?
Then Christian's Airtasker history gets interrogated - a shrub removal job that spiralled into an entire garden's worth of listings once he realised how easy it was. Is hiring someone to do a job you're physically capable of doing a fair use of money, or a symptom of something else entirely? And how much coffee and biscuits do you owe a tradesperson before it stops being hospitality and starts being guilt?
Plus: the case for Airtasking an entire dinner party, and whether you're even allowed to leave someone a bad rating for something as subjective as taste.

Would You Pay Someone to Do a Job You Could Do?

Would you eat a piece of gum that's been rattling loose in your pocket for a week? Dion has strong feelings on the matter, plus a backstory involving bulk-buying half a kilo of gum pellets to avoid the little plastic tubs. There's a genuine attempt to establish exactly where the hygiene line sits and whether a hard outer shell is doing any of the work Dion thinks it is.

Then: what actually makes a piece of free stuff worth taking? A branded hoodie, a tiny sample-sized chocolate, a keyring from a movie premiere, a suspiciously political tote bag - a working rulebook is proposed for when a freebie is a genuine win and when it's just future landfill with your name on the guilt trip. Hand-me-downs, it turns out, operate under a completely different set of rules.

Finally, Josh is put on trial over why he hasn't visited Dion's new place yet. Is there a real obligation to see a friend's new house, or is it just inherited social pressure none of us have ever questioned? And is there a statute of limitations on a housewarming?

Follow us on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Twitter and Facebook to see clips from the show: linktr.ee/welcometopatchwork

For a couple of dollars a month you can sign up to our Patreon page and get a bonus Patch every off week! Check out: www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork

Would you eat a piece of gum that's been rattling loose in your pocket for a week? Dion has strong feelings on the matter, plus a backstory involving bulk-buying half a kilo of gum pellets to avoid the little plastic tubs. There's a genuine attempt to establish exactly where the hygiene line sits and whether a hard outer shell is doing any of the work Dion thinks it is.
Then: what actually makes a piece of free stuff worth taking? A branded hoodie, a tiny sample-sized chocolate, a keyring from a movie premiere, a suspiciously political tote bag - a working rulebook is proposed for when a freebie is a genuine win and when it's just future landfill with your name on the guilt trip. Hand-me-downs, it turns out, operate under a completely different set of rules.
Finally, Josh is put on trial over why he hasn't visited Dion's new place yet. Is there a real obligation to see a friend's new house, or is it just inherited social pressure none of us have ever questioned? And is there a statute of limitations on a housewarming?
Follow us on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Twitter and Facebook to see clips from the show: linktr.ee/welcometopatchwork
For a couple of dollars a month you can sign up to our Patreon page and get a bonus Patch every off week! Check out: <a href="http://www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork">www.patreon.com/welcometopatchwork</a>

Does A Gift Need To Be A Surprise?

Welcome To Patchwork

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