While Dion is away, the cats will play! And these cats have decided to invite veteran of the comedy scene and Patchwork's first ever repeat guest co-host, Laura Dunemann, onto the podcast!

We kick off Patch 129 by making Christian feel more self conscious about his most recent Uniqlo purchase, an Arctic white turtleneck jumper. He's a Christmas rom-com cameo, he's exploring the Polar ice-caps and he's a villainous tech billionaire. 

Laura, married and mother of 1, discloses that when her husband is travelling for work and she is interacting with other parents solo, she can't help but feel as though she is being perceived as a flirt. How do you flirt? Is it always flirty when you're interacting with a parent of the opposite sex? Josh and Laura give us a great example of 'awkward flirting on a podcast'. Christian realises his flirting is simply the way he wants to be flirted with and Josh likes to flirt with his eyes. What's the difference between flirting and cracking on? Do you label your significant other as your partner? Girlfriend/boyfriend? De facto? 

Christian asks Josh and Laura what their approach is to taking a day off work. Are you like Christian and overthink your excuse to the point of needing to lie or are you more like Laura and remain vague and upfront? Do you actually need to give an excuse? Josh reflects on the moment of clarity that comes with deciding to take a day off and Laura spruiks asking from the night before and we bow down to the ultimate sick day excuse, children. Speaking of children, what was the best excuse for taking a day off in primary school? Did we have much more than tummy pains? For Josh, it was a weird masochistic urge to break his arm.

Josh asks Christian and Laura when it's acceptable to send a "I had a great night" message to a friend you've just caught up with. Is it more appropriate for a group chat or a 1 on 1? Do you need to respond to that message? Laura puts her foot down and sends Christian and Josh back to the stone age by illustrating how primitive their behaviour is. Is there a distinction between being excited or surprised by friendship? Does the frequency with which you see that person impact the follow up message? When do you cross the line from genuine connection to stinking of desperation? We then close off the chat by auditing our phone contacts.   

With very special guest Copy Cat (Barenaked Ladies, "It's Been"). 

Also, it's Groundhog Day and this time, Dion is going away! We're going to miss him SO MUCH but Season 9 of Patchwork will continue with Josh and Christian and special guests. Have the best trip Dion, we'll see you on the other side!

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