Saturday, October 28, 2006

My, I am slipping....

Just completed an online poll on political issues, and it featured some questions on Edward Kennedy's opponent, someone with the last name of Chase, I believe.

I had no idea Ted Kennedy had an opponent. None at all.

I grew up in a home consumed with politics, and am surprised how much I don't know this election cycle.

Has All-American Apathy finally taken hold? Where can a gal get some NASCAR in these parts?!

No, I can still get my blood up thinking about That Man in the White House, so I don't think my political interest is completely gone.

Perhaps I'm just tired. I've been alive long enough to have heard decades' worth of outrages from those greedy bastards who are running things...right into the ground.

How much outrage can one gal muster? Methinks the supply is limited.

Of course, this could all be my (missing) tooth talking. Man, did that procedure ever knock me down a peg. Haven't felt this wobbly for ages, and I'm not enjoying my diminished status in the least.

Tried to take some leaves out of the gutter this afternoon, and got dizzy after only a few sections. What a wuss!

Am trying to enjoy my sloth while I may, but darn this work ethic--I can't!

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Pass, purgatory and patch-a-thon

I promised to report on performances here, and have been remiss this week. It should soon be clear as to why....

Thursday night's show, the sold-out "Witches of Prospect" benefit for a breast cancer foundation, went well, particularly in retrospect. There was one problem, and it was a doozie: The mic didn't work for most of my set.

This "problem" was not a "problem" for my comedy buddy Jennifer, she of the couldn't-whisper-if-her-life-depended-on-it school. For me, however, the Midwestern gal with the pipes of a creampuff, it was a challenge. I did my best imitation of a shout for the show, and while I paid for it afterward (my throat hasn't been that scratchy since my smoking days), it worked pretty well. The folks--mostly women, as befits the charity and show theme--had a good time, and much money was raised for an excellent cause.

Altogether now: Hooray!

Friday night's show, the end-of-the-night comedy fest for the arts studio crowd in Dorchester, was far less successful. The venue was an Irish bar that had a cast of regulars who weren't really interested in ceding "their" bar to The Comedy. Plus, the people who came to see the show weren't exactly laughing types--they smiled beautifully, but the laughs just weren't in them, sadly.

I was the second comic up, and while that usually is a tough spot, my overwhelming feeling after performing was "Boy, am I glad that's over!" For as the show went on, not only was the comedy audience not warming up (much), but the regulars became increasingly restless, so I was grateful to be on and off the stage before they got their heckle on in earnest.

Jennifer, as usual, did douse the heckle a bit, and even got the subdued smilers to laugh a little, but it was tough sledding for all. By the time the closer came up, a nice guy who will remain nameless (and you'll soon see why), there was a drunken lout shouting, "You're not funny. Get off the stage and let me try."

Oh dear.

If it were warmer out, ice cream would have been the solution. As it wasn't, fries and a shake from McDonald's did the trick.

Say what you will about junk food, it does wonders for this wounded comic.

But still, a few more shows like that, and I'm going to go back to my writing group. (If they'll have me.) Life's too short and so on and so forth....

Pardon my pessimism. It may have less to do with The Comedy and more to do with the new hole in my head this week. The root canal that went bad required me to get a tooth out Tuesday afternoon, and I haven't felt myself since.

I haven't had a tooth taken out since I had braces (in the early 70s), and as we know that my drinking history pretty much wiped my memory banks clean, I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

It was a very disturbing experience. Actually, it was barbaric. As my head jerked and my jaw jiggled, I found myself wondering why we as a civilization haven't found a way to take out a tooth without yanking and pulling and generally putting a person's noggin' through the wringer. Sheesh!

But just as I was about to say, "How's about a general anesthetic--this local business isn't working for me!" out it came.

And I wasn't relieved, just exhausted. (So bad comedy experiences are less awful than bad dentistry experiences--good to know.)

And then the dear dentist asked me how I feel about cows--apparently, the bone graft I needed involved cow bits. As a Wisconsin native, I answered as best I could that I was fine with cows. Though the more I think about it, the more guilty I feel, naturally.

Oh well, so now I have some cow in my jaw. Altogether now: Ewwwwwww!

And now, I must go have some soup. Solid foods are on my "to do" list, just not yet....

Monday, October 16, 2006

No such luck....

Yup, it was a cold, as my achy-sneezy carcass made plain this a.m. Took to my bed for most of the day, and happily, I feel more humanoid than I did last night.

Which wouldn't be hard, come to think.

The worst is over, so off to work I go tomorrow.

Yippee.

No, really.

On other fronts, I have heard of another venue that I may perform in in 2007, and it's not terribly far away. Since the show I'm in Thursday is sold out, diehard comedy fans might want to check out Cafe Lebanon on Main Street in Springfield. They'll be having a comedy show Thursday night the 19th, hosted by the domestic goddess who is adding her own unique brand of diversity to the suburbs of Connecticut, Linda Belt.

If you go, let me know what it's like--it's always better to have an idea of a place before one shows up there, don't you know.

But then again, flying blind adds a certain je ne sais quoi....or something. Or so I tell myself.

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Please, let it be allergies...

Have a terrible feeling in my throat, and am oh-so-hoping that it's the result of sweeping a summer's worth of leaves and detrius off our cottage roof. (I was oh-so-pleased that I wasn't doing any raking this weekend, but then I saw our roof and that was the end of that...)

Between the pine needles, moss, maple leaves, and gunk--what else can one call it?--I inhaled a lot of things that don't agree with me yesterday, and am paying the piper now.

Or so I hope.

This could be a cold, but as I have no room in my schedule for such madness, I'm opting for allergies.

Tomorrow morning will be the judge. Please, let the judge be merciful!

On other fronts, I'm in two shows this week with my comedy buddy Jennifer, neither of which you'll likely see. One is sold out, the other is in Dorchester, which I think is in the Boston area but that's about all I know. For now.

Hey, the sold out show may have a repeat performance for all the folks who can't come--including you. Will let you know the date when/if it becomes available.

Now, I must take some echinasea and go to sleep. Here's hoping.....

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Prevailing at Piccolo's

Well, I had no small anxiety over this weekend's shows (some of which was warranted, it turned out), but it all worked out (something I try to remember, but almost always forget).

It was a mixed couple of nights, to put it mildly. Friday night's audience was largely leaden, and at most mustered a muted moan or two at my material. Okay, that may be an exaggeration, and some people were there to laugh (bless their hearts), but most of the audience was either too tired from the workweek or too full from the restaurant's fabulous Italian fare or too (fill-in-the-blank) to laugh with abandon. Linda and I spent most of Saturday trying to figure out what was going on, and we considered everything from Catholicism to conservatism and beyond, but never came up with a satisfactory cause.

The path to madness, this second-guessing business.

Let's just say I did not leave there feeling fine, mostly because both Linda and I had work peeps in the audience. They were politely complimentary, but I knew in my heart I could have done better--I have done better. I really, really wished they had seen me in one of my better shows.

Like the show that followed on Saturday night. That show was a smashing success, for the audience was there to laugh and carry on without a moment's hesitation. One of the audience members got a little too carried away, and by the time fellow comic Andy Paquette was closing, she felt compelled to grade every joke ("That was funny!" "That was baaaaaad!"). Poor Andy. Well, actually, poor her, for Andy managed her heckles beautifully. (Or should I say mercilessly?)

But the compliments were flowing afterwards, and I felt marvelous heading home. And the fact that I did my full range of anti-homophobe material to an audience that contained a politician of the GOP persuasion made it that much more magnificent.

Yes, life and The Comedy are good.

For now.


Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Fan mail

This was in today's e-mail, regarding Saturday's "Girls!x3"show:

Thanks for making me and my "I don't really get jokes" girlfriend laugh.

Isn't that a nice thing to tell a comic? Made my day--no, week.

Was feeling a little anxious about this weekend's shows, but this quote will help calm at least some of my fears.

On other fronts, I have a new picture of Linus that will melt your heart like buttah--and one of Oatmeal that will do the same, if you're a cat person.

If you're neither, I don't know what to say, except I'm sorry.

Well, maybe I have to say I'm sorry anyway, for I don't have said pictures in my possession. Yet.

But as soon as I do, prepare to have an "Awwwwwwwww" moment or 50.

Sunday, October 01, 2006

What was that!

This weekend has been a whirlwind. Between my brother and sister-in-law visiting for the first time This Century (I kid you not), to participating in the latest "Girls, Girls, Girls!" enterprise, to my sister and a former coworker of hers making a brief visit, I'm done in.

The brother and sister-in-law part of the weekend was wonderful--love those people to bits! The "Girls, Girls, Girls!" set went well, if quickly--I thought I had 20 minutes going in, but that's not what I had when I was through. Makes me a little nervous about next week's sets, but I'm sure I'll think of something....


Jennifer did a great job keeping it going, and I loved her new material on working in Corporate America.

Felt like a good set with a crowd that was not a sure thing--the real variable being the women from the Big Company (copyright Jennifer) who were IN THE FRONT ROW, bless their hearts. Either I ignored them or they were "good" (or crashing big time) during my set, but they chattered through other comic's sets, and that's not a good thing, really and truly. Oh well, they'll learn (or I'll learn not to tell them where I'm performing next).

And it was dear to see some friends in the audience I didn't expect to see--love that!

But the one fly in the ointment, burr in my saddle, and pain in my patoot was--you may know this already if you know me--my sister's impromptu (and tardy) visit. Am still reeling from the aftershock (her former coworker was a character with a capital "C"--still don't know whether to be charmed or alarmed, is all I can say right now).

But the good far outweighed the bizarre this weekend, and this is what I'm holding onto.

Now, I must prepare for another week at the Big Company(R).