Bracing For Chaos

Monday August 24th, 2009 - Chicago, IL

This is going to be one of my busiest weeks in recent memory so I’m trying to cover all bases to avoid making any major mistakes. I’m a one man band and that can be the kiss of death in situations like this. Missing out on one little detail can screw up the whole week.

I have to be in Los Angeles by Wednesday to film the TV show but I still don’t have the details of where I need to report and when. I also don’t have a place to stay yet because of the short notice of it all. I hope I can score a rental car and cheap hotel but maybe I’ll find someone to throw me a bone and let me grab a couch. I have quite a few friends out there.

After L.A. I need to be in Pittsburgh by Thursday night and then back to Chicago so I’ll make it for The Mothership Connection radio show on Sunday night. That’s a lot of miles covered and a lot of things could potentially go wrong and throw a wrench into the mix.

Today I had a comedy class to teach at Zanies in Chicago at 6pm and then I headlined a show that started at 8:30. Before that I had to go and buy a sport coat because I’m helping host a big event with the Lake County Convention and Visitors Bureau tomorrow before I catch my plane. It’s their 25th anniversary and I was asked to host an awards presentation.

I said I’d do it and can’t back out now but it will make my schedule even tighter. I have to be at the airport by around 3pm for a 5pm flight and the event is a big luncheon and it’s probably going to go a little long so that will cut my time cushion even more. I expect this week to be that constant pressure of having to be somewhere on time and I don’t like that.

Stressful situations are bound to happen at some point and if there’s ever a time when I could use a road manager this is it. But I don’t have one right now and it’s all on me to be in all those places this week and still show up fresh and perky and ready to be Mr. Funny Boy at the drop of a hat. This is the part of comedy nobody thinks about when they start.

I love being a comedian and I’m sure I’ll have fun this week and meet some new friends and all that but the constant feeling of stress to keep having to show up in different places is really something I could do without. But then again I really couldn’t. This is a part of it.

The road is brutal and unforgiving and if I miss a plane or don’t find an affordable hotel the road doesn’t care one bit. I’m really short on cash right now and I put it all on the line to buy my plane ticket on short notice. Rental car and hotel are extra and I’m crossing my fingers I can catch a break somewhere. I’m not sure when I’ll get paid for the TV show.

Again, nobody cares about any of this but me. The TV show only cares if I’m funny for six minutes. The club in Pittsburgh only cares that I make it to town for a show at 8pm on Thursday. Listeners of The Mothership Connection only think about it on Sunday night.

If I’m not any of those places life will go on without me and that’s even more humbling because none of this really matters. Still, I do intend to show up and give my best effort.