Getting Ready To Rumble

Thursday February 18th, 2010 - Lake Villa, IL

More work today chipping away at the piles. People don’t realize how much work there is in the actual process of being a comedian and it’s been years of buildup that I’m hoping to clear away once and for all. It won’t be easy though, and that’s why I’ve delayed it this long. Who wants to sit around digging through boxes and sorting out scraps of old paper?

I surely don’t, but every minute I’m spending doing it is making me feel like I’m taking charge of my life, and I know it’s the right thing to do. I’ve been able to throw away a lot of useless or outdated stuff, but I’ve also found a whole lot of things I thought I had lost.

I’ve always been a note taker, jotting down ideas when I get them. I get them quite often but rarely have I been organized enough to put them in a safe place. I did have most of my best ideas on my old computer, but that got stolen along with my backup hard drive so for the last couple of years I’ve been trying to piece together a lot of the stuff I lost back then.

There’s no way I’ll be able to replace it all, but I have been finding bits and pieces of all sorts of different ideas I either thought I’d lost or don’t even remember having. This is the right way to do this, slow and painstaking as it is. I need to just suck it up and get it done.

My grandfather used to really drill me as a kid to do things the right way. I hated it back then, but I’m SO grateful now that he did that. There’s a very empowering feeling of total accomplishment when something is done correctly that can’t be bought. It’s only earned.

I remember one time I mowed the lawn in an admittedly half assed manner, as I wanted to go play baseball with my friends. Gramps caught me as I was leaving and made me get the mower back out and do it right. I missed the game that day, but I sure learned a lesson that’s still with me. Gramps and his wisdom have been the greatest gift I’ve ever gotten.

I want to be able to pour everything I have into my upcoming comedy projects, and it’s going to be a whole lot easier if I don’t have any major baggage or unfinished business on my plate. This is the right way to do it, even though it’s taking time and energy right now.

Today was another full day of work, and I surprised myself at how much I cleared out in a single day. I’ve still got a long way to go, but at least I can walk around my living space again and even sit on some furniture. I had every couch, chair and table piled with boxes.

This is like a mental colon cleanse, and I’m just getting started. It was hard to get this in motion, but now it is. I’m seeing how useless most physical possessions are, and I’ll let as much of what I’ve managed to let clog my inner toilet go as soon as I can find a home for it. I’ll sell what I can, give to friends what they’ll be able to use and donate the rest of it.

I plan on doing a real colon cleanse too. I bet I’m backed up like the rush hour traffic in Tijuana, and blowing some of that gunk out will also be a welcome event. If nothing else, I’m getting myself ready for something new and bigger than ever before. It’s about time.