Tuesday February 21st, 2012 - Fox Lake, IL And then…it all came crashing down. This whole survival thing is getting to be a rather nasty pursuit these days out here in the trenches - even nastier than usual. I for one am not fond of this developing trend, but my vote means about as much as flatulence from a flea. Today I took two direct hits dead in the face financially within a half hour of each other, and as much as it hurts I have little to no recourse other than bend over and take it. This is not what I signed up for, but I’m too deep into it to quit. All I can do is hang on as long as I can and hope life gets better. It feels like I’m in the direct path of an oncoming tornado. The first blow came when I was informed there was a fallout for a Friday night show in the Detroit area. I had originally booked a Friday and Saturday at a place I’ve done before and liked very much. Another comic books the shows, and he’s ethical and well respected by his peers. He does his best to create quality work for himself and others when he can. It just so happened that this time, the Friday show fell through. It happens, and I knew it when I took the booking. It’s always a crap shoot in situations like this, and this is one of those times when the crap wins. It comes at a horrific time, but it goes with the territory. Self employment is not for the squeamish. Circumstances come up, and getting angry is the worst thing anyone can do. We play the odds as entertainers, and this time I lost. I can whine about it, or I can move on. The bad part is, I still have to drive to Detroit to do only one show Saturday. It’s the same wear and tear on my car, but now for only half the pay. I wasn’t even through letting that soak into my psyche when I received another message that caused my already sinking spirit to slide even deeper into the dung heap. I had both a show booked and weekend comedy class to teach in West Virginia of all places, and now it was no more apparently. It was booked months ago, and I assumed it was solid. Wrong. Never assume ANYTHING, especially in the entertainment business. This really puts a monkey wrench into everything, as I already had that money spent. It was my cushion for the month of March’s expenses, and I was counting on it. Count no more. I’m devastated. To make everything even more complicated, difficult and completely unpleasant, I was able to pick up a last minute fallout show in Blacksburg, VA from another booking agent for Wednesday to help defray my travel expenses. I was ecstatic at the time, as it appeared to be a fortuitous stroke of luck in my favor. Now I can’t cancel, and it’s a gigantic hassle. I know that neither of these situations are anything personal against me, but they sure do wipe me out at the legs and knock me on my ass with a thud. I was counting on all of that money, but now I won’t get half of it. And I still have to make TWO long drives on top of everything. It’s the worst case scenario, and I can’t say I’m thrilled about any of it but I’m powerless to do anything. Some money is better than none, so what can I do? Still want to get into comedy? Think it’s a glamour job? It isn’t. I’m about ready to go deliver pizzas.
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