Flu Bugged

Thursday April 17th, 2008 - Orland Park, IL

I’m sick. Ick. I hope it doesn’t stick. That’s about as creative as I can be right now as an absolutely crushing headache strangles any creativity that may be trying to escape. I have been coughing all day until my throat is raw and the last thing I felt like doing was a show tonight but I had to. This was my whole week’s nut. I had a gig booked at a country club.

Marc Schultz got it for me and there’s no way I could let him down. Plus I can use what they’re paying as it’s what I usually make for a whole week at a comedy club. These are a love/hate relationship because they’re usually not fulfilling artistically but they more than make up for it financially. Even with expensive gas and a long drive I still made out OK.

I was supposed to go on at 8:00 but they were running late as these things usually do so I didn’t end up getting up until about 8:40. I got off at about 9:25 and got some nice laugh pops all the way through so I know they were happy. Well I hope they were. If only ONE person is offended in any way there’s usually hell to pay but these guys seemed very cool.

It was a tricky gig in many ways. These people were pretty well off and they can’t relate to jokes about car problems and breakdowns. They all own brand new Lexuses or BMWs so I stayed away from that kind of thread. They were also mostly male so I didn’t do a lot of the kid stuff I usually do either. I read them well and catered to what they would like.

Earlier in the day I did start on what I set out to do yesterday so that’s a positive I’ll lay claim to. I got out the movie script and dusted it off and read it and there are a lot of very funny scenes in there. I hadn’t seen it in a long time and I’m very encouraged by what’s in it. I needed to make a first step and this was it. Now I need to keep it going and WRITE.

I also started to read ‘The Lazy Man’s Way To Riches’ I talked about yesterday. My gig was way across town so I left early and checked my mailbox in the city and then made the trek to Orland Park just so I could relax for a couple of hours and read. I sat in the mall at the food court and read for a while. Then I took out my act notebook and worked on that.

I’m starting to make some noticeable progress with all this stuff. None of it is huge but at least it’s going in the right direction. I counted the number of lines and/or ideas I’d like to add to my show at some point and it was about 150. That’s very encouraging. This has to be by far the most work I’ve ever done on my act at one time and I will see big growth.

That is if I live that long. I’m really hurting right now and I’ll be the first to admit I’m a total pansy ass when it comes to being sick. I hate it and always have. I hope this just goes away or runs it’s course or whatever it needs to do to get out of my system and let me get back to work on all my projects. I have stuff I want to do rather than cough my lungs out.

I am behind on preparation for the Mothership Connection radio show this week. I want to get some guests lined up but I haven’t heard back from anyone so I will have to work at finding someone for Sunday. Anyone know any wack jobs who want to be on the radio?