#5 in a Series: Year Three

Things really started to happen in my third year of comedy -- my second year of unpaid leave from school. Highlights:

* Spent a week in Atlanta, performing in several different venues. To my surprise, one of my sets even ended up being posted on Rooftop Comedy on the internet.

* Featured on a run in Iowa City, Cedar Falls, and Moorhead, ND. It was winter, and there was one night off. The bookers don't usually provide a hotel room on the off nights, and so I thought I'd be adventurous: I went on Craigslist and asked if anyone would be willing to let me sleep on their couch for one night. I got 5 replies, and accepted one from a guy in his 30s who sounded like a pretty good guy. But when the time came to meet him that night, he never showed up! A few days later, he said in an e-mail that he had chickened out. Would've been nice if he'd have chickened out a lot sooner -- I waited around until 10pm, and finally drove on to the next city, hoping my next hotel would admit me a little early. No go. They were full up, and didn't even have a lobby for me to sit and wait in. I killed time in an all-night diner as long a I could, but at 4am I finally went out to my car and slept. It was freeeeeezing, because the ground was covered with a couple feet of snow. I kept waking up every 20 minutes or so, shaking, and turned the car heater on to warm up.

* Featured in a college gig at Washington State University

* Got my first HEADLINING gig at Uncle D's Comedy Club in Spokane, Washington

* Headlined at Jazzbones in Tacoma, Washington

* Performed at Rooster T Feathers, near San Jose, California

* Featured at The Crow's Nest, Santa Cruz, California

* Headlined for two weeks in Edmonton, Canada, at The Cracker Factory

* Hired for private gigs, doing an hour at each show

* Did two shows with my daughter, a singer-songwriter

* Did a week at Wise Guys in Salt Lake City, Utah

* Featured on a week-long road trip, including Peoria, Illinois and Wisconsin

* Headlined at three different venues in the Minneapolis area

* Headlined at Pellegrino's in Tumwater, Washington

* Featured at Seattle Comedy Underground

* Featured at Tacoma Comedy Underground

* Did a week at Laff's Comedy Cafe in Tucson, Arizona

* Spent 5 weeks straight on the road in the Midwest, performing in the very clubs on the same stages where Ellen DeGeneres, Jerry Seinfeld, George Carlin, and many other greats performed. It took my breath away to walk down the halls of some of these clubs to see who had been here before me. Someday.......

And so this brings me up to today. In just 3 days, I'll be on a plane, heading for Kuwait and Iraq to entertain our troops. More on that, when I return.
Thanks for reading this far!