Hogging the spotlight.

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A few days ago, I posted my interview with Liz at Marriage 101 as part of the Great Interview Experiment.  Well, today, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Wendy, who has an amazing blog at Quiet About A lot of Things.

Here it is (her questions bolded, my answers in plain old font).

So, you are all brand new like a shiny little penny. How has it been so far? Blogging, that is?
Oh, good…you were talking about blogging. Because being a shiny little penny in this economy has made me feel worthless. As for blogging- so far so good.  I’m enjoying having another creative outlet, one that isn’t instantly judged (in stand-up you know right away how your efforts have gone over).  I like getting comments and I really love finding other people’s blogs.  I’m such a voyeur!  Until I started my own blog, I had never read a blog besides occasionally checking out Dooce. I think Dooce mentioned Whoorlone time, and I spent a full day checking out her favorite blogs list.  From there I was hooked.

The one negative so far has been the amount of time it takes up (both blogging and reading blogs).  I’m going to have to figure out a way to put a cap on the amount of time I spend in the blogsphere.

Now, ya know, you have ALREADY broken one of my cardinal rules of blogging…which is…Never take down a post….So just what was it that made you cringe so hard…you had to press delete?
Its funny you say that, because I’m always wondering if I’m breaking blogger etiquette. Like “would a good blogger acknowledge every comment she gets?” or “what is the appropriate gift for someone who has added you to their blogroll?” The other day I was actually thinking about googling “rules of blogging.”I took down the first post because it was so dramatic and annoying. I was in a funk the day I wrote it and thought I was being introspective, when in fact, I was being- well, dramatic and annoying.  And I just didn’t want that post to set the tone of my blog.  Sorry, no dirty secrets were revealed…just my inner whiner.

So when you are doing the in-law tour…are you amorous with the new hubbie….or is it just too weird?
It’s a little weird. Besides, I think the wall in my in-laws’ house may be made of rice paper.

Did you want to become a stand-up after some weird acid trip? OK, just kidding? But really…why?
I actually started doing stand-up right after I graduated from college, about seven years ago. I had just moved to a big city, was looking to meet new people, saw a flyer for some stand-up classes, and figured “what the hell?” But I’m not sure what possessed me…I’m not what anyone would describe as the class clown. In fact, when I told my Mom, who is maybe the most supportive parent in history, what I was doing, she said “But honey, you’re just not that funny.” And she was right, I was pretty bad at first, but I stuck with it for about a year, got better, and it turned into a really fun hobby and a great way to meet funny friends. After that year, I took a hiatus for about 5 years- to hike the Appalachian Trail, go to law school, get married, work on my career, etc. To be honest, I really didn’t see myself ever doing it again.

Then about a year ago, now living in a different city, I was at a point where I was feeling like I needed an outlet outside of work, and once again I saw a flyer for a stand-up course at a local comedy club. I took the class, and have been trying to perform at least once a week ever since. I love it- I love the nervousness I feel before getting on stage, love the crowd reaction (good or bad), love coming up with a bit that really makes me laugh. And I really love that I’m challenging myself to do something that definitely doesn’t come naturally for me.

Why will getting paid to do comedy make it more real?
I’ve been doing stand-up consistently for almost a year now, and I feel like I’m at the point where I’m ready to take the next step- which is getting paid.  I’ve always been someone who works best when there is a goal to work towards (which is why I love long distance hiking, and am always theoretically training for some athletic event). I have a hard time doing things just for the pleasure of doing them (well, some things).

Do you use your husband for comedy fodder? Do you tell him about it?
I bounce everything off him…mostly because I can trust him to be honest about whether its funny or not. So far he’s appeared peripherally in a couple of bits, but as a rule I don’t really do much “my husband is so…” stuff.

What moment do you want to recall most…as if they were going to wipe your memory clean..like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind…of your love with your husband?..Remember just a moment? How about your career? How bout your comedy?
Oooo…good question. If I could retain just one memory, it would have to be a memory of one of the days spent with my husband, BF, on the Appalachian Trail. We were in the very beginning of our whirlwind romance, about to complete a major physical/emotion feat and surrounded by amazing scenery and people who have become life-long friends- it was a magical time.

Which memory would be the first to go?
Hmmm…I’d be happy to let go of any memory that involves my younger, drunken, self actin’ a fool. I’ve got plenty of those to go around.

I love that you’re a germ friendly girl….Hey, staph infections have lives to, right? Honor all, that’s what I say….Anyway..what DOES heebe…as in Heebie Jeebie…you out?
Not much! I do have a weird aversion to toenails. I’m obsessive about cutting my own, and god forbid someone else’s toenail touches me. Oh, and I hate dog shit, but who doesn’t?

Thanks so much Wendy, for taking the time to come up with such great questions!  This was a lot of fun!

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