Hanging Up

Hey dudes,

Well, it feels rather bittersweet to write this - what is gonna be the last entry on here. At least for a fair while.

For various reasons, not the least of which is that I feel like I've lost a lot of the passion that I had when I first started blogging, I've decided to have a long overdue break from blogland. Thanks for reading and occasionally even commenting, I heart it muchly. FYI my website's currently going through a dramatic overhaul, which, once complete (hopefully in the next month or so) will have regular blog-like updates on there, though admittedly they will probably be more random comedic musings and career-oriented blabs, rather than any of the personal stuff.

Which, on the personal note, my main frustration with myself on this blog is my tendency to censor myself far too much on here, which is something that - for the good of my soul and my comedy - I desperately need to remedy. "So running away and hiding is the answer?" you say. Point taken (even if it is from an imagined response from my audience, invented by my very self) but the bottom line for me is that I need to focus my writing time on my actual comedy and projects.

Plus peeps, I'm just so damn tired. The reason of which is posted below, in photographic form.

Life is good. Love ya lots lemondrops. And thanks for being a cyber-friend! xxx















"Jen!" you say. "Did you just finish off your blog with an image of paraphernalia which you actually URINATED ON?"

Uh-huh. I really did.

I know. Genius.

Salada! xx

Writing, writing and cliffhangers

Well, we're home again, safe and sound, back into the old routine, which includes (hopefully) some more regular blogging including actually replying to comments. Forgive me, readers, what can I say, it's a tough life on the road, baby!

I'm super motivated right now (and super annoyed at myself for my apparent automatic overuse of the word 'super' - but it's such a nice, upbeat word!) to enter into next week's third installment of my residency at the Banff Centre.

I'm gonna keep it focused on writing - writing some more chunks for my new comedy show, plus polishing off some songs I've been working on, but also getting together my spec TV script (I'm doing one for 'The Office') as well as a pilot episode for the sit-com which I pitched at the Banff World TV Fest. Excitement!

There's much other news to share, but that will have to wait. Sighs all round. Soon, soon, my little impatient ones, soon shall I feed you! Now in the meantime pipe down and let Mummy get back to her Scrabulous.

Ta.

BC Comedy Tour Update # 2

I'm very pleased to report that the past few days of the tour have taken a very pleasant turn for the better.

WOOT!

In short, the gigs have been great (particularly in comparison to what will forever after be referred to as 'The Chilliwack Fiasco' - which I've chilled the hell out about now, which in doing so, has led me to remember some of the positives, like a dude coming up to me post show and saying "I'm so sorry, it's really not normally like this, please come back!"), the family has been soaking up the glamour of living in a damn nice hotel while sussing out the equal parts beautiful and bizarrre Kelowna (more on that another time), plus, the best part of all, have made a new and incredibly fabulous friend - in the form of the tour's headliner act: Jennifer Grant.

Seriously, I love her. LOVE her. Comedically and personally. I don't think I've been this excited about meeting another human being in a long time. Gush gush gush. She is without a doubt one of my favourite comedians ever, I kid you not. And to top it all off, she is just one rocking chick. Damn! We bonded over incredibly drunk Kelowna locals, stories of hookers playing with my kids in the hotel pool (that is one looooooong story and one that I find disturbing, if only in my complete lack of judgement: but hey, it's gonna make a beautiful comedy bit), and geeking out over comedy.

Oh man.

Last night was the last gig, Timmy came down and videoed my set for me (courtesy of the hotel's babysitting service - NOT hookers) and then today we embarked on the drive back home. We're currently hauled up in a beyond quaint family campground in beautiful Salmon Arm. We've eaten a home-made meal, done laundry and relaxed for the first time in days. Rock.

I'm back, baby!

Family BC Comedy Tour Update #1

Boy I'm tired.

BUT...life goes on and I'm also incredibly excited to be on the road again with not one, not two, but all members of my little clan as we jet off on a comedy tour/ family holiday through one of my favourite places in the world, British Columbia.

A full debrief on my shenanigans at the unbelievable Banff World Television Festival is coming soon (I'm writing it for my next column) but a few highlights included:

- a half hour meeting with Jon Plowman, head of Comedy at the BBC, the genius behind such shows as Ab Fab, The Office, Extras, Bottom...oh man, I could go on forever rambling them off. And - from my very nieve and fresh-faced opinion - it went rather nicely. Agh!

- meeting Brent Butt, creator, writer and actor (and more than not-too-shoddy stand-up) of Corner Gas.

- extremely fun, friendly and incredibly informative meetings with peeps from Just for Laughs, The Comedy Network and CTV's Comedy branch, plus a couple of tres cool literary agents for film and TV.

- plus another billion amazing people I met, in both pre-organised and random encounters.

My head is spinning.

Immediately after signing off on the fest, I drove back to Canmore, whereupon we packed up the car (after first almost floating off into another realm upon discovering that Laura, my babysitter extraordinaire, had taken it upon herself to clean my BATHROOM! Does the wonder ever end?!) and drove to Calgary, where we crashed my Loose Moose cohorts Stephanie & Jeremy's pad for the eve. At 5.30 the next morning we were all up and at it, out to the airport and onto the plane for the quick journey to Abbotsford (just outside Vancouver).

To be continued...

I want to debrief this all properly, there are so many wild, wacky and ridiculous little details that I want to share with you, but I'm so tired my eyelids kinda feel like they've been coated in antiseptic right now. So for now just a brief highlight/lowlight/featured moment:

I had my first gig of the tour last night in Chilliwack, it was really weird. Namely cos most of the people, despite paying a cover charge for a comedy show, opted to get really drunk and talk loudly through the MC and both of us comics' sets. Then after the show, I was in the bathroom and overheard the following:

Chick 1 - Did you enjoy the show?
Chick 2 - Yeah, but I was here a couple of weeks ago and it was just so much funnier.

Ouch. I've been thinking about that a lot today, as I'm sure you know too, the best comebacks always come to you after the moment. Part of me wishes that I'd gone out and said something like:

"Uh, just so you know...when the audience just talks over the show, it makes it pretty hard to HAVE a good show. I mean, Todd (who opened the show) has been doing this for years, he was on the CRAIG FERGUSON SHOW last week for heaven's sakes! It's not the comics' fault when most of the audience out-shouts the entire act...in that situation, nobody looks funny!"

Either that or:

"I was here a couple of weeks ago and the audience was just so much better."

But of course, I said neither of these things. (And I'm glad - I mean, in my cooler-headed state, I can say that I genuinely believe you shouldn't blame a bad gig on the audience. It's just life - these are just my little hot-headed fantasy revenge sequences after what was basically a below average night.)

Instead, I simply walked straight out of the toilet and asked her how it flushed.

She looked sheepishly at me, and said "Oh, it...it happens automatically."

As she spoke, I heard the flush.

"Oh good! Thanks!"

And I walked away.

Update from Banff World Television Festival #1

You know, I think I could get used to this schmoozing thing. At first, stepping into the pit of hundreds upon hundreds of networking TV peeps was more than a little intimidating, but sure enoug, once I started just taking the leap and getting past the "Hi! I'm Jenny!" bit, the rest just rolled with the sweetness of a juicy mango at Christmas time.

So many interesting people. So much possibility! Loving it!!!

Oh! Oh! Oh! And I met Colin Mochrie (from Whose Line Is It Anyway) this afternoon!!! AGH!

Could there BE any more overuse of exclamation marks in the one blog entry? I think NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A cup of peppermint tea a day keeps something at bay...I'm just not sure what

So we're all a little stressed round these parts at the mo. Partly for good (as in, positive!) reasons - we've got a lot of exciting things coming up - but mostly just in the money department. Living the dream rocks the casbah and is something I've always aspired to do...but bugger me sideways if it isn't a ticket to bankruptcy.

Anyhoo, forgive the bleak outlook, all else is well - my kids are healthy and happy, we're all alive and well-fed (trust me on that one) and we are still loving this incredible country, so we do have it all in perspective - it's just a little, yes, well, there you have it: stressful.

Thus, we are in a bit of a dilemma at the moment as to whether to stay put here in the Bow Valley. We absolutely love it, have a solid network happening now, good friends, there's enough opportunities for me to balance life and career quite nicely, etc, the bottom line is just that: the bottom line. And unfortunately, it's just so freaking expensive (both rent and groceries are far more than I've EVER paid in my life elsewhere) that from what I've been told, newbies usually last a year or two and then give up and move away.

We'll see - our pending BC tour (one week away: agh!) is taking on a little more significance now i.e. I'm sure it will be somewhat, if only subconsciously, a little scouting trip for potential new destinations to explore, conquer and soak up.

Time shall tell dear chappies, time shall tell.

Notification: guts are officially spilled. Time for bed.