Sydney Parking

What's a girl to do?

As you well know, we're driving the entire family down to Sydney (with some timely gigs and sanity stops along the way) but already the dilemma has arisen: what to do with the CAR?!

That is, we're staying with my auntie in Glebe, which, last time I stayed there, greeted every street-parked car with a smashed in windscreen and a coat of graffiti. Now, now that I'm not into turning everyday items into works of art (this is how I justify the horrific state of my house), but...I would like the option of being actually able to transport the family home after all the Sydney stuff is said and done.

So...I'm turning to you, my blogging buddies! Should we:

a) resign ourselves to circumstance, park there anyway and hope for the best;

b) smash the windscreens and paint up the car ourselves, in a cunning tactic of reverse psychology (or mechanical homeopathy, depending on how you look at it);

c) fork out hefty dollars for an actual safe car-park;

d) cancel the tour and drive to Cairns;

e) other.

Oh, by the way, if you have any actual legitimate way of helping us out with this dilemma, please do drop me a line at contact@jennywynter.com Ta.

Okay, okay, I'll spill the beans already!

You guys.

You and your enthusiasm, your encouragement and your insatiable urge to flatter...one of these days my head's just going to inflate so much I'll be needing my very own ozone layer. So please, for all of our sakes...stop now.

So for those of you who asked (thanks rn_buffoon) the gig went very nicely indeed. Particularly considering that I rocked up feeling so frighteningly fatigued that for a moment I doubted my ability to actually make it through. But...enough whingeing. As usual, the adrenalin kicked in and got me through - man, if only they could bottle that stuff. Oh hang on, they can. But sorry to say, I'm really not the 'stab a needle into my heart' kinda gal.

Anyway, back to the point: there was a very broad mix of people - a massive turnout, actually - artists, kiddies aged from 2 upwards, grandparents, parents, people who fit into all of the above categories and everything in between. Needless to say, I kept it clean, even substituting relatively cleanities like 'making love' to 'getting friendly' - those of you who've seen me perform Dole Queue Girl will know what I'm talking about. The rest of you: consider your curiosity piqued.

Had a great time, brought a few people onstage for a bit of a chat (including two of the CUTEST little kiddies ever, one of whom wore a tuxedo on his top half and jeans on his bottom) and then proceeded to make up a few songs based on my interview findings - including classics such as "It Ain't Easy Painting Boxes" (apt, given the awards ceremony was for artwork which people had painted on City Council traffic signal boxes).

Then right at the end of the night, I unleashed Mrs Sorenson for her first ever public appearance (well, since she first came on-stage in a play I wrote years ago...but that's a whole other story I'll share another time) where she read a closing poem to all the artists. And Cath from Artforce, who organised the whole gig, has already requested a copy of said poem to put up on their website. Ah, Mrs S...I just love her. And yes, Huggies, I will post some video footage of the old bird online soon, I promise.

The highlight of my night though, was when I was off-stage and an adorable little girl in a polka-dotted dress and light brown big-tails, probably about the same age as Ella, came up and tugged at my shirt. She looked up at me with her enormous brown and hugely sincere eyes and whispered something.

"What was that?" I knelt down so I could hear her.

She spoke slowly, softly and deliberately:

"You're a very nice singer."

Now if that doesn't rock the world, then the world just ain't worth rockin.

Stuck for Inspiration

Hmmmm...it's not like me to be stuck for words, but I'm afraid today I am. Maybe it's just cos my throat is sore and thus I'm a little out of sorts and nervous that it'll hold out for my gig tonight! AAGH!

Tonight's going to be interesting - I'm MCing the Artforce Awards, a Brisbane City Council initiative whereby members of the community paint their works of art on the Traffic Signal Boxes. I've been given the full go-ahead to be as creative, musical and crazy as I want in my entertaining duties, so I'm rather excited. Particularly as I've decided to unleash ZZZ's increasingly popular Mrs Sorenson in person!!!

We shall see...

But until then, it's adieu from me and my tonsils.

Wish us both luck, won't you?

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Hot Date

So last night Tim and I had our first hot date in way too long. Slap, slap, slap! (Sorry, just having a little tustle with my wrists).

Then, mid-date, something a little weird happened.

Picture us: strolling through the markets at Southbank. Suddenly, from behind us, a shriek...

Woman: Aaaah! It's the comedian!

Friend of woman: Oh my God!

We turn around to check out the action - turns out there's four ladies. For the sake of ease, let's call them Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha.

They walk up to us. This hasn't really happened before - I mean, I've had people recognise me, but not in a 'oh my God!' kinda way. I don't really know whether to smile and just keep walking or stand there to soak it up. I look at Tim for help. He just smiles and holds my hand: we opt for the middle way - standing but slowly backing away.

Samantha: We saw you a few weeks ago at the Comedy Club!

Charlotte: YOU (pointing) were hilarious!

Me: Thanks so much.

Miranda: We were the ones down the front!

Me: Oh.

Samantha: You know, with the Elmo toy!

Me: Oh yeah! I remember you now... (I actually did.)

(Meanwhile, they're being so loud that people nearby are starting to stare, wondering what the fuss is about. I look to Tim: he's just standing looking smug. He tells me later that he loved feeling like a rockstar)

Carrie: (grabbing my arm) Oh, just let me touch you!

(Okay, NOW I'm officially getting freaked out.)

I smile, mutter something about feeling like a complete feral tonight - which they chuckle very loudly at - and then we back away into the night.

Tim: So did you love that? I would have loved that.

Me: Yeah, I guess.

I start to giggle uncontrollably.

Me: That was so surreal.

It takes me almost an hour to stop shaking.

Comedy tour, JAM, Cinema a la Hitchhiker, Melbourne Comedy Fest, CDs and the glow.

My apologies for the delay between blogs - the upside of this is that I've been quite busy in the real world. Well, not really an upside so much as an irrefutable fact.

So here you go, a concise update of breaking news:

- I'm feeling rather overwhelmed with the amount of stuff to tie up and work out before heading off on tour. It's only TWO WEEKS (approximately: who can be bothered with details?) away. Part of me is completely excited at hitting a new comedy scene and hanging with the fam, the other part is terrified at the prospect of coming back in need of shock therapy.

By the way, if you are keen on checking out more on the tour, please check out www.jennywynter.com There's fresh news and gigs - Wyntertainment is becoming a way of life.

- am hugely hugely enjoying jamming comedy stuff with my mates, Marc & Ash, in a top secret and extremely classified comedy operation known 'officially' as JAM. Stay tuned...

- I have FINALLY finished the editing of the improv feature film demo DVD Cinema a la Hitchhiker - WOHOO!!! I mean, I actually finished it quite a few months back, but then technology being technology - and Jenny being Jenny - I had a couple of things to fix up, plus have actually laid down the musical sound-track. So...fingers crossed this project should be tied up and ready to make its way out into the world to seduce investors with shameless...uh....seduction.

- am currently making big decisions for 2007, including whether to do the Melbourne Comedy Festival thing (which up to this point I've been gung-ho on) or just save the money and put it towards going to Edinburgh Fringe in August. That way I could also get a round-the-world ticket (if you're spending the $$ you might as well add on a couple more hundred and do the whole shebang) and put my show on in New York & LA on the way back. I need an advisor so badly it hurts!!

- my first CD should be ready within the next couple of weeks - not sure if I'll be sorted to sell them online by then, but they'll definitely be in the Festival Shop at Woodford and online as soon as I can sort it all out. Ah. Sometimes I feel like every day is just another 'to-do' list.

...and this news just in:

- I've started to glow.
















From front left: Ash, Brad, the CM and Mezza, aka the improv troupe formerly known as "A Streetcar Named Whatever"

Whaddya know? I like the tikes.

I'm just loving the kids at the moment. Which is damn pleasant.

You see, thanks to day-care day changes (some of which is my own doing, some of which just comes down to good old-fashioned lack of vacancies), I now only have one, that's right, ONE child-free day per week. Or, to put it another way, I have at least one child with me for six days of the week.

The hugest up-side of this is that the kids' behaviour has improved immensely, thus making them a LOT more fun to hang with- plus I find myself actually enjoying the more relaxed start to the mornings, where we can laze in bed (well, more accurately, I laze in bed while they tear the house to pieces, but at least I've trained them to tear it to pieces with some consideration on the noise front) and ease our way into the day. Yes, much much nicer than the whole running-out-the-door-with-toast-stuck-up-my-nostrils-to-make-it-to-daycare-by-9.30-and-not-be-exposed-for-the-incompetent-parent-I-am type start.

And...shock horror! We're actually having fun together. Yesterday, for instance...I finally made cut-out cookies with Ella, something I've been procrastinating since she discovered the ability to grip. And it was fun! Sure, the actual cookies crumbled to pieces cos domesticity and I are like Michael Jackson and Lisa-Marie Presley: never meant to go together. BUT... the whole 'mummy/daughter bonding' thing? Big tick.

I never thought I'd be one of those mummies, you know, "motherhood is so fulfilling, tra la la la" and so on - on the average day the only thing I am filled full with are thoughts of escape - but lately, despite myself, I'm really digging my kiddlies. (Now I've said that, of course, I've probably jinxed myself - they'll probably break into my room tonight and rub snot all over my sleeping bod.)

But for now. Little Homies = Pretty Cool.

That's the upside.

The downside? I've never felt so exhausted in my entire l-

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