Okay Already!!!!!!!!!!!!!   Here's me updating my diary!!!  Dang!!!!   Get off my back!!!!!  I don't know what else to do.  I was gone for close to two weeks and didn't have internet access in any of the places that I stayed.  It was a run of one nighters and It wasn't as if I had time to look for internet cafes or anything.  I'd go from gig to gig and pretty much stayed close to where I was staying.  So now that I'm home and have a few moments to spare, before going to work on my car, I figured that I'd take the time to update my site.  Here goes:

April 1, 2005:  Lets start by saying that the night before I didn't get much sleep.  Hanging out with Gary Menke and Gary Owen can cause you to mess up your sleeping patterns.  I loaded up Sea Biscuit and headed to Morgantown, West Virginia.  There I performed on a show in the Ramada Hotel with the headliner, Wynn Weichert.  I was the feature act (as I was on all the shows for this run) and there was a local comedian who acted as the emcee.  His name is David Christiansen. It was a good crowd for the most part but there were some folks that just refused to shut up.  In places like this you're not sure how many of the audience members come to hear comedy or how many of them come to see if they can talk over the comics.  Either way it was tough.  Most of the audience was eager and willing to hear some good comedy but there were a few tables in the back that must have been using the place as a meeting for their social club.  It was a good turnout and a good show over all.  Afterwards, they moved the tables in the front and the place turned into the hottest night club that Morgantown has to offer. Hmmmmmm!  I went up to my room and conked out.

 April 2, 2005:  I got up on this morning/evening, loaded up Sea Biscuit and headed to Marietta Ohio.  Marietta was a port town.  Lots of things and people moving up and down the Ohio River used to stop there.  Marietta's even has a Wal-Mart.  How's that for big timing it???  I was working with Wynn again on this gig.  We were performing and staying at the Historic Lafayette Hotel.  You could feel the history in the place.  You'd be amazed at how small the rooms were.  I was surprised.  It was comfortable, but you just get used to buildings that have been built in the last 50 years or so that have large or multiple rooms with spacious bathrooms, refrigerators, microwaves and things of that nature.  But being in that historic building made me realize that hotels used to be for sleeping in and not much else.  Now you can get internet access back then I guess you were happy if you had heat.  The show was in the bar area and went very well.  It was a good crowd.  The thing with these one nighters is... if you're the feature, you are also sometimes the emcee.  And that pretty much sucks.  Instead of coming up to a warmed up crowd you go up there as the warmer upper.  I did my job and then went to sleep.  I was still trying to catch up from two nights before.

April 3, 2005:  I left Marietta and drove to Cincinnati, Ohio.  It was a long drive and I was looking forward to taking a shower and then laying across the bed with as few clothes on as possible.  When I got into Cinci, I went to the club that I was going to be performing in.  I always like to see the performance area before the show.  That way I can get a mental picture of what, where and how I'll be moving while I'm on  stage.  It took me 20 minutes to find the place because when I got there  It was daylight and no signs were on.  And it was nestled between two other buildings.  Once I located it, I checked it out and then went to the hotel.  I was thinking "Nice!!!! They have us at The Hampton Inn!"  When I go to check in the nice young girl at the desk informs me that I'll be sharing a room witht he headliner.  What????  Are you serious?  Or are you trying to outdo the comic?  Nope!  She was serious.  How awkward.  I had a sleep over with the headliner -  Wynn Weichert.  This was a first for both of us.  I don't know all the details of what's going down in Cinci, but it involves people stealing money, disgruntled comics, lost hotel rooms and bad vibes.  You'll have to read about the rest on somebody elses website.  All I know is I had to share a room with a man.  Fricken sleep over!!!!  Do you know how old I am???

April 4, 2005:  I worked on my car.  Sea Biscuit started smoking.  AAAAAGgggggghhhhh!!!!!!!  The front driver side tire was losing air and it sounded like the engine was making a funny noise.  AAAAAGgggggggggghhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!  I took it to a mechanic who told me that the rear main seal had probably gone bad which meant that the engine was about to go.  This, he told me, was going to cost close to 400 dollars to fix.  That's 400 that I didn't have.  He also informed me that the oxygen sensor had blown out and that it was the reason that my car was making a puttering noise.  I thanked him for his time by paying him 20 dollars and got my car and left out of there.  I was scared that I wasn't going to be able to make the rest of my trip due to a blown engine.  This was also the pint that I realized that I might not make it back to Virginia on time to perform at the Library event that I scheduled 4 months prior.  So, I went to k-mart, bought some tools and then went to several different stores before finding the oxygen sensor.  I also bought a few other things that I know my car needed, like some vacuum tubes, an air vent hose and some other stuff.  I spent the rest of the day fixing that stuff.  When I was done, the puttering noise was gone, the cruise control was working (it wasn't before) and I had increased my gas mileage by about 4 miles per gallon.  But the car was still leaking.  I topped off all the fluids and took my chances.  By the way the only thing that was low was the transmission fluid.  Hmmmmm?????!!!!  I started my way towards Columbus, Ohio.

April 5, 2005:  It's a new day and I'm driving and tired.  Columbus is out of the way from my next gig by about two hours each way.  And so I know that I was taking a chance by going out there, but this was like going to see the Wizard.  The road to Columbus is like the Yellow Brick Road and I wasn't going to let anything stop me from getting there.  Not a blown motor, nor the threat of not getting to my next gig, not anything.  I met the one of the nicest people in Columbus.  Her name is Rhoda.  Thank you Rhoda, may God bless you and your family in all that you do.  I finally made it to Columbus with my car still smoking and me still wanting to catch up on sleep.  I did a lot of driving.  Anyway the trip to Columbus was well worth it.  I met Dave Stroupe again and I felt like Jay-z  "Allow me to re-introduce myself!!!  My name is O..."  You know the rest.  Either way I got what I was hoping to get.  A showcase date.  Yay!!!!!  I'll be back on the 26th.  I got to see Chad Daniels again,  he's a funny guy.  If you get the chance to see him, you need to do it.  I left that night to head to Muskegon, Michigan.  It's a crap load of driving.

April 6, 2005:  I'm at Rossi's in Muskegon, MI.  It's a bar with a comedy night.  It was a good show.  I was working with Jimmy Rascal.  And like Forest Gump - "That's all I got to say about that!"

April 7, 2005:  I drove up route 31 to get to Leelanau Sands Casino and Resort.  I had no idea that Michigan was as beautiful as it is.  The Casino was sitting on top of Lake Michigan, which where I was had the most clear, blue water that you can imagine.  I was so very surprised.  It was like being in Jamaica except that it was really cold.  I lost 10 dollars in the slots at the casino.  That's my limit.  If I win, I win.  If I lose, I only lose 10 dollars.  Anyway, I did the show at the resort in front of 12 people.  The place probably seats around 500 but hey, what can you do.  It was only the second week that they had comedy there, and they hadn't started advertising yet.  I don't know if they were planning on packing the house but a good way to start is to let people know that you're doing it.  I think that I'm going to start calling radio stations in the towns that I'm going to be in and give interviews.  I'm sure that when they start advertising that it's going to be a great thing.  The room is gorgeous and the sound system is one of the best that I've ever performed with.  It's going to be a great room.  I had fun, just wish there were more people there.  Afterwards, I went with some of the staff over to 'Streeters', the local hot spot.  That was a different kind of interesting.  Everything in Michigan is 18 and up.  I haven't done that in a long time.  I was pretty interesting.  Sleepy time.

April 8-9, 2005:  Okay, Sea Biscuit is still smoking and I know it's got a leak, but I know that it's not oil because I'm checking the level and it's staying constant.  The transmission fluid on the other hand is steadily going down.  And so is my tire.  On the 8th  I did the first show at the Traverse City Comedy Club for 6 people.  4 of those people were 16-18 and obnoxious.  And they smoked more than my car was smoking.  Poor, little, pink lungs... say bye bye!!!  The second show was a good show with a sizeable crowd.  Thank God!!!  And the second night was a great night for comedy.  The emcee for the shows was a local by the name of Bobby St. Clair.  He had some good stuff and I wish him all the best when he moves out to Chicago.  I was put up at a little condo on the lake.  Right on the lake.  I had such a beautiful view that I spent quite a bit of time just looking out the window.  On the final day of this long trip I decided to fix Sea Biscuit.  I took her  to one of those help yourself car washes and cleaned off the engine and transmission top to bottom.  I also had to go and buy some more tools and car ramps.  After I got her back to the condo, I was able to get up  under her and I discovered that one of the transmission lines had been worn through by the other transmission line.  I guess that after close to 20 years of rubbing together, one of them had to go.  I was able to repair the problem with some high pressure hose and some hose clamps.  No more leaking, no more smoking and almost best of all, I added several more miles to the gallon.  I was very surprised.  Well into the evening on the 10th of April, I began to take my slow trek home to Richmond, VA.  I was much the wiser but none the richer. 

April 11, 2005:  I was making my way back from Michigan at a reasonable clip but I knew that I was not going to be able to make my show at the Library.  Luckily I had a buddy come up from Washington, D.C. and do the show for me.  Laughin Lenny.  I did make it to the 955 club to see my old gang.  Awesome people.  We got to get moving on that movie fellas. 

April 12, 2005:  I hosted the Apollo night at the Richmond Funnybone.  It was out of the ordinary to only have three comedians on the show, but that is what how it happened.  I hosted, Bam Bamm was the feature and Ced. Delany was the headliner.  Both Ced and Bam are originally from Birmingham, Ala.  I don't know if they talked over old times or not but who knows with these comedian types?!  It was a good show.  I feel quite strong after coming off of the road.  I think that the performances and stage time helped quite a bit.  But more importantly, I think that the long hours on the road with no radio, no passenger and plenty of time allowed me to think about my jokes in ways that I wouldn't have been able to otherwise.  I'd much rather be flying from gig to gig but for now this will do.  When I'm in the car, I'm in the gym.  Sing me out, Willie Nelson!  "On the road again!!!  Just can't wait to get on the road again!!!!"

I went to the Funnybone in Richmond tonight so that I could meet Godfrey, the Seven Up guy.  When I got to the club (by the way... sweet bike, Kevin), I was informed that the plane that Godfrey was on was running late and that he wouldn't make it to the stage for quite some time.  They asked me if I could do a guest set so that we could stretch out the show until he got there.  I did do a guest set and it was smashing.  What a crowd.  They were on fire.  It's so wonderful to perform in front of a crowd that active.  You just don't want to get off of the stage.  But I did.  It's what I do.

The show started off with Nick Cantone as the emcee and then my portion of the show after which, Tim Northern worked the feature slot.  Tim is a great guy with hilarious material and a smooth delivery.  I love the feature slot at the big clubs.  About 35 minutes into Tim's set, Godfrey makes it to the club.  He rushes to the stage, gets comfortable and then takes a few minutes to get really going.  He put on a great show.  He seems like a pretty nice guy. 

I'm about to hit the hay so that I can get up and drive to Parkersburg, WV tomorrow.  I'm co-headlining a show at a place called River City.  I hope it's a packed crowd cause I'm ready.  I'll get the car loaded up in the morning and then head out.  I'm sure that I won't get a chance to update this site until Sunday, so please no hate e-mail.  (Okay!!!  Kenny Chu!!!)

By the way - I want to mention some people that come across my mind often and I don't always take the time to mention them:  My Mom and Dad (Dad, if you hadn't forced me to work on my cars when I was younger, I'd still be in Michigan); my brother Jeff; my sister-in-law Dana Jackson (Wow!!!  If it wasn't for you...); my muse Aishia Bailey; my church family; and to my nieces and nephews -  Your Uncle Mikey Loves You!!!!!!

Peace for now

It's late Sunday night or early monday morning... how ever you want to look at it.  I went to Parkersburg, West Virginia and co-headlined on a show with Tim Marzilkowski the Polish Thunder.  This show was on Friday night.  I also worked with him in Altoona, Pennsylvania the following night. 

Friday, at River City in Parkersburg, I had a blast.  The restaurant was a good looking place and the food was great.  Steve the owner/manager (not sure which) was as nice as he could be.  The crowd was attentive and responsive and I got to stretch my wings once again.  I love doing a lot of time.  It's cool.  There was an emcee there named Ralph Palmer.  He did a good job of getting the crowd warmed up, but then he did something wierd with my intro - You know the name of my website is "This Dude Is Funny"... well he said, " This guy is hilarious".  It's not such a crazy off the wall thing.  But it's not what I asked him to say.  Then when I got done, he hit the crowd with - "You should buy one of his C.D.'s because he's trying to get enough money together to buy a last name."  Funny?  Only a few chuckles.  Then he hit them with - "Are you guys ready for your headliner?"  Hold up... I thought this was a co-headlining gig.  Sup with that?  Or, I'm just reading to much into it.  I won't let my confusion take away from the fact that he did a very good job emceeing.  Ralph was named the feature act of the year for Hysterical Management last year and I can see why. 

Saturday, I went to Altoona, Pennsylvania and sat around trying to find something to do until the show started.  I'm glad that somebody told me about  the mall, because I was beginning to think that the only thing  to do was to go to Sheetz.  There was a Sheetz gas station on almost every corner.  That was wierd.  The town was 'interestingly' (for my muse) situated in front of the mountainous backdrop.  The room at Uriah's Pub was very cool.  Everyone at the club was awesome.  I'm still trying to come to grips with the bartender who seemed to turn on the blender, the very loud blender, everytime I got close to a punch line.  Dang old Alabama Slammers!!!!!  It was amusing though.  I'll get on the horn tomorrow and try to get some more dates with folks.  I gotta work.  I love it, I love it!!!!!!!  Peace for now.

Okay!  I don't know why I haven't sat down to update this diary.  I have no excuses.  I'm at the public library in Richmond, Virginia (my old office), trying to get a little work done.  I guess that the big news for me is that I made it out to Columbus, Ohio last Tuesday for the showcase with Dave Stroupe at the Columbus Funnybone.  Here's how it went:

I was the fourth comedian to perform that night.  That number also includes the emcee.  It was an awesome crowd and I felt great about the show.  It reminded me of when I was a little kid.  The night before a little league baseball game where I would lay awake in the bed staring at the ceiling.  I'd have my glove on and sometimes my cleets.  I was so excited that I wouldn't be able to go to sleep.  I'd just lay there thinking about the game.  That's what I felt like before the show.  I was a big ball of energy just ready to burst.  Fortunately, I gave myself plenty of time to think of the signifigance of the occasion.  I put everything into perspective and steadied myself. 

The first guy, after the emcee, went up and performed... that's all I got to say about that.  Then the next performer went up and... let me say this before I explain what happened - He got a standing ovation!  Okay!  Now, this guy went up and immediately grabbed his guitar.  He sang a few songs and then told a few jokes in between.  He also pulled out a flashlight and put it on his guitar.  While singing songs about people in the audience he would shine the light on them and the whole crowd would look at the person being sung about.  Why, out of all of the people that he had to choose from did he once choose me?  I certainly don't want this kind of attention on me before I'm going to perform.  I am not amused, as I am still trying to get mentally prepared to perform.  I try to let it go, but he's a guitar act.  I'm not sure how I feel about guitar acts just yet, but I'm leaning to the negative.  Anyway after this, he starts into his props.  He has the sound guy turn down the house lights and turn on a pre-recorded track then he goes into his bag of tricks.  He starts by putting on a wig and lipsyncing to a John Lennon song.  He's a dead on ringer for Lennon,  then he pulls out this puppet head.  He's got a light on his face and he's got the puppet set up so that a light is shining on his face.  The audience is loving it.  He goes into another song and another impersonation, again with the puppet heads.  Fricken puppets!!!  He then pulls out this contraption that has three puppet heads on it and straps it to his head.  Okay, it starts getting wierd here.  All three of the puppet heads (fricken puppets!!!) light up.  He's controlling the lights with some switches.  He then proceeds to move puppet lips and lights in tune with Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody.  Just like in the video.  It was pretty cool but... dare I say, fricken puppets!!!  The audience is going wild.  I figure, wow!  Great show!  Then the music goes silent and it's dark as all get out in the place.  When the lights come on this guy is standing there in a Howard Stern wig and glasses and could easily pass for the King of all media.  He stands there with his fist raised in the air in a triumphant manner as if he's conquered all of the world while a hard rocking song plays in the background.  The audience is loving it.  I'm thinking... cool, at least the puppets are gone.  Then he turns his back to the audience and with a hard tug at his otherwise nice looking pants they fly off with the ease of Ron Jeremy's prom dates undies.  This guy has pull away pants!!!  I couldn't believe it.  It was at this point that I thought.  Bring back the puppets.  Did this guy actually pull off his pants?!!  Why yes he did.  He turns to the crowd still with his fist raised, sporting what looked to be like the largest package you could imagine.  I looked at the comedian next to me and we exchanged looks of horror.  I didn't think it could get any worse!  I mean, this guy played the guitar, pulled out some puppets and then pulled his pants off.  I had to follow this.  In my mind, I'm thinking, this is a show, but it's not comedy.  But hey, the show wasn't over.  The guy turns his back again to the audience, reaches down and tugs at his bikini drawers that we assume is holding back this enormous package... Is he about to??!!  He wouldn't!!!  Although, you don't want to watch, it's like going by an accident scene.  Even if you are cursing the folks in front of you for rubber necking, you turn your head to view the damage in like manner.  Well, this was no different.  He held in the air a pair of the tightest bikini undies you could possibly imagine and turned to face the crowd.... to everyones surprise he stood there bare legged and exposing... yet another fricken puppet head which covered his 'manhood' with a wicked smile.  This man had a puppet on his penis!  Have I seen it all?  I know now that I haven't.  A penis puppet!!!  Does it have any place in comedy?  He reaches around to his back and fiddles with a lever which operates the penis puppets mouth which lip syncs to the final words of this guys set.  He said good night after which, a large portion of the audience stood to their feet and applauded.  Hmmmmmm! 

Next up to the stage... Odyssey!!!  I was welcomed to the stage with a good response.  I calmly took the mic, which was still in the stand, took two very assertive steps forward and "Pow!" I popped quickly and loudly into the mic.  I stood there for a few seconds, not looking at anyone in the crowd but instead looking over the carnage that the previous comedian had left on the stage.  And I do mean carnage.  There was puppet heads, a guitar and chalk everywhere (he did a bit with a puppet head about Whitney Houston on drugs where he shoved the puppet head into a pile of baby powder... I don't want to talk about it!).  I then said, "It's hard enough just to be a black man in this country, but then I have to come on stage and follow Hanna Barbera!"  The audience went crazy.  I had em'.  I don't care bout no stinkin' standing O.  I got a fricken show to do.  I drove way to far and went through too much stuff to get this showcase to not perform well.  I didn't care who went up in front of me or who came after me,  I knew why I was there.  And it wasn't to get blown off the stage by fricken puppet!!!  For the next 20 minutes that stage was mine.  I gave them genuine comedy at it's best!  And they rewarded me with genuine laughter.  Belly laughs that you get from jokes.  Not throaty laughs or applause that you get from shock and awe!  Thank you all, who have supported me in my efforts to advance in this business.  If you all knew about the flow of comedy show and the possibilities of what can happen then you would know what it means to follow a standing ovation.  Earned or unearned.  You were all on stage with me.  Trust me! 

I was given a few dates for this year and told that I would be put into the next rotation of comedians when they sit down to book for the upcoming year.  Yay!!!!  I'm very happy!  I just want to work.  I was able to sit down and write out some bits that I'd been working on for a while.  I'd say that over the past three months I haven't done that much writing because I was spending so much time on the business end of things.  It all seems to be paying off.  I'm learning more and more about the business of comedy everyday and loving the process.  Until nex time.  Peace and Blessings!

I got to feature at the Richmond, Va.  Funnybone on Wednesday.  It was cool because it was the first extended performance I'd been able to do since getting back from Colombus.  I think I'm going to be referencing things by the Columbus experience for a minute.  I worked with Dan Cummings from Spokane, Washington and Damon Isom.  Dan's a guitar guy that recently put down his guitar, at least for a minute.  He's really helped out the debate on guitar acts for the positive.  He's a great guy with a big, healthy smile and good material.  Also, Kent Rader was there.  Kent was also in Columbus with me when I auditioned.  He was on the show as well trying to get on the circuit.  Kent went up first and did his time, but he admits that he started off slow and never really got the audience where he wanted them to be.  I think that he's going to go out in a couple of months and audition again.  I wish him all the best.  Also, I met Corey Holcomb from Last Comic Standing.  He's hilarious!  He's working in Richmond for the weekend. 

I have a new car!!!  Okay, it's new to me.  It's a blue Chevy Cavilier in pretty good condition.  I haven't named it yet and I'm open to suggestions so if any of you have something in mind, e-mail me with the name.  (click here to e-mail me)    Or go to the contact us page.  I'm done for now.  My gig in Cincinnati got canceled but that was to be expected.  Sommore usually brings her own feature and I knew that, but there was always that possibility.  But everything else is a lock (as much as it can be in this business).  I'm keeping on keeping on.  More phone calls and e-mails on the horizon and hopefully it will continue to pay off. 

Name the car folks!!!!

It's Monday and I'm taking a break from writing so that I can update my diary.  I'm trying to get my material together.  I've been writing down snippets of stuff over the past few months as well as recording on my voice recorder and also giving stuff to my muse.  She's taking a long time to get it together.  She claims to be trying to keep her job... whatever!  Thank you for being a sounding board, muse!  Anyway, Corey Holcomb was a great guy.  Real easy to get along with and very funny. 

I went to Cozzy's comedy club on Saturday night to meet with Carol Pennington.  She's a booker that's given me some work and since she was going to be close to my area I figured that I'd go and meet her in person.  Here's why I like Carol... she's honest.  I mean that kind of honest that doesn't really care about your feelings.  It's this kind of honesty that lets you know where you stand with a person.  I've come to appreciate that kind of honesty in this business.  I got back on Sunday and went to the Bone and then went over to Sharky's @ Innsbrook where the 955 comedy club puts on a Sunday night show for free.  Glenn Robertson, whose one man charitable organization is bringing Odyssey to a comedy club near you, was the headliner for the night.  The folks at Sharky's got a special treat at the end of the night that just about made every persons day.  Some people are just cool!  Thanks Corey!  Thanks Ray!  Thanks Glenn!   I've got to finish getting my stuff ready for tonight at Easy Street.  So I'm out!

Could it be that I heard another comedian do a joke and then took their line???  Possibly.  Whoa is me!!!!!  Thanks, Jen.  I did perform at Easy Street last night and had an otherwise good night.  I remember looking over at this young lady, Jen, who looked back at me with such disappointment on her face that I was bothered.  After the show she told me that she was disappointed in me.  She said that a line that I used in my set was a line that she had heard years ago by a performer on T.V.  I can safely say that I've seen this performer before and that I really admire them.  But I don't admire anyone enough to steal their material.  I'm not a joke thief.  I pride myself on not being a joke thief.  I would never watch another comedian, take their joke and then use it as if it were mine.  At least not on purpose.  But apparently, I was using someone elses line.  The line in question was immediately dropped from my routine never to see the light of a stage again.  I took my wounded pride and my ego and my high fallutin' "I'm 100% original" attitude and poured over the rest of my material... just to triple check.  Hey, mistakes happen and I've admitted it and corrected it.  I know this... If I make anything of myself in this business it will be from working hard, writing original material and being blessed.  I was blessed last night to have a fan of mine put me in check and I can't thank her enough for it.  Thanks Jen!  This ain't a bunch of roses but I hope it'll do.

By the way, I've lost all of my diary entries for January.  I don't know how but they are gone!!!!  Dang ole confusers. 

I went to the Richmond Funnybone and performed on the Apollo night.  I ate it!  I ate it big time.  I was off like a big dog.  I couldn't connect a thought or a sentence.  It was not a pretty sight.  I was tired, I hadn't eaten, and on top of that, I'd changed the oil in my car earlier in the day and was going to take the oil to the store to dispose of it properly... well, I forgot about the oil.  It was riding around in my car and at some point spilled over and soaked my trunk and most of my brain cells.  I was on stage sweating like you wouldn't believe.  I think that people were concerned for me.  I didn't look well and wasn't performing well at all.  Some women kept yelling 'take it off!' while I was on stage.  Apparently, they were ready for the strip show that's going on the following week.  Anyway, I ate it.  I learned some very valuable lessons though that I wouldn't have learned otherwise.  Mike Washington and Sean Sarvis from Washington, D.C. were there and smashed up the show.  Mike is one of the funniest brothers that I know.  He can rock a crowd of any type without using one single curse word.  Sean was performing for the first time in front of a secular crowd in quite a while as he usually performs for churches.  Welcome back Sean.  I'm out.  Dang I ate it!

Okay... I go to the gym with B.T. right?!  We took his car because it's a rental and, well if a car gets smashed up it might as well be the rental.  I had a great workout and was feeling pretty good.  So we went back to the comedy condo and got cleaned up and decided to head out to get some food because we were both pretty hungry.  I suggested that we take different cars because we were going to be going to different places after the lunch was over.  Cool so far?  Well, we start driving and I immediately notice that my steering is more difficult than it normally is.  I pause to think that this may be because I worked out pretty hard, but this was ridiculous.  I then thought that maybe the belt had slipped off and the power steering wasn't working because of that.  But then I thought that the engine would be making a different noise. and wouldn't be running as well as it was.  Thank God that B.T. had to get some gas.  I followed him into a gas station and got out to check out my car.  By the way I wasn't so much mad that the power steering wasn't working, but that the AC hadn't kicked in.  I pulled the lever on the inside of the car to pop the hood and then stepped out of the car.  I walked around to the front of the car, reached between the hood and the grill and pushed the release lever.  I grabbed the hood and lifted it up and was going to grab the prop rod when I noticed a rather large rodent caught up in the belt system on my car.  It looked at me... bared it's teeth and then hissed.  I immediately dropped the hood back down. 

Okay... why is there a possum in my engine?  I propped the hood up again and  once again was greeted by the hissing of an angry possum.  This mug was huge.  I mean huge.  And mad... and stuck.  I'm going to spare you the rest of the details of what happend except to say that some random man in a white van who did not work for animal control, strapped on some big-a leather gloves reached into my engine, grabbed the possum by the neck and got him out of my car.  Lucky for the possum because animal control in VA Beach is slow.  I wouldn't have believed it unless I'd been there either.  The show was great by the way.

I went up to Washington D.C. last week to perform in their open mic competition.  It was pretty cool because the winner of the competition gets a chance to perform again for the chance to win a trip to L.A. to emcee for a week at the Improv in Hollywood.  Pretty cool huh?  Well I didn't win.  I came in second place.  Bummer huh?  If any of you know me you know how I feel about comedy competitions.  I'm no real big fan of them.  I use them for the opportunities that they are.  The opportunity to get in front of people that can get me booked in their clubs.  I think that anyone that goes into a comedy competition with the expectation that they will win and hangs their hopes and dreams on any one particular contest is setting themselves up for a disappointment of gigundus proportions.  Hopefully the booker saw me, liked my stuff and wants me to come back to the club to work.  That's all I hope for. Winning the competition would be gravy on the taters.

I had a pretty relaxed weekend.  I went to the Bone and met Bob Saget and the feature act James Johan.  I think that's his last name.  Either way he's funny.  When you look at the picture of me and Bob on my photos page, just realize that some 'hot' chick asked to see my camera before I took the picture with him and got chicken grease all over the lens.  Consequently, the pictures came out very fuzzy.  I've go to get ready to do this showcase for Heffron Talent in Charlotte, N.C. on Wednesday.  Hope they give me some work!  Anyway, I'm going to workout!  I'll holler at y'all later.