Best Birthday Ever

Well, you guys… my birthday curse seems to have been broken. Cause I just had the best birthday I’ve had in my 21… OK, 25… 34 years on God’s great earth! Just got back from Boston where I attended the 4th Annual Women In Comedy Festival. What an amazing weekend! Funny ladies (and a few guys) from all over the country doing what we all do best. It doesn’t get much better than that!

I was selected as one of the festival’s headliners — along with my good girlfriend Kelly MacFarland, Erin Judge and the fantastic-mazing Wendy Liebman and Carol Leifer. What an honor! On Saturday afternoon the five of us sat on a panel where we talked about great moments, challenges, and our creative processes. I clearly have no delusions of being in the same class as Ms. Leifer and Ms. Liebman, but it was cool to pretend for an hour and a half. I told the panel and attendees how, when I was no more than a month or two into stand-up, I e-mailed Wendy thru her website with a ton of newbie comedian questions. She took the time to e-mail me back and answer each one and even offer words of encouragement. She didn’t have to do that obviously and I know now just how annoying I must have been, but I’ll always heart her for it. In addition to being super hilarious, she’s one of the nicest ladies on the planet — no wonder she’s been so successful!

Lets see… other things that made it the best birthday ever:

1) When I was leaving the panel I got back to my car and there was a police officer writing me a ticket because the meter had expired. He said “This your car?” Well actually it sounded more like “This yaaaaaa caaaaa?” I nodded yes and he told me I was too late. I told him it was my birthday and he said “Oh yeah? Show me your license as proof.” I gave it to him and he ripped up the ticket. Yaaaaaay!

2) Got to hang out with a friend I hadn’t seen in over 10 years, and see some really cool places in Boston — including the neighborhood where Mark Wahlberg grew up. Yeah… I said that.

3) I lost my brand new Droid Razr Saturday nite… and got it back about 10 minutes before I left for the airport on my way back home.

4) Red velvet cheesecake with whipped cream and sprinkles from Cheesecake Factory.

5) Oh… and Carol Leifer and Wendy Liebman said they thought I was funny. I guess that was kinda nice too. #PlayingItCoolWhileScreamingOnTheInside

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE WOMEN IN COMEDY FESTIVAL TO ALL MY LADY COMEDIAN FRIENDS!!! GO, GO, GO NEXT YEAR. I GUARANTEE YOU’LL HAVE AN AMAZING TIME! I’m definitely going back. In fact, I wish I had a time machine so I could travel back and attend the first 3 festivals. Thanks so much to the organizers: Michelle Barbera, Maria Ciampa, Hillary Buckholtz, and Elyse Schuerman, all the other folks behind the scenes, and all the hilarious comics I met and got to work with for the first time. I had a blast! See you guys next year. Same bat time. Same bat place.

Very Funny Weekend — a photo essay

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Just letting you know up front — this one’s an epic ;)

I just got home from Chicago and the inaugural TBS/Just For Laughs Chicago Comedy Festival. I wasn’t in town long enough to catch most of the shows I wanted to see, but from what I hear the shows were great. I went there and came home in less than 24 hours. Here’s a recap of what went down… :)

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Patron and Grey Goose bottles just chilling on the dresser — the hotel they put us up in was way nicer than anywhere I should ever be staying. I did my best to ignore all the fancy liquor and yummy treats, but I did take full advantage of the fluffy robe! ;) Check out the thumbnail on the far right… TBS gave us a swag bag that contained — among other things — a bottle of Remy and a flask shaped like a cell phone. It even came with a cell phone carrying case. Perfect for sneaking alcohol into sporting events and concerts carrying small bits of water to the gym. BOY do they know comics!!!

Me with Wendy Liebman

Me with Wendy Liebman

The show taped at Zanies Comedy Club in Old Town Chicago. During our downtime, I got to spend some time with the hilarious Wendy Liebman. I’ve been a huge fan for years, and it was a pleasure to be working on the same show with her. When I first got into comedy I sent her an e-mail thru her website just introducing myself and telling her what a big fan I was and how excited I was about stand-up, and she wrote me the nicest e-mail back and was so encouraging. I’m relatively sure I printed it out and have it somewhere… I should try and dig it up!

This was the show set

This was the show set

As far as the actual show and taping, Murphy’s Law was in full effect — as it often is on big days in my life… Continue reading →