The Thrilling Conclusion

I left the library and noticed it was rather cool and started to rain a bit.  I decided I had enough time before going to IO West that I could grab another couple of layers, a quick bite and an umbrella I hadn't used since I got it in September.

 

According to weather.com December's the rainy season.  "Appropriate," I thought, as my situation was getting near desperate.  My computer was no longer functional, I didn't have a job, and I was quickly running out of money.

 

But at least I had an internship and had my foot in the door of the stand-up scene.

 

At IO West I waited for Sean Cowhig, the light booth guy that was going to train me that night.  I knew him from Emerson as he was in the improv troupe This is Pathetic and graduated the same year as me.  I was also confident that I'd know what to do since I had experience on sound boards at WECB and experience with lights at East Longmeadow High School.

 

The really cool thing about working in that booth is that you get a kind of editorial control over the show.  Your job is to find an out for the show.  At roughly the time the show's supposed to end you have to figure out the joke the troupe on stage should end on and once you hear it cut the lights and blast the music and hard as you can.  It's kind of thrilling and tense, in a good way.

 

That night I saw one of IO West's most popular weekly shows, "Beer Shark Mice" a long-form improv show starring, among others, David Koechner (of "Anchorman" and SNL) and Neil Flynn (the janitor on "Scrubs").  That show was the most consistent of the three or four I saw.

 

Now in the middle of January my internship will take place exclusively on Tuesdays.  So, for that reason, I decided to go to the comedy show at Tokio.  It was a show I'd heard about, hosted by Ruby Wendall.  I wasn't sure if I'd ever play on the show, but I thought I might as well check it out since I hadn't in all the time I'd known about it.

 

It wasn't bad.  What I liked was that it was a show that had a central area for performance.  In a way it was sort of the opposite setup of the All Asia, wherein there's a bar in the middle and a stage in the corner.  Here the bar's on the side and there's a performance and audience area in the center of the room segregated from the smoking section (LA still has smoking unlike New York and Massachusetts).

 

The show itself was a little blue but the acts were quite professional.  The first one up was Jeff Richards from SNL.  I saw him once before at the Ramada a few months ago.

 

Throughout there was a birthday party for a young woman and it seemed like a bachelorette party.  So that was fun I guess.

 

I walked around the corner and had a chat with a bouncer at IO West about science fiction and music.  The next night I'd be an intern.

 

I got to pick the pre-show music and call all but two student shows.  It's definitely easier to call the end of the show when the troupe is talented.  It sounds like it would go without saying, but if a troupe is inexperienced and are having trouble making connections then it's actually a bit suspenseful, "Will they make it on time?  Is there a joke in her somewhere?  Is there something that has the rhythm of a joke?  The whole thing was not unlike working the booth at the Comedy Studio.

 

On Thursday I went to another appointment for a temp agency.  This was an industry related temp agency.  I was told "corporate dress" but I still opted out of wearing the suit jacket and instead went for my trademark blazer, white shirt, tie, shoes, and suit pants.  I was off to Beverly Hills.  I typed slower than last week's 47 WPM, this time it was only 45 WPM.  They tested me on Microsoft Word, Excel, and Power Point.  I did okay considering the lack of experience I have on the more obscure functions on each program, but it was repetitive and intuitive enough that I was able to teach myself.  I know what a macro is.

 

Oh, and I have a job now.  I got a job starting the very next day from a very enthusiastic temp agency person.  "That's on the way here!" I observed.  It would be no problem to get there.  It was in an ideal location.  But, I also found out I was getting a laptop for Christmas and a case.  The only catches were that I would have to stay home for the delivery, on the day I would start my new job and that the second Friday would be on the same night as my college gig.  The laptop was due on Friday and er--something else.  I would be in much better shape than only days earlier.

 

I was also supposed to call the people who booked me for the college gig.  The original deal was that I'd be getting a room, food, and admission to other events to participate in a contest.  I offered to host it for a fee in addition to that.  The deal fell through.

 

When I got back to my apartment I saw a door tag from FedEx.  "Oh yeah, the case was due on Thursday!"  So, I called them up telling them to hold it and see if they could hold the laptop itself as well.

 

They could not.  Apparently they were shipped through two different services, so I'd just wait on Saturday, when a second attempt would be made for the laptop, and I'd sign for it then.

 

That night I went to Sabor Cafe.  I was promised a spot the last time I was there and didn't get one, so Rich offered me one the next time I was there.  I went to redeem my coupon.

 

It was about as it usually goes.  I like the room.  I didn't do particularly well, but I like the room.  Also, the internet access was cheaper than at FedEx Kinko's.

 

Friday I started my job.  I was working at a direct-to-video production house where I helped institute a new filing system.  As I'm a fan of problem-solving and terminology, I was in danger of getting carried away.  I came up with a system that involved abbreviations for file types and extensions for specific files within a type, should they be needed, all spectacularly exciting stuff you can be sure.

 

And even more exciting was that I got the laptop I'm writing to you on when I got home from the job.  And then I wasted time.

 

Today, I wasted more time playing with my new toy and then went on some errands.  First I returned a CD to the library from a week earlier, a time when things seemed less certain.  After the library I went downtown to pick up the laptop case and mail some last minute cards.

 

But at the library, I borrowed some movies because, unlike most of the comics around here, I won't be going home for the holidays, and I won't be going out to comedy shows for the next few days.  Actually, for the first time in a while I won't have much I have to do since I have a job, if temporarily, and I have an internship and an upcoming improv class and I have a new laptop.  I've accomplished the first part of this mission.

 

Thank you, I'm Eric Cheung.  I'm on MySpace and Live Journal.

 

Upcoming gigs

January 4th:  Thursday.  9pm.  Karma Coffee House.  "Organic Comedy."  Hosted by Rich Kuras.  FREE.