I Am So Nosy
One of the things I enjoy doing is going out. Whether it’s going out to eat, go for a walk, go shopping, whatever, I like to go out. I have always loved watching people and trying to figure out what makes them tick. I try to figure out what their story might be and if I’m having trouble doing that, then oftentimes I will make up a story for them.
When I lived in Vancouver, my friend Laura and I would go to comedy shows 3-4 nights/week. Before the weekend shows at the clubs, we would regularly go out for dinner prior to heading to the club. When we got to the restaurants, we would scope out the joint looking for an interesting couple to sit next to – the best couples were those on first dates.
I don’t know why I find first dates so fascinating – here are two people trying to get to know each other to see if they are compatible beyond the initial meeting. What’s fun is to try and figure out how they met – were they “set up”, did they meet on-line or was it a sober date after a drunken encounter at the bar? Generally, by eavesdropping on the conversation, you can find that out. As the blog title states, I am so nosy.
The reason I’m writing this blog is because we were witness to a different kind of encounter yesterday at a Father’s Day Brunch.
Tim and I were waiting for our table and there was quite a lineup gathering behind us. A lady who looked like she never dressed up but was dressed up for this occasion (yes, I’m judging her based on what she was wearing and how she looked) came blowing through the lineup to get two people who were towards the back of the queue. She made quite a production about how the little boy was her son and had to introduce him to the host at the restaurant. The lady had a very nervous energy about her, and I wondered why her son came in without her, accompanied by another lady that didn’t look like she belonged in the picture. I am so nosy.
It turns out that they were seated on the other side of the lounge from us, but we heard everything she said to her little boy. It appeared as though the gentleman seated at the table with them was the boy’s father, but it was the mother and her actions that intrigued me the most. Whenever she (the mother) went to the buffet or did anything, she had to announce it and preface it with “your mommy” as if the boy didn’t know that she was his mommy. And boy was she loud - we couldn’t help but overhear her fawning over her child. It seemed very much over the top and lacked a certain genuine touch (from where we were seated).
To top it all off, the lady (lady #2) that escorted the little boy in had a notebook with her that she was writing notes in. She didn’t eat from the buffet and didn’t appear to be anything more than cordial with the child’s parents. Any time the little boy went anywhere with either of his parents, #2 followed them with notebook at hand.
Boy am I ever nosy.
The parents were most likely having a court supervised visit with their child and the mother with her nervous energy seemed desparate to try and impress lady #2. Why do I even care and why am writing about this?
Well, I thought about that situation a lot after we left. If I am right, then how sad must that lady have been to have lost control over her life enough to have her child taken from her. I instantly knew when I had Vaughn that I will do anything to make sure he is safe and protected. I say that now, but how do I know my life won’t spin out of control to end up seeing him on special occasions at a brunch buffet?
I guess that it’s up to me and Tim to ensure that we do our best every day to ensure that we do what we set out to do. It’s no longer just us – we have to live our lives thinking about how our actions will have an effect on our son and how he grows up in this world. I’ve always maintained that being a parent is the most important job anyone could ever have. I say job because it’s work – hard work.
There’s no one right way to parent a child. We’ll make mistakes and plenty of them I’m sure. I just can’t help but be sad for that lady who was obviously trying so hard to impress lady #2. I especially feel sad for that little boy – how lost he must feel knowing that his parents love him but can’t be with him. Who is there to kiss his tears away when he skins his knee? Who reads him a story to help him sleep at night? A little soul should never feel lost.
I promise to do my best, to do the best I can. I have to go now – I have a baby boy to love like crazy.
Say “Breastmilk”
On June 7, we had a gathering to celebrate the arrival of our little boy. We were so happy that grandparents, friends and family were able to join us for an open house and barbeque. My friend Karen was the hostess with the mostess – and with the help of her husband Terry and stepdaughter Eve decorated the rec centre and got everything ready for the day.
When I first walked into the hall, the first thing I noticed was the cake – custom made for us by Buttercream Bake Shoppe. We have a sock monkey nursery and the cake was a sock monkey face. It was so beautiful I wanted to cry (so I did).
Here’s a picture of Karen holding the guest of honour:
We had grandparents from both sides of the family attending. My mom and dad came up on Friday night and mom babysat for us Saturday while Tim took his mom to a movie and dad took me to Costco to shop for Sunday. We’re really lucky to have such a good little boy who doesn’t mind who is holding him. In fact, I think everyone took a turn on Sunday and he didn’t squawk the whole time. Here’s a picture of my mom and dad with Vaughn:
and one of Jodi and Vaughn with Elsa:
Everyone was great and pitched in to help with the food and drinks – it really was a great day. It was so nice to visit with people I haven’t seen in a long time. In fact, my Girl Guide leader made an appearance. I asked when I get my mommy badge but unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) they don’t give those out to Girl Guides.
Vaughn’s wardrobe consisted of an IKKS aviator suit and a Bebe Bean bamboo hat. His aviator suit was a little big but he looked so adorable in it and he insisted on wearing it – what’s a mom to do? Here’s a few more shots of people holding our baby boy:
Angela Lavender
Karen O'Keefe
Sarah Sikander
Bradford
Ed and Lorraine Bagyinka (Jodi's folks)
Bradford took a lot of these pictures, so thanks to him for that! Instead of saying “cheese” everyone had to say “breastmilk” and then smile for the camera.
To end the day, we had a barbeque and my two uncles (Jim and John) took over the cooking of the burgers.
What a great day all round! Thanks to everyone who came out – it was truly a wonderful celebration. Here’s a picture of me, Tim and Elsa with our spoiled rotten little man:
Great Expectations
When you are expecting a baby, you dream about what life is going to be like after the little bundle of bundles arrives into the world. You imagine a time of bliss, coos and never feeling more in love with your partner and can’t wait to be on this magical journey together. Then your water breaks and your dreams wash away and reality starts to sink in.
Labour and delivery is different for everyone – mine was induced so I was expecting it to be a little bit harder based on stories I had heard. The contractions started at around 1 AM but I was able to sleep through them. At around 4:30 they were getting stronger and closer together so I had a shower to see if that would relieve the pain. The hot water ran out so that ended that and by 5:30 I woke up Tim to tell him we should go back to the hospital.
We checked in at 6:27 and at 6:28 my water broke all over the floor in the triage room. It continued to trickle out whenever I stood up and I left a little trail or puddle everywhere I went. What was sad was that as strong as the contractions were, I was barely dilated. However, because my water had broken they decided to keep me at the hospital instead of sending me home to wait things out.
I was told that I was getting transferred to a labour and delivery room when a lady came in screaming like she had kittens inside her clawing her trying to get out. She got bumped to the top of the list and I was left to hang out in the triage room. Both the baby and I were doing good though and I had a relative amount of freedom to get up and walk around, go to the bathroom as required and even was able to eat a small meal. When I transferred into the labour room, I was not going to be allowed to eat anything so it was important to get something in me to keep my energy level up.
Finally, at 11:30, I was transferred to a labour room. My nurse was pretty new, as she was unable to get my IV into me, didn’t know how to work the bed and didn’t really give me the sense of security that I was hoping for. She was very pleasant, but when the more senior nurses came in to assist or relieve her, I felt much better having them around. They hooked me up to a continuous fetal monitor which meant that I was unable to get up without a whole lot of effort and assistance from the nurse.
The pains were getting a lot stronger after the Oxytocin started to take effect, but I was still only 3 cm dilated. By the way, there is not a scientific way to determine how dilated you are. I don’t know why I would have felt more comfortable with an instrument inserted inside me, but really and truly, I would have. Most likely because it wasn’t always the same person who was checking me, so how do you know that one’s measurements are the same as another’s? I myself would have felt more trusting having an instrument such as calipers do the measuring but there are just some things you have to get over when giving birth. Modesty would be the first.
I was offered some laughing gas to get through the contractions and it really did nothing for the pain, but I did enjoy the buzz. Apparently, the first tank they brought in wasn’t working so when they brought in the second tank, I felt a tiny bit of relief but that was short lived. I was offered a shot of morphine, but it was such a low dose and did nothing, so we decided to go straight to the epidural. It was about 3:30 PM and that was the only time Tim left me that day – he couldn’t watch me get the needle.
I was then about 5-6 cm dilated so things were moving along. I had a steady stream of doctors and interns coming to check on me, and even in my fog, I couldn’t help wondering if there were any “Grey’s Anatomy”-type subplots happening with the staff. Were there any Meredith and Christina BFF’s? Was there a George somewhere pining for an Izzy who would never love him back? I digress.
I went from 5-9 cm in the blink of an eye and then the delivering doctor came in to do one final check. She figured since her hand was already inside me she might as well go that one bit further and she proceeded to tell me that I had a 7 lb baby and shouldn’t have any problem giving birth vaginally. Excuse moi? She could tell that just from the head size? And should her hand have been all the way up inside me?
This is where it started to get a little tricky. When I was contracting through the later stages of labour, the baby’s heartbeat was going down to 100-105 but then bounced back up to a healthy 135 after the contraction was done. When I hit 10 cm dilated and was ready to start pushing, the heartbeat went up to 180-182 but didn’t come back down.
The obstetrician called in a birth team and I could tell they had some concerns – they don’t call in birth teams for nothing. I knew the heart rate shouldn’t be that high and I couldn’t take my eyes off the monitor – I was willing the baby to slow things down but it just wasn’t happening. It was at that point the doctor informed me that they needed to use the vacuum. I had been pushing for about 40 minutes and the baby was obviously in some distress. I agreed to the vacuum.
Tim reminded me that the vacuum/forceps was the one thing I didn’t want used during the birth, but I have to say that in that moment, all I cared about was the safe delivery of our child. I told Tim the baby was in distress and needed to come out. After 6 successive and huge pushes and the aid of the vacuum, Vaughn Douglas Riley was born into this world. To find out we had a son after almost 40 weeks of pregnancy was a beautiful thing.
Vaughn was put on my tummy for a nanosecond before they whisked him away to do what they needed to do. He scored 9 out of 10 on both of his Apgar tests (which I later found out is incredible) and as quickly as the birthing team came in, they left – they were obviously not needed. Vaughn’s heart rate was stablized and he weighed in at a healthy 6 lbs 15 oz and 19 inches long.
I had a teeny bit of tearing so while the doctor was stitching me up, Tim got to feed Vaughn his first bottle and get a good look at our boy. Since I had been fasting since arriving at the hospital, I was given a sandwich to curb my hunger. It came up as fast as it went down so we had to resort to apple juice and crackers. Yum.
Due to the fact I had impaired glucose tolerance during my pregnancy, Vaughn’s blood sugar levels had to be tested 4 times after birth to make sure they were within the normal parameters. They were fine, but it broke my heart every time they had to put the needle in his foot to get blood. He was not a happy camper and it was very hard to hear him cry.
We were transferred to a private room and the nurse did some more checking and at about midnight I was finally able to try and get some sleep. Yeah right, I had this beautiful little boy laying beside me and I couldn’t take my eyes off of him.
In the morning, I was pleasantly surprised to see Tim arrive back at the hospital with my mom by his side. Mom had come up the day before and was so excited to meet her newest little grandbaby. Auntie Fran snuck in later posing as Tim’s mom, as only grandparents and spouses were allowed in as visitors. It was a great day, but I was grateful for the peace and quiet later in the day to try and get some rest.
Vaughn had some troubles with breastfeeding. I didn’t have any milk right away and he was having trouble latching on. Apparently, the vacuum can cause problems with the baby’s jaw and does also give them quite a headache. We tried every time we needed to feed him but always had to resort to bottle feeding formula. The lactation consultants (or latchosaurus’ as I came to call them) were really rather rough with both him and me and I was left feeling a little bit frustrated.
While at the hospital, they started me on a breast pump to try and get my milk to come in. I rejoiced if I got one tiny drop of colustrum in the bottom, but it didn’t happen every time I pumped. However, if Vaughn wasn’t able to latch on, I was determined he was still going to get his nourishment from me and I begged my boobs to start producing the milk he needed so badly.
A day later and we’re leaving the hospital…
There are so many stressful things about bringing a baby home. Here is this precious little life that you are now solely responsible for. You don’t have anyone at your beck and call – you can’t just run out into the hallway and grab a nurse who will answer all your questions. Our biggest problem was the gosh darn car seat. Was it done up right? Why couldn’t we agree on how he should be sat in it? All of the frustration and anxiety of being a new mother came out towards Tim and the car seat. We finally agreed he was snug and not going to fall out and proceeded to check ourselves out of the hospital.
As Tim drove the car out of the parkade, The Sweetest Thing by U2 happened to be playing on the radio. Now, I know it’s not necessarily the loviest song, but there are a few lines that really stuck out – “a blue eyed boy meets a brown eyed girl” and “baby’s got blue skies up ahead”. Tim made eye contact with me in the rear view mirror and we both started crying.
And thus began our journey into parenthood.
In All Honesty
After a few weekends of feeling a little shut in, Tim and I decided to head over to the Toad ‘n’ Turtle to check out Daryl Makk’s recently relocated Comedy Detour. I was wondering how they would accomodate a comedy show, since it is very close to my work and I go there now and again for lunch.
The room itself was set up nicely, not really a bad seat in the place. Not a whole lot of seating, so you know you’re in for a more intimate show. Also, the lighting wasn’t truly dark, it appeared very easy for the performers to see the audience and other audience members to see each other. I could clearly see my paper to write on. Why does this matter? Well, I’ll get to that in a few minutes.
Our server was very attentive and accomodating right from the start. She seemed to know what a comedy show was about and made sure to keep her voice down so as not to detract from the comics on the stage. And when one table got a little out of control, she promptly got them out of there with very little fuss.
The only problem I had with the venue was the bathroom (and I visit bathrooms a lot more these days). One of the stalls had a pluggage problem, the taps were leaky and it was freezing cold. It was not a very well kept bathroom. I don’t know if that matters to anyone else, but it does to me.
We decided to have dinner there, because I do like to support the venues and eat a meal whenever possible. I’m on a bit of a restricted diet right now because of my pregnancy, so trying to find something that’s not going to spike my blood sugars is sometimes tricky. Thankfully, they have an extensive menu so it was pretty easy to find something that worked for me. I really enjoyed my meal and I’m pretty sure Tim did too – very good size portions for a good price = excellent value.
A bit of background before I start in on my thoughts about the show. Earlier last week, Lars Callieou (who was the headliner) wrote a note on facebook stating that although he liked what I had to say about him, he wanted to know what I didn’t like about his set, or thought he could improve upon. So now is confession time – this is the first time I went to a show with that frame of mind. I’m normally very optimistic and expect good things – I don’t always get it, but I always hope that the show is going to be entertaining.
So, here’s how I felt – in all honesty.
Donovan Deschner was the MC and I felt like he was doing too much crowd work off the top. Back to my thought at the beginning of this blog; the room - smaller, the crowd – not a big one, the lighting – not completely dark – and that made for a more less responsive audience. There is something about the dark that makes people more likely to respond to an MC. And chances are that in a crowd of 20-30 people, very few might be celebrating something. It just seemed to me like Donovan was trying to do a club job of MC’ing in a room that didn’t need it.
I say this because when Donovan came up between Derek and Lars and just did his material, he was far more likeable, seemed much more in his element and got the audience laughing. His first 10 minutes, however, was awkward from where I was sitting. But I did happen to grab a good picture of him:
Derek Sweet took the stage for a guest spot. Sometimes, I feel like Derek is reciting a soliliquoy versus interacting with the audience and Saturday night was one of those times. While I can see an improvement in his writing, his delivery didn’t feel natural and his set suffered for it. There were some shining moments, and I do very much like his bit about his shyness in public bathrooms and his shopping for a foster child - those came across as real and relatable.
Then came up Lars Callieou. It’s no secret I enjoy Lars – he always makes me laugh. Why? Because he is that guy next door with a funny view of the world he grew up in versus how things are in the present time. However, since he asked and I’m being honest, there were a few things I noticed this time that perhaps I might have overlooked before.
When Lars came to the stage, he mentioned something about the decor of the room, which was actually funny, but then when he turned around and started talking about the curtains and opening them up, I felt that was a bit of a time waster and set interrupter. He then mentioned a few times that bits he was doing worked or didn’t work, and I don’t know that I care for that at a professional show – I like to feel as though that person has put thought and effort into that particular set for that particular audience and we’re not guinea pigs. That is what open mics are for, n’est pas?
On the whole though, Lars didn’t fail to impress me and I think the audience was very receptive to him and his humour. He did go down the blue road a few times, but always pulled it back just before it got too dirty on us. (Sidenote to Lars on the the Kama Sutra bit – look up Hot Carl) . And since he asked, there was one bit that just didn’t do it for me (and as always, it’s just my opinion) and that was the family picture done by photo radar.
Overall, a very good night, as per usual. The new venue is great – there was very little disruption, the staff seemed to be very on the ball and we didn’t want for anything. If I could improve on anything, it would be the lighting. I would also like to comment on how dapper all the guys looked and how lovely Esther looked working the door. It was a very classy night, and I’m looking forward to hitting a few more shows before the baby arrives.
If I Were A Rich Girl
After 2 useless nights of trying to get through to the Yuk Yuk’s box office and no response from my on-line reservation request, Tim and I decided to head down to the casino and see if we could get in to the Sunday night show that Nikki Payne was putting on. It was Tim’s 40th birthday so we wanted to do something.
Thankfully there were tickets and the reason given for the lack of response was the big influx of calls due to it being opening weekend. Okay, but if you know you’re going to be swamped with calls, shouldn’t you hire a few more people to make sure everyone gets looked after?
Then to top it all off, we get upstairs and when I inquire about a certain table, I was informed that a “rich guy” reserved it. Wouldn’t it have been enough to say it was reserved? Did you have to throw the “rich guy” thing in there? Did we look that destitute? I wonder how said “rich guy” would have reacted had he known that is how he was being referred to. Big whoopee, so the guy has money. How about next time answer your cotton pickin’ phone so I too might be able to reserve a table. Hmph.
Anyway, Gary was able to find us a fairly decent table where we didn’t have to fight with a big crowd or sit with a bunch of strangers so that’s nice. We settled in and were looking forward to the show.
Jay Brown was the MC for the evening. Here’s where I’m conflicted. The Jay Brown that appears as “Boomclack” on the Comedy Couch (a Vancouver message board for comics) didn’t seem to be the same person. The Jay Brown that I saw last night was quite affable (although he was very colourful with his comedy). He did a stellar job of MC’ing the show and keeping the crowd interested. Very different from the individual whose posts I read, oftentimes with distain.
I think what comics need to keep in mind is that when they post on a public forum people will formulate opinions of them based on what they say and how they say it. It’s not just your stage show that gains you fans, it’s also how you conduct yourself off stage – that often gives people more of an insight into your true character, and yes, it will count in their overall opinion of you.
So what is my overall opinion of Jay Brown? Well, I don’t agree with everything he says on Comedy Couch, but then again, not everybody agrees with my opinions either. I did find him to be entertaining, certainly edgy and is someone I would definitely see again.
Dan Guiry had the first guest spot last night. Dan spoke very quietly and slowly and it took the audience a bit to catch up with him. I like Dan best when he has his guitar with him and he’s doing his quirky songs. He was just a little flat for me – I’m used to seeing more oomph in his performances than what I saw last night. I did like his sex on mushrooms bit though.
Manolis Zontanos had the other guest spot. Manolis was on his way home to Toronto after touring out west for a bit. While I wasn’t completely blown away, he was entertaining enough. Somehow though I expect more from an experienced headliner, but that’s also why I don’t always like headliners doing guest spots – I feel like they don’t feel like they have to try as hard and therefore don’t impress me as much as when they do their own headlining set. That’s just my observation.
Can monkeys do jazz feet? Ask Sean Lecomber, he’ll tell you. From the very second he walked on stage, I was laughing. Sean has an easy going manner with an underbite of sarcasm that gets me every time I see him. I sincerely enjoy the way this guy’s mind works and I’m looking forward to seeing him again on Wednesday as he competes for $25,000 in the Yuk Yuk’s Great Canadian Laugh Off. A very funny and enjoyable middle act on his way to being a bona fide headliner very soon (I hope!).
Then the main attraction – the diminutive in size but gigantic in stage presence – Nikki Payne. Nikki was just here not too long ago and we got to see her close up and personal. However, seeing her again in a big full room (with no sound system hiccups) made it that much more entertaining. She’s a dirty little girl, but she certainly gets away with it.
It was interesting to hear a more elaborate story about her special gift (one of her kidneys) to her father. In between fits of air humping and spritzing with the front row, there were some good laughs at her time in the hospital.
Nikki pokes fun at herself but I love how she recognizes her “disability” gives her an advantage in her chosen profession. It’s not always easy to understand her, but then when someone does have a speech impediment I think the audience tends to pay more attention – they don’t want to miss anything.
It was so great to see Nikki again, and I’m looking forward to some of the upcoming shows at Yuk Yuk’s new club in Calgary. I have to find me a way to get me some more money though so I can be some “rich chick” who reserved that seat.
A girl can dream…
Yukkin’ It Up At The Great Canadian Laugh Off
On Wednesday night, there were a few firsts – it was the unofficial first night of the new Yuk Yuk’s in Calgary and it was the first night of the Great Canadian Laugh Off competition. There was a mix of pros and amateurs vying for a spot in the semi-finals where the winner will receive a trip to Toronto to compete for the grand prize of $25,000. Why wouldn’t someone want to go for it?
I have to say it was nice to be back at Yuk Yuk’s – I’ve always found they know how to do it right when it comes to comedy. Even though it was a brand new location, there was some experienced people running the show. I loved the wait staff – our girl in particular was so polite – it was refreshing. It’s sad that I’ve become accustomed to rude or barely existent wait staff in comedy clubs so when someone shows the slightest bit of friendliness they outshine the competition. I hope that keeps up, because atmosphere and service counts a lot for my comedy experiences.
As many people know, last year I was a judge for most of the preliminary rounds as well as for the finals. While I wasn’t a judge on Wednesday night, I did take some notes and for the most part, I agree with the judges as to who deserved to go through to the semi-finals. Here’s how I saw the night:
First up was Edmonton’s Welby Santos. Welby didn’t do anything that I hadn’t heard before. I realize he’s drawing from real life experiences but to be honest, his take wasn’t particularly fresh and the whole bad Asian stereotype has been done much better by many others. He wasn’t horrible but not completely memorable either.
Amanda Brooke Perrin was the next one up and I just realized was the only female on for the night. While Amanda’s stage presence is getting better, not everybody gets her right away (I don’t think) and it takes a while for people to realize she’s not nervous, it’s a persona that she has. If she did a better job of leading from one joke to another I think it might help the overall flow of her set, but she did stick to a lot of her tried and true material. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to get her a spot in the semis.
After Amanda came Mike Tod and I think he would be the first to say it wasn’t his best moment. I’m conflicted when it comes to Mike, because I think he’s adorable and has so much personality but none of that shone through on Wednesday night. He was all over the place and didn’t have the sparkle in his eye that he normally has. Not much more to say except it was a disappointment.
A new to Alberta comic, Alex Roach, was up next. Alex was certainly likeable but I think he needs to own his material a little more. I just wasn’t convinced. However, for someone just getting started he’s doing a pretty admirable job.
Lyle Bateman had one of his better sets that I’ve seen in a while. He has the confidence, but it wasn’t until he started doing his rap that he got the audience on his side. He’s such a horrible dancer and he knows it but that is what makes him more endearing I suppose. Certainly the not the best of the night, but for darn sure not the worst of the night.
Tim Reynolds changed up his act and did his material “beatnik” style with blue glasses and bongo drums. It made his overall set more interesting than usual but it did also seem a little weird. Not sure about that set.
Then a breath of fresh air, Lars Callieou, came to the stage. I have never seen Lars do a bad set and Wednesday night was no exception. He started strong and stayed there. I liked the fact he added some new material – it’s so hard because I’ve seen so many of these people so many times that often I have to go by how the audience reacts to gauge my reaction. However, Lars is someone I’ve seen a few times, know his material, but enjoy it every time just the same. And that for me is the difference – when you can see someone over and over again and you can’t wait to hear your favourite bits of theirs. Not every comic is like that for me. Well done Lars!
I didn’t understand a single word Scott Porteous said. Not one word.
Daryl Makk had a good strong set, but one would expect that from a professional comic such as Daryl. Daryl did seem to go over a little over his allotted time and I was correct in that assumption – had he stayed in the 5 minutes, rumour has it he may have taken first place for the night.
Last up was Michael Harrison, someone I haven’t seen for a long time but remember well. I thought Michael’s set was clean, clever and well done. I was honestly surprised when he didn’t make it through to the semi-finals, because I thought for sure he had one of the top 3 sets of the night. He is polished, polite and I think well on his way to being a name in Canadian comedy.
Comedy competitions (well, comedy in general) are always subjective aren’t they? You’re relying on 3 people who may or may not have a strong comedy background, a love for the art and know what makes a good performance to score you high enough points to get you through to the next round. I hope each and every comic stays true to their art and doesn’t pander to what they think will get them the highest marks, because you never do know, and at the end of the day, you still have to look at yourself in the mirror. I like to think the judges are smart enough to see through crap and recognize individuality and give points for that. I hope.
Anyway, moving on to the semi-finals are Lars Callieou and Daryl Makk, both excellent choices in my mind.
Clark Robertson closed out the show with a fairly solid 15 minutes.
Oh yeah, I have to say Stan Thomson did a great job of MC’ing – he kept that show moving right along and made sure it was done in good time. So nice to get out of there by 10:00 (and that’s after being a social butterfly for half an hour or so).
I’m really looking forward to next week - there are a lot of new names I haven’t seen before and I think it will make for interesting spectatorship. I’m hoping they will let the general public in by then so the comics have a bigger audience to perform to.
Delivery Makes A Difference
I received a phone call last night about 4:30 from James Moore asking me if I had fun last Monday for the opening night of Comedy Monday Night at Broken City and why there wasn’t a blog. The reason why there wasn’t a blog is because I was up and down, walking around outside and didn’t pay full attention to the show. For me, the seating was so uncomfortable and I was so tired that I didn’t feel I would do James’ good work justice. I’m very happy to know, however, that Comedy Monday Night was able to raise over $3000 for Inn From The Cold, an organization who helps homeless families try and get back on their feet. Sorry James, I guess I can’t always be “on”.
When James spoke with me, he told me that there was a potentially big surprise guest coming down and I should make every effort to get there. He wouldn’t tell me who, but did promise that he would tell me after if they didn’t come who it was. Thankfully, that individual did show up and oh my goodness, James was right, it was huge.
What an amazing lineup of comics last night – 2 first timers mixed in with a bunch of seasoned professionals sprinkled with a few rising stars and you have one incredible show. I don’t expect it will be like this every week, but James and the Comedy Monday Night crew sure set the bar very high last night!
I didn’t take pictures of everybody – not everybody likes having their picture taken. And not everybody likes to have something said about them so I may pass over a few people. But what I liked most about the show – there were only 10 people, it started one time, everyone kept to their allotted time and the show was done by 10:00. That is a show I can go out to on a regular basis and I for one appreciated getting to bed at a decent time last night.
Donovan Deschner took the bullet spot last night. It’s a tough one – most of the audience was either comics or new to Comedy Monday Night. It took Donovan a few minutes to “grow into” his spot, but once he did he was fine. He doesn’t make it down to CMN very often (in fact, I think I’ve only seen him there once before) but I think he fits in very nicely. Maybe a little more energy would have gotten the crowd with him a little sooner but who knows? I don’t know why I always capture Donovan making an “I just smelled poo” face but they are great expressions…
First timer Dana Wallace (did I spell that right?) got up next – she had a pretty decent first effort. Better than some I’ve seen lately.
What a treat to see Trent McClellan – he was prepping for his big trip to Cranbrook. Even though we just saw him on Saturday night at The Laugh Shop he made us laugh just as hard. I particularly enjoy his Air Canada bit. He handled the interruption by his agent, George Shapiro, rather nicely as well. I think what makes Trent so special is his ability to relate to an audience – with him, delivery does make a difference.
Graham Davidson took to the stage next. Graham is originally from Calgary currently residing in Niagra Falls (I believe). Graham’s style of comedy is pretty low key but I did find him quite likeable. Not too much about this guy on-line which leads me to believe he is also quite humble.
Next up was the surprise guest, a “special gift” to us from James Moore. It was none other than Nikki Payne. I’ve seen Nikki a few times, but was never as close as I was last night. Unfortunately her set got off to a bit of a rocky start due to technical difficulties, but Nikki was a pro and kept on going. Once the microphone got fixed, she proceeded to have the entire audience laughing so hard our cheeks hurt. Most of her set was devoted to her special gift that she gave her father a year ago – one of her kidneys. It was well told, very funny and in some parts even a little bit poignant. Wow, what a treat to just have drop in on us all. If you weren’t there, you missed a good one!
So who follows that act? Miss Amanda Perrin, that’s who! I always enjoy the awkwardness that is Amanda, but last night, unfortunately, she let the fact that she had to follow Nikki get to her. I felt for Amanda, because it’s kind of like going up in karaoke right after someone completely tears up the stage and you’ve only done karaoke a handful of times. However, what Amanda needs to realize is that she also has a very special gift for making people laugh and will one day have someone losing their mind because she or he has to follow Amanda Freaking Perrin.
Lyle Bateman did a respectable 7 minutes and finished off with his spider love (is there such a thing) song done to the tune of Spiderman. The audience really seemed to enjoy it – I still can’t believe this guy drives 3 hours to do a 7 minute set. Blows my mind.
After Lyle came another first timer (and a well dressed one at that!), Renee Frenet (again, spelling…?) Renee had an interesting concept but I honestly felt that for the first time she may have gone a little long and ended up rambling a little towards the end. For a first try though, kudos to the lady in the shiny green dress!
Ahhhh, and then the man I was so excited to see – Simon Rakoff! I saw Simon in Vancouver a few years ago and enjoyed every single minute he was on stage, and this time was not any different. Simon is ever so slightly jaded from being divorced twice and it makes for some very funny material. He also does a lot of material on being Jewish, and a superhero. A few of his bits that really got me laughing were how humans can’t compare to animals when it comes to athletics and how things would be now if Jesus was possibly sarcastic (hence, the title of this blog – Delivery Makes A Difference).
I enjoyed the fact that everyone else was done early enough that Simon could do an extended set and still be done by 10:00. Man that guy is funny – and he’s appearing this weekend at The Laugh Shop if you are looking for some laughs. I don’t know who is with him, but I know that he alone will be worth the price of admission – Simon has been doing comedy for 30 years but his material is edgy, witty and most of all, very relevant.
At one point, I snapped a picture of Simon and he asked me if I was media. When I answered “sort of” he had a bit of fun with that but seemed to be cool with the fact I write a blog and didn’t say not to put his photo in.
I left Comedy Monday Night (Chris Gordon – are you reading this – it’s Comedy Monday Night, not Monday Night Comedy) in great spirits. I know it’s not an ordinary night and there were a lot of out of towners or more seasoned people on the show, but those are good to have every once in a while. I would think it gives the newer people or amateurs something to aspire to, and I’m glad so many of them were there to see the show last night.
Not too sure if I’ll get out to any more shows this week but keep supporting live comedy in Calgary – it’s getting better and better all the time!
A Cut Above
If you didn’t make it down to Kits Pub last night for Daryl Makk’s Comedy Detour, shame on you. You missed an amazing show. We laughed from start to finish. And not just ha-ha laughs, they were big belly laughs. In fact, I laughed so much my cheeks hurt, my tummy hurt and I hoped that the baby wasn’t getting jiggled around too much from all the activity.
Amy Trofimuk was the MC last night and my one gripe with her is that she didn’t know how to say either of the other two performer’s names. I don’t know if it matters to them or not, but I know I get upset when someone mispronounces my name – and I’m not even trying to be remembered. Granted, they aren’t the easiest names in the world to say but a conscientious person would learn who they are introducing and be as professional as possible. Her material was good though and she did a decent job of keeping the show moving along. It started very close to the posted time (thanks Daryl!) and we were out of there by 9:45 which is awesome when you have to drive all the way across the city to get home. Here’s a little snap I took of Amy:
Donovan “Double D” Deschner was the middle act and after seeing him with his prescription haircut last night I realized I don’t see him enough. What a polished young man he is. His set was clean (for the most part), clever (always appreciated) and had the audience in stitches from the time he took to the stage. I happened to overhear two women talking in the bathroom after the show and they were saying how much they enjoyed Donovan’s set. I concur wholeheartedly.
And then came up the main attraction – Derick Lengwenus. I didn’t write about the last time I saw Derick because the last time I saw him we were sitting at The Comedy Cave with a table full of cokeheads beside us and they were so distracting we didn’t get to see the full show. Well last night totally made up for it. The crowd was so attentive, there were no drunk hecklers and nothing to get in the way of our enjoyment.
What impressed me greatly about Derick was the first half of his set was all new material (new to me anyway). I’ve seen many touring headliners even after a year that are still doing the exact same material. Not Derick. Even some of his jokes I’ve heard before have been tweaked, were introduced differently and had an overall fresh appeal to them. Derick certainly isn’t afraid to poke fun at himself and I particularly enjoyed his bit about Pirate Sex towards the end. It was great to see him again, and I think that the venue suited him tremendously.
Derick has some great facial expressions during his show and it was really hard to pick just one shot – this one is a little out of focus but was my favourite one:
On the way home from the show, Tim and I were talking about how that was one of the best shows we’ve been to in a long long time. And then he said Derick and Donovan were a cut above. Most definitely.
And then Monday sees the long awaited return of Comedy Monday Night. It is a benefit to raise money for Inn From The Cold – get out to Broken City for 8:00 on Monday night. The last benefit was amazing and I’m hoping that the comedy community in Calgary will make this one just as successful.
Has It Really Been A Month?
I can’t believe it’s been a month since I’ve written a blog. Wow, how time flies. I’ve only been to a handful of shows – December was a busy month for baking, visiting, shopping and a bit of travelling.
The month started off with Tim and I taking care of my friend’s dogs. Wow what a lot of work that was – 5 dogs in our little townhouse. Our teeny tiny backyard soon became a heaping pile of dog waste and Tim couldn’t clean it up fast enough. Walking 5 dogs was a big challenge and making sure they all ate at least a little of their own food was a lot of fun every day. I was happy to be able to help out Karen and Terry but at the same time pretty happy to go back to our own little pack of 3.
Then I got the urge to bake. I don’t know what came over me, but I was baking up a storm every Sunday in December. I was up at 7:30 AM and in between loads of laundry and turns of Scrabble on facebook, I was baking. I made stuff I’ve never made before – some turned out and some flopped, but Tim happily ate it all and told me it was wonderful, even when I knew it wasn’t. I found some recipes that I loved and will definitely keep, and some recipes I don’t care if I ever try again. Most everything is gone now but there are still a few things I want to try – who says you can only make shortbread once a year?
Shopping was fun – for once it wasn’t hard to shop for Mom and Dad and it was nice to have someone new to buy prezzies for. I enlisted the services of my Auntie Leah and Uncle Bob to get Tim a Senators jersey – I love a good covert op.
The only thing not fun about shopping was trying to find maternity clothes. It’s not a secret that I’m a full figured woman, and it was very disheartening to see all the cute maternity clothes that are out there but not in my size. Apparently, the stores that carry maternity wear think I would happily wear their disgusting and ill-fitting clothes. I’ve been fortunate enough to find tops that do the trick at Addition-Elle but pants have been very tricky. I have to keep telling myself it’s only for a few more months and I can do it, but I can’t help thinking that there has to be someone somewhere who makes decent maternity clothes for the larger set. If there isn’t, then what a business opportunity for the right individual. If only I could design clothes…
Along came my company Christmas party. I have to say that leading up to that day I didn’t feel very good about myself and how I looked. I so wanted to look pretty that night, and enlisted the services of Aga at the MAC counter at The Bay and my friend Trena of Pure Salon in Inglewood. I knew they had done the job when Tim got in the car at the end of the day and couldn’t stop looking at me. Once I got my dress on, I really did feel beautiful for the first time in months. My dress was one that I had bought in Seattle way back in June but had nothing to wear it for, yet I knew I had to have it. It was just stretchy enough around the tummy to wear – a little bit cleavagy, but thankfully there was someone there who was showing more than me and made me feel tasteful. Hard to hide pregnant boobs anyway.
That was a wonderful night and a turning point for me in my pregnancy. I received so many compliments on my appearance and what a glow I had that from that day on, I have been putting in a little extra effort every morning to make sure I have at least a little bit of makeup on. I do have to say though that none of that seems to matter to Tim – to him, I am beautiful. Period. What more could a girl ask for?
Then it was Christmas – we travelled to Shaunavon to my parents’ place. It was quite possibly the last Christmas in that house, as Mom and Dad are trying to sell their place so they can go RV’ing full time. They have done so much work to the house that it is hardly the home I grew up in. But the furniture is still the same, so there is something to remind me of my youth.
I have to say that it was quite possibly the best Christmas I have ever had. Nobody got mad at anybody, everybody was in good spirits and we were all happy with our gifts. Tim was extremely generous with me, Dad liked his coat we got him and Mom teared up when she opened her box containing a pink sapphire pendant that she had wanted for years. Cooper had the time of his life running around the yard, our neighbour’s yard, our neighbour’s neighbour’s yard, and so on. He would go run for an hour or two and then come back and then he was gone again. Of course, The Littles (Rupert and Larry) didn’t stray too far because it was pretty cold outside and the snow would get in their paws, freeze up and somehow it immobilized them. And then they would just sit down and wait for me to come and rescue them. I guess Cooper did so well because he’s got wickedly long legs and his feet never touch the ground for more than a nanosecond at a time.
Mom prepared a Christmas feast like no other. She really went all out, and it was a most delicious meal! Thanks Mom!
It was a quick trip because we had tickets for the hockey game on the 27th versus the Ottawa Senators. We met up with my friends Charlene and Dean prior to the game at the Saddle Room Restaurant. Dinner was great, the company even better – so nice to see them again after all this time. The game, ugh. Tim took a lot of ribbing for his jersey, and if I ever thought hecklers were bad at a comedy show, boy did I feel bad for the Sens’ goalie. There were so many drunk losers shouting horrible things at him and all I could think was that there were children there for crying out loud, don’t these people have any couth?
And then it happened – a hockey fight broke out. At first, I felt a rush of adrenaline like any spectator would. But then it just got ugly and one of the visiting team’s players landed on the ice and dislocated his shoulder. That was the first time I’ve cried watching a fight and I think the first time Tim was embarrassed to be with me. Delightful things, these pregnancy hormones of mine. I’ve always been a senstive gal, but come on, really?
So the Sens lost, but it was a lot of fun. We escaped unharmed and had a few good laughs along the way too.
Next up was New Year’s Eve. I was done work at noon and headed home to relax – we had big plans for that night. Dinner was at Parthenon Greek Restaurant on Heritage and Fairmont Drive SE. The service was some of the best we’ve had lately and the food was great, although Tim would have liked a bigger portion. We were out with Karen and Terry, Heather and Dave and all their children. It was a terrific way to start off the evening.
Next we headed across the city to Paula and Lorne’s place for an open house. Lorne’s sister and brother in law were there – they are also expecting a child (is everyone in Calgary pregnant right now?) and their neighbours showed up from the hockey game right before midnight. We sat and watched another hockey game (I’m getting hockeyed out here people, somebody save me!!!) because Lorne is a die-hard Oilers fan and wasn’t missing it. It was more fun listening to Lorne and everybody talk about hockey than watching the game itself, but that’s always the way it is with me. Paula had some great food put out and it was so lovely to catch up with her again – hard to believe it’s been almost a year since I’ve seen her as well.
Now, I’m not one to make New Year’s Resolutions, I believe in setting goals for yourself and beginning to accomplish them when you set them. I’m pretty good at getting “stuff” done but I realized over the holidays that I need to see my friends more. As much as I love Tim and being with him, I dearly love my friends and they all very much matter to me. I need to do a better job of keeping in touch personally, not just relying on things such as facebook to tell me how people in my life are doing. I don’t know how realistic that goal is seeing as I have a baby on the way, but it’s not for a few months and I resolve to be a better friend.
As for what the next little while looks like? Well, there is a most awesome comedian named Derick Lengwenus headlining Daryl Makk’s Comedy Detour this Wednesday at Kits Pub, and then there is the much anticipated return of Comedy Monday Night in their new home – Broken City. The show returns on Monday, January 12 and is a benefit show for Inn From The Cold. Tickets are $20 and available from James Moore, Daryl Makk and Broken City. I can’t wait for these shows – I don’t want to be out on weeknights too often now, but these are shows I’m not going give a miss to.
Well, hope you had a happy and wonderful holiday season and may 2009 be a year where your dreams come true!
