A quick little update…

Sorry I haven’t had much of a chance lately to update, I’ve been busy working on some side projects.

I do have an update, I found my comedy notebook! I am so happy about that, I can’t even explain how happy I am for that.

I am working on some stories to share with you, I just haven’t had the time to finish them up, but hopefully I’ll be able to share them with you in the next day or two.

Hope you have a great week!

Also don’t forget to save the date for Monday 8/14, here’s the flyer:

Someone’s got a case of the Mondays

I woke up extra early this morning to get some extra snuggles in with the dog, which seems like a super simple thing but he’s the best snuggler in the world. I’m snuggling him right now.

This weekend was a lot of fun. Mostly good things happened, but one really bad thing happened… I lost my comedy notebook. Really, I deserved to lose it because I was acting like a wild child, but hopefully it turns up without too much embarrassment. Ugh. It’s something I never anticipated losing, but next time I’ll probably either put my name and number inside, or maybe refrain from writing erotic fiction/non-fiction in something that can be lost so easily. Whoops. I guess if that’s the worst thing that happened to me after bad decisions, it can’t be that bad. I already got a new replacement notebook and it’s going to take a lot more than losing my notebook to get me to quit comedy.

So let’s see… I have a lot of really exciting stuff on the horizon. It’s incredible what can happen when you participate and meet people. After brunch the other day, my friend Chuckles and I went to Broken Cauldron Brewery, I’d been wanting to check it out after hearing about it on the What Ales Ya Podcast (see episode #23 for the interview with Jeanna Malines). She’s the only female brewer I’ve ever met, and she was fantastic! The tap room is very fun to hang out in, and I’m very excited to spend more time there. She truly loves what she does, and it shows. She surprised me and said that she wanted to brew a “girls beer” with me, which was like, the nicest thing anyone has ever offered. I’m totally down for that. I’ve been thinking up the ideas of what kind of beer I want to make… maybe a sour? That would be a freaking dream come true. It really doesn’t matter what kind of beer, I’m just stoked for the opportunity. We also talked about some other really exciting future plans that I’m not 100% able to discuss yet, but I’ll let you know all about it when the details are sorted out.

Also, yesterday I went to my ex-boyfriends fake wedding, he had 2 fake brides and a lot of comics gave best man (person, to be gender neutral) speeches. Everyone was dressed up and it was a really weird and ridiculous time. It was fun to have Tim do a concept show, and I’m excited for the future ones he’s working on.

This week I have a couple of shows, I hope to see you out. I’ll be at Other Bar tonight and tomorrow at the Public House over by UCF. I’m feeling good and hopefully my new notebook brings more jokes and fewer bad choices. Until then, be sure to check out Broken Cauldron and the What Ales Ya Podcast, you won’t regret it!

<3 Lesley

Sometimes you eat The Other Bar and sometimes The Other Bar eats you. Or, me.

Last night I was at The Other Bar for a show. I had rested the night before, drank an appropriate amount of liquids during the day, ate 3 meals, I basically did what I believe is necessary to perform a decent set. I was calm, I have no drama situations going on right now, and I was prepared. I told some newer jokes at the beginning and I ended with an old (yet kinda disparaging) joke. I got a fair amount of laughs and I was pleased with the tiny amount of crowd work that I did. I knew that there were a few people there who I respect and wanted to do good for them, but I wasn’t nearly as affected by their presence as I had been during previous sets. All in all, I didn’t hate it, but it was not my best set.

I get off stage, and a few people said I was funny, and one of my good buddies in the scene told me that I seemed low energy, and my set would have gone better if I was a little more lively. I walked over to the person who saw me bomb the hardest the time before, and he told me that he liked the other set when I bombed a lot more! I was so thrown off, I suddenly recognized that I’m oh-so-new and I have a long long road ahead of me. He wasn’t being mean, but he was being truthful, which I appreciate. As a new comic it’s really hard to tell when something goes well or not, without listening to recordings (I record my sets) and continuously trying out jokes on various crowds. It’s very difficult. Anyone who thinks comedy is easy is wrong.

I said my quick goodbyes and walked off with Duncan (I bring him to shows sometimes), and it was raining lightly and I had tears running down my face as I walked down Orange Ave on the way home. I felt defeated. Clueless. I felt like a terrible comic, a hack, the worst. I got home and read some of Eating The Dinosaur by Chuck Klosterman, which was a decent relief in the moment. He has an interesting brain and I like this book so far.

Writing this out is helpful, it’s honest and I hope to soon get to the point where my joke delivery and stage energy is stronger.

On a more enthusiastic note, I added a new show date to my events, I’m excited to be on the New Faces competition at The Other Bar in a couple weeks. That news basically made my day!

Tonight I’ll be at the Public House Comedy Showcase near UCF, I”ve never been to that room, but I’ve heard good things.

Thanks for reading! I appreciate you!

1 lesson down, 47 million more to go

Happy Wednesday!

The show last night at The Public House was a solid show with a lot of great comics who are also really fun people. I finally had the chance to meet Sareth Ney, and he interviewed me like he does with the new local comics in the area. That was nice and I’m looking forward to see how that turns out. I’ll share the link when it’s finished.

Yesterday afternoon I was preparing for the show, and I took a few minutes to ask for some technical notes relating to my Monday set at Other Bar. I’m glad I asked. I’ll get to that in a second.

I’m sure I’ve said it, but I will say it again now. Being a new comic, I find that there are lessons, seemingly weekly, that are important lessons that you have to learn as you go. The lessons are not obvious, until they are. You can’t learn something until you realize it exists, and for me, that usually happens the hard way!

This week I am learning about stage presence and my energy on stage. I’m going to quote my friend, but I’m going to leave his name out of it, because I’m not sure it’s important.

“Your energy was kinda low and you kept avoiding eye contact with the audience are the technical notes I had for you. So seemed more into the previous one even though you hated it afterwards. That’s why I liked it more. It seemed like you wanted to be there more. At least at the beginning.”

Oh man, I didn’t even realize I was doing it, but yup, I agree. It’s like I’m paying more attention to getting all of my jokes out, than I am excited to tell the jokes and run the room for my 5.

So, yesterday afternoon I had some time before the showcase, and I thought my best option in the short time I had to prepare was to google stage presence videos. I found a Ted Talk by comedian Deborah Frances-White, she has some tips and suggestions to help minimize stage anxiety. I embedded the video below. I’m also interested to hear if anyone has any other ideas for getting through this. Obviously it’s going to take time and effort, but tips are welcomed.

Hooray for progress and good friends. I’m excited for everything that’s happening in my life. Thanks for your support, it means a lot!

<3, Lesley

A recap of my last 12,765 days on Earth

I will probably elaborate on these more, but here’s a bullet point list of my life up to this point. These items are listed by number, but number does not have any significance to the age of the item mentioned. I did order them chronologically.

All my life, I’ve been an only child. My parents are still married.
I’ve never broken a bone.
I got suspended in 7th grade for kicking a locker.
As a kid I sold hot dogs on the side of US1 with my dad, feeding the visitors who were waiting for the shuttle to take off.
Learned my dad had cancer when I was 9 years old, soon after he was an amputee.
We always had family dogs when I was a kid, but in 2010 I got my own dog.
I made great friends.
At 15 I had my first kiss.
16 was a big year for me. I “moved out” of my parents house, got my period, started working at a German Deli, wasted my life savings and got a boyfriend.
I dropped out of high school, my grades were too bad to graduate on time. Thanks to adult ed, I got my diploma the same week as my class (2001). I started working part time in Insurance after my adult ed class in the morning.
I worked at a strip club, a Winn-Dixie, an apartment complex, and a tattoo shop as second jobs (insurance primary job).
I’ve only owned 2 vehicles in my lifetime.
I’ve fallen asleep in concerts and almost every movie I’ve ever seen. Still haven’t seen The Goonies, Spaceballs, Labyrinth, Star Trek…
I’ve found a deep adoration for beer.
I never went to more than 1 college class.
I only got 1 speeding ticket, ever.
I’ve never had a romantic relationship that stood the test of time, but I remain close with a few important ones. I did send an ex to the Marine Corps (I was diligent to call the recruiter every day) and I also had a boyfriend get married and have kids while I thought we were going to be serious.
I’ve been diagnosed with ADD and Anxiety as an adult.
I’ve played a lot of poker, it’s one of my favorite games. I love games.
I took improv classes.
Stopped talking to some family members. Not proud or happy about it, but it’s part of my life at this point.
There aren’t many things I hate more than doing the dishes.
Deleted for the greater good of all.
I learned what it’s like to be privileged and poor at the same time.
I started a branch of an insurance agency, then worked from home, then quit without anything lined up, then got another offer, took a counter offer, got fired a year later, and now I’m over 2 years in at my current agency.
About 34 months ago I was pregnant, but nature decided that wasn’t supposed to be.
I made friends with clients over the years, one had an airplane and we flew over Orlando International Airport in a Cessna twin engine and got to see planes take off and land underneath us. We also got his Cessna stuck in soft sand in Cedar Key, and I hung myself off of the back of the aircraft to try to wiggle the wheel out of the soft sand. Miraculously we got unstuck.
I’ve had so many friends pass away tragically, including my airplane client and also my friend who got me into comedy, my first improv teacher, and so many more. It’s really sad but life is short and precious and I do not take these 12,765 days for granted.
In March 2016 I gave up driving, and I take the bus most days. Duncan the dog comes with me in his sherpa carrier, he loves it. Driving makes me super anxious.
I started doing stand-up comedy and I was on a podcast for a few months.
I was sexually assaulted on a 2nd Tinder date.
I learned how to enjoy being single.
I sang female backup vocals in a band.
I started my own comedy showcase at Broken Cauldron Brewery.

What will happen in my 35th year? Something good, something bad, I think it’s exciting to be alive right now in this day and time. Thanks for reading and I am so excited for the upcoming showcase at Broken Cauldron, I really hope you can make it out. It’s my make-shift birthday party.

Adios!

There’s a method to my madness, I think?

It’s incredible how much my blog production goes down when I run out of mobile hotspot data… I used up all my data and just renewed for the month. I am cheap and I don’t have wifi at home. Either way, hotspot or not, the only way I can write is if I feel compelled to write.

Lately I’ve been more interested in Twitter and fun in real life, it’s really hard to write or tell jokes sometimes. I’ll admit, I wasn’t feeling great for a few days. Felt a little ragged, beaten down, defeated. I’m a few weeks into a new anxiety medicine, and it’s stunning how much the medicine makes a difference when it gets in my system. Weaning off of the old medicine and starting the new medicine was a transition I don’t want to do again for a while. It’s safe to say that I bit a fingernail or two over the last couple weeks. Last week I had some friends over to the house to play some games and, voila! I snapped back into it. I did some shows and had great sets. It’s just how it goes sometimes.

Some people think you should write every day, regardless if you feel like it or not. I’m not so sure I agree with that.

Pros: Writing every day keeps you thinking, creating, producing. Writing daily keeps you from getting into a rut or stagnating. It helps to create and develop ideas, because ideas don’t flow out as much if you don’t write. Writing daily is a way of doing your future self a favor.

There are cons, but I feel silly listing them.
I’m lazy as can be. “Procrastinators meet tomorrow” is my motto. It’s really one of my worst characteristics.

My best ideas tend to happen in the shower, while listening to music, and while walking the dog. I always have paper and pen close by, just in case. In fact, I have pen and paper in every room in my house. Wouldn’t want to forget that thing I meant to write down, know what I mean?

If you ever have the problem where you wake up in the middle of the night and can’t fall back asleep because you don’t want to forget a dream or something you need to remember, keep a notepad and pen next to the bed. Problem solved, go back to sleep.

My method is generally to make a note and then transfer the note to the computer later on. I don’t like having notes that are not backed up digitally in one way or another. I’ll also talk things through and record audio, I absolutely record my sets when I do comedy.

I highly recommend downloading this free note software, it lets you map your thoughts in a web, you can move the nodes around, it’s pretty easy and you can customize the nodes, and export in several formats. Download FreeMind here!
I do not know what I would do without Freemind software. I think everyone should use Freemind. I use it for work, projects, my spice collection, jokes, raps, stories, everything.

I was in my first comedy competition yesterday, and I am so thrilled that people came out to support me. Spoiler alert: I didn’t make it to the next round. I ended up drawing #1, so I was the first up out of 16 competitors. I’m still struggling with my stage energy and it’s still hard for me to engage with the crowd, if I could have done those things better, I think I would have done better in the competition. It’s hard to go first, if I had a choice I would have picked a different number, but that’s not how it was. The 5 comics that won did a great job and they work hard on a consistent basis. They’ve also been at it longer than I have and it shows. I learned a lot from my experience last night. I had fun during my set and I’m happy to have gotten as close to winning as I did. I changed a joke as a result, which I think will be a really great change to the whole set. Is it weird that I have a fear of becoming complacent if I win a competition? I know myself.

I have a couple shows coming up over the next few days, and I’ll have an update soon on that big piece of news that I’m dying to share with you. Squeal! Please try to come out to one of the shows, see my events page for more info.

Thanks for keeping up with me, and don’t forget to have fun!

<3 Lesley
Also, won’t you please follow my dog on Instagram? I’m trying to make him Instagram famous. IG: ThisIdiotBeard

If anyone is curious about what my favorite song is these days…

Buckle up, buttercup!

I get daily emails from Tut.com, I don’t always get the chance to read them, but sometimes they are perfectly timed with what I need to read first thing in the morning. This mornings email read:

Lesley, you know when you visualize something every day, to such a degree that you can literally taste its reality? And believe in the likelihood of its manifestation with all your heart and soul? And as often as you think of it, in at least some small way, you prepare for its arrival? Yet still absolutely nothing happens? Right! That’s impossible. -The Universe

Alright, cool! That means, essentially, hard work pays off and if you manifest energy, it’s going to create a result. I’ve been chipping away at getting to this point for a while, and even though I haven’t shared all of my stories with you, the last few years have been nothing less than a challenge. I’ve been working hard to overcome life’s challenges as they come – thank goodness for comedy, friends, family and my therapist! (in no particular order)

Yesterday was truly one of the best days, if not the best day of 2017. It didn’t start out that way, I honestly woke up and checked Twitter and Facebook, and I seriously had a thought that it might be the day the world explodes. Then, I went to work and things seemed to be less negative, which was a relief, but good grief it’s a weird time right now. At least we have comedy, otherwise, eek!

Long story short, I had a LOT of things to do yesterday. I was asked to be on the Mike Kara Radio Show, The Central Florida Buzz, which was a lot of fun and I enjoyed being interviewed – I’d like to go back and record another episode when I have more experience in comedy. That episode should be released soon and I’ll post a link. He’s interviewed lots of people, he’s been doing episodes for years, check out his site and you might see some episodes with guest names you recognize. I like it when people are doing good work.

Then, I went to meet with Jeanna over at Broken Cauldron Brewery, and we discussed the “girls beer” we’re going to make together, which is totally freaking exciting. We also discussed some other plans that I’ll get to in a second.

After all that, I headed down to Sanford and did a Tumbleweeds show at Celery City Brewing hosted by Ross McCoy, and WOW! What a fun time. That place is very neat and the outside patio was perfect for a comedy showcase. Everyone did a really great job and the crowd was large and intently listening. It was probably the largest group of people that I’ve done comedy for. I tried a new opener and it really worked with the crowd, people were definitely into it. Damn, I needed a great night like that. I had 10 people come out specifically to see comedy because I was on the show, which is absolutely shocking and amazing to me. I appreciate it very much, you have no idea how good that feels. After the show we ended up going back to a friends house and had some of the best conversation I’ve had in a while. Life is good. My life isn’t perfect or all put together, but it sure is coming together.

Alright, there’s something else.

I’m ready to share an update on that big thing I was telling you about.

https://www.facebook.com/brokencauldron/

I’ll have more info on the line up and will post an event flyer up soon, please save the date for 9/14/2017 and support local comedy. It’s right near the new soccer stadium and there’s ample free parking. This months showcase beer is going to be really awesome, I think we’re making it a Samoan September, Jeanna is in charge of the beer. We’re also working on a beer for October, because that’s my birthday month and ooooh goodie I’m looking forward to brewing that beer WITH HER OMG.

There’s so much work to do, many more shows and open mics between now and then. If you want to head to Bull & Bush tomorrow night, I’ll be doing a set and the line up is really great, you won’t want to miss this show. Also, spoiler alert, Duncan has been requested to be a part of my set, so if you like pub dog and/or Duncan you should definitely come out. It’s free, and I’ll do my best to make you laugh.

Alright, thanks for keeping up with me and I am going to be sharing more updates soon.

Have a great and safe Friday/Weekend!

<3 Lesley

Do what you do, like what you like, and take sh*t off of nobody

What a mantra, right? Do what you do, like what you like, and don’t take shit from anyone. Thanks to my bestie Ian Monroe for that monumentally important philosophy lesson.http://www.rawilson.com/gadp.html

I recently heard someone say “I hope you die in a fire” to someone recently, and that’s a horrible thing to say to someone. I mean, I wouldn’t wish death by fire, or shingles virus, or anything comparable on my worst enemy. They deserve it but it’s not my place to wish that kind of shit.

I’ve been very busy. I have farted in public at least 12 times today. It’s a good thing my dog likes farts.

I have recently rewritten my entire usual stand up set, and I’ve been preparing for my upcoming showcase at Broken Cauldron. We’re having a special crushed velvet dog bed made for Duncan to sit in during the show, which he will totally lay in for the entirety of the showcase. Dunk will definitely be at the showcases but he will be under strict supervision of trusted folks.

Someone recently told me that I should start dating as a way to feed myself. I find that incredibly difficult to entertain. Have you dated for no other reasons but to be fed for nothing more than food and attention? That seems like the worst.

I wish I had more to say here but I want to continue the idea of living by the descriptor of “do what you do, like what you like, and don’t take shit from anyone”.

Happy labor day and I hope you proactively bought flood insurance,

Finally, a year in.

Welp. I’ve been playing comedy for a full year now.

There’s something ridiculously satisfying about putting together a set and/or show, learning what’s good and what’s bad and sometimes being recognized for it… It’s crazy good.

It’s all about a few good ideas and being surrounded by people who support you (and who you want to support), it’s definitely a 2 way street.

The little things, the little efforts, the fans who want you to succeed and the fans who show up to laugh – without them I’d just be a girl with a dream.

Between comedy shows, writing sessions, technical tips, podcasts, podcasters, listeners and subscribers… My experience has been life changingly cool.

Matt would be proud of me.

Thanks to everyone who has been there for me throughout my first year in comedy. I can’t explain how much your support means.

This year has been crucial in my personal development as a human being. The good, the bad, and everything in between as far as the pendulum swings.

I have no idea what is next but that’s half the fun of working hard at something you love. The more goals I make, the more goals I achieve.

Thank you <3

*12/19 might not happen.

**12/30 will be added because Zach Bennett is moving away :'( and I’m going to hang out at Tir na nOg twice that week.

***I’m tired and I’m not fixing it.

Good Decisions and Good Dreams

Ok I’m being optimistic here. I’ve had so many terrible nightmares lately, and I’ve also made a couple bad choices, but I swear it’s mostly good choices. Any bad choices should never be forgiven and I should be burned at the stake for being so awful and terrible. Any perfect readers out there, cheers to you bucko, because you have it all figured out. I aspire to be like you, and I’m super impressed that you’re reading this horseshit. Makes me feel better about myself. I feel better about myself knowing that you are less perfect now because you’re reading my blog. Hooray for being imperfect. I know that skill really well, as do the other readers of my stories. I happen to like imperfections and I don’t have a type, especially when it comes to dating. That should be more than obvious by now.

Now that we have that out of the way, I’d like to talk about Zoloft. It’s my new medicine for anxiety and I have a few opinions about it. The one I want to discuss right now is how it impacts my dreams. It makes me have the most vivid and memorable dreams that I’ve ever experienced in my life. I haven’t even been able to find comedy in them, because they are so realistic and painful. It seems strange to even categorize them as dreams because most of them are night terrors and nightmares. The other night, no joke, I woke up broken out in hives and I swear it has everything to do with A) the weekend I had, B) my family, and C) I was exhausted and depleted mentally, emotionally and physically – especially after this “dream”. There’s no good sleep that comes from a nightmare about your friend wrecking us into another friends car, people vomiting at a party, me being towed down an interstate in a recliner, then to be captured by ?North? Koreans who were going to force me to eat 6 live fish from their tank in order to leave (one was a suckerfish) and if anyone really knows me (looking at you perfect people) I have a huge fish phobia and the idea of a fish out of water freaks me out so hard. There was also a male suitor in the dream that I can’t place, but ha, that’s my life amirite? Like, of course I took a benadryl at 4am when I woke up from that and of course I called in sick to work. That dream gave me hives because I’m pretty sure I swallowed fish in that dream. Alright, exhale, loud sigh. I’ve had a lot of dreams lately about getting in car crashes, and also witnessing car crashes. I don’t drive, y’all! I’ve never been in an accident! (knocks on wood) It’s intense. There’s no way I want to drive now, especially with these dreams. How’s the anxiety? Oh, it’s fine, except in my sleep.

I’m doing one of Big Tim’s concept shows tomorrow at Wills Pub, its $5 and I’ll be telling you my tips how to survive at Big Tim University, since I’ve been working on that liberal arts degree for several years now, there’s no reason you should miss this show. https://www.facebook.com/events/1403848193002906/

Also, my show (obligatory plug) is coming soon (9/14), please save every 2nd Thursday of the month (x infinity) for this great showcase! The September lineup is stellar and that’s just the beginning. There will be a food truck, fancy showcase beer, great comedy, free show… Life is good and even better with these things and these people. Soon I will share some video of me brewing our special beer for the upcoming showcases with thanks to my friends at Broken Cauldron and What Ales Ya podcast. My birthday is in October and hint hint we’re brewing a sour for October!

Alright that’s all I want to talk about for now.

If I don’t love you, I probably dislike you, but I might not have an opinion at all because nothing really matters.

Til next time, take it easy, or don’t.

-Lesley

LJComedy.com