FUN!

“Well. That’s my fun for the day.” That’s what my brain says once I finish my five daily word puzzles*, usually by 8:30am. Sure, there may be other moments that bring me joy–when Patrick cracks a wry joke; or Arlo announces he’s going to give himself a bath by running into the living room naked, jumping into a starfish shape, and doing jazz-hands; or a Lizzo song comes on and it aligns with my walking pace and I kinda feel like I’m dancing. Wheeeeeeeee.

But my life is not overwhelmingly fun. Part of it’s that I work seven days a week, so…when fun? Fun when? Mostly, the things I find fun require childcare, which when you’re a single parent almost always means a fifteen-dollar-an-hour premium on top of any admission costs. 

That said, I’ve been trying to schedule some stuff for myself. I buy tickets to things, which forces me to find and budget for a babysitter. 

A few months back, I checked out the Improv’s website. A comedian I’d seen online, Ashley Gavin, was coming. Her crowd work was sharp, and I thought what the hell and bought tickets. 

When the announcer’s voice invited her onstage, I was surprised. Usually, there’s an opener. And actually there was one, but Gavin came out first and instructed us how to laugh at the show, i.e., not with smirks or giggles like we would at home scrolling our phones, but with big open-mouthed guffaws. I got it. I’ve MCed storytelling shows before, and it can be helpful to tell the audience more or less how to be a good crowd. So, OK, I was ready to laugh frequently and audibly.

Then Gavin brought up the opener. I’d never heard of him, but he was BIPOC (yes), fat (yes), and queer (yaassssssss), so I was prepared to like him a whole bunch. And he was pretty funny. Had some good bits. But he had this thing where, at the end of each punchline, he would say, “But…” Except he pronounced it, “Bbbbboooooiiiit.” Like he’d almost blow a raspberry on the B and follow it up with just the weirdest pronunciation of -ut. I know some comedians have a regular tag or a verbal disfluency that defines their voice, and it can definitely work, but maybe you didn’t catch above how I said “at the end of each punchline.” Right hand to god, at the end of each punchline. It landed less like a catch-phrase and more like a verbal tic, and it took the funny straight out of the jokes. I felt nervous, like I would clench my abs to prepare for it, and then it would come and I’d cringe.

I was relieved when Gavin came back up for her set, and I want to say up front that she was funny. I found her very funny. The last twenty minutes of her hour were worth the ticket price, but the first forty were also good, and that’s how it’s meant to be done: Tell good jokes the whole time, but build to your best stuff, and end with a bang. In that sense, it was a success.

Bbbbboooooiiiit. 

Very early on, she started evaluating how her jokes were landing, and she didn’t stop. Again, that can be funny. I’ve seen comedians–Mike Birbiglia… others…–notice that a joke didn’t work and make another joke out of that. You know, pick up an imaginary notebook and mime-write “Remove joke about pickles from set, period” or whatever. And they get a laugh. If that kind of thing is done–sparingly–it can be hilarious.

But this wasn’t that. First of all, it wasn’t sparing; it was near-constant. And second, she didn’t evaluate her jokes. She evaluated us. She judged the audience on how her jokes performed. She called us slow, asked what was the matter with us, that kind of thing. 

And I was like, bitch, I didn’t pay $60 for tickets, $30 on a two-menu-item minimum, and $50 on a babysitter, to come here and be assessed. 

I love stand-up, so I’ll probably go back to the Improv, maybe even to see Gavin again, bbbboooooiiiit only if she agrees to get a new opener and stop judging my shit.

*Wordle, Mini-crossword, Strands, Connections, and Squardle

31,500 thoughts on “FUN!”

  3. I got this site from my friend who told me
    on the topic of this site and at the moment this time I am browsing this web page and reading very informative articles or reviews at this place.

    Reply

  14. ???? ??????????? ???????? ????????? ??????????? ? ????????????? ?????????????? ???? ??????? ? ?????? ????????? ???????? ? ????????. ?? ????????? ??? ??????????? ?????? ???????? ??? ?????????? ???????.
    ??????? ?????? ?????? – ????? ?? ????? ?? ???? ????

    Reply

  18. Muy buen análisis de los slots más jugados dentro de Pin-Up
    México en 2025. Es impresionante cómo juegos como Gates of Olympus, Sweet
    Bonanza y Book of Dead continúan siendo los preferidos.
    Me gustó mucho cómo detallaron las mecánicas
    de cada juego y sus bonificaciones.

    Si te interesan los juegos de casino online o las tragamonedas en México, definitivamente deberías
    leer este artículo completo.

    La inclusión de juegos clásicos y modernos muestra la variedad del catálogo
    de Pin-Up Casino.

    ?? Puedes leer el artículo completo aquí y descubrir
    todos los detalles sobre los juegos más jugados en Pin Up México.

    Reply

  20. Increíble artículo sobre los juegos más populares de Pin-Up Casino en México.

    Me sorprendió ver cómo títulos como Gates of Olympus y Sweet Bonanza siguen dominando entre
    los jugadores mexicanos. Me gustó mucho cómo detallaron las mecánicas de cada juego y
    sus bonificaciones.

    Recomiendo leer el artículo completo si quieres
    descubrir qué juegos están marcando tendencia en Pin Up Casino.

    Además, me encantó que también mencionaran títulos como Plinko y Fruit Cocktail, que ofrecen algo diferente al jugador tradicional.

    ?? Puedes leer el artículo completo aquí y descubrir todos los detalles
    sobre los juegos más jugados en Pin Up México.

    Reply

  22. ?????? https://sinhelp.me/ ????????????? ???????????????? ?????? ????????? ?? ???? ?????? ???????? — ?? ??????????? ??????-?????? ?? ????????? ????????? ????? ? ????????? ????????? ?? ???????? ??????. ??????? ??????? ?? ???????????????? ???????????? ?????? ??????????????, ????????? ????????? ??????????? ???????, ???????? ???????, ???????? ? ??????? ?????????? ?? ?????? ?????????. ?????? ????? ?????????????? ????????? ???????????, ??????????? ?????? ? ?????? ??????????????????? ?????? ???????, ??? ????????? ????????? ??????????????? ?? ?????? ?????? ???????? ????? ? ?????.

    Reply

  23. ????? ??????? ??????? ?? ??????????? ???????, ????????????? ??????????, ??????????????????? ????????? ? ????????? ??????????? ?????????. ??????? ???? ???????? ???????????????? ? ???????? ????????? — ???? ???????? ???????? ?????? ?? ????? ????????????.
    ???????? ?????????????? ?????????? – ????? ??????????? ?? ???????????

    Reply

  24. ???????? https://rodnik-clean.ru/ ?????????? ???????????????? ?????? ?? ????????? ?????? ??????, ?????? ? ???????? ? ??????? ?? ??? ?? ?????? ? ???????. ??????? ????????? ???????? ??????? ? ??????????? ?????????, ????????????? ??????????? ?????, ????? ? ??????????? ??????, ?????????????? ??????????? ???????? ???????. ????????? ???????? ??????????? ?????? ??? ?????? ?????? ?? ????, ? ????????????????? ??????????? ???????????? ???????????? ???????? ?????? ? ?????????? ???? ?? ????????? ????????? ?????.

    Reply

  31. ???????? ????? ????????? — ??? ??????? ? ???????????????? ?????? ??????????????? ????????? ??? ??????????????. «???? ???» ?????????? ????? ?? ????? ?????????? ? ??????????? ???????? (??????, ???????, ?????????, ????????) ?????????????: ???? ??????? ? ?????????????, ?????? ????? ?? ????? ? ???????? ??????????? ???????, ????? ????? ????????????, ??????, ??????? ? ???????????. ????????? ?????????? ?? ??????????? ??????????, ? ?????????????? ???????? ???? ??? ?????????? ???????? ? ????????????? ???????????, ? ??? ???????????? ????????? ??????????? ????????? — ??? ??????? ???????? ??????? ? ????????? ????.
    ???????????? ? ???????? – narkolog-na-dom-anonimno

    Reply

  33. ???? ???? ???????, ??? «??????? ????», ??? ???????? ?????????? ?????????? ????????? ??????. ????? ??????? ??????? ??????: ????????? ? ??????????? ??????? ?????????? ???? ?? ???????????? ?????????, ??????????? ??????????? ? ??????? ???????????. ???? — ???????? ????????, ??? ??????? ?????????? ???? ????????????? ??????????? ?????? ? ??????? ?????.
    ??????????? ?????? ????????? – postavit-kapelnicu-ot-zapoya

    Reply

  35. Binary Options Demo: Learn Before You Trade.
    Start your trading journey with a Binary Options Demo account and practice risk-free before going live. Sharpen your skills and explore smart strategies at https://terrasseo.jp/

    Reply

  38. Simply desire to say your article is as astounding. The clearness on your publish is simply excellent
    and i could suppose you are an expert on this subject. Fine with your permission allow me to clutch your RSS feed to keep up to date with imminent post.
    Thank you one million and please carry on the rewarding work.

    Reply

  41. ???? ??????? ??????? ???????? ? ??????? ????????, ????? ?????? ?????????? ?? ????????????????? ???????. ? ????????????? ??? ????? ??????? ? ??????? «??????» ?? ?????????????, 185. ????? ???????? ????????? ? ??????? ??????, ??????? ???????? ????? ?? ????? ????????? ? ??????????.
    ????????? ????? ?????? ??? – ?????? ????? ?? ????? ????????????

    Reply

  45. ? «??????? ?????? 24» ? ?????????? ?? ???????? ??????????? ???????, ???????????? ?? ?????????????? ????????? ? ?????????????? ?????????. ?? ?????????? ?????????????? ?????? ? ??????? ????????.
    ???????? ?????? ?????????? – ????? ?? ????? ???? ?????????

    Reply

  50. Eri?im, çevrimiçi oranl? oyunlar ve bahis konusunda dünyan?n en güvenilir bahis siteleri aras?nda öne ç?kan bir platform olan Xturka’y? https://www.xturkagirisi.com/ adresinden ziyaret edin. Çe?itli oyunlar?n yan? s?ra spor bahisleri de bulacaks?n?z. Web sitemizde geni? oyun yelpazemiz, bonuslar?m?z ve promosyonlar?m?z hakk?nda daha fazla bilgi edinin.

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Ernestchefs Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *