I just realized today is my one year anniversary of being a "comedian"!!!
3:41 am, 10th Feb 2009
That’s right! Last year on Feb 8, 2008, I shut down my computer and walked through the halls of Jazz at Lincoln Center for the very last time.
House of Swing
It was the place where I had grown up – the job listed on the match.com profile that Tom clicked on, and my first job after making the grown-up decision to purposely veer off the Corporate America road that I had spent four years of undergraduate business school preparing for. And now I didn’t know what my life would be like when I woke up the next morning.
After six months of moonlighting as a stand-up comedian – making invoices by day and making audiences laugh/shudder by night, I was ready to say hello to la vie boheme for good!
I pushed in my chair for the last time – a now-orphaned leather roll-y chair that would probably become the object of a very heated argument on Monday morning. But who cared?! I was on my way to play ukulele at Highline Ballroom with my friends April Smith and the Great Picture Show (opening for Fountains of Wayne)!!!
April Smith
I took a big ass breath and picked up my bag full of the chatchkis that had sat on my desk for nearly three years. I was totally ready for my ceremonious walk through the halls…
…when the phone rang!!! At first, I thought it was my alarm reminder to take a once-a-day anti-baby pill, but no…
…it was the casting department of NBC Universal, calling me in to audition for a principle role on the sitcom Kath & Kim!!! I took this as an omen that I had made the right decision.
At one point, my potential co-workers
I obviously didn’t get the role (and kind of thank God), but I was in bliss! The first few weeks of unemployment were spent in awe of my newfound freedom, living off savings and vacation payout.
Then began the craaazy string of temp/part-time/freelance jobs:
Teacher’s aide at a private school on the Upper East Side
Senior accountant temp at an education software company
Pre-K co-teacher for summer camp at aforementioned UES private school
Barista at d’espresso coffee bar on the Lower East Side
Pet sitter (from a 3-week-old Shit Zhu to a 100-pound Coon Hound)
Freelance hedge fund assistant
Craigslist spammer
Part-time finance associate at Here Arts Center
TV/film extra (Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist, Cold Case, Ugly Betty, 30 Rock, Bored to Death)
Blogger for VH1 Digital (laid off when the site went kaput!)
I remember one of my first gigs after leaving my job. I bumped into fellow performer Danny Katz at Sulu Series, and he told me how happy he was for me – but also that he had tried unsuccessfully to leave his job in the past. This served as overshadowing for the hard times to come:
No health insurance
Scraping together quarters to buy a MetroCard
Eating pancakes, tater tots and frozen Ikea meatballs exclusively for several weeks in a row
Barely making rent
NOT making rent
Of course, there are no downs without ups….
UP: Getting called back for a national commercial
DOWN: Walking 35 blocks home from the callback because I had run out of quarters to buy a MetroCard
UP: Getting a Daily Show Correspondent audition!
DOWN: Having my Verizon phone service cut off the morning after I found out about the audition
Jon????
UPdownUPdownUPdown.
Thank you to everyone who has been with me on the journey thus far (everyone tagged here)! You played a role in my transition from quirky office girl to broke comedian, and I thank you for it!
This year has been insane, but i made it through ONE YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For all the bombing, failed auditions and wanting to quit EVERYDAY…
…here we go: Year TWO!!!
My unicorn and I can DO this!!! Weeeeeeeeeeeee!
4 Responses to “I just realized today is my one year anniversary of being a "comedian"!!!”
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It was the place where I had grown up – the job listed on the match.com profile that Tom clicked on, and my first job after making the grown-up decision to purposely veer off the Corporate America road that I had spent four years of undergraduate business school preparing for. And now I didn’t know what my life would be like when I woke up the next morning.
After six months of moonlighting as a stand-up comedian – making invoices by day and making audiences laugh/shudder by night, I was ready to say hello to la vie boheme for good!
I pushed in my chair for the last time – a now-orphaned leather roll-y chair that would probably become the object of a very heated argument on Monday morning. But who cared?! I was on my way to play ukulele at Highline Ballroom with my friends April Smith and the Great Picture Show (opening for Fountains of Wayne)!!!
I took a big ass breath and picked up my bag full of the chatchkis that had sat on my desk for nearly three years. I was totally ready for my ceremonious walk through the halls…
…when the phone rang!!! At first, I thought it was my alarm reminder to take a once-a-day anti-baby pill, but no…
…it was the casting department of NBC Universal, calling me in to audition for a principle role on the sitcom Kath & Kim!!! I took this as an omen that I had made the right decision.
I obviously didn’t get the role (and kind of thank God), but I was in bliss! The first few weeks of unemployment were spent in awe of my newfound freedom, living off savings and vacation payout.
Then began the craaazy string of temp/part-time/freelance jobs:
Teacher’s aide at a private school on the Upper East Side
Senior accountant temp at an education software company
Pre-K co-teacher for summer camp at aforementioned UES private school
Barista at d’espresso coffee bar on the Lower East Side
Pet sitter (from a 3-week-old Shit Zhu to a 100-pound Coon Hound)
Freelance hedge fund assistant
Craigslist spammer
Part-time finance associate at Here Arts Center
TV/film extra (Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist, Cold Case, Ugly Betty, 30 Rock, Bored to Death)
Blogger for VH1 Digital (laid off when the site went kaput!)
I remember one of my first gigs after leaving my job. I bumped into fellow performer Danny Katz at Sulu Series, and he told me how happy he was for me – but also that he had tried unsuccessfully to leave his job in the past. This served as overshadowing for the hard times to come:
No health insurance
Scraping together quarters to buy a MetroCard
Eating pancakes, tater tots and frozen Ikea meatballs exclusively for several weeks in a row
Barely making rent
NOT making rent
Of course, there are no downs without ups….
UP: Getting called back for a national commercial
DOWN: Walking 35 blocks home from the callback because I had run out of quarters to buy a MetroCard
UP: Getting a Daily Show Correspondent audition!
DOWN: Having my Verizon phone service cut off the morning after I found out about the audition
UPdownUPdownUPdown.
Thank you to everyone who has been with me on the journey thus far (everyone tagged here)! You played a role in my transition from quirky office girl to broke comedian, and I thank you for it!
This year has been insane, but i made it through ONE YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For all the bombing, failed auditions and wanting to quit EVERYDAY…
…here we go: Year TWO!!!
Congrats on the anniversary, Jen. It’s coming up to two years since I decided the sensible thing to do would be to quit my accounts job and write about ukuleles instead. Best decision EVER!
I reckon this year is going to be massive for you.
thank you al!!!!!!!
Jen – This is so inspiring! I’m empowered now to leave my day job and take up my banjo full-time! – JTG
…oh, and how we miss you at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Hey, but wait. If we program a Ukulele Festival, you can come back! I can see it now – ‘featuring the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, with special guest artists Jake Shimabukuro and Jenn Kwok.’ Some day, some day, but I agree that this year is going to be massive for you. Congratulations! (also, get a bike).