Mondays

I started my last post with a sentence that was something like “I’m a pretty lucky person.”

That post quickly became about something philosophical, relating to fears and stuff.

There’s nothing wrong with that, really - but it wasn’t what I intended when I started the post.

I was going to say that I was lucky, because I’d gotten to date someone for a few years, and we had a lot in common.  We got along well, and we have similar life philosophies.

Specifically, we both had the same attitude toward Mondays.  We thought it was weird that we’re taught to hate Mondays.  Monday, to us, represented a new beginning.  A re-birth.  A chance to do things right.

That ex was in town this past week, and it was great to have her around.  We still get along well, even though we broke up last fall.  We both still subscribe to the idea of Monday as an exciting day.

Today is Monday.  For me, it’s a chance to start a new week.  Every moment is its own new moment, of course.  So it would be nice if I didn’t need an artificial marker to start doing anything.  And there’s probably a long-term danger to treating every Monday like it’s New Years.

But oh well.  I’m looking for strategies that work.  And when I’ve been struggling, I can do worse things than look into my past, and figure out what has worked for me before.

In the past, I’ve been productive when I’ve created a weekly list of goals, and awarded myself points for each thing I actually get done.  In the past, I’ve given up or limited certain things that distract me, like watching sports or playing video games.  In the past, I’ve felt better and been more productive when I’ve made my physical body a priority, by doing things like working out consistently and flossing every day.  I do better when my environment is in order, so when I keep my apartment clean and feel good about where I live.

So those are the things I’m going to go back to, this week.  I’m going to create a points-based system, to keep track of what I accomplish this week.  It’s going to include time devoted to cleaning my apartment.  It’s going to include points awarded for flossing, eating healthily, and for working out.  It’s going to include points for the limited use of video games or time spent on ESPN.com.  And it’s also going to reward points for positive things I do, whether they be things that better myself individually, or things relating to my shows in June.

Sadly, this is not doctored

We’ll see how this week goes.  I don’t know, of course.  But it’s Monday.  And that gives me reason to be optimistic.

A Baby Step.

Well, it’s 10 at night, and I’m about to head out on the town. I had a fairly productive day today, though hopefully I haven’t rung all the juice out of it yet.

Tonight, I’m headed out to do my first show at a club since I moved up here. It’s nothing glamorous - or, more accurately, it is something glamorous: It’s a high-school prom show, which is a show for high school kids that decide to go to a comedy club at 1 in the morning after their prom.

Apparently kids in New York have their proms on Wednesday nights now. Look, I don’t know how it works. I just know I got invited to perform on the show (actually a buddy up here vouched for me, which is how everything happens up here). I’ve heard they can be anywhere between okay and absolutely brutal. We’ll see.

I’d like to think I’m ready, as I’ve gotten 10 sets in the past 8 nights up here. That used to sound impressive in my head, but now it feels like if I was hustling at all, I would have done 20. Either way, the past two weeks, it’s started to feel like I’m getting my footing back. I’m definitely more comfortable onstage now than at any time since I’ve been up here. But there’s definitely a level of nervousness that I’m feeling as I’m getting ready to head out. I guess because I really don’t know what to expect.

So I’ll let you know how it goes. But first, I have to clean up my kitchen floor and my entire bathroom before I go. I won’t tell you why, but I’ll leave a picture that should give you a clue, if you’ve been paying attention the past 5 months.