Road Journal Part 3: California

5/26/11: San Francisco seemed like one day, and I mean that in a good way. Time has flown the past few days, but I can certainly tell I’m in California, which again, I mean in a good way. Did a few sets in San Francisco, had a great time at Brainwash and the Rockit Room, I also got to spend some time with my buddy Stueve who let me crash at his place. Stueve’s got a gorgeous set-up close to Golden Gate Park and North Beach. I never spent much time in that part of town, so during most of my time during the days I hung out in that area. I didn’t get to some of my favorite spots: Chinatown, Little Italy, City Lights Books, but I had a short time to spend and had stuff to do. Besides, after shows we hit some pretty cool bars, and on Tuesday night Karen was in town and her and her boyfriend Ed came out which was awesome. Later Tuesday night Stueve took me to this burrito place where I had some of the best Mexican food I’ve had in a while. That place is definitely a repeat. So far Los Angeles has been going strong. Shows went well, met some cool people, and got to see some great comedy as well which has been nice. Ed Galvez’s show in Santa Monica is a great room. The last time I was in LA I wasn’t really doing comedy, I had been on stage a few times but was going through that period where I was debating whether or not stand-up was something I really wanted to do. Coming back to LA now that I’ve been doing this for a bit I have a much greater appreciation for the city and how it works. I used to only ever want to consider New York in terms of relocating, but after this trip I think I’d be open to either one, especially since winter is not among my favorite things these days. I’m staying with Jesse Case and he’s got a gorgeous place. Apparently this place I’m staying at used to be an old Hollywood hang-out. There’s a shaded porch with tables, surrounded by orange and lemon trees, a pool and a hot-tub. Rumor has it Marilyn Monroe swam in this pool before. Jesse’s writing space is certainly far superior to my little office writing space in Pittsburgh so I’ve been enjoying spending the days writing jokes in the shade and hanging out by the pool and hitting the comedy shows and stages by night.

5/27/11: I dozed off pool-side reading some David Sedaris. Life on the road is tough. Earlier today Jesse helped me record another Thoughts, Rants and Cold Coffee episode which was very helpful. Hopefully I’ll get to knock out another segment or two before returning to Pittsburgh. Not too much else to report, trying to get some writing done, and planning out the rest of my summer when I return from the road. LA’s definitely helped me have a better idea of some of the work that needs to be done in the near future to keep this whole thing moving along and not stand still. Tonight Jesse and I are going to hit some stages and then tomorrow I head off to Las Vegas to take a break for the holiday weekend and meet up with my girlfriend and family. I definitely can’t wait to see them, still, I only feel like I’ve been gone about a week, which is good and hopefully will continue. Some California shout-outs are in order. It was great to see you all again and catch up/nice to meet you: Alysia Wood, Andy Wood, Andrew Sleighter, Ed Galvez, Danny Dechi, all of the LA comics that I got to meet and hang out with/put me up, Karen and Ed, Stueve, Tim and all of Stueve’s roommates for not minding the passed out dude on the couch, Jesse Case for letting me tag along for the evenings, letting me crash, and picking me up from the hustle and bustle that is LAX. It’s been real Los Angeles, tonight we duel again and tomorrow I head for Vegas.