Good Times!

Whew! I am a mess today. Monday is being like, "alright. That'll do. Time to adult again." This week should be interesting, because by comparison to everything that just happened, it probably won't be. Let's recap shall we?


Last Sunday, I started work at 6 in the AM then met up with some friends and headed up to Edmonton to see ACDC. Saw some old friends, some of whom I haven't seen in eight years or so. It was great to catch up with the guys, most of whom are adulting regularly now. Definitely not like the old days. The concert was outdoors. September in Alberta is...unpredictable. It was cold, and it rained hard for almost the entire show. The crowd was soaked and so were the bands. A few people left early to go warm up. I thought about doing that too, but if a bunch of senior citizens can rock the hell out for 2.5 hours in those conditions, I figured I should cowboy up and stick it out. I'm so glad I did, because DAMN! ACDC was amazing. The last time I saw them was fifteen years ago. They weren't exactly kids then, so I had my doubts that they still had the goods. I've never been happier to be wrong. If this is the last ride for that epic band, then they are going out on top of their game. I salute you, ACDC.

Not a bad way to start the week, but it kept getting better. I took my last week of holidays so I could focus on Sketchfest. More on that later, but having more free time meant I could participate in cool stuff I normally don't have time to do. My favorite "bonus event" was heading down to The Hub to teach improv to a group of special needs folks. It's so inspiring to see people that struggle to do basic tasks push themselves to try to play along with us. Aaron has severe disabilities, and can't really move or speak, but he still worked hard to say something to keep our word association game moving. He didn't want to just sit back and watch. He wanted to play too. So he did. And it was awesome. He's also a ringer at musical chairs, and had the rest of us fighting for second place. Torin has Down Syndrome, and didn't fully understand everything we attempted. But that wasn't going to stop him from getting in there with us, trying his best and having a ton of fun doing it. It's impossible not to be inspired by such brave and honest people. That crew pushes me to improve in the best possible way. They are always ecstatic to see Jason, Scott or myself roll in for a session, and we are just as thrilled to be there. I can't imagine a better way to spend a Tuesday afternoon.

Two days after that, was the first night of Alberta's first ever sketch comedy festival, Sketchfest. Such a cool thing to be part of! Bullskit called in our extended family of comedians, and several answered the call. Not only did Bullskit and Vealskit represent, but we had three other sketch duos formed by current or former Bullskitters. Along for the ride was our favorite naughty ladies The Dirrty Show. Plus the two greatest groups in Calgary, The Kinkonauts and The Late Late Breakfast Show. Plus the funniest man in Calgary, Trevor Campbell! PLUS the handsome and talented duo known as .38 Delight, who joined us all the way from Los Angeles! That's right. Red Deer hosted an international sketch comedy festival. Suck it Edmonton!

Sketchfest ran over three long but amazing nights. Seeing how different groups approach the medium was really educational, and Trevor in particular lit off fireworks in my head about what comedy can be. And amazingly, they were all wonderful people! We had over 30 talented and creative people putting this show together all week, and there was not a hint of drama to be found. My Vealskit crew was voted best musical sketch, which was huge considering the level of talent we were battling. The event also included a special "Sketch-U-Bator" after the Friday show, where all the performers blew off some steam, had some drinks, and performed some stuff for each other that we aren't sure a "normal" crowd would be on board with. Indescribable fun. My big takeaway from the festival was "make the things you wish existed."  Matt Dale came back from Toronto with ideas of how awesome a sketch festival would be, so with the help of Jenna Goldade and Jeremy Robinson, he started one. It can be that easy.

I stayed up far too late Saturday night, getting to know the people that came out to create this thing with us. No regrets on that, but Sunday morning came early as Wifey and I packed the kids up to head up to Edmonton for the Comic Expo. All of us had fun and found things to geek out about. Mr. C had his first taste of comic-con fun, and he loved it. Nothing is cooler than watching a five-year-old experience seeing people walk around dressed like his heroes, and games, toys and books as far as his eyes can see. We left that night broke and exhausted, like you're supposed to.

And that was my best week since Baby C arrived. To quote Kanye West, (which is always fun to do),

"I'm dope and I do dope $#!t!"

Go be dope,

B

What did I just click on?

Hi! Thanks for coming. Seriously. The internet is a vast and desolate place, so I appreciate you spending your wasted time here. I'll try to prove worthy.

Let me take a second to introduce myself. My name's Brad (if you hadn't figured that out). I consider myself an passionate amateur in the following categories:

-Husband
 (to an amazing woman I will refer to here as Wifey)

-Father of three to:

 -Bear (my oldest son. He's a tween that delights in trolling everyone within range when not nose-deep in a video game. Bear is also funnier than most people. Including me)

 -Bug (the middle one. Bug is everybody's little mommy, whether they think they need another one or not. She is also the sweetest creature in the universe)

 -Mr. C (formerly Baby C. The youngest and most precocious of my offspring. I think he wants to be Batman when he grows up. That doesn't bode well for me. If Mr.C ever fully harnesses his powerful charm, everyone's in big trouble)

-Comedian/Writer/Performer/Improvisor
   (this category is mostly new. For most of the last two decades I dabbled in writing that didn't have much in the way of intention. But less than two years ago I fell in with Bull Skit Comedy (link at the bottom). First as a volunteer, then as a sketch writer and eventually a cast member. It has been an incredible ride so far with those talented and giving people. Through them, I've grown more confident and willing to push myself to keep learning and growing. Recently, that's included trying my hand with doing stand up at some open mic nights)

-And now blogger. You're reading this so it's official.                                                                            
In fact, the only thing I'd consider my self a professional at is being a nerd. I've had a lifetime of experience with that one. It helps that the gig that pays the bills is as an electronics salesman. I was raised on a steady diet of comic books and science fiction. I love all types of games, from poker to tabletop, role playing to video. I also started liking basketball in junior high to appear cooler. It didn't work, but I still love it anyway. Born and raised in Central Alberta, Canada. Mostly in the Red Deer area other than a couple of years in Calgary.

Still here? Sweet. Now that the formalities are out of the way, let's get to the good stuff...

What's this blog going to be about?

The truth is, I'm not precisely sure yet. The great thing about working in this format is that what this is will grow and change over time. My priorities will shift. Different things will inspire me. For now though, I see myself focusing on the following subjects:

Family
Without my wife and children, none of the other stuff would matter as much. I plan on talking about my experiences as a parent and husband.

Rants and Raves
I like stuff. I love talking about stuff even more. Music, movies, pop culture, TV, current events, maybe even some politics.

Getting better
I don't know if I'm warming up for my mid-life crisis or not (pretty soon I can't say I'm in my mid-thirties anymore), but I'm trying to improve myself. Get healthier. Lose some weight. Properly channel my creativity. Keep finding and beating new challenges. Keeping a positive attitude. Being more unselfish and more attentive to the important people in my life. Like most of us, it generally doesn't go great all the time. But I'm trying. Sometimes my posts here will be mainly just to keep me on the right path. Hopefully it helps others that are on that path as well.

Improv, Stand Up and Sketch Comedy
The stuff I'm trying to master. Through learning how to do these things, I'm also discovering a lot about myself. A big part of why I decided to start this blog was to document my journey in these fields. One of two things will happen: Either you'll see a guy go from small-time to rich and famously successful, or more likely you'll see a guy enjoy the hell out of staying small-time. Whatever happens, it should be a fun ride.

There's a lot of things I'm going to try to deliver here, but I'm not going to be fool enough to promise them. I want this blog to be funny, entertaining, thoughtful and inspiring. Hopefully, some of the time at least, it will be. But what I DO promise to give you here is honesty. Good, bad or just plain boring, this blog is going to be me. I consider myself an earnest dude. Possibly delusional, but sincere.

Thanks again for getting this far, and hopefully we see you here down the line.

Later,

B
BullSkit Comedy