giggles and grudges

Last night we went to see Kate perform in a stand-up comedy showcase/show-down/smack-down/thingie, which was really cool.

The competition was all amateur comedians, so some of the acts were a little rough. And some were... woo boy... um, to put it kindly: rough. [For the record, I am allowed to sit on my cloud of judgment handing down comedy lessons to all the beginners* because I watch a lot of comedy on TV, which makes me an expert.] This was the first time that this type of show was performed at this theater and there was an American Idol-style panel of judges who critiqued each performer as they finished their set. The immediate feedback was an interesting idea, since everyone needs feedback on their sets, but it seemed like the judges didn't have the chutzpah to say what really needed to be said and in other instances were overly harsh. But, hey, that's how it goes sometimes, right?

Kate was next-to-last, which was a clear sign that she was one of the stronger comedians to take the stage (they got progressively better through the night) and she was really good! She's well-practiced and has funny material and the crowd really liked her. I think her one disadvantage was that the guy who was up before her was really over-the-top and kind of alienated the crowd so she had to win them back... which is hard to do. But she did really well and we were super proud of her. The judges were hard-pressed for anything critical to say (even in a constructive way) because she's already got such a solid act. The worst that she got was from the "Simon Cowell" judge who didn't like her shirt. Which is... you know... not even a 'thing' really. So: YAY KATE!!

Afterward, we made a brief stop at a diner to get some biscuits & gravy and re-cap the night and also to talk about everything under the sun. The night culminated in Ryan singing some of his favorite songs from childhood (mostly from Barry Louis Polisar) with diddies like "Don't Put Your Finger Up Your Nose" and "Underwear Are Everywhere (But Mostly Underneath)" and if YOU want to listen to them, extended samples are available on Barry's website here and available to purchase on iTunes. Go forth and sing underpants songs!

It was a great time and we got home really quickly and I went directly to bed because I was exhausted from Fun Times. And then at 4:30am, Ryan wakes me up and whispers "hey, don't panic, but Ruckus got out and I can't find him. He's been gone for a half hour and I'm worried." So I jump out of bed with my heart pounding in my chest and throw on flip flops and go outside to scrounge the bushes looking for Ruckus. Apparently, Ryan had just taken him on a long walk around the neighborhood and came inside and unleashed him before running to the bathroom, and when he came back a minute later the door was open and Ruckus was gone.

Ryan had already searched high and low and was starting to panic by the time he woke me up and I grabbed a flashlight and went searching. After a while, a patrol car pulled up (someone probably thought we were really lousy prowlers - not going into yards or houses, just looking under bushes) and asked what we were doing and as soon as Ryan said "we've lost our cat, he's all grey and he's pretty big - not a small cat AT ALL" Ruckus came sauntering out of the bushes, crying for us. I think he'd scared himself pretty good, being on his own out in the Big Wide World. He ran all the way back to the house, exhausting himself. He barely made it inside the door before he flopped on the floor, refusing to move.

He slept the whole night snuggled next to me, clearly scared. But I was still holding a bit of a grudge. Both against the Person Who Left The Door Open and the Cat Who Decided To Take A Walk At 4:30am. Both are still on my bad list, but trying to win their way back. I'm a sucker, I guess. A foot massage and purring snuggles kind of win me over.


*inspired from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - a good example of comedy