Tuesday 30 June 2015

Rockin' a 'Dead Mom' Joke Like No One's Business!

So, last night I did something a bit crazy. I faced one of my biggest fears, and crossed off another item from my bucket list. That's right, I did my first-ever stand-up comedy gig!

Allow me to give you a bit of background. As some of you may remember, I have a bit of a fear of speaking in front of large crowds. This partially has to do with confidence, I'm sure, which could account for the other reason such a thing terrifies me - lack of experience. Sure, I've done plenty of things that have made me face this fear, but it usually is surround a topic matter that a) I know a fair amount about and/or b) isn't of a super personal nature. So, perhaps it doesn't make a lot of sense as to why I would want to open myself up to criticism about certain parts of my life. But, I enjoy making people laugh - I know I have moments where I'm funny. And, by doing this, I knew I could kill two bird with one stone*, so to speak. Plus, ever since my Mom passed away, I've tried to do at least one thing a day that scares me. In this case, just signing up for this two months ago, was my thing that scared me, so I guess you could almost say this was killing two birds with one stone...squared?

Anyway, this really all came about because of my Orange Irish pal, Cillian, who has a similar dark sense of humour. Usually when the two of us are together, chaos ensues, and at the very least, we find ourselves hilarious. For example, at my birthday this year, after our karaoke time was up, he and I proceeded to carry on with the microphones pretending we were talkshow hosts, and interviewing everyone else in attendance. But, basically from this point on, we discussed off and on how funny it would be if we became a comedy duo. And, at first he was super keen, and would bug me for material, and I kind of shrugged it off, because as much as I loved the idea, it really scared me, and I just couldn't commit.

Then we decided to check out amateur night at a local comedy club by the name of the Frog and Bucket, and for some reason I thought that I could do it... on my own. By the time Cillian's birthday came around in April, I was pretty convinced I was doing this, and even "tested" out some "material" with the group of friends we were celebrating with.

But, here's the thing, I needed something that would reflect me, and I needed something that I could talk about for long enough to attempt to make a 5-minute set. Knowing that many comedians use personal tragedy as the basis of their material, I really only had one major life event to go off of... "my dead Mom." Now, I'm not saying that in quotations to make it sound like it's not true - it is - but that became the overall theme of my material... the same material I tested at Cillian's birthday.

Originally, my hope was to be able to sign up for the May 29th Beat the Frog competition. My rationale for that specific date was two-fold - Michael would be visiting me, and the two-year mark would have just passed, making for the ultimate way to not only pay homage to The Mujjie, but also just really face my fears in light of her passing. Plus, I knew that Michael's laugh would, at the very least, be a good buffer in case I choked or was really tanking. Unfortunately, that date was booked, BUT the next available date was June 29th. So, with a slight panic attack, I committed to that date.

Because it was two months away from the time of booking to the time of the event, I kind of put it aside, and didn't really put too much effort into it. I'd jot down various things that came to my mind along the way, but really I wasn't taking it too seriously. And then all of a sudden I realized it was two weeks away, and the fear of god washed over me, and I entered massive panic mode anytime the thought of this adventure popped into my head! I started piecing together a set, and even had a few gracious voluntolds (and one unsuspecting group of post-GKH Trivia Night participants) listen via Skype and give me some feedback.

Yesterday leading up to the event was a mixture of unnerving calm, terror, nerves, and everything in between. I rehearsed in my room for hours, sent my brother pictures of me in various potential outfits, and made sure I had a few friends to accompany me to the venue, so as to ensure I actually went threw with it! For the most part, I felt pretty confident leading up to it, until the first acts came on, and  then my nerves became so overwhelming, I couldn't even smile during the performances of those who went before me.

I suppose now would be a good time to provide a little context into the competition itself. So, Beat the Frog is a weekly stand-up competition, that is intended for amateurs, but experienced comedians often come out to test their new material. There is a maximum of 11 performers in the competition, with one or two 8-minute warm up acts, and of course the host. Each participant in the competition itself has up to 5 minutes to impress the crowd. If you make it, you go on to the "clap off" at the end of the night, which determines the winner. HOWEVER there are three cards in the audience. If the cardholder/surrounding audience doesn't like what yer sellin' the card goes up, and if all three cards are used you get the boot. BUT, the real kicker here, is that not only are you 'booed' off the stage, you're booed off by Beck's Loser** blasting as you exit. It seems harsh, but from a purely comedic perspective, is actually pretty hilarious!

(Photo credit: http://frogandbucket.com/manchester/)
Okay, so now that I've set the mood, it was closing in on showtime. The lineup is randomly selected, and I was number 4 out of what should have been 11 acts, but ended up only being 9. And despite how long it felt leading up to that moment, before I knew it my name was being called up to the stage! Well, here goes nothing...

WARNING: Due to the subject matter and my potty-mouth, viewer discretion is advised. Not appropriate for most work places, or those easily offended.


And after 4 minutes and 11 seconds, Beck came a blarin' and I proudly walked off that stage. Let's just take a moment and think about that for a second. What a heartless crowd... I confess my mother has died, and they still boo me off the stage!

In all honesty though, I couldn't be happier with how it all went down. Sure, I would have like to have made the 5 minutes, and yeah, it would have been a happy surprise to have won the night's competition. BUT it was the first time I ever did stand up, and I almost made the 5-minute mark. I won. Not only because of the comedic value of putting such a deeply tragic and personal topic out there and then having that terribly brutal lyric escort me off the stage, but because I tried to shed a little light on the most difficult moment of my life, while facing my fears. I was caught completely off guard by how comfortable I felt up there. My nerves washed away the moment I opened my mouth, and I just had fun! I feel no amount of upset, disappointment, or hit to my self-esteem. If anything, I feel more confident than I've ever felt! I put myself out there. I, perhaps naïvely, divulged my deepest, darkest tragedy in front of a room full of stranger in a semi-inappropriate manner!

I even received really great feedback from a few of the other competitors, the host, and members of the audience. But, perhaps the greatest feedback I received was from one of the cardholders, who immediately after the competition ended approached me apologetically, wanting to make sure that I didn't take it personally. I, was feeling the complete opposite, and made sure she knew it. However, she confessed that one of her friends was in the competition, and the group she was with feared I would win, so they put the card up! HA! So many elements of comedic awesomeness in this night!

I will say, that my little Irish pal, Cillian was actually the star of the show. Yeah, he stole my spotlight, and ended up making the night about him***... Because we were sitting in the front, the host started picking on him. And, since he was such a good sport (and easy target), a few of the competitors had a go at him too! Anyway, he's next, and I'm officially challenging him to have a try at Beat the Frog!

After the competition ended, my support team went for a few celebratory drinks. I know what you're thinking - but Emily, you don't drink! While this may be true, this didn't stop me from having my first ever shot! Okay, so it was cranberry juice, and I ended up choking on it, under the pressure of it all, but it was a true shot experience nonetheless (There is video evidence of this incident, but I'm currently awaiting permission to use it because it may contain a bit of language, and I'm really hoping that by putting this in here, that when that individual reads it he/she will give the go ahead due to peer pressure, and yes I understand how evil this tactic really is!). This was followed by an apple juice shot, and then Cillian broke a wine glass, so we called it a night!

So, now, it's the day after, and I gotta say, I'm still feeling pretty pleased with it all. Of course, I must confess that I awoke mighty early, despite heading to bed pretty late. Yep, at 4:00 am, my brain demanded to know exactly how long I lasted on stage, and after tossing and turning for a few hours, I gave in and uploaded the video in order to find out!

I'd like to conclude this post my saying one big, massive thank you to everyone who both encouraged and supported me throughout this entire process. An even bigger thanks to those of you who took the time (even when you didn't have much of a choice - yes, that means you GKH Trivia crew!) to allow me to practice my routine. And, the biggest thanks of all to those of you who came out last night to cheer me on! But, I must say a special thanks to my newest friend, Joana, aka "the girl Russell's seeing"**** for volunteering to film my 4:11 of fame.

Here's to facing fears,
-the Orange Canadian


*Yeah, that may not be such an appropriate metaphor once you read further...
** For those of you unfamiliar with this song the lyrics are as follows "I'm a loser baby, so why don't you kill me"
***Completely out of his control, and believe me, it was hilarious! No hard feelings about it all...for real!
****For some reason, my friend Russell aka Josh Groban, for the longest time referred to his lady-friend as "the girl I'm seeing"...

Saturday 27 June 2015

I Don't Understand: A Complete Recount of the Museum of Science and Industry

When I returned home from Wales last week, I was greeted with the news that one of my Acadia roommates, Renée, would be passing through for a few days on her way home from teaching in China. I was pretty excited about this visit, but like my previous visits from home, I was concerned with what to do while she was here... in terms of activities. I told her to have a think on it, and luckily she found herself sitting next to someone on the trip over who recommended we visit the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) - a spot I had yet to visit.

I learned that there was a free bus service from Piccadilly Station to the museum, so we opted for that, being as we were budget-conscious. Here's the thing... the maps aren't overly accurate. So, after some deliberation, we decided to jump on the bus that was minutes away from departing. To be fair, all three of the free bus services indicate that they pass by the museum. Fun Fact: The one we were on, was the only one that apparently does not. Eventually we got it sorted, Renée successfully passed the spontaneous round of "Where Are We?," and we made it to the museum.

The Metro Shuttle map...not how ALL three go by the Museum!
I will be honest, it was not at all what I was expecting. And, upon further reflecting, I'm still a little bit confused about it all. BUT - it was actually pretty fun...and not just because there was a significant presence of trains and poop facts. The part that seemed confusing was more so the mix of things. For example, the main building. It includes an air plane, some computer-y things (including a section where you can write love letters mad-libs style and send them via electronic mail to the people you love...except they don't actually send, apparently!), and then a whole section on textiles. Then, upstairs there's a bunch of science experiments. Look, as I go into this, you'll understand that this is a great way to spend an afternoon...it's just a really big hodge podge of things. Plus, there were lots of children running around...



Anyway... we spent a good deal of time in the textiles section. I was particularly excited to see many of the same fabrics I had debated over in Ghana. Renée enjoyed pretty much all of it. It was quite interesting though. It talked mildly about the colonial aspects of cotton, but there were also examples of alternative fabrics that were made here. There was even several homemade quilts throughout, most of which were made my local schools (no pictures). Some of them were quite well done, while a few were slightly terrifying!

Some of the fabrics
Renée hard at work!


Cotton!

After this we went upstairs into the Experiment! section. This had several puzzles and activities, that were all intended for children, but of which we found just as exciting. The only downside was that there were SO. MANY. CHILDREN*. On the up side, many of the activities turned out to produce quite the arm workout! Who says you can have fun, get fit AND learn all at the same time?!

A tornado replicator. Below is a video of it.

Our next stop was the Power Hall building. Here the focus was on a personal favourite of mine - trains. Now, I don't want to sound crude, but to put it bluntly, it was traingasmic! So many trains! However, one of the highlights for me happened to be near the beginning of our visit to this spot, when I looked at Renée and confessed that I thought I'd been there before. But...it turns out I was thinking of a Coronation Street episode, where Roy goes as a chaperone and inevitably, one of the children (the one he's, of course, in charge of) goes missing, or does something bad...I can't remember! It was really cool though, to see the different types of trains.

Part of the Power Hall exterior
A shot of the outside of the Great Western Warehouse (aka the Main Building)
Yep! That's a jet engine!
 A video of the windmill within the Museum, and where I had my Coronation Street moment... Don't judge me!

TRAINS!!!!!
So...I got a little excited here, and pushed Renée out of the way without
realizing it, only to be horrified once I did! Not sure it was worth it...
The innards of one of the trains!
Allllllllll aboard! Just reprising my first ever solo/acting gig,
as the 'Big Black Engine' from The Little Engine that Could.
When we reached our max amount of training viewing, we made our way to the Station Building, where two exhibits had caught my eye - one on waste and the other on underground Manchester. I will say, the Waste exhibit was way better than I had anticipated, with several interesting games to help visitors engage and learn about the many issues related to waste management. The section on underground Manchester, however, was a bit of a disappointment. It was pretty much a poor version of Dr. David F. Duke's Environmental History class on 'Waste.' But, there were plenty of poop facts, so I guess it worked out...

The Station Building, which is home to the Waste and Underground Manchester
exhibits, and the 1830 Warehouse Building, which is home to the Electricity Gallery.


 Renée was having a 'lightbulb moment'... love how she's also giving 
birth to the lady who was evidently not impressed to be volunteering that day!

The 'Wasted - The Trouble with Rubbish' exhibit.

I'll give you a hint...this is one of the entrances to Underground Manchester.
This is Teri the talking mute toilet! Like many of the interactive
aspects of the Underground Manchester exhibit, it didn't work. 
The underground... and it smelled kinda funny... and not in a good way!
The final stop of our museum visit (we opted not to go to the Electricity Gallery), was across the street, at the Air and Space Hall. Our main draw here was the simulator ride, that neither of us ended up going on! But, we walked around and were mostly fixed on the 'air' aspect rather than either the 'space' or 'road transport' sections. Actually...come to think of it, I can't actually recall any space-related things... Maybe that's what the simulator was?

The outside of the Air and Space Hall
I've been looking into getting a new car... but I think I'll pass on these ones. 


Try before you buy, that's what I always say... and I think this trial run was enough for me.
Or was it?!
Now THIS is my kind of ride!
Both the visit to MOSI and with Renée in general were really great. The museum itself is really interesting and interactive, and is pretty much fun for all ages. There are several parts though, that are not easily accessible to all visitors, however, so if you decide to visit, just be mindful of that.

-the Orange Canadian

*This prevented me from taking pictures of this section.

Wales-in' around!

Well, it's been a week so I suppose I should finally hunker down and tell you about my second trip to Wales. I will first say, that I'm pretty certain I was able to make the unthinkable happen during our day-long adventure. Yes, that's right, I somehow managed to get a sunburn... in Wales. For you see, when the 20 or so of us packed into the bus it was cloudy. The forecasts predicted nothing but a mix of clouds, rain, and of course, more rain. So, when I was preparing that morning, I looked at my beautiful bottle of sunscreen and thought to myself pft...who needs this today? Certainly not me! and away I went.

We drove for about two hours, and made our first stop in Snowdonia. It was raining lightly when we arrived, but we decided to have a bite to eat before we began our hike. We had originally intended to take the train up the mountain and hike down, but upon our arrival we learned that the trains had all been sold out for the day. So, we ate (and it poured heavily!), took a final 'pee break' and began our climb.

Now, when I say 'climb' I mean walking up a very steep, but nicely paved road. In fact, this was how most of the trail was, which equal parts confused and pleased me. Regardless, within minutes I regretted not wearing my knee support, but it didn't stop me.

When we made it to the first good photo stop, it was still pretty rainy. There was a mystical cloud cover, which pretty much prevented us from seeing the lake and town below. Of course, this didn't stop us from trying to snap a shot or two!

You can faintly see the lake in the top corner - but check out them sheepies!
We continued to hike a bit more, but with an approaching meeting time, my knee slightly hating me, and a returning hiker informing us that it was really bad towards the top, a few of us decided to turn back. But, it turns out, this worked out just fine. In the time we had climbed up to where we turned and started to head back down, much of the cloud cover had lifted from the area we had originally attempted to take photos. And it. Was. Stunning. Plus, there were more sheep! (I love sheep!)





Could have been a regretful placement of my backpack...
The train that we should have taken to the top...

When we finally reached the bottom, we were greeted with signs promising free food. Naturally, we were game to accept this offer, only to find out that it was put on by a group of Sikh's. We didn't get our food, but instead had an interesting conversation about religion, our own personal beliefs, and the basics of Sikhism. Unfortunately, our interest quickly faded, but our delightful host was filming us for the group's YouTube channel, so it was difficult to part ways.

Next, we boarded the bus, and began backtracking by stoping in Llandudno. Not only was this a stark contrast from the mountainous surroundings we found ourselves in earlier in the day, but the forecasted torrential downpour turned out to be in the form of hot, sunny beams of sunlight. And this my friends, is why I went from pasty to lobster in a matter of minutes! But, it was nice to walk along the 'beach' and pier.

Is this actually Wales?
Part of the pier.
If the O.C. where to be filmed in Wales, this is what I imagine it to be...

We were told about a ski hill that was opened during the summery months, and which was home to one epic toboggan ride. Of course, this meant we had to test this out. And, after much debate over how to get there (cable car, or no cable car...tram or no tram...walk or no walking... or some mixture), we marched up an even steeper road and eventually made it to our intended stop.

Along the way we came across some DONKEYS!
These two made me think of Gramma, and how much she loved donkey's. They're pretty sweet!
Buuuutttttttt...it turned out we got there too late. While some of the activities were opened, the promised toboggan ride of doom had just closed. So, some of us decided to make the most of the sunshine and beautiful views and adventured around taking in the sights and having a quick nap in the grass (again...hence my sweet, sweet 'tan'). Some of the others opted to give the snowless skiing a try. It was a nice relaxing afternoon.

There were bunnies EVERYWHERE!
View from the top of the ski hill. The slightly slanty peak, is the one we attempted to climb earlier.
The pier and beach/promenade







On the way home, we plugged in someone's phone and attempted to have a sing-a-long for the duration the drive. It started off a little strange, but eventually Lady Gaga's 'Bad Romance' came on, and was most definitely the most popular of all the songs that played. Personally, I thought the acoustic version of Ginuwine's 'Pony' was the real highlight. Man, that song was SO inappropriate for our young ears growing up!

All-in-all it was a good break from reading. Northern Wales is certainly beautiful, but if I go back, I will most definitely try to explore the southern parts.

-the Orange Canadian