My Storytelling Debut

I really like comedy and have had aspirations to do some stand up comedy in the past. But as I watched more stand up, I realized that my style of comedy is more in the form of storytelling rather than shorter jokes that stand alone from each other. So I didn't think my comedy career would ever get off the ground.

But then a friend of mine (and reader of this blog) told me about Elna Baker. She's a storyteller, and she's Mormon. Here's a video of her storytelling (PG-13):

And then I borrowed her book from the library and read it in about two days. That's when I decided that I wanted to do comedy like her. Short stories, some punch lines, and some Mormon drama. I was sold on storytelling.

As I looked into it further, I learned about The Moth, where storytellers have the stage for a few minutes to wow the crowd. But I was living in Provo, Utah and The Moth is in New York, so I worked on writing my stories and improving my storytelling skills in front of a crowd of people.

I was serious about this. So serious that I discovered that there was a storytelling venue in Provo called "The Porch." Unfortunately for me, the scheduling didn't work out, so I didn't get a chance to share my stories there, or even attend a show. But I did scour its website and found a fellow BYU Law Grad's story (He's hilarious and you should listen to this story).

But tonight, fate of all fate aligned for me. My friend works for WDET and it sponsors Detroit's branch of The Moth and invited me to attend the show. I was excited about it because I had really wanted to see what it was like. I had no idea that I was going to tell a story while there.

Well friends, the topic was blunders. And in my life I really feel that if you don't have several embarrassing moments and blunders, you're not really living life to its fullest. So of course I have droves of stories that I could share. My friend convinced me to sign up to tell a story. (They pick 10 people at random from those that sign up and about 18 people signed up, so I wasn't a lock to perform).

I was chosen to go 4th. I was definitely nervous. I had only ever told my stories in a ward talent show and to my friends. I figured that a stage of strangers - and Detroiters - could be pretty harsh.

I told my story about first impressions where I participated in a speed dating event at BYU and then when I caught myself on fire by accident in front of a bunch of strangers.

I definitely got laughs and high fives. And an awkward hug from a very drunk man. I think I probably could have picked up a couple of guys had I tried a little bit, too. Who knew I had it in me?

My score wasn't that great, but I definitely feel like it was worth it and that I did a good job. I definitely want to improve my technique and tell more stories in the future.

Bee Sting Remedies

My roommates and I decided to raft the Provo River on Saturday. I had always wanted to go "float" on the river, and the timing had just never worked out. So I thought that rafting would be a great experience.

While the Provo River is gorgeous, rafting down it was a little difficult in the beginning. There was a sharp bend in the river and a fast current. To avoid hitting the shore, one of my roommates attempted to use the paddle to push off the rocks and tree branches. Unfortunately, her paddle got stuck, and we continued forward.

Not wanting to pay for the lost paddle, we asked other tubers if they could get the paddle, to no avail. We then rested on a calm part of the river a ways down the river. I volunteered to go get the paddle because I thought it would be a simple enough feat.

Well, I estimated to where the paddle was lost and attempted to descend the mountainside to get to the river. I ended up sliding down on my butt in a painful descent. I got caught in trees and scraped my arms and my legs. I thought that I was being pricked by a thorn, when in fact, I was being stung by a bee. I had never before been stung by a bee, and let me assure you, it's pretty painful. I tried to sweep away the "thorn" that was piercing my neck, when an angry bee buzzed loudly. I thought, I really hope I'm not severely allergic to bee stings because I'm basically a goner.

When I finally got down to the river, I spotted the paddle. It was significantly up current (maybe about 5-10 yards, but out of reach against a fast current). I thought, I should just give up because the current will sweep me away in no time. But I said, I made it this far, I must be able to get the paddle. I grabbed on to the trees and planted my feet firmly on the large rocks and made it to the paddle. Unfortunately it was not that easy to free the paddle from its location. After a few attempts, I eventually broke enough branches and dislodged enough rocks to free my roommate's paddle from the Provo River.

I made it back to the calm river bank and made sure that no stinger was in sight. My neck was inflamed and itchy, but I continued on. After a few hours, the swelling went down, and I determined that I was not deathly allergic to bee stings.

However, today, my neck is extremely itchy and have been told that baking soda and water is a good remedy for bee stings. According to wikipedia, it does nothing, but maybe the placebo effect will reduce the itchiness.

If anyone has any good bee sting remedies, please let me know. I'm currently in the market.

Boys are Dumb

Listen to my story and give me advice. (by listen, I mean, imagine my voice while you read)

So I met this guy in a large group gathering about 6ish weeks ago. I decided to ask him on a date a few weeks later. I said something to the effect of "let's go out sometime so we can get to know each other better." He said, "yeah, let's get lunch or something." I said, "lunch would be good."

Very low key. It seemed like it would be interesting and a valid use of an hour of my time.

But then, it was my Spring Break and I went out of town, so nothing was ever set up. And then I got sick and was out of it for a week. Then another week went by and I said, "when are we going to go to lunch?" He said, "I don't know, I can't this weekend, I'm going to Salt Lake." Since then, our conversations have been, "Hi", "Hi."

I'm pretty annoyed. I thought the hard part was over. I said I would be willing to spend an hour with you alone. Isn't that enough? But why isn't he saying let's go X day. Or can you go X day?

I'm not accustomed to the actual asking. I think my technique wasn't very good. I should have been specific. Let's go out on X day. However, I've been told that it's still not great for the girl to do the asking in the first place. I'm not sure that I agree with that.

And I think that my life circumstances call for more action on my part because I spend 12 hours a day in the library. I just don't have time to touch a guy's elbow three times to ensure that something will happen. I'm in a phase of "if you want something done, you have to do it yourself," so why not ask a guy out.

So that's the story. Is this guy just not interested? If he's not interested, why wouldn't he just say, I'm not interested. Or plan a lunch and after say, you know, I don't think I'm interested. It's not like lunch is a big commitment. I don't even know the kid and I haven't been dying to go out with him forever.

Do I just not worry about it and move on?

Or do I ask again, "hey are we going to lunch?" Am I sounding desperate? I don't feel desperate. Or care either way if I actually go on a date with this guy. I'd just like to know if it's going to happen or not. At least so I can at least track my success rate for asking guys out on dates.

* And just in case you were wondering the fate of my life. I decided to take the unpaid internship in Chicago because it turned out to be a better opportunity (minus the lack of $10K). So if you know of anyone subletting an apt in Chicago starting in May, please let me know.

Life Update

1. I don't think I had food poisoning because I had other symptoms associated with the flu. I'm still recovering. Taking life one day at a time. Hopefully getting my energy back soon to gear up for finals.

2. I went to Chicago the last week of February to make contacts with BYU Alum and JRCLS (Mormon Lawyers) in the city because I want to work there. I should be hearing back from one in particular today (Hopefully!)

3. Other job leads - I have a call back interview with BYU General Counsel next week. This would be a great opportunity, but it's the whole summer in Provo... so it's a pretty serious decision I'm going to have to make. Also, I have an interview with a law firm in Sacramento next week. Please pray for me to do well and get job offers from these avenues!

Elbow Grease

5th Sundays are a little odd in my experience in Provo because they just have the Bishopric teach the Elder's Quorum and Relief Society separately, instead of together. The chat is often on the law of chastity. Last Sunday was the 5th Sunday.

The Bishop mentioned touching a guy on the elbow on multiple occasions during his lesson, and I had a puzzled look on my face. The elbow? So I asked the girl sitting next to me and she was like, "yeah, didn't you know that if you touch a guy's elbow 3 times in a conversation, he's more likely to ask you out? ... It's a subconscious thing that they've done psychological studies on."

No, I had no idea. That is the weirdest theory/study. I understand that physical contact is important (both subconsciously and consciously), however, I had never heard about the specifically touching the elbow. I really think it is a Provo myth because everyone seemed to already know it. (I've been doing an informal survey this week).

Either way, I think this calls for an experiment. Or challenge. Don't worry, I plan on reporting back on my findings. ...