24 November 2013

Vroom, dhoom, this year is going zoom

Well, well, well, it's been a month since I visited my good ol' blog. As usual, so much has happened I actually had to take a moment to go through my schedule just to see what has been going on.

It began with me opening for Tom Rhodes. I enjoyed having a chance to play a different room (I was at Cyberport) where there was a different type of a crowd. I even got to watch Tom perform on 2 different nights so it was great seeing him use his material and work the room.
In case you're not familiar with the guy, check this out:
Smart writing. I definitely appreciated his relaxed style of comedy where he wasn't always rushing on stage (a bad habit I always find myself doing). I was supposed to head on over to Little India in Shenzhen to do a comedy show but things got mixed up and somehow the organizers and the venue had schedule conflicts and unfortunately, I couldn't do that gig :( It was a shame because I was looking forward to seeing what happens when I go to little India in Mainland China!
Then of course, the roller coaster begins with me heading over to Macau to work at the 60th Macau Grand Prix. This year they spread it into 2 weekends and it's always a fun gig (and even nicer getting to see familiar faces) but man it is tough working at press conferences trying to keep up with and translate racers. I'm learning more and more about racing but I thought the 5am wake ups would be the biggest challenge, but trying to understand a French accent and immediately translate it into Cantonese is harder than it even sounds! To all the translators out there, I worship you for making this your full time job!

But I have to say, the races were awesome, even though when you're working, you can't really fully enjoy the event, it was still awesome hearing those engines roar. Oh and I got to go on the big screen during the press conferences (which explained why so many people were staring at me while I was in Macau :P)
The Grand Prix weekends ended with a killer comedy show by Butch Bradley at the MGM Macau. I got to open for him but I was honestly half awake after a very long weekend of the Grand Prix. Butch handled a very wild crowd perfectly and I can never get enough of seeing veterans of comedy work their magic on stage!

That was followed by a late night of partying before I got a few hours of sleep then came back to HK. Man it was great to be home after a long event like that!
I got to perform at 2 charity comedy shows
and
which was a lot of fun because of a great crowd!
 Followed by being a guest performer at at CUHK High Table dinner (oddly the tables weren't too high)..and then I got to MC a big event (I fit in perfectly since it was a Bollywood theme and well, I'm as Indian as an Indian needs to be to be classified as Indian) which was awesome!

 
I've really come to admit that as long as the crowd is willing to play along, the show is going to be fun for everyone. The more I do what I do, the more I learn that ultimately it's my job to convince the audience to join in and trust that it'll be a fun time if they give me a chance.... well all well so far.

And now, we reach a Sunday where I am busy with my other part of my life (backlogs, to do lists, etc.) and hopefully I'll be able to squeeze in a little time to just sit back and relax a bit (but knowing myself, until my to do list is empty, I don't want to stop..over-disciplined or workaholic...hmm?)

So all in all, November seems to be an exciting month and I'm glad to see that because as we near the end of 2013, I have got big plans (and expectations) for myself in 2014. Let's see how December fairs and when that's done. On with the new year and new adventures! Until then...I need a snack.