(Sunday Paper, Volume II, Issue 5)

A lot of you have been asking about the beard.

(No one has actually asked about the beard.)

I can't tell you how many times I've been told, "Hey. I love what you're doing over on Instagram Stories."

(Actually, I can. It's zero.)

More people than I can count have asked about my brother and his music.

(This is a true fact.)

So let's use this week's Sunday Paper to update you on a few of the highlights of Sunday Papers past. (I'll link back in each instance to the original posting we're referring back to, OK?)

I guess we'll start with the beard. I still have it. I like the way it grew in this time around. And I've been doing a nice job of trimming it and making it look neat.

This is also the first time I lined up my beard-growing with a haircut. In early December I got a haircut, and I haven't shaved since that day. Usually I get a haircut every 4-5 weeks...so I would be due for one right now. But with the beard you can't really tell that I need a haircut right now, so I can put that off a bit. I am walking a fine line between a new look and just flat-out looking like a slob. But so far I think I'm pulling it off. The kids tell me they actually like the beard this time. (My wife still doesn't like it.)

If I had to guess, the beard will be gone by April. Maybe even March. Once I decide it's time for a haircut I might just get rid of it all....

...but that really puts me in a bad spot, because this week I've really noticed how much this Lego figure (pictured above) looks like me. And we've been having a lot of fun together. I'd hate for that to end so soon. And yes, as you can tell in that picture, we've been posting about our adventures (Well, I shouldn't say "we". I mean, I'm the one posting them. But only because he keeps telling me to.) a lot over on the Instagram Stories. (jsucich on Instagram! Also on Twitter. And are you liking the Facebook page?) Some of those pictures will make their way over to the Facebook page, but if you want to see the Stories, which I post randomly during the day, you should really follow me on Instagram. But you don't have to. Like I told you back in September, I'm not obsessed with the Instagram followers...

...You know who's also really good at Instagram Stories? My brother Matt. I talked about him a little bit back in the first issue of this reborn Sunday Paper, back when the Counting Crows were tweeting about him. I think I may have also drawn your attention to his new music when he released a couple of singles...but I bring him up again now because 1) he has a new song out and it's a protest song and it's brilliant. (Also, 2), as I've mentioned...his Instagram Stories are brilliant.) But the song is great, and it's been really well-received by a wide variety of people. Listen to it, share it, go ahead and like his Facebook page (I won't be jealous...but you know, like mine too), and stay tuned in to what he's doing. He's great. His website is www.mattsucich.com, so see that too.

OK. There are your updates. Anything else you've been wondering about? Let me know.

Writing

*Spent some time this weekend getting up to speed on LinkedIn, so maybe that will lead to something writing-wise. I have no idea what I'm doing there but I'm going to learn. Connect with me or whatever you do on that.

As for writing, I did write some stuff this week that I really like. But you know what that means: now I've just set myself up for a lot more sitting and waiting for responses. But they're good. I'm sure I'll find a home for them somewhere.

Comedy

*One of the nice things about going all over the place to perform comedy is that it gives me an opportunity to see people I haven't seen in a while. Thursday night I did stand-up at a cafe in Arlington in a show that mixes stand-up and improv. (I would recommend you check it out - at Kickstand Cafe the last Thursday of every month. Keep your eyes peeled for it - it's a nice space and I'd like to go back there, so we should support that show.) Anyway, a friend of mine who lives in Arlington came out to the show and we had a chance to catch up beforehand. It was great. And it's amazing because when I taught in Belmont I was about ten minutes away from her every day but it's been years since we've seen each other. I guess that's the other nice thing about comedy - right now it affords me the time to do this sort of catch-up thing in a way teaching did not.

*Checked out a couple of other shows this week, and was able to go from Kickstand to an open mic Thursday night. It shouldn't be notable that I did this - I'd love to do that every night - but it's still new-ish that I'm able to do that sort of thing. And it's just now the end of January, so expect more of that in 2017.

*Tonight I'm at Union Coffee House in Milford, New Hampshire, if you're in the area, Wednesday night I'll be in Merrimack, New Hampshire, and then on Thursday I'll be doing my first-ever character in the character show at Stand Up Break In in Jamaica Plain. Don't come to that. No, I'm just kidding. Come if you want. But I have no idea how that will go - I'm definitely taking a risk, performing something I've never done in front of an audience before, and to be honest, the lineup is great. I can't imagine a more supportive group of folks to do that in front of...but, you know, it could be great, it could be terrible. And if it's terrible I don't know how I feel about you seeing that. But sure. Come out. Support that great show.

What I've Been Enjoying

*I promise I won't talk about this every week, but Kathy bought the Tom Chaplin album this past week, after the concert. It's great. It's called 'The Wave'...the words are super-sad (a lot of the songs are about his battles with drug addiction that almost cost him his band, his family, and his life), but the songs are catchy! Seriously. Great album. And Tom seems to be doing great recovering from his addiction.

Notes

*I've been thinking a lot about baseball season lately. Seems to me like the Mets (and every other team, really) will provide me with a great distraction from what's happening in the country right now. Not that I will ignore those things, just that I can use a distraction from it all. I'm spending too much time reading news that makes me sad and angry and I need to pull myself away from it sometimes. Baseball's great for that.

*Speaking of this country's troubles, I'm interested in doing something to make things better. Anyone know of anything? I was thinking of running for Senate but we have two senators here who are doing pretty good work. (Otherwise I totally would.) So, short of that, if you're getting involved in anything, hey, let me know. I might like to do it with you.

*One more update coming on an old Sunday Paper post - that'll be the main feature of next week's Sunday Paper - come on back for that.