(Sunday Paper, Volume II, Issue 10)

My brain works in a way that I can kind of get a little obsessive about things.

Mostly sports things.

And for most of my life my calendar revolved around those sports things.

But lately, things have unfolded a little differently.

See, here's the thing.

Baseball season is king around here.

So, even though the traditional calendar begins in January and school calendars begin in September, mine kind of begins in April.

And then football season overlaps baseball a bit, so we're covered through the end of December. The Jets usually don't make the playoffs, but I have other ways of following the NFL post-season, so there's a good run of time from April through the first week in February that keeps my brain sufficiently occupied.

But then there's February.

The shortest month often seems like the longest.

Because, even though I still have to wait until April for baseball, when March hits there's NCAA Basketball, and I get a little obsessive about my bracket each year. (No, YOU'VE kept statistics on your bracket since 1993.)

And that time between the Super Bowl and bracket time used to be a doldrummy time of year for me.

Not anymore.

One of the greatest things about comedy the past few years is that it dominates my schedule. And I mean that in the best way possible.

I still follow sports, just a little less obsessively.

My March Madness bracket is no longer the single most important document of my year. (Though I still like to keep stats on my bracket.)

Even though there's bound to be a snow-out or two in February, like there was this year, there's still a ton of comedy obligations that help February fly by just like every other month.

Sometimes I used to feel a little down in the winter, waiting too long for that next thing I had to look forward to.

Now, with more and more shows on more and more nights, there's just not that much time to wait.

Writing

*Boy has the writing been busy this week. I've had a bunch of projects to complete, and although there is some writing I get done when things are slower, it sure feels like I'm working when I'm working a lot. Does that make sense? I think it makes sense.

*I don't plug my writing skills here all that often, but listen. I'm a pretty good writer. If you know of anyone who might like to employ me, it never hurts to throw me their name, or throw my name their way. It's good right now, but it certainly slows down at times. So I guess it's good to solicit stuff now while I'm busy, in the hopes that when it slows down I might be able to line up some other work. Because, I'll be honest, I like it better when I'm busy.

Comedy

*Slow-ish week. I had a show in New Hampshire on Wednesday, which went fine. I have a longer set (20 minutes!) coming up at the end of the month and I tried out some older material that I haven't done on stage in a while in anticipation of that longer set. It went well, so that was good, and there were some comedians I really like who I got to hang out with. Not bad for a Wednesday night.

*Kathy's going away for a few days this week, so I won't get out that much early in the week, but the end of the week has two great shows: Friday I'm on a fundraiser show in Newton and on Saturday I'm part of a showcase put on by Boston Comedy Chicks in Jamaica Plain. Both should be great. I'll tell you more about Boston Comedy Chicks sometime. They're a great organization and they've been good to me, considering I'm a dude.

Anyway, info on those shows is in the 'Comedy Shows' link at the top of the page, but I also linked to info in the paragraphs above.

What I've Been Enjoying

*I guess we'll stay on the topic of comedy for now. Have you been watching CNN's "History of Comedy"? It's pretty good. It's four episodes in right now, and I enjoyed them all, though I guess if I had to pick a favorite it was the second one, about females in comedy. Did you know Phyllis Diller didn't start performing until she was 37 years old, after she had 5 kids?! I had no idea.

Anyway, obviously I have a clear interest in the topic, but I think it's just overall enjoyable. My only complaint is that there's no flow between episodes. The first episode is weird because it just jumps in, and then it just feels like a weird order that they're in. But I guess that's a minor complaint - the idea that each episode can stand alone on its own is probably a benefit. OK. Check it out. If you want. I'm not here to tell you what to do.

Notes

*I'll tell you one more thing that helps bridge the gap until baseball season - this is a World Baseball Classic year. I know I won't watch every game on pins and needles - and certainly have a little bit less investment in the U.S. team without a prominent Mets player like David Wright - but I will watch some somewhat meaningful baseball games. And it always gets exciting when it gets down to single elimination...and then when it's single elimination, we'll be really, really close to the regular season.

*I promise not to be too sports-centered, but I do get excited about baseball season. Baseball factors into my next two Sunday Papers, but I hope you don't not read them because they have baseball in them. (Looking at you, Lee.) Really, next week's is about friendship. And the week after that is maybe my brother's post. And then the week after that is baseball-related, but really more about the social responsibility I feel I have this season. So, I hope you stick with them.

*Really enjoyed this joke from 'Late Night With Seth Meyers' this week. If I did this right it should be all cued up to the beginning of the joke, and then just take up 10 seconds of your time:

Seth's favorite jokes from the week of February 27. " Subscribe to Late Night: http://bit.ly/LateNightSeth " Get more Late Night with Seth Meyers: http://www.nbc.com/late-night-with-seth-meyers/ " Watch Late Night with Seth Meyers Weeknights 12:35/11:35c on NBC.

*If you're a Framingham person you may know that the Starbucks on Prospect Street (in the ever-so-dangerous Whole Foods lot) has art on display above the seats opposite the counter. I know the artist whose work is there right now. I had forgotten this but I was there the other day for the first time in months and I saw it. It looks great - if you're interested in taking a look and perhaps buying something, you should pop over there. Unfortunately, you need to do it before Tuesday - that's when the art is coming down and a new display goes up.

*I've had the chance the past few weeks to see a lot of people I used to work with. I don't always miss teaching, but I sure do miss those people. Seeing them makes my heart happy. Hope your heart's happy. It's a nice feeling. Have a good week.