I know I could have done better picture-wise, but they don't let you take phones/cameras inside and I was focused on Instagram Stories that day, not the Sunday Paper photo.

(Sunday Paper, Volume II, Issue 6)

I don't know if I should be embarrassed or not by what I'm about to tell you, but here goes:

I don't like jury duty.

I mean, not in a "What an inconvenience!" way.

I mean in a "Oh man I think I'm having a panic attack!" way.

I've only ever gotten to the point where I was called into a courtroom once.

I don't even remember how that settled (did I black out? I have no idea.) but I know that I wasn't selected and I went home before lunch.

And I haven't been back into a courtroom since.

Until Friday.

I hate to even draw your attention back to this, but you might remember back in June I had the worst day of my parenting life. (In case you don't click and read the old stuff, no one was hurt. Just got into an accident with the kids in the car.)

Since I was the third car in the line I was considered to be at fault in the accident. But I felt pretty strongly that I was not at fault in any way. I'm not going to get into details. But I appealed a ticket I received in Connecticut and I was not held responsible there, and then this week I was called in to make my case for the insurance piece of the puzzle.

Long story short I'm the best lawyer in the history of the world.

I mean, not really. But kind of.

The odds were not in my favor: "It is very rare that a rear-end collision would be cleared from the record." That's a direct quote from the guy hearing my case. (I mean, I know that person is called a judge, but it wasn't a full courtroom setup. He wasn't a judge. He was a guy hearing my case.)

And guess what? THE REAR-END COLLISION WAS CLEARED FROM THE RECORD!

But don't come scrambling to me for representation folks. I'm getting out of the lawyering game. I know my limitations and I am quitting while I'm ahead. Undefeated.

If I may turn serious for a moment: I feel really validated. This weighed on me for a long time whenever I thought about the insurance surcharge...I would never drive in a way that would put my children in harm's way. So I'm glad to know I was heard.

I feel really good that I went in there, spoke the truth (nothing but the truth, so help me God - I actually had to say that), and was rewarded for that.

And, best of all, at no point did I even come close to having a panic attack.

Writing

*I wish I had more exciting stuff to tell you about this week, but I don't. I've been reading some stuff, writing some stuff, learning some LinkedIn. LinkedIn is kind of fun. Now I understand why I used to get all those annoying e-mails.

Comedy

*The only show I want to rehash from last week is the characters show at the Stand Up Break In Thursday night. (The other ones were fine, but they were pretty much my regular stand-up act. This one was different.) Quick history: when I was the Sit In at Stand Up Break In this summer, it coincided with the first of the "Shuffle" shows, where the first show of the month is different than your regular stand-up show - sometimes it's storytelling, sometimes it's something totally different, and sometimes it's a characters show, where comedians and other actors perform in character. The first "Shuffle" show was a character show and everyone that night was great. I just sat in awe of what they were doing. I toyed with the idea of doing a character that night (it's not the first time I'd seen someone do a character on stage, but it was the first time I saw this type of showcase with a bunch of different characters), but I chickened out and just did stand-up. I'm glad I did. Because I thought about it for a while after that and was inspired to try it out this time around.

I wouldn't say it was a total failure...but it wasn't a huge success. Let's put it that way. I did something education-related, so it may play better some day, with some improvements, in front of a group of teachers...but it needs work. But I'm so glad I did it. I wrote differently preparing for it, I had to get the nerve up to perform it again like in the early days of doing stand-up...it was an overwhelmingly positive experience. At the very least I got a couple of jokes out of it that I could probably transfer to my regular act. And again I saw a bunch of talented comedians doing their character thing on stage and felt inspired some more. But for the time being, I'll let them master that craft and keep my character aspirations on the back burner.

*Some great shows coming up in February. On the 20th I'm on a show in a very cool theater in Lowell, and on the 24th I'm at the British Beer Company Comedy Corner in Walpole. Both of those are amazing rooms...the Walpole one might already be sold out though. If you're looking for a good show there's a bunch of good ones coming up.

*Hey! I'm back at Stand Up Break In doing regular stand-up this week. And then a week from Friday I'll be at The Hideout, a great show in Faneuil Hall. All the details are at the 'Comedy Shows' link above.

*Gosh. I might as well plant this seed now since I've already written so much, but Framingham friends, mark your calendars: On April 14th and 15th I'll be at Amazing Things Arts Center opening for Steve Sweeney's one-man show. Here's where you can find the link to buy tickets for either of those shows. That's obviously a big deal for me.

What I've Been Enjoying

*I posted this on my regular Facebook page earlier this week, but it's worth posting again here in case you missed it. This is Sara Bareilles, who took video of herself making her first call to Congress to express her concerns. It's informative and entertaining. I highly recommend you take four-and-a-half minutes to watch it.

Scared to call Congress? Me too! Let’s do it together. Watch me call for the first time here: https://t.co/HZhqAxEjMf
— Sara Bareilles (@SaraBareilles) February 1, 2017

I don't know that she intended this to be as entertaining as it was...and maybe it isn't as entertaining as I think it is, since I'm just endlessly charmed by everything she does. But I think it's super-important because she has fans of all ages following her on social media and if they see someone like her do something active like this, maybe they're more inclined to do it themselves. I'm thinking of the younger demographic when I say this...but I guess it also applies to her 38-year-old male fans as well.

Notes

*As for me, I made my first government calls on Friday. I'll have more on those in next week's Sunday Paper.

*One more word on my pro se (learned that this week) court appearance: The girl like three people in front of me went in there with her dad, and then the woman two people in front of me had a lawyer with her and I have to admit when I saw that I thought to myself (or, as it were, said to my counsel), "I might have underestimated this situation."

*Happy Super Bowl Sunday, if you're into that sort of thing. New matchup! I was excited when the Falcons won two weeks ago, as I wrote about, guaranteeing it would not be a repeat Super Bowl matchup. That's about the extent of my excitement for the game. Except I do have a lot of Super Bowl squares this year. So lots to keep track of.

*Sure do appreciate all the new likes on the Facebook page this week. The Facebook page has primarily been the place where I put out the Sunday Paper every week but it's also the spot where I'll first post anything I have that gets published. So, if you're enjoying what you're seeing, please share and tell your friends.

*I'll leave you with this: Tom Chaplin was on Jimmy Kimmel Live! this week. I forgot all about it but Kathy remembered to set the DVR. It was great. If you haven't checked him out yet, allow this to be your introduction.