A Yeary Year

As I look back on the previous year, I can't help but wonder: did anything happen? I don't keep a diary anymore, so let me think hard and see if I can produce a recap of the year in review.



May - The year began with a surprise birthday party at Postmark Cafe.

June - I was still getting used to sharing a studio with Luke and made weekly plans to clean it up.

July - Auditioned for The Marriage Ref. Made it past a couple of rounds, where a camera crew came over to film us at home. Gave me a reason to finally clean the studio. I felt bad when Luke and I didn't get picked.

August - Got robbed and hit by a car in the same week. Finally something new to talk about on stage!



Also watched Nick Cobb tape his first appearance on Live at Gotham, and met comedian Bobby Lee.



September - Appeared on the Tyra Banks Show. Also shot a Home Goods commercial.

October - I participated in the annual Fall Family Fest, a fun day for kids sponsored by my church. Due to its taking place in the fall, it's always freezing cold outside. Luckily it rained so this time it was indoors, which meant I ran a hoola-hoop contest and ate cotton candy withOUT shivering.



November - Thanksgiving potluck at Josh Sankey's house. I don't know if anyone there knew anyone except Josh. He brings people together.



December - Christmas with the fam. Don't send us pears.



January - Launched Positively Awesome with Andrew Singer.



Also appeared on Fifty First Jokes with Luke (second from right, between Joe Garden and Liz Miele).

Feburary - Had my first colonoscopy in 10 years, remembering that I actually have to maintain my Crohn's disease. Began freelance writing for Pepsi We Inspire.



March - Got Max! Moved into a new place. No more studio! Spaciousness...a real couch...a real bed! The Marriage Ref airs. I felt good about not getting picked.



April - Celebrated one year of marriage to Luke. I was cast in a Jell-o commercial as "Mom" but was among the principals they decided not to use on set during the shoot.

Could the next year involve being cast as a mom in more commercials? Serving my church in more extreme weather conditions? Producing even more shows? Getting more dogs? We'll see.

Here Lies Root Hill Mic (born 2009 died 2010)

Root Hill Open Mic is no longer happening. We had some good times didn't we? Write your good times in the comments section.

Gossip Girl

A few days ago I got an e-mail with a friendly business proposition from a stranger. I handled it in a friendly, business-like manner. Then I proceeded to make fun of that person in an e-mail to my buddy and partner in wise-cracking crime.

Making fun of people is a part of my daily survival. Hell hath no sarcasm like a woman bored. With nothing but cubicles to entertain us, we become Statler and Waldorf, the cranky old Muppets in the balcony, finding a way to prove that everything sucks. It usually makes for a hilarious morning and a great substitution for the fresh-baked donuts they don't serve at my workplace.

But I didn't send the e-mail about the stranger to my buddy. I sent it to THE STRANGER.

What the? NO! Come back. Retrieve! How did this happen? I have no idea. I scrambled to un-send the message, a function that has never been a part of Yahoo Mail. Then in my panic, I turned the format from Classic to Beta, changing the font, colors and placement of everything on my screen. I was squinting at tiny words, frantically clicking in an attempt to do damage control.

It's like that story you read in gradeschool about the kid who gossips. He asks a wise old man how he can undo the harm caused, and the old man tells him take a pillow and empty its feathers onto the ground. The kid does as he is told. Then the old man instructs him to return each feather to the pillow, but the wind has blown half of them away. The kid understands how hard it is to take words back. And switches from Yahoo to Gmail.

The person that wrote me was gracious enough to let it slide, but it has still been bothering me. It's one thing to criticize someone to their face, and another thing to do it behind their back. But doing it behind their back and accidentally to their face takes ALL the fun out of it. I think the only thing that will make me feel better is time. Because Time is a magazine rife with idiots to ridicule. It's like shooting fish in a barrel.

Revenge of The Comedy Nerds

Had a ball with Dustin D'Addato and Dan McInerney as a guest on The Comedy Nerds podcast with Andrew Singer.

Dustin D'Addato


Dan McInerney


We were interviewed on the Art of Co-hosting, or to be more specific, co-rocking the fantastic weekly show Positively Awesome. Listen to the episode about co-hosting here, and find out what it takes to negotiate (pillow fights) and who is the real leader in our co-producing duo (Jaleel White). Andrew provides insight into the booking process, and I share a few negotiating techniques I picked up from Corporate America. And of course, it wouldn't be Positively Awesome without a freestyle from soce the elemental wizard!

Positively Awesome
Cellar 58, 58 2nd Ave (3rd/4th streets), 10003
Tuesdays at 8:00PM, 1 drink minimum

Hair Apparent

Love Rihanna's short blonde 'do and how it flips forward rooster style. Can be sleek or wild and unruly. It's so comforting and familiar. As if I've seen it before...but where?



I'm gonna call her Re-runna from now on.

The Night Court Shift

All you hungry comedians looking for stage time are welcome to show up to Positively Awesome every Tuesday at 8:00PM! The last half-hour of our show is called the Night Shift, where unbooked comics get stage time. If you have a big set coming up and need to work it out in an intimate wine cellar, this is your place.



No bull!

Positively Awesome at Cellar 58
58 2nd Ave (between 3rd/4th streets), 10003
Tuesdays at 8:00PM, 1 drink min

Root Hills Are Alive with the Sound of Music

Hey baby! Root Hill Mic is tonight. Jokes about spring time! Songs about romance! Poems about Sandra Bullock! Can't wait.

Come check it out then give Slava Yaryshkin your review on Bad Slava to let him know what you thought of the mic!

Root Hill Cafe
262 4th Ave (@ Carroll St)
Park Slope, BK 11215
R train to Union
Sign up at 7:00PM, fun starts at 8:00PM

Show lasts an hour and a half, and there are only 14 spots so don't delay!

Easter Meets West Side

Join me and Kara Buller at Amy's Bread in Chelsea Market on Sunday April 4th at 4:00PM for Girl Jam, a free writing and workshopping session for women in comedy. Sure, it's Easter Sunday, but at that point you have the belly ache from the Cadbury eggs, and you've seen just about enough of your family. Funny does not take a holiday.

Kara's Girl Jam
Amy's Bread at Chelsea Market
75 9th Ave, New York, NY 10011