reverend josh, stand up comedian

one week ago today, i officiated a wedding ceremony. i'm an ordained minister (i became ordained through the internet. go look up 'universal life church,' if you for any reason want more info on that sorta stuff. it's not a religion and i'm definitely not religious). it was the third wedding ceremony i officiated. not bad for a dude who thought it'd be fun as a goof to refer to myself as reverend josh.

officiating a marriage is definitely a cool experience. i can't help but notice certain similarities it shares with stand up comedy. the first and most obvious being that the more you do it, the better you get at it. no surprise there, practice makes perfect. this last marriage was also the most ceremonious one i've done so far. there was a reception, a bar, a dj, and caterers. people traveled from far places to be there. i felt more pressure than usual to be good (not bad pressure, like it wasn't panicky, anxiety like pressure. i just wanted to do a good job). because of that i prepped more this time around and spoke a whole lot more fancy words than in my previous two ceremonies. 

the next similarity would be how i observe other weddings i go to. since my first marriage gig, i've never been able to go to other weddings and just enjoy the ceremony as it's happening. i'm mentally taking notes. i'm looking for positive things that i can take away from it so that i can be better for my next performance. sometimes i'm criticizing whoever it is that's doing the officiating. if something's not good, i'll say to myself, "i would never do that."

and i'm guilty of the same shit with stand up comedy. i can't watch stand up comedy and just chill back and enjoy it. i'm always taking notes. i'm always critiquing and comparing myself and looking for ways to observe others and take away aspects of performances that can help me become a better performer. with stand up, it's almost a little sucky that it has to be this way. i started doing stand up comedy cuz i was such a fan of it. before i ever tried it myself, i never watched stand up comedy with such scrutiny. i'm not gonna say the thrill is totally gone. i can still enjoy a good joke. but it's harder. and sometimes, especially with someone on the level of george carlin, i'll watch and think to myself, "why am i even trying to do this? he was so damn good, and i'm just not so damn good. i should just quit." i don't quit, but i guess it's sorta a bummer when the highest compliment i have now for stand up comedy is, "your shit's so good, it makes me wanna quit."

on a sorta unrelated but sorta related note, i'm glad i never followed through on rock and roll pipe dreams of picking up a guitar and learning how to play and writing songs and starting bands. i love music so much as a fan. and it's great that i know absolutely nothing about how to create music myself. the magic still exists. i don't know how easy or how hard it is to create certain songs... all i know is how much i love or dislike them. and i think it'd be the biggest bummer of all if my music listening experience was in any way altered from the way it is now.

the lesson here.... fuck rock and roll, go get ordained... and when you see me on the streets, tell me i should never quit stand up comedy.

thanks!