09/27/2008: ""
I haven't journalled online in a while. Things have been interesting to say the least. We did get hit by the hurricane where I live and there was quite a bit of debris, but no real damage. Some of my neighbors still don't have power, but for the most part things are back to normal.
I was in California when the hurricane hit, working at one of my favorite comedy clubs, Rooster T Feathers in San Jose. We have posted one of those shows on my website, www.tommydrake.com. It is a free download in five parts. Make yourself a CD or put it on your ipod. This is hopefully the first of lots of free downloads we plan to post on my site.
I'm back out working on cruise ships now. I'm writing this in my cabin on the Carnival Legend as we cruise back to Tampa. I will be overnighting in Florida and flying up to Canada to board the Carnival Victory for a couple of shows. Carnival has changed their show schedule and now instead of doing just one midnight show, we do two late night r-rated shows. Technically it is more work and we don't get paid by the show, most of us get a day rate, so some of the entertainers are complaining about this change. Personally, I think it is great. I had two shows two nights ago and two last night. I was better in the second show last night because I had just done a show and I knew what I wanted to do differently next time. The more I work, the better I get, so this is a good change for me.
This is a good time for me creatively. I'm not really a political comic, but I do like to discuss what is going on in the world and in our country. Audiences are very informed right now and I'm enjoying discussing the election and the energy crisis and the economy. The downside, it takes me about a year and a half of doing a new bit before I find the best way to deliver it and most of this stuff will be outdated in four months.
By the way, if you really want to know what is going on in American politics, get into a cab in another country, Belize is a good one, but any country will do, and all you have to say is 'how are you doing today?' or 'how's business going here?' Foreign cab drivers are genius political commentators and they are so connected to their own economy and gas prices through their job and the rest of the world, particularly vacation spots are dependent on the U. S. economy, that some of the smartest and most interesting observations I have heard have been explained to me through a thick accent over the back of a car seat.