The Costa Rican Reset

I am nearing the end of this trip to Costa Rica. Despite how much it feels like God intervened on my behalf at the last minute to give me this wonderful gift of a visit to Central America and exposure to these impressive rainforests, along with having my teeth made into beautiful specimens that are ready for 4k television cameras, I am hesitant to become too hopeful. It is nearing on two months since I applied to be on that comedy show, and I have yet to hear back. And despite how lovely this trip has been, it has also drained my wallet, though it is perhaps debatable whether I would have spent more at home. So when I get back to the States, I will be asking my friend if no news from the show means good news, bad news, or no news. Because beyond that board review gig that added a little recent padding to my bank account, I am lacking in new opportunities to make money.

That being said, I am reinvigorated in the writing process. I realized today that since I am unsure about how I would deliver some of my preferred jokes in a standup comedy form, I should endeavor to write those into a song. I view songs as cheat codes to beat the exchange rate of "honesty dollars", which is important for me as someone who absolutely does not wish to pay up when I am on stage. Steve Martin beat the exchange rate by simply being a made up caricature of himself, something quite fake but still endearing to the audience.

This waiting period has also allowed me to work on my show pitches. A dream show would involve my tour guide character doing a tour of the world, but I am still having to think through how to fill that out as a concept. The podcast could translate into a parody on the Dr. Oz show, with the funniest underlying part being that unlike on his show, mine would have a real medical lesson.

Travel has given my mind a healthy reset, perhaps even more so because my schedule revolved around making sure that my grandma fared well throughout our time here. Between her medications and her need to have her American food fix, she can be a tad demanding, but this is obviously a small price to pay for a free trip such as this. And although this prevented me from working on reflecting like I normally have in the past during a trip, I am also not sure that I would have done so at this point. After all, my future employment is very much in question. I do not know what I will be doing with my life. Until March of this year, I had subconsciously held out hope that I could still make it in medicine, but for a myriad of reasons, I do not see that happening. With that in mind, I recognize that if I do not land this show, or find some other work through old acting connections, I may need to compromise after giving up my 20s for this education. I am hoping to stop or at least delay this eventuality, but we will just have to see.

A couple months ago, I was basically vomiting anecdotes and joke ideas. Now I can come back from this trip and begin the more precise and specific work of fine-tuning my wording, along with working out segues and transitions between different parts of the act. Because even if my plan is not to perform standup comedy in a traditional way, it is always smart to have something ready if an opportunity presents itself.