Sounds and Silence of Laughter

I I know that my cooking skills and abilities are not as high as others. Part of it is the time needed to prep and cook a nice, healthy meal. But the bigger part of it is that I just like what I cook normally anyways and don't want to change it. What does that consist of usually you ask? Well, a lot of carbs and meat but not a ton of vegetables. However, during this time I have learned the power of the crockpot. This might be one of the greatest inventions of all time. I've been researching simple, 5 ingredients or fewer recipes and you can just leave it on low the whole day and it turns out great. Toss it in when I wake up and don’t have to worry about what I'm going to do for dinner. And for the most part, they are healthy! I've messed around a bunch and have come up with about four go-to meals. But I'll share my favorite one with you guys somebody has gotta try it out and let me know what you think. All you need is 3-4 chicken breasts, one can of cream of chi...

One fun outdoor activity that is still manageable in this time is golf. There have been lots of modifications and restrictions put in place to limit the effect of the virus. There are no carts available, you have to walk the course. Only one person is allowed in the shop to check in at a time, no scorecards or pencils are handed out, and all objects on the course are removed that you would normally touch like pins, bunker rakes, etc… So I feel safe playing and it is nice to get outside and have a feeling of normalcy for 4 hours. Just the other day, I went out golfing with three other friends and one of them was very limited on the amount of golf he has played. Let's just say that I made sure I stayed behind him on every swing because there was no way of knowing where that ball was going. We had made it to the 17th hole at Hawk's Creek, a short little 130-yard par 3 with a creek running in front of the tee box. We all made our shots and it was Chase's turn on to hit. Stand...

Practicing being funny is such a weird concept. Who in their right mind is doing that? It seems like something more for an insane asylum than anything else. However, after reading Poking a Dead Frog that is not the case. The interview and questions with Mike Schur were awesome to get a perspective on that. This dude has to be one of the most talented writers on the planet to write my top three shows of the office, parks and rec, and Brooklyn 99. Learning about the way he got into humor and writing was great. I liked how he said that writing was never done. You can look back on something two years later and realize that it wasn't that great, but at the time thought it was hysterical. That is not a bad thing, in fact, it shows growth in your comedic development. He would practice writing scripts for shows he wouldn't even send them into, just to get the wheels turning. A great comedic mind is constantly learning new ways to be funny, it is a work in process 24/7. Surrounding your...

Moving onto the next stage of life here very shortly, the working young adult… the past couple of months my future roommate and I have been on the search for an apartment complex in Fort Worth. This was a totally new process for us so I'd thought I could write up some tips that we learned in case somebody else is searching right now or maybe in the near future. First, find one agent you want to work with at the leasing office and try to deal with them the whole time. Even if they may not be in that day just wait until the next one so everything can stay on the same page. We got caught up going back and forth between two separate employees with questions and it just became annoying to have to repeat ourselves after a while. Second, make sure you get a total of all the extra monthly charges that are in addition to rent. Garbage service, pest control, some do a fixed gas rate… they all tack on an extra $25-50 a month you should be aware of. And for my last tip, when you get down to ...

With the stay at home quarantine in full effect, what better time to get a puppy than right now? Nothing to do but give attention and train them is a recipe for success. My roommate Rob had been on the fence about one for a while but seized the opportunity. He drove out to Kansas to pick up the breed he really wanted. A half husky, half Pomeranian mix. It is a very cute dog and his name is "Tiger" after Tiger Woods. But when he misbehaves we use the real name of Tiger Woods and call him "Eldrick". As a 10 week puppy, there is a good mix of Eldrick and Tiger. However, I think he should be named after former Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski because that is his exact personality. A recent fit of laughter came from watching Tiger try to escape from the playpen we created in our living room. He tried to make the jump up onto the couch and failed, tumbling back to the floor and sprawling in a wipeout. This by itself was funny enough to laugh at. But he then proceeded...

Know your audience-There are a wide variety of jokes but they cannot be effective without using them in the proper setting. If you know the sense of humor your audience has you can tailor your jokes to that.  Steal jokes from real comedians-There are so many stand up specials out there that people can hardly tell if you steal a joke, besides, if it is a good one nobody will care Circle back to something from the start of the conversation later-This is always appreciated because it shows you were listening and it is funny if you can work that back into the conversation Work on telling quick, witty jokes off the cuff-They don't have to be as good because they happen so quickly, people just react with laughter Keep up with current events-The best jokes are often stories, and if you are aware of what is going on in the world around you, you can make light of things most everyone has heard about