first things first - i got through to the 'winners lounge' at the raw comedy victorian state finals. there were 15 performers on the night - 12 who got through a semi and three wild cards, i think - and they picked one winner, two equal seconds and two equal thirds, and i was one of the equal thirds. just scraped it in, but i'm in all the same and that's all that matters, right?
so, what from here? once all the other state winners and place getters are decided (there's one state left i think, and though we were told which one on saturday night, i can't remember), the judges sit down and decide which 15 of us get to go through to the national finals. so all there is for all of us to do now is try and not jump every time your mobile rings, and try and not get violent when you look at the mobile screen and see that the person calling you is not from the comedy festival office. easy!
more about saturday night.
you know how i said i was nervous on friday? well, i must have left them there because i woke up as calm as a rishikesh guru on saturday morning. i breezed through the day - drooled over a cute little house down the street that was open for inspection (i can't afford to buy a house, i just like seeing how other people live, even fictitious people - i'm also a display home junkie), went for the elvis-special brunch (french toast with maple syrup and bacon - yummmm), watched a chick flick, went to the fair at the local park and petted goats, a calf and an alpaca, watched bend it like beckham while playing scrabble - and all of a sudden it was six o'clock. mild panic ensued as i indulged in some primal scream therapy while getting ready. we drove in to the city, found a park, then walked past the theatre on collins (princess? regent? who knows?) only to be confronted by a huge crowd of panting women squealing 'heath! heath!'. it was the premiere of ned kelly. so i did a few 'heath!'s, contemplated a 'show us your tits!', thought the better of it, and there we were, at the hi fi bar.
it was a large venue. a large, empty venue. went back stage and on stage and all around, drew second last which i took as an omen, and proceeded to drink beer nervously.
but all was good because people started arriving, mum and dad and madhu aunty and rav and resh, lots of other mates, heaps of other people who i didn't know, and i didn't have time to get nervous. it was excellent. i was once again channelling my inner rishikesh guru. when i was backstage waiting to be called out, there were a few butterflies, but then i was on stage and i was loving it! it went so smoothly i could have stayed up there all night. and i was so proud of myself cause i didn't swear once even though i thought i would and had warned mum and dad that i might. glad i didn't though, because nearly everyone else had bad, bad potty mouth.
after the announcements we all went upstairs and basically celebrated till there were about ten people left in the whole place, and they were closing up the club. what a night. i love my friends and family, i love the fact that i didn't chicken out of entering raw comedy.
i don't love pretending i'm not waiting for a phone call, though.

so it's friday, and i still haven't gotten my whole voice back. i am sounding pleasingly husky, so that will hopefully appeal to the judges tomorrow night. you never know. stranger things have happened. i'm getting a teeny bit nervy already, just thinking about it... natural reaction, really. right? sure! all i have to do is devise a way to conquer the nerves, and i'll be fine! yaaay!
okay, enough of this crap. either way, there'll be an update here later on in the week.

well, well, well. what a weekend, hey.
it's tuesday and i still haven't gotten my voice back. which is a bit of a worry, seeing as i won a spot in the victoran state finals for raw comedy. i hope it comes back before saturday night!
a few people turned up to see me which was nice. three out of thirteen in my round got through to the finals. there will be twelve people in total at the state finals, and i don't know yet how many they'll pick to get through, though the competition will be tougher than any of the other two rounds. i got really nervous on sunday - this time i should just try and remember to enjoy myself, the way i did in the first heat. the venue will be bigger, there might be cameras, and there'll be a band on after us, so either way it's going to be a huge night!
yesterday i got to 'have a chat' with a journo from the australian who is writing an article on raw comedy which will be in the paper later on this week apparently. how bizarre is that?

howdy. server's down at work so i thought i'd record an update.
my semi has been confirmed at 4.30 this sunday. it makes sense, then, that i have had one of the most full-on weekends planned in advance this weekend, doesn't it? it all starts on friday with a late-late movie. saturday - one b'day party at lunch time, then a combined housewarming/double birthday/wedding anniversary 'do in the evening (needless to say, we're taking the doona and the inflatable mattress with us). then the raw semi on sunday afternoon. i just hope i don't kill too many brain cells before then.
i sent a bunch of short stories to cardigan press yesterday for their second 'machines will not give change' anthology. there's one story in there that's my favourite at the moment, and i'm dying to see it in print... fingers crossed.
yesterday, i also looked at my novel draft and decided it was chop time... while i'm just getting over the pain of losing 2170 words, i'm kinda glad i did because it was starting to sound a bit bollywood. i knew i was in trouble when i found two of my male characters standing nose to nose, about to get into a punch-on over the pretty girl. ooky. happy to have gotten rid of that scene.

remember that 'other thing i preferred not to say anything about' a couple of posts ago? well, i passed the test i set myself and now i'm okay to share the news with you. i registered for raw comedy and my heat was last night - and i got through to the semis! YAY! (please note caps use. very special occasion, that). for the non-melburnites out there, raw comedy is part of the melbourne comedy festival, and it gives first timers a chance to try out their stand-up comedy skills in front of an audience, and batlle their way to the finals where the prize is a trip to and performance at the edinburgh fringe festival. so, i get to shit myself all over again either thursday or sunday this week at one of the two semi final rounds at the evelyn in brunswick street. my routine is based on - what else - bollywood, and i got a good reaction from the audience, seeing as i was the last performer out of about fifteen. i was one of three women competing in the heat, and they picked two other winners apart from myself, both very nice and very funny guys. while i was up on stage i think i spotted some indians in the audience who weren't actually related to me, though it could have just been the bright lights playing tricks on my eyes.

I added to my hindi movie collection a couple of weeks ago. i got through one - a movie called 'jism' (i kid you not - i couldn't resist buying that one) which was funny because it was trying to be controversial. the leads were pretty enough, and i laughed most of the way through it. i've decided i'm going to make a 'reviews' page on this site, so keep your eyes out for that.
then i sat down to watch kabhi khushi kabhi gham. all i can say is oh my god. i had to switch it off less than half way through because i knew if i didn't, i'd seriously put something through my television screen. obviously, some things never change. i used to love amithabh bachchan, but why the hell does he still insist on doing dance routines? he's as leggy and as un-co as a colt. and it would be nice to see an attempt even at concealing a plot twist. having said all that, yes, i admit i haven't watched all of it, but jesus! to get the general story, do i actually have to?