"Changing Clown Make Up..."

Here is a thing clowns go through every few years...the changing of your look.

I imagine all performers go through this, maybe not Cher, I don't know, I wouldn't want to do that many sit ups.

When I was in the circus I started as an all white face clown, yellow wig, white gloves. In fact the first thing to go, the white gloves, that was pure practicality, it was really hard to do much in slippery white gloves.

I was a white face clown because in my head, that's what a clown looked like. Not a giant realization, if you asked me to draw a tree, I would draw a tree trunk with a round head of leaves, with apples on it...tree. At that time, if I drew a clown it would be a clown with a white face.

I grew and developed. after about 6 or 7 years, I became a European looking clown, to what I look like now.

I still wear the same amount of make up, it's just the base is closer to my skin tone, giving my skin a smooth doll look. The make up is more naturalistic, emphasizing my facial movements. High cheekbones, so I rouge there, big eyebrows, I color them in nearly black. My eyes are a bit small, so I use mascara and a line underneath to make them bigger.

It's still grotesque (and that is not the common use-age, grotesque meaning exaggerated) but it has a more human quality.

I've been fighting for years the notion to go make up less. It's interesting, because the people I think about, talk about here have no make up or very little. Pee Wee Herman, Stephen Colbert.

It's a big transition for me. I like being a traditional clown, I like being recognized from across the room.

My persona is going in another direction. Not sure where but likely toward Ernest (you know, hey Vern! That guy). I'm sort of thinking a crazy high school or middle school teacher. Don't know, I've started talking with other performers, thinking out where I'm going to go. It's a process.

I'll keep my Boswick persona but in the future he's going to be for kid's parties. I'm switching to an all stage performer, that's the goal!

"I'm Huge In Russia!"

I've been following the stats on this blog.

A big chunk of my following is in Russia. Not that I'm getting a big cold head or anything, it's just my 5 or 6 views a day, half or more are from Russia.

Which is my thought for today. I tend to just take everything that comes my way. I've been the Easter Bunny and I've been a balloon maker, I've been a pirate.

I tend to brag a lot about my days in the circus. But I'll do anything it takes to make a living. I'm not so sure it's the best advice I can give. I have had some strange and wonderful opportunities. I've been to the Philippines, Japan, had to turn down china. I've been inside the Getty Mansion in San Francisco. I've been around Nobel Laureates at parties. Performed for giant men at the San Francisco 49rs holiday party. Done things for the San Francisco Giants, A's, San Jose Sharks.

As much as I love being looked at in Russia...what does this do for me. Not a whole lot.

To get ahead as a performer you can't be on stage in New York one week and at a birthday party in New Jersey the next. You have to pick a path. Russia's pretty cool but I would like to be viewed here.

Hey Russia. Got any work?

"The World's Mightiest Teacher"

Here's what I love about teaching!

Clowning is an inside out art form. That means, whatever is going on on the inside has to be magnified and gigantified to the outside.

If you're shy on the inside and think people are judging you. Make that huge on the outside, become the world's shyest person, you pick on someone in your audience and say "quit looking at me!" I promise it's hilarious.

The mistake amateur or newer clowns make, they copy other clowns. You can study, you can appreciate but character is unique, it comes right from the inside. My character is generated from my fears and voices; I put them out there on the outside for the world to look at. But their mine. Yours might be similar but my experiences, my upbringing, my views of the world, my religious beliefs, my family dynamic, where I grew up, my relation to my parents, my relation to authority, the number of classes I've taken...all me and me alone. You can imitate but you can never really copy another character.

When I teach, I want you to reach inside and find the fears and the voices and expose them to the world. Here's the cool thing. I don't really need to know what the voices are saying, I don't really need to know your fears. They are yours. I just want the honesty to bubble up.

Ever been bored in a play? Ever been bored in a movie? The reason you are bored, is not because it's a boring movie, it's boring because the actors are not being honest, they are not reaching inside for character. I can blame the director too but when you get bored you are seeing people pretending to be someone else. When you are engaged and involved in the movie or play, you are not thinking, you are watching and involved. You are not watching people pretend to be something else, you are watching artists grappling with their own personal demons.

Pretty heady stuff.

Clowning is even more honest. You are putting out to the world the things you don't want anyone to know about you. Takes a lot of bravery. You are exposing all your fears, making them big, you are embracing it. It's walking a tight rope for sure, it's probably why some people don't like clowns.

So, I'm the world's mightiest teacher! I have such respect when I work with students, it's the most brave thing in the world to watch. I create a total supportive environment, no one ever falls when they are with me, they falter but no one ever hits the ground.

Now, here's the other side of clowning. At the same time you are being the world's most honest person and putting out your biggest fears to the world...you are hiding behind a wall of make up, you are hiding behind farse and routines, big shoes, red nose.

Strange isn't it?

Ready to hire the world's mightiest teacher? I'm ready!

"You Could Make a Lot More Money if You Booked Other People..."

I give all the props in the world to people that can stomach booking performers. The times I do it, it gives me an ulcer.

I hear this a lot. "The way to increase your income is to book overflow business using other performers."

I like the theory, I could also go back to school and become a doctor but neither really suits me.

I've booked other people. In fact, I was hired by a company in the Philippines, Jollibee Corporation to train mascot characters when they performed in the US. It was a big contract. I was sent to Manilla to meet with executives, went through the training, observed a lot of events to match what they did.

I was able to hire about 7 performers to do the costume work. It was a lot of fun to train them, get to know them...not so much fun to book them and keep them working.

At the same time, I figured I would become king of the clowns and use some of these same performers as birthday party performers.

Again, fun to get to know them, really great to train and create character. Not so much fun to book them, sell them on the phone, keep them busy.

I luckily eventually was let go by Jollibee, I don't know the reason but it was likely too expensive. They could just do it in house, no one cares that much about the quality of costume characters, except Disney. I love watching a good costume character work, it's like watching a good mime. That's why they hired me. Again though, it's a corporation and do they really need me after I've trained them? Not really.

I am a performer. I compare variety artists all the time to cats. We are very territorial, we do not like sharing, we will tollerate other cats (performers) but really at heart all we want to do is do our thing without comment, without interference with us having total and complete control.

Booking other people goes against that. I can't stand being responsible for other people. In my gut, I knew the only person I could count on to show up and do a good job was me. That's of course nonsense but that's the cat thing again.

So, yes, I made some more money. But what I discovered, I'm a performer, that's what I'm good at, that's all I want to do. That's a pretty keen insight. I went through the experiment and came out with that knowledge, that's pretty important.

Here is the other side of that, I'll write about this one sometime...I just absolutely love, adore, am enamored by teaching. It is a great joy to do and I don't get to do it nearly enough. That was the side I was drawn to when I booked other people.

As much of a cat as I am, I love watching people come to me, work with me and create a character that is all their own.

Anyway...

To all you clever relatives that keep telling me this, I know the business model, I tried it and hated it. If I'm broke, I'll eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, booking other performers is not for me.

Since I tried it, I'm the guy bookers want to work with because I get it!

"I Paid My Taxes...Did You???"

During the first Iraq war, I went in to buy a car.

The war had broken out a day or two before and I figured everyone would be freaked out and I could get a better deal on a car...

Actually, I had borrowed my then girlfriend (now a wife)'s car. My car a very cool 1979 Honda Prelude. Awesome car but you know...only worked on two cylinders, Needed something that worked.

I borrowed Diane's little Honda Civic (an actual good car) and left the gas cap at the gas station. I have to give the car makers kudos for making a little plastic connection so you can't leave em anymore.

She was pretty pissed. They didn't sell gas caps at Grand Auto, at Kragen. I had to go to the actual Honda dealership parts place. So...

I go to the parts place, they say it will take 10 minutes to go into the warehouse and bring back the cap. So...I wander the showroom, looking at cars. There was a good one about two years old, small, honda civic. A lease return. Cool. I decided I would buy it.

So, Here's the tax connection!

I have never made a lot of money but I thought I was awfully clever in those days, I didn't have to claim anything that wasn't reported. So, when I applied for a car loan, they said I made $4000 a year. I said, no, I just make cash, you know...wink wink!

This is what we go by, what you claim. You can have a loan you can either get a cosigner (totally embarrassing) or pay 17% interest...

Well my dad cosigned.

So, my girlfriend got a new gas cap, I bought a car and I even paid it off. and loved that car till it hit 170,000 miles and made clicking noises when it turned.

I thought about the tax thing.

I will admit that I'm a liberal. Not on everything but you know, universal health care, gay marriage, stuff like that. I used to grumble about those darn fat cat Republicans...

Hmmm. Wait. But they are good Americans just using the system that exists. I'm a two faced sleaze that is just stealing...

Hard to take but there it is. I started claiming my income, land o Goshen...what a concept. So, I was eventually able to qualify for a house, more cars over the years and I've helped my niece with a loan program for her college education, because, I'm a good risk, i pay my taxes.

There is something funny that happens when someone hands you a $100 bill. You actually think it's yours and the government is trying to take it from you. If I had a paycheck it would just be my pay after I paid my share.

That $100 was never mine. Maybe $60 or $50 after my business expenses and taxes.

I hate paying taxes. I hate that I have to have an accountant because I just hate them so much I have to pay someone to do them for me. But I love that I say "clown" on the occupation box on my 1099.

I also have a clear conscience. I'm an actual participant of this democracy. Brings a big tear to your eye doesn't it?

"The Alpha Male..."

Almost always in children's performing, you have the alpha. That's the child that takes the leadership role.

Generally, the leadership role means, making your life as hard as possible, "Let's throw things at the clown..."

It's pretty easy to spot this child. Usually a boy, almost always a boy, in the upper 6 year old range and has to be won over as you enter. Sometimes a girl but girls are smarter and the approach is a bit different.

The ideal situation is to win the child over. The energy they are putting into your show to harass you, they can put that energy to be your cheerleader.

You should have a routine or two that are not magic tricks or will be funny no matter how messed up they become. I have a routine where I show the kids how to juggle with scarves. Scarves are easy, so it doesn't matter if they run around with them, if the throw them at me, in the end, I have them throw them all up in the air and they are jugglers. It's colorful, visual, no juggling skill. Can't do it outdoors though.

I do a needle through balloon trick, I just keep hitting them over the head with the balloon each time I'm giving them instruction. Big laughs, they eat it up.

The alpha needs lots of attention. I'm not a fan of rewarding anti-social behavior, so I make a comment like, "this guy needs some attention". I'm always looking for ways of giving kids hero status, so no matter how the alpha goes nuts, they get big cheers.

Kids just need some direction, being an audience is not foreign (they do circle time in preschool or see the circus or an ice show) but interactive shows break a lot of rules. Getting the alpha on your side is the goal.

And sometimes, mom has to come in and sit with them. That works too!

"More on the Obvious"

I got a nice comment on my posting about working on the little things.

It got me thinking more....(glub glub glub my mind's percolating like a Mr. Coffee).

My favorite comparison is to a photographer. I know people look at me and often think, he's just playing, he's just having fun with the kids, that's easy. That's the double edged sword, the better you are the easier it looks.

I imagine being a photographer it must be very difficult to make people understand why you charge a lot of money.

Everyone has a camer, heck...cameras are on our phones. My mother takes pictures, my kids take pictures. You can get pictures at JC Penney of your family for $16.95 taken by teenagers.

So, I'm really fascinated by photographers because again, it's paying attention to the details. A good photographer captures an emotion in time. It's really something that you can look at a headshot of an actor or you can look at a sunset and it makes you feel something. Yet, it's nearly impossible to explain that to a customer who is saying $300? but my brother in law has a nice camera...

I want to bring the joy of being a child to children. If I could take a snapshot of a moment of my performance, I want kids laughing out loud, and me angry at an inanimate object.

It takes a lot of fine points to get more and more laughter. I'll keep looking!

"Dealing With The Obvious..."

I once got a bad review on a workshop I was teaching because I reminded the group to pay attention to where they held a balloon while being photographed.

My point? I get enough jokes about the phallic shape of a balloon to last nine lifetimes, I don't want this in photos. So...hold the balloon sideways or behind my back. Don't hold a balloon between your legs.

Obvious? So obvious that I see it all the time when I'm working with other people.

So, I stand by this, pay attention to very small details. Acknowledge small details. Are you sweating? Make a joke "I'm hot!" (pose for picture)

This is what makes us professional, small details. In one of my very first blog entries, I wrote the difference between a $1000 magician and a $200 magician, the $1000 magician shines his shoes.

I want the legacy of the clown to go on forever. This is very important to me, so I pay attention to the way I pose. I also take a little time to pose the kids. If I'm in a big group, I have them all make a funny face at the camera. I usually do this after the regular "cheese" photo. I get the kids spontaneously laughing. It's always a better shot. That's what I want the clown to bring out, funny.

Little details. If it's a birthday party, I take the 2 minutes where I whisper in the birthday child's ear "thanks for inviting me! Happy Birthday" Just a detail but hopefully a special memory.

If a little girl is wearing a lot of pink on her clothes. I guess her favorite color is pink and make a big joke or a big deal out of "me tooooooo!" Little detail. To a little girl who loves pink, I'm the most magical person she's ever seen.

The first 10 years of being a clown are learning techniques, crowd control, the magic in a magic trick, comedy timing. The next 30 years are finding details and refining them forever.

When I was in Clown College, I didn't understand, because I was so young. The art of clowning is the forever exploration and looking at finer and finer details.

I was listening to Chris Rock the other day. He was talking about one missing word will ruin a joke. One! And that's from the greatest living stand up on the planet. He's still exploring and refining.

If Chris Rock is still working on this, I better keep looking as well.

"People Think It's Pretty Cool What I Do For a Living..."

People think it’s so cool what I do for a living. I’m my own boss, I get to do what I love.

My big secret...I’m really jealous of people with jobs. I’m so driven to get the next gig. At least I’m driven to wait around fretting over it.

My big secret...I live in a perpetual state of stage fright. Upcoming shows are always on my mind. I do a lot of kid’s birthday parties, those may seem on the low level of performing but I fret and dream about them the night before.

I look at the variety performers I know. We are an independent, not high functioning group. A lot of single people. People not great in social situations, offices a mess, big dreams all the time. That's me, a functioning mess.

There is a price for being an artist. My family pays a price for sure. As much as I love my family and as much time as my job allows me to be with them; I disappear and can be gone very long days when I do a show. I also will disappear into my own head worrying or thinking about shows or lack of shows.

I get to bring laughter into people’s lives. That’s very cool for an hour at a time, then it’s wondering if I’m going to get to do it again or if that was the last show.

"Hey Clown Do That Again!"

There is an old old rule of magic. Don't ever repeat a trick. There is an old saying for performers...leave them wanting more.

Toss those out the window. You want big laughs with kids? Repeat repeat and dare I say repeat some more.

Children's minds work in a layering way. Think Old McDonald. A chick chick here and an oink oink there. There's a hole in the bottom of the sea. There's a frog on the bump on the log etc.

Kid's love repetition. If you know this, you can have fun with it and the laughs don't die down they grow on each successive misstep.

Toward the end of my show, I try to blow up a balloon. I snap myself in the face. This is a pretty generic trick for balloon makers. Here's the fun. I do it again, in a slightly different way (maybe step on the balloon to stretch it out). It snaps me again. Then I have a kid hold it, it snaps me again. This can build and build and build, kids will laugh so hard they will wet themselves.

Here's the caveat. I've watched these kind of routines umpteen times and found them frustrating when not done properly. I remember watching a clown try to pack his suitcase and I was sitting in the audience frustrated, saying in my head, just put the clothes in there.

These routines go back to the fundamentals. Understand kids development, so build. Understand your character, don't do this routine because I get laughs, it has to come from you.

Here are things I ad. I am confused why it didn't work. I am angry at the balloon. Knowing my character, nothing is my fault. Getting overly hurt so no one thinks I'm ever actually hurt. Varying things slightly because as a character I want to find a way to do this, even though it's the very definition of insanity (trying the same thing over and over expecting different results).

Varying it is very important. Just like Old McDonald, essentially it's all the same. But you ad a pig, a goat, a duck etc.

A blowing up a balloon routine is all the same, I can't blow up the balloon, so I stretch it. I find different ways to stretch it. I find different body parts to hit.

Don't be afraid of repetition. Use it, use it....use it.

"Mr. Clown Mr. Clown, Can I Ask You a Few Questions?"

If you do public shows, it's pretty likely you will have a short interview, sometimes a long interview with the local paper.

I've done a lot of these. It's not that I'm tooting my own horn, it's just I do a lot of library shows and park and rec. departments. If they are good, they send out a press release. If these are small towns, they'll take pictures, sometimes ask a few questions. I'm pretty prepared for interviews, so I get bigger articles.

Keep in mind, reporters always have a bias and you are not chatting over a beer or a cup or coffee or in my current state...a diet coke.

The obvious questions will be; "So, kid's are afraid of clowns...how do you handle that?" "A lot of people are afraid of clowns..." etc. maybe even asking about John Wayne Gacy. (oh joy).

Watch politicians on tv. The complaint is they don't answer a question... it's because they're good! I'm dealing with dumb little comments about clowns being hated, I'm not going to answer that and give it any power. So I have sympathy on something much larger like your career!

You can guide any question you want. If I don't repeat back the question, they can't quote it, so I don't use a phrase, some kids are afraid...

I answer questions in this way; Kid's love me, when I walk in the room, you can see they're eyes light up, it's very fun to see. I don't want stuff about the fear of clowns in print. I have enough trouble with that dumb concept that clowns are weird, I don't want it in a paper.

I do answer honestly. Once we get past the loaded questions. I tell them all about my kids, wife, where I went to college. For me, I want it light hearted, this is a fluff piece, it's ok, it makes people smile, that's what I'm looking for.

You can also practice! I practiced with my old partner Woody. He retired from clowning and does local San Francisco history. He is interviewed all the time (because he's funny and likable on camera), he's the go to guy for local tv news, when they need to refer to an historical issue (making a building a landmark, instead of a Safeway).

He's the one that gave me the heads up on not repeating back the question. It's our tendency to say the question back, practice a bit so you can catch yourself. Again, if you don't say it, they can't print it.

If you want, I can send you a few questions, you practice answering them out-loud. Or ask a friend. The same questions people ask at shows or parties, will be asked. "How did you get started" "Is this all you do?"

With all that said, it's also quite fun to be interviewed, makes you feel like a big shot! And the reporters I've met are really nice. They are doing this kind of interview because they are nice.

I always have a point of view in my head as I'm asked questions. This is equivalent to an actor's backstory, you may not say it out-loud but it peppers your conversation. My point of view? I love clowning, I love seeing people laugh. If it's in the front of my brain, it's going to keep me from being cynical or sarcastic.

"Had a High Energy Kid...What do I do?"

I got an interesting email this morning from a party I performed at yesterday.

It was a blast of an event, very small, (by my standards I consider anything under 15 small), it was in a park and I was instantly recognized by bunches of kids.

The birthday child's older brother, all of 6, was nuts and totally happy and couldn't settle down. I love that kind of energy, if I can keep it just on the bubbling point, I can get big laughs with that energy.

The email this morning from his mom, saying he's a very shy reserved kid, the mom and the dad don't know what came over him.

I hear this over and over, either they are usually very outgoing and they will be shy with me or opposite.

The clown is so powerful of a character, we can bring out what's hidden deep down. I give the kids total permission for unabashed creative freedom. Isn't that what art is about? My art is collaborative, it requires an audience and it requires trust on the part of adults to let the kids express themselves. That's a lot to ask. I have kids too, it can be pretty embarrassing if they are obnoxious.

This email this morning made me think a lot. I perform for children because they thrive on live entertainment. They thrive on live entertainment that is directed toward them.

TV, videos, visual arts are not live arts. What the live arts do is turn a child inside out. They cheer, they laugh, they lose themselves completely. It's pretty cool.

What I know of old theatre, all people used to do this. From what I learned of Shakespeare, the audiences were like the children I see. Shouting, loud behavior. There was a release for them.

Children let it go. I love what I do because it's for kids. Adults have a great time with my shows but I love releasing people, getting them to react. There is so little for kids in this arena. Kids are not allowed to fully react during the ballet sleeping beauty or the Nutcracker. The yearly visit to A Christmas Carol. Those are adult performances allowing children in.

I love doing children's shows allowing adults in!

"Making a Joke of the Obvious"

I was hanging out with my friend Greg Frisbee...real name I promise, look him up, he's a very funny performer.

We were talking about jokes and comebacks and my process.

He needed jokes about sweating. So do I. I sweat a lot on stage, I can't help it, it's my fight or flight response, I sweat out of the forehead. I know a lot of performers do this.

So, ignore it? Or acknowledge it?

There was a great one man comedy piano show I saw a few years ago. It was funny, the guy could play piano like nobody's business plus he told jokes, would lay on the piano, it was great (I can't remember his name for the life of me though sorry). But the guy was sweating puddles.

I was 10 or more rows back and it was obvious, I think it made people a bit uncomfortable that he was working so hard for us.

If I could talk to him, I would say, start the show with a joke about sweating. for him, rain drops are falling on my head, change it to rain drops are falling from my head. And use that as a call back joke every so often when he stops and wipes his face off with a towel. It would get roars of laughter. I think we love to see each other being human.

This is the fun of being a clown. I'm balding and I have weird hair. I enter almost every show making some joke about my frizzy hair and lack on top. It's just what people are seeing, get it out there, it's funny and it keeps people in the show.

Coming up with a joke for sweating is also a good technical point. If I make a joke "I'm shvitzing" (a Yiddish word for sweat), it gets a mild laugh and there is a small break to wipe my forehead and keep people going.

In a show, you have to remember too, audiences need small breaks. A big mistake is to build build build and never let the audience have a release. It makes them tired. Even the great Robin Williams would slow things down, you have to.

Imagine you broke your arm, it was in a sling. You can pretend no one notices or you can make a joke...this is what happens when you climb trees and your way way in your 40s...

People think clowns hide. I believe in the complete opposite, I am completely laid bare, all my inner secrets all my hang ups are there for all to see.

"the core of a joke"

The last few months, I've been working on a book of jokes for children's entertainers. It's basically a book of comebacks for the common things you hear.

Quit Clowning around!

I have to union rule.
And quit my day job.
And give up the ability to pick up chicks?

I've worked on and off on this book for years. I sell copies, spiral bound when I do workshops. A few months into writing this blog, I started really focusing on the process. Sometimes churning out over a hundred comebacks in a day.

Comebacks is a word I don't like. I don't like writing insult jokes. I like it fine but I toss them out. My opinion of family entetainers, we should empower people while we make them laugh.

Here's my joke writing process. I don't think it's super complex, it's just a muscle that I use a lot. that's why I have a giant beachball shaped head.

A joke is pretty much pulling together two concepts that don't go together. "A dog walked into a bar and says, 'I want the man that shot my paw'" It's funny because we link unusual things together. In that joke, you see a dog with a gun belt and a cowboy hat, he's talking and he has his paw in a bandage. We listen and go with it. It's human.

So, to write a joke, I take a statement like "quit clowning around" and let my mind encompass that whole statement. "Quit" grabs me right away. Quit, reminds me of ending a job. Clowning is an unusual job...So, I think of jobs, at least what I know about jobs. Clowning is a weird job. So, I must have a union telling me what to do.

I could go so many ways with that statement. Quit clowning around. I can deny it "you're calling me a clown? I'm so insulted..." which is funny, if I'm in clown make up, clown shoes etc. I've pulled together two things, "I'm a person, I don't dress like this on purpose".

I could go sexy. "hey quit clowning around." "On the outside I'm clowning on the inside...I'm wearing a thong" Maybe not a pretty image, if you've seen me, but hey funny is funny.

That last one depends an awful lot on timing. But hey, I can pull it off, I'm a funny clown...wearing a thong...I can pull it off because of my well shaped behind.

"So Close..."

I was getting disillusioned with this blog thing and along come Alexandra and Karen. All of a sudden...I've got followers!

I haven't posted in a while. I had this notion I could work without an audience. Not me, I need watchers and lots of em. In fact, I've always had this belief I was being watched. In early days, I used to think it was people from the future making sure I made good decisions to save the planet (not joke).

Then my dead grandparents, watching me from wherever.

Now, I'm less psychotic, I just believe I'm on a reality show. So, thank God I know I'm writing and someone is reading.

I came really really really close to a TV commercial last night. It's wild how these things come about. The same way I was giving up this blog because no one was reading, I was giving up my hopes of being on TV. I haven't had any calls from my agent, I haven't had an audition in 6 months...

A casting agent called and needed me to dress up like a "sad clown" I knew pretty much what she was talking about, she sent over a picture of Emmet Kelly. I did an amazing replication, good make up and a similar costume. I had photos to her and her client in just over an hour. It was all pretty remarkable. But it's the way I do things.

They were in love with me, the agent, the producer of the commercial.

Even though I know better, I get my hopes up. "If I can get this thing it will take a lot of pressure off" I really want to focus on making children's television. That means, buying more and better equipment, marketing. This felt like "finally..."

And I waited around with my cell phone. Thinking I would get a call any minute..

Got an email, they love me but they are not using a clown at all in this thing.

argh. I say argh.

I did what I tell new people not to do. I focused on it. I knew, the best thing to do was just let it go. It's nice just to be acknowledged for my expertise.

I'm really happy I have my two followers. I still think I'm being watched!