Creative Pursuits.

As I told you, last Monday night my good pal Jules and I attended amateur night at a local comedy club. Stand-up is something I've always wanted to try, but I've yet to develop suitable...uhhhh...well, kahunas...to go for it.

By the way, if you're wondering how Jules and I became pals, we both got fired from the same place years ago. We share a kinship in that we were both mercifully turned loose from Corporate America just before an Enron-esque stock scandal tore the company asunder. I find it ironic and strangely satisfying that I was canned for writing a parody of the company newsletter in which I painted the CEO as a greedy, impersonal shill for big business. Months after my dismissal, he was found to have inflated stock prices to enrich himself, and served a few years in the big house. Albeit the white collar big house.

Jules and I were hoping to attend amateur night again next Monday, but my wife happened to mention that in the past she enjoyed attending readings at a local beatnik hangout. So, looks like instead of enjoying guffaws on Monday, Jules and I will don our rattiest Bohemian gear and sit in the corner of a dank, smokey (wait, there's a smoking ban in the Twin Cities) coffee house and enjoy poetry, essays, and whatever else Minneapolis and Saint Paul writers can come up with. I need to find my bongos.

I'll probably bring an essay or two of my own just in case I feel brave. Otherwise, I'll play the role of wallflower yet again.

Eleven years in the Twin Cities and only now am I exploring all it has to offer in the arts department. I'm ashamed.

I'll keep you informed as Tom and Jules' Big Adventure unfolds. Our goal is to try something new and exciting each week. Stay tuned.