After thinking about it; its not that HUGE of an announcement

Chantel Williams 2009 - Photo by Dr. Brian King

I arrived in San Francisco two years ago July. I KNOW, it seems like its been a really long time. Some days I feel like I was born here- other days when I’m walking through the Mission and wishing I was as skinny as some of the hipsters which makes me feel like I belong in the Nation’s midsection and; I am the size of the Nation’s midsection.

I started working at Castagnola’s in July 2008 as a hostess. Some time around January 2009 I was officially promoted to Assistant General Manager. On March 31st 2009 Dr. B and I produced our first Wharf Room Comedy Showcase in the banquet room of Castagnola’s. In the time since that day we have grown to 4 shows per week, an annual contest which pushed our winter schedule to 5 nights per week ANNNNDDDD… if you’re not tired enough; we started and open mic at Pier 23 Cafe on the Embarcadero.

My writing had fallen off before I started comedy. That’s no excuse – but it almost became impossible to write anything that wasn’t a dick joke in the last year. One of my more famous jokes; “Brian proves that not everything from Texas is bigger”……. yuk, yuk, yuk.

This last 11 months I have worked a regular schedule of 15 hour days, six days a week. If I needed to take an extra day for a weekend I generally worked 8 straight days which was the case last September when I drove to Portland to pick up Luna and, to visit my Children and a few friends. The day that I left for Portland I had two HUGE events at the restaurant and, 2 employees walk out on me because I wasn’t as patient and nice as I usually am. Six hours later, 3 hours late; I jumped in the car and proceeded to have the worst road trip in the history of road trips because I was pissed, tired and, grumpy. Ain’t not grumpy like me. And when I’m grumpy Dr. B seems to be the worst person to be around – guess what? I was stuck in a car with him for 12 straight hours.

Included in the last 11 months have been a few health issues. I added 15 pounds to my back side, I’ve developed a severe allergy to god knows what that includes, facial swelling and what appear, and feel like, chemical burns around my eyes and mouth. OOOOH LUCKY ME!! I perform on stage several nights a week and I look like I washed my face with nuclear sludge. Who knows if the allergies were from work, or stress or if someone is actually poisoning me. I do know that I give 150% to any job I do, whether or not that energy is directed and successful in the right places remains a mystery. The point being that I stress myself out until I’m sick.

Choices had to be made.

I’ve been encouraged by several people to go on stage. I HAVE IT RECORDED AND I WILL PROVE IT TO YOU!! , at about the 10.55 mark. So there bitches– And thanks to Tim Taylor. After a lot of encouragement I did finally get on stage. You can see it here. I roasted Dr. B and, I showed little boys how to truly “get mid-evil” on someone. Then we started a podcast so I can have a public outlet to deal with all of the bullshit Dr. B, the narcissist/ADD/Comedian puts me through on a weekly basis.

I’ve been talking with Brian about my current mental state of general un-wellness and then one day he looked at me and said, “Babe I got this.” I will now devote 150% of my energy to the one career that fell out of nowhere and makes me very, very happy!!   As of today I am working for myself as a full-time comedy promoter and producer. My first project is taking The Comedy Club at Castagnola’s to the next level and performing along the way.

I’m nervous and unsettled. Unsettled in a way that included me re-arranging, replacing and organizing my entire house in one day. All the laundry is done and the carpet has been vacuumed. We have new shelves and a new desk. I finished unpacking – we moved here a few months ago and I was still living out of boxes. I moved a box yesterday and saw Luna for the first time in months.

“Hello little puppy, Mommy’s home”