Great Interview Experiment - 2009

It seemed like not so long ago when Neil of Citizen of the Month started this great project which took the blogging world by storm! A blogger interviewing bloggers project!!

I think anyone who decides to write about their life online is interesting, even those who may not do the best job yet of conveying that on paper. We all should be interviewed, at least once.

I took him up on this project during round one and was interviewed by the lovely Sizzle Says, and had the privilege to interview the fabulous Penelope of It's Me, Penelope (read it here!)... and when Neil put out the call for Round Two, i jumped on the opportunity.

Danny Miller from "Jew Eat Yet" sent me ten AMAZING QUESTIONS, and that interview can be found over at his blog here!

AND NOW!
The Diva interviews Gayle from Everything is Funny:

1. Tell me a bit about yourself, why you started blogging, and what led you to making 'funny' your life.

I'm a native of Denver, CO (via Washington DC then NYC) now living in Philadelphia. My comedy days started after 9/11. I was in NYC trying to recover emotionally from everything that had happened and a friend of mine had suggested writing to work out my issues. Well I still have those issues, but the writing led to stand up comedy for about 3 of those years. I realized I really liked making people laugh, but wasn't' in it for the long haul to become a stand up comic. Having beer bottles thrown at you will sort of dissuade you from that lifestyle. I started writing screenplays, tv show scripts and for a while seriously considered a move to LA where all the writing happens. I wasn't ready to leave NYC yet though and kept writing for sketch comedy groups, other comics, and hoping to 'make it'. Through that all I kept a day job as an office manager and eventually met my now husband, hence the move to Philly. I think the blogging came out of a need to talk about my own life without having to be on stage. I guess my whole idea behind my blog originally was that life can & has to be funny in order for us to get through it. When I'm not working, trying to enjoy newlywed life and getting back into writing, I cook, craft and make greeting cards.

2. Let's talk comedy. Who inspires you, comedically? and what kind of comedy makes you really laugh??

I think the comedy that really makes me laugh is the observational kind - George Carlin, Brian Regan, Steven Wright. Story telling and 'jokes' that really say "hey, this is my perspective, laugh if you want. But if you don’t laugh, that's your problem". Observational comedy is the kind of jokes that when you hear them you're like "oh my god, this guy totally knows me life...that's so true!" I love satire and of course always view Monty Python as the holy grail of ridiculous, silly, but based in reality humor that rings true for me.

3. Ladies, ladies, ladies - i'll admit it, i don't know very many lady comics outside of the household names like Margaret Cho, or Ellen Degeneres. Let's face it, the entertainment biz is just plain different for those with that extra "X" chromosome. What are some of the challenges female comedians face in particular?

I know as a woman I should totally love female comics but I really only ever liked Ellen when she was doing comedy. I think in my top 5 favs there are no women. And it's not that i'm sexist, i just don't find many female comics funny. Which is weird because i know dozens of HILARIOUS women, just none of them do this professionally. When i was on stage, My experience was that I often felt in a club this feeling of "oh shit, a woman comic..." Like there is an extra level of pressure of "okay make me laugh bitch". I think a woman comic just starting out faces a major stereotype and that everyone expects you to talk about periods and boyfriends. I tried to do material that everyone could relate to somehow or other - job, politics, whatever is in the news. If you're only talking about your last visit to the gynecologist, only half the audience can relate to that. So you have ot work even harder for that genuine connection. Lots of girls could do that brash, "yeah i got tits, so what" kind of bits, but i could never pull it off. I admire the women who have made and continue to make a living doing what is traditionally very male dominated, because it's definitely a tough gig.

4. So, i got the feeling from your blog that you just got married. (HA!) and after a long engagement. When B-rad and i got married people asked us after if it felt any different being 'married'.... so... does it feel any different? being Married?

There's definitely a feeling of "okay, this is now forever" for me. My fiance and I lived together before the wedding (gasp, don't tell our priest) so there hasn't been any adjustment in the "holy shit this dude never puts his laundry away" kind of situation. But it's nice talking about our future and knowing we're doing this together.

5. Tell my why it was important to you to take your husband's name in a time where that extra step seems almost old-fashioned. (I took B-rad's too)

It was important for me to take the name because it just seems more official to me. It acknowledges I have joined a new family. Plus I"m lucky that the last name is unique and nice (to be fair, if his last name had been Googledorfinschtein I might have passed on the change of name....Of course now that I've said that I'm going to get hate mail from everyone in the world named Googledorfinschtein.

6. In this post you list five mantras that helped you through your wedding planning stages. I felt a particular affinity to number four: "Quit worrying about what people will think. Are we (the future hubby and I) happy with this particular detail? If yes, then everyone else can suck it." SO TRUE! How do you feel about the whole commercial *bidness* of getting married, and don't you sometimes wish we could go back to the olden days when all you needed to do was have the leader of your village come to your home and declare you married?? Do you think all the fanfare is really necessary? I mean, in the end - it's just one day... and it's the MARRIAGE that's the most important, right? (Sorry, rambling)

OH lord, the entire wedding industry is a monster. It is SO hard to deal with as a bride "okay, this is what I want" or "this is what I can afford" and then turn to every magazine in the world and see weddings that you know you can't afford or makes you question what you want. "oh, i only have 1 bridesmaid...maybe i really should have 8 like this girl did." The industry makes you feel like you have to have a big poofy dress and a veil, or you HAVE to have a bachelorette party and matching shoes, etc. It also forces you into the "this is the best day of my life" idea. Which is a crock - it is not the only day you feel beautiful. It will not be the only day you feel joy and happiness and have your family with you. I think if we focused on the celebration of your love and your family, then all the other details would fall into place - and no one would bat an eye if those details WEREN'T there. I think lately the trend- particularly with the economy - has been to go back to the hand made, do it yourself, creative focused events and i think it's so cool. I really hope that sticks around.

7. If you could have a super power for one day what would it be? and would you use that Super Power for GOOD or EVIL?

My super power would be to provide Girl Scout cookies to anyone who wanted them, at any time of year. Especially those Somoas with caramel and chocolate. So that'd probably be an evil power :)

8. i am the diva! Tell me about your musical tastes and preferences... Do you rock out to AC/DC or do you chill with some Enya? What role does music play in your life?

I actually have been involved in music since I was in 2nd grade - i can play the flute, oboe, english horn and piccolo. I'm kind of my own woodwind quintet. I also sing with my church choir so I really enjoy Latin gregorian chant and hymns. On the other hand??? I have been known to purchase Jay-Z, Diana Krall and George Straight albums all at the same time. I love a huge variety of music depending on my mood or what I'm trying to accomplish. Music is really important to my creative process. If i'm writing a chase scene in a script it' gotta be fast, guitar riffs, etc. If i'm trying to be mellow - yoga Kirtan music. I love rap too so if you catch me on the train in the morning reading a Cooking Light magazine on the the way to work you're probably going to be astounded by the stuff on my iPod.

9. Your husband has recently found out that he has Type 1 Diabetes. What has been the biggest adjustment for your household in that regard?

I really don't know - we're still adjusting. I'm working on updating some of his favorite menu items so they don't make his sugar levels fluctuate so much. THere is still a ton for me to learn. And i think we're still trying to accept that this has happened. Maybe the most significant change has been dealing with people's stares when he's testing his blood out in public. I hate that - no one even flinches when a person does an open mouth sneeze or smokes in your face, but got forbid someone does a quick blood sugar test to make sure they're not going to go into diabetic shock in the next 30 minutes. Sorry, it's still a sensitive issue. :)

10. You awake to find yourself on the beach of a deserted island after attempting to sail around the world in a wine barrel... luckily you have your most absolute favourite things in your backpack... what 10 things are you lucky you had with you?

Wine barrell - nice choice of mode of transport!!! Accepting that i was in girl scouts and am all about being prepared, please excuse my first 5 items because i recognize they are lame.

I guess my top ten things would be

1. A GPS unit
2. A satellite phone so I could call my husband to get me the @(*!## OUT OF THERE!
3. Solar powered flash light
4. Bug repellant
5. Sunblock - 50+....I burn like a stack of newspaper.
6. Note pad & pencils
7. A cross stitch project I've been trying to finish for the past 6 years,i would appreciate the quiet time to finish the damn thing.
8. A MacPro, the laptop i've been coveting. Imagine all the writing I could do while i was waiting for the rescue!!!
9. An ipod with all my music.
10. My wedding photos (aghh...puke puke puke)1. Tell me a bit about yourself, why you started blogging, and what led you to making 'funny' your life.


Now that you know more about Gayle, go on over and check her out!