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Just to give you an idea of what a typical night might look like for me, here’s a timeline of my Tuesday night:

6:30 PM - Leave my apartment to head down to Comix to pick up DVD of set I previously performed there.

6:55 PM - With DVD in hand, head to Caroline’s for first set of night.

7:08 PM - Arrive at Caroline’s a bit out of breath - grabbed the “A” train, got off at 42nd St. (the train was running express), and ran an avenue and 8 blocks to get to the club.

7:30 PM - Go on stage to compete against another comic as part of the “World Series of Stand-Up.”  Each comic gets 4.5 minutes and then the audience votes on their favorite.  I go first (historically, much harder to win in the first spot).

7:36 PM - Audience vote is pretty unanimous: I win!  My team scores a point in the series.

7:55 PM - I’m now another 2 blocks up and an avenue over, helping flyer and attract audience members for my second show, which is on the 2nd floor of a pub.

9:10 PM - Perform 15 minutes of comedy in front of 2 audience members.  They’re from Australia, very nice, and I get to try out some new material.  Most of the new stuff hits (some in surprising places), so happy with the performance.

10 PM - On stage at Times Square Arts Center (having run back down to 42 St.), performing a 20 minute set in front of an enthusiastic audience.  Really good set, ends in really raucous applause.  The tried-and-true stuff hits really hard and the fresher (i.e. newer but not untested) stuff gets an equally positive reaction from the crowd - that’s always a good sign.

10:20 PM - Finish set.  Have to get from 42nd St. to 53rd St. in time for a 10:30 PM set.

10:27 PM - Having bolted up 8th Ave., I find that the upstairs of the Broadway Comedy Club (where I was booked to perform) is locked.  In other words, the show was canceled.  Frustrating, but I understand.  Things happen.

10:38 PM - Go downstairs and run into friends (who are also comedians).  One mentions he’s headed to the People’s Improv Theater (the PIT) for an open mic at 11 PM.  I decide, “What the hell - might as well!”  (I swear I don’t generally rhyme in my brain.)

11:00 PM - Stand-up comedy jam at the PIT starts.  Every comic gets 2 minutes and 45 seconds.  I’m the 23rd comic in the order.  Am beginning to realize that this show has its very own culture.

12:15 PM - I get on stage, having endured the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Work on the new jokes I debuted at McGee’s, plus an old idea from my notebook I had toyed with and put away.  Get good response (especially considering the entire audience is comprised of comics).

12:45 PM - Show ends and that old idea I pulled out of retirement gets nominated for “Joke of the Week.”  (Really not a big deal, but pumped that I was able to rescue a joke from spending the rest of its days in the darkness of an old joke notebook.  Looking forward to plugging it in to future sets)

Total shows: Booked for 4, 1 canceled but replaced it with another

Total time on stage: 4.5 min. + 15 min. + 20 min. + 2.75 min = 42.25 min.

Total walking: 42nd to 50th, 50th to 55th, 55th to 42nd, 42nd to 53rd, plus 2 avenues = 41 blocks (approximately 2 miles)