Pradeepan Jeeva

HELP: How do I Get rid of HTML in Facebook Summary??

2011-12-09T12:01:00.001-08:00

I just want the first few lines of my blog post to show up in the summary section. Instead, I have a bunch of html showing up with the facebook embed summary. Help!

-Pradeepan

LOST MY GIRLFRIEND!

2011-11-09T22:38:00.000-08:00

GAINED A FIANCE!

Last Saturday, my girlfriend Amreitha Richelle Miller agreed to marry me, and I'm so happy! We've been dating more than 2.5 years, traveled all around the world, and are ready to take the next step. She's an amazing woman I have incredible chemistry with, so taking the step was a no brainer.

I want to remember our engagement story forever, so it will forever be documented through this blog!

THE ENGAGEMENT STORY:

Three months ago, I bought an engagement ring and got the blessing from Amreitha's father to propose. In order to ask her to be my girlfriend almost three years ago, I went all out. I asked her to model for a photoshoot of mine, then surprised her with seven stations around Colorado Springs that each had roses and a letter on parchment explaining the most significant parts of our relationship. This time I wanted to be just as romantic, but not as complicated--though still extravagant.

Over the last two weeks, Amreitha gathered 25 people to diet until Christmas. Her and I eat strict diets all week and cheat on Saturdays. We planned on eating at Fat Lorenzo's, our favorite pizza place in Minneapolis on the Saturday of Nov. 5th.

She had no idea I planned proposing that day, and I wanted it to stay that way. She asked if we could take pictures in the park (I'm teaching her photography), and we did. After taking pictures, we walked over to our Pizza place, and then the real planning kicked in.

At Fat Lorenzo's, while she wasn't looking, I wrote down our reservation name, as well as 5 fake reservations. Because we were "fifth" in line, we waited to be seated for 20 minutes. Acting like I was sick of waiting, I said to Amreitha that we should order the pizza to go, and assured her I knew the perfect place to eat it. She reluctantly agreed (it was kind of cold), but she showed readiness for spontaneous adventure. Little did she know how much adventure it would be! I ordered the pizza to go, and to her astonishment, the pizza was ready in five minutes. She shouted, "we should order our pizza to go all the time if it's always this fast!" Little did she know, I organized the proposal with the pizza guys, and they prepared the meal way ahead of time.

Next, I took her to my 1982 Dodge Ram Prospector, and blind folded her. This blind folding did not raise her suspicions because I have done this before to surprise her with different areas of Minneapolis. We drove about 10 minutes away from the cities, and arrived at our amazing destination.

Finding the perfect location proved to be the most difficult part in planning the proposal. When I found this place, my search stopped.

The Old Cedar Bridge is an abandoned registered historical place that is deteriorating but cannot be destroyed (like my biceps.jk). This is only 10 minutes away from the heart of Minneapolis, but it feels like you are in the middle of a wetland wilderness area. Amazing!

Amreitha, still blindfolded, arrived at this site totally unaware of the beautiful surroundings (now enhanced by the sunset). This place is not technically legal to visit, so I led over and under a few fences while she was still blind. This felt like a ropes training course!

At one point, the bridge completely breaks off, and a small plank is the only way to get across. I didn't know how to lead her across this, so I hoisted her over my shoulder and walked foot over foot to the other side. She really trusts me! One slip and we would have forever been part of this historical beauty (dead).

[Video: Walking across the plank]

Once we made it to my set destination, I handed her my iphone and said, "Please listen to this song." For the last three weeks, I've been working with my friend Elliot Johnston at Red Chair Studios to record a song for the proposal. We recorded some horrible music, scrapped everything, did it again, and then finally pulled something together. He is amazing, but I am not used to singing in a studio! Yikes. Plus, it's quite intimidating singing for a trained classical singer like Amreitha who has performed at Orchestra Hall with acts like Vocal Essence, the most award winning choir in America!

She listened to the song, smiled, but still had no idea I was proposing.

She gasped after hearing the pre-chorus: "I can't wait anymore, you must know that I love you so. You're the one, you're the one, you're the one."

[Here is the song]

Only Girl [Amreitha Proposal] by pradeepanjeeva

She gasped because this is the first time I've ever said, "I love you," to her. When we started dating, I committed to not say, "I love you," until I proposed, and not kiss until we've married. So far so good. It's been very difficult at times, but this engagement has renewed my fire for purity.

Like I said, she gasped, began crying, laughing and feeling all sorts of emotions. Watching her face during this part, blindfolded as it was, is my favorite part of the night.

I got down on my knee, asked her to take the blindfold off, and in the heat of this romance, she couldn't untie it! So, I helped her, then got back on one knee, gave her a speech none of us remembers, and asked her to marry me!

SHE SAID YES! We screamed, hugged and twirled in utter joy! My life has consisted of many ups and downs, and I'm so thankful to begin a life with girl of her caliber. Ten years ago, I never would have thought I could be so lucky.

Then she began noticing her surroundings, and this is what she saw:

We cuddled under the blankets, drank Ginger Beers, and tried to eat pizza. We were, however, to excited to eat much! After dreaming, talking about the details of the night and how excited were were to spend the rest of our lives together, we warmed up over drinks at a nearby coffee shop.

To cap the night, I had one more surprise lined up. Yet again, we got in the truck and took away her sight. She opened her eyes to see about 30 people from our community celebrating and cheering for us! What a better way to celebrate a great night and tell the story to a bunch our important people while the moment remained fresh. I only invited the majority of the people to the party the night before, so I was extra amazed to see all our friends!

Little did I know, my family planned to surprise my surprise. Moments after the initial surprise, my sister, Amreitha's older sister and brother in law walked in the door. They traveled all the way from California and Kansas to party with us! Such a rush. I had no idea.

We gathered everyone, told the story and celebrated the night away! What a perfect day.

I didn't find out until after that my setup/teardown crew (Myka and Josias) got stopped by the police for trespassing on a historical bridge. Myka told them that I was proposing, and their stern demeanor transformed into giggles and smiles while asking, "Did she say yes?" Love wins!

Thanks for everyone who helped out and showed up! Shout out to Dayna, Josias, Myka, Elliot and Casey, Chamindika and Kenji, our special guests from different states, and so many others who supported us! You all truly made this a special day.

This is awesome!

Below I have posted more pictures and the full proposal video!

Pictures and video by Dayna and Josias.

UNICYCLE EXTREME!!!!

2011-08-17T13:01:00.000-07:00

At my Church, Harmony, I met some Unicyclists.

These guys picked up the Unicycle, learned sweet tricks, won national tournaments (in speed) and unicycled across Europe!

I asked Elijah how he stops when going down a mountain (like the ones he traveled across in Europe) and he said that "you just pedal faster." Crazy! Extreme! Unicycle!

Perhaps this will be my next BLOGRIMAGE.

Finding skills like this make life interesting for me.

-Pradeepan

Apex Music

2011-08-15T23:58:00.000-07:00

Shot stills and a video with Apex. These guys dance, skate, and create music in Minneapolis. Finding original talent and creating alongside it is something I really enjoy.

Here are some pictures from the shoot.

-Pradeepan

My band BrownFolk!

2011-06-27T23:35:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, My band, "BrownFolk," performed its debut concert! We worked hard writing all original songs, learning new instruments and forming from the ground up. The band definitely has a lot of work to do, but we are stoked to have started.

This is the first time I've been a main singer for a serious band, and I look forward to growing in this role. I started playing Mandolin only since last December, though singing is way more intimidating. Staying on pitch, keeping the right tone, delivering while playing an instrument and remembering words prove to be quite the challenge. Still, it's a blast. I love writing songs and I feel, with each song I write, I get better and better. Hopefully this is reality.

We were pumped to get the debut out of the way. In fact, we didn't invite any of our friends because we didn't how much we'd stink or rock. We weren't completely happy with our show--some sound issues, mistakes and missed a few parts. Next show we'll be ready to rock and invite our friends!

I was so proud of how Amreitha and Dayna Saur did at our first performance and I look forward to growing and progressing!

KILLING SUBURBAN PEOPLE

2011-06-22T09:28:00.001-07:00

Found an old video I did with Matt Finley. This was just for fun, and I'm glad I found it on my computer.

By the way, I've been trying to figure out the twittersphere a little bit.
Check me out @pradeepanjeeva

FASHION SHOOT: KOUWAI

2011-05-22T18:46:00.000-07:00

Last week, Kouwai requested a couple shoot with her Fiance, which was perfect since I wanted to add "engagement" type shots to my portfolio. Unfortunately her fiance couldn't make it due a funeral scheduled for the same time.

We shot at the Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis, MN. I live about 5 minutes from the place, bike by it everyday for work, but had no clue it existed. It's a beautiful area and a perfect place for a photoshoot or date (blind folded my GF and only took it off right in front of the falls for a surprise date).

Still getting used to the D7000. I feel like I have a few focus issues. Not sure if it's because of the backfocus stuff that some people had problems with or I'm not focusing with the camera properly. Not everything is out of focus, so I'm leaning towards it being my issues.

Anyways, shooting with Kouwai was a blast. She has a very unique look. She's a combo of African, Phillipino and Chinese. I hope we can shoot again.

Mexicans Defeat French!

2011-05-08T19:18:00.000-07:00

Festivals are awesome. This weekend, I went to the Cinco De Mayo festival on Saturday morning and the Festival of Nations of Sunday. The Friday preceding the festivals, I had family night.

I love family night. Right now, I’m greatly appreciating the importance of friendship. Not just friendship, though. I’m talking about the knitted heart, likeminded, like spirited, challenging, comforting, I’d kill for you kind of friendship.

Family night is my chance to connect with people who I’ve known and have known me for as long as I’ve lived.

My best friends are scattered through out the world, but I have my family. These weekly gatherings are glue and life to me.

I still miss my friends, though.

While missing my friends, I’ve mediated on Proverbs 18:4:

“A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”

Building community, specifically man community is something I love to do. So I need to be friendly. That’s specifically why I’ve planned a man night coming up (if you’re interested, send me a message).

A good friend is something worth fighting for. Every experience, success and adventure is greatly highlighted when you’re doing life with the people that are life.

If you want to hear an awesome sermon about this, here’s one from my pastor. When it’s all over, nothing is more important than your relationships. Check it out HERE (I’ll put a link here it is online).

Anyways, here are a few pictures from the Cinco De Mayo Festival.

FIRST NIKON D7000 SHOOT! FIRST STUDIO SHOOT!

2011-04-30T22:48:00.000-07:00

Though it was raining, I did a photoshoot with Nadyia Jawahir and Tina Simons in Rosemount/Lakeville today. Thankfully, my friends at Gilmour Creative, let me shoot in their studio.

This model contacted me on Facebook to do a shoot about three weeks ago and we made it happen.

The studio was a very small room, but I got some good results with my strobes. I was nervous using a studio type setting because I've never done it before. I love shooting outdoors, but didn't get to because of all the rain. Every inch of that room was used thoroughly as we climbed over chairs, stands, and tables.

My strobes were placed carefully in corners of the room to prevent to much "spill" from the powerful lights. It took awhile to get the lighting to feel right to me.

And, of course, by the end of the shoot, the sun came out.

More importantly, I worked with D7000 for the first time. It's a great improvement from the D80 I've been using. They are both DX cameras, though the D7K is a huge improvement. Even though it can't compete, I still love my D80.

The team worked really well today despite the tough elements.

We had a blast shooting, and I give props to all who were involved--especially my lovely girlfriend!

Here are some of the first edits.

JERKIN'

2011-04-21T19:13:00.000-07:00

My full-time job is the achievement coordinator at a public charter high school in St. Paul. A month ago, I decided to create a magazine with the students. This would create opportunities to know the students, mentor a few and create an excellent representation of the school.

Today, I took a few students out on a shoot. They are in the magazine because of their crew (Illusionari Ent). The four boys in the pictures are part of the Jerkin movement--a style of dance out of California.

The shoot only lasted 15 minutes, but we got some cool shots in.

It was kind of a nice break from fashion photography. Jumping, dancing and all that is fun to shoot.

Maybe I should go after bands for more photography opportunities. This would also be a great way to get Brown Folk in the music scene door.

Check out this video of them.

MUSIC IN AMERICA

2011-04-19T22:20:00.000-07:00

In many ways, I thoroughly miss my year living in Korea. The variety and relationship I felt with American music, however, was very much missed in my time abroad.

Since living in Minnesota again, I've intentionally sought after music. By forming a band called "Brown Folk" with my girlfriend, visiting different concerts and supporting my friends, I am filling that music shaped void. There's something about creating and performing that intoxicates me. I love the moment, the afterglow and the process. It's part of me--whether I'm on stage or not. Fame and glory is not the goal. Significance in music is.

My step-brother asked me to create something with him so we could show our children and grandchildren 50 years from now. "It doesn't even have to be good," he said. That's so true. A couple years ago, I found out that my dad used to write worship songs. Even more years ago, I found out that my mother's grandpa wrote a bunch of worship songs in India that are still sung today. I love creating significant music for my sake and the sake of the future. I wish I could hear my dad's songs.

Here are some of the scenes I've been too lately:

1. The Danielson Family!

I thought Sufjan was playing, but the poster lied to me. Either way, I witnessed the most awkward Conga line in history. A bunch of awkward white people dancing to a band dressed in boyscout uniforms. It doesn't get much better than that. This band shows me that being yourself is important and something can be made beautiful through a lot of work.

2. Your Friends and Family!

This is my cousin's friend's band. They are awesome and seem to embrace the community aspects of music. The vocalist is a cool guy and reminds me of the Rocket Summer. Brown Folk will hopefully play with them in the near future.

3. Me!

This is just me creating in the kitchen.

GOD bless American Music.

RUNWAY SHOW

2011-04-16T18:46:00.000-07:00

Over the past couple of years I've been learning photography, and I love the new experiences it gives me. Within a year of starting to take pictures, I worked for a magazine in Korea. That magazine called on me to document certain events and aspects of the Korean culture I would have never known if not for them. Now, I'm freelancing for a magazine in the Twin cities, and feel like I'm seeing things that I would have never seen without photography.

Last week, I shot a Fashion Runway Show. This whole environment is kind of strange and a little intimidating. Every non model that walks in is constantly adjusting clothes and hair to make sure nothing is out of place. I didn't have a backstage pass for some reason, but I was able to make friends fairly fast and while a security guard turned me away from the VIP area, the show organizer chewed him out and I got a pass. Perfect timing.

The models are primarily young, and I realized there is not reason for me to be intimidated by 18 year olds. With the backstage pass, I began eating the food and walking more confidently--my girlfriend did the same.

I met a lot of the other photographers and easily noticed that I had the most outdated and least expensive equipment. Oh well. During the show, I got to know all the photographers and was impressed by how friendly they all were. Shooting the runway with them was fun, but the actual photography was a little boring and mechanical--definitely not my favorite type of shoot (if I'm only trying to get the tradition runway shot).

It's a different world with all the clothing, models and "MN Glamour." I'm glad I got to see it.

Here are some of the pictures I took:

FINAL? [stand up comedy BLOGRMAGE: DAY 30]

2011-04-13T21:29:00.001-07:00

Even though it's the 30th day, this BLOGRIMAGE is not over.

I want to perform some of my new material.

WHAT I LEARNED SO FAR:

1. Stand up Comedy is Hard
2. The hardest part is writing
3. The second hardest is getting gigs at legit places
4. Observation is the key to writing
5. Real life funny does not always translate to stage funny
6. Too many people depend on crude humor for easy laughs
7. Writing gets easier the more it is done
8. Bounce ideas off of real people
9. Material being funny to you is more important than it being funny to others
10. Be disciplined

BLOGRIMAGE FINAL EVE [stand up comedy BLOGRMAGE: DAY 29]

2011-04-13T04:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday at family time, I once again realized how humor is natural over the dinner table. Every once in awhile, my family asked me if I was practicing new stand up material. Upon hearing that question, I immediately wished I had my Moleskin and pen.

The comics life is always observant.

If anything, this BLOGRIMAGE is helping me to observe the world with witty eyes. Another thing I'm learning is how to rewrite stories so that they are funny. My ten minute stories often go down to 1 minute after revisions, which is kind of sad but the nature of stand up comedy.

Here are some more photos I edited!

BUMMER [stand up comedy BLOGRMAGE: DAY 28]

2011-04-11T21:02:00.000-07:00

This is the second week in a row I did not make the stand up comedy list. The frustrating thing is that there is no system or communication in place to inform me on what the problem is. Did I not perform well enough? Is their a process to earn a second spot? Did I do something wrong? These are the kind of questions I am asking. The manager, from what people have told me, is not friendly with comedians so that puts a stop to aggressively gaining a timeslot.

Oh well. This just means I should focus on other comedy spots. There is an open mike everyday of the week in Minnesota. Not all of them are ideal venues like the one I've been weekly attending, but I can't be pick when it comes to experience. The simple act of practicing, performing and writing material will grow me into a better comedian. Simply waiting for the best opportunities will deny me of the exponential growth of regular practice.

A copy of what my set would have been is posted above.

-Pradeepan

FASHION [stand up comedy BLOGRMAGE: DAY 24-27]

2011-04-10T23:33:00.000-07:00

HELLO!

Sorry I haven't blogged about comedy the last few days. I've been busy with fashion photography and some other side pilgrimages (a blogrimage without the blog) I've been doing!

I'm doing an open mike tomorrow (hopefully)!

Saturday was a big photography day. I worked with the Former Miss Teen USA MN (pictures posted below) and then did runway photography for a magazine later that night (video above).

All in all, it was a bunch of new experiences for me. I've never been to a runway show, and like with comedy, got introduced to a whole new subculture. I love new experiences like that.

There are whole worlds of society I have no idea about.

Seeing fresh experiences like this gives me a lot of material for comedy, so I also welcome these new events for tangible reasons as well. Plus, I got to meet a ton of new photographers. They were very nice, inviting and had way better equipment than me. Oh well. I'll just keep growing with what I have.

Peace!

LIFEDY [stand up comedy BLOGRMAGE: DAY 23]

2011-04-07T21:51:00.000-07:00

What do you call a girl postal worker? A femail man?

DIFFERENT LOOKS [stand up comedy BLOGRMAGE: DAY 21]

2011-04-06T09:26:00.000-07:00

At the end of work, I sat in an office with my co-worker guys, and talked about comedy. There are so many different styles of comedy that I'm unaware of. The subculture within stand up is amazing. If you have not been to an open mike or a comedy club, please try it. You might have to endure language and crude comments, but you'll get a social commentary into your neighbors hearts.

We are often disconnected from the society around us these days. Between garages and facebook, it is so easy to isolate oneself. This stand up comedy subculture is a unique insight into what people think is funny or offensive.

-Pradeepan

DENIED [stand up comedy BLOGRMAGE: DAY 20]

2011-04-04T21:38:00.000-07:00

Went to the open mike today, and didn't make the list. More than 50 people signed up to perform, and only 20 made it to the stage. Tonight a documentary crew came to film some amateur comedians, so the club pulled out a lot of the regulars.

They do, however, always incorporate first time comedians into the show. So the first 5 or 10 comedians absolutely bombed their sets. Since I've been watching stand up comedy, tonight was probably the worst set I've ever seen. It made me especially upset because I didn't get to perform. Even though it was a bummer, I was a little encouraged by the lack of quality I saw by first timers. Hopefully this doesn't sound arrogant, but I saw the difference in talent. Some people will have to work much harder to become stand ups than others.

On an encouraging note, a different club owner approached me and said that he remembered me performing last week and that I should perform at his venue. He'd give me more time and a guaranteed spot. I might do this just to get more experience. The venue won't have as many people or be as prestigious though.

Oh well. The experience will be well worth it if I choose to go ahead with it.

-Pradeepan

BACK [stand up comedy BLOGRMAGE: DAY 19]

2011-04-03T22:11:00.000-07:00

Hello, thanks for excusing my posting hiatus. Sri Lanka played against India, and, unfortunately, lost in the World Cup. Since the games were in Asia, I woke up at 4am to watch the matches, and took my schedule, and posting, on a spin.

Anyways, I thought of another cool BLOGRIMAGE idea today. Make a short film every week. Shoot the raw footage, and edit a little bit a each day. You could even make a month long show with a daily episode. Shoot a bunch on the weekend, and then edit that raw footage each night.

Tomorrow is Monday, so I'm going to to an open Mike again. I haven't written anything yet, so I hope I can come up with something good. Last week, I tried so hard to write something and I didn't end up putting anything in stone until right before the show. I shouldn't be as nervous this time, but I am--it sucks not having a ton of material. Writing is still the hardest part of this whole game.

A lot of the other comics repeat the same material week after week. I want to write new material each time I do an open mike. It's a challenge, but that's what this is all about.

I took some pictures of my girlfriend, I'll post them here:

World Cup

2011-04-02T06:38:00.001-07:00

Sri Lanka is beating India in Cricket. Blogrimage on hold.

...................................

Continued:

What a shame. Sri Lanka lost. No comedy in that :(

MENTOR? [stand up comedy BLOGRMAGE: DAY 16]

2011-03-31T21:48:00.000-07:00

A student asked me to mentor her in comedy today.

This is so strange, considering I hardly know what I'm going.

A student came up to me and said, "you got to try my fried chicken if you stay you don't like it."

I'm still gathering a lot of material, and the people around me give a lot of jokes.

STUDENT TEST [stand up comedy BLOGRMAGE: DAY 15]

2011-03-30T22:04:00.000-07:00

At school, my debut video was presented to the entire school and supporting community. I really never thought that my students considered me very funny--we have entirely different backgrounds. Suburbs vs. Inner-city.

My students, to my surprise, really got into my stand up comedy, clapped and celebrated me after. A couple of students came up to me, shook my hand and said that my set killed.

This BLOGRIMAGE has developed a habit in me to constantly observe. I never know when I'll gain new material, so my eyes are open and my pen is ready to capture anything hilarious. It could be a thought, a comment or an event that triggers a hilarious joke process.

I'm looking for more open mikes and I will continue to perform.

On a funny note, I just got some cool photo opportunities. In a couple of weeks, I'm doing a shoot with the Miss Teen USA from MN 2010, two weddings in May, and a graphic design job for a non profit. I'm stoked about these "artistic jobs." They pay well, and I get to work art that I enjoy. Never thought I'd shoot A Miss Teen.

Comedy!

-Pradeepan

LESSON LEARNED [stand up comedy BLOGRMAGE: DAY 14]

2011-03-29T20:48:00.000-07:00

[Language in this video, but good demonstration of discussing stereotypes]

I really appreciate all the love people have given me over my debut! Thanks to everyone of the kind words and support.

At work today, some of my coworkers listened to the stand up and told me that they really enjoyed it--so much that they want to present it to the entire student body (I work at a high school).

While feeling pretty good about myself, I talked to my sister and found out that she was disappointed in me for being racist. At one point in the joke, I say that I'm not black because I'm not good at basketball and hate fried chicken. After this, I also make a reference to Sri Lankans liking curry. My sister, with great intentions, was looking out for me and trying to prevent any heat.

This got me paranoid about being racist. So I talked to my co workers (most are African-American), and asked if anybody was offended by the stand up. The overall consensus stood that it's not offensive in comedy, and it's cool because I was making fun of myself as much as other cultures. They also said I shouldn't be paranoid and the material was extremely clean and appropriate. Whew.

My family grew up with tons of diversity. At one of our famous Jeeva parties, it wouldn't be odd for 15 different nations to be represented. Growing up in this manner, got all of us to be very comfortable with matters of race. Stereotypes and all racial nonsense seemed so ridiculous to us because we were so American. None of us were hardly the things we were said to be, but embraced so much of our culture at the same time. Joking about each others stereotypes was funny because of this. That being said, I'm very comfortable joking about race matters from a perspective that not a lot of people have been given. I'm not racist.

It's a great lesson to be learned. I don't want to be a dirty comic or get easy laughs from risky subjects just for the sake of ease. On the other hand, I want to freely discuss the issues that I observe.

My sister is challenging me to be a comic that jokes about reality and makes people think. I'd love to make people think, though I'm having a hard enough time making people laugh. Baby steps, baby steps.

Not a racist,

Pradeepan

MY STAND UP COMEDY DEBUT!!! [stand up comedy BLOGRMAGE: DAY 13]

2011-03-28T22:39:00.000-07:00

Stand up comedy club open mike nights only allow 20 comics to perform. Some are national headliners, some are regulars and other are newbies like me. I got to the venue at 6:00pm, signed up on a list (put a star by name to indicate it was my first time), and waited to see if I made the cut. At 7:30 the club posted this list. I wasn't sure if I'd make because this is one of the top five comedy clubs in America, but I made it!

Notice that my name is the first on the list! I made it, but I was the opening act! I was just happy that I wasn't one of the other twenty that didn't make the list.

This morning, I didn't have a script memorized and nothing memorized. I just did not feel confident with any of my material. Eventually, as the time drew near, I had to pick something and go with it. So for 1.5 hours before the show I paced the club hallways memorizing my material. I was scared out of my mind, but the BLOGRIMAGE must go on.

As the first act, they called my name and I took the stage. It all kind of feels like a blur to me. What a rush, though! Hearing the crowd laugh, knowing some of my material worked, and that I had accomplished a goal made all the anxiety worth it.

The crowd actually laughed at a lot of my stuff. I felt confident on the stage and enjoyed every moment of it. Only at one point did I blank, but I can't even notice it on the video. After I got off the stage, one of the audience members high fived me. Mind you, none of the other comics received any high fives!

I'm glad this BLOGRIMAGE is happening. I'm so thankful for the people who came to support me--especially my girlfriend. She is the best and has truly supported me through this whole process.

One of my personal highlights is that a comic asked me if this was my first time performing. When I told him it was, he said that I need to continue doing this. Thanks, man.

Well, I'm going to keep going and try to get better. Who knows what will happen by the end of the 30 days.

-Pradeepan