*NOTE: This article contains foul language and pretentiousness. Proceed with caution.
Prelude
Quick Links:
Stroy Moyd | Jessica Sele | Lydia Popovich | Kate Willett | Matt Lieb
I didn’t anticipate how this would take, of my time, of my mind, of me. That’s why completing it is so rewarding. It’s 4:30am on 8/19 [2015]. I began this 11:33am on 6/29 [2015]. Untold hours of staring at a screen in a perfectionist dread, desperate to be more articulate than “Stroy’s cool”, “Lydia’s a boss”, “Kate’s driven”, “Jessica’s empathic”, “Matt’s heady”, etc.; days of writer’s block playing Spelunky (I’ve almost gotten to the Hell level!); distant and distracted at work, earning the name Slow-J by my co-worker “Big Ryan” (you better be reading this, I shouted you out for a reason); a complete collapse of regular coverage; missed nights out, a permanent indent in my couch, vitamin D deficiency, mindlessness.
I’d like to take a little space up top to thank everyone who help me in this endeavor: hellnawhellnaw for the space, patience, and going to bed alone too often than either of us would like. redscott for the pictures. Ben Walker for the beautiful illustrations in such a quick turn around; you motivated me to finish this as soon as I could to share your work. Rachel Swan, Nia King and Dana Sitar for showing the path. The San Francisco comedy community at large, you pissy, petty, brilliant fucks—hope you appreciate this shit! Share it! I spent all day on those AddThis share buttons! All my interviewees making time for me (and keeping me accountable). Everybody I mention in this piece. Everyone I forgot.
Check here for our 2015 reader’s choice awards.
I need to stop looking at computer screens for a while.
If you enjoy my work, please help me recoup some of my costs producing this piece at my Patreon account or with a one-time donation.
Thank you, good night (or, good morning, or good whenever).