What’s up guys? It’s about time for me to go to sleep now. Lately, I’ve been everywhere and trying to get a lot of new stuff out there and been promoting myself like crazy and really just been trying to handle business. Some people wonder why I’m suddenly taking care of business like this and it’s a couple of things. One, I’m completely sober so now that I’m not putting time into shaking hangovers and hanging out with friends or smoking after shows it’s left me with a bit of extra time on my hands. Another reason, a lot has been happening for me and a lot of people are helping me right now and I feel it would be a bit of a slap in the face to them and the good fortune the universe has been nice enough to bestow upon me to not try to make the most of it. The last reasons are kind of related and very important as well. The other night I had a dream that I was taking care of my parents, right now my parents are in good health and able to take care of themselves quite well financially but I would like to see a day where I can tell them both to completely relax and let me take care of things. I remember the feeling from that dream being very vivid and how good it felt to take care of them. The other is the fact that I want to start to build some stability and a family of my own. I’ve pretty well accepted that I will probably be single for the rest of my life but that doesn’t mean that I don’t want to have a baby and live a full life without a regular partner. I mean not to share too much but I hook up here and there and sometimes I spend time with people but the more I’m around the less I think the situation I’m looking for doesn’t exist and I’m alright with that but I do still want to have a little person to raise and to show all the wonderful things in life. I’m tired now so I’m not going to proof read but I hope this all make sense. If not, leave me comments and read me about it. It’ll be fun for all of us

I was trying to edit a cute little clip but was unable to. I realize that nothing I do will ever be perfect and that doesn’t bother me but sometimes I just wish I could be a little quicker to pick things up when it comes to the computer. I think sometimes I’m a little too impatient with myself but that like a lot of stuff is something I’m working on and slowly but surely getting better with. Tomorrow I’m going to San Francisco to perform in a pretty big show for Gay Pride and wish I were going to hang out for a little bit after but I’m going to be flying out Saturday morning. Right now I don’t drink or do anything to get away from myself because I quit smoking on December 17th and know that drinking is one of my triggers. I’m not a “PRO 420″ person but I’d be lying if I said that I NEVER partake but that’s on hold too until December 17th the plan is to give myself a year of no triggers and hopefully when that is done I’ll be completely rid of my smoking habit. Sometimes I would like to have a drink and have fun with everyone else but for this year something tells me sacrifice and abstinence are the way to go. I’m going to be editing a bit more footage and am confident that I’ll be able to do enough stuff with Imovie to at least get my idea across to you guys. I am happy with the response that I’ve gotten from the first one that I put together. It hasn’t gotten a bunch of views yet but the people who have seen it really seem to like it. It’s short and I’ll probably post it at the end of this blog just so anyone that hasn’t seen it gets to check it out. I’ve been watching a TON of documentaries and am working on a bunch of new material so stay tuned for that and am still working a bunch with Adam Hammer and Jo Koy. Some pretty exciting stuff going on there that I’ll tell you guys a bit more about in another entry. For now I should probably pack so see you later and big hugs to anyone that has taken the time to read this. So for anyone that is warning and only because people ask, YES sometimes being completely sober is boring and a bit taxing but I have to believe that there is something good on the other side and that good things really do come to those who wait and that absence does make the heart grow fonder and all the other positive thinking stuff we tell ourselves to get through things that we don’t always want to do. Goodnight/good morning or good where ever this finds you in your day <3

Okay folks here’s the deal, lately a lot of people have been asking me to “headline” their unpaid local shows. Let me start by saying that I think that when people do this they mean it to be a compliment and I appreciate that. However, I don’t really consider headlining a free show to be headlining I consider it to be going last. When it comes down to it, a lot of times, the booker or the club are charging a cover and the bar is making money off the two drink minimum and I repeat I am working for free so why is it I’m expected to be SO GENEROUS with my talent AND MY TIME. I know how things work and I know that stage time is VERY IMPORTANT to a comic and that’s why I’ll DO these shows I just won’t headline them. I’m very honest with people about this and don’t pull diva antics I just let it be known to begin with that I DON’T WANT TO HEADLINE. This still doesn’t stop people from agreeing to have me out and then trying to bump me into going last which NEVER works because I just end up leaving. Not to be an asshole but I’ve been doing stand up for the 7 1/2 years in the LA area and I’ve done the last spots of the night and waited around all night and been bumped until I didn’t think anything was funny anymore and had NO OTHER OPTIONS FOR THE NIGHT and I’m over it. If you want me to headline pay me, otherwise an early spot would be nice, or just don’t have me, I’m sure I’ll find SOMETHING to do with myself. Thanks for letting me vent. Promise to be more positive tomorrow but I like where we’re going

One of the things that seems a bit odd to me and that I’ve noticed since cutting my hair is that some people seem to view changing your hair as a sign that something is going, or has gone, wrong. It doesn’t seem to be enough to some people that you just wanted a change or got tired of the maintenance these people seem to think that there must have been some sort of mental or emotional break down that had to have led to cutting your hair. I don’t know if it’s because of what we all saw with Britney or if that’s just what it would take for them to do it but I assure you, in my case, it was nothing like that. As boring as this may sound this is what it was, as many of you know I have been on the road A LOT over the last couple of months and while some of you may not know this I quit smoking on December 17th. So the combination of being on the road and not choosing to make it to the gym and eating everything I could get my hands on AND the metabolic changes that quitting smoking can trigger left me with some unwanted poundage. So I started going to the gym a lot more and at the end of a day at the gym I wouldn’t really feel like blow drying and flat ironing my hair before shows, or open mic, or whatever “work related” stuff I would be doing so I decided to take advantage of the fact that I am a boy and just buzz it all off. I was in Oakland a couple of weeks ago and been told about a place called Phat Fades, I went in and just told the guy to give me a military style buzz cut with a skin fade and that’s what he did. I thought I would be more attached to my hair and that I would miss it but I don’t, besides, what’s to miss? It’s hair and I have PLENTY OF IT. I mean, if I want it back I just have to let it grow, not really a big deal at all. Right now I can honestly say I am all the way around happy with what’s going on in my life. There are things that could use some work and I could always use more money but everything is headed in the right direction, I just need to keep working at a steady pace and the things that need to improve will. So as boring as it is, I cut my hair for functional purposes and that’s the long and the short of it. Oh and last thing, some people looked at my hair as a trademark, I DID NOT, I would hate to have something like hair be my trademark, my comedy, my name and my personality should be what people remember and if they don’t maybe THAT’S what I need to work on. Alright folks, goodnight

Alright so some of you wanted to know a bit about the Master Cleanse since I brought it up and was on it last week but was unable to finish. I’ve provided the link for those of you who are looking for the basic info on the MC and might be interested in starting. First off let me say that there is no way (that I’ve found) to lose weight than just to starve yourself and work out at the same time.

But the point of doing the MC if you’re doing it for the right reasons is so much more than that. For me, it gives me a clarity that I just can’t really seem to get when I have the luxury of eating…as silly as that may sound. But occasionally I lose sight of this and try to do the MC for the most superficial reasons (weight loss) and always fail. Anytime I’ve done it for the right reasons I’m able to last for the full duration which for me is 14 days. This time though I was doing some really unhealthy stuff like working to excess and even limiting the amount of the MC lemonade that I was taking. So on day 6 I began to feel really weak and on day 7 I was completely out of gas. I will do it again and I’m sure I will complete it next time but I just need to remember that it’s NOT about weight loss, it’s deeper than that, it HAS TO BE, at least for me. Anyway, I realize this probably hasn’t answered much but mainly I’m just trying to start a bit of a dialogue and open things up so people can ask questions if they have any.

Some of the most common I get in person are:

1. Are you hungry when you do it? No, not technically, but you do miss food.

2. Do you just keeping pooping for 14days? No, everybody is different but for me I do that for the first 3 days and then after that it’s not like that anymore, except in the morning after the saltwater flush.

3. Do you gain the weight back right after? Not unless you just let yourself eat and eat after you come off of it. I usually give myself a couple of days to enjoy food and then I go back to watching what I eat and keep most of the weight off for months until I turn into a piggy again. I’m kind of an Oprah that way :-/

4. How much weight do you lose? I’ve done it several times and the most I’ve ever lost was 18lbs, the least was 13lbs.

5. Are you crazy? Yes, but that’s beside the point.

Alright so cool. To wrap this up, this time I lost 10lbs in 7 days and will let you guys know how my weight loss is coming along as we go. Tomorrow I go back to the gym and I’m sure I’ll be doing all kinds of other stuff over the summer to get my bikini body as the kids say. Tttyl and please leave your questions as comments on my blog. I will answer any question and promise not to get offended. Ask away…or don’t. Hope this helps and promise to get better, not only about blogging but AT blogging

My official weight is 158. I need to lose 25lbs. I’m going to be VERY matter of fact about it, NO BREAKDOWNS. I’ll keep you all posted.

Right now life is good. I complain sometimes because I fuck up and it frustrates me but I’m human so it’s normal and just what it is. I did my callback for Montreal and it went well so let’s hope and pray. Other than that I’m losing weight again after gaining from quitting smoking. It’s work but losing weight is simple math and nobody should ever sweat it too much unless they have a medical condition. Alright well, let’s see if I can keep my blog up even if they’re short. I’ll keep you posted on the weight loss too. Tomorrow I’ll log my official weight and we’ll start the challenge. Thanks for reading

Hey everybody, so it’s been way too long and A LOT has happened since the last time I’ve blogged. I was going to make it my New Years resolution but I’ve had so much on my plate lately I didn’t want to add another thing. For anybody that isn’t up to speed I’ve been doing a lot of stuff with the amazing Jo Koy. If you haven’t been to any of the shows he’s had me on you should DEFINITELY try to make it out. I don’t say that because I’m trying to sell tickets because I don’t have to try Jo’s shows have been selling out everywhere we go and for anybody that’s wondering what he’s like behind the scenes I can honestly say he is probably exactly what you’d expect from watching him onstage or TV.

A lot of time his sister Gemma comes out to the shows to help sell t-shirts and DVDs and to just hang out and she’s great too. I’ll be putting more pics on my facebook from our travels but we’ve been doing so much stuff sometimes it’s hard to me to keep on everything.

In other good news I’ll be doing the Laughing Skull Comedy Festival in Atlanta coming up at the beginning of March and I’m pretty excited about that and right now I’m in Denver where we have one more show to go. I guess maybe in my next blog post I’ll start from the beginning so the people that choose to read my blog can get a sense of where I’ve been and where I come from for this one I just wanted to do SOMETHING with it. Take care and enjoy the Super Bowl

Things have been extremely busy lately and extremely great. I’ve been working a lot and when I’m not technically working I’ve been hitting the open mics pretty hard. Some people wonder why I do as many open mics as I do and it really is because I have to keep working on new stuff. I mean how would you feel if you came out to see me twice and saw the exact same set each time. It would be kinda’ lame in my opinion. I am blessed enough to have this be what I do for a living I might as well put the maximum effort into it. I am currently downloading a bunch of clips from my flip so that I can put something new on my YouTube. I don’t really like to put a lot of my stuff on YouTube because I feel that if people really want to see me they will make the effort. I’m sure I will be coming to a comedy club near you in the next year so don’t be lazy.

Speaking of schedule I put some other dates on the other night and will be putting more up in the next couple of days. I DON’T put EVERY SINGLE THING I do on because some of the shows I get asked to do are loooooonnnnngggg and boring and I don’t want to put the people I invite out through that kind of punishment. I know that might sound kinda’ rough but I DO this shit and sometimes I find it rough to sit through the number of comics they’ll put on a show. It’ll really cure you of any love you had for comedy.

The Jo Koy shows I usually tip you off to because I know you’re gonna get a quality show in a quality venue. Anyway, I hope you all had a good holiday and that you aren’t too stuffed. I’m gonna start small and promise to update this tomorrow. Let’s take it from there

about updating my blog and for that I apologize. Between Facebook, Twitter, Myspace (making a comeback) and my website, it’s all been hard to keep up with. I’ve been traveling a lot lately. Went to Guam with Jo Koy that was SUPER DUPER fun and then did the Improvs (Brea and Ontario) w/ Jo Koy and Adam Hammer and then, most recently, was in South Texas (headlining) with Chris Storin as my feature. It was a good time but I didn’t want to fly so we drove. On the 29 hour ride home I really began to regret that :-/

I had a GREAT time there and even got a standing O in McAllen, Texas at the Cine El Rey. Shout out to TABLE 3 Super Rowdy bunch at table 3 but had such a good time with them and they really made it fun. I did do a bit of drinking that night after the show but I thought it was a good time to celebrate and the following nights it was business as usual.

We were trying to make it home after the last show in Brownsville on a Friday night to do my friend Sqweek’s Birthday show that I was supposed to be headlining. I figured with the time change and everything it should be possible but in the end it was not. I was able to warn her in enough time that she was able to get a replacement but really wish I coulda’ made it.

As for what’s going on right now, we got back on Sunday morning and I’ve been in Oakland since. Tomorrow I will be staying in the city (San Francisco) where I will be featuring for Russell Peters. I believe it is 9 shows we are doing and they are ALREADY all SOLD OUT. The guy is absolutely amazing and I am glad to be working with him.

For any of the new friends and comedy fans I have met don’t worry there is more stuff with Jo Koy planned. He is a really good friend of mine and I absolutely love working with him.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention, I was on Comedy Central’s Live At Gotham this past Friday and am getting some really good feedback on that. I’ve got A LOT of stuff going on and really could go on and on but I’m kinda’ tired and should probably get some sleep now. Check out my schedule (www.thairivera.com), it has SOME of the stuff I have coming up and I’ll be adding more in the coming days weeks and months. Life is great and I thank you all for reading