I took an extra minute to brush my hair, reapply my lipstick, pull a long red hair out of my fresh lipstick (why does my hair always end up stuck in my lipstick?), and popped a mint. I went back to wait at the carousel just as the bags were starting to slide from the conveyor belt. I looked around for signs for the hotel shuttles while waiting for my one checked bag. I watched other people grab their bags and go and a little knot of anxiety started forming in my stomach. Then my bag popped up the chute, I felt my stomach unknot, and waited til it got to me.
I try to pack light, but I had no idea what kind of clothes I needed which means I packed everything from jeans and boots to a black cocktail dress with emerald green accents. My friend Ali told me to “dress for success” and helped me pack. She’s a genius at putting outfits together—something I have no flair for. She mixed and matched pieces and I ended up taking pictures of the outfits because I was pretty sure I’d get mixed up and default to jeans and a starched white shirt. Nothing wrong with that, really, except Ali could add the right shoes, top it with a jacket of some sort, a chunky necklace, earrings, and a cuff bracelet, and make me look pulled together. If I’m ever rich and famous, Ali is going to be my stylist.
I’m Kasey McCormick, by the way. I’m a stand-up comic and no, you’ve never heard of me. I’ve been getting work as an opening act, which was great, but I really needed to start making some real money. When I heard about this seminar on the Business of Comedy, I figured the timing was perfect, even if affording it was a bit of a stretch. I managed to get a cheap ticket from Tampa to Southern California and the hotel had special rates for seminar participants. And it included breakfast. The schedule had us in seminars and trainings during the days. There was a welcome cocktail mixer scheduled for tonight and other evening events marked as “TBA” –to be announced. It didn’t sound super-organized but the trainings were what I was after. I signed up and put the hotel on my credit card. In for a penny, in for a pound as they say.
As I hurried towards the signs for the shuttles, I saw a very pretty brunette hovering over a porter who was stacking several Louis Vuitton suitcases onto a luggage cart. They seemed to be waiting for a fourth and I could hear her fretting to him about being late. I felt her pain. I made my way to the shuttle area, hoping I hadn’t missed the resort shuttle. It ran once an hour and I really just wanted to get to the resort, settle in, and have some time to get my butt organized before things started rolling.