I really have to get that next newsletter out...
Hi, I’m Ben Searle and I’m a human from Melbourne, Australia. I spend most of my time doing stand up comedy related things. My favourite food is banh mi. Like you, I’m a multifaceted individual with hopes and dreams. Each fortnight(ish) you can read a couple of ‘my ponderings’ ( ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ) from the last little while; maybe I’ll even include a poem! This is my first newsletter so please come along for the ride. Hit the subscribe button and I’ll flick you an email every so often. Cheers.
Change is a comin’
It’s been a big few months for me personally. At the end of Jan, I decided to quit my job to take some time off. I’ve been saving up, but it’s still nerve-racking quitting a job with uncertainty. The idea is to go back to work soonish, but I’m also just enjoying the ride and having more time to think. I’ve picked up work at a venue during comedy fest, plus I’ll be going back to my old work for 6 hours a day during the school holidays now. I wasn’t going to go back, but I booked some flights to Brisbane then Sydney to do gigs for about three weeks at the end of May so it’s good to have something to work towards.
When I gave my four weeks notice and it was hard to make people understand I was quitting to just have more time to myself. I’ve been working since I was 16, I’m 33 now and I don’t really have a clearer idea on what I want out of life. I’m coming around to the idea that you can only do what feels right and try to get whatever joy you can when it arises. It’s a trade off; maybe I’m not going to be able to afford a house or be able to have kids, but hopefully for a moment I can do comedy full time and for a brief second I can say I did what I wanted to do.
I thought I’d be bored quitting my job, but I feel like I’ve almost had no free time at all, with my penchant for over commitment truly shining here. I really don’t know how I was able to work pretty much full time, do stand up, and try to make other stuff as well. It’s nice to have a little sabbatical from salaried work, but I wish I was better set up to continue this on. It’s definitely made me think a lot about how I manage my money and how I’ve set up my finances (or lack there of).
I’m enjoying being able to spend more time at gigs. It sounds kind of hokey, but it’s nice to be a part of something bigger than yourself, while still being yourself. Does that make sense?
Melbourne Comedy Fest
I’m not doing a show this comedy festival, but I’ll running and doing spots at the Rochey each Thursday from 9pm for the four Thursdays of the festival. I’ve been able to reach out to a fair few interstate acts to jump on with some great locals.
New Pod - Ben & Prue Are Better Than You
New Podcast! With Gocsy heading back to Queensland it was getting harder and harder to do keep doing I’m All Ears remotely, we’ll do a couple one offs in the future but it’s not happening for now. This new podcast is with Prue Blake; one of the best up and coming comics in Melbourne. We’ve become good mates and discovered we both get sucked in by wellness trends and love talking about them.
You can find all the links to listen/follow us here, or watch the whole thing below!
Content Corner
Some content I’ve been enjoying, just music this month :)
Chongo Bongo - Mix 2
New playlist of some songs I’ve been enjoying.
Potion - Oath to Flame EP
Potion are a sick sludgy metal band out of Sydney. This new EP just came out today and I’m always frothing to hear more from this band. Hopefully they’ll play Melbourne very soon.
Drug Church - Unlicensed Hall Monitor
Since the album Cheer came out, I come back to this song and album almost weekly.