Man it’s impossible to not be too saccharine about this night. I had flashbacks to 25 years ago when I first saw Chris Rock’s special, Bring the Pain, and thought for the first time that this could be my thing. It set me down a road of veritable obsession with the art form at a really young age. I remember exactly where I was when I listened to cassette tapes or watched bootleg copies of Robin Williams, Eddie Murphy, George Carlin, Mitch Hedberg or Chappelle’s first specials that I downloaded off Kazaa and Morpheus. Back then, I had the bold idea that I could do it; it may have even taken the shape of a dream without my properly identifying it as such. Or maybe I did but classified it as of the pipe variety. After all, I was led to believe I was training since I was 3 to become a doctor that was also for some reason a world-class pianist, painter and spelling bee champion. But the fire in me - even when diminished to repressed embers by countervailing pressures of family, friends and cultural expectations - never died and I’ve always expressed my own brand of humor and gifts of storytelling and writing offstage all my life. So if you haven’t heard, here’s me at a legendary club just doing what I’ve always loved and deep down have always known - but didn’t permit myself to believe - I was born to do. A special order of thanks to the city of Toronto for showing love for this amateur from America, @juliekimcomedy for plugging me in and showing me the ropes, my new hilarious friends for welcoming me in their ranks, and my boys @simuliu @stevenkwlim @jasonylee_ @jasonsuperchan for stoking that dormant fire. That last photo is one of my favorites of all time. Nothing but unrestrained love and support after I threw down my set. Another round of special thanks to ALL my friends for your encouragement this past weekend (@melhahm, @tammycho, et al). And the highest level of thanks to my wife @jacs28 for letting me do something that is objectively probably kind of irresponsible and for understanding the importance of me pursuing my dream. Making you smile will always be above making others laugh.