Friday

I've spent most of this week buried under new information from my accountancy course (debits, credits, balance sheets, cost centres, investment centres, you name it, i'm struggling to understand it) and my life coach (I still feel hugely uncomfortable using that term). I have to pass an accountancy exam in a couple of weeks and that remains pretty terrifying. But for the most part I'm feeling good and there's an opportunity on the horizon which although not life changing would keep me ticking over for the moment.

I saw Alex Edelman's show "Millennial" at the Soho Theatre on Wednesday. Edelman picked up the Best Newcomer award at last year's Edinburgh festival and it's not difficult to see why. In reviews of the show, the most frequently used adjective to describe his performance has been "assured". It's certainly an impressive debut outing that resonated in particular with me, as he explores where he fits among the "Millennial" generation. A routine about unwittingly becoming the face of anxious graduates is one of the show's highlights. Edelman also has a nice line in anger against those involved in customer service, particularly in relation to a vegan cupcake establishment in the east of the city. His stories about his family join a great tradition in American Jewish humour, contending that "being a Jew means you'll never be happy".

It provides an interesting reference point for my own show (that I keep threatening to write and will presumably get there at some stage) about the struggles of my twenties. It's on for the rest of the month and is well worth a look, particularly if you're young and lost. 

A busy week concludes tomorrow with an absolute humdinger of a Saturday. First, I'm off to The Old Vic for an obligatory second viewing of Tree with Daniel Kitson and Tim Key. Then to White Hart Lane for Tottenham v.s Sunderland, my first Sunderland match in a year, first visit to WHL and first appearance in the Sunderland away end for nearly 15 years. The match has been given a extra dimension by the possible debut of Jermain Defoe at his former club, signed from Toronto and charged with scoring the goals to keep this Sunderland side in the Premier League. He has scored on his debut for every club he's ever played for. If he does so tomorrow I will be one of the 3,000 Mackems losing their minds. God speed Jermain.

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