The other night I went out and did a charity fundraiser comedy show in Temecula. These charity/corporate shows can be a real test for a comic because you never know what you are walking into. Sometimes there's a great crowd ready to laugh, and other times you have to compete with the 4 year old who decided that right in front of you would be a great place to start into a break dancing routine.

But this show was different for me because at the end of the comedy show I was asked to help out with the charity auction and my job description went from Mark the Comic to Mark the auctioneer. I guess it went OK because I managed to sell everything for all sorts of crazy money and everyone was happy. The thing that struck me as odd was that one of the items in the auction was a set of baby kittens!?! OK, maybe I don't travel in the same social circle as the people who attend these types of charity event, but when did this become OK? When did the responsibility of taking on the care of another living creature become something you decide to do at the end of an evening of comedy and drinking? Perhaps it was my amazing stage presence and my uncanny ability to sell anything, but some lucky soul walked away with these adorable beauties for only $150. Apparently someone out there didn't know that you can get cats for "FREE" in front of pretty much any grocery store across the country on almost any given Saturday. Damn me and my amazing salesmanship (the bidders never saw it coming).

I'm only posting this because Robert Night, another great comic, was at this event and got to witness with astonishment my amazing auctioneering abilities. Perhaps with practice all aspiring comics out there will someday be able to accomplish the same feat that I did! My comedy career has reached another height: Mark Gonzalez, Cat Auctioneer!