Arj Barker used to have a job in a hospital. But he said that was no good, because he couldn't ring in sick.
When he tried it, the conversation would go like this:
"I'm not feeling too good today."
"All right, come on down."
"It's really not that bad ..."
"Oh - well we'll see you in a few minutes then."
Seventeen years of stand-up and the Californian comedian still gets a kick out of it. He's working his magic at the Royal Wanganui Opera House on August 31 at 8pm, in a show he recommends for people over 16.
Arj Barker may be best known to Kiwis as Dave, the guy in the pawn shop in Flight of the Conchords. It wasn't a big part, and Dave wasn't the brightest guy around, but he did get quite a following.
Barker, born Arjun Singh in 1974, was doing stand-up comedy long before Flight of the Conchords.
The show wasn't his first contact with New Zealanders either.
A keen snowboarder, he spent his first winter in New Zealand in 1989, a year out from high school.
These days he also spends about half of the year in Australia, staying with friends in Sydney or Melbourne.
In his experience New Zealanders are "pretty genuine and pretty friendly" , he says he noticed their tendency to understate things even before meeting Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement (of Flight of the Conchords).
He started doing stand-up 17 years ago, on the spur of the moment.
"I didn't think about it that much before I did it but I got a real thrill out of doing it and I kept going back," he said.
"I started getting professional work, and it became my job."
What he doesn't like is hecklers but they're not a huge concern.
"Usually the audience is laughing too much and they're happy just to sit there and enjoy," he says.
His routines are worked out ahead of time, but can be subject to variation on the night.
The one he's bringing to Wanganui has been refined since February, so he says it should be pretty good.
There's only a moderate amount of swearing, and most of the humour is situational and not too difficult to work out.
Material could range from ghosts to prawns and 3-D movies.
He gets his best joke ideas while kidding around with friends and "not thinking too hard - definitely that's a good way to stay loose".
He'll be staying at the Opera House after the show, in case anybody wants to meet him.
GIVEAWAY
The Chronicle has a DVD and double ticket to the show to give away. To be in to win send your name and contact details to
editor@wanganuichronicle.co.nz
with Arj Barker in the subject line, or send to Arj Barker Giveaway, c/o Editor, Wanganui Chronicle, PO Box 433, Wanganui by August 27, 2011.
Introducing a door charge is 'absolutely not' an option.