February 2015 Archives

There were so many great people. I reconnected with Andrea, the head of Spark Circus, and we'll be working together on some stuff in the coming year or so. I got my first volunteer for Spin Matsuri India, Elad, an Isreali juggler who will be in India later this year when I'm there, too. I watched in awe as veteran performers did their stuff: Haggis, Ben Zuddist, Maike, & Captain Finhead are the sort of performers I want to emulate - skilled, able to play to all ages in any condition with aplomb and good humour. I made connections with circus people, tech people, and new friends from all over the world. I also met a juggler, Mike Twist, who lives two stations away from me in Tokyo. We have very little overlap in our circles, which is rare for long-term foreigners here. I'm sure we will meet up and do more together in the coming months.

I learned to juggle two balls in one hand. Seems like it would be easy, but it has eluded me forever. Roo, a 15 year old, stared at me the way only teens can until I got it. I simply could not let myself fail and I didn't stop until I could do columns in both hands and inside and outside cascades, too. I also managed to juggle (1 whole juggle) clubs, another long-standing goal. Alberto taught me the tricks: throw to the outside, not forward; sing circus music while doing so. The music made it work. And I also learned to bend balloons - I can make a balloon sword. Slowly and carefully...but I can do it and it will only get better from here. Practice, practice, practice!

A phrase popped into my head immediately. Mom described our house as "reasonably tidy" and I remember her making sure that it wasn't cluttered or too messy. The living room got a once-over every day to straighten it up, and we were expected to to take our things (toys, books, sweaters) up to our rooms at bedtime. The dining table was never piled high with stuff like in some of my friends' homes. We cleaned weekly, but tidied daily. 

Mom set a good example that I have failed to follow. Not to say that I'm a complete slob, but I'm not as consistent as I could be about patrolling the house. After recalling the right phrase, I've been making an effort to put the house to rights every day because I value a "reasonably tidy" room.

Thanks, Mom, for being a role model in this and so many other ways. Happy 75th birthday!

I started the game thinking I didn't really have that much clutter and that reaching the goal - 496 items - was going to clear out my spaces very well. As it turns out, I lapped the game with 1080 items of my own removed. Tod did 496 on the dot. I have a lot more clutter in my life than I thought.