So here I sit on this Friday before performing on April 24th,
2009. One of my shoulders is sore from
being slightly out, and my demeanor is mellower than I’m used to. It may be a function of the workout I have
been forcing myself to do. For the last
week or so I have been taking full advantage of a gym membership. I wonder why I didn’t do these years
ago. I work out pretty much every day
for my health anyway, but there has always been an issue with where to do
it. Perhaps it’s my inner cheap bastard
that has been the culprit. Suddenly I
have a nice air conditioned spot with mirrors and such to do stage blocking,
juggling, martial arts, etc. , as well as weights. So as
per usual I look in the mirror and It’s hard to reconcile who I see there with the
self I feel and see from the inside.
Somewhere in my head I’m still this young spry guy. Granted, I’m still spry. I juggle for a living. It’s kind of required that I be quick. However I look in the mirror and marvel at
how much better I feel than I appear. I
can still do a decent jumping 540 kick, so I guess I’m doing better than most
men on the edge of 40.
Somehow I figured out a routine that genuinely works for
me. I go out there, I work my way from
white all the way through black belt in forms, kicks, and stretches. From there I do some weights, some juggling,
some swimming, etc. By the time I have
worked my way through martial arts and have a good sweat going, juggling seems
to come with more flow. The rhythm of my
practice drops me into a spot where my dexterity seems to climb just from
the motions and focus of what I do.
Honestly it’s been about 6 years since I really did serious juggling
practice. Every day I’m going out there
and juggling till I collapse, bleed, or improve. Sometimes it’s all 3. I wonder how this will affect my show. It’s too early to tell if I’ll stick with
this, but right now it’s a great ride. I
seem to be pretty comfortable at 2 hours a day.
My insides feel great. I wake up
earlier than usual ready to do something adventurous. I walk around feeling like an overpowered car
trying to drive down a residential street.
All this is happening on the inside.
Meanwhile on the outside, there is no physical change what so ever. I don’t look any different, but I feel
amazing. I wonder if my external will
ever catch up, or if I’m stuck with this old body. Either way, I think I’m going to keep up with
this. The juggling affect alone is worth it.
In other news, just a funny story….
I had a full glass of red liquid balanced on my head which I
do at the faire as a way to hawk for my show and un beknownst to most people I’m
actually fixing my neck. I enter a
bathroom because like everyone else even when making a living on stage I will
eventually have to pee. The bathroom was
full of men looking straight forward from the stalls. I saddled up to the only free urinal and carefully
untied, unbuckled, moved a sash, and started peeing. Meanwhile I’m still balancing the wine glass
on top of my head. A large Texan turns
to me and breaks the cardinal unwritten rule of guydom and starts talking to
me. He says “Wow! That’s impressive!”. To which I responded “Why thank you. I balance things as well!” The urinals were then full of men trying not
to look, while they laughed and tried not to pee on themselves.