Destiny: Mediocrity

I have never been on a winning sports team, I was never given an important role in a theatrical production, I have never been the best at anything. Today was no exception.

Today I auditioned to be an aerialist for the touring company of Cavalia. It was an invite only audition, which I was thrilled to get! I spent the last week training as much as I could in order to be ready, and I was feeling confident...until yesterday when I woke up and realized that I had strained my back. It hurt to bend and move, and at one point it was difficult to stand at all without holding on to something for support. I was in trouble. I spent most of Wednesday off my feet, soaking in Epsom salts, using heat packs and icy hot patches, and eventually doing some minor stretches hoping to loosen things up.

This morning I got up at 5am needing to take more pain medication; there obviously hadn't been much improvement. I went to a morning class and did what I could to warm up and prepare for the audition. It did help to move around, and when the adrenaline kicked during the audition in I *almost couldn't feel any pain, even if I still didn't have my full range of motion in my back.

The audition was small; only 11 girls had been invited. For the first time I thought I might actually have a shot at the job- this was much better odds than the Disney parade audition I had gone to a few weeks ago where I was one of over 500 female dancers in attendance. I started getting my hopes up.

I did a hoop routine and a short hammock routine and shared my experience working with horses. I was told by one of my instructors that the horse experience probably gave me a good edge for this show.

At the end the creative directors thanked us for our time and said they'd get back to us. And they did - just a few hours later while I was spending time with one of my friends who had auditioned. She got a callback, I didn't. The worst part? The lack of empathy she had. No, she wasn't rubbing it my face, but when I wondered out loud if I was going to get a call after she had gotten hers, there was no show of support coming from her. No encouraging words, no consolation when the call didn't come. It felt like she was expecting me not to get it, and that she wasn't surprised that I didn't get it (by the way, she also tried to discourage me from doing the Disney audition).

But, I can't say the day was a complete waste - I was offered a job at The Coffee Bean. So now I can take all my training and my college degree and serve everyone their morning jolt as they head off to their important and successful positions in the world. Because, of course, when successful people write their memoirs, they'll for sure mention the girl who gave them the caffeine necessary to make their dreams come true.

On

There are days in flying trapeze when everything just clicks. Today was one of those days for me. Regardless that I hadn't flown in two weeks, my swing was strong (I was consistently feeling the drive up in my seven- for those of you who know what that means), I practiced two tricks out of lines, and am now catching my layout much more consistently. I love the confidence boost that comes with a great day in the air!

Vitamin D

I was feeling agitated today. This agitation stemmed from multiple sources, but long story short, I knew that the cure I needed was to get outside in the sunshine. Being inside my apartment for more than half a day lately starts making me feel like a caged animal; I go from job hunting to watching Gilmore Girls, to checking my email, to playing a game on my phone, to reading other people's blogs, to eating a meal or snack, and back to job hunting. Don't get me wrong, I'm being productive and finding plenty of jobs to apply for, but there comes a time during the day or week where I reach my limit of cover letter writing and resume emailing, and I just need to get out!

Grabbing a book, I got in my car and headed toward a park a couple of miles away that I had only seen in passing. I got to the parking lot and turned off the engine for a while, but didn't get out. The park was too busy; it didn't look like I'd find a good spot to read uninterrupted. Changing my plans, I headed to See's candy for their awesome cinnamon suckers I only recently discovered. On the way there I happened to drive by another park I had never been to, and decided I'd swing by on my way back with my sweets.

It was a great park. I pulled into the dirt lot, left everything but my phone, car key, and book in the trunk of my car, pocketed a cinnamon sucker, and headed up the path on the hill. The wooden walkway crisscrossed its way upward through the trees offering viewing points of the city, which would have been much prettier if it weren't so hazy out today, but it was still enjoyable. I walked around the baseball fields at the top of the hill before retracing my steps to a bench in the sun. I was there for more than an hour reading, taking in the view, and occasionally moving to different benches as the sun started casting shadows from behind the trees as it drifted toward the ocean. I finally gave up and headed for home when it got too windy and chilly to be outside in just a t-shirt and flip-flops (I know, California has terrible weather, right??).

My agitation wasn't completely soothed, but it definitely helped to get away from the world and do a little exploring in my own neighborhood. I'm sure I'll be back to visit this park again soon!

Elevation NYE

As I've mentioned, I've been on the job hunt. For anyone who's looked for a job full-time you know how depressing and tedious that can be. So, to get my mind off of the searching, cover letter writing, and failed interviews/auditions I'm currently dealing with, I'm going to jump back a couple of months and post about my awesome NYE experience! 

It all started in early December when a friend sent me an invite to a single's NYE dance party to be held at a photography studio in Anaheim. He sent it to me specifically because this NYE event was featuring a handful of aerialists. I wanted in!! I contacted the event organizer and asked how I could throw my hat in the ring to be one of the performers. Being super accommodating, he had me send him a few videos of what I could do, and then later he contacted me to say he would be able to squeeze me in at the beginning of the event for a routine or two, since their other performers were already promised so many routines. I was thrilled! Better to be a paid performer at the beginning of the night than not perform at all!

Before flying home to Colorado for Christmas, I looked up a couple of aerial studios online to make sure I could work on my routines while out of town. My mother picked me up from the airport when I arrived, and she agreed to stop by Aerial Dance Over Denver on our way home so I could get an updated copy of their schedule and see when I could take advantage of their open gym times. Upon meeting the studio owner and a few of the other employees I knew I wouldn't be stopping at the second studio - this one all but handed me a key; they were thrilled to have a visiting aerialist utilize their space. They were so warm and welcoming my mom told me to grab my workout clothes from my suitcase and get to work right then! It was fun to have her there while I worked on my hammock routine; she had never seen me practice or perform in person before.

I visited the studio many more times over the next week and a half, and headed back to LA a couple of days before New Year's Eve feeling good about both my hammock and hoop routines. Just before leaving Colorado however, I was contacted again by the event coordinator and asked to perform on tissu during the finale when all of the other aerialists would also be performing. Tissu is my weakest apparatus, but challenge accepted, I immediately headed to my studio in LA to put together a routine that wouldn't wear me out.

On NYE I arrived early and checked out the rigging for where the hoop and hammock would be hung, touched up my makeup, and started warming up. The crowd was a little thin during my hoop routine, but that was to be expected since it was only a half hour into the event. More and more people filtered in throughout the night, and by the finale we had over 650 people dancing inside the warehouse! There were a few handfuls of attendees I knew, most from here in L.A., but also several from my college days in Las Vegas - including an old roommate!

Pretty much the best New Year's Eve I've ever had!

Friday

I had a pretty great Friday. Here's why:

-I got to sleep in a little.
-Drove to Malibu to attempt some outdoor rock climbing with my older brother who is in town visiting and saw a whale swimming past Point Dume (My first time seeing a whale in the wild)! 
-Relocated to an indoor climbing gym after the cold wind convinced us to pack up after two ascents, and kicked butt on my first indoor route - a 5.10a! This was big for me as I haven't been rock climbing in 3+ years (maybe even 6-7 years... I really can't remember the last time I went!), with the best I ever did at my peak being a 5.9 in a gym, and a 5.10 c/d outside. Guess that aerial training is pretty good conditioning!
-Homemade sushi.
-Spent an hour with my brother beating the game Bubble Bobble on the Nintendo NES (yes, the original Nintendo game system).
-Realizing that if I go to sleep right now I can still get 8 hours in before heading off to flying trapeze. =)

Onward and Upward

There are two dates every year that members of my family have tried to be the first to remember and remind everyone else of. The first date is March 4th, known as "Noah's Ark Day." We did not come up with the story/joke ourselves, but it goes something like this:

"Did you know that today was supposedly the day Noah let all of the animals off the ark? For didn't he command the animals to 'March Forth?'"

Just a bit cheesy.

Yesterday was the last day of my little trip home to Colorado, and I was the first to remember the date (although I don't think anyone else really cared this year, as my text message to my family garnered only one response). However, as the day drew to a close and I prepared to board a plane back to Los Angeles the date took on a new meaning for me. Yes, I'm dealing with some difficult experiences having been laid off and then dumped by my boyfriend within a week and a half, but really I am doing okay. I realized that I am marching forth. I don't feel all bent out of shape from the events that have transpired. I am now back in my apartment, I found a roommate to fill the spot that had been empty since November, and am being asked to work more often at the aerial studio where I started my training two years ago. While I don't have a full time job yet, step by step things are coming together.

So the moral of today's story is to remember not to let the difficult things weigh you down, they will get better. Pick up, move on - march forth.