Sunday, September 29, 2013

I'm Moving...Again!

I've only been in my current apartment for three months, but this was a planned temporary location. As it was temporary, I had agreed to live in the living room of the one bedroom apartment. Not even two weeks after I moved in, my roommate asked me if I would be okay sharing the living room with a friend of hers who was in a pinch and needed to crash for only a week or two. I agreed; a week or two is nothing. Skip forward 2 1/2 months, and that "friend" is still here!! It's been all I can do to not rip my hair out of my head! I have had NO personal space, she sleeps until the afternoon causing me to tiptoe around and not be able to do much at home, and then wakes me up almost every night making more noise than necessary. She takes an average of two showers a day, and she only occasionally has contributed to rent, which frustrated me as she spends money renting cars, dying her hair, and taking trips to San Diego. Either she's lying about her dire situation, likes to take advantage of people, or has no self control when it comes to budget. Maybe a bit of all three.

Anyway...Now the time has come to pack up my things once more, leave the squatter behind, and settle into a HOUSE! I'm so excited to be in a house! In my own room! With a door that shuts! I nearly jump up and down every time I think about it! Better yet the house is partially furnished, so I've been able to sell a few more of my things and lessen the amount I have to haul from place to place. I took over one carload of stuff tonight and will hopefully have the rest done TOMORROW! Hooray!! Can someone say housewarming party?

Friday, September 13, 2013

Preparing for the Franchise

In 6 days I am boarding a plane for the near-East coast and meeting up with my business partner for a workshop with the company we've franchised. I don't have the official breakdown of our daily workshop schedule, but we will be spending about 3 days learning the ins and outs of the way they run the company, learn about the set up process and get an approximate timeline for choosing and constructing our location, sign more official paperwork, and basically be on our way.

I am looking forward to visiting this state again, and for the possibility of meeting up with an old friend I know from Colorado during some down time. I am SO excited for this trip I have had to fight the urge to start packing for about a week, though I have compromised a little by already buying all the travel-sized toiletries I need (baggage fees are for suckers!). Maybe I can put off the packing urge a while longer by arranging transportation to the airport...

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

This End Up

It's launched! The kickstarter campaign for our circus "This End Up" went live today! I'm super excited.

BUT - in order to make this show happen we really do need a bit of financial support, so I'm once again shamelessly self-promoting here. Please take a few minutes to visit our kickstarter page, watch the video and contribute even $1! If you're not familiar with kickstarter, the website gives projects one month to raise needed funds through donations, but if the funding level is not met in the timeframe, nobody pays the money they pledged. It's an all or nothing kind of deal. Every dollar makes a difference, and of course, there are rewards for donating! Share our project with all your friends, coworkers, and anyone you know, because you never know who would like to help!

Thanks everyone! I look forward to seeing you at the show!

Monday, September 2, 2013

So Many Good Things

I have been overwhelmed lately in a positive way. So many good things seem to be happening to me right now I haven't been able to process everything! After a couple of rough trials in the last few years it's nice to be experiencing so much good.

The Guy
I usually keep my personal relationships out of blog posts, and generally I feel that will continue to be the case. I have been dating a wonderful guy for almost 2 months and am constantly amazed at how kind and sincere he is. We are very similar in the way we were raised and the way we now see the world, which is hard to find in Southern California. I have been enjoying spending time with him whenever schedules and distance allow (he lives near San Diego). But don't jump the gun here people, this is no save the date announcement; it's too soon for me to know how far this relationship will progress.

The Jobs
I've been working at a coffee shop part time in order to pay the bills, but my real enjoyment recently job-wise has been in preparing to teach at a kids aerial arts studio. This is the studio I first started training at when I discovered aerial arts 2.5 years ago, though they have been closed most of the year as they built their new (and BEAUTIFUL) studio a few miles South of their original location. Before they closed I was leading birthday parties and working as an assistant instructor, but now have been offered a position as an instructor two days a week. I've been busy conditioning and learning the curriculum for the ages/levels I will be instructing. Their projected opening date is October 1st, with their soft opening in Mid-September.

The Side Project
Near the beginning of the year my friend Mike and I were standing on the flying trapeze pedestal of another aerial arts studio during our regular weekend class when he half jokingly asked me if I'd be in his circus if he had one. Without missing a beat, I accepted. Earlier this summer Mike approached me again asking if I remembered that conversation, and asked if I was really still interested - because he was, in fact, starting a circus. We have now gathered our core creative team, principle performers, and music composers, shot hours of video footage, and are launching our kickstarter campaign TODAY to raise the funding we need to get this project off the ground. Once the campaign is approved it will go live. Shameless self-promotion moment in the meantime: check out our website at www.thisendupshow.com and on facebook at www.facebook.com/thisendupshow
I think it's an amazingly fun concept.

The Future Career
I know, I know, you're probably wondering why I now have 3 paragraphs dedicated to work. Well, I could say it's because I'm writing this post on Labor Day.... but really, both "The Jobs" and "The Side Project" aren't full time, and none of them are bringing in a hearty paycheck (yet...the circus is going to be big!). I've been missing having a clear career path with all these random, crazy hours I've had to work to scrape enough pennies together to pay for rent. So... I franchised a business! Yep. I can't give too many details until more official paperwork is signed, but I have a business partner and we have made the down payment on our own franchise! It's unique, and fun, and may require me splitting my time between SoCal and another state. I'm hoping I won't have to give up Los Angeles completely; it just depends on how demanding the set up process is. I'll share what I can as soon as I'm allowed - you ALL have to visit the business when it's up and running!!!

Alright, I'm tired and have labored enough on this holiday. What are your "so many good things" that are happening right now?