During my last year of college I often threatened to run away and join the circus in order to avoid getting a real job. In my last semester I met Paul Binder, founder and artistic director of the Big Apple Circus, and had a chance to chat with him about what it would take to join a circus. Unfortunately, even the circus was suffering then, so it wouldn’t be as I imagined: sneaking into the circus dressed as a clown or sneaking into the animal cages. I was willing to suffer for the art of the circus, though. I could work as a vendor or as a ticket salesperson. This would give me plenty to write about in a short period of time. Circuses contain stories, right? I could do NaNoWriMo and work in a circus. Besides, Water for Elephants was originally a NaNoWriMo novel.
Even some of the staff encouraged this. I didn’t even know how to juggle, but one of the staff in the study abroad office told me where to find them. Unfortunately, I never got a chance to go thanks to my schedule. I still don’t know how to juggle–some mathematically inclined friends insist that if I know math, I’m more than capable of learning how to juggle. Correlation isn’t causation, though. They should know that.
No matter the case, I have to learn a lot to keep up with this girl. Balancing books, Rubik’s cubes, and reciting pi? Fantastic.
If I do learn, there may be a niche market for a geek circus.
One reply on “I need to brush up on my circus skills”
Hm, that’s like epically nerdy (something I would do, haha) except she’s starting with the rubik’s cube solved, which is a bit fishy~ 😛 The books and reciting pi are pretty awesome though.