Juggling anyone?

Nak belajar Juggling tak?

Download this instructional videos and practise at your own pace. You don't have to be a clown to learn the skills. Anyone can take up juggling. From that makcik in London to that man with white kopiah in Pandan. (hehehe.....sapa tu?)

Benefits? It helps you to focus and concentrate on your task and I have read somewhere that it helps to reduce stress. And you can use in your exercise routines too. Run and juggling routine anyone?

You don't have juggling balls? No worries. If you go to IKEA, I believe you can get rubber balls for RM10 ( check the price first!). I am using juggling beans (RM35 for set 0f three balls). Kalau nak let me know. I can get it for you. But if you are really really broke, 3 biji oranges or apples will do.

I never take juggling classes during my University of Wisconsin-La Crosse's Clown Camp stint and learnt by myself through this wonderful instructional videos by The Jim Show. It took me 2-3 months or so to be able to juggle with confidence.

Now, I am quite OK with classic cascading style and looking forward to learn more interesting styles.

Jom Juggling!

An email from a wise man

I wrote to him recently.

salam pak muhammad,

sudah lama saya tidak menghubungi bapak. asyik-asyik terlupa sahaja walaupun berjam-jam menghadap komputer. apa khabar? Saya alhamdulillah. masih bertugas di Kuala Lumpur. 2 hari lepas genap setahun sudah bekerja di sana. dengar khabar gaji naik sedikit. baru-baru ini ada membeli antologi aksara usia (hidup?) karya bapak. terjumpa di pasar chowrasta penang.

saya insya allah kalau duit cukup nanti akan ke USA pada bulan Ogos 2005. sambung belajar kembali. tak lama. 2 minggu sahaja. belajar ' advanced theatrical clowning (Eccentric Performing) dengan Avner Eisenberg di Celebration Barn Theatre, Maine, USA.

sudah merancang utk singgah di Boston dan New York. mahu berjalan-jalan di Central Park dan tafakur di Ground Zero dan mengekori badut badut hospital (clown doctors) di Boston Children's Hospital.

salam,

iskandar

He replied:

sdr iskandar,

salam dari pulau pinang. menarik - lorong hidup yang sdr pilih, yang jarang dipilih oleh orang muda kita., pelajar saya menunggu kerja kerajaan saja. berbulan dan bertahun.

selamat jalan ke new york - kota yang sangat gila tapi sangat menarik.

sesiapa saja yang menjejak kaki di sana cepat mesra dan menjadi warganya.

kalau ada waktu kirimkan berita dari nyc.

muhammad

I first met him back in 2003 when I was travelling down to Bangkok from Vientiane to get my air ticket to USA. We stumbled upon each other at the Nara Skyway Station. He was with another writer, Khadijah Hashim, attending the SEA Writers Award ceremony in Bangkok that day. We corresponded with each other for a while. Then I returned to Malaysia and started working. Recently when I was in Penang, I got hold of his anthology " Aksara Usia" and luckily I still remember his email. So I wrote.

He is a seasoned traveller. I admire the way he observes things and places he has visited and express it in his beautiful poems.

Yes, I am going to write to him from NYC.

What do you want to know about Clown Doctors?

1. We read Oprah.



2. We encourage nose-picking exercise.

3. We wear gowns in sensitive care environment.

4. We partnering in two to "bounce" and to avoid occupational burnout.

5. We use "empty pocket" clowning - small props or less and relies a lot on improvisation.

6. We clown in transplant unit with face masks and scrubs and of course our red nose!

7. We see things differently.

A poem for a friend

Paie,

I hope Mary Oliver’s “The journey” will inspire you to trust your inner voice and pursue your passion. I first came across it when I was already on the track of my journey. I know how difficult it can be when you want to start the arduous and long journey because I have gone through that before. But then, if you trust your inner voice and pray hard, Insya Allah you will be fine, my friend.

The Journey

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice–
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
“Mend my life!”
each voice cried.
But you didn’t stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff finger
sat the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world
determined to do
the only thing you could do–
determined to save
the only life you could save.


-Mary Oliver