Circus Acts - Word of the Week

(Juggling verb: To keep (more than two activities, for example) in motion or progress at one time. Ety: mid-15c., from O.Fr. jogler, from L.L. joculare (cf. It. giocolare), from L. joculari “to jest”)

This morning I write to you from a very stinky SW London - a water pipe has burst on Brixton Hill and it seems that most of SW London - all the way out to Croydonia is sans water. It is times like this when there are people who are really sensible and keep bottled water etc for such emergencies. Clearly, I am not one of those people - instead I am lying in bed in my pajamas in my duvet blogging. I am also debating when might be the best time to dress my smelly self in clean clothes and after chewing gum in lieu of toothbrushing, head out to the shops in search of bottled water and baby wipes. In fact here is a picture of the reason why I have no water - under that is a road. And no, it's not a burst river, it's a burst water pipe. Crazy huh?

So, a WoTW after a month of no WoTW-ing.....and juggling seemed the most appropriate. I've not written much in that time either, despite much encouragement - I've just not felt like it. Anyway, that's a long-winded way of saying sorry if this post is entirely crap - I'm hoping writing is like riding a bike - you just have to get back in the saddle (fnar). Oh, and hello to all the new followers out there - of which there appear to be a few of you judging by the views in the last few weeks - thanks so much for coming by! If you're wondering WTF WoTW is, check this out

Juggling might not be something that you actively do 'in' your writing, but it's certainly something that we all have to do in our lives and sometimes it seems like it's impossible to keep all the plates spinning without going slightly crazy. Here is what I have juggled in the last 6 weeks:

• Gone away for 4 out of 6 weekends
• Faced the very real possibility I could be made redundant 
• Spent 16 hours in a car travelling to and from France (for a tres bon climbing trip to Fontainbleau)
• Been climbing 2-3 times a week
• Planned (rather haphazardly) my 30th birthday party
• Worked....under some challenging situations
• Scheduled my next check up re: some scary health issues - hopefully I'll get the official all clear.
• Helped to organise a gift for the family in this post

In the last week alone I have had one day off - and that was spent climbing anyway. And I've not added all the regular stuff we have to deal with to that - cleaning, tidying, shopping, cooking, laundry, general house-stuff, and having some semblance of a social life. 

So what does that mean and how do we learn to juggle everything - and I guess adapt to uncertain times? I know that's kind of a ginormous question really - and interestingly I went to a couple of seminars on being able to adapt to stuff at a recent work conference. Apparently one of the most important skills that employers look for now - globally - is flexiblity and being able to adapt to changing situations easily. Given how much the world is changing - and how rapidly - it's not a surprise that some/all/most of us find this really difficult.

I'm not at all confident with having any answers around this, but when everything started to get really tough, back in June, I just worked out what I could and couldn't commit to at that time - which did involve tough decisions - and then went with that. So, believe me, I really missed blogging over the last 6 weeks. There were so many times when I was like "awww that would be so awesome to talk about" or "I would love to interview this person"....but then I'd get home and just be so totally fried I couldn't face switching my brain on again.  Oddly, the only thing that kept me sane was climbing - and unsurprisingly my climbing grade has massively improved as a result.

Maybe that's a bit of a tip as to how to juggle and cope - find an outlet for yourself. When I climb it's like my mind switches off and I just focus solely on the smooth movement of my body up the wall. I almost go into a trance like state when I climb really well. I feel like there are no thoughts in my head (!) except how I move easily from one hold to the next. I love the way my body feels - it's like dancing or gymnastics or yoga. I guess it's very close to a meditative state. Given the safety issues around climbing, you are forced to concentrate very hard on what you're doing - so there's no space in your head to think about other stuff. Simples!

What do you guys do to create the same feeling? And if you don't what other coping mechanisms do you have? Obviously climbing is also good because of the whole exercising/endorphins thingymabob too (I'm so science-y me). 

The last 6 weeks have been tough, I'm not going to lie, and my head has been full of stuff and what if's and I've been scared and anxious and also excited about new possibilities. I've laid awake for hours on some nights - and then slept like a baby on others. But I'm hoping the worst is now over. Work stuff is calming down. Most of my bday stuff is planned. Health stuff I can't do anything about, so no point worrying (easier said than done). So I'm just going to enjoy the last week of my 20's (wail) and try to blog more. As that's always fun!

Thank you and goodnight

Stupidgirl has left the building

PS We've got water now, go Thames Water!