I only meant to take a week off from work, but things escalated into me leaving my dog daycare job altogether. Which is a little sad, but I was ready to go - or else I wouldn’t have asked for a week off, because I knew the consequences.

Anyway, since that time I have been having an absolute blast. I got to leave work early, ride bikes with my friend - who took me to a glass factory being torn down which has cool little bottles and shards of glass embedded in the sands of Cherry Hill. We also found this amazing pools of mud which we proceeded to splatter everywhere with a bunch of rocks. Then we rode down through Middle Branch Park (there are actually a lot of parks here, but many of them are in peculiar locations and aren’t all that attractive if you’re just driving by) and down into Brooklyn to talk a nice man named Mister Charles. After that, we went up to the first meeting of the new jugglers’ thing happening every Thursday night at the Hampden Rec Center in Roosevelt Park by 36th and Falls (if you want to go next week, email me). The fellow who started the thing, according to his website, spent a long time travelling around with a community circus teaching juggling to kids, and also teaches meditation to federal prisoners. I told him about the research I’ve been doing and we’re going to communicate about it further.

My friend also suggested a while ago volunteering at the firehouse up on Roland Ave, which I may go do. I’m also thinking of getting another tattoo, a dog print under my rose one. I’m sort of imagining them to be merit badges or something. I feel like I earned this one.

Anyway, after juggling, I went down to the new Talking Head to see my roomate, Jason Dove, perform with his trio. The next day I spent juggling, playing harmonica, mandolin, guitar, listening to Woody Guthrie and reading a Steinbeck book my friend loaned me about labor unions of fruit pickers. I then ended up at a pub in Fell’s Point called Bertha’s (famous for their “EAT BERTHA’S MUSSELS” bumper-stickers) and even got to see a secret room upstairs with a piano in it which is supposed to be haunted. This morning I ate brunch at Golden West, and then went up to Robert E. Lee Park with my friends and their dogs, where I spent the whole time playing music and juggling (I now know how to do four balls).

Next week, I want to keep riding this current wave I’m on, and see what other zany adventures I can get into around town. I’m going to go down to the river and play music, and also continue practicing in parks to build up my chops (and courage) for doing some street performing. I’m also thinking about going down to this place in Federal Hill to see if I can start learning aikido. I figure maybe I should just not even get another job, and just vigorously pursue the things I want to do, and trust that the money (and everything else, money’s no big deal, really) will find me if I put myself out there.

I’m ready.