Where in the world am I today?: Oklahoma City, OK, USA
I recently got back from China and while I was there I bought three Remote Control Helicopters in part because I always sort of wanted one, but also because I’m working on a new show and am trying to figure out whether including some sort of flying RC device is going to be practical. The reality may well be that I opt to not include any sort of remote control device, but I gotta tell ya. I’m having a blast playing with it!
OK, so why three? well I got one for myself and knew that if I came home with only one my boys would kill me, so I got one for each of us and so far we’re all LOVING them!
I’ve been really interested to see how each member of the Aiken Family Helicopter Squadron handles his flight time and what it reflects about our personalities. My older son, Koji quickly earned the nickname ‘Crash’ and my younger son Owen showed off his more tentative yet deliberate side by not flying his helicopter headlong into oblivion like his older brother (I’m guessing his helicopter will last longer). I think I fall somewhere in between these two approaches but my desire to actual control the flight with some degree of predictability likely reflects my control-freak nature as well.
The bottom line for me though is that these little helicopters have rekindled a sense of fun in the pursuit of something new that I remember having when I first started to juggle. I did the bulk of my hard core practicing back when I was in high school. I lived next to the school and early on figured out how to nab two lockers – one for school related items and one (usually the one next door) for juggling props. I was involved in drama and the school band, but something clicked for me when I started to juggle – it was just a whole lot of FUN!
The result of the fact that I enjoyed the activity so much was that practicing was something I actually WANTED to do. I had fun getting better and it was never a struggle picking up the props and working on something new. I remember thinking at the time that I was destined to follow juggling not music because picking up a musical instrument never brought me the say joy as throwing a schwack of balls around.
I consider myself insanely lucky to have been able to make a career out of an activity that I enjoy so much but part of what has given me the success has been the fact that it’s been a really really really FUN ride. The hours I’ve devoted to this thing I do for a ‘job’ (I always have a hard time saying that with a straight face) have been a pleasure and I look forward to many many more years to come.
I’ve heard it said that you should find a job that you’d pay to do and eventually someone will pay you to do it. In my case these words are pretty much spot on!
