Hi family & friends!
I wanted to tell everybody about my year, and it was way too much to put in a Christmas card, so here we are.
I spent 2014 happily single, with negligible dating, but lots of blossoming friendships.
I celebrated the marriage & pregnancy of close friends.
I saw lots of circus shows and lots of shows with circus friends (thanks to a weekly Game of Thrones party).
I took lots of circus classes, growing closer to the circus community and getting stronger.
I even got up early to be productive… at least until massage school started.
Back in 2013, when I got my massage license, I had wanted to do the 1000-hour extended program, but there weren’t enough students interested, so I was only able to do the 750-hour program. In August, they were able to find enough students who wanted to come in at night to get those 250 hours, so I went back to night school from August through December.
Due to massage school, my body deemed rising early to be unacceptable, I paused my circus classes and got a little out of shape, I got so busy I forgot to go to jury duty (though I had just gone earlier in the year, which seems a little excessive), I accidentally let my car tabs expire, and a good friend took it upon himself to make sure I had a birthday party, because I didn’t have the energy to organize it.
During school, I really feel like my massage skills continued to improve, as I learned some really detail-oriented specific work. I even wrote a case report, which I’ll try to publish in a peer-reviewed journal. Wouldn’t that be neat?
While I was in school, I got a couple new toys: a robot vacuum cleaner (Neato Botvac) that makes it look like my dogs shed a lot less than they actually do and an electric lift massage table so I can get clients to just the right height even as it changes throughout the session. I even built a storage shelf under it; I always enjoy building things with my hands.
Burning the candle at both ends, I got sick (just a bad cold) and ended up taking more than a week off from work to recover… I did more than just recover, though. After that break, I seemed to attract people to me for conversations. I must have become more sociable & personable or something, and it’s been a delight. I ended up making some really good friends through massage school.
A couple weeks ago, I went to a party with just a few circus people that I knew, and I met more wonderful people. I look forward to the growth of those friendships in the coming year.
Now I’m in Arizona with my first-time snowbird parents, going into debt on vacation time, hiking, soaking up some sun, and generally enjoying this strange feeling of having free time.
The future looks bright ahead, as I’ll get back home in time to see my dogs and their sitters before going to two New Year’s Eve parties. Then, I expect to go to a number of birthday parties in January, as I have several friends who were born in that month. I’m even planning to host one of those parties, and I hope to host a get-together for my massage cohort as well. Lots of entertaining!
January also promises my first paid massage, which I hope will just signal the start of a regular occurrence.
I’ll be keeping myself busy as I get back to circus classes, but not as busy as I have been, and I’m really excited to strengthen relationships with friends and loved ones.
With love, Evan (and Gus & Elise)
