The past few days, I’ve been juggling more. At work, I’ll have to build our game periodically throughout the day and it takes a good 5-10 minutes to do so. With the abundance of jugglers in the design pit, it’s a good place to practice, trade some tips, and wait for our builds. I wouldn’t be surprised if we started passing soon.
It’s like returning to an old friend that you’ve missed. Realizing, once again, that a solid Mills Mess pattern is so satisfying and comfortable that you never want to stop.
I noticed today that two of my juggling balls were starting to show serious wear and tear. The outside of one side of the two beanbags had started to crack and I’m sure that continued use would eventually result in an unpleasant explosion of whatever magical bean is inside.
Thus, for the first time in a long while, I looked up juggling supplies. I looked at getting three more beanbags, to replace and supplement my current collection. Each individual beanbag costs a little under $10, which is arguably a lot for a small beanbag, but about average for a decent juggling beanbag. Slightly smaller ones are slightly cheaper and there’s a large variation on ball styles and materials. I like beanbags because they don’t bounce or roll, and I like the solid feeling they have when they land in your hand.
Regardless, I had a sudden moment of adultness, when I realized that spending $30 on replacement beanbags was nothing nowadays. Sure, it’s still a bit of a luxury to spend any money on juggling supplies, but it wasn’t extravagant.
Compare that to when I first bought (or rather, was bought) the original 5 juggling beanbags that currently sit near my computer at work. I was still just a kid – well, maybe a teenager – but those five beanbags felt like a kingly present. It’s a sense of financial and gift-giving wonder that’s harder to realize once you start managing your own finances.
Anyway, I don’t really have a point. Maybe I wish I was still naive and felt wonder and awe at spending $10 on a fancy beanbag to throw in the air. Maybe I’m happy that I know that I can spend $30 on juggling supplies without worrying about becoming insolvent. Maybe more people should juggle.
I’ll be in New York later this month for a friend’s wedding and it just so happens that the Dube Juggling shop is located in downtown New York. I just may pay them a visit. I just may.
