Learning to Juggle (Metaphorically)

You never quite know what you’re capable of until you try to do it ALL. AT. ONCE.

I should really take up juggling… I feel like I have a lot of practice already, at least in the metaphorical sense!

In less than two weeks, I will be on-site at Lucidity, which is a bit hard for me to believe. Apparently time not only flies when you’re having fun, it soars by even faster when you’re busy as hell. There are only a few hundred tickets left, which means my job isn’t quite done, but if you’re thinking about joining us, you’d better act fast! Don’t forget to use my promo code ‘meganpru’ for $5 off your ticket!  You could also WIN a ticket by submitting a video inviting a loved one to join you at Lucidity! It’s gonna be pretty awesome…

Photo by David Pricco at Lucidity 2013.
Photo by David Pricco at Lucidity 2013.

As I go from one job to the next to the next each day, I am constantly in awe of how much my teammates and I manage to do and keep track of. I am most certainly among real-life jedis, that’s the only explanation for this level of badassery. I am learning a lot, from the intricacies of formatting and timing Facebook posts for best engagement to tricks for keeping things organized in Google Drive, but mostly how to manage my time and maintain balance with so much on my plate(s) and such long hours spent on screens.

I’ve come to realize that perhaps five jobs is a few too many, but I am grateful that a few of them are seasonal, and there’s not as many hours when it’s not a festival production cycle. I am counting my lucky stars that Lucidity, Forever Everland, and Enchanted Forest are all nicely spaced at two months apart this summer! Two part time jobs is plenty, though the extra few hours a week from the other three sure is nice to have. I am finally getting somewhere on saving some money, paying things off, and being able to make some long-awaited purchases like a new external hard drive that I’ve needed for YEARS now. I hardly leave the house since there’s always work to do, but when I do, it’s to do awesome things like celebrate Holi, the festival of color celebrated each spring in India, on the beach for a friend’s birthday, or soaking in mineral hot springs all day with my love… So I’m ok with the work-life balance I’m tenuously clinging to. 😉

And speaking of Holi… man was that fun! These are just a few of the fun photos I took:

Holi2 Holi3 Holi4 Holi5

 

Lucid Days and Dreams: An Exercise in Balance

2015 has been a whirlwind already. A big storm last weekend that knocked out power for 36 hours here on the Mendocino coast forced me to slow down and realize just how much I’ve been doing every day this year. It also made me realize how sadly dependent all five of my jobs, and thus my life, is on electricity and internet! I have been playing catch up all week after being off-grid Sunday night through Tuesday morning. But somehow even though nearly every hour of my day is now scheduled, I fully embrace this chaos of my own making and enjoy being busily involved in so many exciting projects.

36 hour power outage means pretty candles

I have always kept myself pretty busy, but this year I am taking it to a whole new level. Late last year I received a message from someone I’d worked with at Forever Everland who mentioned that Lucidity Festival had some positions opening up that I might be a good fit for. I had been planning to really hunker down this winter and focus on work, getting as many billable hours in as possible so I can pay stuff off and save up to hopefully move into a bigger place this year. So the opportunity arose at a great time, and I submitted a resume and started talking to the Marketing department as they began to gear up for 2015. Lucidity is a Southern California transformational festival that has been on my radar since it began in 2012, but I haven’t been able to get down there for the early April event yet. This year that will be changing, and when April finally rolls around I will be more than ready to experience the fruits our labors!

I started as the Marketing Operations Lead for Lucidity Festival’s marketing department in early January – adding another part-time contract to my pile. And now that I’ve been here a minute and am starting to feel a bit more caught up with everything going on in the bustling Lucid universe, I’m beginning to feel quite at home. I mean, how rad is it that their contracts include The Four Agreements (one of my favorite books) and their core values sound like something I could have written? Pretty rad. 🙂

Lucidity Core Values

  1. Participation and Immersion in the Artistic Process
  2. Personal Growth and Global Healing
  3. Awake and Aware Consciousness
  4. Environmental and Social Responsibility
  5. Family Fun and Creative Play
  6. Communal Reciprocity
  7. Transparency

The team I work with is inspiring and awesome, I am learning a lot and taking on a lot that is new to me, all good things! And though increasing my workload has been a bit overwhelming at times, it is teaching me to manage my time better, work more efficiently, plan ahead and it reminds me that I need to make time for a social life and relaxation too – it feels a bit like juggling but I’m moving towards balance. Work hard, play hard!

This job is giving me an opportunity to push my growth edges and gain valuable experience in new areas. I have to process and keep up with a lot of projects, e-mails, phone calls, meetings, documents, and people. My role is more of a management role than any I’ve held previously, but I also get to use my design and communication skills, knack for organization, and my love of multitasking and having lots of variety in my work life is definitely coming in handy! AND I am also still working for PETA part time as well as spending a few hours a week helping with social media management for Forever Everland and Enchanted Forest, and a few hours a week as a Personal Assistant for my friend Amae Love.  It’s a lot of hours, but it feels less like work to me when I am doing a variety of things for a living rather than having one job. That 9-5 life is far too bland and boring for this weirdo, even if I end up working my little booty off trying to avoid working for people and organizations I don’t align with. Maintaining an “alternative” lifestyle sure can be exhausting, but I’m certainly enjoying it. I am grateful that I have 5 jobs and I can say that I truly love, enjoy, and feel good about my work with every single one.  What a blessed, busy life!

We don’t have any festivals on the radar this year other than ones we’re working or learning at (FireDrums, Forever Everland and Enchanted Forest most likely), so Lucidity will be a nice “working vacation” for me (not sure that James can join me unfortunately) and a wonderful chance to experience a new event and hang out with some good friends who moved to SoCal from Mendo a few years back, Pal and Ottie! It will also mark the end of a very busy few months, as the start of 2015 is shaping up to be.

I’m really excited that I’ll likely be in Santa Barbara for a week surrounding the festival, which means I can participate in some Community Action Days with The Polish Ambassador since Lucidity is partnering with him to make that happen! And… the lineup is pretty freaking epic as well. Getting giddy just thinking about it… and also about the fact that this is all part of my job now. Doesn’t really feel like work when I think about it that way… 🙂

If you’d like to join us at Lucidity this year, get your tickets ASAP! It’s getting close to selling out and I want you there! Use my discount code “meganpru” at checkout to receive $5 off Lucidity tickets! 

Lucidity 2015 Lineup