Re: [Callers] Question for traveling and/or busy callers

I don't travel a WHOLE lot - maybe 1 or 2 big trips a year and several long-distance weekend dances (not weekends, but various dances held on the weekend).  Forgetting the fact that I love driving, especially into new and unfamiliar territory - one thing that helps me keep the calling fresh and the spirits high is the fact that each dance I come to is a new crowd.  Meeting new people and giving these new halls of dancers the opportunity to try these dances lifts my spirits.  Getting plenty of sleep the evenings between gigs is also very important - though that CAN be difficult because many of the beds I sleep in are unfamiliar beds, or not all that comfortable, etc.  Having a night free where there is nothing to do or even a dance to go to where you are not booked keeps things interesting.  It's always good to be able to dance on calling trips. Perry ________________________________ From: Kalia Kliban <kalia(a)sbcglobal.net> To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net> Sent: Wednesday, September 11, 2013 3:50 PM Subject: [Callers] Question for traveling and/or busy callers I've just finished a full summer camp season, with 4 week-long camps in just under 8 weeks and some home-town gigs in between.  I feel pretty wrung out.  I've also had seasons when I overbooked and had a big concentration of local gigs (11 gigs and a weekend, plus a pile of performance rehearsals, in 8 weeks) that left me similarly pooped.  I've carefully booked the upcoming season to leave myself more down time, and it's helping a lot.  No more than one gig a weekend, with occasion weeknights. My question is for the other callers who call a lot, especially if you travel to do it.  What sorts of things to you do to take care of yourself when your schedule is really intense?  How do you keep your calling fresh, and your attitude good?  Do you have any personal routines that help you focus?  Aside from the fact that what we're doing is mountains of fun, it's also a lot of work and takes careful concentration and preparation.  There's a local square dance caller who does something like 320 gigs a year.  I need to ask him sometime how he does it, but he's always moving too fast to engage in conversation. Maybe this is one of those questions that falls too far toward the "advanced" end of the discussion spectrum.  I don't know.  But it's one I'd love to hear from other hard-working callers about. Kalia _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)sharedweight.net http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers