In 1998 I sent out to become a professional clown. I intended to do kid’s parties but I got festivals instead. In 2002 Centrelink decided it would be better to put me on the pension than try and find me a job. The case manager who sorted it out for me told my I should treat it as a grant, that is what have done. Festivals were well paid and a lot of fun when the work came in, but it was a long time between gigs. Then in 2005 a circus turned up to the town where I lived with my parents and asked me to join them. It wasn’t the greatest show on earth and there clearly wasn’t much money in it, but life on the road and regular work appealed to me, so I was a genuine circus clown for twelve years. The circus began to pack up in 2016 and I did my last show with them in 2017. In 2019 I started to look for a new avenue for my art, but floods, fires, the pandemic then more floods has proven to be problematic in getting my act together. My hope for the future is to put a busking act together, volunteer as a diversional therapist, work on a blog about festivals and street performers, provide peer support to patients in psychiatric hospitals and work on costume design. It is hard to make my occupation pay, but it does a lot to improve my standard of living. My ability to pursue my occupation will be profoundly impacted by not having a drivers licence. The place where I have been living requires that I am able to drive, so I will need to find somewhere else to live for the duration of my suspension. It is my own bad choices that has led to this and I make no excuses for my behaviour, but I make a plea for some leniency as the loss of licence will be punitive indeed.
I am well aware of my failings and that drink driving can lead to far worse things than this. I am seeking help with my issues, most recently: month and a half stays in Currumbin Clinic over Christmas and Easter and seeking peer support through Alcoholics Anonymous and Grow. My issues are essentially psychiatric in nature and I feel recent changes to my medication vastly improve my chances of long term sobriety. Also memories of March 16 and its consequences may serve as a solid rock bottom to form the foundations of recovery.
Clown Artist Philosopher 