I hate the whole clown thing, it’s just not me. So, I work in a store that sells party supplies (and cards) and we’re having a big sale coming up. My district manager found out I unicycle and has asked me to dress up like a clown, ride up and down the sidewalk outside the strip mall with balloons to advertise the sale.
I don’t want to do this, not one bit. The clown part is all I have an issue with, should I swallow my pride to suck up to my boss? Or should I say no and risk having her think Im not a team player etc. Keep in mind that this is the lady in charge or promotions and raises.
Try a compromise. Tell her that you’d be happy to ride around, maybe wearing a funny hat, but you’d rather not dress up as a clown. You’ll still be a team player, your way.
I say do it and have fun with it. You’ll probably have a blast. Look at it this way. You get to ride your unicycle, dressed in camoflage so most people won’t know who you are and the best part is that you’ll get paid while doing it.
Being dressed up is cool in that it tends to release some of your inhibitions. So go for it and be the best clown that you can be.
We all had to swallow our pride to ride a unicycle.
There are a lot of good sayings about swallowing your pride.
Best to deal with your anti-clown sentiment.
Suppose you were a women, in a society where women weren’t valued as much as men (like the USA), where women were paid only 75% of what a man were paid for the same work, and their were no women CEOs of any Fortune 500 companies. You’d probably start to feel ashamed to be a woman.
In which case, if you were considering a sex change, I’d say it’s better to deal with your self-hate as a woman.
I’m with KathySusanka, by all means be a team player, but without dressing up, or making up, like a clown.
If your boss lady wants to know why, go into a long description of the proud heritage of the comedy del arte (and such like), express your eternal respect for clown-dom and explain that you don’t feel comfortable being a pale imitation.
But that you will ride around on your uni wearing xyz (whatever you’re comfortable in).
Deal with it you have to do what you have to do… Personally I climb in dumpsters and pack them tight so more can fix and I get EVERYTHING on me cat shit, diapers, gross old stagbet water etc… You pick which one… We all have to swallow our pride one time or another all you can do is make the best of the situation. So I say have fun with it.
I was asked to show up at a birthday party dressed as a clown with balloons etc for a friend’s son. She was shocked and hurt when I declined. I took a bit of grief over it but just didn’t want to do it. My friend still doesn’t understand and takes my decision personally.
Her son has seen me ride. And I would have had little problem if she just asked me to bring the unicycle to ride and have fun. But to dress up like a clown… I couldn’t do it.
However if it were for employment I agree with Kathy. I could dress up in a hat or something to attract business and show that I am a team player but would draw the line at dressing up like a clown. Actually it might be fun for you to get to ride and get paid for it.
Hope you tell us what you decide and what happens.
I think a lot of people are a bit too sensitive with the clown thing. Are you afraid that someone will will finally find out that it’s really only clowns that ride unicycles. You gotta get over it. What’s the big deal? Do we have some closet clowns out there that could get exposed to who they really are?
For this job, Kristine would get dressed up as a clown and ride her unicycle bringing happiness and joy to all of the little boys and girls. She might even have a good time doing it. At the end of the day, she removes the outfit and becomes Kristine again.
If I missed something in unicycle 101 regarding clowns, could someone please bring me up to speed?
clowns creep me out man… a lot of em are just wierd…i pity them… as for you…offer to just ride your uni w/ a sign on ya dude…i don’t see any wrong in that, besides THEY’LL NOTICE A DUDE ON A UNI!
Actually I don’t think it is so much just a “clown thing” as an entertainment issue. Seems like so many people only value unicycling as entertainment rather than a serious sport or endeavor and don’t take unicyclists seriously. I mean can you imagine someone asking a football player or tennis player to dress up like a clown with their helmets or rackets and show up at a party?
I’m happy to bring a smile to someone’s face. But that is not why I ride.
A more likely scenario would have been to ask Ansel Adams to photograph your wedding. He was a photographer albeit a very famous landscape photographer. Or maybe “Hey Picaso, you’re pretty good with that paint brush, can you paint my house for me?”
You don’t want to dress up as a clown, but don’t mind riding around in your normal self form? Well, all you gotta do is dress up as a clown that’s dressed up like you. Problem solved.
Tell her you are a professional entertainer as a side job, give her some sort or card and tell her you couldn’t possibly do it for less than your normal rate, $75/hr.
You gotta get over it. What’s the big deal? Do we have some closet clowns out there that could get exposed to who they really are?