2009 has surely been a huge year for myself. My modus operandi this year was to not take the easy option, and I think I’ve done that.
The biggest change was when I left my job mid-year. I often had heard that you feel like an adult the first time you get a full-time job. For me, that empowerment came the first time I quit my full-time job. Standing up for myself was a great feeling and I won’t deny it, having that power wasn’t bad too. I fell into that job by accident, and was continually moved into more challenging work. I got along with the people really well, and had a few bosses who liked me and always offered me more interesting things to do. One boss was a rough and ready jock-ish man who played football and took great pleasure in teasing his team. He sat next to me and our days became about whatever insults we could hurl at each other. At the end of my performance review he told me, “I’ve worded your assessment in a way that would make it extremely difficult to give you anything but the highest possible pay increase.” It just turned out the highest possible pay increase was very small at that level. I think that boss genuinely was concerned about my career as when I was moved to another section of the company, he said “Make sure they look after you.” His boss, who was very honest with me and always up for a chat came to see me on my last day and wished me well. They have since asked me to go back at better money, but I’ve moved on and don’t think I’d be doing myself any favours if I went back to work there. It would be the easy option, and I’ve vowed against that.
This year I also visited Melbourne three times, once during the January heat waves, once at the end of winter for a 3 week house-sit and just recently with Nico. Although the weather was nothing special, I decided Melbourne is where I want to live. One of the draw cards of my pending employment was that they were open to the idea of sending me to Melbourne. I’ve since discussed this, and I’ve reiterated that moving to Melbourne is what I want to do and they’re hoping to accommodate that (and help out with the moving costs) in 6-12 months time. Co-incidently two of my good friends, Brett and Tim, are heading down to live in Melbourne at the end of January, and they too hope for re-energisation that life changes bring.
This year has also seen me cut back on the amount of theatre I do. Where usually I’d be involved in 5+ shows, this year I was only on stage for one (A Slice of Saturday Night), and played in the orchestra for two (All Shook Up and West Side Story). After having to be convinced to be a part of it, Slice turned out to be possibly the most fun show I’ve ever done. With a cast of 8, all extremely talented, I was working with some old friends and some new ones. The show itself – set in a 1960s London nightclub – is not exactly inspiring, but it was full of fun songs, dances, plenty of comedy and a healthy dose of improvisation as we mingled with the audience in intermission. It was a joy to just be playing a teenager (with a great accent, no less) without being a nerd (like Seymour and Leo Bloom). The audiences, particularly those who were teenagers in the 1960s, really got into the show. After our intermission improvisations they were so warmed up sometimes they turned into quite an uncontrollable bunch. During several performances, mine and Juliette’s big kissing scene was accompanied by audience member’s yelling out things like “Get in there!” and “Just kiss her!” It was a wild show that I adored, and I can easily understand why a few people in the cast had returned to it after having done it a few times before. I’d leap at the chance to do the show again.
2009 also saw me struck down with glandular fever which really knocked me around for a long while. Getting unbearably sleepy at 3pm each day was exhausting, and I was even rehearsing for Slice whilst I had it. Crazily, I was at work through the worst of it, and just as I was starting to get my energy back my boss’ colleague sent me home with remote access and told me “Any work you get done the next two weeks is a bonus.” For those two weeks I worked for two hours, napped for one, worked for two hours, napped for one etc. Even now I still have the odd day where I get incredibly tired and can do nothing but crash on my bed, but it’s becoming less frequent.
I also saw some great concerts this year, most notably Liza Minnelli at the Sydney Opera House. The concert was raw, thrilling and undeniable proof of why that woman deserves to be the icon she is. Watching her perform I didn’t see “showbiz”, I just saw an honest, gut passion for performing. You can see in her eyes that she knows what she’s best at, and she intends to do it until she drops off the planet. My friends were equally blown away by her performance and I would gladly go again if she sticks to her promise and returns to Australia (although I think Brett was more impressed by the 90 year old lady in her blue sequinned flapper dress and her 70 year old daughter who had so much fake tan she may have been mistaken for a basted duck). Other great performances this year were the Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin, and Avenue Q which I saw twice during it’s Sydney stay. A large bunch of friends and I also spent a weekend in Sydney to see Guys and Dolls and Chicago. Very special mention to an amateur production of Musical of Musicals: The Musical I saw in Melbourne which was so cleverly performed and directed that I had serious concerns about undue pressure on my bladder.
Although I tend not to write about such things, I will mention I am ending the year in a very joyful relationship, one which I am sure will bring a lot more happiness.
2009 was not a good year for me in terms of blogging. After a bad WordPress upgrade left my blog a little crippled, I decided to start a new, but it took almost a year to get it off the ground, but it’s here now!
2010 is starting strong with my new job and I’ll be on stage again in March in a production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. I expect these next few months to be exhausting but hopefully rewarding. I’m focussing on my biggest goal for 2010 which is a practical one: I want to be settled in Melbourne before the year is out. Everything beyond that is a bonus.
I agree with you about quitting a job. I quit my first proper job in 1987 as I was deeply unhappy in it. After a few months of unemployment, I’ve never looked back.
Hey Tyson
Great to see you are back on the net. I have missed your blogs!
I too agree that quitting your first proper job is a joy.
Hoping to have more frequent updates this year.
Zoe