Action Stations!

All hands on deck! Secure the hatches! Man the helm! I'm heading into my biggest adventure yet and it is going to take everything that I've got left. Suffice to say that this week has seen some major developments calling for drastic action.

The week started quietly enough. I did my trial shift at Ripley's museum and I felt that it went well. They wouldn't tell me if I got the job until Thursday which left me with a bit of a gap to fill. I spent most of it at the hostel to conserve ££'s, but towards the end of the week I was starting to have my doubts about the Ripley job. So to alleviate boredom and calm my mind a bit, I did some more job hunting in the local area and got a trial shift at a local restaurant. They fed me for the night's work which was pretty cool as it's a gourmet Italian restaurant. Definitely some of the best pizza I've ever had. The management seemed to like my work and they offered me a shift for the next evening.

I went home that night satisfied that I had at last found a form of employment in London. "Stage one complete," I was thinking, "Now I could start putting some more effort into looking for dancing work." Little did I know, that all my plans were about to get a nuclear bomb put under them. I checked my email when I got home to see if Ripley's had replied. They hadn't, but the State Ballet of Georgia (whom I had sent a video two weeks ago) had! The email offered me an expenses paid trip to Tbilisi to audition for the company!!!! All thought of Ripley's and restaurants was banished from my mind as I tried to take in the implications!

This really is my dream job. It's a big company (90 dancers) that has an incredible repertoire and tours internationally to Japan and the United States. The pay isn't that great if viewed in the major currencies, but the company pays your tax and accommodation. And it gets better, I am good friends with William Pratt who already works there and has offered to let me stay at his pad. So while Georgia may be at the other end of the earth, not the most stable nation and where everyone speaks a completely unique language, there is so much going for this job that I can't let it pass me by.

So the next few days were spent frantically trying to get some information on this Caucasus nation, and figuring out just if and how it was going to work. I replied to the email saying that I was interested and also gave them a phone call to discuss a couple of details. Because they have been in rehearsal for a week now they want me there as soon as possible. I shouldn't need a visa to do the audition but will obviously need one to get employment. As it stands at the moment I'm just waiting for them to get back to me with dates, which will probably happen tomorrow.

I told the restaurant that I had an offer from another source which fixed that problem. I did get the job at Ripley's, but haven't told them yet, just in case this falls through. (My first shift is tomorrow.) I've done a couple of classes so I'm fit and in shape. At this stage, I'm still planning to do the European Ballet audition on Wednesday, but expect that will change.

The only potential fly in the ointment here is that if don't get the job, I won't have enough resources to rebuild the foundation that I've made here. I always knew that coming to London was going to be a very high risk situation, and have been trying to keep the odds as short as possible. Now I'm going all in. The die is cast and red pennant raised. A case of kill or be killed. These sorts of opportunities don't come every day, and I would be a fool not to give it a try. I can sense the hand of God at work here. There is so much about this situation that is too convenient to be explained away by mere coincidence.

So onward we fly my friends, to whatever fair or foul destiny that awaits us in this grand adventure.

Till next time, wherever and whenever that may be,

DreamChaser

Rodney Cuthbertson