Daily Prompt – Make It Anywhere

“If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere,” goes the famous song about New York City. Is there a place — a city, a school, a company — about which you think (or thought) the same? Tell us why, and if you ever tried to prove that claim.

I had that thought when I moved to Melbourne when I was 19.

Daily Prompt – Envelope Pushers

When was the last time you took a risk (big or small), and pushed your own boundaries — socially, professionally, or otherwise? Were you satisfied with the outcome?

I think perhaps the biggest risk I took was when I was going through the audition process for dance / performing arts courses when I was 18.

Daily Prompt – Musical Marker

We all have songs that remind us of specific periods and events in our lives. Twenty years from now, which song will remind you of the summer of 2014?

I wouldn’t necessarily say that there is any music that is that iconic that it would bring back memories of what is actually our winter 2014.

Daily Prompt – The Kindness Of Strangers

When was the last time a stranger did something particularly kind, generous, or selfless for you? Tell us what happened!

Usually it’s the other way around – what did I do to a complete stranger that was completely selfless… but to have it this way, hmmm, that’s actually quite tough.

I’ve been trying to think about this for a while and one that springs to mind was a few years ago. I was interstate and went to one of those small Chinese massage places. The one’s that look kinda dodgy. The ones where they don’t actually speak any English, and generally don’t actually understand what you’re saying.

This one day I went in to have my calves and feet massaged after a few hard days of dancing and bouncing around, and I pointed them out to this lady, who smiled and nodded and took me into a room and got me to strip down to my jocks and cover myself with a towel. After trying to explain over and over again that I wanted my feet done, she still didn’t get it. SO I just went with it. Granted I only asked for a 30min massage, but it turned into 45 mins as she massaged my neck, shoulders, back, glutes, and in the last 5 minutes, quickly got to my calves and feet.

I was kind of annoyed, but I also felt a bit guilty about being annoyed. Yes, she didn’t give me what I wanted, and by the time she had finished, somebody who spoke english had returned to the store. I explained to them the situation, and said although the massage was really quite good, it wasn’t what I asked for, despite trying to tell her several times.

The guy apologised profusely, and explained everything to the lady in Chinese. She felt so sorry, and started talking to me in Chinese, I kept telling her that I didn’t understand, and had to use the guy to translate for me. I said that it was okay, and next time I come back, I’ll have a proper foot / calf massage instead. She kept talking to me, and grabbed my hand, motioning me towards a chair. I tried refusing, but she wasn’t having it. She literally dragged me across the room and forced me into the chair. The guy came with us and translated what she was saying, explaining that she felt so bad for not providing the service that I asked for, and instead, would do so now, for free. I kept saying that wasn’t necessary, and that I would come back another time to pay for it myself. She still refused.

As I sat in the chair, she grabbed my foot, and pulled off my shoe and sock, and then the other, and pushed me backwards to recline. Somebody brought her a small bucket of warm water, and she put my feet in there to soak.

Meanwhile, the guy who was translating, began to give me a head massage, whilst she gave me a hand massage. After about ten minutes, the water had gone dark and had cooled considerably. She removed my feet, dried them, and gave me another 30min foot / calf massage. It was absolute heaven!!

By the time she finished, I was on cloud nine and felt incredible. At the same time, I also felt so guilty for even mentioning my frustration earlier – I didn’t want her to do anything out of anger or obligation, but at the same time, I was kind of glad that I did. For the following three days, every evening on the way back to my hotel, I called in there and had a 30min foot / calf massage, and always gave them a big tip. I believe in paying for quality, and this woman was fantastic.

She never needed to do what she did, but I had an instant respect for her for her decision to make me sit down again. It worked out in her favour, as it brought me back another three consecutive days.

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/the-kindness-of-strangers/

Daily Prompt – Take a Chance on Me

What’s the biggest chance you ever took? Did it work out? Do tell!

I think that one of the biggest chances I took was moving out of home when I was 19.

Living in a country town, there’s only so much that you can achieve, and there’s a very limited future for you… well, unless you want to work on a farm, and even then, that’s not a certainty. A lot of people that I went to school with still live in that town, and have just settled into whatever life brought them, whereas I was determined to get out of there and do something with my life.

I knew that I would either move to Sydney or Melbourne, and the school that I got into was in Melbourne. It was such an incredibly daunting choice to make, and something that terrified me, but also excited me at the same time. It’s a decision that I certainly do not regret whatsoever. It’s allowed me to grow as a person and experience so much that I would have never been able to had I stayed in the country.

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Daily Prompt: Three Coins in the Fountain

Have you ever tossed a coin or two into a fountain and made a wish? Did it come true?

When I was younger, I was always told that if you toss a coin in the countain and make a wish, it will come true.

…My parents lied to me.

I don’t know how much money I’ve just thrown away on these empty beliefs over the years… I always wanted to believe that something would happen, but nothing ever did. Nothing I ever wished for came true… Actually, that’s not entirely true. I remember when I was a kid, I made a wish for a GameBoy for my birthday…

…I just didn’t anticipate it taking 10 years to actually come true. I kinda thought that it would have more of a turn-around period of twelve-months instead. But clearly not.

I stopped tossing coins into fountains the day I saw a bunch of kids in a particularly large fountain in Sydney. This was a particular fountain that a lot of tourists would toss a coin into – almost like one of those things you have to do anytime you visit Sydney. But this one day, I saw all these kids in there collecting all the coins, and running off with them. A fountain full of wishes… and they were all being stolen.

Maybe that’s why none of my wishes came true – because some little shits kept stealing them.

If you steal the coin from the fountain, do you steal the wish as well??

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2014/03/21/daily-prompt-coins/

25 Dec – Christmas Traditions

Merry Christmas if you’re celebrating today. Tell us about your favourite holiday tradition.

I don’t really *do* Christmas. I’m not really a fan of it, but most of the time it’s just done out of obligation. But for all the bitching and moaning about it, it always manages to turn out to not be the worst experience of my life.

Dec 11 – The Road Less Travelled

Tell us about a time you took the less travelled path.

So, it’s taken me almost a week to write this post. Everytime I come back to it, I try to think of a possible response to this, and I really struggle.

I read some of other blogs and what they had to say, and I can’t really relate to them because I haven’t experienced it personally.

So, what the hell can I write about? I’ve had a pretty normal, average life. I haven’t really faced any major adversity, nor have I had to deal with major decisions.

But then I came back to it today, and thought some more about it. And although it’s slightly relevant, I’d say that my road less travelled was moving out of home.

I was 19. I’d been living in a country town with my mum and my brother. I didn’t get my act together soon enough after year 12 to audition for dance schools, so I had to quickly work out what I was doing for the following year. I enrolled into a TAFE course studying I.T., and soon enough that fell by the wayside in order for me to completely immerse myself in musical theatre and even more dance tuition. I just wanted something to fill my days.

Later that year I made the decision that I couldn’t stay in this town any longer. I refused to turn into most of the other people that were in my social circle. I had to get out. I’d already discovered my independent nature, and knew that if I stayed for another year, it would break me and I’d never leave.

I spent my focus on working towards my dance school auditions in both Sydney and Melbourne, which meant a couple of trips to both places. It was during these auditions, I very quickly came to the realisation, that although I was a very talented dancer back home, I was NOTHING compared to these city dancers.

I did masterclasses and round after round of callbacks. Dancing and styles that I’d never seen before, but were apparently normal here in the big city. I felt so sheltered and terrified, and yet, my eyes felt like they had dilated to the size of dinner plates, because I’d now got a taste for real dancing, and sweet fucking jesus, I WANTED MORE!!!

However, my first auditions were in Sydney for a couple of schools. I thought I was so prepared. It just turned out to be quite a fucking failure. During one of the callbacks, I was standing at the back of the studio looking at all these dancers, and I realised that I had absolutely no chance of making it here. If I really wanted to have a shot, I’d have to spend the next twelve months here just taking classes every single week to really learn how to dance the way they wanted me to.

It made me realise that all the training I’d done, all the work I’d put into my solo pieces, and all my technique sessions, and the countless hours and pain, and exhaustion, and sweat, and blisters counted for absolutely fucking NOTHING.

Having this realisation isn’t a great feeling. Having this realisation during your audition most certtainly is one of the worst things a performer can ever experience. I ended up standing down the back, dancing through a routine, crying my eyes out, wondering why I had even bothered staying.

It’s hard to concentrate on your triple-chaine-triple-pirouette combo when you have tears flying off your face whilst you’re trying to spot your turns. There were tears flying in every direction and I could seem them all getting airborne, as if everything was happening in slow motion. I finished my combo, and the panel thanked us all and left the room.

A minute or so later, one of them came back in and walked right up to me, ‘Come with me!’

She lead me out of the studio, with EVERYBODY staring at me. I had no idea what was going on.

‘I don’t know what’s wrong with you, but you need to get your shit together. If you don’t want to be here, then stop wasting your time and our time, and pack your stuff and leave. If you can’t handle the pressure then leave. If you’re going to spend the rest of the afternoon crying, leave.’

Um… wow.

‘I’m so sorry. I really am. I just, I don’t know what’s wrong with me. This is really overwhelming from me. I’m from the country, and I’ve never done…’

‘Yes, we can tell. Your technique is poor, and you lack proper training. You said you’ve been dancing for years, but you’ve been wasting your time. You’ll achieve nothing if you don’t expose yourself to the REAL world of dance. This is it. This is what it’s like. If you can’t handle that, then so be it. But you’re obviously here today for a reason. And if we didn’t think that you had serious potential, then you wouldn’t still be here’

‘But, but I…’

‘Look, I’m not supposed to be saying anything, but we’re all watching you. I was once like you, a country kid in the big city, feeling majorly overwhelmed because I’d had no exposure. I get you. I was you. I see something in you. They see something in you. Even the rest of the people on that floor are watching you – we see their snide little comments, and how they talk behind your back. But I’m telling you, if you don’t fucking pull it together, you won’t make it. Here or anywhere else. Do you understand?’

‘Yes, but…’

‘No ‘buts’. Go wash your face, you look fucking terrible. Change your top, and get back in there. You’ve got three-and-a-half minutes before we re-commence. If you aren’t ready then you need to leave now.’

I ran off to get another top, and ran into the bathroom.

And vomited.

Everywhere.

And had one of those moments…

And I went back into the studio for the next dance round. I walked in and looked at everybody on the panel and they all smiled at me. I took a sip of water and wiped my face. I stood up and turned around to look at all the other people in the studio and they were all looking at me.

I made it through the next round, and then got knocked out of the following callback. The judges all said that I had great potential and that I had an ‘X Factor’ when I danced – they couldn’t keep their eyes off me. Whether they were just blowing smoke up my arse, I’m not sure, but each of them said that they would love to see me in the future in their classes, which was great.

I felt good at what had happened. I realised that I wasn’t ready for dance school at all, and I really needed to work my arse off.

I got back to my hotel room…

Knowing that I had another audition the next day, I really didn’t know whether to put myself through such an emotionally exhausting day again… but it was experience. I wanted to just pull out and go home and never speak of it again, but I’d come too far, paid too much money and worked too hard to not do the audition.

The next day, I was introduced to contemporary. I had never danced that style. When we found out that the focus of the dance audition was ballet and contemporary, I was ready to throw in the towel there and then, but I forced myself to stay instead.

I learnt a lot that day. A lot about myself. I learnt that no matter how prepared you think you are, it’s not enough. No matter how good you think you are, there are always going to be people better than you. It was a very blunt reality check, but I was okay with it.

A couple of weeks later I was in Melbourne for a dance school audition. In the weeks leading up to it, I’d gone back to sydney two weekends in a row to spend all my time doing classes at various places. I needed exposure. I needed experience.

When I got to my Melbourne audition, I was feeling even worse than I was in Sydney. From the moment I saw the building when I was walking towards it, I had butterflies in my stomach.

I made it through to the final call-back round.

There was such a difference between the Sydney dancers and the Melbourne dancers. It was strange. I actually felt quite confident in my Melbourne audition. But the judging panel were a bunch of steel-faced bitches.

And once it was all over, that was it. The last of us dancers slowly packed up our stuff, said it was nice to meet each other and we left. It was an anti-climax, and then my stupid brain kicked in on the way back to the hotel.

It was a very long wait for my letters to arrive in the mail. Not surprisingly, I got two rejection letters from the two Sydney schools. I then got an rejection letter from the school in Melbourne.

Shit just got real.

My dreams of dancing full-time had just gone down the toilet, and I was faced with the unsettling reality of staying where I was for another twelve months.

So I started looking into what I could do for the next year. Maybe I just move interstate and get a job so I can pay for dance training? Do I move to Sydney or Melbourne? I can’t stay here another year. If I don’t leave now, I never will.

A couple of weeks later I get a letter in the mail. I was a letter of offer. The school in Melbourne had somebody decline their offer – I was next on the list.

I did it. Granted, it happened by default, but it HAPPENED!! I was going to dance school. I was moving out of home. I was going to be leaving everything I know to travel to the big city and throw myself in the deep end.

That was 11 years ago, and I haven’t looked back.

However, most of my social circle from high school are still back home. Grossly overweight, either still living at home, or living with somebody they settled with. Some of them have a kid, some have two or three and it makes me sad.

It makes me sad because they just settled for what life gave them. They had no drive to actually go out and do something with their lives. They didn’t go to uni. They didn’t leave. They just became stuck into a life they settled for. There wasn’t any ambition to achieve something more. I sometimes felt sorry for them, but it’s what they chose for themselves.

I, on the other hand, got out. I wanted to explore life, and it lead me to Melbourne. And I absolutely love it.

Daily Prompt: Close Call

Tell us about a bullet you’re glad you dodged — when something awful almost happened, but didn’t.

I think one of the situations that stands out the most was when I was still living at home with Mum. I think I was 18 and I had just returned from an emotionally exhausting visit to Sydney.

I had gone up there to spend a week or so at my grandmothers place, and whilst I was there, I was spending my week (and all my money) attending multiple dance classes at Brent Street and Sydney Dance Company. After only a couple of days, my (now deceased) grandmother and I had a massive fight this one argument. I don’t really remember what it was over, but I was actually quite shocked and upset over something that she had said. Something about me being a burden, and, oh that’s right, I confronted her about overhearing her conversation with my Uncle the previous day, in which she told him that I was stealing from her and was just using her so I could get money.

I remember when I heard that conversation, I left her place and went for a walk and called mum in absolute tears – upset because of what she had said, but moreso that it was coming from my grandmother!! In saying that though, she was a bit of stubborn ball-busting old lady, who was so set in concrete in her ways, she would refuse to listen to logic and reason… In hindsight, I guess it was also one of the reasons why we clashed so much.

…but that, again, is a whole different story.

So anyway, this one day I get home from the city and we have this big fight. There and then I pack my bag and tell her that I’m done with her, and no longer want anything to do with her. And I walked out the door.

As I’m walking down the driveway to head towards the train station, I’m fighting back this uncontrollable urge to completely break down into tears: I hadn’t actually planned to storm out like that, nor had I planned on exactly what I would do after I stormed out.

So I walked down the driveway, turned the corner and got to the park and had a small emotional breakdown. I didn’t want to call mum. I wanted to sort this out myself. I’m a resourceful person, I could manage something. Then I remembered, a friend of mine was meant to be arriving in Sydney today. I called Georgie and found out where she was staying, and after crying on the phone, she said I was more than welcome to crash with her for the next two nights before I head home.

What she didn’t tell me, was that she had made a friend on the train to Sydney. When I arrived, I met Dileep. He was a gorgeous, tall, dark, Sri Lankan guy with an incredible athletic body, and unbelievably flawless skin. He was beautiful. I’m not surprised Georgie and Dileep were instantly attracted to each other… beautiful people tend to do that. Like attracts like, and all that jazz.

So over the next two days I got to know more about Dileep. Fascinating and down to earth. A real mummy’s boy. Loves his family, and lived in Melbourne earning a pretty penny working at a historic and prestigious hotel.

We had such a great couple of days together. We played tourist with Dileep. Took him to Bondi; took him out clubbing; shopping; he took us out for brunch and dinner, it was such a fantastic time. It wasn’t until I saw him naked in the sauna, and saw him naked, that I realised exactly why Georgie was so fixated on Dileep.

**DISCLAIMER: Just for the record, no, we weren’t naked in the sauna, nor was it *that* kind of sauna. It was the Hotel sauna, and I was wearing my boardies. He was in (well-packed) speedos, and burnt his bum on the actual heater element. We doused him with cold water, but he still had to go to hospital and got quite a severe burn, and subsequently a nasty little scar. The heather melted a small part of the speedos to his skin, and had to have them surgically removed. It was rather terrifying at the time. Poor guy.

So, when it was time for us to leave, Dileep had decided to head back to Melbourne at the same time. Georgie and I were catching the train, and he convinced Dileep to catch the train with us – just so they could spend the last few hours of their ‘relationship’ together. Once we were on the train and halfway into our 8-9hr journey, Georgie convinced Dileep to stay in town with us for a couple of days.

However, Georgie kind of didn’t ask his parents if D could stay with them. He, for some reason was still convinced that they were unaware he was gay.

Girl, Blind Freddy would know you were gay at twenty-paces. He’d hear you swishing as you walk and know instantly. *lol* So, naturally, they asked if D could stay at my place. I called my mum and explained the situation and she was fine with it. It was strange, but she just went with it. (My mum is pretty awesome like that!).

We finally arrived home around 2 – 2:30am, and Georgie’s mum picked us up from the train station and dropped D and I at my place. I introduced him to my mum, then we got organised for bed.

The following night, when we got organised for bed, I went to bed and crashed and left him sitting outside talking to his family on the phone.

Being the heavy sleeper I am, I’m usually completely unaware of anything that happens whilst I’m asleep. In saying that, when I woke up the next morning, I was missing half my pyjamas, Dileep was spooning me, he was snoring, and the door was open. I kinda freaked out for all different reasons, ‘OMG THERE’S A HOT NAKED GUY SPOONING ME! OMG! GEORGIES BOYFRIEND-SLASH-FLING IS SPOONING ME!! OH GOD, WHAT IF MY MOTHER WALKS IN? OH GOD, WE’LL HAVE TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION!! HOW DID MY TOP COME OFF? WHERE IS MY TOP? I NEED TO PEE!! HOW DO I GET OUT OF BED WITHOUT WAKING HIM UP?’

I slithered my way out from under D’s arm, army-rolled out of the bed onto the ground and found my top, put it on and just as I put my top on and walked towards the door, mum appears in the doorway, ‘sorry honey, did I wake you up? I thought you boys might be up sooner and I cooked breaksfast. Eggs, bacon, toast. Ya hungry?’. I wasn’t really paying attention, because I was too fixated on my racing heart wondering if mum had previously seen me in bed with a naked guy.

OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD!!!

‘So THAT’S what I can smell. Well, I was just getting up to pee, but it smells awesome. I don’t know if I should wake him up?!’. Mum walked off back to the kitchen whilst I went to pee.

OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD!!!

I walked back into the bedroom, closed the door and sat on the edge of the bed. Behind me I heard some movement and then felt a hand on my back and this smooth Sri Lankan accent, ‘What are you doing? What time is it? Are you coming back to bed?’.

OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD!!!

Turns out, nothing happened at all. I waited until later on when D was in the shower, and I called Georgie and told him what happened. Or, what didn’t happen to be more precise. He said that’s just what he’s like apparently. He just likes to cuddle.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t relieved when Dileep announced he was returning to Melbourne. Georgie, naturally, was devastated and heart-broken. His whirlwind romance was drawing to an end, and like the good friend I am, I was there to hold his hand and talk some sense into him.

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/11/25/daily-prompt-close/