When I (don't) grow up, I want to be.....

Soooo.....yeah.

Hallo everyone. It's been a while. Couple of reasons for that....since we last spoke I've been travelling the southern part of the country, seeing England play cricket, discovering the night life of Southampton, watching the Barbarians play rugby, seeing Eddie Izzard at the O2, becoming a godfather for the second time ( for which see Miscriant's two posts, though I deny the slander about our scheming in the first part!), having a peripheral involvement in production week of the latest play by the Canterbury Players and being an audience member on opening night, starting on a secret (shh) project, and travelling to Chepstow for what turened out to be bit of a family summit featuring the Vinces, Sidwells and Browns. Self aggrandising as it is, this blog is called the RV life for a reason - by allowing my activities to be arranged by the group of strange, inspirational people able to tolerate my company, I do some great stuff day to day, but it does sometimes get in the way of writing about it!

Also, I got three quarters of the way through writing the first go at this blog about a week and a half ago, and due to a slow computer, a mis-hit of keys and a slight mistype just before an auto save, the whole damn blog irretrievably deleted itself. I swore, which to those who know me, will be a surprise, being as how I am such a sweetly spoken soul. I then rather sulked with the blog and the computer responsible for some time.

So, what have a I brought you here to talk about today? Basically, the possibility of taking a new job has arisen recently. It would mean a semi permanent relocation to another country, a massive change of lifestyle, and leaving behind a team I adore. Through luck or judgement, my current team was entirely recruited by me, directly or indirectly, and is a brilliant bunch. I've also just started working with a friend, and having been initially terified that he would hate working there, or it would be strange working with someone I knew socially first (rather than becoming socially attached to them while working), it is all going very well. I have done it before, but even so, in many ways, it's risky. But, I've got the group of people I work with to the point where it is easy working with them. Doing the job and working with other people, less fun at times, but anyway.

So why am I thinking of changing jobs? Well, this new opportunity is on the list of jobs I have on my list on ambitions. It's a biggy.

Only, I do sometimes think that my list of dream jobs might be the final and conclusive proof of my arrested development. In my job, I'm supposed to have ambitions to become an HR director, or a consultant, or to take a slightly tangential route to be a lawyer. Ask most people where they want to be in 5 or 10 years and it will be either a very logical, if hopefully ambitious, extroplation of their current circumstances, or a totally different career, from changing the planet, to a new professional direction.

Which is a shame. Which one of us, when they were a kid, didn't answer the question "What do you want to be when you grow up?", responded with racing driver, princess, fireman, or, as I did, astronaut?

I do my job now because my first employer gave me a job out of Uni. I'm good at it, so I've progressed, or moved on when I felt I had run out of things to learn. But, failing one of those factors influencing me, I am right now only looking for jobs which I wanted to be when I grew up. I don't see me ever growing up, but worth a go. And I refuse to put away the dreams of my childhood - we have them when are at our most creative, most uninfluenced by received wisdom. Surely, really, honestly, doesn't that make them better?

So, the jobs I wanted to have when I was a kid were:

• Time traveller (because, well, it would just be cool)
• Historian (because, well, it's like a being a time traveller and would be perfect prep)
• Actor (because pretending is fun, and I might get to play a time traveller)
• Writer (so many cool time travel stories to tell)
• Astronaut (two reasons - I might sling shot round the sun and travel in time, and it's a futuristic occupation...so like time travel)
• Some great combination of the above.

In hind sight, my obsession with Star Trek IV, Quantum Leap, BTTF, comics (which just loooove time travel), and Doctor Who was either a symptom of a broader obsessions, or the cause or them.

So, what job could possibly move me from a state of prevarication and enjoying the company of those around me to do another one? One of the above or a few which have since been added?

All of the below are the 'real world' options I look for.....

Lecturer

Because I'd be a historian, which is like....oh, you know. Or an a drama lecturer, which is like being an....

Actor

I flatter myself that I'm a pretty good amateur actor. I wish I was confident enough, or good enough, to stop finding excuses, and do this properly.

Writer

I know I could do this now, I do. And I do write a bit. I rarely finish anything. I certainly don't show it to people. Mainly because I'll only feel good about it if I get compared to, or am allowed to carry on the work of one of the following:

So yeah. Aim for the moon (astronaut, see!). But I am writing more these days. Silly stuff like this, chapters for other peoples' books, contributions to collaborative writing, screen play adaptations and some original work. All happening a lot more now.

The new three?

Radio Presenter

Look, it's essentially a job when you get to talk rubbish and play music. Job as hobby. I will take over from that Evans bloke on the Radio 2 breakfast show. And it will be immense.

Front man

I came to music late, hence lack of inclusion on the original list, but whenever I listen to it, I imagine performing it, and would love to do it for real. Can't do karaoke though. And can't sing. But this isn't about reality.

Presenting QI

If Mr Fry (surely Lord Fry by that point), decides not to complete all 26 series, I think I'd kill to be the one who finished it. A pale imitation though.....

But here's the thing. The job which has come up is none of the above. But it is a combination of all of them.

It is a job which doesn't often come up for interview. Indeed, there have been periods of time when there hasn't really been anyone who officially was doing it, though previous incumbents have never really stopped doing the job.

Funnily, when the job came up, I was told by someone else first...and then promptly asked if I would be applying. People who don't know me have said that they would like the next person who did the job to be "fairly young, extrovert, and, as the last couple have been skinny, maybe a slightly bigger chap" and "definitely needs someone who is odd, but likeable, and able to be angry" and one person who I know said that they felt it should be handled by "someone who has a presence, is not very well known, and is a bit louder, maybe a bit like Brian Blessed with a Stephen Fry touch." False modesty aside....a-HEM. Hel-LO?

Clearly, and with no sense of surprise, my ideal job, supposedly currently up for grabs, is the driver of this vehicle....

Yes yes, the Doctor. But ignore how it is my favourite programme, and how the character is a personal role model (I was basing what I laughing call my personaility of him long before it became popular again) (great piece in the independent on why the Doctor should be male as a good role model for men btw).

Look instead at that list of jobs:

• Time traveller (well duh)
• Historian (likewise)
• Actor (I may have to accept the Doctor isn't real. So I get to pretend!)
• Writer (it may open opportunities, and would be involved with writing)
• Astronaut (seriously? Spaceman....)
• Radio Presenter (Big Finish audio plays? If you haven't tried them, do so)
• Front Man (The actor playing the Doctor is like a rock star, and is the ultimate non musical front man)
• QI presenter (who knows? But Tennat has appeared on it, so all good)
• Some great combination of the above ( well, lookie what we have here....)

So no, I won't allow reality to get in the way of this dream from childhood being an ambition as an adult, or grown up, or whatever it is I'm supposed to be. My dream job is to be the Doctor. I'm sad for you if your dream job isn't that fun. And who knows, maybe one day, I'll be on this list....

And, just in case you think I only want this job to satisfy my inner five year old....how about the fact that I'd get to work with this person every day?

Sorry, friends and valued colleagues - I think all round, all my inner voices would move to Cardiff.