I realise I haven't taken the time to update my blog much since I've been swamped with my final semester at Bond Uni. Matter of fact, I've completely blown it off! In an effort to make things easier on myself and anyone (and everyone) that reads my blog, I'll be migrating all three (Japan, Australia, Pre-Depart) into one blog with different sections. This will also help with future efforts in blogging about my other adventures I go off on (Bali, China, New Caledonia, New Zealand, etc etc etc).
Much has happened since my 17 days here in Japan (should have only been 7...) and I plan on filling you all in on that. Just as soon as I return... Stay tuned and thanks for reading!
Arigatō
-H
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Melbourne
July 28th, Thomas, Marc and I decided to venture to Melbourne in Victoria (down south) and 
see what all the hype was about. Needless to say, it's a great place. Hands down. We flew out of Gold Coast Airport via Jetstar for a quick 4 hour flight before checking into our YHA right in the CBD area.
We spent the first night walking around on the water front and checking out the nightlife to see what was out there before we fully tackled it the next few days. We were told there was a lounge bar in the area called the Berlin Wall and that we HAD to check it out. This was also a must as I was 
traveling with two Germans, lol. The place was pretty dope actually. We had to ring a doorbell to be let in and the place was decked out to the theme of WWII with memorabilia and signs up everywhere in regards to the war. We spent most of our time on the allied side sippin gin and tonics and drinking German beer. It was pretty cold at night and by the time we got back to the hostel we were ready to pass out.
The next day we walked around most of the day checking out museums and hitting up the market and thus meeting up with David and Julia for a bit (they were in Melbourne as well). Followed by going to the casino and gambling to try and double our money and fly back first class (yea right). Granted I'm not much of a gambler, we spent a good 2 hours there. Luckily I spent $20 and walked away with $.10. haha. Thomas losing most of his money he'd spent and Marc coming away with a few dollars. We then went off to the movie theatre to see what was playing only to realise we had just missed all the good shows. Thomas had the brilliant idea of sneaking past the ticket usher and we walked
around from theatre to theatre to see if anything worth watching was playing. Sadly, no. So we had snuck in for nothing. Plus Marc had a guilty conscious going on so we ended up leaving. Afterward we headed to the arcade and wasted a couple more hours there before retiring for the night. We had meant to go check out the night clubs but again, after walking around all day we were exhausted.
St. Kilda was on our agenda for the most of our last day in Melbourne. Just a short train ride away, we visited Luna Park, Brooks Jetty and stopped for some food at a place on the beach. There are some markets open, so we stopped to see what the locals were selling, nothing good as usual, but still good to check out.
Overall, a ton of walking and sight seeing, ton of pictures and great
memories of the place. Don't think I could ever leave there, but wouldn't mind going there again as I would like to check out the Twelve Apostles and roadtrip to Adelaide if I have the time and money.
Miss you all and hope life is well for you wherever you are located.
Cheers and 再见!
-H
see what all the hype was about. Needless to say, it's a great place. Hands down. We flew out of Gold Coast Airport via Jetstar for a quick 4 hour flight before checking into our YHA right in the CBD area.
We spent the first night walking around on the water front and checking out the nightlife to see what was out there before we fully tackled it the next few days. We were told there was a lounge bar in the area called the Berlin Wall and that we HAD to check it out. This was also a must as I was 
traveling with two Germans, lol. The place was pretty dope actually. We had to ring a doorbell to be let in and the place was decked out to the theme of WWII with memorabilia and signs up everywhere in regards to the war. We spent most of our time on the allied side sippin gin and tonics and drinking German beer. It was pretty cold at night and by the time we got back to the hostel we were ready to pass out.
The next day we walked around most of the day checking out museums and hitting up the market and thus meeting up with David and Julia for a bit (they were in Melbourne as well). Followed by going to the casino and gambling to try and double our money and fly back first class (yea right). Granted I'm not much of a gambler, we spent a good 2 hours there. Luckily I spent $20 and walked away with $.10. haha. Thomas losing most of his money he'd spent and Marc coming away with a few dollars. We then went off to the movie theatre to see what was playing only to realise we had just missed all the good shows. Thomas had the brilliant idea of sneaking past the ticket usher and we walked
around from theatre to theatre to see if anything worth watching was playing. Sadly, no. So we had snuck in for nothing. Plus Marc had a guilty conscious going on so we ended up leaving. Afterward we headed to the arcade and wasted a couple more hours there before retiring for the night. We had meant to go check out the night clubs but again, after walking around all day we were exhausted.St. Kilda was on our agenda for the most of our last day in Melbourne. Just a short train ride away, we visited Luna Park, Brooks Jetty and stopped for some food at a place on the beach. There are some markets open, so we stopped to see what the locals were selling, nothing good as usual, but still good to check out.
Overall, a ton of walking and sight seeing, ton of pictures and great
memories of the place. Don't think I could ever leave there, but wouldn't mind going there again as I would like to check out the Twelve Apostles and roadtrip to Adelaide if I have the time and money.Miss you all and hope life is well for you wherever you are located.
Cheers and 再见!
-H
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Varsity on Main
I know its been a while, but been busy with moving and whatnot. So here we go!
Finished with exams on Monday with Media and Crime being my last one, which was great as I had a few hours to prep my body in time for End of Semester Bash. It was pretty much one giant party to celebrate being done with
classes for the semester (even though some students still had exams the next day). Australia is religious to the point that come midnight on Good Friday, the sale of alcohol is prohibited (weird, I know). So the bash was held on Wednesday. Luckily for me I went and I had a blast. The theme being, "You wore that?", we all looked like backup dancers for Justin Bieber, haha.
The next day was a bit rough being hungover but Thomas and I moved out of Varsity Shores and into our new place at Varsity on Main (VOM) with Julia. The place has never had tenants and was extremely nice for the price we pay, which is far cheaper than Varsity Shores (VS). Because 2nd semester is winter, not many study abroad students will be venturing over, so it will be a bit quiet. Overall, VOM is extremely nice and has that upper class feel to it. The first couple of days we cooked together before Thomas and his brother, Alex drove off to Cairns for the holiday period. Just Julia and I to fend for ourselves which in turn, she has a boyfriend so just me to fend for myself.
We have a 6 month lease on the place until October in which case we can either move out and
agree to a month to month lease. It's a bit early to tell what we will do but will cross that bridge as the time draws near. I've decided to withhold the address as I've forgotten about the stalkers and psychos (ex girlfriends, you know how they are) that are out there, so if you want to get a hold of me, just Facebook, text or shoot me an email and I'll give you my address. In the meantime, looking for a job!
Cheers and 再见！
－H
Finished with exams on Monday with Media and Crime being my last one, which was great as I had a few hours to prep my body in time for End of Semester Bash. It was pretty much one giant party to celebrate being done with
classes for the semester (even though some students still had exams the next day). Australia is religious to the point that come midnight on Good Friday, the sale of alcohol is prohibited (weird, I know). So the bash was held on Wednesday. Luckily for me I went and I had a blast. The theme being, "You wore that?", we all looked like backup dancers for Justin Bieber, haha.
The next day was a bit rough being hungover but Thomas and I moved out of Varsity Shores and into our new place at Varsity on Main (VOM) with Julia. The place has never had tenants and was extremely nice for the price we pay, which is far cheaper than Varsity Shores (VS). Because 2nd semester is winter, not many study abroad students will be venturing over, so it will be a bit quiet. Overall, VOM is extremely nice and has that upper class feel to it. The first couple of days we cooked together before Thomas and his brother, Alex drove off to Cairns for the holiday period. Just Julia and I to fend for ourselves which in turn, she has a boyfriend so just me to fend for myself.
We have a 6 month lease on the place until October in which case we can either move out and
agree to a month to month lease. It's a bit early to tell what we will do but will cross that bridge as the time draws near. I've decided to withhold the address as I've forgotten about the stalkers and psychos (ex girlfriends, you know how they are) that are out there, so if you want to get a hold of me, just Facebook, text or shoot me an email and I'll give you my address. In the meantime, looking for a job!Cheers and 再见！
－H
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Miitaristic testing
Today I had my first ever university controlled test. I say this because last semester, the test either consisted of a take home essay or one that the professor administered in class because the class size was so small (Chinese, 8 people). The experience was completely nerve-wracking to say the least.
I found out that day, that I had a reserved seat for the test: N-5. I found this awkward to have assigned seating but thought nothing of it. Normally I strolled there with my iPhone, earplugs in, and listening to my jam session before a big test (Linkin Park). I look inside to see the sport gymnasium lined with chairs and tables, roughly 200 give or take. Each chair corresponding with a different row and column number. On the doors leading inside the room were numerous signs that stated "no cell phones allowed" "no backpacks allowed" "no food or drink" "assigned seating per student number" and lastly "no baseball caps". It was as if I was walking through a military checkpoint. But my biggest concern was I had my phone on me and the attitude given off by the instructors leading the examination process ensured if your phone was noticed or made any type of noise, you were failed, barred and given swift punishment to Bond University and Australian authorities.
Once inside and wandering around looking for N-5, we heard a voice on the loudspeaker detailing instructions and barking orders at us. When to start, what to do, how high to raise your hand if you have a question and the sign in/sign out procedures if you needed to use the restroom. After the orders were given, we were allocated 15 minutes of 'perusal time.' I have NO idea what perusal means and even after taking the test, still don't know. You'd think the university would clarify this as half of us were sitting there blankly looking around as what to do (do we start taking the test?).
From what I observed, perusal time is 15 minutes allocated before the start of the exam to go through it before you actually take it. This would be extremely beneficial if they THEN allowed 5 minutes to go through your NOTES before taking the exam. I don't see the benefit or need of a perusal time as I am already psyched and/or doomed of taking this test, why do I need 15 more minutes of pain and suffering (perhaps someone can better explain the efficient use of perusal)?
Overall, throughout the process it was very strict and militaristic. It def had a private school feel to it with instructors walking up and down the aisles, two timers up front to monitor time and 8 more people at the front to watch over student's wandering eyes. When I was finished, I was extremely glad to be out of there.
We'll see how I did come May when grades are released, but am really glad the test taking procedures within the US are far more lax. By enabling procedures of letting students know just by looking around they will fail due to attempt to cheat, makes it more worrisome then just a simple "hey here is the test, take this". And the day someone aces an exam because the answers are written inside their baseball cap is the day I bring two baseball hats to an exam (haha).
Cheers and 再见！
-H
I found out that day, that I had a reserved seat for the test: N-5. I found this awkward to have assigned seating but thought nothing of it. Normally I strolled there with my iPhone, earplugs in, and listening to my jam session before a big test (Linkin Park). I look inside to see the sport gymnasium lined with chairs and tables, roughly 200 give or take. Each chair corresponding with a different row and column number. On the doors leading inside the room were numerous signs that stated "no cell phones allowed" "no backpacks allowed" "no food or drink" "assigned seating per student number" and lastly "no baseball caps". It was as if I was walking through a military checkpoint. But my biggest concern was I had my phone on me and the attitude given off by the instructors leading the examination process ensured if your phone was noticed or made any type of noise, you were failed, barred and given swift punishment to Bond University and Australian authorities.
Once inside and wandering around looking for N-5, we heard a voice on the loudspeaker detailing instructions and barking orders at us. When to start, what to do, how high to raise your hand if you have a question and the sign in/sign out procedures if you needed to use the restroom. After the orders were given, we were allocated 15 minutes of 'perusal time.' I have NO idea what perusal means and even after taking the test, still don't know. You'd think the university would clarify this as half of us were sitting there blankly looking around as what to do (do we start taking the test?).
From what I observed, perusal time is 15 minutes allocated before the start of the exam to go through it before you actually take it. This would be extremely beneficial if they THEN allowed 5 minutes to go through your NOTES before taking the exam. I don't see the benefit or need of a perusal time as I am already psyched and/or doomed of taking this test, why do I need 15 more minutes of pain and suffering (perhaps someone can better explain the efficient use of perusal)?
Overall, throughout the process it was very strict and militaristic. It def had a private school feel to it with instructors walking up and down the aisles, two timers up front to monitor time and 8 more people at the front to watch over student's wandering eyes. When I was finished, I was extremely glad to be out of there.
We'll see how I did come May when grades are released, but am really glad the test taking procedures within the US are far more lax. By enabling procedures of letting students know just by looking around they will fail due to attempt to cheat, makes it more worrisome then just a simple "hey here is the test, take this". And the day someone aces an exam because the answers are written inside their baseball cap is the day I bring two baseball hats to an exam (haha).
Cheers and 再见！
-H
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Sydney 2011
G'day everyone and 你好!
It's been a busy couple of weeks, but taking some time to write and let you know about my time in Sydney last weekend. Be sure to check out the video blog at the end for all the latest!
We decided to head to Sydney for the March 4th weekend because we had heard it was Mardi Gras. So Max, Thomas, Henriette, Hanne and myself got our tix and flew off to Sydney. We flew via Jetstar and I can easily see why the airline is so cheap and disgusted by locals. They boast low airfares, but reason they do is because they charge for every little thing you want to do. Want snacks on the plane? Have to pay, want a window seat? Have to pay. Want to check even one piece of luggage? Have to pay. So it's pretty stupid. Not to mention on the flight there AND back, the flight staff was EXTREMELY
rude. I assume Jetstar doesn't value in customer service as that would be another burden of costs on them. Furthermore, Hanne and Erin (who we met up with down there) had their flight canceled and someone had mentioned if Jetstar doesn't fully book flights, they cancel them and bump people onto the next flight for a full flight. So really cheap and shady, but that's beside the purpose of this blog. Point being, don't fly Jetstar unless you don't have luggage to check and are just going a short distance. I recommend Qantas by far.
We got up at 5am to leave from the 6:05am bus for the airport. Max was upset that he had to wake up so early and take the bus, but it was far cheaper than paying for a cab ($10 each compared to the $1.80 for bus). However, once we got to Pacific Fair, Thomas had forgotten his passport, so Max and Thomas went home to grab it and Henriette, Hanne and I continued on via bus. The only reason they had to go back and grab it was because Thomas and Max were heading to New Zealand for the week after Sydney.
We got to the airport about 7:30am and checked in and relaxed before boarding the flight at 8:30am for the 9am takeoff. The flight was relatively short, only an hour and I slept most of it since I had gone to bed at 2am only to get up at 5am. Once we landed Thomas and Max grabbed their luggage and
we headed out to our hotel in China Town.
You could easily tell you were getting closer to China Town as the signs on the buildings changed, the culture began to become dominantly Chinese and you could see the dead ducks hanging in the window (nomnomnom). We stayed at Aaron's Hotel next to Market Square mall and just a 5 minute walk from Central Station. It was the only place available as it was Mardi Gras and everyone else was booked. The room boasted a king bed and two bunks beds for 6 people, but we had checked in as 4 people so
that it was cheaper for us to split.
After checking in, we headed to a local pub to grab some food and get our agenda down for the next two days. We decided we would do the obvious being the Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Darling Harbour, Bondi Beach and Manly beach. So after eating we headed to the Opera House to take some touristy pics. We prob spent a good 3 hours heading and hanging out there and taking a TON of pics. My iPhone battery had died so I relied on using Hanne's Canon camera for pix. We originally were going to see an opera (Carmen) at the Opera House, but no one else wanted too (besides Henriette and I), so we opted against it.
After the opera
house, we decided to take the ferry to Manly that way we could get pictures on the lake of the opera house and bridge and because we had heard Manly beach was extremely nice. The ferry ride was roughly 30 mins and Manly was an amazing place. It was like Surfer's Paradise but not as many tourists, people or high rise buildings. When looking into hostels there were many open in Manly, but we decided against it since it was so far away. I think next time we head to Sydney, we will stay in Manly to see many other of the non-touristy attractions.
By the time we got home, it was already dark and we got ready to go out to Kings Cross to night club called Soho since Max's friends were there. On the way, we stopped at a pizza place to eat since we were all starving and about to drink. To say the least, Soho wasn't that great of a club as well as it was extremely crowded. We did get a free drink voucher on our way in, but I didn't use mine as I headed home soon after. Being there was annoying as I was with two groups of nationalities (Germans and Norwegians) and they were speaking to each other. So I went home as I wasn't in the mood to be there nor drinking (I think I am over the club scene).
The next morning, we headed to the YHA for breakfast which was really good. We were dressed for Bondi Beach but found out it was raining, so went home to change into proper rain attire. We ended up taking the ferry to Darling Harbour as we heard there was a great pancake place we HAD to go too. Now that I think about it, we never even bothered looking for the pancake place... We tried to go into the casino there, but Max had left his ID at home, so we headed home.
We ended up hopping the tram only to get kicked off at the next stop because we didn't have the proper tickets for it. Max, Thomas and I got off while Hanne and Henriette paid the ticket to go the extra stop. On our way home, we stopped in China Town to eat at this Chinese lobby. Very small and ton of people but the food was cheap and we got a lot for it (as with all Chinese food). Afterwards, headed home to change and go out once again, this time to some bar called Ivy. I know of a buddy living in Cronulla that I've know for some time, so he came up to Sydney and we headed to the pub next door to the YHA to have a few drinks and get caught up on life. We ended up throwing back quite a few and by the time we were done it was already 930pm. So I had missed the Mardi Gras parade, haha.
Headed back to the hostel to change and find out where this 'Club Ivy' was at from Henriette and Hanne as I couldn't find it via Google Maps on my iPhone. Ended up not going as no one responded so walked around downtown Sydney, taking pics and enjoying the night crowd. Hanne, Henriette and Erin stumbled in the hotel wasted around midnight and then Max and Thomas soon followed at 1ish. So now we had 6 people in a room that should have had 4 people, ha.
Woke up the next morning to Erin already gone and the time showing 1030. Which was not good as checkout was at 10am. So we eventually checked out at 1105am thinking we would be charged an extra night (Max of course saying no don't worry about it, they never charge), and of course they didn't :-D. So I rushed to the airport as I had to catch a flight at 12:20pm and it was already 11:10pm. Luckily I didn't have any luggage to check and I made it to the gate right before 0pening it up to boarding. I later found out that Erin and Hanne had to spend the night at the airport due to the canceled flight, HAHA.
Overall, really good trip. If I do end up back in Sydney, I'll be staying in Cronulla and then if need be, just take the train up to Sydney if I want to see anything. Next trip though will be up to Brisbane to visit my old stomping grounds where I lived back in 2007. Woot Woot!
Miss you all!
Cheers and 再见！
-H
It's been a busy couple of weeks, but taking some time to write and let you know about my time in Sydney last weekend. Be sure to check out the video blog at the end for all the latest!
We decided to head to Sydney for the March 4th weekend because we had heard it was Mardi Gras. So Max, Thomas, Henriette, Hanne and myself got our tix and flew off to Sydney. We flew via Jetstar and I can easily see why the airline is so cheap and disgusted by locals. They boast low airfares, but reason they do is because they charge for every little thing you want to do. Want snacks on the plane? Have to pay, want a window seat? Have to pay. Want to check even one piece of luggage? Have to pay. So it's pretty stupid. Not to mention on the flight there AND back, the flight staff was EXTREMELY
rude. I assume Jetstar doesn't value in customer service as that would be another burden of costs on them. Furthermore, Hanne and Erin (who we met up with down there) had their flight canceled and someone had mentioned if Jetstar doesn't fully book flights, they cancel them and bump people onto the next flight for a full flight. So really cheap and shady, but that's beside the purpose of this blog. Point being, don't fly Jetstar unless you don't have luggage to check and are just going a short distance. I recommend Qantas by far.We got up at 5am to leave from the 6:05am bus for the airport. Max was upset that he had to wake up so early and take the bus, but it was far cheaper than paying for a cab ($10 each compared to the $1.80 for bus). However, once we got to Pacific Fair, Thomas had forgotten his passport, so Max and Thomas went home to grab it and Henriette, Hanne and I continued on via bus. The only reason they had to go back and grab it was because Thomas and Max were heading to New Zealand for the week after Sydney.
We got to the airport about 7:30am and checked in and relaxed before boarding the flight at 8:30am for the 9am takeoff. The flight was relatively short, only an hour and I slept most of it since I had gone to bed at 2am only to get up at 5am. Once we landed Thomas and Max grabbed their luggage and
we headed out to our hotel in China Town.You could easily tell you were getting closer to China Town as the signs on the buildings changed, the culture began to become dominantly Chinese and you could see the dead ducks hanging in the window (nomnomnom). We stayed at Aaron's Hotel next to Market Square mall and just a 5 minute walk from Central Station. It was the only place available as it was Mardi Gras and everyone else was booked. The room boasted a king bed and two bunks beds for 6 people, but we had checked in as 4 people so
that it was cheaper for us to split.After checking in, we headed to a local pub to grab some food and get our agenda down for the next two days. We decided we would do the obvious being the Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Darling Harbour, Bondi Beach and Manly beach. So after eating we headed to the Opera House to take some touristy pics. We prob spent a good 3 hours heading and hanging out there and taking a TON of pics. My iPhone battery had died so I relied on using Hanne's Canon camera for pix. We originally were going to see an opera (Carmen) at the Opera House, but no one else wanted too (besides Henriette and I), so we opted against it.
After the opera
house, we decided to take the ferry to Manly that way we could get pictures on the lake of the opera house and bridge and because we had heard Manly beach was extremely nice. The ferry ride was roughly 30 mins and Manly was an amazing place. It was like Surfer's Paradise but not as many tourists, people or high rise buildings. When looking into hostels there were many open in Manly, but we decided against it since it was so far away. I think next time we head to Sydney, we will stay in Manly to see many other of the non-touristy attractions.By the time we got home, it was already dark and we got ready to go out to Kings Cross to night club called Soho since Max's friends were there. On the way, we stopped at a pizza place to eat since we were all starving and about to drink. To say the least, Soho wasn't that great of a club as well as it was extremely crowded. We did get a free drink voucher on our way in, but I didn't use mine as I headed home soon after. Being there was annoying as I was with two groups of nationalities (Germans and Norwegians) and they were speaking to each other. So I went home as I wasn't in the mood to be there nor drinking (I think I am over the club scene).
The next morning, we headed to the YHA for breakfast which was really good. We were dressed for Bondi Beach but found out it was raining, so went home to change into proper rain attire. We ended up taking the ferry to Darling Harbour as we heard there was a great pancake place we HAD to go too. Now that I think about it, we never even bothered looking for the pancake place... We tried to go into the casino there, but Max had left his ID at home, so we headed home.
We ended up hopping the tram only to get kicked off at the next stop because we didn't have the proper tickets for it. Max, Thomas and I got off while Hanne and Henriette paid the ticket to go the extra stop. On our way home, we stopped in China Town to eat at this Chinese lobby. Very small and ton of people but the food was cheap and we got a lot for it (as with all Chinese food). Afterwards, headed home to change and go out once again, this time to some bar called Ivy. I know of a buddy living in Cronulla that I've know for some time, so he came up to Sydney and we headed to the pub next door to the YHA to have a few drinks and get caught up on life. We ended up throwing back quite a few and by the time we were done it was already 930pm. So I had missed the Mardi Gras parade, haha.
Headed back to the hostel to change and find out where this 'Club Ivy' was at from Henriette and Hanne as I couldn't find it via Google Maps on my iPhone. Ended up not going as no one responded so walked around downtown Sydney, taking pics and enjoying the night crowd. Hanne, Henriette and Erin stumbled in the hotel wasted around midnight and then Max and Thomas soon followed at 1ish. So now we had 6 people in a room that should have had 4 people, ha.
Woke up the next morning to Erin already gone and the time showing 1030. Which was not good as checkout was at 10am. So we eventually checked out at 1105am thinking we would be charged an extra night (Max of course saying no don't worry about it, they never charge), and of course they didn't :-D. So I rushed to the airport as I had to catch a flight at 12:20pm and it was already 11:10pm. Luckily I didn't have any luggage to check and I made it to the gate right before 0pening it up to boarding. I later found out that Erin and Hanne had to spend the night at the airport due to the canceled flight, HAHA.
Overall, really good trip. If I do end up back in Sydney, I'll be staying in Cronulla and then if need be, just take the train up to Sydney if I want to see anything. Next trip though will be up to Brisbane to visit my old stomping grounds where I lived back in 2007. Woot Woot!
Miss you all!
Cheers and 再见！
-H
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Good Vibes 2011
In November, I saw an ad looking for volunteers to help set up, work during and take down equipment for a music festival. At first, I thought nothing of it and brushed it aside. Then come the new semester, I made new friends who had tickets and were going. So I signed up for the volunteer gig as every shift you volunteered for, they gave you a free ticket to the festival.
The workload was pretty laborous of setting
up fences and wrapping this pink wallpaper type material around the fences. It was more or less to give it an aesthetic look to it but hey, 5 hours of work and free entrance to a $180 festival? Why not! However, since the festival was not doing as well in sales as they had hoped, they cut the ticket price in half and you were allowed to bring a friend. So I decided to take my good friend (and A Phi!) Erin.
The festival ran from 12:00pm-10:30pm but because you weren't allowed to leave once you came in, all of us decided not to head out until 3pm. So we got there at 4ish and was just in time for Erykah Badu's set. She was really good, very soulful and even did some crowd surfing!
Afterwards we grabbed a bite to eat and
then headed to Mike Posner. I wasn't really too keen on seeing him as I only know of his one song ('Cooler than me') but Erin insisted. We met up with her friend Emma and jammed out to Posner for the rest of his set. Like I said, it was alright, but nothing special.
After Posner, grabbed some more food and headed to The Ting Tings. I didn't know too much about the band but they were really good. I knew of only two of their songs ('Let Me Go' and 'That's not my name') but they played many others that were quite catchy. Towards the end of their set, the sun started to go down but I was still rockin the stunna shades.
Once done, Erin was hungry again for pizza so while her and Emma grabbed some food, I headed over to Bag Raiders for a bit
before ending up at Nas and Damian Marley. This was the last I saw of them that night. The crowd was pretty large, but mainly since they were playing in a smaller tent and not the main st
age. After listening to a couple of tracks from DJ Samurai, the crew came out on stage and started doing their thing. This was the longest of the sets that day and the two alternated between doing combined songs from their album 'Distant Relatives' to Nas doing solos ('Hip hop is Dead' and 'Made You Look') to Damian Marley doing Bob Marley tributes. Good music as I look forward to getting their album as well as some others by Damian Marley himself.
After their set, I had lost my voice and was started to feel light headed so grabbed some more liquids and food before heading to Faithless. Faithless clearly had the largest crowd of the night and because it was night, the lighting effects were epic. Very good set by them and while I wanted to stick around and rave in my own presence, I headed to Ludacris to check him out.
Luda was also epic but also VERY packed. So I only stayed for a bit before heading back out. He was starting with a few tracks from 'Word of Mouf' and also had his hype man with him. Which makes sense as no one wants to be traveling around Australia for a three day concert by themselves.... (or do they? *ahem* Mike Posner...).
Caught a few more tracks by Faithless (including 'Insomnia) and then headed over to Sidney Samson to finish out my night. I also stumbled across Thomas and Max which was insane as it was extremely dark and we were in a crowd of about 3000 people. Before this semester, I had never heard of Sidney Samson or any of his music, so I had listened to a few tracks of his before the festival. His tracks are really good especially his Tupac dubbed track 'Riverside'.
Sidney finished around 11ish and we headed out and headed home. At this point my shorts were torn, I was dripping sweat and luckily only spent $30 the whole day (mainly food and liquids). My voice was absolutely gone and I was ready for bed when I got home. Which just meant it was an awesome festival! Next up is the Supafest festival up in Brisbane with Taio Cruz, Snoop Dogg, Timbaland, Ciara, Bow Wow, New Boyz and T-Pain. Yea buddy!
Cheers and 再见!
-H
The workload was pretty laborous of setting
up fences and wrapping this pink wallpaper type material around the fences. It was more or less to give it an aesthetic look to it but hey, 5 hours of work and free entrance to a $180 festival? Why not! However, since the festival was not doing as well in sales as they had hoped, they cut the ticket price in half and you were allowed to bring a friend. So I decided to take my good friend (and A Phi!) Erin.
The festival ran from 12:00pm-10:30pm but because you weren't allowed to leave once you came in, all of us decided not to head out until 3pm. So we got there at 4ish and was just in time for Erykah Badu's set. She was really good, very soulful and even did some crowd surfing!Afterwards we grabbed a bite to eat and
then headed to Mike Posner. I wasn't really too keen on seeing him as I only know of his one song ('Cooler than me') but Erin insisted. We met up with her friend Emma and jammed out to Posner for the rest of his set. Like I said, it was alright, but nothing special.
After Posner, grabbed some more food and headed to The Ting Tings. I didn't know too much about the band but they were really good. I knew of only two of their songs ('Let Me Go' and 'That's not my name') but they played many others that were quite catchy. Towards the end of their set, the sun started to go down but I was still rockin the stunna shades.Once done, Erin was hungry again for pizza so while her and Emma grabbed some food, I headed over to Bag Raiders for a bit
before ending up at Nas and Damian Marley. This was the last I saw of them that night. The crowd was pretty large, but mainly since they were playing in a smaller tent and not the main st
age. After listening to a couple of tracks from DJ Samurai, the crew came out on stage and started doing their thing. This was the longest of the sets that day and the two alternated between doing combined songs from their album 'Distant Relatives' to Nas doing solos ('Hip hop is Dead' and 'Made You Look') to Damian Marley doing Bob Marley tributes. Good music as I look forward to getting their album as well as some others by Damian Marley himself.
After their set, I had lost my voice and was started to feel light headed so grabbed some more liquids and food before heading to Faithless. Faithless clearly had the largest crowd of the night and because it was night, the lighting effects were epic. Very good set by them and while I wanted to stick around and rave in my own presence, I headed to Ludacris to check him out.
Luda was also epic but also VERY packed. So I only stayed for a bit before heading back out. He was starting with a few tracks from 'Word of Mouf' and also had his hype man with him. Which makes sense as no one wants to be traveling around Australia for a three day concert by themselves.... (or do they? *ahem* Mike Posner...).
Caught a few more tracks by Faithless (including 'Insomnia) and then headed over to Sidney Samson to finish out my night. I also stumbled across Thomas and Max which was insane as it was extremely dark and we were in a crowd of about 3000 people. Before this semester, I had never heard of Sidney Samson or any of his music, so I had listened to a few tracks of his before the festival. His tracks are really good especially his Tupac dubbed track 'Riverside'.Sidney finished around 11ish and we headed out and headed home. At this point my shorts were torn, I was dripping sweat and luckily only spent $30 the whole day (mainly food and liquids). My voice was absolutely gone and I was ready for bed when I got home. Which just meant it was an awesome festival! Next up is the Supafest festival up in Brisbane with Taio Cruz, Snoop Dogg, Timbaland, Ciara, Bow Wow, New Boyz and T-Pain. Yea buddy!
Cheers and 再见!
-H
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Semester 111
First week of classes are done and over and I'm starting to fall behind on the blog with the second week almost done and over. The schedule for this semester I thought would roughly be the same as last semester, but with me taking on the Post Graduate Students Association (PGSA) as President and subsequently Bond University Students Association (BUSA), I've added a bit more to my plate. Not to worry though, everything is under control.
This semester I am taking Chinese 2, Media and Crime and Social Research in Criminology. Chinese is a bit more the same but more or less expanding on grammar and tone. Our professor's style of teaching is spoken first and then worry about the written later on. Which makes sense. As a child you learned to speak first well before you were taught to write. So I feel this will be another successful semester of it. I've also done some thinking in regards to pursuing a Chinese degree, but that's for another day...
Media and Crime is also an interesting class. The idea behind the class to watch the way media reports on crimes and news and events associated with those crimes. We first looked into Dennis Ferguson, and while many Australians may feel the man will forever be guilty, the idea that the media has continually hunted this man down all throughout his life is what we focused on. As part of our final project we are looking at a media outlet of any type of researching the variable effects it has on society. I think for our presentation we are looking at the relative differences between what is shown in the popular American show Criminal Minds and how it differentiates to that of reality.
Lastly, I am enrolled in Social Research. More or less your typical mean, median and mode class in which you go out, conduct a survey and then scholastically (I use that loosely) write about the results. We start next week and I am still debating what my research will be based upon but I'm looking at three topics: The correlation between those who speak 2+ languages and their grades, the concept of the CSI effect on society or integrating social networking into cheating on significant others and how far can one go before being condemned as 'cheating'. So interesting topics and I have a week to decide.
Other then that, school is well under way! Almost into week 3 already... Sad day today as it was Australia Day (Australia's 4th of July) AND A PUBLIC HOLIDAY yet we still had class. How messed up is that? Not to mention many services on campus were not even operating. Yet students have to still go to class? Come on now....
Cheers and 再见！
-H
This semester I am taking Chinese 2, Media and Crime and Social Research in Criminology. Chinese is a bit more the same but more or less expanding on grammar and tone. Our professor's style of teaching is spoken first and then worry about the written later on. Which makes sense. As a child you learned to speak first well before you were taught to write. So I feel this will be another successful semester of it. I've also done some thinking in regards to pursuing a Chinese degree, but that's for another day...
Media and Crime is also an interesting class. The idea behind the class to watch the way media reports on crimes and news and events associated with those crimes. We first looked into Dennis Ferguson, and while many Australians may feel the man will forever be guilty, the idea that the media has continually hunted this man down all throughout his life is what we focused on. As part of our final project we are looking at a media outlet of any type of researching the variable effects it has on society. I think for our presentation we are looking at the relative differences between what is shown in the popular American show Criminal Minds and how it differentiates to that of reality.
Lastly, I am enrolled in Social Research. More or less your typical mean, median and mode class in which you go out, conduct a survey and then scholastically (I use that loosely) write about the results. We start next week and I am still debating what my research will be based upon but I'm looking at three topics: The correlation between those who speak 2+ languages and their grades, the concept of the CSI effect on society or integrating social networking into cheating on significant others and how far can one go before being condemned as 'cheating'. So interesting topics and I have a week to decide.
Other then that, school is well under way! Almost into week 3 already... Sad day today as it was Australia Day (Australia's 4th of July) AND A PUBLIC HOLIDAY yet we still had class. How messed up is that? Not to mention many services on campus were not even operating. Yet students have to still go to class? Come on now....
Cheers and 再见！
-H
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Run Forrest, Run!
Today was a pretty slow day. We had a major pub crawl last night (in the process of getting a video and pics done for the blog) and just wanted time today to relax and enjoy life in the slow lane before it picks back up Monday. While it was mainly library time on campus and quick stop at the IGA to pick up some milk and bread, I decided to go for a run.
Now it had been about 2 weeks since my last run (4km) and about a week since my last workout. I've been somewhat slack these last few weeks as student association, post grad association and classes have taken over my life. Luckily the hectic first week of classes are over and I can get back on track with the working out. Speaking of, look out for a blog in the the next day or two about my impression on classes and the education system in Australia.
When I arrived in Australia I had weighed in at 260lbs. At 5'11 I am classified by the BMI chart index as OBESE. However, I could come off as stocky, perhaps big boned? Oh, who am I kidding, I'm fat. Working 50-60 hours a week in the US did not help my health ethic, so I made it a priority to get back on track while down here Australia. Fortunately so far I have dropped close to 20lbs and since my last weigh in (3 weeks ago) stood at 242lbs. This is a huge achievement for myself as I weighed 225 going into WSU in 2004 and would like to get back to that weight and lower.
Tonight I put on my running shoes and decided to just go run. I signed up for a new program called Map My Run as well as downloaded the app for iPhone, as it seemed like the program with the most positive reviews. Needless to say, I ran a 7.10km (4.41mi) in 48:40. Roughly 11 mins a mile and while that's absolutely horrible to a healthy person's standards, that's amazing for me. In the US, I wouldn't dream of even running a block and constantly drove to campus that was merely 10 mins away.
So with that, I hope to be at 230lbs by the time winter rolls around (April-May) and to possibly 210lbs or so by the time August comes through. My ultimate goal is to go sky diving, and at my current weight I would either be paying overweight fees or just denied the option to fly with some companies. I need a catchy motto for this... Something like "Drop the weight and drop out of a plane" or "Double digit goal" (100kg is 220lbs, so 99kg, you get it...). There we go. Stay tuned!
Cheers and 再见！
-H
Now it had been about 2 weeks since my last run (4km) and about a week since my last workout. I've been somewhat slack these last few weeks as student association, post grad association and classes have taken over my life. Luckily the hectic first week of classes are over and I can get back on track with the working out. Speaking of, look out for a blog in the the next day or two about my impression on classes and the education system in Australia.
When I arrived in Australia I had weighed in at 260lbs. At 5'11 I am classified by the BMI chart index as OBESE. However, I could come off as stocky, perhaps big boned? Oh, who am I kidding, I'm fat. Working 50-60 hours a week in the US did not help my health ethic, so I made it a priority to get back on track while down here Australia. Fortunately so far I have dropped close to 20lbs and since my last weigh in (3 weeks ago) stood at 242lbs. This is a huge achievement for myself as I weighed 225 going into WSU in 2004 and would like to get back to that weight and lower.
Tonight I put on my running shoes and decided to just go run. I signed up for a new program called Map My Run as well as downloaded the app for iPhone, as it seemed like the program with the most positive reviews. Needless to say, I ran a 7.10km (4.41mi) in 48:40. Roughly 11 mins a mile and while that's absolutely horrible to a healthy person's standards, that's amazing for me. In the US, I wouldn't dream of even running a block and constantly drove to campus that was merely 10 mins away.
So with that, I hope to be at 230lbs by the time winter rolls around (April-May) and to possibly 210lbs or so by the time August comes through. My ultimate goal is to go sky diving, and at my current weight I would either be paying overweight fees or just denied the option to fly with some companies. I need a catchy motto for this... Something like "Drop the weight and drop out of a plane" or "Double digit goal" (100kg is 220lbs, so 99kg, you get it...). There we go. Stay tuned!
Cheers and 再见！
-H
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Varsity Shores
G'day mates!
All moved in to my new place at Varsity Shores and I can say it's far better than Varsity Towers.
To th
ink I was paying MORE to live in a studio apartment and was charged an insane amount for internet and laundry. About the same distance to the university as well.
Varsity Shores is located on the other side of Lake Orr and about a 10 minute walk from Bond Uni. From the street,
you can actually see the university. The site consists of about 100 or so units that range from 2 story units to 3 story waterfront properties. There is a pool and rec room but will probably never use it since I work out at Fitness First. I've also noticed there are actual families that live here. While it is definitely suitable for families and kids, I feel bad for them come midnight when the drunks come out (haha). I will probably be spending the rest of my time here at Varsity Shores while in Australia as I don't like moving (even though it's easy when you just have a suitcase).
For Semester 111, I'm living with Thomas (German), Nick (S. Korean) and Chad (Canadian). So
quite the diversity of nations that we have. Living with Thomas will be great as I can begin to re-learn and re-use my German as much as possible while at the same time learning Chinese. We'll see how that turns out... Nick just arrived today from Jakarta (visiting family) while the rest of us have been living there for about a week now.
The house (or would it be a duplex?) is two stories with the 1st floor being the entrance and garage with laundry room and Chad's room. The 2nd store leads upstairs to the kitchen and living room as well as Thomas' room, Nick's room and my room. I currently have the master bedroom with own bathroom and share the balcony with Nick who resides next door. Nick and Thomas share the public bathroom. I'll be sure to post a video blog soon of the place so be on the look out!
Cheers and 再见！
-H
All moved in to my new place at Varsity Shores and I can say it's far better than Varsity Towers.
To think I was paying MORE to live in a studio apartment and was charged an insane amount for internet and laundry. About the same distance to the university as well.Varsity Shores is located on the other side of Lake Orr and about a 10 minute walk from Bond Uni. From the street,
you can actually see the university. The site consists of about 100 or so units that range from 2 story units to 3 story waterfront properties. There is a pool and rec room but will probably never use it since I work out at Fitness First. I've also noticed there are actual families that live here. While it is definitely suitable for families and kids, I feel bad for them come midnight when the drunks come out (haha). I will probably be spending the rest of my time here at Varsity Shores while in Australia as I don't like moving (even though it's easy when you just have a suitcase).For Semester 111, I'm living with Thomas (German), Nick (S. Korean) and Chad (Canadian). So
quite the diversity of nations that we have. Living with Thomas will be great as I can begin to re-learn and re-use my German as much as possible while at the same time learning Chinese. We'll see how that turns out... Nick just arrived today from Jakarta (visiting family) while the rest of us have been living there for about a week now.The house (or would it be a duplex?) is two stories with the 1st floor being the entrance and garage with laundry room and Chad's room. The 2nd store leads upstairs to the kitchen and living room as well as Thomas' room, Nick's room and my room. I currently have the master bedroom with own bathroom and share the balcony with Nick who resides next door. Nick and Thomas share the public bathroom. I'll be sure to post a video blog soon of the place so be on the look out!
Cheers and 再见！
-H
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Twitter Resolution
One of the many advantages of traveling is the many people you run into and meet. Some people, a casual acquaintance that you never see again while others become lifelong friends that you stay in touch with to one day hopefully cross paths with in China, Germany or Brazil. I enjoy meeting new people, hearing their stories and learning about where they came from and where they are going in life.
Because of this, I have ventured out to a new virtual new years resolution to carry out. Each day, I'll follow a new person completely random and chosen from my current followers. Businesses and organizations don't count and nor do people I already know who I choose to follow. This is strictly complete strangers. That gives me 365 new people to get to know and find out what runs through their life in 140 characters or less. Should be interesting. Likewise, I deleted about 300 people from Facebook that I either no longer talked too or just had a one time run in with. Since then, it has begun to rise again, as I make new friends down here in Australia.
Cheers and 再见！
-H
Because of this, I have ventured out to a new virtual new years resolution to carry out. Each day, I'll follow a new person completely random and chosen from my current followers. Businesses and organizations don't count and nor do people I already know who I choose to follow. This is strictly complete strangers. That gives me 365 new people to get to know and find out what runs through their life in 140 characters or less. Should be interesting. Likewise, I deleted about 300 people from Facebook that I either no longer talked too or just had a one time run in with. Since then, it has begun to rise again, as I make new friends down here in Australia.
Cheers and 再见！
-H
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