Stereosonic

After having an amazing time at Good Vibrations music festival featuring awesome acts such as Nas, Damian Marley, Sidney Samson, Faithless and so forth, I found myself wanting more live music from artists that I already listen to in my everyday life. Sadly, I had missed festivals between then and now such as Future music festival (headlined by LMFAO), Supafest (headlined by Snoop Dogg, Chris Brown, Bow Wow, Busta Rhymes, etc etc) and many more. In June, tickets went on sale for Stereosonic music festival happening in December. I immediately picked up two tickets for Varun and I not knowing what would happen in 6 months but knowing I was not going to miss Tiesto as well as Martin Solveig, Avicii and various others.

Sadly, Varun had left the country in November and I was forced to find a new festival buddy to head to Brisbane with and mosh out to the sounds of heavenly music. What was a bummer moment then turned into a glistening moment of hope as Marc won VIP tickets (lucky...). So we sold my general admission tickets to some friends of mine and went in on his VIP tickets.

We stayed the weekend in Brisbane as it would be far easier than attempting to take the train up in the morning to get to the festival by noon and then take the train back down to the Gold Coast after the festival at 10pm. Luckily we were able to book hostel beds before they had all sold out for the festival and it worked out for me anyway as I had filming for 'Murderous Minds' and 'The Formal' as well as a photo shoot for the Academy of Makeup. So it was a busy weekend for me (pics included).

We got up Sunday and had breakfast before heading to a pre-drinking party at 2. We analysed the lineup and realise there wasn't anyone really worth going to see from 12-3pm (small acts) but that Martin Solveig, the first major artists of the day, was starting at 3.

We hailed a cab and he took us as far as he could go before running into a crowd of a bout 3,000 other festival goers. We headed inside dreading the line but was most excited to see the VIP line of only 10 people. So we were inside the festival in about 2 1/2 minutes as compared to the massive long general admission line! Marc and I walked around a bit before heading to the VIP area to see what it consisted for us 'high priority' individuals.

Luckily, not only did we have a cash bar and not have to succumb to buying drink tickets but the VIP bar also had private bathrooms (with no lines) and was air conditioned! With temperatures in the mid 20s it was definitely a bonus. The VIP stands also had better seating and was not as crowded but to me, not really an issue as I wanted to spend most of my time front and center at the main stage.

The rest of our day consisted of the seeing the following:

Tommy Trash

Martin Solveig

Datsik

Adam Beyer

Carl Cox

Example

Calvin Harris
Avicii

Tiesto

The day/night overall was awesome and age was definitely showing as we were pretty tired and hurting come 10pm. With anticipation of spending over $200 in alcohol/food, I think I ended up only spending $100. Not to mention, I don't recall going to use the bathroom once during the 10 hours though... So great day! I'm already making plans to attend the next festival, pending on who the headliners and side acts will be. At this stage either looking to be Big Day Out (March) or Supafest (April). Miss you all

Cheers.

-H

The life?

Over the past 4 months, I did a complete 180 and forced myself to stop doing what friends/society wanted me to do and to start doing what I myself, wanted to do. I gave up on night club security because not only is it garbage, shit and employees are treated like numbers and not respected but also because the pay isn’t worth what one has to put up with on a nightly basis until 5am.

I have always had this hidden notion that because I spent 7 years studying criminal justice, law and mastering in criminology and crime prevention, that I needed to follow this road of government work, doing what is right and obeying the law at all times even if it was morally unacceptable. I’ve always been a believer that I would much rather love my job and make a mediocre living than hate my job but make a killing (my reason for coming to Australia in the first place).

My passion is entertainment and all things considered focusing mainly on music. A good friend of mine once asked me what my dream job was and I said without hesitation DJ. To be able to play music I love to someone in a way in which it gives him or her feel good attitudes and emotions has been something that has always kept its place at the back of my mind since 2005.

Becoming more engulfed in my own music, I also ventured out into the world of acting. At first, I felt it was something I needed to study up on, go to school and be tested about, but quickly realised I could gain all that knowledge by throwing myself into the industry head first. As of the writing of this blog and since getting into acting in July, I have been in two web commercials, 13 short films, 3 viral commercials, a music video and casted for two feature films being submitted to Cannes Film Festival, Tropfest, Toronto Film Festival and Melbourne Film Festival. All done by myself, without the use of an agent and over the course of three months while also studying and working on the side.

It has been exciting work and has given me the opportunity to showcase my personality and put my character through the ultimate test. Maybe it’s because I am a minority? Or maybe because I am an American accent among a population of 22 million Australians? Whatever the reason may be, it is working out extremely well and I am loving every minute of it.

And so the question again pops up asking: “what happens come December?”. I have always had this mentality to come back home in February after graduation but held off to continue doing my passion: traveling. And now, everyday I constantly re-hash my plan of going home for good in December to pursue other ventures: music and acting. I fear coming back home to the US, puts all that on hold (whether permanently or temporarily) and forces me to work in an industry that limits my passion, my free-spirit and my thinking. At the same time, staying here I can continue to find bigger and better roles while working part-time and re-focusing my attention on music. The only downside though is it’s a huge risk with JUST a part time job on the side (since I’m a foreigner). One that if it doesn’t pay off, leaves me thinking what have I truly been doing the past x amount of months/years. And this is the thought that scares me, not having the security of work but pursuing a passion and hoping it works out in the end.

I guess it is better to be 26 and enjoying life than what I constantly see everyday on Facebook statuses from friends from back home. Not having kids, being tied down by someone and being able to enjoy life and do the things I WANT to do is what makes my time here and my life so rewarding. But at the same time, I am continuously bogged down by when I am coming, how I am needed home and how I should just return home, as it’s been 2 years. At times, I feel instead of coming home for good, I should come home for a few weeks to feel if it is right for me or if it’s not my time yet. Maybe I’m scared to come back to the US? Or that doing so means it’ll be time to put everything else aside and start a career?

I seriously don’t know what I want in life or where I want to go with it. Whichever the path I choose, I cautiously hope to have the support of friends and family…

-H

G.R.E.

The reason why I chose to pursue my masters degree in criminology was two-fold. First and foremost, I felt my employment status at the time did not reflect what I truly wanted to do in life or what I was capable of doing. Working security for a nightclub that had no room for promotion and a commissioned sales job reliant on quotas, led me to a very unhealthy lifestyle in which I gradually became depressed, exhausted and without a social life. The second reason for coming was I found myself always talking about ‘Australia this’ and ‘Australia that’ with friends and such. I wanted to continue with my education and felt not only could I go back to Australia and obtain my masters degree in Criminology but because universities in Australia did not require Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores as do US universities for postgraduates.

I have always hated standardised testing and while many of my friends slaved away hours a day studying for the SATs for college in 2003 and taking the PSATs numerous times to prepare for the SATs, I went in winging it. I feel a standardised test is just that, standardised. Why try to cram for a test where you should either know the information or not? And because so many of my friends crammed for it, they obtained higher than average scores that did not truly reflect their true knowledge of skill level for a university setting. I took the PSATs scoring 800/1600, and then the SATs scoring 960/1600 and again scoring 1000/1600. No studying whatsoever and good enough to get into Washington State University and graduate with two bachelors degrees.

But at the time, I was also looking at Arizona State University (ASU) and University of Southern California (USC) because of their excellent criminal justice programs. However, all three universities wanted GRE scores of which I refused to pay for to take once if not two or three times on top of study materials if I chose to actually study. So I packed up, left and came here to do my graduate degree.

After obtaining my masters degree, I then contacted WSU, ASU and USC once again to possibly come back to the United States and pursue my PhD in criminology with an emphasis on crime prevention. And once again, all three universities advised me they needed my GRE scores even after obtaining my masters degree. So it looks as if I have to bite the bullet and go full guns blazing for this damn test.

I have signed up to take the GRE in Sydney Wednesday, July 4th (Happy birthday America!) at 1:30pm. I’ll be flying down to Sydney right after work Tuesday morning to give myself time to relax and unwind before doing some last minute studying before the 4 ½ test Wednesday afternoon. Afterwards I’ll do some sight-seeing and relax with friends living down there before coming back up to the Gold Coast for work Thursday night. A relatively quick trip nonetheless, but only with one purpose in mind that could re-shape my academic future.

I’ve also decided to do somewhat of a basic skim of the material, seeing how a lot of it is high school math that I not only failed twice in college, but also haven’t touched it since 2004. So for the next 2 weeks, in between work and sleep I’ll have my eyes fixated to a computer screen and in my GRE prep notes to prepare for this gruelling beast of an exam.

If I pass with acceptable scores, I am hoping to apply at ASU, USC and my alma mater WSU in hopes of pursuing my PhD in the US instead of here in Australia. While these plans are not set yet and anything can change pending what the scores will be and if Bond University ever gets back to me regarding the possibility of doing my PhD here, I don’t want to put all my eggs in one basket…

Until next time.

Cheers and 再见

-H

Public Transportation vs. Walking

For the past six months while working at Griffith University, something was reconfirmed to me that I have always known throughout my two years of being in Australia, public transportation in Australia is HORRIBLE. It may just be Queensland (aka Translink) or even just the Gold Coast, as I have yet to verify this with Sydney (New South Wales), Melbourne (Victoria) or even Brisbane (Queensland).

Not only do Translink services abruptly stop or Translink bus drivers blatantly miss stops or never show up to stops, but the fact that buses start running earlier/later at certain platforms than others is annoying. They don’t sync up! Moreover, with the Gold Coast being a predominantly tourist population, the system overall is always delayed as tourists are continually asking questions to drivers about what stop to get off of, how much the fare is, and what bus they would take to get to such and such destination.

Working at Griffith University in Southport is an easily fun and equally laid back job, getting to and from work though is a whole other story. For my journey to Southport (20 mins by car), it takes roughly 90 mins to get there by bus with one. This means that working 5 days a week, I waste 450mins (7 ½ hours getting TO work) when if I had a vehicle, I would only be wasting 1 hour. Luckily though, I’ve been able to keep busy with PhD readings, GRE studying, etc. On top of that, because of the timing, I can either get to work an hour early, or be late by 10 mins. Therefore, I also waste 5 hours of down time before I actually start my shift. With Queensland security industry standard pay at $24, I waste $120 sitting around at work before starting,

Now, I clock off at 0400hours every night. HOWEVER, the bus from Griffith University does not start running until 0550hours. This means I have to wait almost 2 hours before I can even get on the bus for another hour of travel before getting home; 3 hours total down time and home by 0730hours. Again, 5 days a week, that's 15 hours of garbage time wasted. So I wanted to experiment with taking the 24-hour bus from Australia Fair shopping centre, which is 4km away from Griffith University.

One night, I decided to walk the 4km to Australia Fair after my 0400hrs shift to catch the 0500hrs bus (24-hour running bus to Gold Coast airport) home. Lo and behold, I was home by 0600hrs and typically in bed by 0630hrs. Crazy and annoying that I can either wait for the bus and be home in bed by 0800 or walk 4km (usually takes me 40mins, I walk fast) and be home and in bed by 0630.

But I guess the better question is why I don’t just go out and get a car…

Anyways, just a random observation (and great workout!)

Until then,

Cheers!

-H

Life of a student actor.

I decided to try something different and get into acting. While I would like to say it’s a hobby, I feel it is something I would definitely spend much more time on doing if something better came from it (unlike my music); therefore, continual courses, films and criticism to help me become better at it. I mean, I’m already a pretty amazing bullshitter. So I told myself, get in touch with a talent agency and begin my quest.

Now something that needs to be mentioned in regards to Australian ‘talent agencies’; they aren’t what they seem. As someone from the US with a few friends in the entertainment industry and in some very high profile feature films, I’ve come to think to get into acting you needed to go to college and study drama/theatre for 4 years followed by doing some small/unpaid roles before getting into the bigger scheme of things. But then, when I came here, I saw all these advertisements from talent agencies looking for people both with skills and fresh to the new industry to represent them and find them work on TV shows, commercials, movies, etc etc.

I was excited when a company called ‘Blackbox Management’ and a representative from them called ‘Anita’ was willing to sign me on and represent me. The only concern I had was when ‘Anita’ stated they needed $180 to start up my web portfolio and get me listed on casting agent sites. I was hesitant but paid the fee as she had told me there was plenty of work out there for me, I just needed to be listed for casting directors to see. After three months of never hearing from her and continually being charged $10 a month for my ‘monthly profile fee’ I emailed the company stating to cancel everything and called ANZ bank to let them know to cancel and block all further debits from the company. I never heard from them other than the initial signing of my ‘contract’ and have found out that ‘Anita’ now works for ‘Showcase Management’ and that ‘Blackbox management’ is no longer a business. A couple of weeks ago, I continually was receiving calls from the company AND HER before putting them on my block list.

Then, about two months ago, I came in contact with ‘Global Talent Management’ and subsequently had a meeting at their office with ‘Danielle’. Again same story of which she had work they could get me, blah blah blah, but that they needed headshots for me as I did not have any. This time around, GTM stated they needed $260 for the headshots with their photographer, Chris Goode. I hesitantly paid, knowing I needed headshots but was content that GTM did not need any website fees, sign up fees, etc. I was also fortunate to meet Chris and immediately get all 300 of my photos taken that day without any watermarks added to them so that I could continuously use them for future use (of which they have been extremely useful). At first, Danielle would send out occasional emails looking for pregnant moms, families, that sort of work that did not apply to me. Then I received emails from her stating she was putting my name out there but getting work was hard because I did not have a standard showreel and would need to come in and get one done for $60 with Chris. I hesitated and decided not to, and for good reason. A few weeks having gone by without hearing from GTM or Danielle, I emailed her to have my message bounce back. Furthermore, GTM’s website was no longer operational and even Chris said he was unable to get a hold of her or the company. However, he did inform me that he believed Danielle was now working for a company called ‘Unique1’. Instead of attempting to pursue, I again kicked myself in the ass, ate my loss and moved on.

I guess the moral of the story is if it’s too good to be true it is and that if a talent agency is asking for money up front, they are usually a scam. Talent agencies are there to represent their clients and issue them work as they are looking to make commission off you if you succeed in getting work. Moreover, there are an ABUNDANT amount of talent agencies that all gloat the same thing: plenty of work, good pay and they want you NOW. Obviously before you go around signing up, do your research or ask around. Look at reviews from people based upon their own experience with these companies (even my own words of advice).

Since then, I’ve done freelancing work on my own and have secured over a dozen roles with Bond University, Griffith University, New York Film Academy, Viscaria Films, School of Digital Filmmaking, Queensland University of Technology and a commercial for Australian Private Hospitals Association), ALL in the span of two months and without any outside help of some 'talent agency'. Some of these have been paid and some have been volunteer work (as they are for student films) but it has also allowed me to cautiously talk to other actors in the industry and get a feel with what talent agencies they are with, if they have gotten any work through them and what they have to say about other agencies. As I always like to say, ‘the art of good business is being a good middle man’. I’ve learned this from Blackbox Management, Global Talent management and through countless actors whom have warned me regarding certain talent agencies on the Gold Coast that boast the same perks but offer nothing but a signed contract that is meaningless and ties you to a non-existent company that isn’t work for you. So on my own I go.

Until then,

Cheers

-H

When the time comes...

At times I wonder if anyone even reads this, since I rarely post or don't seem to do much that is exciting. At the same time, I have fallen a bit behind on them as well (Ahem Japan blog) But I promise to get all that caught up in due time.

In the meantime...

I came to Australia under the plan to obtain my masters degree in criminology and then return home right afterwards to begin looking for work and possibly re-applying for the FBI. They had led me on a chase of employment for 5 months of flying back and forth between the branch office in Seattle and in Pullman where I was living and working (5 hours away). After the 4th cancellation of interviews, I advised them I would be withdrawing my name from the interview and pursuing a higher degree and attempting to find out what I really wanted to do with my life and if a government field job was the right move.

While I was set to return home right after my degree finished in January, a little birdy put this idea into my head that I could potentially stay and pursue my PhD and open great opportunities for myself. So I decided to stick around, swap over to a work visa and pursue my options.

In the meantime, I have done nothing but work 35 hours a week and thus eliminating my social life and shunning all friends out as I spend my two days off recovering and getting whatever I need to get done before I hustle out anothe 35 hours. But the more I work, the more I realise I have a masters degree in criminology and I should be able to get far better work than your average person with a high school diploma. Especially since all these security jobs that I work will hire anyone and those whom I have worked with seem to be stuck in the job for years with no possible advancement or promotion. Now this isn't to say that I hate my job, as I have been in the security industry since I walked out of Pizza Hut and started working at Stubblefields in April 2008. Every job that I have held since then has helped me to become a better equipped person with the knowledge and skill set neede to work in any security industry. But there are better jobs out there for someone like me. Jobs such as the FBI, CIA and NSA are lucrative with benefits and travel all over and they are looking for people like me whom have traveled and have the education and experience to back it up. So you'd think I would be able to find similar work outside the US? Sadly, no.

As a foreigner NOT in my host country, I cannot get the work I want as I am not a citizen. I could go through the process of becoming a citizen, but that is equating to more time, money and effort on my part. Especially since I am on a visa, the same would apply anywhere else I go throughout the world. Get on a proper visa, try to get citizenship, then find a decent job. Therefore, my options here in Australia (or anywhere for that matter) are very limited in what I want to pursue in life.

Don't get me wrong, I can find security work just about anywhere here, but they don’t care what degree you have, they’ll hire anyone and there isn’t room for advancement, travel or promotion. I feel if I am to waste 7 years on school to obtain two bachelor degrees and a masters degree as well as put myself in 6 figure debt, I might as well make use of it and come back to proper job that pays well without the need for a visa or being limited due to regulations as a foreigner.

And while the PhD would be nice and padden the resume/experience with the possibility of having full grants pay for it, I feel I can do without it instead of spending another 3-5 years in school. The PhD may or may not add additional pay to my annual income levels, but it would further open up employment for me in regards to teaching, something which I have no desire to do. Overall, I would be getting the PhD because I'd be getting it for free or relatively cheap while I wait for further job opportunies to become available. Which is the reason why I pursued a masters degree in the first place.

Unfortunately though, I dread coming home, because I fear there may be work that I don't want or feel qualified to do and I will be stuck in the same rut a majority of my friends back home are in. However, I would need to come home to find that said work if it exists. At the same time, there are these jobs that suit me but they take 9-14 months before getting hired on as an employee due to background checks, polygraphs and psychological interviews. Therefore, I would be looking at coming home and working a mediocre job for 2 years before I get anything solid that I want. But in order to apply for these said jobs, I must be in the United States to do it.

Having said that, and after contemplating it for a few weeks now and discussing it with numerous friends and family, I have decided it is in my best interest to not pursue my PhD here at Bond University or anywhere outside of the United States for that matter but instead come back to the US to pursue a career position with my degree and get the ball rolling on the hiring process. While I can leave and come home anytime, I still have much traveling that I want to do (China, South Korea, Thailand, India, Europe) and so will wait until the holidays before coming home for good. Potential dates being from Thanksgiving to Christmas.

I still have plans of coming home in August for a few weeks to see family and friends and determine if this is what I really want to do. At this stage, I feel there is no further need to be here and just being here is preventing me from starting the hiring process back home with potential employers. Another option would be to pursue a PhD in the US but most importantly somewhere close to home suggested universities being WSU, USC or ASU (all have heavy focus on criminal justice).

But for now, this is the path that I feel is right for me. It may seem a bit hasty at the moment and as I always believe, anything can happen that changes that path. But I haven't been happy these last few months with what I am doing with myself whether it is because I am in the wrong career or that I just need to come home and get things started. Either case, it is time for me to change that and move on to something better and higher paying.

Until then, Cheers!

-H

Visas, Kiwis and Germans

Sadly, my student visa expired on March 15th and I therefore had to either swap over to another visa or leave Australia and head back to the United States. Sadly though, I don't feel there is anything worthwhile for me back in the US (yet...) and have opted to stick around Australia and continue working while networking and scouring the world wide web for career choices and such.

The governmental system in Australia is absolutely ridiculous to say the least regarding visas for foreigners although I am told the American system is even worse. Because I have decided to apply for the PhD program at Bond University, I am waiting to hear back from the faculty to determine if I have been accepted or not. But because my visa for my masters degree is expired and EVEN THOUGH I may need to get on another student visa, I still had to leave the country and come back on a work visa. It is such a pain that I have to pay for my flight out of the country on top of a $270 visa only to have it for a week or two and having to leave the country again and get on another student visa (which is approximately $500 and thensome for flights).

So courtesy of my German friend Kim and her hospitable mother, I was able to head to New Zealand for a very short break and apply for an Australian work visa. So be sure to check out my New Zealand blog!

The work and holiday visa allows me to stay in Australia for up to a year and can be renewable once more at the end for another year. The purpose of the visa is to allow those in Australia to fund their traveling through work in Australia. I cannot study for longer than 4 months and I cannot work for the same employer for longer than 6 months. Unfortunately though, ABNs do not qualify for a work and holiday visa and must be applied for through a business visa. So any security work I do pick up, I have to be on the books with them and not issuing them an invoice every week. So far, so good!

Cheers and 再见！

-H

DCH

BAM! Been awhile since my last post. I've tried to make every conscious effort to fully revamp and update this blog but it's taken a lot of time. So have patience as I get everything merged over.

My lease at Varsity on Main ended December 21st and in the meantime, was looking at a place to live with my then current roommate Perri and our friend Craig. Long story short, Perri moved in with her girlfriends and we picked up Dom to find a place in Burleigh Waters to live for the next six months. We wanted something outside of the student accommodation and apartment nature and into an actual house where we had our own belongings without shared units, parking, etc etc. We ended up moving into a complex right behind Varsity Towers and a quick 3 minute walk from campus. Great two story place with our own small yard, single car garage with driveway and partially furnished.

I'm still in need of a bed frame and desk so in the meantime, my room is pretty bare. But I'm not really impressing anyone. Ha. The landlord is lovely, haven't met the neighbours and probably have no intentions on it either.

The housing complex is called 'This', but I found the name to be too boring, lame and well, stupid. So I drafted DCH ([D]om, [C]raig, [H]ardy). The order is significant as Dom found the place, Craig helped follow up on it and I just sat around and said "when do we move in". Plus anything else (CDH, HDC, etc) just sounds like a viral disease...

And so here we are. At DCH for the next six months and possibly the final stretch of my time here in Australia. While it's been great, I won't make any preemptive calls yet as I could stick around a bit longer or go somewhere else other than back home to Seattle.

In the meantime, thanks for reading!

Cheers.

-H

Japan

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

Melbourne Video

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