Farewell Australia...

On September 8^th, 2010 I landed at Coolangatta international airport on the Gold Coast in what was then rainy Queensland. Without any sense of direction or what to do next, I caught a bus to Surfers Paradise to a backpackers hotel and this was the start of my second Australia adventure.

Over the last 2 ½ years I’ve met countless new friends, gained new enemies, travelled to New Zealand, New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Japan and received a masters degree in criminology for a private university. The experiences were rich and fulfilling and even though there were great times, there were also horrible ones as well. Not to say that these experiences have not made me a stronger person, but over the last few years I’ve grown and adapted to call Australia my home far better than the previous time I came as a study abroad student in 2007.

While I did my best to try and stay for an extended period resulted in me switching to a working holiday visa after graduation and allowing me to stay for another year and sadly, at the this time there was no other options for me to stay other then spend more money on education or find a wife. Neither of which I wanted to pursue especially since finances were not viably there and some women just weren’t on the same page as me.

However, I leave for Sydney in New South Wales and then back to the US bringing with me the knowledge I’ve gained and the cultural awareness that this country has given to me as an outsider especially looking back at my home country, the US. While the memories will forever be there, the travel bug hast still definitely got its bite on me and I look forward to coming back here sometime in the next 5 years whether for work or holiday. There are still plenty of countries I would like to visit on this side of the hemisphere and plenty of opportunities to force me out of my comfort zone and into the abyss known as foreign territory.

Australia has been great and if any friends are looking to come down for whatever reason, all I can say is do it. You won’t regret it nor want to leave.

Until then,

Cheers and 再见

-H

Americans in Melbourne

 After being in Melbourne just two weeks, I ventured back to say my final farewells to Melbourne friends and welcome the arrival of my good friend Thea. Thea is down here on at working-holiday visa for the year with hopes of either staying longer or perhaps switching to a student visa to study .

Of all my friends to say they would come visit or want to travel and get out of the rut known as the ‘United States’, Thea has been the only one to do it so far. After a bit of procrastination I booked my Thursday flight the night before and was stuck with Tiger Airways yet again. While I don’t dislike them, because I feel domestic travel should be at it’s cheapest, the staff are typically rude, they issue receipts NOT actual boarding passes and the Tiger Airways terminal at Melbourne International is a good 10-minute walk from the main airport and another 5 minute walk just to get to the aircraft on the tarmac. Not to mention when booking, they make it seem like you HAVE to choose your seat, but if you do, you pay between $5-$20 for it. Instead, save yourself the money and ask for a window/exit row seat when you check-in. Boom $20 saved So far, my best would have to be Virgin Australia. Richard Branson knows what’s up!

I had Marc drop me off at Gold Coast airport and I arrived in beautiful cloudy and rainy Melbourne at noon. Thea had already landed and passed through customs and quarantine so we called the hostel and they came to pick us up. At first, I was sceptical of Thea’s hostel choice because it was located in St. Kilda but it proved to be an excellent location. Anyone traveling to Melbourne, I encourage you to either stay at the Space Hotel in the CBD area (where Craig and I stayed in January) or at the Habitat HQ (where I stayed with Thea). The trams were located right outside the hostel and was only a 20 minute ride to the city and was also a 5 minute ride to Chapel Street where all the nightlife can be found.

We briefly took a nap before heading out to get her a working phone number and show her the city. Overall, we were in bed about 10ish as she was jet-lagged and I barely got any sleep the night before (I never sleep well the day before a flight). Friday, we headed to China Town to meet up with Claire for some Chinese and bubble tea before saying goodbye to her and heading ANZ to get Thea a bank account. We ended up scratching that idea as the wait time was way too long, so ventured to Big W so she could get some flip flops, the river walk, Crown Casino (where I lost $20 on red, haha) and then finally Max Brenners.

We ended up back at the hostel before relaxing a bit once again (the sun takes it out of you). Ended up getting up around 10pm before heading to Electric Ladyland for a few drinks and to say goodbye to friends there. One of them, being Bridie, I will always love and cherish. There are not many women out there that I can tolerate let alone would not mind dating and Bridie is definitely one of them. Words cannot describe my love for this woman, but I’ll save my lovey-dovey Bridie blog for another day.

After quite a few gin and tonics, headed back to the hostel and up at 0930 for 1000 check-out. I said my goodbyes to Thea and headed back to Melbourne airport to fly to Brisbane in time for Future Music Festival. Overall, I love Melbourne but don’t know if I could ever live there. I think the hipster/’culture’ scene is a bit much for me. But definitely a far better place than Brisbane and of course, the Gold Coast. Next stop is Future Music Festival, final week of work and then wrapping up last minute affairs before my flight to Sydney on March 15^th followed by flight back to Seattle March 17^th.

Until then…

Cheers

-H

This Christmas.

About 1:30 in the morning. Just got home from an evening of Family Guy, the Newsroom (great show!) and filling out PhD applications and briefs. And the weird thing is, it felt like any other night. Except it’s Christmas Eve. But with the absence of two key factors because these last three Christmases haven’t really felt like ‘Christmas’: weather and family.

            I’ve spent all my life having a white Christmas. Even if it wasn’t snow, it was damn near close with slush or sleet. Some Decembers it being so worse that my car door was frozen shut or you had to start the car an hour before leaving just to make it bearable to drive in. And so with these last three seasons, celebrating the holidays in 90-degree weather, shorts and a BBQ just doesn’t feel the same. It’s just not Christmas. Christmas is about shovelling the snow out of the driveway to make room for the relatives to park, going out and having snowball fights and even showing off your new toys to your friends. That’s definitely one thing I look forward to upon returning home, a white Christmas.

            The other is family. To me, Christmas isn’t about religion but instead coming together of family and in some cases even friends to celebrate the love, camaraderie and affection of close ones. Some of my friends have the ease of this love as families live just down the street or interstate. And others even have the luxury to travel home to Canada, the US and Germany to be with family on Christmas. I don’t have that luxury.

            So with this, I say cherish every moment that you get to spend with your family, no matter how annoying they may be. Because at the end of the day, they will always be there for you. Because they will be waiting for you at the terminal with open arms. Because somewhere in the world are homeless citizens just trying to eat on a Tuesday, soldiers in war just trying to survive another day or myself typing this at two in the morning to take a break from PhD research and reflect off the good times this year has given me.

 

And with that, from myself down here in Australia, I say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family.

Now I’m going to go watch Love Actually.

-H

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

Work>Travel

The feeling of disappointment washes over me like a child who doesn't receive that toy he's been asking Santa to give him on Christmas day. While most view traveling as a once in a lifetime opportunity and vacation, I view it as a new learning experience and a chance to keep me sane and from killing everyone around me (especially the stupid, arrogant and moronic group. You know who you are).

What I love about my current job is not only the fact that the pay/benefits is far, far better than previous jobs I held, but management and fellow employees don't treat each other like shit. There isn't a problem with drugs or staff hooking up with staff and that right there is an added bonus. Moreover, I am able to take time off or swap shifts so easily without having to fight for it or risk losing my job. Needless to say, taking a weekend off for New Zealand in March, a week for New Caledonia in May and a week off for Singapore in July is pretty lenient and amazing compared to what other employers would offer or say.

So it devastated me when I was told that I could not get the time off for Singapore July 24th-29th as this is the second week of classes at Griffith Uni and things would be a bit hectic until mid August. What I found annoying throughout the whole process of getting the time off, is we had booked this trip in March when I returned from New Zealand and while mentioning throughout that time that I needed it off, I was told to 'remind me as the time comes closer'. Unfortunately, as that time came closer, it was noticed I was attempting to leave during a busy time-frame. Whoops.

So I entertained the idea of quitting and going to Singapore before realising how stupid of a mistake that would be. To leave a job for a $250 flight or just eat the loss due to error and lack of checking dates? I chose the latter knowing that the trip will be waiting for me in August and as the semester proceeds into week 4, I can take more time off to add Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), Indonesia (Jakarta) and perhaps Thailand (Bangkok) to the list over the course of 9-12 days. Plus I did not want to go through the same issues I did when I left for Japan back in November and returning without a job (and money).

But during this process it got me thinking, why I would resort to such an irrational choice of leaving a job to go experience 4 days of bliss only to come back to nothing? Probably because I'm stupid and crazy and when it comes to traveling, I absolutely love it. Or because I'm reaching that point where it's time for me to get out of town once again as the Gold Coast continues to diminish my faith in humanity.

Whatever the case may be, I will not be going to Singapore Jul 24th-July 29th but instead cancelling and going a few weeks later. I know, I know, this is devastating to all of you, but don't worry, I'll be in the air in no time and back to Asia for a 2nd round.

In the meantime,

Cheers and 再见！

-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

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

你好！

(Title says: Hello!)

Not a whole lot going on. Sort of like a plane taking off. Much excitement with takeoff and landing, but at cruising altitude it's calm and relaxed.

For our graduate criminology class, we have decided to research and write a journal to hopefully get it published in one of the criminal justice quarterly journals here in Australia. It may not seem like much to some of you out there, but to have your research published is a big deal for us. So what we are aiming for is research into the trafficking of exotic animals. We decided on this topic because 1. Nadia has partial work done for it and 2. exotic animals are the 2nd biggest trade item in the world behind drugs (#1) and ahead of weapons (#3). Yet, because it is not viewed as a big issue, the fines and penalties is usually a slap on the wrist. So I am very excited about it. Only 13 weeks to get it done!

Also stopped by STA Travel to pick up some brochures. What I am hoping to do is come December break (3 weeks), travel around Australia. With winter break in July (6 weeks I believe) I want to head north to Asia (Russia, Japan, China and Thailand). And then come my final summer break (December), I want to head to Tasmania (south) and New Zealand. So big plans ahead, let's see if we can fulfill em! So if any of you have friends or tips for those places, def. lend them to me as they will provide valuable and hopefully save me money along the way.

Lastly, got certified for my Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) certificate. With this, I can now handle alcohol whether it be bartending or running a bottleshop and just selling it to people. I want to do something along the lines of security, but it looks like a 2 day course at $500 has to be taken in order to do something like that. Sooooo, I'm going to skip that (unless the company wants to pay for me!).

Also sent out postcards today, so expect those from me! If you don't get one, you're either not loved, didn't give me your address or the amount of time to slap a stamp and write "miss you, wish. You were here!" isn't worth my time.

Miss you all and I know you're having the time of your life over there in that fall weather. Hey feel free to come visit :-D


Cheers!

-H