March 17th, 2013

In 2007, I flew to Australia…. Sadly it was only for 6 months. I came back, graduated and then decided it was time for me to return.

2 ½ years and we saw the creation of ‘Traveling Sucobe’, the expansion of my music hobby, the creation AND development of Sucobe Productions and last but not least the start of my acting, modelling and crazy antics. From goatees, to moustaches, to clean shave. From Japan to New Caledonia and New Zealand. It has been an amazing ride.

And sadly, this ends the final chapter of my life down here in Australia. 3 years of this amazing country and I’ve grown to love and appreciate it as my home away from home. The friends I have met, the girlfriends I’ve had, the goon I’ve consumed, and the vegemite I’ve spit out. It has been a great time down here and although Julia Gillard no longer wants me. I’ll be back. Whether it’s for business, pleasure or on a boat with a bunch Sri Lankans seeking asylum.

I love you all. I’ll miss you all. And if you’re ever in the Pacific Northwest or land of Starbucks, legal marijuana and gay marriage, don’t hesitate to call me. Well text me, because I won’t pick up.

Cheers.

-H

Melbourne 2013

 G'day!

After just getting back to the Gold Coast, Craig and I decided to take off again but this time for Melbourne. Flights were still cheap domestically for southern and eastern Australia so it was either fly back to Sydney for $125 return or Melbourne for $200. Having only been to Melbourne once before with friends in July 2011 (when it was freezing cold), I opted to go back and to say hello to some other friends of mine whom lived there. We flew with Tiger Airways once again, not because I wanted too as it’s as discount airline as it gets, but because it was extremely cheap. And for such a short flight, I did not care for snacks, media entertainment devices, etc.

 

We were running a bit behind (that’s what I do best) and so jetted off to Brisbane airport in the monsoon rain we were having. The after effects of Cyclone Oswald were hitting the Gold Coast and the rain was coming in hard. We managed to get there and check-in after being scolded by the Tiger Airways staff for being over our weight limit on carry-on, but she politely let us through. And so started our trip to Melbourne and the video blog ‘Sucobe and Crumpet: Melbourne 2013’.

 

We arrived in Melbourne on Sunday early afternoon and spent the next three hours attempting to get to the hotel. It had been awhile since I had last been and it was a holiday weekend (Australia Day), so many services were not open/running. We managed to get to the hotel around 6ish and all checked in. Luckily for us, it was right in the CBD area and next to the gardens, Melbourne Central Shopping Centre and down the street from Federation Square. Unfortunately for us, it was pretty much a glorified hostel. We then went out for some Mexican food at Amigos on Chapel Street and then to say hello to our friend that works at Electric Ladyland and for a few drinks.

 

Not getting to bed until 4am and up at noon, we decided to head out and tour the city before we ended up spending all day in bed. Monday, although was a holiday (due to Australia day on Saturday), still had many shops open and it seemed to be business as usual for the city. We headed to the SBS building to check out the TV, cinema and film exhibition and then grabbed some dinner at Universal with a friend followed by bowling at Strike. A good clean sober activity I must say so. Oh wait, there was plenty of alcohol. Moving on…

The duration of Tuesday was spent at St. Kilda park  which took roughly 30 mins by tram to get to. We took some pictures, walked around Luna Park and then headed back to the hotel to relax a bit before meeting up with a friend at Crown Casino for buffet and gambling. I went in, threw $20 on red at the roulette table and double my money. That was the extent of my gambling. After gorging for 3 hours to get our $25 worth of food and getting kicked out of the buffet at 9, we headed back to the hotel to let the food (and winnings) digest.

Our full final day in Melbourne, we spent Wednesday visiting Carlton Gardens and the riverwalk followed by going BACK to the casino for Craig to attempt to double his winnings as well. In which not only did he, but he quadrupled. From $5 to $25, what a baller. We neded up eating at the hotel in the bar/restaurant which apparantely were doing jelly wrestling. So the music was extremely loud and the ratio EXTREMELY lacking at 6:1 males to females. So we ate, got out of there and went back to Eletric Ladyland to have farewell drinks and say goodbye to our dear friend.

 

Thursday was an early awakening since we had to check out at 10am and get straight to the airport for a 12:40pm flight. Once again, no actual plane ticket, just a shoddy receipt; typical discount airlines. Overall, the trip was good, expensive and a great 2^nd break away from the Gold Coast. Sadly, this will probably be my last trip for quite some time as I work and save up. Who knows where I will go next, China? New Zealand? Back to the US? Or perhaps somewhere in Europe?...

Until next time.

-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

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