Last night I was at the Nivea Annual Hand Modeling Awards and after a year off, I was back in action in the 2007/08 Summer. I didn’t think I had done enough catalogues to get up for the win, but I was able to snare some crucial votes during the February vote count.

Although I didn’t think my work last season was as good as my fall 2004 season with my award winning “VB hard-earned-thirst” beer catalogue. I think my attitude has matured and you can really see that in my modeling.

I had a year off over the 2006/07 summer as a mouth model, and whilst it was great to be the mouth of Evian water, I really missed my hand modeling and couldn’t wait until that contract was over.

Guess was quick to get me on their roster for their autumn watch magazine ads and so I was really lucky to get a “feel” for it all again.

Thanks to all my support. The girls at professionNail, Steve at Minit Solutions for those late night grind sessions, Kelly and Ross at “Your hands is your face” and finally and most importantly, Nivea for the award and the years supply of Nivea Hand Lotion which comes in “handy” just before I go to bed each night. Thank you so much everyone!

Brisbane Hand Model, Sydney, London, New York

Brisbane Hand Model, Sydney, London, New York

Check out Erin from Sweat Diva, and her new Sweat Depot Fitness Centre in Brisbane’s Northside.

Check out Sweat Depot at www.sweatdepot.com.au

I have quite a bit to review from 2007, lots of amazing breakthroughs, new beginnings, and connections with some amazing people. I’m not going to discuss these in this particular post, but I will in my next. This post is to give myself grades on goals set.

Here the goals that I had set at the start of 2007, and my review of them now:

Health

Do not eat chips: A+

I went 12 months without eating chip eg. hot chips, potato chips, wedges, gems, hash browns and corn chips etc. There were only couple of occasions where it was a difficult task, basically when I was presented with a meal with them unexpectedly.

Play sport or do an outdoor activity once a week: A-

After 5 years not playing any competitive sport, I returned to my favourite sport in Australian Football. It all started when I got a taste of it playing 9-a-side football on the gold coast. After which time, I had made the decision to then go play with the Griffith Gladiators, who were just up the road and in a lower division. Read some of my posts about Griffith gladiators Australian football club.

See the Dentist: C-

Here is a good example of bad goal setting, where if you’re not specific enough, then you can achieve it but not have it make any affect on your situation. I DID go see the dentist, but I didn’t make it a priority to see him again and get the required treatment. My goal should have been, “See the dentist, get the required treatment AND see him regularly so I can maintain my oral health”.

Only drink alcohol once a week: A-

This one was fairly easy, but I thought this was important to set so that I compliment my endeavours with my health. I even learnt to just enjoy my time regardless of alcohol.

Family

Make an effort to speak to each of my family members once a week: D

I started the year off quite well, but as I took on more responsibilities towards the end of year, my regular contact with my family diminished. This lack of being in the “family circle” of communication almost lead to Christmas being cancelled. I’m not going to reveal the details, but lack of communication and not making family a priority had severe and immediate effects on the family as a whole.

Respond to calls from my family with top priority: B-

As this seems like a “no brainer” or a “why do you even have to set that as a goal” goal, I get overwhelmed sometimes with returning calls as I take on more responsibility elsewhere in my life. Whilst I would consider this a pass, I think I can still improve in this area.

Be responsible for Neo (my cat), give him the attention he requires and let him enjoy life: B+

Whilst most of those close to me think that neo gets more attention than they do, there were a few occasions where I would be late home from work at night or in the morning after a night out. This meant that neo would have to wait an hour or two to get fed. Now don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t like he was starving, BUT it’s a routine that I have set for him and I’m committed to keeping him healthy. I had a bit of scare with neo this year with he got a paralysis tick but it just meant that I appreciated his time and attention more.

Personal

Manage my finances with budget planning and to save for a holiday: E

I really bummed out on this one, with bad money management and budget planning. This is one of my priorities this year.

Always be open to love, if it presents itself, embrace it: C-

I met some amazing people this year, and was lucky enough to spend some quality time with them. Whilst I appreciated and enjoyed my experiences, I know there was something holding me back. I am so grateful for the time, attention and patience I received with the girls I met this year, and even more grateful for the ones who are now close friends.

It’s funny how you can think and talk about getting over someone, but it’s not until you actually do, that you can move on. The new year has already presented me with a way forward and I look forward to overcoming some challenges within the coming months. I have a lot more to say on this matter so sign up and “Keep in the loop” to get access to some of my other confessions about love.

Allow myself to enjoy life, keeping a balance between work time and personal time: C-

I started the year off quite well, but found that it become harder and harder to maintain due as I took on more responsibilities towards the end of the year. I did make sure though that I gave myself sufficient sleep to go into the new day, but underestimated the value of time to “do my own thing”.

Be Responsible and safe: B

Probably too general to have a set goal, however I do believe that, in general, I was fairly responsible and safe. I have some passionate thoughts about being responsible. Check out the section “Committed to life” (Work in progress).

Career

Try and obtain one new client a week: B

As I joined the workforce, this became less important, however I was very pro-active in my networking and connecting with people in 2007.

Leverage on my experience with RSPCA: A

My experience with RSPCA and in particular sparked my interest in Internet Marketing and making it my primary skill function.

Look toward working with MSIT, QUT, NRAand modaitalia for fashion work: A-

The NRA fashion awards are being held in 2008, probably because of media coverage restrictions which meant I didn’t cover it.

Learn to really chase leads – eg. Phone up exisiting clients and get contacts for new ones: B+

Logistically this was not entirely feasible as it required a heck of a lot of time to fulfill. I did however learn some amazing ways to automatically chase leads, and have the leads come to me, pre-qualified and ready to buy.

Be really organised as I would expect from any other business: C

Similar to some of my other goal reviews, I did this really well at the start of the year, but as I took on more responsibility, I diminished significantly. One of the my mentors who really helped with this was Brian Tracy.

I’m going to have some pictures and some stats on baby “Robert” soon… ok? haha stats…

UPDATE: Here are the Baby Photos of baby Robbie on the night of his birth. Weighing in at 8 pound 7, and born at Sunnybank Private Hospital, Robbie was born 2 weeks early.

A couple of weekends ago I had a new roommate move in (Roxy), and I had to make room and basically cull a whole bunch of stuff that was wasting space. I have a accumulated a lot of things since running a home business for 6 years, and hoarding a lot of “might-come-in-handy-one-day” items.

One of the boxes I threw out was a box full of trophies and medals that I had won as a teenager. Mostly from my junior Australian football and school athletics endeavours. A lot of these awards are in excess of 10 years old and have been in a box deteriorating and getting damaged after each move. They have never been on display in my home, i suppose i never thought I needed to- I know i achieved those things, and so did my family…

Since the start of my personal development journey about 18months ago, I’ve slowly become more interested in the journey of life as opposed to the outcomes. It’s seems like such a straight forward and responsible thing to “just do”, but you really have to learn to enjoy learning and enjoy new journeys. So, what probably 2 years ago would have been a tough decision to throw out 10 years of awards for things I worked really hard at, I found that when I saw that dusty box sitting there, it was a “no brainer” for me. These physical items had to go. And that definitely didn’t mean I had to erase them from my brain.

So… To the tip!

I took a photo, just so I have that as a reminder and as a story telling reference for my kids and grand kids…. “Oh look son, here is a picture some awards I won when we used to go outside to play sport!”

I played “aussie rules” for 10 years consecutively from age 8-18. After a year or so off from competition, I returned to play Seniors at Logan Cobras. My first year back was great, played some pretty good footy, but the year after it started to go a bit downhill. I am glad though that Dad got to see me play seniors, its a big step up from playing juniors, and after years of encouragement and coaching, I’m sure he would have been proud.

There is only one thing that I’d love to do in football for me, and that’s play with my brother Ellery. Now Ellery is a bit of a gun, and he’s fairly fit which means that we aren’t in the same league, but I’m gonna try and talk him into playing 9-a-side with me. It’s a bit below his level, but should be fun nonetheless.

Anyways, I’m a bit sore, but it was great getting the blood pumping out on the field again.

The end. or is it?

No it’s not the end, i’m playing again next wednesday. derr…

Photo taken at my 21st birthday, June 2001.

I have so many memories about my Dad that I obviously can’t say all of here. What I will say about my Dad, and about my parents in general, is that they always helped me with every opportunity in life. Regardless of what I wanted to do, they always supported me.

After years of being in the Greyhound racing industry in Australia as a trainer, steward, radio announcer and grader, he left a life which would have made his father before him extremely proud, to pursue his own dreams of starting his own business (Bowman Video Productions)

Just to give you a run down of some of Dad’s other achievements:

* Was a Journalist with Melbourne newspaper The Age
* Was a Newsreader/Sports Announcer with Gold Coast radio 97.2MW
* Sports (VFL & QAFL Football, Greyhound) Column writer for Gold Coast Bulletin & Brisbane’s Courier Mail
* Level 2 Australian Rules football coach – Coached juniors between 1988-1993 at Logan City Cobras & Mt Gravatt Vultures.

Starting a wedding video business in 1992, Dad now found his new passion and was getting paid for it. After a rocky start, lots of techinical problems and a very steep learning curve to the professional arena, Bowman Video Productions was born. As a young teenager, I was always interested in what Dad was up to, I went to all the trade shows, technical exhibitions and product launches which Dad had to attend to get up to speed.

Going into high school as a bony 13-year-old, Dad always trusted and appreciated my comments and opinions about the venture and particularly about the technical aspect of the business. I spent long hours studying video cameras, techniques and processes to help my Dad with his endeavours. Now, any other kid would never be so involved, but Dad always welcomed my input and I also appreciated that he let me also live my own life. This was also the last year dad coached football.

eing a Victorian, Dad was always a fanatical AFL football supporter. Originally following the Melbourne Demons, his new team would be the Brisbane Bears who are now the Brisbane Lions. As a founding supporter of the new club in Qld, Dad and I went to every practice match before the start of the club’s new venture. We then proceeded to go to every match that was played at Carrara. I remember when the lights were first installed… They still look out of place compared to the size of the stadium! The Bears would become almost an embarassment of the sport, a team full of veterans who were well past their peak of excellence. Owned by the late Chistopher Skase, the club was always embroiled with controversy on and off the field. It just goes to show that money can’t buy everything in life, not even success on a football field.

Dad was finally rewarded for all his passion for the club as the the lions made it to their first ever grand final which was to the be the first of four consecutive grand finals and the first of three premiership flags. One of my biggest regrets was not being there to see my dad’s face when the final siren went to signal the victory over Essendon at the MCG in 2001.

Always wanting to make my parents proud, I always excelled in things that I did. Whether it was on the football field, in Athletics or at school, I was a bit of an over achiever. Having partly an asian background, I also felt the need to give as little excuses for kids to tease me for not being born in Australia (I was originally born in the philippines). I did this by being the best in everything I did. I didn’t know this at the time, but looking back on it now, I believe it was always a subconscious motivator. I represented both Brisbane and the Gold coast in junior football, I represented my school, district and region at state athletic carnivals. I was also general all-rounder at school and towards the end of my high-schooling won a prestigious award for excellence in art.

During all of these achievements, both Mum and Dad were there to support me, whatever i needed. They trusted my judgement in terms of necessary equipment, training and coaching. They always made themselves available for big events and to drop me to and pick me up from training. Of course there were a few times that I took advantage of my power like suggesting I needed “Nike” running spikes instead the cheaper “Puma” ones- but it was with these “Nike” spikes that I set a new school record for the 200m dash. Mum and Dad always trusted my judgement in life, even now mum trusts me with my new endeavours with business.

I’ve never really spoken to many people about the day my dad died and I think i’ve never really let myself think about it too much the years afterwards. I always kept myself busy enough to not have time to let myself mourn properly. I thought that If keep my head down and work hard, that when I come up for air the world will be fixed of this sad tragedy.

Unfortunately for me and the people closest to me, not going through the motions as maybe my other siblings may have, it was only this year that I’ve given myself the opportunity to embrace my thoughts and emotions of my father’s death. Up until now, I don’t think that i’ve opened up to myself and to others and I think it was because I wasn’t ready for it previously.

I first found out about Dad’s death on the telephone whilst I was at Hayden’s 21st birthday bbq at his parent’s place. I remember the drive home as being the start of a long road ahead of uncertainty. On the radio was the Robbie Williams song “Better Man” and ever since it’s always struck a chord inside which reminds me of the drive home and of the sadness of the whole year Dad was sick.

I’ve always taken that song as a reference to the struggles that my Dad endured during his fight against cancer, but I’ve also taken it as a reference to my own struggles in life. Not knowing the road ahead, meant that I always felt that I can’t control what may appear in front of me. Becoming a “Better Man” becomes extremely difficult to learn if the only man that looked up to was no longer around. I really do want to be a better man and it is only now that I realise that to become a man and to be mature, responsible, respectful and all the other traits that a man has, that you have to commit yourself to living life. Unless you consciously do that, I don’t believe you can be all of those things and appreciate what life has to offer. Being a man means you deserve life because are commited to living it, regardless of past events or the expectation of good or bad things which may yet occur.

I’ve heard lots of stories from some of my female friends who have been through some really tough relationships with guys, and more often than not, I attribute these wrong doings to immaturity. Guys that do things like, “He rang me up drunk and was saying all this shit”, or “He got angry at me for asking him why he didn’t want to do this” or even “He has been going through my phone and emails” etc. These are typical examples of immaturity. A mature person knows and understands that people have their own lives and everything doesn’t revolve around them. These people do not know their place on earth which means they cannot know their place in a relationship. I have behaved like this in the past, but I’ve learnt my lessons in this regard.

I read an article about Gary Neiwand, the former Olympic cyclist who was given a suspended jail sentence for stalking his ex-wife but then put into jail for breaking an intervention order that a new ex-lover had put on him for stalking her. Apparently he did things like shout sexually explicit abuse to his ex-wife in front of children at the primary school she taught at, but also sent sms messages to his ex-lover’s boss saying things like, “she’s a slut” and things like that. This 40 year old person, regardless of age, phsyical build or life achievement is not a man. He is a boy in a man’s body. A man would not only know not to do those things to his ex-wife, but also would have at least learnt from the mistakes made and not continued the same behaviour with a new lover.

Over the last year I’ve been through quite a lot, and I think i’ve experienced some real “lows” in my life. At times that I thought that all hope was lost, there was always a small sparkle to let know that there is light at the end of the tunnel. I’ve always been a big opportunist, where if I saw something that I truly believe could be an opportunity to reach new heights in my life, I would focus and direct myself towards it. My whole career is based on opportunities I created. These lows in life really affected me this year, but there was always seemed to be an opportunity that arose around the corner. This leads me to believe that I couldn’t be who I am without experiencing those lows. It seemed so much easier at the time to be negative during those periods of my life, but looking back on it all, I’m glad I perceviered. Through a lot of the things I’m doing now didn’t always seem possible back then.

I hear lots of stories and read biographies on people who time after time always respond when asked, “When did you know you knew this is what you wanted to do in life?”, usually it occurs just after a significant event or emotional low in their lives. This has been typical for me thus far in life.

This year, i’ve learnt more than I’ve ever learnt in a single year and I’m no longer going to university. I truly believe that before we can learn about the specifics of life, we need to learn about life itself. I started my journey in learning more about life by learning about myself.

I went through a phase of learning how to pick up chicks, I read biographies, self-help books and watched dvd’s etc to get over an ex-girlfriend and wanting to be more attractive to women. The one thing that I learnt from all of it is to learn to be yourself and enjoy life. Women are extremely responsive to people who are confident, fun and outgoing. Unfortunately you cannot fake that, no pick-up line, or technique can make you become those things. You need to BE those things, girls can pick up on pretenders without even meeting you.

If ever you’ve been in a situation where your life seems to be so good but something still seems missing, usually it has to do with your family, personal relationships and finance. You can have the rest of your life perfect but if any one of those is not in order, it affects the rest of your life quite significantly.

I now mark this day as the first day of the rest of my life. There are new chapters being opened and even my mum and siblings are also opening a new page as we look forward to moving on in life. I now have the tools and level of understanding of my own being and of life to become a “Better Man”.

On her first date, apparently the guy paid for everything. I didn’t pry into what happened at the end of the night, but I did overhear her say that she did hook up with him and then revealed how he seemed “pissed off” that she was going to stay at a friends house after the second date instead of staying with him.

There seems to be an old stereotype that a girl is the “princess” and the guy is the “knight in shining armour” and he should do EVERYTHING to appease her. Times have changed, but this stereotype still exists. This applies to dating at all levels, whether it be a first date, out at the clubs or in a relationship. Women are more independant, and have much more expectations on guys. This is not a guy vs girl post but instead just a friendly observation from a guy, I can’t tell a girl what she wants or say in general what ALL girls want because everyone is different. This is just my view on this particular situation.

On dates that I’ve been on recently (as much as I can), I only pay for my half of the bill. Now this obviously can be flexible. For example, If we are going to do the boring dinner+movie combo, then I will then propose that I will pay for the dinner and she can pay for the movie. Sure i’m probably down a few dollars, but its not about exact figures, but more to do with both having input of some sort. There are no expectations on neither of us to put out, nor is there any expectations to even see each other again. Neither of us have invested more time or input than the other and ff we don’t see each other again then its no biggy. We aren’t going to feel gyped from paying for everything. Life continues. Next!

Now when I discussed my opinion on this, I then said, “you are probably looking for an old fashion guy”. She then replied with an emphatic “Yes, I would love an old fashion guy”. But really, i didn’t really believe this as an old fashion guy will have old fashion beliefs, whether it be that girls belong in the kitchen, they shouldn’t work, they should just take care of the kids and stay at home. Now i’m not going to enter the discussion about full time mums, because thats a full time job in its own but my point is that it’s one of the beliefs of an old fashioned guy. After telling her my views on this, she understood my position but i sensed she felt I didn’t understand hers. Fair enough, i’m a guy.

I then said, its like when guys buy drinks for girls at a club, they are doing it to hook up with you, well thats what most girls i’ve me think. This girl that I was discussig this with then said “oh no, thats totally different”. It was really hard to stomach this. I mean why is it so different and why can’t it be possible for it to be the same? If they think a guy coming up to them in a club to buy them a drink wants to get into their pants, why don’t they think it on a date? Do guys suddenly stop thinking about sex when they are sober? Or is it just less obvious for the girls? Either way, paying for a drink or a date, leaves elements of expectation in the air. In this girls situation, he paid for the first date and there was an undiscussed expectation on her to pay for the second. It wasn’t discussed beforehand, what if for example the girl didn’t have the money to pay for both and they guy didn’t have enough for himself? What happens then?

Most girls that i’ve discussed buying drinks at clubs even say how they take advantage of it. A lot of girls don’t but some do. I’ve actually been in a situation at a club where i was with a couple of girls and they were getting some guy to buy them shots, and they were siphoning them to me. Apparently on the night, this guy went to them and said “hey girls, can i buy you girls a drink? I just got a big payout and I think you girls are pretty hot”. This guy was a loser and whilst he may have been asking to be taken advantage of, the girls didn’t care. I could see this from the other side.

I’m sure some girls may find a guy buying them a drink at a club to be sweet, but really, how many guys will do that a club, typically more than one if your are an attractive woman. Any guy that does that is just putting himself in the “like every other guy” catagory, regardless of their best intentions. I think an attractive woman would be much more interested in something different. “he bought me a drink at a nightclub” isn’t the best of “how we met” stories told at weddings. I’ve actually gone up to girls to get them to buy ME a drink. It’s different and it’s TOTALLY against ALL stereotypes. Of course I buy her next drink, but my first step isn’t to buy a girl something, its getting her attention. Usually it ends up to be a great night for both parties and usually I will connect better with a girl that doesn’t follow stereotypes and she will appreciate someone different, bold and confident.

The poll for this week is “Who should pay for dinner on a first date?”, please vote! Last weeks poll was a 5 to 2 victory to “yes” david tench should be axed.

If my hair smells like smoke, it will take me twice as long to shower as I usually have to wash my hair twice. Also, my jeans will need to go in the wash if I want to wear them again the following night. If every weekend that I go out, i wash my hair twice and put on a load just to wash my jeans, I’ll be consuming more water than is necessary.

If someone was to work this all out there would be a significant saving across the state each year. Just imagine how much water I use for the extra 3 mins it takes for to wash my hair twice, and how much extra water i use just to put on the smallest load to wash jeans. If a large number of people, in my demographic, does this once a fortnight each year, then these new smoking laws are helping more than just our lungs. Brisbane and Logan are on a level 3 water restriction which is a total ban on outdoor hosing.

From the Queensland Government Tobacco Laws web page:

Indoor Smoking Bans
The whole enclosed area of liquor licensed premises must be no-smoking.

Poker Machines
All poker machines at a liquor licensed premises must be no-smoking.

Outdoor Smoking Bans
Non-enclosed eating and drinking areas where food or drink is provided as part of a business, must be no-smoking.

Pubs, clubs and casinos may set aside Designated Outdoor Smoking Areas where only smoking and drinking can occur. These areas must be under the control of a Smoking Management Plan for the venue.

Tagline
Things fall down. People look up. And when it rains, it pours.

To summarise, this movie is a deep portrayal of the lives of multiple characters. Somehow they get intertwined, but not made to appear so for the entertainment of a movie.

There are no big twists to make you turn but instead a development of understanding of the lives of these characters being focused on. As the tagline suggests, things happen, and sometimes not for any particular reason but sometimes they do.

Lots of other movies that i’ve seen where there appears to be a build up towards a grand climax, is done to give an ending twist- which then renders the movie viewable only once with the same eyes, if that makes sense. I don’t think the sixth sense can be watched with the same eyes the second time.

In Magnolia we see the development of stories which build toward a grand climax. Magnolia differs from others however as whilst some of the points of interest are predicatable, the suspense is in how we see characters in the movie react to these moments not a revelation in storyline.

The acting and direction is in a perfect blend with the setting and content. We feel the pain, the happiness and the relief of those on screen. Movies where you want to see the reaction of characters to revelation in storyline appear with great emotion and understanding, we never feel left out.

I originally hired this film after hearing about Tom Cruise’s roll as Frank Mackey who is a basically the  a “woman tamer” and god amongst men who don’t know how to play the game of getting to bed with women.

Cruise plays a character in only one story of several that this movie tells. His acting and emotion in this film is well deserved of his golden globe award.

Whilst this movie is quite deep in the way things intertwine, try not to think too hard about the background as you will miss the importance of the foreground. One hint, this movie isn’t cut up in different time sections, it is a story of one particular period of time displayed from start to finish.

I’ll try not to spoil this for you, but I do want to say, this 3 hour feature film is definately worth watching, keep a night free to watch it at your own lesuire. Don’t ruin being moved by a brillant film by watching it during conversation or before u go out on a night in the town.

The climax of this movie will display and event that is very out of place and i beleive was put in to make us just realise that some things happen, for no apparent reason- some need to be recognised throughly and some should just be left as a past event.

There is something there for all of us to take away, and for me personally, it has made me realise that saying that you regret something is not a bad thing to say. I’ve always thought regret is a waste as you don’t take decisions made and make something good out of them. But for some things, there is no good that comes out of it and i suppose we need to all acknowledge that these things happen. We can’t do anything more about them now and it’s ok to recognise what we have done wrong in the past regardless of our current situation.

Nobody is perfect and to say we regret decisions made is ok, as long as we recognise bad decisions as bad things and not always as “it was for the best”. It’s not about dwelling about the past, but more about recognition of something that was wrong and giving it the true recognition it deserves- especially if it has affected others you love.

The big quote from this movie is “We may be through with the past, but the past ain’t through with us”

This review has also been submitted to imdb.com