Back home in NYC

To make a long story short, things in Hong Kong did not turn out as hoped and my stay there was cut short at my request. There was a lack of motion work wise and communication was choppy on a cultural and professional level. I had gone to Hong Kong with the intention of exploring a new modeling market and gambled on coming home with a profit. My excitement to go over seas whilst bypassing acquiring a mother agency in NY was the catalyst for a premature and apparently specious espousal with the management company whom I had enlisted to market me to the potentially beneficial work opportunities Caucasian models encounter during stints in Asia.

Business aside my travels to and through Hong Kong will forever remain a beautiful memory of adventure. The trip did not change me as a person, I was merely exposed to realities which only present them selves once we remove ourselves from situations and look in retrospect with appreciation of what we had. I learned that NY is the fountain of youth and that there are very few places in the world with as much energy and opportunity. Why would anyone with ambition and entrepreneurial drive to create and succeed be in a city any less?

The Boat Trip

Hong Kong differs from NY obviously in many ways but to me the most appreciated difference I've encountered is the fact that in an hours commute you can be in exotically remote areas scattered along rocky shore lines with jungle esque vegetation. I've hiked to a few of these locations but recently was invited to go on a boat trip which Hong Kongers refer to as a Junk trip. These trips bring you and a crew of like minded folks out for a day to anchor at a serene beach location where you've got a few options for activities throughout the day.

We met in Sai Kung (the village I had ended my first hike in Hong Kong in) and departed at about 9 am. The owner of my agency introduced me to Jocelyn and she was kind enough to invite me on this excursion with a few of her friends as well as a few of her friends friends. We all made our introductions and boarded the vessel, a large boat about 40 feet long with ample space to relax towed a smaller motor boat which was to be used for wakeboarding and banana boating once we arrived at our desired anchoring spot, and we were off.

After just about a half an hour we pulled up to an isolated white sand beach and the anchor was dropped. The first batch of guys boarded the motor boat and went off for wake boarding while everyone else jumped in the sea with a plethora of floaty noodles and a few beers then headed for the beach. It was really great; the people I had just met were all very cool and from such different backgrounds, the location was unlike anywhere I'd ever been, and the schedule of the day was flawless (chill on a boat or on the beach, eat, drink, and be merry). I fantasized about running such an operation; purchasing an old fishing boat somewhere in South America or some random Asian country and bringing out travelers or business folk on my ship wishing to forget about their lives for a day and providing them their temporary venue to do just that. The day dream was brief but I made a mental note to revisit the thought as it seemed promising. The day was packed with good conversation (with good people), decent food, and an overall highly entertaining day. As with any event where the alcohol starts to flow before noon my conciousness faded and in no time I was buying folks shots at a pub playing billiards getting black out drunk-Good times in Hong Kong.

The hike over the ridge...

I was told that my beginning month in Hong Kong would be slow so to counter boredom

and quench my thirst for exploration I've ventured to a few surreal locations. I live

in Ma On Shan and there is a "Country Park" about 15 minutes from my hotel. The first

day I went there I really was not sure how to get there. I mean it's relatively

obvious being that there's a giant mountain range staring you in the face everytime

you walk in my area but to find the trail itself took a bit of navigating.

I found the "family area/BBQ area" and discovered a large map. It showed a mix of

lines going this way and that way but I really didn't know where I ought to go for my

first adventure so I kept it simple and took the road. You can follow a paved road

about the width of one car a pretty good distance, about an hours walk. The road

brings you through some dense vegetation, wild sounding birds, and what felt like an

endless climb. I came to a fork in the road (doesn't that sound so unoriginal?) and

the signs were in Chinese so I opted to go right, I snapped a photo as a guide for my

return back to this point should I have needed to turn around and made it to a

"squatter village".

I Immediately thought to myself how similar this looked to some places I've seen in

Mexico. The "houses" were very make shift either with concrete walls or other

materials bound together to keep the elements out and everyone had fences around their

patio areas where clothes were hung after being cleaned. The walkways through the

village were a maze of walls (with an occasional window I'd peer into to see how cozy

these shacks could be) and I felt that I could have kept walking deeper and deeper but

opted to take a few photos and carry on with my original intentions of summitting the

ridge I had seen and walked towards earlier in the day.

The fork in the road where I was originally puzzled by the Chinese symbols was less

intimidating since I now knew which way was "up". I carried on and eventually the road

got rougher before ceasing to exist as its concrete caterpillar and blossomed into the

butterfly of a (real) trail I was longing for. I completely appreciate having roads

and accessability to beautiful places for those who physically cannot bring themselves

to the gorgeous spots (like the road up Mount Washington in New Hampshire) but at a

certain point I also appreciate being places only accessible to those who push

themselves to their physical extremes (like Mount Everest). I took my pack off, drank

some water, had a handfull of cashews and prepared myself for whatever lay ahead.

Dense bamboo occasionally lined the path which eventually felt more like a natural

staircase than a walking trail and I was a bit disappointed not to be able to see very

far into the growth since I had been listening to some wild sounding birds and wished

to see them. I hiked up appreciating the infrequent openings through the trees which

permitted me faint views of the tall buildings where my hotel was located making the

increase of my elevation blatant. Again, I came upon a sign but this time it was

written not in Chinese characters but still in Chinese and I opted to hike to a town

rather than to summit the Mountain I had been tempted to after studying the map

earlier in the day.

The scenery went from dense forest to somewhat of an open field with rolling hills.

This was exciting for me because at this point I could no longer see any sign of

civilization other than a trail which was well travelled. After twenty minutes of

this, the awe wore off and I was reminded how brutally hot the sun was now with no

trees to protect me from the direct rays of heat. One last sense of excitement was

given to me that day when I saw the trail headed towards a ridge where I could see no

mountains beyond its top. From my past experiences I knew that this meant I would be

getting a lovely view. My pace increased until I made it to that spot and my

assumption was proven to be correct. I could have cried at the beauty, this was a

setting which I never had fathomed I would be viewing in person. Miles ahead of me was

a sea littered with small islands with abruptly climbing hills from their shores and

hundreds of yachts and sail boats accenting the natural beauty of this view like the

stars around the moon on a clear night. Everything in my vision right then was

flawlessly beautiful.

I checked the time and it was only 10 am so after examining the town on the shore line

I had just been flabbergasted by I decided to walk to it. I made it down through the

thick forest and entered what appeared to be the wealthy area of this town. There were

large properties with convertible euro cars parked out front and comfortable vibes,

this was a place I could see myself settling in many many years. I was not sure how to

get to the water but it was relatively easy considering all I had to do was walk down

hill and assumed once it got flat that it would be obvious where to go. Again, my

assumption was validated and I found myself on the sidewalk of the towns center

dripping with sweat but completely satisfied with my trek. I had no intention of

backtracking that trail so I asked a British woman where the bus station was so I

could confirm that I would be bussing out of this town rather than hitch hiking.

The town of Sai Kung is obviously a fishing/boating location and the restaurants

lining the water boast gigantic tanks showcasing the freshest seafood from the fishing

boats. These were the epitome of seafood dining establishments and I was thrilled to

be staring into tanks at creatures I had no idea of what they were and how they may

taste. It was about lunch time and I was starving so I, like any legitimate American

dismissed the notion of consuming this what appeared to be magnificent seafood before

my eyes and ordered a pizza and a cocktail. The bus ride home was brief and I was a

happy boy...

Ok Ok... I need to BLOG more

Now two weeks a resident of Hong Kong it has dawned on me that my adjustment to the

new land has distracted me from my writings and that an update was necessary. I live

in a hotel with two bedrooms, a living room, and a kitchenette. There's a bathroom

with shower and I suppose it has everything one could need to survive here minus

cooking pots and pans. There is a pool, small gym, and computer room with 3 computers

that you can usually use as you please. The best part of the hotel is the shuttle bus

to the MTR (subway) stations.

The neighborhood I live in is mostly Chinese speaking persons with the occasional

European which is a nice change of scenery from my place in Brooklyn. Rather than

seeing hacidic jews walking around my abode there are loads of elderly chinese and

children. Also, I live right on a sea which is surrounded by mountains so I constantly

have this feeling of being in some exotic land, a place I once saw on the national

geographic channel or in travel advertisements and wished that I were there. But I

don't have the mentality of a tourist, I have a pressing fear that I owe someone loads

of money if I don't acquire enough work and it's a shame because I feel that in years

I will look back and say it wasn't so bad...

Hong Kong

It's July and I now live in Hong Kong. Surprised? Events in life don't really surprise me any more I just accept them as part of the innevitable spectrum of good and bad and strive to cherish the good since we never know when those "bad" times will arrive. I am here in HK on a 3 month model contract working with a management company and freelancing with local agencies. The deal I have is that I was fronted the money to cover flight, lodging, and living expenses in exchange for my reimbursing my financier upon departure from Hong Kong as well as allowing their 40% cut from any and all jobs I acquire here as a model.

Paying Dues

I started catering alot. Tonight we were called in for 4pm to a mosaic tile showroom. The event went for 3 hours but did not start until 6pm. Set up was easy, service bar for champagne and oj while on the other side of the showroom the kitchen prepped to pump out sweet pea and ricotta on crackers, Grilled cheddar with pickle, and asparagrus cheesy puffs as needed through the night. The guys I was working with were the regular group I was teamed with so I knew operation would run smoothly.

The night did conclude with little interruptions and that's been the pattern for the past few weeks. 2 to 3 nights a week dedicated to late nights of dealing with the pompous, pretentious, scavenging populous whom attend the events I serve at. Every beginning to my nights as a caterer tensions exude into my muscles as the thought of the what appear and act to be famined and desperate for food guests to the event huddle around the exit of the kitchen area awaiting our platters of finger foods like lions around a cave entrance with a wounded puppy that has a really sad (cry for me) look on its face hiding inside. There was one group of older women who were beyond curvy that after I stopped going over to where they were sitting to serve them they laid down napkins on the speaker which was directly in front of the door where we exit to begin to serve guests at the party and would surround each guy who came out with a platter taking two or 3 hors duerves at a time. We had to begin to come up through the elevators and emergency exits because the guests were hoarding entry points for the food. We were like wounded chipmunks attempting to feed our babies amidst a forest of rabid cats with heat sensing night vision. I cater and work as often as possible because (it brings me to unique places around NYC AND) I've decided that if my modeling career is to move forward I must travel overseas to explore different opportunities for success. My goal is to be living in another country by July.

(Second floor of a house party I worked at; yes thats a pool, yes thats a dude in a canoe with a captains cap, and yes those are some triply visuals)

"every day I'm hustling"

Fast forward to May 14th. I wake up at 8 am and consume a large amount of cooked egg whites. The day prior, Friday the 13th, I had found a posting on Craigslist titled "real models for T shirt Look Book". I noticed that the shoot was scheduled to be in my neighborhood so I said to myself- why turn it down. Compensation was low but I got a free t shirt out of it as well and it was literally a five minute walk after I had crawled out of bed.

The folks I worked with ended up having a huge apartment and we shot the photos on the roof. My co-models were a DJ from Park Slope, a world traveler/dermatologist, and a variety of other regular people from the area. We shot about 5 t shirts then the DJ and I were cut so we could tend to other obligations the day had in hand for us.

I headed back to my place but dropped into the mini market for milk, a ramen noodles packet, and a can of Dinty Moore Beef Stew. When I got in I made a bowl of cocoa puffs with protein mix, watched some of "The Beast", and then consumed my ramen and beef stew. The reason I ate so much was because I knew I had a long day ahead of me and was trying not to spend any more money that day.

My next assignment for the day was to meet with a Korean coffee company's marketing team for a quick photo shoot in Times Square. There were 10 regular people models including myself (ouch), the Korean photographers, and others who were employed at the office we gathered in initially. We were handed branded shirts, berets, and aprons before walking outdoors and suited up. The official American team for Caffe Bene, Koreas attack against Starbucks.

We lined up in front of the infamous stairs and took a few shots with a large sign for the coffee shop and held a few coffee cups for variety. After the Koreans were content with our performance I stripped myself of the ridiculous outfit and signed for my compensation. Good ol' cash money...

I continued the busy rhythm of my day by hitting the gym for a few hours before my next and last job. It was a weak session as my motivation was minimal but it felt to be the best way to kill time before heading to the birthday party I was to barbecue at. I sat in the sauna, showered, then hit the train to make the commute.

Upon arrival I met up with another model whom I had worked with at an event a week or two ago. We were contacted by a designer that we had shot together with and he wanted to know if we'd bar tend and serve food at his relatives event. I told him that we were in no way professionals but that we had experience in the service industry and were pretty sure that we could handle his requested tasks. So from that gathering a guest asked us to provide the same service at her upcoming birthday party. We agreed and this was our arrival to the mentioned party.

Two older women were celebrating their birthdays together and fortunately for them they were neighbors and had connecting outdoor areas on the 3rd floor of the high rise their places were in. There were already people partying when we arrived and Frank the other model was put on the bar so I hit the grills to see what I was working with. 3 charcoal barbecue grills = a dream come true. One of the birthday girls showed me what was on the menu and I threw some marinated chicken legs and thighs as well as a big slab of beef which I didn't catch the name of. The smell was flawless because they had purchased bags of wood charcoal and the seasoning of the meat was dripping down so it was the epitome of a BBQ smell.

Coinciding with the grilling both birthday girls had their ovens on and were cooking spinach triangles and mini broccoli and cheese quiches for the guests to snack on. So I was running back and forth between apartments making sure 3 full racks of heur deurves per oven were cooked perfectly, a little stressful but fortunately the hostesses were really laid back and helped out when they could.

The guests were getting the munchies and were going through my bbq goodies almost as quickly as I was cooking them. Being on an elevated patio the wind significantly fueled the coals causing almost too much heat in the grills. This caused me to have to constantly tend to the meat so the outside did not blacken. At the end of the night the party goers were content with the food. I made a fillet for the hostess and her first word was "amazing". My boy Frank handled the bar like a champ and we ended up getting tipped out from that.

We stayed longer than anticipated and our hostess did not compensate legitimately for this but I just said "fuck it". We got her event through another event so maybe one will come from this. I made a G&T for the road and made it back to my place a little past 4 am...