Hamilton Island Caretaker... Long Shot ?

I like to take my a chance on a long shot every now and then. A long shot could be many things. It can be as simple as buying a lottery ticket or something more challenging like hitting it big with a start up company or asking out a woman who's way out of my league. Long shots rarely come through but on occasion they do. Like the time I was the 8th caller on 101 KLOL Fm and won a copy of Ted Nugents "Cat Scratch Fever"!

I once knew a guy who was in Vegas for a bicycle trade show. He was not one to gamble but felt inclined to slip a dollar into a cool looking slot machine. He chose to take a chance on a long shot. He inserted his money and pulled the arm. The dials stopped rolling one by one and the machine went crazy. Lights, bells, etc. etc... An attendent ran over and informed him that he had won $250,000.00 dollars ! They then invited him to stay at the hotel and put him up in a suite. He was given free meals and tickets to a show. They tried to intice him to gamble some more but he knew better and left Vegas with the 250 Grand. Now that's what I call a long shot coming through!

One of the long shots I've put little time into is the Reality show phenomenon. I've auditioned for 3 different shows and never got past the 1st cut. I'm convinced that very few people get on reality shows through open casting calls. A few do but most I believe are placed through casting agencies and/or by knowing someone on the inside. Regardless, you never really know and people do come out of nowhere to be offered a great opportunity... So, when I heard about a publicity stunt to popularize Queensland Australia's Great Barrier Reef it caught my interest. It's a 6 month caretaking job on Hamilton Island that's gotten a lot of international attention. The job consists of maintaining a residential property, exploring the islands and blogging about it. Given my years of outdoor experience, love of the ocean, multifaceted skills and complete comfort of being out and about for extended periods of time, I'm ideally suited for the position. This is one job that I'm totally qualified for so maybe it's not as much of a long shot as may be presumed. After all, I think they only have about 30 or 40,000 applicants !?!?!? The application process is very simple. Shoot an entertaining video that does not exceed 60 seconds. Here's my video: Hamilton Island Application Video . The video is quite simple. I know from past experience that simple audition videos often do as well as professionally done major productions. The main thing is to be yourself in order to allow whoever is watching to see who you really are. Hopefully I'll come off as someone of interest. It's the first impression thing I guess...Yep, It's a long shot, but hey, someone's going to get the job....Might as well be me..

The Palm Tree photo was taken while I walked along a beach on the Island of Culebra near Puerto Rico...

Too Serious ? That's not Healthy !

Ordinary life can become dull and routine if one allows it to. Lately I've been very busy running around dealing with the nuts an bolts of regularness. This has been getting in the way of other goals in my desire to pursue more creative interests. It's no wonder why so many artists live a menial life in pursuit of their creative dreams. Simply making money and getting caught up in the left brain analytics of doing so can REALLY be distracting. For creative types doing what one loves may very well lead to the money not following. For better or worse we all need money to some extent. That's just the way it is. I can see the appeal of the corporate path. It's really quite simple as long as one works hard and plays the game. Step by step and up the ladder one goes. It's all laid out more or less. It's safe and offers the best chance for success and security. For those of us who prefer a more independent and/or entrepeneural like path, it's a bit more complicated. I've sampled the corporate life and it's not my cup of tea therefore I've been dealt a riddle. The Joker gets the best of me sometimes. So, when I found out about a 4 week comedy writing workshop that starts next week it made perfect sense that I should sign up, so, I did. Things have been a little too serious lately and that's not healthy....

San Jacinto Monument - Texas

Before Texas was part of the Estatos Unidos it was part of Mexico. I often joke that Mexico is steadily taking back Texas with so many of them immigrating. Considering Mexico's crime, corruption, and economy I don't blame Mexicans for wanting to move to the states. I like the Mexican people and with so much Spanish spoken in Houston I seem to be picking up on the language little by little just by listening to them talk. Not to mention their style of Tex Mex cooking is loved by all...

Everyone has heard of the Alamo and how Santa Ana defeated approximately 300 Texans with his large force of 5,000 soldiers. What people may be less familiar with is how Sam Houston defeated Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836. To make a long story short Sam Houston devised a plan to sneak up on Santa Anna and his troops (approximately 1,400 at the time) while they were taking an afternoon siesta next to the San Jacinto River just east of what is now the City of Houston. Sure enough they were caught off guard and very surprised. Santa Anna, also known as Napoleon of the West, ditched his flamboyant uniform and escaped. After about 2o min of fighting the battle was over and the Texans had won. Santa Anna's army saw approximately 600 casualties with a couple of hundred wounded. The rest were taken as prisoners. Santa Anna didn't get far before being captured. Shortly thereafter he signed a treaty to withdraw his troops form Texas in exchange for safe passed back to Mexico. By that time the Mexican Government was pretty disgusted with Santa Anna's defeat which rendered him powerless. Texas then became an independent republic until 1845 when it joined the United States...

The actual battle ground is located near the confluence of Buffalo Bayou and the San Jacinto River. Now a part of the Houston Ship Channel. As a bird flies it's located about 20 miles or so directly east of downtown Houston. The area is preserved as an historical park and a very impressive 570 foot obelisk monument, with reflection pool, is built upon the grounds. It's surrounded by open space and protected grasslands. I haven't visited the monument is years so last week I decided to check it out...

There are a couple of different ways to access the San Jacinto Monument. I chose to take the path relative to the times of the San Jacinto Battle. This involved driving about 20 miles east on interstate 10 before exiting for a short drive south to catch the Lynchburg Ferry. The ferry first started running in 1822 and has been operating steadily since 1888. It's a small boat that offers a quick 5 minute trip across the San Jacinto River. From there you can seen the great monument. After the crossing it's a short drive to the actual grounds. Once there I gazed upon the reflection pond, rode the elevator to the top to observe the view, then took a short stroll amidst the grassland reserve upon a boardwalk. I found it to be a very pleasant and interesting place to visit. The sunny 70 degree weather made it especially nice. I've included a few photos of my visit..