Day 343 - Time flies!
I can’t believe I didn’t write for over 100 days. I swear they completely flew by. It didn’t help that I was out of the country for a majority of it, but really it’s no excuse. I am not going to give up on this project, I started it and still want to make something out of it. There is still over 150 days left, I think I can make something happen.
The real obstacle is school. I’m full time at Simon Fraser U. now in the Health Sciences program. It is going to be a challenge to produce something that has value while at the same time not spending too much of my time on it.
A lot of things occurred lately, that sparked me to write. I saw Marica the other night. I really only see her maybe every other month now. That is just something that couldn’t be foreseen. Had I known that our paths would turn out so different, maybe I would have went with a different plan. Nonetheless, she is doing excellent, looks great, and seems generally happy. It was nice to see her.
I’ve also had many people ask me about the project in general. I wish I had better answers for them, other than, “I’ve been on a hiatus.” It sucks you know. To set a goal and just feel like you have no answers as to how to reach it.
One thing that has really changed in the world in the last 300+ days, is MySpace vs. Facebook. Facebook is huge now, and may have a better chance to help me spread my ideas and thoughts. I hope I can set something in motion before New Year’s Day.
Rick
Day 217 - So what’s new with you?
It’s really hard to figure out what day we are on after some time has passed. I think I got it rite but I wouldn’t bet on it.
I’m leaving for Australia, Tokyo, Seoul, and Bangkok in 4 days. I will be seeing those places over a span of 40 days. There’s no doubt I am totally excited about it, but some nerves are there too. Not knowing the language, the transit system, etc. But alas, I’m sure it will be the experience I am hoping for.
Once I get back I have about 2.5 months until university starts. I having been thinking about this project a lot lately and I am not one to give up. I have been considering some ideas lately and will probably elaborate on them when I get back to Canada.
Bentobox has been siting for some time now yet the daily hits are higher than ever. I don’t know why. I am going to look into it.
I have also cleaned out rickuyesugi.com. I have a couple posts there. I will be writing there occasionally and be posting my Asia trip reports there. So if you are interested, have a boo.
Something that I find interesting, is that over the last 217 days, there has been some changes in the internet IMO. Myspace is not what it used to be, and Facebook has taken over in many cities. I have been thinking how I can use this to my advantage.
Anyways, hope you all enjoyed the summer as much as I did. It’s coming to an end with school almost back in session for the fall, but there will still be more to come from me and 500DTF.
;)
Rick
Day 158 - State of the blog.
Hey ppls!
Lots of time until Day 500 rite? Well some things have changed…First I have no idea what’s up with Marica. I haven’t had a chance to see her lately cuz of her full time school/work/party schedule XD. Secondly I have decided to head back into university for awhile. I guess I will have to get my writing style back on track. U cant use this kinda stuff on an essay! I may divulge some school info later on but lets just say its somewhat of a different path than broadcasting and entertainment.
It’s pretty exciting though, I know that there won’t be as much luck involved reaching my goal. That’s what’s really tough for anyone trying to break into showbiz, you need luck. Who knows maybe I will still find some in the next year. I probably won’t blog as much, something like you’ve been seeing as of late.
I won’t really have time for Daily Bentobox blogs once I get back to classes, but I might try to keep it going. That was a really fun project. I think a lot of ppl enjoyed reading it and it was a small success. I think I proved that I could provide daily content that was good enough to keep hundred’s of readers coming back.
Anyways check in on me once in awhile.
Day 145 - Auditions
Wow there is a lot of time left with this project huh? Let me just recap where I am at.
I started this whole thing thinking it would be easy to find people who were as eager as I to make it big in the biz. Well this hasn’t exactly been disproved but I will tell you that the only real person you can rely on in this world is really yourself. Everyone else has to look out for themselves and won’t always be there for you. I am not being negative, just realistic. I am not frustrated by this, I am just now more informed.
I guess that is why I have been writing here less and less, simply because it is difficult to do video blogs, or maybe I should say, difficult to do good ones. If I wanted I could just use my webcam, but the quality of video and sounds lacks. Since Marica started working full time it is hard for her, and I feel bad that she doesn’t have more time to work towards some of her dream goals.
I guess that is a problem with life, there just isn’t enough time or resources for everyone to do what they want. I think everyone has to find a happy ground in which they can live day to day without regrets.
I have had some auditions lately. My agent Dylan is pretty cool. I think I am improving my audition skills. You know, you may be a good actor and such, but to get a job you need an audition skill set. It is different. It is hard to get into the moment as the person you are reading with will never be in character and you will find it difficult to feed off them. There is also the problems with memorization. Often times, audition sides are given the night before and you won’t have time to learn them all. So reading during the audition while at the same time allowing the casting agent to see your face can be tough.
Hopefully I can make some headway with these auditions in the coming months.
Day 134 - Summer time rolling around
It is freakin hot today in my apartment, but a small price to pay for such fantastic Vancity weather. As most of you know I have been working hard on my blog the Bento Box Review. It is actually doing really well. I am getting a solid amount of traffic considering it hasn’t even been six weeks and I really am no expert when it comes to building a community around a website.
I have been thinking a ton lately about what I am going to do in the coming months career wise and how I am going to make the next big step. I mean I am a realist, do I think I can go somewhere with 500DTF? Sure its possible, but unlikely. The internet is just so big these days that you can’t assume you will always get what you want out of something like this.
With that being said, I still have a lot of travelling to do and things to see so I really don’t want to commit to anything huge at this time. I think I mentioned it before that I am booked to go to Austrailia and Japan in November which is quite a big trip. I plan to go to Europe in 2008 with some friends and probably hit south Asia as soon as I can. When you want to do those types of things you need time, freedom from commitments, and money.
So this brings up a ton of questions for me. How do I accomplish all of this in such a short time? Will I be passing up bigger job oppurtunities if I wait? I don’t think I am too concerned about these things. There will always be time to develop a career. Right now it is time to develop self awareness. I guess just be more clear about what I want for the rest of my years, and how can I leave my mark on the world.
I am pretty sure you will see changes in my though process as day 500 rolls around, but for now these are really my only thoughts. There is still a decent amount of traffic coming here daily, so I thank you for your support and curiosity of my successes and failures. If no one was reading, I wouldn’t write.
Thanks,
Rick
Day 125 - Very interesting development
I got a call from someone today from a certain show in development. Basically they are looking for Asian-Canadians to host some segments on a series that is about bringing Asian culture to Canada. I can’t say it’s a lock, but the phone interview went really well. Details are useless at this point unless I know for sure I am getting the gig. I think BentoBox had a lot to do with it as they are looking for someone to review things from Asian pop culture.
I am with Trisko Talent Management now. Dylan made me ring this gong after it was all final, kind of a funny tradition. So those are two things I am looking forward to right now.
Day 118 - Agency secured.
I am going with Trisko Talent Management. I got a referral from Gail Simpson (Thanks Gail!) to meet with Dylan who was a totally cool guy and was really easy to talk about the industry with. Like I said, I had some bad experiences before with agents but I think this one will provide some realistic opportunities. It’s just a matter of signing some papers and then I will be out and about on some auditions for commercials. It is pretty clear to me now that this is the way you must start out. You need to build up your resume by booking some of these gigs and then you can make your way to bigger and better things. But don’t get me wrong, I would be ecstatic if I could get some of these commercial jobs. They pay good and you build up contacts this way.
People have been asking me a lot lately how “500 Days to fame” is going. I think they read the site and know that it has been slower lately, but I always remind them that there is a long way to go. I am happy with my progress so far and I think the early rush of enthusiasm is normal in a project like this. I am still confident this will take me somewhere and I am glad you are all along for the ride.
Day 114 - Meeting with an agent tomorrow.
Should be interesting. I had an interview last year with one and it kind of turned me off from the whole thing for a bit. I realize the industry it tough and I can handle rejection, but some people are so arrogant you begin to wonder if that’s the kind of people you want to be working with. I have high hopes for this agency and I will give a report on it tomorrow.
When I wrote day 108’s post, I wasn’t looking for people to get behind me and give me confidence or anything. I am an extremely strong willed person. I rarely give up on anything and perform well in everything I work hard at. Sometimes I just write to remind myself. I love how people jump in and give me support right away, but I also want readers to know that I don’t write those posts looking for sympathy or support. I write them because that is what is going on with me at the time. As most blogs do, the focus has changed over time here. As the writer, I can’t exactly fight that, I just have to let it happen.
Debating people is really one of my strongest skills. When I get negative comments and such I relish the moments of retort. I can be a little harsh at times but I think my points are always validated by evidence and support. Negative comments also means the blog is growing and people are really reading the words I write here. They disagree with me or have their own opinion on some posts and thats great! Keep firing away, but realize it’s hard to come out on top against me :p
Day 109 - Questioning A Perfect Life?!
Rick, I have to say, nobody’s life is perfect. There are always going to be obstacles you’ll need to overcome along the way. I can understand that you would be afraid of failing, because in the long run, who WANTS to fail?! And yes you have to put all the effort you feel needs to go into a project or dream in order to succeed, but sometimes that isn’t even enough. Sometimes I feel it isn’t fair for those who work work work and end up not getting to where they want to be in life. But you know, people have to realize that that’s life and I guess you just sort of have to take what you have, work with what you got and go from there. Just stay positive….it’s the least you can do. Don’t get me wrong…you ARE talented, especially in this field/industry. And yeah, you are right, things won’t just fall into your lap and life won’t seem like the fantasy people often perceive it to be, but again you just need to take what you have, work with it and hope that someone along the way will recognize what you have been blessed with. You can only hope and never lose faith in yourself, because if you don’t have faith and believe in yourself, then nobody else will. At least that’s my stance….
Anyway, I apologize for not being as faithful to this project as I promised. It really is a lot harder than i thought to juggle multiple things in life that really matter to you. Personally, I find time management to be a pain in the butt for myself. Sometimes, i want to be able to do everything, all at once….and just hope that things roll smoothly. But then i realized, it could never happen. Inside, you want to be able to do well in everything you do or aspire to do, but really, it can never really turn out that way….or else you would live a perfect life in a perfect world….and what’s the point of living a perfect life?! Things would become mundane….boring. There would be no challenges, which I feel is what’s great and needed in life. Without challenges, how do we learn? Without challenges, how do we grow? And I realized with this project, it is going to take a lot more effort and dedicated time to actually get something out of it. No i am not giving up, because to be quite honest, I feel this project truly has potential to capture a lot more readers interests…it really is just a matter of how much I’m willing to put into it. I know Rick has been doing a lot of work and has even started his own website, which I am supporting 100% and will hopefully draw more readers in the long run. However I know we have a certain amount of followers for 500DTF who are checking back every now and then and it is our duty to keep you entertained.
Now that I have completed my exams for the spring semester. I have about 2 weeks and a half before summer school begins and within that time, I will definitely make the effort to meet with Rick and discuss future plans for this project. If the weather allows, hopefully we will have some “fun in the sun” video blogs to let you guys know what we are up to. Can i just remind readers that although we created this site to help further our skills as tv personalities/hosts, we have also created this site to please you…to entertain YOU…to make you feel you need to come back. So if there are any things in particular you’d like to see us do and we feel are quite feasible, then we’ll lay it out on the table and go from there. We are only 100 days into the project, so there is still plenty of time to carry out and experiment with what the entertainment industry has to offer. =)
On that note, have yourselves a lovely day and hopefully because things have been a little slow, we haven’t lost many of you. But thanks to those who have kept following us and are continuing to support us through this project.
Much Love,
Marica
PS - I’d just like to extend my condolences to those who suffered and are suffering through the incredibly unfortunate incident that occurred at Virginia Tech University this week. Perhaps this can spark an idea for a future video blog on campus safety….
Day 108 - Strange times
Things have been very weird lately. Family, career, random luck. Nothing is quite in the right place right now. I have to find some balance in my life and create some more positive energy. No matter what you do, you will always have times where you don’t have all the answers or you won’t know the next step to take. I haven’t been posting much lately, because there is nothing to discuss regarding my efforts to get work on TV. I am going to call some agents tomorrow and set up some interviews. I am also going to make some calls regarding me getting on some TV sets to do some production work. The truth is, you need to pay your dues. You need to get out there and give it everything you’ve got for a decent amount of time.
I have a problem. You see, as a child I was very successful. When I graduated from elementary school, I was named the top scholar and top athlete. This set the standard for the rest of my life. After breezing through high school, I started to wonder what I could do with my life. What could I do to keep up the same standards. I have since graduated from BCIT, a tech institute, and I feel confident in saying that I was among the top students there as well. But what now….Well my problem is that I developed a fear of failure. I was scared to really go for anything in the chance that it would be a flop or not go anywhere. It was easier to just lower my own personal standards. It was easy just to let the days go by without really making headway in my career.
When it comes to careers, nothing will come easy. It can’t just fall into our laps. I have been floating for awhile now waiting for something to come along. I think that has to stop; I need to focus. According to a few, I am very skilled in the media industry. I guess it’s true. I have a lot of potential. But so do many other people in this world, so I am going to have to outwork them. I am going to have to take that extra step.
I still want to be on TV. That is my dream. But I have to be realistic and I also have to develop a career. I just hope that if I can stay close to the industry then I will still get some chances. Even though I hope to get an agent, I might not be able to give it my all, because going on auditions doesn’t pay the bills. You need to catch a break. There are many actors out there who never get a single role. I may be contradicting myself, in that if I truly want to be on TV then i need to give it my all and just go for it. But it just isn’t smart.
So those are some of the things I have been pondering lately. Some people say that this blog is a waste of time for me….but I enjoy writing it. I just wish I had more content for you guys. You visit this site because you care about me, and I care about you readers. I hope you can gain some inspiration from this post. It is really coming from a deep place inside of me.
Rick
Day 100 - Yippee!
Well I made it this far. As I said I would launch a my premiere podcast episode of Bento Box where I am reviewing various dishes of pop culture. You know what is crazy, bentoboxreview.com is already getting more hits than this website. It’s only been up for 5 days. I really hope I can turn it into a success and create a decent following. People are asking me what is going on with 500DTF and am I still doing it? I say of course! This is simply a log for people to follow along on my quest to accomplish a goal. A goal that I am still striving for. I am hoping to get an agent this month and go to some auditions, meanwhile, working on my video podcasts to get my face out there and other small gigs here and there.
I guess because I was doing video blogs before, people considered 500DTF to be a “show” in itself. But I was just doing that to get familiar with video blogs. Now I am focusing that attention in a different direction but I will still keep you guys updated. I am 1/5 the way in this adventure and I think i have done well. But in the back of my mind, I know this is only the beginning and things will only get better.
So check out my new site - The Bento Box Review
Rick
Day 98 - Bento Box
The domain for my new site. Check it out. Let me know what you think. I haven’t updated here lately because I have been focusing a lot of my efforts there. I am still aiming to launch the first full video podcast epidode on Day 100. Only the viewers of this site know about Bento Box but in about two weeks after I have some decent content there I will be pushing as much traffic there as possible. I am really exciting about this project because I believe in it and it is fun! I am hoping to make a name for myself with this project and I want to take all of you along for the ride!
I will still do a DreamStreet episode if it presents itself, but I think I am going to leave it up to Marica to organize the guests. I had 4 different guests that all cancelled on me at the last second. I am not mad about that, but it is frustrating. I gave them oppurtunities to rebook, but I suppose they feel there is nothing really in it for them. I can understand that, but maybe if more episodes were occuring it wouldn’t be that way. Disappointing for us all!
But I have learned a lot from that project and will be making use of my new found knowledge into this project….THE BENTO BOX REVIEW!!
See ya there ;)
Rick
Day 91 - Top Commentors Winner
Congratulations to Jenny who top the charts this month with a grand total of 20 comments, one better than young David Wilkinson. Many thanks to all of those who are participating in this blog and hopefully you will be sticking with me to the end.
Jenny will receive a spa package from Trinity Salon and Spa! Again gratz!
With only 9 days before I launch my newest project, I suppose I can reveal some details. It turns out, I was able to come up with a decent name on my own. So maybe I might have to buy myself an iPod Shuffle. Either way, like I said in previous posts, I will have a weekly vodcast, that not only will be published to iTunes, but also on the main site. I’m sure I will link to the videos from here as well. I will also do some radio shows throughout the week. No set schedules but there will definitely be content. I will also blog everyday to keep the content fresh.
So what will my content be? Well, I am going to be going at this project full time, so I need to be able to monetize it. I will be pushing this site hard in an attempt to get my name and face out there, as well as, hopefully making it profitable. No huge surprise, I will be reviewing various products, news, and interests.
For example, on the video show, I will review some products such as; electronics, books, dvds, household items, clothes, anything that I feel has some pop culture following. I am hoping to get out of the house as well to do some restaurant reviews, retail store reviews, and on a bigger scale, country reviews! Yes, when I travel I want to give my best efforts to review what I come across and the things I see. Also, should I review say a trendy boutique, I will not only review their store and products, but also get them to converse on today’s hottest buys.
For the radio portion, I will continue to review blogs, websites, and most likely some current events. I will give my takes on them and keep all the readers, listeners, and watchers more informed.
As for the daily written blogs, I will simply review things that I will not be able to get my hands on.
I am happy with the idea and think I will be able to make this happen. I won’t have to rely on people too much and as long as I stay motivated and can keep up with it, things should work out.
Rick
Day 89 - Strive for something
Wow March has gone by so fast. I will be doing a video blog tomorrow FOR SURE, but today I was just thinking about some life goals. I was thinking about what I am really striving for. To be honest I am not too sure. It is really tough sometimes to know what you want. Maybe a generation ago, it was a simpler time, a house, a car, and happy family was considered a success. I really think my generation is different though. Most likely we will be changing careers between 2 and 5 times. Seeking out happiness in different locations. Having kids and getting married will not be the top priority for many. It is all a blur to me at this point.
Either way, I can look back at the last 20 years and think that I did alright. All I can do is work hard now so I can say the same thing when I am 40. As long as you are careful not to get too caught up in yourself, and you can say that you have given back in some way, then I think you will be alright.
On day 100 I will launch the first video episode of my currently untitled show. Don’t forget to read that post and have the chance to receive an iPod Shuffle.
Also, if you want to keep in the loop about my upcoming projects make sure to grab my rss feed.
Rick
PS. Now that I think about it, it wouldn’t be too bad to strive for a place like this:
The Sheer Kitchen is an fully-functioning kitchen enclosed in a Vader-esque sphere. The bottom half is made of carbon fiber and sports a double sink, four burners, three bottle coolers, a retractable table and trolleys. The upper half functions as a lamp when closed, giving off a soft, ambient light, and when open pulls double duty as both an aspirator and lamp. Paired with a wall unit designed to hold the appliances as well as provide cabinet space, storage, and extra seating, the Sheer Kitchen is a complete modern cooking solution.
Welcome to 500 Days to Fame
Thank you for visiting the site page and your support. It is going to be an exciting and hopefully entertaining year and a half. Please post comments and send your thoughts and feedback.
