3

Three reasons I often opt not to listen to my iPod whilst wandering the streets of an english-speaking city:

"...people watch more hetero porn..." (man exiting through subway turnstile on cellphone)

"...stop being a (he may have said 'fucking' but my memory's uncertain) bitch and come home!" (man on cellphone crossing street against the light and being honked at by traffic on the lower east side)

"HALLELUJAH! HALLELUJAH! HALLELUJAH!" (woman walking the length of the subway station platform)

Considering the fact that two of the above quotes were gathered from people speaking on their cellphones, I would like to make public my gratitude for this mobile conversational invention: thank you cellphones, for taking what should be public conversations and throwing them out onto the streets and into the general public's (and my) auditory space. Because crossing streets and taking the subway would be so boring without these curious little pieces.

the first few days

Day One:
arrive at 7a.m. after red-eye flight from LAX (surrounded by overflowing-own-seat-er, incessant talk-ers, cough-er), a little short on sleep. Shoot lookbook in Fried Chicken Outlet Central (sketch area of Brooklyn). Get settled in the room I am subletting which is in a less-sketchy-ish area of Brooklyn, relatively clean to most apartments I've stayed in, sunny, spacious, and NOT infested with pallid creatures who gawk at me whenever I eat. Get connected to the internet with help of roommate at 11pm only to discover that I am scheduled to attend castings the next day beginning at 9.30 a.m. although I don't even have cards or a portfolio on me.

Day Two:
9.30 a.m.: agency. Compile book with booker and new yorker extraordinaire and new acquaintance Kerry. 6 castings. LOTS of walking. Farmer's Market at Union Square. NYU buildings and students around University Place.

Day Three: casting. casting. casting. casting. library. library. casting. casting.

Day Four (tomorrow): casting. casting. repeat.

So, I do a LOT of walking. Sometimes because I'm early and killing time, other times because the subway just isn't that convenient for where I'm going. What this translates into is a LOT of sightseeing. and loving. Many of the people who live here came from somewhere else, which means they had to work incredibly hard to get here. I've met countless people abroad whose dream is NY and that gave me incredible insight into how special it is to be spending time here. People are driven and the population is diverse-not only in the race and class senses, but the background, perspective, and life experience senses. And by walking around it so much I get to see a lot of it (I'd say 'see it all,' but with New York that's probably humanly impossible).

I know most people who are born and raised in your typical north american city might not take in all the 'touristy' sights the city has to offer, such as the main NYPL branch. It's probably true and there must be some new yorkers who haven't explored the city for all it's worth, but the thought is still hard to imagine. So, if there's anyone out there living near 42nd and 5th ave. who doesn't really care about that library, give me a shout! If you don't want to take new york for all it's worth, let me know! I love nyc because it looks to me exactly how I feel-brimming with potential, energy and possibility.

I think that hacking woman next to me on the plane might have infested me with some throat-abusing germ, so I'm going to get some rest. There will be much, much more to come.

NEW YORK

Some Sights:
Fried Chicken outlets abound in some areas of Brooklyn, such as the one where the studio I was shooting in on my first day here was located. These are generally not nice areas to walk around in at night.Trump Toweracross from Penn Stn.NYPL!!! Most amazing library I've ever set foot in-the impact was augmented by the 25 minutes I spent beforehand in the kitty-corner castoff library full of strange smells, stained carpets, and (notably) ample seating. My new goal is to live as near as possible to 5th ave. and 42nd street and spend every spare moment of my life in the Rose Main Reading Room (literature, anthropology, philosophy, psychology!!!).Grand Central Stn.A church (one of about a dozen I see each day in my treks around the city) with the classic passing yellow cab



BONUS: Ayn Rand/Atlas Shrugged reminder, anyone??

nice to meet you, city of angels, but where are your halos?

**me on the helipad atop an LA building**

I flew to L.A. on my way to new york in order to meet up with my friends Katy and Claudia at UCLA (stayed in Katy's dorm...Claudia visited from UCSD).

Here are some snippets:the view of Mount Saint Helen's on the way downflying into a cloud of smog, ahem, L.A.me, katy, and C-Lo at a USC frat party-I'm clearly quite bewildered.Of course, I would find myself with no better method of self-amusement than the imitation of cement animals.sweetest polaroids ever of some of the UCLA facultyKaty and I in the campus's botanic gardens (where we went on a fieldtrip for one of her seminar classes...after the morning's bio lecture)UCLA hospital-you can't really see what I was trying to take a photo of, but it's the valet near the entrance. That's right, folks. No public parking. Valet only. Only in LA.

My few days in L.A. were amazing. One of Katy's friends took us out driving the first night I got there and we hit up a helipad, Santa Monica, a USC frat party, and a quintessential diner (Mel's-I think it was on Sunset. There was a long line and people behaving like club promoters slipping cash to get people in. Say it with me, 'STRANGE')...pretty much a thorough guided tour of the city, without too much traffic! I hadn't seen Claudia since we were both in HK over the summer, and Katy since our aftergrad party.

It was a beautiful reunion, involving plenty of dining hall experiences (just enough to get a taste of the college life without getting sick of the salad bar), one glorious vegan restaurant meal, 2 LIBRARIES!!!! (the fuel for my fiery jealousy of all my university-attending friends), a few classes, long talks, and lots of polaroids (which I will have to update later...the battery of the camera with which I document my polaroids is currently in transit-i.e., being sent by mail from my mom 'cause I forgot it at home). 2 of the best tours I've ever been on: the one around L.A. and that which Katy took me on of the campus and the LIBRARIES! It's only been a few days but I miss my two wvss girlies already. :(

LA tomorrow, NYC tuesday!

Doing what?!

That's the question that used to pop into my head when other models would tell me of the two months they'd spend at home between cities

Well, it hasn't quite been two months, but it's certainly been awhile. I've had some time to attempt to process the last 7 months of this whirlwind life and reflect on everything I learned along the way. The first few months of 2009 have marked a period of incessant study (reading, writing, and thrifted textbooks), reflection, incredible photoshoots with dear friends (Lyle&Raymond, fellow Lizbell model Leah, Ashley Gesner, and GREG SWALES-whom I roadtripped to Whistler with yesterday for shoot)and of course (being Canadian and all...) nature walks!...with one frat party thrown in for good measure, as a social experiment of sorts (thanks Nick, too bad your original cheerleader date had to cancel on you for practice).I've also had the chance to catch up with Liz, Jayne, Amanda, and David at the agency...they are all so wonderful and I always look forward to seeing them when I come back to the city. Being away from that team just makes me appreciate the level of communication I have with them so much more. I was in a few days ago sorting through old tears and came across the old contact sheets from my first test shootBefore I began spending all of my summers abroad in disgustingly humid city environments, I spent a fair amount of time doing the sorts of things you'd imagine most Canadians do in the summer months (biking, swimming at the river, surfing, boogie boarding, spending time outside in that fresh mountain air and brilliant sunlight..hard to believe, right?)I WAS TAN!!!

But alas, that shade of skin is mine no longer...I'll be hauling my pale ass out to the airport tomorrow morning...for two days of PURE BLISS amongst friends in california before landing in new york tuesday morning and-as I was informed today-reporting to work after dropping my suitcase off at the apt. in Brooklyn where I'm staying. So, I'd better get back to packing...I've got the clothes done (1/3 of my suitcase)...but I'm torn over which books to take-my prized psych text weighs a solid five pounds :S