homesick!!!

It's probably no surprise that I'm homesick by now, finally! Not only am I missing my family and friends back home, but also my HK families:my agency, ModelOne, and all the wonderful people I've worked with at Me! magazine.

Everything seems to be changing every time I call home or get an update from a friend, and I feel like I'm missing out. My little brother is probably going to have his license before I ever learn to drive, my best friend's being serenaded by the posh clientele at the restaurant where she hostesses, and everybody seems to be growing closer together, while I'm growing, apart...from the most important people in my life. Not apart from them, but just growing into myself somewhere far away.
By Christmas I'll be home, surely itching to be on the move again, hopefully with some good stories to tell and some newfound wisdom.

Anyways, yesterday was Sunday, aka almost-guaranteed day off; Anna and I found ourselves hanging out with a hong kong acquaintance of mine, Myles, and his roomie Michael. They're cool guys and we made for a pretty good sightseeing group, though by the end of the day the humidity certainly had us dragging our feet.
Oh yeah, if the pictures weren't a dead giveaway, we went to the zoo. chimps, zebras, reptiles of all sorts, tigers, etc. etc. pretty amazing.

sing pride

There's a lot of signage here professing Singapore pride:I also walked one block where all the buildings had singaporean flags hung in the exact same spot under each window...I need to get me a canadian flag and start representin'!
I wanted to post more pics but the internet connection in our apt. is uber slow so it'll have to wait 'til tomorrow...
Basically, Singapore kind of reminds me of Seattle, with a little bit of fake Paris thrown in, making for an interesting mix.

say it ain't so

I picked up a Singaporean Sunday Times paper from the grocery store when I first arrived, and have been dwelling on it ever since. One amazing thing about Singapore is that practically everyone speaks english. Expanding my ability to communicate with locals-clients and strangers alike-and providing me with open access to local media, it's a welcome change from Hong Kong (I can actually READ the magazines!). After reading the ST, however, I'm beginning to wish I'd stayed in the dark on some issues.

Two topics which feature prominently in the ST are 'babies' and 'foreigners.' There was apparently a long period of time in Singapore's somewhat-recent history during which families were discouraged from having more than two children. Not simply discouraged, but forced to pay higher hospital fees, restricted from accessing good schools unless one or both parents underwent sterilization, and sent to the bottom of apartment wait-lists. Now the government has enforced new measures to encourage families to have more children, sparking debate amongst Singaporeans. One writer of the ST rang in on the issue;
" ...I think the Government should not have to pay couples to have children...The fewer children we have, the more foreigners will be encouraged to settle here. That awareness should be a fillip for citizens to have many children. Singaporeans have to procreate without prompting and be responsible for the fate and direction of the nation..." (Gabriel Yue)

Apparently the influx of foreigners to Singapore which has prompted such concern has been "taking place for the past 15 years" (Sumiko Tan), leaving locals feeling uncomfortable, "especially when [they] realise that among the foreigners are those who are clearly smarter, richer, taller, better looking, better educated and hungrier for success than [them]" (ST) According to Tan, 'true' Singaporeans identify themselves as part of a multiracial society in which 'all races are equal, or at least strive to be equal.' The issue seems to be that foreigners are not assimilating thoroughly enough for Singaporeans' liking.

As a foreigner having just arrived in Singapore, picking up a paper containing such articles was a humbling experience. I'll be hard at work trying to make a good impression for Canadians. Which may be difficult with Singaporean men, as a 'dating' article in the ST reports that men want women who are "gentle, demure, and sometimes submissive" and can be "successful but not more so than him."

Foreign, Independent and Ambitious young woman feels unwanted in Singapore. eek!

WELCOME TO SINGAPORE

It may just be my eyes doing funny things after staring at the airport screens for too long (see above), but I feel like there isn't as much to see in Singapore as somewhere like HK or NYC. Hong Kong felt like a city filled to the brim with energy, chaos, color, culture, and inspiration. I'd been warned that Singapore was a lot more sterile, but I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Sterile is certainly the word. Everything starts to look the same along the main 'strip,' Orchard Road, aka shopping mecca for the masses. There's something unsettling about so many new buildings in one place.

This is going to take some getting used to. However, considering the Malay, Muslim, Indonesian, Thai, Vietnamese, Western, Japanese, Curry, and Rice & Porridge restaurants which await just down the street (and I mean literally, less than 2 minutes away) from my Singaporean Abode, and the Pure Yoga studio a short walk away (yes, I'm already a member), I think I'll be just fine. Since I've already mentionned the Abode, a few more details seem prudent; 1 supercool room-mate who is a fellow west-coaster and with whom I share a NYC agency (Elite), 1 very nice and hotel-smelling bathroom, 1 small walk-in closet, 1 extra bed. Step outside the bounds of our master suite and there are 6 other roommates, common room, and kitchen to be found. Not too shabby. A few ants in the kitchen cupboards, but apparently no roaches or mould.
WELCOME TO SINGAPORE. ENJOY YOUR STAY. thank you, I'm quite sure I will.

NURI & best of hk

Having postponed my flight to singapore in order to shoot until 1a.m. the other night in winter clothes on the streets of hk, I was ready to fly out early the next morning. And then something happened...for the fourth time since I got here...a typhoon hit. Nuri was her name, level 9 was her rating (highest of the 4 i've witnessed); she cancelled my flight and left me stuck inside all day yesterday. I slept most of the day away, leaving me utterly insomnic last night. Maj and I caught the 4am airport express train to the airport from the city and I am currently camped on a marble slab counting down the hours (three) left until I can stand in line at the flight counter and try to get the next flight out to singapore on ghetto airline Jetstar. Meanwhile, Maj gets to fly on cathay. damn her.

So to pass the time I figured I may as well write a little memo on the best of hk;
eat/drink: Life, Bookworm Cafe, Mix (also the best/only? place to take wheatgrass shots)
sweat it out: the hills of Hong Kong Island (innumerable trails), Pure Yoga (multiple locations)
read: Page One (Times Square in CWB)
hook up to the internet: Pacific Coffee
explore: CWB (shopping, dining), Mongkok (flower and bird markets, cheap, crowded shopping), SoHo (galleries), Sai Kung (seafood restaurants and off the main streets, small-town vibe), Lamma Island (totally chill, good seafood, many artisans reside here), maybe...ALL OF HK
get inspired: Giant Buddha (especially if you go on a rainy day when its way less crowded and just as spiritual...but what matters more than the weather is your attitude and state of mind)
cheapest sightseeing: a ride on the tram ($2 hk, equivalent to less than 30cents cdn)
inhale second hand smoke: D-i on a crowded night, Volar always

p.s. Despite being SEVEN HOURS early for my flight today and the FIRST PERSON to check in, after calling various jetstar numbers a DOZEN or more times, being sent back and forth between terminals THREE TIMES, waiting AN HOUR to find out which gate I was supposed to board from, and FORTY FIVE MINUTES going through security (I attempted to ask for help but the man only told me 'everybody same today everybody same'...as if everyone else's flights were scheduled to leave half an hour before they got midway through the line), I MISSED MY FLIGHT. I was then given the complete runaround by even more jetstar staffers (as if the first five who'd given me faulty instructions weren't enough)and after wasting inumerable HOURS of agents' time from vancouver to hk to singapore, eventually ended up having to pay the full price for tonight's flight out...20 hours after arriving at HKIA. eff jetstar. I'm not a violent person, but I totally wanted to strangle them with their tacky purple neckscarves.

hot hot hot

I thought I was going to burn myself leaning on this car for a shoot yesterday:


both myself and the dude I was shooting with were sweating buckets (30+degree weather, clear skies & humid), but I managed to combat heat stroke with some pocari sweat (for anyone who's unfamiliar, it's basically asian sugar water in a bottle)


the stella mccarneys almost thwarted my goal of survival, but I made it through (pocari one, stellas zero).

Also, I finally figured out how to connect to the internet with the help of a friendly australian I found whilst lurking in my neighborhood pacific coffee, but the connection is quite slow, thus my failure to reveal to all the beautiful sights of Lamma Island. I'll just say, if you go, you MUST check out the bookworm cafe (organic vegetarian cuisine)!!! The whole island has a kind of bowen-island vibe for you vancouverites. Maj and I hiked from the ferry on one side of the island over to Yung Shue Wan and earned our Bookworm dinner. ho ho mei.

what's goin on?

went hiking on lamma island yesterday...AMAZING place!
moved to another crib in cwb, this one does'nt have internet;
i'm at pacific coffee right now using the computer 'facilities'
will post pics when i find a street corner to camp out on where i can catch some sweet wifi waves

also I leave for sing. on friday now, long story, more exciting explanation to come...

hk from above

6 hours of incredible views, hiking, jogging, chilling in some trail-side pools, and about a dozen mosquito bites: another day in hk.

p.s. if anyone knows anyone who knows of some good hiking to be had in Singapore, hook me up. I'll be there next week.

hk dining experience

hot pot, dim sum, red bean paste bun.
ho ho mei means yum.

goodbye Chai Wan

Goodbye Chai Wan
Goodbye spiders, goodbye mould
Goodbye leaks
Goodbye toilets which never cease
to overflow

Goodbye Russians
Goodbye Brazilians
I am so sorry that I never knew your names

Goodbye black scum round the sink
and smells from the pipes
Goodbye drips on my head that wake me up at night

Goodbye camping stove to cook on,
Goodbye single bowl for 13 girls,
goodbye, sayonara, ciao.

After sleeping in cwb for a night and waking up to realize the cold I thought I was coming down with had disappeared and must thus be a symptom of the dust, smells, and other indistinguishable particles which litter the air of my chai wan abode, the simple thought of returning there to rest my head was enough to make me want to cry. What started out as me being so broke that I had no money to move somewhere else and the agency telling me there was nowhere else available eventually developed into a sort of personal challenge/self harming marathon of survival. I made it 9 weeks. I have finally caved. My bags are packed. With Michelle and Ariel, my two best friends from the apartment gone, the only person I will miss is our local laundry lady:



rented room in cwb, hotel, or couch, I don't care where I stay,
so long as it was built for human habitation (read: not in an industrial building)
and chai wan is far away!

pieces of causeway

CWB retreat

Am escaping the mold and bugs of the chai wan hovel to a great little apartment in CWB for a few nights to stay with my mum (the friend she has been staying with can't have her there during this time because of the Chinese belief that her recently deceased (r.i.p.) g-ma's spirit will be returning tonight or tomorrow night)...
was in CWB today between yoga and work for a little walkabout and got some great pics but no time to post them now so they'll be coming in a few days!!

a crewtastic, viewtastic day

Though it's certainly true that hardly a rainy day goes by without a konger whacking me in the face with their umbrella whilst passing by, I somehow manage to end up working with people who are apparently the nicest, friendliest, most helpful bunch in hong kong. Today of course was no exception, though many of the crew were foreigners (french hair and makeup artist, aussie photog, italian, brazilian and fellow canadian (!!) models).

With the earliest call time of us all, I'd already finished a few shots before any of the other models showed up. This left me with a bit of a break at the end of the day; as everyone else finished up the last shot, I set off up the hill from our location (where we were shooting winter coats in 30+ degree weather) to explore. Lucky for me, I had someone to share the views with--a CANADIAN backpacker I met on my way up the hill--otherwise I would've had nobody to take this picture:


or explore the abandonned military structures with...


and lucky for him, SuperCool Client of the Day Cherry Chen agreed to give him a ride down the hill on our crewbus before taking us all out for some well-deserved Linner (yumm)

profundity

noun
1. depth, esp. great depth
2. intellectual depth
3. a profound idea, matter, etc.

'twas a day of profundities.

took in the view from tung chung up to the giant buddha on the new skyrail (gondola) line;as you can see, it was pretty overcast and raining the entire day, which made for a pleasant experience keeping heatstroke and swarms of mosquitoes (and tourists) at bay.
it was a nice walk up the steps to the giant buddha...after taking a look around and trying to soak up as much profundity as possible we made our way out to the Wisdom Path, which looks like this:
the trunks are inscribed with the heart sutra, a famous buddhist scripture, and are arranged in the shape of the infiniti sign. Disobeying the posted signs not to venure from the paved trail, maj and I followed a slippery clay side path and found ourselves on the peak of a hill with a beautiful view of the giant buddha, only partially concealed by the ever-shifting clouds. Needless to say my camera had died by that point...which meant I also missed out on pics of the monastery. Hopefully we'll get a chance to check out some temples before I leave for singapore in a little over a week!

exploring

Went out adventuring today with my mum and her kayaking friend Paul (www.kayak-and-hike.com)...it was a day of bodysurfing, jetboating, snorkeling, swimming, kayaking, hiking, sightseeing and five SPF60 reapplications.






took some pictures of the island temple and the fish tanks in Sai Kung, where Paul docks his boat. wish I got some pics of the bodysurfing and all that jazz but sometimes I have too much fun and forget cameras exist...woops

One Size Fits All

Perusing my contract for singapore today, I was pained to discover that I am to be banned from wearing shorts on castings. Such a regulation results in many difficulties. Bend down to change from flip flops to casting heels? Not without revealing a little more than anyone's expecting to see, you don't. Sit on subway without crossing your legs in order to prevent vericose-vein formation? I don't think so. Pass inconspicuously over subway air-vents? Not a chance. Thus, a frantic search for Kyla-proof skirts ensued. I was profoundly grateful to be accompanied by my Posse of One (a.k.a. maj) on this epic adventure through the streets of CWB, which of course were crowded as usual.Even after summoning all my courage, all my strength, all my patience, I emerged from the battle...skirt less. High-waisted non-synthetic-mesh composed circle skirt, anyone? anywhere in HK? apparently not. The expression displayed on the man in the photo above is probably a pretty accurate depiction of my face after a two-hour search in one of the most densely packed retail districts of hk. Not impressed.

other beefs with hk retail to note:
a) when we first began our quest, maj and I were dismayed&confuddled to discover about half the shops seemed to be closed. Porque, you ask? Most of the smaller ones don't open 'til 2pm (but stay open 'til about 11pm).
b) clothes are almost without exception available in only one or two sizes. Dressing rooms are rare and most clothes have little to no shape. HK style can be summarized in these four words: One Size Fits All.
and YET I have spotted some extraordinarily well-dressed people gracing hong kong's streets. The mission for Kyla-proof skirts shall go on...

moremoremore

As soon as the storm died down a bit today, I took my boots out for their first adventure (to park 'n shop, our local grocery store), pausing only to take a picture with this cute lil' palm tree:

then headed back out at night with Michelle and the girls for her last night and Shea's (http://redchardonnay.blogspot.com/) birthday dinner at d-i (aka dragon-i, local model haunt).Shea was feeling pretty under the weather and a little camera shy (see above). I ditched out early to go meet my mum who got into town tonight (I'm not sure how to emphasize the point of how incredibly stoked I am on this development...so I will leave it at that). On the walk over through the mtr exit I came across this:
it's me. photoshopped masterpieces, as predicted.

After a little fam-reunion sesh with maj, it was time to head back home and get some rest in order to avoid playing the grouch at work tomorrow. My otherwise uneventful ride on the mtr was punctuated by this utterly confusing signage:

I don't get it. Anyone?

level 8

apparently the 'level 8' typhoon warning thingy means no going to work. For a workaholic such as myself, this was devestating news. At least I managed not to make the same mistake as last time, when I left the house early for work and was halfway there before I recieved the agency's 'typhoon signal 8. Pls stay indoor for safe' text message warning, and ended up walking home for 15 minutes in the storm because none of the buses were running...

Rather than risking it by venturing outside, where I spotted debris flying through the air at 6 am (woken for the millionth time as every window leaked rattled and clattered) I have resigned myself to galloping around the apartment in my new boots. Between the fringe and the simple black leatherness, I have determined them to be the perfect crossbreed between moccasins and black leather boots. I predict full satisfaction of winter footwear needs in the months of november and december, when I will emerge from the eternal sauna of Singapore and enter the fall/winter climate of...

T O K Y O
(http://www.bravomodels.net/)

Another adventure awaits!
...but for now I will have to settle for the company of my crossbreed boots and some damn good literature (James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, if what I'm currently reading, rather than the fact that I read, interests you).

smells like typhoon

It's windy. It's raining. Theres a puddle of water and a funny smell in my room. It's typhooon seasonn!!

Almost lost Michelle on the way home tonight

I was pretty frazzled

but consoled by my awesome new fringey suede boots. First time shopping in six weeks. love.

Also newly near and dear to my heart are these two lovely ladies (Madi on the left, Kelly on the right), from Vancouver and Colorado, respectively, whom I worked with today. We kind of messed up the synchronization/walking formation of the show. Needless to say, someone got mad.

But didn't manage to instill nearly as much fear in me as this public art installation at Times Square (along with IFC, one of the top places to go in hk when one is aching to hear the english language spoken aloud). Note the Cute Azn Kid crazy-posing. Azn Kids. One of the top five reasons I love HK. I'm not sure what the other four are. True love is inexplicable.

really?

...................................................I'd like to see someone try.This was the scene on the street in Tsim Sha Tsui (TST) today at about 8am, as I made my way to the show whose backstage bathroom only served to reinforce my conception of Asia as a bountiful land of hilarious translations. Sometime between the moment this photo was taken and the time I left the show, a wave of unbearable heat and humidity seems to have swept the city and I am currently radiating heatwaves from our living room couch before venturing outside once more...

chinese ladies like to get in my pants

Every chinese catalogue set seems, without fail, to come equipped with an overly agressive assistant dressing lady, whose job it is to undo my pants, ensure that all shirts are securely tucked in, all pants pulled as high, and all nether regions as thoroughly molested as possible. I've become so adapted to this situation that the experience of having someone sticking her hands up my skirt for 6 hours as I change, cool/natural/lazy/relax/strong/wide/big/short, and lady-pose in over 100 outfits no longer phases me in the least. Which would explain why, against all odds, I managed to emerge tired but triumphantly happy from Guangzhou, round two. 'Cause dude, they fed me watermelon.

And this time, I managed to barter a ride to the train station with one of the crew, who likes litening to 'rab' music...and doesn't speak very good english (example: "you pose ok. professional." this, I took to be a compliment..)

casting quest

I knew it was going to be a long ride, but I still wasn't prepared for the epic two-an-a-half hour journey to my first casting today. Three buses and an mtr ride after leaving the apartment,

after taking in the views from central to hong kong university,I was there! Where is this 'there' I am referring to? Cyberport! It's a flashy complex originally intended to serve as an i.t. company center, but apparently too inconvenient to attract all of said companies. The result? A futuristic looking, ridiculously expensive complex that looks like the set for the crappy scarlett johansson movie the island, and is populated by a very international group of folk.

on my way back I got a little turned around and took a minute above street level to get my bearings...presenting: Causeway Bay, ridiculously overcrowded, ridiculously awesome.