Downpours and Art

It's been a pretty uneventful week so far. Monday involved two castings and a quick trip to the super market but after my shopping trip on Saturday I was on limited funds and determined to stretch out my groceries until my next pay day. That ended up working out fine because I got my pocket money today  since tomorrow is a holiday and the Dream Models office is closed. 

Daiva at the Super market check out

Central, Hong Kong

Central, Hong Kong

Casting at the Hong Kong Design Institute

I had Tueday completely free which was a relief because it was a Typhoon level 1 outside! Harmless as far as typhoons go but intense rain and wind aren’t exactly fun things to maneuver through to get to castings. Apparently level three is when castings and such get canceled.

But yesterday I had two castings with Daiva and on our way to the second one it started pouring rain! That wouldn’t be too bad except that wind got involved and threatened to break our umbrellas. We ended up ducking into a store front to wait for it to lighten up, unfortunately it was refusing to relent and we didn’t want to be late. We only had a bit further to go so we decided to go for it. Balancing a portfolio, bag, umbrella, and map book in the rain is not an easy feat. We arrived at the casting with our skirts completely soaked and hair dishevelled, not exactly the way we want to show up at castings. But they definitely understood and the casting went smoothly. Unfortunately the rain continued for our way back to the MTR station.

Waiting for the rain to lessen

Last night Daiva and I, along with our other roommate Ingrid, had a job at ab art exhibit. It was a pop art type of exhibit in the middle of a large mall. It was really easy with us just walking and posing a bit and being there to toast the VIP guests with champagne and take pictures. The job itself took under half an hour.

Art Exhibit

My Apartment

View from the kitchen. Bedroom through the slightly open door. Apartment door not visible but to the left.

Bedroom. View from my bed.

This was before unpacking. My stuff is now in the cupboard.

View from the kitchen into the bathroom

Kitchen. So small for five people.

 Being too lazy to make a meal from scratch the other day, I decided to try out a won ton soup frozen dinner:

They were all in this tray like ice cubes!

I can`t say they looked too appetizing

It was actually quite tasty though!

 Diava and I went shopping on Saturday and I couldnt resist splurging a little. We went first to Times Square since it`s almost on our doorstep. Then took the MTR to central to go to H&M.

Saturday night we went to a Models Dinner then out to Fly club with the models. It`s definitely a good way to meet the others and to go out for cheap. They even reimbursed the taxi fare to get to the restaurant then Daiva and I split the fare coming home so the whole night cost almost nothing.

Getting ready to go out

Jessica Code Job

Friday I had my first job! It was for Jessica Code magazine. Here`s a couple snaps.

 

clothing rack nearing the end of the shoot

Not set up yet but basically the set

Chanel sequined jacket

Some Louis Vuitton heels

And a crazy hair piece that reminded me of pirates

 It was a pretty basic shoot. We did two more editorial looks then switched to just a plain white background and more commercial type shooting. We did magazine things like `style one item two ways` and such.

I also had a casting before the shoot and a casting after. I had over an hour to kill after my job before walking the 5 minutes to my casting so I found a bench in the shade to sit and read a book on my iphone.

Window view from the first casting building

New roomate, Kowloon, and Models Dinner

 I have a new roomate named Daiva. When I say roomate, I mean it. We have bunk beds. Losing privacy is never fun but it's nice to have a friend here. We went grocery shopping together the other night and had the same casting yesterday so we got to travel together. I'm glad she was here in time for the weekend too! I'm sure we'll do some exploring and maybe a little bit of shopping of  I give in to my urges.

 

Our casting on Thursday was in Kowloon so I left the island for the first time! It was simple because we just took the MTR. Transferring between the lines is simple enough. 

Waiting at the casting

The casting was for Miss Sixty

I don't understand why all the titles are in English and the articles in Chinese

That night we went with our other room mates to a Model's Dinner hosted at Halo Lounge. Apparently almost every night in Hong Kong the PR people of clubs put on Model Dinners. You just have to get to know the PR people and get on the list then its free entry, free drinks, and free food. Daiva and I didn't stay too late on Thursday because we both had jobs in the morning but there will be plenty of more opportunities. There's definitely a lot of models here.

Finding Hogsmeade inside a mall

I woke up to very very heavy rain.

Well I haven't gotten lost yet! Made it to a casting yesterday and one today on my own. Yesterday's casting was very simple to get to thanks to a very English friendly MTR. 

This morning started out very emotional talking to my parents at home and getting a few texts from Jack as he was allowed his phone for about 10 minutes. But then it was off to a casting for a shoe catalog. Now, those who know me know that I have very bad circulation and my feet tend to change colours. In the cold they are purple and when they're warm they go bright red. Well, its very hot here and after making my way to castings they tend to turn their lobster shade of red. I hoped they would go unnoticed but people at the castings keep asking me if I'm sunburnt. Then they look at me incredulously when I tell them its simply because I'm warm. I do hope that they didnt count against me at the shoe casting. There's photoshop for that right?

I took some photos today! My adventure to and from my casting. 

Inside the MTR. (It was hard to take a photo without looking like a creeper. I get enough looks as it is I dont want more)

Wing Tai Road I beleive.

Walking to my casting. Note the handy sleeve my mom made for my portfolio. Definitely makes me feel better when it's raining.

After my casting I was hungry and popped into a McDonalds, craving a bit of home. It was huge. They have a counter for regular McDonald's food and a counter for McCafe drinks.. It's like an entire coffee shop! I was impressed, though disappointed that they did not have free WiFi.

Hopefully this will keep awake up past 7pm..

The McDonald's was right across from Time's Square and I couldn't resist popping in. I had noticed the Hogwarts train and platform 9 3/4 on the outside of the building but was surprised to find a mini Hogsmeade inside!

The mall itself is massive and mostly vertical.

I just browsed around today but couldn't resist popping into Zara. I wanted everything! Bright colours and blazers sound perfect to me. Too bad I'm trying not to spend a lot while I'm here. I'm sure I'll end up shopping at some point though.

Craving the crisp air of BC

Yesterday I went to the agency. Luckily it's only a 15 minute or so walk, although even that had me sweating by the end of it. One of the agency members came and took me there and I was able to find my way back on my own. I received my new book, a cell phone and took a bunch of snapshots and videos. After I had a casting for a magazine. My booker took me to the casting since it was my first one. I'm so grateful that she did because it was very difficult to find, even she had to ask for directions at one point. That casting went quickly and after I went back to the apartment and ended up falling asleep at 5pm.. I haven't quite adjusted to the time change.

Today I have a casting at 3 o'clock for Agnes B. Catalog. I have to find this one on my own but it seems pretty simple as its close to a MTR station (their subway system) Wish me luck!

I'm hoping I get over this homesickness soon. I miss everyone at home and the familiarity of it. Being alone in a giant city that speaks another language is very overwhelming. Three months is looking pretty long right about now. But I'm trying to stay positive, I know it'll just get easier from here.

Traveling is not my favourite thing

View from the Airport Express Train

But I made it! I'm currently laying on my bed in my new apartment. I've met two out of the four roommates so far but they are out right now. I have the rest of the day and tomorrow free then I have to be at my agency Monday morning and I already have two castings to go to on Monday afternoon.

The traveling went smoothly, thank god. My only difficulties came from trying to use a payphone and getting two suitcases through a small gap. My flight from Vancouver to Beijing was 11 and a half hours starting at 3am Pacific time. Thankfully I managed to sleep most of it. The connection was boring but I met an Australian guy that was on both of my flights and he gave me a bit of a Cantonese lesson. Then another 3 hour plane ride from Beijing to HK and I was there. US Customs makes China's a joke. He looked at my passport and the tiny form I had to fill out and that was that. Not a single question! Then after a difficult payphone incident that resulted in me going to Starbucks to get change I hopped on the Airport Express and made it to Central HK where I was picked up by agency members who taxied me to my apartment.

I have four roommates right now. Three guys and one girl. I've only really talked to one guy so far and he's from Vancouver! Very cool. So far I have a room to myself but it has bunk beds so if anyone else shows up I guess I will be sharing. I will probably leave most of the exploring till tomorrow because i am just too tired.

View from my apartment bedroom

A Monday Evening With JBell

Last Monday I got to do another shoot with the very talented Jonathan Bell. We shot film in addition to the regular photos which was a nice challenge for me. Plus I got to pretend to be some wild urban witch and that is always fun although when I walked between the store and where we were shooting, I definitely received some strange looks from strangers. Then there was also someone thinking there was a fire because we had Smokey the smoke machine. Do people not use those in parking lots much? Anyways on to some behind the scenes photos and the video.

Makeup done by Alexa Rae

Styling by Stephanie Hartwig