Bom Dia

I realized I hadn't posted in a while, and I have honestly sat here for 10 minutes trying to remember what I did this week.

I feel like without this blog and the photos that document it, my entire trip would be this way,

Just a blur.

But it finally dawned on me that this week I got to shoot for a magazine which was exciting because,

A) Shanghai produces few magazines

B) My agency doesn't even work with magazines for they don't pay much

But it's not about pay for me, and being published it just as good as gold in my eyes.

So I was rather excited. It was a wonderful shoot in an adorable studio. It was a very nice change from the rapid "catalog" pace I'm now so used to.

Sunday of course was Canada day.

 I began the day doing a shoot with fellow Canadian model and amazing photographer, Colin Gaudet. Here's a preview of the shoot, I'm seriously dying to see the rest, this boy is damn talented!

But right as we were nearing the end of the shoot and I was getting ready to get my celebration on I got called in to do a catalog for there were too many clothes for just 1 model.

I was not impressed. 

Don't they know it's CanadaDay?!

Regardless I sucked it up and went. Which they ended up liking me better than the model they had and let her go and left the rest of the clothes for me to shoot.

Wasn't the point of me coming because there were too many clothes?!

Anyways it ended up working out because I made sure it moved quickly so that after 5.5 hours I could get the heck out of there and get me a beer.

or 10.

Let's just say us Canadians here at PT made sure Shanghai did Canada proud

Boy did we ever...

Ky.xo

Xiamen

One of the most amazing parts of this job is all the incredible destinations you get to see. Last week I got the chance to fly an hour and fifteen minutes to Xiamen. The whole time I was hoping I would get to see the beach (seeing as Shanghai only has a fake one that's literally just a sandbox). 

This ended up kicking me in the ass. In the morning we woke up and headed out to beautiful Gulangyu Island. But let me tell you it was hot... like 37-39 degrees Celsius hot. No exaggeration. We took a quick boat ride over and the second we arrived thunder roared and the clouds parted creating one of the craziest rain storms I have ever witnessed. 

This doesn't work so well for an outdoor shoot. So they decided to wait for the rain to cease. 

This gave Fernando, Breno and I (the other models) ample time to wander the markets around the island until it stopped.  After about 2 hours it finally held off a bit and we began. Of course the insane heat returned just in time for us to put on our ski pants and coats, gloves, toques and scarves for the shoot....

Luckily we only shot for 3 hours until they decided the light just wasn't right and we would do more the next day.

The rest of the crew returned to Xiamen and the guys and I decided to continue getting cultured on the beautiful island we were lucky to be on. Who knows if I would ever be there again, might as well experience it!

Along with every kind of ice cream one can imagine...

Frozen yogurt

Ice cream crepes

Shaved Mango

DQ

Turkish Ice cream

You name it, we had it.

Good thing I sweat so much....

And no worries the next day was going to bring even more.

We drove about 2 hours to a beach only to once again be shooting a winter catalog.

The chinese seriously baffle me.

If I thought the day before was hot I sure was in for it. 

I can't even begin to explain the amount of sweat that probably left my body. Not to mention they fed us hot soup around 11 and that was basically it for the day... As much as it was only 5 hours of shooting, you needed something to keep your energy up when you're in that much clothes, in that much heat, having salt poured around you to make it look like snow... 

(remind me again why we came to the beach?)

Regardless we somehow made it through the day in one piece.

Xiamen was beautiful and I was so happy to have had the opportunity to see it, just next time I'd like to be in a little less clothes...

Ky.xo

Flames to dust

Everyday isn't going to be your day. But so long as you remember to leave it all with the setting sun, there's no reason that you shouldn't wake up with the belief that today very well may be the greatest yet. 

There's always tomorrow.

Mantra

Advice From a Tree:

- Stand tall and proud

- Go out on a limb

- Drink plenty of water

- Remember your roots

- Be content in your natural beauty

- Enjoy the view

Ky.xo

What doesn't kill you.

Alright, lets talk about that "double whammy" I mentioned in my last post. So I did the show from 1-6, it was easy and pretty well the exact same thing we had done the day before. Right after the client took Regina and I (another Russian model) to the studio. We grabbed a few snacks and hung out for about an hour until they started hair and make-up. 

This was at 7 PM.

After 2 hours maybe 2 and a half we were finally ready.

And then they told us to wait...

It was now 10 PM

Regina would shoot, then I would shoot. At first I thought ok, this will be quick we'll be done by mid-night.

Then I asked "Do we have to shoot all these racks... tonight?"

"Yes." Umi replied, "Fuck my life"

There was over 15 racks of clothes with over 20 outfits on each rack. 

12 AM.... we had finished 2 racks.

That's when I finally admitted to myself "We'll probably be here till 4 AM."

Regina and I tried to move quickly, but randomly for no reason they would say "Okay rest" or "we're having a smoke". I started to get incredibly frustrated at their lack of speed towards the job. I did not want to be there all night, but clearly they were more than content with taking their time. 

People would leave, get snacks, hang out. While the only thing available for us to keep our energy up was these cheesy corn bar snacks and donuts.

Lovely. Just what you want a 2 AM. Especially since we had ate dinner at 6:30.

I had no choice, I ate a donut.

I don't even like donuts.

By the time we finally finished. It was 6 AM

11 hours later and the sun was up.

Thankfully I had that day off so I was able to sleep a bit. 

But regardless having no sleep all night caused me to get sick.

In the end, all I can say is I made it through, and I hope the photos are worth it.

I successfully endured my first model marathon.

And hopefully my last of that kind.

Ky.xo

Time keeps on ticking..

Yesterday marked one month in Shanghai.

The words don't feel right coming out of my mouth.  There's no way it's been a month already. 

But regardless of my bewilderedness the facts are true. 

Time sure does fly when you're having fun. 

I worked quite a bit this week. I had two days of shows on the weekend, then a show Wednesday and a catalog on Thursday. And tomorrow I get a double whammy of a show in the afternoon and a catalog in the evening. 

I think one of the best parts about my job are the people I meet. I have met and learnt from some of the most incredible and diverse people. I am always so thankful when I walk away from a show with new friends or from a shoot with new make-up tips or a hair stylist. 

At my shows on the weekend I met girls from Lithuania, Hungary and Kazakhstan and guys from Russia, Barcelona and London. It's crazy the mix of cultures of people here. It excites me to learn about their cities and languages. It's just fascinating. And knowing if I ever end up in any of the random places I meet people from possibly visit someone there is exciting. It just makes me want to see and learn more about this wonderful planet we live on. 

There's just so much to discover. 

It makes me never want to sit in one city for a long time again. I mean, how can I if I plan on seeing everything?

We've only got one life. And I'd rather have incredible stories of my adventures to show for it than a collection of things. 

For we are remembered for what we accomplish, not what we have.

Ky.xo 

365

The difference a year can make.

I sat and thought about this today. About how incredibly different my life is compared to a year ago. 

I graduated, moved out, found my way and am now living in China. 

My life couldn't have changed more. And I am so happy that it's exactly this point in time that everything has finally fallen into place. For if it had been a year since I graduated and I was still at home "figuring out my life" I think I would have fallen into a depression.

But clearly I'm not the type of person who sits around and waits for life to come to them. At least not anymore. I quickly learnt that gets you know where. 

Life likes to be chased.

This weekend I had a show for Edwin, with my room mate Marina and two guys, Marcus from Germany and Antone from the Ukraine. It was a long but enjoyable day non the less. After which I finally went out bought myself a new camera. Yay! I had originally wanted the Nikon D3100 but after bartering with people for hours I kind of lost my lust for it. And ended up getting the new Nikon 1 J1. Needless to say I am in love. It couldn't be more perfect for what I need. Small, lightweight yet great quality with changeable lenses. Love love love.

Sunday we had a day off but we decided no one wanted to spend money at this point so we basically had a lazy day that only consisted of a walk to the park for a late picnic. We ended up spending about 3 hours there just eating fruit salad, playing with my camera and laying in the grass star gazing at the 2 stars Shanghai has to offer.

Yes they only have two stars... it's so depressing.

When I think how I "saw myself in a year" a year ago from now, there are a lot of changes I wouldn't have expected. Some I would love, some I wouldn't. But I know this is exactly where I'm supposed to be.

I'm interested to see, in a year from now, what will have changed once again. 

You just never know...

Ky.xo