"Average White Person Syndrome"

Wednesday night I had dinner with my Aunt, sister, Mom and niece. After dinner we saw Sweeny Todd at Gammage. Not the movie, the play. I will say it certainly was NOT Mama Mia, nor was it Color Purple, but I can appreciate the talents that went to put on that show, but I don't want to appreciate again, at least anytime soon.
During dinner we were laughing and enjoying dinner and wine, well except for sister and niece. I ask my niece how her college search is going, does she have anything planned yet and she says she has two picked out, but has to retest SATS. Why I ask and she says she got the most average score possible and continues to say "I have average white person syndrome" I laughed and said "What there are no scholarships for average white people?" and she says "No."
I thought about that expression later and thought, man how many of us have that syndrome?
I never, nor have ever, win anything for being exceptional. I played viola for 5 years yet never moved up beyond 4th chair, out of 5 (!) in all those 5 years. I played basketball and although I excelled in Junior Varsity, I never even played on the varsity team. I quit Senior year, but if I was that good, I would have played Varsity Sophomore year, if not that than definitely my Junior year.
Academics, not even close. I did beat out my classmates in the 4th and 5th grade and got to be in the spelling bee, but I cracked on the first word in both bees.
I think that is why when I was getting good jobs modeling I was always shocked. I never, ever, was chosen above others for anything, so then when I was chosen out of 100's for jobs I could never wrap my head around it. I always thought I got lucky.
Watching American Idol Tuesday night I was taken back to a casting I had in NYC that I had totally forgotten about until I heard David Cook sing "Always be my Baby".
In New York it is totally common to walk into a room with hundreds of other models (cattle calls). Castings like Nike, Clinique, Bongo, this was the 90's, were packed with tall, skinny girls holding their book under their arms. So I was not surprised to walk into a casting, that all I knew about it was it was a music video, packed full. What I was not expecting was all the people in leotards, stretching out. I broke out in a sweat. Holy sh!t! This is a dance audition? I started looking for the door when I saw a few other tall skinnys standing in the corner. I walk to them, is this a model casting? They say, "I think so" as we all look nervous. Because as we all know tall skinnys aren't the most coordinated folks around. So I get called back, they look at my book. Have me stand and pretend I am in a field in the sun and looking happy. It was odd. They told me they thought I was perfect, but never heard back from them.
I never thought of that casting again until a few months later I see a Mariah Carey video to the song "Always be my baby" and I see models hanging out with Mariah in a field in the sun, happy and smiling. I said, "dammit!" Thinking that would have been a kick ass job. But seriously I hadn't thought about any of that until Tuesday night.
I had no idea where I was going with this blog and not sure where it went. Sorry. I really should plan things out a little bit more.

Nostalgic

So there is this cool guy I used to model for. His name is Joe Hill and he lives in LA. He would come to AZ often though, he used to live here, and he'd do shoots here. I met him in June 2000. I was newly single, skinniest I have ever been in my entire life. A divorce can do that to a person. I walked into a casting. He said, I love her and we worked together from then on. My first shoot with him was on a rented boat at one of the popular lakes here. It was a week day, so it wasn't too busy and hot, hot, hot. Joe brought along two friends from LA who were models and there was one other girl hired along with me. A double date of sorts. The pictures were great and I still have them all in my non use portfolio.
Anyway, I have a point. Joe, the photographer, called my agent almost two years later to ask what I was up to and she said well she is about 6 months pregnant. Joe says, I know the editor of Fit Pregnancy, let me make some calls.
Long story short, the next shoot I am doing with Joe, I am fat, I was over seven months pregnant by the time the shoot happened. I was married, not making out with his friend. Andrew came along, we had an all expense paid trip to Sedona. Joe brought the magazine to me. It was pretty incredible thinking about it now. I got an 8 page layout in Fit Pregnancy for the Oct/Nov 2002 issue. My first pregnancy. My special girl. What an amazing memory and look what I have to keep forever from that pregnancy. I had to share these because I just came across them and I love these pictures.

New baby smell.....

And offically Andi has completely lost her new baby smell.

Her breath these last couple mornings have stink, stank, stunk! Ugh... just like adult morning breath, she now has entered that phase in her life. She just isn't self conscious of it. And she seriously needs to be.

Here is a little trivia:

What is the year I graced the cover of an issue of Trends Magazine (local Phoenix mag)

I look like I belong on Rock of Love

(it is newspaper like and has been folded for ummm a few years so it looks pretty bad quality wise)

How I met...

I was 14 years old when I walked down Grand Street in NYC with my mom looking for
Arthur Elgort's studio. I have never heard of him, and I know they said to come with clean hair and clean face and be on time, but I had no idea the importance of that first visit.

Growing up in the Valley of the Sun we have cookie cutter homes, the rich have custom homes and the poor have homes in scary neighborhoods. I am pretty sure it is the same everywhere. I grew up middle class in a simple 5 bedroom home in a decent neighborhood, just as all my friends did. We never went anywhere that wasn't middle class, occasionally I would have a "rich" friend with a two-story home and that was like the best place to go, but I never had friends in scary neighborhoods. We just weren't that cultured to know what types of digs where in downtown Phoenix and at the age of 14, I guess I was fortunate.

I say all that to let you know we were very nervous walking down Grand St. trying to find a studio. Nothing looked like a studio, it all looked like warehouses and they were scary. Homeless people were everywhere, the streets were dirty, and this was our first week in NYC. We had never seen a place like that before.

Finally we find the address, look at each other and walk in. Well get buzzed in. NYC is so strange.

We get in a freight elevator and all I want to do is hold my moms hand, but I didn't. We arrive at the door and are greeted by his assistant. I walk in and see the most beautiful studio, not just studio, place I have ever seen in my life. And still to this day in relaxation practices it is the place I go to in my head. Gigantic, enormous, I have no clue the square feet, but I know it was like two of my houses in a wide-open space. Everything was white. There were windows completely surrounding the place, some of them were covered by sheer white fabric flowing the wind. The sunlit room was the most amazing thing I had ever seen indoors.

Then in walked Arthur, camera around his neck, pipe in his mouth, short and a little round. He first just wants to see my book; it is all very informal at first. Then he sees something. I have no idea what it was, but he looked up from my book and at me and said, "Sit on the floor", I obliged and he started taking pictures. I just moved in front of him and his camera in a way that was just so natural to me and he laughed and smiled and said I was "great!" and then we were on our way.

We went back to the agency to where they were jumping and kissing me and said he loved me and I booked a shoot for British Vogue! My first week in NYC I had landed two editorial shoots and was dubbed Super Kid! It was pretty exciting!

Arthur became the best thing to happen to me in New York. He got me jobs for British, German and Italian Vogue, plus other things that landed my face in places I have never been.
He also gave me "my" shot. Every model has one. It is the picture that shows who they are; it hides their flaws and shows their beauty. I did this one at 14 years old in his studio about a week or two of our first meeting. This was January 1994 edition of British Vogue.

I know not everyone who ventured off to places like NYC and LA, had such a desireable experience and I am so grateful. I am grateful to have met people like Arthur who knew how young and naive I was and didn't exploit me, but molded me, gently and lovingly.

Feeling nostalgic, that's all....

7 Weird Things About Me

Kelly over at Missing J.T. Snow has tagged me with a me me. I am thinking weird and unique go hand in hand right? Here you go.



#1. I live in Arizona. OK, not so weird for some 6 million of us... but for those of you not 6 million people, Arizona is a pretty unique place to be living. I will explain. Every time I go somewhere in the months of November thru February, sometimes March even, I feel like I am a blessed being. I feel almost how a celebrity must feel as looking upon the "regular folk". I see people shoveling snow. Being stuck in their home for days upon end. I see people's faces freeze in one position. I see how plans are put on hold for a few months. I look at them and say, oh you poor things. That must be so awful. But do I really care? Not really. I know that in a couple days I will be back in 60 degree sunshine. HA!

But with every good thing, you must have a bad and living here happens to be pretty unique come June-September as well. It ain't pretty and living here at that time is almost like a torture plan. Our plans go on hold, like going to the park. Going for a walk. Going to take out the trash.
Being pregnant with a due date of late August was almost like a prisoner who even with a great escape plan you'd have to do it with an added 50 lbs and feet twice the normal size. It isn't pretty.

But we can swim in May (April for non locals), we are only a 5 hour drive from San Diego beaches or Mexico's if you'd rather, and if we do need to see snow, it is a couple hours drive north. We also have 6 professional sports teams. Have I mentioned how beautiful it is?
Maybe I am just weird to have such a love affair with my state. I love Arizona and I would never live anywhere else.



#2. I have a 36" inseam. Tall jeans don't fit. I need extra long. I was beyond ecstatic when I went to The Buckle and the gal helping me said, sorry we only have a 29 XXLong and I said, "You Do?!" I bought them on the spot! So that has to be pretty unique right? A 36" inseam?



#3. I guess being a professional model for 10 years might be a little unique. Not too many people get to do that. Maybe even weirder is that I have a condition where I stand too long I pass out. Isn't it a model's job to stand still? I can't tell you how many times I have passed out while in the middle of shooting.

I once passed out at an opening for a Dana Buchman store, where Dana herself was at. I was standing on a tree stump about 2 feet off the ground and about 12" across, in stilettos. I looked over at the model next to me and I said "I am not feeling well", next thing I know I am on the floor then rushed back into the dressing room and I hear them say, "Dana didn't see anything right?" I was groggy, but thinking, um hello???? I just fell off a tree in stilettos, can I have a coke???

That was just one time, then there were the concrete stairs in NYC, my male counterpart just stood there, didn't even try to catch me.

Oh then on tape somewhere (thank God this was pre youtube) there is me fainting on camera at a Sak's. We were filming for a local show here in AZ and I was in heavy winter wear, I was with several other models, the lights were bright and I got that tunnel vision and ringing in my ears, next thing I knew I took a few steps and face planted on the ground.

These are times I actually fainted, there are countless times I caught myself and had to take a break. A little embarrassing, to say the least.



#4. This is pretty weird. I have had this red thing on the bridge of my nose since I can remember. No Dr. can dx it, no laser can fix it. Actually laser treatments have only pissed it off. A facialist once told me it really hurts my looks. But to me it is just something planted on my face that I am used to and just cover up daily with make up. Although, it really doesn't cover completely, I embrace it.
Here it is in all it's glory (the camera phone is being generous)


#5. I have a daughter that is totally rare and unique. I guess it is pretty different to have a daughter in a wheelchair. Might be even more weird is my best friend's husband has been affected by a brain injury as well. We are quite the pair pushing our loved ones around in wheelchairs. And maybe even topping that off with a brother in a wheelchair. Wheelchairs just follow me around I guess.

#6. I pick my lip. It is a horrible and gross nervous habit. It is beyond a little pick now and then. It is a full fledged problem that needs an intervention.

#7. I can walk with my legs over my shoulders. It is very odd and hard to explain. I used to do it all the time as a kid and recently found out, I can still do it.


And while that was fun I just wanted to add:

Heath Ledger :(

Models?

So if you found me, it is b/c I wanted to be found. That is the only way about it.

So I am not a snob or anything but I was a fashion model for 10 years. I walked some big runways and was in some major magazines. I do not look down on others who are not models, not in anyway. I don't look down on anyone (on purpose anyway, I am almost 6' tall) but there is one species that annoys me and that is wanna be models who think highly of themself. Hell, I was a big fashion model and didn't think highly of myself, the exact opposite so seeing someone who shouldn't think highly of themself do so annoys the hell out of me.

So I had a "model" come into Closet a la mode (our store) for a fitting for a charity fashion show and since she was the last one we were down to the last dress that all the other wanna be models didn't like. I am not surprised it is a modest dress but very fashionable but these aren't fashion models, these are "standing next to a car in a swimsuit models". I was prepared for her to not like the dress, I was not prepared for her to try it on and walk out like she was wearing fire. I said I will find you something else and I see a very figure flattering sexy dress that I knew would be right up her alley and what did she say when I brought it out? "Oh yes these dresses look good on me, they compliment my long legs" I almost laughed out loud and just agreed as I looked down on her, literally. I am 6' with 42" legs and she was 5'7" and who knows how "long" her legs were. I was just so funny how she was bragging about her legs to me. Westwood class of 1997 Best Legs. Oh yes that title will be on my headstone.

I remember in my model days you wore what they gave you and complimented it and acted like it was the prettiest thing that ever hit your body. I was astonished and taken back but whatever, my day is over. Thank God for my blog that I can relive my glory days at and not look too much like an stuck up asshole.