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Thursday, December 3, 2009
The 10 Day Countdown
Whew, moving at light speed over here knocking off the To Do list here in Europe.
I had my last day in the office the other day and it was very nostalgic to have to say goodbye to my awesome colleagues. While my work as a Structured Financial Analyst wasn't a passion of mine, the people I worked with were the best. Really, I made some real friendships there and they were diverse, open, and kind. I'm gonna miss our laughs together. They gave me a sweet fareweIl card and a gift card to Decathlon, the big sports store here! So I picked up a tennis racket and sports bag which will come in super handy in LA where a couple of friends are avid players (ahem Dr. Michael Granberry and Hatem Dhiab!).
Much of my time in Brussels is spent related to the closing of my apartment as the Belgian rent laws are quite strict, as the shipment of my goods, import/insurance/customs paperwork, etc. I'm staying in Antwerp until tomorrow and making the daily hike back/forth to Brussels.
Tomorrow is the beginning of an extemely productive week (yeah my weeks start on Friday haha). Wanna hear what a typical day looks like for me?
- 8am shoot as a photog of a young male model
- Noon shoot as a makeup artist to Wim Vanderwegen (Belgium's top advertising tog and a professor)
- 2pm closing of my apartment
- 4pm drive to Paris 3 hours away for working during the weekend as model and tog.
I'm finally going to get my study in as a photographer assistant to high fashion photographer Joel Dart until Sunday with two magazine assignments. And looking forward to getting in front of his uber talented eye as well.
Then I'm going to have a shoot on Monday with the Parisian actor and Rob Lowe lookalike, Anthony Dupray. He's one hell of a model as well and we are going to create an editorial with both of us taking control of the camera. I have never photgraphed an actor before and I can see that he brings something special to images. I'm excited about the storyboard and know that you are going to love it.
Then it's off to Milan! Milan is always in my heart, who can resist the allure of Italy? Some planning with my business partner, the Italian Wizard Dr. Marco Zanetti and spending time with my dear "coach" and muse Maurizzio.
A muse is someone who gives an artist inspiration, passion, and makes you fall in love with them not only because of their beauty but their charm as well. Telihana is my female muse and Maurizzio is my male muse. How lucky I am. They provide me endless sources of creativity and excitement.
Ensuite, off to the United States! A bit of work and travel through there but tentatively the schedule is:
Dec 13-17: Detroit
Dec 17-22: Los Angeles
Dec 22-Jan 17: Florida
New Years Eve: Miami South Beach!
Jan 17: relocate to Los Angeles permanently
I am taking shoot bookings in Florida for those interested. I'm going to be based out of the Tampa area except for New Years in South Beach. And of course I'll start taking bookings in LA starting in February.
Just had a moment of reflection about my change of career and life. I spent my entire professional career as an analytical person, first in IT then in Finance/Treasury. Heavy Excel, UNIX, computer and number crunching. And now I'm flipping over to the Arts. Getting in touch with my romantic side, feelings, expression. And a focus on my physical after so many years sharpening my mind with education and challenging technical assignments. Not that it's all lost because I'm a business person at heart and I'm running the show now. But, it's interesting to take a look at this from a 3rd person perspective.
What a life, Love My Life, LML!!!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
I had my last day in the office the other day and it was very nostalgic to have to say goodbye to my awesome colleagues. While my work as a Structured Financial Analyst wasn't a passion of mine, the people I worked with were the best. Really, I made some real friendships there and they were diverse, open, and kind. I'm gonna miss our laughs together. They gave me a sweet fareweIl card and a gift card to Decathlon, the big sports store here! So I picked up a tennis racket and sports bag which will come in super handy in LA where a couple of friends are avid players (ahem Dr. Michael Granberry and Hatem Dhiab!).
Much of my time in Brussels is spent related to the closing of my apartment as the Belgian rent laws are quite strict, as the shipment of my goods, import/insurance/customs paperwork, etc. I'm staying in Antwerp until tomorrow and making the daily hike back/forth to Brussels.
Tomorrow is the beginning of an extemely productive week (yeah my weeks start on Friday haha). Wanna hear what a typical day looks like for me?
- 8am shoot as a photog of a young male model
- Noon shoot as a makeup artist to Wim Vanderwegen (Belgium's top advertising tog and a professor)
- 2pm closing of my apartment
- 4pm drive to Paris 3 hours away for working during the weekend as model and tog.
I'm finally going to get my study in as a photographer assistant to high fashion photographer Joel Dart until Sunday with two magazine assignments. And looking forward to getting in front of his uber talented eye as well.
Then I'm going to have a shoot on Monday with the Parisian actor and Rob Lowe lookalike, Anthony Dupray. He's one hell of a model as well and we are going to create an editorial with both of us taking control of the camera. I have never photgraphed an actor before and I can see that he brings something special to images. I'm excited about the storyboard and know that you are going to love it.
Then it's off to Milan! Milan is always in my heart, who can resist the allure of Italy? Some planning with my business partner, the Italian Wizard Dr. Marco Zanetti and spending time with my dear "coach" and muse Maurizzio.
A muse is someone who gives an artist inspiration, passion, and makes you fall in love with them not only because of their beauty but their charm as well. Telihana is my female muse and Maurizzio is my male muse. How lucky I am. They provide me endless sources of creativity and excitement.
Ensuite, off to the United States! A bit of work and travel through there but tentatively the schedule is:
Dec 13-17: Detroit
Dec 17-22: Los Angeles
Dec 22-Jan 17: Florida
New Years Eve: Miami South Beach!
Jan 17: relocate to Los Angeles permanently
I am taking shoot bookings in Florida for those interested. I'm going to be based out of the Tampa area except for New Years in South Beach. And of course I'll start taking bookings in LA starting in February.
Just had a moment of reflection about my change of career and life. I spent my entire professional career as an analytical person, first in IT then in Finance/Treasury. Heavy Excel, UNIX, computer and number crunching. And now I'm flipping over to the Arts. Getting in touch with my romantic side, feelings, expression. And a focus on my physical after so many years sharpening my mind with education and challenging technical assignments. Not that it's all lost because I'm a business person at heart and I'm running the show now. But, it's interesting to take a look at this from a 3rd person perspective.
What a life, Love My Life, LML!!!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Imitation is the highest form of Flattery
The original version: Me and Sven Smits...
The local Belgian version two months later...
The local Belgian version two months later...
Fitness America Pageant
Been crazy busy since coming back from the World Championships....
I didn't place in either of my categories as the girls I must say were very exceptional and amongst 40 girls in the Bikini Medium alone I was probably "run of the mill", even with all of my heavy training and diet. Seriously everyone brought their A-game and it was awesome to learn and watch. Now I know what I need to do to be competitive next June at Fitness Universe.
I knew that I wasn't on top of my game coming into the show as I was juggling a couple of other priorities at the same time so I set my goals out to be 1) make new USA friends 2) network with supps/mags/etc and 3) understand the standard in the North American MuscleMania/Fitness Universe federation.
Mission accomplished! :)
Location: Viva Las Vegas! The Golden Nugget
Lindsay Messina, Fitness America darling. She has won the Bikini overall and Fitness catagories in the past years.
Flexing it up with Morris Mendez, great to meet him at the show, very personable and has that movie star quality to him.
Kevin Levrone, with 22 professional IFBB wins. He's an eight-time world champion, won the Arnold Classic two times. Whew!
David Lovelace! MuscleMania Pro and all around good guy.
2009 Model America Winner Brandy Shearer and 2009 Model Universe Winner Melissa Pittman.
Johnny De Beer, the coolest Dutch fighter/actor around and the wonderfully kind Natalia Muntean, 09 Bikini Universe and 09 WBFF Diva Fitness Model world champion.
Armen and I hanging with the Status Magazine boys David and Rodney backstage at the Model America men's room. HAHA yes I found my way back there :P
The South Korean team. They came into this show shredded, amazing stage performance, million dollar looks. Seriously, look how tall they are - I'm 5'9 with heels!! (swoon) :D
Rocking it with MuscleMania World Champion Morris Mendez.
Killing it for the 2nd time, Alejandro Castillo wins Model America. Great stage presence.
I didn't place in either of my categories as the girls I must say were very exceptional and amongst 40 girls in the Bikini Medium alone I was probably "run of the mill", even with all of my heavy training and diet. Seriously everyone brought their A-game and it was awesome to learn and watch. Now I know what I need to do to be competitive next June at Fitness Universe.
I knew that I wasn't on top of my game coming into the show as I was juggling a couple of other priorities at the same time so I set my goals out to be 1) make new USA friends 2) network with supps/mags/etc and 3) understand the standard in the North American MuscleMania/Fitness Universe federation.
Mission accomplished! :)
Location: Viva Las Vegas! The Golden Nugget
Lindsay Messina, Fitness America darling. She has won the Bikini overall and Fitness catagories in the past years.
Flexing it up with Morris Mendez, great to meet him at the show, very personable and has that movie star quality to him. Kevin Levrone, with 22 professional IFBB wins. He's an eight-time world champion, won the Arnold Classic two times. Whew! David Lovelace! MuscleMania Pro and all around good guy. 2009 Model America Winner Brandy Shearer and 2009 Model Universe Winner Melissa Pittman. Johnny De Beer, the coolest Dutch fighter/actor around and the wonderfully kind Natalia Muntean, 09 Bikini Universe and 09 WBFF Diva Fitness Model world champion. Armen and I hanging with the Status Magazine boys David and Rodney backstage at the Model America men's room. HAHA yes I found my way back there :P The South Korean team. They came into this show shredded, amazing stage performance, million dollar looks. Seriously, look how tall they are - I'm 5'9 with heels!! (swoon) :D Rocking it with MuscleMania World Champion Morris Mendez. Killing it for the 2nd time, Alejandro Castillo wins Model America. Great stage presence.