Maybe I CAN do everything... or... maybe not

Tuesday, July 29th: MTC and Picture Picking
Tuesday is my favorite day of the week, because it's MTC day. The choir sang "Faith of Our Fathers" and I accompanied on the organ. After the MTC, I went back to the office where my friend, Jenny, met me to go through our modeling pictures. We each chose one picture to send for the Torrid Model Search, and around ten pictures each for our portfolios (see previous blog post for portfolio pics). Then we sent the files to Costco to be printed.

Wednesday, July 30th: A Model of Preparedness
I picked up the pictures at Costco and then mailed off the ones for Torrid. The post office clerk thought it was neat that I was entering a modeling contest and wished me luck. I went back to the office and organized my portfolio and made a performance resume for the front pocket. I also made some business cards with my picture on them that are pretty cute.


http://www.wtalent.com/main.php
Thursday, July 31st: I can shake my little tush on the catwalk (that's from the song "I'm Too Sexy"--I know my tush isn't actually little)
I met Jenny at her house around 6 p.m. and we traveled to Salt Lake together for an open call at W Talent. When we arrived, they gave each person a form to fill out and a number to wear. I was #10. I figured they must already want me, 'cause they labeled me a "10" right off the bat! There were about thirty people there for the call, I think--some kids, a few boys, one man, a few women, but mostly teenage girls, and all skinny. The ones interested in modeling lined up to walk the runway. They actually have a runway in the middle of the studio. It was awesome! They played some club music, and each of us walked to the end of the runway, pivoted right and left, and then spun around and walked back to the start. Jenny went right before me and had a way better walk than all the other people we watched. Must be all her pageant experience. I don't know if my walk was good, because Jenny didn't get to see it, but I think I had a good hip pop at the end of the runway. I was also wearing heels and a lot of other girls weren't, so I think that helped. We went straight from the runway to the photographer, who took four poses. Then we went to the lounge area and watched "Ugly Betty" while we waited for interviews. We each met with Evan, the CEO (very good-looking, btw), who said he really liked that Jenny and I came together and seemed like we were having fun. He kept a choir CD I took with me for a sample of my piano skills and then talked to me for about twenty minutes. He told me they haven't had a lot of opportunities for plus size modeling in Utah yet, but they want to branch out into that area more. Then he apologized for calling me plus size, because he didn't like to categorize people too much, but I said, "It's alright. I'm fine with being plus size." He also told me I shouldn't lose weight, because he thinks I'm gorgeous how I am. Yes, he used the word "gorgeous." They really know how to butter people up in this business! I do want to lose more weight, though. Then Evan had me read some lines for a make-up ad and told me if I were younger he would want to put me in High School Musical. I said I was thinking more like Hairspray, and he said, "Yes!" He also asked both Jenny and I who the guy was in some of our pictures. I knew they would like Josh! Evan scheduled an appointment for me to come back the following week (he also scheduled one with Jenny), and then Jenny and I met some hot guys (Clint and Craig) at a restaurant for a late dinner.

Friday, August 1st: Bite Nite
Friday was the release of Breaking Dawn, the fourth book in the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. Barnes and Noble had a big dress-up party starting at 9:00 p.m., so Jenny and I put on formal dresses and went to enjoy the fun. They had fortune-tellers, trivia games, costume contests, and face-painting. I got "JACOB FAN GIRL" painted on my arm in black and red and Jenny got glitter painted around her eyes. If you don't know what I'm talking about, it's okay. I know not everyone is into the books like we are. At 10:00, we went to a diner-type place around the corner for some food. At 10:30, everyone started lining up outside to wait for their books, which the store wouldn't start selling until 12:01. I said, "There's no way I want to stand out here in a formal for two hours!" Suddenly, we remembered that we had bought our Harry Potter books at Smith's (a grocery store) and there hadn't been a big crowd then. Jenny called Smith's and they said they had 80 books and only two people were in line so far. I said, "Let's go!" The guy behind me in line had been eavesdropping on us, so I said I would tell him where we were going if he didn't tell anyone else. He and his girlfriend met us there and waited with us in line, along with another couple of friends who we told about it. We met a nice mom and daughter there who were the first in line. We had our books and were out the door by 12:05. I'm so glad we didn't wait around at Barnes and Noble!

Saturday, August 2nd: Gonna rock it up, roll it up, Do it all, have a ball, Saturday Night, Saturday Night
I went to a fun goodbye party for Daniel, a boy from choir who left this week for a mission in Ghana, West Africa. We ate barbecued hamburgers, talked, played the "What if..." game and the "Snort" game, and then watched The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. I think we all laughed through the whole party. You know how it is when you're with friends and everything becomes funny... good times.

Sunday, August 3rd: Take a look, it's in a book, a reading rainbow
There was no MTC rehearsal on Fast Sunday, so as soon as I got home from church, I started reading Breaking Dawn and basically only stopped to eat and go to the bathroom until about 3:00 in the morning. I did take a break to watch KBYU for a little while, because my eyes were tired of looking at words! I got about 2/3 of the way through.

Monday, August 4th: Ummmm....
I think I just worked, because I don't remember doing anything special that day. I talked to Josh about meeting with the talent agency, since they seemed interested in him, and he said he wants to go.

Tuesday, August 5th: Meanwhile, back at the MTC ...
The choir sang "Look at the World" and I accompanied on the piano. I really like that song. I think I'll suggest it for Institute Chorale this year. After the MTC, I went to look at an apartment for Joseph and Miriam. It was already rented, even though it had just been listed that day. Story of our lives right now! I hope we can find something soon 'cause there's not enough room for them to live with me!

Wednesday, August 6th: Call-Back
Jenny and I went back to W Talent for our follow-up appointments. They talked to us both together and want to sign us to do modeling and some commercial acting. We would have to pay for our first photo shoot with their photographer, hair stylist, makeup artist, and wardrobe consultant. From the photo shoot, we get a comp card (a kind of flyer that you give to potential clients with pictures of you in four different "looks") and they start a professional portfolio and give you a CD of the pictures. They also have classes to take, but the main modeling classes are on Tuesdays during MTC time. When I explained my conflict, they said they could probably start booking some things from just the photo shoot, but I feel like I need some kind of training, since I have very little experience. The more I think about it, the more I feel like it's not the right thing for me... at least not right now. I get to be in the spotlight enough already and I feel good about my current performance opportunities in the choirs I play for. I set up an appointment with them for Josh and told them I would think about it for a week and let them know when I come back with him. They also asked for our photographer's phone number, because they really liked our portfolios. They might call her if they need a photo assistant for their main photographer. Maybe I should be the agent instead of the talent! I think it would be awesome to do a photo shoot with their photographer and stylists, but I don't want to feel pressured or commit to something that I can't put my whole heart into.
After the meeting, Jenny and I went to see her friend, Clint, sing in a concert of LDS artists for LDS booksellers. Dinner was provided with our tickets and some really good musicians performed. Clint was great, even though he was really nervous.

Thursday, August 7th: The daydawn is breaking
I got home late Wednesday night, intending to read one chapter of Breaking Dawn and then go to bed. I couldn't put it down. Suddenly, I realized it was starting to get light outside! I only had two chapter to go, so I finished it and caught a few hours of sleep before going to work. I guess it's appropriate that it really was breaking dawn when I neared the end. I'm not going to say much about it, because some of my friends haven't finished. It took me about a day to absorb it all and Amy and I have already discussed the important details. I felt like a zombie all day from lack of sleep.

Friday, August 8th: Finally the weekend!
It was my friend, Brian's last day at work, because he's leaving to go to law school. Our department had a lunch at noon. I think sometimes food tastes better when it's free. I looked at an apartment for Joseph and Miriam this afternoon. It's in a really old building and was really dirty, but the manager said they are cleaning it this week. It's not as nice as my apartment and it costs more, but we haven't had much luck with anything else yet. We'll see....