Cheap thrills
1. Sat beside and talked to an honest-to-goodness model.
While on the tram from Central to Causeway Bay, this glamazonian model sat beside me. She was about my height, had long, wavy blonde hair and had features so sharp that it could cut cheese. I think she was pulling something out of her pocket when her portfolio fell from her lap and on to the tram floor. Being the nice guy, I picked it up and handed it over to her.
MODEL: Thank you.
ME: No worries. Is that your book?
MODEL: Yes! How do you know about books? Are you a model, too?
ME: Nope. I've just been watching too many episodes of America's Next Top Model.
From our short conversation, I gathered that her name was Netalya, she's Russian but was raised in France, and had runway experience in Hong Kong and Singapore. She said that the easiest way to break in was to work in Asia, then work your way up to Europe, then in New York. When asked why she doesn't try to model in the Philippines, she quickly replied: "But that's the territory of Brazilians."
Netalya was right. Three of the models I worked with in Manila were all Brazilians. They come to Manila with only a book and a lot of guts, and it eventually pays off. (Well, at least it did for Priscilla and Ariani who now have shampoo commercials.)
I hope she makes it big and fulfills her dream to walk for Donatella Versace at the New York Fashion Week. When that happens and her face is splashed all over Vogue and Elle, I can buy a copy and say: "I sat beside and talked to this girl once."
2. Bought a Bananarama CD.
Danilo had a CD like this once, and I remember him playing it in his car on our drive home. Bananarama was one of the biggest girl groups in the 80s and they have a slew of feel good and dance worthy songs. My all-time favorite is "Robert de Niro's waiting." I'm going to play that song the whole night until I fall asleep.
3. Shopped.
Yup, this is proof how much of a shopping paradise Hong Kong is. I've only been back for a day, and I've already bought a number of stuff. Some magazines, a couple of shirts, and the abovementioned CD.
Dropped by Isuma tonight and saw to gor-ge-ous black patent shoes that I'm sure my sisters would love. The important thing to note about these shoes is that they came with a very affordable price tag. So I did what any nice, little brother would do. I bought them!
Random stuff
1. Last night, I was so tired from work and the early morning flight, I fell asleep the moment I plopped onto my bed at around 9pm. Woke up at 6am, only to change clothes and wash up, then slept for a few more hours.
2. Mark is back in Japan. Got to talk to him before he flew out from HK airport. Normally, three weeks is a relatively long time, but this one just flew right by us.
3. After 3 weeks in Manila's lovely tropical weather, I'm back to 10-degree-land. That means back to sleeping in pajama pants, long sleeved tees and socks. Brrrr...
