Sunday, November 21, 2010

A Week of Firsts



I had my first ever studio shoot on Friday at LCC. I had my lovely new Harrods friend Tom pose for me. The feel of the shoot was supposed to be a swingin' suited jazz crooner. I think he did very well as the model, and I'm very happy with the results. Fala was my lovely assisstant and DJ, spinning the Macbook tunes and bouncing ideas back and forth with me.



Heath arrived for the weekend literally right after the shoot. We went to a lovely little place in Farringdon called To A Tea for a relaxing cuppa, then headed over to Chinatown to go to my new favorite little hole-in-the-wall, New Fook Lam Moon. They do an amazing little duck pancake appetizer for only 9 pounds, and paired with a heaping basket of prawn crackers, its the perfect little meal. Heath had some "prown" fried rice and mandarin spare ribs. I was convinced that the man tree tables over was Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear and my eyes kept darting to that table over the top of my wine glass. It turned out he wasn't, but for a good half hour I was convinced I'd had my first London celebrity sighting. Oh well.

Saturday was a bit of a cock up. I was supposed to work, but got pretty sick about halfway through the shift and had to ask to leave. My manager did not seem very pleased... prospects of me staying after my temporary contract are looking grim. I hibernated throughout the afternoon and then Heath and I went and saw the new Harry Potter movie, which is AMAZING, and I cried when Dobby died. I attempted to hide it, but it happened, and I think I maybe have seen Heath give a sniffle too.

Today was just a lazy morning filled with cuddles, buttery crumpets, tea, and blowing bubbles at the kitten. Before going to St. Pancras to catch his train back to Leicester, we went to our favorite Jen Cafe for some bubble tea. The review there on Time Out is very harsh, and I can tell you that the dumplings are in fact delicious, and bubble tea/dumpling trips to Jen Cafe are definitely mine and Heath's new tradition. I would very much recommend it.

Now I'm packing to head to Leicester tomorrow for another first - my first fashion show photoshoot! Heath's flatmate is in Contour Fashion, aka making bras and panties, and every year they put on a full-on fashion show, and I've got a nice little place at the end of the catwalk to take pictures. Hopefully I'll get some good ones for myself and for the ladies at DMU.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Abandonment

So.

Once more I have tried to have a blog, and completely failed at keeping up with it. I cannot possibly catch up with everything that has happened, but I will attempt to make a short list of the highlights.

September 6th - First day at London College of Communication

September 20th - Heath and Kate's 1 year "know-a-versary". We met a year ago at Oktoberfest. We had a nice skype date with mini bottles of champagne.

October - Applied to many, many jobs at EAT, Pret-A-Manger, Topshop, The Body Shop, ASOS, Harrods, etc...

November 3rd - My first interview at Harrods.


November 4th - HR from Harrods calls me while I'm on the Tube to invite me back for a second interview. I freak out.

November 5th - Second interview. They call me that afternoon to say I have the job and to come for training the next Wednesday.

November 10th - Harrods training day 1.

November 11th - Was supposed to be Harrods training day 2, but I lost my wallet in the Westminster Tube station bathroom on the way to work. When I went back it was gone. It got turned in later that day at a Natwest bank on Oxford St. Minus the 400 pounds in cash that were in it. Bad day.

November 12th - Harrods training day 2.

November 13th - First shift at The Diner in Harrods. Its hectic, fast-paced, and I love it. Tips aren't too shabby either.

I've had 6 photo projects for school, with the last two for the semester being assigned this week. I've made some wonderful friends.




Mia got a kitten.


I bought a Pentax manual film camera. I've become addicted to prawn crackers, milky tea, and crumpets. I am adept at navigating the Tube system. I have a job - at Harrods!!


I've visited Leicester, Southend-on-Sea, and Stroud, and hope to make many more trips around the UK whilst I'm here.

I'm taking a ballet class.


Kaylin visited me in London;


Mom visited me in London.


I introduced England to the dirndl for Halloween.


And currently? Well, projects for school. In addition to the new ones, I have to finish the workbooks and final photos for all the old ones. Its all due December 13th - I've really got to put my nose to the grindstone at this point. I also have UCAS applications to do (I'll do a post over that later). Heath will be here this weekend after three long weeks of not seeing each other. Then I will be heading up to Leicester on Monday to shoot the De Montfort Contour Fashion show, and running back down to London on Wednesday to make it to the ExCel UCAS Fair. Busy busy busy!

Oh, PS, I saw my first fox.