modelinginmexico
Modeling, Mexico, Jill Billingsley, Jill Scott,Future details!
“So be sure when you step, Step with care and great tact. And remember that life’s A Great Balancing Act.” – Dr. Seuss
The day has come (and techniqually’s past);
where my contract’s terms have come up at last.
Careful decisions I choose, for what lays ahead;
do I leave back to home or stay here instead?
As time approaches, I must act fast –
I’ll extend my visit and then have a blast!
I’ll work one more month, while I deal with the change…
then off to the states to broaden my range.
Learn a new country, explore future ways;
Then off back to home, where I’ll spend some more days.
That poems intended to thoroughly explain why I am not currently situated in Edmonton. If it didn’t, it’s probably the most you will get from me. I hate explaining plans over and over again, but for my family… YES I do intend on coming home (for how long, who knows?!) but details are being ironed out and before you know it I will be back home.
Slow season (for modeling) has hit Mexico City, THAT and the rain! Nonstop nearly til October apparently, perfect timing to grow weary of this place – although, if it was not for the rain I would probably not feel that way. With little to do here I have spread my wings somewhat, with the encouragement of another flatmate and decided to update the portfolio. Jobs so rarely contact you back with images I feel add anything to the book so I will use my blog as a first peak at some new images.
Touring Mexico City
If ever there was a slow week for castings, this was it and luckily for me, I was able to exchange what could have been a monatamouesly boring week of tv and gym, with an adventure/ exploration of what Mexico City has to offer; thanks to the company of ‘mi media naranja’. (For those of you not wanting to waste time with google — better half).
I frequented the hostel Eric first stayed at and relaxed on the roof top in true vacation style by way of hammock. After ensuring everyone was settled in Kiki, Eric, and I visited Chapultepec Park. Mexico’s main source for oxygen due to its 686 hectares worth of forestry. The park dates back to pre-Hispanic times when it was used as a retreat for Aztec rulers and now is a popular tourist attraction with it’s museums, lakes, walking paths, and zoo. After a failed attempt to walk the park in a day, Eric and I had to venture back out to the Park once more. Second time around we took in the scenery of the castle, built in the colonial period for mexican heads of state.
Here’s the Castle we saw towards the end of the week:
We visited the largest Cathedral in Latin America after taking in some “culture”via the Bellas Aires Museum. 
The artist featured, I’ve been told, is a famous artist that hails from Columbia and after spending the morning having my mind warped by his paintings, decided his name was not worth looking up or learning anything more of. I should probably be more open minded and accepting of art, but I think my 11 yr old sister could do better… thus, no images worth taking of this excursion. However, the building itself… was spectacular. 
June 2 was Gay Pride which lead us to a movie after the excitement of it died down. 4 of us attended our first 4D movie ever and got to experience the theater shooting out smells, wind, water, and our chairs constantly moving, trying to mimic the movements of war, battles, and horse trotting. The movie, Snow White and Huntsman, was not my cup of tea — but the experience lived up to what I would expect. 
In hopes of being able to say Eric and I enjoyed a movie together we tried it again the following day (thanks to poor weather, 6 flags, Coyocan, and a visit to the floating gardens got cancelled out). We watched Men In Black in 3D in a VIP room. Best chairs ever, I fell asleep, but I liked the movie and would tell everyone back home to try it out once at least.
Eric came to my ONLY casting of the week with me and was even offered to try out for the mans role. My shy lil boy turned it down but maybe one day I can make him see what everyone else sees. ;). And besides the one casting I only had one job for a magazine midweek. It was half a day (probably the quickest shoot I’ve had here) and although I didn’t know what it was for, I later found out it is for a cover of a magazine here in Mexico City. I am pretty excited to get a magazine cover here, especially because I currently have EXTENSIONS in my hair that have been driving me nuts all week and maybe this one image will be all I have to show for it.
I took Eric running early morning in the park close by — Park Espana. I was wanting to keep up with my routine and habits but the excited of getting to see Eric took over my willpower to work out, that and with all our walking our feet could barely keep up with us. On Friday night we walked 30 mins in the pouring rain to see what I thought would be Eric’s highlight to the visit — THE LUCHADORS.
We shared a picnic in the Park of Mexico and unfortunately with a bum too, who was eager to sit in on our date. :S All and all Eric’s visit was very bittersweet. Amazing to see the person I care for most come and visit me and see what it is like for me living here, but the airport goodbyes and knowing exactly what your missing never gets easier. At least now I have a few videos and images to remind me of the fun I had when Eric was here, whoever thinks Skype does not help a long distance relationship is dead wrong. lol, it really is the next best thing to seeing your counterpart in person.
Victoria had Beakon Hill Park, where I was gitty to feed the ducks… and Mexico has Chapultepec Park where I tricked the squirrels into sitting on my lap. Thanks to my babes for visiting me! I love you very much and you’re a much more patient human than myself, I only wish I could be more easy going and less task oriented so I wouldn’t get so worked up when plans don’t follow suite. You’re the ‘yin’ to my ‘yang’. ❤
I’m going to post a video of the squirrels and zoo animals a little later on my facebook, so be on the look out.
“An open enemy is better than a false friend”–Greek proverb
In a world where the rich and beautiful are given every opportunity while the poor remain struggling, the division between the two broadens a little more each day. Clubs give you a paved way, no line, no wait, free drinks, separate dance areas, DJ lessons — restaurants offer free meals in hopes of seeing the same pretty face return — plane tickets and hotel accommodations come up in exchange for a chance at your time. As grateful as I am for what comes my way, the injustice of it all is evidently clear to me. Such a bittersweet appreciation I have for the vanity of our generation, for without such a large importance placed on looks, I wouldn’t be here in Mexico traveling and modeling… On the other hand, when the time comes to have a child of my own, I’d hate it to feel the same pressures that I do or have a similar perception of what beauty is; big lips, large eyes, large bust, small torso, long frame, delicate hands, no existent ass… so much of which we have no control over. But I digress, since my last blog I have taken advantage of some of these perks and saw the likes of Acapulco, including visiting a club, a beach resort, a day in the sun filled with quading, what its like to have an ‘open bill’, and a scenic view of Mexico on the way home.
For work I was chosen to model in Redken’s first hair show to take place in Latin America. My demo gave others a chance to see my hair stylist ‘s work with highlighting and an eccentric hair style. It lasted about 4 days in total and after all was said and done, I lost 3-4 inches of hair. Not very impressed, but that’s how hair stylists are! You barter with them, they want to cut 1 inch off, you counter offer with 1/2 an inch and in the long run you somehow “compromise” without knowing it and 3 inches are taken off. Ehhh! I wasn’t paid enough! Lesson learned, do not do hair shows ever… mind you my color is pretty great.
The first day at Redken was a 16 hr day and the ever persistant parasites in my stomach acted up the whole time. (I affectionately named this sickness – “Pacos” ) After my days end, I got home at 2 am with a call time the next day at 7am, wouldn’t have been a problem either, if not for the inconsiderate actions of the roommate I do share quarriers with. This alone is a long story better off not told, but to make a long story short we can say that my charging of the phone interrupting her REM sleep, resulting in a weeks worth of ordeals talking to our agents and butting heads over he-said, she-said bullshit (and such grossly over exaggerated lies!) …. Now I find myself on great terms with my agency, as always, and issues are somewhat resolved, but actions not forgotten. The drama that goes on in this house is more entertaining than any show on tv about modeling. Everyday I encounter different personality types proving the world has all sorts of “characters” that at one point in time, I would never believed existed.
“In our daily life, we encounter people who are angry, deceitful, intent only on satisfying their own needs. There is so much anger, distrust, greed, and pettiness that we are losing our capacity to work well together.”
Margaret J. Wheatley
“False friends are like our shadow, keeping close to us while we walk in the sunshine but leaving us when we cross into the shade.”–Christian Bovee
After Redken, the following week went back to the usual, filled with castings mostly and a callback for a popular beer brand. 3 days ago the callback confirmed I was a hired model and yesterday I completed shooting my 6th commercial — COORS LITE! 
To the brands lovers, the bad news is, it will only air in Mexico, but it’s the first time Coors has ever made it’s own Latino version for a commercial here and apparently it’s the 2nd most popular brand of beer in the states. It’s premmis: A security guard at a football game is too busy flirting up a storm with 3 cute girls (moi!) and misses the crazy antics of naked women running across the field behind him… I still have yet to see how the drink factors in, but sounds like a funny commercial idea to me.
The shooting went from 8am – 8pm but it was a fast day, and probably the quickest shooting I ever took part in! The day went something along the lines of ate breakfast, made friends with the other models, slept, read a book, ate lunch, slept 2 more hours, had touchups on hair and makeup and then we were ready! I love having a trailer nearly all to ourselves, reminds me of old family reunions or camping and how much I loved being in someone else’s trailer since my family could never afford one. Even while lying down staring at the campers ceiling I had a moment to take in just what exactly I was getting a chance to do. 
I say it all the time now but I am so happy to get to do this and think no one could be more appreciative than I am. On the days where personalities collide I have to remind myself of this because nothing is perfect, but this come close for me!
“To improve is to change, to be perfect is to change often.” – Ralph Emerson
What’s on the agenda next week? To be reunited with my long lost love! Eric’s plane is booked for the 30th – 7th and I will finally do more touristy related things. In lue to someones actions in the model apt, Eric and I will be sleeping apart… “THANKS Again ;)” – Note the sarcasm. But Eric will get a true globe trotters perspective residing in a hostel for 4 days before I transfer him to a hotel for the remainder of his trip. I can not wait to see him again and rekindle our magic!
❤ Jill
Yada Yada Yada
Tuesday (20th) I completed my CableMas commercial in such good spirits. The premise was a bank robbery where 2 characters, myself (dressed in a 70’s inspired get-up) and Julian (an older gentleman with a bankers look), fall to the ground in a panic and start talking about a movie Julian recorded the other night and how I need to get CableMas. I was lucky enough to land another role with lines and the actual filming went on without a hitch.
I recited my lines in a frightened voice as best as I could, and after a few takes the director apparently ran out of his sectioned of area saying how great the scene was. He was estatic with the 30 sec preformance. It felt amazing to discover when pushed out of my comfort zone that I can thrive and still do well. The 20th did have a little bit of it’s up’s and down’s – I was feed an amazing lunch (when I am fed, I am a happy girl), but this was the day of the biggest Earthquake since 86. Which just added to my day… but seeing how there was damage done and a couple deaths that occured, it seems wrong to say the day was perfect. This was the official day when I did decide after lunch, I could no longer withstand the pain my stomach was causing after meals. I will also have you take notice from the photo, that my nails are horribly long and embarrassing. They are still recovering after having those fake nails torn off. :S ehhh.
In order to catch up to my current life, nearly a month later I will have to pull a Sienfield and ” yada yada yada”… After buying loads of stomach meds, I eventually went to the Dr. to discover a parasite. Ummm, Score! As it stands, my stomach is still not 100%. I foresee another appointment in the near future.
Not trying to live life in the protect layer of my comfort zone, I went for a weekend trip to some Pyramids close by. I got to see cactus fields while driving by on ATV’s, the worlds most unstable bridge, and do a low budget zip line with a group of friend.
Now I never really thought I was clumsy, albeit, my family would often tell me so, but it was officially confirmed after this weekend. After ziplining, I tripped UPWARDS :S and smoked the side of my neck on a rock. Most people tend to put out there hands to break their fall, but not everyone has as well of a maintained neck as myself. Ha… Yadda Yadda Yadda, a 2nd Earthquake hits during the day while I nursed a hangover from the weekend. 
3rd Earthquake happens and I am home alone. 4th Earthquake hits the day following at 5am! These things are getting a little crazy.
Yadda Yadda Yadda… The model house loses a roommate, but gains 2 more girls (from Germany and Croatia). Casting calls go on, although, not nearly as often due to the religious holidays. Not just a weekend for Mexico, more like an entire week.
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In relation to work, photo shoots appear to be providing me most of my work as-of-lately. I had a shoot for a company named Price Shoes, similar to what Payless shoes is to us — cataloge to come out end of next month.
A couple weeks ago I had a Glee-inspired set modeling active wear and jackets. Now this day made for a very humours story — the type where it’s so embarrassing it’s nearly funny. I debated sharing it, but in hopes of maintaining a femininely-appropriate je ne sais quoi about myself — I’m keeping this story strictly for those in close proximity to me.
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During my free time I have been venturing out of the domicile and in a strange turn of events for this week got a taste of Mexico’s night life. I have been out with new girls as a sort of christening/ getting to know each other better, I have escorted a friend as a date to an event for a singer’s new line of shoes, and most recently out with the original gangster of them all – Ari, for a birthday celebration! I saw the most creative & extravagent shots, I meant to take pictures but the flames didn’t last long enough to be captured on film. :p … 
And I think that covers about a month of randomness in Mexico. To those of you who keep telling me you like reading the blog I apoloigze for the lack of entries. I want to say I will try to get better at keeping up to date, but it’s hard to say what the next day will bring. In exciting new — MY CANADIAN COMMERCIAL is officially airing for the next month. Take a look!
Link to the commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUNw2Cu7TUw&feature=share
Earthquakes!
Tuesday I got to feel my first legit earthquake, mind you there was one in Toronto while living there, but it went virtually unnoticed. Mexico City was built on an ancient lakebed and its spongy soil amplifies the Earths seismic waves, thus causing more damage in comparison to other locations. Yesterdays quake was the strongest recorded since 1986’s (yay to my birth year) earthquake in Mexico. 
Mexican authorities reported the magnitude of the quake as 7.8. In Guerrero, (home to Acapulco) officials say about 800 homes were damaged and 60 collapsed. Tuesday’s quake centered near the border between the southern states of Oaxaca and Guerrero, with the aftershock’s reaching a measurement of 5.1. I’ve read that there may have been up to 10 aftershocks so far and they are still continuing onto today (Wed). Ari was even woken up at night by one at 4am.
Primary waves in an Earthquake are the sudden jolts of movement and secondary (S) waves are the aftershock. The P waves that I felt were ‘longitude waves’ that made for a side to side movement and resulted in much less damage than what could have been. This all happened while I was on set filming but no injuries occurred and although structures did get damaged, it could have been much worse.
Needless to say, it was interesting to come home and see what kind of toll it took on the model apartment. I should have taken pictures of the stairs as well but couldn’t be bothered to take them after a workday. Even today I hear little bits of ceiling hitting the floor while typing this… ooohh dios mio. Lol. Here is a site that I thought explained Earthquakes half decent. Apparently I show much more interest in things like this after experiencing them.
http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~rmellors/lab8/l8maineq.htm
(This entire wall is in my roommates room and it was hit the worse. The whole house got pretty messed up, but I just took pictures of the obvious things that first caught my eye.)
Sleepless Nights w Long Work Days. Heaven!
This last week has been a whirlwind of shoots and confusion. Tuesday (the 13th) I heard back from the castings I’ve attended earlier in the week, to my surprise I had 2 commercials who both wanted to book me for the week and both needed me for the 13th. Unsure of what to ever do or how to even ask, I got back to the commercial that wanted to shot first… which was… VOLK WAGON! for the second time. The original casting called for someone who spoke both English and Spanish and all they required of me was one line, “No, I don’t know what’s IIHS.” It seemed simple enough and it only needed to be read in English so the gig seemed like it would be a slam dunk…. and oh how I was proven wrong!
The location was outside of the city, always a great pleasure to ride in a taxi during morning rush hour and then find out there’a a separate fee once you leave Mexico City. *Note the sarcasm* The call time was 8am with the shooting schedule finishing at 11am – for us ‘interviewers’ at least. When I finished reading half a book, 3 naps, and completing my own makeup and hair, I was ready to shoot at 3pm. Why I had to be there at 8am? I have no clue. And whereas on the first VW shooting I felt I couldn’t have been taken care of anymore than they did, here I felt the opposite. No breakfast came to the actors who stayed in the trailer (4 out of 6 of us), no snacks came to us mid day… and no lunch. Tired from waiting around all day in the hot sun I finally found out what I had to do. Ride an escalator in the mall and recite the clients company’s name – Now I know that sounds easy, BUT FOR THE LIFE OF ME I COULDN’T DO IT! It was probably because I was a little shaken up at their reaction to learning the fact I spoke no Spanish and I couldn’t remotely fake a decent accent. With the majority of the filming crew speaking no English, I guess I could expect not to get a response when I kept repetitively asking what the company’s name was. After a few takes I think they gave up on the scene and a new role was given to me. Not me in my finest hour, but I survived with a good attitude. I realized I may need to bring something a little more entertaining to keep my mind alert, but you live and learn. I made a new friend surprisingly enough who thinks Canadians are pretty cool. It caught me off guard because I spent so much of my day sleeping by his feet, but can you blame me? I thought no one
While filming Wednesday I missed what might have been the best callback ever. Miller Lite! And the whole day consisted of throwing around a football and going over plays. Sounds like heaven compared to the gym I go to on my down days. Hours in the sun playing a game and working out, much better than the call backs that make you strip down and dance around to music you wouldn’t normally listen to. But as I said, I missed it due to work and thought that Miller would lose interest, luckily as soon as I arrived home I got the call for the Miller Lite fitting the following day. I assume it’s because (by fluke) when I did throw the ball during my 1st callback it was a beauty! AND I think I was the only girl I saw who caught the ball while running on their first take. The director knew my name before I even meet her, so I think there was a stronger interest in me than I may have initally thought. It was the first time I walked into a call and they said, Jill Scott’s here. Since last week this has come up 3 times now! Finally the casting houses are beginning to recognize me, which is perfect because they will probably take it easier on me with the rapid Spanish they so often throw my way. My fitting was the cutest little lingerie outfit, complimented with knee, elbow, and shoulder pads. I was hoping to keep it (with most modeling jobs, once underwear becomes a requirement its odd to give it back) but no such luck. And that was that… next day was my Miller Lite commercial. And fyi, for those of you excited to see it, I hate to break the news but this one is airing only in Panama. 
Thursday morning I signed Miller’s contract, and was told to meet up with another model named Grace. The agency thought this would make it easier for us to find our location and save some money. With my ingeniousness, I found my own way to the location through another model named Thai. All I had to do was take the subway to her. I phoned Grace (a spanish speaker) to tell her the good news. I’m ecstatic whenever I don’t have to ride in cabs but Grace was lost in translation when I tried explaining to her where we should meet up, and to make matters worse, she was adamant about me going back to the casting house where I signed my contract earlier that day. After a few minutes of confusion I gave up and thought, “fuck it”. I will do what I need to do to get to work and Grace will be on her own, at the very least she has Spanish on her side to help her out. Well, Grace must have called Kyoto because next thing I knew I was talking to Irma trying to explain why I didn’t want to go all the way back to the casting house (that I call Coyocan). Clearly, I struggle getting my point across anytime I need to talk to anyone, so I gave up… if Irma (my booker) wants me in Coyocan… then that’s where I will go. Off to meet up with Grace. Little did I know, she finally understood what I was trying to tell her, so she left the casting place to meet up with Thai and together they took off to the commercial together. When I finally arrived to where I thought I had to be, no one was there to meet me. Without an iphone or a form of internet, I am literally lost whenever life deviates from the plan. I sat across the street for a while trying my best to calm down while texting the agency, Thai, and anyone who may help in explaining why the hell I was stranded in an area I spent all morning in and had no urge to return back to. The videographer of the original casting found me all chocked up across the street and called a private taxi (which settles my mind much more than catching the ones Joe-Blow drives on the street). I had NO pesos left from my 1000pesos/wk allowance so mi amigo, Paco, kindly covered me and explained my final destination to the cabie. Finally I was over the midday drama and on my way to the shoot that I have been most excited to be part of since I got here! I was originally told when I first started modeling that this is where my niche would be, so to get there felt like an accomplishment, a life’s milestone I suppose. Hopefully that doesn’t sound bad.
Miller started off with some catch up practice for myself. 3 football coaches and I practiced throwing the football correctly and after watching another model throw, they all decided – in lue of my new found skills, I would be the quarterback! The director, I’m assuming, also liked my look because I was the only football playing model to be given lines. 
A half a page of lines! Now, after the pervious day’s experience this may have seemed like a bad idea, but I swear I rocked it. Every line was memorized and I only needed to run through two of them. Not sure what makes it different, but here I was pumped. I STILL CAN’T REMEMBER WEDNESDAY’S LINES though, reading lines reminds me of cramming for a test 5 mins before going into class, but now I get paid and get extra special attention 😉 Once again the commercial’s food trailers neglected me. 
I missed out on hotdogs while throwing the ball and learning my stance. I swear, half of my day I spent fondling strangers balls and grazing model’s neither regions. Not because I am a new found rapist, but apparently that’s just where your hand lies while waiting to retrieve the ball. The first scene took 2-3 shoots. 
It was so incredibly quick and the men behind the cameras complimented me as soon as I came off set. What an arm! Good Take! 
4 or so more scenes later and after delivering my sweet lines, the night ended with a lengthy photo shoot. 3pm to 6am. Now that’s a complete days work. Did I mentioned it rained and we played in lingerie throughout the frio noche.
(here’s an action shot of me on the left, I swear I was the fastest… which is messed up considering how much height most models have on me)
It was one of those jobs that not all models may be happy with, but it was amazing. I made friends, got a mini workout, and those catering trailers did tend to me later in the evening…
OoooOOo how I love alvacados in my sandwiches. While the night winded down, I also got good news: 1st, Doritos wants me for a callback on the 20th (and as soon as I finished my casting with them I felt confident that they may want me); 2nd text, On the 20th I have yet ANOTHER commercial for a company called CableMas. Once again I am double booked! Will it work out in a way where the agency can keep both places interested me? Who knows… I hope so! Doritos would be so amazing to get, but as it stand my next week is scheduled with wardrobe fittings and shooting for Cablemas. If shooting is early enough and time permits, you can bet I will try my best to make it to that Dortios callback!
Here’s a gallery to view the images larger with a few extras included. =)
Short & Sweet
Our landmark to remind us we are close to home
This is a still the videographer takes before a model or actor introduces themselves and shows their profiles and backside. This is the second time I ever saw what sold a client on me so I thought I would capture the moment.
In this gallery I put random photos of Ari and myself waiting for casting calls, images of what my work is like from wardrobe to behind the scenes in the makeup rooms. I was able to sneak photos of the digital shots of me modeling jewelery and lingerie. I’ve included my counterpart for a beach scene photo shoot that a client hired me for, random structures, and most importantly my new found baby… Taco/Burrito. That is my guitars name. I spent all my weeks pesos on it and had to carry it for the entire day to castings and the agency… but it was worth it. Now I have a guitar who plays horribly bad but nevertheless, a hobby to keep me busy on my down days. If you click on the images you can view them one at a time larger and see me in my ”bum-padded” underwear. Hahaha. Ohhh and finally, I got hired to do product shots for underwear… it was… ummm, different.
So the writer who breeds more words than he needs, is making a chore for the reader who reads.
Dr. Seuss
Which is why I did this blog focusing mainly around images until something new and exciting comes up. Hasta luego!
Jill
Working Week as an Actress
My first commercial filmed on the 14th (for Jetta VW) at 3pm… in a city about an hour outside of the city. What a day! To my surprise there are areas surrounding Mexico City that embody everything I would associate with Canada. Blue skys, green forest, the smells of camping, even the weather – right down to the rain. Because everyone knows when you go camping it rains, so why would a shoot requiring a camping scene be any different?
My scene was simple enough – a couple camping underneath the stars, looking out from their vehicle’s sunroof, snuggling to keep warm. It was 2 takes that took a whole of maybe 5 minutes. But an experience that I couldn’t be happier to have taken a part in. I arrived late (nearly an hour I’d guess), but through no fault of my own. Nevertheless, I was filled with anxiety because I hate feeling behind and helpless. All of this panic I had for NO reason at all. The day was extremely laid back. The shooting was behind an hour, so they claimed, but in reality, I wasn’t needed til 8. Ariana (my roommate, who happened to book the same job) and I had time to eat dinner, meet the crew, go through hair and makeup, and even nap for a few hours.
Ari’s novio for VW (Ps, she ended up with the makeout scene)
Mi novia (Ari) for the in between takes.
While waiting for filming to begin, I took in my surroundings. Trailers for makeup, a kitchen to prep food, a trailer to make fake rain, and random vehicles scattered around to move cameras and equipment back and forth.
It reminded me of a movie that was filmed in Edmonton and how jealous I was of the actors for being taken such good care of, now I got to experience it all. Mind you, I am probably harder to please than everyone else because I have the unfortunate luck to always get sick before work for some reason. Everyone around the campers asked if we were hungry, or needed anything… every 5 mins I was asking for water, coffee, food, snacks, jackets, Advil, Peptobismol. I may have given them a run for their money, but was estactic to be where I was. I kept thinking to myself that no one could be happier than I was to be doing what I’m doing.
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Upon arriving back home, after 1am, my phone finally started receiving text messages from the agency. Out in the mountains we lost reception. My agency was contacting me to tell me I BOOKED MY SECOND COMMERCIAL! Only catch, I had to leave at 4:30am to get to the filming the next day. My 2 hour nap was pretty solid, not sure who would be happy to wake up to go to work after only 2 hours of sleep, but I was so excited that it didn’t matter. Main reason? My commercial was for Coca Cola, and here, Coke is a big deal! It’s even a bigger deal for me because this casting releases it’s commercial strictly to Canada. Next month, for 30 days, I can be seen on Cola commercials walking a bike, checking out a dancer named Marquese Scott (who is probably worth checking out videos of him on YouTube). The shoot was a long day for me, with bad weather once again, but I was getting paid to eat breakfast, lunch, snacks, and walk a bike. What more could I want? I spent the entire day laying up against a pole (that is my main position in the commercial) thinking, this is nuts, this is a real Cola commercial and I get to be part of it. The director was from LA, and the scene was set up to resemble Toronto… and my family and friends get a chance to see SOMETHING I have done during my time of living in Mexico. Crazy!
Cast & crew for Cola.
By the days end, I came home with a wicked sun burn across my face. How it happened in crappy weather still surprises me, but I’m left with some nice color and memories of seeing the magic behind such a well known brand’s commercial.
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Friday also became a working day for me, receiving a text late a night telling me where to go. It wasn’t too glamorous: a carpool of models traveling to a nearby city to shoot department store clothing. But it was a comfortable setting, something I was use to and after the long days before I needed something a little more my pace. A quick shoot doing what it is I do. I assume it went well, I liked whatever images I saw… the photographer spoke no English though so hard to say if I truly followed directions.
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I spent the weekend with Ari shopping and exploring the city with our new friend Rob (The director of Jetta’s commercial). We recorded music together even with Rob’s recording studio and I got a chance to brush up on my guitar skills.
I’m well rested, FINALLY! And ready for the week ahead, first on my list for tomorrow (Mon) is a callback! Here’s hoping it goes well and they like what they see! It was a very tough casting call that involved flips, splits, cheerleading, and acting. =)
(For those who don’t know, I get sent to castings and if they like you in a casting you get a callback for them to see you a second time… if all goes well you nail the job and get hired on as an actor or model)
Thanks to everyone who is keeping up with me! I love coming home and not having to relive the same story 1000 times. =) ❤ you All.
Nasolgia – The First Shoot here
Standing in the middle of my photo shoot, while background props were assembled and the makeup time/stylists had their way with me, I was hit with an odd memory I had from elementary – triggered by the Madonna song ‘Express Yourself’ playing upstairs in the dressing room. In grade school my mom, being a pushy show mom that she can sometimes be, forced me to be in the talent show my school had and wanted me to sing that song. I remember before getting up on the stage, seeing lights and the entire crowd, thinking of how much I liked knowing I had all the attention on me and how I thought that this feeling was some form of a premonition, some how I wanted to feel this way always. I just never knew how to achieve it. I was so painfully shy (too shy to act) and ironically, not a good singer … so with that said that talent show was a bust. But when that song came up today, I flashed back to that day when the lights were blinding and I reflected on how far along I have come. I had all the attention I wanted on me: random hands pulling at my dress, assistants taping god knows what behind my back, makeup touch ups being done while getting my hair re-fluffed. It was such a peaceful warmness, after having the most chaotic morning. I’m just so grateful to finally be working, doing something I love and for the few minutes I had walking down memory lane made me re-appreciate were I was and what I do. After a while, shoots tend to feel the same and you get use to all of that commotion around you ; but today I really took it all in and treated it as if I was new to the scene. The clothing designer even mentioned how she hopes I stay the same way I am right now because a lot of the models she has met in the past have an arrogant attitude, but I came off very sweet and sincere; she even went as far to tell me she was going to tell the agency about what a pleasure working with me was. She promises to rebook me! So my workday Monday appears to finish strong. I could go on about the morning, but reliving that may make me sour. Let’s say the cab took an hour longer than he should have getting to a location that was 30 mins away and for a brief moment I thought I was going to be kidnapped. All in all, I may have let stress and paranoia get the best at me, but that’s probably bound to happen on 4 hours of sleep.
After the shoot I ate with the production crew and excitedly grabbed for a fortune cookie. I cracked it open and found… NOTHING. I searched the table and realized there was never a fortune in the cookie. I joked with everyone and asked if I should be worried that I had no fortune, I told them it was a bad sign – you know, one of those signs like when an automatic door doesn’t open for you, thus causing you to realize you have no soul. (Thanks Simpsons) Regardless, the photographer assured me it meant nothing, and told me if anything, it was good luck because it meant I got to have another cookie. I laughed and opened it up and read it out loud – now this is spooky – it said : You shouldn’t be worried about your future. It may be one of those you-had-to-be-there moment, but I get chills thinking about. I was so curious about my fortune that I had to crack open another, and it read ‘You will be unusually successful in business.” At this I quit while I was ahead and I went back to the model appartment a happy lil model.
Blog Catchup, Pretty Random
This is just a beautiful picture I took of the sun coming through the clouds. I thought it was pretty sweet.
In an effort to completely engolf myself with Espanol I started listening to Spanish music throughout the day and even at night to myself before falling asleep. Not sure what all is being absorbed, but it’s easy listening to Enrique over the pounding music the club outside of the model house plays.
The weekend plans were horseback riding Saturday followed by an easy day off at an art-walk on Sunday, but not everything goes as planned. Saturday morning was dark and gloomy, and as the day went- the colder it got. I did get the chance to get up on a horse after seeing the owners beautiful house, but my night fell flat after a great meal 
was wasted sitting in cold and a night of showtunes while drunk strangers sang their hearts out to blaring music and danced the night away. I always somehow seem to only get half of the days intiniary. I did learn more about the culture here though. Whereas English and French people like everything neat, organized, and expect dinners to be ran a certain way with everyone on their best behaviour, the Mexicans have a more relaxed, carefree way of eating. Elbows on the tables wouldn’t phased them, then alone a lil napkin on the ground. When dinner was being served, no one expected you to use your fork to pick up the cut of meat you preferred, instead, it makes for a more inviting environment to use your hands instead. In their eyes, your all among friends anyways – right?. I asked what if I only wanted half of a piece and they said, “doesn’t matter, use your hands to tear it apart, no one cares.” I thought that was pretty different, not sure if it’s something I necessarily like, but I can go along with it while I am here. Overall the meal was great, the company was fun, the weather was horrible (even the odd winter jacket made a scene) and the scenery was breath taking…
I just wish the whole night would have followed suit. Drinks poured, music playing, random dancing, and have it all repeated for 3 hours made for a cranky Jill. But I got home EVENTUALLY and after getting royally screwed from the taxi for fare – learned a lesson on asking questions before agreeing on weekend plans.
Sunday went off without a hitch on a near by street where a market was set up for the weekend to show crafts and paintings of the city people. I even scored me a slave bracelet I have been so desperately searching for and am excited to go back next week to see everything new and find me some deals.
—————- 12 days later. ———— or so it feels
On the modeling side of things: My weeks have started to drag lately, a couple of castings everyday but it starts to get hard to remember what all they are for. Today was a soccer/football calendar, yesterday a makeout scene with a male counter part (for a car commercial), the day before that a meeting with a company owner called WoolsWorth, which looks to be a department store similar to sears. Generally all the castings call for the same thing: a shot of you holding a number with your name and stats on a card, side profiles, and a behind shot… imagine any crime show you’ve watched where they make the criminal stand in front of the camera and you basically get the idea, minus the fact I have to smile here and there.
It surprises me now to see how comfortable I am acting in front of the camera. I still remember a time in middle school where I nearly cried because the drama teacher wanted me to pretend I invented an inflatable invisible toilet in front of the whole class… if only they could see me now and how truly fake I can be. Haa!
The lack of internet makes reaching all the casting nearly impossible. I have to pull late nights at starbucks to ensure theres room for me inside to just look up directions for the following day, and then of course throughout the day castings come in as well. Makes for some randomness and lots of stopping and trying out my horrible spanish, “Perdon, Benos Tarads, Donde es Coyacatan?” If I think I am close to a location and the 4th person I ask seems to have no clue then I take it as a sign I wasn’t meant to go to that casting. Only has happened once in 3 weeks –that’s pretty good!
The subway system Mexico has is pretty amazing, not in a breath taking way or anything (although it actually is nice, much nicer than TO’s) but in an easy to find your way around regardless that some stations have 4 levels. Everything is color coated with arrows pointing out the directions, so it gives me breather from straining to understand what everyone is trying to tell me and just lets me figure everything out for myself.
You’d be surprised to hear how much I get, “You’re from Canada, that’s like my dream destination to travel to.” If they speak English this is usually the 3rd item to come up in conversation. So many people want to see the snow and it seems so odd to me knowing how harsh the snow can be. I came here hoping to see the sun but have yet to get color. 😛 Rain, wind, cold mornings, that about sums it up – not complaining because I know what I left, but not quite what everyone had in mind I am sure when they are telling me not to forget sunscreen.
Eating here is becoming a strain, I literally can not find any TACO seasoning. And I put that on my salads, on all my meats, snacks, toast… and now I have nothing. Teriyaki sauce doesn’t exist and when I do get enough pocket change to buy seasonings they are always so spicy. I have to default to pastas or breads if I want to avoid a spice attack – which for a model diet is pretty harsh. I just started incorporating a glass of milk back into my system and mexican milk has got me questioning it a lot. They don’t have it in refrigerators which makes me think it must have a lot of preservatives in it for it to be treated like juice and left on the shelf… and the smell is quite odd, but I found a milk I can tolerate which gets me pretty excited, because cereal and porridge might just be the healthiest items I can find in the whole city. That and fruit. =) but still it’s odd to sit in an aisle for half the day trying to program all the products names into my translator trying to avoid wasting my money.
What else can I say in these few weeks about the city: Spanish lunch is at 3, so food vendors can be found on the street in between 1-4 usually if your trying to pick up local lunch, you must have a liking for deep fried food I warn. AND mexican popsicles are delicious! Cable and internet are still being promised to the model house soon guys so start lighting up my fb page so I am not bored to tears when I get home from my castings. =) By the time I post this online nearly none of my family will be in Canada… pretty crazy. Have a good trip to everyone away!
modelinginmexico 