An interesting Saturday...

So, to paraphrase my friend Sara, "Ah, you're not truly broke in NYC until you pose as a nude model." Aaaand... guess who is just that broke? A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a listing on Craiglist (in the 'Creative Gigs' section) calling for non-traditional models. Women with scars, extra weight, really anything or everything, for torso modeling. At this point, I was a few weeks post-unemployment and in the "Seriously, just someone pay me for something" mode. I saw $15/hour and got in contact with the artist. Her suggested date for meeting was today, August 8th.

Now, even though I know my parents are being (generously) financially supportive, so I could have easily backed out of the gig, for some reason I just didn't think much of it. And I'm not even sure why. But this seems to be a recurring theme. I headed down to the Sunset Park area of Brooklyn - a slightly sketchy looking, industrial area - mainly sketchy because of the industrial factor.

After meeting her, I found out that the artist, Clarity Haynes has been doing life-size female torso illustrations for quite a few years now. Before arriving at her studio, I really had no expectations. I definitely did not expect to be interacting in a sort of societal experiment, a study of how we perceive our bodies, and how the rest of the world does. Clarity has done a lot of drawings of breast cancer survivors, with single and double masectomies, along with many other generally interesting female bodies (and "plain" ones too, heh).

I feel like I was oddly displaced from the situation. I wasn't emotional, really, but I appreciate the whole message and purpose of her work. Taking my shirt and bra off in front of a person I just met, and then basically getting paid to have a four hour conversation while sitting topless? Oddly easy for me. It was nice - we're both intelligent people that can talk about lots of different topics. But, the ease is also where the displacement comes into play. It's real, but for such an emotional person, I wasn't really affected in the way that I think a lot of women are. When I look at the drawing, I see a body that I don't really care for. But, neither do I hate. There's no specific, strong emotion related to that drawing. In the long run, I am happy that I did it. And if she wants to do further work, I will definitely model again. To be a part of something a bit bigger than me; to have my 24.5 year old torso preserved in charcoal and paper (currently) is odd and unique. So... yeah, that was my interesting Saturday. My brain sort of perceives today in a choppy, disconnected manner, so I apologize for the choppy, disconnected writing.

Summer Internship WOW!

So yesterday I was offered an unpaid summer internship with Vera Wang. It's in their Production category, which is like product development. I am so excited and really blown away, but at the moment, the biggest issue is monetary. I still have not talked to my father about it, but the first thing my mom mentioned is the money. She's like "That sounds great, but I just don't know if we can afford it."

As of right now, the early financial numbers are:
$1000+ for rent (sharing a studio apt with my friend Shira - she's AWESOME!)
$225 for plane ticket
$90 for taxi to and from JFK
$240 for 3 months of bus passes
$55 for laundry
$100/week for food - $1200 total
$50/week for entertainment - $600 total

That's $3,360 for 2.5 months in NYC... Expensive! But not as bad as I expected. Are my numbers appropriate, for food and entertaining? I realize I probably won't be doing a *LOT* of stuff out and about, but I'd like to have the option.

PLUS food, living, just *life* in general. I want to get a part-time job once I'm in NYC, depending on the hours Vera Wang wants me. It's a freakin dream come true, and the fact that I even had an internship offered to me is amazing. The past three years, I've applied to SO MANY internships and nothing has come through for me. I've been talking to my mom more today, and she's much more positive about it. She's still worried about the finances, and mainly about her little ole EmBee being in such a big city.

I can't say I'm not scared either, but it's a freakin chance of a lifetime! So, yeah, I called the HR woman at Vera Wang today and left a message, trying to let her know that I'm very serious about wanting the position. Her last email yesterday wasn't definitive in the "Yes, you HAVE the job." So, I'm a bit nervous.

So...la la la...I am excited! But nervous...Don't really even know how to approach my father about this.

But, I will do something that I feel is very tacky but I need the help. Someone told me about this website, and considering that my parents don't have $3500 just sitting around for someone to use, I'm looking for any and all donations possible. :-* I love you all!

Grant me my wish!