I’m two weeks into the Big Apple and doing well: I’ve really enjoyed filming street interviews, and now I’m also working on designs for a company business card! (I’m also working on my own business cards, as seen below.)
Probably the biggest news of the week is that while out interviewing park-goers on Wednesday, a young woman approached me and asked if I might be willing to model for a photo-shoot she was working on. Apparently my hairstyle was exactly what she was looking for. I never once thought of myself as the modeling type, but wow! Forget making my day, that made the whole week!
So I got up early on Friday and went downtown to the salon, which is also a styling school: Arrojo (founded by Nick Arrojo after his many years doing hairstyles for the television show “What Not To Wear” — one of the few reality shows I’m actually familiar with! That was an exciting development).
The girl that I met was one of the students there, and she’s been learning how to treat and sculpt different types and lengths of hair. I got to have my hair washed and dried and so forth so that she could learn how to treat my style and cut: I wasn’t nervous about walking out with a bad ‘do, though. I wasn’t getting it trimmed or anything; she had run her own salon in the past before attending the academy; and there were mentors overseeing everything to give tips depending on the types of hair were being treated (there were at least ten other girls getting their hair done in different ways besides me).
So basically, the photos that she ended up taking were really just for her benefit as a student learning how to expand her repertoire of hairdos, and the real focus of the appointment was just the styling. (Needless to say, the whole gig wasn’t the type where ‘models’ get paid.) But I didn’t mind; it was almost spa-like and was a great way to sit down and chat with a girl my age for a good half-hour! We talked about who started the salon, how she decided to attend their school after running her own salon upstate, what we were both doing in New York, and (of course) my hairstyle.
Afterwards I connected with two other filmmakers in the area and got to talk with them over some pretty great food (side note: wonton soup is both delicious and also a more challenging dish than soup has any right to be), so today was basically just a great day of new social connections and extroversion. I got to talk with other people, but I also just got to listen: to learn new stories and new perspectives and soak in the variety and the originality of each presence that had entered my life.
And on the networking subject, I’ve got a couple of interviews with different Starbucks lined up this and next week, so pray for me as those slowly get rolling.
I think right now, my biggest challenge is actually just earning money off of my passions. When I see activities that I enjoy (designing pictures for people, filming or photographing for them, editing their scripts, being a model, etc.)… I’m afraid to ask for money because they might decide to choose somebody else and I just really really want to join in! I understand the concept of helping someone negotiate a price, but when they come to me for help I don’t want to be the one to bring up money.
Money is like a vegetable. You need it to live a healthy life and you always feel better with a regular dose of it, but sometimes it’s immensely irritating to deal with.
Also, it’s green.
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