Tokyo sounds spectacular

Hello Gilly!

I loooved your letter from Tokyo! Now I have a far better understanding of how it all works there! Before I had no idea, really.... It even made me consider going there some day... hahaha. Because you know that before I didn't even want to consider it, I had a bad idea about the whole experience. But now all I read sounded so nice! It's amazing to be driven around all day, and not have to take the metro, and change different types of transportation like everywhere else... it doesn't matter if it's rainig or snowing, if its cold... because you are in the car/van all the time. That's really cool and makes life much easier in my opinion! Also, you get payed so freakin much!!! It's unbelievable! I worked a lot for shows and presentations in New York and in different cities in Europe and nowhere the rates are that high! And, trust me, doing a presentation - standing straight without moving for 3 hours - for 100/200 dollars in your pocket (that is, if you are lucky to get payed at all), is faaaar more difficult than being driven to your castings, being introduced, trying on some stuff and then being booked!!! I am really a bit shocked and impressed! It makes me think, what am I doing? Why am I wasting my efforts and my energy and everything for the shitty presentations that are maybe the most common job in the states... for no money at all!!! Ok, they pay in trade, let's say! But the trade is almost always really ugly, 10 sizes bigger that yours, from old collections, or with a defect in the fabric, for example... and honestly, you get it 6 months later.... And only if I take a 14 hour flight to Tokyo I book real shows without being exhausted from doing 12 castings on foot, and I get payed between 2000 and 4000 dollars!!!! Oh god... :) hm... yeah, it's not bad, not bad at all!!! I am very happy that you are enjoying yourself, having fun, booking jobs, and making the most out of the experience! I am still waiting for things in Milan to pick up, but I know they will :) Miss you!!!

*Sally* 

hello from TOKYO!!!!

hey SALLY!!!!!!
i am writing you from tokyo!!WHAT AN EXPERIENCE!!!!
i landed at  tokyo narita airport around 07 in the morning. after 12 hours flight from ROME. i took a bus that goes into the city that my agency told me to take. and one lovely manager called Toshi went to pick me up me and my luggages! she showed me my apartement, i am in a single room and share the apartement with 3 other models. i had time to go for a shower! after 14 hours flight, your desperate for it!!!! well at noon i had to go to the agency which is just 3 floors up my apartement, and HERE we went for castings.!!!!!!!!!!
you expect you are going to one? two? three? noooooooooooooooo its more around 12!!!? we are about 7 girls in a van going from one casting to the other, thank god a manager drives us, because TOKYO is huge and u could never find ur own way if you were alone because all the streets are in japaneese!
at a casting, you dont talk , you just sit there, and the manager introduces u to the client, speaking japaneese. he knows by heart everything about you, where you are from, age, and what jobs u did in the past. he SELLS you!
then here you go in the van to the next one.....well on my first day, the last casting was at 22h! non stop going from one to the other. We sometimes have to wait because we are a little early, or many other girls in front of you so we have time to go buy some food in the convenient stores.
there is CONVENIENT STORES everywhere!!!!!!!!!7 eleven, lawson, family mart, mini stop, NAME it!!!!! its full of it. its full of japaneese stuff, you mostly dont understand a thing of what you eat, but its very fun to try out!!!!! LET me tell you, u are often very surprised!
finally at 22h30 you are home.
next day....SAME!!!!!!

the castings are funny, sometimes you have a number, sometimes you have to put a coloured t shirt, sometimes.when its for show you usually have to try something out. one or two or three outfits, then picture everytime. they are very organised. we also have castings during the weekend.
here the shows are paid much more then europe or states. you get 4000 dollars for a good show.
the money is here YEN. so to convert.  100 000 yen is 1000 dollars.
food is cheap.example for a rice ball its 1.60 dollar. except fruits, a appel is 2 dollar..and a cherry tomato little pack is 5.00!!!!
its called convenient store because everything can be eaten right away! convenient! and its so good! u have a variety of stuff. i havent try out everything. i stick to my rice triangles with something fishy tasting inside....i have my favourite cookies , i believe they are diet. full of vitamines and they dont make u fat!
and the MILK THEA is amazing

the city is amazing, its full of lights, night comes down around 6 oclock even in the summer, cars ride on the left side, and people walk on the left side too. they usually stay in a line for crossing the street.its very organized!!!! convenient stores are open 24 hours 7 even on holiday. stores are open till very late! restaurants also! the city never sleeps! you can find cabs everywhere at any time. you just stop them if they have the light on. the taxi doors are automatic so they open and closes by itself!!!
japaneese dont speak english!!!!! so you better have the adress where you live written otherwise you can walk home! the night life is crazy! even very late at night its full of people!
japanese are well known for partying!

i made friends already, i went out , we got invited to an amazing modern boat party a bus took us there organized by a promoteur. can you imagine? a bus full of models? u would think its a school trip!!!

and of course everything is paid, champagne bottles everywhere! free entrances, vip areas! there is 3 clubs models goes to. lex Fbar and feria! you can meet friends and have fun and relax. you get coins in the entrance of lex to drink anything u want!

so far thats it for this post, i ll keep you updated of my stories my dear sally! i wish u were here with me:)

gilly.

Its Complicated

"IT'S COMPLICATED... IT ALWAYS IS... THAT'S JUST THE WAY IT GOES..."
David Guetta Ft. Kelly Rowland


Yes.... It's true....
Gillyyyyy,
I'm so confused right now, you have no idea.. The thing is, I have a guy issue. But it's not the usual one - when a guy likes me and simply can't stop writing me - its' the opposite! I like a guy that doesn't reply to me... :-/  You know how I am always complaining about some guys that I meet and talk with and end up  giving my number/BBM/facebook/email to, who keep contacting me and trying to take me out! And I'm always trying to come up with excuses to say "NO"... or to gently explain that I'm not interested in a relationship, or even a fling... or at least not with them. Because, you know, I honestly think that a real relationship can work if you both get along really well and understand that it will be hard. Also, I think not having big expectations or plans to burden your relation with is a really good thing... as long as you enjoy each other's company and get along and.. click... it might actually work. That, however, is extremely hard to find and that's why when you think you've found a guy with potential.. you have to hold on to him, right? Well.. my dear Gilly... I think I found that kind of guy, with soooo much potential.. it's even unbelievable... and you out of all people know how picky I am.. In fact, we both are!!!! As far as I know, you like him as well... hahaha... and not only as a friend. That doesn't bother me, however, because it's you! :) But I also think I reeeeally like this guy! OK, so far so good, but the problem is that after the other amazing night, during which all his actions showed that he is very interested in me, he not only did not write, he didn't even reply to my bbm... :-( This hasn't happened in...  never! So now I'm trying to analyze his actions during that night, but the more I think about it, the more unexplainable it seems, because everything he did towards me was just perfect! He works at this restaurant/bar/club that we keep going to, so he can't hide ;-) But of course I am not the type to push and insist, if he is not interested, he is not interested, basta!

My roommate has the opposite problem... the more common one for models, to be honest! She simply can't get rid of a guy... but he's from the most persistent ones, admittedly! She doesn't pick up, she doesn't answer... she really showed him she is not interested, but he keeps calling... pff.... and I am giving her advise how to get rid of him... :-D such irony! I think the best way to do it is to say the truth. Whatever it is... the truth is always best! So I wish my guy would also tell me what the problem is... if he doesn't like me it will hurt 100 times less to actually hear it than not to hear it but to have to guess it from his "ignore". Oh well... it's all for the best... that's what I must believe!

So, you know it Gilly, we models have problems with guys, too. Maybe not the most common ones - not being able to find guys that like us - but still problems.. being liked by almost everybody, all of whom suck, or not being liked (the way we want to be) by the ones we find.. well... perfect? ..

I will keep you posted on things, dear Gilly.... thank you for listening/reading me out! hehehe..
I love you!

*Sally*  

lucky chickens

sally ,

people!!!!!!!! if ur modelling u better fasten your seatbelt, because u never know where u might end up and in what rapidity...remember i told u about tokyo? well, my flight is in one day and a half...and that one day and a half was crucial because i am GOING. END DECISION!......well i think it is..:):):)

anyway today i wanna share with you and enumerate everything we can and DO Get for free thanks to being models. Sally u know, u live it with me:)

but i wanna establish a list to see how lucky and ABUNDANT we are...

first we get free lunches. promoters in milan have this everyday lunch planned with a restaurant and models can just come in, and EAT:) 

DINERS is the same, you are invited by the promoter and u just go to a very nice restaurant. of course models have to keep the shape so we often dont eat anything, or a couple of sushis or veggies...

then we get DRINKS for free. you can drink as much as u want, till you drop dead , drinks keep on coming! ANYTHING u want! champagne till vodka martini..whatever!!!

 that actually shows u how responsible you actually are. if u go home in a acceptable way, u passed the TEST!!:)

then we get into the most selective clubs FOR FREE! name it, armani, cavalli, arc , vip room, 1 oak, provocateur..blablabla from the whole wide world....FREE..

and the BEST, its definitely my favourite.... WE DONT DO THE LINE!! ah mannn that feels goooooooooooooooooddddd...and u feel VIP!!!! my little guilty pleasure:)

personnally, once i got a MAC computer for free....yeah that doenst happen every week..but its definitely memorable. 

at castings for fashion week some people gave us bag of food!hahahaha!

topmodels get clothes also from designers.

We also are paid to stay at the most beautiful hotels and thanks to jobs i travelled the world . I've booked trips to, domenican republic, egypte, dubai, qatar, new york,paris,cabo verde ....PAID TO GO THERE? escuse meeeee.....!!! hum....torture??ahhaa..well its not even half of the list i have been!;)

sally, we are officially, two freaking lucky chickens:)

i love you...

me.

MEMORIES

Sally,

i feel a little bit nostalgic tonight, i went through some of my old modelling work. in 7 years time, i realised i did a lot. i think we underestimate our work sometimes. we always aim for what the neighbour's has. but we must take more time realising how pretty and abundant is our OWN garden before its too late, in order to appreciate our life more and more.

I remember myself as a young model , i didnt trust the photographer very much and felt very ugly most of the time, and now i see the old editorials i am thinking ...WHAT WAS wrong about it? nothing? the pictures look even nice!!!!!

Sometimes we need to come back in time to say, hey , i wasnt that bad?!! yeah but it would have spared some bad feelings in the present if i would have thought this at that time!!!!

so people. give yourself some favour and LIKE YOURSELF NOW!!!!!! not in 10 years looking back at your old pictures!!!

kisses to you my sally

gilly:)

Life is Spectacular!!!

What can I say? Life is spectacular...

In so many ways, I don't even know where to start from...
To be honest, the thing that inspired me for this letter, dear Gilly, was the great amount of invitations and opportunities you get when you are a model! It simply fascinates me and I find it almost shocking.

Let me illustrate my point, for those who don't know what I mean, really. Let's take tonight for an example (but don't feel fooled, it's the same every night, not only on Saturday..!). I have soooo many invitations to go out, by numerous promoters and friends that I know well, as well as such that I've only just met yesterday/last week. Don't get me started on the invitations that I receive from guys that want to be more than friends, or that think they already are more than friends (mostly for justified reasons... hahaha .. upsss), but in fact will never be. What can I say? It's often hard to choose, and when you choose, you often offend many of the rest. Sometimes it happens that you regret your choice, but most often you don't, because who you go out with is determined by the amount of fun you have with them... For me that's the most important factor.. how you feel in the company! If you feel that the people are boring, or they don't pay attention to you, they don't respect you, they don't make an effort to introduce you to everybody or to take care of you throughout the night, I usually decide that these people will be for emergency only!! hahaha.. What I mean is, I will go out with people like that again only if there is nobody to go out with, and I reeeeally want to! Or if they are going to a super special place. So.. Yes, most often I choose by the company, but the second factor in the decision making is the event/restaurant/type-of-food/club/bar that they are going to. It's very important indeed. But basically there isn't such a big diversity, especially in Milan (where I am currently), mostly because the "cool" places are not thaaaat many, but also because my social circle, and any model's social circle (in most cases), is pretty much the same, so they all go to the same places, and usually they all know each other. Thus, it's not rare that I see 1 or 2 of the other companies that were also inviting me to come with them, either in the first or the second club (yes, we do go to several clubs per night), and sometimes even in the restaurant! You are probably wondering - are models THAT rich?!?!?!! Well... let me tell you! We don't pay for one f***in' thing! Oh, well, I am lying... occasionally we pay for a taxi here and there... but most often they drive us home ;-) What were you thinking?? That they will leave the beautiful models to go back home? Nooo.....

All this might seem incredible and absolutely jealousy-worthy (don't know if that's even an expression, but who cares), but sometimes all I want is to have real friends, real company that I can call at any time and confess a problem, if I have one, or whatever! You know? Sometimes the more invitations you get, the more lonely you feel in the city you're at. But that's the reality of the modeling life... you either take it or leave it.. So, since I'm deeply in it, I might as well be grateful for my truest and best friend - you, my dearest Gilly - plus, take advantage of all the opportunities as much as possible! I love you unmeasurably much and thank the Universe that it brought you to me, so that whichever invitation we choose for the night, we always have fun, because we are together! I wish that to every person, model or not!

P.S. Right now you're is not in Milan with me, but this doesn't mean I'm not excited for tonight, or that I'm not going to have fun... hahaha... maybe the reason for that is partially in the glass of red wine sitting next to my computer... :-)

Thank you, dear Gilly, for being you and for being my best friend!

With Love,
*Sally*

UNPREDICTABLE AND CHAMPAGNE

HEY SALLY!!!!!

When some people fought for the rights of paid holidays, honorary from 09 to 05, and WEEKENDS.. I think nobody sent the fax to the fashion guru!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

modelling is full of unexpected events, that actually make our life very intense , surprising and exciting but in the same time UNPREDICTABLE!

I had my dosis this week so i decide to write you about it;)

remember i got this job in madrid and i had to fly the same day!?

well it kept coming, first on monday, confortably sitting on my couch, watching tranquilly a nice movie. my booker calls me at midnight, telling me i m replacing a girl on a fashion show the next day during the milan fashion week! FINE but  call time is 07h30? well i better hurry in my bed if i wanna look acceptable!!!! to get at least 5 hours of sleep!

then.thursday, i have nothing the next day, so i just decide to go relax and have a drink , when in the middle of the night, me and my roomates, we  get a call from the agency saying we have to show up at some studio at 09 am for a casting/ the client is going to pick one of us to shoot an editorial.....thats when, 5 hours sleep became a LUXURY!!!! but we still looked fresh and showed up very proffesionnal to the studio and i shot that day!!!!!

I have to SAY that CHAMPAGNE is MIRACULOUS! no matter how much you drink of it, if you dont MIX , you will feel totally PERFECT the next morning! try that!!:) 

finally,just today, 5 days away from my departure to japan......I cancel........i disagree with a close in my contract so i rather step backward. I think on this i need to trust my instinct, what do you think? i hope i did well doing so.

Ill say FASHION doesnt depend on TIme , hours or days of the week , its ruled by PASSION, if ou FIND A JOB THAT YOU LOVE AND YOU WILL NEVER WORK IN YOUR LIFE! i think i found mine:):):):)

have a lovely week sally! i love you.

GILLYxxx