I'm alive, actually.

I wrote this email to a friend recently, typed up on my phone while stuck in a music studio waiting to record.

 

 (begin)

...Life has been good lately. I'm playing more music than ever. I'm typing this up in a Brooklyn recording studio overlooking the East River. I'm here recording with a Brazilian band called 4US. At my first gig with this band I was approached by the conductor for the New York Symphonic Arts Ensemble to play for a Gershwin concert they are putting on. Inspired by the symphony, I have been playing more classical music than ever. Just today I ordered a couple of Bach flute duets (adapted for sax and piano) that my roomie and I are going to shed.

I have started teaching yoga privately. Each month I have more clients than the last, so things are moving nicely. I am building a program geared towards getting guys more involved in yoga. I think it's a great cause, as well as a relatively untapped market. I'm almost finished with a certification through Core Power yoga!

September is crazy busy for catering, and I had fashion week in the beginning of the month, so life has been fairly exhaustive. I walked in one show for a new brand called Baja East. The show paid and I had a good time, so no complaints there. You can see the show here (I'm "look 8"): - http://www.style.com/fashion-shows/spring-2015-ready-to-wear/baja-east/collection . I've been bartending more, which is both less work physically and more profitable than the typical waiter jobs I've been holding down.

I have started running more than ever and an simply LOVING it. I'm training for a half marathon in October, and hope to complete a full marathon in 2015. A friend of mine told me last week "if you're a runner living in NYC, you just have to do the New York Marathon". I had trouble disagreeing with him. Just today I ran almost exactly seven miles in almost exactly an hour. It's my best time yet!

...(end)

Yesterday the music came in the mail, and last night my room mate and I played through the Bach/Gounod Ave Maria duet for the first time. We had so much fun that we are going to learn a whole mess of songs and have a "fancy masquerade" party at the apartment for Halloween.

I spoke with my grandpa this morning. He reminded me that I'm learning "a priceless life lesson" by living in NYC. I'm coming up on my one year anniversary of having moved here. In one year, I will have managed to become certified in yoga instruction and bartending, a business owner, vegan, long distance runner and working high fashion model. It's nice to be reminded of this, as I rarely make time to reflect on my achievements. I prefer the mystery and challenge of what lies ahead. 

On October first I will have lived in New York City for one year. It's about time to execute the next chapter of goals and aspirations. Here's to 2015!

SUMMER! SUMMER! OMFGgggaaaaaahhh SUMMER!!

Summer love

After a hellish, frigid winter in NYC, summer is finally in full swing. People walk slower; sometimes enjoying a view or stopping to pose with one of the many sculptures near Columbus Circle. The crowds are flashes of skin and bright color. Clothing melts away like frost. I have yet to experience the complete changing of the seasons since moving here in October, but I have a deep suspicion that Spring never sprang. It seems to me that the flora and fauna of the city have been playing catch up. The dragonflies buzz about like little drunken airplanes while the sparrows chase less formidable meals. I alternate between rooting for the sparrows and the flies.

I do most of this observing while standing guard at Saint Laurent on 57th st. My work as a doorman has changed dramatically. We leave the doors open during warmer months, leaving me with little to do but click the tally counter and come up with ways to keep my brain occupied. I take the latter very seriously, despite the distractions (people asking for directions and terrible parallel parking). Memorizing poetry was a favorite of mine. After internalizing a half-dozen Dylan Thomas faves, I moved onto the fifty states (with capitals and the years they were inaugurated). I practice music, too. Tapping in 3/4 with one hand while 2/4 in the other was hard to get down, even harder to explain to the salespeople that I hadn't lost my mind. It didn't help that I was humming melodies to myself and periodically whacking something with my pitch fork to get back in tune. Now I'm working on tapping 3/4 over 4/4 WHILE singing melodies and root motions. Currently (and hilariously) I now spend my time alternating between the Sanskrit study of yoga poses and how to mix cocktails. No, I'm not going to open a yoga studio/bar like this one in Brooklyn. This is the regimen of somebody simultaneously in (I kid you not) yoga teacher-training and bartender school. In a few weeks I will be certified to help you down your dog and down your drink!

Won't you be my neighbor?

Modeling has been slow, but still rolling along. In recent months, I shot for Bespoken, Footwear Plus magazine, and did a fashion show at Parson's School of Design for the wonderful up-and-coming designer Jody Nam. Over the Fourth of July, I organized and styled my first shoot, working with photographer Jennifer Medina. She works closely with Ryan McGinley and was an absolute inspiration to shoot with. We worked at my apartment, turning my bedroom into a studio and scarring the neighbors with my tighty-whities, shooting on my fire-escape. The photos in this blog are snaps from that, borrowed from her photo diary. More pictures will come. Stay updated and check out my book on the new RED Model Management website. I had a chance to talk with Jennifer about growing up in Venezuela, and the wake of social destruction Chavez left behind. Her story (and the many illegal fireworks exploding outside my window) made me ponder the revolutionary war, and the fight to escape the tyranny of the British monarchy. Something I adore about living in New York is hearing the stories of those born elsewhere. I am constantly reminded of my privilege.

I fly West later this month to be a dorm counselor at Centrum's "Jazz Port Townsend" camp in Washington. Afterwards, I will spend a glorious five days in Portland, Oregon. I simply can't wait to see my friends and family.