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.