Blue Skies at last! |
The rain let up a bit, though it seems like we had rain pretty much every day, but just in spurts. Everyone keeps telling me it is unusual and assures me that sunny San Diego will return.
Hmmmmm…
At least it's not cold and yick..snowy! It looks like a lot of the country got a lot of snow. It's so pleasant here, even with the rain. I feel for you Northerners!
A couple good days of blue skies, mixed with lots of clouds rolling in and out, but still enough to brighten one's spirits, and more importantly, take advantage of all the good hiking by my house.
Kitty!'s hair had grown totally out, and I guess it's that time of year when it starts falling out in giant clumps. Giant tumbleweed hairballs start drifting across the wood floors- not very appetizing! I really like her hair all grown out. She is extra snuggly. But the maintenance is not fun.
It was time for a Summer trim! Getting her into a groomer proved to be a little harder than I imagined. Called several places and they both had two week waits. What?!!? Finally I just called Pet Co., since they are such a giant company here. I think there are more Pet Co.'s than there are Starbucks.
I told Barbara that Kitty! was at PetCo getting groomed, and she wrote back immediately that I shouldn't take Kitty! there cuz several years ago one of the dogs they were grooming got loose and got run over in the parking lot. I just sighed. That Barbara!
Kitty! came back happy as a clam. I really think she loves being all shorn up like a sheep. Maybe not the process, but she does prance around and act like she's got a new dress on.
When they brought her out, I was mortified at how skinny she looked! You could see her ribs and her backbone! I thought for sure they would call animal cruelty on me. She's been eating very well, and her diet hasn't changed much since the first week I found her.
But I guess we have been pretty active since being here. Lots of walks, and lots of hiking. I didn't know she was burning through the calories, and it's so hard to tell her weight through all that fur.
I doubled her feeding times, now twice a day, which is probably better for her digestive tract. I don't like her going such long stretches before eating. Dogs can have trouble.
Within a week she fleshed out a bit. I will cut the amount down for the new evening feedings so she doesn't turn into Jabba the Pup.
We did discover some more hiking trails behind our house. The trails to left of the house are a high traffic zone. On the weekends there are just too many people and dogs there. As you already know, Kitty! goes nutso when she sees another dog on a leash.
So this new route is far less traveled. Not near as a challenging of a hike, but certainly a lot less stressful.
I even found some nice locations for photo shoots. It's gorgeous out here!
Fence Failing
I can't remember if I put a picture of my fence on the right side of my house in the journal.
I don't know what it is with me buying houses with fences falling down, but I seem to always pick 'em.
With all the rain, the fence started to fall over. I went out several times and propped the thing back up. The fence posts are just buried in the dirt- no cement base. I'm not even sure cement would do any good, what with the soil being so moist and loose.
I am tempted to put a new fence on a credit card and just be done with it, but even the 80 feet of fence adds up quick.
I'd be willing to try to build it myself, but I would like someone with some soil experience to really make sure the thing just won't slide down again. Well, at least not while I am still living here.
I think I will call a couple fence places and get some bids, just to see. Then I might just go buy all the parts in pieces. One week go buy the fence posts. Then in two weeks buy the cement, then the next time get the fence boards etc. Just chip away at it all the while eating Ramen for the next couple months. Sounds tedious, but I am stretched pretty thin.
House In Austin
The house in Austin is going Ok. I have a new renter moving in next week, and then the following month another will arrive. David's house is not due to be finished by May now, so there is going to be some overlap. I feel bad for everyone. It's going to be crowded and complicated. But I don't think anyone will have to move to soon or quickly. It's just gonna be inconvenient for a while.
Studio Progress
I hate having my studio in a garage. It's tacky.
So like the fence project, I will dump a little money every couple weeks into it to make it nicer.
The main problem I have is stabilizing the temperatures out there. Goes from pretty cool to pretty hot very quickly.
I knew I was going to need to insulate the garage, and thought I could just put some insulation up to try and stabilize the temps for now.
I found out that no one is using the old nasty fiberglass stuff, and that both Lowe's and HomoDepot only carry these aluminum bubble wrap type insulation. It's very space age!
It cost about $200 bucks and was so so SO easy to put up! I had the garage walls done in a couple hours. I would like to do the roof and maybe even the garage door. The insulation panels are so light and would likely not weigh it down. But the roof will have to wait till I talk to some construction people about where and how best to deploy it.
The following week I tackled the floor. I had powerwashed it a month ago, but there were tons of oil stains and the ground looked pretty crappy. Not something I thought barefoot models should have to endure.
I bought a couple cans of gray cement epoxy and got the floor painted nicely. I also found some area rugs on sale at Lowe's and put three of them down. The place was starting to take shape!
It's still tacky. I realllllly want to get drywall up, but there are several pipes that need to be moved, and that is beyond my skill level. It might be months for that to happen. I need some electricity run also, and now we are starting to talk about major dinero.
The final thing I did was I spent a couple days making new fabric backdrops. I made four new colored backdrops. They are little longer than I need- the garage ceiling isn't as high as it is in Austin, but I kept them longer in case I do find a higher location.
I think I finally have sewing down after sewing all these panels together. It's a LOT of fabric, and by the time I got to the third panel, I felt like a sewing pro. I miss my giant island in the kitchen in Austin though.
I've been hanging the new backdrops around the garage, and it help hides the fact that there are no walls..yet.
I think that's about all I can do for the studio for the time being. Now all I need are some hot models!
Magnolia Movie Night
So I am bit behind the times. My friend Mike (who has a dog named Sleeper..remember?) is putting the finishing touches on the overhaul of his house. It's still got some wall and flooring to go in the tv living space, but he bought a 50 inch plasma and got the theatre speakers up.
So he was ready for a movie night. We tried to have it Wednesday, but the kitchen was still in bad shape (no counter tops yet)
We watched Magnolia, and I was floored by this movie. I am gonna have to watch it about four more times to pick up on all the hidden elements, themes, tributes. Geez, Paul Thomas Anderson is a great director.
I can tell this is a movie you love or hate. It has its problems, but overall, I think it would be fun to go back scene by scene and pick all the dense scenes apart.
I loved the homage to Stanley Kubrick (2001 theme) and wondered at the name choice of the super duper smart quiz kid Stanley. Makes ya think.
New Models via advert on Craigslist.com
I decided to get busy searching for models.
I took an advert out on Craigslist, and that worked out pretty well here in San Diego. But I thought I would try the Los Angeles scene.
I got an amazing response to my advert, though I had a lot of them who didn't realize or were trying to get by the part about nudity.
I put in my advert that nudity is required, and yet I was getting guys sending me their Compcards and resume with all the acting they have done etc. Way to pro to be working with little 'ole me.
I would email them back and remind them that a portion of the shoot is full-on nude, and they would be like, “Uh, no I won't do nude, how dare you!”
Well, duh.
But fortunately, most of the guys that I really liked all agreed to come on down. So my next 3-4 weekends are full of potential models!
I found all types of models. Nice build guys, uber muscle, a little older, a little younger (ok a “twink”), a gorgeous Puerto Rican guy. ~sigh~
I do like to balance it all out, but often wonder if I had just one look and age range if I might build a power base of fans. Guy's tastes seem to run in one direction- a broad direction perhaps, but personal preference does play a big part of membership subscription base.
I dunno, I just like all types of guys, and will just continue trying to balance the variety.
Robert San Roman emailed me some pics of Brandon who lives here in San Diego. He shot with him a couple weeks back. Brandon's on a few of the big websites, but I thought maybe my little fan base would enjoy seeing him a bit differently.
I worked with him on Thursday evening, so we didn't get any outdoor shots. It was so super great working with a model who is used to taking his clothes off. I didn't feel like I had to dance around the subject and make sure he was feeling absolutely comfortable. Well, I did anyway, but I could tell he was very relaxed.
On Saturday I worked with Maxmiliano. He lives up near L.A. but is originally from Colombia.
I love his delicate features, and fans of thin build young guys, will appreciate him.
I took him to dinner and got a chance to learn more about him. Very sexy guy!
Finally on Sunday, I worked with Steve and that went very well. We did some outdoor stuff, and I got to use my new “set” and tried out some new lighting techniques. I will post a pic or two next time.
I have found viewers aren't terribly interested in unique locations. Mostly they just want to see the guys nekkid.
I got a new headboard, nightstand and am trying to get some more accessories for the shoots. Not sure anyone notices, but I do. I will still try to find new locations, but I do need standby “sets”
That's about it for the last couple weeks!
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