shanmonster | Pretty as a Picture

Yesterday's photo shoot was long and gruelling, but also both educational and productive. There were three photographers, in total: MEK, Mary Ellen Nealis, and Katie. Katie is a photo student from Holland College in PEI, and she is doing a practicum under Mary Ellen Nealis. I took turns modelling with Shallan. She wore homespun-looking clothing, and had an understated 60s look going on. In contrast, I was glammed up with two dance costumes: a red and gold number, and a purple and gold costume.

The shoot was very tiring, because I basically danced the whole time. And every now and then, while in a particularly difficult pose--like a back bend with my head just an inch or two from the floor--the photographer would tell me to hold. Ack! That is hard! I know they realize it's not an easy pose to hold, but I don't think they realize quite how strenuous it is! Well, I certainly got a workout out of it. My quads are throbbing, even now.

I can't wait to get copies of the pictures. What I saw was awesome. Mary Ellen Nealis is an award-winning photographer, and after seeing some of the pictures she took of Shallan and me, I understand why. She knows her shit.

Afterwards, I went to

snowy_kathryn's place for an apres-thesis party. Her party was the anti-

f00dave party, filled with subjectivists and pagans. His brain was whirling around so hard in confusion, I was afraid it might flop right out of his face. But the couple cans of Guinness he'd imbibed seemed to keep him comfortably numb. Skeptic that I am, I still managed to read tarot cards for several people. My fortunes were almost uniformly negative, although Kathryn is destined to take part in intergalactic bukkake. In reading my own fortune, I discovered I will become Elric. Whoa.

I had no idea tarot could be so freakin' weird.

Now, Pete from kung fu wants to go on a giant bike ride with me. I know I don't have the stamina to go on a 60 km bike ride, complete with challenging hills. Not quite yet. The way I figure, as soon as I can bike up York Street without needing to stop, then I'll be ready to attempt it. But it's going to take a while. When I'm back in shape for it, he says he'd like to bike with me out to my old place in the country. That's twenty-five miles out, with about seven miles of that very hilly dirt road. I'm game for that. Maybe next month....

I thought I might spend time in the jewellery studio today, making more things to sell, but when I look outside, the utter gloriousness of a fine spring day beckons me. I think I'll go for a nice, long walk instead.