My career as a professional model begins: the trials and tribulations of being professionally really really good looking September 25, 2007
Posted by Niels in : Personal, Work , add a commentSaturday marked my first day at a professional model.
Alexandra’s agency sent her info about a hair modeling opportunity downtown so I tagged along for the auditions on Friday. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived they’d chosen models for most of the cuts they needed and Alexandra’s features were too “dominant” for the remaining cuts. But apparently no other guys showed up, so they asked me if I wanted a free haircut and $300.
Umm… yes.
I came back the next day to get my hair dyed. They elected to dye it the same color it already was, the end result being that about ten grey hairs on my head are now black. And a lot of my scalp.
I committed to five hours on Saturday, but fortunately it only took 90 minutes to dye my hair the color it already was, so I got to leave early and go to a concert, followed by Bellevue Fashion Week, of course.
Sunday was the real workday, though. 9 am to 9 pm. I had to wake up at 7:30 in the morning! I didn’t even know there was a 7:30 in the morning!
But I arrived at the venue right on time, where I then waited and talked and waited and read and waited for several hours. At one point I overheard the following conversation: “And is Niels ok?” “Yeah, he’s just about done.”
Just about done? They dyed my hair the same color and hadn’t even touched it with scissors yet!
In the end, I got about a 5-minute trim before we went down to sit/stand for about 2 hours in front of a few hundred hairstylists.
Whatever. $300 in my pocket, met some cool people, added a new experience to my list. Good day.
Your thoughts?I score again at Bellevue Fashion Week September 24, 2007
Posted by Niels in : Personal , add a commentApparently Alexandra is my lucky charm because on Saturday I won three raffles at the finale event of Bellevue Fashion week. Add three pieces of women’s jewelry (a red lizardskin bracelet, a green lizardskin bracelet, and a pink beaded necklace) to the list of loot we’ve won together.
We got to the show about thirty minutes before it started (morning was spent in preparation for my modeling debut - more on that tomorrow - and the afternoon was spent at another free concert) only to discover that tickets were sold out! And people were getting turned away at the door.
So talking our way in wasn’t easy. We did it, but I’m not proud of it. I’ll be spending this next week paying back the good karma fund to balance things back out.
Alexandra and I did buy two raffle tickets each once inside, just to try to give a little back. I got three more tickets later because a couple I had randomly chatted with in the elevator had to leave early and gave us theirs on their way out.
Out of a raffle with about ten prizes, two of those three free tickets won. As well as one of the two tickets I bought.
Grand total: one very cool fashion show and three pieces of expensive but less-than-attractive women’s jewelry. Not a bad night.l
Your thoughts?Now get ad-free content: my RSS feed has been repaired September 24, 2007
Posted by Niels in : Personal , add a commentI just noticed that my RSS feed has been buggy for a while. It’s up and running again, so if you’re tired of looking at all the Google ads, you can get all the ad-free content you want right here.
Your thoughts?I’m bringing sexy back to Seattle. And I’m doing it for free. September 22, 2007
Posted by Niels in : Dating coach, Personal , 1 comment so farI’m exhausted. On Friday night I did a free two-hour seminar on banter followed by a four-hour session with a client. Both went great. I can’t believe how fast people can learn. Either I got really lucky with the people who showed up, or I’m a pretty damn amazing teacher.
The seminar was two hours of straight banter, trying to drive home how much fun it is to enjoy yourself and be in the moment. Your whole life is improv! Picking up a girl shouldn’t be any different. I had about ten guys who came out, enough that it was exhausting keeping track of everyone. But it was worth it. Seeing guys realize - hey, I can be myself and have fun AND get girls? It’s a good message to spread to the world.
On a personal note, I’ve grown out of pickup. I’m ready to leave it behind me, but I can’t. There’s too many guys out there who want to turn their relationships around, or specifically want my help, or are just headed down a path without me that’s going to leave them worse off than before. Teaching dating skills is going on the far back burner for me, but I don’t think I’ll ever be able to leave it completely behind until healthy, positive attitudes towards learning dating and relationship skills have gone mainstream.
So in the meantime, I’m going to try something new. I’m going to keep doing the occasional mini-seminar and just have people pay what they want. Hopefully I’ll make enough to keep myself motivated, no one will be excluded because they can’t afford it, I’ll have the majority of my time free to pursue what I really want, and we will all live happily ever after.
That’s the dream.
Your thoughts?Positively delightful September 21, 2007
Posted by Niels in : Ask Niels, Dating coach, How to, Life, the universe, and everything , 1 comment so farOne of the most powerful tips for self-improvement is also one of the simplest. Be positive. Learn to relate to the world in a positive light. “This heatwave is great! It’s given me a whole new appreciation for ice cream!”
It’s so easy to fall back on negativity to drive a conversation. Everyone can relate to being frustrated, or sleep-deprived, or depressed. But these topics are a conversational crutch.
Stay positive. Be the optimist who pulls any group up and people will fight for your company.
Your thoughts?