new city, new crowds.

my last blog post was about a month ago, i feel like i’ve neglected this blog way too much, but in a way… i’ve moved to Toronto the first week of june, and it was a lot of work. but i’ve talked enough about moving in my previous posts, i think you might know by now that i was planning on moving if you regularly read my blog, and if not, i’ll say it one more time, not to get redundant, i moved to Toronto from Montreal for university. i’ve decided to continue my education in Toronto as their university program for photography is more recognized and professional than the ones available in Montreal. also, a change can never do bad. and if it does so, you can always call it an experience. which we all need.

moving to a new city was definitely an experience (i’ve never moved before.. in 19 years) well, i moved once, but it was in the same city, so that doesn’t count. there was definitely a lot of work to do in my apartment. one thing i’ve learned, Toronto is terrible with apartments. either they’ll cost you an arm, and your soul, or they’ll be extremely average, usually lots of fixing up to do due to the people who lived in it prior to you, and still cost you at least a hand. and maybe a foot. and i’m not even exaggerating! but i was lucky, for the rent, my apartment is pretty big. and after working on it for about two weeks, it’s starting to look better! i started painting my room just a few days ago. i decided to focus on everything but my room first. because when it’s your own place usually your room is the last room you care about… so i focused on the living room/dining room, kitchen and bathroom first. i will probably take pictures of my apartment once it’s all done.

and although Toronto’s considered to be similar to NYC, and all those other overpopulated cities, it’s actually really clean. i was surprised with that. i could even say cleaner than Montreal. but we all know, more taxes, more costs = more benefits. Quebec (the province which Montreal is in) has very low taxes, and most things are free, and if not, pretty cheap, like education and medical services. university here costs more than twice what it costs in Montreal, but there are reasons behind it. you get a much better education. teachers get paid more = they’re more interested in teaching and keeping their job. also the schools get a better funding from the government, which also means that your education quality will be better. who wouldn’t want to learn in an environment that doesn’t feel “cheap” and almost deprived?

now, the crowds. like any city, i’m positive, Toronto has its crowds. i’ve met some really nice people so far, but whenever you find one great friend, you’ve probably went through twenty bad ones before you did so. and that’s okay. you aren’t supposed to have a hundred “friends”. in my book, friends = best friends = family. so in my life, there’s the people “i know”, so acquaintances. then the people i trust, care about, and love, so friends. and that way i don’t get hurt. more people should see it this way. so far i’ve been introduced to the party crowd, who are nice people, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes those people tend to be unreliable. as some really, all their life is about is partying, drinking and social climbing. then some let it all go to their head. and that’s cool, as long as they’re happy doing so!

i’ve also been applying for jobs, and that’s been going well, although…. at first, for about two days, i handed out my resume at a few places, only to notice later that it still had my old Montreal phone number, which has been disconnected because i needed a Toronto number. it was a real FML moment. but i couldn’t help but laugh about it… sometimes i feel like those things only happen to me. i’ve been good so far at turning the stove off after i use it though, but i couldn’t say i haven’t forgotten candles burning a few times when leaving my apartment… i’m getting better at that too though, so don’t worry! it’s all practice. i’ve had a job interview last friday, and it was really well, the lady who was interviewing me was really sweet.. which is never a bad thing during an interview, it definitely makes you feel more comfortable. she was the co-manager, i guess that’s how they do interviews, first the co-manager interviews people, then they refer the ones they liked for the manager to interview, and!!! the manager called me yesterday to set up an interview time on monday! hopefully i get the job. i’ve been jobless for the past 20 days, i’ve been enjoying my freedom a little too much!

i’ve also posted a few new pictures on my deviantart, you can check them out by clicking here!

when you lift me up.

ever moved out? had to pack all your stuff in boxes? well let me tell you, it sucks. especially when you used to be a compulsive shopper like i was. and.. when you’re the kind of person who just cannot get rid of things. that’s how i am. i still have clothes from four years ago, not that i wear any of it… but the idea of just throwing it all out, or giving it away for free seems ridiculous. and what if i one day find myself to need this one item? you never know. and trends come back too! i know some people who clean their closets once a year, some people twice a year. i have no idea how they do it. and it’s not just with clothes, everything. cds, books, magazines, art supplies, etc. i hate the idea of throwing out something i’ve onced spent money on. i mean, if you once bought something, it’s because you loved it at some point, and although the thing is stored somewhere random.. you still feel some sort of an attachment. anyway, enough with the crazy talk. i’ve been packing boxes all day. i also just made a reservation for a moving truck (who knew it was that expensive to move 545 kilometers away) !

i’m moving out the first week of June. so soon! i will soon be able to count the remaining days on my hands. it’s all been so complicated organizing everything. if you’ve moved out of state for university before.. you know what i’m talking about. and i hate when things are complicated, and sadly… we live in a society where everything is so much more complicated than it should really be. let’s take the issue with my job as an example. i asked for a transfer, because they’re also located in toronto. first i have to fill all these papers, random awkward questions, update my resume-print it, write a cover letter-print it (writing a cover letter has got to be the most annoying thing anyone is ever gonna ask you to do), then my boss has to answer all kind of questions about me as well, then the boss of my boss has to read it all and approve the transfer. now you think it’s supposed to be all ok after these things, but you’re wrong. then the human resources faxes it. i wait a week, a week and a half. and i hear nothing back. turns out i have to call the toronto place myself, and make all the arrangements. it would’ve been nice to know ahead of time.. as i am moving in about 2 weeks. and if only the toronto human resources thing would be easy to reach. i called five times so far, and got an answering machine every single time. but oh well! just things you’ve got to do. laziness doesn’t get anyone anywhere.

i’ve finally gotten around to take pictures of sandrine yesterday! it was so sunny out, we did the shoot by her pool. you can check out one of the pictures on my deviantart here. let me know what you think!

sweeting thing.

i have to be at work in about an hour, so i’ll have to make this short! last friday i did a photoshoot using my friend Justyna as a model, we decided to just go downtown and find random locations… because really we didn’t have any in mind nor much planning done. you’d think that downtown, around buildings and all, you can just do whatever the hell you want, but apparently not. we got told by security guards to leave unless we had a permit in two different places. and it’s not like we were actually inside a building, by some sort of monumental sculpture… one of the places where we were taking pictures was a random window that had this one mirror effect which we thought was pretty cool and crazy, and then the other place was in front of a water fountain… i’m surprised we didn’t get our asses kicked by a priest for taking pictures leaning in a bush in front of a church..

it’s great though because every time a guard(or two) would come up to us to let us know that we needed a permit and that we should leave immediately before we get arrested and all, we already had all the shots necessary… i mean, how fast can they notice on their little security camera tvs two little people taking innocent pictures in front of a window, leave their little booth and walk all the way out the building? not so fast..

i know the styling is a little unusual, mainly her hair (which i haven’t styled, it’s her own hair, she models for Loreal hair stylists and all, so she doesn’t really have a word on it either) so i’m almost positive that the average person upon seeing the pictures will come up with unthoughtful comments. (i personally LOVED her long hair too, i don’t know if you remember a long while back when i used her for the Impolite ads) BUT! i personally think her new hair is edgy and high fashion looking, it adds creativity to the shots.

you can check out the two first pictures on my deviant art here and here. let me know what you think!