spoiled chinese girl

It’s the Toronto International Film Festival going on all week, and because of it I’ve been getting random gigs to do various types of promotions all week.  Also it means there’s lots of “stars” in and around the city.  (Well, some were already here.  They’re filming “Hairspray” down the street from my friends house, and apparently John Travolta has been working out at the same gym as a bunch of my friends)

So as I may or may not have mentioned (I keep more than one blog and I’m just not a cross-poster) I was flyering for a movie this past Friday and Saturday for a midnight Saturday/Sunday screening.  The movie is “Shut Up and Shoot!” which I flyered for, heavily, for two days.  I met the writer & one of the lead actors Silvio Pollio, and another lead Joseph Cortese (I) plus their publicist.  I also have all their cell phone numbers. Hahaha.  Anyways, I couldn’t make it out to the screening, I was busy that night.

Sunday while doing more flyering around the Ryerson Campus area, and Queen Street to attack the young-hip crowd, I ran into Ron Sexsmith and totally asked him if he wanted a pass to this movie screening, just so I could say “I talked to Ron Sexsmith!” to one of my friends (Brandon) who just is a big admirer of his music.  I like Ron’s music too, I saw him in concert maybe 7 or 8 years ago, he was the “opening act”? for Tom Cochrane at a free concert held at the CNE when I was 16 years old, I had no clue who he was but I really liked it back then.  Anyways, he said no thanks he was busy and went about on his way.

Sunday night I was called in for an interview for Monday afternoon, and after the interview I was asked to start later said afternoon.  So I did.  Now instead of handing out postcard sized…. cards, I’m handing out newspapers. Which would explain my MSN name of being “Flyer girl to Paper boy”  I get a t-shirt, a hat, and a giant newspaper bag! I think out of everything I only get to keep the t-shirt, maybe hat.  I highly doubt I’ll keep the bag.  Anyways, nearing the end of the shift (4:30-9:00pm) I ended up running into Richard Leacock from the TV series Doc which I watch whenever I’m awake and near a TV on a weekday at 10am that is tuned into Showcase.  It was dark and not having streetlamps, I seriously didn’t realize it was him until me and my partner offered him a paper and he replied with he’d already read that issue.  It was totally his voice.  And I was all excited which made my partner laugh cuz it was funny.

As an aside, my friend Carmelina Lamanna was a guest star in one of the episodes of Doc as well.  She actually trained at the same TaeKwon Do school as I did for many years, and received her black belt I believe one season before I did (I got mine in the summer of 2000.)

Also, one of my most prized selling points for the Monday edition of the paper was “Cute pictures of Brad Pitt!”  And hey, whatever works, right??

So that’s about it for now, I’m working again Wednesday, after a job interview in the morning.  And I may be doing some body modification on my friend Richard from Broomfiller.  I swear, everyone has an IMDb page except me!… and Brandon.

Well then, that was a link-filled post!

So last Friday & Saturday I was a promoter type person, basically being a flyer girl for this movie that was released/screened Saturday at midnight. This consisted of 10 or so hours in total of walking around in circles convincing people to take these horribly printed 4×6 postcards out of my hands to make my bag lighter. Yes, I know I rock at such tasks because I have no problem going up to strangers, but at the same time I keep thinking I'm not cut out for the job.

Apparently not. Today (Monday) I just got interviewed, and started my new promotor type person gig, handing out free newspapers to all those who will listen. It's awesome in that it's money in my pocket I can spend on buying booze to hang out with boys, but at the same time it's more interacting with the public, and more standing and walking. My ankle already hurts from all the standing and walking I did last weekend. Basically I have severely flat feet, and no arch support in my shoes causes my feet to hurt if I stand too long. Solution? I need to go shoe shopping.

Either Tuesday since it's a day off, or Wednesday before my shift? I don't know, I also need to send in an application to be in a music video. I'd personally rather go in as a “burly/mean soccer player type” then the “screaming fan type” but whatever. It sounds like it would be fun. And there's baseball games I need to attend to as well the upcoming Sundays, and a show on the Saturday. Oh I also need to find a yoga studio closer to my home, and maybe start making use of this gyme membership again.

For a person who's unemployed, I'm f***ing busy.

So I didn't end up going to Bikrams at all on Thursday because I just couldn't get out of bed. I slept most of the day away, and then went down for the unicycle club meet at a dirt-jump track and spent my time standing, sitting and generally being inactive.

Which was made up for today by flyering for nearly 5 hours straight and walking around in large circles, followed by the 6:30pm Bikrams class. The place was PACKED. I swear at least 12 people were in the studio, which made it even hotter since there's just more people.

What's frustrating is my form is getting WORSE not better the more classes I go to. I just don't get it. And I was having MASSIVE doubts about being in the class before it began. And afterwards I exited the building, and went straight to the 7-11 and polished off a bottle of gatorade in I swear 5 minutes. I was half-finished the bottle I bought by the time I brought it to the register. I'm still craving meat like crazy and nearly went to BK's to get their quad-stacker (meat/cheese/meat/cheese/meat/cheese/meat/cheese/bacon/bacon/bacon) but was really absent minded and drove home instead of to BK's.

The cravings are real. I know for a fact I haven't been taking in nearly enough water, or sodium, or protein, or fat in my diet lately and this is just my body saying “FEED ME”

Also, two days later, and both Bikrams instructors seem to still be in awe at my double-class-attendance on my second day of doing Bikrams. It was cool.

Yesterday I went to my first Bikrams-Yoga class, and I went by myself. Then I ended up at the pool to cool off after spilling out my guts to my best friend. Today I found myself with a goal and desire to push myself beyond any reasonable limits. I went back to Bikrams. Twice.I’d already pretty much decided I would have been going to two classes very early in the morning. I met up with Ashleigh at the 2:30 class which we both did it and it was an awesome class, then she casually and mostly jokingly asked if I would do a second class. Both me and her seemed surprised that my answer was not “Yes” but “I’d already decided I was going to” We sat on church steps and people-watched between the two classes. Then I took her to Honest Ed’s where she was accosted by an old lady with 4 brown teeth to wear a jacket so the woman could check the quality. Then we raced back to the school for round two.

I knew I was crazy going into it. Bikrams is doing intense, and quick-paced yoga for almost two hours in basically a sauna. To say one is drenched in sweat is an understatement. The temperature and humidity is that the only way sweat is removed from your body is if it drips off you (which happens regularly) or you wipe it off. There is no relief, no vents, no breeze. The air surrounding you is as hot as you are. Almost claustrophobic because there is no escape, and no relief. The only relief comes from accepting the heat, and letting go of the discomfort. I passed the first class yesterday and felt accomplishment. But I needed more. I wanted to push myself past the limitations normal people felt. I wanted to do Bikrams until I blacked out. I wanted the sensation of realizing knowing where my breaking point was, by breaking it. That’s when I decided I was going to do a double class. I may have decided this the night before. I needed to prove that very little of anything is a physical game. It’s when the mind is overloaded that the body will falter.

I went past my breaking point. About 3/4 of the way into the second class I felt it. During a pose I can’t remember, I felt convulsions like I would throw up, if I had anything to throw up. During the camel/backward-bending pose I had my episode of blacking out. I came out of it, and knew I’d be alright. I finished the class, and in the final resting pose that I can’t spell, my mind was resting, and racing. I was relaxed and energized, and bouncing off the walls internally. I walked out of the studio and didn’t know my name. I felt like I was experience the most awesome drug-high imaginable. The world could end right at that moment, and I’d known I’d have lived the perfect life. Ashleigh saw what I was feeling, and she understood perfectly.

We went out for dinner afterwards and tried to hold 6 conversations at a time. Both of our minds were buzzing, going a million miles a minute without any sense of direction. I was trying to talk to her, and myself, and listen to 16 other conversations going on in the restaurant. I couldn’t focus on the menu for more than split seconds, and my decisions were made just as quickly. I would be changing thoughts mid-word into a sentance. I wanted to eat dinner, and go running, and sleep, and write this blog entry all at the same time. I couldn’t think because I was thinking too much. All my senses changed in an instant. I hate raw sliced tomatoes, and my dish had LOADS of them, and I ate them all. The texture of my skin has changed. I swear my fingertips have no traction on them anymore. My legs feel like they’ve changed in shape and length because I can’t walk normally. I was listening to everyone’s conversations at once and processing everything they were saying. My eyes rarely are able to focus on one thing, and are trying to turn in different directions all over the room.

Right now I can’t sit still, and this entry is taking forever to write because I just can’t concentrate. My body is expunging all sorts of toxins. My body hasn’t detoxed through my pores since my lemonade fast. My mind hasn’t felt so energized and clear since my black belt examination. I haven’t felt anything like this, and I don’t want it to ever stop.

Ashleigh says/predicts that in 3 months I’ll be calling her, telling her I’m going to LA for the April training session. Right now I don’t know what to believe.

I can’t stop touching myself. Not in a sexual way, just textures, especally the texture of my skin, is so different.

I have a lot of laundry to do.

There's no way I'm going to be able to make the 11am class. I should be leaving right now if I want to make it, but instead I'm going to go back and lay down. My muscles and tendons feel like dried pine, ready to shatter and splinter with every movement.

If it's any consolation, there's another class at 5. And there's unicycling after that.