The Naked Nerd

When you say you liked nerds, do you mean anyone who like plays video games, card games, all that stuff that's nerdy lol.

2010-07-07T11:02:00.001-05:00

I love anyone who's passionate about something, especially if it's a little away from the norm. Geeky things are the coolest! Rennies, Cosplay, DandD... I like nerds that aren't afraid to be themselves!

Ask me anything

Do you have any unusual hobbies or any unusual talents?

2010-06-30T14:43:00.001-05:00

Well, I'm a pretty odd kid, if I do say so myself. I like to do WW2 reenacting, I sew, I paint, draw, collage, photograph, bake.... I'm bendy, I love Karaoke, I can sing all of the states in alphabetical order...

Ask me anything

A video! Let's see if this works!

2010-06-21T20:59:00.002-05:00

Hey! Here's a video of my sister and I doing our comedy routine at the Ft. Indiantown Gap Reenactment in January :D

BIG NEWS!

2010-05-05T14:17:00.004-05:00

THERE IT IS! My very own Playboy Special editions cover! YEAH! HOORAY! It's so exciting to see myself in print, I'm at a loss for words! WOOOHOOO!

Ok, so in other news, if you'd like to order one, go to my site- www.titanialyn.com and follow the instructions. I'll paypal invoice you and you'll get a signed copy to your address of choosing.

In celebration of my boobs on the cover of a magazine, I'm going to go sing Karaokee tonight. (Angel is the Centerfold, anyone?)

Chicago!

2010-03-10T13:28:00.006-06:00

I love Chicago- It was the first city I did a modeling-work trip to, and everytime I go, the city treats me well. Here's a collection of photographs from my trip (you photographers are speeeeeedy!) plus one from a photographer I worked with on this trip from the last time we worked together.

(From left to right: EJR Photo, Huit Photography, GEM Photographic, and Artblanche)

Spring is almost here- I can feel it

2010-02-26T00:32:00.002-06:00

Even though it snowed buckets today, I can feel the uptick in my schedule. I'm starting to get busier, spring break planning is in full swing (a cruise this year, maybe? All-inclusive in Mexico?) and my house is getting messier.

I finally got around to unpacking from my last trip to DC.... getting snowed in for an extra week really pushed me behind on costumes and general housekeeping. I got to the bottom of my suitcase, and there it was! A glorious CD from Classic Pinup with fabulous pictures AND THIS VIDEO!!

(which blogger does not want me to upload for some reason, so here is the link)

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1357942714083

HOORAY!

What do you want for Valentine's Day?

2010-02-08T21:56:00.005-06:00

Someone made the mistake of asking me what I wanted for Valentine's day on Formspring.me- Since I didn't make a christmas OR birthday list, I guess this is my "things I want and would adore but can't justify getting them myself" list. (ps- Measurements: 39-29-39, Bra is 36DD)

Trashy's Pinup Collection. I love them ALL. I love the exaggerated lines, colors, adornments... I've been to the Trashy boutique in LA, and I almost died. Everything they do is so sexy and well made. I had a bra custom made for me from there and it's my favorite. Here is a costume (and another) on sale that's actually affordable- however they are 'bargain' made, so the fabric isn't the same quality as say, their $400 costumes.

Frederick's always has something that catches my eye- I love these boots (7.5) and this skirt and top combo (medium). I wanted to get the skirt and top in time for the last WW2 event I went to, but I ran out of time to order it and get it in time.

Speaking of WW2 events, I always buy fabric insisting that I'm going to get sewing dresses for dances and social gatherings. I never get anywhere close to actually doing it, so I keep surfing the web for dresses I like. I have a hard time finding true vintage wear in my size (I have big boobs, if you hadn't noticed) so I find lots of cute reproduction dresses.

Oh, http://www.stopstaringclothing.com/ how I could write odes to thee! Look at this dress! and this one! this one.... *faint!* (psst- gift certificates!) The great thing about reenacting as a pinup is that you get to be too tight, too short, to shiny and too, well, too sexy! I think I'm good with pinup shoes (who am I kidding... I can always have more pinup shoes!) but the dresses are what I'm really lusting for right now.

Besides being a nerdy model, I'm a nerdy craftypants. This makes me love cool craftypants things. I love www.etsy.com for that reason specifically. These mittens are so freaking fun! I would want them in a bottle green, though. (look! You can special order them in any color!)

I also happen to be looking for cool things for my walls, and I really like this letter press poster to hang near my bed.

I wouldn't complain if I got flowers, chocolates, nice german white wine, fancy dinner, etc...

I also like tophats. Just sayin'.

Keep your fingers crossed

2010-02-08T14:27:00.000-06:00

Ok, So I made a phonecall and got my flight rebooked for wednesday. Let's hope that this one doesn't get thwarted by the 10" of snow that is being predicted for tuesday night into wednesday. The Mero is still closed and I guess they are opening the below ground tracks tomorrow for the morning commute, but everyone I know that works in the city has off. Too bad I can't get anywhere, or I'd have lots of people to visit!

One thing that I've not done much of lately (so much so that friends are surprised that I do it) and would like to pursue more is drawing. I'm not sure what I'd like to focus on, style-wise. I might start drawing pinup girls (and boys?) I know it's just another thing to add to my list of things I do but don't have time, but I think coupling it with our work with classic-pinup.com, I could feed it into our charity efforts.

(image by Buzz Meade)

Snowed in

2010-02-07T02:25:00.005-06:00

I'm sure most of you by now (if you watch any sort of National News) have heard about the blizzard that dumped 30" of snow RIGHT ON TOP OF ME in DC. *grumble* Fortunately, I'm safe, warm and not hungry at a friend's house, so there's not too much to complain about. However, my flight on Sunday has been canceled, so it's a bit of a headache to get that all re-arranged. I might be able to get some of the shoots that had to cancel for the weekend squished back in this trip since it looks like Wednesday is going to be my best bet for getting out. I'll be making some calls tomorrow to see what I can arrange with a real person, as opposed to a website.

My hacking crud (go chez geek!) has sort of morphed into a general all body blech. I fell asleep on the couch today, and now it's four am and I'm still wide awake. I am attempting to settle into some sort of relaxing state right now. I switched Pandora over to my Remy Zero station hoping it gets me in a sleepy mood, or at least one where I can zen out instead of my brain running a million miles an hour. I am such a night owl anyway that it's a bit of a fight to be on the schedule of most of this hemisphere so once something throws me back in the direction of my natural leanings, I'm done for.

I was supposed to fly home sunday, and monday was going to be the final step of the great bedroom switch of ought-ten, which looks like it's going to end up being thursday. I'm finally going to have a permanent sewing studio set up, which should help me actually be able to get things done and improve general stress levels- no more entire house sewing sprawl! I want to be able to utilize my at-home time better by maximizing my seamstressing time (and inevitably my income from said seamstressing). I am not one for resolutions, rather just working towards a more positive being. That being said, I want to get more organized. Last year I did that a bit better, and I'm just going to keep striving for it. I am also taking applications for a live-in full time assistant/manager/maid- you'll get paid in doses of awesome and glory! :P

Blah. Four AM blogs are sort of boring, no? Ok. I'll give you another naked picture.

Hey! If you've ever wanted to ask me a question, I've been using formspring lately, and I dig it. Click on the link, and ask me a question, I might answer it and publish it to my twitter.

(Top Photo by Robb Mann, taken a few days before the massive snow; Bottom photo by Greg Lankenau)

:dusts off blog:

2010-02-02T23:54:00.003-06:00

Oh poor blog, you've gotten so dilapidated since I went! I forgot to winterize you!

*gives blog a good scrubbing and nails down the loose shingles*

Wow. Where to start? I'll make a quick bullet point type listing to get you all caught up.

I guess I'll just hit the big news. :drumroll please: I shot for Playboy mid-december, and some of the content we shot is currently on www.playboysbustybabes.com (HOORAY!) I need some bunny ears now, methinks!

I started filming for a new feature film where I play a sexy assassin. So far I've done a lot of lying about naked, which I happen to be good at.

My birthday was awesomesauce- we had a superhero/supervillain themed party, and I dressed up as Dr. Horrible. The highlight gift of my birthday- a fashion leopard-print Snuggie! As much as I will make massive fun of them, they are pretty darn useful. Not cool, but useful. I also got a late but oh so great gift- the limited edition companion book to "Double Exposures" by Sanders McNew called "Unemployed" (you can find them here: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/770769) I'm in both of them. It's pretty cool to have a coffee table book on my coffee table that I'm in.

Christmas was cool and laid back, like it generally always is. My brother got me a book of nose art, which of course I poured over... Anyone have a plane they need a girl painted on? I'll volunteer to model for that!

I finally got to meet one of my very very good friends. It's a long boring story, so I won't get into it here, but let's just say he's my longest running friends and I've just finally met him in real life.

Now, I'm in DC and I just got back from a WW2 event, which is always super duper cool. We sold out of our charity pinup calendars (HOORAY!) schmoozed and flirted, like we do.

It's snowing in DC, and it's supposed to continue like four more times while I'm here. I left Wisconsin to get away from this crap! I caught a cold at the reenactment, which was no fun today while shooting out in the snow, but it's not seeming to get worse. I think I need some sort of soup with a kick to clean out my lungs.

Did I forget anything? Oh yeah! Naked picture!

(photo by Steve Daubs, who moved himself to the Ukraine)

BANG BANG!

2009-11-29T01:58:00.003-06:00

Before you freak out, no, I didn't cut bangs into my hair, I just styled the front part so that it would look like I had them. My hair is so thick with a lack of any texture (besides glass) that bangs and layers just sort of... sit there. That's why I have hair all one length, it generally just looks better that way. It's getting almost down to my hips! Yikes!

However, this pin and hairspray endevor has convinced me to get a wig (maybe a dark chestnut?) with waves and awesome side-swept bangs. It will be my alter ego wig, and it will be awesome!

Tomorrow is my birthday! HOORAY! I love birthdays. I love my birthday, I love other peoples birthdays.... I'm headed to the post office tomorrow to set up a PO box as a present to myself, so if anyone needs to send me a gift (teehee!) I'll let you all know tomorrow with my birthday present list of DOOM!

Ahhh! It's invading!

2009-11-25T14:30:00.004-06:00

This pinup thing is getting ridiculous. Every single one of my past bazillion purchases have been either pinup shoot clothes or great 40's inspired wear. 6 pairs of shoes came in the mail, every last one of them is pinup-y. Everything I bought at the thrift store had a shoot or event in mind. My outfit the other day, for example-

It feels good though, to finally be replacing the late 90's from my closet. I had nice clothes in high school. Went to college and lived in cheerleading practice clothes. Graduated college with dated 'nice clothes' and no need to buy new ones since I wasn't doing anything that required anything remotely dressy. Started modeling and bought shoes and lingerie. Now that I've got a reason (Ft Indiantown Gap, here I come!) I feel like I can buy clothes that suit me and are pretty and grown up.

Now to get up before noon and actually get dressed on a semi-daily basis! HA!

Tales of the amazing garbage digger!

2009-11-20T00:18:00.003-06:00

I am a treasure hunter. I seek out cheap thrills in dark corners of thrift shops, down back allies of garage sales and in my most glorious of moments- other people's garbage.

Today, I was up at 8am. EIGHT AM!! Weird. I went to the gym, came home and about three blocks from my house I saw a sign for an estate sale. Excited, I parked my car at home and walked all the way up to the house that this supposed estate sale was at (like 15 blocks!), saw the street sweeper dude twice. Alas, no estate sale. They had left the signs up from the the week before (and according to my upstairs neighbor, it was a sucky estate sale anyway.) On my walk back home in the cold sprinkles (I pass the street sweeper dude again), I see a pile of garbage, and peaking out was an officers hat. I grabbed it and lo and behold, there was a wooden ironing board right there too!

"Come on ironing board, you're coming with me!!" I said. Out loud. I'm glad most of the time there is no one around to hear me talk to inanimate objects. Luckily for me, the ironing board didn't protest, and neither did the American flag wrapped around a pole. I took that home, too.

Street sweeper went past.

I got my treasures into the house when my upstairs neighbor (my number one enabler for thrift store shopping) pulls in. I show her my finds, and she declares that we must go back to said garbage pile to excavate. Off we went.

20 minutes later, we pull back into the garage with very dirty hands and:
-a footlocker
-a hatbox
-a wool coat with fur trim
-a pair of shoes, formal, from the 40's
-an overseas cap
-vintage lace, ribbon and christmas kitsch
-a bunch of vintage clothes
-vintage lingerie, still in the Boston Store box
-an easel
-some boards (I think she wants to make shelves from them or something).

To think, someone was throwing all of that away! I can't wait to woolite all of my finds and give them a proper new home.

Oh yeah, obligatory naked picture-

By Lionel, of EyeWonder in DC. I can't wait for MM to have it's act together again after the DDOS attacks so I can put all of my new awesome pictures up, this one included.

Happy Veterans Day!

2009-11-11T17:17:00.008-06:00

Veterans Day holds a very special place in my heart. First, I would like to show you what I feel is the most important photograph I've ever shot.

This is my Grandfather, Frank. He was an Army Air Corps gunner in WW2. He never was one to talk about the war much, however he always told us funny stories about his time overseas. He always grumbled about the Limies with a smile on his face, told stories about mixing up street signs in England to "mess with them damn Natzis, because they didn't know where they were going with out the street signs", pulling pranks in Trafalgar Square and going for a ride in a convertible with the Princess.

He'd always hug us as we left, saying into our ears, "I love yous guys." I'll never forget that whisper and those strong hugs even as he was slowly slipping in health. We've been without Grandpa (or Gumpa, as I used to call him for fun) for a few years now, but I still tear up when I see that photograph. He was such a strong man. I miss you, Gumpa.

...

Now, I share my modeling with all of my family. I printed off a bunch of my pinups to show my Grandma, and she told me Grandpa would be proud. That really made me happy! She told me that the next time I come up, she and I will pull Grandpa's uniforms so I can shoot in them. YAY! So, here you are, some pinups for Veterans Day!

(all pinups by JD Bozwell at www.classicpinup.com, models are Groovacious K and Victoria Vertuga)

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-03T23:49:00.001-06:00

I LOVE halloween. It's my favorite holiday. I adore dressing up, dressing other people up... it's awesome. I guess that's why theatre design comes really naturally to me. Anyway, after much debate I decided to be.... A MY LITTLE PONY!

So here I am, first with a random guy from the bar before we did handstands, and then with a Rainbow Brite from another bar (80's FTW!) I found a wig in my hair color and made it into the tail, painted stars on my ass, pulled my hair into a mohawk of ponytails, sponge painted myself pink, added fake bangs and big lashes and called it a day! We threw a small halloween bash at my house, did some bar hopping and crashed at my house. I woke up the next day with pink and glitter EVERYWHERE!

In honor of Halloween, I'm going to post pictures of all of my halloween costumes I can find from years past!

So there you have it, some of my awesome costumes!

Look at me, I answer fan mail!

2009-10-20T19:26:00.007-05:00

I got an awesome message today from a beautiful model in Montreal- http://www.modelmayhem.com/phylactere

She wanted to know some things about me and modeling. She had some great questions, so I thought I would answer them here (as well as post them on the traveling models blog). Bonus- some never before posted by me pictures for each question! YAY!

-Usually photographers, mostly in Montreal where I live, think that it is normal to exchange "time for print", When I say that I just accept paid assignments, they sometimes get very angry! So, do photographers really pay for free-lance models, from your own experience?

Yes, "time for print" is normal in some circles (especially among hobbyists), but they shouldn't be getting angry with you when you tell them that you only accept paid assignments. It took me a while to get a polite wording down as to not irritate anyone. I often respond with something along the lines of "Thank you for contacting me. However, I am not accepting trade work at this time. If you would like, I would be more than happy to work out rates with you."

Photographers do pay freelance models. There are quite a few photographers that will kick and scream saying "I don't pay models- the client pays models!!", but they refuse to accept the fact that sometimes the photographer IS the client, especially for nude work.

-Do you really spend a lot of time answering castings and calls for models? Or do photographers ask for you most of the time?

At first, I spent a lot of time on responding to casting calls. After I started becoming more visible in the internet modeling circles, I started doing more advertising of myself and the locations I was traveling to and less answering casting calls. I still check casting calls on MM everyday. I'll check craigslist on occasion if I don't have much to do that day.

-When you were a semi-pro model, at what moment did you consider yourself as a professional model?

The day I started doing modeling as my only job is when I began to consider myself a "Professional Model", which was about a year into pursuing modeling seriously. However, it was always my goal to behave and conduct myself professionally. Some people will argue that the minute you get paid you're a professional- my first shoot was a paid one, so I do tend to disagree with that. I feel that when you as a model are confident in your skills and ability to go and do what is necessary to get the job done (paid or not) you become a true professional.

-What do you think makes you special? Is it your mind? Creativity? The way you move?

I think my commitment to my work is my strongest trait. It drives me to create new art at every shoot and always seek new inspiration to continue to do so. My body awareness and movement are very much a selling point me as a model as well. Years of dance, gymnastics and cheerleading have given me that. I was blessed with the look I have which is what got me into modeling, however that can only get an art model so far. Drive, passion and commitment will keep you working for the long haul.

Thanks so much for the message, Phyli!

(Photographs by- JP Dawson, J Henry, Wet LTD and Mobius Photo)

Super nerdom

2009-10-04T19:23:00.003-05:00

I've been absent from my blogging because I have been Super Nerd.

I enjoy canning. Like putting things in jars with lids, boiling them to seal them and using the contents sometime in the future. I'm turning into an awesome grandma.

Anyway, we were walking through my neighborhood and passed the independent garden center and decided to walk in to peek around the mid-season plant sale. There were ripe (and very very overripe) tomatoes EVERYWHERE. I have the hardest time seeing perfectly good food go to waste, so we go to ask if they are using these tomatoes. The guy behind the desk told us he didn't actually work at the garden shop, but the owner had gone away to handle some business. He was happy to call the owner for us and ask. The owner asked the counter guy if we were nice and then gave us permission to take the ripe tomatoes.

We went home, grabbed some pots and a jar each of my pear butter from last year and a jar of dilly beans to leave for the shop owner. We got two very large stock pots overflowing with tomatoes!

A sleepless night later with help from Raelyn, the tomatoes were cut, raw packed in jars and processed. I think we did almost 20 jars. Then I got apples from my parents and we made apple pie filling that is to die for. I also put our lemon cucumbers to pickle. I think they probably will look like brains by the time I get home. You should all be jealous!

In really exciting news, I've been selling lots of kitty costumes and people accessories. I'm in DC right now, which is fun, but I wish I was home so I could make more and list them in my store right away!

This is a bit of insight for you all on indeed how freaking nerdy I am.

(photograph by Asylum Photo, DC)

Good bye, Canada!

2009-09-02T12:13:00.003-05:00

.... as I type this, I am crossing the Canada/US border back into the states on a Megabus.

As I said in my last post, Megabus is cheap. Cheap like whoah sometimes. But, LOOK! FREE WIFI! Of course it's free and family friendly, which means no Model Mayhem for me. I guess all of the porn on there is just too much for them :P I didn't realize how little I use the internet for much besides MM. I check my email, I talk to people... but I do this on while on Model Mayhem. I'm on there like it's- wait. It is my job.

All of this free time on the bus is now being used to think of all the things I wantoshouldcouldbetter do, like decide if I'm doing the Arizona Shoot out (I wonder how much those tickets will cost...), that I haven't put together a proper acting or voice over reel, that maybe I should submit to some more agencies one of these days, that my Halloween costume is non-existent, that mom's costume is non-existent, my etsy stores have been ignored, that I haven't been home in a week and I wonder what has fallen apart in my absence, can I convince this photo studio that they should hire me to kid-wrangle even though I have no experience?

Bah. I wish the dude next to me didn't sit here with his legs spread wide. :note to self, always find a small grandma to sit next to on the bus and not let other people decide to sit by you: My knees hurt and I can't move. I can't believe I'm looking at two flights yet today.

OH CANADA! You are fabulous. From Tim Hortons and Swiss Chalet to Mint Aero Bars and Ketchup Chips! A subway system that lets people take their dogs on (do they pay the $2.75 fare?), cheap sushi and 5 cents for a plastic bag if you insist on having one. I love it here!

The Joys of Travel

2009-08-26T21:48:00.001-05:00

Today was the trip where everything went wrong, however, it worked out better than I had planned in the end.

Start with a flight at the ass crack of dawn. Blarg. I wish cheap flights were at a normal time of day, so that I'm pulling into ticketing with the sun up already instead of it being inky dark outside. I had a feeling I'd forgotten something. I can't seem to figure it out...

Anyway, I get through security and everything, and at the gate I find out that the flight is delayed due to mandatory "crew rest". These are the little things about air travel that boggle my mind. (just like the fact that a flight from Milwaukee to Toronto is $200 higher than the flight from Madison that transfers onto the exact same flight in Milwaukee to Toronto) If this crew rest period is mandated by law, one would think they would simply figure for it in the schedule. Apparently not. The woman at the gate insisted that I would have more than enough time tomake my transfer in Detroit.

If you have ever been to the airport in Detroit, you know that you will land at the VERY farthest gate on concourse A, and your flight will be departing from the VERY farthest in concourse C. This is easily a 20 minute jaunt, even if you are running most of the way and no Tibetan monks or fundamentalist Christians with strollers get in your way.

At this point, you've probably guessed what is coming next. Of course I missed my flight... oh did I miss it. It took off before we even landed. I got to the gate, they gave me a new flight time, which then would make me miss my bus in Buffalo to get to Toronto. So I call Megabus to see if I can get pushed to the later bus. Megabus is cheap, thus, Megabus is cheap. Their customer service blows sometimes, but you get what you pay for. I get a woman with a very thick accent asking me if I have more than 24 hours before my departure. No, I say. She says, "ah, too badah. weah cannotah do anythingah." She didn't even offer to sell me a later ticket. I ask about it, she then proceeds to ask me what date I would like to travel. Today. PLEASE.

I decide that I am NOT going to sit at Buffalo Niagra Falls International airport for 8 hours waiting for a bus. There had to be another way. *cue lightbulb*

It wasn't my fault or even weather that caused me to miss my connection thus missing my bus. I went and found the closest, least stressed, least busy looking gate agents. "Excuse me, I have a question and I was hoping you'd be able to help me..." and I explained how I was going to Toronto, but because of the crew delay pushing my itinerary back, I would be missing my bus to Toronto. "Would it be possible for me to be put on a flight to Toronto instead of Buffalo?" She smiled and looked at the guy working with her. She tells him that she's got some new things for him to learn about re-routing passengers and their baggage. Jamie and Adam at NWA in Detroit, you are fabulous!

After about 30 minutes of phone calls, urgent messages and the like, I get sent on my way with a shiny new ticket to Toronto. WOOT! Titania 1, God Chaos 0.

So now I've got about 3 hours to kill at the airport, and I'm hungry, so I stop at Einstein Bagels. Lox is possibly one of the few foods that I will never ever turn down. I love the stuff. I thought I would treat myself to a toasty lox and creamcheese bagel. After ordering and paying, they call my name to tell me that they are out of lox. She asks me if I would like to order something else or if I would like a refund. I ask for the refund because I really just wanted lox. The manager comes over with my refund, and then offers me a sandwich on the house for the trouble. Titania 2, God Chaos 0.

Sometimes, everything goes wrong. Sometimes, everything goes wrong and you end up with a ticket to Toronto and an egg and cheese bagel sandwich.

(photograph by Sean Ryan of Toronto, also published at http://travelingmodels.blogspot.com/)

The Anti-Vacation

2009-08-19T10:51:00.003-05:00

Le sigh.

This has been "one of those months". You know, the kind that you get to the point where anything terrible happens and it ceases to surprise you.

To quote the musical that has been running through my head all week "I tried. You know I tried."

Started with a misunderstanding for what was going on sunday, my father in the hospital monday, a migraine on tuesday, a dead car on wednesday, waiting on thursday, friday and saturday at my parents house, an hour away from home. We were supposed to do all sorts of awesome things.

This just proves I'm never allowed to relax.

Anyway, my little brother is fixing the car (which I realized today that I've never named. I think it needs one, if it makes it through this ordeal alive). We're hoping its just a head gasket (I never thought I'd see the day that I'd hope for a bad head gasket, but here it is!) rather than a hole in the cylinder, which would mean dishing out $2ooo for a new engine. Bah. In the mean time, grandma lent us the woody wagon.... big pimpin' yo.

BUT! It's not all hell in a handbasket. I have awesome models visiting this week! Carlotta Champagne, Kimberly Marvel and Betzu!! A house full of awesome nude models (me and Raelyn too!) and I'm surprised that we don't have photographers knocking down the door. Kim is at Todd's for the day, Carly, Betzu and I are going to go thrifting. Then the girls have a 5 pm booking and then... SUSHI! YAY! I'm going to call this afternoon and get a reservation.... hopefully they'll give us the cool room (they did. awesome!)

Off to shop. See you soon!

(photograph by Robert Farnham)

Released from Captivity

2009-08-07T14:44:00.006-05:00

I'm freeeeee! I was released from the house-bound quarantine on Saturday, and we celebrated by going to see a local production of RENT followed by a Rocky Horror Picture Show-esq production of Jurassic Park, complete with cardboard jeeps and people on stilts with Little Foot heads. Good times!

Thanks for all of your love and well wishes (and the cookies someone sent!!) for my bout of H1N1. I'm fine, I didn't get anyone else sick, so it's all water under the bridge at this point. However, when everyone is getting sick with it this fall and winter, I'll be immune. WOOT!

This week I've been getting up far to early to be far to peppy- after I lost the week-long gig modeling, I picked up a week-long gig teaching cheerleading. People tend to be surprised when they find out that I was a cheerleader... I guess that I'm too nerdy or something. Well, here's proof. (Yes, I still have the uniform. Yes, I can do the splits.) I'm happy to be done with that gig- I'm not a morning person at all, so it's been rough on me. Going to bed before midnight does not come easy.

I'm performing this weekend in a production of Cabaret that has been going on for much longer than I care to remember. We've got four shows left, and I'm to the point where I'm pretty sure 50 years from now you could start singing "Money" and I will be able to do the dance. (I'm the same way with most everything I've learned for cheerleading. It's stuck in my head FOREVER.) Here is an awesome (ha!) self portrait of me in my show hair and makeup. I'm almost out of clown white foundation... I think it's time to hang up this show!

No real insightful things today, I suppose, just the phone-call home sort of synopsis of my life at the moment.

(photographs by Carlos Moreno, an unknown yearbook photographer, and myself)

Swine flu. Not kidding.

2009-07-28T21:49:00.003-05:00

Well, it's true I've got it, though no one seems to believe me when I tell them.

Let me tell you that it sucks. Started out at four in the morning on Saturday with severe headache and body pains less than 24 hours after a mis-diagnosed infection. Turned into vomiting, fever and the inability to move without crying. I had a bit of a struggle to get my agent to believe that I wasn't going to be working, first off because I'm sicker than snot and secondly because I'm vomiting with a fever. I've been a food employee for quite a while in the past, so I know legally I couldn't be working in a food service capacity with the possibility of having an infectious disease. Went to the quick care thinking that it was a reaction to the anti-biotic I had been given the day before, she looked at me and sent me to the urgent care down the street. Mind you, I had been crying since about 7 am at this point, and it's now... 10? I was sitting in the waiting room at the urgent care, crying, when a lady came over, gave me tissues and gave me a big mom hug (the kind that last forever). "You will be blessed today, child, you will!" she said. She made me feel better.

So I have the misnamed swine flu, or H1N1, if you prefer to be elite and non-sensationalist. And because of said flu, I have lost 4 gigs (one being a week long for next week). This is putting serious pressure on the household income.

I'm stuck in my house until saturday on a quasi-quarantine. Someone, please send sushi delivery to my house.

(photograph by Chris Young)

To do list.

2009-07-22T12:49:00.003-05:00

Today will be productive, I swear.

It seems like it takes me two days being home to actually do anything. Yesterday I cleaned up the sewing room so that Model Sarah could sleep there, and I kept getting distracted and inspired by buttons, ribbons, stamps.... I have so many things I have to get sewn before I have time to do anything else. And then I remember that I was cleaning the house after spending three hours sorting lace trims.

Today I pay the bills. All of them. I'll get invoices done, all of those packages shipped. I'll unpack. I'll get laundry done. I'll go to the gym.

If I get it done, it will be a miracle.

It's good to have you with us

2009-07-19T22:47:00.002-05:00

even if it's just for today. Outside the sun is shining, feels like heaven ain't far away.

Home, tomorrow. I think about it, and this is the first place I've lived outside of my parents house that I regularly call home. In college it was "my room" or "the dorm" and everywhere else it was "the apartment". Now, it's home. I feel like it's mine, and the thought of leaving it and maybe moving somewhere else in the future is weird. Nothing in the house matches, it's all a mish-mash of things people have given us or we've found discarded on the curb. But they are ours. None borrowed, none to get packed up for the summer while we're home on vacation.

Home. Tomorrow.

(photograph by Sean Ryan)

If you are going to San Fransisco...

2009-07-18T11:18:00.006-05:00

...be sure to wear flowers in your hair.

Is it possible to long, even miss, an era you were never part of? I catch myself listening to Simon and Garfunkel, The Mommas and the Poppas, The Beatles and I long to be a teenager with my mom, getting my girlfriends together to listen to a new record that one of us got with our paycheck from the five and dime. Not being tethered to a cell phone, a computer... the moon landing and a summer by the lake.

I wouldn't want my brothers being shipped off to Vietnam, the scare of nuclear weapons... all of those things, but I think about the things happening now in the world, and I don' t things are really any better or worse. They are just different.

With the work I've done with www.classic-pinup.com (modeling for and promoting the charity calendar) I've found a love for the WWII era. The fashion, the music, the history... all of it really intrigues me. I love dressing in period clothing and going to the reenactment events, flirting with soldiers, dancing, and zooming around in period military vehicles. My grandmother told me that my pinup work would have made my grandfather, a veteran gunner, proud. I wouldn't wish a world war on anyone, but I sort of want to go be my grandma's best friend for a while.

(top photo: http://gamini.org, bottom photo: American Air Museum, Long Island)

Going on adventures

2009-07-18T01:52:00.004-05:00

I have always been an adventurous person. For a while, I was scared of doing new things, not because I didn't want to, but because I was afraid of what people might think. When I was in college, I was offered the chance to drive an amish horse and buggy. I turned it down because I was scared. I look back and think- "well, that would have been cool- quite the story." But I was afraid to do it and didn't. Now that I travel a lot on my own, I take up every opportunity for adventure I can, because if I don't do it now, I might not ever get the opportunity again.

I like to take back roads, I avoid highways. You never know what sort of interesting store or roadside attraction you might find. I'd rather stay with people and buy them expensive dinner than spend the money on a mediocre hotel, for the company and conversation. Likewise, I love to host traveling models (and an occasional tall photographer...), feed them and share my home.

This trip has given me lots of new experiences- mushy green beans at a hole in the wall home cookin' cafe (thumbs down), a bed of nails (thumbs up) and a visit to SPACE CAMP!! (two thumbs up, that fulfilled a childhood dream of mine).

I was apprehensive at first about my trip here, since I had next to nothing booked. I was afraid that I wasn't even going to break even, but I did fine all things considered. But I'll be coming home with more than my share of rent- I've got a smashed penny to prove I was at Space Camp :D

(photo by Asylum)

Fort Payne, Alabama and a ring flash!

2009-07-12T23:47:00.006-05:00

I can officially add Alabama to my roster of states. I went with Serge from Atomic Dots to shoot on some really high rocks (almost a poem here...) and a pond on some private land owned by a landscape photographer. Really beautiful area.... did you know that cactus grow in Alabama? I had no idea, but saw a bunch on our hike. FYI- little ants will defend their rocks by biting you in the bits. Consider yourself warned.

We then went to shoot in a studio downtown, where we had a good time with a red couch and a softbox.

I'm really excited about this image that I'm posting today for many reasons. One- it's awesome (or "hotrageous" as a friend of mine said) and two- I suggested the ring flash. Hotness by me, photo by Atomic Dots. (EDIT: I just noticed that I'm doing almost the same pose in the picture from yesterday. HA!)

Right now, I'm in Nashville, staying with the photographer I shot with this evening. A line of really bad storms came through, and we figured it best that I just stay here for the night and head out in the morning when I don't have to deal with dark, rain, and mountain grades. Tomorrow I'll meander back to Chattanooga, maybe take a non-highway route to enjoy the scenery and find some odd things along the way.

Off on a thrill-seaking adventure!

Phone. I have one.

2009-07-10T22:46:00.003-05:00

Phone problem is fixed. Went to the Verizon store today, got the whole crap sorted out and I'm now holding on to a shiny red phone. Holding on very tightly.

Let's pray the rest of this trip doesn't bust up like it did today.

Photograph by Frog516.

Atlanta ate my soul... or at least the phone.

2009-07-10T01:35:00.003-05:00

Blarg.

Somehow between texting home to let everyone know I'm safe and sound and waiting to get off the plane and a truck stop an hour or so north of ATL, the phone took a run for it. Grew legs and waltzed off. Poof! GONE!

Shit.

I noticed it gone when I went to make a superfluous phone call about Delilah and a song our friend sings at karaoke after getting cookies and a diet coke at McDonald's. I took the little change I had left to call home (10 minutes of long distance for a dollar!) to figure out what to do.

Really really up shit creek this time. I hope I make it through the next 10 days...

(photograph by Greg Lankenau, who happens to be very tall)

Gearing up for a southern trip and my lactardation

2009-07-08T14:09:00.003-05:00

Tennesse, Georgia and Alabama, here I come... maybe.

I've been working this trip for quite a while now, and I still don't have a whole lot of bookings. Oh well, I guess it will give me lots of time to organize my inbox and blog a bit, amongst other things. Does anyone know if RAW is on Hulu? That would rock my socks if it was, I haven't even gotten to watch the show I did pyro for! I'll write about that one sometime next week, methinks.

Lately, all I've wanted to eat is cheese and ice cream. This proves to be a bit of a problem since I'm lactose intolerant, or as we say at our house- lactarded. I can take the pills all I want, but if I consume too much it makes my insides revolt. Yeah, yeah, eat soy you say. I'm in Wisconsin! I'll get flogged! Anyway, sexy milk (sans-lactose) picture by Jeebus Kitten (I think that's what he's going by now).

A new game

2009-07-06T21:03:00.006-05:00

So this weekend I played another new game called Bananagram. It's sort of like scrabble, but if you're like me and get sick of the constraints scrabble puts on you ("oh, if only I could re-arrange this entire puzzle I could get this stupid letter to fit!") then you will love this game. Each player picks out a certain number of letter tiles and then has to put together their own cross word. Every time a player uses up all of their letters, everyone has to pick another tile. You can rearrange your tiles at any point. Whomever finishes their pile with the number of tiles in the middle being equal to or less than the number of players (with no spelling errors) wins.

It's cool. You should play it.

I'm gearing up for my trip to Atlanta/Tennessee/Birmingham as we speak. If things go well, I'll probably just make Chattanooga home base and work from there. If not, I may drive up to DC and paint the town red.

(photos by Big Randy Johnson)

Summerfest and Pie (or not)

2009-07-02T13:42:00.006-05:00

Tonight we're going to go to Summerfest and check out Shiny Toy Guns, thanks to some free tickets that a friend from out of town won. We're driving with another friend of ours... he's got a press pass and free parking, so while we're WAAAAAAY in the back, getting beer spilled on us by drunken frat boys, he'll be on stage, probably not getting beer spilled on him. Looks like it's a good day to be him!

...but before we go, we'll be picking mulberries at his house. Mulberry pie? Jam? Eat them all before I get the chance to do anything with them? Who knows. This is one of those things I'm nerdy about- I like to can. Like, make pickles and jam and things. I should make myself one of those awesome 50's housewife aprons and be all sorts of domestic in it. Or just make dilly beans :P

Speaking of Dilly beans, I should go get a jar of them out of last year's crop. They are nomtastic!

(today's photograph is brought to you by the great Billy Monday)

D and D at the house tonight!

2009-07-01T12:14:00.004-05:00

First things first, I'm naked. Well, not right now, but there is an entry today in the POD 18+ on Model Mayhem of me in the shower. It's pretty hot! If you're on MM, go vote for it :D

So there will be a bunch of people over to play D and D tonight. I don't really get it (not that I've actually ever tried, but I don't really have the patience for it). I'd probably like it, being essentially improv and all. And dragons. I love dragons :D I'll stick to making pizzas and doling out mountain dew for the time being.

This weekend I got to try out a pretty awesome game I'd only heard about, but never had the opportunity to play. It's called "Lunch Money". You're essentially catholic school girls beating the shit out of each other for, well, lunch money. The most fun part is not playing, but describing how you beat each other up- I threw a temper tantrum, took my barbies and shoved them repeatedly up another player's nose. Oh the joys of imaginary ridiculous violence!

Here's to being naked!

2009-06-30T20:24:00.000-05:00

Heyo!

So, this is going to be my blog about being naked and being a nerd. Did I mention I model? Probably not, since I haven't really told you about me.

Here I am anyway.

Love,

Titania