HOME

So as you all know, I have been traveling the world like crazy for the past year. I've been visiting Portugal, Paris, Tokyo, London, LA, NY, New Zealand, and Australia. From all this traveling, I feel like I have gained an experience that many will never have the pleasure of embarking on, and I am very appreciative of it. HOWEVER, after this crazy year, I have finally decided on a home. NYC!!! I am living at Lauren Browne's apartment again down in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. I love it down here so much. Lauren moved to Las Vegas to be with her boyfriend, but is still paying half the rent for when she needs to come to NY for work and such. So BASICALLY I live alone and it is going great. Work has finally been going well for me. I have options in the upcoming month that I am very excited about and crossing my fingers to get. I shot for Chinese Vogue two days ago, which was an amazing experience in and of itself. I am flying to Zurich, Switzerland for a week in November to do a few fashion shows. I can honestly say that I am happy with my work life and that things are going great.

Then there's the personal life....

I have been having a blast and spending a lot of time with my friends here in the city. Sofia Arellano, who I met in LA, is here in NY now. Madeleine Kragg and Whitney Jensen are here as well, both of whom I met in Paris. It's so nice to be reunited with my friends again. The boy life has been quite troublesome though. I met this great guy here in the city back in August, but I never viewed it as serious because I thought I was still on the traveling tip. Now I have come back to New York and realized how much I care for him. He has his life though and his job proves troublesome in his mind to maintain a relationship. I think it's interesting how girls never put themselves out there, and they always wait for the guys to come around to them. I am quite the opposite, and patience is definitely not one of my virtues. I think girls should take up the reins once in a while and take control of the relationship. At the end of the day, why is a girl's feelings more important than the guy's? The guys get just as frustrated when they are denied. However, the girls do tend to handle it more externally I have found. Tears, ice cream, calling the friends to vent. Why? Stop that. Suck it up. There's so many people out there. The average person loves seven times in their life. 7 TIMES!! That's insanity to me. Just remember that there is someone out there for everyone. This is one of those cheesy love quotes that I really do believe in. I don't think it is destiny that you will meet the "one" for you, I think there are many "one"s for everyone. It just takes a few trial and errors to find one of them. ;) Anyways, those are my views on things at the moment.

I hope all my readers are doing well. If you're wondering where I am in the world, IM HOME.

XOXO

Allison in Wonderland

London Bridge

Currently I am in London. I hate to bash a city, but it isn't going well for me. I did the fashion week in New York, did all presentations there, then continued on to London for their fashion week as well. Rather than continue on, however, I will be staying here until October 16, and then heading back to New York. I can not wait to get back to NY. When I first arrived in London, it was nothing but problems for the entire fashion week. I walked for 3 designers, Felder Felder, Saro, and Michael VanDerHam. Fashion week is the craziest time of the year for models. We have to do around 15 castings a day and it is exhausting to say the least. We then continue on from city to city and have a month of insanity. I found that a lot of the new faces in NY were fed up with it rather quickly, and decided they will not be doing fashion week again. I like the craziness however and it only occurs two times out of the year, so it isn't so bad for me. However, the agency here was struggling to keep it together during fashion week, so there were a lot of complications. One thing I cannot deal with is incompetence. The first day they tried to deny me a driver, they made me so late for a show that I arrived 20 minutes before it started, rushed hair and makeup, and I walked out on the runway immediately. A few mistakes, and days, later, I couldn't take it anymore and started bawling to my mom on Skype. Thank goodness for her because she is keeping me sane.

I am now staying in London to work and see clients and do normal castings for about a month. The weather here is quite unpleasant. Always cold and rainy, Cali girls don't adapt too well. It is also hard to get around because everything is so far away. London is a large city and there is a lot of long rides on the Tube (subway), and walking. The only thing keeping me happy is my trip to Paris. Despite the agency fighting me, I AM going to Paris this weekend to see friends and have a blast. I haven't been there in so long, I can't believe it has been six months already. I'm ecstatic to get back. Luckily I live with a friend as well, Indiamara from Brazil. She is the sweetest girl I know and such a great roommate. I am so happy to be living with her.

I went out for the first time last night as well which was a BLAST. I met a crazy Russian named Elena and we had a a great time dancing together. We went to Vendome, which isn't the nicest club in London - because of the people they allow in - but it was still a fun nonetheless. I went out with a promoter named Sei who was so nice and showed us a great time. I'm sure going out will help the time pass here in London, because I am really looking forward to getting back to NY with all my friends. That's life for me at the moment,

XOXO

Allison in Wonderland

I love New York

So I haven't written in my blog in a while because I wasn't quite sure what to write about. However, I thought I would share my latest experiences to keep everyone updated. Since I was in LA, slight complications with the plan to set up a home, so I freaked out, threw my stuff in my car, drove home, and caught a quick flight to New York. Since I have been here, I can easily say that I am the happiest that I have ever been. I am staying with one of my best friends, Lauren Browne. It has been absolutely uhmazing. She is such a good friend to me and we have a blast living together. My other best friend Kelsey Rogers is in New York as well. I can't believe we are finally together again. Me and Kels haven't been in the same city together in over a year. It was about time that we were reunited.

I spend my days here doing castings, and when I'm not working, I'm usually with Kelsey at her apartment over in Chelsea. Work has been good since I have been here as well. I tested with Mac on Tuesday, done two shoots for Sacks (pictures for their website), and I'm flying to LA for 36 hours for another shoot at the end of next week. My agent here at IMG, Lisa Dirucco, is absolutely fantastic. She is so sweet to me. It was her decision to have me get extensions for my work, which turned out absolutely perfect, and tomorrow we are going to go shopping together. I really love IMG, they are such a good agency, both on paper and in their personal relationships with their girls.

At this point, I would love if after the fashion weeks, I could move to New York because I work best here, and both of my best friends live here. I also love that it is half way between LA and Paris for direct bookings. However, the past has shown that my plans never tend to work out. So let's see what the future holds for me. I am nothing but excited for my future and how things have been going with work and personal life ;). I'm remembering why I put off school for this career choice. Hopefully nothing but happiness and good times for the future.

XOXO

Allison in Wonderland

I'm Baaaaaaack LALA

So as you all know, I spent the last 5 weeks in Tokyo, Japan. I had heaps of fun there and made such amazing friends, but because the work was almost nonexistent, it was hard for me to fully enjoy it. I arrived back in LA on Sunday and I am so much happier because of it. I'm staying at my good friends' house so it's so nice to be surrounded by them. Upon arriving at the airport, Lauren Browne (LB) and Louis Carreon (LC) picked me up which was the best pickup ever because I love them both dearly and the ride back to the house consisted of burning each other and laughing. I spent as much time with LB as I could because she is my hero and abandoned me to go to Cabo for a few days with a special friend. However she is coming back in town for a couple days where things will be amazing once again, and I will be staying at her place in New York when I go out there to start fashion week in the end of August. UHHHmazing. I don't know what I would do without this girl and her bbm voicenotes. She basically keeps me sane.

On my second night back we spent the night partying at Teddy's, while although it's not my favorite party of the week, I always have a blast. It was so nice to be with the crew again. I was reunited with Margaux earlier in the day for some catch up time which was amazeballs, and Michael Utsinger can't help but to make me laugh all of the time. There were two DJs that were working the night, however I only liked Kid Capri. He played the crappy hip hop music that everyone says our generation is using to destroy music, however, it enables me and the pack of animals LC brings to destroy the night. The last hour was so much fun and we danced until there was nothing left in us (however, there's always more energy for dancing for me). I had work the next day so I returned to my place of stay while the boys ventured an after party. God damn animals. I missed them. :p

My agency here in LA is LA Models. I have always been with their print board, but I haven't officially gone over to their runway board yet. When I got back from Tokyo, they immediately wanted me to come in and sit down with them. After showing them my walk, they told me that they really love me and will be getting me tons of work while I am in town. This made me really happy because the print board has not been very busy lately, so it will be nice to get some work done. They sent me to a casting for Nordstrom yesterday in which they were casting for the entire season. They told the agency they loved me and booked me for the account. What makes this even MORE fabulous is that LB booked the account too, so it will be never ending fun on this job. I don't know why but I am so happy here in LA. Things just can't get me down and always seem to go my way. I love this city. It's a shame I'll only be in town a few weeks until I have to ship off to New York and get my fashion week season underway.... Til Next time

XOXO

Allison in Wonderland

Traveling Tokyo

At this point, I have been in Tokyo for a little over two and a half weeks. I have made some good friends here and been reunited with others. My days consist of riding in a car all day with the other models from my agency while our drivers take us to our castings. Upon arriving, I had a contract that guaranteed me US$14,000 as long as I book five jobs in the first ten days, and stay within my measurements. Neither of which happened so the contract was cancelled. At this point it became the agency's decision on whether I stay, or return home immediately. Despite having not booked a single job yet, the agency said that the clients do like me here, and that they would like if I stayed, so I did. In the last few days I have booked two jobs, so at least I will get something out of this trip. However, assuming that no more work comes up, I will still leave early. Most girls would be sad to leave such a nice place, but I am looking forward to it. Although life here is easy and fun, I have not been enjoying it as much as I thought. I have been missing LA more than planned. Normally when I travel, I don't get attached to anyone or anything, and I leave without any second thoughts. I find myself wanting to settle down in LA rather than continuing to travel all the time. I have been traveling nonstop for the past year, and it is starting to wear on me. I made a few very good relationships in LA, and now I want to stay there. I still plan on doing the fashion weeks in the fall, but after that, my destination is undecided. I have been thinking a lot here in Tokyo, and I found that I travel so much, not because I love it, but because all my other options seem far worse than the one I am currently embarking on. I can't imagine going to college right now and being surrounded with people my own age because of the maturity aspects; and settling down somewhere hasn't been an option because no one has given me a reason to stay. While I love my alone time, I find it very hard to be alone all of the time. I'm very much looking forward to getting back to the city of angels to figure out if I will be able to set up a home there. If not, then I suppose I will "keep on trucking" until I do find somewhere and someone worth sticking around for. I do like my job and I want to continue modeling and traveling for direct bookings (when a client books me without a casting/go-see), but living on the road all of the time isn't on the top of my to-do list at the moment. I suppose we will have to see how thing play out. I try to assure myself that no matter what happens, things will always work out for the best. "I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so you can learn to let go. Things go wrong so you can appreciate them when they go right. You believe lies so that eventually you learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so that better things can fall together" -Marilyn Monroe. This quote pretty much sums up everything that can goes wrong with my life and reminds me that everything has to work out for the best. If things aren't at they're best, then it must not be the end. At the end of the day, if you give everything your all, relationships, friendships, work, then whatever happens, you know that it wasn't your fault because you tried your best to make it happen. Despite the wall that I have surrounded myself with, I have decided to take a couple bricks off and if I get hurt, well that is my fault and I will move on.

Until all of my decision making begins, I will be in Tokyo trying my best to work and have a good time with the nightlife =). I am remaining single, not available, and sober, and loving every aspect. Until next time,

XOXO

Allison in Wonderland

Hello Tokyo

So I am officially settled in to my new place in Tokyo. I arrived safe and sound last Monday. So far things have been a little rocky to say the least. The second I arrived I was whisked off to castings at 8 at night. By the time I got home to my little box, I passed out, woke up, and had to figure my way to Agence Presse on my own. Despite having a minor breakdown when I realized everything was in Japanese, I managed to navigate my way to the agency. After arriving, they immediately measured me, and told me I was way too big in my waist. It was approximately 67 cm. I am now on a mission to lose at least 2 cm, or I risk being sent home. While it is harsh, I have learned to appreciate the pressure they put on us. Modeling is a special job that not everyone can do, and if they weren't so determined to have us all looking so skinny, then anyone could do it. The size at our height is what makes us unique. Wish me luck on this one!!

My typical day here consists of having a driver take me to anywhere between 7 and 12 castings a day. It is very nice to be able to relax and not have to try to figure my way around the city, because it would be impossible. After these long days, I am very tired so when I get home I work out and go straight to sleep. However, on weekends, we do not have castings. I hear that the partying in Tokyo is quite fun, so on Saturday I thought I would venture out. FAIL. It wasn't fun at all. It was just another club with people I don't know very well so it was hard for me to enjoy it. Plus the girls were pressuring me to drink and find a boy when I DON'T drink and Tokyo = ME time, not FIND A BOY time. "Just because I am single, doesn't mean that I am available." -ME. Some of the girls think that it is so great because we are "VIP" and sit at owner's table on top of everyone, but it's really not that special. These type of things do not get me excited. I just want to have fun. The club doesn't close til around 5 am here, but I got over it around 230 and left at 3. It was nice to get out of my place, but I don't plan on going out 5 nights a week like I was in LA. No matter what, I always had a good night when I went out in LA. I will be relaxing for the rest of the week, and attempting another night this Saturday with the girls.

To all of my LA friends and special friends, I miss you all dearly. If everything goes as planned I will be back in 5 weeks destroying the town once again. I don't know if I'm happy to be honest, but this is another "once in a lifetime opportunity", and I will make the best of it.

XOXO

Allison in Wonderland

Buh Bye LA

As planned, I am off to Tokyo tomorrow. My trip will be about 6 weeks long, as designated by my contract. I have very mixed feelings about this excursion. In the 7 weeks that I have spent in LA, I can honestly say that I have found a home. My parents are back in Carlsbad, but there is no work there, so I can't expect to be going back all the time, and I have no life set up there. I have made such amazing relationships here, friendships, and more. Louis, Ashley, Damon, Michael, Margaux, Sarah, Sterling, they have all given me so much and made me feel like I finally belong somewhere. Normally when I travel, I just go and do my thing and leave. I feel like I am leaving something "real" behind here. I was talking with Miss Ashley this morning, discussing my departure and what I will be leaving behind when I go. I told her that I have really fallen attached to a couple people here, and I don't know how to explain that to them. She told me that I just have to go forward with my life. She noticed how confused I am about all my feelings about work and relationships, and I told her that I have to not care, because if I care then I will be hurt. She responded, "Ali, if you don't care, if you don't hurt, then you feel nothing. What is life without feelings?". Love, pain, heartache, no matter how much they can hurt us, that hurt reassures us that we are alive. There is a reason these things happen to us. "Everyone says love hurts, but that isn't true. Lonliness hurts. Rejection hurts. Losing someone hurts. Envy hurts. Everyone gets these things confused with love. But in reality, love is the only thing in this world that covers up all pain and makes someone feel wonderful again." -Unknown. This really made me think about my views on things. But why do I try to hurt myself? I always involve myself with boys that are unavailable. When I first started with my ex, he had a girlfriend. Then my boy in Paris was still in love with his ex-girlfriend, my next hookup was someone I knew I would never see again, and now, I am with someone that has told me time and time again that a relationship will never happen with any girl. I always put myself in these positions and I don't understand why yet. While I have been with a boy in each city, I have dedicated my time in Tokyo to myself. I want to be alone, to find myself and to sleep alone at night, because for some reason, the boys I lay next to aren't really there, right? Anyways, I have a lot to think about and reflect on. My next post will be from my new place in Tokyo. Hopefully my journey will be a good one. Til next time...

XOXO

Allison in Wonderland