Slumming with my Mother.

I have most amazing parents. Since my dear dad is having a blast in San Diego (body surfing, attending a cool seminar, leaning how to play Sudoku from random people on the plane), my mom and I are toiling away the hours in a most enjoyable manner. She's the kind of mom who is perfectly happy just sitting and reading with me. She watches all my favorite movies that I get from blockbuster, even though she has a) seen them or b) hasn't seen them and has better things to do.

Yeterday we went to the world cup volleyball tournament with her fellow coach and some of her team. I am not one to go out of my way to watch sports, but it was very fun. The players (all women) were absurdley tall and gorgeous. Think modelesque amazon women. We watched for a couple of hours in mesmerized happiness, and then went out for Mexican food. And my guts seemed to have settled nicely with the paella dish I had, so I am pleased. Today I think mom and I are going to brunch/coffee (we are quite the enabling pair of caffiene addicts, and then go for a run. All and all a great day to be had, provided we don't melt into slushy puddles of human when the Taiwan sun beats down on us for too long.

Also...FEED THE MODELS!

This is sort of a sub-post having nothing to do with the initial title or purpose of today's blog. I opened up my web browser this morning and saw a story on Tyra Banks condoning alarmingly thin models in the newest cycle of America's Next Top Model. Now, I watch the show, and Tyra seems very supportive of plus sized models and happy to promote health and wellness. She doesn't outrightly say that models that strive to unhealthy lengths to be thin are bad, but she seems to be health oriented enough. Furthermore, she is a big name in a swim-or-sink industry. She has to be diplomatic, even if it is to the eating disorder promoting modeling agents.

I myself have experienced the brutal expectations of the modeling industry. When I was about fifteen, I got a call from my agent for a casting. Happily, I went. To my slight dismay, the clients and casting agents were snappy and impatient, and barked at all the models, then rebuked me for not having the right shoes ('tis always good to have heels for runway castings!), and so on and so forth. So, I was in a small, narrow room with three tired, crotchety agents, three tall, emaciated Russian models, and two male models who would not speak to me (though they were American). We were asked to do our runway walks. They called me up first (of course) and I walked. Upon completing my walk I heard the woman casting agent say rathed loudly to her companions that I was Tai ai, tai pang. Keep in mind, we are in Taiwan. I know Chinese, so I was shocked to hear her say that I was Too short, too fat. Granted, I am thin, even thinner then. So, I got the pleasure of sitting and waiting for all the death bed models to slump down the 'aisle' with their hungry shuffles while I conte,plated being "tai ai, tai pang". All and all, not a very wholesome industry. Fortunately, I pulled out of it not long after the runway incident. At least writers have more liberty with their looks.