Life in the T dot O

 Since moving to Toronto a week ago, I have become a little confused with the customs and way they do business here. I always say I am "from Toronto" when working oversees, but that is simply because no one has ever heard of my city. (and if they have, I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I come from there)

 My city is called 'Oshawa'. There are jokes that we got the name when native Indians first discovered it. They were thinking about what they should call the city when one of them sneezed and made the sound "O-SHA-WA!!" And since then the city has been named Oshawa. It is a fairly small city, around 150,000 people. There is not much to do there except go to the "Oshawa Centre" which is the only mall in the city. If you do decide to go shopping there, just make sure your prepared to meet everyone you've ever known from highschool. Sometimes if I really need to go there for something, I wear a hat and sunglasses as a disguise. Can't I just buy some nail polish without having a half an hour conversation about "what we've been doing since high school" and them telling me they saw me on a big poster for Aleese (birth control) somewhere!

(how embarrasing)

Now I don't really have to deal with that in Toronto. Since my husband and I moved here, not one person has stopped me on the street that recognizes me! I feel so free!

However, as I was saying, the way they do business here is a little strange to say the least.

For example, the other day my agent called and told me I have a job the next day. "for what?" I ask. "I don't know" he replies. "ok, can you send me the details when you have them?"

"sure" he says.

An hour later I get a message with the time and the address. No descrīption of the job, no info about how much it pays. So I call him back. "hi, I got your message, so what is the job for? How much does it pay?"   "We don't know anything, it's a secret, they won't tell us" he says.

Okay...so the next day I go to this "secretive job" a little frightened, having no idea what I'm there for. I get there say hello and ask the client, "so what am I shooting for today?" She tries to quiet me "shhhhh" and shoves a "non dislosure" form in my face. "Please sign this before we tell you" she says. so I sign like three pages of tiny print...I did try to read it but the language was a little hard to understand. she told me it basically just means that you won't disclose any information about this job to anyone. Ok, so I sign it, and then she tells me which company the job is for (which I am not allowed to say) and how much it pays. Apparently the company does not want  anyone to know they are about to release this new product and an add campaign.

It was weired  though. There was another girl shooting before me and I was getting my makeup done in the studio while she was shooting and the client actually asked me to leave the studio while she was shooting!! I'm thinking, "ok, I already know what the product is, I'm going to be shooting with it in a minute...their nuts!!"

But apparently, this is the way they do business in Toronto.

"I care desperately about what I do. Do I know what product I'm selling? No. Do I know what I'm doing today? No. But I'm here, and I'm gonna give it my best shot."  (quote from Zoolander , it's so true! :))