The story is about a secretary in Neovia/the early 20th century who seemingly lives a drab and monochromatic life, but longs for the same adventure and romance just like in the books she reads. She attends a Hot Air Balloon Convention and through a series of careless manhandling which happened 12 hours before her misfortune, she drifts away in a balloon. Everyone is shocked! A clerk who works in the same office hops on a balloon to catch her. She ends up in a variety of whimsical lands and meets a myriad of strange-looking people. The clerk finally catches up to her, picking up her trail of chaos, and both are entangled in a conspiracy involving the Royal Family.

Read a movie review here! :D

Polaroid Interview Photoshoot

WOOOARGH I have been so busy lately, that if I were to live until 80 and pass, the morgue will totally rule out the cause of death as something like 'Outstanding Accumulation of Ultimate Occupation'.

But wow, the competition is getting tougher and tougher! Now I totally understand what past-year NNTMers went through, rather than just understanding in a vague, uh-huh-tsk-tsk-how sad-while-I-laze-my-butt-on-the-couch-with-my-cheese-puffs sort of way.

This round's challenge is a go-see. The name says it all, really. It means you go-see (see?) an agency or a fashion label or something and see (see?) if you're accepted to model for said agency depending on their requirements.

Good afternoon. [handshake] [waves hello and returns the handshake] Hey, hello! So nice to meet you! I'm Jeweliana Von Skipler, but call me Jewel, please.

How long have you been modeling? It's a recent gig, this modeling thing. [puts finger on chin, looks up sideways] It's not more than 2 years, I wager. My best friend, Trot, pushed me into it when I was 17, because she's horrible like that [laughs]. Since then, I've never looked back; it's my new hobby now.

What sort of experience do you have modeling? Runway, high fashion, commercial...? Hmmm, I am a regular model for my brother's fashion line, Xav&Co. I model clothes for Lennies, and those with tall, lanky proportions. You can see my work for the Green is Supreme Series, and the Fall Fashion Frenzy. And recently, as a finalist for NNTM.

What's your favorite shot in your portfolio?
Erm...[sifts through the big black folder] It's got to be this one.

It's really fun looking, and just the kind of feeling I want to generate if someone sees me in a poster, or a billboard, looking at the clothes I model. I want people to feel fun and free in whatever they wear.

Where do you see yourself in five years? [laughs] Whoo, five years...now let's see, perhaps I will have a garden catalogue then? I think I will still be writing and I will still be modelling for my brother. Most likely will be learning some new things, and having more fun in life. And who knows if my boy friend and I will end up living under one roof? [dreams for a while]

Could you see yourself modeling for Q? It's intimidating, considering the talents the company hires [twirls hair], but sure, why not! I am willing to cooperate to fulfill the company's vision and mission, and become an indispensable and positive asset to the values and goals of Q.

What do you think is your biggest strength?
My tall, lanky proportions hang very well with clothes; that I think is my biggest strength. And besides having an advantage physically, I try to project some fun and life into the photoshoots I attend. It usually depends on the project and the atmosphere, as well as the clothing; that's what NNTM is for. To expand my field.

Is there anything else you'd like to say? I just hope I can do you proud!

Okay, thank you for coming in. We'll contact you. Thank you so much for the interview! It's great to answer your questions! Thank you again!
[walks out the door, then turns around]
Bye! [wave]

Semifinal #2:
Dear Diary, guess what? I actually made it this far! You remember last year when I got booted off like some poor ragdoll in an overcrowded playground? Yeah, that was kinda stupid; I will never design my own clothes ever again. But in between THAT elimination and Cycle 3 of NNTM, Xavvy got this fashion line coming up and it's been easier to get clothes that fit! He's such a great designer! I mean, look at what he did for my Semifinal photoshoot:

It's so pretty! And the best thing about having your brother as a fashion designer is that you get to keep his clothes (no, I don't mean boxers and briefs and the like. Bad wording, haha). And it's wonderful that he has another way to boost his business; NNTM gives him a challenge to buck up his designing skills. So happy for him!

U5nit was stumped (for the first time. It must have hurt his ego) coming up with poses, because he had a 60 storey stack of fashion magazines and he was browsing through every one of them looking for inspiration. Inspiration? More like eye-candy in flattering clothes. I slapped him at the back of his head just as he was staring at a shapely Usul and told him 'Dude, are you working?' and he said 'Yeah, my brain is firing up and my eyes are burning.' He got to work quick, and he got me started on a bunch of poses. One was me dancing, and jumping, and we tried lots of gestures and body language. But none of them WORKED for him.

He was drowning in one of his Time Outs, and spluttering lots of un-pleasantries. I, being the expert on handling moments of dire stress, just stood there and well, I curled my hair and tried to think of some way to pacify him. 'We could always go for a...' and then I was blinded by a white light. Totally fell over a chair, and would have broken my beautiful bones had it not been for the 60 storey magazine tower.

And U5nit's long snout pressed against the curve of my beak, and he was like 'EUREKA. WE GOT IT JEWEL. WE GOT IT.' and he did an insane tango or something weird like that.

And that photo is the one in this entry, Like yeah! I'm glad that's over and done with (pretty early too. My entry was one of the first). I'm so nervous for the next challenge though, if I ever get in! This is driving me nuts.

I got into this year's NNTM! Sweet! If you remember, Diary, I tried entering last year's NNTM, and you remember how scary it was! I was that semi-popular (according to my Scientific Gauge of Central High School Popularity Developed in the Y9. Good times, good times) kid in school, and it was something WEIRD to come out and into a glamourous competition. I may not like the exposure and the publicity, that's for sure, but doesn't hurt to open your mind a bit.

With a chainsaw.

So they gave us a challenge, which was to make a fake advertisement for a selected product. Mum went nuts with this one - SHE REALLY REALLY LIKES MAKING ADS. So to ease her anxieties (she was starting to froth), she handled the Art Department.

And you know what's really cool? Xavvy volunteered to help me design some custom clothes for NNTM (he's going to stick through every challenge. What a bro!), instead of subjecting me to the many available designers for NNTM (I heard models switch between thousands of designers every so often, brrr). And U5nit is gonna be my photographer, nice! He's always taking pictures of weird things like Dandelion and my Mum's outrageous frenzies, so it's nice to see him up his game.

And the picture above is the result! I'm loving it! It turned out great!

Oh yeah! Did I tell you that I was at the NNTM HQ today? The models have already put up their entries and it was all on the SPECIAL WALL OF DOOM as I call it. I saw Cybil and Kaylinda's (they are my Mum's friends' pets. Whew!) entries, and I really liked Paarlei's and Qwin's. Some tough competition! I'm going to have to work hard.

I smell U5nit's famous shitake pizza downstairs! Ta-ta, Diary!