Thank you for tuning into blogspot.com this week, I'm your host Austin Kiker.
This just in: My girlfriend Amanda is in town for the week. I've thoroughly enjoyed having her around. We have wondered around Manhattan the past few days going to the Rockefeller Plaza, Time Square and Central Park. I have also shown her around Brooklyn a bit as there are a few streets with really great restaurants and a lot of shops which makes for fun exploring. We plan on going to Coney Island for the world famous Nathan's hotdog and the Empire State Building at some point but having to juggle work cuts into our time for play and adventure, unfortunately. I keep having these weird run-in's while I'm out and about walking. I ran into a friend of mine, Justin, while Amanda and I were in Times Square. Justin is from Greensboro and is signed with the same modeling agency I am in N.C. I don't know how this keeps happening seeing NYC is such a big city! Also, my brother Adam was in town for the weekend so it was good to see him as well. I'd also like to share the success of a friend of mine from Charlotte, N.C, Mike Press. If you watch Beyonce's latest video for her hit single, The Best Thing I Never Had, Mike is the guy in the video who's at the Prom with Beyonce then turns and starts dancing with another girl. They also show another shot of him where he looks extremely sad. You can go to http://www.beyonceonline.com/ to see the video.
As far as casting calls go the biggest call I've had this past week was an opportunity to work with Gillette to become "the body" of all their ads. Speaking of modeling, my friend Daniel from Sweden is in town for a few days as was a girl named Helen(from Ireland) who is Louis'(fellow Fusion model) girlfriend. I feel bad for them because my room is the only room with A/C and I do not exaggerate when I say if it's 98 degrees outside then it is also 98 degrees in the rest of the apartment except for in my room. Cooking in the kitchen is like going to a sauna, often I am not sure if I'm cooking the food or if I'm the one being cooked due to the heat.
Here are a couple of pictures I'd like to share with you this week. One is of a private yacht(or should I say mini-cruise ship) I saw on the East River while at work one day. The other is of the not-so-hit-sensation, the naked cowgirl(I could only get a side shot of her as she was taking a break and was facing away from the crowd and I didn't want to wait 10minutes to see her front...it didn't seem worth it)
This week I come to you after having ridden a roller coaster of emotions due to failure and frustration.
I always try to see the best in every situation and step back from every experience and try, in some way, to learn. While I feel lucky to be given the opportunity to pursue my various avenues of interest here in the Big Apple I would be masking my true emotions if I said my morale hasn't taken a hit.
First off, I was selected to do a shoot with designer Richard Chai but due to conflicts of schedule he dropped me and selected another model. While fashion designer Richard Chai's name may or not ring any bells to my southern readers, it is a modeling opportunity I wish I could have back, to say the least.
Another hit to the home front was taken when a blogger, Scott Joseph, came to dine at the restaurant I work for. From what I have read, Joseph is an accomplished writer who worked for the Orlando Sentinel for 20 years and during that duration acquired a large following of readers, so I will say, he is due a little respect. He was a ruggedly handsome man but he and his friend were quite unapproachable and cold toward me from the get go no matter how friendly I tried to be. After dining with me he described his experience with me in his blog, stating that I am "youthful and earnest but, ultimately, inept". We all have our moments of uncertainty and make mistakes(I found a typo in Joseph's blog about Riverpark) and that was the case a time or two as I served him and tried to answer his leading questions. He also states in his blog that he basically had it out for Riverpark from the moment he stepped into the restaurant due to it being a Tom Colicchio restaurant, Tom Colicchio being the head judge on Bravo's reality t.v. show, Iron Chef. Call me naive but it always amazes me that this country allows people to be paid a handsome salary for merely being opinionated of others hard work when their opinion shouldn't really matter but "ultimately" it does matter, mostly to those who get squashed in the cross fire. This man was out to crush some fiber of Tom Colicchio's being but instead fired hateful words toward me, the unfortunate soul who had to aspire to his unattainable standards. My upbringing was always to be mindful of others and their feelings but clearly today's dollar sign doesn't always allow for that, I consider my lesson to be learned. I know that this next statement is immature and shows my youth but in my anger I'd gladly like to invite Mr. Joseph to N.C. to help me conduct a controlled burn, mark timber to be thinned, guide a hunt or run a tractor to see which one of us is truly "inept". While I do not doubt that Joseph could learn how to do these things if given the proper time to do so, which leads to my point. Seeing that I have only been working under the ethics of "fine dining" for a few weeks, not 20 years, and haven't fully learned all that is necessary to be as versed in the subject as Joseph, I feel as if the scrutiny I was put under was unfair. But critics will be critics and I am sure that Scott Joseph has been the brunt of a bad review a time or two himself, it's one of those things that you read once and let it fall away.
On a lighter note please allow me to tell a few interesting stories. I'm sure you've all seen or heard of the double decker buses that travel the streets of Manhattan filled to the brim with tourists so that they may feast their eyes upon one attraction after another. One day while walking to a casting call I was wearing a cut off shirt that shows my abs, skinny jeans and a pair of really nice "rockstar boots". A tourist on one of the infamous double-decker buses took notice to me. He tapped his buddy on the shoulder, pointed at me and they both shamelessly stared directly at me. A moment later a lady on the same bus noticed me until the entire bus seemed to be staring and pointing at me as if saying "look at that New Yorker wearing his odd clothing". I inwardly laughed then decided to stop and take an exaggerated bow toward the bus which riled up the tourist even more. It made for a funny moment that, in some peculiar way, brightened my day. Another funny occurrence took place at Riverpark where I had three ladies in their mid 50s sitting at my table. Upon approaching them they immediately said, "you look like Justin Timberlake but way hotter!" so for the rest of their dining experience with me they coined me J.T. and left a $100 tip after having World War 3 over who was going to pay the tab. I am not kidding when I say that these three ladies were screaming obscenities at one another, breaking into laughter, screaming more obscenities then threatening me by saying, "if you ever want me to come back to this restaurant you'll give me that check." Needless to say, it was comedic. Another customer spent $1100 on food/alcohol at Riverpark Wednesday night and left their server a $300 tip, it must be nice to be able to do that! I shared my apartment for a few days with my friend and fellow model, Louis, but he left early this morning to head back to London for his birthday. Happy Birthday Louis!
Also, I had the Vice President of the French Culinary Institute as a customer. He was making his first trip to the U.S. and was visiting a friend of his who, guess what, was from Salisbury, N.C. The VP and his friend were both very delightful people.
While I don't have any interesting pictures to share this week, I do have another song. This one is called "Sweet Lillian". I made it up after I opened a beer and under the cap it read "cheers from sweet Lillian".
Sweet Lillian
The neon "open" sign buzzes on. She walks in, another night alone.
Bags under her eyes from a lack of rest. Barkeep has never seen her at her best.
The shadow of sad she carries is always evident. He tries to cheer her up but he isn't relevant.
Even still he loves her through and through. But all she notices is the man in the corner who's alone too.
Barkeep send that man a drink. He utters, he's not your type I don't think.
She questions, who are you to judge. So he delivers the drink with a twist of grudge.
Cheers from Sweet Lillian but to him she's one in a million.
The barkeep watches another day in Lillian's paradise. Looking in all the wrong places for the right man is her only vice.
So another long night begins with fake laughs and dirty drinks. Her short dress hiked up with insinuating blinks.
By the end of the night she can't remember his name but that doesn't matter, they're all the same.
She's hopin' to find the good ol' days but those have been chalked up to a haze.
Cheers from Sweet Lillian but to him she's one in a million.
After pouring another drink he bottles up the feelings that no one knows. Their eyes lock and for a moment his love shows.
Watching her fearless fall to fate the earth trimmers, the ground shakes.
Tired tales to out right lies, sometimes she stops to ask herself why.
Then deviant desires rise from the ashes to her eyes where they shall remain 'til she dies
Cheers from Sweet Lillian but to him she's one in a million.
A big hello to all coming at you from NYC and a belated Happy 4th of July. I missed being home and on Lake Tillery with my family and friends for the 4th.
The past week and a half for me have been extremely busy between work and modeling casting calls. I have put my nose to the grinding stone and am trying to insure my longevity as a New Yorker in hopes of finding success in all that I dream. Though I am quite adjusted to the NYC fast paced lifestyle I am constantly reminded of my roots as a southern gentlemen. Every day/night that I work someone always inquires, "where are you from?", due to my accent. I even had a table put personal wagers amongst themselves as to where I am from. One lady won and guessed right while her son guessed Georgia and her husband guessed Arkansas. Her winnings were a dessert, Riverparks Chocolate Pot(pronounced Po) De' Creme. Last night one fellow and his wife made me feel pretty good by saying, "I love your accent, it's not exactly southern but it's not yankee either. Where are you from?" Upon answering him he then replied, "Oh, I love N.C., it's such a great state." Most the people who are inquistive enough to ask about my origins always have something nice to say about the south and that they hope I see that, "we yankee's aren't that mean after all." Speaking of work I have a great friend in a Mexican fellow named Francisco who is also a server at Riverpark. Everyday he is, if slowly, teaching me spanish. During our short breaks between having to run some errand for a table we'll sit and discuss basic words and phrases, it's been quite a learning experience.
As far as castings go I have had one experience that was out of the norm. During a casting for the clothing line Express Men the casting director asked(as they always do) where are you from? After answering him a stunned look came over his face and he said, "Oh really? I went to college in N.C. at a smaller school called Appalachian State University." Obvisouly my jaw dropped to the ground as I am a graduate of App State. This fellow graduated in 1995 back when ASU was a smaller school. He and I had a great 10 or 15 min conversation and I assured him that after winning three national championships in football that ASU isn't as small or unheard of as it once was. At another casting call the casting director has a sister who is moving to Raleigh, N.C. with her husband as the husband has been appointed a position as a teacher at Duke. The world is smaller than we realize.
Here is another picture I wanted to share with you all. On my days off I wonder around Brooklyn and Manhattan in an attempt to see the things or places that a tourist wouldn't have the opportunity to see. This is a view that I stumbled upon during one of those ventures.
That is it for now. Read below for my song of the week. Simply put, it is about a girl and a guy who are spending time together and all the thoughts that are running through the fellow's head.
"All Or Nothing"
Here we come together, her head resting against mine.
She's thinking about forever while he's got other things on his mind.
They share a beautiful moment on a rustic bench in a quaint little park.
Get lost in a sunset that they both need a pinch to realize its dark.
Hand in hand the quiet murmur of night nestles them close but as not to impose.
Burning streetights collide with shadows in such a wrestle but that's the way of opposites I suppose.
That's what they call all or nothing.
Not to be afraid come closer baby, lets go see a friend of mine.
Lost in a moment maybe but say hello to dear ol' time.
City currents carry us away but I want to head upstream.
Burdens of both worlds bury those who don't hit them with enough steam.
They say its all or nothing
Never know what the future will bring but I know whose hand I'm holding right now.
Beat of our shoes sing in sweet harmony while sweat beads her brow.
Fused by thoughts of the future and the unfamiliar image of things we have yet to find.
Those who sought but have not found always search for answers in places best left behind.
That's the way of all or nothing.
Hope still lies in the young who have not childishly given up their vision.
But they live an illusion, slips off the tounge of those whose dreams and reality had a head on collison.
The man who fights hardest for our equality knows best our differences.
The plan, peace says, is to stop the stereotypical inferences.
Between there and here is where the truth lies for fairy tale love.
Hand in hand they are deaf to hearing those that scream such obscenities from above.
They are giving it all or nothing.
