Walk Like An Egyptian

I don't know if the ancient Egyptians wore heels, but I doubt it. I imagine them boogying on down in bare feet or golden sandals, but anyway... there were many pairs of identical heels at Catwalk Studios on Karangahape Road in Auckland today.

Sara and I worked as makeup artists there for Model Camp, and produced some rockin work. My own shots of my models are up now on mim.artiste, and I hope that you'll drop by for a look. I created an unusual look for my first model, who was to be dressed in olive shades, so I made my own mixture of colours from the SRA palette and made something of a lightweight smoky eye, with liquid liner and tonnes of mascara. I used Benetint on her lips for a fresh, rosy appearance, along with my new Natio bronzer on her cheeks. You'll be pleased to know it wasn't waterproof.

Yasmin was my adorable and much more co-operative second model, for whom I created an olive-green smoky eye along with glossy pink lips and bronzer. She had the wildest hairdo EVER, which was styled by a Servilles student who I had earlier shown how to do her own smoky eyes. Yasmin looked so cute I'm putting the photo up here.

Yasmin

What's the go this weekend?

Well, tomorrow is ANZAC Day and while I probably won't be seen at a dawn service (I know, I know. It's practically blasphemous) I will be out early for a ride. Not sure where I'm going to be yet. I can't decide whether to drive down to Hamilton tonight and sleep on a clean bed (for future reference: sleeping while wearing a Cupcake mask from Lush is not recommended) or to head down bright and early tomorrow. Tonight is probably not a bad idea.

Other stuff: New Zealand Singlespeed Championships

Something I can only dream of competing in. Seriously, I think I use every gear on my bike every time I ride it. I alternate between such high gears I have to stand up while pedalling downhill to being in the smallest gear possible while climbing Mt Victoria. Mind you, that hill is pretty steep. I think most people use small gears for it.
Anyway, of course Cabin and Nic will be there. Last year, local Rotorua hero Garth Weinberg won the men's race and XTERRA bronze medallist Annika Smail took out the ladies. If I'm not mistaken, she also medalled at Worlds later in the year.
A quick word about Singlespeed: it's not just about the gear. It's a race in a league of its own, complete with finding your bike in a pile at the beginning to taking up to three shortcuts in exchange for drinking a beer. Mmm, ideal. To top it all off, you can only be crowned champion if you go get a tattoo between the end of the race and prizegiving. Yep. Singlespeed racers mean business. Jason Savill is also something of a singlespeed fiend, and I was - more often than I'd like to admit - passed by him and his one-gear machine at Hamilton Mountain Bike Club night races in seasons gone by. Chances are he's now causing similar chaos on the trails down Austin, TX these days.

Jason cutting it up in the mud at last year's Moonride

Which reminds me: surely the Moonride is coming up again!? I competed last year for the Hamilton Mountain Bike Club, on a five-person, twelve-hour team. Which sounds like a cop-out, but to be honest, I did more than my fair share of riding. I had the intention of riding solo, but was talked out of it by Tui, and eventually was drafted into the "Maui Street Bikers" team. I didn't sleep the entire time, just stayed up talking all night and riding laps for other teams when they got bored and tired. Our club fared pretty well, with Warwick, Medich, Damo and Gurney's "Pukete Pain Train" collecting a bronze in the four-person, twenty-four hour team event and hardwoman Jemima winning silver in the women's twenty-four hour solo race. If you can believe it. Anyway, was a mean way to spend a weekend, even if it ended with me getting a flat tyre at 2am on SH1 into Hamilton. Yes, I love my life.

With members of HamMTB last year... greeeat stuff, that Red Bull

And Kirby's goodbye do...

If this photo is anything to go by...

Should be interesting! Messy, at the very least. I'm going, and it's only beginning to dawn on me now that Kirby, who has been the main fixture in my life since I was about thirteen years old, is leaving for Australia soon!!! I'm not going to lie... there's been times (quite recently, as you might recall) where I've wanted to throw her in a lake, but for the most part, we have a good time, and I'm starting to get sad. Nothing like a keg to drink away your sorrows though, right?

On that note... here's to a great weekend (and a NZ Singlespeed title for Mark Leishman!).

Over and out, yo.