Partying at UCWS

At Classic With Style Univeristy they know how to throw a party.
The University of Classic With Style is a place where you learn not only how to make and keep yourself gloriously beautiful, you also learn many other things that you will find come in quite handy while enjoying your second life.
Learning how to use a camera and lighting to your benefit, how to figure your ARC or Avatar Rendering Cost, how to load a hud and so much more I won't even try to go into it here.
After graduation you would think the instructors would be through with you but they aren't. They will continue to assist you as needed if you need it and chances are you will :) They will also get down and party with you when you graduate. I mean these folks are awesome to the max! Even the owners party with you and that means you get to see everyone let down their virtual hair..pardon the pun, I couldn't resist.

Ignore that top picture, I don't know how that got in here but I also don't know how to take it out.


Here we have previous students dancing with the recently graduated students.
This is a picture of one of the owners of the university and she too parties with you like she means it and trust me, she knows how to throw a party. No holds barred, she and her husband Steve will definitely chat you up, make jokes with you and invite you to all the events your precious heart can hold.
We love you both Anrol and Steve and I can't speak for all but I know I appreciate your generosity and all your kindness.
In this photo are instructors, previous graduates and present graduates all partying with the elite in the Celebrity Hangout.
I've wondered why each class seems to get better and better and the only thing I can think of is that those instructors are working hard at getting the students ready to enter the world of modeling with confidence and grace. They're succeeding too.
I look at some of the new models and know for a fact that they will go far and accomplish many good things.
Thanks Classic With Style for all you do for all of us. We may not say it often but it is appreciated.

Can't believe I've been so remiss

I have so much to say and so much to share and I have just let time get away from me.  Between my RL and Sl I have had to dedicate a lot more time to RL recently.  RL beckons, I go.
So much has happened since I last wrote in my blog!  I have found a means of being able to control my avatar now and keep it walking a nice straight line and not miss any dots on the runway.  Nobody knows how annoying that was for me!  I tried everything I could think of to get that under control but had no idea what would work.  It turns out it was simply a setting I was missing.  So quick and easy to fix and I had no idea and had gone through so much embarrassment  because of it.  Well, anyhow, it's fixed :)
I won my first contest and I didn't even think I was going to place!  I always put so much effort into the contests but I must have hit it right on this time because when the boss notices, you've done something good.  I was so taken aback that I didn't know what to say.  I was all prepared to applaud the winners and go home and change.  Not to be!  Yay for me!  My confidence is renewed and I am in contact with a good photographer to get my portfolio updated and submit it to a few places and enter a few more contests if I can.
There are so many really wonderful people in the world and we never get to know them or even know of them without this wonder called the Internet.

It would be hard to say which of my sisters at CWS I love the most but the sweetest, most giving person I have met has to be Debbie.  If hearts could be made of gold hers would truly glisten.  She is patient, understanding and so very knowledgeable about so many things and she has fantastic taste in everything!  I want to be like her!
I love all my sisters at CWS and I think I let them know it but if any of you ever read this blog and don't happen to know how much having you as sisters means to me then here is your notice; I love you all!   Big hugs to each of you for being such wonderful people and for all your many kindnesses, for our silly chats in our groups, for the jokes we play on each other and I can't leave out Anrol.  A beauty who is also brilliant and caring.  She loves other people so much that she tries in every way to improve any part of their lives that she can.  No wonder her husband is so dedicated to her.  She is a gem.
Debbie and Anrol, I hope you two ladies know you are loved and appreciated.  Your fantastic senses of humor are not lost on this gal and I love the chats and working with such great professionals.
There is Taby, Veronica, Noot, Messange...I could go on and on and on but you all know who you are and I am thankful for each of you and so proud and pleased to call you not just sisters but friends as well.
Hugs to you all and let the contests continue!

Congratulations to the winners of the Styling Green Theme

It was long night as so many contestants began arriving at the styling stage at Classic With Style to attempt to win the Styling Green Theme.  There were leprechauns, fairies and some things I wasn't sure I could identify.  Others were dressed in their finery and had gone all out to make an impression on the judge.  I was one of them and I know tough competition when I see it and that was a tough competition!
The ladies who won did so on merit, originality and creativity.  I do so admire that in a model.
Such creativity is well rewarded at CWS and it is not only fun it is rewarding to see if you can be more original and creative than all the others.  I would highly recommend this activity for anyone interested in modeling too.
The lag as usual was terrible but the show went on.
We are ladies and gentlemen from all over the world who gather here and chat and make jokes and very seriously attempt to out do each other to win that coveted prize called 1st Place!  Second Place and even 3rd Place are not bad either.  That means your efforts got noticed but someone was just a little more original than you or they gave a better performance than you did.
Because they come from all over the world, these folks are up at the most unusual hours just to participate in these contests.  My heart goes out particularly to the Europeans who are up at three AM so I don't do a lot of complaining about the hours since it is for me still early evening.
Ladies, my proverbial hat is off to you.  You worked hard, you gave a great performance and it paid off.
I was so tired afterward that I left without a picture of the winners though I'm sure someone will post one. Congratulations to all of you!

Making The Grade At Classic With Style

Had anyone told me that SL would have handed me a class so difficult and so demanding I would not have believed it.  When they say 'Simply The Best'  it is said for a reason.
I guess most folks think models are just empty headed, pretty faces; they couldn't be more wrong about the models in CWS.
Those instructors are intelligent, observant and demanding yet very kind and understanding.  They will teach you everything from rendering your avatar's cost to photography and we are talking some smart ladies here!

What I find way too incredible is that I PASSED!!!!!!   Yay!  Time for celebration!  A TOP WORLD MODEL! ME, go figure!

I will continue to blog because it's something I enjoy but I have had such an intense regimen of classes and homework that I have been pressed for time to actually blog like I normally would have done.

I'm out of here for tonight.  It's been a long but fulfilling day.

Homework and Falling Off The Runway

I finally did it..I fell right off the runway!  I was so embarrassed, so glad nobody could see my face.  As if that weren't bad enough, I couldn't get back up on the runway.  There I was down on the floor trying to jump back up and not making it ( I believe my avatar was doing back flips) when finally one of the girls must have felt sorry for me and sent me a teleport.  Bless you for that.  I owe you a huge favor.  :)
The Homework.   This ain't no game folks!!!! These instructors are serious and they demand nothing less than the very best from every student.  Just when I thought I would catch up here comes another note card with more homework.  Make that a couple more note cards.  I'm laughing now because I finally got a HUD that works for my poses but at the time I just felt overwhelmed and I admit I have put in many, many hours of effort and just felt there is no way I would ever get all of this.  Don't anyone ask me how to load a HUD because I don't think I remember how I did it but I did do it and I did it all alone too.  Big Whoop! 
Oh well, I'm going to cut this short this morning.  I have already written my biography and the description of what I'm wearing for the Beautiful Gown theme.  I'll be back later hopefully with a good report.  Wishing the best of luck to all with big hugs.

Later on that day...I didn't get back to this blog.  Should anyone wonder why the answer is simple.  I was swamped knee deep in real life work with three little ones who had decided to see what the carpet would look like if painted with chocolate.   No, I didn't harm anyone and yes, I did get the chocolate out of the carpet.
The oldest and responsible child was listening to her Ipod and didn't happen to see what had taken place.  She sat quietly on the sofa and watched and listened as I queried the other two. 
I believe someone once described boys as 'snakes and snails and puppy dog tails'.  That person was definitely an optimist; you know, one of those people whose glass is always half full.
The two boys were in the recliner looking as though they would never do such a thing as paint carpet with chocolate.  I was not fooled!  The amount of chocolate around their mouths was a real give away. 
Does anyone have any idea how difficult it is to look and act angry when you want to laugh?  I may have been hysterical, I'm not real sure now as I look back on that day. 
When the three year old went over to the wall and faced the corner and announced that he was in a time out I knew I had lost this one for sure.  No way could I seriously be angry with them for what they clearly had done.  I got out the vinegar and went to work with a brush trying to remove the stains.  I wasn't laughing inside any longer but I look back on my own childhood and remember how I was and I realize that occasionally being afraid of what might happen and having to think about what I had done made a real impression on me.  The boys, especially the six year old heard every word I grumbled as I scrubbed and when I finally sat down smelling very like a pickle, I too realized we had just had one of those days we would one day think about and laugh.

I did show up for class and practice that day but it was once of those days when everything you touch just doesn't work.  My feet froze, my poses weren't working and my description was incomplete given that I had not had time to dress prior to class.  Thank you instructor for allowing me that one!  I was so relieved when she said I could go that I almost wept.  Okay, not quite that relieved but it was a definite relief and you can bet that the next time I will sign in early and make absolutely certain that the chocolate is far back in a corner of one of the highest cabinets where the children can't reach.

Classic w/ Style - Simply the Best!: Ms USA 2010 Candylicious Forster

Classic w/ Style - Simply the Best!: Ms USA 2010 Candylicious Forster

Styling Red

So many models here tonight! Wow!
As I stand here looking at the many lovely gowns in red and the different costumes, I marvel at the ingenuity of these incredible people. I think I see Red Riding Hood and a Devil and I realize these are some of the nicest, funniest people I've met here. Their humor is so refreshing and unending.

It's been such a busy day for me today. So much to do and I finally did it....I walked right off the stage at practice today. I was mortified until a couple of the other models told me they too had done that.It didn't totally eliminate the humiliation but it relieved some of the stress being able to laugh at myself.

There is just so much to remember modeling like this. The turns, the poses and the different line ups..oh my! I didn't mention that I'm still having grief with loading the AO, that is driving me bananas but I will continue to try until I get it right. I had better get it right or I won't graduate with my class.

Babysitting didn't help either. Having a three year old trying to get into your lap while you're trying to walk straight and holding the mouse while he pulls your arm is a task. I put in a movie for the children to watch and they find a reason to fight over it. One of them has stood up in front of the TV and the others are just going to die because they missed a scene. One has got to love children. They will tell you the truth no matter the result. Hugs and kisses to those babies. They sure made last night an experience I will remember.

The lag is unbelievable again tonight! So many models, so many huds and all the extra prims in the clothing, hair and shoes really slows down the response of the sim. I'm told by some of the more seasoned models that they have learned ways to deal with it and allow for it to work in their favor. I sure hope I can do the same.

I knew when I did my turn that I had messed it up. I took way too long on my poses and trying to operate those different huds and use the camera to turn properly proves to be a bit much when combined with the little one swinging from my arm like it's a trapeze. At least I tried. I prepared the best I could at the time and with the amount of time I had to get things together and each time it seems so stressful but each time I walk that runway I love it more.