KITTY PURRY

This was how I spent Chinese New Year's Eve... In a Katy Perry concert. But that's not the start of the story, I'm getting way ahead. I had work that day (Sunday) with a call time of 5am in Binondo. CHINATOWN. Where the New Year revelry will be at it's peak. Good thing that my shoot was just near Jones bridge and not right smack in the middle of the festivities. But still, inner city, and a 5am call time. Ngur. And to top it all off, my tummy was all in a rumble. I was feeling sick and dehydrated. But in styling work as every stylist knows, there are no absent days. The show must go on.

So I went out still dark, (there wasn't any sun yet) with just medicine as my only hope and savior, only to find that the location had no decent toilet. KMN. I had to suck it in and not think of the nagging wiggles in the stomach. I must have popped 4 imodiums that day. TMI. But then I was that scared to go to the loo. I was drinking sips out of my water bottle and not super chugs like my usual 2000mls a day. And my only meal was a pair of forlorn pandesals. I felt really thin though.

But the location was amazing. It was an old rundown building that had a super high ceiling. Having that vast height allows more light in giving spectacular photos.

Footwear dream. YSL's, Louboutins, McQueens, Charlotte Olympia's...

The space felt like a New York atelier.


Rundown buildings always have the best texture. This corner can already work as a lookbook backdrop. I had to try.

Achieved! So yes, my shoot ended at 7pm. The concert was "suppose" to start at 8. Photo finish because we wrapped at 730. By this time I literally had the shakes from exhaustion. And I had to drive all the way to MOA. I really, seriously need a driver. I wanted nothing more than collapsing in my bed, but sayang ang tickets!! and not after buying it at the very last minute when the tickets were supposedly all sold out.

Got there without any incident but the mall traffic and parking was excruciating. Luckily we found a spot at the far end, around the SMX area. Di na choosy!! we just walked to the concert grounds. In hindsight, it was better that we parked all the way there, we escaped the post gridlock after the show.

It was a fun actually, found Katy to be very perky, bubbly and naughty. Hello, kisses on stage with that young actor? Aaaah, to be a popstar. I wasn't too sure about her wardrobe though. Eek. Anyhoo, we had a good vantage, Row V, which is 22th from the stage. I couldn't unscrew my lens to change to zoom (much to my dismay), hence the quality of the photos. But, I survived that day. With California Girls as LSS.