Ailana’s Journal—2026-05-11 (Patreon)

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GOOD MORNING

The big day has arrived! Or at least I could say the long day… Kaylee, Jasmine, and I are at DFW Airport on our way to an all-day photo session in the Dallas area.

We’re ready. I think.

Kaylee and Jasmine wanted me to go over everything from getting here to getting home so everything would flow smoothly. As you can see, I started with my strategy for how to dress when arriving at a session.

I like to be able to get out of whatever I’m wearing fast and without help from anyone else. And if that can be done without messing up hair and makeup, even better.

Shoes you can step out of easily? Absolutely.

I like dresses I can step into and pull up. Loose-fitting pants and a zip-up or button-up blouse are also fine.

I was on a shoot—let’s say around 2021—where two other girls showed up in jeans so tight that they literally had to help each other get them off. Me? I dropped my dress to the ground and met the wardrobe coordinator ten seconds later.

I’ve walked them through everything. It’s different now from 2020, but the idea is the same. The per diem… the base rate… We’ll snap pictures of our receipts and send them to Naomi. She’ll Venmo the money back tomorrow or maybe later tonight.

I’m not sure how much extra cash Kaylee has available, so I told them both I’d pay for everything as we go and handle reimbursement.

I went on to suggest they open a checking account just for their modeling work, where they could leave enough for a few days of meals. They could get paid into those accounts, then transfer money to their personal accounts whenever they want to. It would create a clear record of what they earn—I just think it’s a tidy way to do it.

That will be on the agenda for when we get back. Today’s agenda is already full!

Stick around! A lot’s about to happen!

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Jason's next chapter from "Growing Up Jason" will not appear today. Watch for that on Tuesday!

PLOT TWIST

I’m somewhere between frustrated, honored, stressed, and excited. Let me explain.

First, I’m sharing a few images from the shoot. Really, if you’ve seen pictures in a catalog or on a website, you won’t think much of these. I’d argue that they show how Kaylee and Jasmine nailed it.

But the plot twist came when I led them from wardrobe for the first time. The art director, a woman named Tanya, waved us over to one of the two sets—identical, basic neutral backdrops, each with its own photographer.

“Ailana,” she said, “you go first… Then I want you to direct the shoot on this set.”

She handed me a shot list as I blinked incredulously. I replayed what she said to make sure I heard right.

Jasmine said what I thought I had heard. “So after she models, she’ll direct the rest of the models… along with the photographer, of course…”

Tanya nodded. “Naomi said you’re great. I was going to try to run back and forth between both sets, but this will make the whole shoot go better.”

“So, you want me to direct the models?” I said.

“Yes, and when you’re called back to wardrobe, signal me, and I’ll cover until you get back.”

So… yeah… that’s how the morning has gone. After about half an hour, I realized that some of the models assigned to my set were new to the business.

I asked Tanya about that, and she said, “Naomi told me you had a way of pulling the best out of new girls. She showed me some of your work, and I can’t believe what I saw. Kaylee’s first-day pics for her lookbook were amazing.”

Let me wrap up this post by saying that Naomi and I are going to have a talk! What has she been saying about me! Directing on a shoot of this scale? Yikes!

I have to admit, though… This really put some excitement into what I thought would be basically “just another day in the office.”

I’ll add that Kaylee and Jasmine might be more excited by this than I am.

See you later… I have to go tell models how to smile…

GOOD DAY by Sofia Torres

For a Monday, I really have no complaints. Everyone showed up on time and got busy quickly.

So far, we’ve hit our daily production target on all but a few days. We’ve gone over some days, as well. Everyone is pretty happy.

I usually talk to Micah, but I’ve also talked to Sasha a few times. She’s very excited that orders are coming in a little faster than we expected. I talked to her this morning, in fact.

“A couple of shops in Florida are interested in different suit styles. What are your thoughts on that? When could you start producing suits from a different pattern?”

I told her it was definitely possible to switch patterns, but the total number of suits we sew probably wouldn’t stay as steady.

“I’ll get back to you soon.”

Micah came over after lunch and told me he’d been helping Sasha call shops we’d already shipped to. “I gotta tell you… the owners I talked to said they loved the products. One of them said the quality was way, way above the price point and he wanted to order more.”

That really felt great to hear.

Now the day has come to an end. Ahead of me is my empty apartment and not much more. I canceled Netflix to save a few bucks—I hardly ever watched anything anyway.

Contrary to that saving-money idea…

It was time to go, and Micah and I were wrapping up a report. “Hey… I know you said Jasmine is in Dallas… I’m thinking about hitting Dairy Queen on the way home… Care to join me?”

He seemed thoughtful for a moment. “I can’t. You know my buddy, Isaac, right? He’s starting a new business adding maintenance and repair work to his cleaning business. I told him I’d come by his camper and help him pick out some tools. Really, just bro-time, but you know…”

“Boys and their toys,” I said.

“Yeah… you know it!”

So, I know it’s bad logic to say you’re trying to save money and then eat fast food two or three times a week. I can’t even pretend to have an excuse…

GOOD NIGHT

We’re on our way home. I’ve got a lot on my mind after today.

I called Naomi at lunch. “Um... Naomi… shoot director?”

I could visualize her smiling. “It came up when you were on the plane. Tanya called in a tizzy. She thought the whole shoot would fall apart because the other one had an emergency.”

I let that sink in. I thought “fall apart” was a bit of a stretch, but I could see Tanya being stressed.

“Okay, so that was when you decided to toss me to the lions?”

“I’d rather think of it,” Naomi replied, “as pushing you into the deep end of the pool. I’m sure everything was great. And you get paid for double duty.”

The pay wasn’t really my concern. “Okay, let’s just call it all’s well that ends well.”

We chatted a bit more. I’m still processing what she said—I have that thing on May 23 to focus on!

I’ll add that Jasmine took to the modeling environment like a duck to water. And she pulled Kaylee along with her.

“We got this. It’s just an assembly line.”

Kaylee smiled. “Lead on. I’m following your lead.”

Neither of them ever missed a beat. They were in the right chair at the right time and on set in the right outfits the moment they were called.

There were a few bobbles throughout the day, but neither Kaylee nor Jasmine made any. I think that after a couple more shoots with me tagging along, they’ll be ready to venture out without me.

And that… is sort of the point.

Naomi’s curveball notwithstanding... I’ll eventually get back to that!

Let’s call it a day.

May you find your way to stay afloat even when life pushes you into the deep end of the pool. May the outcomes of your efforts exceed all expectations, carrying you to blessings and great joy.

Good night.

Be your best you!

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