the other press

as judgmental as they were out in Toronto. That is why I am happy to be back in the west. In Toronto, people were very much watching the fish bowl and were unin- terested because there was a group of us. Oh it’s just those Lofters again. In Vancouver, people come up to me and say things like, “Hey I would have done or said that same as you.” I think that people in the west are much more real.

Getting back to your Lofter roommates, have you contin- ued communication with any of them since the show ended?

I'd have to say that out of the seven people I lived with, there are only one or two people that I would contact. Everybody else, I know what he or she is doing and I'm not interested. This whole experience was a crazy year and I am still winding down from it all.

Is your family more supportive of your relationship with Kalen?

There was those couple of episodes where my sister was really on my case about our relationship and little did she know that we would be moving to BC and her kids would fall in love with him. He's an amazing per- son and she apologized to him for judging him so quickly. Once she met him in person she realized a lot about him.

Do you and Kalen plan on getting married?

It’s a possibility and we've talked about it but we are ready to really work on our careers and other oppor- tunities. We can always get married and I am sure it’s down the road but right now we need to find jobs that we really enjoy and make some money to save for our future. Same with kids, it’s in our future but not at this point. And no, I am not pregnant!

A lot of people saw a lot of physical changes in your appearance over the course of the show and they attributed that to Kalen’s influence. How do you respond to those kinds of judgments?

A lot of people thought that because I would dye my hair and get piercings every month that it must be Kalen doing this. What no one ever realized was that they didn’t know of me before the show. I was just this girl that popped up on TV and there were beginning to learn about me. All my friends and family back at home knew, that was me, that’s Annie. That’s crazy Annie doing something unique again. It wasn't any- thing different to them. The public thought that I did- nt have my own identity. She must want to be like Kalen and get attention. I just wanted to do it because I could. I had money to blow. I wanted to be different. I like different clothes, different styles. | am not one to follow trends. You will never catch me with a $300

http://otherpress.douglas.bc.ca

purse. Even though I may see something nice at the store, it’s just not my style to follow the crowd.

A lot of people compared the second season to the first round of Lofiers, and their group dynamics. How do you think that affected your time on the show?

The voting out process put a lot of pressure on us to always be on. There was no room for human error or a moment of relaxation. We just wanted to be our- selves. I always felt like I wasn’t good enough. The pro- ducers would keep telling us that the first people got along so well. I think that they should have picked a different group of people, maybe even myself. There were far more interesting people that would have blended better. It was a really good concept but I think that it needed more to it. Watching people get drunk, fight and think they are all that is going to get stale. They had an opportunity to really get inside these people’s goals and dreams and they just didn’t.

Do you think that the show ended at the right time for you?

More than six of months of that? I strongly believe not. I wouldn't want to be in that environment for more than six months. It sucked. Waking up and see- ing yourself everyday and you know that every move you make is going to be on TV. You can’t just have fun. I am ready to have my life back.

Is there anything you want to share?

I learned a lot about myself and I have a brighter out- look on life. I’m not done yet. | am determined to be more. I plan to do more to make myself happy as well as others. And hey, if you see me around New Westminster come over and say hello. I’m not shy. If I were shy I wouldn't have been on a reality TV show.

Three Photos of Annie by Kalen Hayman

January 15, 2003