New Year, New Location

On January 1, 2014, I drove to Southern California with the intent to re-locate.

I don't have a job yet, and my housing situation is week to week. Sounds crazy, I know. But consider:

You're only as good as the last thing you were in, right? I spent the past 10 years doing data entry. And folks don't seem interested in hiring a data entry person who is 300 miles away. Believe me, if I could've gotten a job prior to moving, I would have.

For the moment, I'm living off of savings. Upon arrival, I was going to stay at a hotel which charges ~$899 + tax per month. Sweet price, right? Well. . .the lobby smells like smoke and there are security bars everywhere. They accept cash, money order, and cashier's check –no credit cards. It's Elwood Blues' Building. I'll probably be living there next month.

In the meantime, I'm taking cheap deals from Priceline for Extended Stay America. Stove top, refrigerator, and free WiFi in the room. It's a relief not to have to camp out at Starbucks or McDonald's all day.

I've been to two temp agencies – a local branch of my most recent employer, and another located in Glendale. Across from the mall.

The mall.

I've been to a lot of malls:

Burbank (posh, yet ghettolicious),

Westfield Topanga (with Tesla showroom & two tier carousel),

Sherman Oaks Galleria (underwhelming for something seen while driving on the freeway),

Northridge (very much like Stoneridge in Pleasanton – except for the little train),

Glendale Galleria (must go back and buy from the macaroon store).

Yep. When I need to get away from the laptop, free parking and exercise through window shopping.

Amidst the hardscape and lack of left turn signals, there are sprigs of familiarity. I go to Vons because it's Safeway. I heard Lisa St. Regis and Tony Sandoval on the radio.

But I'm not really homesick. Just

ready for a new adventure.