The Rodeo Residency: A Temp Assignment

The good news: I did not have to get onto the 405. Even leaving Woodland Hills at 6:30 AM, taking 405 S would have been a nightmare.

Instead, I took Coldwater Canyon, twisting and turning my way through the hills. When I moved to my current (temporary) location in Sherman Oaks, I didn't even need to get onto the freeway.

There was still traffic, of course. Because,

1. I'm in Los Angeles County,

2. There is major construction on Coldwater from Moorpark to Ventura, right before the climb into the hills,

3. There is a high school at the base of the ascent, and

4. There are two stoplights for the folks going to Mulholland Drive. It wasn't unusual to be stopped on the incline, in the midst of a curve.

When I came out of Coldwater onto Beverly Drive, I passed a park which includes, to my left,

Alphabet Man

Actually Endless V by Juame Pensa, 2012 

Alien Tulips

Actually Hymn of Life: Tulips by Yayoi Kusama, 2007

or Why Isn't This a Cool Playground?

Possibly because only the sidewalk separates it from uber-busy Santa Monica Blvd

Or it reminds one too many people of Men in Black 2

To my right,

Artsy Bugs Bunny

Actually The Drummer by Barry Flanagan, 1989-90

And,

That's right. My temp assignment is in Beverly Hills.

For the first two weeks, I used the Valet-Only Visitor parking (with company validation, fortunately). It wasn't long before I was comfortable with the concept. Every morning I left my door open, keys in the ignition, engine idling as I greeted the valet and took my ticket.

There were actually two parts to the assignment. The first was updating the global address book, a data entry project well suited to my abilities and personality. I sat with the IT guys (some of my favorite folks in a company), plugging away.

I then moved to uploading documents to a database. I relocated to a desk near the Office Manager, got into a groove, and did my thang. Because organization + databases is one of my thangs.