January
The first
of the month, I drove to North Hollywood to look at an apartment. I had no job,
nor did I know where I would spend the night.
Many
thanks to my mom for the bit of extra cash that kept me out of the Cash or Cashiers'
Check Only Residential Hotel on Vanowen. As fascinating as it would have been
to live like Elwood Blues (you got my cheese wiz, boy?), I would've gotten
asthma from the heavy mist of latent cigarette smoke.
Instead,
I domiciled at Extended Stay America, a two-star hotel (according to Priceline)
where each room has a full kitchen, and pets are allowed. Unfortunately, it did
not have the proper PBS station; I've yet to see Season 3 of Sherlock.
Much love
to Jason Best Staffing, who, when I applied for an advertised position, sat
with me for an hour to get to know who I am.
Which led
to a temp assignment in Beverly Hills.
February
Almost
daily strolls down Rodeo Drive, and far too many walks for scrumptious sweet
macarons. Back at the office, I observed formerly unimaginable levels workplace
dysfunction. Yowza.
Much love
to MT, with whom I stayed (paying rent, of course) for two and a half months.
And to the lovely J, a truly extraordinary woman. And of course, the Queen of
the Castle, S, one of the smartest little dogs I've ever met.
Jason
Best called about a permanent position. In Commercial Real Estate (?), as an
admin <sigh>, with room for growth <I'm listening>.
March
New job. I
learned CorelDraw, I get to play with PhotoShop, and I'm learning InDesign. All
of which is unusual for an admin at a commercial real estate brokerage. Things
aren't bad.
Apartment
hunting. The first one bedroom in North Hollywood was spacious enough. But
there were blinds that didn't close, and the only window in the bedroom faced a
busy street. Plus, when I arrived, the neighbors were blaring music.
The
second one bedroom, also in NoHo, seemed perfect but for a faulty bathroom
faucet. The person who showed the place really liked me; the property owner,
not so much. He knew he wasn't going to rent to me, perhaps the moment he saw
me. 'You have to have really good credit' he warned. Please. my credit is goood.
A studio
in Sherman Oaks. Ground floor, street parking. Surprisingly spacious. It's not
a one bedroom, but
April
Wednesday:
Signed the lease for the Sherman Oaks studio
Thursday:
Bought a 40" flat screen TV, a vacuum, a microwave, and a few other things
at Target, on my lunch break.
Saturday
AM: Bought TV stand from Ikea, assembled it
Saturday
PM: Internet/TV guy arrived to work his magic
Priorities,
people. Priorities.
I returned the microwave ~a week later
– it didn't work. How does that even happen? Well, since I planned to eat off
of fine china, anyway, I didn't replace it. It's not nearly as inconvenient as
one would imagine.
May
I flew to
my mom's house to get the rest of my things. All of the encyclopedias fit! (Unfortunately
I don't know where #23 is.) And the rest of my books! Except for Kevin Aucoin's
The Art of Makeup – a true coffee
table tome worthy of a swankier pad than mine. It sits atop one of my
bookshelves.
June
A box of
things to give away. A box of things to shred. A few more bins to go through - desk
stuff I've avoided. Amazing how much can happen in six months.
