So I'm a t-shirt and jeans guy. I'm laid back. I don't dress up and to be honest, not at all fashionable. I have more pairs of sandals then I do real shoes. And that high number is a whopping 5 pairs of flip flops. I've dated girls with 5 times that number. I have god knows how many t-shirts and if you look in my closet that's all you see is t-shirts. But half of them are from sports teams I've played on in rec leagues. One can be impressed with the sheer volume of clothes but they are not hip or in the current fashion motif.
When "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" came out I had friends who were kidding that they wanted to sign me up for the show. And they were only half kidding. I think one may of even attempted. My point is this, I'm anything but a fashionista.
As I've been in LA and I've gone out this simple fact has only been magnified. Santa Monica out on a Friday has everyone is decked out in their finest variety of black. Hit Silver Lake and it's hipster central. Go to the Key Club and it's all the rock out gear. In none of these places do I fit in. Hell, my DC outfit of Gap button down, jeans, and whatever sandals doesn't fit in. This has been my "going out" outfit for years as I've been in DC and that's what people wear. The places I somewhat fit in are the fashion centers of sports bars and Irish Pubs. Both meccas for current trends. I can somewhat place myself in the laid back atmosphere of the South Bay but that's in Hermosa and that's the dive bars. The sheik bars of Hermosa and Manhattan? Forget about it.
So what has caused this rambling should you ask? Well in the afternoon I get a call from my favorite European station asking if I was available to work. I say sure and ask what is the event. I am told it's another red carpet for a documentary on the fashion icon, Valentino. So I'm thinking sure I can work but I'm really like fuuuuuuuuuuuck.
Now if you want to talk about the problems of the McCain '08 campaign compared to what Obama did right, I'm your guy. If you want analyze or talk about Henry Waxman or Maxine Waters, I'm your guy. You want me to talk about fashion with the icons of fashion.? Ahh. This is not good.
In fact, I could possibly be the worst person in LA to work this event that isn't living in a box or hasn't taken a shower in the past week. And that might not even be true. I'm sure there are several homeless guys who dig the Valentino. Point is, I don't know jack. The guy is talking to me like, of course I know Valentino. He's a fashion icon. I'm doing a major cases of the "uh huhs" on the phone as I'm telling him I can work it. I look at the clock. I have two hours to cram to learn what little I can.
So I get the tip sheet about the event and the list of people who are supposed to show up has Valentino, his partner, apparent fashion icons (again I don't know these people), Actresses Kelly Lynch, Kirsten Dunst, Gwyneth Paltrow and Anne Hathaway, you know, the fashion gals of Hollywood.
I'm a professional. I can cram. No worries. Thank god for the Internet. So I'm scanning the faces of all the players. I'm looking up Valentino, his partner. I'm absorbing every thing I can. I'm feeling more and more screwed. The fashion journalists are not like other journalists. They are divas themselves and get off on making and breaking people. They are not actually journalists. They are critics masked as journalists. They go into detail about designs when all I got is what Haute Coute and Pret A Porter is. And I'm killing the pronunciation of Haute Coute.
So I get to the event. I call my crew and he's not showing up fro an hour. I was told to get there early as it's open press, meaning they don't have assigned slots. The only problem is that's not true. It was open press for still photographers not tv. We have our spot so I'm there extremely early for no reason.
Now there is a future compare and contrast of DC media to LA media coming but the still photographers crack me up. They are all talking about their gear. They are all on Ipods or shooting the shit with each other. They obviously all know each other. There is a ton of them. They go to the same events. But the issue is they have the line now and they are friends. This will change. A couple of guys show up late and get called up by the event press person. This pisses off some of the guys. The one guy is adamant that there is a sign up list. He's adamant because he was one of the first people there and he has the list. The press person couldn't care less about the list and is calling camera person after camera person. Finally after some quiet rumblings and she goes to the guy's list. Which made me sad since if she didn't change her ways there might of been a riot and that would of been a great way to entertain me the next 30 or so mins as I waited for my crew.
So I get up there and I see my spot on the red carpet. Access Hollywood, then the wires, then the foreigner bastards like me. Whoo Hoo. I'm like 4th in line next to the AP and Reuters and in front of Fox News, TV Guide Channel and the Locals. Good stuff. There is no Insider or any of those guys. This is pretty damn solid. The celebs may not be bored by the time they get to me. Looking much better than the kids table I was at with the "ER" wrap party.
So it's early and everyone is chatting. The Fox girl, the TV guide and all those people to my right are chatting up a storm. Again the producers are dressed in leggings, bright colors, a lot of makeup. Not necessarily the classic, refined, glamorous look that Valentino was made famous for. For you non fashion guys out there, he was the go to for JackiO, Audrey Hepburn, and Elizabeth Taylor. He dressed Nancy Reagan and said she had great taste. He hated the 80s and can't stand that those styles are coming back. The very gaudy styles my cohorts to my right are wearing right now.
The one producer from the wires tells me how she's a fashion nut and is stoked by the event. She can't wait and goes off on how great Valentino is. Ok. I'm not denying the guy is a god and a creative genius. She looks at his clothes and is awed. I can talk about their elegance but really I'm the guy the guy in the t-shirt shedding a tear when Ken Griffey JR swings the bat because it's so beautiful. What can I say? I'm out of my element here.
So the wire producer is going on and on about fashion. The girls to my right are all looking down the red carpet talking and of course I'm looking down the red carpet and who's halfway up the stairs? Yup Valentino. I'm the guy that picks him out first. I've got the best eye for the fashion guru and I barely knew what he looked like two hours ago. I tell my crew who's moving slow as hell and then he's like, "oh Valentino is here" and the wires girl freaks out. She gets him first. She goes on and on and on and on. She knows her shit. I'm shaking my head. What the hell do I know? He heads to Access Hollywood and then his guy walks over to me and says I'm next. He wants to make sure the Europeans get him. He walks up I ask my first question, "What does having this documentary made and honoring you mean to you?" He misunderstands me. I should of been more detailed and asked a more focused question. He goes about how he likes the documentary and wasn't sure at first and was impressed by the detail and everything and now that he's seen it a couple of times he likes it. Crap. Not good. I focus my question and to ask about fashion, his style, and the end of an era with his retirement and get the answer I'm looking for. Then I follow up and ask if he could answer that same question in Italian. He laughs and shakes his head saying I'm answering in Italian in America. But it's not a good laugh. It's a a half this is silly and annoying laugh. Then add on top of that, I don't know Italian but I'm pretty sure he's answering the first crappy question. Not my second one I focused and need the translation for for the Italians. The wires apparently did the same thing. Then I asked him about getting all his family and friends and how they honor him. He calls me my dear and tells me so they love me and like me and I am happy. That's all I get. AP got a lot but their producer knew her crap. He's getting called in but the woman from Woman's Daily Wear gets him and he's more please with her because she's going into details and lines about his work. Crap! I just talked to a fashion god and all I got was an average answer. It will do and it works but nobody is going to be like that's a great bite. I need to regroup.
There is some blonde walking around and she's attractive but I can't place her. Turns out it's Nicky Hilton. Attractive but would be just another hot chick at the bar. Granted she's worth millions and if for some stupid reason ever met me at party would laugh at the ugly fat disgusting guy and try and crush me and I'm sure would succeed. She would then lay into how much of a poor loser I was and sadly I wouldn't be able to put up a fight. But it was funny, she's walking around and nobody wanted to talk to her. So much for being the classy sister who hasn't made a porn tape and has decided to quietly work on her purse line and make a ton of money. What does that get you? Walking around the red carpet with no one to talk to. If it was Paris I'm sure everyone would be going nuts. Not sure what that says about our society but I'm pretty sure that's it's not a good thing. Granted that was us video bastards. Once she got to the still end they shot the hell out of her.
Then comes Janice Dickerson. One word - scary. She's had some work done and it's not good. Now I still don't understand her whole, "The first super model" crap. I'm a dude in that age group where she claimed to come along. I had a Kathy Ireland Poster in my room. I know the Cheryl Tiegs and Christy Brinkley's of the world. I had no idea who Janice Dickerson was until reality tv. I'm going to go out on a limb but I'm pretty sure that means you're not the first super model.
Next up Joan Collins. She walks up and you know for a woman her age she was kind of a diva. And I don't mean that in a bad way. She's an icon and I guess what I'm saying is, ok, I can kind of see it. It is what it is. Of course what it is is she wanted no part of me. Access Hollywood and some station to the right and that was it. No wires, us foreign stations, or anything for her. Fair enough. She was waiting right in front of me as I was trying to get her press person who said she was coming over to me but alas didn't happen. She was standing there waiting for someone checking her IPhone and messaging. Yup. Joan Collins is up on the technology. Well done Ms. Collins. Some old dude walks up and she's off.
That brings me to the normal non celebrities. There was some serious age there. And I'm sure these people were fashion royalty and were gods of the industry and are magnificent at what they do. Only I had no clue who they were and I'm a nobody. Got it Accept it I'm impressed but I have one thing to say. Many of them (the vast majority) were dressed with elegance but there were the arbitrary people who needed to come to terms with the fact that, hell, you're freaking old. It's ok. It's nature. It happens. You can look good old. You can have an elegance. A grace. A wisdom and experience age brings. But please, for the love of god, lay off the pounds of make up and the plastic surgery. You're not looking good. You're just scaring the crap out of people. And I'm going to have nightmares tonight because of you. And I wish I was kidding.
Next up I'm asked if I want the director. The director of a documentary? Hell yeah I want him. It's only one of my favorite forms of entertainment. I talk to the guy and he goes on and on. I'm in someone's light (I think it's my crews of overfill from one of the wires) and I try to move to get the shadow off his face. I'm not having much success. I'm doing an ok job on questions. Not great. But solid. Maybe better than average. At least that's what I think. End of the Q and A and he thanks me for doing my homework and for the good questions. And he's not being nice. He's being serious. I do a little research, read about the movie, some reviews, some interviews of his and I seriously give him what I guess were his most enjoyable questions so far. Apparently the other people didn't actually read up on the whole reason we were there, the movie. I do know this after reading everything about the movie. I'm sold. I'm going to see it. Without a question. From everything I ready it seems like quite the interesting film. I just need to wait for it to come to me.
Then to my left I see the lovely Anne Hathaway. And when I say lovely. I mean graceful and elegant. Now in my experience in news I have had the pleasure of being in pretty damn close proximity to some icons of hotness, like say, Angelina Jolie and Elizabeth Hurley. They were of course good looking but looked much much better in film and especially pictures where the softness of film on top of proper lighting, not to mention hours of hair and make up, do wonders for a person. It's normal. And it's why they do what they do with the airbrushing and all the tricks of the trade. My point is they were something amazing in print and that was taken away in person. Natural and a fact of life and honestly something every person in this country should realize. It would make it a much better place. Hey dude, that girl in the magazine is not actually anywhere that hot. Get over it and appreciate the gorgeous girl next to you. She could be that hot. But I digress. Now I have heard of this rare phenomenon of some actresses, most notably Nicole Kidman looking light years better in person and have always sort of scoffed at such a thing. I'm a big believer in the aforementioned "nobody is as good looking in person as they are in a magazine." Well my friends I'm hear to tell you that it's not a myth. It's possible and it's a fact. And Anne Hathaway is a perfect example of that. She looks stunning. That's the best way to describe her. Just flat out stunning. It was incredible. Light years more than I expected (and I've always thought she was pretty damn good looking). She has been described as having the grace and style of old Hollywood and I now agree. She walked up with just absolute grace and elegance and just so well put together. She obviously has a session with her hair and makeup person and it worked. Like I said, one word - stunning. Just stunning.
Well lovely Miss Hathaway got bombarded by the wires and "Access Hollywood" and her person came up to me and said I had to keep it short, to one question. Ok fine. Then one of the freaking wire gals goes on and says, "only three more questions". You have to be freaking kidding me. She's already asked like six. Hey there publicist, why don't you grab your client and bring her down the line or regulate to wrap the wire girl. Well then the Stunning Miss Hathaway (her new official nickname) came my way and I got my questions in. Very nice. Great smile and very personable. And she stood out. Other crews came over and hoarded me as I was asking questions. On the red carpet when there are people going down the line so you hope they come to you or you just get video of them. Not with her. Everyone wanted to be close and get what she was saying even if it was just camera audio and someone else mic in the shot. That's what Anne Hathaway has become. And for good reason.
Then the people go in for the movie. Apparently Nancy Reagan was there but went in a back way. The stills got her but not us video folks. Gwenyth Paltrow never show and neither did Kirsten Dunst. It's ok. I'm pretty sure the Europeans don't know Dunst. As for Paltrow, well they will have to deal with The Stunning Miss Hathaway (as I said her official name). And you know what, if they knew what was good for them, they would be more than happy.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Steel Panther and Rodman
After having a pretty mellow Friday and nothing Saturday due to an actual day of work, a crazy Sunday, my Monday fills up quite quickly.
A friend of a friend has made the early Monday Show of the Upright Citizens Brigade or UCB, where Amy Poehler and others got their start. So she wants to support her friend and after two Mondays of sold out shows we actually decided to get tickets a week in advance. A good thing because the show sold out over the weekend. Its' a 5 dollar show and about 45 mins long.
So what they do at the show was they ask for a one word answer from the crowd. The first troop got Pyramid. The group on stage then brainstorms about what Pyramid means to them and it went to Beer Pong to being in college and doing whatever people told you did and then weird teachers they had. They they just improv various scenes. The second group got pony ad they brain stormed about how one guy at a pony his uncle claimed was his then another talked getting kicked off a horse and another about crapping themselves and then another about how they would pee themselves. Obviously the second group went more bathroom humor. Both were pretty funny and definitely worth the five bucks. Though I have to say it was funny but not that funny. I think the problem is I have way too many funny friends. DTK or Phil would of killed in this place. Of course they would of been simultaneously impressed and horrified at DTK. It would be great. They should move to LA and do Improv. It's a must. They are keeping the world from being a funnier place.
But after the show I have to run and go see what has apparently become my favorite Australian rock band the Hot Kicks who are playing at the legendary Key Club on the Sunset strip. They are playing a 30 min set and the cover is 20 bucks for the night. There will be three bands so I figured what the hell. I had never been there and don't think the Key Club will be a normal stomping ground for me. The Hot Kicks open and play well. There weren't as tight as they have been before but still sounded good. They finish another band goes on called Drill who wanted to know that they mother fucking rock. And that we are a bunch of mother fuckers. Everything to the lead singer was Mother fucking something. They could rock but I didn't feel it. They didn't do anything for me. They just tried to play fast and hard which I appreciate but there was absolutely noting special about them.
Then comes the headliner. Now it's Midnight on a Monday Night/Tuesday Morning and the place becomes packed. Everything is throwing back drinks. There are bleach blonde chicks wearing tight fitting slutty dresses flying all over the place. As the band comes on the titty cam (or at worst that's what I'm going to call it) go around focusing on girls cleavage. Then girls decide to start flashing the camera and its' on the big screens around the club. Ahh ok. And Seriously? No wonder why Girls Gone Wild can always find girls. We're just as a club on a Monday night and these girls have no qualms about showing their tits. Not that I'm complaining as I'm in the Ron White school of thought when it comes to boobs, "Once you've seen one pair, you want to see them all."
So then Steel Panther comes out. They are wearing spandex, have long hair wigs (except for the lead singer who's hair looked real) make up and are jamming 80's hair bands like a champ. They are dead on and hit every song on the head. Well except for "Pour Some Sugar on Me" which they sounded like crap on. It wasn't even close. They should just let it go and not try it. So the lead singer's pants start to fall down and you can see he's wearing a g string. Yes a dude wearing a G-string. Then they get girls on stage. They change every lyric to include something about getting laid and having sex. Girls are grinding on stage dancing with each other. Between songs he points some chick out and tries to get her to show her breast, mostly to success. He then starts talking to one girl in the front row who appears to be with her father. He's trying to get her to flash but then calls the old dude on stage who proceeds to rip off his shirt and pull down his pants. Did I mention this was some old dude. The band can't stop laughing as he's getting hauled off the stage. It was just nuts. This 60 year old dude ripping off his clothes. Are you kidding me. Shouldn't he be eating early bird specials in Delray? So then the guy points out that the guitarist from Sum 41 is there as is Benji from Good Charlotte. Both guys are about 2 feet tall. And I'm not kidding. They could of fit in my pocket. Later in the night Benji walked past me and he came up to my neck. I mean good lord he was a tiny little man. They called Benji on the play and he told them he didn't know any 80's rock songs. How the hell is this possible? How can any musician not know some 80's rock.
So next they bring out the big gun, Dennis Rodman who runs out and grabs a mic. He's up there screaming, bouncing around, and doing high kicks which is over the lead singers head. I mean they say Rodman is sober but he seems like he's messed up on something. He's going crazy up there for a couple of songs, grabbing all the guys, trying to play an instrument, and then screaming some more. After a few songs they tell Rodman to go party some more.
The lead singer of the Hot Kicks in down by the stage and runs back to us and is excited as hell as he just got a couple of pics with Rodman. He says he had a sticker and would Rodman wear one and Rodman tells him to slap it on him. Mick is stoked. I mean the guy is ear to ear. Then Rodman gets called back on Stage and he's jumping around singing with a Hot Kicks sticker on him. It's pretty damn cool and the band is flipping out. They were excited as hell and they are all taking pictures with Rodman with the Hot Kicks sticker on them.
Then Rodman gets off stage and walks right past us and sees the Hot Kicks and they start talking his guy. I'm literally 3 feet from Dennis Freaking Rodman. Then Rodman goes upstairs to the VIP room and my publicist friend follows him and the band gets the nod. They are going to hang with Rodman. Sadly I'm just a peripheral player (or a background drunk if you wish) so I'm not close enough to get the nod. But the photographer, the publicist (who are becoming friends) and the band (who are also kind of becoming friends or at worst now really know them all personally and get the high fives and hugs from so I would say an acquaintance) heads up to party with Rodman. After a while I'm told to head downstairs where Rodman was hanging in a corner and just leaves the bar. Mick is talking to Rodman's guy and they exchange numbers and will get in touch. I would say that was a pretty successful night. As for me I realize it's time to call it a night and take off.
A friend of a friend has made the early Monday Show of the Upright Citizens Brigade or UCB, where Amy Poehler and others got their start. So she wants to support her friend and after two Mondays of sold out shows we actually decided to get tickets a week in advance. A good thing because the show sold out over the weekend. Its' a 5 dollar show and about 45 mins long.
So what they do at the show was they ask for a one word answer from the crowd. The first troop got Pyramid. The group on stage then brainstorms about what Pyramid means to them and it went to Beer Pong to being in college and doing whatever people told you did and then weird teachers they had. They they just improv various scenes. The second group got pony ad they brain stormed about how one guy at a pony his uncle claimed was his then another talked getting kicked off a horse and another about crapping themselves and then another about how they would pee themselves. Obviously the second group went more bathroom humor. Both were pretty funny and definitely worth the five bucks. Though I have to say it was funny but not that funny. I think the problem is I have way too many funny friends. DTK or Phil would of killed in this place. Of course they would of been simultaneously impressed and horrified at DTK. It would be great. They should move to LA and do Improv. It's a must. They are keeping the world from being a funnier place.
But after the show I have to run and go see what has apparently become my favorite Australian rock band the Hot Kicks who are playing at the legendary Key Club on the Sunset strip. They are playing a 30 min set and the cover is 20 bucks for the night. There will be three bands so I figured what the hell. I had never been there and don't think the Key Club will be a normal stomping ground for me. The Hot Kicks open and play well. There weren't as tight as they have been before but still sounded good. They finish another band goes on called Drill who wanted to know that they mother fucking rock. And that we are a bunch of mother fuckers. Everything to the lead singer was Mother fucking something. They could rock but I didn't feel it. They didn't do anything for me. They just tried to play fast and hard which I appreciate but there was absolutely noting special about them.
Then comes the headliner. Now it's Midnight on a Monday Night/Tuesday Morning and the place becomes packed. Everything is throwing back drinks. There are bleach blonde chicks wearing tight fitting slutty dresses flying all over the place. As the band comes on the titty cam (or at worst that's what I'm going to call it) go around focusing on girls cleavage. Then girls decide to start flashing the camera and its' on the big screens around the club. Ahh ok. And Seriously? No wonder why Girls Gone Wild can always find girls. We're just as a club on a Monday night and these girls have no qualms about showing their tits. Not that I'm complaining as I'm in the Ron White school of thought when it comes to boobs, "Once you've seen one pair, you want to see them all."
So then Steel Panther comes out. They are wearing spandex, have long hair wigs (except for the lead singer who's hair looked real) make up and are jamming 80's hair bands like a champ. They are dead on and hit every song on the head. Well except for "Pour Some Sugar on Me" which they sounded like crap on. It wasn't even close. They should just let it go and not try it. So the lead singer's pants start to fall down and you can see he's wearing a g string. Yes a dude wearing a G-string. Then they get girls on stage. They change every lyric to include something about getting laid and having sex. Girls are grinding on stage dancing with each other. Between songs he points some chick out and tries to get her to show her breast, mostly to success. He then starts talking to one girl in the front row who appears to be with her father. He's trying to get her to flash but then calls the old dude on stage who proceeds to rip off his shirt and pull down his pants. Did I mention this was some old dude. The band can't stop laughing as he's getting hauled off the stage. It was just nuts. This 60 year old dude ripping off his clothes. Are you kidding me. Shouldn't he be eating early bird specials in Delray? So then the guy points out that the guitarist from Sum 41 is there as is Benji from Good Charlotte. Both guys are about 2 feet tall. And I'm not kidding. They could of fit in my pocket. Later in the night Benji walked past me and he came up to my neck. I mean good lord he was a tiny little man. They called Benji on the play and he told them he didn't know any 80's rock songs. How the hell is this possible? How can any musician not know some 80's rock.
So next they bring out the big gun, Dennis Rodman who runs out and grabs a mic. He's up there screaming, bouncing around, and doing high kicks which is over the lead singers head. I mean they say Rodman is sober but he seems like he's messed up on something. He's going crazy up there for a couple of songs, grabbing all the guys, trying to play an instrument, and then screaming some more. After a few songs they tell Rodman to go party some more.
The lead singer of the Hot Kicks in down by the stage and runs back to us and is excited as hell as he just got a couple of pics with Rodman. He says he had a sticker and would Rodman wear one and Rodman tells him to slap it on him. Mick is stoked. I mean the guy is ear to ear. Then Rodman gets called back on Stage and he's jumping around singing with a Hot Kicks sticker on him. It's pretty damn cool and the band is flipping out. They were excited as hell and they are all taking pictures with Rodman with the Hot Kicks sticker on them.
Then Rodman gets off stage and walks right past us and sees the Hot Kicks and they start talking his guy. I'm literally 3 feet from Dennis Freaking Rodman. Then Rodman goes upstairs to the VIP room and my publicist friend follows him and the band gets the nod. They are going to hang with Rodman. Sadly I'm just a peripheral player (or a background drunk if you wish) so I'm not close enough to get the nod. But the photographer, the publicist (who are becoming friends) and the band (who are also kind of becoming friends or at worst now really know them all personally and get the high fives and hugs from so I would say an acquaintance) heads up to party with Rodman. After a while I'm told to head downstairs where Rodman was hanging in a corner and just leaves the bar. Mick is talking to Rodman's guy and they exchange numbers and will get in touch. I would say that was a pretty successful night. As for me I realize it's time to call it a night and take off.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Life on the Red Carpet
So it's been a while since I posted because first off I stink. I haven't been up to much except going out and enjoying basketball. The life of a jobless means March Madness makes you truly mad. And that's a good thing. I've been logging many hours on at sports bars watching the game. I also partied it up with a band a couple of nights which was pretty damn cool. But alas that take met to Saturday.
I went to a foreign video service last week who told me that they didn't have any money in their budget for freelancers but to come in anyway just to talk. So I did. I went in there and they liked me but again said they didn't have any money in their budget. They wanted me to fill out paperwork just in case someone had some vacation time or something coming up so I would be in the system. Two days later I get a call on Friday night as I'm about to head to the sports bar for more basketball. They ask if I can work tomorrow night. I say sure because I have nothing else going on but a couple of parties and frankly one cannot say no to a call like that. Especially with the way things are right now. So I'm booked. He wants me to call back and get the details about the event in the morning. So I do.
The event that I am to field produce is the "ER" wrap party and he wants me on the red carpet as cast members past and present arrive to the party. So there you go. My first red carpet. A little different than what I was used to, which is very very very exciting press conferences with Senators or Cabinet members or breaking news situations talking to people who have just lost their homes, have had family members killed, or looking for hope as they are about to get kicked out of their house. Needless to say the red carpet was a little different.
So back to the event. They have the red carpet set up and the actors will walk up the line from camera to camera talking to everyone who wants to ask them questions which is of course everyone. At the front of the carpet is the big guns, your "Access Hollywood", "The Insider", and "ET". Then it's the TV Guide Channel, E! and so one. Then it's the affiliates like NBC News Channel and then us foreigners. I'm next to a Canadian talk shows over by the wire services and then a couple of Latin American stations. Set up and check in is at 6:45pm and my crew doesn't show up till 7:15. The red carpet starts at 7:30pm sharp. He's a cranky Eastern European who quickly tells me essentially my experience is shit and that this "ain't the hill" in reference to my decade of work in DC. He then goes on about how he's been in War zones and that the DC crews are crap because they just run around chasing members of Congress. I try to inform him that the pool of international crews comes from DC and that they are on the rotation to Baghdad and other spots. He's not interested and tells me how news is going to shit and that everything is shit. He was a happy man. So 7:30 comes around and here comes the actors.
I have always kind of felt bad for actors who have to do junkets and these things and that was solidified. You can hear people five crews down asking the same generic questions I'm going to ask. Now if it was some other event maybe I could mix it up but people in Europe won't care about the details so the questions the actors are being asked again and again is the same ones that are broad and generic, "what is your favorite memory", "what did being on ER mean to you" and so on. I was surprised by how upfront and simple all the actors were on the "what ER meant to them" and "how did the show change them personally" answers. I was expecting that it would be some personal thing or moment that touched them. They all flat out said something along the lines, "well first off financially it set me up. I mean my standard of living is soo much higher now". It's all true of course I guess I was just surprised by how that was their first answer.
The other thing that cracked me up is that the entire focus was on a few actors. You had the secondary players and no one was interested. Now I especially wasn't because I'm thinking my services viewership in Europe wouldn't know or care about the minor players so I tried to focus on the big dogs. Only problem was that they were about done answering the questions when they got down to my end. The Canadian show was the death nail for me. The woman went on and on that she literally wore down her people. John Stamos was about to head down to the line when she grabbed him and asked him question after question but this time it was about the craft of acting so Stamos went on and on with his answers. When he finished up he said "I need to get a drink" and ran inside. Of course my lovely cameraman was like, what's that guys problem he thinks he's George Clooney. Who does he think he is. He's a want to be Clooney. I tried to inform him of who John Stamos actually is but Grumpy didn't want any part of it. To him he's a poor mans Clooney which, who knows, for all I know the guy could be right. Maura Tierney was also worn out by my favorite Canuck. She looked tired just answering this woman. I felt tired for her.
Laura Innes comes by and I am trying to get the attention of her press person who walked past me twice. I'm like, ahh, could you actually do your damn job and get her over here, thank you very much. Then she goes back and gives her to the Chatty Canuck and I'm like, oh crap she wants to go to the party and now I'm not going to get her. But finally her press person walks up to me and apologizes and says I'm next since I was cut in line. So Laura Innes is the longest cast member on the show having been on it for 12 seasons so anyone who's watched the show should know her. She was the female lead for most of that time. She was extremely nice and cracked me up as she finished up our short Q and A with a "good luck young man". Now I have a baby face but I'm 32. She's less than 20 years older than me and I get the "good luck young man" And I wonder why I can't get a job. People take one look at my face and think I'm twelve. Good times.
Finally the two big guns show up, Eriq LaSalle and Noah Wyle. (George Clooney was not expected). LaSalle poses for the still photographers and wants no part of the tv crews. And I mean no part. He walked back behind the curtain to completely avoid every single person. Even the Access Hollywood and all of them. Noah Wyle walks down and talks to all the folks and then is being told he needs to head into the party as the producers are giving their speeches and they are way behind schedule. He's hit by NBC affiliate having skipped the E! and TV Guide to their annoyance. Or last I think that's the two he skipped. Anyway, he has to go in after this interview as he's talking about how he took one of the OR doors and his wife says it will be the door to his office. My only thought is why the hell does he need a door to his office. He was just making 9 million a year on ER. Does he really need a real office anymore? Doesn't he have people who do all of that work for him anyway? But what the hell do I know I'm just some moron who used to be on the Hill.
A couple of thoughts about the event-
Everyone talks about how short everyone in Hollywood is but "ER" is not the case. Stamos was like 5'10 and the shortest of the main guys. Wyle was about 6'3" and LaSalle was close to that. Tom Everett Scott was like 6'4" and James Cromwell has to be about 6'7" or something. He was tall as hell. Either that or the red carpet was taller than where they had us. Which of course could be a possibility.
The cast also looks like run of the mill people. Nobody really stood out as a "damn they are good looking". Now I know Noah Wyle gets the ladies going and he's a good looking dude but he only gets them going because he's on TV. Shane West who I remember the girls were swooning over back when I was in college looked like some of idiots I went to college with. Nothing better. The women were the same. Maura Tierney looked exactly as I would of expected and how she looked on News Radio. Alex Winston looked much better than she did on "ER". Much classier and put together. And absurdly nice. Or at least that's how she came off.
In the further proof Australians are awesome people. David Lyons has me cracking up when he was talking about the best part of the show were the people who worked on the show and going to their parties and getting drunk with them. He then added that, hell, this my soon my best memory of the show as we are about to have a great party tonight and tie one on.
The only follks that were more than game to hit every crew were the three guys who are new shows and they were trying to sell them. I obviously didn't care since Europe only picks up the big hits but listening to these guys try and convince the Latin America stations to watch their show as they said "watch insert name of show here on said channel" in horrible Spanish was pretty damn entertaining.
The other producers were there for the event. They were dressed up and had some unique outside. Someone was decked out in a pastel blue attire which was a high cut puffy dress wearing blue glitter. Another was wearing what almost appeared to be a formal dress. They were there to partake in the party. I was the most low key in my sport coat and pants. You know me, the Tavman doesn't do fancy. After all I just came from the boring hill where nothing every happens and we don't know what's going on and that we're all shit. Something my crew made sure I couldn't forget.
I went to a foreign video service last week who told me that they didn't have any money in their budget for freelancers but to come in anyway just to talk. So I did. I went in there and they liked me but again said they didn't have any money in their budget. They wanted me to fill out paperwork just in case someone had some vacation time or something coming up so I would be in the system. Two days later I get a call on Friday night as I'm about to head to the sports bar for more basketball. They ask if I can work tomorrow night. I say sure because I have nothing else going on but a couple of parties and frankly one cannot say no to a call like that. Especially with the way things are right now. So I'm booked. He wants me to call back and get the details about the event in the morning. So I do.
The event that I am to field produce is the "ER" wrap party and he wants me on the red carpet as cast members past and present arrive to the party. So there you go. My first red carpet. A little different than what I was used to, which is very very very exciting press conferences with Senators or Cabinet members or breaking news situations talking to people who have just lost their homes, have had family members killed, or looking for hope as they are about to get kicked out of their house. Needless to say the red carpet was a little different.
So back to the event. They have the red carpet set up and the actors will walk up the line from camera to camera talking to everyone who wants to ask them questions which is of course everyone. At the front of the carpet is the big guns, your "Access Hollywood", "The Insider", and "ET". Then it's the TV Guide Channel, E! and so one. Then it's the affiliates like NBC News Channel and then us foreigners. I'm next to a Canadian talk shows over by the wire services and then a couple of Latin American stations. Set up and check in is at 6:45pm and my crew doesn't show up till 7:15. The red carpet starts at 7:30pm sharp. He's a cranky Eastern European who quickly tells me essentially my experience is shit and that this "ain't the hill" in reference to my decade of work in DC. He then goes on about how he's been in War zones and that the DC crews are crap because they just run around chasing members of Congress. I try to inform him that the pool of international crews comes from DC and that they are on the rotation to Baghdad and other spots. He's not interested and tells me how news is going to shit and that everything is shit. He was a happy man. So 7:30 comes around and here comes the actors.
I have always kind of felt bad for actors who have to do junkets and these things and that was solidified. You can hear people five crews down asking the same generic questions I'm going to ask. Now if it was some other event maybe I could mix it up but people in Europe won't care about the details so the questions the actors are being asked again and again is the same ones that are broad and generic, "what is your favorite memory", "what did being on ER mean to you" and so on. I was surprised by how upfront and simple all the actors were on the "what ER meant to them" and "how did the show change them personally" answers. I was expecting that it would be some personal thing or moment that touched them. They all flat out said something along the lines, "well first off financially it set me up. I mean my standard of living is soo much higher now". It's all true of course I guess I was just surprised by how that was their first answer.
The other thing that cracked me up is that the entire focus was on a few actors. You had the secondary players and no one was interested. Now I especially wasn't because I'm thinking my services viewership in Europe wouldn't know or care about the minor players so I tried to focus on the big dogs. Only problem was that they were about done answering the questions when they got down to my end. The Canadian show was the death nail for me. The woman went on and on that she literally wore down her people. John Stamos was about to head down to the line when she grabbed him and asked him question after question but this time it was about the craft of acting so Stamos went on and on with his answers. When he finished up he said "I need to get a drink" and ran inside. Of course my lovely cameraman was like, what's that guys problem he thinks he's George Clooney. Who does he think he is. He's a want to be Clooney. I tried to inform him of who John Stamos actually is but Grumpy didn't want any part of it. To him he's a poor mans Clooney which, who knows, for all I know the guy could be right. Maura Tierney was also worn out by my favorite Canuck. She looked tired just answering this woman. I felt tired for her.
Laura Innes comes by and I am trying to get the attention of her press person who walked past me twice. I'm like, ahh, could you actually do your damn job and get her over here, thank you very much. Then she goes back and gives her to the Chatty Canuck and I'm like, oh crap she wants to go to the party and now I'm not going to get her. But finally her press person walks up to me and apologizes and says I'm next since I was cut in line. So Laura Innes is the longest cast member on the show having been on it for 12 seasons so anyone who's watched the show should know her. She was the female lead for most of that time. She was extremely nice and cracked me up as she finished up our short Q and A with a "good luck young man". Now I have a baby face but I'm 32. She's less than 20 years older than me and I get the "good luck young man" And I wonder why I can't get a job. People take one look at my face and think I'm twelve. Good times.
Finally the two big guns show up, Eriq LaSalle and Noah Wyle. (George Clooney was not expected). LaSalle poses for the still photographers and wants no part of the tv crews. And I mean no part. He walked back behind the curtain to completely avoid every single person. Even the Access Hollywood and all of them. Noah Wyle walks down and talks to all the folks and then is being told he needs to head into the party as the producers are giving their speeches and they are way behind schedule. He's hit by NBC affiliate having skipped the E! and TV Guide to their annoyance. Or last I think that's the two he skipped. Anyway, he has to go in after this interview as he's talking about how he took one of the OR doors and his wife says it will be the door to his office. My only thought is why the hell does he need a door to his office. He was just making 9 million a year on ER. Does he really need a real office anymore? Doesn't he have people who do all of that work for him anyway? But what the hell do I know I'm just some moron who used to be on the Hill.
A couple of thoughts about the event-
Everyone talks about how short everyone in Hollywood is but "ER" is not the case. Stamos was like 5'10 and the shortest of the main guys. Wyle was about 6'3" and LaSalle was close to that. Tom Everett Scott was like 6'4" and James Cromwell has to be about 6'7" or something. He was tall as hell. Either that or the red carpet was taller than where they had us. Which of course could be a possibility.
The cast also looks like run of the mill people. Nobody really stood out as a "damn they are good looking". Now I know Noah Wyle gets the ladies going and he's a good looking dude but he only gets them going because he's on TV. Shane West who I remember the girls were swooning over back when I was in college looked like some of idiots I went to college with. Nothing better. The women were the same. Maura Tierney looked exactly as I would of expected and how she looked on News Radio. Alex Winston looked much better than she did on "ER". Much classier and put together. And absurdly nice. Or at least that's how she came off.
In the further proof Australians are awesome people. David Lyons has me cracking up when he was talking about the best part of the show were the people who worked on the show and going to their parties and getting drunk with them. He then added that, hell, this my soon my best memory of the show as we are about to have a great party tonight and tie one on.
The only follks that were more than game to hit every crew were the three guys who are new shows and they were trying to sell them. I obviously didn't care since Europe only picks up the big hits but listening to these guys try and convince the Latin America stations to watch their show as they said "watch insert name of show here on said channel" in horrible Spanish was pretty damn entertaining.
The other producers were there for the event. They were dressed up and had some unique outside. Someone was decked out in a pastel blue attire which was a high cut puffy dress wearing blue glitter. Another was wearing what almost appeared to be a formal dress. They were there to partake in the party. I was the most low key in my sport coat and pants. You know me, the Tavman doesn't do fancy. After all I just came from the boring hill where nothing every happens and we don't know what's going on and that we're all shit. Something my crew made sure I couldn't forget.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Sunday Funday
So I found a place to live and I moved on Saturday. Now some people might decide to spend Sunday getting unsettled and unpacking but I'm not most people. It was beautiful out so I decided to enjoy my new home, Venice.
Two friends come over and we head down to the beach. They both have their bikes and I, having made the terrible mistake of leaving mine in DC, had to rent a beach cruiser for the day. I quickly learned a couple of things. The strand on the beach is not conducive to a road bike which I had in DC. Once it's got a lot of sand on it at spots which would mean a wipe out if one is on their 2000 dollar bike. It is also very very crowded so it's more of a cruise speed and not actually anything trying to fly. If you don't move in DC on the bike trail you will have issues. The fact that there aren't more accidents with all the runners and bikers and other folks on the trails in DC is pretty shocking considering how crowded it can get on nice days. On the strand in the beach it's supposed to be just bikers but there are so many and they are just lolly gagging along at a snails pace that you have no choice but to go slow. This all explains why everyone has cruisers here. Only I quickly realize I'm not a fan. I don't like the ride. I wish I had my mountain bike with me. At least it would be useful in the hills and could handle the beach, especially after the tightened the shocks. Sadly it's in DC in the snow and I'm here in the fun.
So we bike up to Santa Monica and past the pier. It's a great day a nd a nice ride and we're taking in the sights. Now I had previously walked up Venice a bit but my god it was much much more crowded than it was the last time. There are kinds of people selling crap and when I say crap. I mean crap. I will explain this more. I also made the tragic mistake to forget my camera. A constant complaint I have been getting is that I haven't been posting pictures. Well this would of been a perfect day for that but sadly no camera. Sorry folks. I'll try and change that.
After biking to Santa Monica we decide to bike down to Venice and grab lunch. We get stopped by this short muscular black dude in an American Flag bikini bottom. He is throwing around a ten pound ball and warns us not to get any food from the carts as they have been killing dogs and he thinks they are serving it. At least that's what we think he is saying. So we acknowledge the advice and avoid a cart and hita stand. I get what was supposed to be BBQ tri-cut tips but it's just a hunk of roast beef. Ok. Fine. My two friends get empanadas and we decide to head over to the basketball courts where they filmed White Man Can't Jump. We walk up and they are ballin'. The quality of the play is, well downright bad. It's sloppy. It's a bunch of dudes running up and down the court passing once and then trying to drive to the hoop. But then two guys start yelling at each other from accross the court. One dude is telling the other that, "Oh I know you I know you." The other responds back, "Bitch you ain't shit. You ain't shit. Put you money where your mouth is. Come on N----- put your money where your mouth is. I got 5 hundy that I gotch you. Come on bitch. Five hundy. Put it up. " The other dude starts talking smack and the first guy says something about a gun so the second dude walks up to him, "what's this talk about a gun. Come on, I know you. I know you. You don't need no gun. Why you bringin' up a gun. There ain't no need for that shit." The first dude replies, "I got it in my bag right here. Show me yours. Come on show me yours." Now all comes to ease and things are good. Now why pray to ask did we sit there during this. Because it sounded much worse than it was. It was two dude that were obviously friendly to each other frankly just talking shit to each other.
By this time another game has started and this tall dude with bushy hair is apparently hated by everyone else because he kept calling, "bitch fouls." Every time they would go down to the hoop the guy would call a foul. Now I personally had to agree with his critics. When I played on the playground unless you ass got dropped you didn't call a foul. It was also far more physical than the play I got to witness here. I was disappointed in the play. No one was shooting. A lot of turnovers and just flat out sloppy. No one could even drive to the hoop with style. Not at all what I was expecting though the shit talking and the fact the game almost came to blows was a lot of fun to witness. I did see the guys in the middle court looked like they could shoot pretty damn well. I just wasn't paying attention to them. I'm definitely going to have to go back and check it out again.
So after lunch we head on down to Marina Del Ray. Talk about a change of scenery. You go from a very bohemian/boardwalk feel of Venice to biking through really nice houses and then to the marina which of course is Yacht city. Talk about huge nice yachts. Man I need to learn how to sail. Anyway we bike to the Lighthouse area where there is a live seven piece band playing and city with a bunch of older folks dancing and hanging around having a blast. I'm definitely going to have to go back there again.
It's about 5pm and one of my friends could eat again so I'm like well I wouldn't mind getting a drink. So we walk back to the beach to grab a drink and watch the sunset. Some things we see as we're walking down the boardwalk-
-Two Medical Marijuana spots.
-Some dude asking me if my mom was here in the 70's because he's pretty sure he fucked her. Nice folks here on the boardwalk.
-God knows how many stores selling bongs and pipes in the window. Apparently pot is quite big here. Oh and the smell of some of the people we were behind was, let me just say, nasty.
-A dude on stilts dressed up as a tree. He has leaves and branches on him and would lean against the trees and pop out to scare people.
-Three girls have a hula hoops off.
-Many many psychics wanted to read your palms or give you a reading. Why is it if you have a board walk and a beach someone feels they can see your future? Maybe I should of asked one if they saw a job in my future.
-A drum circle. There were at least 200 if not 300 people on the beach dancing and going crazy around a bunch of hippies playing the bongos. It was awesome. Unfortunately my friends didn't want to go up and get closer to the mayhem but next time I'm getting more details of what the hell this fiasco was. Apparently it's a weekly occurrence.
So is Sunday evening drinking. We went to three spots before we could find a table for a drink. They were freaking packed. Hell the bar we settled on was even out of the some of the drafts. We settled on a Bitburger and watched the sunset. Did I mention that DC got walloped with snow? I might not have a job or anything furthering my life but I sure had a great Sunday Funday.
Two friends come over and we head down to the beach. They both have their bikes and I, having made the terrible mistake of leaving mine in DC, had to rent a beach cruiser for the day. I quickly learned a couple of things. The strand on the beach is not conducive to a road bike which I had in DC. Once it's got a lot of sand on it at spots which would mean a wipe out if one is on their 2000 dollar bike. It is also very very crowded so it's more of a cruise speed and not actually anything trying to fly. If you don't move in DC on the bike trail you will have issues. The fact that there aren't more accidents with all the runners and bikers and other folks on the trails in DC is pretty shocking considering how crowded it can get on nice days. On the strand in the beach it's supposed to be just bikers but there are so many and they are just lolly gagging along at a snails pace that you have no choice but to go slow. This all explains why everyone has cruisers here. Only I quickly realize I'm not a fan. I don't like the ride. I wish I had my mountain bike with me. At least it would be useful in the hills and could handle the beach, especially after the tightened the shocks. Sadly it's in DC in the snow and I'm here in the fun.
So we bike up to Santa Monica and past the pier. It's a great day a nd a nice ride and we're taking in the sights. Now I had previously walked up Venice a bit but my god it was much much more crowded than it was the last time. There are kinds of people selling crap and when I say crap. I mean crap. I will explain this more. I also made the tragic mistake to forget my camera. A constant complaint I have been getting is that I haven't been posting pictures. Well this would of been a perfect day for that but sadly no camera. Sorry folks. I'll try and change that.
After biking to Santa Monica we decide to bike down to Venice and grab lunch. We get stopped by this short muscular black dude in an American Flag bikini bottom. He is throwing around a ten pound ball and warns us not to get any food from the carts as they have been killing dogs and he thinks they are serving it. At least that's what we think he is saying. So we acknowledge the advice and avoid a cart and hita stand. I get what was supposed to be BBQ tri-cut tips but it's just a hunk of roast beef. Ok. Fine. My two friends get empanadas and we decide to head over to the basketball courts where they filmed White Man Can't Jump. We walk up and they are ballin'. The quality of the play is, well downright bad. It's sloppy. It's a bunch of dudes running up and down the court passing once and then trying to drive to the hoop. But then two guys start yelling at each other from accross the court. One dude is telling the other that, "Oh I know you I know you." The other responds back, "Bitch you ain't shit. You ain't shit. Put you money where your mouth is. Come on N----- put your money where your mouth is. I got 5 hundy that I gotch you. Come on bitch. Five hundy. Put it up. " The other dude starts talking smack and the first guy says something about a gun so the second dude walks up to him, "what's this talk about a gun. Come on, I know you. I know you. You don't need no gun. Why you bringin' up a gun. There ain't no need for that shit." The first dude replies, "I got it in my bag right here. Show me yours. Come on show me yours." Now all comes to ease and things are good. Now why pray to ask did we sit there during this. Because it sounded much worse than it was. It was two dude that were obviously friendly to each other frankly just talking shit to each other.
By this time another game has started and this tall dude with bushy hair is apparently hated by everyone else because he kept calling, "bitch fouls." Every time they would go down to the hoop the guy would call a foul. Now I personally had to agree with his critics. When I played on the playground unless you ass got dropped you didn't call a foul. It was also far more physical than the play I got to witness here. I was disappointed in the play. No one was shooting. A lot of turnovers and just flat out sloppy. No one could even drive to the hoop with style. Not at all what I was expecting though the shit talking and the fact the game almost came to blows was a lot of fun to witness. I did see the guys in the middle court looked like they could shoot pretty damn well. I just wasn't paying attention to them. I'm definitely going to have to go back and check it out again.
So after lunch we head on down to Marina Del Ray. Talk about a change of scenery. You go from a very bohemian/boardwalk feel of Venice to biking through really nice houses and then to the marina which of course is Yacht city. Talk about huge nice yachts. Man I need to learn how to sail. Anyway we bike to the Lighthouse area where there is a live seven piece band playing and city with a bunch of older folks dancing and hanging around having a blast. I'm definitely going to have to go back there again.
It's about 5pm and one of my friends could eat again so I'm like well I wouldn't mind getting a drink. So we walk back to the beach to grab a drink and watch the sunset. Some things we see as we're walking down the boardwalk-
-Two Medical Marijuana spots.
-Some dude asking me if my mom was here in the 70's because he's pretty sure he fucked her. Nice folks here on the boardwalk.
-God knows how many stores selling bongs and pipes in the window. Apparently pot is quite big here. Oh and the smell of some of the people we were behind was, let me just say, nasty.
-A dude on stilts dressed up as a tree. He has leaves and branches on him and would lean against the trees and pop out to scare people.
-Three girls have a hula hoops off.
-Many many psychics wanted to read your palms or give you a reading. Why is it if you have a board walk and a beach someone feels they can see your future? Maybe I should of asked one if they saw a job in my future.
-A drum circle. There were at least 200 if not 300 people on the beach dancing and going crazy around a bunch of hippies playing the bongos. It was awesome. Unfortunately my friends didn't want to go up and get closer to the mayhem but next time I'm getting more details of what the hell this fiasco was. Apparently it's a weekly occurrence.
So is Sunday evening drinking. We went to three spots before we could find a table for a drink. They were freaking packed. Hell the bar we settled on was even out of the some of the drafts. We settled on a Bitburger and watched the sunset. Did I mention that DC got walloped with snow? I might not have a job or anything furthering my life but I sure had a great Sunday Funday.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
And to Hermosa we go
It's Friday. It's the day that the world says goodbye to the troubles of the work week and gets ready to have some fun. Or if you're like me you pretend to say good bye to the troubles of the work week and have some fun anyway. I make some calls and nothing seems to be going on. Why is it my first weekend here there was a ton of stuff going on and now nothing? Those that are in town are laying low. Umm ok.
So a friend of mine decide to head to Hermosa and hit the crazy happy hour specials. 2 for 1 till 7pm at Sharkey's on the Pier. It's 4:30pm and it's packed. We walk around and finally find a seat in the corner of the deck. The waitress walks up and asks if we just came from inside and I tell her no we just got here. Waitress is hot. Bleach blonde hair but it become apparently rather quickly she's missing a couple of cells upstairs. The same can be said of the better looking blonde she is training. Sadly the only really attractive women in our vicinity are the two waitresses. I thought Southern California was supposed to be running rampant with hotties. So far I haven't seen it. A couple of more local bars in Arlington are stocked with more talent than I've been seeing here. Well so my friend and I start talking to someone only it's the dude sitting next to me who's stuck there all by himself because his girlfriend refusing to come out tonight because it's freezing. Mind you it's a whopping 65 or something. Oh yeah that's ice cold. He tries to justifiy it by saying she's from Pasedena and doesn't know any better. Ok ok. Whatever. Meanwhile the east coast is getting a snow storm. Ok there dude.
We've had a enough and the special is over so we decide to move on to the dragon which has half price drinks till 9pm. Did I mention you can get in a lot of trouble in Hermosa? Only our brilliant waitress has double charged us. We have not had what she claims she has. They both try to explain the bill to us but I can see the steam coming out of there ears and frankly it's hurting us trying to fight them. Luckily for them we're happy and don't feel like fight. It dawns on us that we ordered a couple of rounds and had to remind her and we figure she put the order in and just forgot to pick them up and once we reminded her she put another order in. Since it's half price and we're in decent moods we move on. She's not worth the energy for the extra 10 bucks. Either she's one hell of a scam artist (which who knows could be possible), she's making the bar bank by being an idiot, or she needs the all the help she can get in life so we let it go.
We go to the Dragon which is uneventful except for the fact the dude with the girlfriend is talking to a handful of hotties and is doing nothing to help out us. In fact he's completely forgotten us so we move on to the Poop Deck. And yes you. read that right. The name of the bar is the poop deck. The bar is a complete dive bar which considering the name is not a shocker. But next thing we know we're in the middle of a flip cup game which we continue to play much longer than we should of but had a moment of clarity and decided to call it a night. Yup that's right I got Pooped at Poop Deck. That my friends is good times.
So a friend of mine decide to head to Hermosa and hit the crazy happy hour specials. 2 for 1 till 7pm at Sharkey's on the Pier. It's 4:30pm and it's packed. We walk around and finally find a seat in the corner of the deck. The waitress walks up and asks if we just came from inside and I tell her no we just got here. Waitress is hot. Bleach blonde hair but it become apparently rather quickly she's missing a couple of cells upstairs. The same can be said of the better looking blonde she is training. Sadly the only really attractive women in our vicinity are the two waitresses. I thought Southern California was supposed to be running rampant with hotties. So far I haven't seen it. A couple of more local bars in Arlington are stocked with more talent than I've been seeing here. Well so my friend and I start talking to someone only it's the dude sitting next to me who's stuck there all by himself because his girlfriend refusing to come out tonight because it's freezing. Mind you it's a whopping 65 or something. Oh yeah that's ice cold. He tries to justifiy it by saying she's from Pasedena and doesn't know any better. Ok ok. Whatever. Meanwhile the east coast is getting a snow storm. Ok there dude.
We've had a enough and the special is over so we decide to move on to the dragon which has half price drinks till 9pm. Did I mention you can get in a lot of trouble in Hermosa? Only our brilliant waitress has double charged us. We have not had what she claims she has. They both try to explain the bill to us but I can see the steam coming out of there ears and frankly it's hurting us trying to fight them. Luckily for them we're happy and don't feel like fight. It dawns on us that we ordered a couple of rounds and had to remind her and we figure she put the order in and just forgot to pick them up and once we reminded her she put another order in. Since it's half price and we're in decent moods we move on. She's not worth the energy for the extra 10 bucks. Either she's one hell of a scam artist (which who knows could be possible), she's making the bar bank by being an idiot, or she needs the all the help she can get in life so we let it go.
We go to the Dragon which is uneventful except for the fact the dude with the girlfriend is talking to a handful of hotties and is doing nothing to help out us. In fact he's completely forgotten us so we move on to the Poop Deck. And yes you. read that right. The name of the bar is the poop deck. The bar is a complete dive bar which considering the name is not a shocker. But next thing we know we're in the middle of a flip cup game which we continue to play much longer than we should of but had a moment of clarity and decided to call it a night. Yup that's right I got Pooped at Poop Deck. That my friends is good times.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Laying down my head or what will the next few months of my life be like?
Where to live, where to live? Ahh that is the question I am having to make. Do I live in Venice Beach with all that entails? Do I go to Santa Monica where I will be heading in a few months anyway? Do I go into a house with youngings in West Hollywood? Do I go to Culver City where it's about 30 mins from everywhere and is better on the job search (at least in the locale)? Do I stay in a great house in Hollywood? Do I sign a six month lease or go month to month? I would like to just stay there for 3 months.
Wow three months you ask? What is the consequence? Well it does have a consequence. A big one. Location and who I live with can affect my LA life. I could live in Culver City and go to the local bar there and, who knows, meet what could be the love of my life. Or not. I could meet some crazy women who stalks me that I can't wait to get away from. Both drastic cases and not at all likely. But both are possible.
Or I could meet someone that becomes a great friend through someone in Santa Monica. Or hell I could go to a function with someone in Hollywood and get my future job because of where I decided to live.
My life in DC didn't take off till year 3 when I moved into a group house that I got along with everyone and started to really branch out socially. A big reason for that was the people I lived with. All three of them are very good friends of mine to this day. I made the move to another house that also had a big factor and influence on my life and they are all good friend of mine as well. We are the sums of our lives (to steal from Thomas Wolfe) and that sum is because of the decisions we make. Some of major such as where we decided to go to college, what career we go into, what jobs we take, who we love. Other seem minor but who knows are they? Living situation is one that can fall in the middle. If it's bad you shrug it off and move on. No major impact on your life except a bad few months. If it's good it opens a new world. New friend, new memories, new experiences.
One girl told me the success she's had with past random roommates even being in the wedding of the last one. What seemed as inconsequential as an ad in the paper affected her life. She now has a friend for life. One she shared laughs, drinks, and a little bit of herself with. She may of influenced this friend's life in who/when she met her beau and where her life goes from there. She was at a crossroads, a dot in a the road, but because of an ad for an apartment her life could of gone left but it went right.
These are the decisions we wrestle in life and while a part of me is a big believer in the Marylyn Monroe quote that says, "haven't you realized that some of the best decisions in your life have been proceeded by the statement, 'what the hell'", it's what happens after you say that that makes that decision or shows it as a mistake. In the next day I'm going to make a gut decision decided on five minutes of talking to someone and a quick glance of a place not to mention an interpretation of things and I could of easily misread the person. For all purposes it's going to be a pretty rash decision. Now I'm just wondering what the impact of that will be.
Wow three months you ask? What is the consequence? Well it does have a consequence. A big one. Location and who I live with can affect my LA life. I could live in Culver City and go to the local bar there and, who knows, meet what could be the love of my life. Or not. I could meet some crazy women who stalks me that I can't wait to get away from. Both drastic cases and not at all likely. But both are possible.
Or I could meet someone that becomes a great friend through someone in Santa Monica. Or hell I could go to a function with someone in Hollywood and get my future job because of where I decided to live.
My life in DC didn't take off till year 3 when I moved into a group house that I got along with everyone and started to really branch out socially. A big reason for that was the people I lived with. All three of them are very good friends of mine to this day. I made the move to another house that also had a big factor and influence on my life and they are all good friend of mine as well. We are the sums of our lives (to steal from Thomas Wolfe) and that sum is because of the decisions we make. Some of major such as where we decided to go to college, what career we go into, what jobs we take, who we love. Other seem minor but who knows are they? Living situation is one that can fall in the middle. If it's bad you shrug it off and move on. No major impact on your life except a bad few months. If it's good it opens a new world. New friend, new memories, new experiences.
One girl told me the success she's had with past random roommates even being in the wedding of the last one. What seemed as inconsequential as an ad in the paper affected her life. She now has a friend for life. One she shared laughs, drinks, and a little bit of herself with. She may of influenced this friend's life in who/when she met her beau and where her life goes from there. She was at a crossroads, a dot in a the road, but because of an ad for an apartment her life could of gone left but it went right.
These are the decisions we wrestle in life and while a part of me is a big believer in the Marylyn Monroe quote that says, "haven't you realized that some of the best decisions in your life have been proceeded by the statement, 'what the hell'", it's what happens after you say that that makes that decision or shows it as a mistake. In the next day I'm going to make a gut decision decided on five minutes of talking to someone and a quick glance of a place not to mention an interpretation of things and I could of easily misread the person. For all purposes it's going to be a pretty rash decision. Now I'm just wondering what the impact of that will be.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Stood up at the Beverly Hills Hotel
Well if someone has to cancel an meeting I guess there are worse lobbies to be stuck in than the Beverly Hills Hotel. I was supposed to meet someone for a 6pm meeting to go over the project so I get there early only to find out later that she had to cancel because she was stuck in an earlier meeting and wouldn't be able to make it. Ahh my life in LA is working out so well. This was after Friday's coffee meeting fell through. Good times. On the upside I saw some interesting folks. There was a blonde who was in her mid 40s and was a reality TV stereotype. She had collagen lips and looked like some work on her face. Bleach blonde hair and what could of been some other fake assets. She was also walking around the hotel in her bare feet. Behind me were two guys going over a project. Something I had planned on doing there myself to no avail. Oh well. Another guy looked just like Slash from G'N'R an who the hell knows at that location there is a chance it was him. But no pics to take as you can't do that so I'll never know though I think his tattoos were different than slashes.
So what have I been up to the last few days. Nothing special. Well Friday I went and checked out a couple of apartments that were fine but not the location and price I was looking for. Nothing crazy that night. Just rallied a couple of friends out for some bar food and couple of beers at a bar in WeHo which is West Hollywood.
Saturday I went to a friends who is staying at corporate housing at the place that apparently the girls from the Hills stayed at their first year in DC. There were three people at the pool reading scripts and enhanced women kept leaving the spa which was nice because it gave us numerous pieces of eye candy to look at as we chilled at the pool. Did I mention we were at the pool in late February? I feel like I'm back in Florida the weather is so freaking nice here. That night another friend and I just hung out at Hermosa pier.
Sunday was nothing special. Just chilling at my friends apartment. I decided not to deal with the fiasco that was the Oscar celebration. From what I've heard it sounded like you had to go through more security checkpoints than the inauguration. Of course at the inauguration you couldn't even get in if you had a ticket but that's another story. Now I just need to do something and get the story going in LA.
So what have I been up to the last few days. Nothing special. Well Friday I went and checked out a couple of apartments that were fine but not the location and price I was looking for. Nothing crazy that night. Just rallied a couple of friends out for some bar food and couple of beers at a bar in WeHo which is West Hollywood.
Saturday I went to a friends who is staying at corporate housing at the place that apparently the girls from the Hills stayed at their first year in DC. There were three people at the pool reading scripts and enhanced women kept leaving the spa which was nice because it gave us numerous pieces of eye candy to look at as we chilled at the pool. Did I mention we were at the pool in late February? I feel like I'm back in Florida the weather is so freaking nice here. That night another friend and I just hung out at Hermosa pier.
Sunday was nothing special. Just chilling at my friends apartment. I decided not to deal with the fiasco that was the Oscar celebration. From what I've heard it sounded like you had to go through more security checkpoints than the inauguration. Of course at the inauguration you couldn't even get in if you had a ticket but that's another story. Now I just need to do something and get the story going in LA.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
When you can't find a job, find an apartment
So my friend who's place has been crashing has been informed that I need to leave or they will charge more in rent. So that means I'm out. Off to find a place. Here are some more quality listings from the list-
I HAVE A HUGE APARTMENT IN HOLLYWOOD AND I NEVER USE MY LIVING ROOM- IT HAS A PRIVATE SLEEPING AREA AND AN AMAZING VIEW OF HOLLYWOOD AND ALL THE HOLLYWOOD STARS - IF YOU LOOK UP! ( : YOU HAVE KITCHEN BATH MICROWAVE INTERNET OVEN SHOWER AND YOU ARE 1 BLOCK AWAY FROM THE HISTORIC HISTORIC HOLLYWOOD BLVD WALK OF FAME AND THE MANNS CHINESE THEATER AND THE HOLLYWOOD PREMIERS AND SHOPPING AND MALLS AND SUBWAY AND TRANSPORTATION. PLEASE SEND A PHOTO AND A PHONE NUMBER, YOU CAN TELL A LOT BY A PHOTO. NO SORRY I DO NOT HAVE ROOM FOR YOUR BOYFRIEND OR YOUR PETS.
Umm I guess they want a woman where they can tell a lot about like whether she will sleep with him.
avail now til end of march for $800 - our lease is up - if you would like to stay and find new roomies, our landlord is awesome. And if the situation is ideal, one of us is open to staying here longer - the other one has to move due to a new job.
$800 all inclusive - price negotiable. - no security deposit necessary
Lankershim and Ventura - next to universal studios and the metro line.
room for rent in a house with 2 kick ass women and a very insanely adorable small dog.
We are in our early 30's and keep different hours.
One of us has an ever changing schedule, and one of us sits in her room all day pretending to look busy whenever anyone knocks.
Female, Obama supporter or gay man preferred, but will consider anyone with a good heart - which will be determined by your taste in music.
Stellar cooks will get bonus points. Budding young shoe or clothing designers will be accepted immediately.
Very arts and entertainment oriented household. You don't have to be the 'new best friend', but we have been friends for many years and it is a tight knit environment so expect to be invited along to the local bar, or to the canyon for a hike.....huh? Yes, we are a house of dichotomy - AND 3 syllable words, oh my!
Smoking shall be done outside, or occasionally in the other filthy smoker's room - but you have to make nice with her first.
share one large bathroom - this works much better than one might imagine.
The room is not huge, but not super small - will fit a desk, a queen bed - it has a nice closet and doors that open up into the sunroom.
parking space available.
laundry, cable in the living room, wireless internet, outdoor jacuzzi.
next to a beautiful park.
Sense of humour is imperative, perfection is not - but self awareness will always garner kudos.
please respond by telling us a lil bit about yourself - in point form - we look forward to hearing from you.
have a beautiful day.
Umm seriously you want to make sure you have the same politics as someone? Or you want to make sure that they are gay? Where's the acceptance of diversity? Does anyone else find that hypocritical? I guess their self awareness is not garnering kudos.
$450 for GayMale in open Loft. in large Hse. No Lease/No Deposit (Reseda) -umm isn't that discriminatory to say you will only take gay men instead of women or straight men?
$450 $400 Lady! Small Open Loft w/bed. Owner-white lady (reseda)- ahh for the racist folks out there that want to make sure their landlady/roommate is some cranky old white woman.
UU r single and wanna live in a safe part of Hollywood.
and how should the lovely lass expect to help our fine musician out I must ask?
I live in an amazing historic 1920s building, near Hollywood and Highland, this is Oscar weekend and you may stay with me longer on a month to month basis. Europeans welcome to stay with me instead of a hotel. I am an actor , I am a GWM, former model and moved here from NYC...Bills are getting a bit behind so need a little help. Perfer a clean, upscale open minded fun person who cleans up well. Please be honest and perhaps another massage worker as well, table set up and studio in apt. I love yoga, massage, clubbing, and can give great advise on how to start a career in acting or modeling. please call me at 213. Walking distacnce to all the hottest clubs gyms restaurants and hiking trails. please be into a fit lifestyle, no smoking 420 ok...please give me a disscription of yourself, your situation and please a pic along with it. Putting mine up as well.. I will get a hold of you for an appointment for a interview to look at the place and see if we are a fit.
Umm can anyone fit with that picture? At least it further proves that the long talked about rumor and stereotype that most male models are probably gay, probably are.
Well if you're wondering if I'm probably going to be homeless for a while, well you're probably right.
I HAVE A HUGE APARTMENT IN HOLLYWOOD AND I NEVER USE MY LIVING ROOM- IT HAS A PRIVATE SLEEPING AREA AND AN AMAZING VIEW OF HOLLYWOOD AND ALL THE HOLLYWOOD STARS - IF YOU LOOK UP! ( : YOU HAVE KITCHEN BATH MICROWAVE INTERNET OVEN SHOWER AND YOU ARE 1 BLOCK AWAY FROM THE HISTORIC HISTORIC HOLLYWOOD BLVD WALK OF FAME AND THE MANNS CHINESE THEATER AND THE HOLLYWOOD PREMIERS AND SHOPPING AND MALLS AND SUBWAY AND TRANSPORTATION. PLEASE SEND A PHOTO AND A PHONE NUMBER, YOU CAN TELL A LOT BY A PHOTO. NO SORRY I DO NOT HAVE ROOM FOR YOUR BOYFRIEND OR YOUR PETS.
Umm I guess they want a woman where they can tell a lot about like whether she will sleep with him.
avail now til end of march for $800 - our lease is up - if you would like to stay and find new roomies, our landlord is awesome. And if the situation is ideal, one of us is open to staying here longer - the other one has to move due to a new job.
$800 all inclusive - price negotiable. - no security deposit necessary
Lankershim and Ventura - next to universal studios and the metro line.
room for rent in a house with 2 kick ass women and a very insanely adorable small dog.
We are in our early 30's and keep different hours.
One of us has an ever changing schedule, and one of us sits in her room all day pretending to look busy whenever anyone knocks.
Female, Obama supporter or gay man preferred, but will consider anyone with a good heart - which will be determined by your taste in music.
Stellar cooks will get bonus points. Budding young shoe or clothing designers will be accepted immediately.
Very arts and entertainment oriented household. You don't have to be the 'new best friend', but we have been friends for many years and it is a tight knit environment so expect to be invited along to the local bar, or to the canyon for a hike.....huh? Yes, we are a house of dichotomy - AND 3 syllable words, oh my!
Smoking shall be done outside, or occasionally in the other filthy smoker's room - but you have to make nice with her first.
share one large bathroom - this works much better than one might imagine.
The room is not huge, but not super small - will fit a desk, a queen bed - it has a nice closet and doors that open up into the sunroom.
parking space available.
laundry, cable in the living room, wireless internet, outdoor jacuzzi.
next to a beautiful park.
Sense of humour is imperative, perfection is not - but self awareness will always garner kudos.
please respond by telling us a lil bit about yourself - in point form - we look forward to hearing from you.
have a beautiful day.
$450 for GayMale in open Loft. in large Hse. No Lease/No Deposit (Reseda) -umm isn't that discriminatory to say you will only take gay men instead of women or straight men?
$450 $400 Lady! Small Open Loft w/bed. Owner-white lady (reseda)- ahh for the racist folks out there that want to make sure their landlady/roommate is some cranky old white woman.
Wanna live in Hollywood but low on funds? 18-24 female? (LA)
UU r single and wanna live in a safe part of Hollywood.
U r into live music, dancing, and will not bring the party home.
U do not have a ton of stuff to bring.
U r clean, neat, and tidy.
U r open minded about living rent and bill free with a single male musician.
Hope you're well, maybe we can become friends and help each other out?
U r on the submissive/quiet side and non-confrontational.
and how should the lovely lass expect to help our fine musician out I must ask?I live in an amazing historic 1920s building, near Hollywood and Highland, this is Oscar weekend and you may stay with me longer on a month to month basis. Europeans welcome to stay with me instead of a hotel. I am an actor , I am a GWM, former model and moved here from NYC...Bills are getting a bit behind so need a little help. Perfer a clean, upscale open minded fun person who cleans up well. Please be honest and perhaps another massage worker as well, table set up and studio in apt. I love yoga, massage, clubbing, and can give great advise on how to start a career in acting or modeling. please call me at 213. Walking distacnce to all the hottest clubs gyms restaurants and hiking trails. please be into a fit lifestyle, no smoking 420 ok...please give me a disscription of yourself, your situation and please a pic along with it. Putting mine up as well.. I will get a hold of you for an appointment for a interview to look at the place and see if we are a fit.
 |
Umm can anyone fit with that picture? At least it further proves that the long talked about rumor and stereotype that most male models are probably gay, probably are.
Well if you're wondering if I'm probably going to be homeless for a while, well you're probably right.
Hump Day? Not for this guy.
Ahh Wednesday. Hump day. When you can look over to the end of the week because you're had a really hard week at work. You see the weekend and all the debauchery that ensues just around the corner. Good times. Maybe you even do a hump day happy hour just to tie you over because the week is sucking that bad. Well, that's what working folks in DC do and what I did when I would be like, "good god where is the weekend." But what alas do I do now you ask? Ahh nothing. Hump day doesn't mean crap when you have no hump to climb over when you're not working. It's been two weeks in LA and no work and I have to say I wish I needed a hump day happy hour right now.
My Wednesday started out grabbing lunch with two friends. One who is actually moving back to DC and another who is a freelancer and is currently not working much. I poked their brains for job ideas and how to best go about this LA job search. Got a couple of tidbits and the appreciation of the website Linkedin which is what one of my friends relies on quite a bit and how she branched out from news. The other just does news freelancing and it's good to see news is dying everywhere. She's barely gotten any work this month. These are things I already knew as all the Nets are letting go of people and my fellow freelancers back in DC have started posting the "Will Work for Food" or "my local bar is getting tired of me" on their facebook pages. Nothing like realizing you spent a decade in a business that apparently you can't make a decent living in (at least if you are to buy a place. Or god forbid get married and have a family on. Of course that's not a concern for the Captain Hair right now). I'm starting to feel more and more like a guy who's plant has shut down and has to find a new career. These are not good times.
So what to do on a raining Wednesday when your ankle is messed up and you can't go hiking or hit the beach? You've got it. A movie. And what type of movie should you see when you're looking around thinking, my god what the hell am I doing, you have it a sad but yet uplifting movie like Defiance. Nothing like watching people actually struggle in life (or at least re-enact what the real people who struggled went through) to bring you to a proper frame of mind. I'm not a Jew in Belarus in 1941 being hunted by Nazis so I'm trying to survive in the woods. Needless to say my life isn't that bad. I won't ruin the movie for those who haven't seen it but it's a good flick and gets my recommendation. A couple of cheesy lines but it was enjoyable and well acted not to mention shot well so I enjoyed it quite a bit. You should check it out. Not to mention it brought me back to the fact that, "hey I've only been here two weeks and was laid up on the couch for one of them mode" which is a good thing since things can always be much much worse in life. Not that I'm complaining. I'm just getting tired of my daily scan of job sites and rental sites and I personally lack patience. But I'm not digging ditches and there are millions of Americans in a much much much tighter spot and are trying to support their families right now. I'm just trying to support my broke ass. So cue the Jimmy Buffet -
In the middle of late last night I was sittin' on a curb
I didn't know what about, but I was feelin' quite disturbed
A street sweeper came whistlin' by, he was bouncin' every step
It seemed strange how good he felt, so I asked him while he swept
Chorus:
He said, "It's my job to be cleaning up this mess
And that's enough reason to go for me
It's my job to be better than the rest
And that makes a day for me."
I got an uncle who owns a bank, he's a self-made millionaire
He never had anyone to love, never had no one to care
He always seemed kinda sad to me and I asked him why that was
And he told me it's because in my contract there's this clause
Chorus:
That says, "It's my job to be worried half to death
And that's the thing people respect in me
It's my job but without it I'd be less
Than what I expect from me."
Now I've been lazy most all my life writin' songs and sleepin' late
And any manual labor I've done was purely by mistake
If street sweepers can smile then I've got no right to feel upset
But sometimes I still forget
'Til the lights go on and the stage is set
And the song hits home and you feel that sweat
Chorus:
It's my job to be different than the rest
And that's enough reason to go for me
It's my job to be better than the rest
And that's a rough break for me
Chorus:
It's my job to be cleaning up this mess
And that's enough reason to go for me
It's my job to be better than the rest
And that makes the day for me
Amen Jimmy Amen. Now I just need to find mine.
My Wednesday started out grabbing lunch with two friends. One who is actually moving back to DC and another who is a freelancer and is currently not working much. I poked their brains for job ideas and how to best go about this LA job search. Got a couple of tidbits and the appreciation of the website Linkedin which is what one of my friends relies on quite a bit and how she branched out from news. The other just does news freelancing and it's good to see news is dying everywhere. She's barely gotten any work this month. These are things I already knew as all the Nets are letting go of people and my fellow freelancers back in DC have started posting the "Will Work for Food" or "my local bar is getting tired of me" on their facebook pages. Nothing like realizing you spent a decade in a business that apparently you can't make a decent living in (at least if you are to buy a place. Or god forbid get married and have a family on. Of course that's not a concern for the Captain Hair right now). I'm starting to feel more and more like a guy who's plant has shut down and has to find a new career. These are not good times.
So what to do on a raining Wednesday when your ankle is messed up and you can't go hiking or hit the beach? You've got it. A movie. And what type of movie should you see when you're looking around thinking, my god what the hell am I doing, you have it a sad but yet uplifting movie like Defiance. Nothing like watching people actually struggle in life (or at least re-enact what the real people who struggled went through) to bring you to a proper frame of mind. I'm not a Jew in Belarus in 1941 being hunted by Nazis so I'm trying to survive in the woods. Needless to say my life isn't that bad. I won't ruin the movie for those who haven't seen it but it's a good flick and gets my recommendation. A couple of cheesy lines but it was enjoyable and well acted not to mention shot well so I enjoyed it quite a bit. You should check it out. Not to mention it brought me back to the fact that, "hey I've only been here two weeks and was laid up on the couch for one of them mode" which is a good thing since things can always be much much worse in life. Not that I'm complaining. I'm just getting tired of my daily scan of job sites and rental sites and I personally lack patience. But I'm not digging ditches and there are millions of Americans in a much much much tighter spot and are trying to support their families right now. I'm just trying to support my broke ass. So cue the Jimmy Buffet -
In the middle of late last night I was sittin' on a curb
I didn't know what about, but I was feelin' quite disturbed
A street sweeper came whistlin' by, he was bouncin' every step
It seemed strange how good he felt, so I asked him while he swept
Chorus:
He said, "It's my job to be cleaning up this mess
And that's enough reason to go for me
It's my job to be better than the rest
And that makes a day for me."
I got an uncle who owns a bank, he's a self-made millionaire
He never had anyone to love, never had no one to care
He always seemed kinda sad to me and I asked him why that was
And he told me it's because in my contract there's this clause
Chorus:
That says, "It's my job to be worried half to death
And that's the thing people respect in me
It's my job but without it I'd be less
Than what I expect from me."
Now I've been lazy most all my life writin' songs and sleepin' late
And any manual labor I've done was purely by mistake
If street sweepers can smile then I've got no right to feel upset
But sometimes I still forget
'Til the lights go on and the stage is set
And the song hits home and you feel that sweat
Chorus:
It's my job to be different than the rest
And that's enough reason to go for me
It's my job to be better than the rest
And that's a rough break for me
Chorus:
It's my job to be cleaning up this mess
And that's enough reason to go for me
It's my job to be better than the rest
And that makes the day for me
Amen Jimmy Amen. Now I just need to find mine.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
when you can't get a job at an office see one who acts in one
Well I'm hobbling out of the house and getting back to trying to figure out the best way to get a job. On Monday after shooting out emails and making a couple of calls a friend who was off decided to check out the legendary Caioti Pizza in Studio City. It's owned by the guy who created the BBQ Chicken Pizza. We also ordered a Buffalo Pizza. Both were full of taste and absolutely delicious. As I'm sucking back some lemonade in walks Jenna Fischer from the Office. This is funny for two reasons, one because in my April trek the only celebrity I saw was Darryl from the Office. So apparently I'm only supposed to see people from the Office. The other reason this is funny because one of my DC friends actually had some classes with her in a college and said I should scream Go Truman (Truman State in MO is where they both went). I decided not to make an ass out of myself and just went on with my meal.
A couple of thoughts though- coming from DC where it's "hey that's the Governor of that state or that's the member of congress from .... and having met other celebrities for news interviews I'm not one to get star struck so first off it wasn't a big deal. More of a "oh hey that's so and so" which is my normal reaction. Especially since these people are actors and members of Congress have a real impact on the country. But I do love the comparison of what someone looks like compared to what they look like on TV. Now for me, that's the real fun. And lets be honest most members of Congress look worse. Well a couple of yeas ago on Valentine's day I sat the next table over from Barbara Bush (the daughter not the mother) and she looks much much better in person. It's not even a question. Other celebrities I have interviewed haven't looked as good as on screeen since film softens the features and then you have proper lightening and make up and everything on top of that. Well Ms Fischer looks pretty much the same. Slightly better but pretty much the same. She's also taller than I would of thought or at least she appeared to be. She did look slightly better than in the office since she was wearing a nice yellow sweater and a little more preppy looking and had the hair back than on the show but whatever. But the point is pretty much the same. Which should tell you something about how the office treats it's actors and actresses.
Well that was the highlight of my Wednesday. The pizza that is. Damn good. I'm going to eat that again. The pizza just burst with taste. Anyway, we then went back to the apartment and watched The Rocker. Not a good flick but as bad a flick as it was it was kind of endearing and I've sat through much more painful movies. But if you never see it. You'll be just fine in your life. Now I just need a job so I will be just fine in mine.
A couple of thoughts though- coming from DC where it's "hey that's the Governor of that state or that's the member of congress from .... and having met other celebrities for news interviews I'm not one to get star struck so first off it wasn't a big deal. More of a "oh hey that's so and so" which is my normal reaction. Especially since these people are actors and members of Congress have a real impact on the country. But I do love the comparison of what someone looks like compared to what they look like on TV. Now for me, that's the real fun. And lets be honest most members of Congress look worse. Well a couple of yeas ago on Valentine's day I sat the next table over from Barbara Bush (the daughter not the mother) and she looks much much better in person. It's not even a question. Other celebrities I have interviewed haven't looked as good as on screeen since film softens the features and then you have proper lightening and make up and everything on top of that. Well Ms Fischer looks pretty much the same. Slightly better but pretty much the same. She's also taller than I would of thought or at least she appeared to be. She did look slightly better than in the office since she was wearing a nice yellow sweater and a little more preppy looking and had the hair back than on the show but whatever. But the point is pretty much the same. Which should tell you something about how the office treats it's actors and actresses.
Well that was the highlight of my Wednesday. The pizza that is. Damn good. I'm going to eat that again. The pizza just burst with taste. Anyway, we then went back to the apartment and watched The Rocker. Not a good flick but as bad a flick as it was it was kind of endearing and I've sat through much more painful movies. But if you never see it. You'll be just fine in your life. Now I just need a job so I will be just fine in mine.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Finally Hobbling out of the House
Well after a week of laid up on the couch with a bum ankle the social plans for the weekend started flying in. Ahh yes friends of friends are want to see the Hair Helmet in action on a weekend.
Now job wise nothing has been panning out but the plans started coming in and having been laid up all week and getting stir crazy as hell I decided to break out with something low key. So for my first departure I finally left the apartment to watch the UNC-Duke game with some friends of mine that went to Duke. There is a bar in Westwood that shows all the Duke games and the Duke Alumni association sets up their games watches. It was either that or a bar in West Hollywood that is a pretty cool sports bar. At least that's what they tell me as I've never been there before. My one friend is adamant about going to Q's (the bar in Westwood) so that's where we go. They had a couple of friends to meet there so there you have it. Only problem was that Duke played like crap and after shooting lights out in the first half they sent up empty three attempt after empty three attempt so that put a damper on the mood. I was kind of shocked by the size of the crowd in Westwood which takes forever to get to from most of LA and for a Duke alumni. So I figure most of the people in LA couldn't even go and yet they still had a large crowd there. I guess it's kind of true what they say about Duke. That it's not a Carolina School, it's really all people from New York, New Jersey and California.
After the game we were hungry so we decided to grab some food in the area and there is a really good Raman noodle place nearby that one of my friends raved about. Only thing was that it only took cash and none of us had cash so we went next door to some Korean BBQ place. Now I've only had Korean BBQ a couple of times before and I'm assuming that this was more authentic since there was actually a ton of Korean Americans eating there. Well what I learned is that I don't like Korean BBQ. Well at least not this place. My Tofu Beef Soup wasn't bad but my main dish BBQ pork was sweet and tangy and not good. Of course having ties to the BBQ Pork Capital of the world in North Carolina probably didn't help. But they also gave us 5 sides that none of us touched. The Zucchini was almost picked and had spices on it only you couldn't really taste the spices only cold soggy Zucchini. Not good. Then there were some rice noodles that were ok but in some funky sauce that two of the folks were just like ahh, no thanks. The Fish cake was a soggy fish cake. And then there was some other dish that lets just say didn't go down well. So needless to say I won't be craving Korean BBQ anytime soon.
Friday night I got an offer to go to a bar in Silver Lake with a friend of a friend. There is this thing called guerrilla gay bar thing that they all go to and said it's a blast. Well it would be good to go out and meet people in the business but figuring if it's that popular that means it's crazy crowded and I would have to stand with my bum ankle which I decided was not that great an idea. Plus I wasn't sure how I would get there since I still can't drive my car. So then my friend calls to see if I want to go to the Largo and see this guy she's seen a couple of times, Jon Brion, http://www.myspace.com/jbrion. The guy started with him just playing the piano and singing mellow song after mellow song. I was like, all right dude lets mix it up for gods sake. He then announce that it was time for him to get his head out of his own ass and rock out. I couldn't of agreed with him more. He then hit the drums for a couple of minutes to lay down the beat, he record it and then played it on a loop, then hit the piano to rock for a minute, recorded it and played it on a loop, then did the same thing with a guitar and then again with another guitar and then grabbed another guitar and sang and rocked out the entire time. It was freaking impressive. He literally mixed a song on the fly like that. It was damn cool. He did this a few times. The best part was the guys facial expressions. When he played the piano as he was trying to rock out you would of thought he was having an epileptic seizure. Then as he jammed on the guitar he would spin and freak out. Look up in the air and his eyes would roll back. It was kind of hysterical. Ridiculously talented dude but my god his facial expressions and body movements would top anything you've seen on stage before. He then brought a guy to play stand up bass and played some jazz. He channeled his best Jerry Lee Lewis as he played Duke Ellington. After a couple of songs more guys came on stage and they rocked some Dylan and others to finish the show. Pretty damn entertaining. At least once he got his head out of his ass.
Well Saturday, my friend wanted to drive up the coast and what better way to spend valentines day then with a dude watching the Sunset. But since my only offer of entertainment was a bar crawl in Hermosa where I sprained my ankle the week before I figured it was best to pass on that and wait a week or so to pick that crowds brains for job advice since they all work in TV. I didn't want to push the ankle. So up the coast I went. We drove up to Santa Barbara which was freaking cool as hell. Old Spanish style architecture in the down town area. Pretty tall mountains over looking the city and hills overlooking the city loaded with huge houses. That would explain the fact that the median house in the county has been over a million for the past 5 years. Well after checking out the city and being very impressed we deciced to check out UCSB. That would be University of California-Santa Barbara. My buddy has heard its' a huge party school (it's also a good academic school-44 overall) so we wanted to see what it looked like. Well that and because we're dirty old bastards and like to see co-eds walking around. This school is freaking impressive. It's in a town north of Santa Barbara and is literally on the ocean. And when I say on the ocean it's on the ocean. Some of the dorms overlook the ocean. There is a lagoon and a beach on campus. Then to the north of campus is Isle Vista which is a college town. And when I say its' a college town I mean that's all the town is. It's just sandwich shops, bars, and student apartments. College kids walking around all over the place. And there was some sort of women's lacrosse tourney since the USC team walked past us and the San Jose St team was eating at the same place we grabbed lunch. The entire set up on of this place was awesome. there were two intersection with all the cafe/bars and shops and such and then student apartments as long as one could see. Like I said before its' a good school (44th over all) and a good party school. Just the combo I love. And right on the freaking ocean. And mountains with good hiking 30 mins away. What a location. If I was to be a little more picky it would of had more of downtown but that's pushing it. Not all cities can have quaint downtown's like other older college towns. Well after deciding that we needed to get the hell out of there we headed back on the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) and drove on back to LA and watched the sunset over the ocean as we drove.
Well we got back to the Hermosa where my buddy lives about 9:30 and decided to grab a couple of drinks. We hit Manhattan beach and start out at Ercoles which has been there since 1927. Cool bar but we were taken aback by the age of the crowd. Everyone was 40 plus. There were a couple of hotties in the table next to us but that was it. Two women were dancing and so drunk they fell over. I mean good lord they has to be pushing close to 50 and they were falling down drunk. The one woman told her dude that she had never done that before and if he was ok. He was fine but we were not. It took everything in us not to start busting out laughing. We soon headed to another bar.
The next place was packed and because I have a bum ankle and couldn't stand I asked a dude standing around a table with a bunch of chairs if I could sit down. He didn't mind and said sure. So I'm sitting there talking to my buddy only some girls that were hanging around there with the dude and his friends come back and I can hear he making comments to her friends about my like what the hell am doing there. She's trashed, and I try and move out of the way. she's still not happy. She's bumping me all being a bitch. Now I can't walk otherwise I would make some comments but I the table behind me clears up. So I ask another chick if I can sit down because of my ankle and she says fine. We start chatting and she's hot and friendly and playing the sympathy card. Only then her dude shows up and my engines starting smoking. It's going to be a bad landing. I pull the cord and bail out. The girl and her man leave and the place is getting crazy crowded with people so we jet and call it a day. You know since people could care less about the hobbled one.
Now job wise nothing has been panning out but the plans started coming in and having been laid up all week and getting stir crazy as hell I decided to break out with something low key. So for my first departure I finally left the apartment to watch the UNC-Duke game with some friends of mine that went to Duke. There is a bar in Westwood that shows all the Duke games and the Duke Alumni association sets up their games watches. It was either that or a bar in West Hollywood that is a pretty cool sports bar. At least that's what they tell me as I've never been there before. My one friend is adamant about going to Q's (the bar in Westwood) so that's where we go. They had a couple of friends to meet there so there you have it. Only problem was that Duke played like crap and after shooting lights out in the first half they sent up empty three attempt after empty three attempt so that put a damper on the mood. I was kind of shocked by the size of the crowd in Westwood which takes forever to get to from most of LA and for a Duke alumni. So I figure most of the people in LA couldn't even go and yet they still had a large crowd there. I guess it's kind of true what they say about Duke. That it's not a Carolina School, it's really all people from New York, New Jersey and California.
After the game we were hungry so we decided to grab some food in the area and there is a really good Raman noodle place nearby that one of my friends raved about. Only thing was that it only took cash and none of us had cash so we went next door to some Korean BBQ place. Now I've only had Korean BBQ a couple of times before and I'm assuming that this was more authentic since there was actually a ton of Korean Americans eating there. Well what I learned is that I don't like Korean BBQ. Well at least not this place. My Tofu Beef Soup wasn't bad but my main dish BBQ pork was sweet and tangy and not good. Of course having ties to the BBQ Pork Capital of the world in North Carolina probably didn't help. But they also gave us 5 sides that none of us touched. The Zucchini was almost picked and had spices on it only you couldn't really taste the spices only cold soggy Zucchini. Not good. Then there were some rice noodles that were ok but in some funky sauce that two of the folks were just like ahh, no thanks. The Fish cake was a soggy fish cake. And then there was some other dish that lets just say didn't go down well. So needless to say I won't be craving Korean BBQ anytime soon.
Friday night I got an offer to go to a bar in Silver Lake with a friend of a friend. There is this thing called guerrilla gay bar thing that they all go to and said it's a blast. Well it would be good to go out and meet people in the business but figuring if it's that popular that means it's crazy crowded and I would have to stand with my bum ankle which I decided was not that great an idea. Plus I wasn't sure how I would get there since I still can't drive my car. So then my friend calls to see if I want to go to the Largo and see this guy she's seen a couple of times, Jon Brion, http://www.myspace.com/jbrion. The guy started with him just playing the piano and singing mellow song after mellow song. I was like, all right dude lets mix it up for gods sake. He then announce that it was time for him to get his head out of his own ass and rock out. I couldn't of agreed with him more. He then hit the drums for a couple of minutes to lay down the beat, he record it and then played it on a loop, then hit the piano to rock for a minute, recorded it and played it on a loop, then did the same thing with a guitar and then again with another guitar and then grabbed another guitar and sang and rocked out the entire time. It was freaking impressive. He literally mixed a song on the fly like that. It was damn cool. He did this a few times. The best part was the guys facial expressions. When he played the piano as he was trying to rock out you would of thought he was having an epileptic seizure. Then as he jammed on the guitar he would spin and freak out. Look up in the air and his eyes would roll back. It was kind of hysterical. Ridiculously talented dude but my god his facial expressions and body movements would top anything you've seen on stage before. He then brought a guy to play stand up bass and played some jazz. He channeled his best Jerry Lee Lewis as he played Duke Ellington. After a couple of songs more guys came on stage and they rocked some Dylan and others to finish the show. Pretty damn entertaining. At least once he got his head out of his ass.
Well Saturday, my friend wanted to drive up the coast and what better way to spend valentines day then with a dude watching the Sunset. But since my only offer of entertainment was a bar crawl in Hermosa where I sprained my ankle the week before I figured it was best to pass on that and wait a week or so to pick that crowds brains for job advice since they all work in TV. I didn't want to push the ankle. So up the coast I went. We drove up to Santa Barbara which was freaking cool as hell. Old Spanish style architecture in the down town area. Pretty tall mountains over looking the city and hills overlooking the city loaded with huge houses. That would explain the fact that the median house in the county has been over a million for the past 5 years. Well after checking out the city and being very impressed we deciced to check out UCSB. That would be University of California-Santa Barbara. My buddy has heard its' a huge party school (it's also a good academic school-44 overall) so we wanted to see what it looked like. Well that and because we're dirty old bastards and like to see co-eds walking around. This school is freaking impressive. It's in a town north of Santa Barbara and is literally on the ocean. And when I say on the ocean it's on the ocean. Some of the dorms overlook the ocean. There is a lagoon and a beach on campus. Then to the north of campus is Isle Vista which is a college town. And when I say its' a college town I mean that's all the town is. It's just sandwich shops, bars, and student apartments. College kids walking around all over the place. And there was some sort of women's lacrosse tourney since the USC team walked past us and the San Jose St team was eating at the same place we grabbed lunch. The entire set up on of this place was awesome. there were two intersection with all the cafe/bars and shops and such and then student apartments as long as one could see. Like I said before its' a good school (44th over all) and a good party school. Just the combo I love. And right on the freaking ocean. And mountains with good hiking 30 mins away. What a location. If I was to be a little more picky it would of had more of downtown but that's pushing it. Not all cities can have quaint downtown's like other older college towns. Well after deciding that we needed to get the hell out of there we headed back on the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) and drove on back to LA and watched the sunset over the ocean as we drove.
Well we got back to the Hermosa where my buddy lives about 9:30 and decided to grab a couple of drinks. We hit Manhattan beach and start out at Ercoles which has been there since 1927. Cool bar but we were taken aback by the age of the crowd. Everyone was 40 plus. There were a couple of hotties in the table next to us but that was it. Two women were dancing and so drunk they fell over. I mean good lord they has to be pushing close to 50 and they were falling down drunk. The one woman told her dude that she had never done that before and if he was ok. He was fine but we were not. It took everything in us not to start busting out laughing. We soon headed to another bar.
The next place was packed and because I have a bum ankle and couldn't stand I asked a dude standing around a table with a bunch of chairs if I could sit down. He didn't mind and said sure. So I'm sitting there talking to my buddy only some girls that were hanging around there with the dude and his friends come back and I can hear he making comments to her friends about my like what the hell am doing there. She's trashed, and I try and move out of the way. she's still not happy. She's bumping me all being a bitch. Now I can't walk otherwise I would make some comments but I the table behind me clears up. So I ask another chick if I can sit down because of my ankle and she says fine. We start chatting and she's hot and friendly and playing the sympathy card. Only then her dude shows up and my engines starting smoking. It's going to be a bad landing. I pull the cord and bail out. The girl and her man leave and the place is getting crazy crowded with people so we jet and call it a day. You know since people could care less about the hobbled one.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Two days on a couch
Well I'm getting stir crazy. I think I've reached the end of the internet and read so much about the bailout package all my numbers and who is arguing what is getting mixed up? Oh and why are only a couple of people bringing up the fact that Geithner was one of the architects of the plan he is currently bashing. But I digress..
So after my normal look for jobs and send resumes out (because yeah that always works) and the fact I can't go out and try and meet people because of the ankle I decide to move to "look for a place to live" mode And after reading Craig's list is it dawning on me that these people might be crazy.
Here are some of my favorites and favorite lines from the ads---
can you beat free?? serious offer!!! FREE room available for young student or professional. LADIES ONLY!!!! to qualify please sent your pic, short intro, and contacts to freeroom626@yahoo.com
ahh I wonder what that poor girl just off the farm (or whatever cliche you want to use) has to do for that free rent.
There are also people looking to share a freaking room. I mean come on I haven't done that since I was a soph in college and let me tell you this. That's not happening again.
another ad had -
We have no public annoying habits... we're both clean, and so nice we'd get along with gorilla's! LOL! We really want someone who's just as relaxed and respectable!
We only ask ONE thing... Please be culturally friendly!
umm ok
聖市 New Ave.全新裝修一套房分租, 走路到168超市, 出門有 487 快線到 LA Downtown, 近 Almansor and Vincent Lugo Park, 包水電煤氣可上網, walk-in closet, 簡單家具, 有洗衣機, 一車庫, 簡炊不吸煙. 本人一個人住，所以環境比較清靜，單純，簡單.
P.S. 3月第一個禮拜才可搬進。 --ahh I think this is someone who needs someone culturally friendly. Or at worst can understand another language.
A lot of people advertise with a place with Happy Energy. What the hell is happy energy? Is that cold fusion? I mean every other ad talks about Happy Energy.
another good one-
I have a beautiful surburban home here in Carson near CAL STATE DOMZ COLLLEGE that I offer free cable, free laundry, free wireless internet, free PHONE USAGE with a big backyard that host a pool, gazebo, BBQ area, SECURITY CAMERAS!! In a secure area that u can walk in at nite! All this for only $140 weekly and only $70 your first week making your first 2 weeks a total of $210 including EVERYTHING!! Don't believe it? Call Jeff 310-294 females only!!
Why females only dear Dear Jeff?
There are also a shocking about of couples looking for a third person to live with them. Am I the only one who finds this odd.
So it appears that since I'm not some hot chick who has to do god knows what, doesn't care about happy energy, or good light I might never find a solid place to live.
So after my normal look for jobs and send resumes out (because yeah that always works) and the fact I can't go out and try and meet people because of the ankle I decide to move to "look for a place to live" mode And after reading Craig's list is it dawning on me that these people might be crazy.
Here are some of my favorites and favorite lines from the ads---
can you beat free?? serious offer!!! FREE room available for young student or professional. LADIES ONLY!!!! to qualify please sent your pic, short intro, and contacts to freeroom626@yahoo.com
ahh I wonder what that poor girl just off the farm (or whatever cliche you want to use) has to do for that free rent.
There are also people looking to share a freaking room. I mean come on I haven't done that since I was a soph in college and let me tell you this. That's not happening again.
another ad had -
We have no public annoying habits... we're both clean, and so nice we'd get along with gorilla's! LOL! We really want someone who's just as relaxed and respectable!
We only ask ONE thing... Please be culturally friendly!
umm ok
聖市 New Ave.全新裝修一套房分租, 走路到168超市, 出門有 487 快線到 LA Downtown, 近 Almansor and Vincent Lugo Park, 包水電煤氣可上網, walk-in closet, 簡單家具, 有洗衣機, 一車庫, 簡炊不吸煙. 本人一個人住，所以環境比較清靜，單純，簡單.
P.S. 3月第一個禮拜才可搬進。 --ahh I think this is someone who needs someone culturally friendly. Or at worst can understand another language.
A lot of people advertise with a place with Happy Energy. What the hell is happy energy? Is that cold fusion? I mean every other ad talks about Happy Energy.
another good one-
I have a beautiful surburban home here in Carson near CAL STATE DOMZ COLLLEGE that I offer free cable, free laundry, free wireless internet, free PHONE USAGE with a big backyard that host a pool, gazebo, BBQ area, SECURITY CAMERAS!! In a secure area that u can walk in at nite! All this for only $140 weekly and only $70 your first week making your first 2 weeks a total of $210 including EVERYTHING!! Don't believe it? Call Jeff 310-294 females only!!
Why females only dear Dear Jeff?
There are also a shocking about of couples looking for a third person to live with them. Am I the only one who finds this odd.
So it appears that since I'm not some hot chick who has to do god knows what, doesn't care about happy energy, or good light I might never find a solid place to live.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
The first weekend and injury in LA
So Friday began like most of the other days. I woke checking the job sites and emails to not much avail. After sitting around all day I went down to Hermosa beach to hang out with a friend for the night. We caught up on some tivo'd programs and headed out for the night. It was pouring so there wasn't much going on. When it rains here everything shuts down. Sadly we are leaving the 2nd bar and I step off the curb and don't see a hole in the asphalt as I'm talking to my friend. I step in the hole, roll my ankle spraining it and fall flat on my face. I'm rolling around holding my ankle and he looks at me, "saying get up you wuss" not realizing that it was actually hurt. That was the end of my first Friday night. A freaking hole in the road costing me my ankle for a couple of weeks. Not good. So lets recap. On the drive out my lap top breaks. My third full day and I sprain my ankle by stepping in a stupid hole in the road. So far LA and I are not getting along.
So I wake up and chill out on the couch with the bum ankle and spend a day doing nothing. It's my friends birthday outing so I figure the ankle isn't as bad as it could be and I can actually put some weight on it so I'm getting out of the apartment. We head to an Irish Bar in Santa Monica. Nothing to crazy just a normal night of hanging out at an Irish bar. The girls were dancing and singing to the DJ. Then two guys walk back to the back door and let in a group of girls. They walk past us and my only thought it, "I bet its' doubtful that they are 21". Then another group walks in the back door and then another. Apparently one of the guys is my first celebrity sighting. I say that because I have no idea who the dude is and don't watch the show he's on but the girls sure as hell do. It was Dell from Private Practice. My friend goes up and says that he looks familar and he says that's who he is. Another goes up and asks if he could say happy brithday to our friend who's birthday is. He's having none of it. He just walks away from her. Good times. I found it actually pretty funny. Then we called it a night. Nothing eventful. And all day I've been laid up on the couch. Good times for this guy. Lets hope my first full week in LA treats me better.
So I wake up and chill out on the couch with the bum ankle and spend a day doing nothing. It's my friends birthday outing so I figure the ankle isn't as bad as it could be and I can actually put some weight on it so I'm getting out of the apartment. We head to an Irish Bar in Santa Monica. Nothing to crazy just a normal night of hanging out at an Irish bar. The girls were dancing and singing to the DJ. Then two guys walk back to the back door and let in a group of girls. They walk past us and my only thought it, "I bet its' doubtful that they are 21". Then another group walks in the back door and then another. Apparently one of the guys is my first celebrity sighting. I say that because I have no idea who the dude is and don't watch the show he's on but the girls sure as hell do. It was Dell from Private Practice. My friend goes up and says that he looks familar and he says that's who he is. Another goes up and asks if he could say happy brithday to our friend who's birthday is. He's having none of it. He just walks away from her. Good times. I found it actually pretty funny. Then we called it a night. Nothing eventful. And all day I've been laid up on the couch. Good times for this guy. Lets hope my first full week in LA treats me better.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Three Days and Nada on the Horizon
Well sadly I don't have much to report from yesterday. My normal morning began during East Coast time at 7 am with me checking emails and job sites but sadly not to much avail. Then watched last nights Lost and ate lunch. Then deciding I had to get out of the house I headed to Runyon Canyon here in Hollywood. Only it was cold rain and winding so I had to swing by my storage unit to get my North Face wind breaker. So I head up to the Canyon and am one of the few people crazy enough to be out there in the pouring rain. Quite different from the crowd I saw the other day. The rain subsided and you couldn't see crap at the top. It was pretty cool. Just clouds everywhere. I felt I was back in the Blue Ridge Mountains during a rain storm and not in LA in the middle of a desert. You could hear the cars but couldn't see them. Then as I went down the trail I looks back and everything was wet and green and you could see the fog or mist settling in between the mountains like I was in Hawaii or something. Really damn cool. I wish I had a camera on me but I didn't bring one because of the rain. Oh well. Then I did another loop and went back to the apartment to make dinner for my friend who was getting back from getting a new tattoo. I ate dinner, read, and watched TV and that was my night. Not exciting at all but what are you going to do. I need a job so I can get some money. Lets hope it's sooner rather than later.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Day 2
Well after spending the first few hours sending out emails to contacts and searching job sites (after learning that a few out here actually work) I get stir crazy and decided I need to get out of the Apartment. So since it's 78 degrees out I figured I would head to the beach. I drive around Redondo and Hermosa and stop in Manhattan for a couple of hours of fun in the sun. I attempt to talk some guys into playing volleyball and fail miserably. They say their fourth is on the way. Only I'm not sure if that ever happened since after a bit there are gone. The dude either didn't show up or they decided to play like one game. So after a few hours at the beach I decide it's time to eat and being broke and jobless its' all sandwiches for this guy right now. So I head on back to the apartment. My GPS tells me it's only 30 mins away. It takes an hour. Traffic actually wasn't that bad it's just that who ever set up the traffic light system in this town should be shot. You get no flow of traffic and even on the major roads you're lucky to have time to go through two lights. They are freaking short lights. Oh and another fun fact about the drivers here, if this was DC there would be people honking every damn light. The light will turn green and then no car moves for like 5 seconds. It's like the driver looks around and says, nah I don't feel like going yet. Let me chill out for a second. Meanwhile I'm behind them thinking, "for god sakes man moving your god damn car." Then after 4 or 5 seconds they finally move. Then when the light turns red the drivers are like, "ahh they aren't talking to me" and at least two cares will still keep going. This also may explain the 4 or 5 seconds delay in starting. I've seen no turn on red signs completely ignored and these are the things I'm seeing at every light as I drive around on my first day. This wh0le having to drive thing isn't going to be fun.
So I get home make a sandwich and check my email. A friend of a friend tells me about some reality TV networking thing so since I have nothing to do and need a job, so I go. Of course I haven't shaved in days since I left DC because I can't find my electric shaver. So even though what little bit of facial hair I have is pathetic I have to run and get a blade. Only I use the electric and haven't used a razor in some time so I accidently cut myself on my lip and give myself razor burn on my chin. Of course if you saw a picture of me after not shaving for six days you would laugh. My friend started laughing when I told her that saying, that's all you have. That makes a guy feel wonderful.
Anyway back to the event. They brag in the event that it's at the exclusive Green Door in Downtown Hollywood. I'm like, ahh ok, if you say so. So I go to this thing and try and mingle with people and every other person I talk to is telling me that the only reason they came was because it was at the Green Door and that it is a very exclusive club and that they wouldn't had a good shot at coming here at any other time. The people were actually quite pleasant. One travel agent came by who realized that I could serve her absolutely no purpose as I had been in LA for less than 24 hours so it was like ahh we can end this conversation. The only other conversation that was like, ahh get me out of here, was with some entertainment lawyer. I'm looking around for help and by this time I had found the friend of the friend who told me about the event and he's asking me what they do and trying to save them from this guy I'm like, ahh I have no idea. I just met them two minutes ago. Which of course I did. How was the overall event? Well it wasn't painful and actually kind of interesting. Oh guy who worked on Girls Behaving Badly (which a third person in the conversation actually watched-its' a show with 7 women who are in some house to better themselves but they end up just getting trashed every night. He said the stuff you don't see it's just absurd. They couldn't put it on air. He said it was truly disgusting with things like golden showers. I joked that they should post it online anyway because if two girls one cup can become a hit then I'm sure anything you think it far too disgusting for people to watch someone, say, a cop in Dallas would find it entertaining. He laughed. Little did he know I was kind of serious. Seriously how long would it take the out favorite Dallas cop to find that damn thing and email us the site. Good times. So I guess I started off well but once I ran into the friend of a friend I ended up spending a lot of time talking to them and so on. Oh well.
One note about the event. Everyone was really nice. Except for the two above mentioned folks. You could turn and talk and everyone was cordial. I was reminded how everyone was out for themselves and but seriously they are a lot of places. And I have to say just being able to turn and talk to someone was refreshing. I have been to several of these DC type of events and there is this wall of pretentiousness between people. You can't really just go, "oh hey how are you without some uncomfortably". You have to be introduced by a mutual contact. It's almost like a mob mentality. Is he a friend of yours or a friend of ours? In LA it's everyone for themselves and everyone knows it so you just have to talk to whomever and see what happens. But it's all upfront and everyone knows it. In DC it's subtle and more backroom dealing about the connections and networking and what someone can do for another. I have to say I found to upfront, hey what can you do for me in LA kind of refreshing.
The event starts to calm down and the band goes on. I decided having the pleasure of going to a club I'm 99% sure I'm never going to be allowed into again mean that I should stay since I have nothing to do tomorrow and see what the honored do on a Wednesday night. Here are the highlights-
The first band was from Jacksonville (he never said which state) and was called Cold Country. They were a chill rock band. Granted it was a small place so it had an acoustic show so at least that night they were a chill rock band. Not bad. Nothing special but enjoyable.
The second band was what people were there for. The crowd started filling in before they came on. And this is at 10:30 on a Wednesday. It was Tommy King's Band so I guess if you wanted to google them it would be Tommy King. On a side note check out this website. http://tommyking.org/1.html I was thinking it was that dudes site only its' some kid who has already won awards and is still in school. Good times. Anyway back to the club-
Two girls were skinny as hell and couldn't stop rubbing and grinding on each other. One had decided that to wear a bra has been a life mission not to do. She was easily in her early 20s and already has a lot of saggage. Not a good thing.
One girl walks by that you could of bounced a quarter off of. And I mean any part of her body. Incredible. Only she walks past me and is trashed. But I had to thank her for having much of her fake boobs showing.
Three dudes show up that took there outfits straight out of the Rob Lowe in St. Elmo's Fire collection. Blue shiny shirts with a few of the top buttons open and ties. If I show up to the cruise or the wedding like that you have not only the right but the must as a good friend to kick my ass. But they knew the band and were obviously the "cool kids" so go figure.
The lead singer (Tommy King) had a Gavin Degraw vibe to him and really enjoyed his best friend in the entire world the drummer. He reminded us of this a few times. Granted he told us his name several times and all I have is that I think he was Jodi something. He always wanted us to make sure we knew who the sax player was. I believe Rob Morrison. Apparently the trumpet player wasn't important as he only shared his name once at the end. He also consistently gave a shout out to the two lead singers. One he was praise as the lovely and beautiful Guinevere and then just say the other ones name. Guinevere may be lovely but radiant and beautiful. I'm not so sure. The other one cracked me up because when she would sing her part she would put one of her fingers in her ear as you see so many of these singers do when they record. Only she wasn't recording and it didn't seem to serve a point. Then again what the hell do I know. If I was up there singing. People would of had blood flying out of their ears and run to the hills for silence.
There was some fat dude that was wearing his finest collection from Frat Boy Gear 101. (White Button Down T-Shirt, Khakis-I believe the only guy in the place wearing them, tie, and a sport coat). Not sure who he was but he had to be someone as he knew who all the hotties were.
There was an older woman in front of me who I'm not sure if she was the manager or what not but she was go crazy the entire show. She was way way way into the music. Would hoot and holler at the appropriate times. She also was upset with Tommy when he said he had a lot of demo cds for folks if they wanted one just buy him a beer or something. She kept telling him get five bucks. She then turned to her friend and was, "at least ask for a five dollar donation. I mean you have to get something for them." She wasn't happy with Mr. King.
The Drummer, Jodi, had a fro that would make disco Stu jealous. The damn thing was impressive. Had to be 3 ft in circumference. Most impressive. He also could jam though with the fro and the dorky face the only way he was getting the good looking girlfriend he had was the fact he could rock out. Quite a shame I can't rock. But I can roll with the best of them. It's ok. I don't know what that means either.
Well after an hour plus of sitting there and being the yawning guy in the club I left and called it a night. I had to walk through the front room which has turned in to a room filled with people smoking in style. And I'm quite sure I'm not going to visual this enought but people weren't smoking the way I've grown accustomed to in NC and VA they were Smokin' in style. Leaning back or leaning to the side. Arm extended with deliberate poses as they held their cigarette. I then walked out the door I came in only to get yelled at by the bouncer who informed me the exit was on the other side. Silly me, thinking one enters and leaves the same door. What the hell was I thinking? Just another DC moron in LA LA land.
So I get home make a sandwich and check my email. A friend of a friend tells me about some reality TV networking thing so since I have nothing to do and need a job, so I go. Of course I haven't shaved in days since I left DC because I can't find my electric shaver. So even though what little bit of facial hair I have is pathetic I have to run and get a blade. Only I use the electric and haven't used a razor in some time so I accidently cut myself on my lip and give myself razor burn on my chin. Of course if you saw a picture of me after not shaving for six days you would laugh. My friend started laughing when I told her that saying, that's all you have. That makes a guy feel wonderful.
Anyway back to the event. They brag in the event that it's at the exclusive Green Door in Downtown Hollywood. I'm like, ahh ok, if you say so. So I go to this thing and try and mingle with people and every other person I talk to is telling me that the only reason they came was because it was at the Green Door and that it is a very exclusive club and that they wouldn't had a good shot at coming here at any other time. The people were actually quite pleasant. One travel agent came by who realized that I could serve her absolutely no purpose as I had been in LA for less than 24 hours so it was like ahh we can end this conversation. The only other conversation that was like, ahh get me out of here, was with some entertainment lawyer. I'm looking around for help and by this time I had found the friend of the friend who told me about the event and he's asking me what they do and trying to save them from this guy I'm like, ahh I have no idea. I just met them two minutes ago. Which of course I did. How was the overall event? Well it wasn't painful and actually kind of interesting. Oh guy who worked on Girls Behaving Badly (which a third person in the conversation actually watched-its' a show with 7 women who are in some house to better themselves but they end up just getting trashed every night. He said the stuff you don't see it's just absurd. They couldn't put it on air. He said it was truly disgusting with things like golden showers. I joked that they should post it online anyway because if two girls one cup can become a hit then I'm sure anything you think it far too disgusting for people to watch someone, say, a cop in Dallas would find it entertaining. He laughed. Little did he know I was kind of serious. Seriously how long would it take the out favorite Dallas cop to find that damn thing and email us the site. Good times. So I guess I started off well but once I ran into the friend of a friend I ended up spending a lot of time talking to them and so on. Oh well.
One note about the event. Everyone was really nice. Except for the two above mentioned folks. You could turn and talk and everyone was cordial. I was reminded how everyone was out for themselves and but seriously they are a lot of places. And I have to say just being able to turn and talk to someone was refreshing. I have been to several of these DC type of events and there is this wall of pretentiousness between people. You can't really just go, "oh hey how are you without some uncomfortably". You have to be introduced by a mutual contact. It's almost like a mob mentality. Is he a friend of yours or a friend of ours? In LA it's everyone for themselves and everyone knows it so you just have to talk to whomever and see what happens. But it's all upfront and everyone knows it. In DC it's subtle and more backroom dealing about the connections and networking and what someone can do for another. I have to say I found to upfront, hey what can you do for me in LA kind of refreshing.
The event starts to calm down and the band goes on. I decided having the pleasure of going to a club I'm 99% sure I'm never going to be allowed into again mean that I should stay since I have nothing to do tomorrow and see what the honored do on a Wednesday night. Here are the highlights-
The first band was from Jacksonville (he never said which state) and was called Cold Country. They were a chill rock band. Granted it was a small place so it had an acoustic show so at least that night they were a chill rock band. Not bad. Nothing special but enjoyable.
The second band was what people were there for. The crowd started filling in before they came on. And this is at 10:30 on a Wednesday. It was Tommy King's Band so I guess if you wanted to google them it would be Tommy King. On a side note check out this website. http://tommyking.org/1.html I was thinking it was that dudes site only its' some kid who has already won awards and is still in school. Good times. Anyway back to the club-
Two girls were skinny as hell and couldn't stop rubbing and grinding on each other. One had decided that to wear a bra has been a life mission not to do. She was easily in her early 20s and already has a lot of saggage. Not a good thing.
One girl walks by that you could of bounced a quarter off of. And I mean any part of her body. Incredible. Only she walks past me and is trashed. But I had to thank her for having much of her fake boobs showing.
Three dudes show up that took there outfits straight out of the Rob Lowe in St. Elmo's Fire collection. Blue shiny shirts with a few of the top buttons open and ties. If I show up to the cruise or the wedding like that you have not only the right but the must as a good friend to kick my ass. But they knew the band and were obviously the "cool kids" so go figure.
The lead singer (Tommy King) had a Gavin Degraw vibe to him and really enjoyed his best friend in the entire world the drummer. He reminded us of this a few times. Granted he told us his name several times and all I have is that I think he was Jodi something. He always wanted us to make sure we knew who the sax player was. I believe Rob Morrison. Apparently the trumpet player wasn't important as he only shared his name once at the end. He also consistently gave a shout out to the two lead singers. One he was praise as the lovely and beautiful Guinevere and then just say the other ones name. Guinevere may be lovely but radiant and beautiful. I'm not so sure. The other one cracked me up because when she would sing her part she would put one of her fingers in her ear as you see so many of these singers do when they record. Only she wasn't recording and it didn't seem to serve a point. Then again what the hell do I know. If I was up there singing. People would of had blood flying out of their ears and run to the hills for silence.
There was some fat dude that was wearing his finest collection from Frat Boy Gear 101. (White Button Down T-Shirt, Khakis-I believe the only guy in the place wearing them, tie, and a sport coat). Not sure who he was but he had to be someone as he knew who all the hotties were.
There was an older woman in front of me who I'm not sure if she was the manager or what not but she was go crazy the entire show. She was way way way into the music. Would hoot and holler at the appropriate times. She also was upset with Tommy when he said he had a lot of demo cds for folks if they wanted one just buy him a beer or something. She kept telling him get five bucks. She then turned to her friend and was, "at least ask for a five dollar donation. I mean you have to get something for them." She wasn't happy with Mr. King.
The Drummer, Jodi, had a fro that would make disco Stu jealous. The damn thing was impressive. Had to be 3 ft in circumference. Most impressive. He also could jam though with the fro and the dorky face the only way he was getting the good looking girlfriend he had was the fact he could rock out. Quite a shame I can't rock. But I can roll with the best of them. It's ok. I don't know what that means either.
Well after an hour plus of sitting there and being the yawning guy in the club I left and called it a night. I had to walk through the front room which has turned in to a room filled with people smoking in style. And I'm quite sure I'm not going to visual this enought but people weren't smoking the way I've grown accustomed to in NC and VA they were Smokin' in style. Leaning back or leaning to the side. Arm extended with deliberate poses as they held their cigarette. I then walked out the door I came in only to get yelled at by the bouncer who informed me the exit was on the other side. Silly me, thinking one enters and leaves the same door. What the hell was I thinking? Just another DC moron in LA LA land.
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