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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The First Day in LA

Well I arrived yesterday. After five days hauling god knows how heavy a trailer with my Jetta I dropped the sucker off at U-Haul. My freaking Jetta jumped up like Herbie at the excitement of not logging that damn thing around. Side note-someone needs to yell at U-Haul for not going over their deals. I called the U-Haul number to figure out where I should drop off the trailer and told them to hold on as I figured out where the Public Storage was that I dropped my crap off. The woman then tells me that I could of had a free month with U-Haul as I rented the trailer from them. This easily goes on things I wish someone had told me yesterday. But I digress my deal was solid with Public Storage. 1 dollar for the first month, 22 dollar processing fee, and 8 bucks for the insurance so no complaints. I then go to my friends place who asks if I want to go hiking in Runyan Canyon with her as that's become her daily routine. I say sure and head on off to the canyon and got my first taste of LA woman. Girls wearing shorts so short I could tell you their nationality. Needless to say it dawned on my in about three seconds that if I'm ever going to get a date in this town I'm actually going to have to get in shape. The DC lifestyle of Happy Hours, bar food, and late nights at smokey bars is not conducive to the LA I'm in crazy shape and can run up a mountain that I'm getting winded walking up. I mean almost every dude on the mountain was wripped and the girls were running up the damn thing with their trendy tank tops and athletic shorts. The future may be lonely for the Helmet Haired One.

I came back and headed off for my first dinner as a resident (albeit it a couch surfing one) of LA. We go to Jones' in West Hollywood. It had Italian Food and Pizzas and an extensive Bourbon and Drink menu but barely any beer. Just the Domestic swill and Pyramid Hefeweizen. Sadly those wouldn't do with my need for a, "hey I'm in LA, I need a celebratory beer". Quite a change from my love affair with the Beer in AZ when I was in Flagstaff. Gotta Love the Oak Creek. Anyway I order some pasta to read that all the pasta is made with Whole Wheat Flour. Shocklingly the taste wasn't that different. Unlike the time I bought the wheat pasta at the grocery store a couple of years ago when I couldn't tell if I had decided to just eat the cardboard box. So all the pasta was whole wheat you didn't have a choice. I found that interesting. My first, hey I'm in LA moment, was as we're leaving, huddled in the corner in this really dark restaurant that had a serious 50's lounge feel there is some dude huddled in the corner reading a script. I'm not in Kansas anymore.