untitled

From grayness to a heatwave, sometimes you just have to love Los Angeles' commitment to diversity.

Thursday was the beginning of a new heatwave that should last until Monday or so. Yesterday I watched the Lakers win the series, just to sit in air conditioning. That is how you know that it is hot, because I watched a sporting event.

I might have some good news on Monday, keep your fingers crossed.

Gray as far as the eye can see

This past week has been a bit odd in Los Angeles. It has been gray for about a week and I fear that June Gloom has come early. Also, it isn't helping my mood at all.

I noticed that there hasn't been too many photos in this blog as of late. I know that when I have gone to put pictures in, blogger has had some issues.

Here is a picture that I would have put in the Earth Day post:

(This is me in Japan at the Huntington Gardens.)

What I have been up to:
Movies: I have seen a lot of movies lately.
Forgetting Sarah Marshal- A pretty standard comedy, predictable, but I enjoyed myself the entire time
Baby Mama-SEE ABOVE
My Blueberry Nights- Not as bad as everyone said it was, kind of a Wong Kar Wai 101 for American Audiences
Iron Man- I enjoyed it, I wasn't expecting too much since the comic book genre has been pretty disappointing

Reading: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Well, I think that is all I have to report.

Happy

Mother's Day!!!

enough already

I don't usually write anything political on this blog, but I just wanted to say that I just want a democratic candidate to be chosen already. I don't care who, just pick one.

This is going to go on forever.

Another family member shares

One of my five very best experiences happened in 1958 during my senior year at Northwestern. I was job hunting for a position in Chicago and the Placement Office on campus was THE place to land fabulous job interviews. The main man there was quite well known around various campuses in the U.S. and, luckily, I snagged an interview with him and started my search. As I was majoring in English Literature, his view of the perfect job for me was as a secretary (administrative assistant these days) in some top notch corporation. Not at all to my liking. He and I had several sessions where he sat behind his desk and read various positions to me and continued to ignore my pleas for a more interesting and exciting job. No go ! He felt I should have a nine to five secretarial job and that was that.

Dejected, I let things go on hold for a few weeks until one day, just after lunch, I found myself walking past the Placement Office. Without much hope I went in and asked HIS secretary for another appointment. She said, gloriously, "Would YOU like to see the job description folder yourself?" My brain blew up in a Fourth of July Whoop-De-Do frenzy, and I grabbed the folder. Five minutes later had a name and phone number that would, literally, change my life. There was a market research company looking for a Traveling Field Secretary---someone who would travel around the United States and hire and train a field staff to conduct grocery store audits and conduct lengthy at home interviews for the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture). Good salary and all travel expenses paid. What was I waiting for ? Within the week I had and interview and, in my mind, had the job. I never went on another interview even though it was only April and I wouldn't graduate until June 16th. I just knew I had aced the interview and the job was mine.

And it was mine !

Want to fly? Want to drive? Want to take an overnight train? Any mode of travel was mine. Want to attend meetings in D.C., LA, New York, Boston? My choice as well. Want to stay in fancy hotel suites and conduct interviews? O.K. Want to travel for weeks at a time and fly back to Chicago when needed at the home office? My job accommodated all of these choices. Want to see the country? I did and I didn't have to join the Army either. I worked in Leadville, Colorado, the two mile high small town in the Rockies where there was a famous silver mine. One town in Kentucky was so remote I have to ride a horse into the area to find someone to conduct the audits. That trip was really over the top but, truth be told, name almost any small town or city of any size and it is likely that I have been there.

-Grandma Karen

Thank you, this inspires me to keep going in my job search. It has been such a struggle to find a job right now. I am taking a few day break, just because I feel really down and it is coloring everything in my life, but I am going to come back more determined than ever, like a Phoenix rising from the ashes.

Young @ heart

If you are only of the few who will have access to this film, I recommend seeing it.

lately

It has finally cooled down in L.A. I know that many of you commented to me that you saw that it was in the 100s here on the news. That news was all true. It was very hot and I spent most of the time in the one air conditioned room in the house.

Over the weekend I got to experience my very first TV show taping. It was for the next season of "Last Comic Standing" If any of you aren't familiar with the show click here . It was a lot of fun, we practiced clapping, Standing Ovations, and how not to look at a camera. Unfortunately the theater we were in did not have air conditioning. I did get to meet some other mid-westerners and we chatted about "The Cities" (They say that no one here knows what they are talking about when they say that) I also cannot tell you who won, I have been sworn to secrecy.

note on a prior post:
If you have seen the 4 Minutes video from Madonna, you will see that JT is wearing a blarf. I am telling you they are every where.

Other than that, I am still job hunting. I wish that at the 3 month mark I would have had a job by now, but I guess the world has other plans for me.

Email me if you can. I get bored sitting here submitting resumes and waiting for people to call.

I have a way with the stars

I went to the last show of the Groundling's Swimsuit issue. If you are not familiar with the Groundling's it is a comedy theater, that produces comedy sketch shows. Many of its cast members have ended up on Saturday Night Live or other iconic comedy shows/movies like:

Phil Hartman (the main theater was renamed in his honor)
Chris Parnell
Jennifer Coolidge
Cheryl Hines
Will Farrell
Lisa Kudrow
Paul Rubens (Email me if you can name his alter ego)
Adriane Barbeau
Pat Morita

Here is my story:
As I was going up to our seats in the theater, very much like a movie theater, I did not realize that there was an additional small step to the row. (It didn't help that someone's purse was in the way.) I hit the step, pitched forward and almost fell in Kristen Wiig's lap.

That is me, tripping over and running into celebrities all across Los Angeles.

The show was very funny and many times I almost fell out of my chair. These people should be writing for SNL. Melissa McCarthy , who played Sookie on the Gilmore Girls, was in this cast and not since Chris Farley have I seen physical comedy so brilliant.

So I recommend going to see the Groundling's shows, you never know who you'll "run" into. (wink, wink)

A family member shares

A few weeks ago I asked you to share your top life experiences. Here is one from my Aunt Beth:

When Nick was just a little boy (about 6) his great-great-grandfather, William McKinley Nicholas was dying of stomach cancer at the age of 96 or 97. I had a meeting down in Miami where he lived with Nick’s great-grandfather, so I made arrangements to go to their house to have lunch and spend some time. Will was too sick to get out of bed, so I crawled in bed with him and spent about an hour snuggling and listening to him tell me stories of his life. He told me of some of the changes he had seen in the world since his birth in 1896. Can you even imagine? The widespread use of electricity and telephones, cars, airplanes, rockets, computers. To experience life during most of the 20th century must have been unbelievable especially when looking back at it.

I will never forget this wonderful moment in my life. I can only hope that it was in any was as special to him as it was to me.

Thank you for sharing your story.

Happy Earth Day!!

Today is Earth Day. It is confusing sometimes to know what you can do to help. Especially with all of the different magazines that are coming out with Green issues. Many of the suggestions in the issues are pretty expensive, like $2,000 coffee tables. Here are some things some normal people can do today:

• Buy energy saving light bulbs.
• Buy canvas grocery shopping bags and keep them in your car so you do not forget them. Most grocery stores are selling them at the check out counter, including Target. If you would like some go here , here and here .
• Make your toilet use less water by dropping a big rock or brick in your toilet tank. The object displaces water and makes your tank hit the fill line faster, therefore using less water.
  
• Walk or ride a bike today.
• Sign up for online bill pay. Not getting your statements in the mail not only saves tons of paper, but protects your privacy.
  

These are just some suggestions to help you. Happy Earth day.

What are they wearing-blarfs

The pashmina type scarf is everywhere here and LA women think it goes with everything. Seriously 8 of of 10 women are wearing a blarf. (I didn't come up with that word, I read it somewhere.)

So if you want to be LA for a day, take your pashmina and wrap it around your neck a few times. It goes well with leggings, miniskirts, jeans or a prom dress.


Go blarfs!

a little bummed

So, some of you have heard that the job I wanted at the museum is a no go. Budget issues, but I would have had the job. I feel like budget issues are following me around. My last two jobs also went under. I have been unemployed 2 and a half months. Although I have had a great time going to museums, parks, movies, helping Asher film, I really just want to go back to work.

happy thoughts

Think happy thoughts I have two interviews one Monday and one Tuesday.

what I have been up to-a yummy way to partcipate

I had the chance on Monday to be one of the people to try Ben and Jerry's new ice cream flavor ONE Brownie Cheesecake, which is my new favorite. Not only because brownie and cheesecake is one of the best flavor combinations since chocolate and peanut butter, but proceeds from its purchase goes to support ONE .

I would have had a chance to see Ben and Jerry, a children's choir, and a program about ONE, but the time on the invite was wrong and I think I showed an hour too late.

Star sightings- the I will never wash my eyes again edition

I had a couple of pretty serious star sightings lately. I won't say where, because this place isn't somewhere you would expect celebrities to be seen. I hate the jerkerazzi, I almost got knocked down by someone running down 3rd Street just to get a picture of someone, I am not sure who, I left the premises as soon as I could.

I digress.

Anyway, when I was out and about, I saw Orlando Bloom (Many of you may know him as Coey of Minsk's celebrity crush) and his lady friend Miranda Kerr.

I also spied Demi Moore.

Not bad huh, for girl who hasn't really been going out so much. I will never wash my eyes again.

Have you noticed?

On the upper left hand corner is a feature I added on my blog. I have labeled it as Guest Book, but really it is a stat counter that people use to see who is visiting their websites. It has been great to see that people are reading my blog. Some are as far away as Scotland.

I am confused a bit by some of my visitors. For example who is coming from Saginaw. MI and Bilouxi, Mississippi. If you are these people send me an email.

April is National Poetry Month

Did you know that April is National Poetry month? Well, it is.

Since it is, I commissioned a poem from one of our family poets and finder of the fountain of youth, my grandfather. Here is an especially relevant poem from him about the dreaded April 15th.

THE TAX MAN COMETH

The ides of April are soon upon us
Again we go through the IRS form fuss
There’s got to be a more just way
Adopt a fair tax program some people say


But that program is fraught with many woes
The lower income folks will pay through the nose
While the upper group will really score
Keeping more of their income, and more, and more


And tax attorneys would be out of work
H & R Block would also go into the murk
Jobless IRS agents, what would they do?
With no one to hassle, who would they sue?


So fair tax may not be the way
An equitable way to make everyone pay
Would be to put all citizens on welfare
And let everyone share in the same despair


With a new tax code simple and fair
Where everyone gets the same kicked derriere
The new form would read as easy as sin
“How much money did you make last year? Mail it in !”

David E. McGrain
April, 2008

Have you done your taxes yet? I haven't.

Whirlwind

I can't believe it is already Saturday. I haven't felt time go by so fast in such a long time.

I felt that my interview on Monday went very well. Unfortunately they will not be making their decision until the end of this month. A friend commented that it might be an April Fool's joke. Perhaps.

I just spent the last couple days on a whirlwind tour of Los Angeles. We had a friend in from France. Although he has visited a few times, there is always so much to see that hasn't been seen before. This time we tried to watch the sunset at Moonshadows (Some of you may have heard that name before, it is where Mel Gibson drank it up before his drunk driving arrest) It was too cloudy to get a view of the sunset, but we did watch some dolphins play for a few minutes. I tried to get video of them, but of course by the time I got the camera ready, they disappeared.

Our friend was amazed at how many European chain stores there are in L.A. I had no clue.

Yesterday was a driving tour of Downtown, we hit the Music Center which holds the Walt Disney Concert Hall designed by Frank Gehry (pictured) Chinatown, Santee Alley and the jewelery district. It isn't often that I go Downtown. Then it was off to the Getty to catch a couple exhibits before closing time. I love the new exhibit California Video. If you are in town and have the chance to go, it is great.

So that is what I have been up to I guess.

Happy...

Birthday Dad!!

Monday

Think happy thoughts on Monday, I finally have an interview.