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    Saturday, June 28, 2003

    Ants In Pants

    Well, it's been a week, and still no job. Every place we call is either full, not interested, or interested with an open position, but when we call back when they tell us to, the position has already been filled. It's awful. Today, I sent out resumes to temp agencies because I'm going to run out of money. I also sent out a resume to Stone Brewing Company (of Arrogant Bastard fame) because they have an opening for a sales representative in the Los Angeles area. My cover letter was bascially, "Look, I know I didn't go to school for this, but I figured it was worth a shot. Once I drove two hours to get some of your beer." Actually, that could be a pretty awesome job. If these fall through, too, it's Best Buy or telemarketing for me. Neither one is particularly appealing.

    Also, the ants in our apartment are everywhere. And they are retarded. As Aimee noted this afternoon between calling production offices, the ants are all over our bedroom and the bathroom, but never in the kitchen. Just now, I found them in my bed and dresser and hopefully killed them all. I don't know if I'll be able to sleep if I think there are ants in my bed, but hey ... better ants than spiders, I say.

    Now it's time to go to bed. Because when I'm sleeping, I'm neither spending money or scrambling to get a job. Tomorrow, I'll probably spend some time taking advantage of some of my free weekend minutes. And by that, I of course mean engaging in sexual intercourse with my cell phone.
    posted at 1:37 AM

    Tuesday, June 24, 2003

    And Now, A List

    Things That Are Still Not Working:
    1). My internet connection
    2). Me

    Yes, I got the call back from the production office at "Malcolm," and despite all signs, portents, feelings, and straight-up logic, they decided to go with someone else. The woman who interviewed me did say she passed my resume along to some other people who would call me later in the week, so I guess there's still a little hope. At this point, though, I need a job, and now I'm more than a little disappointed that I'm back at Square One.

    Yesterday Aimee and I spent a large portion of the day faxing resumes and cover letters out, and today I'm sure there will be more of the same. We're keeping positive, though. I know I didn't drop everything and come out here for no reason. So keep those East Coast well-wishes coming, and I'll keep you posted when I find something out.
    posted at 9:27 AM

    Sunday, June 22, 2003

    ...Interesting...

    Stumbled upon this little gadget at Joey's LiveJournal and decided to give it a swing -- you know, just to add a little spice to my current-life of watching TV, drinking coffee, and walking around grocery stores but not buying anything. Let's hope that "job" field comes true, eh?

    trounced
    Magic Number22
    JobWriter
    PersonalityUnfulfilled Dreamer
    TemperamentSweet Natured
    SexualIf I Have To
    Likely To WinThe World Cup
    Me - In A WordWhirlwind
    Colour
    Brought to you by MemeJack


    posted at 3:44 PM

    Saturday, June 21, 2003

    This Rainy Day In June

    OK, not really rainy. That doesn’t happen here, but it is cloudy. I guess that’s the Southern California version of rain. Today is, however, beloved songwriter / musical genius Ray Davies’ birthday, so I figured I’d give him a little happy birthday blog title. I’m sure it would mean a lot to him if he knew. If you’ve never heard a full Kinks album, do yourself a service and pick up either “Arthur or The Decline and Fall of the British Empire” or “The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society.” Seriously. Do it.

    But enough of that shameless marketing. There are more important issues at hand. Issues like computer problems. For some reason, I can’t get my DSL connection to work. I’ll hook up the cable, my computer will recognize there’s a network connected, and it will even give me an IP address, but it won’t let me use the internet at all. What makes it even worse is that it actually worked last night for about 2 hours, then just stopped again, and I didn’t change any settings either way. What also makes it worse is that my keyboard is really starting to act up, making some keys register multiple times when I press them and some keys not register at all. What makes it unbelievably worse is that no tech support has been able to help me. The Verizon DSL people were on the phone with me for about 40 minutes, and had no idea what was going on. I tried calling the fine folks at Dell this morning, but apparently the people I bought my laptop from last year never transferred ownership to me, so their policy prevents them from doing any kind of tech support with me. Of course, the email with all RecoupIT’s information is securely packed away in my basement in Connecticut, and I have no way of getting to it, nor do I trust anyone in my family to unpack my computer, fire it up, and weed through my emails. Basically, I’m screwed. Oh well. I’ll figure something out. There are more important things to worry about now, like trying to get a job. Or maybe a car or medical insurance policy … although those last two things sure would be a hell of a lot easier if I had an internet connection and didn’t have to bother poor Aimee’s computer all the time. And hey, anyone know where all my archives went?

    Not having a job really gives you a lot of free time. Unfortunately, it also limits the amount of things I can do in this free time, as I don’t want to spend the very small amount of money I came out here with. Last night, however, worked out pretty well. Mikey came over and we picked up some delicious $1 ice cream sandwiches from a little place down the road, then went to a nearby Barnes & Noble so Mikey could buy the new Harry Potter book – another thing I would do if I had a source of income right now. We picked up his ticket for a place in line, checked out all the other nerds waiting for the midnight release, and decided to kill some time at a bar instead. I wasn’t going to get anything, but the bartender accidentally poured a Sierra Nevada and gave it to me for free. Can’t argue with free beer. Especially free beer that’s pretty good.

    Speaking of beer, as soon as I get a job, I’m gonna have to pick some up. Arrogant Bastard, which sells for $5-6 in Massachusetts (and not at all in Connecticut) is only $3.50 here. Ravenswood, Kenwood and Cline wines are all cheaper, too. This is truly a land of milk and honey … if milk was beer and honey was wine.

    OK, that’s enough for now. I’m probably going to make some phone calls and play some old computer games to pass the time. It’s cold outside.

    posted at 2:23 PM

    Thursday, June 19, 2003

    You Can Take This Job And Please Give It To Me Now

    So leaving Connecticut happened. It was a little more difficult than I thought it would be, but hey, everyone's got to leave home at some point, right? I did get two small presents from the basement spiders before I left, though, so I'll have their facial spiderbites for a few more days. The flights were turbulent and didn't have meals, but were otherwise all right. And, in traditional fashion, it was cold and rainy when I left ... although that doesn't say much, because it's been cold and rainy in New England since December.

    Now I'm here in Los Angeles with Aimee. It's been disappointingly cloudy, but it's been great being back with Aimee and Mikey. Westwood's pretty nice, too. We found a kick-ass vegetarian restaurant where the owner, cashier and random patron all stopped to talk to us. Ah, California! What a talkative, friendly place.

    Our apartment's pretty nice, too. Very spacious. However, we live in the UCLA version of Allston, so at night all we hear are drunken yelps in the street. That might have something to do with the six frat houses within walking distance of our apartment. Also, we have ants in the shower for some reason, a large mural in the living room depicting masturbation and bleeding asses, and -- in July -- two seventeen year old apartment-mates, one of whom will be smoking medicinal marijuana. Should be interesting.

    I also had my interview with "Malcolm" today, and I'll find out the results of it sometime next week. I think it went pretty well, and I think they think I'm pretty qualified for the position, as I basically did that job last year. But there's still no telling, so please keep thinking positive thoughts for a while. I'll be sure to keep you all posted when I hear something. And I did hear Fleetwood Mac on the radio today, so that's gotta be a good sign.

    I'm trying to answer emails and stay up to date via the grace of Aimee's computer, as my laptop refuses to acknowledge the apartment's DSL hookup. Lame as all hell. I'll see what I can do about that. Until then, continue picturing me working on a TV show, and maybe it will happen.
    posted at 8:45 PM

    Tuesday, June 17, 2003

    Insert Quote Here

    So, I'm outta here in about 12 hours. Then that's it for me and Connecticut. It's rough, but exciting. Hopefully, I'll get a job. For all you music snobs (and I know most of my friends are), here's is my travelling music for the plane, which has become even more important now that I found out my flight won't have a meal on board. Lame.

    1. Badly Drawn Boy - "The Hour of Bewilderbeast"
    2. Beulah - "The Coast Is Never Clear"
    3. Andrew Bird - "Weather Systems"
    4. Brian Dewan - "The Operating Theatre"
    5. Flaming Lips - "The Soft Bulletin"
    6. Fleetwood Mac - "Rumours"
    7. The Kinks - "The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society"
    8. Neutral Milk Hotel - "In The Aeroplane Over The Sea"
    9. Of Montreal - "Coquelicot Asleep In The Poppies"
    10. Talking Heads - "More Songs About Buildings And Food"
    11. They Might Be Giants - "No!"
    12. White Stripes - "Elephant"

    And now I'm out. If you're staying on the East Coast / Midwest / Anywhere that's not L.A., I'll miss you. Keep in touch. If you're coming to L.A., I'll see you soon. Also, keep in touch.

    And remember to think happy thoughts on Thursday.
    posted at 6:38 PM

    Friday, June 13, 2003

    Project Beard

    Hey, all. I'm sitting here again late at night, with very few things packed up. But hey.

    So, as some of you may know, I've been trying to grow a beard lately. Just because it's probably something every guy should try at least once, and also because I really didn't have anywhere important to be in between Hemlock's wedding and my L.A. move. So, I haven't shaved since the end of May, and here's a picture of the results so far. I'm keeping it trimmed, but it doesn't help that my moustache is really blonde, which translates into "invisible" when you're glancing at me.

    Opinions among my friends have been mixed, although everyone in my family and most of my adult (post 20s) friends really seem keen on it. I like it a lot, myself, but I'm not sure if I'm going to keep it for much longer, because I have an interview at the "Malcolm In The Middle" production office Thursday morning -- the day after I get in to Los Angeles -- and the jury's still out on whether the beard makes me look rugged and adult or just like I'm hiding a 40 of O.E. somewhere on my person. Additional e-opinions are welcome, here.

    Earlier this evening, Chris and I went to a coffee place in Middletown frequented by Wesleyan students while school's in session and other assorted dirty hippies when it's not. We had some delicious coffees and played chess for a long time, which is something we nerds like to do every once in a while. We also met this guy Josh, in from Babson to visit his girlfriend, and I played him in chess and got thoroughly whomped, after a valiant repulse of a quick attack and a near-comeback attempt. Although some of his methods were suspect in retrospect, it was still a fine use of time. Greasin' up the ol' logic synapses in the brain, I says.

    Let's see, what else? Hmm. Oh, I tried to make a list of the 10 CDs I've bought or burned in college that defined my college life, but I had a preliminary list of about 40 and didn't feel like putting in the effort to bring it down to a reasonable level. Hell, I can't even get any packing done, what do you want from me?
    posted at 11:20 PM

    Thursday, June 12, 2003

    Late Night Updates

    So it's just a few days away from my move now. Am I packed? Nope. Do I have everything I need yet? Nope. Am I a little bit worried about this? You bet.

    I have progressed, however, since the last time I updated. Aimee and I now have a sublet secured in Westwood, I bought a plane ticket to Los Angeles, and I'm 99% done with the paperwork to secure my very first automobile -- a swank, exquisitely-maintained 97 Accord that used to be owned by a minister. Yep. A minister.

    I've also been calling a bunch of shows who were looking to hire people, but found out that most of them are looking at resumes this week and next, then calling people the week after that. So, I might end up delaying my flight a little bit (it's refundable and all) to give me some more time to pack and secure paperwork / insurance on my car. But that's the boring stuff. Let's see ... what's exciting nowadays?

    Well, last night, Sara, Chris, Matt and I met up with another long-lost set of twins who went to elementary and one year of middle school with us, then began moving around the country -- Christopher and Michael Simeone. I had a really great time with them, and we ended up hanging out until about three in the morning. It's was strange how seamlessly they still meshed with our sensibilities despite almost a decade of separated development -- even in extracurriculars in college and threatened libel lawsuits. Maybe it's the bond of twisted humor. And even though that one night made me realize that we all would have had a great time if they had stayed in Berlin with us, it also made me realize that even though I might not see some of my friends for a long time, we'll still always be able to get together once in a while with a minimum of awkward silences. And isn't that what friendship is really about?

    Ok, probably not. But that's the best way I can put that sentiment without sounding Hallmark.

    It's also been nice to hear from all of my distant relatives and old friends, wishing me luck in L.A. I just got a card today from our old Town Manager, who played Momma opposite my Conrad in a production of "Bye Bye Birdie" some years ago and was really great to be around. So I'll have to shoot her a little thank you note sometime tomorrow, too. Of course, my newly Windows XP Upgraded computers decided to forget how to use their serial ports, so I can't update my Palm Pilot (God, that sounds obnoxious), but if you've got new contact info, please send it to me so I can try to keep in touch. I'll be using my auxillary laptop for a while. It's got a buggy keyboard, so please excuse any typos.

    I also got a call from the woman who interviewed me for the Boston Globe back in April, as part of an article on college seniors and their postgraduate plans. I talked to her for a while, and she should be running another article on us within a few days or so. She seemed really excited that I was actually going to California, and encouraged me in my "non-traditional job," because when she said she wanted to be a journalist, people told her she would never work at a newspaper. There's just a whole lot of positive energy floating around here these days. I hope it makes me become employed, and not a new age keyboardist.

    Now it's 2:30 AM, and I'm going to try to get some sleep. I've got a long day of packing, buying supplies, and being manic depressive tomorrow.
    posted at 8:57 AM

    Saturday, June 07, 2003

    "I'm Tired Of Travelling - I Want To Be Somewhere..."

    Maybe it's the rain, or my lack of sleep, or the depressing music I'm playing now, but this entry probably isn't going to be very funny. If that's what you come here for, please just wait until the next entry or something.

    So the last few days have been extremely stressful, and have pretty much suceeded in destroying the way I had planned to move this summer.

    What I wanted to do would have been really nice, and I was looking forward to it a lot. I would have met up with my friend Aimee in Pennsylvania in early July, then drove cross-country with her, taking our time to see all the cool stuff in between the coasts that I only get to see from airplanes. This would have also let me see my brother's high school graduation, spend more time with my family and friends at home, and would have allowed at least one last visit to Boston. Now none of this will happen.

    I got some emails from my ol' buddies at "Malcolm In The Middle" this week, basically saying that the time Aimee and I were planning on coming out was too late, and that most of the jobs would be gone by then. This set a flurry of activity into action, and I think every show in Studio City must have gotten a voice mail from one of us. I managed to get in touch with people at "Grounded for Life," who asked for my resume, and a very nice lady at "Will & Grace," who I talked to for a little while and also sent my resume to. She encouraged me to check in next week to possibly set up an interview time, and the "Malcolm" people said that I'd get an interview later in June, too.

    So, while that is obviously wonderful news that I'm very excited about, I'm also more than a little upset about having to rush all my moving plans and forfeiting all the time I'd otherwise be able to spend with my friends ... not to mention the experience of driving across the county with Aimee, which I was really looking forward to. It makes it worse that these are all things I'll probably never get to do again, or at least not be able to do them for a long, long time.

    It also doesn't help that the people Aimee and I have called about subletting are taking their sweet time getting back to us, especially because Mikey and Lee might not be able to put us up anymore (and quite understandably so. No ill will here, if you're reading, guys), so I might end up just staying at a hotel for the first few days. Oh, and I also don't have a car yet. That's a problem. Thankfully, Aimee has set June 15th as her target arrival date, and will hopefully be avaliable to pick me up at the airport. Seeing that friendly face will be wonderful ... even if we don't have anywhere to sleep yet. And I won't be able to bring a lot of things to L.A. with me, including my good computer (goodbye for now, SimCity 4), my DVDs, etc. I'm gonna try to bring the GameCube, though.

    But oh well. That's about it. A sucky situation, to be sure, but also kind of nice in that Aimee and I might break the rule of Communications Majors not getting jobs right out of college. That'd be one for the record books, folks. And not to jinx it, but I have heard Fleetwood Mac on the radio a whopping 6 times in the past five days (For those of you who don't know, Sara invented the rule that hearing the Mac on the radio is good luck, and I have worked tirelessly to spread that superstition). The last song I heard was "Don't Stop," which was also the last song I listened to before walking out of my Boston apartment to the Commencement Ceremonies at B.U.

    God bless you, Christine McVie.
    posted at 8:46 AM

    Thursday, June 05, 2003

    The Shit Is Sliding Toward The Fan...

    In the past three days, things have been taking off at speeds I was not prepared to handle. Soon -- probably very soon -- I will be leaving for Los Angeles. I am also growing a beard.

    Updates may be sparse from here on out, but I'll try to write stuff down.

    Please keep your fingers crossed for me.
    posted at 8:31 PM