Today. New pimple, apartment hunting, and Stop Interrupting!

Aren't we supposed to stop breaking out after high school?
I have a new pimple on the side of my mouth. The down side to this spot is that it hurts whenever it gets wiped with a napkin, or touches the side of a glass while sipping. Who knew the side of your mouth gets touched that often?
* * * * *
Okay, there's one thing in Hollywood that I like. Ah, live music. Sad when it takes you ages to remember the last time you had fun. Oh, working stiffs. Hollywood, 1. Not Hollywood, 100.

So I've joined the apartment-hunting club. Or the, I need-to-look-at-places-because-I'll be-homeless-in-five-minutes club.

I killed a roach last night.
It felt like a sign. Maybe it's God saying, "Yeah, you know what? You really should move. It's time - get on the stick!"
It's the whole poverty stricken stigma of finding a bug in your apartment. I wonder how many roaches the one that I've seen is representative of, the ones unseen behind our furniture and walls. I think I've killed at least a handful of spiders in the past year, and I've seen enough cobwebs to deck out the late Aaron Spelling's place in October.

Stop Interrupting!
I hate it when I find myself interrupting someone. Sure, you get bored hearing someone drone on or talk without letting others get a moment edgewise. But it's just so rude. It's the slightest but completely infuriating thing when someone ELSE interrupts YOU. Because when you interrupt someone, this is what you're really saying:
"'I believe what I am saying is more important than what you are saying.' And I can't find another way to see that than: 'I believe that I am more important than you.' And that must end." [Eat, Pray, Love]
So true, Liz Gilbert, so true.

COTW

the Christian Bale-looking guy at my neighborhood gym in Studio City.

tall, dark and handsome guys that came out of hiding at a certain Hotel Cafe show! Seriously, where have you been all this time?

Signs

There are certain events in life that stand out to me - things that remind me of the fact that I have very little power in this world, but someone up there hasn't forgotten about me. Sure, faith is personal, and I don't know if most people's beliefs in atheism, the supernatural, or modern world religions come into play, but for me, nothing happens in complete futility.

The specifics

Hot water pressure: the hot water pressure problem has been plaguing my roommate and I ever since we moved into our apartment. Nonexistent hot water pressure - resulting in more of a trickle-down effect of water in the shower, which sometimes isn't even that hot. Also, the water takes a couple minutes to warm up - shower, sink, and kitchen.

I killed a spider in my room. It was on my bed.

Our evil neighbors blocked my car in this morning and left a scratch on my bumper.

Our evil neighbors.

There is no heat in our bedrooms.

Any parking ticket issued in the greater Los Angeles area.

Paying for parking anywhere.
Alright, I'm noticing that this is becoming more of a list of cons about L.A., so let me return the focus to more relevant events.

The ongoing strike. This goes hand-in-hand with...

The neverending job search in this industry.

Temping gigs are also super-quiet these days.

There's no love in LA. Anyone else notice the heavy marketing efforts of Singles Awareness Day?

What's a struggling assistant, I mean temp, to think, say, do? It's been a tumultuous ride these past several months. I have gained a level of understanding with other friends that have experienced extended searches for jobs (six months to a year or longer). All of these educated, intelligent, well-spoken adults with plenty of ambition and maturity, yet they're in the job market for months. I think it's a miracle that anyone survives the months of self-deprecation, disappointment, and debt.
So I'm wondering if it's not the time for me. All these things add up and my heightened awareness of these signs are what trouble me of late. There's only so much a struggling assistant can take. Either my west coast experience is ending and I should take heed of another calling, or I should stick, and keep on keepin' on.
Ah, decisions. Don't you love those character-building years of your twenties?

Besides, those $3.50 designer cupcakes won't pay for themselves. (Sidenote: I wonder what the typical assistant salary affords in Los Angeles and how this lifestyle survives, on average. More on this later.)

COTW

Malibu con piña. Ok, anything with Malibu.

That guy at my neighborhood gym who looks kind of like Dane Cook. Except with an earring and tattooed.

People who treat you for stuff without you mentioning the fact that you're unemployed.

On the bright side

Reruns of Seinfeld.

Catching up on season three's eps of Veronica Mars. I'm still hurt, CW.

Finally got around to reading a few books I've been putting off.

Thank God for television, Blockbuster Online, and my roommate's kind offer to use her laptop.

Trader Joe's. Cheese plates and all.

More nights at the salsa club. Hopefully there will be more marketable twentysomething gentlemen there. Whom also love Jason Mraz, dark chocolate, and skiing. To start.