Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Strike A Pose

Story time! Gather round blogsters...

Most of the entries in this blog so far have been about moments within the three years of me moving here. Not something that happened this past week or the day before. However, that's exactly what today's entry will be about. It all started last week.

I'm currently freelance and waiting for my next gig to begin. I'm a little short on money so every now and then I glance over craigslist to see if there's any fun ways to make money that's not a long term commitment. Last week I stumbled across an ad for a model. Now I'm not a model in any sense of the word. Let's face it, I'm 5'3 with shoes on so I'm not going to be walking down a runway any time soon. But in the spirit of trying out fun stuff I applied. It wasn't for anything glamorous. In fact it's probably the opposite, it was a modeling gig for invisalign. For those that don't know invisalign is a retainer type item that straightens out your teeth. I had braces when I was in middle school but one of my teeth on the bottom is slightly crooked and it bothers me a little. So I pressed send on my application not thinking much of it. Until my phone rang twenty minutes later... It was a woman asking if I could come in for an "audition". I said yes right away and hung up.

Yesterday, was the big day! I drove all the way to Beverly Hills, drove in circles looking for parking and finally ended up at the cosmetic dentistry office. Now being in Beverly Hills alone makes me feel superficial but walking into a cosmetic dentistry office. I already knew this one was a point for the LA team. Signing up to be a model? In Beverly Hills? For cosmetic dentistry? That's a step away from plastic surgery. All these thoughts started flitting through my brain as I sat in the waiting room.

Finally a "dentist"? comes out and brings me inside. He determines that I would be great for the modeling gig but that I still have to pay for the treatment. He claims it was discounted about a $1000 but it was still way more than I could afford (which is basically nothing). I asked if I could think about it and quickly slinked out the door.

Walking back to my car I started to feel slightly stupid. This was supposed to be something fun but I really thought I would be able to at least get free treatment. Even worse, it was free treatment to make myself look better. Shouldn't I already feel great about myself? And I do. I guess that's why I walked away but I still think I might have done it if i had the money.

Right when I was determined that I leaning towards the california girl vibe a car drove by me. In the back seat was legend Betty White. I got so excited. I had episodes of Mary Tyler Moore on tape when I was little not to mention the Golden Girls and countless other classics. It's hard to rile me up about a celebrity but I was genuinely giddy about this one. And that made me realize this blog should continue. I still haven't figured out if I've become that full blown Los Angeles girl. Betty made me realize my east coast roots are still in there somewhere but this entry's point goes to the west coast. Making the score...

East Coast Fan: 2
West Coast Model: 3

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Walk This Way

When I first got to Los Angeles I had come straight from living in Boston for college. Boston is probably the largest walking city in the United States and I had just landed in the probably the largest driving city in the United States. In Boston, I would literally walk at least 15 minutes to school every day and that was to the closest building. There were days when I would have to walk half an hour there and back just to get to class. And before that I grew up in a small suburb where walking and bike riding make perfect sense. So moving here was quite a shock.

At my second job here they would send me on coffee runs. Typical LA type errand for a assistant level. The closest coffee shop was in the mall that was only .6 miles from our office. I decided that I would just walk there and back. It would take about the same time it would have taken me to drive there, park, walk into the mall, find my car and drive back. Everyone would be amazed that I would walk and that their coffee could still be hot.

"Wait, you walked there and back?"

"Yup."

"With our coffee?"

"Yup."

I was the weirdo but I didn't mind. I was proud of myself and I liked getting out of the office and out of my car. I walked everywhere I could during that job. Not just coffee runs but anywhere I was sent. Cigarette run, lunch run, cupcake run... they all were in walking distance so why wouldn't I just walk there? Then one day everything changed.

I was walking from my office to go pick up some lunch for myself and my boss. I was crossing the street in a cross walk when a car that was turning right decided that I must a figment of their imagination since nobody walks in LA. They proceeded to turn INTO me. Luckily, I wasn't hurt. I had one little bruise on my leg where the car made contact but that driver did do some damage to me that day. He made me hate walking in this city.

Today I will walk if I have to. However, I find myself looking for parking as close as possible. I hate to walk anywhere alone. And when my boyfriend suggests we walk to the grocery store that's only .5 miles from our house I cringe and say no thanks. Even though that's .1 mile closer than it was to get that coffee. That driver may have not done any permanent physical damage but he did drive me towards becoming an LA girl. One point goes to the westside and the tally is:

WALK OF SHAME: 2
DRIVING MISS DAISY: 2