Come on, Come Out

OCTOBEROCTOBEROCTOBER!

The time has come again! My favorite month of the year is upon us and I'm thrilled. I've been trying to wear orange or other autumny colors every day, just to pretend like LA has seasons. I now realize that even Tucson has a little bit of a season change, even if it's just the lack of temperatures over 95 degrees.

Becca and I just got back from a trip to Trader Joe's. I made it a rule to only buy Fall inspired items: pumpkin puree, dried cranberries, fresh sunflowers, oatmeal, acorn squash, fresh crisp apples and spiced applesauce.

Luckily the weather decided to play along today, too. It's very chilly here and has been raining all day. Not a torrential downpour, just enough to give me reason to stay bundled inside all afternoon. I'll take any excuse to sit inside with a warm kitty and a cup of tea. I watched a couple episodes of Arrested Development and now I am debating popping in Bridget Jones' Diary. It might be one of those days. You know, eat ice cream, shake your spoon at the men (or lack thereof) in your life, and remember that despite your daily mishaps (which let's face it, never seem to cease or be less ridiculous), you're fine "just the way you are".

Work at the debt consolidation company has been interesting. We are transitioning between offices and it's been anything but smooth. I couldn't go into work on Monday because our phone lines were down. Obviously, me being a phone sales girl, I was out of luck. I took the morning to cruise over to Runyon Canyon. I'd never been over there and wanted to see what all the hubbub was about. It's a beautiful little escape from the hustle and bustle of LA, tucked into the Hollywood hills. When I Yelp'ed it to find the address I stumbled across many warnings about dog poop. They weren't kidding. Before my eyes could even see the entrance gate my nostrils were forcibly feasting on stinky smells. Yuck. Come on, LA residents. No one wants to smell your pooch poop. Be responsible.

I've been trying to make it a habit to talk with Alison on Mondays, as that's one of her days off in her very busy week. I hiked and panted up to the top, chatting all the while. It was a perfect little view of the sprawling Los Angeles cityscape. It might not be much but it's home. It was nice to talk with Alison, too. She always grounds me when I feel like I am floating off into silliness.

Afterwards I met up with Jackie and her sweet friend Chris for lunch and walking. We caught up over some homemade chicken soup then drove over to Ventura Boulevard to walk around in shops to look at things we couldn't afford. It's nice to pretend though. I browse around and try to imagine that I can buy anything and everything I could want or need. Not a bad thing to put into the Universe.

Monday night I was called into work at LUSH. My best LUSH buddy Hilda and I always end up working together and it's the best. We get along so well-- listening to Frank Sinatra, giving each other hand and arm massages by the door to bring in customers, and of course talking about the drama that neither of us actually have in our life. You know, girl stuff. After work we also arranged to get tickets for the KINGS vs. SHARKS hockey game at the end of November! Woo!

I know I know I know. I just said I wasn't going to spend any more money on sporting events. But she's a huge Kings fan and I am a Stage 1 Sharks fan and it's just necessary, okay? I'm super pumped about it.

I've been thinking a lot about picking up new hobbies. I need to broaden my social scene up here. I've got Bravo and Bang people to hang out with but I'm always looking for new social opportunities. I've been browsing around on Craigslist and the web in general trying to find intramural teams to join. After weeding through the creepy people looking for "activity partners", all that's really left are teams that say they're "non-competitive" and that all "types and sizes" should join... and then show a picture of said team, full of gender ambiguous women with bulging muscles and angry faces. Hmm. Perhaps not. I have also been looking at a Santa Monica women's rugby team. They look a couple less shades of scrappy, so maybe that's something. Or you know, if that doesn't work I can always join a book club.

Our office at my debt consolidation job has been a mess over the last couple of days. Yesterday we all got sent home early because some bonehead decided that he should spray epoxy all over the walls. We had to evacuate. Yours truly was of course on a sales call at the time, but being the trooper that I am, I tried to close the sale. I started to get a little woozy as person by person headed out the door behind me. Finally my friend Danielle tapped me on the shoulder to tell me to leave. It's a good thing she did, because I was apparently slurring my words and I actually had to pull up my sales script to read along with-- something I haven't needed since my second week working there. Everyone was super excited to leave. Everyone except me, who gets paid hourly while everyone else is on salary. (Shakes fist). Ah well. I got to go home and make a big yummy pasta dish and hang out with Becca.

Last night I made the short little drive over to Glendale to meet my new favorite family. Lorelei (Sabrina, my sketch class teacher's sister) and Darrin (Ezra's co-worker and brother-in-law... yes, they're all related, I don't know why I make things so complicated) invited me over to meet their adorably precocious 2 1/2 year old daughter, Julia. Folks, I don't know if I've met a nicer family. Julia and Lorelei made cookies for me when I walked in. And not just any kind of cookies...

OH. YEAH. I love those ready bake cookies. Who doesn't?

Within five minutes Julia and I went from handshake... to hug... to a kiss on the cheek. The girl moves fast. They gave me a tour of their sweet little home and then we went outside to enjoy the lovely weather in their backyard. After playing a couple of rounds of "Julia's-an-egg-and-I'm-a-nest-...-hatch-little-bird-and-fly-around-the-yard!", I headed home. Julia's pouty lip made an appearance and she was sad to see me go. I was sad to see me go, too, really. Here's to hoping I make the babysitter cut!

I stopped by the house to pick up Jimmy, then we were on our way to pick up Becca's brother, Jonny, from LAX. Jonny was out here a couple months ago to take a look at a film school Joey Travolta started for adults with autism. All of his paperwork finally went through and he started school today! He loves it already. He's going to be living with us for five months. It's like the Brady Bunch around here: Me, Becca, Jimmy, Jonny, and Frasier. A full house for sure, but we like it that way. (Just don't let my landlord know).

I've been busy writing my life away recently. I'm trying to write for at least an hour a day. I started my first opinion piece on Sunday and it's incredibly exciting. It's a clustercuss of thoughts at the moment but I'm hoping to whittle the excess away to find something interesting and cohesive. More on that later. I also wrote a sketch today for my All-Female Sketch Group rehearsal tonight at Bang. I had trouble thinking of something to write, and then remembered the old adage, "Write what you know". So guess what it's about? Yup, it's about a girl, sitting at a desk with a headset on, answering calls about consolidating payday loan debt. You wouldn't believe the material I've collected from working at that job, really. We'll see how it goes over.

You guys.

I just got a call for a job interview. My eyes may or may not have started watering. I'm not going to say anything as of yet, simply because I don't want to jinx myself. But I can say this much: it's a big deal. Her first question? "Tell me a little bit about your relationship with writing..." And of course she called me now-- while I am sitting here writing about writing. I was just thinking this morning about how much karma I've been racking up recently. I guess it's time for Ol' Jenny to start cashing in. Fingers crossed.

Happy beginning of October, everyone. Here's some of my favorite October jams to play you out.

Really-- kisses.

"Come on, Come Out" by A Fine Frenzy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY52MfkLWNQ&ob=av2n

"White Winter Hymnal" by Fleet Foxes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrQRS40OKNE&ob=av2e

"Winter Winds" by Mumford & Sons http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KCg_QEHtkY