Say Goodbye to Hollywood

I was furious, devastated and confused when I lost my job at National Cinemedia.  I knew I would have to get a job right away, so I applied at catering companies and Target.  I started considering my options.  A good buddy of mine took me to see improv in Hollywood and one of the acts didn't show up, so we had a half an hour to talk.  He asked me what I was going to do and I laid out all of my options.  He turned to me and said "look, the way I see it, you can work your ass off to make your rent at a job where you aren't going to get anywhere and then move in October.  2. You can sell all of your stuff and move in with 5 roommates.  3. You can go back home, take some time to figure out what you want, but not have to pay rent while you're doing it.  Which sounds most reasonable?"  The next day, I told my apartment I would be moving out early.  I hated LA while I was here.  I was miserable almost immediately.  So why am I sad?

I was putting it off....I didn't want to admit defeat.  I waited to pack until the last week and have made most of my arrangements in the last week.  I will conclude this blog with the end, the final trip back to my childhood.  It might be sad to read for some because I am going to talk a little bit about my emotions as I travel.  Everyone keeps asking me if I'm excited to go back.  Well, truth is, not really.  I'm leaving the independence of living alone which I've done for 3 years to dive right back in to having to answer to someone else.  I'm not moving to a new city to pursue an awesome job.  I'm moving back to my old bedroom down the hall from mom and dad, on my old street, to work as a waitress.  It is only temporary though.  I'm looking to be out by January, so we'll see where the road goes next!

Unfortunately, I don't feel that happy optimism yet.  I'll get there, but for tonight, I need to feel sad about leaving Los Angeles.  "But Diana!  You hated LA.  What could possibly make you sad?"  Well, the weather for one.  Perfect almost year round.  Seeing snow capped mountains, desert, ocean, all within a 1 hour radius.  Anticipating the next earthquake.  The few friends that I made out here.  The opportunities.  It's like gambling....I lose one job and maybe the next will come in the form of working for Disney, or Paramount, or...secretly getting excited when I see a celebrity, or get invited to a movie premiere or when the road is closed because of a movie shooting.  Getting to the point where that doesn't phase you anymore.  

Julia got here yesterday and I set her up right away.  We went to Santee Alley in the Fashion District downtown.  She got some sunglasses and I just looked for shoes, but didn't buy any.  From there, we went to the Farmer's Market and the Grove and had a late lunch/early dinner.  At this point, Julia was falling asleep, but I made her stay up longer.  

She was plum tuckered out!

I was getting a headache, so we ran back to my apartment so I could grab some advil.  From there, I wanted to take her to the Griffith Observatory to see the sunset.  Unfortunately, by the time we got up there, the parking lot was closed and it's a steep climb so we didn't go.  Instead, we took a drive through Hollywood where Julia saw a movie premiere.  On our way home, we stopped at Home Depot to get 1 more box and I told Julia exactly what I would do with her if she didn't behave!

Send her home!

We then saw a sign for Yogurtland!  We stopped and had a late dinner/snack.  Got home and Julia was out like a light at 9:30.  I stayed up to pack a little more and get some laundry done.

This morning, we woke up and spent most of the day doing moving stuff.  

My Poor Empty Apartment

Tonight was a last hurrah with my friend Angelus.  We picked him up at work and got pizza to eat outside at his house.  Last minute, we decided to go up to the Hollywood Sign so Julia could get some pictures.  We were goofing around, just being silly…

 Me, A, Jule with the sign in the background

A and Jule Being Ghetto

A and Me

From there, we booked it to Griffith Observatory where we discussed the nuances of being from Los Angeles.  Angelus and I were both freezing in long sleeves and pants and apparently Julia was warm.  We saw an amazing sunset:

Did some more goofing around:

And some deep thinking: 

And showed Julia LA wildlife:

She seriously locked her door, as if the fox would come to her side of the car, 

open the door, and pull her out of the car to kidnap her.

Funny story about the fox.  We saw it while we were driving.  I pulled over to get a picture.  Angelus thought he knew what the fox wanted and pulled a powdered sugar donut from a bag in the back and tried to throw it from his location in the back passenger seat out the driver's side window.  It landed between my shoulder and the seat, and the powdered sugar got everywhere!

We capped out the night by going to Yogurtland again.  Yum!  Although it was a fun night, it was bittersweet.  But it was definitely the perfect ending to my LA experience and I'm so happy that I had super fun people to share it with.

PS.  I haven't blogged about my trip to San Diego yet.  Been too busy!  It might be out of order, but I will soon!