Moving Day

Well tomorrow I pack up the kitties and all of my delicate items (models, computer, stereo) that I don’t want on the moving truck and make the journey up north to San Jose. Then I’ll leave the car at my parents house and take the train back down to LA on Sunday. I won a  free Amtrak ticket, and I want to use it up before it expires in April. Monday I’ll get the rental van , load up, close the Apartment up and, after over 8 years of residence, leave this place forever. The kitties will be watched by my Brother Jim, and they’ll have the smoothest transfer that I can possibly give them.

I’ll be out of computer reach for about a week. Until then…

 

Happy trails to you all.

Rich

Friday, March 27, 2009

Van Nuys, California

gymporn in the morning

So now that I have 16 hours a day of spare time, I’ve discovered the following:

#1. There’s still not enough time to get things done. (See last item in #4)

#2. Naps are the new daily necessity.

#3 There are a lot of children in LA who DO NOT attend school.

#4 Without the PAID downtime at work, when I have to be in front of a computer, I find myself online much MUCH less. I’m getting a bit detached from the online world, and my political website lurking is suffering tremendously. Maybe that’s why my mood has been so chipper, lately. Conversly, my online porn collection has exploded. 

#5 The gym in the late morning/early afternoon hours is HOT HOT HOT HOT!!!

As you may or may not know, Here in the San Fernando Valley, It’s ground zero for the US pornographic industry, and my gym in the Sherman Oaks Galleria is a focus point for them all. And they all seem to have the mornings free for workouts. Along with all of the between-jobs stuntmen, actors and crewmen. Lord almighty, it’s a distraction. One of the benefits is that I’m definitely spending more time in the gym. That Matthew Rush is a dog with Pat Benatar lips, but his boyfriend is God incarnate. I’ll miss this place when I move up north next week.   

Shoes, interrupted

Encino, California 1:45pm 3/6/09

It was my last emotional day of work, and I was stepping outside to smoke. There’ s a film crew and actors standing around in really incongruous flashy, New Yorky business clothes. I light up, in my usual, everyday spot. The director yells CUT!!! CUUUUUUUT! The first A.D. says to me, in a most assholish, condescending tone “Hey Sir? Can I invite you to have your smoke over there (indicates the bushes) so as you don’t show up in my Movie please?”

“Doesn’t look like much of a movie to me” I say. After all, I’m now unemployed, and therefore care about nothing in this town, least of all some dumbshit nobody hollywood self stuck-on moron.

The rent-a cop on his cycle snaps his helmeted head in my direction. I back down, grumbling into my Marlboro.Ends up that it was just some dumb commercial for Brooks shoes that I’ll probably see some bored out of my skull afternoon six weeks from my last unemployment check just as I’m about to open a vein.

Figures.

I’m finally leaving this dumb town forever and I can’t keep out of the picture business.

CUT!

PRINT!

From here to Eternity…

 

Well, it’s happened to me.

 I am now officially a statisic of this horrible recession.

I was told on Thursday last that Friday would be my last day. Three people were laid off, and everyone else took 30% pay cuts and must pay for half of their own healthcare insurance – about $75.00 per check.

My employer was terribly sorry to be unable to give me a severance of any kind.

….

My employer was terribly sorry to be unable to give me a severance of any kind.

 

 unable     to      give     me     a       severance      OF     ANY   KIND.

Friday was among the most devastating emotionally of my career.I will miss those people terribly. I worked alongside them all for almost 8 years. We were family. I still get shaky when I think that I most likely will never see most of them again. You see, I have no choice but to return, in the next three weeks, back home to San Jose.

San Jose. To live with my parents. I have not lived “at home” since Ronald Reagan was running for re-election. But the choices I have are as follows: Stay here in LA and take the $450.00 per week unemployement and lose my apartment, move in with a roommate, barely scrape by, if at all, and screw up my perfect credit rating.  I can’t deal with the idea of this great unknown economic situation living so precariously. Living at home, for what is inevitably going to be a very, VERY long unemployment will position me better later after conditions change. I will have pereserved my credit rating, paid down debt, and saved for an eventual move.   It helps greatly that they live in a 4000 sq foot house. We won’t be living on top of each other.  But if you’ve read my blog, you know it’s going to be bumpy. I’m a professional and will treat them professionally. I have to. It’s my job for survival. At least for a few months. I’ll be away a lot anyway. It’ll work out. It has to. They are looking very much forward to my coming home, and they are going to enjoy the kitties (and vice versa). Also, it will be great to be closer to my Brothers and Sisters, who I’ve missed so much these past nine years.

It’s going to be a long, strange trip. I can’t describe how weird it is to me to be looking down a long period of unemployement. I’ve been working steadily, year in, year out since I graduated High School in 1982. 1982!!…until now…consistent full time work, with no more than 2 weeks off at a time.

And now…..

 

Nothing.

 

 

Indefinitely.

 

 

Free time.

 

god help me.

Now go back to the top and read the first three questions of the unemployment questionnaire.

I answered all three questions thusly:

#1 – NO,  I have not worked in any State other than Cali in the last 18 months. So far so good.

#2 - No, I have not filed for unemployment, in Cali or anywhere in the last 12 months.

and finally..

#3 YES, my employer (well…former employer) gave me an unempolyment form.

This answer caused it to default, and it instructed me to call the unemployment office for special handling. Problem is, in a catch-22 way, there is no way from now till republicans gain analytical thinking abilities to ever get through to the office.Never.Ain’t gonna happen.The recording on the 800 number says so.

 ”There are too many holding calls to take your call today or ever again so please use the online claim form goodbye click.”

So what the fuck do you do if the online form tells you to call the office and the office robophone tells you to fuck off and use the online form?

You pull your hair out (or beard, as the case may be), curse the government, and google for help. Turns out, after a little searching and much aggravation, that I found a nice social worker in Pacoima who told me that question #3 is a huge bottleneck because what it doesn’t say is that it’s only concerned if a railroad employee or construction worker got the unemployment slip. Evidently, that somehow produces a condition which is seven diffferent  kinds of fucked up and requires the assitance of a moron who will be too busy to help you till August 31st, 2629.

For everyone else on the planet, the answer should be “NO” …but who would get that? Is it JUST ME? AM *I* THE CRAZY ONE???

…Or is this just another example of Catch – 22 government at its best?

Lordy, I can’t wait for more.