Tuesday, July 8th - Rode down to New Orleans with my girl Lauren. She listened to this interesting podio-book called Heaven, which got nerdier and nerdier as it went on. I’ve got it on my iPod now and plan to listen through it soon.
Wednesday, July 9th - Prepared for the flight.
Thursday, July 10th - Got up at 4 am (New Orleans time), arrived at LAX at 9 am (Los Angeles time), and went looking for apartments. The sky was grey and we drove through bad traffic and bad neighborhoods, giving us a first impression of Los Angeles as the most terrible place on earth. We walked, drove, and searched all day with nothing promising coming up. Everyone felt their spirits about to splinter.
Friday, July 11th - Once again, the search was on. There was a pattern of joking and fighting as we rode through Los Angeles looking for good neighborhoods. Except we actually found the good neighborhoods. And Los Angeles stopped seeming so bad. The people were friendly when they weren’t driving, we could finally feel that shimmer of stardom eminating from Hollywood, and the prospect of living in this megalopolis presented us with hope. We filled out an application for an apartment, the first application yet, looked a little more and returned to the hotel.
Saturday, July 12th - The morning was spent freaking out about being able to find apartments in the time we had. It was true, time was running out, and we had only applied to one place. Then we got the call: The Apartment Manager accepted our application and invited us over to sign the lease. We rode over and signed the HELL out of that thing. Apartment done. Now on to banks, furnishings, and the little details.
Sunday, July 13th through Monday, July 14th - It’s all a bit of a blur now. Though we’ve found an apartment, there is no fun to be had, nor any celebration. We are back to work, meeting people, setting up checking accounts, looking for nearby stores, buying a bed and a few things that we’ll need when we finally move in. We eat at The Rainbow, the food is ok but Lauren grabs me a copy of the print version of The Onion, and I am happy.
Tuesday, July 15th - We take the stuff we’ve gotten and drop it off at the apartment. Then we look at other furniture, pass it up, get some giant deli sandwiches, and finally head to the airport. I haven’t mentioned it that much, but each day has improved my view of Los Angeles. By this point I am truly excited to be moving here. I’m ready to explore.
Wednesday, July 16th - I wake up at 7:30, despite getting off the plane at midnight prior, and get dropped off at the bus station where I ride from New Orleans to Shreveport over 8 hours of reading and listening to podcasts and music. I actually enjoy myself.
Thursday, July 17th - I get up, ready to meet with someone about a quick web job before I leave town. Then my car breaks down. Now I’ve got to figure this all out before I leave.
Back to work.
