Making It Happen

So, this first week of living in LA has been crazy. A lot has happened, and everything is piling up in my brain. 

Monday was Gabe's birthday. He got home from work around 6am. Lyndsey and I woke up and watched him open his presents and have a birthday drink. He went to sleep and we got ready. 

Our first adventure was finding coffee. Easy. I was a little heartbroken to find out that apparently it's high summer time in LA right now and Pumpkin Spice Latte will not be making an appearance quite yet. Bummer. One small con for California that will hopefully be removed ASAP (ahem, Starbucks). 

We went back to Gabe's, he got up to shower while we waited, hungrily. Lyndsey and I hadn't eaten since our stop at Wendy's for lunch after the Grand Canyon the day before. We were too tired the night before to make or go buy some food, and we were edging on 24 hours with nothing but liquids in our stomachs. 

We had brunch at Blu Jam Cafe, a restaurant on Melrose that Gabe has been wanting to go to for a while. There was an hour wait to seat three, so we had a drink at a nearby bar that was just opening its doors. 

Brunch was super delicious. I had a California Omelette which, of course, had plenty of avocado, tomato, bacon and sour cream. So, so, so amazing. I wish I had room for the whole thing.

Yummy brunch...with mimosas, of course. 

We went back to Gabe's so he could get some rest before heading into work at 4. Lyndsey and I were couch potatoes for a while, and then it was time for me to take her to meet up with her step sister who lives a little south of LA by the beach. It was bittersweet saying goodbye to Lyndsey. We had just taken a cross country tip together, and I could have never done it without her, for real. Her leaving meant it was time for me to start my new life, but I do wish she could have stayed longer. 

I can honestly not remember what I did on Tuesday, so I'm skipping it. Probably a lot of catching up on sleep and Melrose Place. idk

Wednesday was a big day for me. I had two interviews lined up and was ready to get a jump start on figuring out what the hell I was going to do out here. 

10am I had a meeting downtown with the media company with the executive assistant position I have been interviewing for the last two weeks. Yep, this was interview/meeting/chat #7 for the job. 

I met at their downtown office/loft. It was ultra modern and a really awesome-looking space, complete with a pool. The CEO and I had a good, long, earnest talk about me and the other candidate he was considering. So, it came down to him not being able t make a decision, yet, and he was giving himself til Wednesday night to make a decision. I hoped I had made a good impression, but honestly, at that point, I didn't know what else he wanted to hear from me. I was getting a little tired of playing the waiting game. 

I went back home, ate lunch and napped, then put on another interview outfit and headed over to Santa Monica. My next interview was for a front desk position at a boutique hotel. The interview went well, but afterwards, I was pretty certain it wasn't the job for me. However, I was going to be open-minded, and I definitely wasn't going to say no if they offered me the position. 

I got home just in time to see Gabe leave for work. I settled in on the couch and impatiently watched the phone and checked my email. 

A skype session with my parents was a solid distraction, and I even got to talk to my dog. He didn't have much to say, but his head tilts were enough to almost bring tears to my eyes. 

A while later, I'm talking nearly 9:00 at night, I finally get the call I'm waiting for. 

I GOT THE JOB! 

I still can't believe I'm actually making this happen. I never imagined it to happen this fast. I'm still getting used to the fact that I'm actually here and not going back to St. Louis in a week. 

Thursday was already set to be a day of celebrating. Gabe had a day (night) off, so he planned to have his birthday celebration. I was in town and made it safely, and now I had a job. Things were happening. 

Gabe got home and slept until 11 or so. Our first stop for the day was Floyd's to get our hairs cut. Really, I just was along for the ride, but my bangs were poking me in the eyes, so I took advantage of the situation and had them cleaned up. 

After that, we hit up the Beverly Center for some shopping. I have been wanting to get some new clothes for a while now, but I made a pact with myself that I wouldn't buy anything unless I had a job. Well, now I did - bring on the retail!

We finally got back home around 6. I jumped in the shower and got ready while Gabe took a catnap. We were headed to dinner and then out for the night. 

We called a cab as soon as we were ready and headed to Los Feliz. Our night started out at Palermo, our favorite restaurant (so far). Every time I have come out here, we had a dinner here. It's a family-run Italian restaurant that is pretty much the equivalent of every cheesy, stereotypical Italian restaurant in a movie. And we love it. The portions are too big, but the food is great and the atmosphere is even better. 

After stuffing ourselves on pasta and Italian beers, we headed down the street to the Dresden Room. Psych! As we approached the door, a kind valet notified us that the Dresden had some plumbing issues or something on Monday, was under construction and would reopen the following Monday. Of course, the one week we want to go, it's closed. 

So, we headed down the street to the Rockwell. There was some kind of tribute musical show going on inside for some famous composer of film scores or something. We headed to the back patio. It obviously wasn't in the plans, but it was still a fun place.

The only pic of the night. At the Rockwell, enjoying the celebration.

Gabe's friends started to trickle in. We had lots of drinks and some shots, and it was a pretty good time. After a couple hours, though, we were ready to move on to our next spot.

Side note: My first celeb sighting as an LA resident! Laura Prepon from That 70s Show was at the Rockwell. There weren't too many people out, so it was easy to spot her. I didn't really believe it was her until we were outside. She was sitting down the bench from us smoking, and I overheard her talking. There is no mistaking that voice. 

Our final stop of the night was the Korean Karaoke joint nearby. When we headed over, though, they weren't quite open, yet, so we went to Public House for a couple more drinks while we waited. 

A couple beers and a shot or two later, we were ready for the finale of the night. Gabe has taken me to this karaoke place before, and its pretty great. They serve food and drinks all night and into the wee hours of the morning. After a certain time, whenever it's past the legal serving time, they come around and pour all of your drinks into plastic cups like the ones you get soda in at Pizza Hut. We drank out of our unmarked cups and sang bad karaoke until around 3am. By that time, I was donezo. We took a cab home and passed out.

That brings us to today, Friday. It has been pretty much a wash of a day. We slept our hangovers off for most of the day. Now I'm working on cleaning up this place from our drunken aftermath and continuing my Melrose Place addiction. 

Work starts on Monday at 9am so I think it will be a pretty relaxing weekend for me. Hopefully. :)