adventures in amy-land

Continuing my move-in/first month in California saga…..

After about three weeks of being in California, I was finally able to meet up with a friend/acquaintance I have known for a few years through the industry I work in. He is an individual I have a great amount of professional respect for, I appreciate his work ethic, ambition, and found on our evening out that I am absolutely intrigued to know more. The way he views the world is different from anyone I have ever met, and refreshing at that. We had an amazing meal on the pier in San Clemente at a restaurant called Fisherman’s, and some of the most stimulating conversation I’ve had in a long time. Four to five hours felt like an hour, and hopefully we will be able to meet up again sometime soon (due to work obligations and geography, it’s not always easy to find a convenient time).

I am starting out with this to share some of the great things that have happened since I’ve moved to California and to prove there are reasonably normal people out here before I start in on the next chapter…..

Searching for a roommate on Craigslist (this is where, if my life were a movie, the duh-na-na-na-na-nuh music begins and rises to its crescendo toward the end of the story, (which will probably have to be a two part blog, believe me it’s worth it)).

So after a few weeks getting settled, I placed a roommate wanted ad on Craigslist. It basically consisted of “I’m a 32 year old female, new to the area, great house, garage, yard, etc….

I got a few bites, one of the first ones was a guy named Don, he said he was a computer analyst, originally from Oceanside, didn’t know many people in the area either, and all the people he knew were in Irvine, L.A. and San Diego, he doesn’t drink, smoke, etc…

Sounds good, right? So we set up a time to meet and for him to view the house. When I opened the door I’m sure my eyes popped out of my head because an 8′7″ black guy was standing there (actually he later told me he was really 6′5″ or 6′6″, but me being a whopping 5′2″, white chick form Colorado, let’s just say anything over 6′1″ is Mount Rushmore to me). I have a cousin who’s 6′7″ and every time I see him I can’t believe how frigid tall he is. Anyway, Don came in checked out the place, my dog loved him, and we chatted for a while about his job, how he’s trying to start his own clothing line, and that he spends a lot of time on the computer working with graphics, went to college in San Diego, and had lost his house in the subprime crash, and was now thinking about maybe doing the roommate thing to save some cash so he could look at buying a house in a year or so.

Great! I was planning on waiting a year or so before looking at buying out here too. I told him about the company I work for and what we do, my family’s business that started out as the only music store in a small town in Colorado in the mid 80s and how it mutated over the years into an electronics retail and custom a/v business. He then went on to tell me that his uncles managed the Whiskey, The Roxy, The Rainbow Room and They Key Club on Sunset in L.A. (in retrospect I am wondering how they ran all four of these places, but I suppose it’s possible). He told me he goes up to Hollywood just about every weekend and since I was new and had never been to Hollywood, he invited me to go along the following weekend. At the time, I wasn’t sure if I actually would, just because going to L.A. with a guy I didn’t know by myself seemed like a potentially risky situation. He took an application and left, and I thought he seemed like he would be a good roommate. Toward the end of the week, I called him to see if he had the application completed, and said that I was maybe interested in checking out Hollywood if the offer was still open. My reasoning was, he seemed like a nice guy, had a good job, educated, my dog loved him and I didn’t get any scuzzy-guy vibe from him, and it would be a good way to get to know the guy a little better if he was going to be living with me. We made plans for Friday, and he said he’d pick me up between 10 and 10:30 since nothing really started happening until 11 or so anyway.

So I got ready for my “big night” out on the town, Around 10, I got a call from Don stating that nothing was going on until Saturday night (no good shows or anything), and could we put it off until then. GRRRRRRRRRR! A call an hour or so earlier would have been nice. He asked if I wanted to hang out and play Rock Band (yes folks, I actually broke down and bought a PS3!!!!!!! I have not been a fan of video games since I was 12 or 13, but I finally got my first “You Rock” playing Guitar Hero at a friends’ house–after being booed offstage many times–and I was hooked. Sure I might be able to rock a retirement home, but hey, I’ll take what I can get). I said yes, because I hadn’t “rocked” since I moved and figured it sounded like fun. We had some serious Rock Band parties and I was missing playing with the Babbling War Bears (this is the name the game chose for our band).

Actually I know I am digressing, but is anyone else reading addicted to this game or Guitar Hero? Seriously it’s so much fun but I can’t believe what a geek I feel like. The first weekend I got it, I think I sat in front of the damn TV until 5 am drinking a whole bottle of wine and “rocking”. And I’m sure after the second or third glass of wine I was doing anything but rocking! I had to leave the guitar and pick up the microphone due to loss of eye hand coordination, which I am challenged with in general. And I heard that recently Motley Crue released a new album that is only available on either Rock Band or Guitar Hero!!!! No iTunes, Amazon.com or your local record store. It’s a new phenomenon folks, and I gotta admit I am part of the craze.

Don came over and we played Rock Band for maybe 45 minutes before I got tired and figured it was time for him to leave and me to get some z’s.

With that, I will leave you all hanging for the Hollywood adventure and “Indecent Proposal” part deux. And the next blog is one I promise you won’t want to miss (I had a stand up comedian, another potential roommate; ask if he could use it in his stand up).

Make Good Memories!

Amy.

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