Friday, December 30, 2016

Tour of Catalina Island

South African Taxi minibus
Mini South African Taxi? 
After our adrenaline rush, we went for more sightseeing around Catalina Island. There's a museum along the bay. I sucked it up and walked there. You know me, I don't walk! I wanted to see the Marilyn Monroe Exhibit.

        [By the way, I added a FORUM (discussion page) on the home page. Please check it out and let's chat about whatever's on your mind. Here's the link to it. Thanks]

Thursday, December 22, 2016

Friday, December 09, 2016

Catalina Island

Just before we headed out to the mall , Maggie, Calv's mom, called Calvin and gave him gifts for me for my birthday. I was pleasantly surprised and touched. I definitely didn't expect anything from her. Let's face it, I only met her two weeks prior.

Birthday presents from Mm-In-Law

Sunday, December 04, 2016

Don't Give Me Problems, Give Me Solutions!

It's April 9th; day before my birthday. I'm at Calv's for the weekend. We had planned to go to Catalina Island. To go there, from LA, you take the ferry from Long Beach. If it's your birthday, free ride on the ferry, to and fro. Regardless of when you will be back. We were going to stay overnight and camp out there. I was looking forward to it. I had never been and had always wanted to go. Saturday morning, I was doing laundry and tidying up the house, the usual things you do on a Saturday morning. I couldn't tell you what started it but Calvin went nuts on me! Lent crazy!

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Lent

For lent, Calvin gave up all things 'fun', including drinking. He kept telling me, before lent, that he didn't know how he was going to cope without his vices because people are full of sh*t out there. As someone who doesn't take/do any of the things he was about to give up, I would encourage him and tell him he would make it. It was only going to be for forty days, after all; not his entire life. He was really psyching himself up. I had never seen that side of him before. I began to wonder how much he was dependent on this 'stuff' on his day to day life. Of course, I didn't want to ask, but I had to wonder! Lent came and, on day one, I was at my place. I received a call from Calvin telling me that he was struggling.

Monday, November 28, 2016

After Tears

After the funeral, Calvin and his friends went back to the caterers and asked for more cheese to take home for some wine and cheese type situation slash after tears! One of the ladies was shamelessly flirting with one of Calvin's friends, so we sent Calv with that friend to get us cheese lol. Apparently, the ladies wouldn't budge but......
Just some of the Cheese

The Funeral

From one Final Good-bye to another! It's April fool's day and the irony of it all is that I'm sure we all wished it were a joke and it wasn't. It was Jim's funeral. I had hardly unpacked as you know that he passed away while I was moving in with Calvin. April's my birth month. Thankfully, the funeral wasn't on my birthday! Can you imagine? I had to find some decent clothes to wear as most of my clothes were still in suitcases.

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

The Final Good-Bye

Stuffed Mushroom. 
The last thing Jim, Calvin's dad cooked for us. Pretty right? It tastes just as delicious. We definitely lost a great cook!

Sunday, November 13, 2016

The Real

Yup! I'm at The Real!
The Real is tapes at Warner Brothers, Burbank. This is the dress I bought last minute at Ross because I was at my boyfriend's when they booked me for The Real. If I were at my place, I probably would have worn different shoes with this dress. In fact, I would have worn a different dress. I have one similar to this, so. You may not see the entire dress in the link, but they're pretty much made out of the same material and all.. They have a bunch of hashtags for you to choose from in the waiting area. There was a long line just to take pictures because some people wanted to take pictures with all the hashtags. I get it though. They were excited. Some of them, would probably never get the chance to go to the show again. They may be vacationing in LA.

Mt Baldy Ski Lifts

At Mt Baldy Ski Lifts
It was cold as heck. It's on top of the mountain, and it was snowing up there that day. It's beautiful and in the middle of nowhere. I had Calvin's Jacket on here. We went on one of the rides, here are more pictures from that trip...

Thursday, November 03, 2016

Lego Land

This reminds me of back home in the farm in Uitenhage. We had tons of prickly pear trees
The photo was taken in a Botanical Gardens in Palos Verdes. They had a Lego exhibition.

Wednesday, November 02, 2016

Desert Trip

Still in the process of moving out from my old place in Beverly Hills. Jim's funeral  was to be in a couple of weekends or so while they were making arrangements and family from out of town was making plans to come to LA. I was secretly glad that Jim's body was still in town, so to speak. Calvin was going to move me. I hated having him do that as he was going through a lot what with his dad's passing but I needed to move and month end was around the corner! The dude who was renting my living room was no longer there, so it was going to be smooth sailing to get out of my old place.

Friday, October 28, 2016

Tree Trimming

Going 'home', to Calvin's house after spending the night at the hospital; we were all so pooped. Calvin had a tree trimming job that afternoon. His brother, who usually works for him, wasn't up to it that day. Calvin said, it was really a one man job, he just wanted someone there to make sure he's OK. He didn't know if he was in decent shape to be working, especially with dangerous tools with everything that was going on around him. I offered to go along.

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Rest In Peace, Jim!

The night we slept over at the hospital, Maggie, Cal's mom, made more phone calls while from home and established that the uncle who they were going to wait for before turning off the machine, wasn't going to make it that night. He was the only reason Jim was still in ICU and not in the other place! I can't get myself to say it / write it! When I found out that about the uncle, I felt a weird feeling pierce through my body! That meant one thing: that it was time! Time to say good-bye to Jimmy :(

Monday, October 17, 2016

Hospital Sleepover

Towards the end of the gut-wrenching day we had what with Jimmy being on life support; Calvin suggested his mom, Maggie go home. She had been at the hospital since the previous night and Calvin thought that she would be able to get a lot done from the house, like contacting people etc. And the woman needed some sleep!

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Life Support

Calvin offered to haul my furniture with his truck. Thanks Boo! This is the first time in my entire life I have ever had help moving, and you know I'm always moving some place! Not only that, but to have my man help me was such a cherry on top! Calvin was only going to be available to move me at a weekend. That meant, I only had one of two weekends to do so! I must say, it was also nice to move out knowing where I was moving to because, if you've been following my story, I hardly ever know where I was going to live next.

Window Shopping

It was getting closer to time to move out! Management arranged for someone to do inspection in my apartment. I wasn't very worried because I took very good care of the place. I even would wipe the walls every now and then etc. My main concern was the broken window.

Tuesday, October 04, 2016

Moving On Up!

The rest of February came and went, no check from my boss of one day! I had still been in constant communication with him. I could have let it go but not after the hell I had gone through in that job after they didn't even warn me about the real problem I was going to be dealing with! 

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

There's a Stranger in My Bed!

After the Awkward Valentine's Day, life went back to normal. As normal as normal can be. Having quit my new job, I was still waiting for my check (or cheque) in the mail. It was a no show. I texted and called the guy on the phone. Whenever I talked to him, he was so promising but the check wouldn't come!

Monday, September 12, 2016

Valentine's Day or Bust?

Valentine's day weekend, I went over to Calvin's as usual. The night before Valentine's, Calvin's friend and her friend met us in a Spanish restaurant. We had delicious dinner and conversation. It was my first time meeting the friend. She seemed nice and funny. Her friend seemed like he had the biggest crush on her but, apparently, she's married. I loved hearing the friend (guy friend of Cal's friend)'s stories.

Saturday, August 13, 2016

All's Well That Ends Well

When I finally gout of that hell hole; I couldn't wait to jump into my car that was parked all the way down the down the street and head the heck home to the writer dude. I stopped at a KFC on the way home and got myself dinner. Just as I drove into the parking lot, a car sped into the spot next to me, the lady flew out of it and right into KFC. WHAT NOW? I got out of her way because I was done with drama for that day! She threw her food on the counter and yelled at the staff about how they gave her chicken that wasn't cooked. She was hungry and how dare they, what if she got sick, they did that to her because she was black, blah blah blah!

Thursday, August 11, 2016

Grilled Cheese Sandwich

My first day back to the world of caregiving was going very slowly! Everyone from the client's daughter to the CNA I relieved that morning had told me that the client is very alert; she would tell me herself who, what, why and when. That made me feel less stressed out. At mid-morning, I remembered to give her medication. I had written down which ones to give her when, they also had all the details on the rules behind the door. As I was taking the medication to give her, she told me to also give her something else that was not on the list. The client had told me that morning that sometimes, depending on how she feels, she switches things up a bit. I assumed that's what we were doing that morning and went with what she told me. 

Monday, August 08, 2016

The Joys of Being a Caregiver

I didn't mean to sound patronizing but I had to ask the lady if she spoke English! I wanted to know what I was up against! I am not an English Native either, but I wanted to know if there was any point in talking further with this person or she didn't understand a word. Trust me, having lived in Georgia, Eastern Europe; I have had my share of language barriers, you just want to know beforehand how deep you need to dig in sign language etc, that's all. The CNA (certified Nursing aide), eventually introduced me to the client who was sitting in her bed, watching HSN.

Do You Speak English?

I meditated and went to seep as I really needed to clear my head after all the events of the previous night. I had to be at work at 8:00 the following morning. This was a new job that I had a weird feeling about but still took, regardless. I had people in my living room that I wasn't feeling great about either! It was an interesting morning to say the least!

Saturday, August 06, 2016

No Such Thing as Free Lunch

Huh? What do you mean "You're spending the night?" Shouldn't I have a say in this? Considering your stay here, according to our agreement starts tomorrow and only one of you is moving in and I have told you time and time again: No sleep overs! What's going on here?

Wednesday, August 03, 2016

I Don't Know You from Adam!

Fast forward to January 31st, after I got the job offer. During the day, that very Sunday, I got a text from Rene. He was going to have the money that evening and wanted to pay me that very night, so he could move in the very following day. This was an answer to my wishes because I had been trying to figure out how I was going to approach the issue of my starting a new job the following day. I just trusted that things would work out for the best and they did! Thank Goodness!

Tuesday, August 02, 2016

Don't Let the Door Hit You

Before I kicked Rene out, he had asked to take pictures of the apartment to show his spiritual adviser. He had all the pictures he needed! Remember he had even shown me that he saved my Craig's list post? He had the camera facing me when he asked to take pictures. I could tell that he was trying to take a picture of myself to show his spiritual adviser.

Monday, August 01, 2016

Kiss Me Where it Counts

It's a new day! A new week and a new month! Are you ready? I know, I am! Happy August!
         Who am I going to rent my living room to? I need to make some extra money and I need it NOW! Muscle Head didn't work out; is Rene gonna be the one? I had found out that Rene is not a woman, he seems to be certain I'm going to like him because women tend to. I need to make sure from day 1 that he knows this is not going to be that kind of deal!

Sunday, July 31, 2016

Here Goes Nothing!

I had to say bye Felicia to muscle head. I didn't care if I was going to find someone to rent the living room or not, it just wasn't going to be him. He mentioned that he had a desktop computer. He wanted to know if he could bring that along. Who am I to tell someone they can't bring their only computer when they move in? He's an actor, he needs his internet, that's where he submits for jobs and stuff! I wasn't chuffed with the idea of someone bringing such a permanent fixture that's going to be sitting permanently on the dining table, but what are you gonna do?

Saturday, July 30, 2016

Muscle Head

It's the last day of January, I get a message from a friend of mine; remember her? She sent me a number of a guy to call regarding a job. I called him right away! Someone tells you to call someone regarding a job; you call. Or you don't, depending on whether you're looking or not. Sometimes, you do it to keep the peace but you don't really want to be hooked up that that person or don't really want that specific job. Personally, I feel weird being hooked up like that. I don't want to walk around with an aim on me because I owe someone a favor, you know what I mean?

The guy called me right away, the first thing he asked me was whether I am Fillipina. the friend who had connected me to him is Filipina. My friend had told me that the job was going to pay a certain amount per hour. The guy quoted me a different amount. $2 less. If I'm going to work a 12 hour shift, that's $24 dollars, I'm losing! Multiply that by 4/5 days a week. That's at least $100 per week! I didn't want to challenge him and make it awkward but I did ask him if that was his best offer. Always negotiate! Why not? Negotiate when looking for an apartment, buying a cellphone, getting a cellphone plan, internet plan, whatever! Negotiate! Unless you feel really good about something! The guy told me that I first have to prove myself, thereafter, we could talk.

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

February Food Blog

February Food Blog! Here are some of the foods we indulged in! First, Tibet Nepal Restaurant in Pasadena

Samoosas 

Yak Chili (Yak is some kind of an ox. I guess you could call this beef)

Bye Felicia!

After I confronted her about the toilet situation, Lisa left for work. Because she had only paid for one night, I told her that I would hold on to the key until she was paid up. I didn't want someone walking around with my house keys. She wasn't crazy about that idea because she felt like we had a deal. We did! It was that I would let her stay at my place in exchanged for payment. She paid for a night, I let her stay for a night! What's the problem here? Here's a stranger demanding that I give her a key to my house! She told me that, she felt insecure, as if she still hadn't found a place; that she could come back and I would have given the place to someone else. Don't give me ideas, lady! I told her that the only way to secure the place was to pay for it. I didn't understand the sense of entitlement.

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Your Shit Don't Stink

After hoping for nothing but the best, the guy, went with the other place! The only choice I had at the time was to take Lisa as a tenant. I called her and she was happy she got the place. I was looking forward to living with someone who walks with a cane.

Lisa moved in after work. She called me when she was at the parking lot, this time, she hadn't blocked the driveway. She had one of those carts that peoples use when they go grocery shopping, in order for them not to have to carry bags and bags of groceries on the bus, etc. She had put some of her stuff in there. She had a duffle bag with a few items of clothing. She definitely was traveling light. In her cart, she had her small heater and other things. It was just after seven when she arrived and I was about to have dinner. I offered her some, she told me that she had brought her own food. She did tell me that she wasn't hungry, was probably going to eat the following day. That serves me even better because I want to have lines drawn between what we're sharing and what we're not. She had brought a tray of fried chicken. That's one of my go to foods when I PMS, 8 pieces of fried chicken, sometimes, I ask for half fried and half grilled, just so I don't feel so guilty. She had brought other stuff to eat as well. She insisted I have some of her chicken. I politely declined. My thing is, I eat enough junk when I PMS, when I have cooked and can control my appetite, I want to eat what I have prepared myself. You know?

Sunday, July 24, 2016

Lisa Rinna

Mid January, I got an email from a woman in response to an ad I had posted on Craigslist. She wanted to rend my couch. She send me her phone numbers, both work and cell and asked for me to call her. I did. She seemed nice. She had told me that she was older and was working in 'the industry'. Her job was less than ten minutes drive from my house. She told me that she knew she was going to take the place, to please not let anyone take it. I had had a guy come to check the place out that very afternoon. He told me he liked it, was almost certain he was going to take it but wanted to go a couple of blocks from me to check another place first. Fine! I liked that guy, he seemed chill. He had just started a new job of driving trucks or something to that effect. He was basically going to be gone all the time. Even if he was going to be home, he seemed like he had a cool enough personality that it wouldn't be weird.

Friday, July 22, 2016

How to be a Background Actor

Book the Brook! As Calvin usually says when I tell him I've been submitting myself for acting gigs. Someone Booked the Brook for a job in NoHo (North Hollywood). Background. A Tip for Background or Extra work: Always take wardrobe options along; solid colors, preferably neutral. You can rock the same bottoms as long as you have extra shirts. Have something formal, casual, etc. Somewhere in between works best because you can wear it for any scene. A button down shirt for guys can go as casual or formal. Women, a blouse is better than a t-shirt. The above applies when they haven't specified what you should do. 

A quick shout out to those of you who subscribed to my YouTube Channel. I truly appreciate it. If you haven't yet, it's www.YouTube.com/BabalwaBrook If you have your own channel, I will sub right back. 

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Weight Loss Clinical Study

I had seen a listing for a clinical research study for weight loss. Right up my alley! I responded, they called me and asked me a myriad of questions which I answered to the best of my ability, trying not to throw myself under the bus in the process. They told me they needed to see me. The clinic was up the street from me, on Wilshire Boulevard. Perfect!

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Tour of The Playboy Mansion

All these places are 8-10 minutes from my house and each other, so I didn't have to drive that far.

I headed over to The Playboy Mansion. There I was, driving by myself, getting closer to my destination, excited as heck that I was going to see The Girl's  Next Door's (Girls of the Playboy Mansion's) house. I used to watch that show back in the day when I still lived in South Africa. It was one of my guilty pleasures. I never really thought I would be just outside the mansion one day! And yet, there I was!

Tour of Beverly Hills

Calvin has been asking me to move in with me. I told him that it would be best if we waited until my lease ended. That would also give me more time to enjoy my dream apartment.

Once the new year came, it was time to revisit things. There were only a few months left before the lease ended and I would have to put in a month's notice before moving out. Things, all of a sudden, seemed to move so fast! I started getting all sentimental about living in Beverly Hills. I thought to myself, if I do move in with this man, I will be moving far, far away from The Hills of Beverly. What will I miss the most about this great neighborhood?

My Street

Sunday, July 17, 2016

Champagne and Caviar


It's the beginning of the year, spirits are high, goals and desires...people are excited and amped up to pursue their goals and hopefully have their desires met.

I had my own plans in mind; a list of things I had always wished for but never really thought they could materialize but now that I know better, I know that I can have anything I wish for, so can you! I revisited those dreams, I'll tell you more about them when they materialize. I don't like to talk about something until it has come to fruition.

I was at Calvin's one weekend, he threw away magazines that I was hoping to read. I was like, ugh! I wanted to read those! They're not mine but they're here, so why not? Turned out he had put them outside but hadn't thrown them in the trash can yet. The following morning, we were just talking randomly. He brought up marriage. We had talked about marriage before, nothing major but we both knew that we both wanted to get married and to each other. This time, he asked what my ideal ring looks like.

Random Act of Kindness

You know Tyra Banks is my girl! Has been since the beginning of time! That's why meeting her for the first day made for one of the best day of my life.

Friday, July 15, 2016

Secret Menu

LA, here we come!

A fun time was had by all at the Pam Springs Art Museum. On our way back to LA, Calvin took a route that was going to take us to the biggest Dinosaurs in the world, I believe.  Something to look forward to, right? Cal also considered us making a turn at his cousin's place. They hadn't talked in a while, so he didn't want to put the cousin in an awkward position; as a result, he didn't call the cousin.


Lunch! In n out burgers and animal style fries

Thursday, July 14, 2016

Palm Springs Arts Museum

Hello! I wanted to do a quick update before I get started with my day. Hopefully, I will be able to post once more this afternoon.

Great sleep in Palm Springs after such a hectic day! The following morning, we woke up nice and refreshed and headed out for breakfast. Some people do a day trip to Palm Springs because it's only two hours from LA. I'm glad Cal booked us a hotel. I can now say, I spend the night in Palm Springs. It's a dream come true!  What would be another dream come true would be to own property there!

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Welcome to Palm Springs

After our nice lunch at Mt San Jacinto, we made our way to Palm Springs. I was excited! Calvin was too! He hadn't been there since his early teens.

Welcome to Palm Springs!

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Mt San Jacinto

Quick side note! When there were no jobs during the Hiatus, I took a picture of a stack of money and made in my screensaver hoping to draw a stack of money into my life somehow; to pay for January's bills! I mentioned this here. Long story short, Calvin gave me a stack of Hundred dollars as my Christmas gift. When I got home, as I was taking out those bills from my wallet, because it was just too stuffed; I looked at it and realized that that was the answer to my wish of getting a stack of money before the end of the year! Moral of the story! Be careful what you wish for, kids!

How I manifested stacks of Cash

Monday, July 11, 2016

3, 2, 1, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It's New Year's Eve! I get a booking request from a lady on AirBnB. She wanted to rent the space for just a night. I didn't have anyone there but I was going to be away that night. I have a boyfriend now! I'm not going to be stuck at home watching reality TV on New Year's eve! Not that there's anything wrong with that! I love my crime documentaries more than anything else, then all the housewives, and the therapy stuff. What's your favorite kind of TV show? That sentence doesn't sound right, but who's checking, right?

Saturday, July 02, 2016

Two For The Price Of One!

Calvin's house guest was still staying with him. He loves to drink. No jokes, he always has a drink in his hand! Talk about addiction! He'll tell you he's an alcoholic himself. He's a very smart guy! He will tell you that that is his way of dealing with life, some people want to actually go through problems. He, on the other hand, as he says, would rather drink all his sorrows away. They come back when he's sober, so his solution is to stay drunk. One time, I was about to go outside. I was at Calv's. I opened the front door and saw that there was broken glass just at the door. Some of the glass pieces had made their way into my beloved shoes! They also reeked of alcohol. Great! The smell wasn't as much of a bummer as the glass pieced. I went back into the house and asked Calvin what could have happened. Who was responsible for that. While I was still calling out for Calvin, Len owned up to it. He apologised profusely and asked me where I bought the shoes, he wanted to get me a new pair. I declined. Accidents happen to the best of us, I wasn't going to nail the guy to the cross for it! He insisted. Calvin told me to take him up on it but I refused. Plus, an ex bought me those shoes, so many boyfriends ago (read that story here!) Maybe it was time to move on!

Santa Anita Race Track

 A few days after the shoot with Amy Schumer and Seth Rogen which had horses in it, Calvin took me to the race track. How's that for a coincidence? I never even thought about that until now! Fortunately, I didn't have to wear his clothes this time around.

At Santa Anita Race Track

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

BonaVista Restaurant

So! my boyfriend Calvin told me he wanted us to go on a special date. He kept teasing this idea throughout the week while I was at my place. The weekend came and he told me to meet him downtown Los Angeles. He took the bus there so that we could return together. I needed my car to head back to Beverly Hills at the end of the weekend, so I offered to be the one driving. He lives closer to Downtown than I anyways. When the day arrived, he told me to dress up. He was going to wear a suit, so I had to figure out what would go well with a suit.

Working With Amy Schumer And Seth Rogen

One day in December, I had the honor of working with Seth Rogen and Amy Schumer in a Bud Light commercial.
The commercial came at a time where there were hardly any jobs. It was towards the end of December. I was ready to call it a year and hope to start working the following year. Needless to say, I was very happy to get booked. I didn't know who was going to be in the commercial. I don't know the first thing about Bud Light. I know it's alcohol, that's it. I didn't even know if it's related to Budweiser or not.

Sunday, June 26, 2016

It's Christmas Time In The City

I have a strange feeling that I was halfway through a blog a few days ago and that's missing. I must be tripping because if that were the case, said blog would be in drafts and there's nothing there!

That said, please check out my latest post on my YouTube channel. It's under my name Babalwa Brook. Feel free to subscribe, comment. I have a ton of cool videos I will be posting soon. I will do one per day until they are all up but while they are, I will be making more,so fun times ahead! If you have a channel, too, I will find you and subscribe right back. Team follow back all the way!

Christmas time! I went over to Calvin's on Christmas Eve. I was so psyched, first Christmas I was going to spend with a boyfriend. In the past, the guys I dated were never around for special occasions. I packed all the gifts I had bought for him and on my way out saw gifts on the passage. What? They were thrown out, looks like by my neighbor who has a temper. He once cussed and screamed and shouted at someone in the middle of the night for about a week straight. Every night without fail, around 2am, he would get at it.

Monday, June 20, 2016

Eggplant Emoji

First, I would like to thank you for your patience when blogger was having issues and you either weren't able to load pages or post comments. I thought they were working on the problem and it would be fixed in no time, but it wasn't. I had to contact Google, it took about a week but the problem seems to have been solved now. Plus, I got your comments, so that's a good thing. I love hearing from you. Please keep the comments coming!

Weekend after I heard about the missing snake, I had a lot of praying, visualization and all kinds of things giving myself hope that the snake wouldn't come out and attack me.

Saturday, June 11, 2016

Cold Blooded Snake

I don't know if I told you that Calvin had a friend live with him for a few months.

Apparently Calvin had offered said friend a place to stay when the friend 'moved back' to town. The friend decided to stay with his cousin and her boyfriend (cousin's boyfriend not Cal's friend's). When that didn't work out, Friend took Calvin up on his offer and subsequently moved in. Calvin has a two bedroom house. Friend used the spare bedroom / Office. They have been friends since they were kids (Calvin and Friend not spare bedroom and office haha).  Friend always runs errands over the weekend; like that's what he always says when you ask if where he's going or what he's up to. Anyway, someone's gotta run them, hadn't they?

Thursday, June 09, 2016

GTFOH

Oh, the life of a struggling actor!

Here we are, Christmas time, the shows are on break, meaning, no work, no $$! Now what? I was done with my Christmas shopping but there was no money coming in!

I got more stuff than I told you about. Sue me!

I didn't want to worry but time was running out. It was going to be time to pay rent for January soon enough. So, here's what I did: I thought of a very good friend of mine who never lets me down, the law of attraction. I downloaded a picture of a stack of money and saved it as a screensaver, in hopes that that would materialize in my life.

Calvin asked what I wanted for Christmas, I told him an iPhone 6 plus. He told me that he can get me a cellphone contract but to spend so much money on a cellphone doesn't make sense to him. Meaning, I will have to buy the cellphone myself at a later stage because I want it. Just because it doesn't make sense to him doesn't mean it shouldn't to me either. I respect his opinion, it ends there! Halfway through the month, Calvin asked me how I was doing rent wise. I told him that I was hoping for a break; Airbnb or something! I could also sell one of my big ticket items on eBay, you never know!

Would have been a big ticket item but I kept it for myself. I got it from  The Doctor's TV Show


 I didn't want to talk about it because my chest was closing up when I did and it wasn't a good way to approach the whole thing. I wanted to be relaxed but you know how it is! Towards the third week, Calvin told me that he thought it would be best if he gave me rent money instead of buying me a phone. I thought that that was a sweet idea but I wanted to come up with the money on my own! Who wants rent money for Christmas? What do you do with it? Pay rent! And then what? Then you rent is paid! I wanted to have something I was gong to walk around with for months to come, telling everyone that that's what my boyfriend bought me for our first Christmas! I told him I appreciated the thought and would like him to hang on to the money while I see what I could do. He told me not to be proud but to accept it. Pride! that's a hard one for me to drop! I have always prided myself in that in as much as I have always wanted a boyfriend who could afford to pay his house and mine, I am not that girl. I never wanted to actually have him pay my rent. I just wanted to know that he could. Feel me?


I must say, it felt really good to know that I was going to be ok. I did sell a few things on eBay and stuff but still fell short of coming up with all the money I needed for rent and all my other bills for the month.

I sold some books


The joys of living in Beverly Hills! Through it all, I was still grateful for my cute apartment, I wouldn't trade it for anything! Who says  I wouldn't have come across similar situations had I lived in a studio in Hollywood? I have been in that predicament, and to have it in Beverly Hills is so much better. Because it's my dream apartment!

Another gift fro The Doctors, thanks guys!

Speaking of dream apartments: You know when you have your own designated parking and someone comes and parks in your spot?

Should I park him in?

 How do you feel about that? My thing is, we all have our own parking spots in this building, if you're expecting someone, who you know for a fact will be driving, tell them to park in the street. It's not that hard!
Our apartment has less than 15 units, which I love, which means there aren't a lot of parking bays. When someone takes your spot, you don't have that much of a choice but to park in the street if there is a spot there. There usually is, I mean, you just keep driving further and further, who knows? You might end up parking on Rodeo Drive, haha, good luck! My thing is, my car is big and the driveway is narrow, I can drive in easily but to get out, you have to make so many turns in the small parking if all the cars are in, until you have made a U-turn, otherwise to back out of the driveway looks like it's much harder. I've never done it. Now, when someone has made himself so comfortable in my parking bay that they put rolls of rugs everywhere, it's slightly frustrating and I don't want to be that not nice person in the entire city of Los Angeles.

I have met most of my neighbors and they all seemed nice. I went upstairs, following the noise to find out whose van that was. My neighbor, whose flooring they were working on told me that she didn't know the guys had taken someone's slot, usually there isn't anyone home around that time. She has lived in that building for years and knows people's schedules blah blah blah! I don't give a sht, my ice cream is melting, move your sht! I thought in my head. She told me to use another neighbor's spot. I was like, how about your people use that spot and I get mine back? It was so frustrating. The guys who were doing the flooring don't speak a word of English, so that added to the fun.

Eventually, because, I am always trying to stay in a zen zone, I offered to find parking in the street, instead of the lady moving her car ad all that. I wanted my parking or nothing. I am sorry to sound impossible but, I'm paying for that parking, it's like finding someone moved into my apartment, telling me, move in next door in the meantime, gtfoh!

I couldn't find a spot. The only one available was a 2 hour spot a block away. I am so used to parking in my own bay that I would have forgotten about my car and been ticketed. That would have been the worst. I drove back and told the lady no parking. She moved her car and decided to park in the street. Why not use someone else's bay like you told me to? I had forgotten about the whole thing when I saw her pulling up into the driveway. She told me she had been looking for parking the entire time. She aplologized again for the inconvenience. I was glad she saw that I wasn't just being an a-hole.


All's well that ends well!

PS. GTFOH stands for Get The F*ck Outta Here

You're welcome!

Friday, June 03, 2016

Christmas Shopping

Christmas season! I know, I'm behind! I am trying to catch up, I've been blogging often, see?

When Calvin and I first started talking, before we met, I asked what his favorite movie was. He told me it was Endless Summer. A documentary with  two guys traveling all over the world to catch the best wave. It's a surfing documentary. where they started off in the summer and were traveling from one continent to the next, keeping up with the different summers.

To get to know him better, I watched the documentary, to see what kind of stuff interests him. It was long! A little more than two hours, if I remember quite well. They have more than one. I really enjoyed it! They spent a lot of time in Africa. It was nice seeing Ghanaians discovering surfing and learning how to do it. They made their own surfing boards with wood and went to town! They got quite good it it! They also went to South Africa, the spent some time in Cape Town, surfing in the different beaches in Cape Town. They also went to Jefferey's Bay. It was nice to see them go to places I have either been to or heard of.

I say all this to tell you that the first gift I bought Calvin for Christmas was an Endless summer painting.
The Endless Summer

I ordered one online, it turned out to be too small, so I ordered another one. I started ordering pretty early, so I had time. Calvin has stuff like this in his bathroom, painting and pictures from Hawaii. It's very vacationy. I thought this would be a nice addition. Of course, it would be his decision where he wants to hang them.

He loves sneakers. Remember the Jordan pair we almost bought on this blog? I always wanted to get him a pair. I wasn't thinking about that when I was shopping for sneakers for him. I just wanted a cute pair for him for Christmas, that's all. 

Basketball Adidas High Top 

If you know me, you know I love boots!  Boots make any shoe look cooler. I thought these were cute, they have memory foam inner soles and two pairs of shoe laces, the red and the green, God Forbid! So, I got him these.

Tommy Hilfiger underwear
I like it when guys bend over and you see the giant writing of name brand underwear. Why not? Plus this is my favorite type of men's underwear. It's sexy, I think all men should wear these. Don't you? I was looking for Calvin Klein, for obvious reasons, but they had sold out of the good colors. I don't want to buy a bunch of black or white underwear. Where's the fun in that?


Of Course! A Christmas Card

Calvin's favorite color is green, so I had to make sure the card has more green than not. That's enough! We have out sneakers, underwear and Endless

Calvin loves Fedoras, I found a denim one for him which is perfect because he is always dressed casually and the blue will bring out the color of his eyes. I was all over it! So all over it, I couldn't wait until Christmas to give it to him. One weekend, he gave me a robe he bought me for Christmas and I was like, perfect excuse for me to give him the fedora, the following weekend, I gave it to him. 

Christmas gift
That's me in the robe with the slippers we bought on this blog. Nice and comfy! Thanks mom for making me the hat!

One day, I was grocery shopping and lo and behold they had a Christmas Fedora! Because I had already given Calvin the hat I had bought him for Christmas, I had to grab the xmas one for him. It was more of a joke than anything else. Red's his favorite color, so why not? I know I said green before, they both are!

Christmas Fedora

I was laughing as I threw that into my shopping cart. I couldn't wait to see Calvin's reaction when he saw it.

After I was done with my Christmas shopping, That's the only person I bought gifts for; I was at the mall minding my own business when I saw a pair of Filas, that reminded me of the Jordans. I had to buy them! First I called him and asked if he had a brand he totally hated. He mentioned a few, but not the one in front of me, so it was all systems go for me!

Fila for Christmas

I don't know why these Filas look so small! They are not a size 6, I promise!

Wednesday, June 01, 2016

Coupled

After enjoying my home alonness for a while, I got an email from Air BnB, someone was looking to crash at my place for two weeks. We emailed back and forth for a while. The guy was asking all kinds of random questions that made him seem not serious. He even rescheduled. I wasn't taking him seriously. Also, he was too handsome. Like, woah! Type handsome! He had these royal blue suits that are trending nowadays and brown shoes in his profile picture. So, not only is he handsome, he also has style. He sent me his Instagram handle and told me I could look him up if I wanted. I didn't know what to think about that because, from my Craig's list experience, when people want to exchange pictures, they want more than a roommate. But, this wasn't Craig's list; I had my profile picture up on AirBnB. I didn't look the guy up on Instagram.

Eventually, he booked, before I could even confirm, he sent me an email telling me that he's booked... I should confirm. My gosh! Tiger! Hold on! I confirmed and it was a deal! I hadn't had someone at my house since Brian. I hoped and prayed that this guy was going to be neater than Brian and just like Brian, never be at home. I was working the day the guy was going to check in. I got home around 7pm, he finished work at 7pm in Century City, which is 10 minutes from my place. I was happy for him to have found a decent place so close to home. The guy went shopping first, then he called and told me he found parking and was getting out of the car. I went out  front to meet him. DDDDaaaaayyyyyuuuummmm! The guy was hot! He was tall, he had a nice body, was dressed cute, nice smile! I was like, look at you! So handsome! You will do very well in this town! He was like, 'Thanks. You think so?' I said, I guarantee you! 

He is British, was basically fresh off the boat. He moved to my place from his family in Santa Barbara, where he had stayed for two weeks. That's how long he had lived in The Us before I met him. I showed him around and told him the house rules, which are pretty much, no shoes and clean up after yourself. The second one shouldn't even be a rule because, if you're an adult, you should do that. We talked fro a split second and I let him do his thing. He had a laptop, so he watched Netflix most of the time after work. I have fast wi-fi, people love fast wifi. I think no matter how crappy your place is, you can get away with it if you have internet and it's fast. I wouldn't know, I don't have a crappy house, haha.

The guy would leave around 7am for work, he cooked up a storm before and after work though. Like, full, I guess, English breakfast, pun intended and Full dinner. He was smart, he used to pack a lunch from his dinner.  When he arrived, he brought some stuff with him that he offered me to share but I couldn't because I didn't want us to share groceries. It complicates things. He brought coconut oil, awesome! I love it, but I don't cook with it, I take a table spoon morning and night for its many health benefits, just like I do Apple Cider vinegar and honey. He had cashews and organic eggs. I had some nuts because I didn't want to be rude but that's it. He used to cook well too! I was like, who raised him? 

Nice personality, and who doesn't love a British accent? 

I wanted to set him up. One day, I was at a court show, Judge Judy or Hot Bench; I saw a South African friend. I was like, OMG, you need to meed my guest. She was like, 'Oh no, he probably needs to get married fast for a green card! He doesn't have his own place, I don't want someone who is going to depend on me. He just got here, he probably is broke, still looking for a job.' I was like, gurrll! Tone it down! Shouldn't you first find out a little about him? Why do you think I would hook you up with a bum? Do you know how much people to pay at my place? If he can afford that, he ain't broke, trust me! He already has a job, was born here and his family quickly moved to the UK, so he has dual citizenship. He is fresh off the boat, is still figuring out where he will want to live permanently before he signs a one year lease. You should have asked first, before you jumped to conclusions. I see now why you're still single! She was like, 'I know! I'm bad! I'm sorry, how can I meet him?' I told her not to worry about that! That guy is very nice and positive, I wasn't going to set him up with a Debbie Downer like her. She begged but it was too late, she had already shown her true colors. I love the said girl, she's very sweet and friendly. 

My guy paid for the two weeks in advanced, so I was swimming in money. Yass! 

I went away for the weekend as I always do and the guy spent his weekend with his family in Santa Barbara, so there was nobody at home. I could have found someone to airbnb the entire house for the weekend haha. Just kidding. I would never rent out my room, no matter how long I am gone for. And I'm gone a lot! Especially weekends. 

I told my sister I think I need to be the guy's manager and get him gigs in Hollywood. In fact, I told her, I think he needs to be the next bachelor. I came home one evening from work and the guy was on the computer. He told me that he was scouted on Facebook by producers of a new dating show that is going to film in an island. The show is going to be Executive produced by Mark Burnett. I couldn't believe it! I told him that I was just telling my sister that I thought he should be the next bachelor. I told him to weigh his options before he dove into something because if he plans to have a career in Hollywood, he might get typecast.  I was like, also, please don't be an ass on TV. Don't be that guy! You've got a lot going for you, just be yourself, people will love you! 

The show has just started airing. I don't know if he made it but I'm watching. It's called Coupled. Every time a new guy gets lands in the island, I wonder if it's the guy! I think he made it. Why wouldn't he? Unless he decided not to do it, which I doubt. He seemed quite keen. 

In the mornings when the guy was getting ready for work, the house would first smell like food, cos he be making breakfast, watching sports on his laptop. He's a former professional rugby player. Then, the entire house would smell like his cologne. Can you say metrosexual? I loved it! 

Second week, he sent me a text that he was going to be home late. He was going on a date. Huh? Look at you! Already? Have fun! He didn't need to explain his whereabouts to me but I guess he was that kind of guy. I later asked about the date. He told me it was a lady from work. I guess she wanted to grab him for herself before others got to him. I didn't think it was a great idea, office romance, is sticky. Plus the guy just got to the country, he needed freedom to date around and stuff. Hard to do that when one of your people is in the office. Just my opinion.

Before I knew it, it had been two weeks and the guy moved out. Poof! It was all over! He forgot some of his things, like towels and stuff. I texted asking about them and he never replied. Oh well. He did leave me a positive review on AirBnB. Unfortunately, I didn't leave him a review at all. I was caught up with other things. Before I knew it, my time was up. I could no longer leave it. I'm sure he'll be fine without it. I just feel bad that I didn't get to do it for him.



Friday, May 27, 2016

Don't Try This At Home

My new HP Printer 

The printer I got on Black Friday in Ridgecrest. I love it! Love that it's all white. So fancy! I already had an eBay sale when I opened it up, so I immediately used it to print the shipping label. My eBay store is doing ok, I have 5* reviews. There are a lot of reviews about how I wrap the packages. People are very happy about that. I didn't realise that that's a thing. I'm flattered.

eBay sale

I always recycle to wrap packages. I use paper bags, which I would've previously bought while grocery shopping for 10cents each or whatever paper comes with the stuff I win from the shows, as you know, all I do is win! 

I appreciate my buyers, they're amazing, not only for buying from me but they always good give reviews. 

Speaking of gifts from the shows, this was from The Doctors. It's a foot massage, which I use mainly on my hands. Too much Snapchatting and sht. Add me: TheLovelyBrook and I will add you back. 

This time, I needed a face massage so badly, so...

Massaging face with foot massager

Don't worry, it doesn't smell funny, I put socks on before I massage feet. Don't try this at home!

Calvin's mom's Thanksgiving dinner

I was too full to eat the above. It was nice that she dished up for me. I still hadn't met her, she sent the plate over with Calv. They all live in the same street. She doesn't like salt very much, nor spices, so.

Stuffing egg muffins

Calvin's mom did make these delicious egg muffins with left over stuffing. I wasn't too full for this. This was a different day, for breakfast. Calvin's dad cooks too. He's the one who does all the cooking, actually and I love his food! I love him as well, he's great person.

Slippers from Back Friday
Apparently, Calvin thought these were male slippers and big enough to fit him but they were neither, so SCORE! so comfy! I do have about five pairs of house shoes but you can never have too many shoes, period! 

Tommy Hilfiger shades from the Desert
The shades weren't on sale but they were cute, these are the ones I got just before we headed back to LA. The hat is courtesy of my mom, she made it for me. I designed it, and she crocheted it. My sister, Pumla, made the ear rings. They came with a necklace but I wore that to death. 

These sunglasses lasted much longer than the Roccawear I was replacing with them, those only lasted less than a week. What a darn shame! 

Grilled garlic

Calvin and his mom have a tendency of grilling garlic like this and serving the entire thing on a plate for one person to eat. Nah! Too much garlic! I can't. I don't even eat garlic like that, I like it like I like my onion; finely chopped. I don't wanna see it! Needless to say, my share ended up in the trash can. Sorry!

Love Note from Calvin

This was one weekend, Calvin was on his way to a job when I was on his way to his place. He left me this note. I thought it was so sweet.

Chinese

One random morning, I was minding my own business at Calvin's, he was in the shower, boom, there's someone at the door with a take out container. The heck! Is she lost? I never answer the door, even if I'm alone at Calvin's because I never expect anyone. If they're looking for him, they should call him. He's not here. That's like answering someone cellphone to tell the other person, the person they are looking for is not available. That's what voicemail is for!  Anyway, turns out the person at the door was bearing gifts. It's a Chinese neighbor who is a family friend of Calvin's, she owns a restaurant. The food came from her restaurant. It was nice and fresh and warm. So good! 

French cuisine

Calvin's French Dinner
Calvin had taken me out one evening. I just arrived from my place to spend the weekend with him and he told me to wait in the car, he was taking me out to dinner. He came out in a suit, looking so good and directed me to the restaurant, which is not far from his house. The food was so good, so different! So freaking expensive too! The ambiance in the restaurant is really romantic, it's nice and dimly lit.

French dessert
I had dessert. Calv didn't. It was really good. I had to! It was something I had never had before and I'm all about that! Vanilla ice cream and something else.

On Set in the southside
I was booked to do background in Inglewood. Not a long drive from Beverly Hills, actually! It was a cattle call and our lead was a young girl. I met a nice guy, we talked about all kinds of things. He told me how he moved to LA to pursue acting and left everything behind. He sold his 3 bedroom house and everything. He struggled so much not getting gigs in Hollywood and ended up sleeping in his car. He's ok now, more than ok. He does all kinds of things and has a new car, he says since he bought his new car, girls have been throwing themselves at him. He's looking at them sideways because they wouldn't give him the time of day when he was driving his busted car. 

The lead
I told you she was a young girl haha. So cute! I never got to see the finished product. I hardly ever get to. Usually people will see me and send me links on social media which is fun or else I may never get to see anything I'm in.

I was lucky! I got the last slice of red velvet on set
The taste was as good and nice and moist as it looks! Some of these caterers are pretty amazing! In fact, I can't think of a time I had crappy food on set.

I hope you enjoyed my random update blog!  I'm about to tidy up, go grocery shopping. I'm booked tonight. I would like to take a catnap before I head out because it's going to be a good one and I wanna have energy for it. Plus, I have to leave early, Friday night traffic! I'll tell you all about tonight in a future blog.

Smooches!






















Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Hiking Gear

One Sunday, Calvin and I went to church together. After church, Calv suggested we go to the mountains, just for fun. I was down! Ain't I always?

We didn't hike or anything, I mean, we kinda did but not a real hike because someone wasn't dressed appropriately. We did just come from church after all! The views were magnificent!

San Gabriel Valley view from where we were

There were quite a few cars parked in the vicinity, some folks had gone there for their Sunday morning hike.

Some were taking perfect shots

It was a beautiful day, as you can see, and I am sure a good time was had by all.

Ashy legs from our mini hike up the mountain

We were up there for a bit. I loved the idea. After the mountain, we went for brunch at Roscoe's Chicken and waffle. The first time I had chicken and waffle was this instance and that ended up with a grown man crying and me not knowing where I stood. Thankfully that's not how this date ended!

It's like a food court where they have the Roscoe's, there's a KFC and a few other chicken places in that very center. With all that going on, there was a huge line outside Roscoe's. We had to wait outside. I couldn't believe how busy one place can be! Eventually, we got in. 

I had their world famous, chicken and waffle.

Roscoe's Chicken and Waffle

That's butter! I know, it looks like ice cream, right?

My pretty drink. 

The drink was too sweet. I am not a big drink drinker anyway. I love water, but I will try something exotic just for the experience.

Calvin had livers.

Roscoe's Chicken Livers
I had never seen so many livers on one plate! My goodness! We couldn't finish our food. The rest went home with us and I forgot my left overs at Calvin's, so they all ended up in the trash because Calv doesn't do left overs.

My review of Roscoe's chicken and waffle? Meh! It was ok! I'm glad I can check it off my list. On to the next! 

Champurrado from church

Champurrado is crazy good! It's the best thing since sliced bread! And it's filling! It's a Mexican drink. I told my sister, Pumla (the one with the cookbook) to learn the recipe and make it. I don't even like porridge, but this is my jam!

Cherimoya

Cherimoya is a gigantic fruit that reminds me very much of pear from it's consistency. It's a Central American fruit. Calvin's parents have the tree. He picked this for me. I liked it. I'd have it again. Next time, I will put it in a smoothie.

Inside of Cherimoya

Speaking of picking things for me, Calvin has this South African plant in his yard. It's called elephant bush. When I first saw it, I picked a leaf and munched on it. Calvin was surprised. Can you believe it? The tree doctor didn't know that you can eat elephant bush. I didn't know that name, I think we call it something else. Some Xhosa name. One day, Calv gave me a bonsai of the elephant bush. He had been growing it for me. It was still a baby when he gave it to me. I was so toughed, I cherished it so much. I have received flowers before, but no one has ever given me  a tree!

Elephant Bush

Let me love and leave you with a picture of Calvin's beloved pet spider; Shiva, a Chilean tarantula.. one of the worlds most venomous spiders. He keeps it in a cage in his dining room.

Chilean Tarantula