Sunday, November 08, 2015

Spa Day


A few weeks or so after my birthday, I took Carly out for her birthday. That wasn’t an easy task considering her reactions on the gifts her friends had got her for her birthday. I had to be extra careful about what I was going to get her. She and I had been talking about going for massages for the longest time. I decided to take her to the spa. Someone I met doing background work told me about this spa in Koreantown. It’s a Korean town as you may have guessed. They have specials on Tuesdays. If I’m going to pay for a spa day, why not save while at it right? My motto is, why pay more if you can pay less?

I called Carly and told her about the spa and everything. She was going to be available around 9pm on Tuesday, I thought it was going to be perfect, 3 hours at the spa. Not too long, not too short. We didn’t have to make a booking or anything, just walk in. I wasn’t going to pay for any additional services just the standard stuff. And dinner. I thought that was decent, no?

Carly told me that she was going to meet me at the spa after school. The spa is off Wilshire Boulevard, I live off Wilshire, I decided to take the bus there. Those buses run 24 hours. I took the bus there, caught up on my reading, got off there, found a corner cafĂ© that had all kinds of random stuff. I bought myself black lipstick that I had been looking for for a while. It was a good day. After that, I checked in. I paid and left a note for when Carly arrived. I couldn’t have my cellphone with me upstairs, so I stuck around the bottom room, and just lay there, chilling. It was nice and warm and had a nice essential oil smell, which I, as a massage therapist love.

They gave me an outfit to wear around there, khaki shorts and a yellow t-shirt. I lay on one of the couches and meditated. It was the perfect evening. I noticed someone sitting on what looked like those amazing massage chairs. I went over there and saw that it indeed was one! I quickly went back to my locker and grabbed a few dollars, sat next to the lady and got me a nice massage. Sleeping on the floor may have been okay but the massage was well deserved! I got about 15 minutes massage. After that I lay back on the couch and I was falling asleep when I got a text from Carly that she had arrived. I was so excited to be doing that for her for her birthday. She had never been to a spa before.

I took her to the lockers, she changed into her khaki and yellow outfit, we walked upstairs and grabbed dinner. I didn’t tell her I was going to pay for dinner, I just asked if she was hungry, she told me she indeed was. The food looked good. One of the staff at the restaurant turned out to be her music classmate. Small world! We both ordered different meals so that we could split them and get best of both worlds. After we ordered, she told me she didn’t have her wallet with her. Like who has their wallet with them in the middle of the spa? I had my card with me because I knew I was going to buy dinner. I had been paying paying for her or lending her money whenever we went to a cash only place downtown because she never had cash. She was so proud to say, ‘I don’t carry cash!’ It got to the point where I would tell her I didn’t have cash and then take out cash next place we went to where they were cash only. In my head, I dared her to ask me, ‘didn’t you say you don’t have cash with you?’ She never asked. It’s one of my pet peeves people who think they are too good to carry cash but are not too good to borrow money from other people. Plus she never paid me back all those monies. How was she going to? She never has cash! We would take the bus, she would know we were going to take the bus, but when we got on, she be like, ‘oh, shoot, I don’t have cash!’ Ugh!

Back to to the bday! We sat on the floor on the giant pillows. I hope they wash those things often. Anyways, We enjoyed out food. The portions were ok, could’ve been bigger. We then went to the floor with all the rooms. They have dry saunas that are crazy hot, I think the hottest one is 120 degrees F/ 51 celsius, which is pretty hot, you really feel it when standing up. They have clay room, jade room, salt room and ice room. When we first got to that floor, Carly saw the people who were passed out on the floor in the common area. She was like, ‘what’s wrong with these people? Why don’t they go home?’ I told her, they  chilling, they are too relaxed. She told me that you can’t be that relaxed.
We were in the second sauna when we met a cute Persian couple. At least they seemed like a couple to me. I started a conversation with them because one of them had the most perfect beard I had ever seen. We all chatted. They told us that they had been going to that spa since it opened. Carly started grilling them with questions. She will ask you so many questions, you will wanna stab yourself!  She asked them, in front of me no less, how much it was, they told him. Then they also told him the hours and the specials. She was like ok, so what do you get out of this, what about this and that and the other? I was dying! Like who asks around about how much you paid for their gift? Rude!  I guess she was looking for something to complain about. Something to be unhappy about. Also, couldn't she wait until I wasn't around and look all those details up online or call the spa her self? Wow! She told me she loved the experience so much, she was going to make a habit of going there once every month and she was going to take her mom when the mom's in town.
We went to the first room. The least hottest one, then the clay room, where they have pebbles of clay on the floor, you lie down on top of them and enjoy. Carly stayed in there like a trooper. I was so proud. Then, she went out and asked me to give her a minute, she was going to lay down for a second. I was like, there’s no freaking way you are going to be those people right now! Come on, woman! Let’s go to the third room! I am writing to tell you now that she didn’t even go to the rest of the rooms. She slept on the floor, with those mini sponges of course and asked me to wake her up when I was going to the ice room. She passed out and couldn’t even wake up when I tried to wake her up to go to the ice room.

I, on the other hand passed out in one of the rooms. I think it was the salt room. I just got in there and went to sleep. I was so fast asleep, I didn’t even know where I was. After a while, a dude came and woke me up. He asked if I was ok, I had been in there for a while. I was so grateful to him. We should only be in those rooms no more than a certain amount of time. I had definitely exceeded that amount. People were like, why did he wake you up? He could have scared you to death! That’s not acceptable! Only in LA! Thank you random stranger for saving my life. Don’t worry about those people!

The ice room felt even colder after being in the hottest space I have ever been in. But I sucked it up like the man that I am ;). After the ice room, I felt rejuvenated. I took Carly down to the showers but when we got there, I remembered that someone had told me they have Jacuzzi’s. I was like come on, we have to! She was so over everything, she was ready for bed. She was too relaxed. I couldn’t believe it! But at the same time, I was glad that mission accomplished! We went to the regular temperature Jacuzzi, they want you stark naked there! I just put my feet in there and went to the very hot one where there wasn’t anyone else. I wasn’t trying to catch anything in the regular temp one. I’m not saying anyone in there has herpes but… Then I went to the very cold one which could have been the ice Jacuzzi. Then we took showers. Even the showers were interesting, you sit down as you shower. After that, we hit the road jack. Carly asked if I wanted her to drop me off at the bus stop. It was right around the corner though and I had brought sweaters and everything with me because it wasn’t that hot yet. She offered to take me home, and wouldn’t take no for an answer. They have valet parking at the spa, Carly had left her key with the guy. When it was time to leave, it was interesting how he was looking to see if the guy was around so she could steal her car keys and dodge giving him a tip for his services. OMG! That was bad and hilarious at the same time. I stood as par away as possible as she pulled off that embarrassing trick.

She was so kind to give me a ride home.

Thursday, November 05, 2015

Firsts

Soon after I moved in, it was my birthday.

I had already got the gift of my dreams. What more could a girl want? 

The first few days in my new home were spent driving around, getting gas account, electricity, the works. This is the first time I have those kinds of accounts in The US. My previous apartments were all inclusive, so  I just paid one amount and the landlord took care of everything else. I must say, I am embracing having those kinds of bills. I feel more settled in in The US. Stepping Stone! I was lucky in that, even though there aren't any of those offices around my neighborhood, they are all in the same vicinity. I parked in the same parking, did my gas situation, and mailing stuff. I can't remember what but I needed to post stuff as well. Walmart was up the road and Albertsons was across the street. Albertsons was for me to buy their chicken tenders because I got hooked on them in Vegas.Ten minutes or so drive and I did electricity or the other way round. By the end of the day, I had taken care of everything. This was all done in day three because I had to work on day two. I was lucky they never disconnected the services, everything worked in my favor. Thank you stars!

On my birthday, I was home settling in. I was waiting for Internet people to set it up for me. I must say, it was kinda cold outside, I had the heater on, I don't care about things like, just dress warm, and save gas or electricity, whatever the case may be. My heater is a gas one. I don't care because when all's said and done, you have to be comfortable. You can't worry about things like saving $10 per month. You know me, I'm cheap but I like to be comfortable and happy. That's more important than anything else. Plus, if you're worried so much about money, you will repel it because it means you don't believe that you will have it when you needed. Feel me? I know we were taught otherwise growing up. Change your thinking and change your life. I am still working on that myself. I had rented a sht load of DVD's from the library the night before in case internet people didn't set it up in time. I didn't want to be bored to death on my birthday. I was sleeping on the floor. I didn't have one piece of furniture. Wait, I lie! I did! I had a cute Ikea table I got from a good friend when she relocated to Canada. That story is somewhere in my previous blogs. I also had camping chairs, amazing ones that have a shelter/roof like part too. I told you I tend to get things for free. All those were a gift from the friend. I set those up in the living room as if I were camping. I even had a cooler bag to go with them from the same friend. It was great! Those are some of the things Chris had stored from me while I lived in Vegas. They are all fold-able though, so they didn't take much space. 

I had a few cans in the car that I had brought with me from Vegas. I had also bought a few things from Albertsons to munch on. I didn't have a fridge yet, so I could only have limited groceries. I remember texting Carly telling her I was starving, I wanted to heat up a can of something but I couldn't find a knife. Not too long after I got off the phone from her, there was a knock on my door. Who could it be? It was a guy delivering lunch that Carly ordered for me from her restaurant. She was off that day. The food was to die for! I still have to go back there. It was the perfect meal too, three different kinds of meat, sausage, beef and chicken, rice, etc. I was so touched. I called her. It had to be her because no one else knew where I live, not a lot of people do still and that's just how I like it. I was so touched, I was choking up. She picked up the phone and said, Happy Birthday! That was the nicest thing! I tear up just thinking about that gesture. I mean, what do you do?

I sat on my camping chair and enjoyed my birthday gift. I had picked up the rest of my stuff from Chris' as soon as possible. First, he told me he was going to be home at noon. Carly had stopped by because she went shopping in Beverly Hills. We drove to Chris' together. When we got there, I texted Chris to tell him I was outside, he told me that he was in San Francisco. 8 hours away. I was like, but boo! You told me to be here between noon and 1pm otherwise, I was going to miss him. He told me I misunderstood. He meant the following day. So that was a wasted trip. As soon as he was back in LA, I couldn't get the rest of my stuff sooner! He was very nice to me that day. He offered to take me to eat as usual. And as usual, I declined. He asked if I found a place to stay, I gladly told him that I did. It seems like he could tell that he would never see me again. He begged me to go to Santa Barbara with him. He told me he had always wanted to go and thought that now that I have a car, we could go together. I didn't think so, but agreed and left because I was tired of him spitting on my face as he was talking to me.

I blocked that person on my phone as soon as I got out of there! 

My internet was installed, which was a gift on its own because phone signal isn't that great in this apartment. I could then use wifi for stuff. I started shopping for furniture immediately! I may have watched some Netflix, I had Carly's account. I have my own websites that have everything under the sun, unlike Netflix but I was following a series and it was easier to just do it on Netflix. This was also my first Internet account in The US. I got them to waive the signing up fee by committing to a debit order that goes off automatically every month.  I also am saving about $13 per month by using my own Router. They let me use theirs until I bought my own. I bought it online, so I had to wait a few days, then I returned it and they credited my account. I love this people! Those $13 add up, otherwise I would have rented their router forever. It's not even like you're buying it. I am not big on renting if I can afford to buy.

Things went south with a lady I used to get most of my jobs from. She was bitter because I went with a company that was going to pay me cash instead of her that I have to chase after for my money just before I moved into my new place. I needed to have as much money as possible in my account to prove to the renting people that I could afford this place. Her owing me a wad of cash wasn't going to help my situation and I didn't feel like explaining that I need to get paid for the work I have done as soon as possible to someone. That should be a given. She had already owed me for more than a month, I got my money after another month or so. By then I had already stopped asking her for jobs. There comes a point in time where one stops working for free-ish.

I was still sleeping on the floor. I had my sleeping bag, Carly's, bless her heart and my Queen Latifah blanket. And heater! I was comfortable. I was happy!

Guilt Trip

I'm so glad I finally told you about my new Beverly Hills home! I've been dying to do so for months! But I have to blog in chronological order. Thanks for the comments and the congratulatory notes, they mean a lot to me.

I moved in on the 6th of April, my birthday is on the 10th. Best birthday gift I could ever have! Peace of mind! Just freedom and fulfillment of a dream. Who knew that a girl from a small town in Africa would live in this amazing neighborhood? So, kids, dream and dream big! I'm gonna let you in on a secret: when I decided I want to live in Beverly Hills, I had never actually set foot here at all! I had passed by bus but that's it! But I managed to make it as real as possible in my head until it became a reality in real life. It just goes to show you! Another side note: I just updated my vision board. It's the most fun to take off things from your vision board because you have achieved them. Do yourself a favor, give yourself the gift of a dream come true this Christmas and make a Vision board asap if you haven't got one yet, put it somewhere you can see it all the time, make time to look at it whenever you can and tune the whole world out, let it be just you and your dreams/desires, feel yourself living the life you want to live. Actually feel it! You will know when you're doing it right, you will have the most exciting feeling ever, an overwhelming feeling of hope or knowing for sure that whatever you want, you can have! Do that as often as possible. Try not to look at it when you are not in a good mood. Figure out ways to lift up your mood from the inside out, as opposed to making it someone else's job to make you happy. When you can do that, you have succeeded in doing something a lot of people may never get an opportunity to do. And when you can do that, you will realise that you can't blame someone else for how you feel. It's all entirely up to you! Let me know how it goes, Facebook - Babalwa Brook. Twitter/Instagram: thelovelybrook or here on the blog.

The weekend before I found my apartment I had taken Carly to a dealership in Culver City. I practically forced her to go and test drive a car she kinda was interested in. It was a Black Beetle or Bug depending on where you're from. She was obsessed with buying a white car. I wonder why? Side note: My car is white, side eye! We had seen a really pretty white Beetle before that. She wanted me to take her to the Valley to test drive it. I refused merely because I didn't feel like it. She offered to gas the car up. I told her to use that money to get Uber. She refused. Oh well! The car was really pretty, and it was cheap. The seller said he was relocating and wanted to get rid of it ASAP. Carly didn't have cash. She tried to haggle the car over the phone. The guy had posted that the price was negotiable. When Carly tried to negotiate, it turned out it wasn't as negotiable as she thought. She basically wanted the car for free, if it were up to her. Wouldn't we all like to get free cars? Sadly, life is not the Oprah show. Well, it kinda is for me. I tend to get a lot of things for free. All I do is win! I will tell you more about that as we go along, if you have been following my story for a while, you probably know about some of my winnings. I won something just yesterday! Details later!

I told Carly that you don't negotiate over the phone, no one will take you seriously if you do that. You have to show up with cash in hand or tell them that you will get them a cashiers check and then they will take you seriously! I mean, do I have to teach you everything? Clearly, yes! She still tried to negotiate, the guy gave her $200 discount. She wanted about $1500. I know! When she asked me if I thought the guy would go that low, I told her to call him and ask. I guess that's why she called him. I also asked her if she would go that low. She told me she would, I told her to stop lying!

The guy ended up selling the car. I could see that Carly was trying to make me feel bad for not taking her there but this is The Valley in LA. I took the bus from Vegas to come buy my car in LA, I never guilt tripped anyone into doing me favors. Then I still took the train, bus, train and another bus or something. I told that story here, if you haven't read that entry. I wasn't going to be guilt tripped by someone into driving them around as if they contributed in my getting my car. Heck naw! That's why I insisted in paying her rent so that I wouldn't be her slave.

Back to the black beetle story, I took her to Culver City. She wasn't feeling the black car, she told me she would regret it forever if she bought it. I told her she didn't have to commit to anything, I was just saying she needed to check it out. She had been looking for a car for weeks, it was about time she went to test drive one, I thought. We got there and she started shaking. She fell in love with the car immediately she laid her eyes on it. Thank Goodness! She told me, "Brook! This is it!" I was happy she found her car. I told her as hard as it was, she had to look for faults in the car and negotiate based on them. She told me to help her, she didn't know what to look at. You know, because that's Rocket Science. I didn't want to seem like I was jealous, pointing out faults in her car. Plus, knowing her, she would just change her mind about the whole thing. She's very indecisive.

I told her that the tires, for one, were very smooth, she could get fined if caught driving around with those. She looked for more stuff but there wasn't much, really. She didn't like that because that meant paying more for the car. I told her the up side to that was that her car was in mint condition. She took it for a test drive. She loved everything about it. We then went to the office to negotiate. She tried to stay behind so that auntie Brook can do all the talking. I took out my phone and got busy on social media. Plus, the guy was Russian, so I used my 12 dozen Russian words and flirted with him a little. For fun. It turned out he wasn't even the main guy to negotiate with, he was the mechanic, the main guy had said he was going to wait for us. He didn't. Or well. Carly had to fill out paperwork, the dealership was going to finance the car for her as well. When she tried to negotiate with the mechanic, the mechanic guy told her that she didn't even have cash. He was like, "What kind of negotiations are these? You don't even have a dime on you! You still want me to help you finance the car!" I had to bite my cheek to stop from smiling because I had told her the same thing that you don't negotiate just to negotiate.

The mechanic told her if she got approved, he would change the tires for her but if she needed more of a discount to call the boss. She called the boss the following day, he told her sorry, not negotiable. Take it or leave it. I moved out while they were still processing the financing part. When I told her I got the place, she told me that it was a great week for us, I got my apartment, maybe she was going to get her car too. I was like, I hope so, but I really didn't feel like talking about her in that moment. I just wanted to celebrate me for like a split second.

A few days after I moved in, I texted Carly asking for an update on the car. She told me that she was at the 99 cents, grocery shopping. She had already picked up the car. I was like, thanks for calling me as soon as you got the car I practically made you buy! She told me she was going to tell me but she was calling people telling them, then she was going to call me. You know, because I'm not a person! I thought to myself, this chick is a waste of my precious time. I need to block her as soon as possible. I hate to that I didn't have the greatest experience with someone who helped me when I needed it. But you have to save yourself, I can't hold myself hostage for the sake of guilt.

She had called her parents, understandable even though they were not here when I was being pain in the butted by her about the dog on car, they were not the ones who drive her there and forced her to have a look at the car etc etc but I understand why she did. However, she called friends she hadn't talked to in a while to tell them she bought a car but she didn't think to tell me that the purchase went through. She could've even sent me a text.  How would she have felt if she got home one day and I had moved out and didn't tell her? Crazy!

I soon got over that. I had too much to celebrate to worry about that. As it was, I was soaking in my Blue bathtub when I called her. I couldn't be bothered but  I did make a mental note.

Tuesday, November 03, 2015

The Hills of Beverly

The apartment I was viewing was marvelous! I looked like it was double the size of the apartment I didn't get. The kitchen had gazillion cupboards, there were drawers and doors everywhere. And it had what seems to me to be a closet, it has the part where you hang clothes, a shelf above that for suitcases, I guess, and more shelves on the side for folded clothes but to sound proper, we'll call it a pantry cos it's in the kitchen. Don't judge me, I'm just a girl from a small town called Uitenhage in Africa.
The Kitchen.

There are two closets in the hallway, a linen closet and a spare full closet.
Look at all those cupboards! 

 The bathroom is blue, I took a picture of it myself just so  I can have a look at it when I got home to see if it really was that blue. I posted a picture on the previous blog entry. What I liked about the bathroom was the fact that it had a tub/shower, two medicine cabinets, you can never have too much storage, this place wasn't lacking on that at all! I also liked that the shower has glass doors as opposed to shower curtains that stick to you when you take a shower. Big deal! So big that I have the doors on the list of things I want in my new apartment.
This is how excited I was! Photo taken in the bathroom

Now to the bedroom. I walked into the bedroom and started laughing out loud, I loved it so much! I literally, stretched my arms out and spun around until I got dizzy, then I lay down until I almost fell asleep. That's when I knew I had to have the place. I was so comfortable just lying on the floor that I was like, gotta have it! I got up from my almost nap and went back to laughing, hoping no one would hear me. There's a big closet in the bedroom too. Of course! It's the main closet! I walked back to the living room and heard a knock on the door. I opened as if I already own the place. It was the guy who helped direct me earlier. He had changed into his house clothes and brought his pregnant wife. He walked around, then told me my apartment is bigger than his and  that I was lucky to be downstairs in the shade because these apartments get really hot in the summer. I was like, I like how you refer to it as my apartment. As he was leaving, he congratulated me. I was like, uhm, from your mouth to God's ears. He told me that as far as he was concerned, the apartment was mine already. I thanked him and stopped the tears from falling down as I was touched by what he said. 
The Living Room aka sitting Room

I locked the door and headed back downtown. I didn't say anything to Carly. I wasn't ready. I mean, I hadn't even filled out the application yet! That night, I completed the application on line. Application was $30. This is when it was clear to me that there was a reason I forgot to give the previous realtor my money order. That was so that I could use it in the next apartment where I had a fighting chance. When came time to make application fee payment, I realised I couldn't use money order online. They wanted banking details. I entered mine. For the life of me, they wouldn't go through. I had to tell Carly what was going on. I needed to vent. She offered me her credit card. I thought that was sweet, but I politely declined. I told myself that I would just tell them I could pop into their office and give them the money order in person. There's a part where you write a note in the application, that's where I wrote about the credit card situation. I submitted all the necessary paperwork and went to bed.

The following morning, I called the office to discuss the situation. They told me that they were actually working on my application, if I got the place, they would ask for the money order, if not, they wouldn't. Apparently, unlike all the other companies, their application fees are refundable. I be damned! This is the best company ever! They called me again, I was so nervous. It turned out I wrote my number as a reference for one of the previous apartments I had lived in. I was like my bad and gave them the correct number. Who knew that they actually do call references? The also called my previous landlord from Vegas, they called me back and told me that she has nothing but good things to say about me. I was touched. It's good not to burn bridges, you never know when you might need someone again.
There's a door from Living room to bedroom/bathroom/hallway which I love. It's one of the two brown doors you're looking at

I spend that entire morning sitting on the couch waiting for the call because they called me so many times. I tried not to get nervous but how can you not? By noon or so, I got THE CALL! I GOT THE PLACE! YYYyiipppppppeeeeeeeee! Oh my goodness, I could die! I was so thrilled you guys! I kept thinking about how amazing that apartment was and to think that my dream of living in Beverly Hills had just come through was absolutely insane! They told me how much I had to pay initially, which was double one month's rent. I was prepared for that, so it was no surprise. I told the lady that I was ready to drive to her office and pay there and then. She was like, well, ok then, see you soon! I went to the bank, got a cashier's check, I think that's what it's called of two month's rent at my new place and headed to Culver city. That's where their offices are based. 

Linen Closet

There was more paperwork to be filled out in the office, I took care of all that. The lady was so cool, we chatted about random stuff while I was there. She gave me a set of keys and told me to get myself spares if I wanted but then she was like, you know what? It's your lucky day, I have an entire other set of keys for you! That way, I got my spares as well, which was amaze! I asked if I could give the lady who was helping me a hug, she was like, of course, I'd live to get a hug from you!  I told her she had no idea how she had made my entire life. I called Carly on my way out and asked where she was. She had just got off work in Beverly Hills, just five minutes from my new place actually! My place and her job are off the same streets but on two different ones, if you know what I mean. I told her that I was in the neighborhood to wait for me. She waited at the bust stop which, now that I am familiar with the are, is a block away from my place. She was already on the bus but she got off. She hates buses lol. 
Spare Closet in the hallway

I picked Carly up and asked if she would mind if I quickly checked out an apartment in the neighborhood. Of course she didn't mind. We went to my place, found a nice free parking spot right across from it and headed inside. I was like, omg it's so clean, let's take off our shoes. I didn't want her messing up my new place :). She was like, wow, it's so big! That's what she said haha! 

I gave her a tour of the apartment, when we got to the bathroom, she was like, wait...! I said, oh yeah, I forgot you know about this place. She told me the bathroom doesn't look that bad in person. I didn't think so either, that's why I took the place. She told me she has a good feeling about the place. I was like me too girl, as I said that, I took out my lease and told her I got the place! She was so happy for me, she screamed and jumped up and down. I did too, we both went berserk!  She teared up and told me how happy she was for me. I believed her. Sht, I was happy for me too, child!
Bedroom Closet

My official first day at the apartment was the following day but I had keys so I did what any self respecting human being would and moved out of Carly's that very night! We headed back to Carly's, my stuff was already in suitcases, so I just loaded the Rover. It all happened so fast! I was at her place for two months and all of a sudden, I viewed a place and moved in within 24 hours. Crazy, right? She helped me load my car and even lent me her sleeping bag and a few bags, very sweet of her. I thanked her from the bottom of my heart, vacuumed her floor for the last time, you know after you take big things like suitcases how it can look. She walked me to the car, we said out last goodbyes, I found someone in the parking lot and gifted them the rest of my parking for the next 24 hours and drove off to the Hills of Beverly!
More of the living room/dining area facing the front door
And now, ladies and gents, it's your turn to send me pictures of your homes  :)

Free Stuff!

I decided against calling the real estate after finding out that I forgot to give her the application fee money order. I still called daily to check on the status of my application. Luckily, she was taking my calls. I tried to stay positive and happy at all times, Lord knows part of that was really hard considering who I was living with! Day 3 or so, I called the lady to ask about my application, she told me that the other tenant was approved. I was relieved to finally know what was going on. At the same time, I was let down that I had to go back to the drawing board.

I went back on line with gusto to look for a new apartment all over again. I had to find it asap, come rain or high water. My birthday was coming up. I wanted to celebrate my birthday in my new apartment. Please! I needed that so badly!

I was still gigging on tv, singing or dancing for free t-shirts in between takes, no shame in my game! I was having a good time being back in LA. I made sure not to book the few hour shows, I was determined to work for real money or nothing at all. I would have rather stay at home and invest that time on booking myself on other shows or commercials or whatever than drive all the way to Hollywood for a few hour show. I was determined!

Carly told me about this movie she did background in, I could tell she didn't really want to tell me about it but she was really frustrated that it had been four months and she still hadn't received her check for that job. Apparently, there's this guy who books her for background work, I think that's the part she didn't want to tell me about. She didn't want me asking for the guy's number and getting jobs through her connection, even though all her other tv work was through my connections. She told me that she had been calling that guy endlessly for months and he would always tell her he was going to follow up and call her back, which he never did. One day, I sucked it up and asked her who the guy is, she just told me that it's some guy, but she no longer  was a fan of is all things considered. She didn't want to give me any info on him. I dropped it.

One day she called his office in front of me, I heard his name. I had never heard of him before, it wasn't going to be easy to find out more about him. I had a great mind to track him down, get him to book me and tell her about it, out of spite. I couldn't though because I had never heard of him. One day, she had the never to ask me about one of my connections. I told her that I didn't want to talk about the connection. I shut her down just like she did me when I asked for her connection. Fair, no?

One day, I was at home, minding my own business, doing my nails on the futon when Carly got a call from a friend of hers asking if she was available to work on a show. She wasn't. She had a 'date' with a guy I am convinced she has a crush on and is gay. She says they're really good friends. They met on Tinder though, so. She didn't want to cancel the meeting with her 'friend' for work which is so unlike her. As they were talking, I was thinking to myself, but I'm here! Just as  I did, her friend asked if she knew of anyone who was available because it was a rush call and they needed lots of people. Rush call = last minute call. She had the phone on speaker, so she was fcked. I heard the entire conversation. That'll teach her not to put her calls on speaker. Nobody wants to hear her conversations. Being in a tight corner, she asked if I wanted to work that gig. I didn't feel like it but I took it because she never hooks me up. I wasn't going to turn down the only time she ever hooked me up. Plus, the guy had mentioned that the gig was through the guy she had been trying not to give me his contacts. I thought that was a great chance for me to get them.

Her friend told her I can just show up on set. I told her that I wasn't comfortable showing up somewhere I had never been to work for someone I had never worked for, I would rather confirm with the person who was doing the booking, that's when she gave me the number of the casting guy. I was so happy. It was a good day! I made it to set on time, found the last parking spot on the lot and had a great time working. I sat next to a semi-crazy girl who had vacationed in South Africa, when I told her that's where I was from, she greeted me in Zulu. Which was endearing. We became text buddies sorta.
On the set of the court show wearing my trusted old Woolworths dress.

I got to meet the casting guy, he gave me his business card. It was a good day!

As I was stepping out that day to the car from Carly's, I saw a bunch of stuff in the hallway. It looked like someone was either getting rid of them or they were moving out. I sniffed around and saw a brand new blender amongst those things. I didn't want to grab it in case someone was moving out. I called and asked Carly to keep an eye, if the stuff was still there after an hour or so, could she get the blender for me. She sounded nervous as if I was making her steal for me. She then went outside to have a look at the stuff and called me back ever so excited! She told me that she met the owner of the things, it's actually a lady who lived two doors from her apartment. The lady was moving to Paris that night and was getting read of everything in her apartment. Carly took the blender for me and asked when I thought I was going to move  out. He thought of getting me the bed but he didn't have room to hold it for me until forever, he needed a definitive date when I was going to move out. I thought that was interesting considering she knew I didn't know for sure when I was moving out. I also thought that that was her chance of telling me she wanted me out.
The blender after I washed it a gazillion times, even though it was brand new

I told her that I would definitely be out by my birthday, April 10th, if you want to sing for me on my birthday :) Carly got me a queen size bed, I asked her to leave it in the hallway, I would check it out when I got home, she told me she also saw a pretty couch which she was going to keep for herself, she got a gigantic mirror too and a bunch of other things. I don't know where she was going to put the couch, personally, I think she was being her greedy self. I saw a lot of things that I could have taken for myself but I didn't want to end up with a bunch of things that were not going to go with my furniture. I didn't have furniture yet, I decided to let the stuff go but Carly just wanted to keep everything for herself.

When I got home that evening, Carly had put the bed in her apartment, which was sweet but I wish she had left it in the hallway because it had bedbugs! I saw about three and blood stains from them on the mattress, one was crawling as I inspected the mattress. Yuck! Carly was out with her friend, the bed was near my clothes. I was freaking out. I couldn't help  but think, this girl! The one time she does something nice, it backfired! That probably wasn't fair because how could she have known that the bed had bedbugs that were clearly crawling all over it #sarcasm

I pushed the bed back to the hallway and vacuumed the floor like a million times. I moved my luggage to the other end of the apartment. I wasn't about to move bedbugs to my new Beverly Hills apartment. Hell No! Carly felt bad when I told her about the bed bugs. She freaked out too and was like, 'OMG, are the clothes I had on safe? I don't know about things like bed bugs, what should I do, Brook!' That's kinda like a dig because it says I know about gross things like bed bugs and you don't. Why? I advised her to wash her clothes separately from the rest of her clothes or just throw them away. She has lots of clothes anyways. She did neither.

The same afternoon as when the lady told me I didn't get the old apartment, I was perusing through Craig's list. I saw an apartment in Beverly Hills, it fit everything I desired but had a blue bath tub. I wasn't sure how I felt about that. Oh and a blue sink. I went on this other site that has rentals for the west side, that's Westwood, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, etc. The best side haha. I saw that same apartment advertised on there as well but one would have to pay to get contact details on that site as opposed to Craig's list. I bookmarked the apartment and kept looking. I was going to call them the following morning during office hours. I showed it to Carly. She told me that the blue bathroom could be worked on. I didn't make a big deal about whether or not I was interested in the apartment. I like to tell people after I achieve something not while I am still working at getting it, I believe that their opinions and energies can ruin my vibe. That may be a weird way to go about things, but it's my way. What do you think?

The Blye bathroom. 
The following morning, Carly went to school. I called the apartment people, they told me that the apartment was still available, I could view it whenever I wished. They had a lock on the door and a code to access the keys to the doors. I was then to fill out the application on line if I were interested. I took the bus to view the apartment. I tried to clear my head of any negative thought even though my spirit was kind of hurt because I didn't get the first apartment. I took my headphones with me and listened to music on my iPod. It was good times! The bus turned out not to go all the way to the street  I was going to even though that's what it said on Maps. Oh well. I walked the rest of the blocks. It must have been a ten minute walk.
That's the face of someone chasing after a dream

I loved the neighborhood. It had a lot of apartments, some of them had the to let sign. I didn't want to confuse myself by taking those phone numbers but then again  you never know! I got to the street I was headed to, walked towards what I was hoping was going to be my new apartment. It was a small building with +-10 units. I walked around looking for the unit I was going to view. Luckily, a man asked if I was looking for the empty unit. I told him I was, he directed me and told me what the code was. I made my way towards the apartment, opened the door and took of my shoes. It was too clean for me to walk with my dirty shoes on the rug. The entire place is carpeted except for the bathroom and the kitchen.

The apartment is gigantic! As soon as I walked in, I had this huge smile in my face, I locked the door behind me for privacy and just walked around smiling...


Sunday, October 18, 2015

Open House

So! Time went on, one morning, I was sitting on the couch, doing my morning ritual; drinking green tea and updating my gratitude journal, Carly came in and was so frustrated. She told me that she really needs a car and wanted me to give her a ride to a few dealerships to view cars she had been looking at online. I didn't see that coming. I asked her what kind of car she was looking for. This is how she described it, "I want a white car! I really love white.  It my favorite color. Is that weird?" I was like, what's weird is that since your friend's birthday, yellow was your favorite color. Anyway, she went on to describe the car she wants as one with leather seats. She was describing my car but what are you gonna do? I told her to go ahead and get the car she wants. The fck do I care?


She wanted a smaller car with four doors so she could use It for Uber. I was like, you should get the car of your dreams, you already have a job and you have school, you won't have time to uber anyway, why do you care? She was looking at a few mini coopers. She wanted something really cute. I was like, do what you have to, girl! I for one am not crazy about really tall people squeezing themselves in Mini Coopers and Beetles but that's just me. There were also a few Beetles she was looking at. All the cars she was looking at had salvaged engines. I noticed that but didn't say anything because she talks to both her parents everyday, I'm sure she discussed her car shopping with them. If she likes Salvaged cars, then I love them for her! She showed me the cars, they were really cute but the salvage was a red flag for me. I told her to go and test drive them if she wanted to. I didn't know she was that serious about looking for  a car. As we were looking at cars, I noticed that amongst the cars she had bookmarked there were lots of apartments in the Beverly Hills adjacent neighborhoods. I found that rather interesting. There I was struggling to find a place to stay and she was secretly looking for a place as well on the side. Can you say sneaky?


When I saw the apartments, I said something along the lines of, oh so you're looking for an apartment too? She told me that she really didn't like living where she does. She wanted to move closer to her job. Her job is in Beverly Hills, meaning, she was looking for an apartment in Beverly Hills. How is that for interesting? At one point, she suggested I find a two bedroom and share with her. I told her thanks, but no thanks! She asked me for some car buying tips. I asked her why she didn't ask her father considering he is a man and had also just bought a car recently? Plus, he's her father, it's his job. She told me she didn't think her parents would be ok with her buying a used car. I was like, in that case, let them buy you a brand new car!


She talked to a friend of hers that night who warned her against buying salvaged cars. The following day, she brought that dog on computer to me in the living room and invaded my personal space again asked for advice again, The list had gone to zero as all the cars she was looking at had salvaged engines. She had a lot of Toyota Camrys and Nissans on her list. I was like, I thought you were looking for small cars? She told me she really loves Camry's. That's her first preference. Wow! You could've fooled me. I don't know if at 22 I would want to drive that car, again, that's just me. Also, I didn't even have a car at 22, so.


I saw an apartment that I was really interested in in Beverly Hills. The one thing I wasn't crazy about about the place was the fact that it was right by Beverly Hills High school. I wasn't trying to live by a school. Also, they only had street parking. I wanted to have my own spot. I didn't want no first come, first served type parking, where I would have to remember to move my car when there's street sweeping. I had to pursue it though, time was running out. I got the address. Even though they told me that the tenant hadn't moved out yet, I went for a spin in the neighborhood,  I parked outside the apartment, imagined myself living there, walked towards it. The gate was closed, I saw a nice lady parking in front of the apartment in a nice BMW X6.  I approached her and asked her about the apartment advertised, she gave me a phone number. I already had the lady's number, I had talked to her, she told me that she was going to let me know when the tenant moved out so I could go view the place. The agent had actually told me that she would see if I could go view the place when she does her final walk through, that way I was going to see it before everyone else. I thought that was really sweet of her. Maybe that was the place for me after all!


I didn't tell anyone about that place. I didn't want any weird vibes around my dream apartment. One evening, I got an email from the agent, she told me that she was going to be doing the final walk through the following morning between 9:00 and noon. The following morning, I woke up, meditated on the whole idea of getting the place, took a shower and headed to Beverly Hills with all my paperwork and some cash. You never know when you might need cash. Cash is King ;)


I arrived at the place around 10:00. I wasn't under pressure because I knew that I was the only one who was going to view in that time slot. I then called the lady, she wouldn't pick up the phone for sht! I noticed a lot of traffic in and out the gate. There was also very limited street parking that day, which made me suspicious. I walked towards the gate and came across a gentleman who asked if I was also going to view the apartment upstairs. I told him, I was. He told me he couldn't get hold of the lady. Turned out, it was open house! She lied to me! She probably told everyone that they were going to be the only ones there that day. That left a weird taste in my mouth! I am not a big fan of open houses. They don't make me feel good about my chances of getting a place. I felt like I was tricked into an open house situation.


The lady arrived, she called me by name, which was interesting. Maybe she had googled me. Who knows? We went upstairs, the apartment was very small. It was a 500 square foot one bedroom with an interesting setup living room/kitchen room. It had blinds running from either side of the counter. so the stove, fridge and sink are in a straight line and the blinds were against them. I guess when you're done in the kitchen, you close blinds and voila! You have a living room. Basically, it's a kitchen that had blinds making it turn into a living room. It was a very clever way of not making people feel like they are hanging out in the kitchen. The apartment was on the level above street level, some people call that first floor or whatever you call it. In my head, I had always been envisioning my apartment to be on the street level. That wasn't going to be a deal breaker though, the apartment had lots of lighting, which I loved and an ok view.


Thee bedroom was very small, so small, the closet was just outside the bedroom, then bathroom and that was it!  It was really condensed but It would do for a single person. I didn't have intentions to stay single for a long time but I was hoping to meet someone who had his own place, so, we could make the apartment work. Besides the school situation, it was in a pretty cool area, it had all these big streets around it; Santa Monica Blvd, Pico, Olympic and Wilshire. It's like, it's where all those streets meet. I could use the bus if I wanted to, and go wherever I wanted from that was kind of a plus if I intended not to use my amazing car that I loved. Which would defeat the whole purpose of getting a car, right?


I told the lady that I was interested in the apartment. She gave me application forms. I filled them out (or in, depending which English you speak lol). She wanted $30 application fee. Non refundable. I had to hope that I was going to get the place, that way, I wouldn't have to worry about giving away more application fees. I made copies of all my paperwork and already had bank statement print outs. She wanted the application fee in money order form. Great! I drove around trying to get a money order. Finally, I got it. By then, the lady had gone back to the office. She did agree to meet me back at the apartment.


I headed back to the apartment. As she was taking all my paperwork, the agent, informed me that someone else had already put in an application before me. I don't know when because I was one of the first people to get there that day, clearly, that person got there day before everyone else. Bad taste in mouth anybody? She told me that they were reviewing that person's application and if they were not approved, I was going to be considered. I wanted to die. After everything I went through, I wasn't even first in line! Kill me!


I drove back downtown. Halfway there, I remembered, sht! The money order! I didn't take it out of my wallet! Oh Lord! What do I do now? Traffic was starting to get crazy! Do I drive back to Beverly Hills and risk getting stuck in traffic on my way back? There's nothing I hate more than being stuck in traffic when I didn't have to be, like if I was at home all day, then decide to go to the mall in the evening, then get stuck in traffic. It's like are you kidding me? I could have done this three hours ago! Should I head back or call the lady and ask her to still consider me, I would pay her back later? Should I not say anything and wait for her to ask for the money order in case the first person was going to take the apartment after all?

Saturday, October 03, 2015

Thot

By the way, after I locked myself out the second time, I had to do damage control that very night before anyone got back home. Fortunately. I got back home before anyone else, so I went to a few stores to buy stuff to patch what the guy and I did to the door. I found material that was exactly the same color as the door paint color. I didn't even have to paint it afterwards. I just patched it and voila! I was so happy. The thing was only a dollar too!

While Carly was stuck outside, she decided to go to Subway, she bought herself a Sub for dinner over there, went back to the apt to eat. She also checked her mail, it was March, her birth month, her best friend mailed her a gift. I got a text from Carly with a picture, it was a picture of a wrapping of her birthday from her friend. Carly wrote: After so many years of friendship, my best friend still doesn't know how to spell my last name; sad! I replied, oh cool! She sent you something? What did you get? She told me she sent her a handbag, she was like, 'I don't know why everyone bought me a handbag this year. I don't even need handbags. My mom bought me a handbag in her style, it's too grown up for me, my best friend, who I expected more from her just sent me a handbag and my friend here, sent me a bandbag as well! This is the worst birthday!' I replied, you're lucky so many people bought your gifts for your birthday! I wasn't feeding into her sht at all. Someone buys you a gift and ships it all the way to you and you wanna complain about how they spelt your last name, are you shitting me? She knows her last name is difficult to spell! So ungrateful! Why not ship the gift back and tell them wrong person?

She sent another text, 'Is it weird that I like the birthday card more than the gift itself?' I replied 'lol'. Didn't I tell this btch I was busy? Why is she blowing up my phone? I thought she didn't like it when people do that to her. Hypocrite much?

She finally went back to school for the rest of her classes that night. That's when I got home. I had gotten into the habit of pretending to be asleep when she got home. I just didn't want to be bothered. She always had some crisis she needed me to solve for her.

In the weeks, I had taken a break from looking for an apartment, I felt like going away for a day trip or the weekend. I had always wanted to go to Malibu, Santa Barbara and Laguna Beach. I wanted to go on a day trip to one of those places. I told Carly that I felt like going away. She told me to totally do it. Next thing I knew, she was on a websites she saw me logged on, she was looking for tickets to go on a day trip. Uhm, Double You Tee Eff? She told me that she had this sudden urge to want to go on a day trip somewhere, she didn't know why. Just like she did me, I told her to totally do it! Either way, I was going to get a break from her, I didn't care if she copied my idea that one time!

She wanted to go hiking for her birthday. Her friend in San Francisco wanted her to visit for her birthday. I had mentioned once that her friendship with that girl was very one sided, it was basically like mine with Carly but I didn't add that part. That girl was doing to Carly what Carly does to me. She always calls with problems. Carly will be on the phone for hours solving that girl's problems. When Carly calls with a situation, that girl is always busy or they will end up talking about that girl. Carly asked the girl to come to LA for Carly's birthday, the girl was like, nah, I'm busy. Next thing, the girl was on vacation in Vegas. When Carly told me that, I was like, didn't she say she was busy with work in San Fran? Now she's in Vegas for an entire week? Anyway, I didn't want to immerse myself in other people's problems. They had been friends, Carly knows what that friendship serves in her life. When Carly asked the girl to come to LA for the birthday, the girl told her that she was over LA, how about Carly go to San Francisco? Carly was like but it's MY birthday, people should come to me not the other way round! I thought to myself, finally, your eyes are opening up, you mole you!

San Francisco was one of the places I wanted to visit. It was in my vision board. I didn't get to go in December, 2014, I definitely had to do it this year. I was in no hurry though. One morning, I got up early,showered and left for union station. I wanted to go to Santa Barbara. Someone had misinformed me regarding ticket prices. It was five times what I thought the fare was going to be. I wasn't willing to part with that much money out of the blue. I decided to go back to Malibu for the day instead. It's much closer. I looked up bus schedule on my phone. The bus left every hour from where I was. I waited on the bus and soon saw it pass on the opposite side. I was waiting on the wrong side. I just took it as that was not the day for me to go to those places. The weather was crazy but I needed to get the heck out of there.

I headed back to the apartment. Carly was up when I got back. Girl, I had left around 7am! I didn't even want to see her face that day! Alas, that wasn't meant to be! She asked where I went looking so dressed up? I told her I was headed out of town for a day trip.

She had planned to go n a hiking trip with her friends on her birthday. Because, that's a thing people want to drive all the way from San Francisco to do in LA, smdh. I was like, your friends must really love you if they are going to go hiking with your on your birthday!She looked at me like I was crazy, I looked at her like she was a model! Not long after that, she started making plans to go out of town. She got tickets, took a few days off and went to her hometown for her birthday. She literally dropped plans she made forever ago of going hiking with her friends for her birthday to go on a trip because I was so serious on going for one. She ended up going on a trip before me.

She left mountain of dishes in the sink. I had stopped cleaning up after her once I started paying. It was the best week without her, I didn't even go away anymore while she was gone! What for? I had the peace of mind I needed.

When she was leaving, she asked me to drop her off at the bus station. I told her I had work, I wasn't going to have time. What? I remember telling her one day that we could have an arrangement where instead of taking Uber, she takes Uber all the time, she doesn't like the bus, she could gas up my car and I could take her where she needed to go, whenever I was around. I wasn't going to make any profit from the whole deal. Quite honestly, I was avoiding being her unpaid chauffeur because some people have a tendency of thinking people's cars run on friendship. I didn't want to have yet another elephant in the room. She couldn't maintain eye contact with me when I came up with that idea. I could tell she wasn't buying it. She wanted free rides or she would rather pay more on Uber, so call Uber then! Right?

She asked me to help carry her luggage downstairs, I was so fed up with all the requests, I wanted to cry. How can one person be such a pain in the ass though? Damn it, man! I couldn't be happier when the Uber driver drove off with her. She was blowing me kisses, I was blowing her away! As far away as possible.

While texting back and forth, on her way, I was like, girl, you're 22 years old and single, you better have a fling while you're in Seattle! She was like, you're right, girl! Let's do it! I'll find someone in Seattle, you find someone in LA, we can exchange stories when I get back! I replied, 'Nah, I'm good, I'll wait till I fall in love'. She texted back that I was right, it's good to first fall in love. I thought to myself, whatever! I've had my fair share of flings.

Halfway in her trip, I got a text from Carly, she was sitting next to the hottest guy on the bus, omg, what should I do, Brook? WHATEVER YOU WANNA DO, CARLY! The fck do I care? You're gone, let me enjoy your absence, don't still be texting me for advice!

They stopped somewhere for refreshments, she told me she wanted to kiss the guy so bad, and asked if that was bad. I told her it was up to her. I was so over it. The guy was sitting on the isle seat opposite Carly, they were both sitting on isle seats. She told me that they had been drinking the guys' alcohol when they were on a layover. She asked me if it would be bad if she asked the guy to sit next to her. She wanted to make out with him. He looked like he wanted to make out with her too. Apparently, she knew him that well. I told her to go ahead if she wanted to be that girl on the bus who is so thirsty she's asking strangers to come closer. Thot anybody?

Apparently, she went ahead and asked the guy, the guy was like, no! They did exchange numbers when she got off. They had a date set for when she was on her way back to LA. She told me that the guy wasn't even her type, he was black and he smoked but there's something about him that she couldn't resist. I thought to myself, how soon she fell in love!

When she got home, she sent me a long ass text about how her life sucks, she went all the way to Seattle for nothing. I mean, the bus ride was 24 hours or something like that. It was long! She told me that her brother wouldn't even give her a hug. She was so excited to see him, she ran towards him with her arms open and he just walked right past her rotfl! They were in public! At the bus station. She told me she was so hurt. I thought to myself, if this girl really texting me this right now? She's with her parents for goodness sakes, fix it amongst family. I don't care! I replied, 'Wow! That sucks!' and went on with my life.

I am going to assume she could see that I wasn't interested in chatting anymore, because the texts slowed down tremendously after that.

On her way back, I got a text that she was looking forward to seeing her new boyfriend from the bus. He had lent her his jacket that smelled like cigarettes on their first trip, so, of course I called him Jacket, sometimes I'd call him Suede. It was a suede jacket ;)

They had been texting the entire time she was in Seattle, aaahhh, that's why she wasn't texting me any more! Thank goodness for small miracles! She told him how far she was. He was going to take a break from work and drive to the station to meet her. They had a long layover, so it was going to be enough time to go on a date. Or to make out, I don't know what they had in mind.

I got a long ass text about how she hated men, that guy led her on, why is it that it's always the ones you love that will let you down blah blah blah, she was done! Apparently, the guy told her that he was on his way. He told her where he was that moment. She looked up ETA (estimated time of arrival) on google maps and saw that he should be with her in ten minutes. 10...20...30...nothing! She called, he didn't pick up. She waited and waited and waited and then started texting me. I wasn't of much help because I didn't care.

The finally arrived back in LA the following day. She texted me that morning and asked what my plans were, I told her I wasn't sure. I knew she wanted to ask me to pick her up and I wasn't going to do it no matter what. Luckily, I was booked that afternoon. I left early, so that I wasn't there when she got home. I didn't feel like hauling suitcases up five flights of stairs like 12 years a slave. she got home to an empty house. Just what she deserved, She didn't get love from her brother in Seattle and she got nothing but a kitchen full of smelly dishes in her own home. What a life!

I saw her the following day, she told me all about what I had missed out on her life on. She asked what I thought she should do about the guy. I told her she could ask him what happened. I mean what did she stand to lose? There was clearly nothing going on between the two of them. She texted him, he apologised and told her that he got stuck in traffic. She told me that she felt awkward telling him that she had checked traffic in his route and it should've only taken him ten minutes to get to the station. She told me she felt used and violated. I was like, uhm, what?

Turns out they had had phone sex and all while she was in Seattle. Maybe he had promised her things on her way back, that's why she was so ocd, checking him on google etc. I was like, do you really want to be in a relationship with a guy you met on the bus, who you tried to have come sit next with you and refused and then went on to have phone sex with without even knowing him? Clearly  the guy didn't think that much of you! Well, after the apology, they picked up from where they left off. I don't care, good for her, at least she was getting something, no matter what that thing was.

The following guy, the guy told her he was going to be in LA, but ended up standing her up again. Long story short, he asked her to go meet up with him in San Diego; 3 hours or so away by public transport. She asked what I thought of that. I told her to go if she wanted to have sex with him. She was like, no he just wants to see me. I was like, girl, you're so cute!

Anyway, she ended up cutting all ties with him. Life went back to normal. I was back to looking for a place to stay.

I started thinking about that man, Spotty from forever ago, remember him? I told Carly how I was thinking him a lot for some reason. I woke up one morning to a voicemail on my phone. It was him! He told me that he had been thinking about me, he wanted to know what I was doing that weekend. Maybe we could go out some time. I mean, I had relocated to so many states since he and I hooked up. I called him back, we talked for about an hour. It was nice to talk but I wasn't trying to be friends or anything. That ship had sailed. He told me that he had been doing a lot of soul searching and had been making amends with people he had wronged in the past blah. I guess that's where I came in. Nice for him!

It was season for Last Comic standing. I went to a lot of those tapings. So much fun! I got to see Roseanne, the comedian? She looks amazing, she lost a ton of weight. I actually complimented her, she was like, awww, thank you sweetheart! You're so sweet! With that accent of hers. The oldest Wayan Brother is one of the hosts and producers, so hot. 0% body fat and so smart! Wanda Sykes is the executive producer, so she came out and we got to see her in person too. They also have one of the older SNL (Saturday Night Live) guys as hosts. That guy has a lot of fans. I didn't even know who he was until my first day there. His name is Norm Macdonald, you can look him up if you wish.

I got a couple of shirts from Last comic, one was my first night there. They asked who was with their significant other. I pointed at a guy who was sitting next to me. They asked who his spouse was, I pointed at a lady who was sitting on my other side. The audience warm up lady was like, so why are you sitting in between a couple. I told her, that's what I do, split up couples. She asked him to dance for a t shirt for his wife. The guy is as gay as can be. He got up danced so well, and got a t shirt. They asked him what his wife's name was. He told the lady he never met that woman,the woman is Brook's friend, so was the guy. Haha! He chose to give me the t shirt. When he got back, I introduced him to the lady, I was like, meet your wife!

It was a good day, the comediennes who competed were really good. A few weeks or so, I was sitting near the door and they were giving away t shirts. They asked for singers in between scenes or whatever. I told a girl who was sitting next to me that I was going to get one. So many people wanted t shirts, that it became a competition as to who was a better singer. This is Hollywood, people are a really good in arts here. And I'm just a girl from Africa trying to make it in America. I told that girl I was going to get a t-shirt. I had a secret weapon. My Africanness! People were belting out songs better than the likes of Alicia Keys and I wasn't intimidated at all. When it was my turn, I sang the Click song, aka Igqirha lendlela nguqongqothwane. Miriam Makeba's hit. I won the first shirt. It was my size. I put it on immediately and told the girl who was sitting next to me, I TOLD YA SO!

Doing last comic was fun because we always wrapped really late, no traffic at all, it took me 12 minutes flat to get downtown from Universal Studios. The down side was that I used to get home around the same time as Carly. Whenever I got home before her, I would go straight to bed and pretend to be asleep when she got home. She be like, Brook! Brook! BRook! Awww, sleeping? Mhh k!

Believe!

Still stranded outside Carly's, I couldn't even go out the building because I had a night gown on, no shoes, no bra, no nothing! You know how it is! I went to one of the windows on the hallway, sat there and regrouped while I enjoyed the sunrise. I found a nice, pink rubber bracelet written BELIEVE!  I took that as a sign that things would work out in the end as they always do.

I went back to the door with new gusto. I knocked and knocked and knocked, NOTHING! BELIEVE it or not! There was nobody in the hallway, it was so early, I felt so bad that I wasn't even an official resident and I was waking the neighbors up but who wants to sit in the hallway not knowing their future. The longer I was stuck out there, the more I needed to pee. I had to distract myself and not thing about that because there was nowhere I could go pee.

Eventually, I thought to go downstairs just to see if someone could come up with a better idea than  just knocking on the door. I found a kind gentleman about to head out on his bicycle. I asked if he knew the manager's number.I was going to ask for Carly's phone number, then call her and ask her to open. That's hoping her phone wasn't on silent. Also, she screens her calls, there was a high chance she wasn't going to pick up when I called but I had to have faith, and BELIEVE! The kind man called the manager and asked for Carly's number. The manager asked who I was. I told him I was Bee, I didn't want to complicate things more than they already were. Apparently, Carly tried not to disclose that she had a roommate when Bee moved in, management went for inspection and found an entire bed and stuff showing that there was a roommate, they started charging Carly $100 extra per month for having an extra person in her apartment. I didn't want them charging her another additional $100 because of me.

I should've told them, that would teach her not to leave people soaking in their own urine outside when it would only take her a minute to get up and open the door. Come to think of it, Maybe she used that time to go through my stuff while I was out there, because I left everything carelessly on the coffee table, thinking I would be right back. That was the only chance she had with my journal and stuff, she must have been having withdrawal symptoms since  I started hiding my stuff from her.

The manager texted the man Carly's number. We called Carly. She didn't pick up. I left her a voicemail. Nothing! I wasn't going to make the poor man wait there for a diva that was probably never going to get out of bed for a peasant like me. I then asked the Good Samaritan if I could send Carly a text telling her that I was locked out to please let me in. She called as soon as she got the text. I told her I was on my way up. She opened for me. I didn't even want to get to it and be all confrontational and sht. That was just another sign that that was not my home. It was another reminder that I shouldn't relax there. I had to find my own place fast and GTFO (get the fck out).

When she opened, she was like, hey girl, how are you? I  was just like, I was like, I wold be so much better if you didn't ignore me for two hours outside your apartment like some second hand citizen. She was like, 'What do you mean?' I told her I was locked out, I had been knocking for hours! She replied, 'Awwwwww, I didn't hear it! I'm making breakfast, would you like some?' I was like, wow, that's how we're going to end the conversation? I didn't say that but I thought it. Stuff like that causes resentment. It makes you crave an opportunity to get back at a bitch. Doesn't it?

We had to act like there wasn't an elephant in the room. At least I had to act, I think Carly was doing just fine!

One afternoon, I got a missed calls from Bee while in Hollywood, she had locked herself out. It was very easy to get out of Carly's apartment. I was too far and on set, so I couldn't help. For whatever reason, Carly couldn't help either. In fact, I think Bee had forgotten her key at school. She had to drive all the way back, she wanted to get ready for work. She ended up being late.

By the way, the key that I had left inside the apartment, I had cut for myself with my own money. When I first moved in, I had to work with Carly's schedule, which I totally respected. I usually work in Hollywood, she works in Beverly hills and the apartment is downtown. I wouldn't always get hold of her on the phone because she doesn't like it when people blow up her phone, so, sometimes she just ignores everybody's calls. I personally haven't seen her ignore calls when she's around me, but I have had my calls be ignored. Just saying. People forget that when you're around them a lot, you know what their MO (modus operandi or method of operation) is.

One day, she left the key with me. I was going to go to the store while she went to school but I was going to get back before her and had no plans to go anywhere else that day. First thing I did was go to a locksmith and get myself spare keys. What she would do was, she would live her life like she didn't have someone extra in her house who is paying and just go all the way to Beverly Hills without telling me anything and then when  I get out of a show, Carly is at work and can't get to the phone. Or she would send me a text telling me that if I needed the key, she was at work. Meaning, btch, feel free to come get the key all the way in Beverly hills. Good like driving 45 minutes in traffic to come pick up a $1.50 key from me that I could have just cut you a spare of forever ago!  I would then have to drive an hour to her apartment from her job.

Is it me, or is that whole arrangement mean? I did that twice and thought to myself, I can't be doing this. My car is a V8, it's a gas guzzler, I didn't want to find myself resenting my amazing car because I was dealing with a very mean, selfish, diva! So I did what any self respecting human being would do and got myself spare keys. I even got the main door key cut. That took me a while because not all people will do that for you because it's written DO NOT COPY on it. But I found someone. That cost me $5 but it was worth it! I thought to myself that when I move out, I would throw away the keys as far as possible. I was not going to give that girl keys I had worked so hard to get for free. Fck that!

The day I was locked out, when we called the manager, he told me that they don't have spares for Carly's apartment because she locked herself out once, they gave her those keys and told her to return them and she never did. Turns out Carly gave those keys to Bee because she was too cheap to spend $6.50. She works in a restaurant, that's tips to her. Come on!

Anyway, she soon found out that I had my keys because I was no longer blowing up her phone trying to find out where she was when I wanted to go home. She gets home at midnight or sometimes 1 am from work, so there was no way of waiting for her in the car after work. That's why  I had to drive all the way to her job.

One day, it was at noon. I wanted to get my mail, I took the mailbox key, that too was another mission. Carly only had one, she never even made spare for Bee. Bee had been living there for half a year when I got there. I had to have my mail forwarded from my old Vegas address, so I used Carly's address, with her permission. We all had to wait for her to check the mail. So controlling! I asked her to leave the key somewhere in the house in case someone needed something urgently and she wasn't home. She did. I tried to get a spare cut, the guy didn't have the material they use to make that particular key. Bummer!

This one afternoon, I took the mailbox key and then locked the door behind me. I forgot the dog on apartment key! My mind was so focusing on the Mailbox key! Fck! The elevator wasn't working. I didn't want to walk all the way down five flights of stairs and back to get the mailbox key, so I ended up forgetting the door key. Fck it! The thing I wanted had arrived in the mail but how was I going to get back inside? I had to go through the same process again, getting Carly's key. Luckily, this time, I saw a lady in the hallway, she seemed nice. I greeted her, introduced myself and told her what I had just done. She invited me over to her apartment, which was just next door. She offered me something to drink and some pumpkin pie! I know! Talk about hospitality! We called the manager, got Carly's number, texted her and asked for Bee's number. They were both at school, so no hope there. I had a show in an hour and a half and hadn't showered yet.

I had to think fast. The lady let me use her internet. I went on Youtube and searched for ways to break in. None worked. The neighbor was so sweet, she was breaking in with me. Eventually, I was like, let me go downstairs. I didn't have a key, so I couldn't get out of the apartment block, or else I would be locked out of that too. I had my night gown on, a blazer and shoes, go figure. It was quicker to put that on than a bra. I opened the main door and saw a guy leaning by the wall waiting for the bus. I was peeping out just with my head because I didn't want to risk getting locked out. I asked the guy if he could do me a favor. He said yes without even asking me what it was. What an angel! I told him what my situation was, he came all the way up with me, used a knife to chip off part of the door that was in line with the lock. He noticed that that part was not wood, apparently someone had already broken in before and used some other material to patch the thing which made it that much easier for us to re-break in. What a silly system!

The guy let me in in less than ten minutes. I was so happy, I literally jumped up and down for joy. I grabbed my wallet and tried to pay him but he blatantly refused my money. He told me to take that money and fix the door, lmao. I gave him a hug and asked for his number, I wanted to take him out some time. He didn't have a phone. He told me I didn't owe me anything and left. Thank you guy, you saved my life! The lady from next door told me to buy her sweet potato pie as a thank you, so that was our deal.

I took a quick shower and headed for Hollywood. I didn't even tell Carly what happened. Why bother. Bee's response to my text about being locked out was: I'm at school! So clearly I was alone on that one. I still think she thought I was around when she was locked out, maybe she thought I could've done more. Oh well!

The following week, I was booked at Warner Brothers. That didn't last long, so I headed back home. There was so much traffic, I found a 99 cents store in Studio City and went in there to kill time. Best 99 cents store ever! While wandering about their isles, I got a call from Carly. She locked herself out! Buuaaahhhahahahah! Evil laugh - in my head. She was so stressed out, she had two hours to kill, needed to pee and wanted to eat. I told her that I was in Studio City, I didn't even feel bad or try to rush downtown ASAP. If she couldn't get out of bed to open the door, why should I drive in traffic and waste gas to save her ass? She tried to keep me on the phone to kill time, I was like, listen, I'm kind of in the middle of something, can we talk later? I wanted her to feel every minute of being locked out!

Friday, October 02, 2015

Where's Waldo?

By the second week, still staying at  Carly's, I was getting fed up of apartment searching. I had mentioned that if I had financial difficulties, in my new apartment in Beverly Hills, I would use airbnb to find people to stay there temporarily to help me with rent. She asked more about airbnb. Next thing, I knew, she told me she was going to use the couch to airbnb once I moved out. I think she started getting greedy, thinking, why do I have you here staying for free when I could be making money through airbnb that I didn't know about until you mentioned it. 

She told me that, within my first week of moving in, her roommate, Bee, told here that she liked me and I could stay there as long as I wanted to, she had no problem with that. I thought that was sweet. That certainly took the weight off my shoulders. Carly told me that. I thanked her for it and bought them both matching new dresses. Carly wore hers the very next day, she looked so cute in it. I would show you a picture but I don't like to use people's pictures. Anyway, I came up with an idea; because I was tired of apartment hunting, I asked Carly if I could be her first airbnb guest and start paying. She told me she liked the idea, she could use the money to buy new clothes. I had taken her to my favorite spot from Vegas. It turned out there was a branch just down the road from her apartment. She loved it. She bought so much stuff there, they had a gigantic sale. 75% off. I looked for the rest of February but took a break in March. I only looked in the beginning and took a break midway. I reckoned people move out end of beginning of the month anyways. I needed to recharge my batteries. I must say  I never foresaw staying that long at Carly's. I'm grateful for the roof over my head during that time.

I asked her how much she would charge me. She was like, how about $20 per night? I was like, you're gonna charge me a daily rate? I told her I was going to stay the rest of February. I wanted a monthly rate, then we would split it into half. She was like $500. I was like, I can afford any amount you want but can I just say this; Be very careful how you handle this because money is another issue. We think we don't need it but when an opportunity is presented before us where we could make money we didn't even expect, people can get greedy and want to make as much money out of that one opportunity as possible, which can in turn turn things around for them and they can end up losing that entire opportunity. Don't allow yourself to get greedy. Remember that you guys offered for me to stay free of charge as long as I needed. Now you want me to pay $500 per month.

Here's the thing; Rent in that apartment is $950 all inclusive. There are three of us, one of which has the entire bedroom to themselves, the other one has an enclosed space and a full closet, then there's me, a random person, sleeping near the kitchen that smells because the one who locks herself up in the privacy of her room is a slob and I have to pay the most? Why am I paying more than half the entire rent? Her roommate was paying $450, meaning, Carly was going to stay for free and I was taking over her share of the rent. Preposterous! Greed is a dangerous thing my friends! I told her $500 is far less than what I will be paying in BH, I could pay it without contesting it but that would ruin things between us. It would be the elephant in the room. She agreed and ended up charging me $300. Mind you, I still had to pay $100 for parking per month. That would have been $700, If I had agreed to pay the initial $20 per night. She should be grateful I have a conscience because if roles were reversed, she never would've offered to pay. She told me that she was going to take the money and go shopping. I was like, uhm, so you're not going to tel Bee that I'm paying? That's awkward! I will be walking around with a sense of entitlement knowing that I pay rent and she will be looking at me like, check you out walking around here like you're paying but you're not! Carly was like, well, I wasn't going to tell her, she doesn't care, she makes a lot of money. Again, Greed! I told Carly, an extra $300 wasn't going to change her life but it will do wonders for her and her relationship with her roommate, Bee if she split it up with her. It would make Bee see her differently. Considering they didn't even have a relationship. Bee probably can see right through Carly, that's why she's not feeling her very much. In the end, Carly put half of my share into an envelope and gave it to Bee. 

One morning, I woke up in a great mood (as usual!) and went to the hallway to check out the temperature outside the hallway windows. I had my night gown on. As the door slammed behind me I remembered, OH SNAP, I DON'T HAVE THE KEY WITH ME!  I got locked out! Story of my life! Why? Why? Why? I ask with tears in my big blue eyes, why? I continued to check the weather and went back to the door because, I was in a great mood, what could go wrong? Plus, Carly was still home. I didn't have my cell with me, but it's a one bedroom, I'll just knock.

I knocked.... and knocked....... and knocked...... nothing! I grabbed an empty beer bottle I saw in the hallway, I used that to knock. Nothing! I found a pain can lid, I used that to bang on the door. Nada! What? Is this chick still alive?  I didn't get it because I have a very sharp hearing. Not a sense of smell, but hearing. I'm that person who always tells people in the grocery store that their cellphones are ringing in their handbags, when they themselves can't hear them. I couldn't fathom someone banging on the door so loud with all kinds of stuff and still not hearing them. Granted, her bedroom door was closed but still! It probably is really hard to hear someone with the bedroom door closed but when you're the one stuck outside feeling ignored, it's hard to wrap your head around that.

I stood there wondering how long before she woke up or needed to use the restroom or something. Usually, she would get up early and come sit on the couch with me and spy on me. Sometimes, I would get up early, and update my gratitude journal. She would come stand right above me, all 5'10 of her and make small talk while reading what I'm writing. I was not grateful for that! One afternoon, we were walking on Broadway Street, downtown LA; she told me that she decided to do what I told her to; she was going to make some kind of a gratitude journal. I had never told he to do that. She told me that I told her to start all her lines with I'm grateful for.... Only, I never told her that! I have pretty decent memory, I never told that girl that! She told me that she was going to buy a box, write the things she's grateful for in a piece of paper and lock them up in a box because she feels weird just writing them in a book. What if someone finds it and reads them? 

Where is Carly now that I needed her to open the door?

I had been leaving my journal carelessly, amongst my stuff. I thought it was safe there but I noticed that I would find it on top of my stuff, knowing fully well that I had covered it up with either the laptop bag or some items of clothing. That left a bad taste in my mouth. I think that's where she got 'my advice' from. Snooping into my private stuff. That's why she felt paranoid that someone might find hers and read it because she found someone else's and read it. What a damn shame! 

After noticing that someone had been going through my stuff, I started making a concerted effort to hide my journal. Really sad when you live with people you're supposed to trust. I know it wasn't Bee because she is hardly there and she is too busy living her life. She didn't have the time. I spend a lot of time on my computer. Carly started sitting next to me in the morning, when I was so busy applying for jobs or looking for apartments. She would bring her own computer. I really wish she had let me stay in the bedroom where I was going to have privacy, she could then use the living room, because she seemed to like it to much. She didn't seem to need the privacy. I noticed that as we were talking and working on our computers, she wouldn't even hear what I was saying, she was so focused on the websites I was on. Next thing, I knew, she was on the websites I was on. So there we were, sitting next to each other, logged onto the same websites. It was rather psychopathic if you ask me. 

I started logging off other sites when she was around and just staying on Craig's list. I also had a password on my cell, tablet and laptop and I hid my journal. 

One evening, I went to the toilet and left Carly working on her PC on the couch. I didn't close mine because I knew I wold be right back. I was in there for a minute and when I came out, she was engrossed on my computer screen, she didn't even hear me coming out of the bathroom! ...