Furniture Shopping

While staying at my place, Dot was looking for an apartment. She was looking more for someone else's fully furnished apartment, like where the owner was temporarily out of town. She wanted to rent something like that. I thought that as a lady in her fifties, she would want something more permanent, but, for each his own! She had two apartments that she was looking at. I asked her why she didn't just find her own apartment, sign a lease and use her furniture that she told me was in storage and have a permanent base for herself. She told me that she had bad credit. I still think she could find something, somewhere if she really wanted it, no matter the shape of her credit record, but that's me. What do I know? I'm just a girl from Africa! I actually, even went on Craig's list and looked at apartments within her price range and showed her nice one bedroom apartments. She seemed excited for a split second but before I knew it, she was going to view the temp homes.

The one she really wanted, got taken. She went to view the second one and came back very happy. She told me she got it and the owner was so kind, they even lent her the car. She could use it for free as long as she needed to. I was like, this is great, man! I somehow thought that was kinda far fetched but, stranger things have happened! The night before she left, she went to work at this apartment on Sunset Strip. She came home so excited, told me that, she locked the apartment, turned around, bumped into someone, looked up and it was Collin Farrell! I was like, daaaayayyuuummmm! Where was this again? She told me she can't tell me that. I was like you didn't sign a non-disclosure with Collin, just tell me where you saw him haha. It wasn't that deep, I wasn't gonna stalk the guy or anything like that. I have his sex tape, I'm good! 

We talked till late that night and as I was about to go to bed, Dot told me that she was going to move out the following day. I wish she had given me more notice, like maybe from the time she got home? It's ok though, we had the best time together, I let that go. The following day, she asked if she could leave her stuff here until after work.  I agreed. No big deal!

It was the weekend, I was going to be out and about looking for furniture but I was going to be in the neighborhood. I asked for the key back because I needed to be able to have someone else move in if I needed to. Plus, her term was up, she would have to work with my schedule if she needed me to do her a favor. I know, I'm strict. I think I'm fair too though. I found a house online that had a yard sale. I called the lady and asked if she had a bed. I needed that more than anything else. She had it! Perfect! I asked her not to sell it to anyone until I get there. I was going to be the first one there, she lived two blocks from me. Day before that I almost bought another bed in my neighborhood but it was sketchy. It had no legs and was kinda old. When I told Dot about it, she looked like she thought I was in a round about way, asking her to help me carry it but I wasn't. I was telling her about my day. It was good to see that she wasn't willing to help me with stuff like that even after everything I did for her. Plus, it was a gigantic bed, she had told me that if  I found a bed, she was ok sharing with me. I wasn't but I thought if you want to share my bed for the same amount you're paying for sleeping on the floor, why wouldn't you want to help me carry it?

Anyway, I ended up not buying that bed. I went to the yard sale and bought just about everything they had, they were morning out, I was moving in, perfect! I got great deals too, I was the first one at their home and they hadn't even put the stuff out, we just carried stuff from their place to my car. I drove two blocks with a bed set on top of my Land Rover and a sht load of stuff inside. Thank goodness, it was just two blocks! I arrived at my house, thankfully, I'm on the ground level, and offloaded the bed all by myself. I carried the entire Queen bed and mattress to the apartment. It wouldn't fit into the hallway and my bedroom. I took a screw driver out and unhinged the doors and stuck it in there! I set the whole thing up in no time and was so proud I did it! My wish was to have a King Size bed, that's what I have in my list of things for my new apartment. Remember that list? I took the Queen for temp purposes but still had my eye on a King Size. My bedroom looked cute! 

The bed was clean and comfortable, no stains, no bed bugs, thank goodness! I was so happy! I still had my ad up for someone to come stay here for another few days to a week or two, max. I got a text from Dot telling me to drop whatever I was doing, someone is moving out and they had a king Size bed. I thought to myself, damn it man! I just just bought a Queen size bed. But I've always wanted a king size. She knew this, because I told her. She told me they had furniture for the entire house. This was going to be a one stop shop for my entire home. It was perfect but I was tired from moving the bed and other things I bought from the first yard sale! 

I got an email from a very handsome man wanting to come have a look at my place. He asked if he could call me. I was still debating whether I should go to Hollywood Hills to check out the furniture Dot was talking about or just go to sleep. There were no pictures, apparently the guy had posted an ad up on Craig's list but to find that was going to be another mission. I sucked it up and told myself, there will have to be something I will like. I gave the handsome guy my number. He called immediately. We talked, like old friends, he was another cool one. I told him I was on my way out. He rushed here and got here before I left. He also help hinge the door back for me. That dude was so handsome yall! He was so good looking that when I opened the door, the first thing I said was, 'wow, you're so handsome!' I had to get that out of the way! Then I told him to take of his shoes because I needed to know how big it is! Haha, just kidding. My home is a shoes off home. 

We chatted a bit. He told me that he was going to check out another place, on the other side of town and then let me know what he decided. I was like, ok, sure. I was renting out space on my living room floor. The other place he was going to check out was a fully furnished bedroom with it's own bathroom in a two bedroom apartment with a guy who is never home. That was a much better deal for him. I didn't expect to hear back from him. I went to Hollywood Hills and liked everything I saw there, I took the first load of stuff home by myself in my truck and then called a delivery guy and asked him to deliver the rest for me. 

Everything went so smoothly, we loaded the truck, the seller even helped load the stuff. I gave the guy my address, we followed each other for a split second, then he disappeared. That's when I realised that he had my furniture and I had no way of getting hold of him other than a phone number! 

A-List Celeb

On our off day, Dot told me a very interesting story about a situation she had with an A list Celebrity. How she saw an ad in a local newspaper where the guy was looking for an assistant and replied. The Celeb himself called her back, they talked daily about all things under the sun. Her mom passed on during that week, before she started working for him. He offered to pick her up in a limo and go to the funeral with her if she needed the company because by then, after talking so many hours on the phone, they were friends. She refused, thinking that that would disrupt the entire funeral. People would be too focused on the limo and who was getting out of it etc.

Dot told me that this was just after she got back to Los Angeles from touring Europe on her world tour when she had her record deal. Apparently she was a real musician. She also danced ballet all her life, she showed me how that ruined her big toes. She was also a pianist, had been playing since she was five. She was a very fascinating person. I liked her personality. We were alike in so may ways. Kindred spirits, if you will. She has a boyfriend who is a cameraman, amongst other things. She told me this when I mentioned to her that I am obsessed with cameramen. I would love to find a man who is a tall, dark haired, blue eyed cameraman. She told me that I was describing her man. What? She showed me pictures of her handsome love. He has the bluest blue eyes and salt an pepper hair. 

He lives outside LA but works in town. I'm not sure why she was not staying with him while looking for her own place but that was none off my business. She told me he makes around $300 a day or was it $3000? I can't remember, it's my information, I wasn't trying to memorize it. I mentioned it now because I wish he had just put her in an apartment or somewhere decent while she was still looking for her next home. 

One day, way before blue eyes, I think, after the funeral, she talked to celeb. He offered to have her visit him in his mansion. She was going to stay in her own room and be pampered as she needed that after everything she had just gone through. She took him up on the offer. He told her to pack a bag and wait for the limo outside. She was told not to be late, the guy couldn't wait, he just wanted to pick her up and drop her off at the Celeb's house. 

Dot didn't have the celebs number, he used to call her with a hidden number. She tells me that she packed her bag and rushed out there door. She saw the limo pull off. She just missed it! She couldn't call the celeb because she didn't have his number and he never ever called her again. Ever! That was the end of her over the phone thing with the A list Celeb. 

Needless to say, she never got the job either. The whole thing flat on its face. It was sad because Dot says they had a nice connection, the guy is spiritual, well,religious. I asked her why she didn't reach out to him on social media or something. She told me that she was also hurt that he didn't even try after that day. Dot then went on to work in New York and all over the place. She worked for all kinds of big time shows, she has stories about people  I wouldn't dare mention here for fear of getting sued. She said that a few years after the whole A list saga, she was at a gas station with a friend... lo and behold there was A list. She knew what he looked like, obviously, but he never got to see what she looked like. She told me that he was gassing up his car, she walked to him and greeted him. She told him who she was and she denied knowing her or ever being a part of that story. She says that he looked like he saw a ghost when she told him some of the things they talked about, things only the two of them talked about, but still denied knowing her. Dot shares a name with the Celeb's sister, so that was another thing. Things you wouldn't just make up, if you were in Dot's shoes. 

That was a weird ending to a really fascinating story, I won't bore you with details, it's a very long story. I enjoyed it when she told it to me. We drove to the store, bought fried and grilled chicken and garlic bread while she was telling me the story, came back home, sat on the camping chairs and ate ourselves silly, while she was still telling the story. I didn't mind, I felt like I was there! Like I was part of the whole thing! It was great! 

She's happy with her man of more than a year, blue eyes. I think they met while doing production in one of the studios here in LA. I've worked numerous times at that studio but I would rather not mention it for the sake of her anonymity. 

While still here, during her one week stay at my place, Dot had a rendezvous with blue eyes. I asked what she was going to wear, I was just living vicariously because I didn't have my own blue eyes. She showed me a skirt she was going to wear. I had never seen her legs, she always wore jeans, tomboyish because of the kind of work she does but she has a good body, she's a dancer. When she put the skirt on, I was like dang girl! I had never seen her hair either, lol. I kid you not, she always had some kind of headgear on. She asked to do her nails because mine are always done. I was like, you got it! We never slept at night anyways, why not put our hands to good use while chatting away? I did her fingers and toes, she loved both! We used different colors. She told me her man was going to love it. 

I had taken her to the mall close by one of the evenings, she liked my Guess bag. They had a few but nothing quite the same as mine. She went there the following morning to buy it when she got paid before she met up with her man. They were going to spend the night and the following day somewhere in Calabasas or something. I thought that was interesting considering he doesn't live that far from LA and Calabasas is kinda out of the way too, why not just go to his place? Anyway, they had a good time. He took her, wait for it, to a nail salon for a meni-pedi! Are you fcking kidding me? I spent my precious time and four different nail polishes doing your nails just last night and within 12 hours you gonna take all that off? Wow! I didn't know how to react when she told me with such excitement that they went to the nail salon. It was like a stab in the back. Also, who does that to someone who went out of her way to doll you up? I made her pick the colors she wanted and everything! If you know me, you know I have all kinds of nail polish under the sun. That was a treat for her. Oh well! 

Her guy also bought her an amazing dress, apparently they were gonna go to the beach. She told him that she didn't bring bikini. He was taking her to buy a bikini when she saw the dress and loved it. He told her that she was going to have to choose between that dress and the bikini. I was like, ok, so you picked the dress, does that mean, no swimming for you? Anyway, the dress was gorgeous. It looked expensive. I found myself quietly praying, Lord, let me find myself a man who, in this situation, would buy me both the dress and the bikini. Amen! She told me that something amazing happened while they were out. A lady asked them if they were married and blue eyes told the lady, 'not yet!' Dot was so excited to hear that. She told me that she thinks he was going to marry her. I was happy for her. Lord! If we're not married yet after a year and a half of dating, let me know already that he is going to marry me; let him either propose or tell me directly that he wants to marry me. Thanks. Oops! Amen.

Dot Com

After I stopped working for the lady who used to book me often, I started getting nervous about income. I also needed to furnish my amazing apartment. I was sleeping on the floor! Something had to be done! I started scouring the internet looking for furniture. While there, I decided to rent out my living room short term: nightly to weekly, nothing major. I posted an ad with pictures of my living room with the camping furniture haha. What a trip! You know what? People were interested! I be damned! I was clear on my ad that whoever was going to stay here was going to be sleeping on the floor. It was pretty clean but it was still the floor. I got a call from a lady one night while on set. She left a message. I checked it and had a good feeling about her. I emailed her back. I didn't want to call because it was very late. She called me back as soon as she received my email. She had already found a place for the night but wanted to come over the following day to check the place out. It was a date!

The following day, the lady came by. We both were so excited to see each other when she knocked on the door. She told me that she knew it, then pointed at her skin. I guess she knew I was back? I didn't even think about that, she had a bit of an accent, part English, park American, so even if I tried, I never would've been ale to guess her skin color. I just was happy that it was a person with a nice aura. We sat on the camping chairs and chatted the night away. Literally!

She talked to me about the lady who hosted her the night before. The lady lived in Brentwood, nice neighborhood. It's where Gwyneth Paltrow lives. Apparently the lady advertised a private room to rent but when my lady got there, it was a studio that was shared by the lady and her three children. She was looking for the fifth person to squeeze in there because, clearly, four people in a studio aren't enough. I was like, wait! Did this lady post something about having other property elsewhere but this is her weekend spot? My lady, we'll call her Dot, was like, 'how do you know?' I told her that that lady advertises all the time. I saw her ad a lot when I was looking for a place to stay. I even considered it at some point. Dot told me that the lady is very nice, so nice that when Dot arrived, the lady left her with her children and spent the night at her friend's. She let Dot sleep on her bed because she was telling her oldest child to sleep on the floor and let Dot sleep on the couch but Dot wasn't ok with that. Confused yet?

Dot told me how the lady left her cellphone with her oldest kid who was at the apartment with Dot. Meaning, should Dot need to contact the lady, it was going to be interesting. The lady didn't want Dot to leave the following day. She tried to scare her by asking what if I wasn't who I said I was? What if my place is not where or what I stated I was offering on the ad. Dot and I thought that was funny considering the lady herself false advertised her place. We talked about all kinds of things. Dot was really cool people.

She paid to stay for a week. I had a special offer where you got a night off if you paid for a week upfront. She went for that deal. As a matter of fact, no, she didn't, she wanted that special  but didn't have the full amount, she wanted to pay half and half. I told her either she paid the full amount upfront or paid the daily rate. I didn't want to have favors with someone I just met, plus it was business. The only reason that brought the two of us together.

The following day, Dot went to work. After work, she told me how the previous lady had been calling and emailing, asking her to move back in. I was like dang! You only were there one night! She told me that the lady told her she liked her and so did her kids. Very interesting, considering Dot was only there from 10pm until the following morning, when she left around 7am; according to Dot. Dot told me she had to be rude and ask the lady to stop calling her because she didn't understand why the lady wouldn't get it.

We exchanged stories about rooming etc. I told her that I have no intentions of having a permanent roommate here because, I've had enough. I told her about some of my experiences about you-know-who. Lo and behold, that very evening, I got a call from Carly asking what I was up to. She wanted to come by, she was in the neighborhood. Well, she works in the neighborhood, so she's always in the neighborhood. I told her, sure, she could come by. When Carly walked into my apartment, she was staring at the poor lady as if she had a third eye in her forehead or something. I introduced them, we all sat and chatted. Dot got comfortable and was sharing all kinds of information in front of Carly, I sent her a quick text telling her to stop it. She quickly changed the subject. Dot was sharing with us how she makes her money, her gigs, etc. Knowing Carly, she was never going to leave. She would've asked for a notebook, and taken down all of Dot's jobs and poor Dot would've never gotten booked ever again. Hell no! The poor lady was trying to sort her life out, she didn't need weirdness.

Finally, Carly left. Dot told me she liked Carly. I told her I do too but, she must take it from me. She didn't kneed that in her life. That's when Dot started saying things like, wait, what did she mean by blah blah blah and blah blah blah. I told her we could stay up all night discussing her or we could talk about things that mean more to us and our lives. By the way, not long after Carly got here, she asked Dot if she's my roommate or my friend. Like, are you kidding me? Don't ask my guest such questions! You came here to see me, you have any questions, direct the to me and I will answer them accordingly. Dot smiled and pointed at me, as in, ask Brook! I answered her by telling her that Dot was neither and both.

The following day or so, Dot and I were both at home, she told me a story about a mess she experienced in a nice apartment she rented on Melrose. The apartment got flooded and all her art was ruined. Dot is a bit of an art collector and, according to her, an artist herself. She told me that her art from Europe and all over the world was fcked, there was no way of getting that again. Some of it was from street artist. She told me that she has lived in London, which explains the British accent and in Paris. The story was long and sad. I asked her if she sued the apartment people.She told me that she was thinking about it, she also surprised me by telling me that she told the lady from Brentwood about that experience and Brentwood offered to give her her real estate lawyer's contact details. She then told me that, they were texting back and forth all day, the lady from Brentwood was very helpful. I thought to myself, the same lady you told to lose your number because you're not friends? That was quite something.  It made me wonder about Dot a little bit. She told me the lady left as soon as she, Dot, got there but apparently, not before she told her the story of her life. The whole thing made Dot look funny to me.

Corpses

So!

I was on Facebook earlier today and I saw a post of a friend of mine about her goldfish. You know thw new thing Facebook does of posting entries you posted the previous years on this day? Apparently in 2013, the friend something something something about a goldfish, so she misses them.

This reminded me off when I still stayed at Carly's and she had goldfish. I don't know if I told you this or not. I mean the part about her having goldfish. She had two little fish that she couldn't even remember the names of and which name was for which fish, even when she did remember the names.

Anyway, I think one had an Italian name and the other had a French or so. One day Carly came home from school, to find her fish dead. She said to me, oh my gosh Brook, my fish are dead! Can you help me? I asked her how she wanted me to help. She told me she wanted me to help get the fish out of the room, she wasn't going to be able to sleep with dead fish in her room. She wanted me to at least get them out of her room, I could put them anywhere else but not in the room. I was just like, anywhere else is where we all share the space! These are your fish! They are your babies! You need to figure out what you want to do with them, you and only you! She told me that she has never been to expect that before and she needed my help.

I'm thinking to myself, this chick, she has never dealt with bugs she never dealt with  roaches, she never dealt with rats, she never dealt with anything bad! And I'm supposed to be her rescuer? I'm sorry, I told her I don't even want to see them! "I don't want to talk about them, I don't want to look at them, I don't want to think about your dead babies!" I told her.

 She made a face and battered her eyelashes. I still did nothing! The following day, she was on her way to school, she left her bedroom door open for the first time since I'd been there. She doesn't really lock it but usually she closes the door when she leaves. This time, because there was death in the family, she decided she was going to share the love and leave the door open. Oh hell no! As soon as she left, I held my breath and pulled the door shut.

Later, that day, Bee, her roommate came home for a split second. Actually, it may have been day two because the first day the fish died, when Carly came home, I pretended I was asleep. I didn't want to deal! The fish were still in the tanks they died in. Carly came to me on the morning of day two to ask me to suggest what she should do with them. I told her, and you're surprised I was surprised you had pets? You are not the kind of person to give love to anything or anybody other than yourself! I told her, I said it's just not in your genes!

I'm sorry! That's how I see her! I told her that she used to call them her babies, she needed to figure out what she was going to do about them. Thhat was none of my business, at my age, I have no kids, that's because I didn't want them, And I have no pets and I never had one of my own, my family had dogs and cats and stuff growing up, but I, personally, didn't have any. And that's because I have a lot going on, or maybe I just don't want one. She decided she wanted to get those fish, so here we are!

As a matter of fact, they didn't even allow pets at her place, she went online to find. Pet that's apartment friendly. That's how she ended up with goldfish. Even then, she told me that her first choice was a pretty black and white one, she only bought those because they were cheaper. I felt bad that she said that in their presence. That's prolly why they decided to exit. Don't get me wrong, I felt for her about her fish, I did! But I didn't want that to be mistaken for, I feel so bad for you, I'll take it from here! No, that was not what time it was!

 I told her to Google what people do with their goldfish when they die. My thing was, pretend as if I'm not here! Just do things as you would if I were not here. Do you know what I mean? Eventually, because I felt kind of bad for the fish, & I was done being the same space with carcasses? I suggest that she burried them. She turned around and made that my problem agam!  She asked me where to burry them.  I was like, I just arrived from Vegas, you figure it out! You are the one who lives in downtown LA, who has in more than a year! Figure out where you wanna bury your fish! After that, she asked me if I would mind going with her. Basically she just wanted to make it my problem.

 Like, how can you not see that you're being a pain in my butt about this and I can feel you? I can feel you up my ass! How do you not see that, and stop it already! Eventually, she had to go to school or work or somewhere so she asked me if I thought Bee would help her.  I mean, even now,I roll my eyes just thinking about it. She knew more than I did that she and Bee didn't have a relationship. So, for her to act so dumb is laughable. I told her to ask Bee! I told her that that's how she would know if Bee would help her or not.

So that's the afternoon Beee came home and subsequently asked me what in the world Carly was talking about on text about fish. I told her that the fish are dead, they had been for 3 days or so. They were still in the water they died in, in exactly the same spot that they died. She told me, Bee did, that Carly had sent her a text asking her to help her bury her fish. I asked Be if she wanted to and what she said in response. She told me that that was absolutely ridiculous, and she didn't even want to dignify that with an answer.

B was like, "since I moved in here I have been killing bugs,  chasing after rats, killing roaches, spraying flies, I am NOT a handyman!" She always makes me take care of all the dirty work that she doesn't want to take care of, because she's never been in that situation before! Bee told me she's done, they are the same age, and if she can do these things, surely, so I can Carly. I was like, dude I don't want to get involved with your business, she asked me and I told her I'm sorry I don't feel like dealing with that right now, I have a lot going on, I need life, and not death.

 When Carly came home that night or the following day she asked me if I'd seen Bee.  I told her that I did. She asked me what she said about the fish. I told her she didn't say anything. Because I was not going to be the mailman. I'm not the messenger. They texted each other, in my absence, then she needs to wait for Bee to text her back or not!

 Day 4 or 5 or Lord knows what: I did what I had to do and then I came home that night I watched  Netflix as usual, & I went to bed. Carly came home, I pretended to be asleep until I actually dozed off. The following day I saw the fish tanks in the bathroom. They were empty.  I knew there and then what had happened. I think I heard the commotion the night before actually. But I just tried not to think about it. I feel so bad for the fish.

Who does that to their pets, flush them down the toilet.? The worst parent ever! Could you imagine being in a relationship with someone like that, give them something, aa pet, fowers or whatever: when it dies they flush it down the toilet? I, personally, I would not have kids  with someone like that! Maybe I'm drastic! But some people do use things like that as a test to see if someone can take care of something other than themselves. Like a kid! This would have been a dismal fail in my book.

When I awoke the following day, Carly asked me to check out  a note. Out of the blue!  Out of the clear blue sky!  It was actually around 3 in the afternoon. We hadn't talked about the fish that day. We have been talking all da,  about everything but the fish. I was happy, because I didn't want to talk about them. All of a sudden, that afternoon, she came out of her room with a somber face, and showed me this random note. I read the first line, something about mommy loves you or I'm going to miss you, something about mommy but I could tell She was the mommy in that instance. I pushed the thing so far away, as if it was the plagye. I was like, get the hell out of my space!  I am not interested, I did not want to deal!

 I asked her how many times do I have to tell you to respect my wishes about this? I don't want to talk about it! You need to respect that! She told me, " I thought I would write them a letter,..."  I interrupted, & I told her I don't want tohear it!! She tried to force the whole thing into my ears I tried to ignore it.

But, seriously, when I think about stuff like that, how can I ever miss someone like that! Someone who has no respect for me, for you, for the Animal Kingdom or anything else for that matter?

It's really sad if you ask me.

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 café 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.

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!