The Whole Tree Huggin' Business

Finished the "fashion industry" job today. I will never look at those organic cotton clothes in Whole Earth the same way again, now that I have painstakingly applied "distressed" tags bearing "leaves" to similar garments. I don't think I sat down for more than thirty minutes today, and I had to put in overtime as we raced to the deadline. Steaming, folding, labelling, tagging. The fabric requires such gentle care that I can't help but think the Revolution could use a little poly blend.

This job was second in strenuousness to the gig at the "New Age" school, located just up the road.

I will say that some interesting characters work there-- not your typical tree huggers. Or are they? There was an Alan Arkin lookalike in the back room, barking on the phone to someone about his luxury sports car when he wasn't giving me the sexy eye. His wife (or girlfriend) kept calling for help from this beleagured pregnant assistant who shuffled up every time she whined her name. A tattoed surfer guy also came in to do his thing. Once everyone had left, he cranked up the music (and perhaps did some smoking out back with his friend).

I had to cancel my Friday night plans due to exhaustion. Tomorrow I'm getting up early to babysit for a French woman who lives a couple of doors down from me. We met at my last temp job.

I did get confirmed as a library sub today, but I have to get a medical exam before they can use me. I'm actually excited about this as it's a free checkup. I also received a letter asking me to interview for some more library positions. Yep, the library looks better and better.

Factory Girl

My roommate auditioned for a game show gig today and kept me up last night asking for advice on outfits. Then I was woken up this morning with a call about a temp job in Santa Monica at a clothing manufacturer; the position involved helping one of the designers prepare for a trade show. Again, a stretch for "entertainment," but my agency did say this was an unusual job for them to place.

I agreed to take it and spent the day steaming and folding clothes and creating clothing labels. It was actually pretty taxing, and I go back again tomorrow.

Here's an odd story. Yesterday evening I had a drink with a date in Westwood, and while I was steaming the shirts this morning, he rang me on my cell. I couldn't pick it up when he called but figured I'd call him back over lunch. After several bungled attempts at finding a place to eat, I ended up in the Yahoo! courtyard, and just after I ordered something at the counter and was digging my cell phone out of my purse, I ran into him. Strange, as he doesn't even work at Yahoo! He was standing around with his friends, and it was awkward in a "high school cafeteria" type of way.

I told him I was stalking him (he looked like he believed me). We had lunch together. When I got back to work and told the designer what had happened, he responded that it was "just like a John Cusack movie."

Alice in Jobsearchland, Part II

I got firm today about two things: no more driving to Santa Monica and the desire to find permanent work. It worked on both counts, with a temp job offer in WeHo and a job interview at Hollywood and Highland.

Santa Monica is not that far away in terms of mileage (maybe 8 miles?) but it takes at least 40 minutes in the morning and at least 1 hour in the evening to travel to and fro from this area of town.

I would advise anyone considering a move here without a job to locate yourself in Santa Monica. Seems like a healthy job market there (thus the traffic).

The Beleagured Temp

Exhausting day yesterday. Filled out all the applications and tests at the entertainment placement agency and while doing so my cell phone kept ringing with other possible temp assignments and job interviews. Finally I was asked to step outside in the hallway to take the calls.

After looking over my resume I was told by the entertainment agency that I had no applicable experience and that asking for a minimum annual salary in the mid-thirties (and I had swallowed my pride writing that down) was an outrageous expectation for the entertainment industry. Yet in the same breath they found a position at a Big Important Talent Agency and called them extolling my virtues.

Afterwards I had to hustle down to Santa Monica for an afternoon temp job at an investment company. I was the receptionist, and it was one of those stressful positions where I felt the roof would cave in if I dropped someone's call. Then I had another dinner date.

I was absolutely beat by the time I got home. I was told I would need a suit for the interview with the talent agency (if it happens), and I need one for another interview this week anyway, so I planned to go suit shopping today. Woke up this morning with a headache and an agency calling me with a one-day job. I told them I couldn't do it and they definitely sounded disappointed.

This is getting difficult.

Back to Business, Part II

Had an interview today with an import/ export company for the travel industry. The experience had me feeling like I was in a Coen brothers film.

Found out import/export and hospitality are two of the biggest industries behind entertainment here.

A connection was able to get me an interview with a big entertainment temp agency in town that I had previously not heard back from. That is tomorrow morning. Then I have a temp job in the afternoon at an investment firm in, yes, Santa Monica again. That agency initially wanted to send me to Encino for the week but I told them I couldn't do it. I still have to work in another permanent job interview this week that's in my area of town.

Starting to feel a bit bedraggled...

Back to Business

So now I have to get back to business because I have two job interviews this week and need to do my homework on the companies. I had to cancel the trip to Santa Barbara in order to do so. I hope I can sleep tonight. Both positions barely pay enough to scrape by on, but perhaps I need to swallow my pride (and financial concerns) and accept that as part of the transitioning process. The employment agencies who arranged the interviews are, I'm sure, taking a nice cut. Neither of the jobs are in entertainment, although one job is not completely out of that realm.

In regards to the entertainment industry, maybe I'm a victim of ageism, as I'm no longer in the desired 18-34 age demographic, so I'm not as easy to exploit salarywise and perhaps am seen as not having "my finger on the pulse."

Thank God the word-processing temp job is over. I went to yoga after work on Friday and my toes spasmed into a misshapen pretzel. That's how messed up my body was after sitting in a hard plastic chair for three days.

During my lunch break on my last day, I walked around the Yahoo! campus, which was down the street, caddy corner to Universal Music Group. That's definitely where all the young people are. Google, a logical place of employment for a former librarian, also has a campus in Santa Monica. Maybe I should have located myself there due to the increase in new media companies in the area (and thus the increase in traffic heading that direction). But I really can't drive there and back every day. It took half an hour just to get from Santa Monica to the 405, which is about a third of the way home for me.

TGIF, Part III

This is my last day at the temp job at the private school. I’ve been sitting on a hard plastic (at first, metal) kid’s chair for three days straight, fixing a scrambled word document. It’s a very New Age-y school, but the “open heart” does not seem to apply to adult temps. Then again, I’m not paying tuition.

I’ve had to get up at 6 a.m. every morning in order to make it here on time. After this week, I have definitely ruled out working in Santa Monica, due to the drive (although that qualifies me as extremely wimpy here). What’s made it even tougher is that I had my usual night of insomnia the night before the first day and only got about four hours of sleep. Yesterday, probably because I was unable to make it to the gym and had been sitting all day, I had another night of insomnia and got a total of two hours of sleep. I’m shot, what with the lack of sleep and the back and hip pain from this chair.

Also, as soon as I arrived at this job, another agency called me with a job in Beverly Hills. Sigh. Them’s the breaks.

I have had fun outside of the job. Tried out salsa dancing at Monsoon on Wednesday and had drinks at the lovely Casa Del Mar last night. Had to cancel my tennis game today though due to exhaustion.

I may be interviewing for a job next week at the headquarters of a luxury cruiseline. The office is very close to where I live, which is becoming a top priority.

Looking forward to the weekend. There’s a trip to Santa Barbara in the works.