My first week in L.A.: Grapefruit for breakfast

Today’s my fifth day in L.A.. I’ve spent most of my time going back and forth along 134 between Sherman Oaks, Van Nuys, Burbank and Glendale. The Steves at Ithaca College’s L.A. center were instrumental in helping me feel at home here, as have been Kristen Elizabeth and Katy Whiskey, both former students of mine who are living the dream here.

I’ve also made a new friend, a project manager at Disney Animation Studios, who, as it turns out, is a fellow nerd girl, and a talented Shakespearean actor. She invited me to see the end-of-summer show for the Disney Animation employees’ arts classes, which were part of their professional development – only instead of taking a class to improve the skills they already used, they were encouraged to take something that was outside their comfort area. There was sculpture, digital photography, water color, creative writing, and five monologues from Shakespeare. My new friend played Viola from Twelfth Night (my favorite of the comedies I’ve seen or read), and she rocked it.

Yesterday, a couple friends of mine and I went to Venice Beach (wow! except it was overcast and windy - kind of like Ithaca, actually. Except with the ocean.). Nevertheless, I got into the mighty Pacific for the first time. I waded in up to my knees, and the high tide waves pretty much soaked me from the waist down. It was wonderful! The water was so warm, but man I could feel that serious undertow. I’ve never felt anything that strong before at any of my usual haunts on the Atlantic. Not that there isn’t anything like that on the East Coast, just that I haven’t experienced it. I could feel the raw power of those waves, and it was intense. There were a couple beginners trying to surf there, and they gave it a good try. I was jealous.

Later today, I’ll be off to stay with a friend from my R.I.T. film school days. I have a couple meetings set up this week, and will be sitting in at The Table to meet more people. It’s been very educational for me to talk with friends of mine who have been here for varying periods of time, and to hear their stories, trials and tribulations. It’s all getting filed away so that I can sort through them later.

I’m working very hard at remembering that my path will be my path, and may or may not resemble anyone else’s. This isn’t like applying for a job on the East Coast, where there’s more or less one route, maybe a couple variations, to get into what you want. There are many paths, doors, false trails, etc. here. It’s a bit nerve-wracking, but also energizing (at least so far). For instance:

• One friend of mine is a work-from-home project manager for an IT firm. She makes a very nice living, has bought her own camera equipment, and is making her own films. This was after she’d started out in Hollywood just out of college with a winning script, an agent, and jobs working in development. But, she didn’t like what she was seeing, and opted out. Now, she’s her own boss when it comes to film and storytelling.

• Another friend of mine is a writer who has a husband working swing on a TV game show. He gets paid good bucks, so she is able to stay home and write (and clean the house).

Both valid, both workable scenarios. It really just depends on who you are, what your support system looks like, what you are able to tolerate, and how madly in love with your creative goals you are.

And not everyone makes it in this place. I can easily see how people burn out on it after a couple years. When it’s time to start paying bills after college, suddenly it’s very, very easy to turn to something else more stable. And there’s no shame in that, either.

I have to admit I had a few dark hours in the last day or so. I realized I was feeling a lot of pressure to figure things out NOW and make it all happen NOW and be able to live here comfortably NOW. And of course, I was putting that pressure on myself. Needlessly. As I move into this next phase of my life, I want to have a clear head and be able to follow my instincts – neither of which I can do when I’m letting stress and fear dominate my mind. I reminded myself that I also came here to have fun – because having fun is something I want in my life. Balance, you know. And speaking of fun:

Next weekend…drumroll please… ElecTRONica. Can you imagine me at twelve years old? ‘Cause that’s what I’m going to look like when I’m in there.

But first, the entire week is before me. I wonder what will happen?

Before I close, here’s a quick run-down of the highlights from the last week:

• climbing a grapefruit tree, grabbing a piece of fruit, and eating it for breakfast
• eating at Olive & Thyme in Burbank and enjoying THE BEST roasted vegetable panini in the universe (thanks, Steve G!)
  
• eating breakfast at Aroma, a charming home turned cafe. I ate in the library.
  
• first sight of the Pacific Ocean with a drum circle whooping it up on Venice Beach
• feeling like driving the 134 is not so different than Rte 3 south of Boston on a Friday, except that California drivers use their turn signals before they cut you off
• palm trees EVERYWHERE. I can hardly keep myself from gawking like a Podunk who comes to New York City for the first time and can’t stop looking up at the skyscrapers

That will have to do for now. More to come… and photos, too, eventually.