Palm trees and black coffee

Good evening folks.

So much is happening and I am getting lucky with my online pirating so I thought I would put another post in today. So what a weirdo day this was. I signed up to temp last night so I stayed home until 10am waiting for the call that never came. While I was waiting I began watching Ugly Betty episodes online and I have to say that I loooove that show. Whichever one of my friends said that I remind them of Ugly Betty...I see where you are coming from except for the outfits - I take offense to that. She is adorable - not ugly at all and has a beautiful spirit, but come on - do you really think I dress like her? Shame on you. OK so I was contemplating doing the stairs up by my house or going for a bike ride when the phone rang and it was my employment agency. WE have an interview for you at xyz company in westwood can you do it? Of course I say. They call me back an hour later and say - we sent them your resume and they want to see you right away - can you be there by 2:30? Well it was almost 1:45 and Westwood in traffic is an hour. I say sure - throw on a suit - no socks! and get in my car which is at the top of my hill so I have to sprint in my suit up the hill and I book as fast as I can through traffic to get to the office. It takes me five minutes just to figure out which floor they are on -it said suite 1000, but there is no first floor - always ask a janitor - turns out they are on teh tenth floor duh! THen I get there and I sit and sit - oh yeah - fill out another application - would I be willing to have a credit check - a drug test - whatever...sign sign sign. Everyone there is dressed like they are going to the grocery store (that's grocery shopping in LA - where you still look fabu - not weggies wear.) I totally stand out in my blue AnnTaylor suit from 12 years ago with the hem held together with safety pins and my no socks....I try not to cross my legs so no one will notice my lack of socks - at least my legs aren't hairy! Finally a woman with short blond hair and braces comes out and says "Na-na?" We go into this mini conference room with views to the ocean and she starts the interview. Do I mind working 20 hours a day? Do I mind driving 30 miles a day to pick up his kids from shcool and drive them to soccer practice? Am I proficient in excell and powerpoint? I would get a sidekick and two weeks paid vacation. Sure sure. The employment agency said "Whatever you do - do not tell them where you live - they want to hire someone that lives on teh west side." So this woman and I are having a great interviw - I am charming the pants off of her and she is LOVING ME and then she asks innocently - where do you live? So I answer automatically - Los Feliz. You can hear the air leave the balloon at that point. "OH" she responds. So I try to recover. You know I love to drive - dont mind it at all - have a friend in redondo - I'll just crash there on those nights - he wont mind ha ha. She asked if I was still interested in meeting "Mr. WOnderful" and I say yes - she told met hat he is a tough interviewer and that I am going to have to really fight for the job - that his desk is very competitive and there are a lot of people who want it. Really. A lot of peole want to work for a guy that makes multi millions and wont spring for a frickin nanny? grrr - well at least they pay for mileage. Anyway on the way out she tells me that she thinks Mr. W and I would make a really good "couple" and that she was going to get in touch with me and I would come back tomorrow or Friday to meet with him. Meanwhile I am still waiting to hear from the uber talent agency about my one degree separation from major movie stars - imagine the blind item stories I could have in this blog if that happens. Anyway I really want the agency job, but this is a great opportunity too because it is more development - even if I am going to be spending a lot of time in the car in traffic in LA. They do close for two full weeks in the winter which means that I could actually get a chance to go home. How great is that???? Whew - so I just sit and wait. The boss lady says for me to be patient and just wait to see which company is smart enough to hire me - isn't she soooo sweet? OK I think I am going to go for a run or something in the dark. I really need to clean the house - where the hell is my maid??? Someday. Tell Neil Young that sometimes a woman needs one too.

Much love to you all.

Na-na

Transitions...

Hello there. It is 5:49 and I am home already. Part of my new, strange existence. I had a second interview today at a major talent agency. I think I did a fairly decent job convincing the second assistant that I was ready to be humbled and humiliated on a regular basis. The pay is terrible, the hours are long but in the end - it could be my ticket to ride if I play the game right. My friends from Buffalo went home on Sat and I proceeded to keep the party going until the we hours of Sunday morning. Now the mist has cleared and I am finding out that I am even more broke than I thought and am a bit nervous about paying the rent for Feb. I hope I get this job so I can exhale - even though I am not sure if the job is going to pay me enough to survive. I know you all think I am crazy to work for peanuts, but I have to believe that it is worth it. I just need to adjust my lifestyle to accomodate my empty wallet. I think the fact that I am going to be working all the time (assuming this job comes through) will help me spend less money. Nothing I can do now but wait for the news and keep working with the boss lady. I am hoping that the reason my deposit did not go through yet has nothing to do with the fact that she may not have the $$ to back it up. I will find out tomorrow - and if that is the case then I just have to temp everyday instead.

More when I can tell you more.
Na-na

Porn Star Kareoke

So last night I went out with my trainer to see Porn Star kareoke in Burbank. I was very disappointed to find out that there were no such peeps at the bar - apparently they were all tucked out from the porn convention in las vegas this past weekend. BUT it was the most rockin kareoke I have ever seen. I di sign up to sing, but we couldnt wait that long and both had to get up early. My trainer put the drinks on his card, but then his card was rejected and I ended up having to pay for all of the drinks - not exactly what I had in mind. Anyway it was an expereince and I will have to go back with a girlfriend next time because it was a total sausage fest. Got weighed at the gym - this makes it a first time that I actually hang with someone that knows how heavy I really am. So with me working my ass off and spending all that dough on a trainer I have lost exactly.......ZERO pounds - that's right folks. I am stronger and in better shape, but have yet to drop any weight. I have a sneakin suspicion that it is due to my drinking with friends (m - thanks for announcing to the fam that I love my wine) anyway I am going to trade up for seltzer and see if that makes a difference. In the meantime - I can lift a lot more weight. Saw pictures of me from this past weekend with all my friends and know that you are all just being nice when you tell me I look good. I keep saying that I am going to stop drinking and then I keep drinking - does that mean I have a problem? I am never drinking to excess - or during the day or making an ass out of myself of driving drunk.....just sharing wine with friends mostly....one of my girlfriends recently joined AA - I was wondering how far you have to go before you need help. So I am sooooo bored at work today - hoping that it will be my last day and that I will get called up next week to temp. Keep your fingers crossed for me everybody - I really need a new job.

Have a great hump day!

Na-na

The mojo is a commin back -

So last night I was minding my own business when my fingers happen to text Pstz(he has been helping with the job search) and ask him if he is around for dinner. He is going to a meeting for a few hours - no prob. I go home, pour myself a glass of wine and make myself a turkey roll up because I am that fancy. After two glasses of wine and an ill-fated emailing choice, he calls and asks me if I want to have a drink. I figure why not - the only thing I have to do is clean my house for my friends this weekend and they already know I'm messy. So at around 9:30 or so I head out to my favorite local dive - the Rustic Inn and people watch as I wait for him to come. I am looking stanky while all the girls inside are half dressed - really. I am the only girl in there with her boobs tucked in - which is ironic because usually mine are out saying hi to everyone. He shows up and it starts out fairly awkward, but then we start really talking about business, the universe - it was great and easy. He is so cute and he only asked about cracky #2 once - a record for him - although he does have her little sister - naked but for the pstz as his screen saver on his phone. We end up going back to chez na-na and chatting more until around 3am - when we begin the hook-up tango. I wasn't letting this guy get in my pants after everything that went on. I know we are reconnecting and everything but a girl has to have a sense of pride and some boundaries. Not to say that I wasn't tempted - but I had much more fun kicking him out leaving him wanting more than watching him walk out of my door in the morning and wondering when he is going to call me again. This morning he texted me and apologized for "molesting" me. hahahahhaha. This hard to get stuff may actually pay off - does that even work if you've already slept with a guy? I think that is an excellent question for Kay T. Kaplan to answer in her column....stay tuned.

1/2 hour more to go then I get to see the Buffalo peeps. Cannot wait!

Love you all,

Na-na

Whew!

OK - for those of you who are following along on my saga.....here it is. Yesterday I tried to be sneaky and get out of the office to sign up at a temp agency. While there and taking the stupid computer test - I started to bawl - the lady called me Bubellah and told me she was my mishbucha...! Anyway I ran out of there after 2.5 hours to go back to work, got stuck in traffic on Wilshire for an hour bawling the whole way back knowing that I was in for it and had to tell my boss - since my eyes were red and puffy and my lack of sleep over the past week had created these amazingly deep black circles under my eyes- not a pretty sight. When I got back to the house she was there and we talked. I cried, she cried - we hugged. She asked me why I didn't tell her earlier that I was miserable and then she told me that she would helo me find a new job, just like she promised. She even gave me feedback on my resume!!!!! So.....yes I am going to be unemployed or underemployed for a while - but she wants to keep me on as assoc. Producer on some of the projects that I feek connected to. It is all good. Next week I am signing up with three different temp agencies so I am sure to get some kind of money coming in while I look for a position that suits me a bit more than this one did. I really like my newly retooled res - thanks boss and am now ready to kick it with my homies this weekend - or should I say tomorrow night!!!!!

Fun is coming back: last night my trainer asked me to join him on a few adventures - a small triatholon - which I would do but I am going to be in FLA - a trip to a lesbian bar - because he likes to date lesbians (er I call them Bi) and next tues we are going to this place in Burbank for Porn Star Kareoke...I cannot wait. More fodder.....

Na-na

I want to thank you for letting me be myself....

Sly and the Family Stone is playing this coming Saturday. If this were 1978 or even 1986 I might go, but this being 2007 - I am afraid it is going to be sly's postropedic, too much crack I'm hiding backstage and the family stoned. Anyway I wanted to write something positive, but lasts night's lack of sleep has got me all kinds of goofy. I was up till 3AM last night reading old journals plotting the love life of one of my old friends who broke my heart and then perused my two best friends...yet I still love them all - I'm a fucking saint. Anyway life is looking up - I have two interviews at temp agencies this week - which doesn't mean shit, but it does mean that I can give notice and leave my job. This is scary, but opens up countless opportunities for me which I am looking forward to. I just love those long computer tests that temp agencies give you - so fun! Went to a cool sushi bar tonight where everything is $2.50 and it comes out on a conveyor belt....and it tastes good too - you just have to drive to the Valley. Very excited about the Buffalo/NYC/DC infusion this weekend. With all of the career/job crisis happening - it is hard to think about it and genuinely feel the excitement - but it is there - deep down inside. I was shocked this morning when I looked in the mirror and noticed I am just as fat and jiggly as I was before I started kicking butt with my trainer...guess those Russian Peasant genes take a little longer to kick start when you are over a certain age. I can't give up on it though - I read an article today that said the key to weight loss was being nice to yourself. Those that know me very well now have your explanation as to why I look the way I do :) he he. SO things are loking up and I want to thank my fans for being so g-d damned supportive and amazing. I really am so blessed - did I say that already? I am going to get myself some sleep.

Na-na

Here we are again

So yeah, things are still not so hot in my world, but I have been trying to be proactive. Friday was a nightmare - getting bitch-slapped by my bosses son was the least of my indignities of the job. I am so tired of searching: for my self, for a career, for love, for a perfect figure etc....isn't it time I found one of these? By this time in my life I should be found. It is so frustrating. I need a free life coach. On the way home from Malibu today I was fantasizing about starting a jewish gospel choir - I would find other Jewish soul singers in the LA area and we would get together and rock shabbat all over the country. I could arrange regular hebrew songs into awsome gospel ballads and get all the Uncle Morty's in the world standing up and clapping along - get the soul back into shul - ya know what I mean? But who has time for fantasies anyway.

The magazine launch has been pushed back so for those of you who were anxiously awaiting the January launch - sorry - but that gives me more time to gear myself up to start dating again so I have something to write about.

I was going to go to the gym, but I just don't feel like it. Anyone else out there looking in the mirror and not recognizing themselves anymore? I look tired and old. I feel tired and old. Maybe I will just lay in bed and watch movies until I fall asleep.

I guess there is something to be said for job security - but somewhere down the line (and I hope it is soon) I will be shown the reason why I am here.

Na-na

Troubled times

So things haven't been going too swimingly for the Na na lately. I just got my mail for the first time in two weeks and it seems that my student loans have sucked my hsbc account dry and I have to find a way to put more money in there before the next installement gets taken out - where will the money come from? Which segues beautifully into the fact that my paycheck almost bounced this week - one of the nanny's check bounced and the El Salvadorian nanny didn't even get a check - I guess you have your pecking order right there. So all of my vacillating has come to a head. I need to get out and get out soon - besides getting a second job to help pay for my student loans. I thank all those people who said they would help me out - it is good to have friends - especially ones that wont throw you to the curn of skid row like a Kaiser Permenente employee!! If any of you have any ideas and want my resume to pass around - just email me and I will send it to you - I fixed it up today and I have to say I look pretty good and it is all true :) I dont even know how people lie on those things - how do they get through interviews and reference calls? I know a few people that lie about having their college degree, but no one ever checks on that. Anyway - last night I lost a lot of sleep and today I feel much better - I will let my boss loose the sleep tonight thinking about whether or not she can really afford to keep me around. So now I am on the hunt for something terrific - someplace where there will be other people that work in the office with me (that speak English or words for that matter.) someplace where I wont be cramped into a little corner - someplace where I can make a cup of coffee without the kitchen shaking from the construction in the next room. I consider myself a very patient person. Really. And I was bawling at the job from day one but stuck it out for another four months - sitting alone in a room by myself all day long with no lunch breaks and no one to talk to. Not many networking possibilities there are there now? I was directed towards a service today that pays people four times what I am making to do the same shit job - not the title or the job I am supposed to be doing, but the shit work she is giving me to do while she promises me that I will have the VP stuff someday when she has the money to hire someone else. I will be happy to be someone's lackey if it means continuing with my trainer and paying off my student loans. Shit.

So I am officially taking job ideas from out there in the ether - send them along with all of your good wishes and prayers because I am going to need them. And for those of you whom I told I did not get the holiday cards - they finally came today in one big lump and your kids are gorgeous. M - P is starting to look so much like you it is scary - especially when she is screaming with pleasure with those pigtails on her head!!! DOn't worry K - you're in there too.

Love, Na-na