Decisions...

OK so this past month has been totally insane and I apologize to everyone I havent talked to or emailed lately. I have been back in the swing of hollyweird with this insane boss. IT became this sick game that I was addicted to. Completely stressed out and developing a bad case of insomnia yesterday turned out to be my breaking point. Working 11 hour days does not afford me any time ro energy to look for real jobs, and although I was being offered an excellent opportunity (to start right off as a jr agent instead of waiting a year or two) it didnt seem worth it. The pay still stunk and I would have had to sign a seven yaer contract - which for me (as you know) would be a very, very big deal. Yesterday I had a big disconnect with my boss - it began when she called my cell phone at 7:30 AM...boundaries anyone? She knew I left the night before to go to an interview and while trying to woo me to stay with her, she pushed me away. In the afternoon she was screaming at me because the tax office would not let her pay at the location she drove to, then she screamed at me because the title of the book she asked me to print out was wrong and I should have known that she gave me the wrong title and figured out what the right title was. All of these complaints seem really petty- but when you are working at doing seventeen tasks at once and your mind is trying to figure out the rest of your life on the side - it is hard to take a moment and collect yourself. So after she did her last little bit of screaming at me - forcing me to tell her whether or not I was going to take the job I told her that I was leaving. She started to cry and scream some more and begged me to come into the office today to train the new temp. I did - because #1 I am a sucker #2 It was the right thing to do and #3 I don't want to burn any bridges in this town. Watching her give him the same little psycho talks she gave me was surreal. I realized with a laugh that her life will go on and all that screaming cannot be taken personally - not when it is given out willy nilly to any shmoe that happens to be sitting in that chair. I left fairly early (or when I am supposed to leave) and said my goodbyes. She asked me to give the new asst. my cell phone # but I didn't. I gave her a hig and she whispered to me "You are going to be fine" with a thumbs up. I don't really know what that means - coming from her anyway. I do know a few things: I am a really good assistant. I am a competent professional. I will succeed in any job I put my mind to in this business. Being older may initially turn people off, but now I am sure that it is an asset and I am thankful that I have the wisdom, maturity and experience that I lacked the first time around.

Friday afternoon I have what I hope will be my last interview at another company. The job sounds interesting and something different than I have ever done. Sometimes life opens doors and you need to poke your head in and see if it fits. In the meantime I know I will be OK.

So back to being unemployed - if only for two days.

na-na

Laazzy days

This has been a most relaxing weekend. Friday night I worked out after work with my new pal and didn't get home until almost 11pm - so I nixed all my plans. I honestly don't know what happened to Sat. I was waiting around for two people that blew me off separately. One of them was a crackie and I should probably know better. She has her boyfriend in from Europe and they are doing the couple thing - well the couple thing with pstz tagging along, his tongue wagging out as he pants after her and jealously watches her with her boyfriend. Of course the other cracky and her house boy showed up as well. AND where was my invite? Exactly. I must remember that although she seems nice, sometimes she can be very calculating and cruel. So Sat night I went to this party - the friendliest party I have ever been to in LA. Everyone introduced themselves and talked to you - they played fun music - had flowing champagne - you know I love me my champagne and there were lots of cute boys there. If you know where my myspace page is - you can check out the pictures on the bullitin posts. Made a few contacts there and hey - you never know. I am still undecided about work, but I think I am just going to hang tight for one more week and then I will find out how much they are willing to pay me to stay. So far I havent had a real offer proposed so I will treat it like I am still just a temp. Just a temp that works 60 hrs a week. So I hope everyone had a good holiday weekend. I am looking forward to a productive week. Who knows - maybe I will have a story or two to tell.

Peace be with you.

Na-na

finally

So sorry to keep you in suspense - but I have been working really long hours and my internet connection has been kind of iffy. So yes - I am sure I was ready to share some dirty family secrets as I delusionally typed away at 5am on monday morning when I got in from FLA but I have to write what happened to me today at work before I forget. OK. As some of you may know (or not since I have been too busy working to talk to anyone) I have been working for a literary agent who is notorious for being a psychopath! The first day I met her she asked me to take her to pick up her dog from the kennel and then drive her home. She proposed to me at the edge of her driveway that night after having known me for only 4 hours (not marriage - job proposal.) On MOnday morning after not really sleeping for a few days I rolled into work and she had an episode...she decided that my desk needed to be clean so she came over and started to throw everything that was on my desk on the floor - first - shoving the items in my face and asking me if I was using them at all. I am a temp. I had been on that desk for four days and had no idea what the other temp did on the Friday I was in Florida so I had no idea what half the stuff was. THen she started to open up all the drawers and throw out the office supplies onto the floor. Saying that I had too many of everything while she mumbled ot herself about the incompetent assistants that had come before me and how they kept too many useless things around. She got to the bag of almonds that I had been living on for a week on the sly and I was in too much shock to ask her to save them. I just stood back and watched her go to town on my desk. At one poing she shoved a box of staples in my face and asked - do you need these? I took her for a sane person so I answered - yes - when the staples run out I will have to refill. Silly me. She shook the box in my face and told me that I could always ask for them when I needed them. She made me put everything in a large pile and call up a runner from the mailroom to fetch them. I tried calling the temp agency to beg them to find me another placement, but they could care less. My recruiter said - "you're getting paid aren't you?" I answered - "WEll, I 'm not working for free." What could I say? I am desperate for cash and I cant start subbing until I pass the CBEST in March. TOday was the top though. It was a quiet morning - she didn't come in or call until 11am - the exact time she was supposed to be in a meeting with a new client and his wife. This client was a child actor and a son of two very famous actors - someone whom I had a major crush on just around the time Goonies came out. I assumed since she is an adult and a smart one at that - she would remember she had this meeting and come to work on time. So she calls at 11. Are the ______ here yet? How should I know - no one tells me anything - I am just a temp and everyone at the agency hates my boss so no one calls and if they have to come upstairs - they call ahead to make sure she isnt in her office before they come up - like I said - NOTORIOUS. Anyway I get the third degree - you don't wait- you find out. So I call up all the talent agent assistants who are all ignoring my calls - Then I instant message them - they are all ignoring me. Meanwhile - psycholady is waiting my answer - finally I hear back - I guess so. That is NOT the answer I need. I need a definitive. I ask - are they in the conf rm? Nothing. The phone rings again - it is P.L. I begin to tell her that they are here - she says "Yeah, yeah I am in the meeting I know - listen this is VERY important. I have not had my coffee yet today - call M(the hispanic guy that works in the garage and gives us our parking validations) and ask him to make me a latte and bring it into the conf. rm- but dont bother calling him because he is never there - you are going to have to walk around and find him. If this was an ordinary office that would be one thing - but this office is a human habitrail - with many flights of stairs - four or five stories - some flights of stairs that don't even lead anywhere. DId I mention that I slept over at my friends house last night and forgot to pack deoderant????And I was wearing giant heels. So I start wandering around at a fast pace - asking everyone if they have seen M. I go down into the garage - no M. I run back up two flights - no M but there is a really cute asst. that walks me around and introduces me to a few of the gayer asst. whom he thinks knows how to make a latte. But they are all bitches and no one will help me out. Go to the mailroom they say(the mlrm pps are slaves) I go - no M no one that can make a latte. They tell me that M is the only one allowed to make the Lattes. I go back down to the garage and I hear an old man calling out his name M? M? So I have a glimmer of hope that he is around. Then a very pretty asian lady says - I will call M for you. I say Oh can you call him for me too? I explain who I am and she says how sorry she is and tells me who she is. I tell her what is going on and she says - too bad - stand up for yourself tell her M wasnt around and drink reg. coffee. But I know better and I am imagining Psycho Lady in the conf rom steam coming out of her ears wondering why her lazy, incompetent assistant cannot do anything right. I picture her pictureing me filing my nails at my desk popping gum and flipping my hair oblivious to the fact that she needs her caffiene in the form of a latte. meanwhile I am sweating up a storm and making an ass out of myself infront of every assistant, mailroom person and receptionist (on a positive note - this has gotten me to meet almost everyone very quickly. Being her asst. makes me notorious too!) So I run into G who has been very helpful although Mommy dearest (psycho lady) pulled his number off my computer and told me never ever to ever talk to him ever!!!! I swear to you that I am underplaying these events. So G says for me to go to Vons and pick up a latte there - he gets one of the talent asst. to call ahead and order - I am to barge into the conf room which has 80% of all the agents, the star, his manager and wife in there (think Entourage when Ari was desperately trying to keep Vince) I am scared to death to go in there - plus I am sweating and by this time smell pretty bad due to the no deoderant thing. I take a deep breath and open the door. I hear a "get the hell out!" It is the former child star I am embarrassed but stay focussed and with pen and paper in hand I explain to mommy dearest that M is out of the building and I am going to starbucks - would she like me to get anyone else anything? No she says. Sugar or cream (I've never ordered a latte in my life and drink coffee black so I have no idea) NO. I am sneaking out the door when Fmrchldstr says "Wait! What's your name?" "Nana" I reply. He stands up and says "Nice to meet you Nana -I'm fmrchldstr." I am smart. Even though I have just been through the gauntlet I have the wits about me to remember why this meeting is occuring in the first place. And even though I am just a temp I tell him "welcome to the agency fmrchldstr" I rock. I sprint down a few blocks to Vons - tell the guy at Starbucks I am the emergency Latte - pay - run back past all the crazy homeless people - they love santa monica and up two more flights of stairs to the conference room. I open the door and place the cup on the table (ha ha her head had to go under my arm for a sec - that'l l teachya!) I am moving backwards out the door when he ssays my name and hello again. Smellier and sweatier then ever - I give him a sexywink and a wave and close the door. I climb up another two flights of stairs to our floor and the other assistants tell me that they got phone calls from the assistants in the loft who asked if I had quit - since they witnessed me storming out of the building. Not a chance. LAdies and Gentlemen, this is just the beginning of my ride. Welcome Back to Hollywood - let the games begin.

Family Secrets part 1

Good Morning everyone! I have heard complaints that I haven't been updating this blog. I think the reason lies partly in my big ol funk; I didn't want this to be a whining board or a pity party. But i think the pall has lifted off my head for a minute so I am writing now. Just got back last night/this morning from Florida. My body clock was screwed up the whole time and I ended up getting back to my house around 4:30am est at which point I was too tired to fall alseep - I just discovered a great game on my phone that I may have to check myself inot rehab for. Anyway last Friday, Boss Lady told me she couldn't afford to have me over for more than 2 days/wk. I told her that I needed to take care of myself and took a temp job. Started on Monday and was trained for about 5 minutes by a snarky, smokey ex assistant to one of the Literary agents at the company. Apparently there are a lot of ex assistants. In fact, this woman has gone through at least 5 in the past year! I was warned. She was in NYC so I didn't even meet her until Tues. afternoon. By Tues night, I was driving her to pick up her dog and take her home at 8:30 - when we pulled up to the curb, she asked me to think about working for her full time - where she would be my mentor and teach me how to be an agent - she was telling me that even though being an assistant sucked, the agency was egalitarian when it came to its agents and that I would have the benefits of all the other agents the minute I was promoted. I told her that I was flattered,but I would have to think about it because I wasn't sure I could afford to work there. I heard it pays 450.00/wk b4 taxes w/o ot!! Pretty bad, but welcome to hollywood. I haven't been offered anything formal yet, so I am prepared to negotiate for something much higher and better - what do I have to loose? It is getting late and it takes me almost 2 hrs to get to work in the morning so I will have to do a part deux in the afternoon. I promise I will be revealing some juicy family secrets to you......as a taste how bout - attempted murder, deception and secret sex!!!! Have a great day everyone! Nana