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| - So I finally got internet at my apartment. I didn't feel comfortable writing blogs from my computer at work, considering I'd probably be writing ABOUT work and didn't want anyone from IT to be monitoring this. Work is wonderful, albeit a bit stressful. They did a reorganization, so now I'm working on completely different projects. But one of the projects I was working on, codename "Goldfish," is a bit of a challenge, so I had to go back and help which I think got my new supervisor a little upset. The art director, the one who hired me, is also leaving, which I'm very bummed about. She'll still be at Mattel, but in a different department. Actually, there's a lot of people leaving our department because of relational issues and office drama. Never knew there could be so much! But the plus side of work is our "Brainstorm immersions" where we get "inspired" with new ideas for toys and packaging. A few weeks ago, we went to the zoo all day. Then we ate lunch at a middle school. Then last week we went shopping at a bunch of Japanese stores, ate sushi, and racked up a bill of over $200 in books and toys--all billed to the company. This week we ate in Beverly Hills and then saw an exhibition at the museum. Oh, and it's all on company time, so we're actually getting paid to do this. It's wonderful! But projects are picking up soon, so we won't be doing very many more of these outings. And with my boss leaving, I don't know if the new one will let us do so many cool things like this. :( | | |
| Geez, it's almost been a month since I've been able to update! Life here has been incredibly crazy. Fun and very promising, but insane. I started working at Mattel almost a month ago. Remember it was only going to be 3 weeks? Well, after the first week and a half, my boss asked me to stay indefinately, meaning that they're hoping to hire me as a permanent employee in the future. Wow, was I taken aback! I asked for a pay raise of $2/hr because I'd like to live completely independent from my parents, and they upped it from $15/hr to $20. Again, I was floored because it was a lot more than what I was asking. They really want me to stay! So I guess I'm staying here in L.A. for awhile. But I'm definately moving to a nicer part of town. This weekend I'm going to be apartment hunting in Hermosa and Redondo Beach. It's relatively affordable, right by the beach in cute little beachy towns, and 10 minutes from work.
In the meantime, I was able to sublease my old room for free. Free rent! And none of the new girls have moved in, so I have the whole place to myself. Very scary at night, but I just pop in a DVD when I go to bed and turn it off when i wake up in the middle of the night. Only problem: a litter of kittens was born in our basement, breeding fleas like crazy. On my left leg alone, I have over 30 flea bites. And since I've been working 8-5, I haven't been in the sunlight so my pale legs look terribly ugly. I've flea-bombed my room twice, used flea spray and flea powder. I'm afraid that they have gotten into my car and my work cubicle as well. I'm going to spray my cube tonight once people have gone home. I found out that the maintenance worker has been feeding the cats and that's why they were sticking around. I told him to stop feeding them. He has, and they've gone away thank goodness. But occasionally i still get bites. As I was walking around the grocery store, I found myself lingering in the pet control aisle, eyeing the flea collars and water drops. Do you think that wearing a flea collar around my ankle would affect my skin? Since animals have tougher skin and all that hair, it doesn't affect them. But would it burn through my skin? And what about the water drops? I couldn't find any warnings against human use...
Going further into the ghetto world, I had to get a new contact prescription because I've been wearing the same trial lenses for about a month. So where did I go? My local Wal-Mart. It was the weirdest eye exam by this anal Indian guy (who thankfully didn't smell), and you know what he said at the end of the 40 minute exam? Oh, we don't sell contacts here. Are you serious??? Wal-mart sells EVERYTHING! If there's an optometrist AT the Wal-Mart, don't you think they would sell contacts too? :::sigh::: So now I have to find another cheap place to buy them.
So that's about all for right now. I wish I could tell you more about work, but since I'm currently still AT work and using the computer they probably monitor, I don't want to say too much. | | |
| Okay, so I actually started work today, not yesterday as expected. Because I'm from Texas, it takes longer for my background check to clear for some reason. Anyhoo, work started out slow because I had no keyboard or mouse to go with my computer. After lunch, things really just breezed by. I'm working on some Polly Pocket posters and postcards, which are actually pretty fun. I've got to do some homework and research the secondary PP characters. And I figured out where I'm going to be staying: in the same place I am now. One of the new tenants came by yesterday and I asked her if any rooms were available for the summer. She said she's pretty sure my room will be empty. I offered to pay to sublease, and she said not to mention it to the girl taking over my room, thus free rent! Too good to be true. I'm going to email her just to double check. | | |
| So I start my job at Mattel on Monday!! And I have a little more than a week to pack up everything I've accumulated in the past 2 years and move it to who knows where!! On top of that, I'm still trying to get t-shirts printed for Spirit West Coast (which I won't be able to attend because of the working and the moving) and negotiate with our old silk-screener, Mark, who is trying to weasel his way out of reimbursing us for some screens he threw away. On top of that, everyone's been moving and shuffling around, kicking up dust and dormant fleas. I've discovered that I'm allergic to dust because I keep sniffling and my left eye will not stop itching, and fleas have attacked us all. I've got 4 bites around my neck, 3 below my collarbone, 6 on my stomach, 2 on my back, 2 on my right foot, 1 on my left foot, and 2 on my left leg. I think that's all of them, but I get more everyday. | | |
| Mullets. I did not realize how common this hairstyle was back in the '80s until recently. I happened upon an episode of MacGyver the other day on cable. I was ecstatic! Until Richard Dean Anderson actually appeared on screen. He was wearing a snazzy tuxedo, and Pete even commented on how good he looked. But it was all ruined because of the blonde mullet that rested atop his head. I had to change the channel, it was just too much for me! And then I was watching E! True Hollywood Story: New Kids on the Block, and they were all sportin' these ridiculous mullet/rat tails that went halfway down their back. How could I have been so oblivious to the hideousness of mullets back then? If I was unaware of them back then, is there something trendy nowadays that is just as bad that I ignore, like the "Rachel" hairstyle? | | |
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