I've been kind of behind on what has been happening with me this week, it's just been so busy!
Well for starters, I worked 2 overnight shifts earlier in the week. I was running low on energy and sleep by the time I got through them. In between my down time my roomie's friend and I went to go and see Toy Story 3. I LOVE the Toy Story movies, they are so cute and funny!
I went to my first club called 8Eighty8 Club in the OC. $20 cover. My roomie says that's typical. I say that's way too much! The go-go-dancers also had no personality and were not giving it their all, you could tell that they just got hired for their good looks and hot bods...sad sad sad...I've seen better go-go dancers back home!
This week was also Social Media Week in Los Angeles. There were a ton of panels where organizations discussed how they use social media (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, etc...) to help gain exposure to their business, product or client. I volunteered for 2 shifts: one at the House of Blues and one at the W Hotel in Hollywood.
The HOB is off of the Sunset Strip and featured concert promoter LiveNation. My job was to check in panelists and guests. I spent a couple hours doing this. Unfortunately, I was so worn out from all of my overnight shifts that I ended up leaving a couple hours early. I ate dinner upstairs and had this awesome shrimp, rice and green beans dish. Then I went home and crashed for 14 hours.
The next night was at the W Hotel off of Hollywood Blvd and it featured different local fashion businesses. Once again I checked people in. I also copied down a lot of the businesses and looked them up when I got home but none of them really interested me. By the time we were done, there was nothing much more to do, so I went to Cravings at Sunset Plaza and had a glass of wine and chicken curry.
Getting home was interesting, the ho brought me to a sobriety test area. For those of you who don't know who the "ho" is, that is the name for my GPS. I will be talking about her many times in the near future. I wanted to make a mean name for her and I thought "bitch", "tramp" "slut" were too simple. The ho got me into my car accident out here. The ho will recalculate many times, telling me to go one direction then suddenly changing her mind and telling me to turn around and go back to where I came from. Now the ho brought me into a sobriety test area at 9:30pm when I had no intention of going there. I had half a glass of wine and more food than my stomach could handle. Just so everyone knows, California has a Zero Alcohol Tolerance Law. Luckily, the officer shined the light in my eyes and let me pass. Then I got to the 10 Freeway.
Today I had a meeting with a temp agency called AppleOne, I had 2 friends recommend them to me. I had an awesome meeting with the lady who is going to look for some entertainment/media jobs for me. It loos pretty promising! I also got my nails done and laid low the rest of the night, I have been feeling a little under the weather. :( And spwaking of weather, the high was 100 today and the same for tomorrow. Not looking forward to it...
I also got my absentee ballot in the mail today. Go Mark Dayton!
This weekend is pretty much crazy. My friend Nicole and I are going to a modeling call for LA Fashion Week, they are looking for models 5'9"-6'0". We are both tall, so why not try? :) I also work my traffic job there afterwards until 1030pm. Then I have to be at work to manage a Yoplait Smoothie promo at 430am the next day. I know, I know, where's the sleep?
This coming week I work one overnight shift, work a Duarte promo and I finally have a meeting with the agent from Paramount to see if he can point me in the right direction and what not.
Random one sentence thoughts....I am waiting to see when I am going to San Fran for a visit....I am coming home to Mpls for Xmas for 7 days, I am so excited! I also scheduled a hair apt and a couple doc visits while I am home...I'm shopping around my many exclusive Michael Jackson photos that I have, I am not sure if people pay or if they give credit but I want to see how much they would offer. I think it's more of a curiousity thing than anything else.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
Happy Friday!
I really don't have much going on today, it's my day off from work. I am going to work more on my Top 5 article and keep it low, lol.
I wanted to go to the gym today but I am so sore from yesterday. I can't even lift up my arms, Ow ow ow! :(
I talked to my mom this morning, my dad and her are on a corvette cruise in northern MN. It sounds like they are having a great time so far!
I am working at my traffic job tomorrow and a cookie sampling event on Sunday. Busy busy weekend! My roomie also has his friend coming in from NYC tomorrow, we are going to a club called Red Saturday night. I haven't really seen the nightlife since I got here!
Next week I work a couple of overnight shifts, I pray I get through them ok. Also next week is social media week in LA. I am volunteering to help with a couple events. One is a fashion event and the other is with LiveNation concert promoters. So I am sure I will have tons to tell then!
Have a good weekend all!
<3, K
I wanted to go to the gym today but I am so sore from yesterday. I can't even lift up my arms, Ow ow ow! :(
I talked to my mom this morning, my dad and her are on a corvette cruise in northern MN. It sounds like they are having a great time so far!
I am working at my traffic job tomorrow and a cookie sampling event on Sunday. Busy busy weekend! My roomie also has his friend coming in from NYC tomorrow, we are going to a club called Red Saturday night. I haven't really seen the nightlife since I got here!
Next week I work a couple of overnight shifts, I pray I get through them ok. Also next week is social media week in LA. I am volunteering to help with a couple events. One is a fashion event and the other is with LiveNation concert promoters. So I am sure I will have tons to tell then!
Have a good weekend all!
<3, K
How I got tickets to the MTV Video Music Awards
I got some emails asking how I got tickets to the MTV Video Music Awards this past Sunday. I will keep it short and to the point as I can. And yes, they did cost.
The night before I put out an ad on the LA Craigs List asking for someone who had VMA tickets. I didn't think anyone would reply.
The next day at 8:30am I woke up and I had a response with someone telling me to contact them at this number. I texted the girl and she said I want a grand each. I said no way too pricey! She said what about $1200 for both? I said that's still too much, no thanks. So I went back to sleep.
An few hours later I woke up and had another response. He said $800 per ticket. I said how did you get them, who do you know, etc etc...drilling the guy with questions. He responded an hour later saying he and his friends decided to go...he was sketchy.
I took a shower and when I got out I had a few missed phone calls from the previous girl! So I called her back and she said she really needed to get rid of them. She worked in the music industry in Vegas and had to go to NYC for some fashion thing. She could give them to me for $600. I told her deal. Her flight was at 4pm and it was already 12:30pm. She didn't know her way down to the OC so I went up to LA to meet her in Hollywood. After giving her some cash and a paypal transfer later, I had the tickets. They looked legit, they looked real. I was halfway ready, now I had to get back down to the OC, finish getting ready, pick up my friend in Culver City and head over to the Nokia Theatre in downtown LA.
We got in just in time before the doors closed at 5:45pm and we had some appetizers from Wolfgang Puck. Our seats were 4 rows up from the main floor, so we were in the lower level. Anything that you saw on TV is what I saw. Going to an awards show is amazing, you get to see all these famous people in one room and a bunch of different acts. I think Kanye West's performance was odd at first but he's the only one that could get away with toasting to a douchebag or an a**hole. I loved seeing Cher at the end and seeing Lady Gaga win Video of the Year. I loved seeing Usher perform and Katy Perry present an award. It's so much fun with so much energy!
The show was only 2 hours long, usually it's 3. The guys that were working outside with the Justin Bieber set-up told me it was canned an hour due to financial reasons. We also sat behind to this Realhouse Wives of NY woman Bethenny Frankell, I've never heard of her and probably couldn't point her out again.
Overall it was a fun experience for last minute tickets! :)
The night before I put out an ad on the LA Craigs List asking for someone who had VMA tickets. I didn't think anyone would reply.
The next day at 8:30am I woke up and I had a response with someone telling me to contact them at this number. I texted the girl and she said I want a grand each. I said no way too pricey! She said what about $1200 for both? I said that's still too much, no thanks. So I went back to sleep.
An few hours later I woke up and had another response. He said $800 per ticket. I said how did you get them, who do you know, etc etc...drilling the guy with questions. He responded an hour later saying he and his friends decided to go...he was sketchy.
I took a shower and when I got out I had a few missed phone calls from the previous girl! So I called her back and she said she really needed to get rid of them. She worked in the music industry in Vegas and had to go to NYC for some fashion thing. She could give them to me for $600. I told her deal. Her flight was at 4pm and it was already 12:30pm. She didn't know her way down to the OC so I went up to LA to meet her in Hollywood. After giving her some cash and a paypal transfer later, I had the tickets. They looked legit, they looked real. I was halfway ready, now I had to get back down to the OC, finish getting ready, pick up my friend in Culver City and head over to the Nokia Theatre in downtown LA.
We got in just in time before the doors closed at 5:45pm and we had some appetizers from Wolfgang Puck. Our seats were 4 rows up from the main floor, so we were in the lower level. Anything that you saw on TV is what I saw. Going to an awards show is amazing, you get to see all these famous people in one room and a bunch of different acts. I think Kanye West's performance was odd at first but he's the only one that could get away with toasting to a douchebag or an a**hole. I loved seeing Cher at the end and seeing Lady Gaga win Video of the Year. I loved seeing Usher perform and Katy Perry present an award. It's so much fun with so much energy!
The show was only 2 hours long, usually it's 3. The guys that were working outside with the Justin Bieber set-up told me it was canned an hour due to financial reasons. We also sat behind to this Realhouse Wives of NY woman Bethenny Frankell, I've never heard of her and probably couldn't point her out again.
Overall it was a fun experience for last minute tickets! :)
What has happened within the past month
I want to keep it light and realistic at the same time. I want to talk about what it's really like out here for me so far and what has happened.
My mom and I arrived here on August 15, 2010. We were coming from Las Vegas, where we had stayed a few days to tour and have some fun. I was about to drive through the desert and there was a traffic jam up a majority of the time. I have never driven through a desert before and it was 110 degrees. You can't leave you AC in the car too long or the temp will go up, hence making your car overheat. I was sweating like a pig. I was cranky. My mother, who is usually calm, didn't complain once.
My roommate Rozen lives in a city of Orange County called Anaheim, Ca. He had just bought his first house and was very proud! So basically from the OC up to LA where I work it takes about 40-45 mins. It really only feels like you're in the car for 10 mins though. They have some of the best radio stations out here to put you in a good mood, so time goes by fast.
I noticed some ants in the room. I went out and got ant poison for them to take back to their home and kill the others. Then we went to bed. Keep in the back of your mind the ants as I write on...
Next day, my mom and I ran around town getting some necessities for my new home and I got into a car accident on a couple side streets. I blame my GPS (I call her the "ho") for getting me into it. My right front fender has a dent in it but it's hardly noticeable. In the end, because the damage was under $1,000, my premiums didn't go up and I have a $500 deductible. I am not anxious anytime soon to get it fixed because it really isn't that big of a deal. The car still drives fine with no problems at all.
Days later I dropped my mom off at the airport. It was just me now.
I went home that night to relax and went into my room...there were maybe 50 some ants in one corner of my room. I sprayed RAID all over them, then literally climbed the walls to kill the ones that were on the ceiling.
After that I decided to take a shower. I opened the shower and there were teeny tiny spiders and a big mama spider nearby. I sprayed RAID on them and washed them down the drain with the shower nozzle. Unfortunately, I had sprayed too much RAID in the tub that I inhaled too many of the RAID fumes, making myself dizzy. I went outside to breathe.
After I took a shower I went back into my room and more and more ants appeared. Rozen was gone so I called him crying. He told me to keep spraying. I must've used a whole can of RAID by the time the night was done! The next day he used to fogger. We haven't had must of a bug problem since! >:)
In between all this car and ant drama I met up with a couple people I had networked with before I left Minnesota (and both guys are coincidentally both from Minnesota as well). One was a videographer who couldn't help me at all but was kind enough to have a nice chat with me and share some laughs. I was grateful for this because it felt good to go out and talk with someone and have lunch with! The other guy was also cool, he used to work at a sports channel and knew of his wife's friend that works for a TV network out here for me to talk with. He texted me a few days ago saying he was going to be sending me the info soon.
I work for my traffic company in Los Angeles. It is a 24/7 office. My hours are very sporadic. One day I was working an early morning shift and the next I'm working a night shift. I like all my co-workers and my boss, they are kind, laid back and funny.
Today I met with the liquor team for LA/OC. They are the same company that I worked with back home for 5 1/2 years. I will hear back from them on Tuesday, but I feel pretty confident about it.
I also went to the gym tonight, it felt good after not having gone for 8 weeks! I am a little sore but I feel great!
In between all this time I look for jobs like crazy! Back home it used to take me an hour to do, here it takes me about 2-3 hours. There are more opportunities here than back home but obviously it is also more competitive! I also have been doing some demo sampling for another company in supermarkets from time to time that I am not too fond of anymore. I am still freelance writing as well.
Some fun things I have done is I went to Calabasas up in the San Fernando Valley and ate at this delicious cafe called Marmalade. I also did some shopping and stopped in at the Kardashian store called D-A-S-H. I didn't see one but the manager was talking to Kourtney on the other line when I came in!
I also went to Santa Barbara for some work related and a slight vacay getaway for a couple days. It's gorgeous up there with the mntns and driving along the highway next to the sea, scenery is just amazing!Besides getting a $50 parking ticket and almost hitting a pedestrian (I know I am off to a great start so far right?) I had a great time! I saw the wharf, a sea creature museum, the oldest fig tree, the oldest Mission and looked around a shopping area called State Street. It's kind of like shopping on Grand Ave back home but a little more upscale and with more shops.
I also went to Los Olivos to do some wine tasting near the Santa Ynez Mntns. The wineries and tastings are amazing! I learned a tip on how to save some money though: don't sample all 5 or 6 flights that the store or winery is offering. Pick out 2 that you really want to try and you won't have to pay a dime...then move onto the next one and do the same thing...and the one after...and the one after that...well you get the picture! After that I stopped at the local cafe and had a huge meal...gee I woner why?
I also went to an Angels-Indians game with my co-worker's friend. We lost but it was awesome to see Torii Hunter play! Stadium is pretty neat as well, not as neat as the Target Field though!
My next goal is to go to the Griffith Auditorium, it's a conservatory in the hills. I still have to see this Crystal Chapel in the OC as well. I also learned that President Nixon is buried in Fullerton, which is a city right near Anaheim, might have to check that out as well.
Write more soon,
<3, K
My mom and I arrived here on August 15, 2010. We were coming from Las Vegas, where we had stayed a few days to tour and have some fun. I was about to drive through the desert and there was a traffic jam up a majority of the time. I have never driven through a desert before and it was 110 degrees. You can't leave you AC in the car too long or the temp will go up, hence making your car overheat. I was sweating like a pig. I was cranky. My mother, who is usually calm, didn't complain once.
My roommate Rozen lives in a city of Orange County called Anaheim, Ca. He had just bought his first house and was very proud! So basically from the OC up to LA where I work it takes about 40-45 mins. It really only feels like you're in the car for 10 mins though. They have some of the best radio stations out here to put you in a good mood, so time goes by fast.
I noticed some ants in the room. I went out and got ant poison for them to take back to their home and kill the others. Then we went to bed. Keep in the back of your mind the ants as I write on...
Next day, my mom and I ran around town getting some necessities for my new home and I got into a car accident on a couple side streets. I blame my GPS (I call her the "ho") for getting me into it. My right front fender has a dent in it but it's hardly noticeable. In the end, because the damage was under $1,000, my premiums didn't go up and I have a $500 deductible. I am not anxious anytime soon to get it fixed because it really isn't that big of a deal. The car still drives fine with no problems at all.
Days later I dropped my mom off at the airport. It was just me now.
I went home that night to relax and went into my room...there were maybe 50 some ants in one corner of my room. I sprayed RAID all over them, then literally climbed the walls to kill the ones that were on the ceiling.
After that I decided to take a shower. I opened the shower and there were teeny tiny spiders and a big mama spider nearby. I sprayed RAID on them and washed them down the drain with the shower nozzle. Unfortunately, I had sprayed too much RAID in the tub that I inhaled too many of the RAID fumes, making myself dizzy. I went outside to breathe.
After I took a shower I went back into my room and more and more ants appeared. Rozen was gone so I called him crying. He told me to keep spraying. I must've used a whole can of RAID by the time the night was done! The next day he used to fogger. We haven't had must of a bug problem since! >:)
In between all this car and ant drama I met up with a couple people I had networked with before I left Minnesota (and both guys are coincidentally both from Minnesota as well). One was a videographer who couldn't help me at all but was kind enough to have a nice chat with me and share some laughs. I was grateful for this because it felt good to go out and talk with someone and have lunch with! The other guy was also cool, he used to work at a sports channel and knew of his wife's friend that works for a TV network out here for me to talk with. He texted me a few days ago saying he was going to be sending me the info soon.
I work for my traffic company in Los Angeles. It is a 24/7 office. My hours are very sporadic. One day I was working an early morning shift and the next I'm working a night shift. I like all my co-workers and my boss, they are kind, laid back and funny.
Today I met with the liquor team for LA/OC. They are the same company that I worked with back home for 5 1/2 years. I will hear back from them on Tuesday, but I feel pretty confident about it.
I also went to the gym tonight, it felt good after not having gone for 8 weeks! I am a little sore but I feel great!
In between all this time I look for jobs like crazy! Back home it used to take me an hour to do, here it takes me about 2-3 hours. There are more opportunities here than back home but obviously it is also more competitive! I also have been doing some demo sampling for another company in supermarkets from time to time that I am not too fond of anymore. I am still freelance writing as well.
Some fun things I have done is I went to Calabasas up in the San Fernando Valley and ate at this delicious cafe called Marmalade. I also did some shopping and stopped in at the Kardashian store called D-A-S-H. I didn't see one but the manager was talking to Kourtney on the other line when I came in!
I also went to Santa Barbara for some work related and a slight vacay getaway for a couple days. It's gorgeous up there with the mntns and driving along the highway next to the sea, scenery is just amazing!Besides getting a $50 parking ticket and almost hitting a pedestrian (I know I am off to a great start so far right?) I had a great time! I saw the wharf, a sea creature museum, the oldest fig tree, the oldest Mission and looked around a shopping area called State Street. It's kind of like shopping on Grand Ave back home but a little more upscale and with more shops.
I also went to Los Olivos to do some wine tasting near the Santa Ynez Mntns. The wineries and tastings are amazing! I learned a tip on how to save some money though: don't sample all 5 or 6 flights that the store or winery is offering. Pick out 2 that you really want to try and you won't have to pay a dime...then move onto the next one and do the same thing...and the one after...and the one after that...well you get the picture! After that I stopped at the local cafe and had a huge meal...gee I woner why?
I also went to an Angels-Indians game with my co-worker's friend. We lost but it was awesome to see Torii Hunter play! Stadium is pretty neat as well, not as neat as the Target Field though!
My next goal is to go to the Griffith Auditorium, it's a conservatory in the hills. I still have to see this Crystal Chapel in the OC as well. I also learned that President Nixon is buried in Fullerton, which is a city right near Anaheim, might have to check that out as well.
Write more soon,
<3, K
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Why I wanted to do this
I always wanted to write a book.
About a year ago, I decided that I wanted to start writing a memoir. Sounds easier said than done. I had so many chapters and memories I was putting together that I wanted to share. My goal was that when I passed one day that people could have a copy of it. It's my way of saying thank you to the world, to God for letting me come into this planet and for sharing my experiences. Hopefully someone that reads it will offer them some hope or how to deal with a certain situation whatever the case may be.
Before I left for California, my dad suggested (and I had also previously) that I should write a simple will before I leave. You may think at 30-years-old that having a will at that age is young, and some of you may be right, but with me going to the western side of the U.S. with really no one but to depend on but myself, I decided it was the right thing to do. There's a part in the will that asks what "gifts" I want to give to the attendees of my funeral and I told my mother (who was helping me with it) that I want people to have a copy of my memoir.
She gave me this sarcastic look like, "Really Kateri?"
"I'm serious mom!" I told her. "I want people to have it, I want people to take away something from it."
"Ooooookay..." she said.
This past year was hard for me to focus on writing the memoir. Besides the fact that sometimes it gets sickening to sit there and talk about yourself and what you've been through, I was feeling a sense of loss physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.
You see, back home, I really did have it made. I had a great support of friends and family, I had accomplished what I wanted to in my career at that point and I was working hard. I had it all. What more could I ask for?
I called my mom in in May of 2010 crying. Of course, she was out of town in Ohio, visiting my grandmother. Whenever I am really upset about something, it usually happens when she is in Ohio. At first she thought that my dad and I had a fight, which wasn't the case.
"Mom, I can't do this anymore," I told her through tears. "I want to leave. I want to go to LA and live my life. I've done everything I could here, I feel like there's nothing left for me to give." This was also a period where I was working too much, I was emotionally drained and getting about 4-5 hours of sleep a night.
I think my mom saw it coming sometime in the future after we took a trip to Los Angeles in 2008. She told me she'd miss me but she understood that this was something I had to do.
I don't fully know why Los Angeles does it for me, it just does. It's tranquil and I like the energy. I always pictured myself living in another area. I once met a woman years ago when I was doing a liquor tasting and somehow we got on the subject of other states and what it would be like to live there. She told me that she wished she had lived someplace else before she had gotten married.
The LA Diaries are about moving forward and at times looking back of what I left (and still have) in Minnesota. Talking about back home is a lot more easier for me now now that I am in a different place. I want to start posting some of the things I have written in the past and current. I also want to talk about the journey I will be going through.
For me, moving to California was the best thing I have ever done in my life so far.
But my writing is the thing I am most passionate about.
Love, Kateri
About a year ago, I decided that I wanted to start writing a memoir. Sounds easier said than done. I had so many chapters and memories I was putting together that I wanted to share. My goal was that when I passed one day that people could have a copy of it. It's my way of saying thank you to the world, to God for letting me come into this planet and for sharing my experiences. Hopefully someone that reads it will offer them some hope or how to deal with a certain situation whatever the case may be.
Before I left for California, my dad suggested (and I had also previously) that I should write a simple will before I leave. You may think at 30-years-old that having a will at that age is young, and some of you may be right, but with me going to the western side of the U.S. with really no one but to depend on but myself, I decided it was the right thing to do. There's a part in the will that asks what "gifts" I want to give to the attendees of my funeral and I told my mother (who was helping me with it) that I want people to have a copy of my memoir.
She gave me this sarcastic look like, "Really Kateri?"
"I'm serious mom!" I told her. "I want people to have it, I want people to take away something from it."
"Ooooookay..." she said.
This past year was hard for me to focus on writing the memoir. Besides the fact that sometimes it gets sickening to sit there and talk about yourself and what you've been through, I was feeling a sense of loss physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.
You see, back home, I really did have it made. I had a great support of friends and family, I had accomplished what I wanted to in my career at that point and I was working hard. I had it all. What more could I ask for?
I called my mom in in May of 2010 crying. Of course, she was out of town in Ohio, visiting my grandmother. Whenever I am really upset about something, it usually happens when she is in Ohio. At first she thought that my dad and I had a fight, which wasn't the case.
"Mom, I can't do this anymore," I told her through tears. "I want to leave. I want to go to LA and live my life. I've done everything I could here, I feel like there's nothing left for me to give." This was also a period where I was working too much, I was emotionally drained and getting about 4-5 hours of sleep a night.
I think my mom saw it coming sometime in the future after we took a trip to Los Angeles in 2008. She told me she'd miss me but she understood that this was something I had to do.
I don't fully know why Los Angeles does it for me, it just does. It's tranquil and I like the energy. I always pictured myself living in another area. I once met a woman years ago when I was doing a liquor tasting and somehow we got on the subject of other states and what it would be like to live there. She told me that she wished she had lived someplace else before she had gotten married.
The LA Diaries are about moving forward and at times looking back of what I left (and still have) in Minnesota. Talking about back home is a lot more easier for me now now that I am in a different place. I want to start posting some of the things I have written in the past and current. I also want to talk about the journey I will be going through.
For me, moving to California was the best thing I have ever done in my life so far.
But my writing is the thing I am most passionate about.
Love, Kateri
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