Let me explain-
While I was vaguely planning to come to Los Angeles last year, I was also working in selection for a scholarship program. This gave my dad an idea:
"Hey- you should be one of those people who works with high school students applying to college!"
This was an excellent idea for one reason, maybe two: you can get paid $200 an hour to do this. The secondary reason is that it would be relatively gratifying, unlike working at a topless bar or in a coal mine.
So, today, I printed out fifty flyers at my other day job at a print and copy shop. They read,
"Anxious about the college application process?"
[Then, I put this photo of myself, looking terrified]
I'd love to help.
I'm not sure who my target audience was for this, but I will admit, I had the nearly subconscious thought that a casting director might see this flyer, and say, "Wow- she'd be perfect for Scary Movie 5! Or The Other Sister 2."
After printing out 50 color copies of this manic portrait, I began calling down a list of synagogues and private schools in the LA area. I googled "Temples in Los Angeles" and started on my way.
My first attempts were met very frostily.
Temple Israel of Hollywood does not advertise for outsiders.
University Synagogue gave me a flat-out no. There was no sugar coating.
Wilshire Boulevard Temple transfered me to a dubiously real voicemail and said I could put something in their newsletter.
Temple Adat Shalom will let me put a business-card sized ad in their newsletter for 35 dollars.
I realized that I thought I had a fail-safe plan with this synagogue strategy- I was envisioning the bulletin board outside of Fellowship Hall at my hometown Memorial United Methodist Church, where I grew up- that bulletin board was always covered with flyers, the kind with the pulll off phone number tabs that you could tear away and put in your pocket when it came time to call a babysitter. That single image that I saw so many times while I was waiting for my parents to stop schmoozing and take me home just about formed the foundation of my action plan for rolling in dough in LA.
My mom left me a voicemail today and said, "It's around 7:00 right now...in the real world." The time difference rubs it in- I'm really far away. I'm far away from my family, from my boyfriend, from my best friends, from the people I don't even like that much, from the work that I'm doing, from all of the places I ever spent longer than three weeks of my life. I drove around with the delivery guy from the Print Shop, a guy named Jose, who came here from Guatemala when he was 17. He said, "You're on an adventure," and I told him he went on a pretty big adventure himself. He didn't seem to agree. He said he'd like to travel one day when he's old and his children are old- I told him to move to North Carolina. He said he thought he'd take some acting classes. I thought there was an unusual amount we had in common.
It's lonely here today, and I feel upset for some reason. I have too much to do, but not enough to do. I could work endlessly, trying to paper all the synagogues in southern california, signing up for classes to learn improv and acting, working 8 hour days at the print shop, writing emails to network until the cows come home-- I can't seem to focus on anything long enough to feel satisfied.
Like right now-- I want to eat, I want to write, I want to email, I want to read about printing costs in a large trade notebook, I don't want to spend money on food, but I really want in n' out burger.
So- what I'm doing is going to the movies. I haven't done that since I've been here. It seems awfully silly to come here to be in the movies and not actually go.
I ordered my ticket on Fandango so I have to go.
It was 12 dollars, which is ridiculous.
I'm going to see The Women.
Until next time,
I'd love to help,
Madeline
After printing out 50 color copies of this manic portrait, I began calling down a list of synagogues and private schools in the LA area. I googled "Temples in Los Angeles" and started on my way.
My first attempts were met very frostily.
Temple Israel of Hollywood does not advertise for outsiders.
University Synagogue gave me a flat-out no. There was no sugar coating.
Wilshire Boulevard Temple transfered me to a dubiously real voicemail and said I could put something in their newsletter.
Temple Adat Shalom will let me put a business-card sized ad in their newsletter for 35 dollars.
I realized that I thought I had a fail-safe plan with this synagogue strategy- I was envisioning the bulletin board outside of Fellowship Hall at my hometown Memorial United Methodist Church, where I grew up- that bulletin board was always covered with flyers, the kind with the pulll off phone number tabs that you could tear away and put in your pocket when it came time to call a babysitter. That single image that I saw so many times while I was waiting for my parents to stop schmoozing and take me home just about formed the foundation of my action plan for rolling in dough in LA.
My mom left me a voicemail today and said, "It's around 7:00 right now...in the real world." The time difference rubs it in- I'm really far away. I'm far away from my family, from my boyfriend, from my best friends, from the people I don't even like that much, from the work that I'm doing, from all of the places I ever spent longer than three weeks of my life. I drove around with the delivery guy from the Print Shop, a guy named Jose, who came here from Guatemala when he was 17. He said, "You're on an adventure," and I told him he went on a pretty big adventure himself. He didn't seem to agree. He said he'd like to travel one day when he's old and his children are old- I told him to move to North Carolina. He said he thought he'd take some acting classes. I thought there was an unusual amount we had in common.
It's lonely here today, and I feel upset for some reason. I have too much to do, but not enough to do. I could work endlessly, trying to paper all the synagogues in southern california, signing up for classes to learn improv and acting, working 8 hour days at the print shop, writing emails to network until the cows come home-- I can't seem to focus on anything long enough to feel satisfied.
Like right now-- I want to eat, I want to write, I want to email, I want to read about printing costs in a large trade notebook, I don't want to spend money on food, but I really want in n' out burger.
So- what I'm doing is going to the movies. I haven't done that since I've been here. It seems awfully silly to come here to be in the movies and not actually go.
I ordered my ticket on Fandango so I have to go.
It was 12 dollars, which is ridiculous.
I'm going to see The Women.
Until next time,
I'd love to help,
Madeline
1 comment:
I love you and I empathize with your taste of rejection. At least you manage to describe it so eloquently :)
-chris kearns
Post a Comment