Made it a Month!

Its official everyone! I've survived my first month in Los Angeles. I gotta tell ya, I am in love with this place. Why is that I fall in love with cities easier than human beings? I digress. L.A. is not the dreadful place that so many people tried to warn me about. The people I have been meeting are friendly and warm. The scenery blows me away on an almost daily basis. There is always something fun and new to go and check out. What more could a girl ask for?!



Lately, I have been spending a lot of time with my neighbor and friend, Jess. She and I went to this nightclub 5 blocks from our apt called the Medusa Lounge. This is our new favorite place! It is a big place with a lounge feel in the front and big dance floor area in the back. The greatest thing about this place is it is such a cross-section of the people in the neighborhood. No matter what ethnicity you are, you'll be represented. I love that. We went out in Hollywood one night as well and it just doesn't compare to this place if you are looking to go out dancing. How lucky are we that its so close to home?!



Jess, our friend Heidi and I also have checked a couple Fries on the Side shows. These people are absolutely incredible. Please check out their website, http://www.friesontheside.com/ and watch some videos of their skits. The way it works is they write and accept scripts all week long. Then on Saturday, the day of the show, they have cast call at 7pm. They pick the strongest scripts and run through them a few times, getting down the lights, music, props and costumes. At 9:30 the show starts after very little practice. Its so impressive and is truly very funny! This coming Saturday, I am going early to shadow Julia, the producer of the show. She's going to show me what I'll need to do in her absence. I'll be covering for her a couple weeks in August and I'm thrilled to do so.



The other night, Jess and I went to see her roommate, Jim, play a solo acoustic set. He was awesome! Afterwards, he and his band mates, Jess and I all went to the 4100 Bar in Silverlake. To my pleasant surprise, they serve PBR in a can!! There has been a lack of representation of the Pibber in this town, so I was stoked. Oh and at Fries when you purchase your ticket (only$6!) you get a free Pabst. Hell yeah! Anyway, we left the 4100 and decided to continue the party at Jess and Jim's place. Jim also has turntables and he spun a bunch of great music, so we all danced in their living room until 3:30am! He was playing the best stuff and I couldn't get enough of it. It was probably one of my favorite nights since I moved here. The next morning wasn't so much fun though!



Work is, well, work. I am filling in in the position that they offered me, but had declined. I definitely made the right call because it SUCKS! I've decided that I just need to stay here as long as they'll have me and I have nothing else. I'm applying to other jobs as often as I can and I'm hoping that something will come down my path one of these weeks. As my good friend, Vilay, put it, I didn't move to Los Angeles to work at some boring job that I could be doing back in Mpls. So there ya go.



Until next time...

4th of July Weekend

My long weekend started off with a trip to the Getty Center on Thursday afternoon. This place is amazing! Its only about 12 miles from downtown Los Angeles and sits atop a hill with beautiful views of the city. You take a tram from the parking structure up to the museum and the tram runs along the side of the hill. The views were breathtaking. Once arriving at the Getty, you notice the incredible architecture. I immediately made my way to the botanical gardens of which I heard were the highlight. This is absolutely true! I spent the majority of my time there, walking around and taking pictures. The Getty also makes great use of water in its landscaping. Beautiful fountains and streams flow throughout. Inside the various buildings were paintings, sculptures and artifacts. One painter was particular of interest to me as he photographed regular people from the early 20th Century. The photos used a silvery/gray scale and showed so much life and emotion. I found myself outside again very quickly as the views were just so stunning. I purchased a Corona and perched myself on a bench, near a fountain and soaked in some sun.

Thursday evening I hung out with my friend, Kii. We watched this crazy slasher/horror flick called "Slither." Now, I do not consider myself a fan of this genre, but I highly recommend seeing this movie! Its really well done, the acting is quite good and the script isn't bad either. You keep waiting for the plot to get cheesey and instead the next scene shocks you.

Friday was the 4th of July and I got up early to head out to Manhattan Beach. My co-worker, Heather, invited me to her house to hang out with her fiance and friends. Heather and Matt live 2 blocks from the beach and we made it down there by about Noon. We indulged in sun, surf, food and beverage all afternoon. They had bean bag toss, football, and volleyball. I mostly spent my time on beach towel...big surprise! By 7pm, I was feeling exhausted. Since Manhattan Beach doesn't set off fireworks, I decided to head home. I popped in a movie and maybe got through 30 minutes of it before falling asleep.

On Saturday, I motivated myself to get out and get some exercise. I drove up to Griffith Park and walked the Fern Dell trail. Its very lush and shaded, which was nice. At one point, I started heading up a steep hill and saw a sign that said "Beware of Mountain Lions and Rattlesnakes." Since I was feeling short of breath, I turned around so I wouldn't be a mountain lion's dinner! On the way home I stopped by Echo Park to walk around that lake. This park took a beating on the 4th. There were remnants of fireworks EVERYWHERE! I found it quite sad actually, just how irresponsible we humans can be. I'm sure the bottom of that lake is full of garbage too. I will have to go back another time when hopefully the park will give a better impression.

Ruth invited me, Jessica and her friend Gabe to come with her to a friend's house in the West Hollywood Hills on Saturday night. This house was amazing! We drank, ate and conversed for hours. Then we all jumped in the jaccuzi and pool. Unfortunately, Ruth cracked her forehead open while attempting her 3rd or 4th backflip into the pool. We figured we best take off when there was blood still dripping down her forehead a while after the injury. Jessica took care of her through the night and I'm happy to report she's doing just fine.

Sunday, Ruth's friend invited us to his Malibu house to hang out on the beach. Again, this place was amazing. Its directly on the beach and we took advantage of that right away. While sitting there, Jeremy Piven (Entourage anyone?) walked by. I'm not too concerned with crossing paths with celebs, but it was kind of cool seeing him taking a relaxing walk on the beach. Ruth had been craving some English tea so her friend was more than happy to oblige since he is British as well. This was my first cup of real English tea and I actually had a second cup, I liked it so much. We also had key lime pie and lemon cake.

Now I'm back at work and wondering if this is the place for me. My supervisor asked me last night if I'd be interested in a different position here. One of the higher ups liked me and thought I'd be good for the job. I feel like if I accept that offer, though, then I need to stay here a while. While I really think the company is great and the people I'm working with are very nice, the work itself is dull as a butterknife. There is a part of me who feels like I could be doing so much more. Its hard when you know that good benefits and good pay are being dangled in front of you, to walk away.

PHOTOS!!!  http://gallery.me.com/shellyvoss#100292

Until next time...

Derby, Bounty and Much, Much More

Well one whole week of work down the drain. The G.M. of our branch gave everyone the day off tomorrow in addition to the 4th so that's pretty nice. I had a conversation with my manager today and she said she really hopes that I'll stick with them and that she feels I am a really great fit for the company. An uplifting thing to hear.

To backtrack a little, last week on Tuesday I went to the Minneangeles bowling night. For those that don't know its a group of former Minnesotans who get together every Tuesday to bowl. Now most of you know that I am NOT a bowler, but I couldn't pass up this great opportunity to meet a bunch of people. Everyone was awesome that I met and so very welcoming. I did bowl and got the lowest score of the group, a 71. Why can't it be Silverstrike?! I'd be killin 'em! I do plan to attend the bowling night pretty often. Loads of fun.

Afterwards, I wasn't quite ready to call it a night so I headed up to the Bigfoot Lodge for a nightcap. While sitting there I started talking with this guy who turns out to be some big music engineer who has worked with U2, Cheap Trick, Heart, The Boss and many others. Just random how you can come across those folks so easily here. He invited me to some "hollywood type parties" the following weekend, but I just took his card and ended up not joining him for that.

Instead I spent my weekend doing other things. Saturday afternoon I hung out with my pal, and many of yours, Jerry. We went to Playa Del Ray and Venice. Saturday night I decided to venture out on my own. I went to this dive bar on Wilshire called the HMS Bounty. Not long after I arrived, a conversation was sparked with 3 guys sitting at the bar. They were excellent. Super friendly, funny and informative. One of the guys called his girlfriend, Julia, and told her to come down and meet up with us. From the minute she walked in, I knew she was a rad chick. We hit it off immediately. Julia's boyfriend, Christian, had told me about the L.A. Derby Dolls (rollerderby) tournament that was happening that weekend. Turns out where they have their bouts is under a mile from my place, so I said I'd check it out on Sunday. Julia said she'd be there as well. We parted ways with plans to meet up the following day. Upon arriving home, our house guest, Ruth, was sitting out back with my neighbor, Craig, who I hadn't met yet. We started chatting and I invited them to join me for the derby.

Sunday rolled around and Craig decided to pass on the derby, but Ruth said she'd still join me. She's this fabulous woman who is originally from England, but currently lives in New York. She took the train cross country which eventually landed her here in Los Angeles. Ruth is a writer who is incredibly interesting and an absolute blast. The derby was amazing. Their venue, called the Dollhouse, is black and pink and they skate a banked track. (MN Rollergirls use flat track) The bouts were crazy. The second one ended with much controversy and confusion, but it was superbly entertaining. We also caught this amazing band called, Critical Brass. 13 members playing a New Orleans style. Ruth and I hung out with Julia and she and I exchanged info and chatted music as she's a musician. Also, Julia and Christian work with this sketch comedy group called Fries on the Side. They have performances 3 Saturdays a month and mentioned the possibility of helping them out a little if I enjoy the show. I'm going to check it out on the 12th and the skits I've seen online have been hilarious.

Upon coming home from the Derby, I was lucky enough to meet my other neighbor, Jessica. She's an utter doll, very chill and easy to talk to. Who knew I'd live next to such cool folks! Last night I hung out with Ruth, Craig, Jessica and her friend, Heidi. We drank wine, chatted and watched crazy American spin-offs of Japanese game shows. Heidi was a delight as well. She and I sat and mocked the people on tv for 2 hours. 

Jessica, Ruth and I were talking tonight and decided to go to the Getty Center tomorrow. I had found information about it a book that Jerry gave me and said to Jessica that I was going to check it out tomorrow. She said its one of her favorite places in L.A. and that she'd love to join me. Ruth was down too. Supposedly this place has stellar views and so very much to see. I can't wait to report back afterwards.

Until next time...