After an emotionally draining Day One, Day Two turned out to be much more tolerable. Day two felt like a real start to my new life in LA.
I woke up early, tumbled off of my giant balloon of a bed and did 10 minutes of yoga (a new habit I’m trying to develop that's also quite necessary after a night on the air mattress of death). I finished unpacking as much as I could, considering my horrible lack of shelves and drawers. The landlord came to remove the sorry excuse for a fridge, I got my money back and then… I was on a mission.
I am not and have never been one of those people who can sleep for weeks on a stranger’s couch. I need a comfortable place to come home to at the end of the day. I decided that today was the day my apartment would become a home.
At the Salvation Army store just up the street, I managed to negotiate a fridge and an adorable loveseat for only $10 more than I’d paid for the broken fridge. I had been on Craigslist and Freecycle for the past 24 hours, and as soon as my family had helped me lug the couch and fridge into the apartment, a call came. Someone had a bed they wanted to sell me! And not just any bed: a barely-used queen size pillow-top mattress and box spring. Because the owners were also from Chicago, they were kind enough to give it to me for half their asking price. Yeay, Chicago brotherhood! While my mom steam-cleaned my new couch, my dad, brother, and I made a trip across the Valley to pick up my new, almost-new bed. We strapped it to the roof of the van and drove it precariously up Lankershim Boulevard, back to my now very home-like apartment.
It may seem silly, but having a place to sit, a place to sleep, and a place to keep food cold has made a huge impact on my mood. HUGE.
Two years ago in Chicago, a guest Casting Coach gave a workshop at my then-place of employment. She took a shine to me (thanks in large part, I am sure to my then-boss’s praise of me) and mentioned that if I ever came to LA, I’d would always have a job teaching with her waiting for me. I thought it was sweet. I thought it was amazing. But I didn’t know if she’d remember me or her offer by the time I made my move.
When I came to Los Angeles on my scouting trip, I looked her up and she invited me to visit her. When I entered her class, she introduced me as “Kate Bergeron from Chicago who’s going to come teach for me soon.” To say that I was thrilled is an understatement.
As Day Two turned into Evening Three, I went over to visit my friend/new employer to sit in on the class that I would soon be taking over.
Visiting the class was therapeutic. It was soothing to be doing something I’m so comfortable with, something familiar in a geographically unfamiliar setting. I look forward to taking over the class next week.
After I returned to my apartment, my friend Kat came to check out my new place. Kat is my closest friend here; I stayed with her back in October when I was apartment hunting; I first met her back in Chicago when she and I did performance art together in an all female group, The Super-Cool Sluuts of America! We sat on my loveseat, drank cold beer from my fridge, and, when she left, I went to sleep in my big, beautiful, comfy bed.
Los Angeles is now officially my home.
