inaug-o-blog

lebowski: are you employed, sir?
dude: employed?
lebowski: you don't go out and make a living dressed like that in the middle of a weekday.
dude: is this a-what day is this?

yes, it's true. being unemployed in los angeles is a dangerous game. it's so easy to stay that way. there are lots of us here, strolling the streets, going to yoga in the park, taking advantage of easy trader joe's parking; hollywood is full of people without real jobs. and while i have no problem with breaking the desk job paradigm, things like rent and bills and needing beer money haunt my thoughts and make me wonder just how i'm going to pull it off.

o.k., so i'm not fully unemployed. i am no longer doing the 40 hour a week-benefits-paid days off thing. i am working somewhat freelance: babysitting, house sitting, pet sitting, book keeping, dog walking, gutter cleaning, foot massaging....whatever.

also, i am working at the echo park time travel mart. it is a convenience store for time travelers. we carry things from the past and things from the future, such as viking "odorant" and robot emotion upgrades. we also carry mcsweeney's books and magazines. i go to work in period costumes; this week i was a viking one day and from the 70's another day.

the mart is the storefront for 826LA, a free drop in tutoring center for kids age 6-18. it was started by dave eggers in san francisco and has now spread to 7 locations around the country, the newest being in echo park, down the street from my apartment. please check out 826la.org if you are in l.a. or 826national.org for everywhere else. i highly encourage everyone to volunteer, even if it's just a few hours a month. the goal is to provide a one-to-one ratio of tutors to students, so every bit helps!

another odd job i have is doing a murder mystery dinner theater show on a boat out of long beach. here is the website:
thedinnerdetective.com

it seems like i am doing a lot...but i'm not. so call me if you need your gutters cleaned.