If you're planning to move to Los Angeles, the thing that you will need most (more than AAA, more than a GPS, more than the support of your friends and family) is money! I'd say you'll need at least 7K to move out here. Because you're not going to have a job right away (I've been extremely lucky. Most people are shocked that I found a catering job so quickly.) And you MUST have a car . . . and more likely than not you'll have to pay a security deposit on your apartment . . . and you'll need something to tide you over until you find a job . . . and you'll need to eat more than ramen noodles and peanut butter.

1. The Biz

I've decided to become a professional extra. I figure anything that will get me on a set is a good thing even though my acting coach said to me, "Berda, I know you're doing it for the money but please remember that you're an actor, not background." So I've signed up with three agencies. Someone I met said that three agencies would be more than enough.

3. Driving

The flat tire was not properly balanced. Little Echo started to shake on the freeway above 60mph. So I had the fun of telling a bunch of man mechanics that they "forgot" to balance my tires. This led to a fight over exactly which tire had been replaced. Apparently, man mechanics don't like it when little girls tell them they haven't done their jobs. The very next day I had the fun of paying $152 to a tow truck driver to return Little Echo to me. These downtown meter police don't mess around. Just adding another quarter could have saved me a LOT of money. I fully admit that it was my own fault BUT the LAPD laughed and pointed at me as they drove by. Really, they did. And I'm starting to HATE car culture. Hours of time and whole days have been sucked up by Little Echo. For example: the re-alignment of the tires, washing her, getting her back from the evil clutches of the tow truck vampire, and I still have to go to the DMV to get a California driver's license and CANCEL MY GEICO INSURANCE. And I drive around in endless circles trying to find a decent place to park her. I'm over it. And now Little Echo has a little orange scratch and a ding from grazing that school bus. Sorry Little Echo.

4. The Apartment

The house next door to me is the home of a rooster who crows at all times of the day, not just at dawn. The roommates went to Vegas for the long weekend and guess what? I closed all of the windows and was warm for an entire weekend!  Unfortunately, the smell of the fish I cooked for dinner the night before they returned didn't dissipate and Aaron was visibly upset. Oops. But Elsa and I have a date to go super bargain shopping.

5. The Oscars

I did a LOT of catering this week because Wolfgang Puck caters for the Oscars as well as the crew that sets up the Oscars the week before. The hideous ballroom that Wolfgang showed us on training day was transformed and absolutely breathtaking. (I would have taken pictures but they were confiscating cameras and phones.) They laid golden carpet, hung black and red chandeliers, built risers for some of the sections, installed a dance floor, and built a balcony for the band. The finishing touches were mirrored tables, giant flower arrangements made entirely of red roses, red crystal glassware, gold flatware, and chocolate Oscars sprayed with edible gold stuff. Actually, a lot of the food was Oscar-shaped including the appetizer crackers that held the smoked salmon and caviar. I was assigned as an A Butler at the Governor's Ball which meant that I should have stayed at my two tables all night pouring wine and making a general fuss over the guests but I ended up running around anyway. I did wait on a celebrity but I have to keep everything confidential or my friend who got me this job and assured me that I would be fired. SO I've had to edit.

Now that the strike is over and I'm settling in I hope to have more acting news and less catering news! Take care everyone and let me know what you're up to.