Tuesday, January 22, 2008

So after MORE thinking since that is what I do... I mull over my thoughts like...

heh...

I'm not sure.

But I give them much thought. In my mulling.

Anyway.

I know what I am doing... finally.

I am coming back home to Portland.

In either a month or five months from now. It all depends on if I find a job within the next two weeks or not.

Yes.

I am actually getting excited about going back home. I feel like I needed to sort of get away for a while. and I did just that... I went away and now I want to come back. The best part about all this is that when I come back I can stay at my mom's house until I get back on my feet. Which means that I am not going to have to share a room with my sister again. That was okay except for the fact that it was really cramped. And siblings sharing a space and being civil with each other can't last long.

I am really happy about this. I am coming home and I am going to be either going back to school at PCC or PSU or saving up for the study abroad program. I am also going to be working on getting a car. Because I am so sick of this public transportation thing. I want to go where I want when I want and not have to rely on others.

I might also be able to get my old job back. I will have to see though. The minimum wage down here is more than it is in Oregon. Which kind of sucks. But at least it is moving up... I guess.

My thoughts are all jumbled since I am so excited. I don't know how to be unexcited.

Also... I really want to go to PAX this year again! and maybe I'll bring my sister. But this time I will be 21 which means I can go to hotel room parties.

If I stay down here for the five months I am going to try and get my license here (because I know where it is super easy to take the test) that way I can just get my license updated to an Oregon one and then I can get a car. It is genius! Because then I would beat the system!

That is IF I stay here. I kind of don't want to. I do want to come home. But I can't really do that right now. So I guess I am stuck here. I haven't talked to my parents about this. But I am supposed to be job hunting right now. I really should go and do that. I guess I am going to be stuck here for a while. Oh well.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

After much thinking... I've realized how stupid this whole thing is.

With no planning involved I forced my self to leave the safety and comfort of my own home. I wanted to get away. Being stuck in one place not going to school as a 20 year old who thinks that her life is going no where would make anyone want to leave the Po-dunk town of Portland. It was too small for me. I almost knew everyone that walked down the street. Just once I would like to be around complete strangers for a while. So I made that vision a reality. I applied to the most expensive art school in the state of California. Of course I didn't realize that it was the most expensive I was just looking at their glorified curriculum and the small class sizes with one on one assistance.

So I was ready to leave and attend this school of awesome learning stuff. What I should have done was demand to see a cost of attendance price list. Because there wasn't one on the website. But no... instead I wanted to leave this piss filled house and the trashy room that I was sharing with my sister. That is what I did.

I left.

And I came to California with very little money and my heart full of hope. I was accepted into one of the best schools for their animation program and that is what I wanted to do. I wanted to endure and become an awesome 3D character animator. I was so set on this dream of mine. Little did I know that my financial aid and my housing situation which I THOUGHT I had under control but they both had their problems... I almost didn't have a place to live for a while. And I ended up dropping out of LCAD anyway because my mother couldn't take out the loan. (My financial adviser at the school couldn't get that through to his head... which was really annoying).

So during these mishaps I began to come to the realization that this whole thing was a dump truck of bad planning all landing on me at once.

Now I am unemployed, I dropped out of school and I signed a five month lease. I need to find work so that I can make rent. Which has been annoyingly difficult. Not many places are hiring in this small town. I am seriously wondering why I wanted to come here so bad... I mean it is smaller than Portland by... well... A LOT! So I am stuck here in this horrible place trying to figure out how to make ends meat. I wish I could break the lease... but I don't want to do that to my roommate and that would screw me over.

Times are hard. I may have to commute to get to work which I kind of have to do anyway. But this is a HUGE commute. In Portland taking the bus was a slight inconvenience but it was doable You could get from point A to point B with no trouble at all. In California however.... they make it nearly IMPOSSIBLE to get from point A to point C. They really push the driving thing. So I couldn't really walk down the street to go to school or whatever... I mean I could... but that is super dangerous in this area. I need a car.

What also sucks is that I don't have a license to drive on yet god dammit.

Luckily I have people how love me and want to help me out as much as they can while I am out on my own. But I feel retarded because of this whole thing. I am nearly out of money, I have no steady work, and I don't have anything to focus my free time.

So after all this I realize that I didn't think this through. My parents aren't going to help me much longer but they have informed me many times that this whole thing could have been avoided if I just planned better.

They were right. I was being stupid and desperate. So now... I am stuck here for five months and it sucks. So mom, dad? you were right. and I am going to call and tell you so. As soon as I get money on my phone. I am going to go cash those checks and do some shopping maybe. I do have that crappy dish washing job today. That will give me a little more cash.

After this whole thing I kind of want to go home to give up on this whole thing and be somewhere where I feel comfortable and safe. But I know that would just make things worse but... I would feel better.

That won't happen though. I am going to make sure of that.

Friday, January 18, 2008

I was very brave today.

I dropped out of school and I told my roommate about it and about my other job that I have an interview for. I got my mail and my bank card. Which is awesome.

My roommate was really cool about it. She was very sympathetic about me not being able to go when I told her that I had to drop out she felt bad for me. I feel A LOT better. So now I am going to downtown to do some errands.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Okay... what's plan D?

Okay...

So things have changed drastically in the past couple days.

Chapter One.

I went to school and I found that it WAS A LOT like my high school and that was disappointing to me. The teachers were very unorganized. Because when I went to my first class and found out that I was supposed to get a syllabus when I signed up for the class. But I didn't. So I came to class with NO supplies or materials. Luckily for me, I guess, I wasn't the only one who was uninformed. There obviously was some communication error with the registrar and the teachers or something.
I also found out that my school cost a lot of money. Money that I wouldn't be able to pay back until I was at least 90 years old. Plus the amount that it turned out to be was so much and that wasn't per year. It was per SEMESTER! So I was kind of in shock on how much the school really costed. What I realized though was that there wasn't ANY cost of attendance information on the website... AT ALL. When I was looking up the school I thought that was odd but I think I know why now. They wanted people to attend so bad that they didn't want to put a price up because it would frighten people away with how much it costed. They also changed their requirements for acceptance right before I sent my portfolio. Which was also odd to me and now I know why. I think the school is dying. So they need as much money as they could get to keep it running.
Personally... I don't want to pay a large sum of money to go back to my high school. That just seems silly to me. It's kind of too bad because I really like the curriculum. Especially for animation. I really like how it was structured. I also LOVE one on one teaching. Because that really helps me out with the extra focused attention. Oh well.
Another thing... the school is really small. Like REALLY REALLY small. If you put both campuses together (they split up the campuses since there wasn't enough room on the main campus) that would make about HALF of my high school. I'm serious. It's that small.
And so after all that shit I went through to get in and the financial aid troubles I am dropping out. After tomorrow I will no longer be a student of LCAD.

Chapter two

My apartment is small. It is a one bedroom which is okay I guess. I can live with that but what sucks about it is that there are a lot of problems with it. Like the smoke detector... it likes to beep every once in a while. We got the battery fixed in one of them but the other one beeped for a little while today. Which was confusing.
The stove likes to move around a little bit. Like if you open the oven door it will move forward. The balcony doesn't have a gutter so all the leaves from the trees gets blown on the balcony and just sits there.
The kitchen sink's water doesn't get very hot right away unless you crank it over and then it's too hot so it can't cool down. The dishwasher can't wash dishes... so it just steams them. There are occasionally ants; not in the kitchen thankfully. The worst part about this whole thing is that I signed the fucking lease. So I am stuck here for five months.
I also feel trapped because public transportation comes like every 30-40 minutes. Which sucks. So I haven't left the house much since I've been here. I have also been skipping class. I am going to be dropping out anyway so there isn't really much point in going. I haven't figured out how I am going to get enough money to be able to motor around. So I have been putting off looking for other work until tomorrow because I am conserving my cash. That way I'll be able to do all my errands in one fell swoop. Unfortunately the apartment is so far up the road that one can't really walk down it because there isn't a sidewalk since the road is so narrow.
The complex it's self is HUGE. It reminds me of my friend's apartment building with how large it is. There are TWO POOLS! A basketball court and a volleyball court, a common room and several laundry rooms. It's crazy. I think it's too big for them to handle and the people in the loan office are very... weird... with how they deal with things I suppose. They were just odd when I was there. Californians... *sigh*
I really like my roommate though. I believe I have stated this before but I really do enjoy her company. There are some things that I haven't told her... Like signing the lease... because she needs to sign it too otherwise I can't get the mail keys and common room keys. I don't know why that is so hard to mention that I signed it and I know that she'll be okay with going up there to put her name down on paper. Because she has done it before. I just feel bad. Because the shit storm is about to begin.

Chapter three

I am going to stay here in Laguna Beach for five months however. Since I have that fucking lease (and it ends in may) and that is the only noose around my neck at this point. I do have a job interview at a grocery store on Saturday which I am going to tell them that I am going to be working full time instead of part time. And if I start at 8.00 an hour that will help me pay the rent and the bills.
I haven't told my roommate that I am getting another job because she got me a job at the Laguna Culinary school as a dishwasher... But I can't do that job because it's a "don't call us, we'll call you" type of job. For the amount of rent that I need to be making that is not stable work. So at the moment I am trying to have all my bases covered. I want to tell her about the other job when I for sure have it. But I need to tell her about the lease thing either today or tomorrow so that I can get my bank card. I don't know how long it's sat there in that mail box and I don't know what else I have awaiting me in there.

Chapter Four

So after the five months are up I am going to be moving my shit elsewhere. I am looking at going to Santa Monica Community College just so until I can establish residency. Then from there I can go to a four year school like Fullerton or something. Then it wouldn't cost so much money.
But besides that my uncle is going to finish teaching me how to drive some weekend. So that I can get my license. My roommate told me where the easiest place to take the test is. I am definitely going to go there and ace the test.

So after much thinking the plan is:
  • Drop out of LCAD
  • Work ass off at the grocery store
  • Finish learning how to drive
  • Stay here in Laguna Beach for five months
  • Enroll in a Santa Monica community college
  • Move back up to LA
  • Hopefully have a car... (maybe not)
  • Work ass off part time somewhere
  • Live in an apartment either in or out of Santa Monica
  • Save money for the college that I want to transfer to
And that ladies and gentlemen is Plan D.

Thank you.

Sunday, January 13, 2008

I have been having mixed feelings about this whole moving thing. I guess I feel lonely and now trapped because I am now on the lease with someone I sort of know. I kind of feel like I am invading her home and her space since none of my things have a place. They are all sort of stacked in the living room. I know that we are going to rearrange everything soon but I just feel like... I am alone here. I left most of my family behind and I miss everything already. Which I never thought I would but I do. But I know if I went back I would just be a failure. I would have given up on my dream and sulked back to the rain and the cold. I don't want that to happen.

I guess I am having a hard time adjusting. Doing this whole thing makes me want to return to where I am familiar with the area; where I am safe. Being here in California I feel naked and cold despite the weather. Since I don't know where I am and I'm unfamiliar with the terrain and the territory. I am having trouble saying that this is my home now. Because it doesn't feel like it.

Despite all these negative feelings I know in my heart that after a few months of work and hopefully school I'll be able to make some friends and have a good time here. I mean I only have two more days. Then I can hopefully busy my self enough so that I can forget about being alone. I just miss everyone and I love them all.

I really like my roommate however. She is really nice. She happens to be a Libra to my surprise. So... it is going to be kind of like living with my sister only more low-key.
But she does have her own life and a boyfriend so she's kind of been in and out...

Back to the bad news... I might not be able to go to school because my financal aid got all fucked up I fixed it during the week to see if the numbers would go through but I get the feeling that the government won't catch it until it is way later and that would complicate things. But this whole thing started because I input the wrong amount in my mom's income and they didn't see that it was wrong so they thought that she would be able to give 6,300.00 but she can't because of the amount of income that she makes. So now there is that much money left to deal with and so far it's not getting paid.

I changed the numbers but I honestly think that they won't be able to catch it until later. Because it's the government.
My mom is willing to take out the loan but she needs to know if the numbers have changed which I don't think it has. So... I either try and pay the school back on a payment plan. Or... try and see if I can't borrow more money or... not go to school this term and go to school in the fall and just work the spring and summer. I would prefer not to do plan c... because it sucks. So I am going to work on trying to get more financial aid. Hopefully so that my mom doesn't have to pay that much back.

Monday, January 7, 2008

So.

I met with my rommie and she is really cool. She's got a gamecube an N-64 and a X-Box plus with my PS2 we are going to be set. I wonder if she has Halo...

Anyway. She has blue hair and she is into animation and she likes Vasquez and stuff so there really isn't much else to say besides I think we will get along.

Which is the important thing. and she has a kitty. His name is Rasta. He is really cute and a very mellow kitty. The other important thing that I am working on is finding work. Which after my orientation I have all fucking week to do it.

The thing about this situation is that I knew that it would turn out alright. The thing about my parents is that they have no patience. The apartment is really cool and spacious. I mean it is small... but the ceilings are big and it has a nice view of the trees. and the giant canyon. Holy shit. At least I won't have to worry about a tsunami because even if the water made it through the first half of the canyon the apartment building is on top of a freaking hill. I don't think I am in any danger. Not like I want to manifest a situation or anything.

Anyway. Just got the Paprika soundtrack... that movie is seriously a mind fuck man... I kind of want to see it again so that I can understand what is going on. But the soundtrack is hypnotic. I couldn't help but get sucked into the music every time and after I saw the fucking movie I heard the music replaying in my head. Until I listened to it again. O__O. What a weird anime. damn.

I am bored now. Your explanations bore me. I am going now.

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Wow...

I have had one hell of a roller coaster ride let me tell ya.

I can't really say that LA hasn't been anything but an adventure. Although it is far from over. I still have to meet with my roommate and see the apartment. Honestly... I am worried about this whole thing. Since I don't have a lot of money I am trying to pay for rent which is going to be really expensive. I am also sharing a room which will make the difference on what I should be spending my money on. I have to keep in mind that it is almost 800 dollars a month. and it is due the first of the month. So I need to find work as soon as possible. I might have to commute. But we shall see. I can still say no. But a part from sharing a room... it sounds like I could get along with her.

oh fuck! I also don't know when I can move in... shit... I didn't think about that. I am gonna have to ask her mom or my roommate when I get the chance. Hopefully it can be as soon as tomorrow.

I fucking hope so.

This has been quite the adventure.