4.30.98

    Foggy this morning. T. is home with a horrible cold that, with the luck I've had lately, I'm sure to get. I was happy that it was overcast. This feeling of cheeriness at the prospect of gray is the Pacific Northwest that has become a part of me. The sunny days here have been beautiful but it gets really hot in the valley, too hot.

    The dense, quiet fog was a treat on the eyes driving into work. There's nothing like hitting the highway at 7 a.m. with the morning sun glaring at me through my bug-spattered windsheild. Ugh.

    When I lived in England there was four days in the winter of '93 that we missed school because of the fog. You haven't seen fog until you've seen this. At times, visibility was limited to about a foot. The best was the "freezing fog." It would swoop down, laying close to the land and leave a crusty frost coating on everything. Spider webs took on the look of thick, white yarn in the wake of this fog.

    I also encountered snow this morning. Large chunks of snow whirled around the cars and slid across the hood of my car. Turns out it wasn't snow but those little foam pellets that people use when packing breakables. I finally caught up to the culprit truck that was littering all this and purposefully drove behind it for a mile -- enjoying my make-believe snowstorm. So, no apocalypse today.

    Yesterday I had another job interview. I'm not sure how I feel about this one and I'm going to resist analyzing it. On the one hand I'll say that it went well but, on the other hand, you never know about these things. I suspect I was one of the first candidates to be interviewed which I don't think is a good thing. Tends to mean that everyone else will be compared to me and my interview won't be fresh in their minds when they make their decision. I liked the company and I can see ways in which I could help them improve. More importantly, I see things which I would like to learn. I've got a head start -- I just need room to run.

    The refrain running through my head is cliché but yet it persists: "Will I ever get a break?" I keep running into the same wall of experience. They say that I don't have enough and I'm wondering how I can get some. This is so frustrating. I'm good, I'm articulate, I'm willing to learn, I have an excellent sense of humor (really) and I will not allow myself to be a part of a team without contributing. What more can an employer ask for?

    Big ol *sigh*.

    The interview was in Hollywood. This was the real Hollywood not North or West and I still didn't need a passport to get in. I left for the interview two hours early since you never know when or where you're going to get hung up here in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, I arrived at my destination in twenty minutes. I had to find something to do with myself for an hour or so, at least. I ended up loitering in this mini-mall area sipping some water and reading a copy of the Hollywood Reporter.

    The Hollywood Reporter is this little gossip sheet that costs $1.75 if purchased in California and $2.95 if purchased elsewhere. It contains as much industry news as they can fit on their ten or so tiny pages. It's not as brain-dead as I thought it was going to be. Ages ago I applied to be an Editorial Assistant and got turned down which is probably a good thing since I didn't know exactly know what that job entailed -- and still don't.

    I was hoping to see the Hollywood sign but somehow missed it. T. and I will have to make a tourist trip into Hollywood. I can see that it has potential -- at least kitsch potential which is better than anything.

æ