Reality Hits... and it sucks.

First off I want to say that this post is going to be mostly rants but I did want to get some good stuff in there before that happened.

First off holy shit I'm 25! In the first super cool move of my supervisor EVER, he gave me not only my birthday off (which hit a miserable Tuesday) but the Monday off as well. I skipped merrily home on Friday and enjoyed an action packed birthday weekend which was more than I thought would happen here in sunny California. On Saturday I spent some time with Samantha [an old high school friend who is now 1) a mother 2) a nurse and 3) my replacement mommy out here] where we did some very very "typical" California things. We got some frozen yogurt (oh Cali people and their lowfat frozen treats) and took in a show at the Improv in an Irvine mall. The malls in California are admittedly better than the outdoor ones in Chicago. I'm assuming that the year round sunny weather makes that possible. Lucky for me Harland Williams was the main event at the Improv and he let a very, very drunk Suzie take a picture with him. Then we ate some tasty food and went back to her house to play Rockband into the wee hours of the night. It was strange to wake up on her couch (in a way adult apartment she shares with her husband and child) hearing her 1 year old squawking in the next room. Strange because his mother and used to do some high school-y rebellious things together and imagining that she is now in charge of a little man is weird. But him and I hung out until his mom got up and made us delicious breakfast. I headed home to my Chris and we went walking for the first time at Runyon Canyon. I was pretty sure I was going to die as we climbed the narrow steps up the tallest mountain in the world (shut up, I know it's not true). The view when we got to the top was amazing, however. I could see every part of smoggy Los Angeles and I knew that this was something pretty cool.  Then we made some delectable anniversary burgers (6 years holy crap) and ate them classily with some champagne. It was a good night indeed. On Monday we spent the day at Venice beach which was relatively quiet (Chris said that potheads aren't up at the crack of 12pm) and we walked around while people hawked their random goods at us. It was fun and somewhat relaxing. Before we headed out we found a gem within Venice. The Venice Canals are like little water ways that cut through a tiny community. There are a few bridges that cars can drive over but mostly it is pedestrian traffic and really quite amazing.  That night we went to an improv/stand up show which Chris KILLED. It was quite hilarious and afterwards we were fed by the host's mother (who was very drunk but repeatedly told me I was adorable) and amongst the comedians time quietly ticked by and my birthday arrived. On Tuesday, my actual birthday, Chris and I headed to another hidden gem (was kind of in the ghetto) called the Watts Towers. The towers were created by a man named Watts for over 30 years from found objects. Pretty awesome. We couldn't get inside but I took as many pictures as I could and plan to go back when it is officially open. Then we set off to the "fashion district" for more hawking and random shopping.  It was pretty awesome. On the way home we bought some steaks and had another fabulous meal in with champagne. Pretty good weekend overall.

Now to the ranting and reality that has struck since then.
So work hasn't been great as I have already stated. My partner and I aren't doing what we told we were going to be doing and everyday we feel pretty damn useless and watch the clock tick by until we leave. We've discussed the situation with everyone we can and it seems like things should improve by November but it's still relatively frustrating to want to do something for little money and still not able to do it.
That's not the worst thing however. The other day I found my first cockroach in our apartment. I have been afraid of this since moving out of the pristine apartment my mother rented to me. If you know my mother you are aware that she is a "mother of doom." She will list out all the ways terrible things can happen to you just so you are prepared. It's quiet terrifying and thoroughly effective. Well she listed roaches as one of my main concerns for moving to Los Angeles and I thought that I was perhaps safe when I found an apartment that was a steal and very clean. As I was signing away 13 months of my life my new landlord drops on me that they spray every year, and month depending on the need. "Are roaches a problem" I ask incredibly freaked out that I am now chained to this apartment, "not so much anymore but we want to make sure they stay away." As we move our things in I find a dead one and freak out. It's dead, Chris says, don't worry. For a month I don't really worry. It's always on my mind though because I am my mother's child. Then as I am cleaning our apartment and on the phone with my mother (of course while Chris is off being funny) I move some paper to find a little brown bug. I quickly get off the phone with my mom (who is just as grossed out as I am) and trap the bastard under a Tony the Tiger cup and freak out some more. I'm thoroughly disgusted and when Chris gets home we get the fucker into a Tupperware. We show the landlady and she agrees to spray us and the apartments around us. I talk to my mom about it and all she does is freak me out more about how they will infest everything I own and never leave my life. So if you think that this is a overreaction you can see why...
I get some roach motels and hope that they will work after they spray since my mother (and all the wikipedia pages about it) has told me, ever so awesomely, that spraying never ever works. It only keeps them away for a bit. I calmed myself down a bit because I do have to live here (thanks lease) and we start keeping the apartment immaculate. Then another asshole shows up in my bathtub this morning. I can't deal with it man. This is my nightmare since my mother  has implanted the awful things that could be or are happening as we speak to my things. I don't feel comfortable in my own home and all I want to do is take my things from this apartment and live somewhere else.  I want to bag all of my crap up so the evil vermin can't get inside and get out. But I can't. My lease is 13 months and because they are trying to get rid of them I have no legal way to get out of my lease unless my landlady lets me out. And we can't afford more than what we pay. So after a major freak this morning I have claimed war against the bastards. We'll have little roach hotels out and change them every three months. They supposedly will take the bait back to the nest and kill everyone else. Hopefully my mother can get us some of the pesticide that she uses in her apartments. I hate that I don't feel comfortable and I hate that I'm in this position and that I was dumb enough to not ask the landlady about it before I signed a lease. I asked the guy who showed the apartment to us and he said oh no, which was one of the many lies he told us. It makes me feel really dumb and I hate everything about it. The only thing I can do is fight it and keep everything I have wrapped up and be stringent. Ugh.
And on the note of my landlady... She's been really kind of weird. She's really nice but she wants to be friends and often crosses the line of landlord and tenant. So here I sit in my apartment feeling grossed out with roach motels everywhere and my phone buzzing with texts from the woman I rent from.  It's not the worst thing that could have happened when I moved away but I'm not happy. But good things are that 1) our apartment is clean as hell and 2) I have been reminded of how awesome Chris is about pretty much everything. It's nice to live with him. He is my calm.

That's all for now. Sorry for the bitch session. I'll post more soon that will be better I promise.