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OH, THE IRONY... So anyways, I’ve been driving the same car for, um, quite a while now...and it has obviously come to the point where I need to buy a new ride. However, since I was a film major in college, the only jobs I would be qualified for right now would be those located in Hollywood (which is 30 miles from where I live). The irony is... There’s a bit of wear and tear on my car (though the engine still runs pretty well, thank God) that I’m unwilling to make a long commute to Hollywood on a daily basis if I got a full-time job there. However, if I want to earn enough money to buy a new car, then I would obviously need to get a full-time job...and risk additional wear and tear on my current car. So wear and tear on my automobile is prompting me to try to get a new job that would pose a risk to causing the car that gets me to work to develop a potential problem, or even completely break down or something. Get it? I hope so. I’m too lazy to correct the grammar on that last sentence.

Of course, a lot of you are probably asking, "Why not just move to Hollywood or Los Angeles or something?" I could give my main reason for why I don’t want to move to those areas (specifically Hollywood), but that would make this Blog a lot longer than what it’s gonna be. A short answer would be that it’s freakin’ expensive to live anywhere within the proximity of downtown Los Angeles (or another big market city like New York)...and I had to be a genius and stick with the freelance job I currently have. I could’ve gotten a $13-an-hour gig (yes, I know...that's weak. But this being the entertainment industry, that's what being part of a union is for, haha) at a postproduction house back in 2004—the year I graduated from my alma mater, Long Beach State—but didn’t want to leave the job I have right now (since I got hired around the same time I got a call from that post house)...which just so happens to have a high turnover rate. That means employees continually come and go from this job ‘cause it, um, doesn’t exactly provide health insurance.

Back to my original point: I wish I got a new ride. I’m planning to do a bit of preventive maintenance on my car (such as "wash" the engine so dirt won’t get into critical parts, and replace the battery soon) before summer arrives...just so I won’t be screwed over when its 100 degrees in July and I’m making that 60+ mile trek to work in Westlake Village (which usually occurs once or twice a month...in case you wanna remind me of that '30 miles to Hollywood' gripe I made earlier). Though I sure as hell wish I knew what was causing that scraping sound near my front wheels. It ain’t the brake pads (got those replaced last year), it isn’t the power steering (got the hoses replaced about three months ago)...and it ain’t the rack & pinion gear. Or maybe it is the rack & pinion gear... But that cost from $250 to $400 to replace. Son-of-a-bitch.