Just this past November after 14 years of living in Phoenix, I relocated to Costa Mesa in Orange County, California, about an hour’s drive south of Los Angeles.
Something very bizarre occurred with me when I made what was supposed to be my last drive from Phoenix to L.A. Apparently, my rear trunk got loose during the drive and some very important papers, such as my birth certificate and my car title fell out. I didn’t know about it until I check my E-mail on my Verizon Droid (my computer and other items such as my HDTV and furniture were still in transit with North American Van Lines) and discovered an E-mail from an employee of the City of Phoenix Parks Department informing me that my important paperwork was recovered by Parks employees that morning and was being held by the Department in three garbage bags. Having them mail my belongings was not an option since the employee couldn’t tell it was really me on the phone she’s speaking to.
This meant I had to drive back to Phoenix to get my belongings. So I made the drive back that day with the intent of picking them up the following morning. However, I neglected to notice that the following day was Veterans Day, a federal holiday meaning all government offices would be closed that day. I called up the City Desk office which is always open 24 hours and told them of my situation. The City Desk phone operator was able to convince a Parks Department employee to let me in the office to collect my stuff so I would be on my merry way back home.
Once I returned home, I waited for my furniture to arrive later that week. After they arrived, I started the slow process of emptying my boxes. The following week, I chose to sign up with AT&T U-verse for my phone, cable and Internet connections. My first choice was Verizon FiOS, however although it was available in most of the neighboring cities in Orange County, it was not available in Costa Mesa. The only other choice was Time Warner, but I heard some not so good things about them. Later that week, I took my car to DMV, got it verified, had it pass a smog test, get my car registered so I could get my California license plates and I had to pass a written 18-question multiple choice test to get my California driver’s license. I could not get more than three wrong and I had three chances to pass it or pay another $28 fee. I passed it on the first try with only one wrong. My license was mailed to me two weeks later.
After completing film school in Scottsdale, Arizona, I will be doing freelance film editing work. I also am working on a couple of screenplays. I have also gone to couple of L.A. Kings game and one L.A. Lakers game as well.
The biggest headache I have is that the patio in my new house was not constructed properly, so every time it rains, my patio tends to get flooded. I am working to remedy this.
So that’s what’s going on so far.
