Lemondrop

As you all know, Los Angeles is currently burning. The fires are huge. At night the mountains glow red and orange, and you can make out the individual flames. The air is brown, the sun is barely visible through the smoke in the sky and it smells like a campfire everywhere you go. People are walking around with masks on their faces, and cars are covered in ash and embers. People are being evacuated and homes are burning.

Just another summer in L.A.

As the city burns, many Angelenos, myself included, are going about business as usual. It's going to take a lot more than a huge wildfire to slow things down here; there are deals and work to be done. And for unemployed people like myself, there's work to be sought after.

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Fortunately on a hot day like today, looking for work means a nice, cool, air-conditioned cafe, a laptop and online job boards. Less fortunately, finding an entertainment job in Los Angeles is much harder since the writer's strike. We just haven't recovered from it. The networks picked up far fewer shows, which means less production work, and fewer executives to oversee those projects.

A lot of my friends in every area of production: actors, writers, executives, casting directors, wardrobe, makeup and assistants have been laid off and are looking for work. (So at least you have plenty of friends with whom to spend your unemployment.)

It's not looking good, BUT I have a plan. I had a nice job interview last week, and if I get offered the job I would take it. If I don't get it, I am going to sublet my Los Angeles pad and spend six months in New York. I'd like to see if I can find a job out there. A change would do me good. New York's unemployment rate is much lower, so my odds of finding a job there would dramatically improve.

The trick will be to find the right person to sublet my sweet pad in Los Angeles. I'm afraid of Craigslist, but I may have to use it. I've tried Facebook and emailing my friends, but haven't found anyone yet, so who knows ... Maybe I'll get lucky on Facebook. If you know someone who is looking to spend the winter in Los Angeles in my sweet-ass, rent-controlled, pet-friendly apartment in Studio City (and who isn't allergic to cats), please let me know.

The rest of you, I'll see you in New York next month!