Day Three - Starbucks in Burbank at Olive & Verdugo

The original plan for today was the Starbucks in Burbank's Empire Center, because for all of my complaints about their coffee tasting burnt (even though I usually order a dirty chai), Starbucks has a wonderful standard for consistent wifi, good parking, and complete indifference to people camping out all day on their laptop, grazing and ordering drinks and food through the app. Does it have unique, high quality beans and one-of-a-kind drinks exclusive to the location? No. But if the Starbucks you're going to is closed or under construction like the one at the Empire center, you can either just go to the Starbucks across the street or drive five minutes to the next one. They're everywhere. I think I remember calculating that when I worked in Woodland Hills, there were something like seven Starbucks within a 5 minute drive. 

And while I'm reminiscing, it's crazy to think that I spent eight years at that job in Woodland Hills, after I specifically instructed the temp agency to find me something...anything else. At this ripe old age, my concentration on the value of my time has come more and more to the forefront, because in my 30s I suffered at that job. I worked with some wonderful people, but the job itself was tolerated partially by the company I kept but mostly because it afforded my investment in my theater company. I feel like, true to my libra sensitivity to balance, the harder the job pulled me down, the harder my theater world worked to lift me up. Was it perfect? No. But was it everything I needed? Absolutely. 

It was only when I discovered at Universal that I was putting in extra time and effort that I did the math; Once I became salaried at Universal I split up my annual salary down to the 40 hours a week and arrived at my hourly wage. As I went beyond the 40, my value per hour started to decrease, and then came the bigger question of how I used those hours versus what I would have done had I not been at my stages and with the performers. Did the executive staff take offense to the extra hours? They lightly pushed back but secretly wanted that extra coverage. Being salaried meant that there was a lot of grey area. If it was hourly, though, there was often a white hot focus on why hourly labor was standing for five minutes after they had spent the previous three hours doing heavy lifting and were currently monitoring a specific element of the show we were presenting. This doesn't mean that my current situation is perfect; No company is perfect. There's just a healthier approach to addressing and adjusting to problems and issues. 

Today's session is another solo venture, but I'm proud of my consistency. I guess that's the theme for the day. Where is Gail? Where's Teny? I'm fascinated by what all of these friends are doing in their own bubble and what they're getting started on a Monday afternoon, just like the people around me here at this Starbucks a few blocks away from where I went to grade school. This location is full of people on video calls, students working together, people just chilling by themselves with their iced drinks reading on their phones. It's 90 degrees outside and the air conditioning in here is perfect.  

I have seen this particular block change drastically over the decades. Right across the street, I worked for one summer at the Wherehouse, right up to the moment where a coworker told me how excited they were that after three years, they were hoping to be promoted so they could earn more money. Once I realized that after that pending promotion, they would only be making an extra quarter an hour than me, I immediately quit. 

The next block over, I'm looking at a Grocery Outlet that used to be a Miller's Outpost. Remember them? No? I'm old? The Safari Inn and the McDonald's have been there forever. Okay, time to do some remote work. I've been here an hour and have only answered a couple of emails. 

Dirty chai is my jam here. 

I miss the Oprah chai because I loved being able to order a Dirty Oprah. 

After a flurry of emails and text messages - it's going to be a busy "day off" of work where on a week like this it's more of a casual Monday working off prop - I'm anxiously awaiting a moment of satisfaction when I can close this laptop and mentally clock out. As a matter of fact, my eyes just caught a glimpse of the Argentine restaurant where I can grab some home cooking as a prize for getting some things done on what is supposed to be my day off. In fact, getting work done today is also making up for the fact that Tuesdays are always kneecapped by multiple meetings and little time to get any actual work done. Am I the only one who deals with this? I'm going to assume that this is a big fat no. 

I just put a fat chunk of work to bed for today and am thinking about my next steps. An overwhelming concert event for this weekend has me hungry for distraction and stress relief today; Our partners know that today is my day off, but it doesn't prevent them from calling/texting/instant messaging/emailing while at the same time trying to get my nicer coworkers to carry some of their workload. Definitely, in situations like this, there is little concern for the toll it has already taken on everyone. There's a ratio of about 30/70 as far as things that have been communicated and understood versus communicated and ignored. I see people try to compromise and be accommodating while they give up valuable time that could be spent doing other more important things. 

I will say that a decade or two ago, I would have had a completely different perspective on all of this, but at the end of every single day, I say good night to photos of my parents and always think about the value of my time with them, and how it's impossible to have another moment until I, too, have passed on. But I have today. I have right now. And thanks to my parents, a handful of friends I've lost, and decisions I've made to discontinue investing in some of the wrong things I used to waste time on, I have enough perspective to understand the value of moments with people like my best friend, who has bravely put some distance between her and cancer but is still in the race running from it. I look at my coworkers and the time they spend with their families, and I have trouble weighing people taking advantage of them to achieve their own means. As I have always told my performers, ask yourself if the people you are dealing with will be there tomorrow (or in the case for our summer series, on Mondays). 

With all of that in mind, Mondays are proving to be the most important day of the week. Garfield was way off on this one. In fact, it's time to close this laptop and get out in that sun, maybe see a movie. Maybe next week I'll have company? 

Starbucks - a review

Consistency is a great thing to rely on, and that abundance of consistency and coverage makes this place exist on a different plane than other coffee places. It's like comfort food without all of the home cooking. Anything edible comes out of a bag or a box and there's no story behind the drinks. Starbucks is a living meme. But sometimes you don't want to think, and instead you just order mindlessly while earning points like a game. They reward you for loyalty to the green goddess of fertility and caffeine, and there doesn't seem to be anything sinister about it. These places are made for all kinds of people; People who don't want to interact with others can order ahead and pick up on the way through, and people who want to sit and chat a bit can more often than not find a spot. You can also take pride in ridiculously long names for drinks, and for the teenage influencers, you can walk away with a dangerously sweet and unnaturally colored icy invention. There's something pacifying here for everyone, just not special. But I will say this: the people who work at Starbucks are almost always fantastic personalities who invest in you if you frequent one of them. You'll end up recognizing their writing on the cup if they don't print the stickers out, and in turn they'll get your name right every time. I love walking in and they already know my order. For all of that, it's efficient and smart, and it has heart. I'll always gravitate to the local curated and privately owned coffee spot that is filled with pride and the drinks made with love. 

Honestly, I'm beginning to love Mondays. What would I be doing otherwise? Sitting on my couch or sleeping? Nope - the relentless work won't let me, but at least I get to write and see friends every now and then. 

See you again in exactly one week. 

Day Two - Tea Pop in North Hollywood

I came to the heart of NoHo despite it being dirty and somewhat burnt out in spots, but there are some incredibly special places, like Lawless Brewery, where I do my weekly team trivia with my old coworkers from Universal and this magical little place. Tea Pop survived the pandemic, and despite all of the hurdles and problems this city has had to endure, this spot with amazing tea and ambience still has just as much charm as it had when I used to come here all the time many years ago. I'll try to stay focused despite me noticing a homeless person in a black g-string looking at my car, but such is NoHo. I was evicted from my apartment just north of Tujunga Village about five years ago so they could build and make money from an expensive condominium complex, and now that street is dusty and its main feature is now a tent city less than a block away from where I used to live. 

What can I say? I work in downtown LA. The whole city is recovering. 

Today I am flying solo, as Gail is out of town, but I'm thinking that anything big that has ever been done requires consistency at first. Sometimes you have an idea and you're the only one who can see it in focus, sometimes you cross paths with people who share that and weave in and out. Either way, as I said to a good friend of mine who was dealing with huge things in his life, the months and years are short but the days are very long. If you keep yourself distracted, huge chunks of time will slip past you, and you'll only see that in hindsight. What you really have, especially as you're reading this, are hours and minutes to spend carefully, to make the most of. When you're dealing with huge goals and life situations, remember that it's how you consistently spend the minutes and hours of a daily that will affect change and make things happen. It's in the moment-to-moment adjustment and coping that you'll evolve as a human being, and you may find enough energy and capability to help those around you. That's especially true if you can find a good spot on Mondays to drink tea or coffee and have, what I literally have next to me, a perfect croissant. 

Speaking of getting things done, let me knock out a few work emails. I'm actually itching to get to my book today. I've been putting off the chapter I've paused on, but my shower thoughts this morning have sparked a few ideas. 

Tea Pop's Cinna-Chai, the pop chai black tea with almond milk, honey, and cinnamon. Perfection, I think. 

Emails, Texts, and Whatsapp chats done, and I'm shifting my focus to my next drink and another bite to eat as I go into the second half of my Monday sesh here. I just listened to Carm's album three times and I swear it kept me calm and zen-like in my responses. Or maybe I'm getting something from the actual monk sitting at the table next to me. Can monks wear crocs? Yes. Yes, they can. And do. It's also been a while since I've seen lady g-string after she crossed the street on whatever adventure she was on. For all I know, her long look at my convertible might have triggered a memory, good or bad. 

I've also noticed that a gentleman has been sitting at a window seat, no phone or book in hand, no computer. He rode his bike here and has just been starting at the window silently for...an hour? Two hours? It reminds me of times I'd go to a museum and sit in front of one painting for an hour and write, or just stare and sink deeper into it. What is he meditating on? Is he sinking deeper into the world he sees, or sinking deeper into himself? These are questions I always have about random people I notice, especially when I don't have the welcome distraction of working or drinking with a friend directly across from me. 

I do feel like - if I'm able to keep this up - I'm going to be able to talk about people's projects, or even their hopes and goals as we all navigate the mess that this pandemic left us in. Did some of the routine deserve to be blown up? Absolutely. A lot of people took a lot of things for granted. But should gas be hovering around $7 a gallon (yes, that's what we've seen here in LA)? No, absolutely not. I gave Jack Conte a shout out at the stage on Saturday for creating Patreon, something that a LOT of my friends relied on when they weren't able to perform. You may not know this, but the despair and confusion was palatable in the creative community, and if you look at their social media, so many haven't recovered. This is why now's a good time to return to my book. 

I am writing a book about artist self-development in much the same spirit of all the times I declined offers to manage artists. I don't intend on taking a percentage of anyone's profits that I advise or coach, nor would I ever tell someone exactly how to do things, because every artist has to find their own way. So I decided to write a book in a very specific voice that doesn't speak to any of my experience or anyone I know. When you think about the number of shows that I've done - somewhere between 500-600 concerts/performances, but if you count theater, it's closer to over 1000 - that translates to thousands upon thousands of different paths to a creative life that I've been in the atmosphere of. One of the great mistakes I've witnessed in a class atmosphere has been setting people as examples, models to aspire to. I feel like that's what award shows do, too, to an extent. It's all performative. So I want a one on one conversation with the artist, and that's what the book intends to be. 

I'd tell you more, but that process would be diluted. [Insert book here], I guess.

So I'm on the chapter about social media and mental health. I'll dive in and see where this first stream of consciousness draft takes me. I just finished listening to the soundtrack for the Van Gogh Experience, so I'll need another collection of music to keep me focused. I so love my Airpods Pro and the noise cancellation feature. 

Also, it's important to note that I have round two of food and drink here. A hot honey lavendar tea latte with oatmilk, cocoa overnight oats, a delicious vegan muffin, and a cookie. Overkill? I'm sorry, I can't hear you. I just put Wye Oak on shuffle. 

Now, let's see how much of the book thoughts and feelings are harvestable for me. Don't go anywhere, I'll be right back. 

I like to call this Algebrew

A few days ago, I posted about a strange anniversary, and I don't know why I was notified of it. I recently hit 20,000 days alive, and somehow it felt more significant than celebrating a birthday (something I have only really done less than a handful of times in my life). A friend asked me what I've learned, and here's what I said, which I then posted on my social media: 

Starting over doesn’t mean that you’re abandoning the past. If you practice it long enough, you get to rediscover the courage to try, maybe fail at first, but if you keep trying you can eventually walk away with something.

Just don’t be afraid to try.

At 17 I wanted to be a musician.
At 23 I studied theatre.
At 28 I started building a theatre company while holding down a day job.
At 39 I started over and began booking bands at Universal CityWalk.
At 54 I started over again and found a new home with a legendary stage.

Everything you’ve ever done counts, and your experience will catch you every time you fall. Just keep believing and keep trying.

So here's to beginning again and starting new good habits, to sharing goals and dreams with friends and making impossible things reality. I've had such a satisfying life in the arts and am so excited about what's coming. Considering that my Mondays will be filled with coffee or tea and good food, the company of friends and the potential for great things to come of all this, I can say that these are the best days of my life. It's altogether too easy to say that anything that came before couldn't be fully appreciated because I hadn't lived long enough to fully understand everything I went through. But now I have perspective, I have hope, and I still have that fire to work hard on building new things. I know I've made the most of a lot of those 20,000 days. 

Tea Pop - a review

I have fond memories of coming here with my best friend many years ago, often choosing to hang out in the comfy backyard area or coming inside to look at the art on the walls. I'm happy to say that the place has the same vibe and the drinks have been consistently amazing. Their standards like the Noddy Toddy and Honey Lavendar tea are exactly how I remember them, and their menu has slightly expanded to include a few new drinks and some food. Their pastries are delicious and fresh (*cough* unlike the place with the *cough* mermaid), and merch is still top notch. I still have their original mug at home and use it all the time. There are multiple outlets and they have fast wifi, but the atmosphere today was almost meditative, and everyone here feels respectful and helpful with each other. There are laptops, books, journals at every table, and people are constantly popping in to pick up drinks to go. The staff is wonderful, too. If you're looking for a place to work remotely, this is about as good as one could hope for. Just try to shield your eyes as you drive through North Hollywood to get here. 

Who is going to be here next week? And where will we work from? Burbank has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to coffee places, so we'll likely end up at one of them. Somehow I can't wrap my mind around next week because Prime Day is right around the corner, and I have an Amazon locker next to my office. 

Until next Monday...make the days count.