A few years after leaving college, my career path took a curve in the direction of working in the digital film industry in Los Angeles. I ended up getting a run-down apartment in the ‘bad side’ of Beverly Hills .. 90211. The place was run by a slumlord, and the building had seen much better days since the heydays of the 30’s. Still, everything worked, it was clean, and the rent was manageable.
Work left little free time to do much so the pattern was getting up, driving to North Hollywood to work at the studio from 9am to 7pm most days, and then blowing off steam by going to various clubs, restaurants, shows, and cafes on the weekends and late nights. Didn’t give me any real time to get to know people, or make many friends outside of work.
… of course, that’s a mix just **waiting** to get in trouble. The SFX house I worked at was just upstairs and in the same complex as the main facility for a large manufacturer of film and photo products. The buildings shared a reception desk, and most days as I’d come and go I’d cross paths with a young woman who worked there in the cold storage facility…