My Million Dollar Blog

Did a lot today.

1. Rented a gorilla suit. Adele’s of Hollywood is magical.

2. Got confirmed on the Mighty Morning Show on Indie 103.1 for 7am tomorrow with Dicky Barrett, so if you’re in the area, tune in.

3. Saw Venice Beach and Santa Monica, which were far outside the realm of what I was expecting. I kind of understood what the Beach Boys were on about when I went to Venice Beach. It’s really, really beautiful. There was a guy selling little dashboard shrines which were gorgeous, they all had pictures of celebrities and were daubed with glitter and plastic toys glued on. I talked to him for a bit and he said that it was a statement of the worship of celebrities. They are the coolest things I’ve seen in a long time. I looked at the one with Obi Wan Kenobi for quite a long time but didn’t buy it.

4. Got my 1000 stickers. They’re EXCELLENT. They say “A million dollars. 365 days. Yes, she’s serious.”

5. Saw Hollywood, Mann’s Chinese Theatre and Amoeba Records and all the crazy stuff around here. It’s kind of ironic how people describe Hollywood as “a shithole”, because it’s apparently where all these dreams are made. I still think it’s at least partly magic.

6. I drank about five thousand cups of coffee today.

All in all, productive as hell. I am really looking forward to more scouting tomorrow, more ridiculousness, as well as THE JEOPARDY TRYOUT. Tanya was grilling me about state capitals last night at 11pm when I thought I was going to die from exhaustion. It was useful though, a lot of that info has managed to stick.

From yesterday:

Arrived in Los Angeles yesterday this afternoon. I spent some time on the various planes reading a free magazine provided by the airline that features wonderful things you can buy to enhance your lifestyle and surroundings. I had never seen a more hilarious collection of crap in my life. For $120 you could buy a realistic hollow fibreglass boulder that you could put over pipes and unsightly things sticking out of your lawn. Because pipes don’t occur in nature, but fibreglass does. They also had ramps to make it easier for dogs to get on the couch, and a giant tapestry featuring a full map of Middle Earth.

And people say this idea is stupid. No more stupid than a goddamn fibreglass boulder.

Got to LAX finally, and waited outside for Henry and Tanya, my ride. I noticed, while waiting, that everyone here drives a really, really nice car. I don’t understand the idea of trying to one-up everyone else with cars; it’s never going to happen, especially in a city where everyone seems to have this endless supply of money. I think one-downing would be funny; driving the crappiest car around, taking pride in the fact that no matter who the other guy is, his car will never be quite as hoopty.

Got picked up eventually by Henry and Tanya, and the absolute first thing that happened was we got stopped by a motorcycle cop for loading where we shouldn’t have been, and boy was he pissed. He told her about something like six things he was going to ticket her for, took her license and went back to his bike. After some quiet freaking out, he came back to the car and informed Tanya that it was her lucky day, that he was out of tickets and couldn’t give her one.

Greatest dodging of a bullet ever. If the first thing that happens is a miracle lucky break, that’s definitely a good sign.

Drove around LA a bit, went to an In n Out burger joint in Hollywood. Ever since reading Fast Food Nation I’ve wanted to eat at an In n Out - all the rumours are true, as far as fast food goes, it’s fantastic.

I’m quite taken by this place, mostly because it’s regoddamndiculous. I saw a man nearly drive off the road trying to give someone the finger.

LA is also, honestly, quite beautiful. I can see the Hollywood hills from the kitchen where I’m typing this, there’s palm trees all over the place, and the weather is amazing.

What amazes me about this place is that no matter how many dreams are broken here, no matter how many people say it’s the worst place on earth and a cess pool of shallowness and the worst parts of humanity, it still has this allure of being somewhere where you can “make it”. And people have, and do, against all odds and predictions. I wonder what differentiates the people who fail from the ones that succeed. Luck? Attitude? Maybe both.

Shot some amazing footage as well.

TODAY: Gorilla suit, looking at locations, adventures.

I am leaving for Los Angeles in a few hours. I get there sometime in the afternoon after a stopover somewhereorother.

It’s 5,30 am and I’m packing. I treated myself to an hours’ nap, which was a bad idea, as it’s made me even more tired. Which is good in a way, because I’m one of those people who Really Hate Flying.

Have an unsettling feeling of not doing enough or forgetting something.

I must say, the thought of being in LA where it’s springtime for real is mighty appealing right now.

I can’t wait for the adventures, I can’t wait to film everything, I can’t wait to see what happens. I just printed out my e-tickets for the Price Is Right and put the directions to Sony Studios for the Jeopardy tryout in my passport. The ridiculous of that alone is inspiring.

“This is a marathon, not a sprint.”

That’s the insight for the day, right there. I really need to calm the fuck down.

On “happiness”:

I am tired of saying “I’ll be happy when I make x number of dollars” or “I’ll be happy when I get out of debt” or “I’ll be happy when I’m on the cover of Time magazine” or whatever the fuck. Because i KNOW that not one of these things, in and of themselves, will make me happy.

What I really need to do is be happy in this process, I really need to love - truly love - this entire chase.

Please send zen.

I started writing a bit on performance but I am so tired I can’t see the keys so I’m saving it.

Spent most of tonight listening to Pink Floyd’s The Final Cut while looking for my passport. I had this horrible feeling that it expired in Decemeber 2004, so tore my place apart trying to find it. Finally did, and thankfully it doesn’t expire until December 2005. Way to freak my shit out though.

Everyone I tell about the Great LA Plan thinks it’s hilarious. I think it’s kind of weird; none of the stuff I’m doing is overly difficult, anyone can phone up Jeopardy and ask to take their test, anyone can get free tickets to the Price is Right.

I guess that’s the point of all this though; anyone can say “I’m going to make a million dollars”, but no one ever does because that’s stupid or far fetched or impossible or not going to happen.

I feel on the brink of something that I can’t put my finger on. I feel on the edge of something big.

Listening to Money, from Dark Side of the Moon. Haha.

New car, caviar, four star daydream,
Think I’ll buy me a football team.

It’s 1.30 am. When did that happen.

“Faith is the notion that somehow you can muster the courage to step out into
the unknown and still sustain yourself, or be sustained.”

I’ve been thinking a lot about faith.

Because let’s face it, the last month has been a financial failure.

It’s been a success in a lot of ways - I have been strategizing, planning, rearranging my life in a lot of ways, reading, scheming. I’m getting tired of this though and I’m glad the Time For Action is almost upon me.

I am so excited and looking forward to LA. I feel it’s going to be a turning point.

In light of March sucking as far as amassing money goes, I am firm in my belief that this is part of the process, that I cannot have a million dollars without this stage of the game.

Speaking of a million dollars. I’m spending a lot of time these days actively thinking about what I’m going to do with it. Why? Because I am through with this being broke business.

Today I hung up a poster someone gave me. It’s Al Pacino in “Scarface”, lying in a bathtub sucking on a cigar like only Tony Montana can. Underneath it says “The World Is Yours.”

Tonight I have less than $2000 and I am 1/4 of the way in, but I am closer than I have ever been before.