Finally - a job

I've been put to work as the editorial assistant and office coordinator for the UCLA Law Review.  It's a temporary assignment, replacing someone who is on maternity leave and expects to be back at work in October.  It's also full-time, which is less than ideal as far as my acting pursuits go, but it doesn't completely stifle them and hey it's only a few months.  I'm being paid an insultingly low wage, but it's just enough to squeak by on.  I do not understand the wages in this country.  Minimum wage is something like $7 an hour, which nobody can live on, unless they're working 80 hour weeks.  Which I suppose some people do.  Money gripes aside, the job itself is quite enjoyable; it's detail-oriented, which is one of my fortes, the material is interesting and the location is great.  UCLA is a big beautiful campus in Westwood  (a VERY nice part of LA) with great old buildings, lots of gardens and shady nooks in which to sit.  It's also a short drive from home, up and over the Hollywood Hills; I can get there in 30 minutes, which in LA is fantastic.  I've now completed two weeks of work, the first of which was spent training with Ann, the woman I'm filling in for.  Given the nature of publishing, and my particular role in the production process, sometimes there's a lot of work to do, sometimes very little.  I had two really quiet days this week, which was great as it afforded me the time to poke around and get familiar with the job and best of all, the time to write.  I'm basically working unsupervised at the moment - although I have fairly consistent contact by email with some of the editors throughout the day - with an office to myself and the ability to play music to my heart's content.  The university is quiet at the moment because it's the summer break, but the students come back next month so I can expect more human interaction then.

The other item worth noting is the availability of good coffee on campus; basically, there is none.  The staff kitchen has a coffee machine (Starbucks brand) that grinds beans per serving at the touch of a button, but the coffee is too watery for my taste.  I've been making do - it's insipid, but not offensive - but I knew I had to kit myself out with a little french press so I could make my own brew (with Supreme Bean's heavenly Nocturne blend).  The quest for what Bodum calls its 3-cup french press (but really, it's one mug's worth) proved more challenging than anticipated.  I've come to the conclusion that the average American taste in coffee is quantity over quality; weak coffee and lots of it.  I went to four places that sell tea and coffee accoutrements, and none of them stocked the baby Bodum.  Going online, I found that some Target stores stocked them, but none that were nearby, so I ended up ordering one from Amazon.com of all places!  It arrived on Thursday afternoon, so on Friday I took it in to work and was one blissed-out little proofreader.