In the big ole basket of bullshit and brass I've been dealing with for the past several weeks, there've been some ups and downs, and never a dull moment.  My first time at the helm of the company's annual bonus program has gone off well.  We'll just cross our fingers and hope everything gets paid correctly and there aren't any errors attributed to my ass.

And last weekend, I interviewed a record four candidates for the new roommate after just two months with Zeke.  Before I get into that lot, though, as an interesting, if not perturbing side note, I received a call last week from someone in a local area code saying they were going to rent to Zeke, and asking for a tenant reference.  This was odd as he'd told me he'd lost his job and would be moving back to LA.  I guess I should have noticed the red flags when he moved in and didn't want to buy a couch off of my old roommate because "it would be a pain to move out".  And at one point early on asked, "And I just have to give you thirty days before I move out, right?"

Whatevs.  Most everyone I interview for the place is wowed by the size of the room and the low rent.  And this story does have a happy ending, not the least of which is that after this next roommate moves out, I'm most likely living solo.

A breakdown of the cast:

1. Joya - A rather sheltered girl who when I sat her down to interview her, asked about ripping up the carpets, retiling the bathroom, and painting the walls.  Clearly someone who came from a rather cushy background, and wasn't suited to City life.  Next!

2. Larry - A guy into animation with an easy laugh and an easy face to look at, he was a total charmer, and we seemed to hit it right off.  Sugar ran laps around the room like a lunatic, so I knew he was a keeper.  Unfortunately, though I offered him the place, he instead had a friend moving up to the city and decided to room with him.  Drats.

3. Nessa - A chick from Singapore whose English had a cute British tinge to it, she seemed to be gathering her bearings in the city and taking it all in.  She was talkative as hell though, and it was during her interview that my hangover really started to kick in.  Still, she took the second place trophy at the time.

4. Hannah - I nearly didn't interview Hannah since she couldn't come on Saturday, but took the time to meet her on Sunday, and was glad I did.  A 20 year old stylist who was nothing but sweet, called me "an awesome guy", and who Sugar literally dug her claws into and almost didn't let go.  She also included those twelve magical words in her email response to the ad: "I won't be home very often because I work all the time."  Loves it.  She just signed the lease and dropped off the move-in check, so we're a go on that front.

Mr. Alterhausen is in town and living it up Frisco Disco style.  I cocktailed it with him and Debelah at Lime last night, Shazam-ing the tunes played by the DJ, drinking it up, taking ridiculous pics, and the like.  

It has been cemetery weather the past several weeks, like in "Silent Hill" when it's the limbo dimension with washed out gray everywhere, as if you're dead.  Only I feel not so much dead as overly catalyzed and ripe for a nap