What this is all about... And, tonight, I am sleeping in Hollywood...

Hello! Welcome to my blog! I wanted to call it "52 Weeks, 52 Couches: How I Slept My Way Through Hollywood (Without Sleeping with Anybody)" -- but that was too many characters! I suppose "Sleeping (& Only Sleeping) My Way Thru Hollywood" conveys the same idea... 


If you know me, you know I have been couch-surfing in L.A. for the past nine months. If you don't know me, now you know I have been couch-surfing in L.A. for the past nine months. :) And writing a book about it. This past February, when I suddenly found myself job-less (I freelance in entertainment; and by "entertainment," I don't mean stripping or adult videos!) and rent-less, I soon became apartment-less. But at least I wasn't friend-less. 


I didn't want to give up on my Hollywood dreams and move back to Chicago. Instead, I looked at my twelve years' worth of friends in L.A... and Facebook. I had 700-some friends on there (all of whom I can actually call friends; no strangers). I figured if I lived with every one for a day, I would have free housing for about two years. The problem was, not all of them lived in L.A. (Nor could I live with all of them... You know what they say: "If you want to keep your friends, don't live with them.") So I decided to live with 52 of them, for 52 weeks. (In the meantime, I hoped to find a job and save up for an apartment of my own.)


In this blog, I'll tell couch stories, ask for your insights, conduct unofficial surveys of etiquette when you are either hosting someone in your home or vice-versa, and so on...


This week, I am on a couch in Hollywood, staying with a guy friend and his guy roommate. They could not be more hospitable... However, parking in Hollywood is THE WORST. (Actually, parking is one of the most challenging aspects of couch-surfing in L.A.) 


First, I found myself emptying everything out of my Mini Cooper (not the most ideal car for a couch-surfer, btw!), not making it look the least bit enticing for any late-night carjackers. Next, I found plenty of meters to park at... if I wanted to move my car by 8 a.m. (no thanks). Finally, at 11 p.m., I ended up finding a spot a half-mile away from the apartment (after I had dropped off my things inside; I didn't want to get mugged on my walk (RUN) back). Luckily, my uber-polite couch host and his adorable dog met me halfway down the street... 


Now, however, I'm happy to say I am safely inside. I think. (My couch host warned me that raccoons sometimes jump from the tree outside the window into the living room. Yes, even with the window closed.) On that note, I'm going to go barricade the windows...


But please return to see if it worked. (If I don't post within the next twenty-four hours, know that it didn't work and the raccoons got me.)


And, if you feel so inclined, please "like" my "52 Weeks, 52 Couches" Facebook page. 


http://www.facebook.com/pages/52-Weeks-52-Couches/101705903231654


And/or follow me at Twitter.


http://twitter.com/#!/52wks52couches


Thanks!!