Earthquake!

The title of this post is the exact text message I and, as it turned out, all of my co-workers were sending to girlfriends and loved ones after a "moderately sized" earthquake hit LA a couple weeks ago. I just remember we were all casually sitting around the table, not really saying much, when the room started to shake. At first it was small and I felt like I was the only one who felt it. I remember thinking, honestly, "Hm, someone's parking a really large motorcycle in the garage." But then the shaking got much more violent. After a second I remember another writer, Kevin Pedersen, saying very calmly, "Alright, hey, maybe we should go outside." So we did. Then we sent out unnecessarily alarming texts to people and went back inside after about fifteen minutes.

It was a fun day.

We've Had A Wild Ride Together...

Well Mom, I finally got around to posting something. Just in time, too. Turns out we're going to be done writing Season One of "Bob and Doug" on August 15th-ish. I truly am sorry for the months upon months without posts. Nothing much has gone on. Well, other than that Kaitlin came out here to stay with me for seven weeks (we went to a Dogers game and Disneyland), I had some friends come out to visit one weekend, I went home to Connecticut to write another episode, I travelled to Chicago to attend Lollapalooza, I met Dave Coulier, I got some more furniture and my hair is growing back nicely after I shaved it in April. Besides that, though, not much has been going on.

So I'll admit this blog was more or less a failure but, come on, what did you expect?

...Really? You're quite the optimist.

My New Dresser

Last night was a lot of fun. I went to the Hollywood Park Race Track with a bunch of guys from work. I bet the minimum amount allowed on each race and I won nothing. But, then again, I probably only bet about $15 total. The horse that captured all of our hearts, Buford T. Justice, didn't even show. But with $1 beers and $1 hotdogs, it was a fun night all around. We split a cab after getting out of a bar in Culver City and, per usual, I was the last one dropped off. I had the cabbie drop me off on Sunset rather then up the hill at my apartment because I wanted to score some food. But seeing as how it was about 2 AM (I think) all I was able to manage was a bag of salt and vinegar kettle chips. They were pretty awesome, actually. But my choice to get out at the bottom of the hill proved to give me more than just a bag of delicious chips. It gave me this:








That's right. A dresser dedicated entirely to Chicago Blues Legend Howlin' Wolf. Out of the two times I've drunkenly carried a large object up a hill in the middle of the night, this was my favorite.

Halleluja

I have found salvation and her name is "The Ukulele":

Happy May Honesty Day!

It's still May 1st to me in Pacific Time (the correct time). I'm sitting here reflecting on how quickly this adventure has gone by me. I came out here in late January and now here I am in May. Wow. In all honesty, I am very happy I made the decision to move to Los Angeles. I say this simply because: I had a great time at work today. I know I've said it before, but this job is an absolute dream come true. I don't even care if this show never actually makes it to television (it will, don't worry), because I've made some great friends and had some great fun. And isn't that what it's all really about? (Hint: yes).

That's not to say I don't miss everyone back in Connecticut, because I do. But everytime I see all my family and friends I just know that they're going to be lifelong friends, and I'm so lucky to have them supporting me through this.

Upon reading that last paragraph, I'm reminded I voted against a line of dialogue in a script today because it was "kinda gay" as I put it. Well, if I thought that line was gay, then what I just wrote was...also...very gay. And I have no problem with that.

Sorry

If anyone remembers my old blog, they'll then immediately remember a majority of my posts being much like this one: an apology for not posting more. The difference in this case is that no one seemed to complain before, whereas this time around I actually received one complaint from a co-worker of mine, Alex Pearson. Although to be fair the complaint was probably semi-ironic. Regardless, here it is Pearson, here it is.

Let's see... Let's see...

Oh. I found a table on the side of the road a little while ago. I put things on it sometimes. Other times I don't. We have a good thing going so far.

Uhhh...

I'm heading back to Connecticut tomorrow to write my episode. So please don't be alarmed if you don't see any posts on here within the next week. (That was a joke because clearly it's been much longer than a week between posts. You learn to do stuff like that out here).

I'd also like to make a quick endorsement if I may:


Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Tea. I've been hitting this stuff pretty hard lately. It was kind of an impulse buy, but I think upon examing the picture my actions were perfectly justified.

I like to imagine that bear coming home, lighting up the fire and putting on his nighties. Then he'll put on the kettle, sink in to his favorite armchair and doze off as he thinks about all the people he mauled that day.

Furniture?

Hi all. How's you week going? Mine's going pretty well so far. Anyway let's skip the formalities and get right to the reason we're all here:


Furniture. How about a slightly different angle?


That's all 100% Ikea. I'm really happy abut it. I have a real bed and a real couch, rather than some freak hybrid that combines the negative aspects of both without the positives. A definite thanks to my Dad, Bryan Piepho, for helping me put that monstrosity together. Amazingly, Dad's handiwork was not done there:


I know, "Oh La La" is gone (I have mixed feelings about it too), but also missing are the nasty brown rugs that have probably been on that floor for years and now I have an awesome new tile floor. Now I just need to take out all the trash.


Obviously, there's still some work to be done on this place, but it's getting there.

So enough about this crappy apartment, there's other stuff to talk about. Like...um...

Oh oh I know. I'm writing my first episode for "Bob & Doug"! As in "Written by: Rich Piepho". I'm really excited/horrified about it, but it should also be a lot of fun. Work in general has just been a lot of fun. I work with a great group of hilarious guys. It pretty much is the job I've always dreamed of having. All at the age of 21. I guess it's all downhill from here...

Back.

Well hi everybody. Sorry I've been away for so long, but I think I explained my reasons pretty well in the previous post so I don't think you should be too mad at me or anything. Anyway, things are pretty much back to normal. I've been going to work and living alone, which is just fantastic. Also there are some major changes going on in the apartment but I don't want to reveal what they are until everything is complete. I'll give you a hint: I got a lofted bed and a small sofa and I'm going to get a rug and a coffee table soon. Hopefully that doesn't give too much away. I'll seriously have some pictures up by this weekend, I promise.

Oh and work is going pretty well. I'll be writing my first episode within the next few weeks, which I'm very excited about. If you really want a good idea of what my job is like, envision your high school cafeteria table. That's pretty much it.

I've been thinking about maybe trying mountain biking this weekend? If you feel strongly either way about this, please let me know.

Talk soon.

Gone For A While

I'm leaving LA for about a week and a half to head back east. I'm actually going on cruise to the Bahamas for UConn's Spring Break, as I made these plans in October and I was a normal college student up until a month and a half ago. My boss, Dave Thomas (NOT the Wendy's guy), was nice and understanding enough to let me take the week off. It also just occured to me that I should probably discuss my job on here in some capacity as it is the reason I am out here in the first place and possibly the thing people are most interested about. Well, you're going to have to wait. I do have a life, ya know.

Free Mysterious Objects

Is there anything more gratifying than finding a free object on the side of the road? I can't think of anything. It's gratifying because you earned it. I've seen a bunch of free things on the street around here, but today I found a gem:


The TV stand, not the TV. Man, she is a beauty. My street is on a big hill, and you really want to do all you can to avoid walking up it. But I was halfway down when I stumbled upon this, and I made my way back up the hill in record time. I felt like a thief, like I was doing something wrong. I was afraid some asshole was going to jump out of his apartment and yell at me, as if he was just storing his crappy TV stand on the curb temporarily. It was my first time taking something off the street, so I thought maybe there was some kind of protocal or bureaucracy I was going to have to deal with. There wasn't. So that's one piece of furniture I can cross of my seemingly ever-growing list of things I need.

That's my 20" "Insignia" TV, by the way. It's finally getting the recognition it deserves.

Here's a picture I just took looking out from my front door. This is very similar to the view out of my big window:


Pretty nice. I think those tall buildings are the Century City/Westwood area (as if that means anything to you). Having that kind of view immediately makes you superior to all the people within your line of sight.

Also had some friends here last weekend. I think this picture sums things up pretty well:

Terror On "The 10"

Some of you have heard this story already. Some of you haven't. For those of you who have, I apologize.

It was my first week out here and I was still staying with my girlfriend's Great Aunt Rhoda in Santa Monica. I had only been here about four or five days, and so I hadn't yet gotten used to LA's style of driving; that being one of driving like a complete pussy with random patches of reckless abandon thrown in. To make matters worse, I was driving this at the time:

That's right. A 1991 Ford Festiva. This one's a little nicer though. But don't feel too bad for me, it was only a rental.

So I believe this took place on a Wednesday, my third day of work. I had been leaving for work unnecessarily early the first two days because I was somewhat unsure of where I was going. After getting to work about forty-five minutes early both days, I decided it would be alright to allow myself a little more time at Rhoda's in the morning. I mean, if traffic is clear at 9:00, surely it will be clear at 9:30, right? ...Right?

Wrong.

Touch and go traffic as soon as I get onto I-10. That's another thing I hate about LA traffic: completely unpredictable. So I immediately go into a panic:

"Shit, I haven't driven in traffic out here yet."
OR
"Shit, what if I'm late for work because of this?"
OR
"Shit." (Ya know, just in general...)

So I drive along in the traffic for a while. I'm holding my own, ya know nothing fancy but I think I might be turning a few heads. I soon realize I need to get all the way over to the right so as to get onto I-405 which will take me north to Van Nuys, where my office is. Traffic is moving at a somewhat steady pace at this point, so I quickly turn my head to the right to see if I have room to get over. I don't. And to add insult to injury, traffic in front of me has completely stopped and I don't have enough time to stop and avoid hitting the car in front of me. So, I hit the car. I still remember my first thought: "Shit."

So obviously this sucks, and I start to feel some serious anxiety. Here I am, in the middle of a strange city on the opposite side of the country, with no friends or anyone to lend a guiding hand, and I need to deal with this now. I obviously feel terrible about the whole thing. To make matters worse, we're still in stop and go traffic, so I really had no choice but to follow the person until he or she decides to pull over so we can assess the situation. Very awkward: me trying to see what this person looks like by looking in their rearview mirror, they trying to do the same. We putter along in traffic for quite a while and I even miss my exit. I'm wondering where this person is going to lead me.

Finally, a break in the monotony. The driver of the car I had hit stops in the middle of the lane and gets out of his newish looking Honda Civic. I assume he's as fed up as I am with dealing with the traffic. As he exits his car, however, he's holding "The Club" in his hands. "Hm," I think, "I wonder what he could possibly need that for."

The owner steps out of his car, club in hand, and assesses the damage done to the rear of his car which was, in my opinion, not too bad. I figure now he'll approach me, understandably angry, and we could exchange information and just forget about the whole situation. How wrong I was.

He walks up to my window:

Man: (Pointing to his car) What the fuck is that?
Me: (Feeling terrible, somewhat at a loss for words) I know...I'm sorry.

He then walks away from the window and proceeds to smash my front headlight with his club. He then turned back to me and saracastically yelled, "Sorry!" Then he got back into his car and drove off.

I was stunned. My first feelings were honestly of relief. "Joke's on him," I thought, "little does he know this is just a shitty rental car. Plus he has to pay for that damage himself now." I never even thought to get his license # or anything.

Remember how I said it was awkward following a guy you had just hit in traffic? Scratch that. Awkward is being directly behind a guy in traffic who had moments before smashed your Festiva's headlight with a club. Eventually I got off the highway so I could find another way to work. Unfortunately as I drove on it became more and more apparent that the original collision had somehow fucked up my car beyond anything I could possible do about it. It kept stalling on me and then started smoking. Eventually it died and I had to have a guy from Rent-A-Wreck come and pick me up. That was the last time I ever saw that old girl. It was tough after we had been through so much together in such a small amount of time. Don't worry though. Soon after, I was cruising around in this:

What I'm Sure You Were Dying To See

Rather than sitting motionless like I usually do, I decided to take some pictures of my apartment for everyone. Enjoy. And please, try not to get too envious.


This is my computer and the desk it sits upon. I got that desk from Target and it took me about forty-eight hours to put together, although to be fair that's partially because I didn't have a screwdriver for the first forty-six. As cool as the Heineken pyramid looks, all six of those cans were not consumed in one night/sitting. But don't give me too much credit, that still means I drink alone sometimes.


This is the kitchen/empty space portion of the apartment. As small as it looks, it is even less functional. Although to be fair, my still full suitcase fit nicely into that space. The kitchen and I still need to take some time to get to know one another. It's kind of awkward living together at the moment.


This is the view you would get of my air mattress if you were to stand outside the door to take a picture of the air mattress. Note the bitchin' map on the wall. And yes, that is Fiji water on the floor. I mean, come on, this is LA folks! To the very right of the air mattress is a large window with views of the city. I took these pictures at night so I didn't bother trying to show it. Someday, though.


This is my sink with various things surrounding it. I'm as impressed as you are that I took the initiative to buy handsoap. The more I look at this picture the more uncomfortable I become showing it to the public. Oh well, too late now.

And now the Grand Finale...


Ooh La La indeed.

So there you have it, guys. For those of you who are worried about me, I'm sorry this did nothing to ease your minds. To be honest, this place really isn't that bad, and I'm slowly starting to settle in here. I have plans in the near future to get a futon/sofa, a refrigerator, a rug and some more shelf/counter space for the kitchen. Then come the appliances and ultimately the dishes and the food. Let's not go crazy, though. Oh also I have a 20" TV but its just sitting on the floor right now and not all that interesting.

In other news, I had my first random celebrity sighting today: Andy Richter! He was in Target with his two little kids. He was making some funny voice and one of his kids was like, "Stop it, Dad!" I didn't say hi or bother him or anything, and he did the same for me.

Oh Hey. How Are Things?

Hello to the dozen or so friends and family members who happened to stumble upon this. Whoever you are, you likely already have a close, personal relationship with me so I won't bother introducing myself or explaining what this blog is about, you already know.

I have been out here for three weeks and I am just now getting the chance to sit down and do this. Starting my new job, finding an apartment and being lonely have taken up a good chunk of my time thus far. I'd like to update this as much as possible, hopefully with some pictures and other fun stuff. If there is anything specific you would like me to discuss or expand upon, please let me know in the comments and I will do my best to do so.

Here's a list of things in my apartment right now:

-An air mattress
-A large map of the tri-state area (CT, NY, NJ and PA...I guess that makes four states. [Editor's Note: It DOES make four states.])
-This computer
-Myself

I hope that gives you some insight to my current living situation.

Be back soon. Love youuu.