Erick the Flyer Guy

Earlier this week I responded to a Craigslist ad that was looking for someone to distribute flyers throughout Hollywood and Koreatown. I replied to the ad, writing that I would be around all summer, and explaining that my "youthful energy" would make me perfect for the job. About two hours later while napping I got a call from a a woman, Gabrielle, the originator of the ad. She informed me that she needed someone to walk around preselected city blocks, placing flyers on car windshields in the process. Although most everyone despises such advertisements I figured that if I didn't take the job, someone else would. Not even the dismal pay rate of $8/hour (minimum wage) could keep from from this job. Why? It sounded like it might provide good blogging material. Additionally, walking around an unfamiliar neighborhood, enjoying the beautiful summer weather of Southern California sounded enjoyable enough.
Gabrielle asked me what my experience was in the flyer distribution field, I explained that I had none, and she told me to come in on Friday to start working.
Friday morning rolls around and I wake up with a headache after a long night of drinking cheap whiskey-- off to a good start. I had to be in Hollywood by noon so I left my house at approximately 11:30. I jumped on the 10 West, transitioned to the Hollywood freeway, and then got off at Highland. I found the address and was a bit surprised to find myself in front of an apartment complex: Las Palmas Villa. Next, I called Gabrielle and she told me that she would open up the gate for the parking garage. I parked my car, found the elevator, and followed her directions to the manager's office. Upon entering the office I saw two desks, Gabrielle was sitting at one, and the other was vacant. She was on the phone but she signaled for me to sit down at the chair in front of her desk, I complied. As I was waiting I examined the office and didn't see anything worth taking note of: a flat screen TV, a few old movie posters (none of which I had heard of), and the usual office necessities.
Gabrielle hung up the phone and asked, "Are you a student?"
I replied, "Yeah. I go to UC Berkeley."
She explained that her boss was normally pretty wary about hiring people off of Craiglist, some shit about them not being very reliable. "But you go to Berkeley, so that's different," she concluded. Finally my Berkeley education was seeming to pay off, haha.
She went on to ask me what I was up to this summer, what I was studying at school, what I thought about Obama, and what my thoughts were on the oil spill. I replied to these probing questions with pretty general answers and wondered why any of this shit was relevant for the job that I would be performing. Anyways, my answers must have been good enough because she then proceeded to explain what neighborhoods I would be flyering, using a printed map to highlight specific streets.
After seeing that I was capable of carrying on a conversation she asked me to step into the courtyard so that she could call her boss, the owner of Las Palmas. I stepped out and she called me back in a few minutes later. She told me that I would be starting on Monday, but first I would have to fill out an application for their records and payroll, boss's orders. Apparently she had wanted to pay me cash under the table, untaxed, but her superior disagreed.
So, I sat there for the next fifteen minutes filling out all the bullshit paperwork, continued with the useless small talk, and clarified some questions that I had regarding the length of employment. They have two apartment buildings, one in Hollywood and one in K-Town, each with 2-3 available units. I'll be flyering in both neighborhoods until these units are filled, probably for about two weeks. She also explained that hours were pretty flexible because there are always cars waiting to be flyered, a definite plus, thank you cars. I'm officially "Erick the flyer guy," not to be confused with "Erick the maintenance guy," another Las Palmas employee. I left soon after filling out the last required document and pulled out of the garage, pleased that I'd have a nice cash flow for the next two weeks, bummed that I couldn't start today.
Monday will be here soon enough, stay tuned.