It's been quite some time since we last spoke. I believe it was in April & here we are in September. It's been a really random 3 months. I am still in the Finish First program. Complying with all rules & working towards my security deposit. I like to say I'm moving right along. In May my partner came back from New Jersey & boy did I need to see him! The first week or so went smoothly. Then there were bumps in the road & somehow we ended up falling in a ditch. During this time my God son came to visit from Philadelphia. He fell in love with Venice Beach & stayed 3weeks upon finding himself a job on the beach. He came to understand that if your moving to another state it's best to have a plan. He went back to Philadelphia with the ambition to return.      This is stressful to write but I owe ya'll a new part of the LA story. I am completely stressed out but it's good stress these days. Let's talk about it! Being in the Finish First Pr

       Being a Personal Home Assistant is more than just a job to me. It's a peaceful and satisfying experience that I look forward to with each appointment booked. When I walk into a client's home, I take pride in knowing that I'm not just cleaning their space, but also making their lives comfortable & more enjoyable.      There's something about the feeling of a clean home that just makes everything better. And when my clients are happy with my work, it makes me happy too! It's a sense of accomplishment that one can't quite describe.     I know that some people might think that being a cleaning person is a menial job, but I see it as so much more than that. It's about taking care of people's homes & when you do it with professionalism as well as confidence, it becomes something truly special.      My clients trust me with their homes & their belongings; I take that responsibility seriously. It's not just about cleaning, it's about b

    Hello there, first of all Thanx 4 the visit. My name is Jodie Spartz I am a writer & I write because I write. Doing so brings a feeling of freedom joy & peace! It's hard to explain the impulse I feel to write stories, plays, & the intense journaling I am obsessed with. I've lived a long life in a very short time; during said life the writer in me fell asleep if you will. The pandemic helped me understand that life will never be fully understood by anyone &  I realized that writing stories was how I chose to make since of the world around me. I now want to share my writing with whomever reads it. There is always so much happening at such a rapid pace that I constantly lose myself & find myself many times and within those times I wrote.      Currently I am selling my books on Amazon Kindle & I will email the short stories for a donation for anyone that doesn't have Amazon Kindle. I am doing this to cover my last Psychology classes for my BS (Bachel

  Life is like a game of chess. You get your pieces, you set them up on the board. You have your important pieces, pieces you can sacrifice and pieces that help you navigate the game. But who are you playing against? There is a force playing against you that you must defeat. Each person plays against their own energy force that was placed around them from they day they entered the planet. In life, it's important to remember that every move you make counts. The Universe just takes pieces off the board unexpectedly don't get scared. You just have to strategize, plan ahead & be ready to adapt to any situation that comes your way. But here's the thing: in life, YOU can change the rules and add to the game. You have the power to create your own destiny & shape your own future. Know this, once the Universe takes the important pieces off the chess board they're gone & this could make it harder to win the game. You must create new strategies & make moves that no

  Remember book reports when we were in school? For some they were a dreaded terrible thing, for others they were fun ways to recall your favorite book and an easy format to tell someone what the book was about. I've decided to post some reports of books I've read recently; let's jump right in. This book I borrowed from the Inglewood library. Looking for a book in the library is like looking for a movie on a streaming service. Reading the titles & the synopsis trying to see what interest you. So as always the title drew me right in, not to mention I'm having my own feelings towards the male species right now. This book was not male bashing & some men had some interesting answers to the question as well. E. Jean Carroll is over 80yrs young now & this book was written when she was 75; I love it & you gave me so much inspiration for my very young future THANK YOU!  Author:  E. Jean Carroll  Title:   What Do we need men for? A modest proposal Main Characters

       When two people are together (Pause) I keep trying to figure out a soft way to start this. It took me about a month to even figure it out.  I decided to start this one with a disclaimer.  I'd just like to say I am not talking ugly about n-e-one nor am I trying to make anyone look bad but the truth is the truth. People said it will set you free let's see.        I never really explained how we ended up making the decision to go back to Philadelphia. Surviving LA was about me learning my new city, getting a job, a car & an apartment. The car was actually an added extra.  After the Air-BnB, we decided to live in the car for 3months so that we could boost our credit to get an apartment no money down. I was going to pay for the car & he was going to take care of the credit. It was a reasonable plan because we had just spent $8,000 in the Air-BnB for 4 months. Since we were making money I didn't see how we could fail.      This is an example of how another person&#

IS THIS JUST A COMMUNITY NORMALITY? It's 2024 Yup I GUESS IT IS     On Thursday March 14th, 2024 a Black woman was assaulted by the owner of the Plaza Market on the corner or Manchester & Main in South Central Los, Angeles. If you're from the hood of Los Angeles you already know how this story goes. She went in because she forgot to buy laundry detergent & cleaning rags. After picking up the items she stopped in the middle of the aisle lowered her backpack & opened the small zipper part of her bag to check her shopping list. After checking her list, she went to stand up with the items still in her hand, she was rushed by the Asian owner, pushed to the ground & accused of stealing. The woman was caught completely off guard wondering what was happening. Within seconds she figured out he was accusing her of stealing; how; when the items were still in her hand & her hand never went anywhere near her bag?     This is what she tried to explain to him but he scream

     My phone is fixed! It was broke for about two weeks, I kinda broke it myself out of frustration & it was right before Christmas. So that meant no Christmas, New years or any Holiday pics. I was a little sad at first that I couldn't post on social media but after a while I found peace in enjoying activities & not worrying about pictures or footage. I visited my son for Christmas in Upstate NY for two days, Then I went to visit my God mom for a couple days dropped her off some gifts. I went to visit my God children & my God granddaughter that was fun. My God grand daughter is two years old and my God daughter & God son asked her if she wanted to sing head shoulders, knees & toes. She said no but they decided to sing it anyway to see if she would get into it. She didn't & after they finished the song all enthusiastically this little girl with her little baby voice said " Nobody asked for all that!" My husband & I busted out laughing &

     I was going through it but surviving my life decisions & hanging in there. Besides a few melt downs I did a great job keeping it together. If you're wondering which path I chose this time I'll tell you now. First a quick recap; did I become a social worker for Saint Vincent's in Venice Beach, did I become a correctional officer for the state of California, or did I go to the cannabis farm? There should've been a poll out for this one 😂      I moved to a community in Mount Shasta California on a cannabis farm! My husband & I have been here for a full week today. 4,000 some odd feet in the mountains. It literally takes 35 mins to go to the closest market & that's driving! Not to mention the 16 to 20 minutes it takes to get down the mountain from the house or  the cabin rather. I like it, it's nice cozy & warm; it also has 4 cats, two dogs, a couple black bears that may come eat your trash if you don't put it out neat & in a can with a

I'm having the experience of a lifetime! Sober as hell too. It's mostly because I have this thing about me that likes to make a series of crazy decisions that lead to the most unorthodox situations.          Eventually our lives lead to these events...We left Philly as you already know. We hopped in a Zip Car, Toyota 4runner packed with our personal belongings & drove straight  to Indiana, then to Colorado, then Vegas, then California, 2 sunsets later...We switched the transportation to my pink E bike, until it was stolen in Santa Monica along with his black hemi E bike. A friend blessed us with a motor Scooter & a Beach Cruiser. We stayed in Santa Monica at a friend's for 6 months, then the Stuart hotel DTLA, then Mid city at a friend's off Pico and Redondo, next Olympic and Robertson at the Beverly Hills Love hotel it was almost a blessing, then turned out a scandal...that lead us to and stay in a air bnb in the actual city of Beverly Hills across the street f

  As the LA housing search continues...      We found ourselves on the streets & out of money for a couple weeks due to the Beverly Hills swindle & the cost of staying in hotels. On day one on the streets, we both worked a night shift and spent the day sleeping in our storage unit, Day 2 was the Santa Monica/Venice beach night, sleeping in our tent & fighting a serious wind till the morning. On day 3 we fought with the wind again more severe in our tent at the Venice Graffiti walls on the beach & lost. We dramatically packed up fighting the wind the whole way & ended up camping not too far away in Penmar park. The good thing about this was that they had a bathroom available.       The hauk was out too that night it was so cold, I thought I was gonna die from hypothermia. I don't even know how I made it through the night. All I know is that I was not prepared for this! The universe carried me into day 4 & we both again worked the night shift. I worked from 10

    Ready, Let's Goooooo...      It was 2/19/23 & o ur one day voucher was up at the hotel. 211 said to call in at 11am and they would help us again. During this time I was on leave with my day job at the restaurant because I was trying to figure out if I was going to keep it along with the overnight job. I decided that I should. The call to 211 ended in them saying they didn't have anymore hotel vouchers so we would have to stay at a shelter in South Central. The catch was we had to get there by midnight to check in.        This only became a hassle because I got off at 9pm at the restaurant & It was going to take me until 12 to get there. I was going to try and get the bed anyway because I was not about to be back outside. Not to mention the crazy rain storm that was headed our way! Hubby had to go to work and didn't get off until 2am. The only way he would be able to get a bed would be if he didn't go to work. He wasn't with it and went to work and decid

             It was late February & things were tough like really tough, I've never experienced the worries I was having & the anxiety in my body was really bad. I was homeless actual real life homeless and that shit was scary. No family, no friends, no support,  I wouldn't wish that on anybody. I was so happy to have that bed in the shelter for the moment. I felt bad because hubby's struggle at this time was very different, maybe he'll tell you his story sometime. If you ask him tho he will say he didn't struggle at all.  I don't see how having to sleep in storage & being out in the rain with no where to go wasn't a struggle but again it wasn't me.         As the weeks went on things became rather peaceful for me. I worked slept, read books, & went to work, it was mostly quiet there except when the ladies were in moods but I still got my rest. My schedule went like this I worked from 5pm until 6:30 am on most days. I would get in around

       So here we were trying to build toward a security deposit for an apartment a car, pay credit card bills and I had to take off work from both of my jobs & hubby now had to take off work as well. Loosing money was not part of the plan or something I was happy about but this was also completely out of my control. After being discharged from the hospital I spent the night at the shelter not knowing it would be my last night. I woke up the next morning to an extremely sore body & hubby calling me to tell me his knee was so swollen he could barely move. The only thing I knew is that he needed to be able to heal properly or we would have a much harder time trying to complete the mission.      I got myself together & went to the storage unit, Then I jumped on Booking.com to find a place to stay for a while. I had $800 in my savings & he had about $800 in his as well and that would pay for 26 days in a hotel somewhere. We were off to a better start than we had been since

       There have been some new developments since we left Crenshaw & Slauson, we even stayed in almost every every room on their property. This is an adventure that has no end in sight, we departed the AirBnB about 5 days ago. Something had to change we had already spent $8,000 there by this time & I didn't want to continue to be stuck in an Airbnb cycle. I mean not having to buy dishwashing liquid, toilet paper, any type of furniture or deep clean because their was house keeping is not bad but we want our own. We managed to come across some funds and was able to purchase a 2017 black Honda Accord Sport from the Honda dealership. It's weird how it was so much easier to buy a car than get an apartment,  at least the car purchase will help build the credit we need for the apartment.      Well, the plan was to live in the car until we saved money again or came up on another check. Hubby's friend the one on section 8 that we lived with in Midtown, discovered that we co

   I can write when I'm frustrated & annoyed as a matter of fact that's usually my favorite times to write. Not for this blog tho my spirit says that this is meant to share EXPERIENCE, STRENGTH & FAITH . I was going to write this two days ago but I decided to put it off until I felt better mentally to explain to you what's going on; as not to sound like a victim of life & it's crazy tactics matched with humans & their decisions, not to exclude myself cuz, I'm only human right😅     Now I told you guys that we made an executive decision to get out of the expensive ass AirBnB loop & buy a car so that we could build our credit for the apartment & move in with the homie for a second. Well my my my how fast things change. Two days after the car purchase hubby's tolerance with the security job was reached & he was laid off until another contract opens up. We managed to stay with the homie for about a week before chaos ensued. Hubby was supp

     Welp we are going through the most but within it we're still surviving! Living in the car has not been a breeze. It's a thing one must really have to change their mind set towards life if you've been living in a house all your whole life that's for sure! I do want a RV tho lol.      At first it was manageable until it wasn't 😱 On Sunday evenings the drum circle gathers on Venice Beach, we pitched our tent listened to the drums & spirituality vibed out; it was a beautiful night. We've been alternating between sleeping in the car & pitching the tent on different beaches.      Somewhere along the line I lost my momentum & wasn't getting my afternoon naps in the way I should've been knowing I work overnight. With a very limited amount of rest I ended up an emotional wreck for like 4 days. I mean come on who can really get off work at 6:30am get no rest all day for whatever reasons, only to go back to work at 10pm that same night, only to ge

     Hey ya'll,     Things have gotten better especially for me mentally "going within" is no easy task & mental/emotional healing does not happen over night. Real quick I'm going to tell you what I woke up thinking... I figure I'm glad there was no one able to support me during my trials & tribulations. I picked myself up by my boot straps & after a huge slump turned tragedy into triumph. I have become a world traveler, a brave heart that has never been afraid to venture out alone; however I enjoy having someone with me to share experiences with. The energy of the universe guides me like the wind & sometimes I can actually feel it.       I have my bad days but I don't look at them as bad days anymore, I've come to understand I feel very intensely & am connected to everything. I have a determination to see how the world works & how others are maintaining their lives, there's something in me that doesn't want to stop explorin

        I sure didn't see any of this coming. We are not on the cannabis farm anymore, overall it was a positive experience. I learned the winterization process of the farm & also how to feed, water, harvest & buck the plants. I learned about the licensing system along with the rules & regulations weaved throughout. I met a real live "Karen" & was able to witness her in action. I was able to keep all the trimmings from the plants we bucked & there were hundreds.      About two months into our stay we were told that the farm wasn't making as much money as the owner expected this year & that it would be a better financial move if he shut things down until the spring. This was unexpected for us because we were originally told we could stay for a year. The options were to either go back to LA or back to Philly . Of course I didn't want to go back to Philly but going back to Cali with no plan terrified me more. I would rather go back on my own &