I have been in Los Angeles for over 5 years and have certainly had some odd moments since moving here. However, a business meeting earlier this week might be the most "LA thing" I've ever experienced.
I had a meeting the other day with a new business connection. He contacted me out of the blue about working on 2 upcoming projects in the entertainment industry. We are both located in the Los Angeles area so it made sense to meet in person. I have ongoing freelance copywriting, marketing and publicity projects with clients located in New York, Florida, the Philippines and West Virginia so it was nice to make a business connection where I live.
We set a meeting time to get some coffee and discuss the projects. He has a European accent so each mention of coffee sounded like "We will get-uh da coffee and discuss-uh the project over da coffee."
I drove to his office and discovered that his office was his home. No big deal because I work at home as well. The surprise was that we were just doing coffee at his place and not at a coffee shop.
I rang the doorbell and was greeted by his assistant as well a dog that excelled in the art of crotch sniffing. Super sweet dog but extremely fascinated by the crotch region. After making some small talk with the assistant and bonding with the dog, I went into the backyard to meet with my contact and his partner. Before getting into the business at hand, we discussed our personal lives, They were tired from different social events and had meant to relax in the pool earlier in the day. However, they had run out of time before our meeting.
That's when they had a "great-uh idea"...What if we all got in the pool and did our business meeting relaxing in the water????
Without any hesitation, I politely declined by using the (very valid) excuse that I was not wearing appropriate pool gear and did not bring any with me. No problem (according to them) because the giant pink flamingo in the pool was big enough that I could just sit in it rather than having to get my body in the water.
I realize this is easy for me to say since I was experiencing the offer in person. The offer to get in the pool didn't strike me as straight up odd as it sounds. It was more European eccentric and probably something they do on a regular basis.
After thinking about it for about 20-seconds, I agreed to get in the pool. I removed my shoes, rolled up my jeans and climbed aboard the giant pink flamingo. I have never seen the show "Entourage" but this experience was exactly how I imagine the Hollywood in the show was portrayed all the time.
We floated in the pool for a good 30-minutes drinking "da coffee" and discussing the different ways to promote their projects. We even worked on a PowerPoint while my flamingo drifted next to their panda and martini glass floats in the pool. The dog even joined us in the pool at one point.
There was only one or two times that I was floating in the pool and thinking, "How the hell did my life get to the point that I'm drinking coffee in swimming pools and taking meetings on flamingo floats???"
I'm not complaining at all. It is just not a thing I ever imagined happening in my professional life.
It was a very productive meeting and I think great things (creatively and financially) will come from our partnership. I even made it out of the meeting without falling in the pool! If nothing else comes from this meeting, it will make a great story if (and when) I do an Open Mic comedy night around town.
This actor has a stand up comedy date in Burbank this month.
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