Covid Life in Los Angeles

A lot has happened since I arrived in LA. I spent two weeks in self quarantine, and on the day I was finally allowed out of the house, the riots began. It was a very surreal experience. The little voice in my head telling me that I shouldn't have come, and that the nay-sayers were right, started bouncing around my head. We were glued to the news until 3am most mornings. My housemates friend stayed with us for a few nights, because she felt unsafe in her home in West Hollywood. I was very emotional watching the news, and seeing the violent clashes among the police and protestors. A friend of ours lives in Downtown, and was not sleeping because of the constant fireworks and destruction outside her apartment block. Someone even broke into her building one evening, which prompted us to start blocking up our door with furniture every night. It was definitely unnecessary - looters weren't targeting residences, and our area was far enough away from where the action was happening to be safe, but it helped us sleep at night. We also had 4 or 5 days of city wide curfews.

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Life in the US is very different to Aus, and there are so many odd rules and requirements. California law states that you are supposed to get a Cali Drivers License within 2 weeks (or 30 days - I have found inconsistent reports) of becoming a permanent resident. This is almost impossible under normal circumstances, let alone during a pandemic. The DMV is closed for new appointments, so a new license is currently not an option. Even paying registration on a car that I am lucky enough to be using was a mission. I couldn't pay online because I needed to prove insurance. In Aus, the insurance company talks to Service NSW and it's all done online in about 4 minutes, but here it has to be either mailed in, or completed in person. Furthermore, you can only pay via check or money order. I went to the DMV one very hot afternoon to pay the rego with my card, only to be turned away. As I did not have a bank account at this stage, I decided to go in search of a money order. After walking to 5 different places in search of a money order, only for the last one to tell me they only accept cash (seriously!?). I went home with a bag of m&m's and had a very frustrated cry. Eventually I managed to get it sorted, and now am able to drive to and from work, instead of taking Ubers, and wasting 4 hrs of wages a day!!

I was lucky enough to get a job within the first month of being here. I responded to a post in Australians in LA looking for baristas, and a week later I was working. The store is owned by Aussies, and was supposed to open a week before the LA lockdown began. The cafe is located just off Melrose in West Hollywood, and was heavily impacted by the riots. When I went for my interview, they were removing the wooden boards from the window, and repairing damages from the break-ins. It feels great to be in a cafe again! I can honestly say that I feel very comfortable, and very at home there (maybe because I'm surrounded by so many Aussies!). We have to have temperature checks every day, wear gloves all shift, wear a mask, and sometimes a visor when delivering food to a table. Last week restrictions were amped up a bit, and restaurants cannot seat patrons indoors. Luckily we have been able to adapt very easily to this rule, as we have a lot of outdoor space. The city of West Hollywood have also passed a law that states the mandatory use of masks. Anyone caught without one is fined $300, and I believe if they are caught again it jumps to $2000. Most customers have been very aware of this requirement, however I have seen some strange things worn by people to 'protect' themselves. Yesterday a girl came in with a fly veil attached to her hat - the kind you wear in mosquito infected areas... The coffee is a bit different here - they just do things differently. Luckily as the cafe is owned by and targeted toward Aussies, I can make coffee the way we do back home. The cafe pays in cheques, which is something we definitely don't do in Aus. I don't think I've even seen an Australian cheque book in the last 10 years.

The next hurdle has been getting my social security number. When I initially filled out my DS-260 after winning the lottery, I selected an option to be issued a SSN upon immigration. I called the office after three weeks of arriving to chase up my number, and was told to call back at the end of the month. I did that, only to find out that I was never issued a SSN in the first place, and that because of covid, they are not issuing numbers at this time. I was starting to get seriously concerned that something had gone wrong at immigration! As fate would have it, my green card arrived in the mail that very same day, so at least something has arrived in time! Luckily, as I have a job, I am able to apply for an emergency SSN via mail (again with the mail?!). Sending that off, so fingers crossed I get it sorted soon! Having an SSN will help me to do so many things, like get health insurance, pay tax, build a credit history etc.

Slowly but surely, I'm getting there!!