(Young, Post-Undergrad, Broke) Girls

   It's hard to look up "Girls" on the internet without getting some results that are rather obscene. And sometimes there is this girl wearing a bikini who says she's "ready" for me and changes her "hometown" to whatever zip code I am at the time, the Photoshop obviously not working. 

   But when I look up "Girls" on the internet, there is one type I am looking for- the type that is on HBO, the series that debuted a little more than a month ago. It was created by none other than barely 26-year-old Lena Dunham, the writer/director/genius who gave us "Tiny Furniture", a film about a post-undergrad by the name of "Aura". Aura is twenty-something, not model-pretty, confused about her life, desperate to even nab a job as a restaurant hostess, a target of quirky young men who are confused and immature themselves while all living in New York City- sound familiar? The premise of "Girls" is about the same but expanded, with the storyline focusing on a group while than just the main character of "Hannah" (who is basically Aura to me, but a little smarter, in my opinion). The show is described as being realistic, with the very first scene opening with Hannah's parents announcing that they just cannot financially support her anymore.

   I felt fortunate enough to watch the first episode for free on my iPhone last month. Now when I look for the same episode again on Youtube, all I get are brief clips of episodes instead of an entire show.

 

   Yesterday, I made a call to my cellphone service and cable / internet provider in order to find out how I could make my bill, well, a little more condensed. The numbers were astronomical and I was basically paying over $100 a month for cellphone service alone that only provided 4 GB of data usage (without wi-fi obviously) before charging me an extra $10 per GB. This is without the large cable bill and the wi-fi in my condo. Did I mention that I am unemployed?

   The service provider ended up changing my plans and gave me the best customer service, which I could not complain about, and I expect my bills to be cut in half for next month. 

   This is besides the mortgage and HOA fees, of course.

   Did I mention that I am also a homeowner?

   At age 25, I bought my own place in Southern California (can't deny- with the help of my mother), approximately 30 minutes away from Los Angeles County. I worked in a bank that time, had amazing credit, and a seemingly stable job until just a year ago. 

   I was the type of girl who easily went to the nail salon in order to get $50 pedicures, and before I bought my own two-bedroom place, I lived in my own one bedroom apartment. I felt very independent at the time, although I did bring over my college messiness and lack-of-cooking-skills lifestyle over to that apartment. Even though I did have a few pots and pans, it was so much easier to have microwaveable food that could've come from 7-Eleven. And if I wasn't eating microwaveable food, I was eating at Nordstrom's cafe at the local mall, feeling as if I was having Breakfast at Tiffany's.

   Now I hardly even go to Nordstrom's, I think I went only twice this year instead of, uh, over three times a week in order to peek at the Chanel make-up and try on pairs of Gucci sunglasses, and that was only because I had a leftover gift card from last Christmas. That kind of luxurious lifestyle, or illusion (I was no bank manager either) isn't for me anymore. Instead of Chanel Fire, it's all about Essie from the shelves of K-Mart, or even No Miss cosmetics, for I have also gone for cheap, natural ingredients as of late. I have also become a better cook since then, with people telling me that I cook some amazing vegetarian burgers and soy chorizo burritos- a feat I thought I couldn't really do before (and being in a relationship also encourages this skill).

  But I digress- 

  What is the conclusion of this blog? Well, due to the necessity of having a lower cable bill, I don't subscribe to HBO- and because of that, I can't access "HBO GO" in order to watch episodes online. I have tried to look at other websites but to no avail. I have searched on iTunes and all I find are podcasts on the show. It is still too early for it to release on DVD.

  In other words, I am a broke Girl trying to watch a show about a broke Girl directed by a formerly-broke Girl but can't at this time.

   Where's my political cocktail?

*Images taken from the Lena Dunham Facebook Fan Page and The New York Review of Books.