Surviving Self-Employed Single Parenthood in Santa Monica

People love to trash talk California, specifically LA, but I LOVE IT. I'm committed! I even married it. What started as a joke became a nickname that stuck. So, I took my city's name and officially became Liz Angeles. I'm committed to staying warm, staying in shape, and staying broke!

As a Sonoma County kid, I was sent from the vineyards to Vegas for my blackjack-dealing mom, because, well, I was a teen living with my dad and brothers; not ideal.

Since my high school education ended in "Sin City", out-of-state tuition was beyond reach. UNLV in the 80's it was; all of the 80s. And what a time indeed. Unfortunately, slinging cocktails in smoke-filled rooms was my obligatory demise. To a health and fitness buff, existing in the ubiquitous gambling and constant party culture was just UNhealthy!

At 24, I escaped in 1989 with $30, relocating to Hollywood-the stage being my natural habitat.

After two years as a young ingenue, I was dismayed by the predatory industry-one that as Patrick Swayze said, "is bound and determined to turn you into a whore." Well, if happy endings were my jam, I would have stayed in Vegas and made that part of my massage practice. But Eww! No thanks.

I gleefully relocated to Santa Monica, for the ocean breeze, the flowers, the trees, the health food and Iyengar yoga. Here I could still be creative and enjoy my life. Rather than chasing the actor's (nightmare of a) dream, I took my massage skills to task.

Liz Angeles with actor Adam Sandler

I was always a scrapper. Starting a typing service my first year at UNLV, I sold jewelry from my trunk, sold hundreds of things at trade shows and worked background on film sets. Remember Crime Story? Still, I never wanted to be "Liz Vegas."

In LA, I became a court reporter, a realtor, a feng shui practitioner, had graphic design and voice over gigs, and my custom poetry business, My Own Private Cyrano. I wrote for the Santa Monica Observer, which led to editing ABILITY Magazine. Today I create custom paintings. @ArtByLizangeles.

2013 was when I became a single mom. Since then, my massage practice grew to include 20 other therapists, opening another studio in 2022.

With the economic rollercoaster of the pandemic, I had to close the second studio. Now, with the loss of Palisades residents, business is slower than it's ever been. I can't compete with the very cheap massage establishments that exploit the immigrant workforce. Since relocating to LA, my rent went up 1,000%. The massage service has not!

People expect much more for much less, when our work is strenuous and requires loving care. Most don't last 10 years in this industry, much less 37!

I thrive on pampering and spoiling, but business has taken such a hit, I now take my massage chair to the park to remind locals that pain and stress relief exists just around the corner. I kept missing our weekend utopian environment, where picnicking neighbors, kids and dogs are bathing in the live music, so I decided to catch the sunset and heal others while enjoying it myself.

Jasmine

Affluent neighbors take lavish vacations, while I can't afford one, but I stay put because my daughter is in a great school district in Santa Monica. The last thing I want is her to lose her community- my greatest childhood wound.

I stay put because I can't imagine leaving my local seasoned healers, who consistently save my LIFE! Humans, not AI.

· Dr. Mike Zalben for Zone healing my healing wizard

· LAc James Hopson, a TMC Bio-Resonance healer

· Terry Seward, local Alphabiotics pracitioner

· Nerve Whisper Gadi Kaufman

· Spinatomy Dr.Tyra Beavers healed my spine without surgery

· Michael McBride for Traditional Chinese Medical Massage

· Santa Monica Homeopathic Pharmacy for medical needs

· Mark Simon of How To Starve Cancer Naturally

· My amazing multi-talented Massage Therapists.

I cherish this community of friends, neighbors and healers who've shaped my life and my personal paradise.

How do we find the time to enjoy the paradise we pay for?

I'm now working twice as much for half as much!

Santa Monica feels empty, doesn't it? My clients return by this time of year. Too many businesses are closing and so many residents have packed up and abandoned LA and California.

Meanwhile, I'm still hustling, doing random jobs. I just got paid to scream for my friend's short horror film, Killer Revenge written and directed by Jasmine Davis. My recent gig was creating a flyer for my friend Denise Young; founder of the California Chapter of Children's Health Defense, alongside RFK Jr. She's now with TRIADA, transforming farming from dangerous to regenerative.

So many of us can't afford much of anything right now, including enjoying our beaches or parks because work (and survival) is paramount.

I returned to stand-up comedy classes with Greg Dean at the Santa Monica Playhouse. My focus is on crowd work. We're told to poke fun at the audience. Since roasting is against my nature, I just pretend they are politicians and the overlords who run them.

The masses are waking up, so (I like to believe) their days are numbered.