Michael Charleston, the Mandrake's doorman with a debonair name, happened to lay his book on a bench by the door. I fearlessly pick it up and ask him if it belonged to him. He laughed when I told him about the blog. "Funny. Noone really takes the time to really talk to me while I'm at the door. They just flash me their IDs and go on in. And why couldn't you have come by when I was reading something more interesting?" I scrutinize the book cover and look him in the eye. "It's a book about green investing. C'mon! It's gotta be interesting!"
Michael has been working at the Mandrake for about three years now. (He works as a job recruiter during the day). I later found out that he lives in Studio City and drives all the way out here for work. Quite the commute but he likes living in Studio City. I also found out that he went to Grant High School! A valley boy! We started comparing high schools and chatted about what it was like to live and go to school in "the valley".
Michael likes to read while he's on duty - it helps pass the time. "I'm not really reading this book as I am 'scanning' it." Crazy, I haven't heard anyone "scan" passages and books since I was in high school and college.
This book happens to be about publicly owned green businesses. It talks about stocks and the various ins and outs of the business in general. I asked if he was super environmentally conscious and told him about my two buddies, Jason and Leif, who both went to school for and are now working in the field of green business. Although Michael is more of a businessman than a treehugger he admits that if he wants to get into business and make money he'd rather do it and do something "right" while he's at it. "I'm not going to lie, I'm doing it for personal gain. Look around, green business is the growing and in demand. But everyone doing business, regardless of what type, is in it to make money. It's all a facade." I respect his honesty.
We started to get into a discussion on how there are still downsides and negatives to those trying to help save the planet. We took the electric car, for example, and looked at the pros but then discussed how people argue that the electricity to run those cars needs to come from somewhere and that somewhere can also emit a harmful this-and-that into the atmosphere. "If you think about it, there are negatives or another side to every story so nothing is 100% perfect."
He continued to tell me that he's been immersing himself in other business-type books to learn as much as possible. Eye on the prize, man. Eye on the prize.
I would see Michael every now and then when I came out to get some air after shimmying and shaking to some old french pop songs and some Whitney Houston hits. We'd pretend to have a conversation up against the wall by the bar even though we couldn't really hear each other over the pounding beats. And he was kind enough to make sure I was okay to drive home after last call.
An interview and a dance party all in one night. Even got to make new friends and run into old ones. Life is good.
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