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that she performed at the clubs without compensation in order to
make herself and her talent known to club owners and record
producers, or, as she put it, “to get my name out there.” In
that way she hoped eventually to establish herself as a paid
performer in the clubs and, ultimately, be in a position to
record and release hit records through her own label, Cool G
Records.
Melissa’s testimony strongly implies that, had she
succeeded, in 1999, in obtaining regular, paid work as a
performer in Los Angeles area clubs, she would have stayed there
indefinitely in order to pursue her career as a recording artist.
Therefore, the evidence is inconsistent with petitioner’s
position that her home in Irvine was Melissa’s principal place of
abode and that Melissa’s trips to Los Angeles and the Hollywood
premises were “temporary absences * * * due to special
circumstances.”9 Because petitioner has failed to demonstrate
that her home in Irvine constituted Melissa’s principal place of
abode for more than 6 months during 1999, we find that petitioner
9 On brief, petitioner argues that, during 1999, Melissa
retained her key to the front door of petitioner’s home in
Irvine, left her furniture, clothing, and personal records there,
and continued to receive her mail there. Those facts are not
reflected in the record, but, even if they were, they would be
equally consistent with the view that Melissa, having moved to
the Los Angeles area, asked her mother to retain her furniture,
personal effects, and mail until she was “settled” and
financially able to sustain herself in Los Angeles.
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