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Being Accused of Going Grandpa

6 Mar

Free wireless internet, average coffee, healthy eats (yogurt, fruit, boba, bran muffin), and local artist work are offered at this corner coffee house – topped off with your token tattooed waitstaff.

I am at Sabor Y Culture off Hollywood Boulevard and doing my duty as a friend and wife (read: I’m not doing this for my benefit). Tonight is Friday night, and though the place is often host to several local artist community gatherings, tonight the gamers rule. I’m not taking Wii. Professors and intellectuals (there are exceptions) surround me at each table. They are playing board games. I don’t see any fantasy games here but rather Art Moderna, Cash 101 and Settlers of Catan. Friday night is on and it’s buzzing with the over 30 crowd.

Two hours later and twice as many latte’s, I am peeking at the other tables and observing the fun. Students have settled in to study. So many people are chattering that it turns to a crowd murmur and evokes a zen atmosphere. No one to hit on you here (what a relief!). These gamers, students and artists are serious and concentrate heavily on what is in front of them.

In the alleyway, I spot a surprise (LA is full of these) and take a picture. Although it’s a little creepy, and certainly more so since it’s dark and we’re in an ALLEY, it’s an interesting piece of work.

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Apartment Hunting

4 Mar

My sister is looking for an apartment. Not hard to do in and of itself, but when your fighting for a decent priced apartment in a good area, and are most likely up against the other 2,000 people who just relocated to L.A., it’s gonna be dog eat dog. Relentless, agressive behavior counts. So, take a look at the newspapers, craigslist, get the password from a friend for http://www.westsiderentals.com, and call around. Expect not to hear anything for a few weeks. Landlords are tough to get a hold of, don’t even bother to leave a message – they won’t call you, they don’t have to. They’ll be another one of you the next day. I found that the best way to find your new home is to make the drive and circle your coveted neighborhood like a stalker. By far, this is the best technique to get results. Otherwise, bunk with a friend for six months and pretend your an actor. Unless you are, then get used to surfing couches; you’ll be too broke to afford anything.

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Maintenance

2 Mar

What I didn’t learn quickly enough was to take side streets in LA. Driving in LA is slow death – for you and your car. A drive only 5 miles away can take over an hour, bumper to bumper, with some douchbag stopping to park, take a left turn, or simply trying to squeeze himself in ahead of you. For all the traffic congestion, no one in the government decided that left turn signals were a good idea. FYI – you run the red light. This is so popular, police don’t usually hand out tickets for this traffic violation.

So you take side streets as much as possible. This saves loads of time and keeps your mental health intact.

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Interpreting the Parking Lot

1 Mar

I will get to getting down in L.A. soon, but first I want to share some generalizations offered from Noah Hawley – “Los Angeles has two sides: East and West. The West side runs from the Pacific Ocean to La Brea Boulevard. It includes neighborhoods such as Santa Monica, Bel Air, and Beverly Hills. The East Side stretches from La Brea to Downtown. It’s made up of Hollywood, Los Feliz, and Silver Lake. The two sides couldn’t be more different. The West Side skews older and smells like money. The East Side is younger and smells of unwashed jeans. People from the East Side won’t date people from the West Side. (Who wants to make the drive?)” – and that, in it’s entirety makes up the geographical basics of Hollywood. Be warned, you will discover that a trip to the grocery store is not an easy task. Driving time and parking will determine what you do. L.A. is a car culture, with the traffic jams and road rage to prove it.

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