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how’s LA

Los Angeles Palm Tree
I get asked quite often from my friends and family who don’t live in Los Angeles how I like it. I’ll hear one of the following or more:

  • How’s LA?
  • How do you like living there?
  • What’s it like there?
  • What do you think of LA?
  • Do you really enjoy living there?

Simply giving my broad opinions about this place doesn’t quite do it justice for how I feel. It’s hard to explain such a huge place in just a few sentences. And having lived here for over three years now, I think I have a much better opinion to give about what it’s like to live here.

So let’s put these questions to rest. Here are my Woos and Boos about the largest city on the left coast.

  • woo – It’s a huge metropolitan city. You can find anything and everything you can find anywhere else. There’s always something to go do or see or experience.
  • boo – It’s a huge metropolitan city. It’s too populated and has no stop in sight. There’s TOO much to do and see, so you can get lost in the mix.
  • woo – Want to get away? LA is neighbored by San Diego, Santa Barbara, Palm Springs, Las Vegas and San Francisco.
  • boo – Trying to get away is a nightmare, especially on holidays. Traffic is as bad as you hear about. Driving down the 405 during peak hours is a complete nightmare most of the time. There are few shortcuts to travel worth the time it takes to drive them. You either go on the freeway or just stay home.
  • woo – Has some limited but beautiful architecture. You can find a diamond in the rough by driving down just about any street in LA.
  • booReal estate prices are a complete joke. They might not be as high as NYC, but they’re certainly higher than most of the country. To purchase a house, you need to be in the very high middle class or just plain rich.
  • woo – There are some amazing, creative and talented people who live here. It’s a melting pot of the states, bringing together people from all over the country and world.
  • boo – Superficiality rules. So many people are here just for the industry, trying to make it and become the next “it”. It can be difficult to make meaningful relationships with anyone.
  • woo – You’re miles away from almost all terrains: sun-kissed beaches, snow-capped mountain ranges, hot and desolate deserts, thick and thin forests.
  • boo – So many of these terrains are scarred with human interaction or pollution. Smog is a huge problem and doesn’t seem to be getting any better. The heat of summer can last 6-8 months out of the year.
  • wooHollywood. Celebrities. World famous clubs.
  • booHollywood. Celebrities. World famous clubs. They’re overrated.

This city is a mixed bag. But right now, it’s MY mixed bag.

as the world turns

I have no news. Nothing new to say. No original thoughts. I could sit here and type a bunch of dribble for you to read, but I think just by reading it, I will have made you dumber. In fact, I could sit here and talk about the break-up of Brad and Jen, or as I like to call them, Bradifer. Bradifer are a married couple, been together for many years, and now are separated, not divorced. But ya know what? Who gives a crap. Why is the media so freakin’ obsessed over their marriage? I’ve read crap like “If they can’t make it, everyone else is doomed”. Leave ’em alone!

Wanna know more important news?

The tsunami death toll has reached 162,000 people already and is expected to go even higher. Have you donated any money to the relief effort? That’s much more news worthy than a private relationship.

You hear about the army spc. who was court martialed and sentenced to 10 years in prison? It’s sickening that he’d done it, and it’s even more sickening that he was ordered to do it. Was this a fair trial? Yup. He was ordered by his superiors, but he knew that he was going against Geneva Convention yet he didn’t stick up for himself. He wasn’t drunk, he wasn’t under any false state of mind, he was just following orders. This guy has no regrets, he took his orders and did what he was told. Just goes to show you how screwed up the military can be. I don’t feel sorry for him, I mean he doesn’t feel sorry for himself.

And have you read that the US might be attacking Iran? Yup, some journalist reported that the administration has been conducting secret reconnaissance missions in Iran in preparation for a possible strike. A lot of what the journalist said was speculation, and this sounds very familiar to me. I wasn’t very happy to know that we attacked Iraq a couple of year ago, so we most certainly better not be doing the same crap twice.

So now that you realize the world is still turning and that more important issues need to be dealt with, so forget about the celebrity relationships. Let them do what they’re gonna do, give them some peace.

no job yet

I still don’t have a job. I am (not technically) unemployed. Since leaving college 7 months ago, I have not been able to find a full-time job. I have applied to many places but no shows yet.

Have you heard of the show “The Simple Life”? Not too many reality shows can catch my attention or peak my interest. However, hearing about this sex video scandal and knowing her fortune, something about Paris Hilton but the whole filthy rich in the spotlight sex scandal hot child thing caught my attention. And there’s Nicole Richie, the drunken wild Lionel Richie child who can’t stay away from drugs. By the way, is she white? How? Anywho, it’s interesting to watch these pre-celebrities stumble and fall in the midst of daily tasks for the hicks of Arkansas. And the fact that Paris didn’t know what Wal-mart was, hilarious! Yeah, I’m serious, she thought they sold walls!

Now, for those people who are video game fans, I have received a certain video from two friends already since two weeks ago. If you thought you were good at the Nintendo games, you might be wrong. It was footage of someone defeating Super Mario Bros. 3 in only 11 minutes. Coming up in a video game household, all I can say is amazing.

I’m sure by now just about everyone who reads this website semi-often has heard of or seen the star wars kid in action. If not, go here to see a really funny video that humiliates a kid. Well, I’m sure you have never seen this website, but this already infamous video has cloned… it has cloned into not 10, not 20 but 106 videos and counting. How do I know this? I visited www.jedimaster.net and saw all assortments of videos. I don’t mean to promote this video as funny as it is. Be sure to check out the other links on the page including the CBS video that explains the tales of what has happened to this kid. It’s pretty sad.

tidbits

As I drive to work, I usually have the radio or CD player going. I’m sure this is the standard for 95% of drivers on the road. Sometimes I suffer through or enjoy the DJs on 104 KRBE or Mix 96.5 here in Houston. They can be stupid sometimes, and there are interesting topics that I listen to at others.

Anywho, this morning I drive to work and listen to the station. This lady who called in one of these stations was reporting that pop star Mandy Moore is in town this week. She was spotted at the Galleria by a shopper who called in the radio station to report her sighting. She even knew exactly which drink Mandy ordered from Starbucks. Standard stuff. I find it interesting, however, that she was rewarded for her sighting by getting a free pre-pass to a movie this weekend.

*shakes head*

Our society is so obsessed with superstardom. I’m not denying that I’ve had starry eyes at one time or another. I’d probably be just as interested in what Mandy did at the Galleria as the next person just because she’s a public figure who many people recognize. I don’t know whether I should consider it sad for someone to be rewarded for telling her story of seeing Mandy or not. It’s nice to know that if I see Michael Jackson at the mall and I call the radio stations in good time they might reward me for being lucky. Bless this land of the free.

When I’m rich and famous and someone sees me in the mall or any public place, I can just laugh at myself because someone probably won some tickets for seeing me. Yeesh!

Another little story I just heard was on November 24th, most Americans will be able to transfer their home phone number to their cell phone! I don’t have a home phone number (well, technically I guess I do but I’m still looking for a home). It would be interesting if I had this option because I might consider it. My cell phone is my lifeline right now. If I didn’t have it, I don’t think anyone could keep in touch with me very well and vice versa. When I finally have a home in the near future, there’s going to be a huge consideration that I’ll have to take. Should I buy a landline?

I don’t think I know anyone who doesn’t have a landline but I’m probably one of the few people that most of my friends know who doesn’t have a home phone landline to call me. The main reason I’d possibly get the landline with my home is because this digital wireless cellular telephone that I own completely depends on satellite dishes, transmitters and receivers. If these transmitters and receivers fail, I’m pretty much screwed trying to call people unless I have a landline. The landline is analog and doesn’t rely on the power grid like the digital phones do. Remember 9-11? NYC’s cellular community was practically crippled for days because the main transmitter/receiver was on top of the WTC tower.

I figure this is useful information for many people to know.

California

We spent a day at the San Diego Zoo yesterday before we drove up to LA. It certainly took about a full 6-7 hours of seeing animals. We probably could have spent more but our feet and bodies were tired! Three thumbs up for this zoo!

After we drove up to LA, we first stopped in Hollywood (again for me). What happens again? I ran into the ESPY award rehearsal. We stood outside for a few hours watching celebs go back into their limos and cars. Not as big as the Oscars however. This event was an ABC/ESPN event so most of the stars were ABC celebs. The biggest people we saw were Andy Dick, Bonnie Hunt, David Allen Grier, Teri Polo (Meet the Parents), and Ernie Hudson (Winston from Ghostbusters). There were lots of other people, half of whom I didn’t know, but I have pictures of most of them. If we had waited long enough or gone back tonight, we could have seen big names like Jim Belushi and other sports stars. I also heard that Mark Paul Gossalar (Zack Morris from Saved by the Bell) was there but didn’t see him!

I have a little picture gallery I made up to post online but can’t get Internet access from Jonathan’s laptop. So if I can at some point, I’ll be sure to upload some pics.

Hollywood Fever

I missed my initial flight to fly into LAX. Typical. So, after waiting for a few hours, reparking my car, and rearriving at the airport, I waited on standby for the next flight . . . the last flight of the night. Obviously, I didn’t get on that flight either. In a brush of miracles, they found an extra seat flying into Burbank. So I made it that night!

My first brush of fame was with the girl who won the Colorado tryout for American Idol. She was sitting across the plane from me and I mostly listened to the person next to me chat with her.

So I guess the biggest thing to happen up to now was I found the Oscar after parties where all the celebs partied. So I parked my car and walked over to check out celebs. See, I had been driving in Hollywood that evening trying to find the sign and couldn’t find it for the life of me. I didn’t want it to be an unproductive drive so I stuck around for a long while, ate, and then accidentally found the parties. Dumb luck.

So who did I see? I’ll try to remember…

Jessica Alba
Richard Gere
Cameron Diaz
Jennifer Lopez
Ben Affleck
Chris Cooper
John C. Reilly
Jennifer Love Hewitt
Brendan Fraser
Adrian Brody
Sean Astin
Queen Latifah
Ray Liotta
Michael Caine
Lucy Liu
Susan Surandan
Bono
Topher Grace
Doris Roberts
Roger Ebert
Jon Voight
Naomi Campbell
Carey Lowell
Diane Lane (distantly
Josh Brolin (distantly)
Peter O’Toole
Natalie Portman (how could I forget her!)
Marcia Gay Harden
Geena Davis
Rob Marshall
Martin Landau
Ted Danson
Mary Steenburgen
Tim Robbins
Susan Surandon
I also saw many producers and film production crew who won Oscars, though I don’t know their names.

And Jen Love acknowledged me! She was walking out of the InStyle party and I was across the street when I saw her walk out. She walked down the street to get find her ride when I yelled across “Hey Jennifer”, she then looked over and I yelled “I’m from Texas” with my thumb up and a big smile. She smiled back and gave me the Hook’em Horns sign when I mimicked it back to her. That ruled! (See above for link in Dallas Morning News, I made the paper!!)