i've arrived!
i drove down alone to Salem, OR where i stayed with my grandparents for a couple nights. then i met with my friend nina in Eugene, OR and drove the rest of the 14 hours with her. we played 20 Questions for about 8 minutes until she informed me that she was sick of it. let's just say that for the remaining 13 hours and 52 minutes the ol' iPod was in heavy use.
once in my new town (Bellflower), i tried to locate a starbucks. there are about as many starbucks in LA as ice cream shops in the arctic. NO drive through coffee stands, NO starbucks inside every grocery store, NO starbucks every 2 blocks. very odd. once i found one, i ordered my usual quad grande americano. i got a blank stare. i tried it in spanish. no change.
"so wait. how many shots do you want?"
four.
"on top of the two that come with it?"
no. four total.
"with water?"
yes. an americano.
"so wait. a venti?"
can i see a manager, please?
i've gone there three times now and they have never once got it right. oh well!
i had no idea where the local grocery store, mall, restaurants, etc. were so i drove around aimlessly trying to explore the city. this was fun until two hours had passed and i realized i had absolutely no idea how to get home. next item of business; maps. i am now the proud owner of every single LA road map Rand-Mcnally has created.
which brings me to the freeways. wow. i got my first taste of traffic yesterday. it was dreamy. i'm fairly certain that the majority of LA drivers are heavy crystal meth users. they are INSANE. i thought i was an agressive driver. i think i've seen one turn signal since my arrival. they just shoot in front of you at their leasure. the speed limits on all the freeways is 65mph, but everyone goes at least 85mph. anything less than that and you'll get the finger as they zoom around you.
the freeway system is so confusing! there's the 405, the 605, the 710, 5, the 91, the 110; just to name a few. and there are no exit numbers at all! the signs just say 'santa monica' or 'hollywood' and you have no idea what exit you're at or where they lead. at this point i rely heavily on google maps when i'm going to a specific place.
apparently, crosswalks aren't fashionable. pedestrians, skateboarders, bikers, etc. will just cross the street in front of you whether you're ready or not. several times i've had to slam on my breaks because a skateboarder or someone on a bike decides now would be a nice time to cross. there are regularly people just wandering across busy streets and they just weave through traffic like it was no big deal. very odd. and potentially deadly for everyone involved.
you know how whenever a cop pulls up alongside you at a red light how he always stays like half a car length behind? down here, everyone does that. if someone pulls up right along side you at a red light, odds are you're about to be involved in a gang shooting. and when coming to a red light, everyone leaves a full car length between them and the car in front of them in case someone runs up to your car and attempts a carjacking. no joke. tomorrow i'll go and see if there are any gunshops on one of my shiny new maps.
it's actually fun driving down the various local streets because of all the diverse shops and restaurants. i have no idea how you can literally have three authentic mexican restaurants on every corner and still stay in business. i'm not talking like Azteca, these are real mexican places with really good food, hiding in some run-down hole in the wall. they're everywhere. another weird thing is that within a three-mile radius of my house there are (no joke) at least 15 doughnut shops. so yesterday, to fit in with the locals, i purchased three dozen maple bars. when in rome...get a cinnamon twist. i guess.
yesterday i drove to USC and UCLA film schools to check out their bulletin boards and try to hop on a film student's set. i met a girl in charge of film stuff at USC and she gave me her email address and told me she'd hook me up with a PA job on one of the various sets. so that's kinda cool. that way i can get some experience, meet some future filmakers, and build up some kind of resume so i can get a better job at a studio.
ok, that's all for now. i'm going to bed, but first i'm going to show the LA Times crossword who's it's daddy.
No comments:
Post a Comment