Couldn't wait to get out of LA- and now... (live in, food)

[RiWrites]

Originally Posted by SurekRZA

^^Wow RiWrites that was some time ago.

what makes you wanna come back? have you visited L.A. since? Its a different place now thats for sure.

Yeah that was a lifetime ago. It is hard to put into words like I have unfinished business there. I never wanted to be a star just a working actress. I haven't been back since I moved. I imagine it is really different now. It is more expensive than I when I was there. That is why I am really having to think it over if I want to deal with the expense. Yes, LA has a lot to offer but what good is it if you have to work two or three jobs just to afford food and a place to live that isn't a hellhole.

[Detective Lopez]

at 20 I went away to UC Berkeley to study; then lived in S.F. for a couple of years after; At 26 I moved to NYC to experience New York; at 30 I moved to South Carolina for graduate school; At 34 I moved to Miami to experience it and get married. I came home for a little while between each moveand each time I moved, I missed Los Angeles incredibly - and now I'm back (to stay forever) w/ my wife and 8 month old son and couldn't be happier. There's no place like Los Angeles.... maybe just maybe Rio De Janeiro if you're Brazilian

[ff52172]

I was 19 years old. It was the fall of '91. I was living on Westwood Blvd in the Palms area of LA, just north of Venice Blvd. I had completely blown the engine out of my car - and you WILL do this in LA with all the miles you WILL put on the back of a vehicle. So my car is in the shop ALL week getting a new engine put in. Mind you, I am making about $7.50 an hour at the time and the bill was well over a grand. So you can say it was a bit of setback...I mean nobody, NOBODY can do Auto-debt-peonage to its citizenry like LA can!! So, the mechanic - Parades on Overland a couple blocks south of Palms Blvd - opens at 7am but sometimes Ray the owner would be there a few minutes early so I head out the door to pick up my (new??) car about 6:45am. It was quiet out, except for the birds, who were singing and chirping their asses off. The trees and the bushes smelled GOOD - they smelled like Los Angeles. They smelled every bit as good as the women in this town look to a 19-year-old kid. It's Friday. The start of the weekend is only 9 or 10 hours away. I am about to get my car back. It's a balmy 69 degrees. The sun has just come up. Man, let me tell you I was feeling FINE!! So I am walking down Charnock toward Overland. I am one block away, when in the distance I see a man turn the corner and begin walking down Charnock right toward me. He is a block away. He was a tall man. He was a distinct looking man. Even this I could tell from just one block away. It was a hell of an exciting, glorious morning to be alive in Los Angeles, let me tell you, even before this man turned the corner. I start looking around the street. There is NOBODY on the street - it is too early. Not even any cars. Just me and the birds and the scent of the flora mixed with breeze and this man walking toward me. His name was Magic Johnson. Now, I knew what *I* was doing on foot at this hour in this neighboorhood. After 17 1/2 years, I can still only speculate about what *he* was doing on foot at that hour in my neighborhood. I am rapidly closing the distance wondering how the f*** my morning could get any more surreal. I am not a Laker fan, but Magic is much bigger than that, or was at the time at any rate. This was only a couple of weeks or so before he would announce that he had HIV, and he was still playing/coaching or whatever the deal was before he officially retired due to his illness. Magic Johnson is REALLY tall (I am 5'10") - a good foot taller than me. So as I pass by I can remember thinking "So, what the f*** kind of words does THIS occasion call for?" and as I look up at him I simply managed to say "Yo what's happening, Magic???" and he just smiled at me and said to me "Ahh man, I'm doing alright!!" and we both just keep on walking, like it was the most natural thing on the Earth for us to be having this exchange at this hour in this setting.

Unreal. God, I love Los Angeles!! These sort of things - and I have had LOTS of episodes like this - they DON'T - they CAN'T - happen anywhere else. I'm not talking celebrity sightings per se, I am more talking about things that for a billion reasons WILL NOT EVER happen ANYWHERE ELSE outside of Los Angeles. This place is RIDICULOUSLY unique as a city. You spend enough time in this town and that uniqueness will get down into your bone marrow. You will not truly appreciate this fact until you leave and start climbing the cage going NUTS to come back. The only place that can compare in America would be the former New Orleans, totally unique as a city but for very different reasons. That's it.

[RiWrites]

It is a unique city. When I lived there I was coming out of a bookstore at Century City mall and ran right into Robert Urich. He was very tall because all I saw was chest.

I used to walk all over LA after my car quit working. I saw Michael Caine and his wife going to a restaurant in Westwood. I was on my way to see a movie at a theater in Westwood. Imagine everything you miss when you are behind the wheel of a car.

[Userdavey]

OK, here is my tiny story. I was 12. It was 1981. I was in LA vacationing from Albuquerque with my brother who was 25 at the time, his wife and 3 year old daughter. We stayed at the KOA in the San Fernando Valley. I am in the showers at the KOA, and I get out and I see a movie star standing there. Not really a movie STAR, but a guy whom I had just seen in a movie. Remember Airport '77? When the plane had to be floated to the surface of the ocean with ballons? Well, there was a man of about 50 or 60 in the movie who drowned trying to swim out of the plane and he floated in front of the plane's window, dead. His wife screamed, etc. Well, I walked out of the shower at that KOA and he was there, at the sink, combing his hair. His grandson was there too. His grandson said "Grandpa, was the water in Airport '77 cold?" I stared at the man and he smiled at me and I was blown away. The rest of the trip just got better and better.

[Count David]

Originally Posted by Userdavey

And the people. I find LA people to be so genuine. I remember the Von's checkout girls. Talk about entertaining. I'd be standing in line and these Mexican girls would be just talking trash, laughing, planning parties, cutting the bagboys down, filing their nails, gossiping, shooting looks everywhere. They were hot stuff. It was so priceless. Here in Colo. Spgs, that don't happen. The only thing you get is some pathetic inbred looking miserable organism who won't make eye contact with you. WTF???

I also remember stopping in a gas station somewhere on Ventura. It was one of those tiny, packed in little Chevrons on the south side of the road. I went in to get cokes and this guy came in. He looked like a bigshot agent or producer or something. But as he came in I looked him in the eye and he looked at me like he was the hottest, meanest, most important guy in the world and I have to admit you will never ever see anybody like him in Colorado. Not even close. I was somehow enchanted by his charisma and the look of disgust on his face. I dunno. He had power. I saw Hollywood in his eyes. This sounds crazy, but he looked at me like he either wanted me to pitch him a new sitcom or get out of his way. Like he was a businessman and he was serious. It was cool.

It's funny that you don't find those girls at Vons to be normal. I grew up in CA, live in CO (Denver metro) now, and had never thought about what you said above until now. That's what's missing here.

Yeah, those hotshot guys live in those hills to the south of Ventura Blvd. Encino, Bel Air, Beverly Glen, etc. Trust me, they are legit, expect them to not ever give you the time of day, and if you talk to them, they might respond like they didn't hear or listen to a word you said, then they will hurry you off.

Happy travels!

[Userdavey]

Originally Posted by David Aguilar

It's funny that you don't find those girls at Vons to be normal. I grew up in CA, live in CO (Denver metro) now, and had never thought about what you said above until now. That's what's missing here.

(My mother in law lives right by Aurora Reservoir.)

Listen if you think Aurora lacks spice, try the Springs. People here are so down all the time. I swear! Checking out groceries is painful. Nobody jokes or has any wit! It's always like some pale, depressing life form who says "Did you find everything, sir?" I always say "No! Did you?" And they wipe their drool and say "Huh??"
I went to that Von's like five times just to see these chicks! I swear you could make a sitcom out of it!

[Count David]

Originally Posted by Userdavey

(My mother in law lives right by Aurora Reservoir.)

Listen if you think Aurora lacks spice, try the Springs. People here are so down all the time. I swear! Checking out groceries is painful. Nobody jokes or has any wit! It's always like some pale, depressing life form who says "Did you find everything, sir?" I always say "No! Did you?" And they wipe their drool and say "Huh??"
I went to that Von's like five times just to see these chicks! I swear you could make a sitcom out of it!

I used to live right by Cherry Creek Reservoir, but now I'm two exits north.

No, I actually like Aurora, a lot. But, the emptiness in customer service folks is alive and well here too. I despise Colorado Springs, and I know exactly what you are talking about, it's more like a quiet judgmentalness there.

[vegaspilgrim]

Which Von's did you go to?

[POhdNcrzy]

ff52172 said: "I was 19 years old. It was the fall of '91...Mind you, I am making about $7.50 an hour at the time..."

Yup and now that job pays $9.00/ hr. but the cost of living has easily doubled and more...which explains why the American economy has fallen completely apart....