Saturday, December 1, 2007

Thoughts from L.A.

I decided to be spontaneous, and go out to L.A. for the day yesterday. I should be taking advantage of my flight benefits, right? Right. I had a few hours to kill before meeting up with Mark, so I found my way to a Starbucks to write. I didn't know about what, so I used a technic I learned in high school. Just write. Don't stop writing, even if you stray from the topic, just keep going. So I did.

12:10pm
I woke up this morning in the Bay Area. Hours later (I was going to give you the exact number, but that would involve math), here I am in Hollywood. With roughly $30 in cash, & $20 in credit (again, math), I have spent the last 30 minutes walking down Hollywood Blvd. -in the rain. I had to spend $6 from my precious budget to buy an umbrella. It took me a while to find a store that sold umbrellas. I really don't want to compare L.A. & S.F., but... it took me 30 minutes of walking to find the Starbucks I'm drying off in. There's one on every corner in S.F.! I checked the whether earlier this week, and it said nothing about rain. Smart move on my part to accessorize my outfit with a scarf.

In a short amount of time, I was stopped by 3 different people asking me city things. Guess I look local. I feel very cold, but pretty awesome. A year ago, I wouldn't have been able to fly out to L.A.-by myself, figure out the public transportation here, and get myself to where I need to be. I feel very independant. It's freeing. I do wish the rain would stop. I've never been one to be spontaneous- I've always wanted to be, but it never worked with my schedule. I have this wonderful ability to hop on a plane and just go whenever I please. It's the perfect escape! The Dickies store where I bought my umbrella... I think it was being run by 50-something year old Russians. I just thought that was odd. Anyway. I'm almost done with my venti drink, and have eaten half of my mint milanos. I should head back out there and explore some more.


6:15pm
I was at the corner of Highland & Hollywood, waiting to cross the street; my new umbrella, (which as I write, I now realize was left in Mark's car) was shielding me from the light drizzle. My earbuds were in place, shielding my hearing from...everyone. Yet a man insisted on making a comment to me. "Why miss out on the free shower?" is what I believe he said. Something to that extent. I've come to learn that I'm the type of pretty that any average joe feels they can talk to by making a "witty" remark, and that I'll laugh at it as a form of appreciation. It's not appreciated. It's annoying. And while most girls are too polite not to let a giggle leak from their mouths, I ignore. It maybe harsh, but that's how you correct that kind of behavior. It's like training a new puppy. If I had a spray bottle, I would have sprayed him in the face. What? He enjoys free showers... well he implied it anyway.

The Morning After...
All in all I had a nice time. I walked around Hollywood Blvd, going into gift stores, and looking at the stars on the walkway. I enjoyed being by myself, which makes sense... I am awesome. :). It was nice to just be, to enjoy my surroundings. I also had fun catching up with Mark. It's nice to see friends. We got starbucks, rented Mr. Brooks, made fun of how bad that movie is. It was fun.

I feel like I put myself in a survivor position. I had only so much money, I was taking the last/only flight of the night to S.F., and it was raining all day. So if I missed my flight, or if it was cancelled, I would have been screwed because I wouldn't have the money for a hotel. I was so chilled to the bone from the constant light rain, I was thinking about buying a sweatshirt. I found one for about 25$. That's majority of my budget. Instead I got the umbrella and made four different stops to four different Starbucks, and bought a pair of socks from the Gap.

I plan to take more trips. More trips to L.A., Las Vegas, NYC! I have my passport application too, and once I have my passport, who knows where I'll go. Cabo? Vancouver? I want to go to Ireland! Visit my cousin in Paris! Eat REAL Italian food IN Italy!

I guess... thinking about it all... the one thing I really learned yesterday was that... Mr. Brooks is a horribly painful movie to get through. :)

No comments: