The transition from going on a cool trip to returning to regular life is always a little weird, but this time it felt even more surreal. Two nights ago, I was on a kind of photographic celebrity safari. Tonight, I'm cleaning goop out of my pug's eye.
So yeah. Goodbye, California dreamin'. Hello, eye boogs.
My feelings about California after my first trip are almost entirely positive, I'm happy to say. I met many very cool people, I saw lots of swell sights, and I think I made some promising professional connections.
I spent a day in San Diego with my old friend (and best man at my wedding) Joe, who took me to see a very topical play called The Four of Us. I've been dealing with the unexpected and occasionally shitty way that finding some measure of new success as a writer can affect old friendships, so I was really happy that he found this play and thought of me. Our friendship is solid, largely because for someone who never ever writes a damned thing, Joe's an excellent writer. If that makes any sense.
And San Diego? Almost weirdly beautiful, even with the crazy tall eucalyptus tree in Balboa Park (next to the Museum of Man) that I was convinced was waiting to kill me. Seriously. If you're from San Diego, I'll bet you know the one I'm talking about, in front of the Old Globe. Lit up at night, that thing is Treezilla. I suspect it pulled itself up from the ground and is making it's way to Dallas as we speak. Man oh man oh man. It seriously gave me the willies, I can't explain why. Evil evil tree.
The one thing I wanted to mention about Los Angeles is this: people there will give you a ride at the drop of a hat. My first night there, at the media thing (which I have been told is Not To Be Blogged, so just imagine my fabulous fun), a nice girl with a very cool VW Bug that runs on biodiesel (the blend of the evening? walnut oil!) offered and gave me a ride to my hotel after talking to me for no joke, like ten seconds. Then on Monday, I asked a waiter about getting on the right bus to get to my photo shoot, and he ended up giving me a lift on his way home. And THEN, after the shoot, a remarkable woman who is one of the directors of an amazing organization called Stop Prison Rape gave me a ride. Not once did I ask or even do that shifty "Oh, if ONLY I had a ride home!" thing, either. It was so nice that it was almost creepy, although that probably just means I'm a selfish ass. At least I'm self-aware.
So, Angelinos? You are very very cool, unless you drive a taxi. In which case, you are a vampire. Seventy dollars to get from LAX to Hollywood? Thanks for the lift, Nosferatu.
15 comments:
Californians are weird like that, Rob. I was out in Monterey last Fall and I got a ride from a Mechanic I spoke to at a hotel I wasn't even staying at. I had stopped in to ask for directions and, rather than waste the time it would have taken to explain it, he gave me a ride. It's strange to me, especially since most people here in Ohio tend to look at you with an evil wary eye. And that's if you're family!
Robin Williams is an all time favorite of mine ! cool ... :)
I am a bit surprised to learn that it means a lot to me that you thought well of my hometown, Rob. I've totally given people rides at the drop of a hat, or walked them to their destination, etc. Never realized it was an LA thing. So much for my feelings of superior benevolence? But yay, my hometown! Way to go with being friendly to visitors!
OK, Rob, so fess up - did you say "Nanu, nanu?"
That's why you always gotta take the SuperShuttle to and from the airport in LA! Much cheaper and worth the price for the extra stops it makes to drop other guests off.
the book party was not to be blogged????
sadness.
i wanted a full report because it sounded so mad cool.
sigh. oh well.
Okay, I just read on People.com that Chad Lowe hosted the book party in Culver City because he played Kerry on stage in 2003. Is that the party?
the book party was not to be blogged????
No, the media party I attended on Friday.
aah -- sorry. my misread.
even though there aren't a lot of pictures of YOU, I think i can hear you smiling in the set of shots.
glad you got to go.
The reason folks in LA will give anyone a ride anywhere? Peopl in Los Angeles never walk anywhere. The mere idea of walking more than a block makes them itchy. To them, offering a ride to a pedestrian is like offering water to a man dying of thirst. It's a life-saving measure.
Tell me you went to Grauman's. Please. :) (Too bad this isn't going on at the moment, though, I'm sure you would have gotten a huge kick out of my geeky friends' spectacle: http://www.liningup.net)
I am from San Diego, and I know the tree. That thing is seriously frightening. You are not alone.
The photos you took are amazing, though. I might be interested in picking up a nice print of one. I'll have to go hunt around now to see if you're offering that since my memory escapes me, and if not then you should.
I am glad that you enjoyed our lovely city! Balboa Park is one of the finest spots. We don't call it America's Finest City for nothin'.
Very cool, Rob! And great pictures. I'm impressed.
I live in San Diego, and have been to L.A. several times, but I have never actually managed to see the Hollywood sign. It's bizarre. The closest I came was at the H&H mall on Hollywood Boulevard a few weeks ago. A little brochure told me it was totally visible, but when I was standing on the walkway with the little quarter telescopes, peering into the darkness, I concluded that it's not actually that amazing a viewpoint.
When you mentioned a weird-ass tree in Balboa Park, I assumed you were talking about the Moreton Bay fig by the Natural History Museum. It has its own web page. It's in the California Registry of Big Trees! What else could you want?
That other one is pretty creepy, though.
Hey, it looks like we almost crossed paths that weekend. Dangit, another chance to meet you in person gone...
I'm glad LA didn't scare you. Yes, it sucks to take a cab anywhere, we just don't do that here. If I'd known you where you were here I would have offered you a ride! I've lived in LA my whole life (apart from college) and wouldn't live anywhere else. We really are nice people.
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