Ok, so I finally make it to LA after a lovely 2 day waltz with Hurricane Jeanne in Miami. While it was nice to see some of our former dock buddies at Dinner Key, I was glad to finally be able to leave. I was ready to attend to the matter at hand in LA, getting La Dolce Vita ready for sale. Over the past few days, I’ve worked to get LDV back to ship shape, while finding time to walk my nephew and niece to school, and get reaquainted with them.
I’ve also had some time to assess how I’m feeling about being back in LA 7 months after selling the house, cars, and other worldly possessions and leaving it to embark on our Andiamo adventure. I find that I feel like I’ve been away something more like 10 years rather than 7 months. I’ve noticed that I’ve been getting some tingling sensations about my relationship with LA, and here’s what I’ve come up with:
Things I miss most about LA:
1. Indie 103.1 (it’s official, this is the GREATEST RADIO STATION ON EARTH, and they now broadcast on the net, woo-hoo!)
2. Todai (Hey, the best all you can eat sushi, and much more)
3. Jamba Juice (used to be my daily lunch fix)
4. Marina del Rey and the local sailing conditions (still the most consistent I’ve seen anywhere)
5. People who are desperately caught up or trying to break into the entertainment biz (great people-watching entertainment)
6. Roman and Chiara, my niece and nephew (growing up fast!)
7. Bad local tv news (extremely hilarious, never disappoints!)
8. Program interruptions for live car chases (though I don’t think they do it as much as they used to)
9. Good friends (The few we have made while living here).
10. Kooky famous people encounters, (always interesting, never dull).
11. The local real estate market (Tremendously lucrative. But hey, it’s gotta end sometime).
12. The wide selection of cuisine, (still the best I’ve seen anywhere).
13. Izzy’s Deli in Santa Monica
14. The diverse and groundbreaking music scene.
15. Our house in Playa Del Rey.
16. Driving up PCH (on a nice afternoon with the top down, sweet!).
17. The wonderful mild, dry climate!
18. The amazing cultural diversity of the place.
And last, but certainly not least, In N’Out Burger, the greatest fast-food burger to ever walk the earth.
Things I don’t miss about LA:
1. The smog (I think it’s gotten worse since we left!)
2. Self-centered people (Hey, what can you do for ME?).
3. The traffic (I think that’s gotten worse too!)
4. The politics (although Florida, namely Miami politics really take 1st prize. The stuff they get away with there is simply unbelievable.)
5. The lame attitude of most SoCal sailors. (would it kill ya to take your boat out once in awhile?)
6. The out of control consumerism/materialism machine that has taken over every aspect of LA living (I suspect that this problem is rapidly becoming a nationwide one).
7. The endless strip malls and shopping centers.
8. The insane homeless problem (it’s taken over Santa Monica and Venice) .
9. Gang-bangers.
10. Already bad traffic being constantly worsened because of movie shoots that are done all around town.
11. Pain-in-the-ass Lexus, Beemer and other pricey car drivers (and the inexplicable natural law that states that the more expensive a car you drive, the more belligerent and impatient you are to be with it on the road).
12. The impatience of most LA people (hey, I know I used to be one of them!)
13. The overall aroma of envy, greed and arrogance that permeates this town.
14. Working hard the way we did for most of the time we lived here (even though it paid off).
15. The lack of smiling, generally happy people. (It didn’t take long for me to realize that most of the locals on Isla Mujeres were always walking around with a smile or a grin on their faces, even when walking alone. Most of these people don’t make more than ten bucks for a very long workday, yet they are generally happy. Yesterday while having my Jamba Juice, I took a rather long time observing people walking down a major street by Marina Del Rey. Interestingly enough, I only saw one person smiling out of more than a hundred who walked by. Strange, huh?)
17. Fry’s Electronics (by far the most evil, and horribly managed retail establishments on the planet. As much as I hated going there, I had no choice but to do so many times when I was in the computer business. They were the only stores who had the stuff I needed. Alas, the scars will heal over time.)
After writing this, I now find myself itching even more to get back to Mahi and the catz on Andiamo. I simply can’t wait, that’s “home” to me now.
