Four L.A. Things Meme

Rodger Jacobs tagged me for an L.A. meme, which I'm jumping on because of my parental-like relationship with the city. First off, every time I leave Los Angeles I bitch about living there. In these other places, I'll see green, green, green, and wonder why I live in a city where trees are anemic, where brown is the general color of everything (even in Santa Monica and all the beach cities, the sand and brush dominate the scene and are...brown). I complain about needing to drive everywhere, about the lousy public transport system (always comparing it to London, San Francisco, and Washington D.C.). I say, bah, we have such soupy culture here. Everything is blended - you don't just buy tacos, you buy tacos fried in peanut oil with a sashimi and hummus side.

In other words, I probably act like most residents of Los Angeles. Thing is, just as we treated our parents, I complain about the restrictions and yet when life gets tough I curl up in the big arms of my city, thankful for my home.

I've spent my entire life in and out of the various cities that make up L.A. I learned to walk on the campus of U.S.C., on Hollywood Boulevard, and at the Griffith Observatory. I first rode a horse on the pony ride in Griffith Park. I learned to love old books in the used book stores on Hollywood Boulevard with my mother. I learned to drive on the Pasadena freeway. I got...drunk...for the first time at age 16 in my aunt's track-home garage in Van Nuys, surrounded by tons of family and lots of Vodka. My mom and I waited until 2:00 in the morning to go home being that I was the less inebriated one. My 21st birthday was spent at the Playboy Club, followed up by a blur of a dinner at the Wherehouse in Marina Del Rey ... all with a cousin [key the innocent whistling]. I knew old Pasadena (with the thrift shops, the trash, and the homeless residents) before it became Old Pasadena. I went to U.S.C. and Loyola Law School. I got married on the campus of U.S.C. My kids were born in Pomona.

I have never lived anywhere outside the perimeter of L.A. She will always be in my heart and never do I feel it more than when I'm returning home, flying through our blue-brown skies, over our brown, speckled hills, with the ocean's ivory line caressing the coast.

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Four Jobs I’ve Had in My Life in L.A.:

Adjunct Professor, San Gabriel Valley
Associate Attorney, West Covina
Computer Room Assistant, Women’s Hospital, East L.A.
Receptionist, Gerontology Dep’t, U.S.C.

Four Movies About L.A. I Could Watch Over and Over:

Blade Runner
Rebel Without a Cause
Pulp Fiction
Traffic

Four Places I’ve Lived All Over L.A. (with food memories from each)

Pasadena, aromatic chicken from Bamboo Yuan (no longer in existence)
Arcadia, cheese bread from Rosemead’s North Woods Inn
Los Angeles, guacamole just like mom made at El Cholo
Los Angeles, the chili size from the Grinder on Fig

Four L.A. Themed TV Shows I Love to Watch:

Curb Your Enthusiasm
The Shield
Six Feet Under
Starsky and Hutch

Four Places I Would Vacation at in L.A.:

Disneyland (outside the technical margins of L.A. but still representative, symbolic)
Santa Monica
Beverly Hills Hotel
Huntington Ritz-Carlton, Pasadena

Four L.A. based Websites I Visit Daily:

ABC Local News (L.A.)
8763 Wonderland
Pasadena Star News
Danny Miller

Four of My Favorite Foods Found in L.A.:

Pastrami sandwich, The Hat, Pasadena
Ribs, Houston’s, Pasadena
Chili Burger, Tommy’s, Los Angeles
Swedish Pancakes, IHOP, Pasadena

Four Places in L.A. I Would Rather Be Right Now:

A used bookstore on Hollywood Boulevard
The Huntington Library with my camera, Pasadena
The Westin Bonaventure on Downtown L.A. with …
Sipping coffee at a café on Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena with a good friend, talking about things only we talk about

Tagged:

Lori (even though she despises Hell-A!)
Danny Miller
Jim over at Meat of the Matter
Anyone else who reads this blog who lives in the L.A. area, go ahead and put your meme in the comments!