Exactly the third week in LA now, Day 21 and I've been missing this space a lot! But I'm back and the week has been nothing but a lazy whirlpool. I am actually giving the week less credit than it deserves, since it did start rather dramatically. An uneventful morning encounter with a person who appeared stoned, led me to nine sheriffs and LAPDs in 4 cars.
I don't exactly know what to remember of this encounter apart from how I still managed a funny moment in that time of distress. So the really tall LAPD officer took my ID and said, "How tall are you?" And having Googled it before, I was pretty confident about answering in feet so I said, "Six-five." He stared at me through his sunnies and went, "I'm Six-three." He was at least a head taller than me, so we both burst out laughing. Before you judge me, in Singapore, we go by the centimeters.
The terrible morning left me feeling sick, but the again, it may have been the bagel I had earlier. Anyhow, you know how they say, when your day gets shitty, it can only get better? It did because I met the most awesome African-American bus driver, who called the cops for us and gave us a free ride to Chinatown, which was the plan for the day. She was so sweet I couldn't help but give her a big hug before alighting. Yea, I did believe her when she told me not everyone is a bad person here.
The night before, I was speaking to a friend about catching the Lakers at Staples Center. I didn't know where it was, but whaddya know? The free bus ride on Metro brought me right to it! Wait for me, Kobe Bryant & free tacos! I'm coming!
LA Chinatown's pretty dead, but I found myself feeling so comfortable there. Apart from the obvious fact that it was probably because I was in an Asian town, it just kind of reminded me that I am Chinese and that I should be proud of it. Well, even though a majority of the people in Chinatown are from Hong Kong and Vietnam, I still loved it.
And don't ask the obvious, of course I couldn't miss trying the Vietnamese pho! This wasn't perfect, but it made my day so much better. I love food, I really do. I'm a nibbler, but I digress! Still doesn't change the fact that I love food (:
It gets pretty lonely working here sometimes. Being a writer just casts you in a whole different world apart from the others. Because you need the space to think, the quiet to write. So you kind of just end up alone. But I wasn't going to be sad and wallow in misery just because I had no friends, so I took a trip, on foot, to the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook.
The hike up the hill was not easy at all. Reviews on Yelp.com were right, trust them. These steep, Hobbit-like steps almost killed me.
Not everything you do in life has a reward, but this spectacular view atop the hill of Los Angeles was a big reward for me. You see how small we are now?
Despite having visited UCLA once, I've never walked about Westwood. But friends in town make you travel you know, and it is a good thing. I also did try my first ever ice-cream sandwich. I naively thought I was going to get bread and ice-cream, like from those uncles with ice-cream carts along Orchard Road.
Chocolate chip cookies with strawberry cheesecake flavoured ice-cream sandwiched in between! Who would've thought this would be heaven? Well apparently everyone, except the sua-ku (country bumpkin?) me. I loved this, tremendously. Diddy Riese, you're genius ♕
What is a night out without some beer and a Live NBA match to catch? This small UCLA bar served me well that same night, but I didn't end up the happiest person because the Lakers lost to Phoenix. And the Lakers were leading by 10 points at half-time! This, my folks, is evidence that life is not always fair.
It's February 1st, and I sincerely hope SoCal's going to stay this sunny. I detest gloomy, chilly weather. How was your January 2013? Carpe Diem, always remember. Cheers!
Pug out!
xx.
No comments:
Post a Comment