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MESSAGE FORUM & BULLETIN BOARD soul trip california dreamin' knowledge is power aim for the sky love, man to your health seize the day capoeira my bloodline my buds my baby book life in club med SpRinG BrEaK kali kali kali random events ryanroweinrio Read Guestbook! Sign Guestbook! |
LA LA LA. Interesting city. I took a bus here from San Francisco, and since I've arrived, the weather has been HOT and HAZY. This is wildfire weather. In fact, during the bus ride from SF, there was a portion of grassland north of LA that was charred black for miles and miles as far as the eye could see. But only on the western side of the highway (the road serves as a fireline). Sorry I couldn't take a picture of it, but the quality's not the greatest from inside a bus with snotty windows. I've been staying with my brother Max, his cool boyfriend Greg, and his housemates. Yeah, you read that right. :) That's been an interesting arrangement, but cool nonetheless. They live in the center of Hollywood. That translates to being 3 minutes from Mann's Chinese Theatre and a whole whack of nightclubs and bars geared towards every possible personality. There's a liquor store on every corner, and a television studio or gym on every other one. Or is it the other way around? There's a lot to do here, IF you have a car. I finally managed to get in touch with my friend Melissa. She followed her dreams too and moved out to California on the fly. In fact, she was supposed to come with a friend of hers. That person bailed. I guess the dreampath on which a person walks sometimes has only one lane, huh? She still came, to find something different, something better. Kudos to her. So I arrive here, and I talk to Mel, and lo and behold, she hooks me and her friend Heather up with a temp-job as an audience member on The Rob Nelson Show. It premiered on Fox on September 16th at 2pm. You can see it every day on that network at the same time. I was on camera, cowboy boots and all. You can see our episode in about two weeks or so. Ok. Yeah, I sensed the double-take. Ryan in cowboy boots?? I only did it 'cause I had to dress up for the show and well, you tend to pack light when you backpack, so a shirt and tie weren't at the top of my list. Just to give you an idea, the host has a certain knack for making tacky comments. I have other criticisms about the show, but I guess we should let the viewers decide, right? Oh, and I made US$47, so I should keep my mouth shut... hmmm? :) I mentioned to Heather that this town, Tinseltown, is "star-struck". You can see it in a person's eyes. Hopeful actors and actresses, lining up to be an extra, a stand-in, or an audience member. Just to break into the business. The land of dreams. Take off the sunglasses though, don't dream behind the shaded lens, it might cloud your vision for what it really is. Dream large, dream far, dream rich, and aim high, but above all else, dream SMART. That's what will make you achieve. No? Would love to hear your comments on that. Feel free to e-mail me. Be forewarned, comments WILL be posted (editorial style - e-mail address witheld). LA's sprawling transit system is horrible. In fact, it discourages you from going anywhere because it takes so long. I visited Manhattan Beach, and it took me 3.5 hours to get there and it's only 20 miles away. I suppose I should be getting used to travelling on a bus by now, shouldn't I? The weather wasn't that great there. Upon arrival, I discovered that the beach is situated near the airport and several oil refineries. Who knew? The smog blocked most of the sun, but I still managed to get shots of the sunset. Also found a great little bar on the boardwalk named Beaches. They have a really economical happy hour, US$5.25 for a pitcher of Coors Light and great deals on food. I stuck around there before heading back to LA. I did have the misfortune to meet a gun-happy warmonger. Not terribly typical of most Americans, he believes the U.S. should attack Iraq and who cares what any other nation says. Don't get me started. Santa Monica Beach is nice though. This one was hot and sunny. Went for a jog all the way down from the Santa Monica Pier to the edge of Roy Rogers Beach and back. They even have gay beaches in L.A. (like many other large oceanside cities). I lay down on the sand and was out like a light in 5 minutes. Lots of bikini chicks. Some hot, some not. Didn't get any photos. Sorry boys, but them's the breaks. :) I found myself a nice little penthouse bar on the top floor of the high-rise Huntley Hotel. Happy hour with a view of the ocean. That beats 737 anytime. By the way, Sal, how's that been? Had another mishap too. I went canyon hiking one day and dropped my passport on the trails (don't ask why I brought it with me). It was found, and fortunately, the kind soul who discovered it went the extra mile to get it back in my hands. He was happy to do so too. This guy, David, says that last year on September 11th, his plane was grounded out in Newfoundland and he was stranded for a few days. For him, it was simply a small way to repay the favor done unto him by the Canadians who took care of him when he was stuck. One thing's for sure, I'm glad I'm learning my lessons now about keeping track of my stuff, instead of in a month or so when I'm travelling through these third-world countries. I also managed to get invited to a rave in the desert. It was a full moon party, held by a group called Moontribe. Man, that was wild. All the sand looks like snow in the soft glow of the moonlight. We drove through the hills on a dirt road for about 10-15 minutes before arriving at a spot surrounded by the Sierra Nevada mountains. It was completely isolated, and we were about 300 people listening to deep-house and trance music. Completely non-commercial, no charge to get in. Like the old school underground warehouse parties you hear so much about. The moon was so bright that I had a shadow. Totally surreal. In the morning once the sun had risen, we were still dancing in the sand as the mercury approached 115 degrees Fahrenheit. Now that's hot. I've decided my drink of choice for this trip is the margarita. Damn, they're good... be sure to salt the rim all the way around, and sip it from the glass to get the full effect. My friend Denise took me out to an eclectic and well-known Mexican restaurant named El Coyote where we drank margaritas au volonté. A bunch of her friends showed up and she decided on the fly to throw a party at her place the following weekend. It was a great bash! Met a whole lot of new people, and had the good fortune to have an entertaining conversation with a sweet-as-honey Argentinian woman named Vera (pronounced Vay-rah). Denise, can you please forward on to Kim and Ursula so they can see the photos? hey Jon! Thanks for giving me a ride to the party in your Porsche. that was sweet! All told, I spent almost two weeks in this city, and my next stop is Baja California, Mexico. Will try to bring you pictures of some of the exotic wildlife I am sure to see without getting too close to them (scorpions, spiders, etc)... By the way, have you signed my guestbook yet? Would love to know if you've been visiting my site... also - if you have friends or family in some of the places where I'll be visiting, it would be great to have a bit of inside advice before I arrive... don't be shy to offer any tips on places you think I should visit or info I should be aware of... Mucho amounts of thanks go out to Max & Greg et al. for letting me stay with them in L.A. Denise - it was great to see you again... you throw great parties, and thanks for the ritas at El Coyote :) Matt - thanks for letting me use your PC, you're the bomb! Mark - you're right - it was an awesome milkshake. keep collecting PS2 games! Melissa, thanks for getting me on TV, you're a true wonder! Claire - that was a trippy party... keep it real dude Jon - think I look better in your Porsche than you do. hahaha just fooling bro Vera - thank you ;) See
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