The Good, The Bad and The REALLY Ugly

California, as Johnny Carson always liked to say, is like a bowl of granola. What’s not fruits and nuts are flakes.

But it really is so much more. And I am finding that it has gotten a bad rap. So far here is what I have experienced….

The Bad can be so consuming if you focus on it. The bad and rude drivers can drive you to drink [and sorry to say does with many people, even WHILE they drive] the traffic is all people talk about. When to drive, on which road and what time is it because you want to stay off certain Hwys and find back roads that everyone else already know about, so they are crowded too.
I have driven in major cities all over the world. New York, Washington D.C.  Rome, London, Mombassa, Caracas, Miami, Detroit, Rio, Seattle, Auckland, Honolulu, but this city is the worst!

AND the awful road conditions.
Pot holes abound! Come on California, you could put thousands of people to work with just fixing the pot holes.

The homeless situation is very sad. Mostly because they are mentally unstable or lost their homes.
But you cannot help them, because they will get aggressive, then you really have a problem.
I have seen this before in many cities, and LA is right up there with all the other major populations around the world [except Mombassa, that is unbelievable]

The taxes are high, but they don’t seem to be enough to pay for anything [like the pot holes]

People here complain about the heat. Really people, I am from D.C.  It cant be worse than 100+ degrees and 100% humidity! Bring it on.

The REALLY Ugly is just that.
I have recently experienced Sunset Blvd at night! My new friend took me to the famous Rainbow Room on a Saturday night. I was totally not prepared for what that was.

First of all 50 some year old women should not be sitting in a bar anyway, but I digress.

I man came up to us who was obviously in his 50’s, over weight with bleached yellow hair [being a hair colorist of course that is the first thing I noticed] wearing some kind of leather out fit, with many pockets on his belt. I asked what as in all of those pockets, and he looked at me like I was from some other planet
[which frankly I might as well have been from since I had no knowledge of this kind of person]
He first pulled out his container of pot. Well ok, this is California, land of the medical marijuana stores.
Then the other containers of what ever drug he thought he might need.
THEN the handcuffs, and whip.
 Huh? I asked if he was a cop[because of the cuffs] or had he rode in on a horse?[the whip] and again I got that look of are you an alien? I told him to move on.
It wasn’t till the next day that my other friend told me he was into S&M and advertising to those that wanted to play, that I understood that look.

I was told that Sunset was a really seedy place and to stay away from it. No worries there. I have 0 interest in drinking or exploring the night life here unless it includes a museum, movie and great food.

Now, to the Good. And there is so much here that is good. The weather so far has been great [i.e: not D.C. in the summer] the city is so interesting with the beautiful architecture, and great restaurants, free museums, and cafe’s, small playhouses where you can see well know actors, and BIG movie theaters. Then you drive a short distance and you have beautiful mountains, beaches, deserts, small towns that are to say the least charming, rugged shorelines, dolphins swimming off the coast [reminding me of Maui] areas of shopping that can feel like you are in Italy, France, Germany, Mexico, Brazil, India, Africa, Britain, and so many other parts of the world. Hollywood and the whole world of the stars, fabulous homes, and great craftsman houses. And more.
You just have to experience it.

And not focus on the other.

On a different track, I have emailed my work bio to 2 top salons. One in Carmel, and the other in San Diego. And have gotten great interest in hiring me. I am making plans to travel to see both.
So more of the state to explore. And more for me to write in this blog.

See, I told you life is good and worth exploring. You just have to get up and do it.
Don’t focus all of your energy on the pain, or betrayal that can drag you down. Stuff happens.

Around the corner is something fabulous!