I hate Los Angeles. It’s got all the elements of life I loath most: traffic, crowds, and celebrity culture. I hate the urban sprawl, the self-important Porsche driving millionaires, and the too-cool hipsters. And yet for all that disdain, my mind still keeps a faded photograph in an old shoe box under the bed. A snapshot of feeling, a Polaroid of emotion.
It was June, and more than just the weather was hot. I had spent the day driving around downtown L.A. with two annoyingly wide-eyed tourists and the British lady on the GPS. The tourists were blood so I couldn’t ditch them; though without the GPS to give directions, I would have surely killed them. The four of us packed into a mid-sized rental car and left behind the relaxed beaches of Santa Barbara for a day of frustration and sight-seeing in the City of Angels. We cruised Rodeo Drive and the Sunset Strip. To my surprise, they wanted to see the Los Angeles Colosseum, but British accent lady and I were the only ones who knew it was in South-Central between Compton and Inglewood. With the vein in my forehead threatening aneurysm, we broke for lunch. Read the rest of this entry »
It snowed here on Sunday for the first time this year. Even though it didn’t stick, there’s something special to me about staring out the window wrapped up in a blanket and watching the flakes drift by. It invokes that zen-like feeling that the world is moving in slow motion. It makes me excited for the morning after the first big snow storm hits. Everything is quiet. Still. Only the occasional sound of a snow plow on the street blocking your driveway off or your neighbor swearing at his new snow blower that won’t start. Mother nature has stepped in today to remind everyone, “Hey, I’m in control here. Might as well just go back inside, make some hot cocoa, and chill the ‘eff out today ’cause ya’ll ain’t going nowhere.”
“Ben, there comes an age for everyone where you just stop giving a fuck what other people think.” – This guy Jeff I’m related to.
The lack of ‘give a fuck’ is definitely an attribute I admire in people. I myself have traded a certain amount of it in exchange for a sizable amount of ‘hey, let’s all get along.’ While there’s certainly pro’s and con’s to both sides, it’s always easier to look at the pretty grass on the other side. All that being said, many people confuse ‘not giving a fuck’ with boastfulness and braggadocio. The truly wise are self confident and satisfied with themselves and their decisions while at the same time mindful that their answers and decisions aren’t necessarily the only ones and may in fact be flat out wrong.
So thanks Jeff. I blame you for the 5 hours of existential introspection that made up my drive home from Des Moines.
