A very LA day
Nov. 28th, 2009 09:34 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snousleMy experience of LA is a little odd since I've only ever been here on Thanksgiving weekend. At which time the city operates at just about the right speed for this country boy, freshly fallen from the hay wagon. LOL.
Ted has been driving us around in his huge Lincoln, which was making a terrible sound. I was almost disappointed when we examined the belts and determined that the sound could be stopped immediately by turning off the air conditioner. It was just SO ghetto.
At the Eagle, which was pleasantly busy but not too much so, being fresh meat apparently turned me into a freak magnet. One guy, kinda drunk, sent a barstool flying off a small dropoff, which prompted Ted to suggest that the barstool be "cut off". He chatted with us for a few moments, discussing the hazard of the ledge, and I suggested it be painted, perhaps with yellow safety stripes. Or, I added, "How about blue, like a zone for the handicapped?" He didn't think this was funny at ALL, and glared at me for a good three beats before stomping drunkenly off. Heh.
Another guy was weirdly touchy, too. He was kind of a raconteur, and stood close to us as he spoke at great length without interruption. At least he wasn't boring, he had lots of good stories, but they did go on for a while. Then he said "Oh I should go in and leave you guys alone". When I cheerfully replied "OK!" he got all pissy about that, saying we were supposed to encourage him to stay. Yeah, right! He informed us that pretty soon, if we wanted to listen to him, we'd have to pay $65 for a ticket. I certainly hope he finds success as an entertainer. Soon.
For dinner, we went to the LA equivalent of Don Ramon - a fine-dining mexican spot not too far from the Eagle with lots of gay men. Its chief attraction was a parking lot - apparently this isn't the greatest neighborhood for walking around at night. I have to say, their chile colorado was nowhere near the version at DR. But it wasn't too expensive. What was most interesting was listening to a real-life Valley Girl in the neighboring booth - I didn't know anyone actually spoke like that, at least outside of comedy films. She went on for, like, THIRTY MINUTES without taking, like, a SINGLE BREATH. Thank God the restaurant was really loud, overwhelming even her squeaky voice. Because if it weren't, the experience would have been completely intolerable. I felt so sorry for her boyfriend.
Not very remarkable experiences but they struck me as very different from anything that might happen in SF. LA kind of scares me, but at the same time I do get the "groove" of the place and it's certainly got its own appeal.
No luck on trolling Silverdaddies but who knows, there are still a few hours to go... I am very unsure about how to negotiate hook-ups on short notice without jerking people around, given that one has to pursue multiple leads to get anywhere, and people aren't necessarily sitting on top of their email. Not that this particular trip was so complicated in that regard, as there was only one guy in the area whose profile really got my juices flowing. Woof! Though he sincerely wished we could get together, it wasn't possible. Guess I really ought to plan ahead a little.
Ted has been driving us around in his huge Lincoln, which was making a terrible sound. I was almost disappointed when we examined the belts and determined that the sound could be stopped immediately by turning off the air conditioner. It was just SO ghetto.
At the Eagle, which was pleasantly busy but not too much so, being fresh meat apparently turned me into a freak magnet. One guy, kinda drunk, sent a barstool flying off a small dropoff, which prompted Ted to suggest that the barstool be "cut off". He chatted with us for a few moments, discussing the hazard of the ledge, and I suggested it be painted, perhaps with yellow safety stripes. Or, I added, "How about blue, like a zone for the handicapped?" He didn't think this was funny at ALL, and glared at me for a good three beats before stomping drunkenly off. Heh.
Another guy was weirdly touchy, too. He was kind of a raconteur, and stood close to us as he spoke at great length without interruption. At least he wasn't boring, he had lots of good stories, but they did go on for a while. Then he said "Oh I should go in and leave you guys alone". When I cheerfully replied "OK!" he got all pissy about that, saying we were supposed to encourage him to stay. Yeah, right! He informed us that pretty soon, if we wanted to listen to him, we'd have to pay $65 for a ticket. I certainly hope he finds success as an entertainer. Soon.
For dinner, we went to the LA equivalent of Don Ramon - a fine-dining mexican spot not too far from the Eagle with lots of gay men. Its chief attraction was a parking lot - apparently this isn't the greatest neighborhood for walking around at night. I have to say, their chile colorado was nowhere near the version at DR. But it wasn't too expensive. What was most interesting was listening to a real-life Valley Girl in the neighboring booth - I didn't know anyone actually spoke like that, at least outside of comedy films. She went on for, like, THIRTY MINUTES without taking, like, a SINGLE BREATH. Thank God the restaurant was really loud, overwhelming even her squeaky voice. Because if it weren't, the experience would have been completely intolerable. I felt so sorry for her boyfriend.
Not very remarkable experiences but they struck me as very different from anything that might happen in SF. LA kind of scares me, but at the same time I do get the "groove" of the place and it's certainly got its own appeal.
No luck on trolling Silverdaddies but who knows, there are still a few hours to go... I am very unsure about how to negotiate hook-ups on short notice without jerking people around, given that one has to pursue multiple leads to get anywhere, and people aren't necessarily sitting on top of their email. Not that this particular trip was so complicated in that regard, as there was only one guy in the area whose profile really got my juices flowing. Woof! Though he sincerely wished we could get together, it wasn't possible. Guess I really ought to plan ahead a little.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-11-28 06:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-28 06:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-28 07:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-28 07:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-28 07:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-28 07:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-28 09:35 pm (UTC)In any case - most of the Greater Los Angeles Metropolitan Sprawl is really quite ordinary; claiming the exceptions are the rule would be like saying most of Manhattan was like the Mineshaft. ;)
no subject
Date: 2009-11-28 09:46 pm (UTC)And yes, Virginia - there really are Valley Girls. The concept was not dreamed up out of thin air for a movie in the '80s. ;) Like, what a jel, fer shurr! (Though I imagine the Val-nacular has changed in the, what, 25 years since the concept became part of pop culture.) Even the closing of the Sherman Oaks Galleria as a shopping mall (it's mostly office space now) didn't destroy Val culture, though it perhaps made it a little less convenient to observe.
no subject
Date: 2009-11-28 09:51 pm (UTC)I didn't know anyone actually spoke like that, at least outside of comedy films.
Indeed, that is what makes those comedies so funny.
Did you know, like for real, I grew up in the, like, The Valley? Like is was so Totally Awesome
.... or not ;)
no subject
Date: 2009-11-28 10:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-29 03:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-29 08:05 am (UTC)No wait! I was 19.
no subject
Date: 2009-11-29 09:47 am (UTC)Viewing anything filmed by Valley-Girl Julie Brown still makes me giggle.
Especially if it also features big muscle-bear Bob Koherr (he's *hawt* ;-).
no subject
Date: 2009-11-29 01:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-29 06:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-29 07:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-30 01:34 am (UTC)