From LA that is....
maybe to blogging as well...
but let's not get our hopes up...
el eh el eh...oh what a trip it was, but the time spent in el eh was actually relatively small, details to follow in another post..i left the midwest at noon eastern time friday...made a stop in st louis at the same time i departed..i love transcending time and space..two hour layover later i was back in the air...ughh, how i hate flying...mainly my panicking takes places from take off til about 10 minutes later when we are in the air...then i go to sleep overdosed on Dramamine and alcohol...it would have been awesome to have slept all the way to El Eh but the pilot kept interrupting my nap with *ding*Ahhhhh yeah, if you look out to your left you can see* i don't care...the last thing i want while i'm riding in a plane is to notice landmarks miles and miles below me....is that so when we crash i can say, oh, at least i got to see death valley...fuck that.
i land in El Eh and right off the bat i'm a stranger in a strange land. it wasn't a disco..and it sure as hell wasn't a country club...my friend had emailed me directions on how to get to her place..hopping on a bus to the train, change colored lines, ended up somewhere where a roommate would pick me up..convoluted but after having done it once it all made sense. i asked the nice elderly lady behind the guest help desk at the airport where to catch the greenline metro bus....which is the first time i was yelled at...
so i went to where the lady told me to go....a bus pulls up but it's for the red line...everybody around me gets on..i'm the only one left standing there like a tard..the bus driver now is yelling at me "red line! red line!" i tell him green line...to which he yells for me to go somewhere else..just as i see the green line bus drive by...ughhh
El Eh has the best customer service, ever. the green line goes a little more smoothly...we get to the train station and once again i am lost...i try to follow the herd as some go to a ticket machine, others run up the flight of stairs all the while thinking of those little lemurs who off themselves following the person ahead of them..i go to the ticket machine then head up the stairs..only to just miss that train...well, i guess i know better for next time..
the train ride was an experience let me tell you....the green line had a bit of redemption and welcoming to the city that made me think and feel like this could be home. at one of the various stops an african-american gentleman wearing earphones and a backpack gets on, standing in proximity of me. at this point in the trip i believe i turned off my music to conserve battery in my phone, but left my one ear piece in. i start to hear a bit of music faintly coming from somewhere..i couldn't tell if it was part of the metro car i was in, or someone else..i started to narrow it down coming to the conclusion it was coming from the black guy who just got on...but what was more striking was what i heard. the music had a familiar sound, but it was just faint enough i couldn't readily make it out..
only after the next stop once things got quiet on the train again was i able to hear for certain what it was. i made a gesture to the guy to take out an earpiece, which he obliged looking at first like he was gonna kill me, and then i proceeded to ask him, "are you listening to Ratatat?!" his face changed over to a bit of shock and excitement and concurred that it indeed was what he was listening to. our exchange was short but it left me with a good feeling, also noting that i had just been listening to Ratatat on the bus
as i left the car at my stop the guy wished me a farewell and i head onto the blue line. on that train line i witnessed a bootlegger attempt to hit on a ghetto girl..it's amazing to see the cultural differences on how to pick up women..all sociological studies should be made on trains, you literally get every walk of life. i did my best to contain my laughter by looking away only to have it stirred up by the psycho behind me cursing to himself. the ride was only topped off when the crazy cart lady came on selling sodas and candy from her mobile business device.
it was shortly after that the train came to it's last stop and i moved on to the red line...or so i thought. while waiting in the designated area, i failed to see that two trains ran on the same line, one red, one purple...for you color blind people, sorry about ya. so i see the train approach, the doors open, we left off passengers, and just as i am about to get on this old man starts talking to me, asking me if i am going to hollywood..why yes i am, he then proceeds to tell me it's the next train...at this point i've had about enough El Eh hospitality and think he's fucking with me so he can ensure a spot for himself on this car. i try to understand his reasoning pointing at the sign that says "To Hollywood" wherein he raises he cane and points, at what i believe from my angle to be the same sign..little did i know he was trying to point to the side of the train itself that said it was the purple line going elsewhere...this is about the time he screams at me and another kind lady tells me hollywood is the next train...obliged i step back and wait.
the next train arrives and i get on, making sure i can clearly see the sign on the side of the train that indicates it is going to hollywood...a few more little stops and i was where i needed to be, santa monica blvd. i continued following the outlined directions given to me in my email as my phone was hanging on to it's last percentage of battery life. i called the number for the roommate to come and pick me up - apparently they live just down the road, but people frown upon walking in El Eh, so the roommate came and got me at the corner...
i just put a lot of trust in people i didn't know, when in fact i don't trust many people i do know..
"yeah, you'll notice me, i'll be the one who looks like a tourist and doesn't belong.."
