06132023
The LA Vibe
Howdy from the West again! I’ve been working hard with editing and writing deadlines so I’m a little burned out on looking at my laptop, but here is this week’s note, so LET’S GO
SoCal Vibes
LA has a vibe. But you already know that. A few of you lovely readers live here, a few more used to live here. And even if you’ve never lived here, you still know the vibe unless you’ve been hiding under a rock (although I hear even rocks have wifi now so even they know about the LA vibe).
I grew up in Orange County, which has a waaaaaaay different vibe. For a while, my mom rented a house on Main Street in Huntington Beach. I was too small to know if there were as many whackjobs out there then as there are now though.
And then of course there’s the SoCal vibe. There’s just lots of vibes out here.
I haven’t spent a ton of time in LA; in recent years my stays were confined to the area around my dad’s place, out in La Crescenta which is near Pasadena. It’s isolated up there in the foothills, in a really nice way. But now I’m in the thick of it, by LAX. And that is a totally different vibe.
People here maximize time outside. I mean, wouldn’t you? I’m sure the weather is a huge reason there’s too many people here so yeah, outside is where it’s at. There is an underlying current of … It’s hard to explain. It’s like a mixture of sportiness combined with deal-making, all blended in with anti-aging. Stay young and fit, run your company from the coffee shop and multitask on your morning walk.
All that said, men my age look better out here than they do in Tulsa. Sorry, Oklahoma, but you’re not really aging well. Of course men my age out here date people half my age, and plus I’m taken so it’s all rhetorical.
The OC vibe is more … Republican, lol. But I still like pockets of it. Long Beach is cool, Sunset Beach (I’ll skip HB, thanks very much). I went to high school in Cypress, I’ve visited the Corona Del Mar tidepools since I was a tadpole. OC feels more manageable than LA, which is overwhelming. It’s an ordeal just to go to Whole Foods – I’ve gotten lost on the way home twice. (And yes, that’s with using Google Maps, how sad is that.)
Honestly, this whole trip has been weird, I’m not sure exactly why but I think it might be because my dad is missing. It feels empty somehow. I’ll get used to it, but yeah, it’s different. I just move through the days working and making food and eating food and maybe doing some knitting. (No eating out, this is a tight-budget trip and tonight I’m making lentil soup so that’ll probably last me till I leave.) I haven’t seen many people, everyone seems to be busy right now, and that’s okay. But it has been a strange trip, and I still have one more week to go.
Wednesday I head to the beach for a few days, I’m looking forward to it but I’m also apprehensive. Grief is a really weird thing, and especially maybe since I’m an aspie, it sneaks up on me. Here’s how I use my advanced deductive skillz to figure out what’s happening.
Me: I feel weird.
Me: How?
Me: I don’t know.
Me: You’ll need to do better than that.
Me: My stomach hurts?
Me: Oh, you’re asking me? Okay yes, it hurts.
Me: That’s what I thought. I think that might mean I’m sad.
Me: Hmm.
Me: Yes, I think I’m sad.
Me: Let’s have cookies.
I think this note is a little disjointed, sorry about that, but perhaps a theme emerges right about now. California is weird, and makes me sad, but I still like it here and am so glad I have a chance to sit outside and enjoy all the vibes.
Thanks for reading!
Please feel free to forward this email to anyone you think might enjoy reading it. Thanks, you’re the best!
Oh SoCal... Haven't lived there for 40 years, but my parents lived there all their lives so I've dipped in and out most of my life too. It really is a planet unto itself. Last time I visited, after a long absence, I looked over from the passenger seat of my friend's car only to see what looked like an 8-lane highway directly next to the 8-lane hwy we were driving on, and I thought, oh, my, we really do like our cars don't we? Happy to be carless in Spain... 😀 Enjoy the rest of your visit, Andrea!
I don’t get to California all that much but it does have a vibe. One thing I noticed is people are more inquisitive and feel free to ask what is going on.