When I was fourteen, I dreamed of the city. A loft with hard concrete floors, red brick offensive to the touch, & vast daydreaming windows. At the time I imagined it to be a loft amidst the center of New York, at eye level with other neighboring penthouses, all to myself. At the end of 2009 I moved into my very first loft, but quite unlike my teenage dream it was in Downtown Los Angeles, with a roommate. A few months later, due to roommate difficulties, I moved into my second loft down the road, by myself. A mere two weeks ago I moved into my third & most desirable loft yet.
I no longer dream of moving to New York, though friends are still convinced I belong there. I've finally accepted Los Angeles as my home. & not just any part of Los Angeles, but Downtown in particular. Now that I live here, venturing out to other parts of the city seems so foreign to me. The people differ so much over this freeway & that; the walks, the talks, the styles of dress, the dogs they walk, the cars they drive.
Last Saturday for the first time in a long time I spent the day in Santa Monica, I felt almost alien, as if I'd flown to a different country altogether where I wasn't familiar with the local customs or language. Considering the fact that I spent my first one & a half years in Los Angeles living on the Westside by the beach, it was peculiar to feel uncomfortable enough to wish that I'd rather be back in Downtown. Somehow I feel like DTLA people are more down to earth, like the daily sights & interactions just walking the streets here are humbling experiences in themselves.
After holing myself up in loft after loft amidst the abandoned, the restored, the wasted, the jeweled.. & after the unconditionally friendly [at times too friendly] people of this here Downtown who, even on my shittiest ugliest days, will still holler at a sad stranger & brighten her day with unmeant comedy.. After all this, anywhere else seems rather pompous & overly materialistic. But, in saying that, perhaps to others us Downtowners have our own air of earthly arrogance.
After holing myself up in loft after loft amidst the abandoned, the restored, the wasted, the jeweled.. & after the unconditionally friendly [at times too friendly] people of this here Downtown who, even on my shittiest ugliest days, will still holler at a sad stranger & brighten her day with unmeant comedy.. After all this, anywhere else seems rather pompous & overly materialistic. But, in saying that, perhaps to others us Downtowners have our own air of earthly arrogance.
Perhaps, perhaps.
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| Sunset on the 110 Ricoh |
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| Downtown on Ice Blackberry |
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| View from my new loft Blackberry |
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| Downtown daze Blackberry |
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| Rainlight Ricoh |
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| Alley love J |
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| Pigeonstand Ricoh |
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| 2nd St. Blackberry |
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| En route Little Tokyo Blackberry |
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| Olive St. Ricoh |
Love Joni... and I know the city is a craving... I miss it. I miss people watching and being up high and always having an awakeness out there, if I want it.... all I need to do is step outside. Now I have to plan to have it, which is not as spontaneous how I'd rather it was. I only went to LA once. I got lost at the airport. :/ How would I be in the city?
ReplyDeletei do admit LA takes some getting used to & isn't as glamorous as films portray it to be. it's dirty & gray & everything's so spread out, a car is pretty much essential if you wish to do this city properly as the public transportation systems here don't go as many places as they should. but, if you stay here a while, & you get over the initial hating period, you will inevitably uncover these little gems in the form of like-minded people.. these huge treasures in the form of museums, theaters, boutiques to suit your own special taste, concerts everyday of the year.. & if you just take your eyes away from the littered sidewalks for a moment & look upwards toward the sky, you will see shining skyscrapers & unexpectedly impressive sunsets :) & yes, LAX airport is one of theee worst designed airports i've ever come across personally haha ;p if you live out of the city, sometimes it is nice to visit it every once & a while, just to visit not to live. i miss the beach sometimes, the jungles, the forests.. but i think i've finally accepted the fact that i've become a permanent city dweller now, & the rural areas of the world are being saved for vacations @.o
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