Americana at night
I got up late today, at like 10:30 or so. I could’ve gone longer but it would’ve been that oversleeping type of feeling all day which I wasn’t up for. I decided to get some stuff done today I’ve put off since I got here. I needed a haircut, oil change, and car washed. I didn’t know where to go for all three so that took a little searching online. I found a Valvoline near here and went to that first. I passed it the first time around and turned around sometime up the street. It was a clear day so at one point I glanced over this hill I was driving on (having passed the place) and I saw the bridge to long beach and the whole spread of city down there. It was a great view! The bridge is the same one they shot a chase scene from Gone in 60 Seconds with Nicolas Cage, where he jumped the Shelby. 
After I found the Valvoline place I got my engine flushed (figured that was smart after all that engine bashing across the country) and the staff was very friendly. We actually chatted the entire time about NY, where I was from, what it’s like out here, etc. I like to find businesses I can go back to over and over again, it’s a no brainier coming back here for each servicing. Those guys were great. The next step…a car wash. Simple right? Not so much.
It’s hard finding a car wash out here. It’s all hand wash places, no automated. Every time I tried to get it washed since I got here, it was too late to go and every place was closed. This time I found one at a Chevron (tons of those out here) and got in line. It was a LONG wait. I felt like I was on the 405 waiting for traffic to move. It must have been about 30 minutes minimum. I had a lot of time to read people while I waited that were at the gas station. One guy was going to each car at the line for the wash to ask for money for their church (which I gave a dollar) and other folks seemed to try and sell other things as people pumped gas. There was this old yellow truck that pulled into the station…and stopped suddenly when this guy with a dolly (who worked for the place) walked in front of him really slowly and just continued on as if he wasn’t there. Kinda rude honestly, and the guy in the truck wasn’t happy. The kid walking had long hair, baggy shorts, sunglasses, etc. He just seemed like a typical punk to me. Other people pulled up of all colors and with all different kinds of vehicles from oldies to new cars, and SUV’s with sparkly rims and their bass rhythm vibrating the dashboard of every customer at the place. This one kid unpacked his stuff in front of a man pumping gas to begin his “sales pitch” and the man pumping just ignored him as the kid spoke. No matter what the kid was trying to sell and for what purpose, the man was just plain rude. He just acted like he didn’t exist, and continued to pump his expensive gas into his expensive vehicle, finished, then waved no to the kid and left. Either way as I got closer to it being my turn I kept seeing the little interface when you pull up. It said “put in code.” I kept thinking “Ok there has to be a place to put money in right?” I even looked behind me a time or two to make sure I didn’t somehow miss it. I’m next in line and the guy in front of me is still in the wash. There is no place to pay, just a keypad to put in your “code.” Suddenly I realized that you had to pay inside first. This was really weird to me since it’s always pay then wash back home, at every car place. There is no going into the gas station to pay then getting a receipt and all that to put in. So I ran out of my car and quickly paid and got back. I was a bit embarrassed for sure, with everyone else going “what the heck is that guy doing?” So I put in my code and pull into the car wash. I keep getting this “back up” message. I’m thinking I moved to far so I back up…nothing. I back up more…still nothing. I look around to see if there are any other indicators of what I did wrong. Soon the guy with the glasses comes up and and I asked him what the deal was. No way was I getting out of my car. Just my luck the thing would turn on, lol. I was surprised when the guy spoke. He was actually kinda nice, not what I expected after that little incident earlier. He had to go get a new code to put in since mine wasn’t working. I suspect it’s because I paid after the others behind me, that my code was out of order with theirs. Oops. That was a long minute sitting there with everyone behind me (having waited like I did) staring at me sitting in the wash extending their wait. I eventually got moving and the wash started but man was that whole thing annoying. All I wanted was my flippin car washed, is that so much to ask?
Shh...they're broadcasting
After that I needed to get a haircut. I found an address to a place, now I just had to find it. There are tons of plazas in LA, all packed with a million businesses. Some of them have the same signs for each business. Monochromatic with the same font…and it can make it hard to find the names of things. You expect each company sign above the places to be different, and that isn’t always the case out here. I finally found the place but it took a few times turning around. Even with the GPS, all it does is really take you to which plaza the shop was in, and the rest is up to you. I found this little place and got my hair cut. The owner was very “femmy” and had a really funny laugh. We got along though and he did a good job cutting the hair. I’ll be going back there for my haircuts from now on I think, he did good. I think I prefer now to get a more complete hair cut where they wash your hair and such beforehand and then cut. It’s way more expensive but honestly just makes your cut better because your hair is fresh and stuff. I like how things look much better. Going in with dry hair (even if I had taken a shower beforehand…which I did) doesn’t yield the same cut as a shampoo and conditioned head of hair right there at the place before they cut it. Glad I found these three places today, makes me feel much more grounded knowing where to go for basic things.
Last Words Radio Crew
Afterward I decided to go to Arby’s on the way home and pickup some food. I called Vance and picked him up some and drove back to his place. I did a lot of driving today…oi. We ate and I didn’t stay long since I had to get home for a minute before heading up to Glendale (near Hollywood) to meet Greg Elsasser. When I got home I just quick grabbed some things and headed out but not without talking to my Dad for a bit. It’s nice that he can keep up with what’s going on with this blog (hi dad, haha). It lets everyone from home that wants to know how I’m doing…know how I’m doing. I finally got up to Glendale (which is about 35 minutes away) and found a parking space. Finding parking was a challenge but I got it eventually. Greg was a nice guy, we sat and chatted at an Outback while he ate and I just sipped a drink. After that we went to where they were going to broadcast for KKLA 99.5 tonight. We sat and talked more (as we were early) and I showed him some funny videos off YouTube and the first 5-7 minutes of Standing Firm. He really seemed to be wowed by it and complimented how professional and “legit” it looked. That’s a good compliment to get, and seems to be the most common. Sitting in on the broadcast was cool. They mentioned my name as a guest and mentioned Standing Firm too. That was nice
New friends after UP (Brad lower center)
I didn’t stay for the whole thing, only minutes of it. I had to meet some friends at a movie theater. They were going to see UP and I wanted to meet more people so I went! This took me back to where I had parked before but the space was full. I eventually found a space but was nervous if I could actually park there. Brad Witty, the one who invited me out later cleared up that I was ok, but at the time I wasn’t sure. I met lots of new folks, Brad was the only one I know out of the 10 or so. People were really nice and I fit right in. We all had a great time and they all loved the movie. On a second viewing UP was even better. There was no kids making loud noises and stuff too so the experience was a bit more enjoyable. I loved the film the second time around, while the first seemed just good. I made sure I got a group shot of everyone when we left, which they all seemed excited about so that’s good. The place we went to go see the film at was in the middle of this place called Americana. It’s an outdoor mall with a cool fountain in the center. There was people everywhere and lots of great things to look at. I loved it and I’ll be back when I can just enjoy the scenery. It looks like a good place for a date, lol.
On the way home there was construction so I got detoured. That confused my GPS so it rerouted me around until I found the highway again. I got to drive on some weird streets all by myself since it was so late. I enjoyed the drive though. I think I love driving in LA at night. It’s a magical place. There is no black sky, it’s a little brighter because of all the lights. The skyline is mesmerizing to me. I catch myself just being awed by it. I’m not used to things that big yet I think. LA really is a great place to drive at night, especially on the highways. It’s fast, quieter and not as heavy congestion wise. I really love just going for a nice drive with the windows down.
I got home and here I sit. That’s my day and tomorrow is another. Time to check out Reality LA for a second time to see how it goes. I know a few more people so hopefully I remember names. Here’s hopin, g’night!
