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Ahhh.. Los Angeles, siren of my youth, hath warts. Warts of which New York has exposed. And, upon my return, New York doeth not appear more glamorous, but dowdy yet cunning. Like a spurned lover still bitter but happy to point out the ugliness in others.
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Ah wretched and vile wench, willst thou not leavith me in peace? Nay, you shall not.
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( and the reader says : What?)
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Well, I was in LA for a couple of days - doctor's appointment. Los Angeles was, as always, perfect in weather, plants and charm - at least when I arrived I thought so... I got in early, wandered up to Malibu - where I read on the beach until around noon, then heading inland slowly to Beverly Hills..
Santa Monica (the city) has yet to fully recover from the downturn. Much of the 3rd St. Promenade - and much else along Wilshire - is vacant and for rent. Westwood also lies with wide swathes for rent. UCLA is a buzz, school starts in about a month and things are moving quickly there.
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I drove down to Santa Monica Blvd to go to Century City and they have done bizarre things to that street. They have incorporated Big and LIttle Santa Monica on the westside into one street which has (at Westwood Intersection) 11 lanes of traffic including the left turn lane. I fear even the "WALK" sign has a little man running as fast as possible.
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Century City - unlike much of the rest of town, seems fully rented and has moved even more upscale. The ambient soundtrack of trance music was ... odd.
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After that, the Doctor's went great. Gavin and Mickey's side of town (Beverly Hills / West Central LA and West Hollywood ) seems to have completely recovered. In fact Gavin and Mickey's street is now fighting the McMansion fights as beautiful old Spanish homes are being torn down of wall to wall tacky two story building with the charm of the 1990s facades of stark walls. Oh yeah, that fits the neighborhood nicely.
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And so, you ask, what do I complain about in this post? The traffic. Yes Los Angeles traffic, which has always cast a zen like calmness over me, worked my nerves. 11 lanes on Santa Monica Blvd is still, somehow, too few! Santa Monica is wall to wall empty storefronts, so where the hell are all these people going on Wilshire at the pace of ooze!
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I came back to New York, but couldn't relish the lack of traffic - as the humidity of 4 days has settled back over the land - it feels the inside of your grandmother's housecoat after a hard afternoon of cleaning. You know when she is overcome with the desire to hug you, and the sticky warm is sweet, but suffocating. Now imagine that smell mixed with urine and crazy people screaming and - voila your in New York.