So this past Saturday, I went to an event in Malibu (which turned out to be sort of uneventful, but I\u2019ll talk about that in another post). In total I must have spent about five, maybe 10 minutes there after a good hour and a half drive. That crazy 405 was as densely packed as a Monday morning commute, only this was a Saturday afternoon. WHHHHHHHYYYYYYY!!!!???<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now don\u2019t get me wrong, I like to drive, but I abhor traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even Pacific Coast Highway had its fair share of congestion, but I still love driving it, especially that part where the 10 freeway empties you there, and you pretty much have ocean views all the way up to Oxnard. If I\u2019ll take traffic anywhere, I\u2019ll take it with an ocean view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Later when I got home, I found out that the Lakers were playing a home game and against the Warriors of all teams. That may have accounted for some of the traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a kid, I don\u2019t remember L.A. being this crowded. I mean the 405 has always been notorious for its parking lot mimicry, but at least you had the option to get off and take the street. Though that was a longer route, at least you were moving. Now you get off the freeway and encounter worse traffic on the street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking of which, can I rant a little bit?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What\u2019s up with all this overcrowding in L.A.? Are they trying to turn L.A. into New York? This is not New York! We are distinctly different. Everywhere you look, they\u2019re building multifamily homes, they\u2019re building apartments over shops and restaurants, there\u2019s less and less parking. And I don\u2019t like what they\u2019re doing to Crenshaw Blvd. This train or whatever the fuck they\u2019re putting down the middle of The Shaw, is horrendous. It\u2019s so not cute. I don\u2019t like it at all. We are not the East Coast, we are not New York, hell, we\u2019re not even San Francisco. We are Southern California and in Southern California you have space. You don\u2019t have people piled on top of each other. Oh, and when it comes to transportation you need a car or you take the bus, plain and simple. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now I know what you might be thinking. Perhaps you\u2019re saying that\u2019s easy for me to say since I have a car. But au contraire mon frere, I have a car NOW, but I\u2019ve seen many a days on the bus. What you know about that 210 Crenshaw bus, or the 310 express if you can get it? What you know about waiting an hour for a bus that never comes, then walking blocks to another street to get one? What you know about catching a ride with a friend, or just someone you know who will take you somewhere for a little gas money? I know plenty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I didn\u2019t get my driver\u2019s license or a car until I was 20. Matter of fact, even in my late 20s I was back on the bus again for a couple years. So there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes LA, and just Southern California in general, may be expensive \u2013 though half the price of New York and San Fran \u2013 and spread out, but at least you have space, correction, had space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I remember the first time I saw \u201cSex in the City\u201d and got of load of the box that Carrie called an apartment. I thought, what is this?<\/em> What adult chooses to live like this?<\/em> Then I moved to New York, and could nowhere near afford that little box. But the point is, I wasn\u2019t even aware that there was such a thing as a studio apartment \u2013 because in Southern California WE HAVE SPACE. I once heard it said, I think by someone who wasn\u2019t from here, that L.A. wasn\u2019t really a city, but rather a bunch of suburbs stuck together. I agree, and that\u2019s how I like it. It\u2019s too fucking crowded here\u2026but I ain\u2019t goin\u2019 nowhere. California Love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This rant has been brought to you by the campaign for I fucking hate Saturday traffic. I approve of this message.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" So this past Saturday, I went to an event in Malibu (which turned out to be sort of uneventful, but I\u2019ll talk about that in another post). In total I must have spent about five, maybe 10 minutes there after…<\/p>\n