Saturday, October 2, 2010

Greetings from Glorious Gilroy!

It's been a few days since I've posted, but  I'll try to update without getting too long winded.
I'll start where I left off last time--breakfast.  On Wednesday I woke up too early, but once the sun was up I headed out to Denny's for breakfast.  I looked and looked at the menu, and nearly got the Lumberjack slam which basically comes with everything: Ham, bacon, sausage, 2 eggs, grits or hashbrowns, and pancakes.  But, I know I can't eat that much, so I stuck with the French toast slam.  Ohhh,...so good.  It was just what I wanted.  After breakfast I walked down the street to Walgreens.  Before I was even in the store I could smell it.  It wasn't a bad smell and it wasn't specific to that store.  I realized that every Walgreens has the same smell.  What is it?  Where does it come from?  I don't know, but I kind of like it.

Later I had a seat near the entrance to the Metro to sip on some tea and enjoy the good weather.  Within a minute, a guy sits on the bench with me and says something about how beautiful Korean women are.  That's definitely a subject I can get into.  We ended up sitting there for an hour or so talking about everything.  He grew up in foster homes, he has a 10 year old daughter who goes to a nice private school in Florida, he's a student and comedian, and thinks he wants to be a teacher.

I fell victim to jet lag and just general tiredness and slept through most of the evening, so when I woke up at 10:30 pm, I went to the one place I knew would be open and serve me food--H.M.S. Bounty.  I got into another discussion about Koreans and what they're like.  Seems most people around here think they're pretty rude.  I can understand it.  Some are rude and there are some things Koreans don't consider rude that we do.  I was talking to a gay couple who live in the apartment building above the bar.  One was from Germany and has only been here a few months.  The other was born in Mexico City.  I'm still getting used to so many diverse people.  Everyone is from somewhere else.  We talked for awhile...then things started to get weird.  After last call, the two guys say, "Come up to our room and meet our cat."  Now, I have this idea that most straight guys would have responded with something witty like, "no."  I'll admit, I thought of saying that, but then I thought, "Oh, they're nice guys.  Nothing weird will happen."  So, up we went.  We get out of the elevator and the Mexican guy--I've blocked his name from my memory it seems--says, "Oh, come here Tim, I want to show you the thunderstorm."  A few things popped into my mind: 1) It's not storming. 2) I'm from Indiana, I've seen plenty of thunderstorms. 3) Is this really a good idea?  I thought these things, but, as Leif continued toward his room, I followed the Mexican down the deserted hallway wondering if I was in for a mugging or a kiss, or an actual thunderstorm that could be seen miles off.  Turns out none of those happened.  I could see some rain in the distance, and the Hollywood hills.  It actually was a nice view.
We continued talking about LA.  Their apartments are right across from the old Ambassador Hotel where RFK was assassinated, and right near the original Brown Derby.  So, things went well until the Mexican kid who was getting more and more drunk kicked over a small table and broke a glass.  As he was trying to clean up and Leif was in the kitchen getting more towels, he looks up at me and says, "You are so sexy."  I tried to laugh it off, but he kept giving me those looks.  So, it didn't take me long to get out of there.  Leif had offered to show me around LA, but suddenly I wasn't so interested.  The women reading this may have very little sympathy for that situation.  Probably they're thinking, "That's what happens every time I go to the bar."

So, the next day I was on my own.  I headed out to the Museum of Contemporary Art.  It's small, but it was nice.  I should have taken pictures, but I didn't.  I did get to see some good stuff, though.  They have several Mark Rothko paintings, which I really like, and a couple by Roy Lichtenstein.  There was also Jasper Johns and Andy Worhol.  Those are the only names I remember.  Not a bad way to spend a little time.  I also just wandered around that area of the city, looking at the buildings and watching people.  At dinner I met another teacher who's just started in administration.  He works at a charter school in Louisiana and coaches football, too.  He was in L.A. for some kind of conference.  He also called everyone bossman.  He wanted another beer: "Hey bossman! Can I get another beer?" The guy running the bar quiz game: "Hey bossman!  Can I still get in this game?"  I'm not sure anyone really appreciated, or understood, being called "bossman."
After dinner I went out to Hollywood.  I got to see some of the stars on the walk of fame and just see all the different looking people walking around.  It was definitely a different atmosphere.  Then it was on to the Hollywood Bowl for a concert.  It wasn't bad, but not the best I had seen.  It was worth going to, though.  The crowd in Hollywood after the concert was definitely different from the crowd beforehand.  Lots more people going out to the clubs.  As I approached Hollywood and Highland I could see two women in little black dresses and high heels talking to a couple guys.  I couldn't figure out if they were prostitutes or the guys' girlfriends.

And finally, today.  Today was just riding and driving.  Had to ride out LAX to get a car so I could drive up toward San Francisco.  I didn't make it all the way, but I'm not too far off.  I took the Pacific Coast Highway for a little bit.  It was really nice out there.  There was a cool breeze coming off the ocean, and I could just smell it.  And on my other side were the hills and mountains.  Just beautiful stuff.  A little later I was out in the farms and hills.  Sadly I missed a really good spot to take pictures of the valley.  Ok, that's all.  I'll finish things up with a few pictures.

The Marshmallow Bed
The MOCA

Pavement at the Hollywood Bowl

By the Beach

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