I used to live in LA. Briefly. I had this vague idea growing up that I wanted to go there. My parents wouldn't let me go to college there. So after graduating I went. It was a liberating experience.
I was awed by the beauty of the landscape with nearby soaring mountains (especially best viewed after a recent rainfall) nearby the pacific ocean. When I would take the 101 to the valley, I would be stuck in traffic and distract myself with the amazing beauty of the hills beside me. I imagined they were formed by g-d taking his enormous hands and poking upwards on the crust.
I adored the warm sun, which was ever-present. Nearly every day it was 80 degrees and sunny. The weathermen had to resort with segregating the forecast into areas to create variety. Cooler in Santa Monica by the beach, baking in the valley, snowing in Big Bear. All the while, it was the same "80" and image of the sun that populated the forecast.
But like everything else, there is a duality. LA is a desert after all, and the nights were cold (for me). One of my favorite memories growing up were the warm summer nights spent outside. Perhaps I was unlucky, but during my short 10 month tenure in LA, there were fires in malibu, and a large earthquake in Northridge. I still have a tiny measure of fear whenever I visit the city. The earthquake didn't just shake the ground, as I too have never quite been the same since that experience.
I have many friends in LA (and now a relative due to my new sister-in-law), so I always have a reason to visit. And there are many warm people in and around the area. However, I can't help but see some of the truth in shows like "Entourage" "Episodes" and "Californication." There is a frenetic energy in the city of angels; a constant layer of anxiety behind many smiles. Where ambition and creativity meet, there can be strife.
It is for this reason, I had my first novel (first complete one) set in LA. That first novel will always hold a special place in my heart, as will my feelings about Los Angeles.
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