What a City!

These days I've been driving quite a bit around Los Angeles.  On a day to day level, I'll be passing through downtown and east LA to get to Marina del Rey/Westchester.  Then I'll head to Los Feliz and maybe sneak in a short hike at Griffith.  After studying at starbucks if I forego Griffith, I'll head to Glendale for jiu jitsu.  And then to finish it off I'll be driving through the mountains back home.  Although many parts of LA are missed on this daily schedule, it does expose me enough to be able to appreciate the melting pot that is our city. 

I have lived in Los Angeles for all my life, minus 10 months.  Growing up in a one of Los Angeles' many suburban communities, I grew up in a small town environment on the border of one of the largest cities/counties in the world (by population).  When considering colleges to attend, I ultimately decided on UCLA for a few simple reasons.  1) Allowed me to be close to my family, 2) Great dorm food (I'm serious), 3) Beautiful campus.  Despite having had lived in Los Angeles for 18 years of my life and thinking I knew Los Angeles, I soon discovered that the longer I live here, the less I know about the city.  LA never ceases to surprise me.

I love Los Angeles.  Travelling and living in other countries throughout college exposed me to great foreign cultures and cities; however, at the end of the day...I miss LA.  

Perfect Snapshot:

A few weeks ago Staples Center in Downtown Los Angeles hosted playoff games, not day by day, but hour by hour!  We had 3 teams in the playoffs, all playing on the same weekend, and all with home games.  The Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, and Los Angeles Kings.  NOWHERE else is that going to happen.  

We have beautiful beaches, great hiking trails, desserts and snow covered mountains nearby, amazing universities, an eclectic mix of cultures (and that means FOOD!), an endless supply of activities, events, and venues to check out, and yeah.  If you want to go to an island, then head on over to Catalina for some great cuba diving and golf!  Basically, if you're bored in LA...it's your fault for not going outside.  

We have the best jiu jitsu practioners, a plethora of running clubs and random groups, pickup basketball games going on all the time, beautiful people, ...ok I'm going to stop listing all the great things going on here.  

Yes, you only need to take one trip down Skid Row to see that Los Angeles isn't perfect.  The public transportation isn't the most efficient.  Traffic sucks.  Some communities are not safe to visit.  Materialism and idols are worshiped everywhere.  Definitely a reminder that we ain't in heaven.

Little Tokyo, Glendale, Burbank, Hollywood, Westwood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Downtown, Koreatown, East LA, Pasadena, Eagle Rock, Culver City, Venice....man...what a city!