Arrived in L.A.

I am finally here in L.A. I arrived Monday night. My initial thoughts are that people here are a lot more talkative than back home. While waiting for my luggage I decided to smoke a cigarette outside. Immediately, I met a young Philipino woman named Rita. She too was on my flight. Apparently, she is studying design at a school in London and is just visitng her old college mates. She was nice and suggested I give her a call if I wanted to hang out in West Hollywood. This doesn't happen back home. People there are too closed off sometimes.

After smoking my cigarette, I went to get my luggage and I met up with Mando. We then got into his Thunderbird and bolted out onto the freeway. He immediately took me to Hollywood Blvd and we had dinner at Miles Diner. The food was okay and a bit pricey but I expected it since it was in a tourist part of town. By that time, the time difference started to affect me. So, we came home to his apartment in Pasenda.

The freeways here are amazing. There are so many beautiful trees and the roads curve like snakes in a valley. There are tunnels, sharps turns and the freeway ends into a normal street. I enjoyed the fact that there wasn't much construction like at home.

Finally, we arrived to his apartments which use to be an old hotel and is next to the Stanely. The woodwork is amazing and they still kept the old lobby intact. It reminds me of the hotel in "The Shinning." I'll be alone tomorrow and plan on checking out Pasenda and perhaps learn how to navigate the subway. I hope I continue to meet interesting people. I am terribly excited.