LAnformant

Detailing Truth Over Hype

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Freeways or Surface Roads?

There’s nothing better than opening your Google Maps (or Waze) at the end of the day to navigate your way home only to discover that both the freeway and main streets take about the same time to get home. I got tired of flipping the coin of what was better and usually decide based on my mood. I start by asking myself: do I want to save 3 minutes by taking the freeway or eat that time and sit bumper and bumper but be able to keep moving? Of course, there are also other factors to consider:

Is there construction happening?

Is there an event?

Did something else happen? Like car accidents?

Tip: When any of these or the combination of them occur (like the President’s in town,) some streets and freeways can’t be accessed.

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I can keep this list going (and I’m sure most Angelinos can too) but you catch my drift-

From the first day, I set foot in LA to this present day, I’ll personally admit that I have exhausted all other options and have tipped my hat to the inevitable beast that is traffic.

According to an article written by Marketplace in April 2018:

“Traffic analytics firm Inrix names LA traffic the worst in the world, citing the hundred hours a year, drivers are stuck in it. ”Not surprisingly, I decided to see what the current statistics were, so I took to Google and found a KTLA report from August 2019 that stated: “In Los Angeles, the most congested metro area stalled traffic robbed commuters of an average of 119 hours that year.” So, it appears we still hold the title even after a year… Go LA, right? Out of everyone I work with (yes I’m still a 9-5er slaying the day away), I am the only one who has a two-hour commute (sometimes up to 1.5 to 3 hours). Everyone else has a total commute time of 20-30 minutes (insert Netflix series episode).“The amount you spend in traffic equates to a weeks’ worth of work.” Said my manager – We keep the humor and the jokes going to get through the day. But talk about rubbing it in, how’s about some extra dough for my commute?

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Getting Around in Los Angeles: Cars

So you gotta be somewhere in LA…

Here’s an obvious fact: Traffic Sucks! The whole experience is nothing but stressful and infuriating. Worst Part?

You’re stuck and forced to experience your surroundings.

Just thinking about being bumper to bumper with Nose-Picking Nathan or Angry-CEO-Carl glaring at everyone is enough to convince me to walk everywhere.But walking is not an option, not in this city. How come? Here are a few reasons:

It’s actually very difficult to get around as most sidewalks end

It’s not safe to bike everywhere as bike lanes end too

Public transportation is available in some areas and is usually late

Motorcycling is an option, but your safety again is at risk

No freedom or privacy

It can take a lot longer to get around

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Are we heading for another round of Occupy LA?

It’s certainly looking that way.

But one thing’s for certain, the ones that living here whether they be transplants or long-time Angelinos, are making it clear that they are here to stay.

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“Tents are manifestly a rational housing strategy on the part of homeless individuals given this economic and political situation”

As someone that has experienced being homeless and car-less, it never crossed my mind to get a tent (would’ve made things easier!).

There weren’t as many tents back then (about 10 years ago) so I resorted to sleeping in parks, under cars, parking garages, anywhere to avoid people.

Nowadays tents are hard to miss in Hollywood – they’re practically on every corner.

Though there are restrictions on where tents can be placed, how it’s being enforced is a subject for debate.

City surveyors of the homeless claim that there just aren’t enough shelters to house everyone. The growth rate in the past year has seen an increase of 16% alone.

According to a recent LA County report:

more than 16,000 people are living in their cars

more than 11,000 people are in tents and makeshift shelters

more than half of the unsheltered adults are homelessness for the first time

53% of first-timers say that it is due to “economic hardship”

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We wasted no time – we called up over a dozen different companies and after a consistent amount of rejection, we lucked out with one that finally came (1 hour later).

I’m not going to get into the topic of “Skid Row” too much because to be honest everyone freaked me out to the point where I avoided it.

What I will say is, from my friends’ stories of the homeless community in Skid Row, it is the way is more concentrated and intense compared to the homeless in Hollywood.

Wait what kind of intense?

Well let’s just say my 6-foot-tall ex-roommate avoids it like the plague when the sun sets because he found out his friend went missing (in Downtown near Skid Row) for a week and was discovered dismembered in a bag by the LAPD

But again that is downtown, not Hollywood.

Regardless, my impressions of the homeless weren’t off to a great start...

It took me some time living here to realize this, but after living around them, I eventually realized that there wasn’t just one type.

From my interactions, I discovered:

Many of them were drug addicts

Many of them led normal lives until they lost their jobs and couldn’t recoup

Some of them like to stand at the same corners asking for money

Many of them aren’t shy

Most of them concentrate on the same areas

There’s a good mix of the ones that roll solo vs the ones in groups

I walk by them every day and from most of my experiences, they tend to leave you alone if you walk pass by them and won’t bother you if you don’t provoke them.  I mean, isn’t that how most of us are?

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Hollyweird housing pt. 3 – the rise of the tents

I’ve sworn to not watch as much news (my folks were hooked) but can’t avoid it completely as some stores or doctors’ offices I go to are usually playing it on their TVs.

Next to crime, murders, and weather disasters, the topic of homeless often pops up. So of course, I decided to bring it up here. Local Angelinos, particularly the ones in Hollywood, know this all too well. Once you’re off Hollywood Boulevard, it won’t take you long before you are met with a village of tents or make-shift houses built from cardboard and scraps.The homeless crisis is undeniably real here and is a favorite newsworthy topic.“No buses or taxis dare to go through here – it’s too dangerous.”My first official venture to LA occurred sometime during my first year in college. I had a roommate who was itching to travel and always wanted to go to Hollywood.This was over 15 years ago when I was completely a newb to LA. My college roommate and I decided to take a greyhound bus (cheapest way to go!) from our campus in Flagstaff, AZ.We got there in a few hours and were completely lost. We had booked a cheap motel in Hollywood and had no clue where we were, so we asked our bus driver.“ You’re in Downtown LA.” You can walk to a nearby bus stop or the subway station. ”But we were exhausted and were looking for the fastest way. You can imagine our disappointment when the driver told us that that wasn’t an option.We were devastated – why not?! “They’re afraid to he said, Skid Row’s around the corner, but you’ll never know, you might get lucky.”

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My good friend James got me a gig at a bikini bar (I was not a dancer!) at one point as he was the sound guy and was kind enough to also let me carpool with him as I was car-less at the time.

I hadn’t seen him for a while (had to be a few months) and he looked shaggier than usual.

I didn’t mind, he’s an artist I thought, maybe he’s just been working a ton like all to most entertainment fielders do.

However, when I got into his car, I also notice a sea of clutter.

I’m not talking about food wrappers or old to-go coffee cups, I’m saying I saw stuff like mismatched socks, a huge colorful collection of t-shirts, used toothbrushes and floss.

It was obvious what was going on here and from my reaction. And he knew I knew.

Instead of trying to hide, he embraced it. Because that was the kind of guy James was.

We lost touch after the venue no longer needed us, but recently got a chance to catch up and I was glad to find out that his live sound business had taken off and he was no longer living out of his car.

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Hollyweird housing pt. 1 – on wheels

Google living in Hollywood or LA and most of what you’ll find is the cost of living, crisis, homelessness or questions of what it’s like to live here.

Sounds comforting, doesn’t it?

Yet despite the pros and cons, people continue to show interest in living here and they’ll stop at nothing to make it happen.

One of the ways to do it: by living out of the modes of their cars.

According to an article published by the LA Times in June 2019, a survey revealed that over 16,000 people were living out of their cars, vans or RVs.

It was less than two years ago that the City Council decided to specify that it was illegal dwell overnight (between the hours of 9 PM to 6 PM) within 500 feet of a residential or public location such as school, park, preschool, or daycare facility.

Historical fact: Living out of your car was illegal in LA up until 2014 when the federal court lifted the ban.

So what does that mean for the rest of the city?

To many, it’s called home.

“I’d like to give you a personal tour of my place”

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struggling musicians playing close to zero paid bar shows and working 9-5ers

hopeful actors working as bartenders/servers/flexible food-industry gigs

fearless extras (actors in the background) who were living off unemployment

As someone outside looking in, I admired their dedication to “pursuing the dream.”

I couldn’t help but notice how weird everything looked from that point on.

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It quickly occurred to me after a month of living in LA (my rose-colored glasses era) that most people coming here had hefty dreams and goals.

Among these multiple-missioned people, there were models who were also actors, filmmakers who were also musicians, and comedians who were also writers.

This was and is still the norm of LA. We’re in La-La Land after all…

However, the charm of it wore off over time and what these people were saying versus what was happening behind the scenes was different-

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Land of the multiple titles

Historical fact: Hollywood use to be called Hollywoodland but the land part was dropped after the City of LA realized that the entertainment industry was taking over the town.

There’s no denying why Hollywood is so popular as its reputation speaks for itself.

This popularity continues drawing people of all kinds in packs, like moths to a flame.

The volume of diverse people who flock here whether they be dreamers, artists, entrepreneurs, or travelers has added an extremely unique nature to the community.

In an interview for the movie “Maps to the Stars,” John Cusack stated:

“LA seems to be a place where a guy can say he’s a ‘life-coach-channeller-masseur’,” says Cusack. “It just seems to be ripe with all these frontier crazies.”

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“This is what I saved up for?!”

I’ll never forget hearing a tourist say this to me after I asked him how his day was.

A friendly tourist from the U.K., Henry spent what little savings he had to vacation with his family to LA with high hopes of experiencing all that Hollywood had to offer.

Unfortunately, his hopes were quickly dashed after taking just a few steps.

“It’s dirtier than I could’ve imagined”

He was completely surprised that it wasn’t what he pictured it to be-

Based on the tv shows and movies, he had seen, Henry thought he and his family would be in a sunny-star-studded oasis.

What he got instead, however, was quite different – a truth he wasn’t prepared to see.

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Wordplay: Façade or fake front was used to call out exterior fronts on film sets

That’s right I said it. No sugar-coating, no glittering descriptions, and no hash-tagging adds like #hollywoodisthegreatest #hollywoodglam

By that I mean, it is nothing like how most media, social or cinematic wise depicts it.

Yes, there are landmarks such as the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Pantages, Kodak Theater, or The Hollywood Sign that all make for perfect photo-ops.

But next to those things are also things that people tend to not photograph such as the overflow of trash, dog droppings, the homeless population, and tacky-gimmicky shops.

Sounds like the best of both worlds, right?

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Living in Hollywood: Moths & Shelters

Greetings Digital Readers to the first official post of LAnformant –

If you read my “Origins” story, then technically this would be the official second. Welcome back and I appreciate you for returning.

If not, I thank you for taking the time and give you a warm first, “Welcome!”

This first (or second) post will kick off on a topic that I all too familiar with: living in Los Angeles or more specifically living in Hollywood.

Why Hollywood?

It’s one of the most heavily populated areas of LA

It’s LA’s most popular tourist spot filled with history and famous landmarks

There is a lot of hype surrounding what Hollywood is

People seem conflicted when asked how they view the area

Without any further ado let’s get right to it. I’ll start with this statement:                    

“Hollywood is not what it seems”

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11. These three creators as well as many others I admire helped me realize that I am a huge advocate for the unique stories we all have within us.

Which leads me to now mention: LAnformant. What is it?

LAnformant is the story I have been wanting to share with the world for quite some time.

It is a blog documenting the grittier side of LA told from the perspective of a working-class LA resident who is tired of reading about glitz and glamor.

Let’s get back into some reality, shall we?

I sincerely look forward to the journey and sharing my stories with the world.

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10. Jonathan Gold, a food critic for The Los Angeles Times.

What better way to bring my rant into a full circle than by bringing up a fellow writer?

Thanks to Hulu, I accidentally happened on this documentary one morning before work and was hypnotized by his deep relationships with the people of the working class.

As someone who is also part of the demographic (I also attended Occupy LA), it was interesting to watch a day in the life of a Pulitzer Prize writer who is both passionate about quality food and societal culture within the often-overlooked areas of urban LA.

He reminds me a lot of Anthony Bourdain but less celebrity and more Banksy.

While most food critics remain anonymous, he stamps his name over all his reviews.

I appreciate his courage in breaking the trend and being himself.