Culture shock

Topic: Culture shock (Read 1172 times) previous topic - next topic

Culture shock

December 08, 2009, 10:25:57 PM

I had to fly to L.A. today for work. This isn't meant as a dig at California (well, okay, maybe a little bit), but geez, I feel like I'm on ANOTHER FREAKING PLANET!

The good:

GREAT weather. Like Florida without the humidity.

Just about everything I might need is within a mile of the hotel.

Neat view. Those ain't the Appalachians out there.

The bad:

Traffic. Oh, my God. This is NORMAL? I've seen NYC, Philly, Baltimore, and D.C. traffic, but what they have here needs a new word. "insane" just doesn't do it justice.

Turn signals. They don't seem to have made it this far west yet.

People-induced-agoraphobia. That's my roundabout way of saying that I've never seen so many people packed into such a small space (and I live 3 miles from New Jersey, so that's no idle boast). I feel an urgent need to get a flight to La Guardia so I can get some elbow room.

The just plain weird:

Green. As in the color. As in the total lack thereof. Flying over the city, I was floored by the TOTAL sepia-coloration of the landscape. Green seems to be an imported color here. The trees look like they'd ignite if I even thought about fire. I know the look of dry leaves.

On "the" 105, 405, and 605 (yes, I get the "the" thing before Interstate numbers here), just about every other road sign was graffiti'ed over. Even the insignificant ones, like "right lane must exit". Wow. Even the Bronx wasn't that bad when I lived there.

Culture shock

Reply #1 – December 08, 2009, 11:04:05 PM

The not good, bad, or weird, but noticeably different:

License plates. They're ALL white, with "California" on them. It might not sound like much, but to me it really jumps out. At home I see PA, NJ, DE, and MD daily. I often see NY amd VA, and less frequently everything from Maine to Florida, as well as Ohio, West Virginia, and Michigan. Here, the state designation seems to be redundant.

Culture shock

Reply #2 – December 08, 2009, 11:48:43 PM

Quote from: Quietleaf;301797

The not good, bad, or weird, but noticeably different:

License plates. They're ALL white, with "California" on them. It might not sound like much, but to me it really jumps out. At home I see PA, NJ, DE, and MD daily. I often see NY amd VA, and less frequently everything from Maine to Florida, as well as Ohio, West Virginia, and Michigan. Here, the state designation seems to be redundant.

Everyone else(Read: The other 49 states) is too smart to drive their own cars in Cali. :D

Culture shock

Reply #3 – December 09, 2009, 02:04:27 AM

Thanks for the heads-up...what teeny-tiny bit of desire I may have had to go there just flew out the winder. (that's right...winder..)

God I love my snow and people who say winder and y'all. :hick:
I've been to 32 states, but never to Cali..and I don't really feel the urge to go. Nothing against y'all that live there...but if I wanna see vehicular insanity...Kansas City is an hour and 45 minutes away.. lol

Culture shock

Reply #4 – December 09, 2009, 02:13:43 AM

Heheh, I've been through Kansas City, It was around 7pm I believe, and yeah, for that hour there was a fair amount of cars on the road, probably a bit more than Portland, OR at the same time of day.

Culture shock

Reply #5 – December 09, 2009, 04:07:33 AM

Sounds just like here in the summer.

Culture shock

Reply #6 – December 09, 2009, 11:30:56 AM

I'll keep my MN Northwoods, thank you.

Culture shock

Reply #7 – December 09, 2009, 06:23:43 PM

I'll stay on my little tourist island.

Culture shock

Reply #8 – December 09, 2009, 08:27:51 PM

I agree with everything you said. I think the two things I remember most about Cali is the lack of the color green and the mountains. I flew into Ontario and as I was walking to get my luggage I looked out the window and kept thinking to myself... "Man, that sky sure is gray. Where did all those clouds come from?". Puzzled, I kept on walking until I saw what appeared to be a house... in the sky! LOL.

EDIT: Just realized that I was watching this after talking about LA. Interesting show about the creation of LA.
http://www.pbs.org/kcet/inventing-la/watch_online.html

Culture shock

Reply #9 – December 11, 2009, 01:52:34 AM

my day will come soon to visit that state,, thanks for the heads up.

how did your rental gps do for you?

you probably missed your calling, should've wrote short stories for a living.

Culture shock

Reply #10 – December 11, 2009, 09:40:43 PM

I declined the gps. I figure that I should really learn my way, so I simply printed some maps from google before I left. I've got the route from the hotel to the plant down pat, and I'm feeling pretty confident in this small area, at least.

I actually have written a novel (and half of another), but I haven't had the guts to try to get it published.

Culture shock

Reply #11 – December 11, 2009, 11:20:45 PM

the wife went with Author Hourse as a publisher.

Culture shock

Reply #12 – December 12, 2009, 08:45:18 AM

heres a few of my things. billboards in spanish only? just plain wrong.
like the razor wire on the highway sign poles so they cant graffitti the highway signs?
traffic is just like driving in detroit. i took to l.a. traffic like a fish to water.
For the most part, i loved it out there. As for green, spring time is beautiful green out there. we've gone out in April, three years running. we've got some friends and family out there.