For Comparison.

In this great nation, there is much comparison between the two most major cities: my beloved New York and my newest abode, LA.  So keeping in this spirit, and with my enjoyment of top ten lists, I present to you, dear blog readers:

The Top Ten Inconveniences of 

Living in Los Angeles.

10.  The parking enforcement here is like the Secret Service.  Nothing gets by them!  If the sign says you can park til 8pm, you can bet your ass that you will be towed at 8:00 and 47 seconds. It's reeeeediculous.  In addition, if they are kind enough to merely bestow upon you an infraction ticket, it will costly you dearly.  Like fifty bucks.  Bend over, Barbie.  This may be Hollywood, but your Corvette can't park here.

9. The weather.  Before you aim your tomatoes, allow me to elaborate.  LA is famous for its 366 days of sunshine a year.  (Yes I know, I added a day for dramatic effect.)  However, the constant sun and lack of cloud cover results in dry skin, frizzy hair, sunburn, and the local's complete inability to drive in any conditions other than clear skies and sunny.  I know it's a catty complaint to make, but that's why it's no. 9.

8. The food intolerances.  When you meet people anywhere else in the world, you usually start with names and then inquire of their occupations.  In Los Angeles, it would you ask their name and then their food restrictions.  There's vegan, there's no red meat, there's gluten-free, there's raw only, there's paleo, and the list goes on and on and on.  In fact, I attended the birthday dinner of a new friend last week and the first thing she asked me when I sat down is whether she needed to inform our server of any food "things"?  She was being a good hostess, I was rolling my eyes at the state of our generation.

7. THE CELL SERVICE! and lack thereof!  Holy crap, I have no cell phone service in this city.  I had previously scoffed that all of the whiny consumer reports of AT&T from major cities, and declaring myself immune to all of the supposed shortcomings.  Seriously, I have never really had issues with my service until I moved here.  Now I can barely choke out a hello before a call drops, and my poor battery drains in hours just sitting at my apartment, simply searching for a signal.

6. The smog.  I recently read a study that claimed that the benefits of outdoor exercise in poor air quality conditions in fact, DO NOT, outweigh the risks of such exposure.  I, am a person who wishes to die before forcing myself to exercise indoors.  Greeeeeeaaaat.  Besides this, the blanket of brown smog settled under the clouds really dampens the view from atop everything I hike.  Pew.

5.  People in the entertainment industry have a propensity to be very, very high strung..... with very delicate egos.  There is a particularly intricate dance when dealing with them, many unspoken protocols behaviors.  I'm learning.

4. The public transportation system here blows.  I've tried to take the metro to work, thinking that one less car on the freeway is of benefit to all cars, but the process is just plain exhausting.  I would have had to walk to a bus stop, take a bus to the metro station, metro into work.... which would all cost 6 dollars to travel about 6 miles.  Another option would have been to forgo the bus leg of the journey and drive to the metro station, but hell!  If I am getting in my car in the morning, my ass is just plain driving to work.

3. LAX airport.  This should require very little explanation.

2.  traffic!  What you were all waiting for.  Like all major cities, LA presents much more difficulty traveling east-west than north-south.  Traffic here is, literally, mind numbing.  I have sat in traffic, thinking that if I fell asleep for a while, it would probably be ok.  Not only is traffic here just generally difficult, but there are no predictable patterns.  There are no formal rush hours, freeways could be horrendous in any particular stretch at 1pm on a Tuesday afternoon.  You just cannot avoid it because, no one here works a 9-5 and so many people drive as a part of their work.  Supplies to buy, locations to scout, meetings across town, shooting all over, transporting food, etc etc etc.

1. Maintaining normalcy.  This is a town in which, I have been approached to audition for a national commercial, made friends with a stranger, and been asked to play in a pilot series.... all within two hours.  It's so difficult to not let this town suck the soul from you.  Everyone always talks about how you can be 'discovered' at any random moment.  Well, geez!  I just cant let myself worry about that because if I did, I would drive myself nuts.  SO..... I have been making a conscience effort to just live my life as I always have.  I cancel dinner plans for yoga, I go out with a bad outfit and an entirely too fresh face, and I go to the movies alone.  I am praying for help to keep my wits about me, because I have seen what happens when people get too ambitious.  Stay tuned, friends!

Love Love Love.