06 October 2005

standstill

so apparently it pretty much never rains out here. it thunderstormed the day after i got out here, the 20th of september, and hasn't rained since. sometimes it can go many months without rain. i suppose that's what allows for this area to be a breeding ground for these major fires that have been burning of late. the santa ana winds blow through the valley and cause minor fires to spread like wild. just this morning, stepping out of my hotel, i was greeted with the pleasent, pungent aroma of burning.

the weather otherwise has been beautiful, if a bit too hot. today it reached the 90's again, and i believe it's supposed to tomorrow as well. unfortunately, i am told the temp is supposed to go down to the 70s all weekend, which is unfortunate, as i had hoped to maybe visit one of the beaches in nearby orange county. if it is warm enough, i may do so, or just head into la again. i've been into la twice, and been caught in several traffic jams resulting from unexplainable causes. the traffic in southern california is mind-boggling. nowhere else that i've been to does it seem like people almost enjoy the traffic, and expect it as a rite of passage, no matter where or when they are going. people in nyc will honk the time away, but here in cali, people will just idle quietly. maybe it's because they know that the weather in whatever locale they are visiting is more than likely 80 and sunny, whereas in nyc, you have just as good of a chance to be caught in a rain or snowstorm as for there to be a glimpse of the sun. however, i still am curious as to the causes of most of these traffic jams. i understand traffic resulting from road closures or traffic accidents. however, most of the time, the gridlock appears out of nowhere. it's just this over-abundance of cars, clogging up these five lane highways. the beltway springs to mind here, but even on the beltway, you can find times where the traffic volume is unlikely to cause standstill traffic in random locations. on the 10 (the major highway out here) it seems like pockets of traffic spring up without rhyme or reason, and then just as quickly dissolve. on saturday night, travelling from a friend's place in santa monica to the other side of la (near dodgers stadium), a ride that should have taken us 30 minutes took us over an hour. and it was 11PM!!

but the bar that we went to ended up being a good time. the place was decorated in a middle eastern theme, and it was called tangier. shots were 7$ apiece, so it felt just like DC...but there wer some dancing lesbians, so that made it all the better.

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