Rumor Has It

One of my initial thoughts during my first few weeks here was quite simply:

Where are all the surfers?

This was probably my biggest stereotype coming into California. You see, I pictured more of you as surfers. Don’t get me wrong, you are all lovely people (for the most part). It’s just that I saw most of you as hitting the beach at every possible opportunity with everyone owning your own surfboard. It turns out a lot of people do not surf. Some don’t even go the beach that often. A lot of people seem to have these things call jobs. The other main factor I’m encountering is that for those of us who live east of LA, the beach, so tantalizing close… means we have to go through LA traffic to get there.

All the rumors were true my friends. LA traffic is perhaps the most horrendous thing I’ve ever seen. Except for an 8-day traffic-jam that apparently happened in Beijing during the Olympics (how did people eat?). LA has the lovely distinction of having some of the worst intersections in the world. Luckily, I don’t have to encounter many of them since I drive east to go to work, away from most heavy traffic. On the occasions where I do drive into or through the city however, I get a little taste of everyone’s joy.

Even for a girl who’s grown up outside of DC and Baltimore, let me tell you: LA traffic has changed me. Before you know it, you’re suddenly driving as aggressively as everyone else. Pulling off stunning lane-changes with great daring (because how else will you get over there in time?), and realizing that a yellow light is really just a lighter shade of green. Parking is likewise one of the most frustrating things about this city. We’ve driven around for over half an hour trying to find a parking spot. At this point, one typically gets so frustrated that you find the nearest parking garage and pay the exorbitant amount of money they require just to be about your business.

This then, is frequently the reason why many people to the east of LA don’t get to the beach as much- it’s just not as convenient. It takes anywhere from an hour or more to get there from here, while the west-coasters pretty much have the beach on their front porch. Some do quite literally.

One of the other frequent tunes of California is how beautiful and sunny it is here all the time. Quite frankly, I’ll have to agree. Except for September. On the east coast, September generally signals the change into fall. Crisp, cool days and chilly nights start approaching and we excitedly break out a pair of jeans. I’ve been hearing all summer how September is the hot month out here, but I didn’t really believe it until now. Welcome to 100˚ F weather for several weeks folks! Note that since the rest of the year is lovely, the majority of places – and houses – do not have air conditioning. The solution? Find places to hang out with air conditioning! Suddenly movie theaters, malls and libraries are full of patrons desperate for a cool breeze. I’ve got to hand it to them: Californians are brilliant at coping without air conditioning.

What they’re not so good at? Rain. I’m actually not even sure if it can be called “rain,” generally it’s more like a sprinkle. A droplet or two. As soon as you get on the highway though, you will notice the huge change: suddenly everyone is driving like they are 75 years old. 65mph speed limits become traffic going 30 miles an hour. The somewhat pathetic aspect aside, it’s pretty hilarious.

One last Californian quirk worth mentioning is their beautiful relationship with dear Yelp. Perhaps I am simply behind the times, as evidenced by my shocking lack of a smart phone. However, while I had heard of the existence of this mysterious searching entity known as Yelp, I had never used it, much less heard of people using it. This all quickly changed upon my arrival in Pasadena. “To yelp” suddenly became a verb. Need to find a cool café in an unknown city? Yelp it! While I found it bizarre at first, I’m coming around…this is actually a pretty useful tool.

For those of you, like me, who didn’t know what Yelp was, here’s a brief explanation: Yelp is a search tool that helps you find things from cafés and bars to beaches, stores and more. What makes it unique it that you search by keyword and location, and everyone posts reviews of the various places. It’s really useful for finding good restaurants or awesome beaches while also learning of potential pitfalls to avoid.

I’ve become both an aggressive driver and a user of Yelp. You’re changing me California.