City of Angels

A week has gone by again. Fortunately this week brought some new experiences as well. I finally visited the fabled city of angels, Los Angeles. When approaching LA, you can't help but to wonder the size of that city. You always see the sky-striving financial district, but you never seem to get any closer to it, and the endless suburbia just goes on and on. In fact, when you travel from San Diego to LA, you don't even know when you're actually in LA, since the suburban areas never end. However, on this trip we did not focus on the financial district. We didn't go to Beverly Hills or Hollywood either. Neither did we go to Compton or Crenshaw (though I gotta visit Compton even if just for a moment!). Since the weather is slowly getting a bit cooler, and more so in LA than SD, we decided to check the beaches this time.

The trip to San Francisco was relatively trouble-free. Since we went to LA just for a day as it's only a two-hour drive from SD, I didn't think there was going to be any problems this time around either. Little did I know. Let me clear something first. I did not go with Perttu and Tuija this time around since they wanted to spend a night in LA, so instead I went with Steffi, Lena, Orbitz and Joanna. And since I had agreed with Perttu and Tuija that they can take Battlecat, we went with Steffi and Lena's BMW. Well, apparently the BMW did not want to live anymore so it attempted a suicide near Santa Monica beach! Indeed, the girls' car broke down, but luckily in an area with plenty of car services, including one of BMW. Turned out that one cylinder was broken and yadda yadda, so the car is pretty much useless. We did manage to drive back to SD in the evening though since there was no traffic, which meant that the engine wasn't in serious danger of overheating.
Stuck at Santa Monica, for a moment.


Getting around with the car was something of an adventure but we managed to catch both Santa Monica beach and Venice Beach! Even though a lot of people loathe LA, I gotta admit those guys got some serious beaches. I wish we had something like that in Helsinki, instead of that lame Hietsu (I never really understood why people bother going there, maybe because it's so close). Santa Monica was quite calm, though there was more than enough sand for all the people in LA and the surrounding areas. Venice Beach however, was something else! Even though we got there a bit late due to the problems with that blasted BMW, there was still plenty to see there. Street artists, body-builders, vendors, beggars, everything. It was almost hypnotizing. And the apartments there...damn, I really could live in one of those. Oh, I got to experience some serious nostalgia as well. If anyone has been a computer geek as long as I have, you might remember a game called California Games, from like 1989 or something. One of the sports in that game was rollerskating, in which you controlled a rollerblading girl on a pavement at a Los Angeles beach. I walked that very same pavement on Saturday! It was a surreal feeling, I can tell you. I was like 6 years old when I first played that game.
Soap bubbles at Santa Monica...how cool is that?


Sunday, and I was back in San Diego again. We have this soccer tournament at SDSU each semester, and I am actually in playing in a team. We're gonna get jerseys and all that, but it's not that serious; I don't play in the competitive team, just for fun. I'll leave the competitive tournament for those who can actually play soccer, I just wanna have fun. Anyway, we had a sort of a practice session on Sunday, and it was a lot of fun! We played 2 on 2 matches and practiced some drills for better than 2 hours, and I honestly was quite exhausted, but happy, after that. FYI, I'm gonna play centre back or full back or the combination of the two, since I actually got commended for my defensive abilities! My number is 17, which is Pierre van Hooijdonk's national team number, and my nickname is Yogi, for obvious reasons. No, I don't resemble that wimpy bear one bit if that's what you're thinking. However, my name does.

After the practice we went to have dinner at Popeye's, which is a fast food place dedicated to chicken, much like KFC. And it was goooood...very sinful, yes, but oh so delicious. I could probably gain like 40 kilos during my exchange if I dined there every day. I will eat there again, nevertheless. Pieces of chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet corn, biscuits, some honey and hot sauce. I'm really beginning to like America. Truth to be told, this is kind of starting to feel like home to me. I have acquired some really good friends. Chau, Mike, Tavo, Steffi, Joanna, Orbitz and Sunshine are the ones I hang out with most frequently. Usually just chilling at the table, talking about everything. It is very educating, and very entertaining at the same time. Rarely have I had such a good time with people just by conversing. Chau is the only local, but one would do great unjustice to him by calling him an average American. Well, he is Asian descent, but the opposite of your stereotype dumb American. I have an immense respect for him already.
Me, Joanna and Steffi at Venice Beach


Well, I guess it's time for me to go to bed. Just a few more things. Last week was really a black week for cars. First, Orbitz' car stopped working. Then, Mike's dear little Geo Metro, Hellboy, decided to end its life: its engine literally blew up on the freeway. And then the girls' BMW. Battlecat's radio died as well, but I count myself fortunate. Bis bald folks!

Jugi

PS. My days of superstardom are long gone; I received 58 from my Networking exam. That's what you get when you skip half of the classes and study 20 minutes for the exam. Ah well, I need to get a 62 from the next exam to be at 60, which is a pass.