ideas for cheap stuff

Well I have to say I’ve actually quite liked my few days in LA. Its all pretty much as fake as I always thought. The disparity between Rodeo Drive & Beverley Hills say and parts around Hollywood Blvd & side streets away from Union Station in Downtown LA are stunning. There’s a lot of nutters and a good few aggressive heads but I’ve pretty much met lovely, quirky, odd types that keep me amused. I’m staying at the USA Hostels chain, which I’ll stay at in San Francisco and Las Vegas, cos its just easy. The crowd there are nice enough and its a real party place so there’s always someone to tag along with if you really want to. I got here around 7am on Sunday morning and got straight to the hostel but couldn’t check in till 11am so I headed out to Hollywood Blvd, walking along checking out the stars and the hand and foot prints at Mann’s Chinese Theatre (where I went to see “Snakes on a Plane” last night, which was simply fantastic no brainer fun), and checked out the triathalon competitors cycling down the street. After I checked in I decided to belay sleep and head out to Venice Beach to check it out as I heard its best on the weekends and boy was it the best decision. I had a brilliant day, though I had to bus it through some dingy areas, but the place was just mad altogether. I got doused in glitter by 3 people who just said, “You look happy! **cue glitter throwing** Now you’re sparklier!”. Watched graffiti artists do their thing (and pretty much anyone else who wanted to join in) on some walls that are painted over every few days to allow new artists to put up their marks. Watched the in-line rollerblading and roller-skating dancers, the skate-boarders, stunt cyclists, normal cyclists, etc doing their thing along the boardwalk. Visited the nutty shops that have just about everything, considered a new tattoo, decided the queues were to long at the 10 tattoo parlours to find out pricing etc. There were people even selling from their houses where them and their mates were eating and drinking on their balconies or at their windows. Talk about enterprising! Unfortunately there was no one at the body-building beach. However, the best by far was something my sister and mate Laura would have loved just as much if not more than I did. I stumbled across this drumming session on the beach that went on for hours and it was simply deadly. At one stage there were roughly a 112 drummers there. Some of them on big drums, some on small. People just pop along with their drums, join in when they want, bugger off, come back or don’t. Twas just brilliant. Stayed there for hours dancing. The only thing I didn’t do was swim in the water but I was afraid of my stuff getting knicked since I’d no one with me but that’s a small price to play for a brilliant day. Saw some comedy show in the hostel that night but the host was drunk as a skunk and therefore terrible. So I only enjoyed 2 or 3 of the comedians. Walked around Beverley Hills, Bel Air and Rodeo Drive on Monday. Dee you would have loved the park in Bel Air. They had a 9-hole golf course on it, which you only have to pay $2 for! Transport here is dead cheap. For a day pass its only $3 to get on trains, buses, etc. Great value. When I was walking down Rodeo Drive checking out the shops I listened in to this sales guy from a jewellery shop and had to cover my laughter. He was talking to 4 ladies in snazzy gear who were hanging on his every word cos he was quite hot. One of them ventured to ask was white gold or real gold used in their jewellery and he was all, well rose gold is actually used because real gold looks like cheap fashion jewellery! Then as they were chatting him up they were saying it must be tough to work there but he was all, I love my work as I am always surrounded my such diamonds as you! I nearly got hit by a car in my effort to bolt before they caught me laughing at them and had the police escort me away from them. Jesus but it was funny! So anyway after seeing the Playboy Mansion and all the rest I went to the La Brea Tar Pits, where the fossils of mammals recovered the tar date back to the Pleistecene or Ice Age, which I really enjoyed. On the way there some guy and girl started fighting down the back of the bus with her saying, “I ain’t scared of you! You best get outta my face befor you break something!” I was feeling sorry for her cos he started it but then when he got off first and went into a shop she started giving a friend of hers on the mobile a description of where he was and what he looked like! I’ll never know what happened to him after! Then I did a quick run around Downtown LA to have a goo and rested back in Hollywood before going on a limo tour of the city, complete with champagne. Not enough champers and the tour itself wasn’t the mae west but I did get to see a mechanical rodeo bull in a bar that featured in an episode of, “Sex and the City”. Was gonna get on but it was $20 bucks for getting fecked on your ass in less than 5 seconds so I just let the opportunity pass me by. Now of course I’m kicking myself, cos when else will I get thrown to the floor by a mechanical bull? Really you have to ask yourself that question. Went dancing then in this too kool for its own good bar but got some good dancing partners in this girl from my limo and 4 rocker guys who were dancing to all this techno music. Better dancers than me I tell ya but I gave as good as I got. Stayed up till 3am with one of the hostel crowd and then got up yesterday and went to Universal Studios and I enjoyed it so much I’m going back today! I got home well late last night and tried to ring my big sis Shelly to wish her a belated happy birthday (twas her birthday on Tuesday) but when she was still in bed I went to my own bed and woke up late this morning! Must be catching up with me. Heading back to Universal Studios now. May go to a taping of The Tonight Show, have to see who the guests are. I’m off to San Francisco tomorrow. There’s a fringe festival on there, which should be wild. I’m gonna try make it up to the Redwood National Park, then Las Vegas is still on my list and I’m thinking of trying to fit in Disneyland and San Diego too but we’ll have to see how it pans out. Hope you are all well. Good to see some people on the site. If any of ye have good goss let me know. Oh and a friend of LTD wanted me to warn people to keep their eyes open when calling from phone boxes. She’s had some bad experiences of what people get up to in the box next store while you’re waffling away since she’s been in France! This is a new rule of travel, keep your eyes and other senses alert while in phone boxes! Oh, and on the celeb spotting front I saw a few bit players from Buffy and other tv shows, plus Matthew Perry (Friends) and Michelle Rodriguez (from Lost). Then I think I’ve seen a few others but not positive. A guy I was chatting to saw Elijah Wood, Tobey Maguire, Christina Ricci, and hung out with the drummer from Blink 182. Not so lucky me then.