On July 14, I will have lived here for 2 years. California, that is ( Swimmin' pools... movie stars...). And last night, as I was putting the final touches on this blog, my awareness of just how fast that time had passed hit me really hard. What have I been doing out here for 2 years? What have I accomplished? Why am I here? What the f*#k happened to all that time? And why the hell am I in California?Which leads me to this blog...
At my first design job back in St. Louis, my fellow designers and I ridiculed bloggers whenever an opportunity presented itself. They were the David Hasselhoffs of the internet: B-list movie stars of the world wide web screaming for attention. But when you have Baywatch for a website, who's gonna pay attention? They had little, crappy, boring websites and would never be able rise up to the quality of a REAL designer's site. As if anyone wanted hear the details of their meager lives anyway. They were Jan. We were Marcia.
But then something suddenly came up. Blogs started getting good, and some of them started to have a real impact on the media and politics. The Daily Kos, Crooks and Liars, and Raw Story became daily fixes for my political addiction. And more recently, I started hitting Pop Culture Junkies, Rob Thurman and Angry Black Bitch more than regularly. So, in my best David Hasselhoff imitation, I am now going to make an attempt at being a blogger. But I need a theme, right?
That's where California comes in... As I said earlier, I've been here two years now, having moved from St. Louis when my partner was offered a job in Irvine, CA. Orange County. The OC. We've since moved to the other side of the Orange Curtain to Long Beach in LA County, but I feel that I'm still in transition. Larry was born and raised in California, so he knew what to expect. My Missouri-born ass on the other hand, will soon be entering a second year of culture shock.
The first year in the OC was especially...well...interesting. California, and especially Southern California, get a bad wrap from the entire world. We're all egotistical, yoga-obsessed, mercedes-driving, materialistic, blond, wanna-be-actors. Stereotypes exist for a reason, but like anything, there are exceptions.
So, the first year in the OC was especially....well....interesting. There are entirely too many bad things for me to say about Orange County, but I will only say that the people there generally live up to the stereotype. The rest I will treasure, nourish and slowly feed you throughout the lifetime of this blog.
The second year in Long Beach (LA County) has been wonderful, and I really couldn't image myself living anywhere else. It's definitely not the OC...and it's not really LA. LB has it's own flavor and is a wonderful place for someone of my political persuasion. And it actually reminds me a lot of St. Louis. Why? Well....if the OC is St. Louis County, then LA is St. Louis City. Long Beach then is Tower Grove, or Soulard. Definitely not the Central West End, but maybe a little bit of The Loop. Capeesh?
So anyway....California, like life, has some of the bad and some of the good. Actually it has a LOT of bad and a LOT of good, but the mixture makes a very interesting cocktail. And that's why this blog exists.