Were you there?
Today I went to a housewarming party of a friend from Virginia. I met a nice group of normal, adult people, but I had a few interesting observations.
Like most metropolitan areas, I am finding it hard to find anyone FROM California. (Kind of makes you wonder how things got so weird out here and then you remember… Hollywood). This party had a nice mix of mostly east coasters…. But it was obvious they were settled into the CA way of life.
(1) Eventually the conversation turned to astrology. I was dying. I was ready to hide in the bathroom, speed dial my friends in New York and say, “I’ve been in LA two weeks and somebody asked me what my sign was.”
(2) Food. Like New Yorkers, Los Angelians take their food, or lack there of, pretty seriously. Everyone had diverse opinions on raw vs. cooked, tofu, organic, low carb, and supplements.
The most difficult thing I had to deal with all evening was the inevitable question: “Were you there during 9/11?” For some, I was their only first-person account. And they wanted details. I was offended at first, chalking the questions up to LA’s love for action-based news; however, these folks actually were innocently trying to understand the magnitude of the event. I knew I wasn’t going be able to tell the story, so I decided to shift the conversation a little and explain east coast population density. It worked. I need to perfect this soundbite because I’m going to get asked this question again and again as I live here.
Yes, I was there. No, I don’t really like talking about it. We’re all doing better now. Thanks for asking.