Trip Report: JV goes to LA

[J_V]

Is that signal...."must three bet top pair," "must raise turn and check river?"

Heaven forbid you try to get a free card in that 80 game.

[J.A.Sucker]

Hi JV,

Glad you had fun in Hermosa. I used to have 2 buddies who lived a block from the pier, and someday I'll get a house on the Strand... *sigh* The buddies moved away from the beach, however, though I have lots of fond memories (or lack thereof) regarding drunken weekends down there. Sharkies and the others are all great, and the women are loose, aggressive, and all have the same lower-back tatoos. (t)It's lovely!

My trips to LA usually don't involve any poker (or maybe a quick 3 hour session in the morning while hungover), which is a shame, because the games are terrific, though I think that the games aren't as good as people brag about at 30-60 and above (though still plenty juicy). Then again, it's not a shame that I don't play poker on those trips - the beach, the sun, the fake titties... waking up hungover, strolling down to the beach for some sun, taking a dip in the ocean, passing out on the beach while waiting for my nuts to return to their original position, and hitting the BackBurner for a greasy breakfast at 2pm before grabbing some beers and doing it again. Yeah, I miss Hermosa.

I'm also glad that you mentioned the Flight Attendents - they are a bellweather aspect of the Hermosa/Manhattan Beach scene, and are wonderful in their own right... I think of that scene from Blow, where they're all hitting the bong in Manhattan Beach and all these young chickadees say what they do for a living "I'm a flight attendent!" "I'm a flight attendent!" "I'm a flight attendent!"... it's high comedy... mainly because it's true.

[J_V]

Oh the lower back tatoos. Every tatoo is -EV, except the lower back tatoo, which is like Ace King suited on the button.

[symphonic]

I also recently got back from LA/San Diego. I was quite impressed with Commerce casino, but Oceans 11 in SD wasn't too great. I am moving to Santa Monica in a few months and I can't wait.

[andyfox]

How'd you get a place in Santa Monica? There are never any apartments available, and condos and homes there are more expensive than anywhere else in the L.A. area. Seriously, we just recently bought in Beverly Hills and an equivalent home in Santa Monica would have cost 20-25% more.

All the L.A. bashers are jealous. We have the best weather in the world, including everyplace. I can be at the beach in 15 minutes, in the mountains in an hour, in the desert in an hour. We have the Getty Center, Huntington Library, the new Disney Concert Hall and the 4th or 5th beest orchestra in the world, a spectacular new cathedral, a great legacy of modern architecture built by Frank Lloyd Wright, Schindler, Neutra, and the Greene Brothers. We have the Lakers, the Kings, and the Dodgers. We have Commerce and Larry Flynt. We have Rodeo Drive, Old Town Pasadena, 3rd Street Promenade, and Universal City Walk. We have the two most beautiful residential streets in America (La Mesa Drive in Santa Monica and Prospect Terrace in Pasadena). We have great Japanese, Chinese, Mexican, Korean, French, Italian, and fusion food. The women here are better to look at than any city in the world, and I was in London, Paris, and Amsterdam recently. L.A. is paradise.

I love L.A.

[El Dukie]

Don't forget: We have smog, freeways, and urban sprawl, too!!! [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

[Bill Murphy]

"Don't forget: We have smog, freeways, and urban sprawl, too!!!"

Everybody's got all that. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[limon]

[symphonic]

I got in with a couple other friends when one of their roommates moved out. 3200 a month (800 a piece)for a very nice 4 bedroom place isn't bad. Oh, and I also agree that L.A is paradise.

[Josh W]

No No No No.

The weather down here is not good. I'll take any coastal city south of boston or on the west coast. I'll take any rockies weather.

The sports teams down here are a disgrace. The Lakers are the most despicable, classless group of athletes ever assembled. The Angels are led by bandwagon jumpers (sooga not included, he's always been loyal to them). The dodgers have real fans, and are a respectable ballclub, if you can tolerate the occasional parking lot shooting after playing the Giants.

The people are very snobish. Having spent a chunk of time in NY, Chi, St.L, the south, Seattle, LV, Montana, Utah, Denver, etc...The people elsewhere are ALWAYS friendlier...in NY they ignore you, in LA they hate you.

The culture is amazing. This is a (the?) good thing about LA.

The poker is....well, it's great, but live action has so many downsides that you have to put up with here.

The architecture is nice. But the city is amazingly gray. Take a drive. You'll be surrounded by gray air, gray buildings, gray concrete, maybe gray sand if near the water. Of course, the overabundance of graffiti helps spice up the gray somewhat.

Put another way....I'm strongly considering up and moving to a different city. Any different city. Seriously, the top couple options (other than Seattle) are places I'VE NEVER EVEN VISITED. Cuz right now, I'd take a random number over LA.

Oh, I got hit in the face today by a thrown chip in a casino. Did I mention the people???

I have a group of very close friends who I'd give my life for in a heartbeat. If not for them, I'd never set foot in LA again. None (as in zero) of them are LA natives. Go figger.

Josh