Wish You Were Here

This post may end up being a bit lengthy, so I will try to compensate by making it entertaining.

If you haven't caught on yet, all of my post titles are also song titles, and for today's update, I felt that Incubus's "Wish You Were Here" best describes my near-perfect weekend.

Exterior of Prada store

First, a few observations and notes. I must recant what I said about LA's public transportation being better than Boston's MBTA; that was naive of me to state after my first bus ride. It is, in fact, worse. LA was not made for people but for cars, and that really is the best way to get around the whole city. Another fun fact: no one in LA is from LA. Lastly, dogs are like children here; it's wonderful! Also, if you're walking around without a dog, then your car must have broken down or there's something wrong with you. 

On to my weekend! Yesterday I started the day off by heading north to Beverly Hills. Thanks to LA buses, that took me two hours. Beverly Hills is home to several wealthy people. The only cars you'll see are Lexus, Ferrari, Porsche, etc. Needless to say, I felt completely out of place, but at least there were other tourists as well.

Entrance

Interior

My main reason for going was actually to see the Prada store designed by OMA, Rem Koolhaas's firm. The first thing you'll notice is that there is no facade; it's a blank rectangle of the second story, which makes it look like the stairs are supporting it. You'll also notice the mannequins on display on the stairs. The floor of the entrance has three windows that look down into a tunnel that has articles of clothing on display. On the inside (where I wasn't supposed to photograph but did because that's what architecture students do,) OMA covered the walls with this green, mesh-like plastic material that filters the light wall that is behind it. Very interesting building, not sure how I feel about it though.

Exterior of Anderton Court Shops

A view of the ramp

The second building I saw on Rodeo Drive was the Anderton Court Shops by Frank Lloyd Wright, one of his few commercial buildings. It reminded me of the Guggenheim in New York City because, like the Guggenheim, Wright designed it to have a spiraling ramp that breaks off into entrances into the shops. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure the ramp doesn't comply with ADA standards. Anyways, it was very FLW with his use of geometry and attention to details. There was also a steeple so you could easily find it among the other shops on Rodeo Drive.

I continued to walk around what they call the "golden triangle," the shopping area enclosed by Santa Monica Boulevard, Wilshire Boulevard, and Canon Drive. 

Eventually I got tired of all the superficiality and headed east towards West Hollywood (WeHo for short). I walked about a mile along Santa Monica Boulevard, and you could instantly tell when you left Beverly Hills. For those who don't know, WeHo is pretty much the gay capital of America. All the stores have rainbow flags, and even the cop cars have a pixelated image of WeHo in rainbow colors. It was almost like being back in Boston surrounded by all my gay boys again. Also, I finally found a Jamba Juice!

After WeHo, I took the bus down to Santa Monica for an event called glow. This is a free, biannual art event that happens on the beach at night (from 7pm - 3am!). Yesterday's event featured 20 different artists. I arrived around 10 pm and had the best night. Even though I practically work on the beach, last night was the first time I got to enjoy it. It felt so good to have the sand beneath my feet. I walked around and tried to see as many of the pieces as I could. I also strolled along the Santa Monica Pier, which was fantastic! It had arcades, street vendors, and even a small amusement park! Thousands of people were out last night. At one point, I just sat on the beach, eating my chili cheese fries, taking it all in. The only thing better would have been a bonfire with friends.

At 12:30, I was exhausted, so I decided to catch the bus to go home. Little did I know that the Santa Monica bus actually stopped at 12:30... so as I got lost trying to find the bus, some creepy guy decided to hit on me by using this smooth line: "this is going to sound weird, but I really want to know your name." He then proceeded to tell me his name (which was the same as my brother's... even more gross) and asking several personal questions. And, of course, like all the other crazy people I've come across, after he tried to offer me a ride home, he decided to walk with me as I tried to find the bus. That was when I instantly lied and told him I knew where I was now and had to go a different way. So I walked for a long time hoping the bus would come, but I ended up hailing a cab because my legs were tired and it was late.


Today I took it easy. Initially I wanted to do a walking tour of Venice, but after yesterday's excursions, my legs needed a break. I biked down to Abbot Kinney Boulevard for the Abbot Kinney Festival this afternoon. The mile-long street was closed down and turned into an arts and crafts/food/free samples/music fair. It was wonderful! I wish Boston had more of these. They were promoting "green" living and healthy foods. People were encouraged to ride their bikes or take the bus rather than drive their cars.

When I finished checking out all the vendors, I walked over to the beach and finally soaked up some sun. I sunbathed for about an hour and definitely got a tan. Thankfully, I was not approached by any crazies this time around.

And now, I leave you with a few lyrics from "Wish You Were Here."

I dig my toes into the sand/The ocean looks like a thousand diamonds/Strewn across a blue blanket/I lean against the wind/Pretend that I am weightless/And in this moment I am happy... happy.

Another Day

A mid-week update!

My Chelmsford buddies all know that I've packed the same lunch since middle school--a turkey and pepperoni or salami sandwich, chips, a drink, and maybe a side of fruit. Well, I was tired of that and decided to treat myself yesterday (even though I actually packed my lunch), so I decided to go to a restaurant called Mao's Kitchen that Maria from the Boston office recommended a few weeks ago. From the outside it doesn't look like much, but let me tell you, the food was fantastic, and I should know because my mom cooks fantastic Chinese food.

I ended up ordering the Mapo Tofu, and for $10, it was more than worth it. The tofu was just firm enough, the flavor was the right amount of spicy, the beef was plentiful, and they didn't kill it with too many vegetables. I highly recommend this place; it's a Venice gem.

After living here for about three and a half weeks, I finally started to run out of clothing to wear, so I did my laundry (the first time at a laundromat!) at a place called Venice Beach Wash Coin Laundry, which is conveniently located in a little strip mall next to Whole Foods and CVS.. While my clothes were in the washer, I decided to go to CVS to buy some dryer sheets. After I walked by Whole Foods, I noticed a 99 Cent Store and ended up going there instead. For anyone who won't be living somewhere for a long period of time, 99 Cent Stores are the best. I don't care about brand names as long as the product does what it's supposed to. So I picked up a few things and only paid about $5, whereas if I went to CVS, it probably would've cost me $5 just for dryer sheets alone.

So while I waited for my clothes to dry, I decided to study up on my GRE vocab. There I was, minding my own business, flipping through flashcards. And of course, someone had to approach me... this guy must have been in his mid-50s or so, a bit crazy like most Venice inhabitants. I don't know what it is about me, but they must think I seem nice or something (which is ridiculous!). Anyways, the first thing he assumed was that I was trying to learn English... really? Then he proceeded to ask me questions about what I was studying for and blah blah blah. Turns out he's a Bible-thumper, but luckily he ended up talking to me about architecture instead because I told him I was majoring in architecture. Let me just say; if my roommate/landlord wasn't there with me to be my excuse to leave, this guy would have gone on and on all night. He was loquacious (GRE word!) to say the least. Moral of the story? Always wear headphones. I need to invest in some big, obvious headphones.

Hollywood

Yesterday I decided to venture up to Hollywood.

A few years ago, I ordered a CD off of eBay from this place called Amoeba Music. When I received my order, it came with a postcard. I thought, "cool, whatever" and didn't think anything of it.
A few weeks ago while I was riding my bike to work, I saw a bumper sticker on a truck for Amoeba Music, and that triggered a memory. So I looked it up, and it was conveniently located in Hollywood, so I had to check it out.

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love Newbury Comics back home. So imagine how overwhelmed I was when I entered the store. It's two stories FILLED with millions of CDs, DVDs, LPs, posters, etc. This place is entertainment heaven. I could have spent the entire day in there, but I had to restrain myself from buying everything I wanted. I ended up leaving with five DVDs and two CDs all for about $30.

After I ate dinner, I strolled along Hollywood Boulevard and saw all the touristy areas. I walked along the Walk of Fame (maybe walked a little too long in search of Jamba Juice, which was unsuccessful), passed by the Kodak Theater, and saw the hand and foot prints at Mann's Chinese Theatre. Hollywood Boulevard is interesting; there's a distinct beginning and end to where it's densely populated. Once you pass a certain street, it's completely dead.

I decided to go to the Ripley's Believe It or Not Odditorium. It was actually quite interesting. If you ever watched the TV show hosted by Dean Cain, most of the stuff is old news, but nonetheless, it was still fascinating.

And that was my Saturday.

Sunday Morning

What a weekend.

Studio/presentation spaces

Exterior of SCI-Arc

Thesis Projects

Yesterday I decided to visit SCI-Arc to see their graduate thesis projects. It took an hour by bus to get into downtown LA, and then, because I was without a map, I got lost for about an hour and a half... I walked every way but the right way, so by the time I found the building (which is just one big warehouse in the middle of nowhere), I was exhausted and a bit disappointed by its appearance and location. I couldn't even find an appropriate entrance, so I went in through one of their random loading ramp entrances. SCI-Arc is... different from what I was expecting. The studio space is just laid out in a long warehouse. I will say that the projects were interesting though. From what I saw, a lot of them were all about form. I don't know if my mind is capable of thinking like these students think. It seems so out there.
I may have just ruled out SCI-Arc as one of my grad school candidates.

Today I spent most of my afternoon studying for the GREs. Thanks to Yelp! I was able to find a perfect coffeehouse called The Talking Stick that's very close to my house. I never noticed it before, even though I bike by it every single morning and evening.

Studying GRE Vocab Words

The Talking Stick Coffee Lounge

I'm very happy that I went in. The atmosphere was intimate, the barista was very friendly, and the tea was delicious. I'll probably do most of my studying there from now on.

Swim

Aquariums are usually my favorite kind of "tourist" destinations. When I was in Boston, I went at least once a semester to escape from the stress of architecture. Everything is just so calm and relaxing (if you ignore the screaming children) and I'm always fascinated by the life that exists in the sea.

Yesterday I went down to Long Beach to go to the Aquarium of the Pacific. LA is definitely a city for cars... it took me 2.5 hours by bus to get to Long Beach, and according to Google Maps, it would've taken 34 minutes by car (50 minutes in traffic). That is still less than half the amount of time it took me to get there. So I wasted five hours yesterday just sitting in buses. I attempted to read, but after the bus made one too many stops, I finally felt sick and had to stop. But enough of that.

The aquarium itself was pretty impressive. It was bigger than the New England Aquarium but smaller than Chicago's Shedd Aquarium. My favorite part was that you could actually interact with the animals. They had tanks where you could touch the usual starfish or horseshoe crab, but then they had ones where you could touch stingrays and sharks. They also had one section where you're in a cage full of birds, and the birds could just perch on you if they felt like it. This was the first aquarium I've been to that really tried to connect the people with the animals. If only it weren't so difficult to get to... I would love to go back, especially since my camera battery died early on during the trip.

A Beautiful Mess

California weather is interesting. The more inland you go, the hotter it gets. So, since I dressed for Venice weather this morning, I was dying when I got to Los Angeles. It's amazing how it can be 10-20 degrees hotter in such a short distance.

Today, I was adventurous and took the bus. In my opinion, it was actually better than Boston but not as good as Chicago. Apparently the Metro Rapid Bus can influence traffic lights, which allows it to travel longer distances in a shorter time. While that may be true, it still took about 60 - 90 minutes for me to get into LA by bus; I'm sure it would've taken the same amount of time by car though.

I decided to head to the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) this afternoon. While I was looking up directions, I noticed that the Walt Disney Concert Hall by Frank Gehry was nearby, so I made a pit stop and checked it out. I'm not a huge fan of Gehry's works (I don't think many architects are) but I was interested because this building in particular has been featured in many movies. It's interesting to look at, but I can't say anything about how it functions. I also have a problem with it being made of all metal. As I mentioned before, it gets pretty hot in LA, so the entire facade of the building heats up. I wonder how much air conditioning is needed to maintain a comfortable temperature inside.

Museum of Contemporary Art

After snooping around the concert hall, I walked towards MOCA. I've been to a few contemporary art museums (MoMA, ICA, Art Institute of Chicago), and this one was on par with them, content-wise. Architecturally speaking, the museum is underground, and the skylights are all blocked, so there is absolutely no natural light in the galleries. It is also tiny compared to MoMA and Art Institute of Chicago. I walked through the entire museum in a little less than 2 hours. I think if they redesigned the museum, it could attract a lot more attention and get more visitors. But then again, they have two other branches located downtown, so maybe they don't need to. Just my two cents.

Drive

Nancy Hoover Pohl Overlook

Today I decided to venture up to Mulholland Drive and check out the view. I started off by sitting in traffic for a bit, but after an hour or so, I finally reached Mulholland Drive. Unfortunately, because the road is so long, I got a little lost on it. For those of you who don't know, Mulholland Drive is up in the mountains, so the road has all these crazy turns and can get pretty steep. While I was turning in to a couple random streets, I saw some of the houses that were around the area... it was like driving into an episode of Entourage or Weeds; these houses had to be in the millions. It took me a while, but I finally found the intersection of Laurel Canyon and Mulholland Drive and found some outlook spots. The views are quite spectacular. Hopefully I can somehow find a way up there again when it's darker to get some night shots.

Hollywood Bowl Overlook

Crazy

A few days ago, I was unfortunate enough to experience LA traffic.  People aren't exaggerating when they say it's bumper to bumper.  It still baffles my mind that a five-lane highway can be so packed. I thought Massachusetts was bad with three lanes, but this is ridiculous!

Usually in the mornings, it's a bit cooler (around 55 - 60 degrees) and it's a bit foggy, but yesterday was worse than usual. So here's my question. If you look at the image to the left, would you say that's fog or smog? Because we've all heard about the LA pollution. With that many cars driving in traffic, I wouldn't be surprised if that was all car exhaust.

Lastly, my rant of the day. Yesterday I was strolling along the boardwalk as usual, minding my own business. Now, Venice Beach is somewhat known for all the crazy bums that are around, but I figured that would be fine if they were doing their own things and I was doing mine. Well, I was wrong.  As I was walking, some nutjob decided to block my way as I tried to avoid him and then followed me, attempting to hit on me. Needless to say, I was not impressed. First off, he asked too many personal questions. Secondly, he was dirty, and for anyone that knows me, you know that I am OCD about being clean. Last of all, he touched my hair. I almost lost it at that point. Thank God he went away after spreading his germs onto me.

Hopefully my next entry will have some better experiences.