Hollywood - Little Ethiopia - Hollywood

It was a beautiful perfect day in Los Angeles on the day of the 21st of May. The sun was shining and the wind smelled sweet.

I began my journey on the hunt (and after) a day pass to get me through until tomorrow. Several cash checking places later, I ended up at RiteAid buying makeup and soda..not exactly a bus pass. I walked over to LaBrea where I caught the 704 for one stop, free of charge (thank you kind driver), to Fairfax. No one stuck out in my mind on the ride. I lallygagged around Whole Foods for a while buying cookies and coffees and enjoying all sort of treats. I then headed to the bus stop for the 780 to Pico/Fairfax. I was minding my own when a man on a cell phone approached the seat next to me, he sat down and looked around for a while. Suddenly he made a sharp 90 degree turn towards me and asked "Hello, are you from here?". I was startled by his heavy Russian accent and his abruptness when asking. "No, from New York (forced smile)". He turned again, and remained quiet. 17 seconds later he made another, more forceful turn and asked, "You are Russian?" "About 1/8 or so, yes..My great grandmother was" "Where from in Russia?" "I don't remember......." "From UKRAINE??" ........................... "Uhh...Yes actually. (??)" "What is your name?" "Sophia" "AH, yes Russian name (large grin baring his 3 gold teeth)". All was quiet for a while, as I scratched my head at how Russians ALWAYS manage to sniff out my tiny amount of Russian blood. Silence again until he turned one last time and said, "I'm taxi driver, you know?" "Oh, really? (forced smile)" "Yes. I give you a ride, where are you going? Are you going home? I can ride you there for free?" .................................. "ummm. no thanks. it's alright. i'm going to take the bus, thank you. O_O" "No really, for free" "NO...I'M GOOD ON THE BUS thankyou"

Just then he leaves without saying a word... no goodbyes...not even a glance. I think I'll save being kidnapped for a day less beautiful, it's far too nice to spend it in the trunk of a cab!

Saved by the bus, I boarded and found a comfortable spot to call my own. All was well until the Christian Audigier sandwich board got on and sat right next to me. I had immediate rage towards this man. He was far too mature to not realise how douchey the whole Ed Hardy/Christian Audigier thing looks! He not only had on the God-awful sweatshirt (obviously brand new), the hat, and the jeans, but he had to, just HAD to be carrying a new CA bag in his hands.. Like he went in there wearing all of that to buy another piece of ugly attire.



Now, I'm all about freedom of fashion, and wearing whatever makes you happy. And obviously CA made this guy really REALLY happy..It just makes me sad to see what looked to me like a fine older gentleman in such ugly gross attire trying to be someone he's not. Can't we just burn down the headquarters and take care of the problem?

I saw another woman who looked EXACTLY like a cartoon character. Her face was as funny shaped as her body, and it all looked a bit like a droopy peanut from the Midwest. She made me cough up a combination of a chuckle and some vomit, I'm not really sure why..

The rest of my journey is hazy, although I did meet a nice young man who asked about my tattoo. We discusses Hunter S. Thompson (the inspiration) for a while and then became facebook friends. Oh the wonderful world of technology :) I'm sure I'll never see him again in my life, but at least I'll know that his Grandma in Washington is doing well after her heart surgery and that her Danny loves his gimgims.

...Just kidding, I know nothing about this boy or his gim gim. He might not even have a gim gim for all I know ;)

That being said, I think it's time to end this adventure. Stay tuned next week!

Hollywood-Downtown-West Hollywood-Hollywood

As extreme as my route may have seemed, the ride wasn't nearly as epic. I only encountered a few key players in this multi-stop morning to evening mania that were interesting enough to jot down. My ride from Hollywood to Downtown began at 7am, a gross and unjust time in the morning for one to begin a bus journey. I can't believe that people actually live lives at this time in the morning, it astounds me to see normal people going about doing normal activities i only thought possible past 11! But anyway...I was no happy camper dragging myself out of bed and into the cruel blue light outside, but at least where I was going was positive. I spent the morning and early afternoon at the Spring Arts Tower on Spring st doing a photoshoot with my dear friend Wendy. A group of us girls put all of our talents in one pot and made a delicious high fashion stew, with extra potassium :)

I remember nothing of this trip besides the strange foreign noises coming from the driver's mouth, and the roads with names I had never heard in my life. I tried to stay alive by exercising my mind, but found my head bopping off to dreamland instead. I'm lucky I made it out alive, I could be in the back of a truck in Carlsbad by now!!



...Just kidding, the 4 doesn't go that far.

I was going to head back to Hollywood but was made a better offer and found myself traveling westward, only to travel eastward by other means of transportation. I made a quick trip to the market, gathered my goods, and prepared myself for my voyage home.

The next journey on the 4(downtown) was much more colourful than the last. I was still in hair and makeup from the photoshoot and decided it was best to stay concealed beneath my shades to prevent or cut down interaction with society. My several bags of goodies and I squeezed next to an older, more shelterly challenged man with a McDonald's cup in his hand. He smiled and waved and said "HELLO!" to me, which would normally startle me but instead felt inviting. I said hello back and played around with my cell phone, texting back 3 people at once, and mumbling to myself. The man with the golden arched cup asks with complete sincerity, "Did you get MY message??". I was quite sad I hadn't actually, I would have loved to know what he would have texted me. I politely replied no, and he smiled and proceeded to chant a multi-tonal hymn into his cup off to the side, so as not to disturb anyone too much. Wow! I thought, that's exactly what I'm missing in my life! The man AND the cup!! More power to him, I hope to one day have to courage to carry my own singing cup...I have not yet decided which corporation will be so lucky to have the honour of being the chosen one...Only time will tell.

The only other guy I payed attention to doesn't even deserve to be written about... So I wont. Screw you washed up, back alley Fabio with a hankering for young Singapore women!!

West Hollywood - Downtown

Hi!!
My name is Sophia, I'm a 24 year old New York native with no driver's license and a bad case of wanderlust. I moved to Los Angeles about a year ago without fully realising the importance and necessity of a vehicle in this not so tiny town. I've been "going metro" for almost 12 months, and so far it's given me nothing but a bucket full of stories for the grandchildren. I was on my way to meet a friend tonight in Downtown LA, when I decided that I needed to start sharing my stories with the world.. And if nobody ends up reading this, at least it will be good therapy after a hair-pulling-5 hour-6 bus journey just to go to the grocery store!

I wish I had written down some of my earlier bus experiences, like the one time I saw a leprechaun talking to a bear in a tutu.. Or the time a man proved his flexibility to me on the way to Santa Monica by doing leg lifts, bends and stretches in the aisle. But that is why I'm starting this now!

In New York I took the subways and buses nearly everyday, and there were always noteworthy characters..but there's something special about the LA Metro riders... something is different about them... I'm not sure if it's because they seem a little more depraved? Or perhaps it's because many of them seem to have crawled out of the sewers in search of their nightly meal of flesh and blood! No, I kid Los Angeles bus riders... sort of. I mean, I'm one of them! (But that's not saying much, is it?)

Tonight's ride wasn't particularly enthralling, there were only a few key characters I took special note of:

1. The Multi-Stop Magician - This guy and his lady got on the bus right after I did and they sat and chatted for quite a few stops until he got off leaving his lady behind. I wouldn't have paid too much attention except for the fact that several stops later the very same guy re-entered the bus and sat right back down next to his lady and they continued their conversation as if no time had passed! What did this guy do, exit - sprint for 2 miles - stop for a tinkle - and get back on?? I was baffled and a little unnerved by this whole situation but no one else around me seemed to take any notice, so I left it alone.

2. The Smelly Seat Hopper - This guy was far less impressive than mr. magic up there, in fact this guy was just rude. He entered the bus pretty close to DT, somewhere on Temple and immediately the air thickened. I could smell him the moment he set foot inside... Now, it wasn't like he was homeless or anything, he was wearing fresh slacks and a button down shirt, it's just that he smelled REALLY bad! I'm not talking sweaty, or musky... I'm talking garbagey, more like SEWAGEY. I swear he rolled around in pig slop before getting on tonight, just to make us all suffer. And the worst part about him is that he couldn't stay in one spot! He started in the front of the bus, and hopped from seat to seat eventually making his way to the back, leaving his stench to linger in the noses of us innocents. I mean really guy... figure this thing out... It can't be good for the environment!

I ended up getting a ride home from my friend, so I have no return stories... But lucky for you I have many more bus rides in my future, and If Los Angeles stays just the way it is for me, I'll have many more stories ;)

See you next time!
*S*