Marc Choquette
Perspectives Editor
Los Angeles. Some call it the world capitol of entertainment and glitz, cultural diversity and trendsetting. Others aren’t so fond.
I had never known for myself the true Los Angeles since I had never gone out of my way to explore the city.
But now that I finally have an internship, it’s almost a part of my job.
I am often dispatched to places like the shopping district of Melrose Avenue to do promotion work, the hidden “Main Street USA” that is Larchmont Street to grab a bite, and the swank, exclusive hotels on Sunset Boulevard to drop off magazines.
Of course, the unpaid job doesn’t seem so dandy when you have to go to Office Depot to get staplers and highlighters. However, spending each Wednesday scoping the hidden hangouts of the city is one of the gems of interning in the city that many Pepperdine students never really get to know.
There’s a massive grid of madness at our doorstep and we are too often 15 miles up the coast, sitting around complaining about how frustrated everyone is with boredom.
Even though on clear days we can see much of Los Angeles from campus, the place seems distant and foreign to the average Pepperdine student.
Sure, we have all made our treks to go see the Dodgers or hit a show on Sunset, but making the trip always involves a plan to be executed where rides need to be arranged, parking money needs to be covered, time needs to be allocated for traffic and someone must be willing and able to drive back.
These reasons answer pretty easily the question of why we don’t go enough. It seems to be too much of a hassle. Some don’t think it’s worth the drive. These excuses are only illusionary, providing planned wisely and timed correctly, a lesson I can’t even get myself to follow.
Example: Don’t leave for Bob Dylan featuring the Kings of Leon at 6:30 p.m. for the 8 p.m. show in Inglewood. The 10 and 405 freeways will insist that you miss the Kings of Leon open in favor of spending some quality time reading bumper stickers.
You will sit in mind-numbing traffic on the 10 Freeway (an intrical part of my theory as to why people from Los Angeles are crazy), which usually begins just after the Tunnel and ends way past where your patience will allow you to go. You will exit to try and cheat by taking Pico or Olympic Boulevards, but these throughfares are equally clogged.
One really smart idea is to leave for the city at an off-hour (i.e. between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. or later at night) and you will find you can cruise to Hollywood, Downtown, Venice, or Westwood all in fewer than 40 minutes.
While the city may seem overwhelming to one who simply wants to go explore, this may be a blessing in disguise. An upside to the massive urban sprawl is its many enclaves and districts not seen from a freeway.
While in Santa Monica, most go to the Mecca of commerce, the 3rd Street Promenade, but never check out the hipper, quieter Main St. When checking out a game at Staples Center, why not beat the traffic and check out the rapidly changing downtown? Head down to Venice to see what is sure to be the strangest grouping of people you have ever seen gathered in one place.
When it comes down to it, there are really too many things to discover, places to dig and people to see in the city to possibly justify staying in Malibu all the time. And if you still think L.A. is a waste of time, remember it’s the closest place to get an In-N-Out burger.
02-01-2007