May 06, 2006

Tips for a Visit to Southern Cali



This picture was taken right after I finished surfing on a 9'8" longboard, last summer in California, on La Joya Beach. I loved surfing so much. I wish I could do it more often.

Some interesting things to note for y'all who haven't surfed and/or haven't been to South Cali:

  1. DON'T mess with a surfing guy's territory. I have surfed three times. The first time, I was about 13-14, and I saw an awesome wave coming in off on the right. I called out "coming in on the right!" to tell all the guys about that wave. Little did I know that when you get to a wave first (which I had) you have dibs on it. Other surfers can ride it, but NOT if you call out the direction you are going to ride a wave. I, unfortunately, rode the wave straight down. It was one of the best waves to come in that day and they were all TICKED. Talk about not letting something drop! They were still all mad and yelling at me when I left.
  2. Appearance is everything to the richies. I even saw a PIZZA DELIVERY guy driving a brand-new Audi. Makes me wonder why he has the delivery job if he can afford an Audi...oh wait, it's cause he CAN'T afford the Audi! He needs the job to make payments. This is so over-the-top, it is sickeningly wrong. There are millions of people starving in this world, yet in the world of Southern California, spend if you've got it, borrow if you don't, and there is no limit to how in debt you should get in order to fit in.
  3. Expect to cause an accident on the freeway if you wave, smile, or make any attempt at friendliness. I'm serious. 75% of Southern Californians are mean, snobby people. (At least, in the rich parts of it. I'm talking Orange County, etc.) You would think that when they all have cosmetic surgery, they get the doctor to take out their basic decency too. My dad rented a convertible while we down there and my little brother and I made a game to see how many people we could get to smile and wave at us. During our entire week down there, we got a grand, smashing total of 10 waves back.
  4. Do not, I repeat, do NOT make eye contact with the Hispanic men. I have NOTHING against them (except when they are illegal immigrants.) But they have a completely different culture and if you look their way, they think you are "in love" with them. Hahaha! I am not kidding. It is actually sort of scary...
  5. The Buffalo Exchange is a worse rip-off there than in Portland. For y'all who don't know what a Buffalo Exchange is, it is like a high-end thrift store. It is bad enough in Portland, but in Pacific Beach/San Diego, everything costs about $10-15 more than it is worth. I AM SERIOUS. Don't even waste your time. Besides, all the clothes, for the girls at least, are a size 0, thanks to Hollywood's powerful influence, "the skinnier the better."

12 comments:

AFamousStatue said...

Hmm, that all makes sense. I haven't been to the South (yet, I am SO going to travel someday) otherwise I would be able to make an educated response to your comment about fake hospitality. But I'll take your word for it...

typo said...

come on now y'all...don'tcha know that we-s around here are the best you get in southern tradi'tion. why, we might just be backstabbin' ya with a smile on ou'er face, but we do it with passion.....granted that there passion be illogical hate....."my redneck past in nipping at my heels"......heh..

AFamousStatue said...

That's terrible. But funny...

You know what is frustrating? The masks people put up. I actually am pretty good at reading people but sometimes, I can't and then, it is really irritating. But I suppose I am not one to talk because sometimes I put up masks that only a chosen few can read...

typo said...

i understand what you mean. i always hoped that it would end in high school, but apparently its just people. far as i know, i don't have m/any masks. then again, i do enjoy halloween....funny little druids.

AFamousStatue said...

Yeah, it is just people. Although, I must say you guys are pretty adept at it. I would say that guys wear masks WAY more often than girls. But there are ALWAYS exceptions to every rule.

typo said...

i am probably not the exception...i just don't see my masks i suppose..

AFamousStatue said...

Oh, I think that sometimes we subconciously put up our masks but I think that for the most part, we methodically hide our real emotions from others. However, there are some people who just wear everything on their sleeve so to speak. I don't know if I am making any sense at all right now, actually.

typo said...

oh no, your making perfect sense. i feel that most of the time i run on automatic mode. my emotions are easily displayed through my actions/conversations for all to see/laugh. could be wrong; bobert or scrib would have a better idea as to what i do.

people do tend to be more subversive. seems to me that our culture breeds this type of behavior. politics, entertainment, fashion, and the rest of our little parts seems to aid in our game of dress-up. others seem to find comfort in the ability to lie/decieve others, as though they have more control in their day-to-day lives because of it.

AFamousStatue said...

Remember when you said that I was the representative of the logical part of the female gender? Well, we had better not push it too far tonight, cause I am really, really tired. But I will attempt a response.

Do you really mean automatic? The auto mode generally comes out when we are tired because we are so in tune with our social surroundings and we are careful to not break "codes" etc. (OK, now I am NOT making sense, not at all.) I agree that our culture encourages hiding your real personality in order to present a "better" one. This is the ultimate loss of control, I think, because we are losing our independence, etc., in order to "fit in" with a culture that is constantly changing. I suppose I am speaking out of concern for all the girls that are growing up in a society that tells them to be loose in order to attract men, and to dress maturely when they are too young, and to grow up too quickly when childhood already is over too fast.

OK, I'll stop rambling now.

typo said...

My personality = [2(Mugen) x Jin]
Scrib might know what I'm talking about there.

Automatic as far as running around without thinking. As bad as it sounds, I enjoy the freedoms of not worrying about those stigmas. I say what I want without thought of who is in the direction. I must say though, my ultimate dream would to be alone on an island where no standards can be pushed upon me.

Agree completely with the societal complaints. I have many young female cousins who are following in the ideals of the second and third parts. Thankfully, they have yet to reach the 'put out or shut out' stage, so time is on their side. As of right now, I have seen two cousins yield children out of the first complaint. They were both beautiful children, with the oldest being quite the little genius. I think it was partially due to having such a large family to help out, but many young women do not have that aid.

Beer Walrus OUT!

Amy said...

I'm amazed that the pizza delivery guy would put pizza in an AUDI! He'll never be able to get the smell out! But he's probably leasing, so it doesn't really matter to him... :)

I totally agree about smiling at Hispanic men. It *is* a culture thing. I sometimes feel bad about avoiding eye contact with them, but at the same time I don't want to send the wrong message. When I did made the smile mistake in the past, I've wanted to say, "No, no, just smiling, I'm married."

AFamousStatue said...

Perhaps he had the pizza wrapped in big plastic bags, or possibly even in the trunk...who knows??

Thanks for stopping by!!