Are people in LA only in real estate or artists? It’s incredible each time I’m having lunch or drinking a coffee and listening to the conversation people are having, turns out the only subjects they talk about are “brokers, lots, design” or “script, agent”. Just to let you know, I usually do not listen to other people. I feel it’s intimate and impolite to listen. We are not invited to do so and maybe they are sharing very deep and secret thoughts. However, I have to say that people here talk loudly and do not really care if anyone listens. In general they even want others to listen kind of self marketing. Maybe they think what they are saying is worth being listened to. I was having lunch at tavern in Brentwood. Great spot! People were having lunch and spontaneously telling their table-neighbours that the chocolate cake looked amazing and huge. Who would do that in Paris? It would be much different and seen as an intrusion in one’s private life and intimate kingdom. Why is it that here I feel great sitting alone in a fancy/trendy spot? I do not care no one is judging me for being alone, looking at me and feeling pity. Yes I am eating alone and so what? I am inspired and I am writing this article. It is almost impossible for a young woman to sit down at a Costes restaurant (trendy place) in Paris and not being viewed as a weird person or maybe even as a gold digger. I remember this story a friend once told me about this girl who decided to get breakfast in a really trendy spot and who felt so horrible because men came up to her. Yes she was wearing a short dress but whatever! Who would care here in LA? All women have the freedom to wear whatever they feel like and yet I’m guessing they get judged from time to time but they do not care so much. I love how people share their opinion here on food, ask for advice, it even gets really specific sometimes. You do not feel like you’re bothering your waiter, he is there to help you , serve you and answer your deepest questions. For instance: “which burger would you recommend?”, “which desert is your favorite”? It’s not something you’d do in France. People are not really there to tell you what to do.Isn’t it such a big responsibility though to choose for you? Isn’t the waiter entering your private life in a way when he is chosing for you and telling you which one he thinks is the best. You know what’s great about it: he doesn’t even care if you follow his advice, he just wants you to be happy, enjoy your meal. At the end of the day, everyone is happy. He did his job, he served you and waited (answered your questions for so long) he waits, that’s what he does … Isn’t waiting such a waste of time and energy? What is he really waiting for? For you to sign the bill? Get his tip?

 

Waiting has always been something one should explore. I know a lot of different artists already explored the concept, writing plays about it, making movies, writing amazing poems … What is so captivating with this idea of waiting? Waiting for who, for what and where? Where do you usually wait? Okay, we wait in line. That’s the first idea that comes to mind. The physical wait we experience daily (supermarket, movie theater, transportation …) Then, I’d say waiting at a red light in your car (sometimes these lights can be pretty long)

What if these moments were golden? What if we finally stopped what we were doing and focus on more important stuff? I mean it’s not like you’re going to do anything productive in these “waiting moments” you may as well start thinking about what comes to mind. Sometimes even listening to a song on the radio while you are at a red light can bring back so many different thoughts and feelings. It’s amazing how the human’s mind has this capacity to change so quickly. One minute, one can be totally depressed, low, thinking about his bad day at work … and during maybe one of these “waiting period”, one can realise how lucky he is for this or that reason, reminiscing about the past (good times), looking at the pink sky and asking oneself why not feel good again? Why not fight this negative feeling and just enjoy this moment?

 

Some would say we are all waiting … Waiting for the end I guess. It’s a rather depressing way to see life. Therefore, make your wait incredible! Do not wait for things to happen, make them happen. Read, listen to music, talk to people, make new encounters and you’ll find that waiting gets a lot more interesting. Do not wait for the sake of waiting but always remember you should cherish these moments, because they become the deepest and most truthful ones.

YP

 

I’m a Parisian woman and moving here was a complete transformation in my normal routine. I used to live in NYC which had a touch of Paris’ lifestyle: the atmosphere, restaurants, bars, clubs, art, shopping, walking in the streets … LA is just another world, another scene, one has to figure out how he is going to experience the transformation before becoming a happy resident. Here, you cannot do anything, meet anyone, without using your car. The car says a lot about the driver. You must choose your car intelligently, strategically. If you ask someone to go for a walk, a “promenade”, the answer is NO.

You do not walk here, you drive and you love it.

The funny thing though, is that I used to drive everywhere in Paris.

So why am I complaining? I just feel that to discover a city, you need to walk. Not using a guide, but walk your own way, your own path … Have your own vision, encounters, try new stuff and have your own opinion. That’s the true discovery. And, I must admit it’s really wonderful to get to know a city.

I feel that getting to know a city is like falling in love. You just exchange thoughts, dialogue, experience great moments, bad fights, laugh, cry, make love …

You get lost, you find your way and you feel so happy when you finally know where you’re going. You create your own habits, you tell your friends about them. You feel you own the city like if you’d been living there forever.

 

I know that for a fact since I moved to NYC and had this feeling for a while.

First comes the discovery, shy rather slow period. The parallel with the relationship is obvious. You do not jump directly in someone’s life, you take your time, get to know the individual, show who you are without showing too much. That’s exactly how it works with the new city.

 

What if the city is spread out? Los Angeles is huge. How can you deal with that? How can you fall in love?

 

It’s not going to be easy, it’s going to take time and efforts. But what is more desirable than discovering and getting to know someone who has so much to offer: different aspects of his personality, who is always surprising you and whom you always have something to learn from.

 

Los Angeles is not just Los Angeles. Before I experienced it and decided to start the discovery process, I hated LA. I thought LA was Sunset Bd, Hollywood, the movie stars, Disney and Universal Studios. I didn’t know anything and didn’t even want to know. I felt it could never be compared to San Francisco or New York City. I felt LA was empty. I was so wrong…

 

But it takes time … And you have to be patient if you want to start your journey.

LA is about the people of LA, it’s about the diversity of things and the beauty of its melting pot.