ON Saturday as I drove back to Los Angeles from Orange County I was anxious about my upcoming week. Unfortunately, when I am stressed about things that derive from school I usually place this transgressions alongside LA. The fact that I can flee to my hometown whenever I want to escape the hustle of bustle of my schoolwork and the city has always been comforting. However, making the return trip is always a bit of a struggle. Naturally, it seemed fitting that I would hit all sorts of traffic. Now, I take the 105 for most of my trip to school, no traffic is never too much of an issue compared to other freeways. But on Saturday there must have been several accidents that made my trip less than pleasant. I was itching to get back to school and off the road as fast as I could, where I had a fun weekend planned before my intense week. When I got closer to LAX I noticed there was zero traffic of any kind on the other side of the freeway. Trying to get a good look without compromising my driving, I saw a large truck with people sitting in the back.
My first instinct was that it was an accident, but I quickly realized they were filming something. Now, I may come off as someone who isn't LA's 'Biggest Fan', but I can't help but get somewhat giddy when I stumble across something being filmed. It IS one of the reasons people are drawn to the city, isn't it? Briefly seeing the setup was strange. The camera equipment surrounded a vehicle, making it look more like a car design gone wrong. Further ahead, staged out in various lanes, were about ten cars all parked. I assumed they were waiting for the "go-ahead" to start driving. We often think about "extras" walking around in movies, but not many of us acknowledge the extras who have to actually get behind the wheel.
All in all, this minor instance proved to turn my spirits around slightly. Where else could I be where something like this could happen? Nowhere. The city may frustrate or annoy me at times, but it is instances like this that sometimes prove to be gratifying, giving me some pride to say I live in LA for most of the time. This may be a silly comparison, but its like those Sour Patch Kids commercials on right now: "First they're sour, than they're sweet". I just need to take more of these "sweet" moments to heart and open my eyes to what Los Angeles really can offer despite my frustrations.
-- Reilly Wilson
(photo by payton chung via flickr creative commons)
Yay you've become more of an LA person! I really enjoyed your comparison in the end of the Sour Patch Kids commercial. Though there are some annoyances like traffic, no where else can we see some many exciting things happen in just one place.
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