los angeles: wifi hunts, taco chases, and beachside blues

i woke up again. different wall, same ceiling creak. the minilaptop hummed as syncing files with cloud. out window: palm fronds sway, but more GPS apps than birds chirping. weather? feels like 23.47°C up here, though the sun’s gnashing at 25.37°C. perfect for sweating next to strangers in cafés? perfect for burning data on starbucks’ sketchy wifi? it’s all la. same as nyc, newer yorkers lied to my friend jessie: "someone told me the gentrified cafes hissed espresso, but i found hahn’s brewed by hahn instead. cheaper. blocked wifi? the UI glitched like my sanity."


then the trail. not the hike the hipsters call 'the run'. no. down melrose ave. passed a display of vintage clothes-flannel collars frayed like souls. shouted at a skateboarder: 'save the ollie for santa monica!' he yelled back: 'it’s called practice, man!' locals loose canons.


heard at the 20th street flea market: 'don’t pass banateros plaza at 2am. they’re callin’ it ‘the original cracker’ but don’t ask.' someone else: 'if you wanna see chaos? los angeles river bike path. early visions, late waves. bring a thermos.' thermos? i scoffed. but it’s bangin’ hot out. 51% humidity clinging like attention. feels like the city’s watching you.

dinner via maps.google navigation. not invented yet? honestly. tripped into blacksangria-vegan paella so greasy it made my ethical pulse race. future reminder: *staircases up to hollywood sign are deathtraps. scaffolding near vermillion plaza? same thing. locals know: don’t trust nice signs*.


ending? manhattan beach. crowds like i’m late to my own life. waves crunched, pigeons plotted. dude in yieldie shorts yelled: 'shank the pigeons!' priestly. i stole his photo op. phantom pain now. mostly wifi pain. wifi pain strongest.


three things next time: 1. park rodeo ro rooftop. 2. tacos weirdo at sunset? do it. 3. skip the hollywood sign. do street art instead.

almost found peace at manhattan beach pier [random yelp feud: http://yelp.com/biz/unrelated-taco-shop] starbucks disaster bait la sunset charts? science? maybe not. but the sea level here is 1013 hpa? whatever. it’s la. it’s everything. everything is weather. everything is link. (iframe? embedded weather pain).

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