I guess on my two week-long visits to the LA metro area, I found it to be not much different from any other city I've been to. Of course, I spent a heck of a lot of time on the bus system so I was rubbing elbows with people who are closer to my SES.

I'm always on the bus. Depending on time of day, and which line, the composition can change radically, but there's almost always at least one mentally unstable passenger (which can sometimes be the driver, too), and everyone from young Hollywooders living on the cheap like me, to domestics and people who work in fast food restaurants. There's also usually at least one person whose car is "in the shop."

I'm always on the bus. Depending on time of day, and which line, the composition can change radically, but there's almost always at least one mentally unstable passenger (which can sometimes be the driver, too), and everyone from young Hollywooders living on the cheap like me, to domestics and people who work in fast food restaurants. There's also usually at least one person whose car is "in the shop."

I gotta take the bus while traveling just to have a sanity break. Otherwise it seems like all of the conferences I go to are stuck in the middle of a tourist commercial zone loaded with "Gap" and "Borders" and movie theatres with a dozen showings of The Stepford Wives. Sometimes it's a bit unplesant to get adopted by a drunk, but riding the bus helped me appreciate one of the statistics brought up in the conference that European-Americans are a minority in LA county.

I always feel disappointed when I go to a conference and end up in a place that is just like the mall 3 miles away from home. I think a bus ride or even a subway ride is necessary in visiting a city to see the city as it is, rather than how the tourist board wants you to see it.

There's a lot of substance here, and plenty of people could give a crap about showing off really nice things. I live in Hollywood, which is fairly unpretentious, though still somewhat image-conscious in some respects. But the big trend now is Diesel Jeans (which aren't too in the outer stratosphere), vintage shoes, and vintage shirts. That's practically a daily uniform, and it's relatively cheap to come by, actually. I really have never seen anyone prancing around trying to look like a million bucks.

I see celebrities at my nearest coffee house all the time, and they come in just like regular folk, too. I have a love/hate relationship with L.A., and at the moment I love it enough to still be here. So take it for what it's worth.

OK, cool. That's good to know. I'll try to visit before I make any decisions (though I probably won't be able to this year - new boss, no vacation time left :( )

Thanks for the input though.

I gotta take the bus while traveling just to have a sanity break. Otherwise it seems like all of the conferences I go to are stuck in the middle of a tourist commercial zone loaded with "Gap" and "Borders" and movie theatres with a dozen showings of The Stepford Wives. Sometimes it's a bit unplesant to get adopted by a drunk, but riding the bus helped me appreciate one of the statistics brought up in the conference that European-Americans are a minority in LA county.

I always feel disappointed when I go to a conference and end up in a place that is just like the mall 3 miles away from home. I think a bus ride or even a subway ride is necessary in visiting a city to see the city as it is, rather than how the tourist board wants you to see it.

I think there is a point to that, but I do venture that, in L.A. at least, bus riders represent only one facet of the city, albeit an important one that all too many people ignore. Riding the bus definitely does make me feel like a minority here...

OK, cool. That's good to know. I'll try to visit before I make any decisions (though I probably won't be able to this year - new boss, no vacation time left :( )

Thanks for the input though.

E-mail me before you visit (through my profile), and I'll try to give you some tips.

That's great to know! UC San Diego is now my top-choice school! :D (It is just a 10-minute walk from the beach! :D)


Good choice, UCSD is where I went to school :-) I graduated from there 2 years ago. There's a few good veggie places near the area, including a Whole Foods and Trader Joe's just down the street from it.

Good choice, UCSD is where I went to school :-) I graduated from there 2 years ago. There's a few good veggie places near the area, including a Whole Foods and Trader Joe's just down the street from it.
i don't know if you're vegan, but just a comment on the whole foods near ucsd: the whole foods in la jolla is the worst one i've been to for finding easy vegan food. i only went once because i had no reason to come back. i was just looking for stuff i could eat before/after class without preparation. none of the refrigerated prepared stuff was edible, and i don't think they had a food/salad bar, either.

i don't know if you're vegan, but just a comment on the whole foods near ucsd: the whole foods in la jolla is the worst one i've been to for finding easy vegan food. i only went once because i had no reason to come back. i was just looking for stuff i could eat before/after class without preparation. none of the refrigerated prepared stuff was edible, and i don't think they had a food/salad bar, either.

I am vegan, I actually have an easy time finding vegan stuff (maybe cuz I go often and know where to look)... i go there a few times a week. They have a salad bar area where they charge per pound, they almost always have prepared stuff like vegan Potato Salad (REALLY Good), vegan squash stuff, vegan pasta's, beans & rice, and lots of others. They also have a bakery section with vegan cakes and vegan cookies (also REALLY Good). They've been doing construction for the past few months, so you may have gone on one of their bad days.

i guess they've gotten better, then. this was in 2002, and i saw no vegan desserts or any other prepared things that could be eaten on their own. they didn't even have any vegetarian sushi at that time.

i don't know if you're vegan, but just a comment on the whole foods near ucsd: the whole foods in la jolla is the worst one i've been to for finding easy vegan food. i only went once because i had no reason to come back. i was just looking for stuff i could eat before/after class without preparation. none of the refrigerated prepared stuff was edible, and i don't think they had a food/salad bar, either.


btw, I just looked at your profile and saw cognitive science in there. That was my major, hehe. I specialized in HCI (human computer interaction). Have you looked at UCSD's CogSci department?? Maybe you went there too?

i had hoped to do a dual major in linguistics and cognitive science. cog. sci. would have been my first choice, except as i was transferring to ucla, i realized that i couldn't complete even the cog sci major alone within the unit limit. i've also realized now that it is near impossible to take some upper division psych classes at ucla without being a psych major, so my hope of completing the cog sci minor and getting to take the classes i am most interested in is gone. i'm now doing linguistics with a specialization in computing, and i'm frustrated about it.

i just took a couple of classes at ucsd (an introductory ling class and cognitive neuropsych.). i wasn't considering ucsd at the time because i wanted to get away from my parents, and the second time i transferred (uh, i was 16 and my parents made me come home the first time, longish story), the only other option i had for a place to live was with my boyfriend, who works at ucla.

Go Bruins...

hey, i know that some of you might find this to be a retarded question, but...here goes. how hot is it out in l.a. and malibu right now? should i even bother bring pants on my trip in a few days? i'm from tennessee and i'm used to heat with extreme humidity. i was just wondering because i need to know what to pack. any suggestions would be fabulous...

imo, it's not hot at all.

anybody near USC campus have a room the want to lease/rent for the 2004-2005 school year?

It'll be good to have one at least pair of jeans or light pants (like lightweight chinos or something), because it does get cool in the evenings. It gets warm enough during the day right now that you'll prefer shorts and t-shirts or other short-sleeved shirts (or long-sleeved linen or something like that) to anything that might cause you to break into a sweat with much activity. Compared to where you're from, this will seem pleasant, even if it does seem a little more humid to me than usual.

E-mail me before you visit (through my profile), and I'll try to give you some tips.

Thanks - I will

MEMO to self - make plans to visit Cali next year. Email epski :)

has anyone been to chandni on wilshire in santa monica?

i'm wondering if by chance they mark the vegan things on their menu? unlikely, i guess. i just hate asking questions.

I can't remember. I haven't been there since before I went vegan. But I seem to remember it being the kind of place where it wouldn't be difficult to find out, and no one would look at you weird for asking.

thanks for the help everyone.

Does anyone from the LA area have any suggestions on where to get strict veg party food from. I would like to get a cake and some party trays for my hubby's B-Day in a few months. I would do it my self to save money but few if any of the guests will be veg and I don't want them to think veg food is poison. I am a dreadful cook. Thanks.

What part of town?

I live in Palms so anywhere in West LA, Santa Monica, Culver City, Westwood.

There should be a socal meeting, outside of LA. its too big..

There should be a socal meeting, outside of LA. its too big..

Forget that! L.A.'s so much more central to the majority of members living in this area, and there's so many restaurants to choose from up here. And some good ones, too!