DOWNTOWN VISIT

Stage 6 at LA Center Studios today was like an icebox. It was freezing cold because of the unusually warm weather we're having. It seems like that machine of an air conditioning system is just so off. Who controls it anyway? It definitely got a lot warmer on stage later in the evening probably because someone finally complained. Or it was the weather change outside when it got cooler and the machines didn't have to work so hard.

There was a blond woman who worked today that looked very, very familiar to me. I just couldn't make her out but she looks like someone in my mind. Did she look like an actress or had I seen her before? I didn't know how to tell her this without sounding like a stalker so I just stole glances at her all day. I know that's weird, but sometimes people strike me a certain way and I feel like my brain scrambles.

After we wrapped I visited one of my friends in downtown LA. I was just half a mile from the Biltmore and probably could have walked. However, I had my car so I drove there and parked on the street. I was surprised to see that the meters only operated until 3PM.

I was still in my suit so I figured I'd just wear it to the hotel. There's something about a suit that kind of demands respect. This phenomena is strange to me because if you think about it, they're only clothes. But it's like a uniform - our clothes represent something about us. They're just stereotypes but instead of being racial/ethnic, it's clothing.

A few bumps later and I was off to another friend's place off Fairfax. I hadn't seen my Bay Area friend who was visiting and was kind of sad to see that she was sick. Too much partying I guess. But it was just a cold, so I'm sure she'll get over it.

We caught up on some things. I wish she was in town a little longer, but she'll be leaving Friday which is my over-the-hill birthday. Jesus I'm old. My friend had apparently run a half-marathon so I finally got to ask someone (who isn't a fitness fiend that runs multiple marathons per year) what it was like. She told me what I figured - that it's really hard on your body and it's pretty much pointless. That is, there's no reason to put your body through that stress if all you're looking for is health.

I don't think my ancestors ever had to run that distance and if they did, it was like caveman or something. But then you begin to wonder, well, what did my ancestors do? Did they run long distances or farmed or partied or what?

On the way home, I began to think about survival. In other places around the world, some populations just try to survive. They do anything to live. In America, we don't really think about this. It's not too difficult to survive here in the States. So instead, we can focus on other things that allow us to make our lives better. Instead of survival, it becomes status or whatever it is that is important to you.

So given these opportunities, I feel like one should take advantage of this environment. People do, but I don't feel like I have. My day is yet to come.