I was in Los Angeles last week. I'm sure you all know of La La Land. If you've ever been there, you also know it's an...ummm...interesting place. To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of the place. It's not the size that daunts me. I like cities. I like big cities. I've done a stint in small towns before, and I've lived in the 'burbs. Neither one are for me. I like people. I like to meet new and interesting people. Plus, I like to talk, so, you know, people are kind of a pre-requisite for that.
Yeah, but can they solve a quadratic equation?
No, I'm not a big fan of L.A. because so much of it seems fake. Sure, it's cool to see the movie industry everywhere you look. And the history is pretty cool, what there is of it. But under the glitz and glamour and the haze, it all seems a bit hollow. I DO like Santa Monica, but everything else is so criss-crossed with "freeways" and sprawl and palm trees, well, it's just not my style, I guess.
Hootchie Mama:
Now, you might be asking, "What does this have to do with being a bachelor?" I'll tell you. Because L.A. is the movie capital of the world, you can imagine that the place is just crawling with beautiful women. No, that's not really the right word. As my friend Galloway said, they're not just beautiful, they're amazing, stunning...breathtaking.
While I was in L.A. I spent a lot of time on Hollwyood Blvd., home of Grumman's Chinese Theater, The Walk of Fame, The Kodak Theater, the L.A. Subway and multitudes of crazy, insane people. Oh, and it's pretty well stocked with beautiful women. For me one of the best parts is that women in L.A. appreciate the short skirt and high heel look as well, which is always a winner in my book.
Now, I'm not intimidated by beautiful women, or smart women or confident women. I find smart and confident attractive, as well as funny...funny is important. But walking down Hollywood Boulevard, I found myself coming to one very interesting conclusion; As beautiful as these women were and are, I had a hard time finding them attractive. Confusing? Let me explain.
Most of the women I saw as I wandered down Hollywood Blvd. were thin, dressed in skirts that hit way up on the upper thight and heels that looked like miniature versions of the boots that KISS used to wear. The hair was stylish, the clothes were form-fitting and the makeup was laid on thick. I never spoke to them so my only impression came from their looks.
Listen, there was nothing wrong with the way they looked except for the fact that they looked so...well...L.A. In other words, they looked fake. Am I being harsh? Am I being too judgemental? Perhaps. Maybe it's my age. Maybe I'm becoming like that old man that sits on his front porch, yelling at "those blasted kids" to get off his lawn and reminiscing about the "good ole' days." Problem is, I hate yardwork and I don't believe in the "good ole' days."
All of the women I saw, and maybe this was just where I was located, seemed way more interested in stuffing themselves into crowded nightclubs, working as waitresses or hoping to be seen by the right people. As a bachelor in L.A., the competition isn't other men, it's Hollywood itself.
Confidence!
When I was in Boulder, I was a young, good looking, relatively thin man. I was athletic, participating in sports, even fencing for a number of years. I dated, I met women, I grew in confidence. By the time I left Boulder, I have to admit that I was a bit of a cad. I was confident to the point of arrogance. I just felt that, hey, I have been in the dating waters in Boulder, where some extraordinarily beautiful women live and I did okay for myself. I figured if I could be successful in Boulder, then I could have success with women wherever I went.
After I moved to Denver for work, I realized a few things.
1. Women in college are simply looking for a good time, which was compatible to me.
2. College women are basically focused on two things, school and men, not necessarily in that order.
3. Professional women have different desires and focuses.
In Denver, I wasn't just competing against other men, I was competing against career aspirations, marriage aspirations, family obligations. I had to change my approach, my own focus and my own ideas on what being a post-school bachelor was like.
I talked to a number of guys while in L.A. We talked about the town, the work and the women. These are good looking guys with good jobs and charm. In Denver, they had no problem finding women to be with. In L.A., however, being a bachelor means having to take on a whole new skill set.
That's because most of the women they have met are way more interested in being seen by the right people and parlaying that into a modeling or movie gig. One man I spoke to told me that if you aren't involved with the movies somehow, your chances of hooking up with one of these "stunning" women diminishes greatly.
Now, I have to imagine that maybe it's only that way in Hollywood and the immediate surrounding areas. It can't possibly be that way all over Los Angeles, could it? As much as I enjoyed all the eye candy wandering Hollywood Blvd., I will still take the girl next door any day of the week.
Preferences:
Maybe it's just my personal preference, but the entire town looked so very blond. Bleach blond, natural blond, dirty blond. At least there were a number of redheads mixed in. I like redheads, I think red is sexy. I think redheads are my blondes. Of course, though, I'll always be a sucker for brunettes and dark hair. I'll take a brunette from Chicago over a blonde from L.A. any day.
I think I could be okay if I had to live in L.A. I wouldn't be overly happy about it. But I'd probably find a way to live in or near Santa Monica and try to find the women who weren't just looking for a casting couch. And I think it could be done.
Being a bachelor in L.A. is all about segmenting, I think. Yeah, you can make the trip down to Hollywood or Sunset Blvd., but that's probably more for the occassional wild night out on the town. I think bachelors that have success (those not involved in movies, anyway) find neighborhoods where they are comfortable, where they fit in and where the women aren't as movie-obsessed as the rest of the city.
I will say this, though. I feel bad for women living in, or growing up in, L.A. It has to be hard. Everywhere you look are billboards, thousands of them, featuring hot women in bikinis or in movie promotions or telling you that liposuction is the way to achieve your dreams. Plus, the competition for women out there is brutal. You can be the most beautiful girl in your town, but in L.A., you're just another face.
One night as we drank two-dollar bottles of win on a rooftop in downtown L.A., we met two women who had clearly been partying for hours (on a Wednesday night, btw). These two women had just met two men, brothers, at a local club. The men seemed subdued, one of them even left the party early. We all chatted and had a good time. Neither woman was involved with movies, but of course, had a secret desire to GET involved in movies.
The women were attractive, bubbly, outgoing, if also a little tipsy. They just seemed like they wanted to have fun, which is a common theme out there. If you had asked me when we first met them how old I thought they were, I would have said mid-20's. Sure, the lighting was low, the wine was flowing and I wasn't paying too much attention. But I could have sworn they were in their mid-20's. So imagine my surprise when told that each of them had children in their mid-teens. They were closer to 40 than they were 21. I don't get shocked very often, but THAT shocked me. I was literally speechless. Once again...brutal competition for the women out there.
In the end, I'll take the girl next door who might not be as pretty as all the women in L.A. But I prefer substance over plastic surgery and movie aspirations. Although it WOULD be cool if the girl next door wore short skirts and heels. I could live with that.
No comments:
Post a Comment