城市裡的影子

Varnish

Fri, 8 Jul 2011 21:34:55 -0700

M and I were enjoying a drink at our favorite speakeasy, the Varnish, after a night of art. Downtown Los Angeles has come a long way since the gentrification began. Not that the homeless are gone, but the influx of hipsters and professionals and artist lofts has diluted its past image just a bit. The abundance of gourmet food trucks selling 4 dollar mini cupcakes doesn't hurt either.

Varnish, in its dimly lit glory, is filled with its target demography, young professionals indistinguishable from each other, except for the one table in the corner strangely garbed in Edwardian clothing, complete with a houndstooth tophat cocked rakishly to the left. The crowd no doubt brought about by the Art Walk, since just earlier we saw a gang of harlequins peddling lithographs of clowns. And a rock 'n roll clown rodeo.

As we are finishing our drinks at the bar, a middle aged man, tie loosened, rested his elbow to our left waiting for his drink. I made some room for him and exchanged pleasantries.

"Here for the Art Walk?" I asked, as I accepted the candied ginger from his drink.

"Nah, I have an office downtown, and I was in court this afternoon, so I just stuck around."

"I see." I passed the candied ginger to M as I watched his eyes glaze over.

He didn't want to go home. Even if he lived in Malibu and golfs every Tuesday.

"I didn't' want to sell the house," he suddenly said, "but the wife wants it for the divorce." His grip tightened, and his brow moist with sweat.

He then proceeded to show M and me prom pictures of his son, who is starting UCSB the coming fall. I didn't' have the heart to tell him his son looks like a douche. He flipped through the album on his phone, one after the other, stopping at a pin-up girl with a dental floss thong.

"Heh, that's not my son," he put the phone away, clearly embarrassed, "that's just some Brazilian chick."

"You must be proud," I said.

"I am," his eyes focused for a second, "he's a good kid."

He made an effort to gather his thoughts before continuing. "He'll have so much fun there. We took a trip to visit the colleges, and Santa Barbara is just wild." His eyes widened a bit, and he slid his four-in-hand knot down his shirt further, "the coeds there are just wild."

A few minutes later, he took off his coat, hung it underneath the bar, and wondered around off. I reminded him to check the DUI check points. He muttered something unintelligible, and left, leaving a trail of heavy breaths behind.

"I knew he was divorced as soon as he showed up," I said.

"I knew he was Jewish as soon as he showed up," M said.

"You win."

Cigarette Diaries, Week 9.

Tue, 25 May 2010 16:48:46 -0700

5/10/10: 9 cigs.

PotentialI spent the day sleeping writing thank you notes. I don't think not having school anymore has changed my daily routine much.

5/11/10: 8 cigs.

I need out. Badly.

5/12/10: 8 cigs.

Foraging on ahead. Monster must be sick of me now.

5/13/10: 9 cigs.

The night consisted of looking forward to the new pool table at the Helms and even more genuine and heartfelt congratulations from rest of the crew. Hearing these congratulations made the finality of it all that much sweeter.

5/14/10: 10 cigs.

I don’t remember much from tonight, so it must be a standard Friday night.

5/15/10: 8 cigs.

Erlan was genuinely surprised by everyone's presence. And even when he's past drunk, he still had time to mess with my car, which he claimed to be the works of Wiper Gnomes, indigenous to El Segundo, I'm sure.

5/16/10: 5 cigs.

I slept all day. Mission accomplished.

Cigarette Diaries, Week 8.

Sun, 16 May 2010 23:14:38 -0700

5/3/10: 9 cigs.

Potential lead. And I'm glad my classmates understand the pressure of orals.

5/4/10: 8 cigs.

I think I slacked off a little too much today.

5/5/10: 8 cigs.

Not much going on besides breaking the quota and studying. I think I'm finally getting burned out after two and a half years on work and school.

5/6/10: 9 cigs.

12 hours until the last hurdle before getting yet another suffix appended on my name. I'm doing everything in my power to distract myself, including ironing my shirts. In fact, I ironed 2 shirts, quite professionally, I might add.

The uneasiness isn't helped by disgusting curry (courtesy of SanSei. Do not eat there) and excessive amount of caffeine in my system.

5/7/10: 10 cigs.

I fucking deserved this overage.

5/8/10: 8 cigs.

I'm getting spoiled by being able to spend so much time with Michelle. Four of seven days in a working week is just unheard of.

5/9/10: 5 cigs.

Graduation, art show, and Umami Burgers. That's how the day should be spent.

I also received a hearty congratulations from all of the Helms men, and of course that involved drinks, pool, and a bar.

Cigarette Diaries, Week 7.

Sun, 16 May 2010 23:07:59 -0700

4/26/10: 9 cigs.

En route to my second to last final of my LMU career. This cathartic feeling will last until I walk for my commencement, I presume.

4/27/10: 8 cigs.

Now that the quest is on track, I need to decide in which of the two paths lie the greatest potential for me. Without experience in either of those two fields, it is starting to feel like a shot in the dark.

4/28/10: 8 cigs.

Just an oral exam and a project to go.

4/29/10: 9 cigs.

Almost hit some OC sheriffs on my way back from lunch. Not a fun time. I did, however, got off with a warning. It’s a good thing I didn’t dick up the car like the sheriffs said I’d do.

All I can do now is wait.

4/30/10: 10 cigs.

Missed Murder City Devils for the second time due to professional credential tests.

Damn you LEED!

5/1/10: 8 cigs.

Took and passed the LEED Green Associate certification with hours to spare.

5/2/10: 5 cigs.

Sister found a great omelet place; however, it just got served its 30 day notice yesterday. Sad situation of affairs.

Cigarette Diaries, Week 6.

Wed, 12 May 2010 21:44:20 -0700

4/19/10: 10 cigs.

Finally visited Stephen's new place for his birthday. Did not realize Long Beach had apartments over 2 stories tall.

Way over the limit. Oh NOES!

4/20/10: 10 cigs.

Organized my past notes into ancillary classes and core classes. It's not looking as daunting as I thought.

4/21/10: 11 cigs.

Finally scored an interview after many many tries. The place, however, does not look very promising long-term. I just might be a hard sell.

4/22/10: 10 cigs.

Went well, still don't know why they were so impressed by my resume.

All I can do now is wait.

4/23/10: 10 cigs.

Sonata Arctica is just as awesome as the last few times I've seen them. Metal band singing a impromptu blues as an encore? Followed by Hava Nagila? awesome!

Too bad the opening bands has such crappy names I cannot get into them. Shotgun City, are you for reals?

4/24/10: 8 cigs.

The wedding was rather exciting due to the open bar. In between scotches and mojitos I saw people, chatted with people, and were constantly reminded of why I didn't keep in close contact with some of those people. I've also realize my grasp of Chinese idioms has deteriorated to essentially nonexistent.

4/25/10: 4 cigs.

Studied for finals and my oral. Just like last couple of weekends. I'm over feeling over the stress, if that made any sense at all.