I had the pleasure of meeting a new friend who grew up in the Valley of Los Angeles. The Valley is a little north of central LA, where all the hustle and bustle is. LA ... the place I currently call home-sabi nga ni Apl de ap ng Black Eyed Peas, this is a version of my ghetto - where traffic, and cussing, and gangstas roam the streets, homeless, beggars, every race and any race you'll see everyday on a regular basis, pollution, smog, and all kinds of sh*t litter the streets.
Talking to him made me realized how un-sheltered I've become and how it seems like I know too much "crap" about life...and roughing it on your own in this version of my "ghetto"....LA
Anyway, my friend lived in the Valley his whole life, which is like a whole other galaxy from where I am. He grew up in LA...but knows absolutely nothing about being street smart. And somehow in my two years here, I've acquired so much useless street-smart knowledge...and maybe some useless talents (as Rose McGowan in Planet Terror had)...and here's what i've learned in the last year:
1. Almost everyone smokes weed. It's not unusual to smoke it, to had smoke it, or to had BEEN smoking it...rich, poor, ugly, pretty, handsome, average, girl, boy, man, woman...it's the norm. I honestly don't like it...and I've tried it...and I think it's the safest drug you can ever come across...it's organic...it makes things hella funny...but it sure does make you stupid...or anything else around you, STUPID.
2. There's more drugs going around than you'll ever know. I was standing in front of a high rise one time and had a homeless guy offer me Meth...another example, I went to a rave with my friend once and had 2 pills of Extasy shoved in my hand...another example, Vicodin can go a long way from just relieving dental pain...rolled up dollar bills and "coke"...crack...it's scary how they're just out there... and how sometimes people and cops dont give a sh*t.
3. Gay and lesbians experience the same hardships in looking for love and acceptance - maybe more so for them. Maybe because 2007 was a year where I made a gazillion friends who are on the opposite sphere of my sexuality...but I've realized how much tougher the world is on them...in trying to find love...and acceptance in a world where not everybody has an open mind.
4. If you complain about your food in a restaurant, do it nicely...or else suffer the wrath of spit in your food. For real. And tip your servers! They're underpaid and overworked.
5. People in Sales...like people working in department stores or boutiques...there's a reason they're cranky...that's because shoppers are dirty little devils. Believe me coz I've worked for H&M...and people who leave clothes on the floor and don't put it back on hangers, oughta be hung...seriously, clothing business is a tough job, coz you have to constantly pick up after others...
6. Smoking is a tough thing to quit...coz drinking and a ciggy works too well together...don't fool yourself when you say "i'm not addicted"
7. Here's a fun one...a lot of girls I've met here have 'toys'...hahaha! Yes, I've been to the Hustler store and if you've watched Sex And The City, you'll realize it's not taboo anymore to talk about sex.
8. Abortion is a common surgery. It may be taboo...it may be a sin...and I may not be agreeing with the Catholic church when I say that I don't think there's anything wrong with it...because if somebody has no means of bringing a life into the world...why do it? Yes of course, you can be like JUNO (from the movie Juno) and have a baby and give it away...but what happens to nine months of your life when you're carrying the baby? Not everyone has a support system. I've learned not to be judgmental of people who did it for the right reasons...and practiced safe sex after. Seriously...a condom or birth control pills will not kill you.
Well that's it for now, I know I have a whole lot more but it will make for some serious blogging.
Maybe when I get to talk to my friend again I'll realize more useless things that I know...and maybe i'll help get him educated. It's funny how i thought i was sheltered because i came from a small town in the Philippines...evidently some people living in cities have had their shades drawn and doors locked, not wanting to venture out into reality. I am not sheltered anymore...
Apparently, i've realized, I know too much crap.
