You know it can be easy to pigeonhole people. People tend to stereotype other people, it is a natural tendency. This is not something that humans like to admit about themselves, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s true. I used to have this impression of people in California, especially those people who lived in Los Angeles and the surrounding areas. Movies, magazines, and TV commercials portrayed Californians as stuck up and unapproachable. How many people know that I should not have allowed the media to influence my impression on anything?
Well, here I am with this notion of all these stuck up people. I mean, who else but stuck up people could live in towns with names like Brentwood Hills and Pacific Palisades, except stuck up people. Needless to say, my first trip (as an adult) to Los Angeles was quite interesting. I got off the plane with an attitude. Who do these people think they are? In Texas, what we call uppity people really chap our hides. That means stuck up people draw our ire. So, I am in Los Angeles giving everybody, including the cab driver, attitude.
After a while of engaging people I realized, hey, these are some pretty cool and laid back people. Are there some people that are walking around believing that the world revolves around them? Yes, but there are narcissists in every geographical location. Here I am eyeballing and mean mugging (looking angry) everyone, with no cause. I learned a valuable lesson that day. I learned that everyone deserves a chance to express who they are as a person before someone develops an opinion about them. I can’t imagine what the people that I encountered on that day was thinking about me, but it could not have been too good.
There is one thing that the media was not off on when it comes to Los Angeles, and that is its shopping and fashion influence. You can spend a lot of money very fast in LA. I know that I have. You can buy clothes, jewelry, art and so much more. This is where we talk about insurance real quick. How many know that when you buy nice things there are people who are motivated to relieve you of those nice things without remuneration? With all of the multitudinous trips that I have take to California, I have had several occasions in which some rather expensive items came up missing out of my room. When I notified the hotel manager of the incident and the cost involved, he had me file a formal complaint and in a reasonable time, I was reimbursed for my loss. The thing is the hotel did not have to pay me out of their own pockets (yes, I know that the hotel does not have pockets, work with me here), but they filed a claim on my behalf with their insurance company. It is important to have insurance that can cover all of the contingencies in which you are at risk for loss.
As far as the person who took my property, shame on you. Every time that I am in Los Angeles, I think about looking you up. One day my friend, one day.
