June 30, 2013
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memories in los angeles
A few weeks ago, I was able to spend a week in Los Angeles as it was my only week to just chill and not practice piano for once.
I only went to LA because my boyfriend really wanted me to visit him since he was working on his internship there, specifically around Beverly Hills/Century City. To be honest, if it wasn't for him, I would've never gone. I never liked LA. I hated Socal people (and Vegas people, since they are very similar), and I hated the lifestyle that was associated with them. And I'm talking about the stereotypical laidback, parties at the beach lifestyle. I've always heared about the underground scene at K-town and how college students love to just chill at the beach. And after living far away from the west coast, I realized how much more I despised the Southwest portion of the US. I could go on and on about my reasons of why I never liked LA. But let me stop here and explain what had happened that week...
It was that week that made me realize that although those stereotypes may be true, I was so ignorant that I couldn't even look at all the good memories I had in Socal in the past decade. I know my boyfriend must have been so tired of me being so nostalgic all the time, because literally everywhere I went, I had to point out another memory I had with my family and friends from the past.
1. I got to meet old friends like Daren, my long-time duet partner, Charvin, one of my closest YouTube buddies, and Chris, one of my best friends from high school. I also got to meet new friends, like Chris' girlfriend, and Joyce Oh, who's not really new, but sort of since I only met her at my church in Chicago. Daren and Charvin are two that I've hung out with already in LA the last time I went, which was my senior year of high school. It was my first time hanging out with Chris in LA. It was weird hanging out with him in a new environment, and seeing that he was driving me around this time, especially since I was always the driver.
2. In N Out. Enough said.
3. Disneyland. It was my third time going, but my first time with my boyfriend (it was also his first time!). Everything about that theme park was nostalgic for me. The first time I went was when I was still in elementary school. It was with my family and we went to both sides of the park. I remember I got to experience my first rollercoaster with a loop (Soarin' Over California). Then the next time I went was with my 7th grade classmates as a "back-to-school" trip. We only visited the Disneyland side, and as a 12-year-old, it was so much fun just roaming around in the park without any parents. So it had been nearly a decade since the last time I went, but a lot of these rides that I rode with my boyfriend were still so vivid in my head. Ironically, even though the park is aimed for little kids, I think it was most enjoyable for me this time around. This time I was with someone that I cared about a lot, and moving around in the park was so much easier with just the two of us, instead of a whole pack of friends or my whole family. We had no time limits, so we got to stay until midnight and saw the fireworks, which was my first time ever. It was also my first time having to drive to Anaheim and back, which was exhausting. It made me think back on all the times my dad drove my family around and he never once complained about how tired he was.
3. And speaking of which, I need to explain about driving. I rented a car for four days and it was thanks to a car that my boyfriend and I had lots to do around Socal. It was expensive, and I even gained a freaking parking ticket, but it was well worth it in the end. I was at first intimidated driving in the streets of LA, but when I realized that my aggressive driving personality actually fit in with the crazy drivers there, I no longer seemed scared. But it did make me think back on all the times my dad drove. How I used to beg my mom if I could sit in the shotgun seat, for the sole purpose of reading signs and talking to my dad about driving and cars. So a lot of these streets around K-town (Western, Pico, Olympic, etc.) were very familiar to me even though it's been so long since I've been there. And as I got older, my dad and I would play the ETA (estimated time of arrival) game. I would calculate in my head the time it would take for the remaining number of miles left in the journey. After some practice, I got really good at it, but never as good as my dad. Then again, he can always control the speed at which he is driving, so he always won... -__- Anyway, driving around LA really made me appreciate my dad and what he did for us for our annual trips to LA. My dad still drives a lot, since he's a taxi driver in Vegas, but I know his driving lifestyle is slowly coming to an end as he is getting older and older. And even the last time I went to LA in my senior year of high school, my dad let me drive the whole way. I don't know when my family will make another trip out since it's hard to get all five of us in the same city for a long period of time, but I just know that my dad won't be responsible for all the driving anymore. It's a sad realization... but I'm just grateful for my dad for being my dad. For being a hero in my family.
4. And K-town. Koreatown was always the place my family went to year after year. We went there because back then, Vegas didn't have a major Korean supermarket and if we wanted to buy anything, it was always so much more expensive than in LA. So my parents, would save up money and then we would spend so much. Usually we were in K-town anywhere from 1-2 days, so we really went crazy with shopping. I remember going to Assi one time and my parents stocked up three carts full and spent more than a thousand dollars in total. I remember being so excited to be in LA, but at the same time, so bored that I had to always follow my parents around. My siblings and I ended up creating our own games and causing mischief around the stores. I still remember times we would attempt to play hide-and-seek inside one of those really cramped and small Korean stores. Or the times we would go up and down the elevator inside Koreatown Mall because it was see through and was the coolest thing ever. Back then they had a humungous music store, and by the time I was around 5-7th grade, I would go there with the sole purpose of listening to all the techno and trance and K-pop CDs. And after tons of begging, my mom would finally let me buy some of the CDs. Before the iPod age, I had a CD player, and after buying those CDs, I would always listen to the entire album multiple times on our trip back to Vegas. I'm so sad that the music store no longer exists in the mall, and the mall has gone through lots of renovation since a decade ago.
5. Classical music. Everytime I'd be driving around, my boyfriend and I would go through all the radio stations trying to find a good one to listen to. It was too bad neither of us had an auxiliary cable to use, so all we had was the radio. There were many times we would stop at the classical station because nothing else was good. But it made me so happy knowing that I can share my love for classical music with him, who is also a classical music fanatic. It reminded me of all those times when my dad would ONLY make us listen to classical music. We weren't ever allowed to change it. And when we were passing through different districts and areas of California, my dad would always have to find a different station that had classical music. Our car was always filled with the same kind of music but because of that, it has definitely shaped my experiences when traveling to LA. I also remember during my angsty middle school years, I was so annoyed with the constant classical music that was playing in the car that I always brought my CD player along with me so I could blast K-pop or techno music to drown out the sounds of the "mundane" strings. This time around, however, listening to classical music felt so peaceful. I felt at home. It made me wish that my dad and the rest of my family was in the car with me. I miss all the times my dad would lecture me about a composer or a piece of music he recognized. I miss all the times I tried to change the radio station and my dad would hit my hand haha.
Of course I had lots of new memories that I made this time around, like hiking at Runyon Canyon and Escondido Falls in Malibu, walking around Hollywood Blvd and spending time in Santa Monica Beach and Pier. And I'm glad I have new memories because I know that if I ever visit these places again in the future, I'll have something to base my experience off of.
I wanted to continue hating on Socal because I've been doing that for so long, especially during my high school years. And even though those feelings may still hold to be true, I finally get to remember that it was LA where I formed lots of great memories. All the theme parks I've been, to shopping in K-town, to going to the beaches and more. I'm so thankful for this trip because I've learned to appreciate lots of things.
Annual family trips and school trips with friends are over. It makes me so sad to think that a big chapter in my life has closed... but I'm excited for what this new one has to offer. I don't know when I'll be back in Socal, but I'll make sure to look forward to it because all of my trips to LA are awesome.
'Til next time.
