Thirty Day LA

WARNING: Longest post ever in the history of the blogosphere.

Before we get to the reviews of the activities, I’d like to ramble about the results of my attempts to do things alone. This would be step five in the bullshit list I created above.

First of all, the reason I’ve never been to a bar in LA by myself is because I’m too damn self-conscious. When I was small, I thought about how cool it would be as this older, rich, sophisticated gentleman to go to an empty bar and chat up the attentive bartender about my life problems on a stopover from LA to Switzerland or some other exotic foreign place. But in LA, most of the bars I see, even the dive bars, are filled with groups of friends having a fucking blast. I would never feel right going to a bar on my own and trying to talk to people who already had other more interesting friends. I have no problems making friends at bars when I’m completely drunk, but that’s a different case. If I’m at a bar by myself, I couldn’t get so drunk that I couldn’t go home, which would severely limit my social activities. On top of that, I would be worried that people would think I’m a weird loser for going to a bar alone.

Second of all, I’m kind of antisocial unless I’m drunk. It’s pretty sad, and that’s probably a bigger problem area in my life that I should address before this exploration and adventurous shit. I start thinking about what I should say to people or how they might judge me, and then I end up just being really quiet. When I’m drunk, I make friends with random people at bars, on the street, even while driving. I still haven’t figured out how to bridge the gap between my drunken friendliness and my sober silence, but I figure that if I keep pushing myself to talk more to people when I’m out and about by myself then something will eventually have to click in my brain to make it happen.

Third of all, I’m a more reserved person around people I don’t know. I sometimes watch in awe when some of my friends like HairyIndian, Lefty, ShopGirl, Tiny, and especially Satan, talk to strangers with such ease. Most of the restaurants we eat at with Satan hook us up with discounts on food or liquor because he talks them up. I feel like I miss out on a lot of interesting experiences and conversations precisely because I’m so quiet around people I don’t know. Chalk it up to insecurity or lack of social skills, but it’s who I am and I have to figure out how to deal with it.

Despite all these horrific shortcomings, I did manage to achieve a tiny bit of self-growth over the past 3 days.

Monday: with GuitarHero and StimpPimp, ran 3 miles with a training group for Nike Run Hit Wonder. Started off at Westwood Brewing Company and ran through my old stomping grounds at UCLA. Obviously, I didn't do it by myself and so I didn't feel the need or urge to socialize. I did talk to one of the run leaders, a buff black lady with muscles that I could never hope to have, and she said there's a run starting at Yankee Doodle's at 3rd Street in Santa Monica every Wednesday. Unfortunately, they don't run on the beach.

Tuesday: The start of my self-ordained solitary. Also was national Best Friend Day. I went to The Other Room in Venice on Abbott Kinney Road. At the bar, I briefly talked with a girl waiting for a drink next to me about the place. She told me it’s pretty much a local joint and the line to get in on the weekends is around the block. I had a Fat Tire and tried to make it last an hour, something I've never done before. I spent the whole time people-watching, because watching people while I'm alone at a bar sounds kind of creepy. After I was done with that, I talked with an Asian guy and he recommended I get a Chimay Rouge, because "a blue will totally fuck you up." I’d definitely go back again sometime because it’s packed with good looking people and the Chimay Rouge burned my throat in a strangely exciting way. While I was people-watching, I realized that no one really cared or thought anything of me just because I was alone. After that I felt more comfortable, like I could imagine myself going to other bars alone. Supposedly it's pretty easy to meet new friends at the The Other Room, but I'll chalk up my lack of a new BFF this time to not being drunk enough. Damn me, why did I let National Best Friends Day go to waste?

Wednesday: Biked to work. Sometimes routine can be good. On the way back, stopped by Sakura and ate at the sushi bar. The sushi there is fresh and delicious and they give you huge slabs of fish. I had bluefin tuna, albacore, seared ono, and a spicy tuna roll. This place also has mostly local customers, as the sushi chef seemed to know a lot of them. I wasn't very talkative because I was really enjoying the sushi. The only other party of one there was a creepy looking older dude who kept ordering around the waitress. I've actually never eaten a meal at a sit-down restaurant by myself outside of my home, probable because I didn't want to look lonely. But now that I've done it, it seems like a pretty natural thing to do. And I've never spent that much on dinner for myself in my entire life. The bill came out to $28 including tip.

So it's been two days of being alone, and tomorrow will be another one as well. If you read this far, then it sucks to be you because I don't really have anything interesting to report. Serves you right for reading this post just because it has a self-help list.

Westwood Brewing Company
1097 Glendon Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90024
Google Maps Link
(310) 209-2739

Sakura Japanese Restaurant
4545 S Centinela Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90066
Google Maps Link
(310) 822-7790