one of the things i really enjoy about los angeles is the rampant multiculturalism. in my old hancock park neighborhood, the sidewalks are flooded with orthodox jews walking to temple on friday evening. the current spot--the western end of hollywood (not to be confused with WeHo)--i'm in is predominately russian. the call box of my apartment building is riddled with suffixes like -chenko and -skaya.
my first apartment in LA was in koreatown, which is bigger and more densely populated than the majority of places that pass for cities in america. you can go for days in these mini cities within the city without hearing a word of english aside from the romanized words that have been incorporated into foreign tongues. i went to ktown for the cheap apartments. others, evidently, go to ktown to find their brides.
to the east of hollywood are little armenia and thai town. i'm not entirely sure where one begins and the other ends, nor are the natives. the armenian diaspora in southern california is the largest in the world. while glendale is the de facto little armenia, there's still quite a few that live in the city proper. next to the place i go to when i get thai massage is an armenian sambo dojo. downstairs is a thai bookstore and next to the bookstore is an armenian market.
the only thing better than a good surf session is having a thai massage after a good surf session. i don't have any problems leaving my surfboard strapped to the top of my car when i get my thai massage because i know there's these armenian gangsters that like to hang out in front of the little armenian market and drink coffee out of little cups while they flick their cigarettes into the parking lot. these guys with their benzos and lexos don't take no shit from nobody and i know that my boards are always safe while they're out there doing their best armenain impressions of tony soprano and paulie walnuts hangin outside of satriale's.
tell me something about your hood.
my first apartment in LA was in koreatown, which is bigger and more densely populated than the majority of places that pass for cities in america. you can go for days in these mini cities within the city without hearing a word of english aside from the romanized words that have been incorporated into foreign tongues. i went to ktown for the cheap apartments. others, evidently, go to ktown to find their brides.
to the east of hollywood are little armenia and thai town. i'm not entirely sure where one begins and the other ends, nor are the natives. the armenian diaspora in southern california is the largest in the world. while glendale is the de facto little armenia, there's still quite a few that live in the city proper. next to the place i go to when i get thai massage is an armenian sambo dojo. downstairs is a thai bookstore and next to the bookstore is an armenian market.
the only thing better than a good surf session is having a thai massage after a good surf session. i don't have any problems leaving my surfboard strapped to the top of my car when i get my thai massage because i know there's these armenian gangsters that like to hang out in front of the little armenian market and drink coffee out of little cups while they flick their cigarettes into the parking lot. these guys with their benzos and lexos don't take no shit from nobody and i know that my boards are always safe while they're out there doing their best armenain impressions of tony soprano and paulie walnuts hangin outside of satriale's.
tell me something about your hood.
VIEW 3 of 3 COMMENTS
lucia:
thanks 
wtf:
You heard of Hoffa? Yea, Jimmy. Well round these parts he's gots these groups called unions and "the big 3" In fact, out the front door of my affordable apartment is a water tower with a big FORD oval on it and it shines like a full moon ever night. Not many Subes round here. Some would look down on ya round here and ya woudn't want to park yer car that there lot and leave it. Even if there are some fans.