Welcome to Los Angeles

The sky was blue, the roads were empty and CalTrans finally wised up and built a great overpass that led eastbound traffic on highway 152 bypass oncoming traffic at the Casa del Frutta exit. In short, I was making good time back to Los Angeles from Cupertino.

About 90 miles from my final destination, traffic came to a complete halt. Magic Mountain amusement park stood in the foreground, its wiry limbs of rollercoasters devoid of ant-like carts climbing up its arms. In the background, a plume of smoke rose from the mountains.



I was diverted to other routes for an extra four hours in bumper to bumper traffic. No complaints. I knew as much that my house was still standing quietly in Culver City.

Brushfires are a common, annual travail of Southern California living. While not everyone is as severely affected as those who live in the path of dry brush, everyone is affected. The next day, the sky was a dull grey and a layer of white ash was on the cars. The air quality is noticeably worse (yes, that's possible even in Los Angeles).

Fortunately, there have been no fatalities, which was my concern, considering that one of the sites was a neighborhood comprised of many elderlies.

I did go to church last Sunday. It was exceptionally foreign to me and I felt very stressed out by it. Reasons why, I am still processing. All I can say is that I wanted to leave as quickly as possible, which I did once it ended.

But as for all my friends in Los Angeles ... well, they are the real reason that make this city a home for me!