Life in LA is a trip in itself. It's muti-cultural, obsessive, demented, lonely, brilliant, snobby, two-faced, inspiring, intrusive and educational all rolled into one.
I have lived here for almost 8 years now and I have yet to meet one person that I can call a true friend and just hang out with. Most of that is of course a fault of my own, but I never had to work hard to meet people in the midwest.
I grew up in Houston, Texas (which is like a miniature version of LA). I always had a knack for meeting people and got along with just about anyone. No matter what problems I had at home I knew I had friends I could count on when I needed to get away. But in 9th grade my dad lost his job and we moved out of state to a small town of Aurora, Missouri. Town of only 7,000+. I tried to keep to myself as much as possible because frankly I was tired of meeting new people all the time and then leaving. (Keep in mind I went to 6 different schools in a 7 year period). Even then I still managed to make some friends in the time spent there.
Of course in Aurora there really wasn't much to do. You go over people's houses and play board games or maybe on a Friday night you hit the cowboy bar around the corner. Either way it just wasn't a scene I wanted to be a part of for the rest of my life. I was dying to find a way back to normal city life.
In 2003 I made my way to Los Angeles and have enjoyed it here ever since. But the one thing that has always been lacking is the best friend scenario. Don't get me wrong, I have met quite a few people who know me and I can talk with every now and then... but not one of them I would consider a Best Friend.
I realized real quick that people in LA are so busy that they actually do not have time to even think about others. Many only think about what others THINK ABOUT THEM. Maybe it's the midwestern values instilled in me but I have always been the type of person that will be there when he says he will and not find some kind of excuse to back out at the last minute. And if it's something I am not thrilled about I will be upfront about it. Yet time and time again I run into people (many I originally thought could be a good friend) and then shortly find out they were only talking to me because they wanted something from me. And even though my personality is strong enough to overcome that, it still gets me everytime I see it happen.
Another problem I have is that I am a "closet girlfriend". For those looking that term up... don't... I made that up a year ago. It means that I have more fun hanging out with girls then I do with guys. Don't get me wrong I love watching sports and having a drink at a party when I can, but being around other guys talking about bass fishing and such has never appealed to me. I guess it's because of my witty nature that I feel more comfortable with girls. Most guys I come across are either too egotistical or just want to talk your ear off about the football game the other night, and ALMOST ALL of them swear by college sports which I can't stand. I'll watch any professional Football, Basketball or Baseball game but college is WAY to amature for me.
With girls I find that my humor is more receptive and understood as well as the fact that I can be goofy and myself and not worry about feeling like an idiot.
I guess I am just destined to be without a Best Friend for my life. It sucks because sometimes I really wish I had someone to just phone up and say "Hey, lets play some basketball". But apparently it's not in the cards for me.
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