This is LA #1, 2 & 3

I decided I'd like to start posting some of the crazy experiences that make me say to myself "only in LA" or "this is LA"- the later implying that I should expect crazy things from this crazy city. So... here are three that I've chosen for now:

1. The other day I was waiting for the bus outside of my office when a young lady ran up the light. She was on a jog and was waiting for the light to change so she could cross the street. The light began to change and she got ready to run again... and a car decided to make a last minute right hand turn, making the jogger wait a few more seconds before being able to cross. The crazy part: the jogger got so pissed at the car that she ran up to the back, kicked it in the bumper, and then ran off across the street. Although this story is not as crazy as it could be, I was still surpised. I've actually seen somebody do what we all think of doing sometimes. Kick that dumb car and get on with it. It made me laugh.

2. Last week was NeoCon West, some huge deign event in LA. They had events, displays, exhibitions, showrooms, seminars, etc. all week long. They also had parties... lots of them. One night the party was at the expo place... so at least 200 companies come in and set up booths promoting themselves. At about 6pm, the booths became mini bars. EVERY BOOTH had something free to drink. I only made it to three booths before I had to take a break and eat some food. The crazy part: they also hired models to blend in with the crowd to make the scene more "hip." No kidding. When the models started dancing in the crowd, a sales rep I was talking to, looked at me and said, "this is LA." Expect nothing less.

3. Last night at the bus stop I met a man who was also waiting for the bus. He seemed sorta confused about where he was going, and after he asked me for directions, he then told me basically his whole life story. He was dressed in simple athletic gear, smelled heavily of smoke, and had a torn coat. He said he was a professional golfer who needed to practice his "short game" so he only carried a few clubs around instead of the whole bag. He assured me that he is very wealthy, he owns a lot of the nearby businesses and several cars and two houses... but he can't drive because he has a cirulation problem and its bad for him to sit in the driving position for very long. When we got on the bus, he then told us about how he used to work with the Chicago Bulls and helped them in some of their player trading, and about how he knew OJ Simpson and one of his good friends that goes to visit him in jail. Then he whipped out a signed football by some dude that plays for the 49ers... and just before he got off on his stop he mentioned how next week he's off to Hawaii to play in some Championship tournament. I said "good luck" as he got off, the only words I'd spoken since he'd asked for directions. Is this for real? We'll never know.