Hi people. Time for my bi-monthly check in. What’s been going on?
Well, I left Chicago, done with that little winter stint I was doing. Then I headed west to the City of Angels, although I think it’s a bit more apropos to call it the City of Homeless. Los Angeles has changed in the four years since I’ve lived there.
It’s dirty as fuck. And that’s ok–I enjoy dirty places. Really, I do. The thing that I find puzzling is how they can justify the absurd prices for… well, everything over there. Things in LA cost twice as much as they do in Chicago. A beer in Chicago is 4 bucks. Los Angeles? 8 bucks for a fucking bottle of Corona. And it doesn’t end there. Rent, for a single bedroom place, gravitates around 1500-2000 bucks. Have fun paying that. Oh, and driving everywhere and dropping all that $$$ on your car, because the city is spread out as fuck.
If it sounds like I’m trashing LA, I’m not, I assure you. It’s a cool place. I really really enjoy the plethora of people you can meet there, from all over the world. There are ethnic towns everywhere, and neighborhoods for Thai people, Koreans, Japanese, Chinese–and I’m only mentioning the Asian ones. The weather is fantastic out there too, and you can find good food of all types.
Minus pizza. LA ain’t got shit for pizza.
So I left LA and the US a week ago and brought my dumb ass back to Colombia. Which is awesome. So I guess I’m not such a dumb ass. There’s a part of me that wants to see Brazil and Uruguay and Paraguay and countries that I’ve never been to while I’m in the “Lower America,” but after some deep ruminating, I’ve decided that I’m going to do less of the new countries this year, and more of the “greatest hits” countries. Places I’ve been that I love and know what I’m getting into.
Places like Spain, Serbia, uh Japan IF THEY EVER OPEN BACK UP. Seriously, they’ve been closed for 2 fucking years. No foreigners allowed during this whole time. Under the guise of “covid.” And guess what? Their covid numbers are staggeringly high right now. So Japan, please, do me a favor: find another scapegoat to hide your xenophobia, there’s a lot of us that want to come into your country and play at video arcades and go to maid cafes. Please. Onegai shimasu.
Anywho, it’s been a good week here in Colombia. I’ve only been in Bogota, the capital, so far. And since I was here last year, I can compare when it was like peak pandemic time and now, and the difference is worlds apart. There are students everywhere and bars and restaurants I never knew about open and thriving.
Last night I got to go to my favorite event, “Gringo Tuesdays,” something I would attend almost every week when I lived here 8 years ago. It’s basically a language exchange, with several languages and skill levels you could jump into and chat with people over beers. It starts at 4 PM, and by 8 PM, the place devolves into a massive dance party and they play reggaeton and all of the Latinas lose their shit. If you’re lucky, you may encounter a “Gringo Hunter,” or a local chick who is just there to bang foreigners. And keep in mind this is Colombia, and the girls are the hottest in the world. No fucking contest.
I’d like to tell you about the filming I did over the weekend, and describe what could easily have been the best thing I’ve ever filmed, and the professional backing I had and all that good shit, BUT… I feel like the best way to highlight that would be to just show the video itself. So. Coming soon.
Until the next blog, I hope all of you skanks stay skanky. One love.
