Californ-i-a

Life is good.

While dM3 is living it up in Nicaragua, I arrived in LA on Sunday evening and was greeted by the great Californian climate I missed so much (although admittedly it does get a bit cold here at night for the moment). I sighed of relief when my bag rolled onto the conveyer belt as one of the last and headed towards USC campus, to stay with my good friend and ex-roommate Payam. But not before driving past the infamous Eurohaus, once a bastion for shameless extravagant student debauchery, now a mere shadow of its former glory and home to what appeared to be five Asian students with a penchant for Ace Ventura haircuts.

Looked something like this

My first day in LA was filled with flares of nostalgia. I visited USC campus, remembering some of the places that made a lasting impression, as well as some of the places I swore never to enter again, like the math library. All kidding aside, it felt good to be back, and things only got better when I inadvertently ran into Ardy, who hasn't changed a bit and seems to be doing great, and later De-oneandonly-Salvo, my main math buddy who always had my back and proved a challenging pingpong-partner.

Close to campus

USC campus

Since it was Halloween, later that evening we formed a crew of seven and headed over to the West-Hollywood parade, which each year hosts about half a million visitors. Once arrived, we discovered some of the most original costumes ever, as well as a performance by Robyn (@boskabout she is a really amazing performer like you had said!)

Robyn performing

Alien vs predator

Not wanting to stand out, I had attempted to style my beard as Wolverine and had attached some fake blades made of paper to my fingers. As the evening progressed I started realizing that most people were looking at me wondering whether the battery of my electric razor had run out halfway and why I taped folded sheets of paper to my fingers (which ultimately proved extremely unhandy when attempting to do anything from putting on my sweater to opening the car door). They can say and think what they like, but I was visibly content when near the end of the evening somebody walked up to me and said: "Awesome man! Right on!" The smile on my face instantly faded however when he turned to his friends and yelled: "Look guys! Edward Scissor hands!"

I must have looked like this... except with half-shaven beard and a shirt on

That being said, the trip is off to a great start. A lot of my cali friends have left LA through the years, but I am looking forward to seeing all other friends and family in CA in the coming weeks!
Graham