Escape from L.A.

Have just got back from a weekend in San Francisco, where a film Scott worked on was showing at the SF indiefest. I had mixed feelings about attending this event. On the plus side, I love San Franciso, and it would be fun to get out of L.A. for a few days. On the minus side, it involved spending a concentrated amount of time with a group of people who haven't been particularly friendly towards me. When Scott announced that he'd got work in Denver for a week immediatly following the festival I decided to go, so I could actually spend a bit of time with my husband.

It turned out that I made the right decision, and had a wonderful weekend. Stayed with some of Scott's friends who live in the Tenderloin, who were the loveliest hosts one could wish for. Made friends with a girl who was showing a documentary she had made about South Afrikan women in hip hop. It was educational, and we had a lot of fun hanging out. As for the friends who I don't like...well, I managed to not spend too much time with them. Cameron (the one from this crowd who I actually really like) got immensely drunk and melancholic, and I volunteered to look after him. Although this sounds like a bit of a chore, there's a weird part of me that feels better about myself when i'm looking after someone. Or maybe it's just that looking after a drunk boy made me feel like I was back at home. Who knows? Did have to go for lunch with those I did not like. It was awkward, but I think I made noises in all the required places. Although I had to restrain myself when someone was confused by the word jettison. And when they didn't realize that Alcatraz was no longer functioning. And when it took 20 minutes (no joke) to divide the restaurant bill. Must stop myself being such a snobby bitch. It's just not the done thing here.

San Francisco is good for the soul. Maybe I just needed to be back in a proper city for a while. Walking down streets full of crowds of people, with life and dreams and stories at every turn, is something that I'd learnt to take for granted. Too often L.A. feels like a ghost city, with empty streets and lines of cars driving off into very private futures. Weird that a town famous for storytelling seems so void of emotion.