Plastic

Whenever a single word was ever used to describe Los Angeles to me before I moved here, it was "plastic."  A close second is "smog," but I would say that "plastic" beat out "smog" by virtue of it describing something more endemic to the people of LA rather than just its environment.  And I would have to say that my first experiences of this city years ago backed up the "plastic" meme, from the bright colors adorning the most plain of storefronts, to the women in 6-inch heels and Gucci bags and sunglasses, to the thousands of people who come here anticipating fame in their near future.

If anything changed for me in the past year and a half with my boyfriend it was seeing a side of LA that wasn't plastic.  Rather, as a native to this city, my boyfriend showed me an LA that was more of a community and that was interested in more than just your body mass index and skin elasticity.  I got to see an LA where families grow up, distinct neighborhoods attract a wide variety of people, and entertainment is an industry, not just an attraction.

Which isn't to say that "Plastic LA" doesn't exist.

Case in point: Moments after arriving at the gym this morning, I almost ran into a woman with breasts as big as her head and nearly popping out of her low-cut shirt.  Y'all know I'm not the type to chase skirts, and yet I couldn't help but be distracted by what appeared to be a three-headed woman who, mysteriously enough, nearly always had some man talking to her.  I suppose I should have been shocked - shocked! - by the voluminous silicone in front of me, but it just seems to be par for the course.

Never mind that the gym is packed with myriad men with arms bigger than my neck, and legs to match.  This may be the same gym - Gold's - as I went to in San Francisco, but the similarities end there.  To say I feel like wimpy, skimpy Luke would be an understatement.  About the only people with breasts larger than the woman mentioned above are the men.  Almost all of them.  I kid you not.

All this to say that the plastic meme certainly does have its place.  I suppose the thing that makes it distinct here is that people are more forthright about wanting to look like they just popped out of a fashion mag (in some cases almost literally).  And, given the proximity of the entertainment industry, I suppose it all makes sense.

Speaking of proximity to the entertainment industry... I must also mention my first celeb sighting, which I suppose is commonplace in LA.  It turns out that Matthew Morrison - of Glee fame - apparently works out at my gym.  I spotted him and a buddy doing bench presses while I was trying to get my chest to half the size of said woman above.  And while I was not about to run up to him like a giddy school girl and ask him to sign my sweaty gym towel using a pen I'd scammed from the front desk when the clerk wasn't looking, I was definitely tempted.

I guess it just makes the point about plastic and the entertainment industry... the television and movie biz is literally around every corner and employs so many people.  It would be hard not to want to act and dress the part to have a shot at fame.  (I'll blog more about the entertainment industry soon enough...)