Urban Hike

Today Alex and I walked around his neighborhood Los Feliz, down through Silver Lake, and ended in Echo Park. 

It was a beautiful sunny day, as I'm suspecting it is most of the time out here.

We walked by a lot of shops- some cool, some pretentious. The coffee places especially were very sleek and hip, not a drip coffee to be found. As we were walking by a particularly squat odd storefront Alex got roped into conversation with the guy who ran what turned out to be a vintage eyeglass frame store.

The Time Travel Mart had some fun kitsch for sale, after buying a shirt for Nicole the salesmen let me know it has a sister store in Chicago. The stores are supplements to the writing and tutoring classes they provide.

We relaxed for a bit at Echo Park which had some good people watching. One fifty year old man was awkwardly roller skating in cargo shorts.

The streets here are very lively and colorful, maybe a result of the weather.

Most houses had flowers or some kind of color in the yards. There were also a lot of murals around, something Chicago is pretty restrictive about. It all creates a very unique feeling, a laid-back comforting atmosphere.

Later in the evening we went out to eat with Joey before going to a screenplay reading of some of Alex's friends at UCB. The UCB complex reminded me a bit of the new iO- large and industrial feeling. We hung out there for a while then went to iO West.

So far the comedy and the comedy people here aren't that different, there is a sense of being focused a little more on marketability, on connections, a little less on experimentation. I think with the proximity of the industry and how much more attainable it feels out here that's understandable. Everyone I've met has been incredibly nice and open. The comedy community in general, both Chicago ex-pats and otherwise, have been very welcoming, it feels inclusive, certainly not what I was anticipating from the improv folks of Tinseltown.