When I first moved to LA, Cindy was the only one I knew. A shining star, she is my high school classmate. But we were never close. To my surprise, she invited me to her birthday party.
There I met Bill and Southpark couple. Southpark is the administrator of a LA online community. She held party every weekend in her apartment. Bill is a basketball fan, which made it much easier to fit in. Later, in their weekend parties, I also met Rae, Jason, Jenny and Kevin couple.
For the next one year, the eight of our LA Gang partied every weekend. We watched Rose Bowl parade in Pasedena, attended the ZGX concert in Las Vegas, BBQ in Westwood, played UNO in Jenny’s place, or sang Karaoke in San Gabriel (Rae is terrible but genuinely believed her singing skill). It was one of the happiest time in my life.
But no party lasts for ever. A year later, Bill couple had their first daughter. The housing became an issue. LA has ridiculous housing price—the starting price for a condo is half million. For bigger house, they decided to relocate to Houston.
After their departure, the party was never the same. No one has South park’s passion and personal skills. I hang out with Rae, Jason, and Cindy sporadically. But not as fun as before. A year later Rae graduated and left LA, too. Then Jenny and Kevin couple got into the nasty drama of divorce… Things just fall apart.
[LA, CA, 2008-2009]
A MAN OF ACTION 