Larry David

Meeting Larry David was the when I really felt that I could leave LA satisfied. It was one of the most surreal moments of my life. I felt like I was in an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm standing across from him as he got out of his Prius (the only car to drive in LA and to prove your wealth you by numerous ones), wearing clothes that he either stole from the set of Curb or provided for the show. I honestly don’t believe he has to act playing the character also called Larry David. Watching him talk and observing his facial expressions it was the Larry David we all know and love.

He was going into Blockbuster on Montana with his daughter, a friend of the girl I was with, Chace so this is how I ended up standing on the street in Los Angeles at 8pm on a Sunday night with one of the most famous, talented and neurotic men alive.

Walking up to him a million questions were flying around in my head. Do I say I’m a fan? Do I ask for an autograph? Is a picture pushing it? Should I call my Dad and ask if he can say hi to him? Don’t celebs like to know they have fans of all ages? However, somehow Larry doesn’t quite seem like the type who would care. Plus Chace had given me a look as if to say ‘Don’t you dare embarrass me’ so I didn’t say any of the above, instead settling on introducing myself. After a few minutes of conversation between everyone else present as I was to dazed to contribute much after I managed to say ‘Hi I’m Gabriella’ which I thought was an achievement under the circumstances. Aside from that I cannot remember a word of the conversation.

However I wasn’t as star - struck as I thought I might have been. Ironically I had spent the last hour talking about him as the first episode of the new season of Curb was airing tonight. I don’t think either of the girls I was with could believe he was there anymore than I could. Not because they care about him particularly but simply because I had obsessed about him for the past hour and there he stood. So as we walked down Montana Avenue, Elizabeth was the first one to spot him ‘Omg that’s Larry David’ she whispered.

I had a blanket around me that Elizabeth was returning to Chace and as my grasp of the LA weather at night was slightly off because the days are so hot, I was not dressed appropriately. So I had the rug around me covering up the dress and flip-flops I had on, as I began to processes that Larry David was standing 30 feet ahead of me. At that moment Chace called his daughters name I flung the blanket at Elizabeth. 

I assume the conversation must have come to a close as we began to walk away. Larry, without looking up from him Blackberry followed us and in doing so walked away from Blockbuster where he was headed. After about 10 seconds his daughter shouted,

‘Dad your going the wrong way’ to which he replied.

‘Damn it’ and turned around.

This all took place at about 8 o’clock at night however my dad had said to me, probably thinking it would never happen, ‘If you ever meet Larry David, doesn’t matter what time it is, call me’ so I did.

It was 4am in London and I called home.

Fake or Friendly?

Someone said to me last week;

 

“Everyone who is born in LA moves and everyone who comes here comes for one reason only, to be in the entertainment industry and so all they want to know from you is, how can you help me”

 

So far I have found it, not in keeping with the obesity epidemic sweeping the world and apparently stemming from America, healthy, diet conscious and friendly very friendly.

A question I have been forced to ask myself is are people fake here or are they friendly?

When you walk into Starbucks you will always be greeted with a smile and ‘Hi how are you?’ and once you have ordered the conversation will end with ‘Have a nice/great day.’ What happens in the middle depends on you. When I first arrived I found it slightly awkward I wasn’t sure how to respond to this, it was a far cry from what I was used to. In England you are lucky if you are greeted with a smile and a genuine interest in how you are is unheard of. However, as it became apparent to me that this was the norm and I was in fact being rude. I have learnt not only how to respond but also to apply it to my job and daily life so that I treat people with this same manner, its contagious and I have to ask myself; is that a bad thing? Does it matter if its fake when it puts everyone in a better mood? And, can you be fake with a complete stranger?

 

Yesterday after getting lost and ending up in down town L.A I had driven for 2 hours and had no idea where I was but had miraculously ended up in the right place, a photocopying shop. I parked my car in the parking lot next door and had a nice chat with the guy in charge, I didn’t matter if I was in a bad mood, his friendly smile and general demeanor perked me up immediately when I walked into the shop I was going to I held the door open for the girl walking out. Now, after two weeks this comes naturally to me and I am discussed that it hasn't always. But as I have thought about this as I drive round in my little green beetle I think how someone would respond if I said “Thank you so much” when they gave me my change “Enjoy your day.” No matter if it was a man or a woman I was speaking to I think this would be seen as flirting and this makes me worry. What if I lose these manners when I go home? Do I have to live in Los Angeles to get this kind of treatment and not to forget how to treat others? Do I need to bring my children up half way across the world if I want them to behave like this?

 

Maybe it’s the weather here, today is the 19^th of November and it was sunny today. The type of sunny England experiences mid August for a week or two if we are lucky. Perhaps on the few days we are blessed with that weather we are as polite as the people of Los Angeles I mean why beep if someone doesn’t move immediately when the traffic lights change when its sunny and your rich?

 

Perhaps it is also caused by the excessive amount of endorphins everybody must have from the overly excessive amount of exercise taken here. You don’t have to ever look more than 5 feet to see someone carrying a yoga mat, wearing gym clothes or running. On a Saturday or Sunday morning when you go for breakfast 90% of the people in there have come from doing exercise and if you haven’t, maybe you shouldn’t be having breakfast is the mentality!

 

Anyway whatever the reason all I can say is in England I am always up for a good argument and I am proud that I will stick up from myself and the people I love. Here not only would I hate to have to do that but I would also never tell people let along brag about it they way I would at home. It would not be something to be proud of or that people would think any better of you because, if anything they would think worse of you.

 

Most people are diet conscious and work out. I sat last night for almost 2 hours discussing diets and exercise régimes with two lovely, beautiful women both very slim. The conclusion was;

No heavy carbs, no cheese, no alcohol eat every few hours, lots and lots of protein and exercise 4 times a week plus.

There is no doubt you feel a lot healthier, happier and confident when you are slimmer, eating well and in good shape. Since coming to America 2 months ago I have gained 14 pounds. I am now on a diet and exercising but you don’t realize how easy it is to gain weight here. Snacks, not going to the gym as I did in London and more preservatives in the food where not a good combination.

 

I will let you know how my weight loss goes and I’m sure I will find plenty of inspiration for my blogs from the classes here, 6.30 core bare tomorrow morning, flat stomach in 1 month here I come!

First times in La La Land

Went Spinning this morning, first exercise in La and in a long time. Very different to England, loud pumping music by a DJ the instructor has a mic and 

sings and dances, there are dancers and the room is full of about 50 skinny attractive women of which I was the fattest. 

Depressing!

At random moments during the hour long work out people just wolf whistle and shout to encourage the rest of the group. 

When the class ended the instructor, David said on the mic, " everyone this is Gabriella from England (at which point they all cheered) 

it was her first class and she did a really good job (most American expression ever) and then they all cheered again!

So all in all spinning was fun, all I need now are the special spinning shoes everyone had which clip onto the bike so you are attached.

After that me and Elaine (My LA mother) went food shopping to whole food, often referred to as whole pay cheque. 

My eyes where peeled for celebs but I didn't see any yet however I have been told where to go to see them 

so I am going to be on the look out, some might stay stalkeresque but I say making the most of LA.

I started my internship on Monday as well at the HP,

I can't write the real name as they have google alerts

for evertime anyone writes the name on the internet,

I know because I went through them the other day! 

I am really enjoying it there, everyone is lovely. 

They tell me when I call people they must think 

royalty is calling because of my accent, I thought 

I wasn't that posh! I have been asked there 

" Do you say Bloody a lot" In their poor attempt 

at an English accent, or "Do you know Susan Boyle" 

Since when has Susan Boyle become royalty, I thought 

American's asked if you knew the Queen, 

sorry Elizabeth you have lost your thrown to Susan.

I also made my first new LA friend today, Alex, very exciting. She is so sweet and very pretty. She used to intern for Elaine and came to help me out a bit today. Chace and I are going to Shul tomorrow night or temple as it's called here which will be good.

How could I forget the most important news? 

I have a car!! A green Beetle, so me and so LA. 

I have taken to driving on the 'wrong' side of the 

road surprisingly quickly, however it can be

tricky when turing into a new street.

I shouldn't write that as my mother reads 

this blog and called me at 3am English 

time the other day to express all her 

concerns about me being aloud

on the road here. Tomorrow

will be my first day driving alone 

as I drive into work so if I blog again, assume I made it there and back in one piece.

The La la land journey begins.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 I said in my head as the plane neared the ground and we touched down in Los Angeles. October the 3rd had finally arrived, a d day I had been building up to for 18 months and instead of the fear and apprehension I thought I would be feeling all I could feel was excitement bubbling inside me as i realized (I think that might be the US spelling) THIS WAS IT, I was in Lala land for the foreseeable future!

I began to realize that Uggs and my thick Abercrombie hoodie my not have been the best choice of attire for the 28 degrees of LA but I was too excited to care, that was until we had to cue up to firstly get off the plane and secondly at customs or immigration. I'm hoping my anger at times like that will subside not being in London where everyone seems to be frustrated and rushing everywhere. Anyway having to wait around only made me hotter and then I had my neurotic dad talking me through the procedure at immigration. "So tell me what you have to say again" I felt like I could recite it in my sleep we had practiced it so many times on the 11 hour flight over, at any point when i was awake or in the middle of changing films he would pounce and make me go through it with him. "Im staying with a my cousin and going traveling with a friend in my gap year, I will be going home in December" Of course I had to mix it up a few times when I got bored, at one point I the conversation went. "Gaby tell me again what your going to say at immigration", "That I'm marrying my cousin and sleeping with my friend" or " I am going to be working here, yes without a visa, completely illegally and then on the way back I might just get a few of my mid east friends and we will blow up a plane" This didn't go down as well as I thought and I was greeted with a slight curl of the lip and then ordered to tell him what I would "really say".

It turned out when the man did question me before I could even take a breath to answer him my dad swooped in and did all the talking for me, making me feel that it was really time well spent on that plane. 

After we get our luggage Chace and Steve (Half of my New LA family, the other half consists of Ava and Elaine. Ava was at a friends and Elaine was in London interviewing Michael Caine) where there to pick us up from the airport. Chace had a ballon from Trader Joe's which i have heard all about and a banner, as she came running over to me and we hugged in front of everyone people clapped and I knew this was the first moment. The first moment when I could see for myself how much nicer and more friendly people in the US where. I'm sure I will see this almost all the time as where ever you go here instead of being greeted with a grunt or a little smile its " Have a nice day" or "How are you".  

Now it's 3.45 am and I'm awake, excellent! But first impressions of LA - as 'Annie' would say, "I think I'm gunna like it here"

Gaby.