Yes please consider adopting a Greyhound, they are incredibly misunderstood pets! I was inspired to look into it when seeing them on stop 5 list of perfect apartment dogs! They are not energetic in the slightest, in fact they sleep about as much as cats do.
They’re big dumb soft babies who love cuddles and don’t smell at all and have the softest ears of any good boy
In Austria, we call kittens at that age “Autodromkatzerl”, which translates to “bumper car kittens”, because of the way their tail sticks up. It’s not a really common word, but a very cute one, I think
this is a genuinely delightful bit of knowledge, thank you for sharing this!! omg
1. get a car. don’t rely on public transport unless you live very close to your job. i lived in a city with public transport before this, and la’s is kind of awful. but don’t get a car you’d hate to have scratched up. i have like, three scratches on my car that are from me hitting things, and literally like twenty from other people hitting my car and driving away.
2. don’t be afraid to move to the valley. i have a lot of friends who live in noho and love it. it’s cheap compared to the city, and traffic is so weird and convoluted that it probably won’t take you that much longer to get to your job. i lived 6 miles from my work, then 11, and my commute time is the same. this place is cursed.
3. there are a bajillion asian grocery stores but they’re all different and knowing the difference is important if you’re looking for something specific. like i can’t go to ranch 99 for ube pan de sal, i gotta head over to seafood city for that
4. if you’re parking in weho, THEY ARE NOT FUCKING AROUND WITH TICKETING YOU. there’s a like ten signs and you’re probably only allowed to park there ever third tuesday for 18 minutes.
5. actually, no part of la is fucking around with ticketing. it’s wild. street cleaning, meters expiring, leaving your car for 2 hours and 15 minutes in 2 hour parking. i’m so glad my tax dollars go towards paying all these hardworking meter maids.
6. if you get a parking ticket, you can contest it online! even if you’re guilty. just say you didn’t do it. attach a picture. worst case scenario they go “no pay it” and you’re back to square one.
7. ca taxes are insane and ridiculous. on paper i made good money, but haha, no. income tax is insane, and so is sales tax. apart from this place being so damn expensive, you end up with a lot less money in your bank account, because a huge chunk of your paycheck goes to taxes. BUDGET.
8. urgent care is not another word for emergency room, like i thought for my first year living out here. it’s like, a calorie light version of hospital? don’t go there for anything serious, but they’re covered under most insurances, and can do minor things, and it’s 1000% better than hospitals in los angeles. i hate la hospitals, it’s impossible to make an appointment, it’s all a nightmare. thank fuck i don’t have any serious medical problems, because i’d probably just let myself die of frustration.
9. a year pass for the universal park is only about $20 more than a normal ticket, so might as well. hanging out in harry potter world is now a cheap thing to do on a weekend.
10. celebrities exist. it’s sometimes cool. idris elba would rather die than talk to you. matt bomer is made of sunshine and would love to hear about how great you think he is (this is not a bad thing). joseph gordon levitt has never done anything wrong in his whole life, and is the politest man in the world. in la you have to Be Cool otherwise everyone else will judge you, but most of the time people are chill to a quick “hi i think you’re great” and if they’re not, they make it super clear with their body language, so, you know, back off. try not to accidentally hit on and flirt with a celebrity while just trying to figure out what show you recognize him from.
11. when you miss stars, joshua tree is a great place for star gazing. or sometimes you just have to shove all your friends in a car and drive east until you can smell fresh air and the light pollution fades away.
12. laguna beach is ok, not worth the drive down in my opinion, but pretty nice. santa monica beach is fun for the boardwalk, but i wouldn’t swim there. dockweiler beach has fire pits, which is amazing, but the sand is mixed in with a ton of ash so you get filthy, and i’m not a huge fan of the water. malibu beaches are my absolute fave (assuming they’re not on fire). all of california coast line is public, there are no private beaches in la, and if someone tries to tell you differently, they’re lying. rich people in malibu hate sharing their beach, so they’ll block of access to it, which they can do because their land in front of the beach is private property. but it is 100% legal to walk down the beach for a mile or so to a deserted stretch of beach that’s now yours because no one else wanted to bother, and setting up shop right in front of their stupid 50 million dollar house.
13. there’s a jewish run fish place in malibu called “fish grill” which is amazing and has the best fish and chips (i mention it’s jewish run only to differentiate it from all the other places called fish grill, and also it’s closed on saturdays). tejanos in noho has the best deals on margaritas and free chips and salsa. portos in burbank is a religious experience, the lines get super long but move quickly.
14. depending on where you live, you may want to be concerned with things catching on fire. ca just has a lot of fire, this year more than most. if you live in the city proper, you’re probably okay, but we’ve had fires in griffith and beverly hills this year, so, be ready to have to book it out of work to try and fit everything that matters to you into your car.
15. lots of people are nice, but also there are tons of people who have this veneer of fakeness that i can’t stand. this is a city for aesthetic, and sometimes its exhausting. @freshwaterbear once described la as “a turd covered in glitter” and, well, she’s not wrong.
16. pretty much everyone is liberal, and if you’re not, You Keep That Shit To Yourself. we have one token republic at work. he’s a very sweet guy, except for the way he doesn’t believe in basic human rights. lots of people are fake woke. it’s political activism for the aesthetic. but obviously there are tons of people who are legit socially aware, and more so than most other cities i’ve been to.
17. the cops here have always been very nice and professional and accommodating towards ME because I’m middle class white woman. but p much all my friends who aren’t middle class white women have a story about being harassed by cops, so don’t for a second think they’re not awful just because they’re nice to some people some of the time.
18. if you call 911 in la, you may get put on hold. i discovered this yesterday when i saw two guys beating up a third in the middle of the street, called 911, and was then PUT ON HOLD.
19. most leases out here are for a year, then switch to month to month. co signers aren’t really a thing, it’s mostly based on your credit score. if you’re building is built before a certain year (sometime in the 80s i think), your landlord can only raise your rent a certain percentage each year, and not willy nilly when they feel like it.
20. it’s fun. it’s just a fun city. there’s always something new to eat or do or see, and nobody is from here, we’re all just here trying to make it in one way or another. the weather’s always nice, it’s always beach weather if not swimming weather. come out and have fun. you’re going to fine. ❤
In this op-ed, Jamilah King reflects on the significance of Lena Waithe’s haircut as it relates to gender ideals and homophobia.
Lena Waithe proved once again why she’s one of the most important voices, especially queer voices, in our culture during a red carpet interview with Variety this week. Waithe recently cut off her signature locs in favor of a skin-fade. When asked what prompted this decision, Waithe responded:
“I felt like I was holding onto a piece of femininity that would make the world feel comfortable with who I am. … and I said, “Oh, I gotta put that down, [because] that’s something that is outside of me”…If people call me a butch, or say “she’s stud” or call me “Sir” out in the world, so what? So be it. And I’m here with a Prada suit on, not a stitch of makeup and a haircut; I feel like, why can’t I exist in the world in that way?”
It had been roughly three weeks since the writer, producer, actress and creator of one of TV’s best shows, The Chi, quietly announced the cut to her more than 400,000 followers on Instagram.
In a follow-up, she hinted at the fact that the cut had deeper political significance for her when she posted another selfie titled, “Well…I did it.” This time she was rocking her signature snapback and throwing up a peace sign with the caption, “Gay as fuck.”
In the LGBT community, cutting your hair isn’t just a fashion choice. It’s often also about affirming your gender. It’s about letting the world know who you are, yes, but it’s also about looking at yourself in the mirror and feeling aligned with the person who stares back.
I can relate. I cut my hair off in the summer of 2016 after years of careful prodding by a supportive former partner. As a child, I constantly got messages from society and from my family that my hair was the most attractive thing about me.
Growing up, my hair grew to the middle of my back and was considered “good hair” by my family and the people around me. But I often hated everything about it, especially the tedious routines I had to engage in just to maintain it. I was always tender-headed, sensitive to the pulling, shampooing and blow drying that my mom or older sister would subject me to to get me ready for special occasions. I’d scream and cry but grit my teeth through it.
wupacing 