Hurt By Those We Love

I've been in Los Angeles for something in the neighborhood of five years. It's actually probably four and a half, as I came here in the spring of 2007. I long ago started to feel at home here, and I recall that the first time it seemed so was when I was walking down Hollywood Boulevard to reach a job interview and found myself infuriated by the tourists clogging the sidewalk. That's something that has only become more pronounced with time.

Not only have I come to feel happier and more at home here, I have managed to shed many of my associations with my home town and state. Being that I'm from Phoenix, Arizona, you will probably see that it was not difficult, but it's not all bad stuff being left behind. Attending around two hundred Dodgers games in three years led me to lose my deep affection for the Diamondbacks, which is hopefully understandable.

There are also the mundane things, such as what number to punch in for which television network. This is an area where I have found I am not fully adapted. The other day, I pressed "12" for NBC in order to watch a football game, and was surprised that no station came on. After a few moments, I remembered that 12 is where the NBC affiliate is in Phoenix. Here in LA, it's 4. It's a very small thing, but it shows that not all has been left behind for me.

Having lived in the Phoenix area for some 24 years altogether, a couple of other places for two or so years and the balance here, I suppose more time will have to pass before I am more completely an Angeleno instead of a Phoenician. It's not something that I'm anxious to have happen really, in spite of worsening feelings about the place. If I hated it, that would be one thing. I just feel hurt by the bad things there. I suppose it's something that I'm going to carry for a while longer.