I think it’s funny to talk about the disillusionment of finding out that my adult life is not like in the movies. I guess your opinion of this would change depending on what movies you watch. If you watch Texas Chainsaw Massacre, then this is probably a really exciting discovery for you (and a huge relief!). However, if you watch romantic comedies, like Crazy Stupid Love, you may be bummed.
I moved to Los Angeles from Chicago because of the show Baywatch. I love the show Baywatch. I know I shouldn’t be admitting this – it is not cool to love Baywatch. But, oh my, it was so exciting! Everyone rollerblading down the palm tree lined sidewalks, the lifeguards saving everyone, but, I have to admit, my favorite parts were, what I call, the Baywatch Music Videos. Essentially, this was the montage of whatever the current romance on the show was and it usually involved them splashing each other in the surf, giggling tons, picking each other up and spinning each other around and then making out on the sand while the waves and surf occasionally would wash over their legs, but they wouldn’t have even noticed if a wave crashed right on them, because they were SO in love!! Oh my gosh, I wanted to move to Los Angeles and be SO in love and splash in the water. It would be nice to save people too. So, then I moved to Los Angeles…..Part 2 coming next week!
In the meantime, were there movies or TV shows that you aspired to or made you move or changed your thoughts, or, is it just me and my deep thoughts about Baywatch?!
It always seems romantic until you add the sand flys, the greasy suntan lotion mixed with sweat, and the propensity for swim suits to do things quite unexpectedly to your body at the worst possible moments.
haha! sounds like you are speaking from experience.
Hi Kat,
For me I can’t point to any one TV show or film that drew me to LA.. But something made me thing of music, creative energy, romance, and excitement when I thought of LA. I thought I would be totally immersed in this never endng sea of creativity, write and produce awesome songs that would touch people’s lives, find romance, blah, blah, blah. And I have experienced those things, but not in the way that I thought I would. Anyway, I’ll until I read part 2 of your story before I add more of my own comments.
Doug
yeah i think that sums it up – music, creative energy, romance and excitement- the stuff of life! or it should be!
moving to los angeles because of baywatch is like moving to chicago after seeing richard marks in concert…
matt, it’s richard MARX!!!
Moving to Chicago after seeing Richard Marx is acceptable. Moving there after seeing Richard Marks is a cardinal sin…
ha!
Swingers was without a doubt the movie that brought me to LA. Funny enough, my life turned out to be pretty much exactly like the movie. At least for the first year or so. Great post Kat.
Awesome- I hope your life wasn’t like the guy’s who couldn’t stop calling that girl back…..I’m sure you were Vince Vaughn’s character…super cool!
I was born in Hollywood. After being there all my life I was looking for something different. I was seriously looking at moving away, then the riots came along and gave me the final push I needed. I moved nearly halfway across the U.S.
In the year I was gone, positions opened up and I had my choice of good-paying full time jobs in my hometown. But I wasn’t sure I wanted to go back. Then I saw “Reality Bites” and it reminded me of my old life, the freedom and opportunities, and the friends I’d left behind. I yearned to get back. By late spring of ’94 I returned to L.A. and here I remain.
Ha! I love “Reality Bites” too!
Actually, in Chicago where I grew up, “Sex on the Beach” is “more than just an Adult Beverage” — the lake water is sensuously WARM in the summer! 😀
I had more good times on either of Northwestern University’s North & South Beaches, or Oak St. or North Ave. Beaches, than in all of Malibu combined. ;->
Sounds like it!
Your blog made me think of that comedian who did a thing on “the glass half full, and how everyone assumes that is a good thing, but we have to ask ourselves – what is the glass half full of? Baby’s blood? Hmmm. Not such a good thing.”
I’m trying to think of TV shows that I aspire to…. I haven’t really gotten into that many tv shows. M.A.S.H. back in 2002… and Breaking Bad. So. there you have it. 🙂
Carrie, I Loved Mash, for too many reasons to list! Happy to see someone else with the same taste.
hope you’ve done the hike in LA where you can see the old car from MASH
I hope your life is NEVER like Breaking Bad!
Half full of Baby’s Blood….that’s a seriously good point.
we didn’t even need to move to sunny brighton – ‘quadrophenia’ just happened all around us! mind you, there’s little chance of sand clogging up your gusset – more likely to get pebble-dashed…
thanks for keeping it real! 🙂
Ha! Thats great. I have to admit that I when I moved to Boston for a stint I was half-seriously expecting many nights hanging out in a bar with Woody Harrelson. Had there been a Norm, Frasier, or Sam I might have been able to stand the cold.
Did you try to actually go to the “Cheers” bar?
Love your chainsaw massacre comment kat! Pretty sure we watched that together when we were growing up. We had some wild high school nights but thankfully none like that movie!
eeekkkk!!!
I remember when I lived in So Cal (Orange County) many years ago. I used to go to Laguna Breach fairly often. I had my guitar in in left hand while holding hands with my girlfriend with the other. We’d sit on the beach and just listened to the sound of the ocean, gulls, and my music. But most importantly, we had each other in a moment that will forever be frozen in time. Fast forward and,well those memories are still as crisp as if it all happened yesterday. Life is worth living, isn’t it?
What a wonderful memory David! Yes, indeed, it is!
I am with Carrie and watched too much M*A*S*H and I then I watched too much James Bond which led me to join the Army in the Military Intelligence Branch!!! The military is not that fun, and the world’s secrets….not that interesting. Trust me. 🙂
After I sobbed my way through Franco Zeffereli’s Romeo and Juliet, when I was about 13, I decided my goal was to have as long hair as Juliet so that when I had my head back for my imaginary kiss or I was looking up from the drama of my imaginary situation, my hair would flow beautifully all the way down my back!