LA Diaries

I'm in an internet cafe on Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood. The room is pitch dark apart from a red lamp flickering dimly in a corner. In front of me, some guy is muttering softly to himself while surfing some porno website - I couldn't help but notice the nature of the site's content as I sat down behind him. Not RIGHT behind him, of course. Anyway, as you'll have gathered my homeward journey has gathered considerable momentum since my last email. No longer am I trying to kill myself on the slopes of Queenstown - instead I'm getting my adrenalin kicks from walking around LA at night, with no map and only a general sense of direction wearing a Manchester United jersey. I was less on edge when I jumped out of a plane a few months ago...

Flew out of Christchurch on Saturday evening and arrived into LA on Saturday morning, a little puzzled as to why it wasn't Sunday. Unfortunately, I didn't get much sleep on the plane, which may have been due to the fat bastard beside me who not only filled his own seat with aplomb, but also spilled over into both seats either side of him. He was a snorer to boot, naturally.
Pink Floyd has just started up in the background...

I'm staying in a pretty cool hostel in West Hollywood. Last night, they provided free beers for a few hours and then organised a hostel outing to Sunset Strip. We went to a bar called Miyages (as in the Karate Kid) which was ridiculously expensive but had some lovely scenery. Shine on you crazy diamond. Sorry - I was singing myself there for a second. Porno guy is looking back at me now. Anyway, my Irish accent was a great hit in Miyages - young Shannon from Santa Barbara (up in LA for the weekend) was particularly taken with it...

Went to the United game against Club America in the LA Coliseum today. Not a classic match, but the goal Van Nistelrooy scored was a peach. Walked to downtown LA afterwards for a bit of a wander, and then got the train to Hollywood. Hollywood Boulevard wasn't what I was expecting. The stars on the footpath are very tacky - or perhaps just very American? Anyway, my time on this machine is about to end, so I will sign off.

See many of you very soon.