02-05-2026

stuck in anaheim

and so namm came to a close and there i was stuck in a car-centric city with means of transportation limited by human evolution (legs). since it was so difficult to find stuff to do and there was significant uncertainty as to when i'd be leaving, it felt like i'd been stuck there forever. i use the word stuck intentionally, it felt like i was in a place that i did not belong nor was accepted in (and also could not get out of thanks to winter storm fern).

this has nothing to do with the people, i think; everyone in anaheim that i met was the classic brand of west coast amiability and openness, qualities seldom seen in the windy city. more than people, the environment itself felt oppressive. in order to get anywhere interesting, i'd have to walk next to 6 lanes of traffic with little to no buffer for a minimum of 20 minutes. not conducive to good health and happiness in my opinion.

of course, i tried to take everything as it came. i ended up venturing out to LA (incoming rant) and checked out the consumerist capital of the western united states: downtown disney at disneyland california. while at disney, my flight got cancelled and rebooked for like the third time, but its hard to stay mad when everyone around you is having such a good time. i'm a big people watcher, and i notice that, if i really commit to presence, the mood of the crowd can rub off on me. so despite being out of money in a Consumer Area, demoralized by the delay of going home, and dreadful of the walk home ahead of me, happiness was maintained. shoutout to my parents for pavloving me into being happy in a disney area.

ok now for the LA rant. i went to LA the day before (i don't have to do this chronologically if i dont want to... I alone own this domain, you fool). experienced the splendor and misery of the LA metro system. turns out i didnt have to scan my card to get on because there were no barriers and also train staff didnt care :D. i wish i would have known that before walking an extra 15 minutes to go to a station that has taplink cards or whatever theyre called, but i digress. went to hollywood, checked out amoeba, got a damn CD from the clearance section, which is always fun. oh i forgot to mention: theres an ICE detention facility near the train station at which i got off. it was nice to see the people of LA having vandalized pretty much everything in its vicinity and also actively hurling obscenities at passing ICE vehicles. its nice to not have to really look for people that are actively trying to make a difference, unlike boston. the culture of LA in general is very vibrant and alive. oh also there was writing on a small marble obelisk that said "they have you buying your chains," which i think is an accurate sentiment.

so now about car centrism in LA: the metro line belle and i needed to take ended up being shut down because of someone roaming the tunnels with a weapon and there was next to no alternative offered. in boston, some buses would be quickly repurposed as shuttles along the same line so that way people could still get to where they need to go. i guess they just expect you to get an uber or figure out the bus system, which is better than nothing, but it could be better (maybe if there was actually a barrier that prevented you from entering if you didnt pay the train system would make more money...). we also tried to go to the hollywood forever cemetery, but good god. the sidewalk. it was like 2 feet across with light posts every 20 feet or so AND ALSO a high concrete wall RIGHT up against it WITH overgrown vines POKING OUT. needless to say, LA is absolutely not walkable whatsoever, but who's really surprised?

anyway, it was nice to try and make the most of the time i had stuck in anaheim, but i really felt like i was grasping at straws (outside of LA) to find something to do. im glad i left when i did because i would have been bored out of my mind lying in wait for my flight home. fortunately, i'm writing this as i am on a flight to boston, so all is well. see you in the next one.