Malled

We drop Tex off to his supervised party . We thought it would be in Culver City ,a cool foody bar location but it turns out that it’s really in Westchester . We thought we could maybe hang out at a funky restaurant and then pick Tex up on the way back , instead we find ourselves at the back of LAX , surrounded by apartments ,hotels ,dark harsh streetscapes and not really the type of place we could see ourselves sitting at a table with a cocktail and tapas . The streets are dark at night over here ,the lighting is just there, so it’s hard to make a judgement on a place at night , but stuff it I will . Westchester feels like a place set up for short hotel stays ,airport traffic and dare I say it …concrete and cold .Theres a vulnerability in a lot of LA’s surrounds at night , this place is no different . Emma comes up with a plan . “Let’s go to Westfield Shopping Centre “… yes the same Westfields in Australia run by the Lowy family .Ohh fuck no , please …not a Saturday night stuck in a giant mall .

You pull into the car park ,there’s several car parking personal dressed in fluoros directing us to vacant spots , there’s also an obvious security presence . Ok , I like that ,you don’t need no hood lurking in the dark looking to roll some shopper loading their goods into the car .

Leroy, Emma and myself roll in . It’s busy , noisy , your typical shopping precinct at Christmas. There’s families everywhere .Why ? Why would you spend your Saturday night in a joint like this ? Its nearly 8 pm when we sit down and eat at the food court .I survey the area why Emma orders my Thai salad . I look down at Leroy ,I look at the passing stream of shoppers and then look back at Leroy . I check on all the other diners . There’s a creeping self awareness that we are in the minority ,even whilst sucking on a supersized regular soft drink I still feel as if I don’t quite fit in ,and I love it . It’s Leroys blonde hair , the Caucasian appearance , amplified with an Australian accent . I nod the head and mutter to myself ….. ” not in the bubble now pups ” . I normally hate the big shopping centre idea , especially over here . My mind tends to wander . I check on the exits and places to hide in . It sounds stupid , but it’s not a state of panic , just an observation that’ ‘shit’ happens over here . People from time to time like to shoot up crowded areas . Once I’ve checked my surrounds it’s back to normal , let’s look for the hottest women , the fattest fuckers , the wannabe gangsters and any strange looking creep , and there’s plenty in LA to be found . What’s most noticeable about the Westfield Culver City tonight is the multicultural crowd . Tonight it is dominated by Hispanic , Asian and Affro Americans . I don’t mind , in fact it feels good to be the outsider .The joint is full of the big brand stuff ,especially skate fashion and bling sneakers .They’re obsessed with the pimped up toe huggers over here . Like , really obsessed . We would spend 2 hours killing time .What I really notice is the families I saw earlier in the night are still here hanging around .Who does that shit ? Us tonight . Leroy did get his haircut at a barber dominated by Affro American staff and clientele , unfortunately my phone ran out of battery as a photo of a lone white boy with a shock of blonde hair surrounded by the black brotherhood was a site that had me chuckling . Would’ve never of saw ourselves in this type of setting . For the 1st hour I was happy to stroll around , laying on the Aussie accent at every opportunity, by the 2nd hour I was willing to chew my arm off to get outta there . Mall life …….I’m a fish out of water ,but it was fun to get in amongst some of the real punters of LA . For now …..It’s back to the Bubble .