Turn the page if you don't wanna hear me bitch, moan, and complain about how screwed up California is. I can because I was born and raised here. My siblings and I couldn't have asked for more as kids. We had plenty of open spaces to play and very few "keep out" signs posted on the property around our house. Not long ago I thought it was important for me to be able to drive less than 100 miles in any direction and hit a completely different environment with just as many different terrains. In my imaginary California I could stop by the beach in the morning, swing out to the mountains around noon, and be in the desert, or even a completely different country (Mexico) before dark. But when reality set in I quickly realized traffic is often so thick that it takes me two hours or more just to get to work on a bad day. Even driving across town turns me into an ulcer patient wishing a burning-in-hell death for some idiot talking on the cell phone while he negotiates traffic like no one else is around.
Today, California sucks. Plain and simple. I used to brag about how I could get anything at anytime in California. If I wanted 24-hour sushi (not that I'd eat it at some hours), I could stuff myself silly with raw fish. If I wanted some super-trick whiz-bang race part, I could find a shop that had it - in different colors, no less. That's not so important nowadays with so many shops selling stuff online. I could live in a freakin' cave in Alaska and still get chromoly rod ends shipped right to my door through the Internet without even picking up the phone. And speaking of availability, why is it that everything in California is watered down or simply eliminated from the market if it's considered at all toxic to the environment. I can't even get bug spray that actually kills ants because it's harmful to waterfowl eggshells or some crap. I live in a desert! There is no water or waterfowl. At this point, any bug killer I can find is simply an irritant to them. Perhaps in the future my beloved California will take that away from me as well because it will be considered cruelty to animals by some stupid actor in Hollywood who has had way too much plastic surgery.
Speaking of Hollywood, does society really listen to what these people have to say? Since when did acting on a successful TV show or movie become a diploma in politics, economics, and environmental issues? I've watched the true Hollywood stories on TV. Many of these people started out with nothing, sitting in a gutter on the streets of Los Angeles. Perhaps I should consult some of the local bums and prostitutes before the next voting season.
What happened to race gas at the pump? Or how about regular ol' unleaded fuel? California's fuel is more expensive than nearly any other state, apparently because it's specially oxygenated and environmentally friendly. Don't laugh, it's on its way to a state near you (if it's not already there), and so is the extermination of race gas at the pump. If it isn't already extinct, that is. Fortunately, the rest of the U.S. has California to thank for just about every overly limp-wristed smog law or environmental decision that relates to automobiles or killing things.
Dammit, I can't even afford to live here anymore. I commute nearly 80 miles a day because our building is nowhere near affordable housing. How's over $1 million sound for a three bedroom/two bath? At the rate I'm going I'll never even earn a million dollars in my lifetime. Where are the lower-income people supposed to live? Maybe I should start thinking about commuting from Arizona or Mexico.
Growing up I had no idea what bad weather or smog was. We lived two miles from the beach. I practically lived in shorts and T-shirts year round and thought morning fog and even rain (because it was so rare) was cool. There isn't a day that goes by now that the weather girl doesn't say the air quality is poor from smog somewhere in Los Angeles.
I'd really like someone to stop this, but people keep moving here and I can't figure out how they can afford it or why they'd want to come. It's gotten to the point that I wanna hop in my early '70s Jeep that leaks oil out of every powertrain component and get 3 mpg on leaded race gas. I wanna smoke the oversized FET-taxed mud tires at every stop light, drive into traffic at top speed, and slam into people that don't belong on the highway. I wanna buy insect and weed poison that kills everything living in my yard. Then I want to rinse the leftovers down the storm drain with used oil and gasoline. When I'm done I'll order up a plate of freshly clubbed baby seal and spotted owl with a side of desert tortoise soup, wash it down with overly chlorinated tap water, and wipe my mouth on the sleeve of my chinchilla fur coat.- John Cappa