Uh oh- 1/5 Semester break in LA and Vegas

I got the opportunity to meet up with my friend in LA and get to Las Vegas for another buddy's birthday.  

The picture below is at a little restaurant on the boulevard at Venice Beach.  

We also stopped by and got some Henna tattoos that last about 10 minutes.  That was good and bad.  

I ended up in Vegas a few days later, driving from LA to Vegas was a great experience!  

Here is my buddy getting a cake at one of the clubs in Vegas- star power goes a long way ;-)

I had a really great time getting out to a part of the wild west I hadn't been to in a long time and reflecting on how my opinions are formed now living in NYC.  

After talking to a lot of people, those successful, those trying to be, and the overwhelming majority who pretend they already are, I noticed some serious differences.  I heard a celebrity commentator say recently, "Everyone in LA looks like they are a porn star, and no one in NY does."  He was generally commenting on the blonde hair, blue eyed plastic dolls but it really reaches a bigger point.  In LA and in Vegas, there is the fun-first, work later attitude that is the antithesis of NY.  

It works for some people, but I found a lot of people back West that were just plain sick of the lack of professionalism and drive.  I felt a lot of people get away with showing off with nothing to show for it, while out here, people are generally unimpressed with what you look like as much as what have you done lately.  It's superficial in another form but it keeps you on your toes.  You definitely have to work in NY.  Mainly because hey we are surrounded by models from all over the world, so blond and blue just aren't in high demand.  More importantly, it's not 70 degrees year round here so you have to find something else to do 9 months of the year.  

All good people but many of those on their way up have big dreams of heading out East.  I am excited for them to do so.  There really is so much opportunity and an environment that rewards hard work.  As cliche as it is, at the end of the day, it really is true.  There are so many people I meet here who aren't just burning the candle at both ends for someone else, they are pursuing their dream career.  It was a good reminder of why I am here and really encourages me to keep it going.  I also look forward to getting back to the west and that sweet sweet sun.