Shine On You Crazy Tiger (Parts VI-IX)

Howdy Folks!

I’m not sure if you aware of this, but February 14th is a very special day (so is the 12th, Happy Birthday Hunter!). No, not because of Saint Valentine, because February 14, 2010 marks THE YEAR OF THE TIGER! I met my family in Las Vegas this past weekend to celebrate my mom’s birthday and noticed numerous huge signs, statues, and events that had to do with the year of the Tiger, so I looked into it a little bit:

The Tiger’s motto?

“I Win”

So with this Chinese Zodiac blessing I look forward to yet another year of victories for the Tiger via Oxy athletics.

I had a comment with a few interesting questions on my last post, mostly having to do with life in LA and the culture of the city. The fact that Los Angeles is such a different place than small town Texas is one of the reasons I have loved it here so much. I love Texas, but the diversity of America is what our nation is all about and I wanted to take advantage of it. If I can, I’d like to spend time on the East Coast so I can get even another view of America. My freshman year I roomed with 16 kids who hailed from Pennsylvania, Texas, Michigan, Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Utah, San Diego, Arizona, and Maryland. These kids personalities were WAAAY different in all cases too, so it made for a very fun freshman year. Despite our differences we all bonded and I am still friends with all of them, live with 2 of them (neither plays football), and date one of them.

Something that is great about Texas is how friendly the people are, and you get the same thing here. In my time in LA, I’ve learned that people are basically the same everywhere. I am not very political so I don’t discuss many issues with my friends, but it is definitely a left wing campus. For instance, it was an Obama lovefest around election time and you’d never hear anything positive about McCain. However, the current president did go to Oxy so I don’t care what your beliefs are, that is cool. Perhaps there are a few more unecessary digs at republican political figures here too, but I have not seen any kind of Democratic radicalism that some may think of when they imagine Los Angeles.  I lived with mostly republican friends in Texas and mostly democratic friends in LA , and I can confidently say that Texans and Californians are different, yet similar. They dress totally different, their musical intrests are almost opposite, their accents and phrases are different, their food is different, and their sporting interests vary; but the friendly, easy going attitude of both regions is why I feel I fit in so well in both communities. My roommate’s sense of humor is every bit as ridiculous as mine and several of my friends here remind me of my friends in Texas.

Meeting and learning from kids from different areas is yet another reason I came to Oxy and part of what makes it so great. My current housemates are no exception. We have an eclectic combination of people with totally different backgrounds and styles and it has added a lot of fun to my experience here.

Haha another question was celebrity sightings? I’ve seen Tara Reid, Katherine Heigl, Edward Norton, Andy Collins, Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill , R. Lee Ermey, Michael Cera, Leslie Mann, and on one visit my parents saw Jennifer Aniston and Michael Clark Duncan on separate occasions. My housemate ate lunch a table away from John C. Reilly at a nearby restaurant . If you are into celeb watching, Oxy is the place to be.

Traffic Jams? Oh yes. It took my roommate 3 hours to drive 30 miles on friday (he was returning from taking me to the airport, sorry Todd). Around Oxy, however, there is hardly any traffic. We are like our own little oasis of automobile harmony in Los Angeles. Close to everything yet not in the middle of it. But once you get on the highways and head towards downtown it can get a little nasty.

All things considered, I love LA. People may look different on the surface but once we start talking and laughing those differences don’t matter and we can see what we have in common. At Oxy, what we have in common is a commitment to excellence and a laid back manner. I’m proud to call Los Angeles my second home.

All comments, questions, and/or complaints suggestions are appreciated.

Take it easy,

Dillon

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