Turns out my hotel is a short hike from Universal Studios. I can do without the theme park — I’m assuming it’s pretty much the same as Orlando’s version — but having the City Walk relatively close to the hotel is a nice bonus.

Last time I went to the City Walk was over an E3 weekend, and I ended up seeing Battlefield Earth with some coworkers. So my memories of the place are traumatic at best. But tonight, my flight was delayed two hours, so I didn’t get in until after 10 PM. The place is a lot more subdued at 10 PM on a Tuesday; no crowds to speak of, and the loud, giant TV screen was playing Alison Krauss videos instead of that loud hippity-hop music all the kids like. Plus, getting in late meant none of the arriving-in-LA-after-a-six-hour-drive-to-find-sinus-clogging-heat syndrome. Just a short flight into an airport named after Bob Hope, which was playing “Dead Man’s Party” (interesting choice for an airport) and other 80’s songs on the PA system, and a reasonably easy suburban drive to a theme park hotel, all in clear 70-degree weather.

You could even say it’s “pleasant.”

But internet access from the hotel is ten bucks a night. Garrr! Fucking LA!

You’ve just quit your job, spent a month unemployed, and turned old! What are you going to do now?

I’m going to Disneyland on Thursday, which proves that even something as awful as having to go to Los Angeles can have a silver lining. They’ve had a big 50th Anniversary celebration, and I’ve been curious to see what all is going on, but afraid to go because of the crowds. Hopefully on a weekday, it’ll be less insane. (Walt Disney World over the week after Memorial Day was nuts).

Used to be that the idea of going to a Disney park by myself would just seem miserable, but now I’m actually kind of looking forward to it. I hope that’s a sign that I’m just getting more mature, not that I’m getting more creepy anti-social.