New Attitude

It's official:  Autumn has arrived.
I know, I'm a little slow on the uptake here.  Some poor asshole has known it's fall for at least two months.  I, on the other hand, just got the memo AND the new scarf to match.
This is my favorite time of year in Los Angeles - hands down.  Autumn is beautiful all over the place - I'm awares - but in Los Angeles?  I'd like to argue that there's another layer of magica come November.  It's not just the angle of the light, the sudden drop in temperature post-sunset, or the absence (finally!) of visible tan lines - it's something less tangible and slightly less obvious.  There is a distinct Autumnal Attitude that makes Los Angeles the best, crazy village to inhabit come November.  And what drives this attitude?  The same giant ball of fire that inspires life all over this planet:  the sun.

I know, who cares?  So it's sunny all the time - big fuckin' deal.... Yes.  It is a big fucking deal.  It's a big fucking briliant deal.  It's a big deal when you moved here from some groovy city that insisted on pissing rain and shitting ice all over your life come ye olde Autumnal Equinox.  It is a big deal to wake up prepared to listen to Morrissey for the next five months only to realize you CAN'T because it's 75 degrees outside and beautiful all over.  It is a big deal to be questioning every inch of your life only to look out your window at pure splendor which, at the very least, affirms your decision to haul your ass 3000 miles west and stop performing in shows too absurd to share with your friends (never mind it's the first time you've been able to see those glorious San Gabriel mountains...yes, they were there all summer long they were just hiding behind a large cloud of...smoke?).

The Autumnal Attitude, I believe, stems from a deep seeded sensation that you made the right call.  Not only did you make the right call but you escaped something.  You got out alive.  You got out intact and so did that guy, and that girl!  And that awesome tranny!  And that lady at the dry cleaners!  And even that douche that always waits for you to pull out of your parking space so he can grab it before anyone else - we all did it!  And now, suspicions of being special and clever affirmed, we are here sharing in the light!  The healing, autumnal, Hockney-documented, light!  God is good!  And so are you!

This attitude seems to extend deep into the gyms and studios of Los Angeles.  Everywhere I teach old faces are reappearing prepared to shake it, new people are showing up thrilled to have found a gym that welcomes people with necks (picture it, please) and in general the population seems to have rediscovered the mind/body connection (I know, a disgusting phrase but one that applies here).  It's a wonderful site for a fitness lady.  I can't help but think it has a lot to do with this glorious time of year.  I know Ella Fitzgerald sings beautifully about Autumn in New York, but I think at this stage in my life I'd prefer to stay put, turn up Joni Mitchell's California, and bask in the healing light of this surprisingly sunny state of mind.  And if you're not feeling it - come to class!  I'll make sure you see la luz.

final word:  run don't walk!  come and visit me in class or visit a friend in Los Angeles - now is the time. I can be found at Equinox in Century City or Swerve Studio on Third Street making people sweat it out.