I had an amazing night running errands in my neighborhood. Nights like these deepen my love for downtown Los Angeles and its community.
Frank The Mini-Pie Man
I started the evening walking to drop off my dry cleaning. On the way to the dry cleaner, I was hollered at by Frank, who happened to be selling mini-pies on the street. Despite his flattery, which is always appreciated, I declined to buy his pie or give him my number. But, I took time to speak to him, we exchanged names, shook hands and said "I will see you around."
Wax Candy
Next stop was the new wax salon on Main, Wax Candy, for which I had a Yelp coupon ($25 for $39). It is a cute salon, owned and operated by four women, all estheticians. I had a great conversation with one of the owners and learned about how they started their business. As an individual who has aspirations to own a women run business, I left waxed and feeling inspired. The waxing was great. I highly recommend it.
Gym Box
Right next store to Wax Candy is the newly opened Gym Box. I stopped in and spoke to Damnan. He gave me a tour of the gym, which is a work-in-progress. He laid out what they offer now and what would be offered in the future. It is a basic gym. It has the usual gym offerings of treadmills, bikes, free weights, machines and classes. Nothing fancy, except for the boxing resources.
I decided I wanted to join a gym that offered a variety of classes after I became fedup with our building's gym and doing Jillian Michaels' videos in the kitchen/living room/dining room. Currently, Gym Box offers kick boxing, boxing, zumba, and power yoga classes early in the morning and later in the evening (perfect for an individual who holds a traditional office job). There are an abundance of future slated classes once they acquire more teachers and complete the spinning room, such as TRX, bootcamps, core classes, etc.
After the tour, I sat down to speak to Damnan to discuss pricing and membership to feel out my options. But it was clear he did not want me to leave without buying a membership. After seeing his persistence, I decided I was not going to buy a membership unless I got the best deal possible. Lets just say that my law school training is finally paying off. I got the best deal plus a pair of free hand wraps. Leaving the gym, I was feeling pretty proud of myself and excited that I stepped outside of my comfort zone to join boxing based community gym where I could get to know my neighbors through the classes that kicked my butt.
1Man's Trash
Next to my building is 1Man's Trash used/consignment shoe shop. I walk by all the time and see the same guy in the shop. Usually, I wave. This night I introduced myself to Lane. I learned that they carry women's shoes in size ten and that it is preferably to pay in cash (hint, hint). Plus Lane and I had good conversation, again, including flattery. By this point of the evening, I had just crushed a negotiation and been hit on twice. For someone who is naturally shy and in the eve of her youth, it was an excellent evening.
City Living
By the end of the evening, I was feeling amazing from walking around my neighborhood and having positive interactions with people. It seems like a simple enough concept. No flash. No glamour. But I had grown accustomed to traveling to and from locations in my car and having limited interactions with individuals at stores. It was great to feel human again. I loved that I was able to: (1) walk everywhere to run errands, (2) meet an array of my neighbors all while (3) supporting local businesses. Its pretty amazing to be able to achieve to all this in the heart of Los Angeles.
Frank The Mini-Pie Man
I started the evening walking to drop off my dry cleaning. On the way to the dry cleaner, I was hollered at by Frank, who happened to be selling mini-pies on the street. Despite his flattery, which is always appreciated, I declined to buy his pie or give him my number. But, I took time to speak to him, we exchanged names, shook hands and said "I will see you around."Wax Candy
Next stop was the new wax salon on Main, Wax Candy, for which I had a Yelp coupon ($25 for $39). It is a cute salon, owned and operated by four women, all estheticians. I had a great conversation with one of the owners and learned about how they started their business. As an individual who has aspirations to own a women run business, I left waxed and feeling inspired. The waxing was great. I highly recommend it.
Gym Box
Right next store to Wax Candy is the newly opened Gym Box. I stopped in and spoke to Damnan. He gave me a tour of the gym, which is a work-in-progress. He laid out what they offer now and what would be offered in the future. It is a basic gym. It has the usual gym offerings of treadmills, bikes, free weights, machines and classes. Nothing fancy, except for the boxing resources.
I decided I wanted to join a gym that offered a variety of classes after I became fedup with our building's gym and doing Jillian Michaels' videos in the kitchen/living room/dining room. Currently, Gym Box offers kick boxing, boxing, zumba, and power yoga classes early in the morning and later in the evening (perfect for an individual who holds a traditional office job). There are an abundance of future slated classes once they acquire more teachers and complete the spinning room, such as TRX, bootcamps, core classes, etc.
After the tour, I sat down to speak to Damnan to discuss pricing and membership to feel out my options. But it was clear he did not want me to leave without buying a membership. After seeing his persistence, I decided I was not going to buy a membership unless I got the best deal possible. Lets just say that my law school training is finally paying off. I got the best deal plus a pair of free hand wraps. Leaving the gym, I was feeling pretty proud of myself and excited that I stepped outside of my comfort zone to join boxing based community gym where I could get to know my neighbors through the classes that kicked my butt.
Next to my building is 1Man's Trash used/consignment shoe shop. I walk by all the time and see the same guy in the shop. Usually, I wave. This night I introduced myself to Lane. I learned that they carry women's shoes in size ten and that it is preferably to pay in cash (hint, hint). Plus Lane and I had good conversation, again, including flattery. By this point of the evening, I had just crushed a negotiation and been hit on twice. For someone who is naturally shy and in the eve of her youth, it was an excellent evening.
City Living
By the end of the evening, I was feeling amazing from walking around my neighborhood and having positive interactions with people. It seems like a simple enough concept. No flash. No glamour. But I had grown accustomed to traveling to and from locations in my car and having limited interactions with individuals at stores. It was great to feel human again. I loved that I was able to: (1) walk everywhere to run errands, (2) meet an array of my neighbors all while (3) supporting local businesses. Its pretty amazing to be able to achieve to all this in the heart of Los Angeles.
No comments:
Post a Comment