Biltmore Boredom Blues

I presently sit in the lobby of the Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel, consuming the wireless internet available here before my employment law symposium, set to begin in a few hours. I had an appearance in the downtown Los Angeles courthouse this morning, and records to search in a different courthouse here in the city later on, and then I had lunch with one of my former law partners in Manhattan Beach. I got to meet his two new associates, too, and that was all very pleasant.

I had considered seeing a movie between now and the start of the conference, but in contemplating that thought, I figured I should see a movie that The Wife would not really want to see, and that would be Die Hard 4: Live Free or Die Hard. I can’t even write that without the title inducing a giggle, it’s so cheesy. But actually, a friend said it was really good, and someone else said that Transformers was worth the price of admission, too. I didn’t think this person would recommend a movie like that, but she was quite enthusiastic about it. I guess it must be a tender, touching movie about killer robots from outer space that disguise themselves as airplanes and trucks; the killer robots do a lot of sitting around talking about their feelings.

But, there is only one movie theater in downtown and it’s not showing either of these until a point in time too late for me to realistically be able to make it back here in time for the conference to begin. So much for that plan. So here I sit, teaching my class and blogging, awaiting the time that I can go in to the symposium. It’s quite loud here — there is beautiful woodwork and architecture, but of such a nature as to amplify and reverberate sound, and this is the lobby of a busy hotel in the heart of the financial district of the country’s second-largest city, after all — so there are people walking in and out all the time, kids yelling and whooping as they play, bellhops wandering about, and the sounds of traffic going by outside.

A few thoughts as I wait for something to do.

This trip down into the city reminds me that the city is actually kind of an unpleasant place. Traffic is heavy, all the time. Parking is scarce and expensive. It feels crowded and rushed here. It’s not without its charms — certainly the buildings are impressive and the high concentration of professionals here provides a lot of support for sophisticated consumer businesses like high-end bars and restaurants; there seems to always be the smell of something good being cooked somewhere nearby. And (don’t tell The Wife this) the high concentration of well-dressed women is easy on the eye. But despite these charms, I’m glad I don’t live here in the big city anymore. A suburb — or rather, an exurb — is just fine with me.

I could think about the trial I have on Monday morning in Stinking Bakersfield, but the fact of the matter is that I don’t need to — it will be a pretty easy case, and it’s on the verge of settlement anyway.

The bar isn’t open yet, either, not that I would want to have an alcoholic drink. There will be sports to watch in an hour, so that could help pass the time. I had to get up at 5:00 this morning in order to get to court on time and despite trying to go to bed at 9:30 last night, I’m still pretty sleepy. So I’ve got little choice but to sit here and wait and read the news for a couple of hours.