Survived night one in LA so far. Was rather a bitch getting the rental car, and finding parking in Venice near my first hotel took a bit of luck, but all is currently well. The place is actually a hostel, but I'm in a private room. I've never been to a hostel before, they have a cool setup here incl. a game room and a TV room full of couches. There were a few folks watching a movie there, and they seemed cool enough to make conversation with, but they were all more or less zombified by the TV and by the time the movie finished it was bedtime.
From what I've seen so far the city's definitely a bit run down, haha. It even smells old and rotten here -- not just in the hostel but on the street too. Looking forward to exploring further tomorrow. Need to sleep now though, I've been up over 24 fucking hours