While I have no reason to believe that you’ll ever return to my blog again since you’ve expressed such disappointment in it, there are a few things you should probably know about me.

First of all, I love Cleveland. I myself am a product of the Midwest: I grew up in St. Louis. Especially after participating in the annual meeting of the urban leadership non-profit CEOs for Cities, and meeting people from the Cleveland Urban Design Center, I’ve come to appreciate how Midwestern cities have had to overcome the devastating economic situations that came with the loss of major manufacturing industries. Although I’ve moved to LA, a large part of me is still there. This time of year, I’d give anything for a few of those warm, cicada-symphony evenings we just don’t get out here.

Also, I don’t know if you noticed, but I write for Fast Company (like, a lot). Fast Company is one of the smartest magazines around and I’m honored to be one of their contributors. But the reason I posted the link to the video on Fast Company was the same reason I post most things I post. BECAUSE IT WAS FUNNY.

But enough about that. Let’s talk about LA. Smog-infested? Difficult to say. Right now it’s raining, but usually when I’m sitting here at my desk, I can see all the way to Catalina Island. Traffic-jammed? Also tough to comment on since I don’t own a car, and prefer to take the bus, the train, my bike or my feet when I go places. It’s usually a pretty pleasant experience, so I have no complaints.

But you are right about two things. I am jealous, and LA is horrible. As proof, I have another hastily-made video that explains just about everything you’d want to know. It has some inappropriate language that will probably offend you more than my original comment, so I encourage you to leave another comment here with your thoughts.

All best,
Alissa

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrI-28kOivU