1. NOTEBOOKS AND PENS: Kinokuniya Bookstore in Little Tokyo. Warning: you might stay here all day.
2. DRINKING SPOT FOR OPTIMAL BROODING: 55 Degrees Wine Cellar (Atwater) You can sit in the almost darkness with tons of Italian wine while you complain about how nobody understands you. Drinking companions optional.
3. AFFORDABLE RESEARCH TOOLS: Los Angeles Public Library (various). We are blessed with some of the best branches of the LAPL. Use your library card with pride.
4. ENDLESS PEOPLE WATCHING: Griffith Observatory Sit on the steps. Stare out at the lawn. Take notes.
5. A TRUSY PROCRASTINATION SPOT: (Silver Lake) You can start with breakfast and a fancy coffee meeting then ease into some kind of impromptu brunch with a friend and then order some wine while you check your email and soon it's happy hour. Excellent day at work.
6. AN EMERGENCY WRITING DESK: Kaldi (Atwater) Don't tell everybody about this, because they only have a few tables. But it's always quiet, people are always facing the same way, and it looks like a weird little classroom in there. Get in, get your work done, and get out. Someone else needs that spot.
7. A GO-TO "I ASKED YOU HERE BECAUSE I'M SUCCESSFUL" LUNCH SPOT: (Los Feliz) You'll never be the most famous one in the room, and that's a good thing.
8. A UNIQUE LONG-TERM-PROCRASTINATION SPOT: Echo Park Film Center Did you know you can bring in your old videotapes and they'll convert them into DVD's super-cheap? And then you can spend your days making embarrassing You Tube clips to post on Facebook. It's more priceless than a scanner and a yearbook. You're welcome.
9. WALK IT OUT: Silver Lake Reservoir Sometimes a long walk with a couple of playlists is what you need to get your thoughts in order. Just don't stare at the dog park for too long, or you become That Guy.
10. SURRENDER YOURSELF TO HOLLYWOOD: Vista Theatre + Good Luck Bar (Los Feliz) -- the one-two punch reminder of why many of us are here chasing a dream, and the beautiful weirdos we can't seem to escape.
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PAMELA RIBON is the bestselling author of the novels Why Girls Are Weird, Why Moms Are Weird, and Going in Circles. A writer for stage, screen, and television, her credits include the Emmy Award-winning Samantha Who? Visit her popular blog at pamie.com, or find her in the dictionary under “muffin top.” (That is not a joke.) Her new novel, You Take It From Here releases July 3, 2012, with a at Skylight Books.
