Deception in "Love in L.A."
             The character Jake in "Love in L.A." is living his life as a lie. He is in fear of being disappointed should he get on the "freeway" of life. He sticks to the side streets and lies that make up his life. Life for him is living from one untruth to the next, never setting down in to a real life of substance. His fear of the unknown keeps him untruthful. He can control the lying and doesn't have to worry about what might happen. Whereas in a life without deception there isn't as much control over what happens. It is all up to the whim of everyday life itself.
             As Jake is sitting in traffic he convinces himself that getting on the freeway would be worse than just staying on the side street we is on. The freeway is much like a steady occupation it "had its advantages and he couldn't deny thinking about it too". (Gilb 236) He had instead decided to stay with the life and path that he had chosen. The though of getting on with his life and getting a real job didn't have much appeal to him. He is unable to see the benefit of getting a job and having a purpose in life.
             This however does not stop him of dreaming of a better life. While sitting in traffic he dreams of a better car, "exotic colognes, plush, dark nightclubs, maitais and daiquiris, necklaced ladies in satin gowns, misty and sexy like in a tequila ad."(237) All of these things he believes he can achieve by continuing down the road he has chosen. None of his dreams "ended up with him pressed onto a stalled freeway". (237) The thought of a job like everyone else does not even enter his mind. He truly believes that his life is headed in the right direction.
             As he is sitting dreaming of this life that he has created in his mind he rams into the back of the car ahead of him. At first he things of "driving past the Toyota but was afraid the traffic ahead
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