My San Diego: Artist Elizabeth Zaikowski likes her sunny, fun, exciting San Diego.

Elizabeth Zaikowski

Artist

Lives: South Park

My San Diego is beautiful, sunny, fun and exciting. I love waking up everyday to the sunshine, the beaches and all that there is to do in San Diego.

I work outside at Sea World as an artist and love meeting all the people that travel here from other places as well as being able to enjoy the outdoors. I have sold many paintings in San Diego and feel it is becoming even more of a place with an artistic community.

I received my degree at SDSU in art education and I have taught art at many levels at the SD Children's Museum and Coronado High School. I enjoy painting in many styles and mediums, I have shown my own work here for over ten years. You can visit my website at http://www.elizabethzaikowski.com/

But Does the City Council Also Hate People Who Recreationally Vehicle?

The City Council may be adding to the list of things they hate. They are going to look at the numbers and see how much they hate RV loving people.

From SignonSanDiego:

San Diego residents fed up for years with recreational vehicles, trailers and campers cluttering streets left City Hall encouraged yesterday.

The City Council decided to study the costs of a proposal to ban overnight parking of these vehicles without a permit.

By a 7-0 vote, with Councilman Tony Young absent, council members asked the Mayor's Office to return in 60 days with a report on how the proposal would work in a pilot area, as well as citywide.

Passaportes! Passaportes!

If you've never been to TJ for a quick shopping trip and some tacos, then you've never had the chance to have the "border crossing experience."

There's going in to Mexico, which consists of a gate and a walkway, then a long winding path and you're right where you need to be, club and shopping central.

And then there's the coming back in to the U.S. way, which consists of a really long line, a whole bunch of border guards, people dividing you by what you have, a quick shuffle, lots of orders, people trying to rent you bikes (because apparently that gets you through quicker), mass confusion and finally a light at the end of the tunnel (literally, it's quite dark in there and when the doors open... light).

Sometimes get the feeling U.S. is a lot like Bungalow 8 (or any other hip and trendy club I read about Lindsay Lohan getting faced at). You put a lot of people at the door, long lines, soem bouncers with short fuses and some arbitrary rules of what you have to be to get in, so everybody wants in.

And now it's going to be harder to get in.

From Fox 6 News:

Anyone wanting to cross will need to show government-issued photo identification, such as a driver's license or military ID card, and one other proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate or passport.

New rules begin Thursday, pull out your fancy club clothes and huge purse to fit your passport. No more border jumping, 18 year old kids just trying to have a good time, you'll have to wait till you're 21 to do overpriced shots with the rest of us!

If You're a Teen Girl and You Want to Get Creative: Head to the Young women's Leadership Program on Saturday.

Trust me, take all the chances you can to "get creative with it."

From PR.Com:

Fresh off of last Saturday's sellout benefit at the San Diego Sports Arena, the San Diego-based Jenna Druck Foundation will launch its 2008 Young Women's Leadership Program Saturday morning, February 2nd, from 9:30 to 11:30, at The Liberty Station Command Center.

Saturday's program will feature popular singer-songwriter, Randi Driscoll, best known for her work with Bonnie Raitt and Jason Mraz. "A Conversation with Randi Driscoll" will be offered at no charge to young women, their friends, teachers, mentors and parents and will focus on how girls can live their dream and use their voice to make a positive difference in their school, family, friendships and community.Popular DJ Midori, who has won acclaim for her “Big Sonic Chill” show on 94.9 FM radio, will interview Driscoll and take questions from the audience.

To register for Saturday's event, please call The Jenna Druck Foundation at 619 294-8000. Attendees may be eligible to attend the Jenna Druck Foundation’s March 1st Young Women’s Leadership Conference.

If You're a Teen Girl and You Want to Get Creative: Head to the Young women's Leadership Program on Saturday.

Trust me, take all the chances you can to "get creative with it."

From PR.Com:

Fresh off of last Saturday's sellout benefit at the San Diego Sports Arena, the San Diego-based Jenna Druck Foundation will launch its 2008 Young Women's Leadership Program Saturday morning, February 2nd, from 9:30 to 11:30, at The Liberty Station Command Center.

Saturday's program will feature popular singer-songwriter, Randi Driscoll, best known for her work with Bonnie Raitt and Jason Mraz. "A Conversation with Randi Driscoll" will be offered at no charge to young women, their friends, teachers, mentors and parents and will focus on how girls can live their dream and use their voice to make a positive difference in their school, family, friendships and community.Popular DJ Midori, who has won acclaim for her “Big Sonic Chill” show on 94.9 FM radio, will interview Driscoll and take questions from the audience.

To register for Saturday's event, please call The Jenna Druck Foundation at 619 294-8000. Attendees may be eligible to attend the Jenna Druck Foundation’s March 1st Young Women’s Leadership Conference.

Voters are switching parties right before the primaries because they want to be able to vote for Ron Paul

Not that it's any of your business (even though I'm sure he'd tell you himself, should you catch him out and about) but my Father in Law told me he went and switched over to the Republican Party just so he could vote for Ron Paul.

He then told me I should do the same.

I mumbled something about remembering that I needed to Google that Ron Paul guy at some point because according to my brother he's supposed to change my whole life but then went back to watching the marathon of Project Runway.

I am a bad, bad, potential Republican infiltrator for the sole purpose of voting for Ron Paul.

You should Google him because everybody says so. And vote, because, you know you want to.

Oh, here's the article about how San Diegans are playing musical chairs with their parties. That's why I started this whole tirade, but Ron Paul man, gets into your mind and it's like "hey, what was I posting about again?"

And in "Gee, ya think?!" News: Even though we're having a housing "crisis" it's not enough to actually make housing "affordable."

From SignOnSanDiego:

...the nation's housing slowdown has done little to ease the financial burdens facing low- and middle-income workers, especially in high-priced areas like San Diego. In San Diego County, the amount of household income needed to purchase a median-priced home during the third quarter of last year dropped 12 percent to $143,738, compared with $163,404 a year earlier. That's the good news. The bad news is that the county's median household income is $68,000, and with wages destined to remain stagnant this year, there is little room for optimism for entry-level buyers, say some analysts.

And there you go, don't go making your bus reservations yet... well that I need to make more money. Ideas? Anybody need a kidney? Anybody?

CALtrans will let you adopt highway, wear silly vests, pretend to be impartial when everybody hates the idea and then move you to a new highway

Minutemen, CALtrans has spoken, it's time you moved uptown as being so close to the border people are afraid you're keeping a peripheral eye out for immigrants trying to run through your nice, clean stretch of highway.

From SignonSanDiego:

In November, the state transportation department granted a stretch of northbound Interstate 5 near the checkpoint to the anti-illegal immigration group. Late yesterday, Caltrans announced that it would relocate the Minutemen to a location along state Route 52.

As we said before, it's your move hourmen, your move.

Say You Plan On Actually Keeping Your New Years Resolution

Like the one about running a marathon.

Go ahead and register for the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon, because it's fun, and there's music involved and SOMEBODY has to keep my running a marathon resolution (it's sure as heck not going to be me).

From PR.USA:

On Sunday, June 1, 2008, the original Rock 'n' Roll Marathon (www.RnRmarathon.com) in San Diego begins a new decade as one of the world's premiere marathons. Produced by Elite Racing, Inc. (www.RnRmarathon.com), the 11th annual event is known as a 26.2-mile block party with a live band at every mile along the course, hundreds of cheerleaders, themed water stations and a post-race concert, which featured Seal in 2007.

Special this year, the chance to win a "Girls Weekend" even better than Sex and the City (you know, eat, talk, say a lot of shocking sex words, eat some more) you can head to San Diego and, RUN a marathon (talk, say a lot of shocking sex words, collapse from talking sex and running so much).

The Rock 'n' Roll Marathon is inviting women to register for a Girls Weekend Getaway. Any woman who registers during the month of January will be entered into a drawing to win an ultimate vacation with three of her closest friends. The package includes a three-night stay at a luxurious San Diego hotel, a relaxing spa package, dinner at a gourmet restaurant, matching running apparel and much more.
To enter the contest, use the code UGOGIRL during online registration at www.RnRmarathon.com.

One Man's "oh my God I've had to declare bankruptcy and my life is falling apart" is another's "woo hoo, look at that steal of a deal."

Just released on Market Wire:

San Diego's Finest Real Estate (SDFRE) is launching the "Great American Dream Home Tour." In February and March, the company will take prospective buyers on a four-hour guided search for bargains within the San Diego residential foreclosure market. The tour's first stop: Solana Beach, Del Mar and Carmel Valley on Saturday, Feb. 9 from 9 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

It's kind of like a star spotting, fancy house tour, only instead of Leonardo Dicaprio you have the possibility of viewing the poor guy moving out his soon to be repossessed furniture because he couldn't afford to refinance his already high interest rate loan.

Museums Suddenly Feel the Need to Prove They are Just as Cool as the Movies say they are.

Paging Indiana Jones (or rather paging Shia, because we all know why we're going to see the movie and it's called The LaBeouf factor) Mingei International Museum is one of four California Museums at the center of a federal investigation looking into possible smuggled looted antiques out of Thailand, Myanmar and China.

From the NY Times:

In affidavits supporting the warrants, federal agents said the Markells had imported looted antiquities provided by Mr. Olson and then arranged to donate them to museums on behalf of clients who took inflated tax deductions for the gifts.

The affidavit describes a process in which objects were smuggled after being painted or affixed with stickers reading “Made in Thailand” to make the pieces look like replicas.

Rob Sidner, the director of the Mingei International Museum, said in a statement that if the investigation showed that any of the artifacts in its collections had been improperly donated, “we will return them to the rightful owners.”

And then The LaBeouf slides in, lassos himself the evil museum curator, takes back the smuggled antiquities and saves the day. Harrison Ford can do something too, if he wants ta, but whatever.

Yesterday Heath Ledger Passed Away: And Today Best Week Ever Shows Just How Classy San Diego Is

Yes, I made a "stay classy San Diego" joke even though I'm patently against them.

Turns out the Best Buy in Mission Valley went ahead and started their own "oh, didn't you know Heath Ledger died? Well, you should buy his movies, because he's dead now, dead," memorial, yesterday, just a few hours after it was announced. Totally, classy.

And that is your stay classy San Diego reference of the day.

Image via Bestweekever, check out the post here.

And so starts American Idol in San Diego: Woo.

Yep it's already 14 minutes in but my husband and I have this philosophy that no TV is good TV when you can't fast forward through commercials, so we give it a good 10 minutes before we start watching any show.

Here comes San Diego.

Someone on the internet said Simon is cranky in this episode, because that's a stretch of the imagination. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Randy and Paula will agree and Simon will be offended by that for some reason.

Simon doesn't think the first girl is as good as she thinks she is but she's pretty good.

And now for the sad story build up... hey where are they? Are they at the Four Seasons? Anyway, sad story, single father, provider and he's good! He's good. Thank God. Because last weeks "sad story followed by sad voice" build up just wasn't working for my fragile little heart.

This guy from Los Angeles is breaking it down, no sad story needed. Welcome the white soul singer.

Where are they?!

And now for some bad people. 1. Not from San Diego. 2. Not from San Diego. 3. Not from San Diego. (Did anybody FROM SAN DIEGO come to this thing?)

Valerie will walk down the street and people will think she has Mariah Carey in her pocket but she sets them straight, no, that's not Mariah Carey in my pocket, that's me! She's not from San Diego either.

Where are they?! Seriously, somebody fill me in. Wait they just did, they are at the Rancho Bernardo Inn. Never been there, might have to go there and pretend to be on American Idol.

Hey Monique is from San Diego and even though "three different people dressed her" she's going to sing Whitney Houston and get rejected. You know how you watch the people that keep singing and singing and you think "I'd never be one of those people, I'd just mov on" but then you get in there and you somehow mash two songs together and forget the words and sound like you're gargling water while singing and you end up singing five different songs when they already told you to stop... oh Monique, I feel you.

Her friend didn't make it either. They had to bring out the big guys, the ones who apparently stand off camera and wait for their moment to slink on, look buff and give people the boot. American I, bye bye!

This girl wants Simon because he's mean. Her sister wants to meet Simon, Oprah and Oh-bum-a. Simon has no idea who this Oh-bum-a guy is, but for some reason people want to meet him too. (Oh, it's OBAMA, the guy that's talking crap about Hilary). Oh they are sending her through.
Some people didn't make it.

And now it's time for Alberto from Chula Vista who lives in his imagination (maybe a little too much). My husband says "it's your brother, if he was more of a freak and had really big muppet hair." I'm sure my brother would really appreciate that. He's going to fly, fly free. American Idol, the bald eagle? Really?

Hey it's Balboa Park!

This 16 year old dude is pretty good and Randy is jamming with him. They have to have that young kid in there every year and I think it's him and then they'll spend the rest of the competition telling him he's just too young. "You're just so young, you're young, your'e just that young singer and you act all young and you're young which means you can't possibly win this competition of old people."

Hey, here comes a San Diegan (via Ireland). In season 5 she auditioned in Vegas and got picked to go to Hollywood and her visa paperword messed up her chances, sucks. Paula likes her. Randy is sending her to Hollywood, and Paula loves her and Simon will too. I like her as well, tats and all.

All and all I'm pretty excited about watching this new "are you smarter than a lie detector" show that's coming on. I've seen enough advertisements for it and really want to know if that lady thinks she'll be married to her husband in five years or if that other guy hates fat people. So there you go, making people watch millions of ads for the same new show over and over again really works.

Oh, and the San Diego auditions seemed a little boring, why didn't SD get two hours?! We're a two hour-er if ever there has been one.

Tomorrow night they head to South Carolina...

San Diego Celebrity Sighting: Possibly Suge Knight, possibly other blurry guy on a dark street at an angle

I can't quite tell, but the label on You Tube (and You Tube doesn't lie!) says it's Suge Knight outside of the Weezy concert in San Diego. So I'm going with it.

A Girls Guide to Sports: So what about that whole Charger game that happened?

Yeah, I didn't watch it. I swear it was going to be the one game I took the time out to watch so that I could write about what a good sports reporter I'm becoming and then I could tell you all about what happened it what people were calling the most important game of the season... but I didn't watch it.

Some people told me it was on and then life got in the way. I haven't even read about it yet. I know they lost (it happens) but that's about it. I supposed I could Google it right now and find out what happened but I could also check out the sales items at Macy's or I could finish this episode of Law and Order.

To make up for my lack of sports reportage, I'm putting up this video of some dog in a Chargers jersey playing with a football.

Don't say I never did nothing for ya.

Abbie On: Life comes in waves... we ride.

Honesty is the best policy.
Abbie Berry

I’m sitting on my couch, alone in my apartment. The TV is on but I’m not listening to it and I’m not watching it.

I need to blog but I’m not sure about my topic.

I think I’ll just go with honesty.

I hope you don’t mind.

Honesty: I had a rough day.

Do you ever have those days when you’re in your own head and that’s the only place you seem to travel to?

Today: Conversations with myself. Lectures even. Making lists of things to accomplish. Things I need to say. Not knowing exactly what to do next, what I expect of myself. Protecting myself from what may hurt my heart. Trying to be honest with myself when that might be the thing that hurts the most.

Yesterday: A motivational experience. I attended a very cool event at the San Diego Sports Arena called “Your Best Year Ever.” There were six motivational speakers all of which had something worthwhile to share. The arena was filled with people of many different spiritual beliefs, all arriving with their own set of values. I appreciated everything that I was exposed to. I learned that change is definite but no change occurs without action.

No change occurs without action.

If I want change, I need to act.

http://www.yourbestyearever.org/

Tony Robbins is an amazing speaker. Terrific.

Contrast yesterday with today: Blech.

I don’t know about you but I accomplish tasks when I have a lot on my mind. I went to the Smog Check place, so now I can send in my DMV registration. Woo Hoo! My dishes are clean. My laundry is done. I have a fresh list of things I want to accomplish this week/month/year.
Yesterday + Today: Figuring out what I want in my life.

Tomorrow: Taking ACTIONS toward those things/dreams/goals.

The good news: This rough day is almost at a close. In an hour or two I’ll be asleep and it will be the start to a new predictable week in my life. It will be up to me to change that fact, make it unique in some way.

The bad news: I am alone in my apartment waiting. For my phone to ring. So that I may have a conversation with someone other than myself and until that happens it may be tough to fall asleep.

But: I am loved and that is enough.

For me.

The Old, Married lady speaks: That'll never be me

One cool thing about being the old, married lady in a young, single city is that you can observe first dates without having to go on them. Case in point, the couple sitting next to me at the coffee shop a few days ago. My husband and I decided to venture out to our new neighborhood, grab ourselves something to drink and collectively share the free Internet that we get when we purchase something. So we headed to Cafe 976, a PB coffee house (quite literally in a house) that provides good food, even better Yerba Mate Lattes and that "sit and visit vibe" that is just great for those first dates where people insist on "meeting for coffee."

It was quite a crowded day, what with the students hoarding every table, their books spread around them, computers on You Tube. After a quick scan of the place it was obvious we'd have to sit outside (despite the overcast day) so I took my sleeping baby and claimed a table next to a cute little couple who were quite obviously on their first date.

It's the little things, like the awkward silences followed by the long stories or one liner after one liner. It's the awkward way of avoiding contact, how there is a polite answer for everything, or even how one person (in this case the girl, but I'm sure in some universe it could be switched) has to act very, very interested in what the other person is saying (in this case, he had the perfect movie, the movie better than all movies, the movie that should already have been made but for some reason it hasn't been made yet! What kind of craziness is that?! So he's going to make that movie and that movie is going to be the best movie ever made).

I sat quietly and played around with the computer, all the while rocking a sleeping baby and waiting for my husband and my drink. The date went on, what with the guy going on and on about his movie and the girl practicing her very best "mmm-hmmm" or "you don't say." And suddenly it al became so clear.

I remember dating (it's not like it was SOOO long ago) and I remember the nervous habit of talking and talking trying to keep things going, but really, nothing was being said. They weren't connecting on any level really, not finding out things about each other, not even really looking in to each others eyes. And really, when it came down to it, meeting my husband was effortless, the first date was effortless, and we really talked, from the very start.

The guy went on about how he was sitting on the idea for the best movie ever made and then added that he would probably never make it, because, philosophically speaking, it would be so unfair to the public, because if you make the best movie ever made and then people spend their lives watching that movie, well then they just aren't living, they are just watching a movie... and who wants to be responsible for that?

Ahh young kids these days and their genius ideas.

When my husband finally showed up with my drink I instantly asked him if he could run back inside and get me a lid for it as well as a spoon for the whip cream, he smiled and asked me if I needed anything else. Then he went back to get me what I asked for.

And then the guy next to me leaned over to his date and whispered "that will never be me."

With the right girl... you never know. You might want to wait on her hand and foot and she might want to watch your genius movie.

Some call it love...

Catching up with Street People: The one where commentors get all petty and mean for no reason.

Look commentors I'm all for your crazy, sexy, zinger humor and I quite like it when you pick on those guys who think they are cool or those girls who think they are cooler. Heck, I don't even mind a good "what the hell are we reading this stuff for?" question or a "I can't believe I just read that whole thing" or even a good "man that person is cute but that's about it."

I'm just as Mean Girl as the next person, from behind my computer screen whilst wearing my pajama pants and hoodie sweatshirt I like to go on and on about who is hot or not, I like to wonder why Britney speaks with an english accent, l like to catch up on Scientology, but I don't like to be, well, rude about it.

Especially, if say, the person is just a person, trying their best, answering what are obviously important, die hard questions to the best of their knowledge, and pretty cute to boot.

And yes, I can forgive her Nickelback, even though I think they are single handily destroying my faith in man kind.

So shame, shame commentors... shame...

In this episode of Street People we meet Jori Jackman who owns a cute little store with cute little things in it (paper things) and who likes Nickelback. Yes, Nickelback. But whatever, I like Justin Timberlake and I'm not afraid to say it.... so go her for owning her Nickelback.

Commentors... FOR SHAME.

So my brother is all "you gotta Google Ron Paul, it'll change your life."

My Father in Law went and jumped on that bandwagon too, Ron Paul is where it's at. Ron Paul is going to change the world. Ron Paul has such a hard climb against him but at least he's fighting the good fight. Ron Paul believes in America, and Google.

But who, WHO is Ron Paul?

Check this out... (I'm not saying anyone should or should not vote for Ron Paul I'm just passing along the information. My brother however, he'll tell you to vote for Ron Paul and if you have no idea who to listen to, my brother is as good a guy as any, or you can check this out too.)

So could you go and say you were single if you weren't?

Come on, you signed up for this...

All the singles and the lying liars who want to be single are gathering for an event where you can get together and lie to each other.

Got the Monday Blues? No problem, organize a 3-some for this day! Really, go head - tell people you meet you're organizing a 3-some and it's it's all very official and the can check this website for verification. When? Monday, Feb 4, 2008, 9:00 PM 20080205T050000Z Where? A location for this Meetup hasn't been chosen yet.

Go, lie, report back.

Wait a minute Cloverfield!

Haven't actually seen the movie, but hey I'm sure there was some kind of explosive device in it.

There is some kind of explosive device floating around the ocean, it fell off a Navy ship and might end up on the shore near The Hotel Del, so don't go picking up any devices that you see on the beach.

FYI. (They didn't include a picture or anything... which would have been nice.)

Speaking of thank goodness I've gotten a new computer just in time to liveblog American Idol tonight.

Because tonight American Idol heads to San Diego!

So put your best "I can't believe they think they are a good singer" judgment hats on, get some "I shouldn't be laughing but I am" popcorn and watch to see what Paula is going to do (if she does ANYTHING at all).

We'll be liveblogging... because that's what bloggers do.

And we're back!!

Oh my what an adventure.

That's my new laptop up there. After many days of research, lots of on hold time with Dell and finally biting the bullet, it became obvious that we just needed to get us a new laptop because the whole "hey husband can I periodically jump on your computer while you stand over my shoulder and ask me how long until I'm finished" thing wasn't working.

So we're off and running.

There are a few changes coming to My San Diego, new features, new ideas... new-ness.

Woo, we're back. I have a computer (it has Vista, but we're learning).

You Tube Gets The Supercool Award Of The Day: Here Are The San Diego New Years UFO's

Another reason I love Clairemont Guys...

On Life in PB: You never wanna be the old girl at the club

Not my observation, Chris Rock's actually. But it's a pretty accurate one, even though with the whole Sex and the City revolution (yes, it was a revolution) it's kind of hard to be the OLD girl at the club, because those girls are always gonna be older (and wearing way more expensive shoes).

People pick on PB (that's Pacific Beach for those not familiar) because it's like one big club that once you reach the ripe old age of say, oh I don't know, 27, you start to look around and feel like the old person at the club. There are young people everywhere, on the street, in the restaurants, sitting in the windows of the Bar and Grill, getting pizza, shopping for cheap clothing, finding parking, checking themselves out in the store windows, checking each other out as they walk by. It's a young place, for young people, to be young (and drink a lot). Heck, when the Real World was being filmed in San Diego, the one place those "real" people kept coming to was right there in PB (that would be the PB Bar and Grill, which I've been to once, New Years Eve, there was a Reggae Band there and despite my better judgment, I had fun).

People pick on PB because it's so easy to pick on, what with the girls in short skirts and the guys with their overly indulgent oogling of said short skirts. You don't have the hippy-ness of OB nor the hipness of Hillcrest or Golden Hill nor the hipster of say Kensington. You don't even have the money of La Jolla or the loudness of the College Area. Instead you have a beach town, covered in girls who think they are cute and lots (and lots) of places to drink.

Before I left San Diego I was a PB girl (a north PB girl, which FYI north PB'ers really like to separate themselves from "every other PB-er). I'd found my place, and my place was tourmaline beach and coffee houses and The Turquoise and Froggy's Bar and Grill and Rafaela's and OCCASIONALLY a visit to Garnet Street.

And then I moved away.

Coming on back to PB I noticed a few things that I hadn't before. First, there aren't a lot of babies in PB. Wait, let me change that, there aren't a lot of homosapiens younger than 15 in PB and in turn there aren't a lot of homosapiens who are older than 27. At least not in the places that I wanted to visit.

That, and there aren't really a lot of places to eat that don't somehow involve a bar.

So there I was with my Baby Girl and my friends and we're trying to find a place to eat and we keep shouting out names "how about here, or here, or here" and we keep hearing (from my friend's boyfriend) "I think that's a bar. That's actually a bar too. That one too." This was a hard reality to face, perhaps my PB life would be very, very different now (what with the baby and the husband) and perhaps I would have to learn it all over again.

Even going to the grocery store where normally you see at least one other mother, and that mother smiles her knowing smile. Or there are at least gaggles of people who do a quick "oh cute, look at that cute little baby" or a nice "what a cute baby" or even "wow, she's so well behaved." Not in PB, oh no, they mostly stick to their own agendas, maybe throw a glance here and there at the little homosapien that is grabbing for things off the shelf. And there we were in line behind, what can only be described as that guy I would have told my best friend about had it been, you know, the old PB, nice smile, dark eyes, strong jaw... and my baby girl starts smiling at him (when she had spent the whole time staring down everyone else) and making giggly noises. And the PB guy, smiles back.

She's already learning...

Listen Up College Kids: Quit Making All That Racket I'm Trying to Watch My Nightline

As we said before, the City Council is cracking down on college kids being able to afford housing in San Diego. The "mini dorm" ordinance was approved today, and not a moment too soon. No longer will college kids be able to find affordable housing in the "College Area", instead all those nicely paid, retiring, good citizen type people will finally be able to live in the COLLEGE area in peace and quiet, next to the COLLEGE, in the COLLEGE area, where COLLEGE STUDENTS are trying to go to COLLEGE and party like WE ALL DID.

I wonder (and this is just the wondering of a girl who's up past her bedtime) why one would move to the COLLEGE area and then demand that students not actually live there?

Anyway you cut it, start packing your things - students trying to save a buck - and move your booty... well wherever you move it to KEEP IT DOWN okay?

A Girls Guide to Sports: Dad called to check in regarding The Chargers win on Sunday

Left me with this memorable line: "Well the way the Colts were playing they DESERVED to lose to a team like the Chargers."

In case you were wondering how it went you can go here.

And you gotta love my Dad, cause he knows I'm a Charger kinda girl and he'd hate for me to think it was all fun and games, being a Charger fan that is.




Up next, the Chargers are going to be playing the Patriots who (word round the water cooler) are pretty okay at this football thing (meaning, they're expected to win and expected to be on their way to the Superbowl where they are expected to win also). San Diego has surprised people by sticking in there this long...

Lines for the Sports Bar:

Man lets hope we can keep up this momentum against the Patr-idiots!
We're gonna stop that Patriots perfect season!
Lets hope Tomlinson rests up.
Heck ya I'll take a shot for each quarter we're ahead!
GO CHARGERS!!!!

Cal Trans lets just about anybody adopt a freeway; wear silly vests

From the LA times:

Caltrans has granted an Adopt-A-Highway stretch of Interstate 5 to the ardent foes of illegal immigration -- and not just any stretch. The two miles of freeway the Minutemen will be charged with beautifying include the U.S. Border Patrol Checkpoint near San Clemente.

Caltrans spokesman Edward Cartagena said the Minutemen got the stretch of I-5 purely by chance. The group submitted its application in November, he added, and it was reviewed and found to comply with the rule. According to the agency's website, it bars "entities that advocate violence, violation of the law, or discrimination based upon race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry" and other factors.

"The Department will not discriminate against groups that otherwise meet the program criteria based on the fact that some members of the public might disagree with the particular group's agenda or reputation," Caltrans said in a prepared statement.


And there you go immigrants, Caltrans has spoken and allowed the Minutemen to stand on the side of the road in orange vests and pick up trash. Somebody protest (stand on the road and yell and scream about how they are taking perfectly good work from perfectly good community service sentenced drunk drivers, start a group, call it the Hourmen, adopt your own highway...).

Welcome Back My San Diego: Guest Blogger Collyn Pankratz has an idelogy of artistic expression.

Name/ Band Name - Collyn Pankratz/ Shrewd Lucy

Position in Band (Lead singer/ instrument)
Live: Lead Singer/ Guitarist/ Harmonica.
On Albums: I wrote,performed, recorded, mixed, and produced every song on each Album (Mirror and Hey Mother).

Lives in: Oceanside


My San Diego is my home away from home as I've lived in this beautiful area for over three years now.

I finished college in 2002 in Buffalo, NY earning a Bachelor's degree in Architecture. Two years after I graduated I moved to sunny San Diego where I became the Architect for my music project Shrewd Lucy.

Shrewd Lucy is an Alternative/ Rock project along the lines of Seattle 90's Rock and beyond, but based on the reflection of myself and my ideology of artistic expression. I've been forming a 4 to 5 piece band to play two albums worth of material, in order to gig the San Diego and Southern Californian music scene. My album's "Mirror" and "Hey Mother" have been receiving
great reviews and attention from press and fans as they're both featured on myspace.com/shrewdlucy and promoted as I play local showcases, venues and open
mics weekly.




Both self-released Shrewd Lucy albums, "Mirror" and "Hey Mother," can be purchased as a
digital download on myspace.com/shrewdlucy. "Mirror" is already for sale at Lou's Records in Encinitas and Spin Records in Carlsbad, and "Hey Mother" will soon be the same.






*If you would like to be featured as part of My San Diego email cutchawrites@gmail.com for more details.*

I'm too lazy to Google this and try to find the video for myself

But some random blog (and we ALL know how random blogs love to report the truth) is reporting that there was a UFO sighting on New Years Eve in San Diego.

Actually I take that back, now that I reread the entry I see that some random blog is actually reporting that there was a "strange yellow and orange light" sighting on New Years Eve in San Diego.

Apparently there's a video, but like I said... too lazy to Google at this point. Have only precious moments to hoard my husband's computer for my blogging needs.

Go forth with the information and do as you will... believers.

Turns out if you lead a horse to water you CAN make him drink, dammit drink!

From UPI.com :

University of California, San Diego School of Medicine study shows smokers are far more likely to try to quit smoking where it is not socially acceptable.

And so I was on the phone with my mother and she's like "stay out of that Baja place that's for darn sure."

Because apparently people are freaking out over a "handful" of attacks by "masked armed bandits" (not to be confused with lily-lickin varmints), who sometimes flash their lights to appear like the police. People seem especially concerned about the toll road that runs through Rosarito Beach. From the Associated Press:

In the city's Puerto Nuevo tourist enclave, which offers $20 lobster dinners and $1 margaritas, restaurant managers said sales were down as much as 80 percent from last year. One Saturday afternoon in October, masked bandits wielding pistols walked the streets and kidnapped two men — an American and a Spanish citizen — who were later released unharmed. Two people who were with them were shot and wounded.

Omar Armendariz, who manages a Puerto Nuevo lobster restaurant, is counting on the new state and city governments to make tourists feel safer. He has never seen fewer visitors in his nine years on the job.

"It's dead," he said.

I already told the story about the time we were in Rosarito and had our bathroom window broken with strange men climbing through it and really all we managed to do was talk about how somebody should do something. At that point most of my friends were DONE with Mexico, that was it for them. (Later, of course, we found out it was actually hotel security breaking in as they thought it was the room next door to us, this somehow made us feel better but I don't know, we never got an explanation of why they were breaking in to that room).

A Girls Guide to Sports: Yep, The Chargers are playing on Sunday and people are going to be freaking out so get your seat early.

It's the game we've all been waiting for, the one BEFORE The Superbowl, the one that's going to have The Chargers playing The Colts, the one where people sit on the edge of their seats and repeat the mantra:

it could happen, it could, maybe, possibly, it could happen.

Sunday afternoon The Chargers could possibly pull out one of the biggest wins of their season, against the team that everyone says is going to the Superbowl, that's just how it is, face it and move on. From Kansascity.com

Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts will be the team standing in the Chargers' way at the RCA Dome in Sunday's AFC Divisional Playoff, and Indy has significantly more experience with that type of white-hot spotlight than does San Diego.

It's gonna be quite the day at the sports bars, prepare your lines.


Lines for the sports bar on Sunday:

Holy crap I'm going to piss myself in anticipation!
Go Chargers!
If the Chargers can just keep their momentum from the last few weeks, then maybe we'll have a good game on our hands.
I'm so excited I could just spit.
Go CHARGERS!

Abbie On: Spending Rainy Days With A Cool Rider, a co-o-o-o-rider.

Abbie On
Abbie Berry

The rain.

A quick list if things I do when it rains:

Stay home and nest in my apartment. Put on comfy sweats and a tank top and relax on the couch.

Watch multiple episodes of Entourage on HBO. I love Vincent Chase and his crew. Especially Johnny Drama.

Read a book I’ve read before. I’m re-reading The Time Traveler’s Wife because the movie is going to come out in 2008.

Make dinner for my friends. Chicken, salad, rice and veggies. Brooke, thanks for joining us!

Cuddle with my cat. He’s fat.

Plan. Organize. Make a list of New Years resolutions/goals. It is the first week of January, right?

Watch movies that make me laugh. Old School. Wedding Crashers. Grease 2.

Call up an old friend I haven’t seen in a while. Sharlene. Mel. Jay.

Watch all 12 episodes of the first season of Californication on Showtime on Demand. This show is so well written. It is giving Nip/Tuck a run for its money on my list of favorite shows.

Write thank you notes for the Birthday and Holidays gifts received last month. I love this company and its products.

Get some extra sleep. The sound of the rain dropping outside. My cozy bed. Five pillows. My fat cat. My cell phone set to wake me up for work in the morning. A smile on my face.

Sweet dreams.

For me.

*You know it's amazing how many people have posted YouTube videos singing and/or lip synching to this song. Like the above example (not Abbie by the way) who also wants her C-O-O-L-R-I-D-E-R. *

Looks like guys at San Diego State just don't know how to drink

So I saw this headline:

College Parties Getting Hotter, Boozier

and it made for a nice chuckle.

And then I saw this follow up to the headline:

Researchers Find Women Drinking More, Wearing Less at College Parties

and it made for an even nicer chuckle.

And then I read the caption to the picture:

A "Naughty Schoolgirl" themed college party in southern California. Young women attending costume-themed parties tend to drink more than their male counterparts at these events, new research suggests. (John Clapp, San Diego State University.)

And that sealed the deal: hilarious.

From ABC News:

"One of [the] most surprising things to us was the theme-party finding that women drank more at these," he said. "We started going to theme parties like toga parties or costume parties, with highly sexualized themes and with the women wearing not very much."

"What was surprising was it was one of few places that we know of that women actually outdrank men; we're not exactly sure why. It could have something to do with fact that they aren't dressed."

Hil-ar-ious.

My friend likes to tell this story about the time this squirrel committed suicide by jumping in front of his bike.

In turn my other friend tells the story about the time she threw a bunch of fruit that had been soaking in "jungle juice" for five days out on the lawn and watched a bunch of squirrels chomping on it where she made the observation "man those squirrels are gonna have such a hang over tomorrow."

Or they are going to jump in front of college students who are just trying to ride their bikes home from class.

Any way you cut it, bike riding is a hilarious mode of transportation, just not on the SDSU campus where you can't ride your bike. Oh you can wear impossibly high shoes, short skirts in the winter, multi-colored jackets with crazy logos that later you will realize are not that cute but you sure did think they were cute at the time, but you CANNOT ride a bike.

SDSU students are arguing that to "go more green" the campus needs to encourage bike riding. Campus officials are worried about those crazy biking students running in to people. Me, not so much.

We also like to tell this story about the time that my friend totally ran over a biker with her golf cart she was driving as part of the "be safe, get a ride from this golf cart instead of drinking and biking home." There she was cruising at a safe speed, signaling, slowing down for pedestrians when out of nowhere this biker smacks into the side of the cart and goes tumbling over it, landing with his legs wrapped around her head (no joke, hilarious). The biker was biking under the influence.

This is not the argument one should use if they really want the biking ban banned, just a story. I'm sure most bikers are responsible, helmet wearing, tuck your pants into your socks kinda folks.

Watch out squirrels.

The Shoe Tree Falls: Frisbee players somehow find a way to go on

Balboa Park has lost a "beloved" landmark, the Shoe Tree. The shoe tree was part of the 19 hole Frisbee golf course created at the park and was apparently an "integral part of the design on Hole 2." Years ago the city had planned to tear down the tree when the Frisbee players pointed out there were shoes growing all over the branches, the shoes multiplied, took over and all of a sudden the tree enters landmark territory (ooo, look at that tree full of shoes, DUCK! That's pretty nifty, DUCK. Man there are a lot of Frisbees flying around these parts, OUCH!) There it was all covered in shoes and providing an interesting twist to Hole 2 when the wind/rain storm of last week caused it to fall (or maybe, just maybe, the weight of said landmark shoes).

A victim of it's own success? Either way, Hole 2 will never be the same.

Places I've Been: Papas and Beer

So last night...no, just kidding, it's been a LOOOONG time since I've been to Papas and Beer, the fine Rosarito Beach, bar/sandpit/dance club (complete with papas AND beer).

I spent New Years Eve at my friends house in PB playing Cranium (In this puzzle you will be asked to unscramble the following letters. I'll read the clue aloud and give you the card and start the timer. Ready. The clue is: broken. Ready, go. MROU TCPE) and telling crazy stories to our perspective significant others about what it was like before those days where we sat at home and played Cranium.

The story kind of went like this: "remember that time we went to Rosarito and ended up at Papas and Beer and met those guys who were in the navy who were there celebrating their 18th birthdays?"

Somewhere exists a bunch of pictures of us dancing on some pole, refusing to talk to the guys below us and somehow ending up back in our hotel room where later that night someone tried to break in through the bathroom window. My instinct was to jump up and close the bathroom door... "ooo scary robbers, I CLOSED THE DOOR on you, lets see you figure out that whole doorknob thing."

Others instincts? to roll over and go back to sleep.

*twist ending* turns out that it was really the security of the hotel who were trying to break into the room next door to us but calculated the wrong bathroom window in which to shatter in the middle of the night.




You should go to Papas and Beer if you are 18 and in Rosarito Beach, Mexico OR you are 26 and heading out for a crazy night with your other 26 year old friends only to realize you've actually outgrown these shinanigans.

A Girls Guide to Sports: The San Diego Chargers have continued winning even though my computer is broken

Spoke to my Dad yesterday, it went like this:

"So your team won."
"They did?"
"Yep, they sure did."
"What does that mean?"
"They are in the playoffs. It means they get to play more games to figure out if they go to the Superbowl."
"So they could go to the Superbowl?"
"Yep, they could, just like I could win the lottery."

From Boston.com:

[The Chargers] broke a 13-year playoff drought with a 17-6 win over the Tennessee Titans yesterday, justifying the team's coaching change after last season, and more strongly validating the careers of players such as LaDainian Tomlinson. Tomlinson and Norv Turner, the coach who replaced Marty Schottenheimer, briefly celebrated the success but quickly turned their attention to next week's visit to Indianapolis.

Lines for the sports bar:

We're on our way to the Superbowl, I just know it!
They got a tough game against Indy next week, hopefully they can keep up the playoff momentum.
Looks like our offense is starting to pay off.
Go Chargers!!!!

And We're Back, sort of, a little, if by back you mean borrowing my husband's computer when he's out doing stuff

Still dealing with the complete and total breakdown of my computer, who is apparently upset about current custody issues and/or on drugs and/or on drugs and emotionally disturbed, but it has proven to be an ORDEAL to get up and running again.

What's that you say? Maybe my husband should just relinquish all rights to his very fine, upstanding, easy to use computer?

We've had that discussion. He keeps sighting how he has his "job to do" and "needs a computer to write reports," or something like that.

Um, hello, I need my computer to make lists and report really important things.

Oh well, we will one day be back to the grind.

Until then, we'll call January "sporadic posting month."

So how is it living with out a computer and wirless?

IT SUCKS.

This Week in Street People: Welcome Back Commenters

Linebacker for the Chargers: Matt Willhelm

He's cute and seems like a pretty nice guy, plus he plays football (and commenters LOVE him)

He's like every guy you had a crush on in high school, only he has bazillions of dollars and a teeny tiny dog.

And check out that backyard pool!

We'll forgive him for including "My Wedding Song" on his mix CD, but obviously forgetting exactly what it was. "You know, that song, we danced to, it was slow, whatever I totally remember it." *Cue bad Adam Sandler movie reference: quickly pulls out remote control to rewind time only to discover in the end that he should have just lived his life instead of trying to take the easy way out.*

Lori's Fashion Reaction: And Now Lori Weighs In

We're sliding on in to Spring here people. Welcome to January, where we can see an end to this thing we call winter but everybody else calls "a nice day." Despite our lack of falling snow, San Diego does have it's "winter style", what with the special concentration on pairing winter accessories with our flip flops and short sleeve shirts (brrr, good think I wore my mittens with this sundress!).

Lori's got her fashion reactions ready.

4. The old Scarf and a Tank Top combo:

Believe me, I'm just as excited as the next person to don a winter scarf. They come in so many textures and colors and are an all-around great accessory- but go for cotton rather than wool if it is just SO suffocatingly warm that you must pair the ensemble with a tank top in order to stay cool.

3. Or the Uggs and really short skirt.

UGH to uggs and short skirts- and the latest fashion-UGH spotted this very weekend- uggs with short, short shorts.
2. And nobody can top the skinny jeans with boots.

Skinny jeans and boots should be booted right outta here. i like skinny jeans with flats...but big 'ol pointy boots sticking out are a little too rock star for me

1. All year round flip flops (I am currently sporting this fashion trend AT THIS VERY MOMENT).

As comfortable and airy as flip-flops are, it is actually COLD outside! Get those piggies into some socks. One of the best things about winter in San Diego is that you can sport cozy socks and boots without breaking a sweat.

Don't call it a hodge podge: the Uggs, short skirt, with a scar and a tank top.

Don't for one second think this ensemble doesn't exist. Let's say you are cute beach girl and need to keep warm after your full day of surfing- uggs are acceptable. wrap up in a towel and put on your uggs to prepare for an evening by the fire. Let's say you are going shopping in the dead of winter, and you think, "hmm, my favorite outfit- a short skirt, tanktop and flip-flops- just won't do..." and so you substitute uggs for your flip-flops and add a scarf, instead of, say, sporting more traditional winter wear- sweater, jeans and peacoat. It's cool- you're inventing some form of Southern California winter fashion opposite of the tired East-coast protocol they have perfected...but MUST YOU SHOW SO MUCH SKIN AT ALL TIMES? Is it required? Are you practicing to be a Victoria's Secret model? Do you not know that the opposite sex can find a cuddly sweater just as appealing as a bare mid-drift? That's all.


*Lori does her fashion reactions while multi tasking and she's still spot on. That is all.*

The Voice of San Diego hates The San Diego Reader

You know a lot of people hate on The Reader, maybe because it's free and easy to pick up at any coffee shop (guess what I'm using as my mouse pad right now?) but there is always this or that comment about the crazy old reader and it's assorted craziness (or it's meandering writing style, but hey, I GET THAT).

Voice of San Diego is hating on The Reader.

If a publisher were to show such contempt for his readers, the final product might look a lot like the San Diego Reader. Editor and owner Jim Holman doesn’t seem to care about whether anyone actually reads the weekly newspaper he’s been publishing in San Diego for 35 years. Week after week, I pick up the Reader hoping to find something worth reading over a cup of coffee only to fling aside moments later in disappointment.

Oh SNAP!

And sure The Reader is as thick as a phone book, stuffed with classifieds and display ads that are much better reading than the text that wrap around them. I can have 3,000 hairs implanted in my balding noggin for only $2,499! A boob job for $4,200! And my droopy eyelids can be fixed in just 20 minutes!

But don't call Editor Jim Holman the next Anna Wintour, because unlike some fashionable, bob sporting, fur wearing mega editors, Homan is actually a devout Catholic who has given millions on parent-notification initiatives that seek to compel doctors to notify parents before performing abortions on minors. According to a 2006 profile in the Union-Tribune, Holman attends Mass every day, rides the bus to work and teaches Latin to home-schooled students.

This makes me love The Reader even more, because not only does the man sell his soul for a little boob job/ Asian Massage Ad loving, but he does it while educating home schooled kids and fighting for his Catholic rights.

I'm not gonna rag on him, because we all know what happens to people who mess with the Catholic Church and their alternative weekly editing disciples.

On being too busy to blog.

Man you get busy and all of a sudden you get too busy to blog! Who knew having an actual life meant less of an online life? Someone should write an article about this. But that seems to be the case so far. And since we are currently staying at my father in law's house, we are also without wireless internet! (What kind of stone age craziness is this?) This requires us to sit in this little tiny, cold room downstairs if we want to peruse the old "what's going on that we should know about" (I have no idea. I don't even know what's going on with Britney right now THAT'S HOW FAR BEHIND I AM).

I digress. I have found myself an internet cafe and plan to be here for at least an hour, so we'll see how much I can get done in that time. I know you're excited.

Plus I have to post Cee's article, all about New Years Eve San Diego Style.

And then there's the New Years Resolutions to get around to.

We're signing off on this very short day so that we can go to the beach even though it's WINDY out there.

Yes, Happy Birthday Abbie! We'll see you SOON! Hopefully we'll be able to keep up with you.

Abbie On: Abbie Does the Birthday Thing and the Christmas (non Christmas) thing.

*She also makes me realize how I need to get it together and do more stuff, MAN she is full of energy.*

My Birthday

Abbie Berry

I love December.

I just had another birthday and they seem to become more and more different the older you get. Don’t you think? My birthday has always been important to me. I’m a December baby. We all wait another year for another birthday to come around, but I’ve always felt like I really was waiting for the whole year to go by since my birthday fell towards the end of December.

The reason I bring this up is:

1. I want my blogs to expose you to what I love about San Diego and the people who live here

and

b) I went out to dinner for four nights in a row with my amazing friends. Two of these dinners were at restaurants I had never been to before and I want you to know about them so you can go eat there too.

Birthday dinner #1

Rama - 327 Fourth Avenue

This was my first time to Rama, a Thai restaurant located in Downtown San Diego. My friend Michelle knows the owner and thought it would be fun for my birthday. (Thanks Michelle!) When you arrive, you’ll walk down a long hallway to the back and then be greeted by the host/hostess. The décor is elegant and cozy. The booths are covered with a sheer drape which gives an illusion of privacy. The food was delicious. We had Tom Yum soup, Kratong Tong (little cups filled with peas, potatoes, chicken and curry) and Eggplant with Beef. The service was terrific as well. I’ll give this one four stars.

Birthday dinner #2

Turf Supper Club – 1116 25^th Street

Since I blog about Turf Club all of the time, I’ll spare you. I love this place and I make a mean steak! Thank you to Johnny for having dinner with me.

Birthday dinner #3

The Yard House – 1023 Fourth Avenue

Big thanks to all of my friends who came out to grub at Yard House which is also located in Downtown San Diego. Brooke and I eat there pretty often. The food is yummy and some of the dishes are quite unusual. For instance, the California Roll appetizer is actually one very large sushi roll. But The Yard House is famous for their beer. They claim to have the “largest selection of draft beer.” I recommend the Blue Moon. If I’m going to drink a beer, that’s the one I want.

Birthday dinner #4

Mister A’s – 2550 Fifth Avenue, Twelfth Floor

Ok people. It was the first time to Mister A’s for the four of us who dined there that evening. This place is high class and a special occasion destination. When the elevator doors open on the 12^th floor, your Mister A’s experience begins. As you sit in the dining room, you look out upon the City of San Diego. The airport, the Bay, Downtown. It was a clear night sky and we could see all of beautiful San Diego.

We had specialty cocktails. My drink was called something like “A relaxing afternoon.” It was blue and had blueberries and raspberries floating in it and it tasted like fruit juice.

We had appetizers. I ate rabbit. That’s right. I ate the Easter Bunny. But it was tasty.

We had Lobster Tempura and Scallops. We had Prime Rib.

We had dessert. Three of them.

It was an amazing meal with three amazing people. Thank you very much for such a special evening.

Christmas Day

So, not only was it my birthday recently, but it was Christmas for many people as well. My boyfriend and I are Jewish and I thought I’d tell you how two San Diego Jews spent Christmas Day.

It went something like this:

We slept in.

We worked out at the gym in his building.

We went for a jog/walk. Ok, so we walked A LOT. I’m a whimp.

We walked around Seaport Village. Seaport Village is pretty touristy. Shops, ships, restaurants and other things to see.

We took a pedicab to Kansas City BBQ. This is the place where they filmed the famous scene in Top Gun and that’s what this place is known for. The food was good and it was cool to look at the movie memorabilia on the walls.

We took a cab back to his place where we played Xbox. Woo Hoo! I love Guitar Hero and Rock Band. I love to pretend that I play lead guitar for Bon Jovi. I’m crazy like that.

During our Christmas Day adventure we happened upon many puppies and dogs out for a walk and many people wishing us a Merry Christmas. As we said “Merry Christmas” right back, I wondered what other Jews were up to. Were they out pretending to be San Diego tourists as well?

It was a great day.

For me.

Woman's Body Found in Golden Hill

I know, we'd just talked about the low homicide rate and all, but I wanted to repost this just to be sure word got out.

Public's help sought in Golden Hill homicide

San Diego police say a woman whose body was found Monday night inside a vacant house in Golden Hill had been shot to death. Her body was discovered by a homeless man who entered the house on E Street near 29th Street about 7 p.m., police said.

After finding the woman, the man left the house and borrowed a cell phone to call police. Officers arrived at 7:23 p.m.

The woman is described as possibly Hispanic and 18 to 25 years old.

Anyone with information is asked to call the police homicide unit at (619) 531-2293, or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-TIPS. The caller can remain anonymous.

Places I've Been: Froggy's Bar and Grille

We've been eating a lot on our search for a new place to live and one place we stopped by was an old favorite of mine Froggy's Bar and Grill (that's a generic web page by the way, Froggy's doesn't need a web page, they're just a nice place to hang out, not a place to look up on the web, sheesh, shut up and GO THERE) up there on Turquoise Street in North PB. Back in my younger (when I was still fun) days I used to spend an awful lot of time on Turquoise Street, the sort of anti-everything you know about Garnet Street, street. Turquoise has that small town vibe where the bartender knows everyone and the lady who cuts your hair waves every time you walk by (and probably wonders why you can't manage to run a comb through your hair).

Those who live there remind you that you are not in "PB" you are in "North PB" so get your attitude straight and your thumb out of your butt, this isn't just any old frat boy hang out.

We stopped by for a quick bite to eat and what I liked even better then the people who greeted me when I walked in "Go Chargers!" was the bartender/waitress/hostess/cashier who managed to do it all, while watching the Chargers game and taking care of the entire place. The people were friendly, they were comfortable and the food was excellent.

You don't have to go inland to get that cool, we ain't trying to be too wild an crazy just having a few beers vibe, you can find it in PB if you wanna (okay, NORTH PB).

The Housing Market is Still on it's way DOWN, DOWN (not that there's anything wrong with that)

Because I'm not an economist (wait, what? But you seem so knowledgeable about all things money) I try to stay away from the whole "alright here's what I think is going to happen with the housing market." I talk to my husband about it sometimes (he's not an economist either, but he has his finger on the pulse of the market and thinks he knows everything) and we both seem to agree that it's still on it's way down (hopefully for the next two years).

Yes, I said hopefully. You see, here's my take on it (the non economist take).

San Diego is a nice place to live, so lots of people wanted to live here. Even more people wanted to make a lot of money off of those people who wanted to live here because it's so nice to live here. So they went and said "ooo, we have this house that we could probably sell for a reasonable price and make a pretty good profit, OR we could price it REALLY high and make a GREAT profit. Let's do that. Go money!"

In turn, those people that really wanted to live here, went and bought houses. They even bought houses in Santee for crying out loud. Houses were bought, they were bought for a lot of money that a lot of people didn't have. People kept paying more and more for them and they were, wait for it, OVER PRICED.

Wha, wha?

Yep, OVER PRICED.

And the rest of us went "well, I like living in San Diego but I'll never own a home here. That's okay, I'm okay with it."

And then the housing market went "blurg." That's right "blurg." And all those people who were buying houses for way too much money went "holy blurg!"

And the rest of us went "hey, that's too bad for those people that can buy a house."

But now we come to the good part, (well, as non economist goes) where the rest of us are starting to feel a tickle in our ear, a pull at our pocket books. Could it be, a slight, remote, teeny, tiny possiblity that perhaps the rest of us could maybe, sort of, kind of, afford to buy a house? IN SAN DIEGO?!

Well, if the market keeps going the way it's going, maybe...

Homicide rates go down. Alcohol ban still in effect.

People are so happy escaping to IB that they have no reason to kill (yep, we're safe, San Diego is safe). Compared to other large cities, San Diego's 58 homicides is a relatively low number. In fact, homicides have decreased since last year (a 15 percent decrease according to the Union Tribune).

And gang violence went way up.

I'm taking this time to blame the alcohol ban, why, because we need a good voice for alcoholics everywhere and that voice says "you see, you see City Council, now that we can't all go to the beach, have a good time, maybe start a riot or two, we are stuck staying at home killing each other."

Somebody may point out to the voice that the alcohol ban didn't take effect until late into the year but the voice will just roll it's eyes, throw it's drink around and spill it all over the couch.

The voice cares not, pass the Kettle 1.

The Housing Search: A San Diego Apartment Day

I suppose not matter what the city, you find the best listings on Craigslist but the better deals just cruising around the area you want to live in, calling every number you can and getting a few responses here and there. We've done a lot of walking in our housing search and come up with these fun facts:

*You may want a garage, but you'll probably have to be happy with "off street parking", which is usually back in the alley way and a little bit crunched against the building.

*PB is crowded, no matter what street you drive down so don't expect to just "flip around" on a whim.

*Parking is a luxury, not a right.

*When you make your long list of things you'd want in an apartment, make sure you circle, underline, highlight and star those you absolutely must have and then settle for just one of those. On our must have list: dishwasher, garage. Those are our two criteria... of course we're not looking for dishwasher/garage in say, Santee or anything.

*Look, look, look. I am a firm believer that when you find the right place you just know it. You walk in, you view, and it's just obvious, this is the place you are supposed to live. Each and every apartment I've rented, it's all the same way, I just knew when I knew (just like I know right away when it's not the place). It's either the feeling of home or it's the feeling that you're finally done searching, but either way, there you go. So keep looking, don't get discouraged and set out for a day of searching with the mentality "I'll know when I know, when I know."

Haven't known yet.. but we're off to search again.

IB here we come (no seriously, come on you guys, IB is where it's at. IB 2008!)

Places I've Been: Imperial Beach

Yes, yes, Imperial Beach, the good old IB in da hizouse, yo. I actually really like IB, bear with me a second, IB is like the neighborhood where everybody knows your name. It's got that small town, beachy vibe with a side of edgy "ooo look a homeless person" and a little "hey, I'm the loud waitress who knows everybody that comes in here so WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!"

It took me a little while to open myself up to IB, considering I was one of those diehard PB crazy people (I know, I know, people spend all day on their blogs talking about how douchy beach people are, whatever). But the more I have gotten to know IB, the more I realize it's just a vacation away from San Diego. Come down here to the "most Southwesterly city" and you're gonna catch some nice sun, see a quiet beach and get some good food (seriously).

Even better when the guy at the corner store remembers you and is happy that you're back. Keeps telling you "don't you want some Vitamin Water?" considering that's about all you drank when you were last in the area.

IB, San Diego's best kept secret (for reals, it says so on the real estate signs).

Do you know how hard it is to live without a computer?!

Happy New Year.
Apparently my New Year's Resolution is to get a new computer, considering it looks like an ordeal to fix the last one (which was hurting, and going painfully and slowly, what with the torn off control button and the sticky space bar).
But here I am, attempting to get back into the swing of the blogging life, we'll see how that goes (sans computer it feels like it's going to be impossible, what with the computer hog my husband is).
We've been wondering around San Diego looking for a new place to live, this has proven to take an inordinate amount of time, what with my husband's long list of things he needs. I need two things, a good location and a dishwasher, and really I could sacrifice the location for the dishwasher (I do not do dishes).

We walk around and call a lot of people, but San Diego landlords have this mentality like "yeah, I'll get to it when I get to it." Where's the rush of of competition, the shmoozing and the crazy "ooo, ooo, pick me, pick me?"

Apparently they left all that behind and went to the beach... I continue my phone calls.