EastGirlsWest

A homeless man is sitting on the sidewalk on my way to lunch. He’s holding a sign that says:

Please help. Spaceship needs new parts.

So The Husband has a work event, which involves both of us going to the theater to see this new show. I am aware the show involves song and dance. I am also aware that The Husband is NOT aware, and keep this information to myself.

At intermission, as soon as the lights go up, he turns to me in horror.

“We’re at a musical?”

Hee hee. One of several laugh-out-loud moments during Cry-Baby.

Angela has a great post about the creative minds behind this new production, and the UT review is spot on. It may be flawed, but the show left me loudly and proudly signing “Baby, Can I Kiss You With Tongue?” for three days.

Below, an excerpt from a letter my neighbor recently wrote to the City of San Diego, department of Code Compliance. The house he’s writing about sits between us and him. A former one-story, three bedroom built in modest ranch-style, it now resembles an apartment complex, surrounded by asphalt, inhabited by college students.

By chance I was home when an inspector parked in front of my house. He apparently came to inspect the next door, eight individually leased bedroom, eight mailbox, 12 trash can, non-owner occupied, two kitchen, “single family” home mini-dorm at XXXX Dorothy Drive.

I overheard the inspector tell the owner that the property did not “really” pass inspection but that he would sign off on it anyway. The inspector also said he hoped that Code Compliance would not come back, and if so it would have to be dealt with then.

The owner of the mini-dorm stood in my front yard waving two thumbs up and danced a jig while the inspector sat in his car making this statement.

Of course, if you haven’t met the loser asshat who owns said property, then the image of him dancing a jig with thumbs up might not have the same effect on you that it does on me. Right now, that image makes me want to commit an act of violence.

City of San Diego Code Compliance: why the hate for the homeowners and love for the landlords? Why the lies and corruption? Do you just have a soft spot for garages converted to bedrooms, lawns paved into parking lots, and beer cans lying in a weed filled front yard? Are you swayed by the siren song of a hundred drunk sorority girls screaming, “I’m SO drunk!”?

The sky as seen from our yard this morning, looking east. We live off the I-8, near SDSU and not far from Qualcomm Stadium. Both the Harris Fire and the Witch Fire are burning east of us, to the north and to the south, respectively.

I’m starting to see some large pieces of ash fall from the sky and float into our backyard.

I started watching some of the national coverage, and it’s bizarre to see the mundane stops in our weekly routine as the backdrop to major disaster. I find myself occasionally forgetting that we are IN the place I’m watching on television. But then I see Katie at Qualcomm, and there’s IKEA in the background, and I think, “oh, I need to go there next week to pick up some coffee cups for Tay’s new apartment.”

And speaking of surreal:
The local CBS station has a reporter, in full fire gear, in front of a burned home. The have the homeowner on the phone, talking to the reporter as he sifts through the rubble, holding up unscathed, framed photos he’s found. She tells him that she called in because she saw him reporting earlier, and could see her home going up in flames in the background. He continues to search for her non-charred belongings while she thanks him.

…Anderson Cooper and Brian Williams show up to report live from the city you live in.

Another devastating day here. Feeling so useless and helpless, and the cabin fever is starting to kick in. The Husband is remarkably focused and forward moving in these situations, I’m more prone to being distracted, anxious and sad. And that’s watching and listening to coverage from my intact home. I really, really can’t imagine how I’d feel if I was coping with displacement at Qualcomm Stadium, like tens of thousands of San Diegans are. To be that disconnected from the comfort of routine and home, for an uncertain length of time, is scary.

On a positive note, I’ve been damn impressed with the media coverage here. I’ll admit to more than my share of eye-rolling when I moved here: about the quality of the local paper, the cheesiness of local network news (plastic surgery in abundance), and the lack of additional options. But I’m ready to take at least some of it back, because let me tell you, this town knows it’s way around an emergency! The coverage has been consistent, relevant, appropriate, and helpful - with remarkably high production values, both on-air and online. This is the kind of situation where you can see effective media coverage making a difference.

Of course KPBS leads the pack with a fantastic website and wall-to-wall radio reporting from all over the county. Bonus points for quickly getting back on the air after fire-related transmitter damage knocked them off. Double bonus for using Twitter for updates. The UT has done great work online, with graphics and blog posts in addition to their comprehensive stories. I’ve spent a lot of time watching the local CBS affiliate, where one dedicated reporter covered the destruction of his own home, flames raging behind him as it fell. And Voice of San Diego and the CityBeat team have each jumped in, utilizing their own strengths to cover a slice of this huge event.

And now the national news teams are here. Katie Couric is less than two miles from my home, and no offense to her, but I don’t feel good about it.

We go to the beach. Trooping across the sand with bags, chairs and blankets. We finally settle, sunscreen on, eyes on the waves, magazines in hand. She announces:

“Not only did I make turkey sandwiches with hummus, avocado, cheese, lettuce and tomato - but I also made us each a to-go mimosa! Here’s yours.”

Check it out - the best of our fair city this fine weekend, as discussed on These Days this morning. I’m liking John Vanderslice and Joan As Police Woman at the Casbah (Friday and Saturday, respectively), and had fun telling Tom about dining in the dark. That’s right, as in: you can’t see your food.

David recommends the Ocean Beach Jazz Festival, some hard core musical nostalgia, and this wacky play about time travel. Communicating Doors is playing at Cygnet Theatre, and we (me, The Husband) went to see tonight! We enjoyed, and definitely endorse a trip to The College Area to enjoy this show.

Listen here. And plan your weekend carefully! There’s much to do and you must be judicious.

UPDATE: Check out Angela’s review of Communicating Doors over at her blog. I agree with every word, and would only add that this play piqued my interest in finding my own time portal almost as much as the film Sliding Doors.

Angela and I go to Vagabond in South Park for the basil martinis. The sweet, green, citrus cocktail comes with floating flakes of it’s namesake herb, and is unexpectedly delicious. Additionally, I am addicted to the frites, supremely skinny and seasoned perfectly, served with some kind of tasty aoili that might have crack in it. Once I’ve chased the frites with a second basil martini, I’ve reached a near nirvana. Other menu highlights include the Thai calamari, salad nicoise, and mussels that come with…frites.

We try to arrive early enough for seats at the bar, where we can order food and immerse ourselves in the warm, social buzz of the room. It’s loud enough to feel happy and comfortable, and to have a private conversation even while seated right next other customers. Quiet enough to hear each other spill our stories and secrets and not have to shout. The space is electic and welcoming, and we almost always end up chatting with a friendly stranger while we’re there.

At the end of our last visit we locked ourselves in the ladies room together to take turns draining our bladders and reapplying lipstick. While standing in front of the mirror, side by side, we quickly realized there was a problem.

“Is it the lighting? Or maybe my hair looks bad?”
“No, your hair is good. It’s not the hair.”
“Oh no. It’s a fat mirror.”
“Yes! Michelle has told me this. Definitely a fat mirror!”
“Fat like fat.”
“Let’s get out of here.”

We fled the scene, dashing out past the poor pregnant woman who had been patiently waiting her turn outside the ladies room door.

In summary: Vagabond, we love you. We’d love you even more if your bathroom mirror did us a few more favors than the dreaded dressing room at The Gap.

I’m leaving town tomorrow for Israel, to do my PBS pledge thing for this concert, featuring the talented David Broza with Jackson Browne and - one of my favorites - Shawn Colvin (her cover of the Tom Waits song ‘The Heart of Saturday Night’ slays me every time). In fact, I’m hoping to get to interview Jackson and Shawn on camera. Which will be perfect, since clearly I’m already on a first-name basis with each of them.

We’ll be shooting live on location, and I just heard it’s approximately 800 gazillion degrees at this exact spot in the desert. I wonder if it was that hot when the Jewish-Roman war was fought there? Also, I will be spending 300 gazillion hours on a plane to get to this parched piece of earth. But really? I don’t care because I’M GOING TO ISRAEL.

In the meantime, life does not stop here in San Diego (GASP). Dave Hampton (who is one of those people who can only be referred to by first and last name) is holding another fantastic Objects USA event this weekend with his partners Ron and Steve. Titled Summer Survey, the highlight of this event will no doubt be the insane, bizarre, beautiful, puzzling, intriguing and just plain out there body ornaments, showcasing a unique facet of California Design. I have it on good authority that live models will be draped and adorned with these…pieces. Some of which involve bird skulls. Don’t miss it.

As for the weekdays: if you’re looking for an addictive addition to your daily blog rounds, if you are perhaps lusting for something new, then check this out. Producer, photographer and culture junkie Angela Carone has got one helluva platform for her musings and recommendations - which are always worth reading.

More soon from points east.