Category: Culture

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Where Green is Good

East of Park Blvd in my neighborhood of University Heights, San Diego homeowners clearcut backyards to put up  so-called Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs); developers level stately houses, which are replaced by apartment or condominium buildings; contractors relandscape grass, flowers, and trees with cement, stone, and succulents. The pillaging of property character and green growing spaces is relentless.

But some streets seem almost immune to the obsessive drive to increase population density and thus decrease the amount of earth where no structure sits. Wealth might be a reason—collective consciousness could be another (e.g., where homeowners take cues from what their neighbors do or don’t). Zoning is another consideration, as is geography. Some or all of these apply, methinks, to Panorama Drive.

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Ahoy Mateys

Thermometer touched 20 degrees Celsius (68 Fahrenheit) on this fine Sunday but constant sunlight made for much warmer experience. Unsurprisingly, walkers were everywhere—with dogs or other people—while the occasional biker or runner breezed by.

Naturally, here in University Heights, Old Trolley Barn Park attracted adults and kids of all ages. One gathering specifically caught the attention of my wife and me, too. In what ranks as the largest private event moon bounce that I have seen, a pirate ship inflated for the kiddies.

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Take it All

Early evening, I hoofed outside to top off my walking for the day. Thirteen minutes before sunset, at 7:21 p.m. PDT, I came upon the contents of the Featured Image along the University Heights side of Texas Street—somewhere between cross-streets Madison and Meade (Monroe is between them).

What an odd assortment: bottle (empty), candle, doormat, planter, potted plant, Purell, straws, table, take-out containers, white-board cleaner, and a few other oddities that I can’t identify. I’ve seen a lot of unexpected freebees along San Diego alleys and streets. Some of the more memorable sightings: Antique dresser; blue and white PowerMac G3 (circa 1999); first furnishings; LC Smith typewriter (vintage, rusted); living room set; 1970’s era gas stove; and  Vitamaster Slendercycle, among other things.

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Bye Bye Books

You would think with so many LittleFreeLibrary boxes about the neighborhood that the owner of these books could deposit them in one. That person is learned, presumably at a local college, or pretends to be. Maybe smarty sees that the extra energy to walk a few blocks is wasted when curb depositing is quicker. Dunno and don’t really care but gotta speculate.

What a collection of titles, too. Let’s start with “how to use Tarot spreads” for “effective crisis communication”. Or “I’ll grant you that” “what happens on campus stays on YouTube”. Use “pre-sausion” and “the culture map” to locate “the CEO next door”.

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When Vanlife Ends

What could be more aspirational than freedom? Shake off the shackles of  mortgage or rent—and associated financial obligations—to travel about as a deliberate vagabond. You aren’t homeless because your vehicle is your residence. Cost-effective. Safe and contained. Simple. Free. All are allures of vanlife.

But what happens when aspiration falls far from reality? I guess that’s the state of the Featured Image, captured using Leica Q2 Monochrom, yesterday. I came upon the van for sale along Alabama Street in San Diego neighborhood University Heights. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/1600 sec, 28mm; 11:33 a.m.

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Ho, Ho, Ho, Huh?

This is April, right? I ask because of the Featured Image, captured today using Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. Seasonally, in my San Diego neighborhood of University Heights, Christmas decorations are light compared to the crazed Halloween extravaganza. So it’s shocking to see something still hanging from December. Ghouls and pumpkins wouldn’t be a stretch, any time of year.

On the other hand, from the perspective of appearance and character, the Grinch is a lot more suited to the grim reaper’s holiday than the celebration of Christ’s birth. What does the Dr. Seuss character reveal about the person who hung the sign? You tell me.

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Bike Boxes?

In the category of meaningless, but intriguing, you get the bicycle storage lockers that I happened upon today. Bikes are among the most stolen items in and around San Diego; homeless gangs grab the two-wheelers—and with no punishment or other consequence. The bicycle equivalent of a chop shop pops up suddenly; frames are stripped and equipment recombined.

Because thieves are less likely to take what they can’t see, the lockers offer some protection from prying eyes and grubby fingers. Are these boxes a novelty? An archaic solution? Progressive response to preventing bicycle theft? You tell me.

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The San Diego Housing Boom is Bust

About two weeks ago, Reventure Consulting posted a YouTube short spotlighting a house for sale in my neighborhood: “$1 Million Listing in San Diego that has no buyers“. I wanted to snag a photo and write something sooner, but our daughter’s medical crisis and recovery consumed my time.

At the time that Reventure Consulting CEO and Founder Nicholas Gerli released the 53-second clip, the University Heights home listed for $1,099,000, following several price reductions. Recent history: For sale at $1,222,000 on Dec. 15, 2022. Less than a month later, January 12, price dropped to $1,192,000 and to $1,162,000 thirteen days later. That led to a pending sale for the lower list price on February 21, which quickly collapsed, and the home returned for sale at $1,162,000 on February 24. Sellers dropped the price, again, on March 1 to $1,135,000 and to $1,099,000 on the 23rd.

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For the Survivors

While driving through Escondido, Calif., I came upon the most unusual sight: A vast garden of kids’ windmills—pinwheels, if you prefer—planted upon a grassy enclave. Later, I walked over to the intersection, where they were: Citracado Parkway and Autopark Way.

What were they for? I wondered. The answer is on the sign that is more readable in the second photo: “April is child abuse prevention & sexual assault awareness month. These pinwheels represent each survivor Palomar Health served last year”.

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‘How Does This Neighborhood Exist?’

The title of this post is the question I kept asking myself while walking along the streets nearby the hospital where our daughter recuperates. Charming. Quaint. Throwback. All are appropriate. Many of the houses are older, with bountiful yards teaming with plants, trees, and wildlife (mostly birds and butterflies). The smells and sounds are so idyllic.

I saw nothing but single-family homes, at a time when across San Diego County so-called Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) pop up in backyards faster than and as abundantly as mushrooms after the rain. Buildings are leveled to make way for multi-resident housing. Renovations turn homes with character into caricatures.

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The Last Days of Mask Mandates are Now

I feel suffocated by the face mask that California requires me to wear in the hospital where our daughter recuperates. The rule applies to healthcare facilities of every ilk. But count the days. Starting April 3, 2023, face coverings will no longer be required. Related: The mandate demanding that healthcare workers to be vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 also ends.

Across San Diego, significantly noticeable number of residents continue to wear masks. Meanwhile, I see more and more of them discarded, each and every day, like the Featured Image. The mask presented for photographing, inside IKEA, on March 1, 2023.

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‘I am Strong!’

For relatives, or anyone else interested, here is another update about our daughter, who has spent 22 days in the hospital—twelve on a ventilator. As she progresses—and more rapidly than anyone on staff would have guessed even a week ago—indications of stroke are obvious. While she can speak, her speech sounds nothing like herself; mumbled and stilted. She is jittery but by no means invalid. Cognition is good, but processes and motor functions are sluggish. That’s not a negative report. She recovers well, and briskly, without an intensive rehabilitation regime.

But that could change soon. Last night, around 8 p.m. PDT, the physical medicine and rehabilitation doctor called, and we spoke for about 54 minutes. He sees our daughter as being a very good candidate for entering an acute care program followed up by more out-patient rehab (which is fairly intensive). So that’s the tentative plan, depending on one of the facilities accepting her as a patient and insurance authorizing treatment.