I wake up at 5.30, and I’m usually out the door by 6.15. I can fit in three or four jogs around my neighborhood a week; the other days I walk the dog for a …

This is a true story of the male ego and road rage on horseback. I love the quiet solitude of a Saturday afternoon horseback ride. The clear blue skies in rural San Diego County. The …

Where will you be when your automotive Karma wears out? I know exactly where I was - on the 15 south going to work, January 8th, 2010. It happened in an instant. For only a …

I have been unemployed for over a year now. I left, of my own volition, a company where (1) I didn't really have to work, yet still got paid, and (2) where I was told …

Before April became my ex-wife, she worked at a hair salon in Pacific Beach. As Thanksgiving approached, the owner of the salon was suddenly overcome with feelings of civic philanthropy and decided it would be …

The day was finally here, the crown jewel of San Diego car shows… King of Clubs. Some buddies and I had finally agreed on a name and logo for a car club, and this was …

Author: Vincent Procopio Neighborhood: Ocean Beach Age: 39 Occupation: Unemployed Yeah, that’s right. ­It’s O.B., baby, a haunted seaside saltdream floating across the space-time grid like a languid specter in blank half-smile. An anachronistic funhouse …

Author: Siobhan Braun Neighborhood: Tierrasanta Age: 30 Occupation: Homemaker When I woke up this morning, I had an idea of how I would spend the anniversary of my ­father’s death. I imagined it to be …

Author: Chad Deal Neighborhood: Hillcrest Age: 24 Occupation: “Pizza dude” Jamul is a little-regarded and gravely misrepresented speck of San Diego geography. Those “in the know” will drop names like “the Greek Sombrero,” “El Campo,” …

Last night became a date to remember in the annals of San Diego homelessness. That said, I did not witness the incident. The information came from others, mainly across the street, on the west side …

Author: Kevin B. Staff Neighborhood: College Area Age: 54 Occupation: Community college instructor (Cuyamaca and Palomar College) A few Saturdays ago I helped with the community ­council’s monthly book sale. It kind of shoots the …

Several immortal memories remain from my long residency in University City. They are crimes, and they stand out in my mind like landmarks, among them a double murder, a car bomb, an arson, and a …

Unforeseen Benefit of keeping up this Blog: It is hot outside and I am inside where it is (slightly) cooler. Since I am producing something--instead of the pre-blog days of just looking at craigslist for …

Last Tuesday was to be an excursion with a purpose, although I immediately began to question my own good judgement before I arrived at my first stop, and I considered the years and years of …

When we moved down here five years ago, there were tamale carts on every corner, tamale carts in every parking lot, tamale carts at the park, and tamale carts on the playing fields. Every market …

What happened to the days when people used to call you to chat on the phone? Our technologically advanced world is slowly making the dating scene a place of passive safety where men and women …

Grandma glared at my bloody forearm and shouted, "Sam, come in here!" It was close to midnight, a late hour for my 80-year-old grandpa, but he came running down the hall. He gaped when he …

Wednesday 5:58 p.m. “Yes, I can do 11:15. How much will it cost?” I blurt into my iphone with a shaky voice. “ One hundred and twenty five dollars” the receptionist replies. I agree and …

There is a little girl who lives on my block and she is always happy. Her age is about three or four but she looks small for her years. I'd say childhood obesity is not …

There I sat, 2 and a half months ago, holding six thousand dollars in cash. I had just watched my 1969 Chevrolet C10 Pickup loaded up on a flatbed towtruck for the first leg of …

I put sour cream in my coffee because I didn’t have any milk. I searched through my refrigerator for anything that could possibly be utilized as a splash of creamer. Salad dressing, mayonnaise, soy sauce, …

Two weeks after I’d moved in, one of my new neighbors, Gris Glums, asked how I liked living here. “Noise bother you yet?” I said it hadn’t, probably because I was pounding nails for pictures, …

Its hard find a good place to drink in Chula Vista. I don't know what scheme the city planners enacted to kill the night life, but it worked. Finding a nice bar in Chula Vista …

"One minute, a ruler is seated on their throne...the next minute, they are thrown out on their seat!" --Redd Foxx The part of Vista I call home is a former motel called Vista Ranch. Located …

Author: Siobhan Braun Neighborhood: Tierrasanta Age: 30 Occupation: Stay-at-Home Mom We moved to Tierrasanta from the heart of El Cajon. The townhome we rented in East County was three blocks away from the liquor-store double …

Author: Elizabeth Salaam Neighborhood: City Heights Age: 35 Occupation: Writer/program coordinator My husband and I rent a condo in City Heights. We have 812 square feet, two bedrooms, and a bath and a half to …

Author: David Alton Dodd Neighborhood: Tijuana Age: 47 Occupation: Engineer Mona was cute in an odd way that you couldn’t put your finger on. I was a freshman in a college near Los Angeles, or …

Author: D. Kinsley Neighborhood: Encinitas Age: 32 Occupation: Sous chef Little did I know that upon moving into my neighborhood that I was sooner or later going to have to go around in a circle …

Author: John Campbell Neighborhood: Pacific Beach Age: 26 Occupation: Reporter Everyone, even my friend from Ohio, knows that P.B. is full of douchebags. So when I said I was going to move to the beach, …

Author: Louis Caru Neighborhood: University City Age: 58 Occupation: Wine salesman I popped the hood. “Not now, please,” I whispered to the ­engine. I had overdue DVDs and books to return, dry cleaning to pick …

Author: Salvatore Scafidi Neighborhood: Mission Hills Age: 59 Occupation: Retired Engineer Ethel’s voice cuts through the hubbub of the ­grandkids’ wrestling over the Etch-a-Sketch and Dr. ­Phil’s scolding of another drug-soaked teenager. Fred blinks and …

Author: Tennyson Neighborhood: Clairemont Age: 65 Occupation: Retired A rainy-day trip to Wings on Newport (amuse the outta-town guests — Seattle/Pasadena — with some local O.B. color), my oldest granddaughter approaches with an obscenely blue …

Author: Elizabeth Salaam Neighborhood: City Heights Age: 35 Occupation: Writer/program coordinator I was training for a marathon when I found out I was pregnant. Back then, even my short runs were long enough to take …

Author: Sandra Keener Neighborhood: Downtown Age: 60 Occupation: Retired Well, there it was last summer for all to see and read, an article in Forbes entitled ­“America’s Worst Cities to Be a Sports Fan.” It …

Author: Rachel Vaughn Neighborhood: Paradise Hills Age: 27 Occupation: Website Content Editor/Freelance writer I salvaged a Lonely Planet Thai language phrase book years ago, a souvenir of my ­father’s long-ago Navy travels in Southeast Asia. …

Author: Valentine Cardinalis Neighborhood: Imperial Beach Age: 23 Occupation: Software tester Ever since the 1800s, people have been crossing the American West in an attempt to create a better ­life. I grew up in the …

Author: Rob Pink Neighborhood: Oceanside Age: 60 Occupation: Winemaker Oh, Yolanda, Yolanda, just speaking your name sends shudders of loving emotion resonating through my body. Come closer to me, my love, I must have you …

Yeah, that right. It’s OB baby, a haunted seaside saltdream floating across the space-time grid like a languid spectre in blank half-smile. An anachronistic funhouse full o’bleary-eyed skellys shuffling down Newport in search of something …

Author: Philoméne Offen Neighborhood: La Jolla Age: 61 Occupation: Retired Several years ago, as part of a kitchen remodel, we opted to add skylights around the house as a way of reducing the mildew that …

Christmas Eve was easy. Rocio’s parents opted for an early meal, breaking with their traditional midnight dinner, and they ate tostadas up the hill while I cooked up two large pots of clam chowder down …

Author: Steve Kerrins Neighborhood: Mission Valley Age: 23 Occupation: Law student I have to admit that after 18 months here, I actually kind of enjoy living in Mission Valley. Still, I feel strangely guilty writing …

Author: Patricia Alfano Neighborhood: Ocean Beach Age: over 40 Occupation: Administrative coordinator I sit here in San Diego International ­Airport’s baggage claim area anxiously awaiting my ­father’s arrival from New Jersey for my birthday celebration. …

Author: Jason Gentile Neighborhood: San Diego Age: 28 Occupation: Musician/Graphic Designer Okay, ­here’s the deal: I ­don’t really have a neighborhood. A description of my general place of residence would look something like this: Pacific …

While I was growing up in Valley Center, my dogs had the life. We lived on a five-acre ranch and the dogs were free to roam. We had a Collie, who was an adult, and …

Author: Susie Harris Neighborhood: University Heights Age: 63 Occupation: Retired Today I brought my glass and plastic bottles to the local recycling center. The building I live in has no provisions for pickup. The man …

Author: Joshua Rhome Neighborhood: El Cajon Age: 30 Occupation: Student I sit here in the little room I rent in a house off Magnolia Avenue and think about El Cajon and my past and how …

9:30pm. Thursday. Starving. Waiting for my chicken to cook on my itsy propane grill. Occupying my time with a $3 merlot from Jaycee's and listening to 88.3. Go out in the backyard with a plate …

Author: Hailey Moore Neighborhood: Carmel Valley Age: 24 Occupation: Freelance writer When asked where ­I’m from, I often hesitate to respond. I pause and vacillate between versions of the truth before finally settling upon “San …

Author: Rodney Akins Neighborhood: Downtown Age: 43 Occupation: Homeless After finally moving out of Colonia Libertad, Mexico, which is two blocks across the San Ysidro border crossing, I was homeless with about $50 in my …

Author name: Bryan Varela Neighborhood: Downtown Age: 35 Occupation: “Town drunk” I sit here on the corner of Broadway and Columbia, ­puffin’ a smoke and remembering the old broad. Carol, I think was her name. …