I have no shame. Yeah, I created a profile on a dating website; so what? I realized my toddler was not the best wing-man, so I had to resort to meeting people online. Action=justified. You can call me VaginasaurusRex, or V-Rex, if you prefer. What? Its a way better username than IBhorny69...Or CountryBoyTom342...Or bLueEyeDdREAm87...
I am native to San Diego. I was born at Grossmont hospital, raised in Chula Vista, and have lived in many of the different neighborhoods in my adult years. So, when I met a few people from the dating site in person, I always had to decide where to go, because most people in San Diego are not originally from here. They would say, "Well, you're from here, you must know where the cool places to go are." I don't normally like playing tour guide, but since they were going to be paying, I figured, why not?
So, the first date, if you could call it that....uh...yeah, we're actually just gonna skip that one and move right along to the second date...
So, the second guy I met in person lives in Normal Heights, which made him conveniently located for a person without a car living in North Park (that would be me). We met up at The Market Place near my house; which is actually a liquor store named The Market Place. He was nice and from Iowa. We started walking up 35th street, just to walk and talk. But we ended up turning around to go sit on one of the small patches of grass bordering Edison Elementary School. We talk, get interrupted by somebody that obviously has alcohol in their system, asking us how his buddy's haircut looks, and shortly after, the anxiety I get while in public causes us to retreat to his apartment.... I know what you are thinking, and I can neither confirm, nor deny anything...... but, I will say that I did see his ankle, and yelled "Holy S*** you're that guy!" Reason being, he has a unique tattoo near his ankle that I know I have seen before, and there was no way anyone else in this city had the same one. Well, it turns out we had crossed paths years before at Epicentre in Mira Mesa. A mutual friend of ours played a show there, and I can now distinctly remember our mutual friend asking this guy to pull up his pant-leg and show everyone this tattoo. How peculiar, I thought. San Diego can seem like a small town.
Encounter of the third kind is from Texas and currently lives in La Mesa, where those mansions are. It would have been nice if he lived in one of those mansions, but no, he lives on the mansion owner's property (i.e. in a mobile home). Anyway, we go play tourists at Mission Beach and my daughter comes along. My daughter, Raelynn, is not quite two yet, but there were a few rides that the employee in charge of ticket sales told us she could go on. I would very much recommend that they revise this list of toddler-friendly carnival rides, because Tilt-A-Whirl was definitely NOT a toddler-friendly ride, at least not to Raelynn. She got so scared, we had to ask them to stop the ride. Now, I don't do carnival rides, so I was unaware of how not toddler-friendly that machine is...
Moving right along, this date was refreshing because it did not involve drinking alcohol; PLUS, the presence of my child meant no awkward attempts at physical intimacy. However, this guy may have manners, but he lacked backbone. He was too nice, too passive, and too concerned about hurting my feelings. If I were to continue dating him, I would stomp him into the ground! This beezy (me) needs a man that will not let her walk all over him. He was texting me every single morning, and throughout the remainder of the day...every single day. My phone was vibrating so often from his text messages, that I actually believe I wasted the money I spent at the adult store a few nights before. I hope San Diego is not as small as it seems to be....
Now, if you want to go to a bar on the first date, the best bar in San Diego for these occasions is Black Cat Bar. If you have not been to Black Cat Bar in City Heights, you should check it out. Black Cat Bar is on University Ave, and there actually is a black cat that comes into the bar. You will see it cruising around while you order a drink, play a game of pool, choose a tune to play, or just people watch from a big comfortable couch that sits on this indoor balcony/loft thing at the top of a staircase, which overlooks the entire bar (people watching is the jam). The place has a unique look with chandeliers, and the lighting is perfect. The atmosphere is very relaxed and friendly, and the prices are totally reasonable. Great atmosphere if you live in the area and hate going to the local bars that are double-stuffed with hipsters.
Sometimes I think of leaving San Diego because I feel like I have been here too long; kind of feels like the percentage of this city that I have associated with different negative experiences from my past has grown far too high... But then I realize why most of the people I meet are not from here. They are here because San Diego is actually pretty awesome! Think about it; that significant portion of our income that we never see because we use it to pay our rent, it is a testament to San Diego having the best weather in the country. There are actually quite a few places in this city I have never been. And there are obviously even more people in this city I have never met, who all have stories to be heard. I guess it took a transformation into the VaginasaurusRex to understand that there are many places, and plenty of faces, left to discover in San Diego, I just have to be willing to discover them. San Diego is always changing, from its residents, to its buildings, to the empty plot of land that will soon be developed into another version of Eastlake. With all this changing, do us locals really know our hometown as well as we think we do?
I have no shame. Yeah, I created a profile on a dating website; so what? I realized my toddler was not the best wing-man, so I had to resort to meeting people online. Action=justified. You can call me VaginasaurusRex, or V-Rex, if you prefer. What? Its a way better username than IBhorny69...Or CountryBoyTom342...Or bLueEyeDdREAm87...
I am native to San Diego. I was born at Grossmont hospital, raised in Chula Vista, and have lived in many of the different neighborhoods in my adult years. So, when I met a few people from the dating site in person, I always had to decide where to go, because most people in San Diego are not originally from here. They would say, "Well, you're from here, you must know where the cool places to go are." I don't normally like playing tour guide, but since they were going to be paying, I figured, why not?
So, the first date, if you could call it that....uh...yeah, we're actually just gonna skip that one and move right along to the second date...
So, the second guy I met in person lives in Normal Heights, which made him conveniently located for a person without a car living in North Park (that would be me). We met up at The Market Place near my house; which is actually a liquor store named The Market Place. He was nice and from Iowa. We started walking up 35th street, just to walk and talk. But we ended up turning around to go sit on one of the small patches of grass bordering Edison Elementary School. We talk, get interrupted by somebody that obviously has alcohol in their system, asking us how his buddy's haircut looks, and shortly after, the anxiety I get while in public causes us to retreat to his apartment.... I know what you are thinking, and I can neither confirm, nor deny anything...... but, I will say that I did see his ankle, and yelled "Holy S*** you're that guy!" Reason being, he has a unique tattoo near his ankle that I know I have seen before, and there was no way anyone else in this city had the same one. Well, it turns out we had crossed paths years before at Epicentre in Mira Mesa. A mutual friend of ours played a show there, and I can now distinctly remember our mutual friend asking this guy to pull up his pant-leg and show everyone this tattoo. How peculiar, I thought. San Diego can seem like a small town.
Encounter of the third kind is from Texas and currently lives in La Mesa, where those mansions are. It would have been nice if he lived in one of those mansions, but no, he lives on the mansion owner's property (i.e. in a mobile home). Anyway, we go play tourists at Mission Beach and my daughter comes along. My daughter, Raelynn, is not quite two yet, but there were a few rides that the employee in charge of ticket sales told us she could go on. I would very much recommend that they revise this list of toddler-friendly carnival rides, because Tilt-A-Whirl was definitely NOT a toddler-friendly ride, at least not to Raelynn. She got so scared, we had to ask them to stop the ride. Now, I don't do carnival rides, so I was unaware of how not toddler-friendly that machine is...
Moving right along, this date was refreshing because it did not involve drinking alcohol; PLUS, the presence of my child meant no awkward attempts at physical intimacy. However, this guy may have manners, but he lacked backbone. He was too nice, too passive, and too concerned about hurting my feelings. If I were to continue dating him, I would stomp him into the ground! This beezy (me) needs a man that will not let her walk all over him. He was texting me every single morning, and throughout the remainder of the day...every single day. My phone was vibrating so often from his text messages, that I actually believe I wasted the money I spent at the adult store a few nights before. I hope San Diego is not as small as it seems to be....
Now, if you want to go to a bar on the first date, the best bar in San Diego for these occasions is Black Cat Bar. If you have not been to Black Cat Bar in City Heights, you should check it out. Black Cat Bar is on University Ave, and there actually is a black cat that comes into the bar. You will see it cruising around while you order a drink, play a game of pool, choose a tune to play, or just people watch from a big comfortable couch that sits on this indoor balcony/loft thing at the top of a staircase, which overlooks the entire bar (people watching is the jam). The place has a unique look with chandeliers, and the lighting is perfect. The atmosphere is very relaxed and friendly, and the prices are totally reasonable. Great atmosphere if you live in the area and hate going to the local bars that are double-stuffed with hipsters.
Sometimes I think of leaving San Diego because I feel like I have been here too long; kind of feels like the percentage of this city that I have associated with different negative experiences from my past has grown far too high... But then I realize why most of the people I meet are not from here. They are here because San Diego is actually pretty awesome! Think about it; that significant portion of our income that we never see because we use it to pay our rent, it is a testament to San Diego having the best weather in the country. There are actually quite a few places in this city I have never been. And there are obviously even more people in this city I have never met, who all have stories to be heard. I guess it took a transformation into the VaginasaurusRex to understand that there are many places, and plenty of faces, left to discover in San Diego, I just have to be willing to discover them. San Diego is always changing, from its residents, to its buildings, to the empty plot of land that will soon be developed into another version of Eastlake. With all this changing, do us locals really know our hometown as well as we think we do?