I moved into my first North Park home in 1985/1986.  It was just a few years after the infamous San Diego PSA crash of 1978.  We had rented a small rear-house on Boundary which is close to where the crash occurred; in the vicinity of Dwight & Nile near Chris' Market on Myrtle & Boundary.  I was a young woman in my early 20's back then, and while I knew of the tragic event as did everyone in San Diego, I was a busy and preoccupied young mother with other more "important" things on my mind.  It was a sobering and expanding experience for me when I began to hear first hand accounts from my new neighbors about the day flight 182 landed in their front yards... and changed their lives forever.  I'll spare you the unpleasant details they often needed to share, but suffice it to say, these long-time NP residents became people I admired a great deal.  They were heroic and generous in a situation where I concede I might not have done as well.  They weren't the old codgers I'd first made them out to be. Uptown News did a story about the events here

They helped me learn that the little "oh so important" world I lived in was not, after all, the center of the universe. Life altering things happened to other people everyday...even in my own backyard. 

I took a good deal of time away from blogging.  Which, in retrospect, wasn't a great thing to do when I said I would write something each week.  Such is life, I guess.  The freedom to say you will do something and not follow through is a luxury for run of the mill people like me.  I am not saying it is the right thing to do, but I definitely get more of a pass than our public officials or educators or government types do.  So that brings me to my topic today, what are the politicians saying they'll do and is there really any way to make sure they do it?

Last week Chloe mentioned that we had put an offer on a North Park home and were awaiting the results.  Well, after much excitement and financial chess, we ended the game casualties of a bidding war.  So the search continues, but we learned quite a bit in the process.

Ever drive by, like me, and wonder what it is that happens inside Hal's Pharmacy?  It's such an unassuming, nondescript storefront.  I've always known it had something to do with compounding...but what exactly is compounding, anyway?  Well, a woman who has worked with Hal for 15 years, Debra, shared some interesting information with me about the place.  Mystery solved.  Here's what she told me...

Lips, the immensely popular drag eatery, relocated from Hillcrest to its current home at 3036 El Cajon Boulevard three years ago.  With a new location comes new décor! The theme here is Paris meets drag, fabulous jewel tones mixed with pop colors, black and white stripes, gigantic martini glasses, two-twos and a lot of talking smack. In fact, Tootie, the general manager, named the bathroom color pink stiletto. Lips is like a Barbie playhouse, a place where you loose track of yourself, of time and where your reality is transformed by beautiful drag queens who know how to bring out the playful laughter in everyone. These “girls” are professionals and they’ve been doing it for nine years, in heels.

At the Holiday Party in December, one of the gifts that was part of the Opportunity Drawing was a new beer-brewing kit from Home Brews & Gardens (our newest member business).  Some friends of ours won the kit but were already amateur brewmasters so they went in and got an exchange for some beer-making products.  This is a brief tale of our adventures in North Park beer-making.

I recently bought a very affordable birthday gift at Lady of the Lake New Age Books & Gifts on University Ave; a pretty glass fairy for hanging in a window.