By Chantal Gordon
(Published in the September 2010 issue)

Staging a musical-theater production about a long-dead, tortured movie genius with a penchant for meltdowns and womanizing would be maddening. And if said genius were known for making silent films, the project could make you scream.

Director Michael Unger and composer Christopher Curtis rose to the challenge—and even maintained their composure in the process. The result, Limelight: The Story of Charlie Chaplin, premieres September 7 at the La Jolla Playhouse.

“It’s not a biography,” says Curtis, who composed the score and wrote the lyrics. “It’s a take on [Chaplin’s] life—how the elements and moments from his childhood are manifested in his life and his art.”

A veteran of the Disney Animation Songwriter program, Curtis has performed with Stevie Wonder and has written music for TV and film. He studied avant-garde music at UCSD before heading to LA to be mentored by David Raksin, who orchestrated the music for Chaplin’s 1936 masterpiece, Modern Times.

Close-lipped about the specifics of the musical, Curtis and Unger are keen to let the audience discover the thematic elements on their own.

“I think people will be surprised at the depth of [Chaplin’s] genius,” says

Unger, noting that Chaplin often derived inspiration for his films from his own impoverished childhood and anguished adulthood. “He knew what the world needed to see on-screen before they did. His skill and his talent were almost beyond human, and yet he had foibles and problems and issues like the rest of us.”

Limelight: The Story of Charlie Chaplin
September 7 through October 17, at the La Jolla Playhouse
lajollaplayhouse.org

By Chantal Gordon
Photos by Brevin Blach

There’s no shortage of visual stimulation at Glashaus. The Barrio Logan design and art warehouse is the creative home of some of San Diego’s most prolific artists and designers. Of these, a metal-worker and a carpenter might not seem to have much in common (after all, their preferred materials couldn’t be more opposite), but one such duo has found a shared passion.

Bonding over a common vision of a trailer, woodsmith Jamie Huffman, of Surface furniture, and metal-master Terry Dixon, of Make Fabrication, have teamed up to create a camper for the designobsessed.

A swooping pod made of aluminum, glossy acrylic and birch plywood, their creation is fashioned after the original Kit Teardrop Trailer that were must-have accessories for Post-WWII honeymooners. Huffman says the idea came to him after a camping trip with Dixon and his wife.

“They got the van, and I was the only one left in the dirt,” Huffman says. “I started looking at tent trailers and the older tow-behinds—the ones I saw were rusted out and beat up. It turns out it costs just as much to build one from scratch as it does to rebuild.”

Combining their individual strengths, Huffman and Dixon fabricated a modern teardrop model that is eight-feet long by four-feet wide by five-feet tall. Its wheels are ‘50s-flavored, black-fendered Mooneyes (like the ones you see on the era’s vintage automobiles), and it sports old-school window knobs and a rear galley made with durable birch wood and a two-burner stove. While both Dixon and Huffman have a no-tech rule while camping, the trailer has enough room for a bed, and its interior’s cubbies and shelves allow for docking an iPod or even setting up a Bose mini-system and small flat-screen TV.

Since it’s completion more than a year ago, the trailer has received so much attention and comments from prospective buyers that Huffman and Dixon have decided to build more of them.

They plan to produce the vehicles on a specialorder basis, with prices starting at $8,000, and the whole process is customizable per the customer’s preferences. Dixon believes the trailers will continue to rise in popularity, since they are an easy fit with the San Diego and So-Cal lifestyles.

“All the good hot-rod clubs are here on the West Coast, and a lot of people like to pull these trailers behind them,” Dixon says. “Teardrop [owners] all get together and follow each other across the country.”

By Lorena Nava Ruggero
(Published in the September 2010 issue)

Now in it’s fourth year, the San Diego Art Prize has proven to be a reliable indicator of the local artists people will be talking about tomorrow. Today, Gail Roberts, who’s been nominated for the past three years in a row, has finally won.

“It’s an honor to be chosen,” says Roberts, a faculty member at the San Diego State University School of Art, Design and Art History. “I feel like I’m in good company.”

One look at Roberts’ explorative new works provides an immediate sense of why she was picked. Her paintings document the things she’s accumulated throughout life—paperbacks, bouquets of flowers, even the weekly trash pile. With new takes on landscape and still-life paintings, Roberts has, in a sense, been marking the trail of her life through her art.

“As I get older, I become more and more conscious of how time is passing so quickly,” she says. “I became more interested in defining a particular moment in these piles of things.”

It was this work that caught the eye of the local arts community, says Patricia Frischer, director of the San Diego Art Prize and coordinator of the San Diego Visual Arts Network. Frischer says that Robert’s latest pieces should propel her, along with fellow Art Prize winners like David Adey and Julio Orozco, into the national spotlight.

“With this brand new series, she is still representing San Diego, but seems to be even more widely speaking to basic human relationships,” says Frischer.

Most of the series of paintings will be on display September 2 through 5, during the Art San Diego Art Fair at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront. For a more intimate viewing, see Roberts’ solo show, opening September 25 at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library in La Jolla.
gailroberts.net

Need more coolture? From dance to short films, mark your calendar for these September events:

9/2-9/6: EASEL—A San Diego Arts Affair
(Corner of 7th Avenue and C Street, Downtown)
Featuring more than 50 California artists, this art fair showcases some of the best in local talent, including the works of Eric Wixon, Mike Maxwell and Rich Walker. A portion of sales benefits the It’s All About The Kids Foundation.

9/9: alt.pictureshows Film Festival
Museum of Contemporary Art, Downtown
The museum’s eighth annual showcase features more than 20 provocative short films, animated shorts and short-subject documentaries. Highlights include Elevated (pictured), a horror short from Splice director, Vincenzo Natali, as well as the animated short Madagascar, which recently screened at Sundance.

9/25-9/26, 10/2-3: Trolley Dances
Trolley stops throughout San Diego
Trolley Dances needs to be seen to be believed. Spectators can ride MTS (or drive) to various stops along the route to see site-specific performances choreographed to match the rather unexpected locations. More than 50 dancers from Jean Issacs Dance Theater will perform at the 12th annual event.
Visit sandiegodancetheater.org for times and locations.

© 2010 Porsche Cars North America

By Jamie Wolfcale
(Published in the September 2010 issue)

There’s little doubt that stereotypes are bad for our culture. However, they don’t just materialize out of thin air. This applies just as much to car owners as it does to the rest of our society. Are all Corvette drivers balding, middle-aged men in the midst of a midlife crisis? Probably not, but if a Corvette pulls up next to you in traffic, take a quick glance, and chances are you’ll see a guy who resembles a slightly younger Clint Eastwood.

I spent nearly a decade as a valet at malls and restaurants before starting my own automotive blog. During this time I started asking myself a few questions: Why do most Cadillac drivers look like they lived through the Great Depression? Why are Porsche drivers such anal-retentive snobs? Why don’t Jaguar drivers tip well? My coworkers and I even had a running joke about how strip clubs must hand out Scions as company cars.

© Copyright General Motors

One thing I did not anticipate when researching this article was how hesitant people who work in automotive businesses would be to discussing this topic. I talked to mechanics, valets and car wash attendants, none of whom were willing to go on the record for fear of offending their clientele. Except for one guy.

Nazar Aldulaimi owns a chain of San Diego car washes, is a professor of Arabic at the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District and is a former manager of Rolls Royce Dubai. He’s also currently at work on a book about this very subject.

“I don’t think Corvette drivers are interested in speed or anything like that,” says Aldulaimi, who also agrees with my contention that the ’Vette has always been America’s flagship sports car, which means the decision to buy one is partially rooted in patriotism.

Congruently, Porsche 911 drivers tend to be a fairly specific breed, too. Male drivers are often stereotyped as trying to compensate for a lack of trouser furniture, but I don’t buy this. Porsche drivers see themselves as having refined sensibilities. They might be doctors or investment bankers, as opposed to landscaping-empire-owning Corvette drivers.

“Honda owners are practical people,” says Aldulaimi. The same could be said of Toyota owners. Both companies build cars that make sense to, and serve the purposes of, people across all demographics.

According to Aldulaimi, drivers of the two big Swedish brands, Saab and Volvo, tend to be “mid-40s, conservative, white collar and married with two kids.”

As for Hybrid cars, Aldulaimi says that the average Prius driver is “very careful with their money but not necessarily the environment,” suggesting that saving money on gas is a bigger motivator in the purchase of a Prius than being an environmental savior.

Of course, all of this has to be taken with a grain of salt. None of these are absolutes. But whether you realize it or not, the kind of car you drive probably says as much about you as the clothes you wear and the music you listen to.

Whatever you drive, just be sure to tip the valet. He’ll think highly of you, no matter what logo is on the keys.

Hipster Highway
The top 10 cars driven by the über-cool

Most people these days are familiar with what a hipster is. Urban Dictionary defines them as “a subculture typically in their 20s and 30s that value independent thinking, counterculture, progressive politics, an appreciation of art and indie-rock, creativity, intelligence and witty banter.” Still not sure? Well, to paraphrase comedian Jeff Foxworthy, if you drive one of the cars below, you just might be a hipster yourself.

#10 Volkswagen Jetta
For decades now, the Jetta has offered European styling at an affordable price. As any self-respecting hipster can tell you, European stuff is way hip.

#9 Saab 9-3
This one applies to a different type of hipster—a professional hipster, if you will. Think first-year architect who goes to wine bars on the weekends, but still periodically slums it at the dive bar.

#8 Ford Falcon
Formerly a favorite of the rockabilly set, the Falcon has been the default entry-level classic car of choice for years now because of its low cost and classic proportions.

#7 Honda Civic
The Civic makes the list because of its shear ubiquity. Fact: 97 percent of all Civic owners are hipsters. The remaining three percent are your grandparents.

© 2010 Toyota Motors Sales, U.S.A., Inc.

#5 Any Saturn
The only thing that Saturns says about their owner is that they don’t give a sh*t about cars. This is perfect for hipsters, because it’s totally un-hip to like cars.

#4 AMC Pacer
An integral part of being a hipster is having an irreverent sense of irony. The AMC Pacer is the automotive equivalent of a vintage Rush concert t-shirt.

#3 BMW 2002
A car for the hipster who appreciates cars, the BMW 2002 has and always will be one of the coolest cars to be seen in, and it’s widely considered to be the world’s first sports coupe.

#2 Mini Cooper
Minis are very popular with the female hipster set. Since the Mini’s introduction in 2002, it has become commonplace to see girls with horn-rimmed and asymmetrical haircuts in the driver’s seat.

#1 Volvo 240
I have known so many people that have owned Volvo 240s. The things are like tanks in that they last forever, and I fully expect them to be handed down to an entirely new generation of hipsters.

Honorable Mention: Fixed-Gear Bike
Everyone knows the hipster’s transport of choice is the fixed-gear bike. If you’re thinking about buying one, just remember that the tapered-leg girl jeans and facial hair don’t come standard.

Let Jamie Wolfcale take you for a ride at drivecult.com

By Jamie Wolfcale
Photos by Brevin Blach
(Published in the September 2010 issue)

Whether it’s a result of the recession or just because we have the best weather, bikes are bigger than ever in San Diego. In keeping with this trend, countless custom bike-frame builders have been popping up all over, many of whom claim to be the best.

To these self-proclaimed experts, Brian Baylis would say, “How could you make the best bike in the world? I do.”

A Southern California native currently living in La Mesa, Baylis has become a legend among bike connoisseurs over the past few decades. His East County workshop is a bike-geek wonderland, with frames in various states of repair hanging from the walls. Sitting on a stand in the middle of the room is a recently completed jewel-like bike frame—the attention to detail is so astonishing that it would almost be a shame to attach the wheels.

For Baylis, building bikes has been a lifelong passion, and he regards his work as a privilege versus a business venture. He got his start after meeting Faliero Masi, the legendary Italian bike builder who still has devoted “Masiphiles” that collect his vintage frames. The two met in the early ‘70s, when Masi had just built a factory in Carlsbad to capitalize on the American bike boom exploding at the time.

“I just happened to meet him at a bike race in 1973 in Escondido, and I was riding a Masi at the time,” says Baylis. “The old man was just standing there, and I got his autograph on my racing number.”

Baylis went on to work for the man whose work he had long admired, learning and crafting alongside Masi for two years.

Nowadays, Baylis keeps a low public profile. His only official Internet presence is a blog a friend set up for him, and though he does occasionally post updates, his focus has never been on promoting himself. Instead, he prefers to build frames only for those people who are willing to go through the trouble to find him.

“Unlike blogs whose purpose is to promote and advertise,” he says, “my purpose shall be primarily, but not exclusively, to educate.”

A Baylis custom frame costs upwards of $5,000, and each one can take up to two years to build. But some of his customers have waited even longer—a few months ago, he got a call from a customer who had first ordered a frame 20 years ago. For various reasons, the customer had put the process on hold, but Baylis plans on building the frame soon and delivering it as promised. Seems the ride will have been worth the wait.

By Dave Good
(Published in the September 2010 issue)

Three years ago, Doug Sondomowicz and his partners sold Martini Ranch in the Gaslamp (now Double Deuce) and bought Pacific Beach Shore Club. Since then, they’ve been working to gain the legal and community approval needed to build something that most of their competition already has: a patio.

“We’re pretty much the only [oceanfront] restaurant that does not have an outside patio or deck area,” Sondomowicz says.

The Shore Club sits atop a souvenir shop on the boardwalk, “where Grand meets the sand,” as the company’s slogan goes. The proposed deck would accommodate more than 100 additional patrons, providing at least a view of the beach for people who miss being allowed to legally drink there.

Some locals, however, oppose the venue’s would-be development. Pacific Beach has a drinking problem, they say, and they place the blame on the backs of the bars and nightclubs that continue to serve alcohol long after closing for dinner.

“From 10 p.m. until 2 a.m.,” says Scott Chipman, chairman of the PB Planning Group’s alcohol license review committee, “we have [liquor] licenses that operate primarily as bars, serve little or no food, have drinking games, participate in pub crawls, and yet they’re operating under restaurant licenses.”

There may not be a University of Pacific Beach, but the community sure has the feel of a college town. Renters outnumber homeowners more than two to one, and the business district is a non-stop party zone lined with bars, nightclubs and restaurants.

“The opportunities to go someplace to drink in PB are pretty much limitless,” says San Diego City Councilmember Donna Frye. She and her husband Skip should know—the surf shop they ran for years was demolished to make room for what is now Tower 23 Hotel, which boasts a popular bar.

If the numbers of DUI arrests in a given area are an indication of a party on overdrive, then Pacific Beach is pedal to the metal. Last year alone, there were more than 500 DUI arrests made there, by far the highest concentration of drunk-driving stops in all of San Diego. The next highest DUI total was in East Village, where police made just over 150 arrests.

But these numbers can be misleading, Sondomowicz says. For example, if the police were to set up more late-night DUI checkpoints at the beach than say, in Downtown, of course they’d issue more DUIs at the beach, so the stats could be skewed. Further, Sondomowicz points out that not all DUIs stem from on-premise (bars, restaurants, nightclubs) alcohol consumption. He adds that grocery, convenience and liquor stores (off-premise outlets) are responsible for the majority of alcohol sales.

“I believe it’s somewhere between 60 and 70 percent of all alcohol sold in Pacific Beach,” he says.

As of August 5, the Department of Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) listed a total of 180 active liquor licenses operating in Pacific Beach. Of those, 47 are designated as off-premise, but they still account for the lion’s share of alcohol sales, according to Sondomowicz.

So, who’s to blame for all that drinking going on in Pacific Beach? Bars and nightclubs? Restaurants? Liquor stores?

“When our business was there,” says Frye, “the problem, as I saw it, was not that there were bars or that there were liquor stores or things like that. It was the over-concentration of all of them.”

Scott Chipman would like to see Pacific Beach take control of the situation through the issuance of conditional use permits, or CUPs. Why a CUP? This, from the Governor’s Office of Planning research: “Another traditional purpose of the conditional use permit is to enable a municipality to control certain uses which could have detrimental effects on the community.”

CUPs are different from liquor licenses. They are essentially a land-use issue, explains Melissa Beach, an investigator with the ABC. “The city issues conditional use permits (and the ABC issues liquor licenses). That CUP would come with the application [for a liquor license] to our department, and we would take that into consideration.”

It works like this: a CUP is discussed at public hearings held by zoning boards or planning commissions and can have a significant impact on an existing liquor license. For example, a CUP can limit hours of operation, serving hours or the volume of alcohol that may be sold by an establishment—things like that. Such conditions would naturally decrease sales volumes at a bar or restaurant, thereby decreasing the value of the liquor license.

Sondomowicz fears what he sees as the dark side of the argument.

“If there’s a CUP, my business is going to be worth a half to a third of what it is now.” And, he says, the CUP comes with a price to the community. “No one’s going to want to remodel or clean up their businesses for fear that new conditions could be put on their license,” he says. “It’s a tricky situation.”

DUIs hurt the community, CUPs could hurt the bars, and the ABC is trying to sort through the whole mess. But what about the liquor and grocery stores? Who’s really to blame?

“The person who drinks more than they’re supposed to is who is to blame for drunken behavior,” says Frye. “Not the person who sells it.”

All the Hub-Bubs
Bub’s Dive Bar owner Todd Brown’s two cents

Todd Brown owns or co-owns Bub’s Dive Bar & Grill and Brewley’s Pint, in Pacific Beach; First Street Bar, in Encinitas; Bub’s at the Ballpark, coming to East Village; and Deep Deuce Grill, in Oklahoma City.

If you know Todd, then you know the guy’s got opinions he’s willing to share. If you don’t, here’s proof—in his own words:

Drinking and driving hurts everyone—the offenders, innocent victims, businesses and the overall quality of life for a community. The battle to stop this behavior isn’t new, nor does it have any clear-cut answers towards resolve. That being said, we want to do everything we can to limit the practice, right?

Getting rid of restaurants, bars and nightclubs isn’t the answer. If it were that easy, it would have happened a long time ago.

I’ve been volunteering in community service for about as long as Bub’s has been around, just over 13 years. I’ve served on the PB Planning Board, the Board of Directors of Discover Pacific Beach, Kevin Faulconer’s Alcohol Task Force, the Pacific Beach Community Advisory Committee, chaired the Pacific Beach Special Events Committee and the Hospitality Task Force, been a member of the Town Council, received the Community Patron Award and am now acting Honorary Mayor of Pacific Beach. Need a ribbon cut? Give me a call.

That’s all fine and well, but what does it mean? It means I’ve come home so frustrated and mad from community meetings that my wife can’t understand why I continue to do it. Being treated like a criminal is no big deal, but when you watch years go by and the community doesn’t move forward, that is no fun. Many of the people who care enough to get involved in our community have chosen to take a negative approach to solving problems instead of trying to partner up with the community members on the other side of certain issues, mostly alcohol related, in order to find truly effective solutions.

I can promise you, CUPs are not the answer for Pacific Beach. In an established business district like ours, you only serve to lock-in the current conditions with more government overlay. CUPs can be an effective form of community control when they are used in the right place at the right time. Look at Little Italy— excellent example of a neighborhood that completely revitalized itself for success. A CUP was part of that process. Then again, so was adding liquor licenses to the area. Anyone up for that?

The bars, restaurants and nightclubs don’t even account for 30 percent of the alcohol sold in Pacific Beach. Not my opinion or a statistic to make my point, just a fact. The off-premise guys (i.e. liquor stores, groceries, et cetera) already have a CUP in place. I wonder how effective the people calling for additional CUPs feel that one is.

Point is, we have a unique situation in Pacific Beach. We are a small community of approximately 40,000 residents; that can swell to 100,000 people just by adding a beautiful sunny day to the mix. Beware of statistics. We already know one DUI is too many. Residents and business owners should be working together and pooling resources to re-brand Pacific Beach. We need to change the mindset of the people who come to the beach, as well as some of the ones that live here, to understand how lucky we all are to have such a beautiful beach community and how we need to be respectful of that opportunity.

In my mind, that doesn’t mean you can’t have as much fun as you want, including a cold crispy beer.

It just means you have to respect the privilege.

You want to blame somebody, then hold them accountable for negative behavior? Educate them about the impact their negative behavior has on our community. It works in our Community Court system that Discover PB runs—they have almost no repeat offenders.

We have never had a group of licensed operators, as in the bars and restaurants and nightclubs, that has been more cooperative and enthusiastic to help and contribute to Pacific Beach. Many have improved their locations and their business practices, and it’s paid off. More people than ever are coming to the beach. Thing is, with more people comes more problems. It’s an unfortunate reality. As a whole, the hospitality group at the beach probably operates around a 99.5 percent success rate—pretty good measure for any business. People come down and eat and drink and have fun on the beach, all while getting home safely. Great, right?

Here’s the thing, on a busy day in PB, that one-half of one percent can amount to (using 50,000 people as an example) 250 “not-so-fun-to-be around” people. It really only takes a couple of idiots that don’t give a crap about PB to do some real damage. Doesn’t seem equitable or effective to me to start laying blame on the people who really are vested in our community. Keep in mind that example gives you 49,750 fun people and families who spend money and exercise their right to enjoy the beach and all its amenities.

It’s time to stop comparing Pacific Beach to other communities and statistics. We need to work together to improve our quality of life. Clean the place up, enforce operating practices both on a local level and through already existing laws. Really try to understand what the issues are and effective ways to solve them, so we can work together to change the perception that some have of Pacific Beach. Change the perception and mindset of our beachgoers, and you’ll change their behavior for the better, for all of us.

By Cookie “Chainsaw” Randolph

Here’s a fun game: the next time you’re stuck in the left-turn lane waiting for your light to turn green, count the number of drivers who whiz by holding cell phones.

The other day, I counted 13 out of 22 drivers with hand-held phones before the guy behind me honked, whereupon I tweeted about this horrible development while making my turn.

This is not counting the drivers who may have been on their hands-free devices, but I couldn’t tell. You know the ones, chattering away when it appears nobody else is in the car. They could be talking to the unseen child sitting low in the backseat or the illegal aliens being smuggled under the tarp—but if indeed they are celling hands-free, at least it’s legal and reasonably safe.

Here is my call to action: we need to turn off our devices in the car, even though all of this really isn’t our fault; it’s technology’s. We’re like Pavlov’s dogs—when we hear that chime, we pick up. It’s involuntary.

We must battle technology, or it will kill us. Let’s get selfish! You know the stats: texting drivers are 23 times more likely to crash than non-texters. Holding the cell phones up to our ears cuts off our peripheral vision, et cetera.

Imagine if the pilot of the Enola Gay had been texting, “OMG Mt. Fuji is awesome!!!” instead of focusing on his target. He would have A-bombed China.

I’ll admit it: I’ve been guilty. I’ve texted while driving and thought I could do it because I was more coordinated than regular people. How arrogant. (I’m not proud of that, which I think is Step Nine of my recovery. Almost there.)

What’s worse, I’m ashamed to say, is that I’ve gone vigilante—putting down the iPhone long enough to zip across lanes, risking everybody’s well-being just to catch up with some reckless texter so I could honk and pantomime the “stop-texting” signal like some rabid charades player. Yeah, that’s real smart.

And I’m chicken, too. Oh, sure, I’ll get all huffy with a teenage girl or some mild-mannered looking guy, but if it turns out to be a tough-looking dude, I’ll just do what I should do anyway: mind my own business and try to get to my destination in one piece.

One day this past July, and I swear to the religious icon of your choice that this is true, I was right behind a guy driving a Ferrari with the top down. He was bobbing his head up and down and driving erratically—telltale texting. As it happens, I was turning right when the light turned red, so as I breezed by him on the right, I had my scold all ready and my window down.

Well, Ferrari Man may have been tweeting his 5,000,000 followers, because it turns out he was a very famous, three-time All-Pro Chargers linebacker. Uhh…I went ahead and stifled myself and rolled up the window. Totally chicken, and everybody was better off for it. In the big picture, Ferrari Man was being safer than I was.

If public safety isn’t enough to motivate us to stop texting or using a cell phone without a headset, consider that California is going broke. At $20-$50 a pop (or waaay more if other violations are involved), cops could snag us like fish in a barrel and erase the state debt in about a day.

The point is, we’re all in this together. We’ve all been guilty. Instead of remembering Tom Cruise jumping on Oprah’s couch, the one thing we owe to the The Big O’s legacy is her campaign to stop driving while texting and cell-phoning without a headset.

Let’s pledge together. I’ll even promise to stop scolding (reformed hypocrites are the worst).

Let’s turn off our devices so that we don’t salivate when they chime.

Tragedies suck.

Instead of texting on your drive to work, you can tune in to Cookie “Chainsaw” Randolph, weekday mornings with the DSC on 100.7 JACK-FM.

Click here for more info….

Photos by Brevin Blach

Two late-model singles, aka Love Bugs, available for immediate drive-off. No major accidents, excellent condition, original owner. Designated driver assumes liability for any breakdowns. All fluids topped off. Mileage: undisclosed. Vroom!

Car Facts:
Dear PacificSD,
Hmmm…where do I begin?
I like to think I’m a pretty fun and easy-going chick. I love traveling and experiencing new things, and I’m never shy about tasting new foods or drinks. I have a pretty active lifestyle with work and friends, but I always try to find time to hang out with my family. I’m a San Diego native, and I’ve told many this, but you couldn’t pay me to leave this city. There is always something to do! I love hiking up Cowel’s Mountain, sipping cappuccinos in Little Italy, laying out in Coronado, curing a hangover with awesome Mexican breakfast in Old Town and jogging through Balboa Park. I try and drag people to come with me to do all of the dorky touristy stuff, and when I do, they never complain. I tell them about San Diego history and how this fine city was back in the day when Alonzo Horton transformed a desolated Spanish Village into what is now considered “America’s Finest City.” I am a tour guide, by the way…yup!

My ideal date would be a guy who is at least six-feet, has a job (a rare commodity, so I’ve noticed), enjoys anything having to do with culture and can plan a fun day for the both of us. I like a mama’s boy who knows how to treat a lady, but can also have fun and not take himself so seriously. My favorite thing in the whole-wide-world is to laugh so hard that tears are running down my face and my stomach starts to hurt. It’s not the cutest sight in the world, but OMG…it feels sooo good! Haha! So, a man with a good sense of humor is definitely a plus! I hope this helps! Yay!!!
Talk soon, Bianca

Dear PacificSD,
I’m 30 years old, Filipino, 185 lbs. and stand 5’11’’. Most of my family lives in southern California. I came from a huge family. I was born in the Philippines. My father served for the U.S. Navy at the time, therefore we moved around a lot. Most of my life, I’ve been living here in San Diego. I’m an electrical engineer for an aerospace company. I’m very outgoing, social and family-orientated. I love to cook, eat and hangout with friends. Traveling is a must. I take advantage of the San Diego weather and do as much outdoor activities as possible. At this time of my life, I am looking for love. What I look for in a woman is a great sense of humor, intelligent, ambitious, beautiful personality, family-orientated, willing to try new things together, loves to eat, enjoy the outdoors and has a great career.
–Jeff

PacificSD: What makes you a good catch?
Bianca : I’m self-confident, and I believe I have a good grasp of who I am. I’m rational, open-minded, happy, passionate, and I have a good heart.
Jeff : My ethnicity—I’m half amazing, a quarter cool, and a quarter charming. Oh, and another quarter spontaneous.

Which celebrity do people say you resemble?
Bianca : Mila Kunis, Cameron Diaz.
Jeff : Every famous actor in the Philippines.

What car are you most like and how?
Bianca : I think I’m like my car; I have a Volkswagon EOS. It’s a white, hard-top convertible, nothing too fancy or expensive, but will certainly turn heads on occasion. It’s fun, small, practical and reliable.
Jeff : An Aston Martin DBS—its elegance, sleekness, style, power and charisma.

Bianca and Jeff meet for the first time at 57 Degrees, a new wine bar and wine storage facility at the foot of Mission Hills. They talk over glasses of champagne for about half an hour, then stroll the aisles of vino and check out the venue’s current art showcase.

With two wine bottles in hand, Jeff and Bianca board their 40-foot Epic Limo land yacht for the trip north to Encinitas.

A block before the onramp to the 5 North, the stretch-Cadillac Escalade pulls over, the sunroof opens, and booming DJ music emanates from within as the daters emerge, dancing, to pose for pictures. As they disappear back through the roof, the mobile nightclub pulls away from the curb and merges onto the freeway. At Encinitas Boulevard, the limo (with the magazine crew following in the chase car) exits the 5 and heads west, then follows Coast Highway 101 south to Trattoria i Trulli for dinner.

Inside the restaurant, once they’ve had a chance to open their wine and look over the menu, the couple take a pit stop for mid-date debriefings.

How’s it going so far?
Bianca : It’s going really well, I’m having a really good time. Jeff is awesome, a really fun guy. It’s kind of funny that I’ve seen him around before. It actually turns out that my best friend is his neighbor. I actually found out because he was wearing a ring that she designed. San Diego is such a small city.
Jeff : Date has been amazing so far. We definitely like each other; the vibe is good. We’re comfortable and having a good time, a lot of laughs. Bianca’s beautiful, hot. Her aura, her personality, just the way that she carries herself, you can tell that she is a very intelligent person.

How was the wine bar?
Bianca : It was really well designed and I loved the art, how they’re supporting local artists. I can’t tell you what kind of wines we got. Russ, the owner, helped us pick out some great bottles. I think Jeff switched them—the one we drank in the limo was what we were supposed to drink at dinner, but that was fine.
Jeff : The champagne and cheese were great, and we got to check out the art gallery. She loves art, and I have a couple pieces at my place, too, so we have that in common. We knew what we wanted and we were shooting for Italian wines. Also, we asked the owner for his opinion. And, of course, his selections were great. One was from Napa and the other was from Italy.

How was the limo?
Bianca : We had this huge limo just for us two, and we were able to put our iPod in and we were jamming out. It gave us a chance to really chat and figure out what we were going to do after dinner.
Jeff : Good music, and we opened the bottle of Italian wine and had great conversation. We had a blast, really—we were taking pictures and laughing. It just seemed like we were friends right away. We’ve had good chemistry so far.

Is this the type of person you’d normally date?
Bianca : No. Physically, the height is a big thing for me. Other than that, I think his personality is pretty cool. He’s really laid-back, a really nice, fun-loving guy.
Jeff : Yes, definitely. She’s Latina/Mexican/Filipino, so we both have that Spanish blood mix. She’s my type.

Rate your date, physically, on a scale from one to 10.
Bianca : I think he’s an attractive guy. I’d say an eight.
Jeff : Physically, she has an amazing body. I’d give her like a nine…plus one.

Do you want to kiss your date right now?
Bianca : No.
Jeff : I’m very old-fashioned, in a way, so I do want to—her lips are amazing—but I don’t think it’s the right time.

Does your date want to kiss you?
Bianca : Probably.
Jeff : It’s hard to tell. Honestly, if she wanted to, she would have done it. I think she’s kind of holding back. She doesn’t want to mess things up, I’m assuming.

Will there be a second date?
Bianca : I don’t know if I would necessarily call it a “date,” but I could definitely see us hanging out again.
Jeff : There will be a second date. We’ve even been talking about traveling. She loves to travel, and I love to travel. Her birthday’s coming up, so we’ll see. It’s in the works.

As their fuel arrives, the daters are finally left alone to enjoy the rest of the ride at their own pace, without being photographed or otherwise pestered by the pit crew. We call the next morning to see if there were any illegal lane changes, failures to yield or other moving violations.

Overall, how was the date?
Bianca : I ended up having a really fun time. I’d put the date in my “best date” category.
Jeff : The date was a success, and we had an amazing time together. We were comfortable and there was no awkwardness at all. The art gallery, wine bottles, limo rides, dancing and food were perfect.

How was Trattoria i Trulli?
Bianca : The restaurant was quaint and felt very Italian. It was crowded, which made it seem like a favorite pick amongst the locals. Thanks to 57 Degrees, we brought our own dinner wine. Jeff and I shared the Caprese Salad to start, the Salmone Tirreno with artichoke hearts and mushrooms, the Filetto Gorgonzola (a filet with brandy mushroom sauce and gorgonzola cheese), and this ice cream dessert. Everything was phenomenal.
Jeff : I loved it; friendly staff. First time there, and I felt like I was in Italy. It was very romantic, great architecture, and the vibe was very relaxing. I devoured a Caprese salad and Tournedos al Barolo. We brought in an amazing $95 bottle of red wine that was given to us from 57 Degrees.

What was the best part of the date?
Bianca : It’s hard to say, but I really liked picking out the wine with Russ and some regulars of 57 Degrees. I also had a great time in the limo, dancing and singing at the top of my lungs.
Jeff : When she said, “I feel kind of wasted,” over dinner. Then, two minutes later, she dropped and broke her glass of water on the table, and water spilled all over my…situation. Then we high-fived and laughed hysterically.

What’s the sexiest thing your date did during the date?
Bianca : I really liked his outfit. You can tell he has a nice body because his button-down shirt was opened at the top, and he was wearing a long necklace that went into the shirt. I couldn’t tell what it was, but it kept me guessing and wanting to see more.
Jeff : We were dancing on the dance floor, and I noticed her staring at the hot go-go dancer for a long time.

What’s the most unattractive thing your date did?
Bianca : He told me exactly how much cash he had on him, not in a tool-ish way, but I don’t think that should be disclosed on a first date.
Jeff : She had brochures in her purse and gave them to a business owner and myself later that night. It looked like she was promoting her business during our date.

What happened after the magazine crew left you two alone?
Bianca : We were having so much fun that we decided to have the limo drop us off at Fluxx. We dropped off the remainder of the wine at Jeff’s house, picked up a couple of his neighbors and rolled up to the club. We drank more, danced like maniacs and managed to get Mexican food before heading our separate ways.
Jeff : We talked more, discussed where to go dancing after dinner, then realized we almost had two bottles of wine. We danced the night away at Fluxx nightclub and closed it down, then ate Mexican food afterwards.

Was there a kiss or romantic moment? Describe.
Bianca : No.
Jeff : Just kisses on the cheeks. I’m not easy.

What kind of car does your date remind you of?
Bianca : A BMW Z4, because it’s fast and luxurious, you don’t see them too much, and it almost has a smile as big as Jeff’s when you look at it from the front.
Jeff : She reminds me of a Mercedes Benz E-class. The “E” stands for exotic, like her eyes. This car is very well dressed and put together, like her hair, outfit and heels. A very expensive car, she’s very ambitious and successful at a young age.

Would you want to ride that vehicle?
Bianca : I would love to ride in the passenger’s seat with my head sticking out the convertible top going about 120 miles an hour, one hand on the windshield and the other in the air, because it’s fun.
Jeff : “So gimme that toot-toot and let me hear that beep-beep, runnin’ her hands thru my ‘fro, bouncing on 24s…” [lyrics from “Ignition,” by R. Kelly]

Romance can rev up your heart or leave you just idling by. Last night’s blind date was a gentle ride, but the pit crew had been hoping for racier action, like a crash course in embarrassment, some sort of blowout, maybe even a ding in the bumper.* Instead, we got courteous driving and a safe night out—and of course late-night tacos. This is San Diego, after all.

Date safely, friends and lovers. Buckle-up, use the buddy system, grab the wheel and floor it.

*Mom, ask someone else what that might mean

THANK YOU!!!

Epic Limo Bus, for making every ride ridiculously delicious
epiclimo.com, 858.270.LIMO (5466)

57 Degrees, for being not too hot and not too cold, but just right
1735 Hancock Street, Mission Hills
fiftysevendegrees.com, 619.234.5757

Trattoria i Trulli, for piatti caldi (hot food), warm people and a cool dinner
830 South Coast Highway 101, Encinitas
itrulli.signonsandiego.com, 760.943.6800