Things To Do In San Diego: Thursday, December 28-Wednesday, January 3, 2024: NYE + Black Lips | Wild Horses | Transfer | Schizophonics | The Creepy Creeps |

I always think I'm gonna have time. I wanted to dig through my archives and find a more NYE festive photo, but now I realize the photos I'm thinking of are actually probably from like five years ago so I'm just not organized enough to track them down because I need to sleep. I didn't realize the kid was flying out on Thursday and I get to be the one for airport dropoff at 8am. Sooo. I hope everyone had a really great Christmas and is ready to ring in 2024. I did my best with listings this week, but didn't go above and beyond for NYE for venues that I don't normally list here...frankly the high ticket parties and prix fixe dinners aren't what I'm after, so I'm sure you can find those sponsored listings elsewhere. I may add anything relevant to this site, but in case I get caught up and never get to my final diary of the year, have a great week and I'll catch ya in the new year. 

Things To Do In San Diego: Thursday, December 21-Wednesday, December 27, 2023: Well Well Well | Moans | Los Lobos | El Vez | Crasher | Exile on Kettner Blvd | The Silent Comedy |

Toby & I at Wild Holidays at Safari Park 

I was feeling like I was closing the year on a high note just after giving in and getting this new laptop, a new camera, traveling to the Great Lakes region and then ready to hit the holidays. In fact, we never ended up getting a Christmas tree, I'm spending more than I'm making at the moment, and one of the car registration lapsed which went completely under our radar, so not only are there late fees, but it's going to have to go into the shop (impossible during the holidays) to get the engine light off to then pass SMOG to then late-register. And of course, any time it's parked or driven could add another ticket. What a clusterf**k. 

Still, even with all that, on Wednesday night we had a big family dinner with my siblings and nieces and nephews and my cousin and uncle and it was the first time we'd all been back to Volare as a group since before my dad stopped walking, which was several years ago. So it will be a present-poor Christmas without a lot of gifts but filled with a whole lot of love, which is really the whole point of it all anyway. 

There's great stuff happening this week leading up to Christmas, I'm gonna do my best to go to Exile, and then more of the usual with the San Diego Zoo and Sea World with my family while they're all in town, and you know I'll be there even without them. 

Merry Christmas, y'all. I love you. Stay safe out there. 

Things To Do In San Diego: Thursday, December 14-Wednesday, December 20, 2023: QOTSA | Grateful Shred | Emo Nite | TV Girl | Ziggy Shuffledust | Swive | More Fatter | Holiday Ramble |

I am sooo looking forward to the weekend to try and recover from my trip, spend some chill time with my visiting relatives, and enjoy the Casbah's holiday brunch on Sunday. I was able to hit the San Diego Zoo on Thursday to see all my babies that I missed so much. I got a little love from the gorillas before they went in, Karen the orangutan sat with my while I worked on my laptop, even little Kaja popped over to say hi. It was nice and empty, so I had the run of the place and also visited the gray parrots, Andean bears, my favorite langur, the red panda, the snow leopards, the red-tailed and swamp monkeys and more. There's a new binturong at Explorer's basecamp, but the tamandua is gone. If you are a take-pictures-with-Santa kinda person, there has been a line on weekends but on most days you can literally walk right in with no wait. It's kinda shocking actually. I've shaved a lot of time off how long the listings take with this new laptop, but I still had to do a newsletter and go through a zillion emails so I am fried. Have a great weekend, stay healthy, and when you hear all the people hacking around you, get as far away as you can-- they probably have COVID but many people don't even bother testing for it anymore, so steer clear. 

I love you.  

Rosey's Diary & Things To Do In San Diego: Thursday, December 14, 2023: Sego | Coastal Wolves | Zoltan Kaszas | La Diabla | Meg McRee | Strung Out |

Sister Claudia, My Mama, Nadia, Jojo, Uncle Willy, & Me. Christy took this one. 

So, I really was not realistic at all when I went on this little trip for the past few days. I haven't flown anywhere since 2016, and I forget how much time I really end up sitting around talking with family, riding in cars, or driving and seeing scenery and how much time I am NOT online, or at least, not able to use my laptop. (Email is still amazing anywhere, anytime, except when I'm driving, of course.)

We left San Diego on Saturday at 6:30am, which made me wake up at 3:45am to be ready to go. Of course I don't really sleep on planes, so by the time we landed in Chicago and walked all up the Miracle Mile or the Magnificent Mile or the Millionaire Mile or whatever it is really called along Lake Shore Drive and then back to our hotel, I was zonked. But this was a girls trip for that part of the weekend, so I was with my mom, my sisters and my nieces, at the W, known for having Djs in the lobby and being a destination on weekends and, let's just say the no sleep week continued. Beyond going to Millennial Park to see The Bean (which is now behind security fences because, as the street vendors told us, "los jovenes") and Christmas stuff, I have to say it was all kind of a bust. I was in Chicago but by no means did Chicago. That was the theme for this whole trip, actually. Not that I didn't enjoy family time and seeing new things, but I didn't pack in what I would do if I had my say in all of it. Or any of it, really.

On Sunday, we left Chicago to drive to South Bend and that was the day of my uncle's Surprise Birthday Party for his 80th birthday. He got all weepy and it was beautiful and beers at the Country Club were $2.50 so I enjoyed myself and also learned a bunch of stuff about my family that I didn't know before and saw pictures, like of my real grandma who died when my mom was only 2 years old, that I was seeing for the first time. That was magic. 

By Sunday night, I was in party mode, drank beers and rye at our hotel while everyone slept, knowing I would be the one to stay while my sisters and nieces returned home on Monday. When it was just me and my mom and my uncle, we spent the greater part of a day at a local casino and then the next day driving around different nearby areas to eat, shop, and see Christmas lights. 

I'm now on the flight home and there's no way the wi-fi can handle me doing the listings for the whole week, so I'm just doing Thursday's and I'll do the rest on Thursday. I underestimated how much time we'd spend in cars, how much time we'd be hanging out telling stories, how much time I'd spend in the kennels and among the cats of the house. I especially underestimated how much time I would be the one driving, though I guess I should be used to it with my 80 year old uncle and 70+ year old mom. I also didn't know I'd be sleeping on a waterbed for 2 nights which makes laptopping in bed pretty much impossible. So I'm sorry the listings are abbreviated but when I get home, I need space, I need drinks, I need some loving from my babies, and I don't want to be up all night working on listings because I really need to see my favorite primates at the zoo in the morning. Also, thanks to this stupid bitch that won't stop coughing with her mouth open, even though I got my booster last week and even though I wore a mask during the stagnant air parts of the flight, I'm eating and drinking and trying to get cool air, so I'll be monitoring my health and thank goodness I am a bit overstocked with COVID tests at the moment. I actually think she's coughing out loud AT me, but I'm not about to start a fight on Southwest.  

Besides surprising my Uncle on his turf, we bought him a one-way ticket to San Diego to hang out as long as he wants. The last couple times were sad and for my dad's death, so hopefully this one will be more joyful. But also it means I'll probably be chauffer for at least some parts over the next couple weeks. Forgive me if you don't hear from me or if things are late or my Insta is all out of order or whatever. I gotta spend the time with these Olds while I can. xoxo

Here are Thursdays listings. I'm sorry if I missed stuff.

Rosey's Diary | Christmas In San Diego | COVID-19 & Flu & RSV | Biden's Economy | Housing | Citrus Quarantine |

DeBrazza Monkeys Lillie and Baby born 10.28.23

I am trying to wrap up loose ends before I get outta town this weekend, so it seemed like a good time for a post. I'm excited about my trip, but I can't really talk about it until after it happens, so just know that I'm going to be cold and I haven't been on a plane since 2016. I'm kinda freaking out a little, but I'll have to sort it all out tomorrow and I'm sure everything will be fine, but my biggest problem will be packing. I'm terrible at it. Have you seen how much stuff I take with me just to go to the zoo everyday? So yeah. At least I learned today that my leggings were ineffective at keeping me warm today in San Diego, so they're definitely not going to cut it where I'm going. 

So beyond that, things have been good. Work is crazy busy, this week we announced another 16 shows, when a typical week is about 5. In starting this post, I learned that my new laptop doesn't have an SD card slot, so that kinda blows, but I guess the HDMI will be adequate. The zoo has been especially fun this week because I found a better loop and get to spend more time with my favorite primates. Last weekend was the final open house of the year at the Alpaca Ranch, so I went to the zoo in the morning, then my mom and I went out to the ranch, and then I finished the evening at the zoo, which was deserted and perfect. When it's late like that, generally all the primates are all asleep, but it's a good chance to go to Basecamp to see the caracal, tamandua, coati, and sometimes local opossums or skunks moving around under the platformed walkway. I also like to visit these adorable little crocodiles that will sometimes swim right up to glass to make deep eye contact. It's kind of an amazing thing and they look really cute when they swim. At night, it's also fun to do the big lap around the elephants and into Kopje because sometimes you can hear the hyrax screaming, which is a pretty crazy sound if you're not expecting it. The zoo will get a lot crazier when Jungle Bells kicks off this weekend, but walk around the dark if you get the chance. Do it without a flashlight, and especially DON'T use the one on your phone.

I'll catch you all after my trip.

I love you. 

Things To Do In San Diego: Thursday, December 7-Wednesday, December 13, 2023: Depeche Mode | The Woggles | Dresden Dolls | The Tighten Ups | Rosa Rossa | North Park Winter Wonderland |

I feel like I have a little bit better control of everything now that I've got a new laptop and camera situation. Listings were a little slower because all the sites I use aren't cached in my history, but overall I'm happy with my purchase. I still have files to move and I'd like to eventually get the old one looked at because I think it's fixable, but I'm going out of town for five days and won't really have a chance to settle down for some time. It feels like with the holidays coming up and then Casbah anniversary month, I'm going to be busy af. All that is fine, as long as I get my zoo therapy in between it all, I'll be good. I'm going to do my best to get next week's listings done on time and ready to post by Thursday, but just in case, be forewarned that I'm traveling on Wednesday, my usual time to get them done. Maybe I can do them on the plane. 

Anyway, I love you all. I'll miss San Diego while I'm gone.