Pacific Beach, California

I have decided to (every now and then) do a review on one of the beaches here in Southern California (mostly sandy-eggo beaches).

I am going to start with one of my favorites (so far): Pacific Beach....or as absolutlyeveryone calls it here, PB.

Recently I decided to practice my photography skillz with my new-ish camera, so I headed down to PB with our roommate to take some photos. 

There are sooo many reason's why I love it here in PB, but to some it up: They have good bars, lot's of CLEAN sand, not too many bugs, and the place is full of color. 

Now, when I say "full of color" I really do mean it. Many of the people who hang out here have very colorful personalities, and don't mind showing it off.

You may get a random person asking you an off-the-wall question here and there,

and I can guaranteed that 15 bucks will get you a 'love the free world' tie-dyed t-shirt!

But, that is why I love it so much. People come here to relax, be themselves, and have a drink or two. 

Sometimes I look into that ocean blue and just know that I could stare into it forever.

Not to mention I absolutely love the old town rustic scenery

 

Now if you are planning a trip to Southern California, and would like to make a stop at good 'ol PB,

Here are some places you should DEFINITELY check out.

 Moondoggies

Yummy food, good pours, live bands/Dj's, indoor AND outdoor seating, and GREAT prices.

This quiet little bar will also quickly turn into a hoppin' night club on the weekends.

Kabuki Sushi

If you like sushi, this place is cheap and delish.

(right across the street from Moondoggies)

And the Lahaina Beach House

This place has been here for years. You can go inside, order a burger, fries, and a pitcher of beer, and then sit on the patio that is just feet from the ocean blue. 

Great drinks, good prices, and an AMAZING view.

I remember my parents coming here when I was a youngin'. Defiantly a great place to hang out, BUT cash only so be prepared.  

Another great place to go in PB (that I do not have a picture of) is Miller Field. 

This place has tasty food, good prices and a nice bar.

Now....where NOT to go.

Awful food, service and prices. 

Don't even waste your time.

(this is really the only place I have had an awful experience at)

The rules in PB are similar to rules at most all the San Diego beaches

And although the parking can be a little rough at times, 

it is totally worth it. 

Because in MY OPINION there is no better place to put your toes in the sand and just relax.....

<3

How Old Are You, Really?

and How old would you be, if you didn't know how old you were?

I have been thinking about this ...... question.....over and over again for a while now.
What is with our country's big obsession with age?

You have to be a certain age to legally do certain things (drive, drink, smoke, vote, gamble, etc.).
Children are grouped by their age and are stuck with the same people to socialize and interact with for their entire childhood. (I could go on and on about this one)
You can receive money from the government, at a certain age.
Your car insurance goes down, once you are a certain age.


but, who is to say you will learn best with the other twelve year olds in your 6th grade class? And what if you're not ready to drive when you're 16? What if you know more about our government, and the current election when your 17, then most 40 year olds do? They still get to cast their vote, but you do not.

Is this system really fair??


Maybe I'm just bitter because I'm 21 and I feel like I'm 35.

Or maybe I'm going through an I'm.only.going.to.be.young.once.I.must.capture.my.youth faze of some sort.

All I know is, at my place of employment, my two closest friends are 18 and 50.

And in my professional opinion, you gain knowledge with experience.......not age.
(because we all know there are some old ass baby-boomers out there with an IQ still stuck in the mid 60's)

To me, your age is the number of years you have been alive, and that's it. So why does everyone make it so complicated?

What are your thoughts on age?

Empathy of Dreams

Hello friends and followers.  

I have something new that I have been working on, and I believe I am ready to announce it. 

See.... when I sleep, I dream. And I mean I dream CRAZY dreams. And I have always wanted to record them down somehow, but every time I started to write down dreams in a journal, I lost interest. 

SO.....

I am recording some of my dreams in my new blog Empathy of Dreams.

The dreams are written in short story format, and they are all real dreams that I have had. 

I am excited to write this blog because: 

1. It will help improve my writing skillz.

2. I can record my dreams in a fun and interesting way.

3. I can finally share my dreams without nagging people to listen, and then getting blank and confused stares in return. :D

So HERE is the link to my new blog:

http://empathyofdreams.blogspot.com/

NOW for some fun sleep facts to get you in-ze-mood:

1. The average person in my age group (19-55) needs 8 hours of sleep. I get like 10 every night. 

2. Dreaming is perfectly normal! People who don't have dreams usually have personality disorders. 

3. 1 in 4 married couples sleep in separate beds. 

4. You will die from sleep deprivation before food deprivation. You can go 2 weeks before starving to death, but you can only go 10 days without sleep. 

5. Within 5 minutes of waking up, 50% of your dream is forgotten. Within 10 minutes, 90% is gone. I believe this is not the case for me. I remember my dreams days after I have them. Sometimes even weeks/years. 

6. When we sleep, our cells repair themselves, our brain recharges, and our body releases important hormones.

7. When dolphins sleep, only have their brain shuts down so they can continue breathing cycles. 

8. People who are blind can see in their dreams. 

9. 12% of people dream only in black and white. My only dream that is in black and white is my reoccurring dream. 

10. Men have dreams of other men 70% of the time, but women dream about men and women equally.

11. We can ONLY dream of faces we have already seen, whether or not we actively remember them. 

12. Koalas sleep 22 hours a day. Giraffes sleep 1.9 hours a day. 

Now come and join me through my journey of dreams....... 

The Best Of....

No, not the best of The High Tide, but the best of Kassie Amber Stewart(Kleifgen)'s life.

(me)

No, i'm not jumping off the edge of the earth, or dying or anything, 

But there were a lot of great times that were had before this blog was born, and I believe some credit is due.

 These memories have shaped me

(warning, there are a lot of pictures)

I challenge you to listen to this amazing song while reading...

go ahead and skip to 0:17

Some of my fondest memories....

My first dog, Buffy

My first dance recital, with a woman who ended up being like my 2nd mom, RIP Bev

Back when I played sports (Jr high-ish, fourth in from the left)

The most epic Disneyland trip of all time (high school choir trip)- 3 days of complete freedom and fun

My adorable niece and nephew

Great times with good friends

Meeting/dating the love of my life

My amazing dance company, Encore

Getting Engaged

Graduation

Our little baby

ANDDD the happiest day of my life

Looking through these photos was like a timeline of my most treasured moments in life. There are many more moments that I think of frequently, and always bring a smile to my face, like these ones, that I left out. 

Consider this an electronic photo album of my life up until now. 

I will never forget these memories.

And I can't wait to see the memories that are in store for the future!

<3

What are your happiest times?

Hello, cruel world

it's an "I hate everyone" type of day,

which is a build up from the last few weeks.

Do you ever have those days, weeks, months, where everything is going wrong.

You find yourself saying "Seriously...SERIOUSLY?!?! one.thing.after.a-freaking-nother." (even if they are just little things)
And its not just one of those 'drive around in my Altima, with the windows down, blasting John Denver, or Bob Marley and everything is all better' sort of days, which usually cures anything.
No, today is a pull my hair out and scream kind'o day.

which is fine....gotta let it out sometime, right?


And let me just tell you, when I say "everyone" I really just mean most people, there are a select few that are on the good list (the hubby included).

But to people like Barry Bonds and his steroids, and the guy who stiffed me on my tip for no good reason (ALWAYS tip your servers people-karma's a bitch), and the multiple insurance pain-in-the-rear people....

"go fuck ya'selves"

because I'm over it.

Alright, now on to hard work, determination, sweaty shoes (??), and good times, because IT WILL pay off.
It will.

How do you deal with your not so fantastic days??

Roseanne

Wait one second, let me take you back............

Ah, wasn't that nice?

Now, I said "let me take you back" because for most people, hearing that oh so familiar harmonica tune brings back memories from the late 80's-early 90's.

I, on the other hand, just completed the last episode of the last season, TODAY after watching the entire Roseanne series in order for the last month or so.
[yes....that is what I do with my free time]

Now, I get caught up in shows fairly easily I suppose, but this show truly was great.
The humor, satire, empathy, and....pure envy totally sucked me in.
NOT TO MENTION the very talented individuals that were casted in the show the whole series! (except for becky...which is a story of it's own)
[but they're Beckys, nearly identical Beckys all the way....do do do]

I mean Mr. John Goodman to play Dan Conner? Best idea ever.

And the musicality of the show is just amazing. I mean, every person who grew up in that era doesn't think of Roseanne whenever they hear the blues for nothing.

Let's face it, its legendary.

It's a time capsule of the 90's.

It's "blue collar" genius. And I loved every minute of it...and trust me, my head is still spinning from the ending.

My favorite Episodes:
3. Season 8, Episode 17 "We're going to Disney World"- The Conner's get a large sum of money, and decide to take their first family vacation. They are overwhelmed with the "Ritz life" of Disney hotels, and fine dining.
2. The episode (cant find season/episode at the moment, i think season 8 or 7) where John Popper, from the Blues Traveler, Dan's now famous old band mate, comes to town to play and invites Dan to come up and sing. He does a stunning job.
You can hear Dan sing here  (skip to 0:35)
I highly suggest you check it out.
Plus, what better ending is there than this.... (skip to 0:35) He is so amazing!

Annnndd my very most favorite episode, because it is absolutely HILARIOUS is....
1. Season 6 "A Stash from the Past" where Dan and Roseanne Conner find their old weed from the 70's. They smoke the stash and proceed to trip out in their bathroom. It is so very funny.

Oh Roseanne, you have brought more joy than words can explain
and you have helped me find my inner "woman power" haha
And if you happen to be a Roseanne hater out there.....well then, as Roseanne Conner, said

"I'll snap your spine like a potato chip, Bitch!" 

I am also proud to put another show, that I have watched every single episode of, under my belt.
Other show's I have completed:
Wild Boys
Prison Break
Weeds (to current)
Dexter (to current)
LOST
Breaking Bad (to current)
John & Kate Plus 8
Secret Life of the American Teenager (to current) [i know i know, don't judge]
Little People Big World
Dead Like Me (super amazing btw)
My Name is Earl (priceless)

**Disclaimer** Jason has never admitted to, or hinted at enjoying all of these shows at any point and time.

Facebook.

Let's just say I procrastinated writing this because of Facebook, and I don't know how I feel about that.

I have struggled with a "love/hate" relationship with Facebook every since I signed up for the nation sweeping life sucking social networking program. I find myself hating Facebook and everyone on it, but just not enough to let it go and delete everything. I often make the excuse that my pictures are on there, and not all of those pictures are on my computer, or in my possession at all, so I can't get rid of it. I've also tried use the "keeping in touch with friends and family members" one, but really the only people I write with on Facebook are in my phone anyway. But yet I just can't bring myself to do it. Why is this?

Even knowing that I spend so much energy and time in a little thing like Facebook (like writing a blog about it...hmm...) makes me hate/love it even more.....I mean, IT'S JUST FACEBOOK!
but it's not...just Facebook now, is it....

I tried doing things to lessen my hate for "teh facebooks" like, delete people I'm not really great friends with (but they found a way back on my page anyway), or not check it as much that way its a pleasant surprise to check it out every few days (but it was slightly overwhelming....and crept back into my daily life again).

Facebook went from a simple way to pass the time now and then and check notifications, to a life sucking trend that people of all ages can't simply live without. I see this happening to many people.

How often do you complete a task on the inter-webs/computer and immediately type "f" in your web browser bar and then key "enter" and it automatically sends you to Facebook. Or maybe you have it under your "favorites" in the customized bar up top. OR MAYBE you simply open up a tab because Facebook is your home page. Why not?? you go there everyday anyway, right? It's a sort of reward, "finish this paper, and then I can go on Facebook for a bit.."

It's gone from bumper stickers and college students, to people of all ages, support groups, and games.

Games that are so addicting and consuming that people neglect their families and Infants over.

The business world has taken Facebook in it's clutch and moved forward like they were taking over the world. Advertisements on the side are on par with things you are "interested in" or things that you google. Businesses not only have their own webpages that you can "like" but they have their employees notify "friends" of their specials, and why they should come to their place of employment. I can't even tell you how many times I see feeds similar to this "Half price tattoos guy's, come on down!" or "Happy Hour 3-6, come see me!!" "VIP tickets to tonights event, text me!" or "50 cut and color at our shop, fix those roots ladies".

People use Facebook to spy on one another, and others use Facebook to gossip about their lives leaving personal information in status updates or info boxes.

Some use it straight up for attention, posting new pictures daily, status updates every few hours (or minutes....) stating exactly what they are doing/thinking, etc., etc.

You know it's bad when the 60 year old gentleman at the bar has been checking his Facebook all night, or when a new phone is coming out...a Facebook phone.

Facebook, like everything else, changes and evolves and changes.

And I despise it, so...
Why can't I let it go?

Anyone else have these similar feelings? Or am I crazy?

I think the next "cool trend" will be deleting Facebook.
girls in high school :  "Oh no, I deleted my Facebook. I have better things to do"