Ciao!

I leave for Italy at 7:30 A.M. tomorrow, which means I need to wake up at 1:00 A.M. to drive to LAX, which means I really should get my sorry butt into bed right now, but first I thought I'd share a few pictures of one the hotels we going to be staying.



You see, when Bake Town finally decides to travel, Bake Town does it in style.

So Far Today..

I woke up this morning hungry for a big breakfast and a Bloody Mary, so I called and friend and we went to our usual spot. Unfortunatly, it was closed. So we drove around looking for a place that served food and booze before 10 am and ending up finding ourselves at Narducci's. I had never been there in the day time before, but it looked pretty much the same as it does in the evening.



There was no menu, but we were told they served eggs, potatoes, and either steak, ham, or pork chops. My friend and I chose the steak. When the meal came out it was seriously laughable. It looked like a meal for a lumberjack or a sea captian or something. Nonetheless, I think I did a pretty good job of putting most of that meal away...in my bellly!



This sign is on the wall in Narducci's and it says, "Beer. Helping white guys dance since 1842." I thought it was cute.




On the way home I saw a Pinto and I just had to take a picture. I drove a Pinto in high school except mine was orange and much cooler. I called it the pumpkin. I don't think I've seen a Pinto actually being driven around since the 80's.





I thought they all blew up.

Favorite Quotes From Last Night

"Wouldn't it be great if the cops showed up?"

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Cashier at Vons ringing up our various alcoholic purcashes while we chatted about the reunion..."What year did you guys graduate?"

Us..."86"

Cashier..."Wow. That was the year before I was born."

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"Man, that guy is an asshole."

The Pre-Party

I went to the pre 20 year reunion party last night. To be honest I had so much fun I could skip the rest of the event and be cool. Unfortunately, I wasn't very good at taking pictures because I was so busy looking at people I went to high school with and saying, "OH. MY. GAWD!"

I did however manage to get this pic. The Duey twins were quite famous around these parts when I was growing up, so of course they would never speak to me or my B.F.F. Flo. Last night we had a lovely conversation with both of them and their equally lovely wives. I think my favorite part about this picture though, is that Flo and I are still holding hands. I also think it shows a great representation of my relationship with Flo. We're opposites in nearly every way. She's white, I'm black. She's a blond, I'm a brunette. She's kind of quiet and sweet, and I’m loud and obnoxious. We're a perfect pair.

Best Friends Forever For Sure.

Favorite New Search String

I'm really surprised I'm not #1 on this one.

This is what hell looks like.

I made a new friend tonight. Fellow blogger Shandi and I met up at Mexicali for some girl talk over margaritas. We've sworn each other to secrecy, but I can tell you it was a wonderfully good time and no animals were hurt.

And this is a picture of the sky as I drove home. It's 8:30 pm and it's currently 103°.

W.U.D.

I spent most of yesterday driving around town in 110 degree heat preparing for my upcoming trip to Italy.  Today I’m going to stay in the pool.  The heat is expected to continue for the rest of the week, and after that it really won’t matter because we’ll all be dead.

Or at least we’ll wish were.  The heat is driving me crazy.

Favorite New Search String

I'm happy to see I'm not #1 on this one.

W.U.D.

The weather has not just been very, very hot, it's also been very, very strange.
This is what it looked like as I drove back into town yesterday around 5:00.



I felt like turing around and going back to Malibu.



And this is what I looked like when I stepped out of Mexicali around 7:30.



This here looks like earthquake weather.

Meet my new friend

In case you were wondering how the growth and I are doing... Elizabeth is doing very well.

I, on the other hand, am not.

Wondering

Before I left town I read something in the paper I wasn’t able to report on.  A man was missing and the public was asked to keep on the look out for him.  He apparently had recently been attacked by someone with a hammer and had undergone brain surgery.  He was described as having half his head shaved, blond hair, blue eyes, no teeth, and had one arm in a sling.

I can’t help but wonder if anyone has found him yet.

Oh Brothers!

Vincent Brothers’ attorneys have a new theory on who really killed the Harper family.  They think the cops did it.  Friends of Earnestine acknowledged she had expressed concern that law enforcement officers might seek retribution for speaking out against them in the Offord Rollins case.  Harper was very critical of how the police handled the Rollins case and of Deputy District Attorney Lisa Green.  Green is now in charge of the team prosecuting Brothers.  Hey!  Maybe Green did it herself then came up with an elaborate plan to frame Brothers.  

The problem with that theory, besides the fact that it just sounds crazy, is that it is really unusual for a stranger to kill entire family, including 3 three small children.  The youngest was just 6 weeks old.  History tells us that the crime was most likely committed by a family member.

Of course Brothers is innocent until proven guilty, but that dude is looking pretty darn guilty to me.

Magill

How can you resist me?

W.U.D.

The expected high today is 107. Last night we had thunder, lightening, and rain. Needless to say, the humidity is awful. I am (along just about everyone else I know) heading to the beach. I’ll be back tomorrow and look forward to seeing y’all at the bon voyage party.

Please try not to stare a the nasty sore on my face.

Tombs around Town

There’s a big article in the paper today about the problems with the “Ming corridor.”  Back in my day kids were still cruising Chester.  Apparently now they cruise Ming. The area that was my old stomping grounds has turned into a cool spot to hang out.  (Who knew we were such trend setters?)

The article goes on to talk about the vacant building on Ming formally known as “Zodies.”  They actually spelled Zody’s wrong.  (I think that when it’s a name you don’t use the “drop the ‘y’ and add ‘ie’” rule.)  Chris Bowersox with the BPD’s graffiti unit said, “A lot of kids weren’t even born when the building was occupied… That gives the impression know one cares about it.”  Yeah, no kidding.  I think I was about six when Zody’s went away.  The building has been essentially empty ever since.

Speaking of empty buildings, The Padre is back in the news.  It’s possible the San Diego company that owns it now may sell the building to a local owner(s).  The company said they were going to begin working on The Padre again after their lawsuit with the county was settled, but so far nothing has happened.  

It’s starting to look like good old Spartacus is right.  That building really is a tombstone.

Go ahead and start feeling sorry for me now.

I was unable to blog today because I spent the better part of the day at the doctor's office begging for some relief from the painful, ungodly GROWTH on my face. This is a picture of my chin and that sore you see is most likely the result of a spider bite. I don't know which horrifies me more; the sore, or the fact that a I had spider on my face. *shudder*

When I went to the pharmacy to pick up the copious amounts of prescriptions given to me (five in totol so far) to combat THE GROWTH, parents hid their children’s eyes and stared at me like a disfigured monster. I think I saw one lady cry.

To make things worse, the topical lotion the doc gave me to put on my GROWTH is supposed to make it feel better... right? Nope. It feels like I’m spreading liquid fire on my skin. It was burning and itching all day long and I CAN’T SCRATCH IT! This must be how people feel right before they lose their minds.

If this thing isn't gone by the time the reunion gets here I'm going to have to kill...someone.

Hit and Run

According to the paper a four month old boy was injured Saturday night when a car ran a red light on the corner of Union and 19th Street. His mother, a 16 year old, was crossing the street around 10:50 p.m. when the car struck the baby’s stroller. Luckily he was strapped into a car seat which was then placed inside the stroller, so the baby was not badly hurt. The car kept going and police are asking for help to find the light blue Chevy Camero.

My question is what the hell was that girl doing walking around with her baby at that time of night? Union Ave isn’t a very nice place.

A Bake Town Bon Voyage

I've been thinking about having a little get together before I take off for Italy. I still want to meet all you mysterious readers and fellow bloggers. The weekend before I leave is filled with reunion activities, so that only leaves this weekend. I'm going to be out of town Friday night, so that only leaves Saturday. So, if you have the time and the inclination I would like to invite all y'all to hang out with me Saturday night. Just email me at baketownblog@hotmail.com and I will give you the 411.

And don't give me any lame excuses. Yeah... I'm talking to you.

C.S.O.B.

That crazy weather I saw in Vegas has followed me home. I woke up this morning to the sound of lightening and thunder. It smells like rain outside. It's still supposed to be over a 100 today and the humidity is currently 45%.

This is not Bakersfield weather.

Scammers

Okay, I see all kinds of things wrong with this story. First of all, and most obviously, it’s wrong to scam an old lady. Secondly, didn’t this scam have SCAM written all over it? I can smell the scam from here. Thirdly, who the hell has $20,000 in cash lying around to just hand out to strangers? Not me. I guess I wouldn’t make a very good scam target.

If I had that kind of dough I can think of a thousand different things I would do with it before I'd even consider handing it over to some schmuck I met at Walmart.

Because today is his Birthday

You may want to grab some crackers to go with this cheese.

Favorite New Search String

Why would we want to live any where else?

Teens Gone Wild

There was an article in the paper last week about fights breaking out at The Marketplace. Teenagers converge on the shopping center in droves on the weekends to hang out. (I’m sure the business owners are thrilled the kids have chosen that spot to gather.) This weekend there were more fights and five kids were taken to jail. The shopping center increased its security from six to nine, but it still isn’t enough to supervise all the number of kids present.

A couple of years ago Paul and I went to Edwards to see a movie on a Friday night. I was shocked at the number of kids wandering around. As we walked to the car a pack of younger kids, probably around 12 or so, came barreling down the walkway, tackled another kid, and began hitting and kicking him. Right in front of Rite Aid and right in front of a security guard who looked to be about eighty. He just looked on with a sort of bored disinterest, so I began yelling at the kids to knock it off (much to Paul’s horror.) I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

I don’t understand why parents allow their kids to hang out there. I mean, I know they need somewhere to go, and teenagers are going to do what they want for the most part, but really, parents need to do more. They shouldn’t just let their kids run wild like that. It’s just not safe. I’ve got it easy; my kid doesn’t even want to hang out at The Marketplace.

Of course that’s probably because he knows if he did I would go with him.

I heart my friends.

I went to the VIP last night with some friends. I asked them all to pose for a nice picture for me to show me how much they love me and this is what I got.



And this.



I think I need new friends.

Dancing at Trout's

Thanks to my reader Ronnie! xoxo

A Quick Trip

I didn't take a whole lot of pictures during my recent trip, but here are a few.


This is a view from the balcony in Utah. We went to the Green Valley Spa and lounged by the pool and I had a massage. The only trouble was I couldn't get a decent cup of coffee.




The road between St. Geroge and Vegas.

There were thunder and lightening storms the whole time I was in Vegas. I heard it was monsoon season.

Flo and I spent one day walking up and down the strip looking for the perfect gift for Paul. We also played the ponies and did a little shopping.




Right about the same time I was taking these pictures Italy was kicking France's booty in the World Cup.




Yeah, I'll be seeing the real thing in a few weeks.



The Mirage has a really cool water show timed with Frank Sinatra songs. It quite literally stopped traffic.




This is the Sun Coast Cascino where we went to a pool party to see The Violent Femmes. It was a very cool setting for a show.

This is a very blurry picture of the lovely ladies with whom I attended the concert. Twenty minutes later they were screaming like banshees and dancing like mad women.

No wait... that was me.

C.S.O.B.

You have to click on the picture to really see it.

It's been a long time since I’ve had post for this feature. It's not because I haven’t tried. It's just hard to get a good, clear picture of another car when you're driving.

I think this one pretty much speaks for its self, but I do think it is worth noting that license plate IS designated as handicapped.

Apparently she doesn't let that slow her down.

Crazy

Amy in NY just posted a bunch of pictures on the West '86 website, and one of them just happens to be the picture above. This was taken in Hawaii and I'm pretty sure we had been there a total of about 2 hours when it was taken.

Yeah, we had fun.

Catching up

An eight year old girl died after drowning in one of the lakes at the new Park at the River Walk. Jasmine Korin and her siblings had been swimming in the water when she suddenly went missing. It was quickly pointed out that signs warning people not to go in the water were absent from the area. City officials said they didn’t expect people to actually go in the water and basically blamed the girl's death on a lack of supervision.

It makes perfect sense that they wouldn’t expect people to swim in the lakes. I mean, why would anyone want to escape 100 plus temperatures by slipping into some cool water? That’s just crazy.

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The mother and the fiancé of the boy shot to death in the Valley Plaza recently are suing the city of Bakersfield AND the county of Kern. Deondre Marzette was killed inside the mall this past December. The suspected killer, 19 year old Andre Ball Jr., is awaiting trial.

The attorney representing the family says that the city was negligent because they knew gangs were running amuck at the mall and did nothing to stop it. Oh yeah, and the county knew too, so they’re also to blame. Whatever. If the whole city and the entire county knew that there were gangs trolling the plaza, why didn’t the family know too and just not go there?

And could somebody please tell me how the fiancé of a 19 year old somehow has the right to sue over his death?

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Two bodies were found in a field near Arvin early Tuesday morning. Workers showed up at the bell pepper farm and discovered the men, one lying face down, and one face up with a gun nearby. The men, identified as Roberto Martinez, 27, and Adam Reyes, 20, were not employed at the farm.

This makes the number of homicides in Kern County so far this year at right about 30.

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A complete idiot was arrested yesterday after a five hour stand off in Oildale. Darren Aldridge reportedly fired shots at Sheriff’s when they responded to a call that a man was sitting in a woman’s home with at gun. The entire neighborhood was on lock down and Alandale Avenue was evacuated during the standoff.

After causing a big commotion and freaking a bunch of people out, Aldridge finally surrendered peacefully.

I'm baacckk!

I made it home safe and sound yesterday despite the fact that a crazy man with road rage tried to kill me. Okay, he didn't really try and kill me, but I know he wanted me dead. I arrived home to find my A/C not working. Ah, home sweet home.

The drive home was a lot better than my drive there. I had purchased an audio book and it nearly put me to sleep. On the way home I enjoyed Flo's Jumping Trains tape. It's been years since I heard those songs, so that was a lot of fun.

I have some pictures and more to report about my trip, but that will have to wait for later. Right now I need to catch up on the news.

I'm Off!!

I spent the better part of this weekend roasting my happy ass by the pool.  Skin cancer?  Pppfffttt!!  Wrinkles?  Whatever!  I want to look good NOW.  Today I am preparing for my journey east where I’m sure I’ll spend even more time cooking my skin in the hot, hot sun.  Yeah, good times.  I’ll be gone for about a week and I’ll try and post while I’m away but I can’t promise that I won’t be having too much fun to even think about my little blog.  

I hope y’all have a fun and safe Fourth of July!  And stay away from the crazies with these.

Pass the Kleenex

I did a bunch of stuff yesterday, but none of it included watching the news or blogging about it.  Paul and I went to see Click then we did some shopping in preparation for our trip to Italy. Click was a great movie, but let me tell ya, there are a couple of really heart wrenching scenes.  I wasn’t prepared for it and ended up bawling like a baby with a snotty nose and no Kleenex.   I won’t go into Paul’s reaction because he is a sixteen year old man/boy, but I will tell you that I think he was glad it was dark in there.

As we walked to the car after the movie Paul remarked, “I haven’t had a movie hit me like that since Bambi.”

Favorite New Search Strings

Again, not someone I want to party with this Fourth of July.

Although, this guy would probably LOVE to hang out with this guy.