badcarma

Cloud spikes

2007-11-04T12:28:00.000-08:00

I was driving home the other evening and saw what could be contrails dissipating...or maybe the clouds have spikes?

I don't understand it, but I like it

2007-11-04T12:23:00.001-08:00

Pretty morning

2007-09-21T17:28:00.000-07:00

Light!!!!

2007-08-17T20:11:00.000-07:00

We have a stop light!

And it works!

Look! I can turn left!!!

Chewy air

2007-08-17T18:08:00.000-07:00

Well, the Zaca fire smoke is still gettin' in our eyes.

I drove to Fountain Valley the other night and got some shots.

This is looking due West right around mettler. That bright spot in sky is allegedly the sun.

A little further south.

Due south, smoke hanging over the mountains.

Sunset over Frazier Park. Wow! This is where people usually go to breathe clear air.

Wildfire smoke

2007-08-13T12:03:00.000-07:00

The Zaca Lake Fire just north and west of Santa Barbara has been burning since July 4, and aparently is getting bigger. It had burned nearly 95,000 by Monday.

It's in really rough country.

This was posted on http://www.perrygeo.net/wordpress/?p=74 on Aug. 3.

Scary stuff!

The smoke from the fire get pushed over the mountains into Kern County ever afternoon and evening. It's creepy. You can see it coming straight across the western sky headed in a nearly straight northern line.

This is looking south and west at Rosedale and Allen roads on Sunday.

Then in the later evening it hangs in our air like a curtain.

This is looking du west on Rosedale at Allen road Sunday.

Lights, camera, ACTION

2007-08-13T11:52:00.000-07:00

We finally got a stoplight put in on Old Farm Road, which leads into our neighborhood, off Rosedale Highway.

YEA!

Now you won't have to turn right and hang a U down the highway so you can go left out of Old Farm, if that makes sense. There's so much traffic on Rosedale and they all drive like it's the freakin autobahn so going left is risking death. Speaking of which, there were 3 deaths at that intersection last summer!

Here are the new lights. Oooooooooo, ahhhhhhhhhh!

Here's the view from Old Farm Road looking out at Rosedale Highway.

And here's the view of our new lights on Rosedale heading east (cause I have to go right, west, in order to go left, west, sigh!)

Del sighting

2007-08-12T17:56:00.000-07:00

Del, the guy who was hanging out at Yokuts Park last summer watching Freeway 99 and then disappeared has resurfaced.

I've had 2 sightings. Once at 6 a.m. near Beach Park. I hollered, Hey DEL! but he just kept walking.

Then I saw him on the bridge at Oak and Beach park. I got this picture, which is blurry, but I SWEAR it's him.

CURSES!

2007-07-21T12:34:00.000-07:00

Yet one more reason to curse the thieves who stole my purse, which had my camera.

I came up to a stoplight yesterday and the lead car in the lane next to me was stopped practically in the middle of the intersection. It was one of those really wide ones so no one was close to hitting him and he wasn't blocking traffic.

But the kicker was the big giant yellow sign on the back bumper that read "STUDENT DRIVER."

I even reached for the camera on reflex only to once again CURSE THE THIEVES!!

Anyway, I bought a Cannon online, hopefully it'll get here soon.

No me gusta!

2007-07-09T19:52:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to post this.

WHAT is he thinking? I mean, I love all dogs large and small, but DUDE, you're selling an IMAGE here and TINKERBELLE ain't it!

Speed demon

2007-06-10T16:52:00.000-07:00

My mom and dad bought a Volkswagen square back years ago and my sister and I inherited it as our first car.

That thing wasn't a great car in the first place and we ran it into the ground.

It was bright yellow and we were pretty embarrassed to be seen in it. I wish we'd had the talent and the cojones to just go with it, like these youngsters!

These AREN'T trees

2007-06-10T16:11:00.000-07:00

I can't believe the developers who put these in got away with this.

We're actually SUPPOSED to have a tree ordinance in this burg so parking lots aren't total frying pans in the summer.

But then someone bozo figured out he could plant Oleander BUSHES and just cut them to look like trees and that'd be good.

Here's a refresher on tree vs. shrub:

SHRUB

TREE!!!!!
Note the difference in that the tree provides a much sought after commodity known as SHADE.

Lightin' up

2007-05-26T14:30:00.000-07:00

The intersection at Old Farm and Rosedale has become an vortex of death in the last few years. Neighbors have been clammoring for a light and I saw the other day there was a surveyor out there.

The county had to buy property from a land owner in order to make the intersection wide enough. Which makes me kind of nervous. I've been asking if the construction just to the west of us will result in roads all the way through to Allen Road. No answers yet. Some neighbors said no way, but it looks like through roads to me. That will mean Old Farm will become a FREEWAY as cut through traffic tries to skirt around jams!!!

Anyway, we shall see!

Neat old thing

2007-05-26T14:29:00.000-07:00

Don't know what this is. But it's neat, and old looking.

Kinda easy rider

2007-05-19T15:39:00.001-07:00

I made a little movie of Larry testing the Harley after he worked on it and then heading out for fun in the sun.

New helmet

2007-05-19T15:23:00.001-07:00

Larry got a new motorcycle helmet. So he doesn't look like a chrome dome anymore (the old one is shiny chrome). The bad news is now we have two helmets, and guess which one I'll be wearing...chrome dome.

Here's he's getting the proper fit.

Here he's shining the helmet (har har!). Yes, he's using a pair of underwear to clean the helmet...but I'm pretty sure he got them out of his "clean" laundry pile.

Oh, and this is Larry's "space" room. It's his space to do whatever he wants in. It does NOT come under my jurisdiction for cleanliness and no clutter, etc. It's HIS space, which he shares with The Duke.
It's a bad motor scooter. Note the scary skull!

All a man needs. His truck, his bike and his cell phone.

Bad motor scooter

2007-05-17T15:00:00.000-07:00

Davin's newest project

2007-05-16T12:49:00.000-07:00

He already has a regular car and a "project" car, a 1972 Monte Carlo.

But I suppose when you're into cars, you just can't resist another, and another, and another...

This is the Cutlass.

Here are the deets:
1971 Cutlass Supreme
4-door hardtop
Original color was gold with a white vinyl top.

I bought it last May for $1,000.
Since then I have:
Did a tune up (new cheapy carb, plug wires, plugs, etc.)
Replaced the grill, hood, radiator core support, radiator
Pulled the engine and put in new freeze plugs and resealed everything
Put on new wheels and tires
Had rear gears replaced
New bushings in front end
New carpet and upholstery (upholstery still in progress)
Bought an HEI distributor (havent installed yet)
And that's not counting all the little stuff (new dash lenses, dash trim,radio, package tray, an air cleaner, alternator, etc.)

Wow. That's a lot of work. I think I'm more of the "put gas in it and push the go pedal" kinda gal!

So we'll consider these the "before" pics, right?

Grrrrrls rule!

2007-05-15T21:22:00.000-07:00

Speaking of Oxnard...

2007-04-28T12:05:00.000-07:00

I drove down their last weekend to hang with some friends and check out the Grapevine.

It was so clear and the mountains so green, which you could see better if my windshield wasn't so dirty! Course by now it's probably all brown and hazy, like normal.

This is heading south just at the base of the Grapevine.
This was northbound, just about to come down the Grapevine the next day.

ANOTHER thing I want

2007-04-28T12:02:00.000-07:00

As my dad used to tell us when we were kids, "People in hell want ice water."

His way of saying you can want all day long, but you ain't gettin' it.

Of course, you know I want a Prius. But for road trips, I'd LOVE to have a Westfalia.

This was parked on a side road in Oxnard and there was a dude sleeping in it. What a life!

I peeked inside and it had a pretty tricked out kitchen. Guess he couldn't afford curtains.

My uncle Karl's fave car

2007-04-28T11:58:00.000-07:00

And some info:

The company (don't know who at the moment) is planning a production run of about 100 vehicles. Sits on a Corvette C6 chassis, front styled like a 57 Chevy, side like a 58, rear like a 59. Hence the designation "789".

Uncle Karl and Aunt Bev had like 8 kids. That's a LOT of pairs of new shoes twice a year. And now they have innumerable grand kids. Seriously, I don't know how they keep track. So my guess is that Karl will have to continue admiring this set of wheels from afar!

It IS kinda wicked lookin'!

Har har!

2007-04-28T11:56:00.000-07:00

Nuff said.

At the car wash

2007-04-28T11:53:00.000-07:00

Wow, my truck is GREEN!

If you have to get your car washed, go to the 34th Street place.
And while you're waiting, you can have THE best burger and fries. EVER!

Seriously, this is the BEST burger and fries on the planet. But bring your cardiologist cause you'll need a jump start after this meal.

Funny slogan

2007-04-28T11:51:00.000-07:00

It's some kind of repair company, like RotoRooter. I love the slogan: "Don't cuss call us."
But if I need something repaired and have to call someone...dude, I'm already cussing before I pick up the phone!

Stuff on people's back windows

2007-04-28T11:36:00.000-07:00

Usually these naked "angel" "devil" girls are standing. These ones must be tuckered out from all their good/evil doing.

Yup...I can relate.

We've all seen these goofy decals showing the family and NAMING them, even the kids (oh and with bumper stickers touting the kids' schools) so it'll be easier for pedophiles to target them.

But this one caught my eye. My god! How many kids are in this family? And at first I thought the two in the left window were step kids or something. No, it's the daughter- and son-in-law.

I love these two cars

2007-04-28T11:29:00.000-07:00

Mostly I love the colors. But I also used to have a VW bug, a 1969, which I drove for 10 years. It did NOT look like this lovingly treated bug!
And this one is just a great color!

Some cool cars around

2007-04-14T13:47:00.000-07:00

I saw this coolio Chevy Impala (I think) while I was waiting for the light to change on my twice-weekly trip to the StopNRob across the street from my building where I purchase my "retirement tickets." (Lotto).

Cool car, huh?Look, here it is in ACTION, turning left! I was on my way to work and while waiting for a light at Oak, looked over and saw some cool old cars at Beach Park. I would have swung into the park for a closer shot, but I was late for work, AS USUAL!

Same day, just down the street from the office is this nifty, Ford Futura (I think). I wish I'd have gotten a better shot, but I nearly drifted into the damn thing as it was!

And the COOLEST of all. Larry and I went to Paso Robles for my evil birthday, 43, Friday April the 13th!!!

We saw this beauty, a 1949 Hudson. I know the year because as I was admiring it, the owner, who was sitting nearby scarfing (and I mean SHOVELING it in) fish and chips, told me the year.

I love the visor!

Larry always looks inside the cool old cars. I don't know what for. Maybe he's looking for one withe the keys in the ignition?

Speaking of Larry...

2007-04-08T16:56:00.000-07:00

We took a nice walk on Saturday and then saw this cool car in the parking lot at River Walk park, or Park at River Walk, or whatever! Larry immediately said it was a '58.

I wondered how he could know the year at a glance. He said something about the tail lights. But when I went to get a closer look, he started hedging, "Well, it might be a '59..."

It was a '58. But not because the taillights said so. It was on the license plate holder on the front. Now that's handy.

Biker's haven

2007-04-08T16:53:00.000-07:00

Larry was ridin' the Harley Saturday, April 7. A nice day for it. I caught up with him at Chuy's where I made him buy some chicken dinners so I wouldn't have to cook. Note his Harvick shirt and the Shell hat (Harvick drives a car sponsored by Shell).

Gopher on the go

2007-04-08T16:44:00.000-07:00

I was driving home the other night and it was still light. I turned onto my street and saw this little guy bookin' down the middle of the road.

It's a gopher. He was moving fast and was pretty annoyed with me for getting in his way. I guess he musta been late for a party or something.

Start your engines!

2007-04-08T15:47:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to do this for a week.

Larry went to Martinsville, Virginia two weeks ago.
Where? you ask. Why? you ask.

Martinsville is home to the Martinsville race track, of course!

He and a bunch of Taft boys (and one displaced Bako-Yankee) had a fine old time watching the little cars go round and round.

And they all took pictures. Looooooootttttttsssssss of pictures.

This is just a small fraction of the photos!

Here's the track.You can't make it out real good, but this captures the moment that the race ended for Bakersfield's hometown hero, Kevin Harvick. His car messed up and caught fire. They're getting ready to haul it off the track in this photo.

Here's the winner, Jimmie Johnson, doing his burnout at the finish line.

This was in the parking area before the race.
It show's Michael Waltrip and he's saying, "I am so honored to represent those nice people that gave us Pearl Harbor Day!"
If you don't know the background it makes no sense. Waltrip is now racing Toyota cars, which, apparently is the first time a foreign-made vehicle has been raced in NASCAR. And I think, also, Waltrip's "schtick" is that he's supposed to be kinda dumb.

Here's "the crew."

The next day, the boys got a behind-the-scenes tour of the Richard Childress Racing museum. RCR owns several racing teams, including Harvick's.

Here's Larry at RCR showing off his Guthries shirt at the museum. It's world famous, you know. The Guthries shirt, not RCR...oh, and not Larry either.

There are lots of cars. Lots and lots and lots. And car parts, like this engine.
And these used tires.

Apparently, RCR is big into "wildlife conservation." They give a perfect definition of the word ironic by demonstrating said wildlife support by displaying animals that have been killed RCR members. Interesting.

Bad HOTEL carma

2007-04-01T18:23:00.000-07:00

Several months ago, I made reservations at one of the Monterey Days Inn hotels for April 27 & 28 for the Big Sur Marathon, which packs the town yearly so there is no shortage of people in need of rooms.

I made my reservations online.

My team could not make the marathon this year so I tried to cancel my reservations this weekend - a MONTH ahead of time.

I was told I had to go online to do so and was given an 800 number.

The Days Inn rep on the phone told me I could NOT cancel my reservations as it was booked under an online premier pricing strata.

She stated repeatedly that I had "clicked the boxes" that clearly state the company's cancellation policy. I do recall clicking a box about terms and conditions, but I thought the box of single-spaced gobbldeygook was the standard, 48 hour deal.

(I double checked today and first, the policy is totally random and SECOND and more importantly, there are two cancellation policies listed on the page. Very sneaky!)

Apparently, if you book online and get a good price (which you can only get online and are DIRECTED to do by the hotel folks themselves) you're screwed if you can't make the trip.

I asked if the room would for SURE be empty or would it be resold. The rep said that was up to the hotelier (franchisee). I said, so if they can resell the room, then I am, in fact, cancelling my reservations and you can't charge me for a room that's sold to someone else.

Nope. "You clicked the boxes." She said.

Just because you have a policy, doesn't make it right, or legal, I said.

"Have a good day," she said.

I'm still astounded!

Reserving stuff online is helpful to consumers, yes, but it's also a huge benefit to companies since they don't have to PAY people to staff reservation phones. And they will only give deals online as a way to ENCOURAGE us to use that service.

It's amazing this company is so money grubbing it would then screw the customer like this!

By the way, Days Inn is owned by Wyndham Worldwide, which also owns Travelodge, Super8, Knights Stay, Howard Johnson, Ramada, and Winngate inns.

I couldn't find emails for customer service people at Days Inn or the Wyndham parent company. But I did find these for Wyndham investor relations:
margo.happer@wynhamworldwide.com
and
james.ryan@wyndhamworldwide.com

I sent them a note and I'll see if I get anything back. Otherwise, I guess I'll put a complaint on http://www.thesqueakywheel.com

I'll let you know.

Some spelling is better than others

2007-04-01T18:18:00.000-07:00

The fixed this the other day. But I got a snap of the original. Aside from the spelling error (should be ADVICE if you don't know) this guy has some of the goofiest real estate billboards on Rosedale Highway.
And he has a LOT of them. It's actually gained a kind of cult hate group. If you go to http://www.rosedalehwysucks.com some of the older comments are totally against this Ponder dude and his billboard mania.

Attack of the killer SUVs!

2007-03-24T17:46:00.000-07:00

Two SUVs tried to kill me recently.
Ok, maybe it was the people driving them.
Either way.

I was headed out on Truxtun extension. It's two lanes either direction. I was in the inside lane. A lady in a GINORMOUS white Suburban was going along next to me. We were pretty much door to door when I noticed her getting closer, RAPIDLY.

She was changing lanes into my lane! And it wasn't one of those "move over a little, notice you're about to smear someone into the pavement and quickly move back" kind of moves.

She was moving over! It was like I wasn't there!

I had to scoot into the middle of the road and slam on my brakes and there she went rumbling down the road in what had previously been my lane while I had to rev up to get out of the way of traffic behind me.

I got alongside her again and looked over, she was talking on the cell phone, totally oblivious.

Then a gold Yukon pulled into my lane as I was turning left onto Brimhall. It's two lanes and I was, foolishly, in one of the two.

But the dude in the Yukon wasn't buying it. Again, I had to hit the brakes to keep from getting whacked.

Our last good slogan

2007-03-24T17:26:00.000-07:00

I hadn't seen a license plate holder like this before. Wonder where he got it?

"Bakersfield: Sun Fun Stay Play" was an actual sign city folk put up along I-5 years ago to encourage relocation to our lovely berg.

Now we have, "Bakersfield: Life as it should be."

Both are incredibly lame.

But at least the Stay. Play. one came with one of the greatest all time "Jetson" type signs ever.

(I got this photo off The Bakersfield Californian's "Lost Treasures" site, by the way. You should visit it, it's way cool. http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/losttreasures)

A few people have coined variations of the slogan.

There's:

"Bakersfield: Come on vacation, stay on probation" which, sadly, happens more often than one might think!

And my friend Amy mentions one on her blog http://www.amylangfield.com/2002_09_15_archive.html

"Bakersfield: Sun, Work, Fog, Dirt" which also pretty much sums it up!

Compensate much?

2007-03-24T17:22:00.000-07:00

Ok, so this dude has a HUMMER...it's wake-the-dead bright yellow...AND notice the "danglers"?

So, sick is good, right?

2007-02-25T16:48:00.000-08:00

I'm so not cool.
I don't even get this.
Wait, is cool still cool?

There outta be a law...

2007-02-23T19:14:00.000-08:00

...and in Maryland, there may soon be one.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) ‹ Fake bull testicles and other anatomically explicit vehicle decorations would be banned from Maryland roads under a bill pending in the state legislature.

The measure was filed in the General Assembly Monday by Delegate LeRoy E.
Myers Jr., who says children shouldn¹t be exposed to giant plastic gonads dangling from pickup truck trailer hitches. The bill also would ban displaying images of naked human breasts, buttocks or genitals, with offenses punishable by fines of up to $500.

"It's time to take a stand," Myers told The (Hagerstown) Herald-Mail.
The American Civil Liberties Union objected to Myers' bill.

"The legislation is overly broad, and would probably make it illegal to have a sticker on your car of the Venus de Milo from an art museum," ACLU of Maryland spokeswoman Meredith Curtis wrote in an e-mail.

Pamela Campbell, whose Bullhead City, Ariz., business sells fake bull testicles, suggested that the swinging decorations can prompt healthy discussions about anatomy and reproduction.

"Do we have to neuter all dogs that walk by us?" she asked. "Where does it stop?"

Last week, Arizona's legislature rejected a measure that would have banned vehicle splash guards bearing racist terms or silhouettes of naked women.

Yes. I can see how this item swinging from the trailer hitch of the dude in front of you on the freeway would promote a "healthy discussion of anatomy and reproduction" with your kids while driving to go see grandma. It's a great country, isn't it?

Gnarly wreck

2007-02-22T11:17:00.000-08:00

Saw this on the way home the other night. Four cop cars and the fire dept. I didn't see any ambulances. But the way the vehicles looked, at least one ambulance had to be called.

Scary.

Isn't this illegal?

2007-02-22T11:12:00.000-08:00

This guy was speeding, tailgating and weaving in and out of traffic on Rosedale the other morning. Where's a cop when you need one? (at Costco I guess). Isn't it illegal not to have a rear license plate?

AND, at this stoplight, he rolled down his window and SPIT!

That's just gross.

Tony Stewart SUCKS!

2007-02-18T17:06:00.000-08:00

I had to add this. My husband HATES Tony Stewart. He won't even let me shop at Home Depot because they're a sponsor.

Here's Stewart from the Fox Sports web page. The Fox experts picked him to have a "strong showing at Daytona."

Wonder if this is what they meant?

HARVICK WINS DAYTONA!!!

2007-02-18T16:25:00.000-08:00

I'm no Nascar fan, but my husband is. And he's a HUGE Kevin Harvick fan. AND Harvick is a hometown boy so what could be better than Harvick winning at Daytona on Sunday, the kick off of the 2007 Nascar season?

And what a win! Here's Harvick at the finish line, just edging out Mark Martin.

This is Harvick from Saturday night, I think, when he won the Busch race.

Larry and I met Harvick's dad, who's a Kern County Firefighter at a barbecue some years back. Nice man but I understand that Kevin is somewhat estranged from his family. No idea why, too bad.

Harvick grew up in Bakersfield, graudated from North High and apparently was a strong racer from a young age.

He was launched into the national spotlight in 2001 after legendary racer Dale Earnhardt died in the Daytona 500. On March 11 that year, Harvick drove Earnhardt's car to victory.

It's fitting then, I suppose, that he would go on to win the Daytona six years later.

As I said, I'm no Nascar fan, but I sat down for the last three laps in the garage where Larry was having a little party and it was pretty spectacular (the race, not the party). They were on a caution from a previous wreck. Mark Martin was in the lead.

I asked where Harvick was and no one seemed to know, "He's back there somewhere," was the general feeling in the room. Casey Mears (another B-town product) was in 11th, which I thought was pretty good for a young guy only in his 2nd or 3rd year in Nascar.

They went to green and Martin still held the lead.

OUT OF NOWHERE, Harvick came up on the outside, Matt Kenseth hot on his bumper. Just as he blew past Martin, Kenseth wobbled and took out the car next to him setting off a chain reaction of crashes. The pack seemed to explode with wrecks behind Martin and Harvick.

It seemed like no one, except the leaders, avoided the tangle. The 07 car flipped over and skidded down the track, catching fire and finally flipping back over in the grass. (The driver was fine.)

It was neck and neck but Harvick beat out Martin by a fraction of a second.

The crowd went wild! Actually, Larry started hollering and scared the dogs.

This is a Getty image of the final seconds. Wow! (Bet Martin is T.O.'ed.)

Here's Harvick's page: http://www.nascar.com/drivers/dps/kharvick00/cup/index.html

CatMan

2007-02-18T14:21:00.001-08:00

How surprising, CatMan, that you of ALL people would lose your temper at fellow drivers. Why I can hardly believe it!

Some days...

2007-02-16T15:53:00.000-08:00

I had to go to the pharmacy this morning on my way to work. It was foolish, I know. But if everything had worked out, I wouldn't have been late.

The pharmacy (in Albertsons) opened 15 minutes late and then the pharmacy dude (does he have a special title or something?) was a big jerk and took forEVER.

So I rushed out and was on Rosedale Highway when this YAHOO totally cut me off. I mean I had to slam brakes and everything.

I honked and gave him the one-finger salute right in the middle of my windshield! I usually just do that so they can't see. Lots of crazies out there, you know. But this guy really ticked me off!

Then at the traffic light I'm looking at his car and realize, oh crap, it's a POLICE INTERCEPTER. He had the squggly little antenna on the back window and everything. It was an unmarked cruiser.

Oh boy, I thought. The one time I flip someone off so they can actually see it and it's a COP!!!!

He tailgated the guy in front of him all the way to the Costco turn off, then cut off two more people and ran a yellow to get to the store.

Musta had a special on donuts.

Driving I5

2007-02-11T20:20:00.000-08:00

If you've ever driven north on Interstate 5, you will recognize the dullness, the monotony...

Oh, look! Kettleman City!

If these orchards are any indication, citrus will be VERY expensive this year!

My husband and I were out a couple years ago w/friends who speak Spanish. They told us Panoche was slang for, uh, well, a negative term used about wimpy men that also refers to a female body part. ANYHOO, every time we drive by Panoche Road we giggle like a couple of 13-year-old boys making armpit fart noises.

Not only is there a Panoche Road, there's a LITTLE Panoche Road AND Panoche River. Anyway, it breaks up the motonony for us...

Sidecar coolness!

2007-02-11T20:15:00.000-08:00

It looks cool. But can you imagine riding in one of these?

Aw nuts!

2007-02-11T19:56:00.000-08:00

This was the first time I'd seen THIS (or should I say THESE?) on the freeway.

What do you think this trucker is trying to say about himself? And why do you think he thinks any of us want to share?

For sale

2007-02-06T20:13:00.000-08:00

I was driving to work this morning and look what I saw for sale at the neighbor's house!

Soda abuse

2007-02-05T20:43:00.000-08:00

Dear "Mad,"

You're right. I bet it wasn't a Diet Pepsi!

Clearly it was a fully loaded sugar bomb lobbed at my friends. And the lads who chased him down were out of control, HIGH on too much glucose. Victims, we might even say, of a fast food nation.

Or perhaps it was just the evil spirit of Rosedale Highway that possessed them and made them just pure, D, UGLY!

Rosedale Hwy STRIKES AGAIN!

2007-02-01T15:58:00.000-08:00

Ok, I know anyone who reads this blog thinks I have some kind of obsession w/Rosedale Highway, but I swear the road is a cursed, evil thing. And now I have proof.

A friend just had his own demonic encounter with the highway from hell.

Here's what happened. WARNING! This post contains graphic soda abuse references, read at your own risk:

Today while driving on Rosedale I had a couple guys in a pickup try to merge into my lane when I was right next to them. I honked and swerved onto the shoulder to avoid them...and when I pulled back onto the road, I ended up at a red light.

I thought it was over right there. Not so.

I looked in my mirror and the guys in the truck were gesturing at me in a not so nice way.
When the light turned green I went and they sped up, pulling up beside me. As we drove they leaned out their window and yelled at me and gestured at me angrily.

At this point I got angry because THEY almost hit ME, and apparently I must have hurt their egos by honking at them to point out that fact.

So I returned the gesture because I was angry. Bad idea.
When I stopped at the next light, they proceeded to pull up next to me and THROW A CUP OF SODA THROUGH MY WINDOW!

Now this wasn’t a little soda, I’m talking the 7-11 big gulp type of soda cup...filled to the top.
When it landed in my car, it literally exploded. I was drenched, and so was the rest of my car. I sat there stunned as they drove off. I got stuck behind a semi and couldn’t follow them or get their plates. I had to just sit there, drenched, sticky, soggy, and thinking to myself,

“Wow. Rosedale highway has definitely lived up to it’s reputation.”

Comments

2007-01-28T14:26:00.000-08:00

Davin, I'm afraid to open my the hood of my husband's '55. First, how would I get it open? That might involve sitting in the car! Second, what would I find in there? Creepy, rusty, moldy, icky are the words that come to mind!

Before and after?

2007-01-28T13:43:00.000-08:00

I WISH.

In the red is the '55 Chevy of my husband's dreams. In the gray and rust is his '55, still sitting in our yard where his brother towed it more than a year ago.

Sigh.

Look! The shiny red car has a gear shift! Meanwhile, our '55 has our neighbor's cat as an apparently permanent resident.

Surrrrrre you're gonna fix it...

2007-01-17T14:03:00.000-08:00

I guess everyone has a husband with an old car he's gonna fix up. Larry has his 55 Chevy. My friend Olivia's hustand, Julio, has his Mustang (sorry, don't know the year).

I guess I should be thankful Larry's 55 is in the back, behind a shed, where I can't see it. But I think Julio's "stang" actually does run.

Time on my hands

2007-01-14T19:24:00.000-08:00

I was sick for a couple days, finally got well enough to go back to work, headed out early so I could get some stuff done. And, of course Rosedale Highway stopped me in my tracks. I had the time, so I made a little movie!

Random stuff

2007-01-09T14:08:00.000-08:00

The anti-Bush dude had an out-of-state license plate so I knew he wasn't from "these parts."

And really, I SWEAR I did nothing, not even thinking bad or malicious thoughts (well, some small evil thoughts maybe) to help along the closure of the golf place.

I gotta go by there and check it out again.

Mateo, tell your mom to stop SPYING ON ME!!!

It's people like this...

2007-01-05T21:06:00.000-08:00

Just another day on Rosedale Highway.

I've gotten used to people cutting in front of me (because, as you know, I usually leave more than one car length between me and the person in front of me.)

But this morning, this mad minivan mom was just out of control. I was at a stoplight, it turned green, we all set out, nose to tail. Even though there wasn't more than six feet separating the car in front of me, this mad minivan mom tries cram in front of me. It was so close I actually honked at her!

A little further down the road, here she comes again. The photo below show her pulling in front of me. The photo doesn' t do justice to how close she was.

Oh, and she was a total tailgater too.

I got ahead of her again and as she passed me I tried to get a shot of her because she was a classic stressed out mom, hunched over, gripping the wheel, looking intently ahead, a cell phone clenched between her shoulder and her ear.

But alas, I just got the van speeding past.

I SWEAR it wasn't me!

2007-01-02T20:58:00.000-08:00

Apparently, the driving range that I was KICKED OFF OF is no longer in operation. Either that, or the managers have been on a very, very long-term hiatus.

Hmmm....so surprising considering what "nice" folks were running the place.

All I know is there've been no cars and no golfers seen there in weeks.

These pics were from a couple days ago. Granted it was over the holidays, but this has been the general look of the place since before Christmas.

I'm a star

2007-01-01T18:53:00.000-08:00

Me versus Rosedale Highway.
I have to say the guy that did this video did a great job considering what he had to work with.

Not something you see in Bakersfield everyday

2007-01-01T09:59:00.000-08:00

I was almost worried about this guy getting out of Kern County unmolested!
Of course, my photo abilities are pretty lame...so I'll translate:
Above the window it says, "Bush profits from America's misery"
Then on the windows there are lots of things about how immigrants aren't the source of our problems.
Pretty racy stuff for old Bako.

Bad blogger

2006-12-30T13:31:00.000-08:00

Sorry I haven't posted.
I haven't had much badcarma to report.

Course, now that means I'll be inundated with badcarma!

The curious thing is Del seems to be gone for good from his vigil in the park. Which is kind of a good think because it's been REALLY cold!

Another day, another car show

2006-10-22T13:03:00.000-07:00

Bakersfield just can't get enough.

I stumbled out of the bar a couple Friday nights ago, and sure enough, landed right in the middle of a car show. Here are a few pics that turned out. And I got video (it's so dark, it's really just audio) of a hot rod with a cool engine. Lets see if I can get that all in here...

Badcarma travels with me

2006-09-18T14:08:00.000-07:00

I was kicked off a driving range the other day. (Get it? Driving range? Bad "driving" carma?)

No lie.
I'd made an appointment for a golf lesson, but had to miss it because my boss called me into a meeting and it ran over.
I called the lady and apologized as soon as I could get to a phone and she was pretty mean about it. So, of course, I reacted to her rudness by saying with some exasperation, "It's not like I'm self employed! I can't just walk out on my boss!"
Apparently, that was the wrong thing to do.
I compounded my error by going to the driving range thinking I'd just hit some balls and maybe smooth things over with her.
Boy was I wrong.
She was there, arms crossed over her chest GLARING at me when I walked up.
So I handed her a $20, asked for tokens for the balls and as she angrily slapped my change down on the counter I foolishly said, "Why don't you keep that as a cancellation fee."
She went OFF!!!
She yelled that she wasn't going to take my money and on and on, followed me out to the ball machine and shoved the money in my hand.
As she walked back into her little trailer, I said to myself, "Boy, someone's in need of some people skills."

She came barrelling back out, "I HEARD THAT!"
She said she wasn't rude to me on the phone and that other people in the room with her concurred she wasn't rude and why on earth would I schedule a meeting with my boss anyway knowing I had a golf lesson coming up, blah blah blah.
She went back in and, again, I said to myself, "Wow."
Out she came again with a $20 in her hand and told me I wasn't allowed to make comments about her like that and I should leave.
I tried to reason with her and she called her husband over.
He tried to be calm about things and explain their policies when someone misses a lesson.
She starts hollering and saying I came in and slapped my money down and demanded a jumbo basket of balls and I was only offering a cancellation fee "to make a POINT!"
Man, I thought, I gotta get out of here.
So I said I understood their policies, but I didn't appreciate being treated so rudely. I was just trying to make amends, I was sorry I missed the lesson, it couldn't be avoided and clearly there was a personality problem here and I was just going to leave.

So I went to Riverlakes and hit balls there instead. It's nicer anyway. But less convenient than the other place.

I've been agonizing over that little event for several days now wondering about my intentions and whether my tone was wrong. It probably was. Clearly I deserved what I got.

My OTHER car...

2006-09-09T14:56:00.000-07:00

Went golfing at Horsethief up in Stallion Springs on Friday with a bunch of work buddies (we scored some free golf passes!).
Aside from my very poor drives (ha, get it? a golfing term blending w/badcarma!) there was one waaaaaaaay cool ride in the lot when we finished.
Course I had to take a pic of myself near it. When else could I afford to even BREATHE on something like this?!

Driveable vs. Rideable

2006-09-05T15:22:00.000-07:00

Well, I figure Larry could get the 55 "running" without too much trouble. But for it to be "rideable" I'm thinking it should have a few basics:
Headlights
Seats
Seat Belts
Brakes

I'm picky that way...

The Ol' 55

2006-09-04T18:39:00.000-07:00

My husband bought a '55 Chevy in high school. He apparently had it running at some point, but for all the time I've known him (since 1992) the Ol' 55 has been rusting away at his friend Dave's house in Taft. Well, Dave got married. So the car eventually found its way back to Larry and into our sideyard about 6 months ago.

Larry was very excited about how he was going to fix it up. I think it would be way cool.

But do we need a Monster Garage to do the job? Can we actually make this a rideable ride in our backyard with limited time and tools? (Emphasis on the LIMITED TIME aspect!)

AND, he just told me his goal is to have it running for his 30th class reunion, which is June 2007...DUDE! No WAY!

The video below

2006-09-04T17:36:00.000-07:00

That was the other morning. Just routine Rosedale Highway crap.Turned out to be something wrong at Vista West High School, the continuation school. Who knows, maybe one of the kiddies was smoking in the boys room. But the fire dept and CHP were there and one lane was blocked so Rosedale was backed up for TWO MILES.

Course, I was late that day...typi-FING-cal!!!

Rosedale jam

2006-09-04T17:20:00.000-07:00

What a pisser!

2006-09-04T14:44:00.000-07:00

Ok, like most of you, I'm pretty sick of the Calvin rip off character peeing on everything from Chevy's and Fords to Osama's turbanned head. But I saw this on a truck in the Chuy's parking lot right off of, you guessed it, Rosedale Highway and I admit it, I was charmed.

One finger salute

2006-09-04T11:55:00.000-07:00

Well, if I'd snapped this a second sooner, or a couple seconds later, you would have seen this lady's feelings more accurately expressed, as in the big FINGER.
While I agree with her most days, this was a traffic jam and the guy in front of her couldn't go any faster so I have to say she was a little overwrought. Not something I'm EVER accused of. HA!

Truckin' on up

2006-08-26T12:53:00.000-07:00

I drove to the cabin last Saturday and then back on Friday.

Here's what I learned...NO TRUCKS on Saturday. MANY trucks on Friday.

Saturday was a 4 hour drive, Friday, a 5 hour drive. So I guess it doesn't pay to try and beat the weekend traffic. It's the trucks that make 99 such a nightmare.

One guy in a small panel truck that said Padilla's Furniture (though when I called the number to rat him out for his assinine driving no one answered...hmmmm) was particularly henious. He was weaving in and out of traffic, no blinker OF COURSE, as if he were in a sports car.

And YES, I call those "how's my driving" numbers when I think someone's being a nut job. I'm just one of THOSE people.

Flying by the seat of my pants

2006-08-14T20:14:00.000-07:00

So sorry I haven't blogged in a while. Been in and out of town.

Most recently I flew to Columbia, MO for some work training.
I went from LAX to St. Louis. From there, grabbed a serious puddle jumper into Columbia. The plane was a tiny prop that couldn't even take on all the luggage we brought. There were a bunch of exchange students from Holland who the pilot had to have his picture taken with and I don't even think we got above the cloud deck all the way there.
Nonetheless, we did make it to Columbia Regional Airport, which I think, consisted of a trailer and a small brick building. I laughed at the time...

On the way back, it was after the latest terrorist plot and so I was worried how much hassle it would be. But the teeny Columbia Regional Airport turned out to be a total blessing. Checked my baggage through to LAX with no problems at all and didn't have to wait in any terrible lines.

It was really a great trip. No hassles there or back. Well, unless you count the airport bus at LAX being a half hour late and then getting stuck in LA traffic on the way back to Bako (3 and a half hour trip!) But it was OK as I'd picked up "Marley and Me" in the St. Louis airport and so I had something good to read!

Here's the CRA and the picture snappin' pilot still chatting up the gals from Holland.

Random stuff

2006-07-19T19:29:00.000-07:00

Del was allegedly spotted the other day sporting fresh clothes and a HAIRCUT! I'll be riding my bike to work next Wednesday and I'll be on the lookout.

No one ever actually COMMENTS on the blog. But they email or call with their own stories.

Here's one:
A local boy, we'll call him Mr. Kat, said the photo of the green Galaxie 500 brought back an interesting memory. Katman was in the Army long ago, stationed in Germany. (I think it was the '60s...wow...dude) Anyway, a Captain had to get from one base to another in a hurry as his son, an Air Force guy, had been injured. The Katty was told to drive Capn to the other base and he was given a green Galaxie 500 to accomplish the task.

He got on the autobahn and asked if Capn wanted to exceed the Army's set speed limit, which was considerably below autobahn standards. Yes, Capn said, floor it.

So the Katman hit it and recalled the exhilaration of topping 120 mph for the better part of an hour on those wide open roads in that monster Galaxie 500 next to all the pipsqueak Euro cars. He got the Capn to the base in record time. But alas, the man's son did not make it.

The memory is bittersweet for Mr. Kat. Lets hope his next run in a green Galaxie 500 has a happier ending.

It would fit me well

2006-07-19T19:20:00.000-07:00

Someone parked this fab chocolate brown machine outside our office the other day. It should be mine, in fact, I think it WANTS to be mine. Curse my badcarma for keeping it from me!

Check out the stylin' interior. Even the hubcaps had chocolate brown detailing inside the Mercedes symbol. Sweet!

Cool car

2006-07-12T21:27:00.000-07:00

I saw this car parked outside the office today. Ford Galaxie 500.
Which is funny becuase this is SUCH a cool car and yet when we were teenagers, we used to make fun of greasy guys in Galaxy 500s, especially green ones (the cars, not the guys).

And now, here I am taking photos of a GREEN Galaxie 500 that I actually think is cool. Apparently a Galaxie and Galaxy are a bit different, which I'm not sure I understand.

Check THIS OUT!

2006-07-11T13:08:00.000-07:00

I saw a dude with a bumper sticker that said www.rosedalehwysucks.com on my way to work today. I looked it up and it's HILARIOUS! In fact, I sent them a couple of my own Rosedale Horror stories.

CHECK IT OUT

www.rosedalehwysucks.com

Enterprise badcarma

2006-07-11T11:05:00.000-07:00

The Enterprise rent a car saga continues...sort of.

Last I spoke of this, I had returned their stupid pregnant marshmellow Nissan Moreno (I saw a really snooty woman at Subway driving on the other day and it still looked stupid!) and threw a fit about how they'd promised me one thing, gave me another I was very dissatisfied. So they knocked off the $150 deposit they normally charge and just charged my insurance company $60 or something. Fine, I figured, it's over.

Then I got a call from Enterprise's customer service asking how satisfied I was with the service I'd received. I don't know if they call EVERY customer, or it's just random. Either way, I let em have it. Said I was EXTREMELY disatisfied and would never use Enterprise again, if I could help it. There, I thought, NOW it's over. I've had my say!

THEN, I got a call from the cusomer serivce regional manager in Fresno. He left a voice mail on my cell phone wanting to talk to me about what the problem was with my service. He proceeded to go on and on about how, according to the paperwork he had, my service had been by the book, no problems at all. Way to start a conversation about whether they screwed up by telling me they certainly did NOT screw up.

I wasn't going to call back, but his message rankled me. So I called and left a message saying I thought it was pretty lame of him to start the conversation that way, explained what had happened and said I guess we didn't have anything more to talk about.
THERE! NOW it's done, I figured.

Nope, the dude called back and apologized for sounding like he figured it was a done deal and I was a dope. He asked me, again, what happened. I told him about how they TOOK the reservation, but didn't actually DO the reservation and apparently had NO intention of honoring the reservation and that's their policy.

He said that's now how it should have gone down and offered me a free car for any weekend I wanted.

He was a nice guy, called me back on the weekend, you could hear his kids in the background and here I was being pretty much of the severe hard ass I'm known to be now and again.

Sigh.

I relented and told him thanks for the call, I appreciated it, but I didn't want anything for free. I just wanted to be treated fairly and honestly, which I didn't think I was, and I just wouldn't be going back to Enterprise. He kept offering the free car. But I turned it down and actually APOLOGIZED for being such a hard ass on him.

I shoulda taken the car.

Thin woman found!

2006-07-11T11:01:00.000-07:00

Did I mention that the extraordinarly thin woman who used to shuffle along in a kind of jog on the bike path wearing oversized headphones has been found?

She was on the bike path almost every day, then vanished. Some of us thought the worst might have happened as she seemed very old and frail.

But Robin spotted her, same tall thin woman, same headphones, same determined shuffle, on Stockdale Highway. Robin turned her bike to talk to the woman, but the thin woman sort of cowered and turned away.

Ok, Robin thought, and left her to her shuffle.

Anyway, good to know she's OK.

In Del news, I've got nuthin. I haven't ridden my bike to work in a while.

But someone else swears she spotted him with a hair cut and fresh clothes at Beach Park a couple days ago. He wasn't happy go lucky, as usual, however. Guess a hair cut can do that to a person.

Bike path mayhem

2006-07-09T13:21:00.000-07:00

The bike path has had a hell of a summer so far. Fires, suicides, drownings, an alleged kidnapping! Crazy stuff.

While I was gone Del's spot burned up. Fire Dept. says it was cables from the nearby power line that somehow sparked the grass fire. Hmmmmm. I looked, the cables are pretty far off the ground...

Anyway, Del's spot is all burned up. I saw him a week ago one day when I rode in. I asked him about all the crazy stuff that had been happening right around and ON TOP OF his spot. He seemed very confused and kept asking "When did that happen?" When I got to the fire he said it was like that when he showed up one day. He had NOTHING to do with it. I thought his denials were interesting since I never even ASKED if he knew how it started....hmmmm.

Here's his burned up spot.

And here are a couple shots of the power line whose cables somehow sparked the fire from WAAAAAAY up in the air...hmmmm...

Trucks and other magnificent mechanical beasts

2006-07-09T13:05:00.000-07:00

I got my truck back last week!!
It runs great, but I kinda miss the van. And I discovered I may have post traumatic stress syndrome! I was driving to the liquor store (no judging please) and a car a couple lanes away slammed on its brakes, its tires screeching. I panicked, froze! I quickly realized it was a ways off and wouldn't affect me, but I was still shaking, I felt nauseous and my heart was racing. And this was even BEFORE the tequila.

Here's my truck, oh and here's the lovely Corvair that came to my rescue the day of my accident and ferried me back to work in nostalgic style!
Oh, and below is Willie from Bakersfield Auto Glass replacing the windshield on the van. Willie's from Chechneya and doesn't like Russians. He says America is the greatest country on earth, but we can't let the government get too much control. Words to live by!

Bad of me not to update bad carma

2006-07-08T17:44:00.000-07:00

Sorry for my lack of posts! You know how it is when you go out of town and then have to catch up...

My first badcarma story involves the FAB Albers van that I borrowed to take to the mountains. I was driving through Snelling (just northeast of Merced) on J59. There was a lot of construction traffic, including gravel trucks, which were going in and out of the gravel pit at Snelling.

I was on the phone with my husband and told him I was nervous and trying to stay far away from these gravel trucks because I didn't want to have a rock fly out and clip the....and then it happened! A rock from a truck headed the other direction flew out and clipped the windshield, cracked it. YUP! Just as I was thinking it, speaking of it, it happened!!!! I've driven that road possibly a thousand times and never, ever ever had that happen. Borrow a friend's van and BOOM! Badcarma man...it happens.

Here's the pic at took at the Town Frosty in Snelling.

WOW!

2006-06-27T17:06:00.000-07:00

I just heard the news about Del's spot erupting in flames over the weekend. I hope Del didn't spontaneously combust!

I also read in the paper that a city worker went missing Friday in Yokuts, nearby Del's spot.

Coincidence?

More later on my "big van adventure!"

See you in a few days

2006-06-22T13:14:00.000-07:00

I'm driving my cool borrowed van to the mountains. Be back on Wednesday!

Some people!

2006-06-21T19:18:00.000-07:00

There I was wallowing in my bad rental carma
and I got an email from Kim. She's not using her van, in fact, it needs to be moved for some construction work and she's out of town. Would I like to use it for my trip to the mountains?

WOULD I??? I love that VW EuroVan! It's the coolest! Soooooo.....
I hastily made arrangments to take the "pregnant marshmellow" back to the Enterprise people, called the construction guy at Kim's house and got the van.
All in one fell swoop, I was no longer having to pay for a car I didn't reserve, didn't want and was going to be difficult to use and suddenly I was in a vehicle I love and can use for everything I need.
AND I'm no longer PAYING the Enterprise people for annoying me! (I even got them to drop the $150 deposit they were going to charge. Now they're just charging my insurance $67, which I plan to protest as well!)

Anyway, so much thanks to Kim and her husband, David. This is so amazingly nice of them and I really really appreciate it. THANK YOU!!!

Seinfeld was right!

2006-06-21T15:23:00.000-07:00

I had to get a rental car since mine is at the truck doctor for the next couple weeks.
All car rental companies are pretty lame, but my experience with ENTERPRISE was the lamest.
I called to "reserve" a car and gave them a time and date when I would pick it up. On the phone they told me I could have a Jeep Liberty, which I looked up on line and said it looked like it would be OK cause I could probably haul some stuff (my dogs and other junk) up to the mountains. Fine. Swell. I arranged to pick it up at noon Tuesday (yesterday).

I get dropped off there and they had NO CARS. NO CARS!!!! Not only that, but they did not have and did not EXPECT to have a Jeep Liberty and said they don't guarantee the make/model or even time/day for any car. Yes, they did, with me on the phone the day before!

It was like the classic Seinfeld episode where he asks, "So you make the reservation, you just don't DO the reservation?"

I was fuming. So the dopey counter chick offers to call the Ming Avenue (I was at the downtown branch) store to see if they have a Jeep. They did, but it was a much larger car and I didn't want to pay the gas AND I would have had to wait for some flunky to drive me over there.

Just then a Nissan Moreno (ugly car) came in and they gave me that. I called again today and said this just wasn't going to work. The Moreno, while considered a bigger class SUV, doesn't have any actual ROOM in the back to haul stuff. It's all carpeted and junk. Like a Cadillac but smooshed up into the shape of an SUV.

You have to lay all the back seats down to even get a bike in there. LAME!

The Enterprise manager was like, well, sorry. I said, well, sorry, guess I'll have to switch companies. Oh, and inform my insurance company, the other insurance company and pretty much everyone on the planet that your business practices SUCK! Ok, she said, go ahead. Guess they have plenty of business.

Anyway, I'm now waiting for Hertz to call back. I'll probably end up driving this pregnant marshmellow on wheels all week. Jeeze!

A brief interlude

2006-06-21T15:18:00.000-07:00

I forgot I had these pics.

Here's Mr. "Goodcarma." (I bet he makes up those goodcarma stories!) That's the lawyer husband behind him with the stogie.

And here's Chrissy Lu, on her bad motorscooter and ready to ride, if only she could open the garage door!

Del basics

2006-06-21T15:09:00.000-07:00

I stopped and said hello Tuesday morning.
This time he asked ME some questions. How far do I ride from my house? (10 miles) Do I have a family? (A husband, no kids, four dogs. He was impressed with the dogs) What does my husband do for a living? (Lawyer, Del made a face at that) Do I ride in every day? (You'd think he'd notice since I stop and bug him every time I ride by, but no, only 3 days a week).

A couple weeks ago I was quizzing him and he said he thought I was a federal agent. No, I said, and gave him my business card. I don't think he knows what an editor does. So I told him I'm just nosey.

Anyway, on Tuesday, I didn't ask about his freeway obsession since it seemed to upset him when I asked before. I asked instead what he was having for lunch that day - bread. Just bread? Yeah, sure, sure, he said.
Ok dude.

I got to work and though I swore I wouldn't do this, I looked him up on a few data bases.

Here's what I learned:
He's a registered voter (I'll let you guess his party affiliation)
He's never been convicted of a crime in Kern County that I could find.
He got divorced in 2003 (wife got the house)
It said there was still a pending custody case open in 2003. But I didn't get to the courthouse to read the file...the online stuff can be incomplete, so I'm not sure what happened there.

Other than that, Del doesn't have much of a paper trail.

I won't see him again until next Wednesday, going out of town.

Thin lady gone

2006-06-21T15:06:00.000-07:00

In answer to a comment from Jeannette, yeah, when I first saw that very very thin lady shuffling along the bike path, I figured it was cancer.

But over the years she kept on shufflin' and never gained an ounce, or so it seemed.

She wasn't very approachable. But now I wished I'd made more of an effort than just a smile when we passed. Hope she's still shufflin' along somewhere with her oversized headphones and her thousand-yard stare.

Maybe she moved to the coast?

Pedal power

2006-06-20T10:23:00.000-07:00

I've been riding my bike to work at least 3 days a week for the last six weeks.
Got my Chevron bill the other day (it's normally about $100 a month, more with the increase in gas prices.)

It was $10. Seriously. TEN BUCKS!

I just started getting that bill via e-mail so I was leery and paid more. But I haven't had to fill up the truck for a while, especially since it got smooshed.

Hopefully, that was the REAL bill.

Course, when I go to the mountains later this week, I will totally blow all my gas savings. But seeing a $10 bill from Chevron was SO worth it!

A question

2006-06-19T21:45:00.000-07:00

Has anyone seen the tall EXTEMELY thin older lady who used to run along the bike path every day? She had large headphones and shuffled along and never said hello but she was there every day.

Has anyone seen her or know anything about her?

A little more about Del

2006-06-19T21:35:00.000-07:00

Saw Del on my way in this morning (Monday, 6/19/06). And I saw some cyclist friends who asked about Del. Seems he has a following among a lot of us who wonder what his story is. Even my boss, who rides occasionally said he and a fellow cyclist had talked about Del and his odd vigil.

Some have asked if I thought Del was "all there." No, I don't. I think he's a nice, harmless guy with a possibly tragic story who has no bad intentions. But all there, nah not really.

I saw him again this evening on my way home. We got to talking and he laughed again at my lame attempts to find out what's behind his freeway obsession. I told him he was starting to get a following, lots of people pass by and wonder what he's staring at and why.

He got kind of quiet and serious and looked away. He said it wasn't a "mistake" or anything "bad" why he was there. Then he said it was hard to talk about. He looked like he might tear up. Then he said he couldn't talk with me about that anymore, that it was "not good" for him to talk about it.

I felt bad. What if he'd been in a wreck on the freeway and lost his wife, or a child? And here I was, seemingly mocking his pain, picking at the scab. Who cares what the reason is for his obsession? He's not hurting anyone.

I apologized for prying and said I hadn't meant to make him upset or offend him in any way. I was just curious, I said, it's not every day you see someone so dedicated to something so out of the ordinary. He smiled and said, again, that I would know someday what this was all about.

I think next time I see him I'll just ask him what he's having for lunch and not bother him about his secret.

The best thing about my truck

2006-06-18T13:22:00.000-07:00

I've wanted a 4wd Toyota pickup since I was about 19 years old. I finally got it in 2000 (at 36). It was brand new and exactly what I wanted - extended cab w/a split rear window, dark green (Imperial Jade according to the dealership), beige cloth interior, five speed and shift on the fly 4wd. I added a camper specifically so my dogs could ride in comfort.

Everyone's been saying since my wreck that the insurance company should total my truck and I should get something new. The only "new" thing I would want is the exact same vehicle!

Here's the coolest part about my truck:

This was taken in about Sept. 2001. On the left is Goldie, then Patch and Decker on the right. In front of Decker is little Jo when she was a baby. This is the only baby pic we have of her. Look at those ears!!!

And here's Jo all grown up w/Patch, who she still annoys to no end. Goldie goes on walks still but can't jump in the truck andDecker has arthritis and mostly likes to lay around the yard barking at birds and growling at Jo.

Is this our badcarma, or theirs?

2006-06-17T20:18:00.000-07:00

My pal Sandi shared a tale of badcarma that reminded me of something similar happening to me years ago.

She was walking in to a grocery store when some jokers in a heap of a car pulled up alongside her and leered at her then hollered that she was pretty good looking, for an older woman. OLDER WOMAN???! First, Sandi is gorgeous and second, she doesn't look, dress or act like an older woman at all! The losers had parked so she had to walk around them and they'd yelled loud enough for others to turn and stare. JEEZE!

Sandi, being a lady, ignored them and walked into the store. I probably would have gotten down on their level and given them a two-word response, each word containing a single syllable.

That reminded me of a time in college. Some girlfriends and I went to the liquor store (looking for highlighters or rulers or notepaper, I'm sure) and when we came out some losers in a junker were parked behind my friend so she couldn't pull out. They were jeering and hollering at my friend who was too scared to say anything back. So I walked over to the driver's side door and told them to move it or I was calling the cops. They were stunned and annoyed. As they pulled away, they yelled at me, "You're the ugliest f---ing girl in the world!" Over and over and over, as they drove away in the parking lot, as they got on the street, on into the night. My girlfriends from college still call me that when we get together.

Eh, those guys (the ones who jeered at me and Sandi) obviously have no sex lives. We should pity them. Their excessive badcarma obviously spills over from time to time. Poor, pathetic losers...

Sloganistas

2006-06-16T21:10:00.000-07:00

The anti slogan artists demonstrated oustide the courthouse Thursday night. They (like me) were scoffing at the irony of Bakersfield's slogan "Bakersfield: Life as it Should be."
One of the organizers noted our crime, poverty, worst air in the nation status and that we're a dumping ground for SoCal's sludge as just a few indications that this is not how life "should be" in any community.

But the artists (also promoting productions at the Empty Space theater) didn't want to be boorish and so dressed in costumes and pushed brooms and vaccuums around to bring home their point.

Good for them! Oh, and here's the paper's picture (doesn't show the vaccuums)

Del's daze

2006-06-16T20:49:00.000-07:00

Saw Del this morning about 7:30 a.m. He apologized for not recognizing me on Thursday morning. Anyway, Friday morning, he was chipper again. I was late for work and he asked if I worked on Sundays.
No, I said, it's Friday.
"Friday!" he said. "It's Friday?! Really?"
"Yeah," I said. "All day."
"I thought it was Sunday!"
"Well, see ya," I said. I left him shaking his head. Guess the free way doesn't really change from day to day.

I rode by in the evening and Del was still there, sound sleep on his cardboard, his bike a little too far away, I thought. Anyone could have stolen it.

Here he is. I didn't stop and bother him today. I didn't want to wake him.

A couple miles down the bike path, an unmarked police car was barrelling down the path, heading east. No insignia on the doors and when they passed me, I couldn't make out the insignia on their uniforms either. I don't know why, but my first thought was, "Uh oh! They're after Del!"

I forgot to add this on Margaret Madamba

2006-06-16T20:36:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos the paper took at the time of the wreck in 1994.
The one of the truck is absolutely frightening. Look at the damage it did, can you imagine the impact? I think about it all the time when I'm in traffic. I thought about it yesterday after my wreck. I'd be dead if I'd been on my bike. Guess the good carma is I was in my truck.

And here's Shaun Eugene Bates, the wacko who drove into Margaret. He was 22 in this photo. He'd be 34 now. Two years older than Margaret was when he hit her. I should check w/CDC and see when he's getting out, if he's not out already.

And here's the photo the paper took of Margaret a few months after the wreck. Like I said, I hope she's happy, doing well.

Badcarma gone good

2006-06-16T20:34:00.000-07:00

Got a call today from the claims adjuster and he said the woman who ran the red light, Joan, fessed up and accepted all responsibility! So no fights, no problems. Her insurance is going to pay 100 percent, including my deductible!

Wow! Just when you think there aren't any honest people anymore!

Think I'll send Joan a card!

Two reasons I should have seen it coming...

2006-06-15T20:26:00.000-07:00

First indication that my luck was running out:
This morning driving to work on Rosedale Highway a guy in a beat up mini truck nearly rear ended me. He stopped in the nick of time and I thought, "Thank god, cause that dude does NOT look insured!"

(First thing Joan the red light runner said to me after the crash was, "Don't worry I'm fully insured!")

Second, and most important, indication that disaster was nigh:
Before I set off for errands, I went to get a Diet Pepsi. I put my dollar in but the machine was sold out (sacrilege in my world!) I pushed the button to get my money back, which almost never happens. And sure enough! My quarters started popping out. I scooped them up and saw that I had one extra quarter. SCORE!
I thought, "I wonder if this is the best luck I'll have all day."

Yeah, that pretty much used up ALL the luck I was gonna have today!

What a day!

2006-06-15T20:10:00.000-07:00

The ultimate badcarma!

I did errands at lunch and went to Snider's bicycle shop to see if they had any good saddle bags because mine are either too small or too big (the big one broke my tail light off the other day). They had some good bags, but $50 each so I wanted to wait to see if Larry would use my old stuff before plunking down $100 bucks.

So, I left and pulled onto Niles Street to cross Union Ave., get onto 178 and come back to work. I was watching an incredibly fat woman in pajama pants, a sport bra and fluffy slippers cross in front of me, thinking, now that's Bakersfield when I looked up and saw that the light had turned green. I put the "monster" truck in gear and pulled forward. Suddenly, I heard brakes screeching very nearby. I slammed on my brakes just as a woman pulled in front of me.

WHAM! I smacked into the right front side of her car.

We pulled to the side of the road. My front end was crunched and steam was coming out of the radiator. Some monster truck. Her little Nissan had some fender damage and the tire was kind of kattywhampus, but otherwise not that much damage. My big aggressive 4wd, meanwhile looked like a beer can after Bubba smooshed it on his forehead.

The other woman, Joan, was pretty cool saying she ran the red and all (which she did). But we'll see what happens when the insurance companies start duking it out. No one was injured and we could both pull off the road, so we didn't call the cops. Other people have since said that was a mistake. Probably was on my part. We'll see.

Anyway, so I guess I should have bought the saddle bags I liked because, hell, I'm pretty much on the "monster" bike for at least the next month! Here's a pic of the sad truck outside the shop.

Oh, one cool thing, the owner of the shop gave me a ride back to work in his semi-restored vintage Corvair...I'll try and get a pic of it tomorrow when I go back to look for my card key since it and everything else in my purse flew out all over the floorboards on impact!.

Del stuff

2006-06-15T20:06:00.000-07:00

Ok, quickly, here's the Del update:
Saw him at 5:50 a.m. today, 6/15/06. I was out running with the girls and saw him pushing his bike to his spot. I ran up to him and said hello. Mind you, he's only ever seen me in a bike helmet and sunglasses, so I looked a lot different. He was still very sleepy and obviously confused. I had to say my name several times and I'm not sure he understood who I was.

Anyway, the day before, Wednesday, 6/14/06, I chatted with him on my way home from work and he was upbeat, watching the freeway. He said he'd be there probably a month more. But he claims there's no secret mission that I'll "know about when it happens." Now he is sticking to his, "it's for relaxing," story.

And he admitted he sleeps in the parks sometimes. I asked how his family feels about that. "Fine, fine," he said.