My friend Arlene had a book published!

My friend Arlene has had her book of poetry published. Too cool! It is available online now, and will be out in the bookstores on December 4th. Check it out HERE

I am back!!!

Well, I am back from my trip. I had a great time...aside from the long ass drive. I was so tired when I got home on Saturday nite. Soooo tired. I have posted pics on my blog. Click HERE to see if you wanna. I haven't posted a narrative of the trip yet since I am still tired and it took a long time to post all the pics. Plus I have an ear infection and a freakin' headache right now so it will just have to wait. I am not in the mood to write a long ass story right now - lol. Enjoy the pics :)

Yay, vacation!

Well, I am off for 6 days, and I am off to another adventure. This time, I am going to Crater Lake National Park in Oregon and to Redwood National Park in northern California. I am leaving around 4 am and will hopefully get to Crater Lake by mid afternoon. (it's about 643 miles from here - close to a 10-hour drive - yipes!) I got my maps ready, my gas tank is full and I got my camera all ready to take tons of pictures :)

I wasn't really sure til about yesterday whether or not I wanted to go. But I figure since Crater Lake is only accessible for a few months out of the year (late June thru September - the roads are often closed due to snow - they get some 44 feet of snow a year up there), I better go now or I will have to wait til next summer. And while I am up there, why not check out Redwood Ntl Park, too? It is only about 3 hours from there.

So I am outta here for a few days. Happy trails to me!

Happy computer...happy feet...we're all happy here

I have been living with a slow internet connection for quite some time. And it has been bugging the crap outta me. I get soooo impatient with the damned thing! And lord knows, an impatient me is a MEAN me. There were many times I have been tempted to kick this damned computer down the stairs.

But, after reading up some on the internet (though it took a while for the page to load up - hehe), I found a solution. Ditch the lousy Radio Shack cable splitter I have been using forever and upgrade to a better quality splitter. I went to BEst Buy and bought 2 2-way Monster spiltters (at $19.99 a piece mind you). And what do you know?? It worked! Now pages load much faster and that makes me a happier person. And a much happier me equals an unkicked computer.

I am sure it is thanking me right now.

By the way, I have to use a splitter since my apartment has only 1 cable hookup and it is in the living room. Yes, just one. But I can't complain. I don't have a separate cable tv bill since it is included in the rent ;)

Ahhhh happy me. I ordered 2 pairs of shoes online after a fruitless search for cute size 10 shoes here in town. It is too hot outside to be fooling around going store to store trying on shoes. I just don't have the patience. Had I been lucky enough to have a size 7 or 8 foot, I would have come home with some shoes. But alas, I have big tuna boat feet. Luckily for me though, Famous Footwear is having a buy-one-get-one-half off sale and it also applies to their online store - and they have free shipping. I spent only $56 for 2 pairs of shoes.More happiness for me! Happy feet for me too.

Even more happiness is coming up for me too. I have some vacation time coming up next week. I am still not sure whether or not I will make the journey up to Oregon to Crater Lake, but I sure want to. We shall see. If not, I will enjoy the time off anyhow. Maybe go to the beach or Sequoia Ntl Park or something else. In any case, the folks and I are going to Lake Tahoe in October for a few days. So even if I don't make a trip on my vacation, I will still have Tahoe to look forward to.

On a less than happy note, we lost another worker in my unit, so I got his leftover cases. Oh well. More work makes the day go by faster at least.

On a completely unrelated note, but a very funny one (to me at least), I read that Steven Seagal claims that the FBI investigation on him ruined his career. HA! His ACTING ruined his career. I don't know how the hell he got a movie career in the first place. He sucks! He is about as talented as Britney Spears. Maybe the two of them should do a film together. It would be a fabulous train wreck. (hmmm...maybe a movie about a train wreck....but I digress)

Speaking of Britney Spears....the bitch is crazy.

I am going to bed.

Scattergories

This is hard - especially when your name starts with a K!


SCATTERGORIES...it's harder than it looks! Copy and paste into a new blog. *Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following... *they have to be real places, names, things...nothing made up!

Try to use different answers if the person in front of you had the same 1st initial. You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question.

What is your name? Kimberly
4 letter word: Kink
Vehicle: Kia
TV Show: Kimba The White Lion
City: Knoxville
Boy Name: Kyle
Girl Name: Kelly
Alcholic Drink: Kamikaze



Occupation: Killer - hehe
Something you wear: Khakis
Celebrity: Kyle McLachlan
Food: Kiwi



Something found in a bathroom: Kinky hairs - hahaha
Reason for Being Late: Killer headache
Cartoon Character: Kim Possible
Something You Shout: Kinky people!!

It is too danged hot here!

For the last 3 weeks, I have been in hell...aka work...up to my neck in cases and Spanish speaking clients who I can't talk to because, hello, I am a gringo. But at last, I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I have 2 pending cases left. Yes, I got thru about 80 or so cases in 3 weeks. I totally rock - lol.

But oh lord it sure caused me a headache (or 2). I went home early on Monday with the worst migraine I have had in a long, long time. There is nothing like a nice dark, quiet room when you have a migraine.


I had more good news this week, too. My car insurance went down by about $20 a month. Cha-Ching! It pays to be a good driver - hehe.

I bought "Hot Fuzz" on DVD when it came out on Tuesday. That movie is so hella funny. I loved it! It was deliriously hilarious. I haven't laughed that hard during a movie since I saw "Team America!"

Only a few more weeks til my vacation. Gosh, I so need it right about now. It will be nice to get out of this hot-ass town. It has been over 100 degrees for the last week. I think it is actually supposed to drop below 100 by Saturday (only supposed to be 99 that day - ha ha). It is 9:30 pm and it is still 90 degrees outside. Ugh. Summer sucks!

My new hat

Isn't it just totally me???

Bakersfield sign "art"

Shame on people for defacing perfectly innocent Wal Mart signs ... shame on people!!!



Too freakin' funy!

This is me....

Simpsonized!!!

You can do it yourself, too. Go here.....http://www.simpsonizeme.com

Confessions of a Whiner and Complainer

OK - So I have been doing a whole hell of a lot of complaining about work lately, and I know I sound like a whiner. But this is the deal....it is hot, I am PMS'ing and I am stressed. So I have a right to whine, damnit! lol. Anyway, it is pretty stressful having all of these cases due at once, but I am dealing. And I am working on them as fast as my stubby little fingers can type. Someday I will be able to relax again. Someday.

But I do have one little piece of happiness. At the all staff meeting at work on Friday, I got an award! Yes...me! I guess people do appreciate me after all. It really made me week so much better. I tell you, on Thursday I was ready to just up and quit. But now, I feel better. It is amazing what a piece of paper and a candle will do for a person's ego - lol.

I got a new cell phone this week. I got a Blackberry Pearl, and it rocks! I am having issues with picture messaging, which I will have fixed by tomorrow (when I have access to another phone - lol - I only have the cell phone here in my apt - no need for a land line, too - or so I thought). Anyway, I love my new cell phone. It will come in handy on road trips when I need to get a map or find a hotel - hehe.

The weather has been hot - but that is normal for summer. It has been in the 90's , but I heard the 100's are gonna make a comeback next week :( All I know is that I am tired of being hot. And so is my head. I had such a bad headache yesterday that I took a nap to sleep it out. But when I woke up, it was still there. I ended up falling asleep early and waking up in the middle of the night at 3:30 am and couldn't fall back asleep. Now I am sleepy again - lol. Nap time!

Just call me.....

More Fun Quizzes at QuizPox.com

So hot, hot, hot

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know I haven't blogged in a very long time, but then not much has happened in a very long time. It is damned hot today. It got up to at least 110 degrees today. It is 8:30 pm and it is still 102 outside. Ugh. I am sure I have said this before many times, but it bears repeating ... I hate the summers here.

I was sick last week. Fever, nausea, body aches....I had it all...including some unmentionable things too. It sucked ass. The week before, I had pulled a muscle in my back and it hurt like hell. I left work early and went home and laid down on my bed with pillows and smelling of Icy Hot (which REEKS by the way). I went to work the next day and brought my heating pad and a pillow. I just have had a run of bad luck lately.

Last weekend, Alicia dragged me out to the bar. I was the designated driver . But I had a fun time.You don't need to drink to have fun....especially when Alicia is around. She is hella funny when she is drunk. It was very entertaining. hehehehe

The 100+ degree weather is supposed to last thru next week. That doesn't thrill me one bit. In fact, it makes me rather sad.

I guess I have to look on the bright side. At least I don't live in Death Valley. It is supposed to be 129 degrees there

I was born under the wrong sign

Your True Sign Is Aquarius

Wacky Rebellious Cutting Edge A Total Freak Unconventional Difficult to Predict Breaking All The Rules Independent and Inventive

What Sign Woman Are You, Really?

You Know You're From Bakersfield When....

You will park a mile away from the entrance just to have your car parked under a tree.

Instead of people thinking youre "rich" for having leather seats, they think youre stupid.

You laugh when people complain about 95 degree weather.

You're bored one day, and decide to go to 6 Flags Magic Mountain.

You're not worried about the big "California fires" cause by the time it gets any closer, they close the Grapevine.

You've seen the "Stairway to Heaven of lights" while coming back to Bako at night on the Grapevine.

You know what "White, Ming, Rosedale, Calloway, and Panama" mean

When you go out of town & you see a sign saying "Union Ave" you expect to see a hooker.

Rosedale is a world all its own.

Rosedale ALSO needs to be turned into a sitcom.

You remember the TWO times in the last 25 years that it snowed in Bakersfield, and you remember everything you did that snow day.


Everyone always says they're going to leave, but you know that if you try, you get sucked right back in.

You take the "California Roll" at a stop sign to a whole new level.

You know where all the "haunted houses" are when Halloween comes around

You know what an "08er is", where "the Dale" is, and what a "Dalion" is.

And then people who actually MADE it out of this city sit here & laugh at these because they know they're TRUE.

One of your friends owns a house on a spot where you had field parties in high school.

You know the ingredients in a George's Special, or have ever had a "Black and White" for lunch.

You get mad every time you see "Best of Times" when Taft wins at the end. ...or... you get mad every time you see "Best of Times" because who the heck are the Bakersfield Tigers?

You comment on how expensive Mexican food is in any other city in the country.

You have ever offered someone a Dewar's Chew from a bowl on your coffee table.

You claim to hate LA but go there at least every other month.

You have ever debated the merits of water skiing at Lake Ming versus Buena Vista.

You have to explain to friends from out of town what animal a tri-tip comes from.

You think beans and salsa go with everything.

You think a restaurant is chintzy if it doesn't come with soup, salad, spaghetti, and fries.

You think a red light is just a suggestion.

The best restaurants in town serve pickled tongue.

You think $400 a month for rent is way too high.

You know a swamp cooler is not a happy hour drink.

You know the pool can be warmer than you are.

You realize that Valley Fever isn't a disco dance.

Anywhere that takes longer than a 10 minute drive is way too far.

You think you're better than people from Fresno.

Someone mentions "the fair" and your thoughts turn to Cinnamon Buns, First Christian Church corn on the cob, and Boy Scout potatoes.

You have to "explain" to someone about Beach Park.

You complain about how boring Bakersfield is, but still make fun of people from Delano, Taft and Tehachapi.

Someone from out of town talks about how foggy it is and you tell them, "Just wait."

You swear that just last week there was an orchard where there is now a whole development of houses.

You drive just as fast on a on a foggy day in December as you do sunny day in June.

You no longer associate bridges or rivers with water.

You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from Bakersfield..

Ahhh lazy weekend......ahhh

I haven't done a whole lot of blogging lately. I am lazy. What can I say? This weekend I was REALLY lazy. I didn't do a darned thing. I wasn't feeling so hot today, so I didn't even make it over to my folks' house today.

Last weekend, I traveled up north to Sebastopol for my cousin Mike's wedding. It was a really nice day. It was pretty warm, but not too hot. The wedding was outdoors and it was really nice. I got to see a lot of my relatives who I don't get to see very often. Unfortunately, I could only stay for a little while, as I had to drive back to Bakersfield, which was quite a long drive from Sebastopol. Put it this way. I left Sebastopol a little after 6 pm. I didn't get home til 2:30 am. A long drive indeed. I wish I had been able to take that Monday off so I could have stayed longer. But my boss already had that day off. Shucks. It would have been nice to visit with everybody longer.

I stopped off in San Francisco at the Golden Gate National Rec. Area and walked up a path to a viewpoint of the Golden Gate Bridge. It was an awesome view. I used one of the pics I took as the background pic on my Myspace profile page. I loved it! But it was terribly windy and brrrrrr cold. At times on the short walk, I felt like I was going to get blown over. And my hair was flying in my face so I couldn't see where I was going - lol. But oh well. It was a great view from the top.

I did make it to Bodega Bay and Jenner, which aren't too far from Sebastopol. It is nice because the beach is only about a half hour drive from my aunt's house. I got off the road at Petaluma on the way up because between San Rafael and Petaluma, the traffic was just crawling. I mean crawling! I am talking 10-15 mph. That was on the Friday on the way up. I can only imagine what it would have been like on a Sunday afternoon (which is why I chose to drive home on Saturday night as opposed to Sunday afternoon). I took the back way to Sebastopol by driving from Petaluma to Bodega Bay to Sebastopol. It was much prettier and not much slower (even tho it is a longer drive than going down the 101).

I went to Jenner and the Kruse Rhododendron Reserve on Saturday morning. The drive is twisty and turny but very pretty. The Rhododendron Reserve was nice, but the road there was dirt and a one laner at that. There were some turnouts in case you encountered some traffic coming your way, but luckily I didn't come across any other cars. My car sure got dirty though.

The drive home was long (didn't I mention that already? hehe) I stopped in San Francisco on the way back and went back to the same viewpoint area as I did on Friday. There were a lot of people up there on the road. Luckily, the wind was calm and it wasn't nearly as cold as it was the day before, even though it was getting dark. I stayed up there for a while, just enjoying the view and taking a few pictures, and then after it got dark, I took off for home.

I was so tired the next day. I slept til almost 1 pm (I didn't actually go to bed til almost 5 am that morning so I had an excuse!!! lol). And then later on, I ended up falling back asleep. I guess I am getting old

So this weekend, I did nothing but lounge around in the air conditioning (did I mention it got over 100 degrees last week.....3 times?? ugh - summer!),doing Kakuro puzzles and watching tv, and working on some stuff for our Americana unit decorating project at work. I did watch 2 movies (on dvd - I was too lazy to go to the theatre - hehe). I watched The Messengers and The Return, both scary movies. They were both pretty good. Now I am watching this program on the Galapagos Islands on The National Geographic Channel. I soooo wanna go there now - LOL! I am such a nature nerd.

Maybe this weekend I will be rested up enough to go on another outdoor adventure. Yosemite.....Sequoia....Big Sur....who knows. But it is too hot to go anywhere near the desert. And it is too hot to stay here in town!!

I hate summers in Bakersfield.

Goings on in good ole Bake-O

Alana's 2nd birthday party on Sunday turned out soooo cute. I know poor Alicia was completely stressed out by having to do it so last minute, but she pulled it off without a hitch and gave her little girl a super cute birthday party.The only bad thing was the hot weather, but this IS Bakersfield. And that's what happens when your child's birthday is in June - lol.

Of course, a few days later the weather cools down to a nice 80 degrees (instead of the 95 degrees that it was on Sunday). Ain't Mother Nature a bitch?

This Friday, I am traveling up tp Sebastopol, CA for my cousin Mike's wedding. The wedding is on Saturday (with a rumored 250 people to attend), but I am going up Friday so I can do some sight seeing in San Francisco and around the Bay Area. I am going to stay at my Aunt Helen's house for the night and my folks are coming up on Saturday. I haven't yet decided if I will go home on Saturday or on Sunday. The wedding is at 4 pm on Saturday, so the earliest I can leave Sebastopol would probably be 6:00 and it is about a 5-6 hour drive home from there. I guess I will have to wait and see how tired I am by then.

I would like to maybe go to Bodega Bay and Jenner to see the Salt Point State Park and Kruse Rhododendron State Reserve. They aren't too far from Santa Rosa. At this point, it is all up in the air. I will probably decide what I want to do on the drive over - lol. That is just how I roll.

I am sure that wherever I go, there will be plenty of pictures to take. I am just a picture taking fool

Holy sh*t ! Now you know why I don't do karaoke!

Man shot dead for bad singing in Philippine karaoke bar

MANILA (AFP) - A jobless man was shot dead by a security guard for singing out of tune in a Philippine karaoke bar, police said Thursday.


Romy Baligula, 29, was halfway through his song on Tuesday night in a bar in San Mateo town, east of Manila, when 43-year-old security guard Robilito Ortega yelled that he was out of tune.

As Baligula ignored his comments and continued singing, Ortega pulled out his revolver and shot him in the chest.

Senior Superintendent Felipe Rojas said Baligula died instantly.

The security guard was detained by an off-duty policeman shortly after the shooting.

Deaths and violence are not uncommon in Philippine karaoke bars.

The popular Frank Sinatra song "My Way" has been taken off many karaoke bars in Manila after it was found to be the cause of fights and even deaths when patrons sang out of tune.

F is for Friday

Oh glorious Friday. I was off today and I slept in til 10 am (of course I stayed up til almost 3 am last nite so I had an excuse to sleep in!) I went shopping yesterday after work. I had to find a battery for my car alarm keyless entry remote thingy, and I tell you, that was no easy task! I went to Wal Mart, Targert, Best Buy....no luck. They had every kind of battery BUT the one I needed. So I finally tried Rite Aid and low and behold they had it! Not to mention they also have delicious ice cream. I am eating some Chocolate Malted Crunch right now....the best ice cream in the friggin universe! But I digress.

So, I got my car thingy to work and all is well in the auto world again.

I had to go do my citizenly duty and sit in the jury duty services building for a few hours on Wednesday. Luckily, I didn't have to serve on a panel. I did have to spend about 8 hours of the day down there (they did give us 2 hours for lunch though). I had my Kakuro puzzle books to work on so I did have something to do at least.

It is starting to get hot outside. Ok, well it has been hot for weeks. It is in the 90's everyday now, so I know those 100+ degree summer days are not far off.

Oh joy.

No comprendo espanol (but I am trying)

I didn't do much this weekend. I did do a little shopping (can you say new shoes??? woo hoo). But that was about it. Time to go back to work tomorrow. At least it's a short week. We have this Friday off.

I don't have to go to jury duty tomorrow. I checked and groups 1-25 go tomorrow. I am group 26, so that means Wednesday will be my boring day down at the courts. I so hate jury duty. At least I got my puzzle books and Ipod to take with me. I am so addicted to Kakuro puzzles. They are like Sudoku with a touch of math. Which is ironic, since I suck at math, but then I am weird, so there it is.

Work is kinda kicking my ass lately. I got stuck with about 40 or so cases ... 95% of which was Spanish, by the way ... when a coworker left the unit. I worked my ass off last week and cranked out about 30 cases. But man it left me tired. All I wanted to do after work was come home and lie down. I hope to have the rest of them done this week or by early next week. I just hate having cases looming over me like that.

I want to go camping again soon. But this weekend is Alana's birthday party (she is gonna be 2 yrs old) and then next weekend is my cousin Mike's wedding, so camping won't be for a while. But there will be plenty of pics to take at both of those occasions, so it's all good

I am off to bed. Time to take some sleeping pills and hit the hay. I can never sleep at all on Sunday nights (this is like a Sunday night) so sleeping pills should help some. Otherwise I will spend all night waking up every hour or 2 and never get any actual sleep.

I'm a star! lol

You are The Star

Hope, expectation, Bright promises.

The Star is one of the great cards of faith, dreams realised

The Star is a card that looks to the future. It does not predict any immediate or powerful change, but it does predict hope and healing. This card suggests clarity of vision, spiritual insight. And, most importantly, that unexpected help will be coming, with water to quench your thirst, with a guiding light to the future. They might say you're a dreamer, but you're not the only one.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.