Photo by: N.L. Belardes
One Bakersfield Woman's Blog to Mankind
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Looking back at 2006…
It was around October last year when I slowed down long enough to look around and wonder how it had become October already. Where had 2006 gone? And then suddenly it was Christmas… and the year had flown by in the blink of Hello Kitty's eye. Looking back, 2006 for me was about opening up creatively, writing, connecting to writers, artists and readers, good friends, exploration and physical and emotional challenges. It was a year where I found a few pieces to the puzzle of my life…
In 2006, Writing became a focus for me…
The Blog:
Having found a voice, style and an audience for my blog in 2005; 2006 began with a brand new look for One Bakersfield Woman’s Blog to Mankind. I told NL about an idea I had for a new look for my blog. I wanted a photo that reflected the title. NL worked his photographic magic and created the photo masthead for my blog; all I did was stand there and hold the world in my hands, no easy feat I’ll tell you. At any rate, my blog had a new cool look and I had a new template that I designed using html from a cheat sheet called “html for dorks” that I was given when I first started blogging. Melissa Ecker of New Leaves in March also let me bug her with questions about dotted lines and little aesthetic things. And while I’ve continued to tweak my template throughout the year, and even though it still has a glitch in it that drives me nuts… with NL’s and Melissa’s help I redesigned a place that I love to write in.
And so I wrote in my blog for you, you who allow me to share pieces of my life with you, and for me…
Along with a new blog look, inspired by NL’s and Melissa Ecker’s photographs, in 2006 I bought a digital camera and added photos to my blogs. At photography, I’m an amateur. I’m still learning how to use all the features on my camera. Most of my photos turn out blurry, but I have gotten lucky every now and then. And it’s those lucky photos that have really added something to my blog. Here are a couple of my favorite photos that I’ve taken for my blog.
I also discovered youtube.com and google videos in 2006 and even figured out how to embed videos into a blog. Don’t you just love to youtube!
My blog was regularly featured on Bakotopia in 2006 and introduced to a new broader audience. I’ve so enjoyed being a part of the Bakotopia family. Check out my Bakotopia profile and look for me and my blogs on Bakotopia in 2007 where great things will be happening when Bakotopia goes to print.
There were a couple recurring blog themes developed in 2005 that I kept up in 2006. My little old cat lady neighbor and her many annoying cats became killers and gave me blog material plus made me a little afraid that I might be attacked. My trainer ‘M’ kept me swimming through my life in physical therapy and lifting dead Romanians. Physical therapy is always an adventure waiting to happen… there will be more adventures in 2007.
In an effort to make my blog more user friendly, I made these blog themes and other blog themes easier to find by creating a ‘Categories’ section in my blog side bar. There you’ll find blogs about: Annoying Cats, Bakersfield Condors Hockey, Computer Issues, Excerpts from my novel: Killing Cinderella, Hawaii Vacation: 2005, Music, Noveltown Newsletter: Matildakay Redux, Physical Therapy, Poetry, Smalltown Girls, Sleepy Hollow Lane/Johnny Depp, Theatre, Art & Film, and Yosemite Writer’s Conference: 2006. Check out these blog categories when you get a chance. Look for new blog categories in 2007 including: The Definition of Me, Life Happens, My Favorites, The Office, Blog Talk and maybe a few more…
I also started writing for the Bobblehead on Condors blog about the Bakersfield Condors in 2006. I am a Bakersfield Condors Ice Hockey girl! So it’s been great fun to write about my beloved Condors. Look for more Condors blogs and Hockey fun in 2007.
I’ve had a lot of fun tracking readership and statistics for my blog. My blog Punk Makeup Envy and yet another past life about the now defunct band Karmahitlist’s front man Seantastic and his punk makeup look continues to be my most popular and searched blog I’ve written. It seems everyone all over the world still wants to know how to do punk makeup! Those annoying cats come in second.
It’s been rewarding to watch my blog stats climb over the year. My unique visits to my blog tripled from January to December and I owe that all to YOU. You my readers! It’s easy to look at a chart and see the numbers climbing, but you all made your presence real on my blog and in the real world. You left comments on my blog and carried on conversations. You wrote me emails and you came up to me in the real world and introduced yourself. Some of you even became friends… I would like to thank all of you who read my blog on a regular basis. YOU make what I write worthwhile. Thanks for hanging in there with me in 2006; I hope you’ll keep coming back in 2007.
There were many blog entries that I really enjoyed writing over the past year, but my favorite blog entry of the year is: Matildakay Redux: Volume 1, Issue 3 – Noveltown Presents ‘Cinema of the Lords’ Short Film Contest. I think I enjoyed writing this blog because of the reaction it got; I actually fooled folks for a while…
The most rewarding thing about my blog is the people I connect to as a result of it. In 2006 I met some amazing women, readers, bloggers, artists, filmmakers and writers. Some of you have become my friends… You all have enriched my life so much!
Literary Writing:
A few months ago Jenraven asked me what it was like to be a ‘real’ writer. “I’ll let you know when I become one.” I told her. For me, a ‘real’ writer meant being recognized for something I’ve written other than my blog. In my mind, it also meant finishing my novel. While I haven’t finished my novel yet, I have taken some steps at becoming a ‘real’ writer…
In 2006 I was honored to have some poetry, short fiction and creative non-fiction published in the Cerro Coso Community College Literary and Art Journal: Metamorphoses.
Check out Metamorphoses online and buy your copy. Metamorphoses is currently accepting submissions for 2007. Join me and be a part of some great literature from our region. Read: Some Days its Hard to See the Sun, Valley of the Crows, and A Midnight Drive into the Mind Obscure all published in the 2006 Metamorphoses.
I also started writing newsletter blogs for Noveltown in 2006. I enjoyed stretching a little bit and finding stories to present upcoming Noveltown news in the Matildakay Redux series. I hope to continue stretching my writing wings for Noveltown in 2007. Read the Matildakay Redux Noveltown newsletters.
And last August, along with a few other local writers, I wrote a poem called The Button Factory for Noveltown’s Industrial factory-themed film/poetry collage projection art project. If you missed seeing Noveltown’s projection art project, you really missed something unique and special. It was so incredible to see my poem part of such a unique film/poetry project.
Although I haven’t finished my novel Killing Cinderella yet, in 2006 I did manage to define its shape a little bit and I was able to envision more of the story in my mind. And hopefully in 2007 I’ll finish it. Read excerpts and the synopsis of Killing Cinderella.
But the thing I did in 2006 that made me feel the most like a ‘real’ writer was attend two writer’s conferences. Heyday Books put on the Great Valley Writer’s Conference in March where I attended a poetry workshop with Tim Hernandez and learned so much about seeing, breathing, and being the poem. I met Cindy Wathen and so many other great writers that day. I was inspired! Tim Hernandez later joined Noveltown for its Stories from Dust Poetry event with his incredible style of spoken word poetry. His book Skin Tax is a journey I'll never forget.
And then in August I was the recipient of the Mary Wong Lee Scholarship and attended the Yosemite Writer’s Conference with NL. The Yosemite Writer’s Conference was three days of intense workshops, learning and networking with other writer’s from all over the country. I learned so much about writing and the world of publishing. I felt almost like a ‘real’ writer among all those writers. It was the most inspiring and rewarding literary experience I’ve had. I met literary agents, big-time published authors and even that Posh publisher Malcolm Margolin of Heyday Books. Read all about my adventures at the Yosemite Writer’s Conference.
Maybe 2007 is the year I’ll become a ‘real’ writer…
In 2006 I became a Smalltown Girl…
Actually I’ve been a Smalltown Girl all my life being born and raised in Bakersfield California; but with fellow Smalltown Girls Bambie and Chingpea and NL as producer, we created the Smalltown Girls podcast. Fashioned after the TV show The View, Kern County Smalltown Girls gave their opinion on everything from underwear to Hollywood’s Sexiest Man Alive to how HOT Johnny Depp is. We made five episodes before editing time constraints got the best of us and the show was shelved for now. You never know when Smalltown Girls might be back someday. Bambie, Chingpea and I had such a blast doing the show and we got such good response from all of you listeners out there! I’ve never laughed so much… Download and listen to all five episodes of the Smalltown Girls podcast.
In 2006 I got outside, walked around, and explored Kern County…
I love to walk. I think I love to walk because I wasn’t able to walk for two years. I don’t take walking or my legs for granted. One of my favorite cities to walk in is San Francisco. “The coldest winter I ever saw was the summer I spent in San Francisco.” Mark Twain said. In June of 2006 I spent a few days walking in the vibe that is San Francisco. And when I got home, I continued to walk. I walked the tree streets in one of Bakersfield’s oldest neighborhoods. To me, these streets are beautiful and I love living in this historic neighborhood, even when the dogs are out. On one evening I took my camera along with me and captured a little bit of my neighborhood to share with you. And then it turned cold in Bakersfield and it started getting dark by 5:30pm and my evening walks were put on hold until Spring. I can’t wait for Spring…
And then in October of 2006, NL, Jesse and I went chasing the moon across Hwy. 223 through Arvin California and towards the foothills of the mountains. It was a night of mysterious adventures through the fog and ghosts that walked with us through the Arvin Cemetery. I thought if we caught the moon I’d learn the secret to fairy tales. I didn’t unlock the moon’s secrets that night, but it was a night I’ll never forget.
I also went exploring the rural community of Lamont California and the farm that my grandparents used to live and work on when I was a child.
Most of my fondest memories of my grandpa are of days on that farm. I’ve really missed my grandparents since they passed away a few years ago and so I drove out to Lamont one day to the farm my grandparents used to live on and I sat in the dirt in a table grape vineyard and picked up a handful of soil that was my grandpa’s labor. I plucked cotton from a field that was ready to be harvested and held its soft fiber in my hand, just like my grandpa had done. I saw haystacks next to the field just like they were when I was a child and used to climb on them. A farm worker wanted to know if I was lost… I wasn’t lost, I was remembering. I took some of my favorite photos that day...
My love for music and the Bakersfield music scene didn’t subside in 2006, but it expanded to theatre, film and art…
Some of my favorite local bands from 2005 are no longer together. While I miss their music and performances I realize it’s just something that happens in a music scene. Bands are always changing, evolving, breaking up and starting anew, but they are always making music. Four of my favorite local bands: the Filthies, the Dalloways, FattKatt and the VonZippers and Mento Buru, are still going strong and three of them have new cd’s coming out in 2007 and the Filthies are touring Ireland! Expect great things from these bands in 2007! High school pop punk boys Dirty Spanglish really fine tuned their catchy sound in 2006 and have become a favorite of mine as well. Dirty Spanglish is a band to watch in 2007, they’re only going to get better. Read all my music blogs.
In case you didn’t know it, Bakersfield has some talented theatre, filmmakers and artists. I went to some great plays in 2006, Amadeus and Picnic being among my favorites. I so enjoy sitting in the audience of a play and being captivated by the story and acting on the stage. It is such a unique experience. And its even more unique to gain a friend from a blog I wrote about a play. But that’s just one of the many things I love about writing my blog.
The Bakersfield Independent Film Festival showcases independent films and shorts by filmmakers with local ties. In 2006, Hectic Films made their presence known in Bakersfield. Those Hectic Films boys are so very talented and funny and prone to films of the slasher genre, but I love their work anyway. Anyone that will make a cute fluffy bunny short film just for me is the best in my book!
And let’s not forget the local artists. I went to some great art shows in 2006. I bought art! I need more wall space. My favorite art show was by far the Burn the Witch art show featuring some very talented local women artists. Not only was the art good, but the energy in that gallery was electric and empowering and an expression of ‘female’ that I don’t know how to describe, but I felt it like goose bumps on my skin. But it wasn’t just the art or the women of Burn the Witch, it was how those women reached out and embraced me after I wrote a blog about their show. It was another unique experience of gaining a friend from a blog.
I can only hope for more great music, theatre, film and art in 2007. Read all my theatre, art and film blogs.
Looking back, 2006 was full of physical and emotional challenges and a few miracles…
2006 was the year I was plagued by car accidents. In February I was rear ended by a Sonnet and got whiplash. And then in March a mere 30 days later a woman hit my car in the Walmart parking lot. While I struggled with the pain of whiplash every day and in physical therapy where I felt like a bobblehead, my fight with Farmer’s insurance began. I battled with Farmer’s the entire year. My whiplash bodily injury claim is still not settled! I believe the labyrinth of red tape involved in fighting an insurance company over a bodily injury claim is equivalent to walking through hell. At times I didn’t know which was worse, the pain of whiplash or the pain in the neck the insurance company claim adjustors were. My doctor said I could suffer residual whiplash pain for up to a year, I think the insurance claim might outlast the whiplash.
I’ve struggled with my knees a little bit more this year. I think my right knee might be wearing out. Physical therapy has been a challenge… but I just keep swimming. Read all my physical therapy blogs.
In 2006 I quit fighting my ex husband in court and just let it go, said goodbye to my divorce settlement. I turned 38 in the Happiest Place on Earth and the anxiety wasn’t as bad as I anticipated. And according to some… I’m aging well. Buck Owens passed away and Johnny Depp became the king of the box office. Sleepy Hollow Lane, the Bakersfield street I named after Johnny Depp, got put on the map! Darren Hayes came out of the closet causing my world to go haywire and money began to grow on trees. Management Consultants invaded my office and I peed to a flashlight at work. I was proposed to in a parking lot and called Goth! I was mistaken for a singer from L.A. and watched a lot of Six Feet Under. Ghosts visited me on Halloween. I dreamed of cooler climates and heels. My memory slid a bit and I had a premonition. And my heart knew there were days when dreams come true as long as you’re living in Technicolor and have a write mind.
2006 was a roller coaster ride of emotional highs and lows but I survived the ride…
I don’t know what’s in store for 2007 but stay tuned as Matildakay.com goes back to the future.
A great big thanks to: Chingpea, LilIrish, Mother of the Bride, New Leaves in March, Julie Jordan Scott, and Jenraven all strong women who have inspired me with their stories, their bravery, their writing and their art. Thanks for your friendship. Jesse of Mexican on a Diet and Valley Scribe who is an inspiration and pushes me to write. Thanks for your friendship. Matt Munoz and Bakotopia for giving me a new audience. Thanks for your friendship. The Dalloways and the Filthies for giving me great music and friendship. And especially my dear friend NL of nlbelardes.com and Paperback Writer, you're my mentor and an inspiration... I write because of you! Thank you so much for your friendship and everything…
And for all my blog friends and readers… 2006 would not have been the same without you, thanks so much! I hope you’ll stick around in 2007.
It was around October last year when I slowed down long enough to look around and wonder how it had become October already. Where had 2006 gone? And then suddenly it was Christmas… and the year had flown by in the blink of Hello Kitty's eye. Looking back, 2006 for me was about opening up creatively, writing, connecting to writers, artists and readers, good friends, exploration and physical and emotional challenges. It was a year where I found a few pieces to the puzzle of my life…
In 2006, Writing became a focus for me…
The Blog:
Having found a voice, style and an audience for my blog in 2005; 2006 began with a brand new look for One Bakersfield Woman’s Blog to Mankind. I told NL about an idea I had for a new look for my blog. I wanted a photo that reflected the title. NL worked his photographic magic and created the photo masthead for my blog; all I did was stand there and hold the world in my hands, no easy feat I’ll tell you. At any rate, my blog had a new cool look and I had a new template that I designed using html from a cheat sheet called “html for dorks” that I was given when I first started blogging. Melissa Ecker of New Leaves in March also let me bug her with questions about dotted lines and little aesthetic things. And while I’ve continued to tweak my template throughout the year, and even though it still has a glitch in it that drives me nuts… with NL’s and Melissa’s help I redesigned a place that I love to write in.
And so I wrote in my blog for you, you who allow me to share pieces of my life with you, and for me…
Along with a new blog look, inspired by NL’s and Melissa Ecker’s photographs, in 2006 I bought a digital camera and added photos to my blogs. At photography, I’m an amateur. I’m still learning how to use all the features on my camera. Most of my photos turn out blurry, but I have gotten lucky every now and then. And it’s those lucky photos that have really added something to my blog. Here are a couple of my favorite photos that I’ve taken for my blog.
I also discovered youtube.com and google videos in 2006 and even figured out how to embed videos into a blog. Don’t you just love to youtube!
My blog was regularly featured on Bakotopia in 2006 and introduced to a new broader audience. I’ve so enjoyed being a part of the Bakotopia family. Check out my Bakotopia profile and look for me and my blogs on Bakotopia in 2007 where great things will be happening when Bakotopia goes to print.
There were a couple recurring blog themes developed in 2005 that I kept up in 2006. My little old cat lady neighbor and her many annoying cats became killers and gave me blog material plus made me a little afraid that I might be attacked. My trainer ‘M’ kept me swimming through my life in physical therapy and lifting dead Romanians. Physical therapy is always an adventure waiting to happen… there will be more adventures in 2007.
In an effort to make my blog more user friendly, I made these blog themes and other blog themes easier to find by creating a ‘Categories’ section in my blog side bar. There you’ll find blogs about: Annoying Cats, Bakersfield Condors Hockey, Computer Issues, Excerpts from my novel: Killing Cinderella, Hawaii Vacation: 2005, Music, Noveltown Newsletter: Matildakay Redux, Physical Therapy, Poetry, Smalltown Girls, Sleepy Hollow Lane/Johnny Depp, Theatre, Art & Film, and Yosemite Writer’s Conference: 2006. Check out these blog categories when you get a chance. Look for new blog categories in 2007 including: The Definition of Me, Life Happens, My Favorites, The Office, Blog Talk and maybe a few more…
I also started writing for the Bobblehead on Condors blog about the Bakersfield Condors in 2006. I am a Bakersfield Condors Ice Hockey girl! So it’s been great fun to write about my beloved Condors. Look for more Condors blogs and Hockey fun in 2007.
I’ve had a lot of fun tracking readership and statistics for my blog. My blog Punk Makeup Envy and yet another past life about the now defunct band Karmahitlist’s front man Seantastic and his punk makeup look continues to be my most popular and searched blog I’ve written. It seems everyone all over the world still wants to know how to do punk makeup! Those annoying cats come in second.
It’s been rewarding to watch my blog stats climb over the year. My unique visits to my blog tripled from January to December and I owe that all to YOU. You my readers! It’s easy to look at a chart and see the numbers climbing, but you all made your presence real on my blog and in the real world. You left comments on my blog and carried on conversations. You wrote me emails and you came up to me in the real world and introduced yourself. Some of you even became friends… I would like to thank all of you who read my blog on a regular basis. YOU make what I write worthwhile. Thanks for hanging in there with me in 2006; I hope you’ll keep coming back in 2007.
There were many blog entries that I really enjoyed writing over the past year, but my favorite blog entry of the year is: Matildakay Redux: Volume 1, Issue 3 – Noveltown Presents ‘Cinema of the Lords’ Short Film Contest. I think I enjoyed writing this blog because of the reaction it got; I actually fooled folks for a while…
The most rewarding thing about my blog is the people I connect to as a result of it. In 2006 I met some amazing women, readers, bloggers, artists, filmmakers and writers. Some of you have become my friends… You all have enriched my life so much!
Literary Writing:
A few months ago Jenraven asked me what it was like to be a ‘real’ writer. “I’ll let you know when I become one.” I told her. For me, a ‘real’ writer meant being recognized for something I’ve written other than my blog. In my mind, it also meant finishing my novel. While I haven’t finished my novel yet, I have taken some steps at becoming a ‘real’ writer…
In 2006 I was honored to have some poetry, short fiction and creative non-fiction published in the Cerro Coso Community College Literary and Art Journal: Metamorphoses.
Check out Metamorphoses online and buy your copy. Metamorphoses is currently accepting submissions for 2007. Join me and be a part of some great literature from our region. Read: Some Days its Hard to See the Sun, Valley of the Crows, and A Midnight Drive into the Mind Obscure all published in the 2006 Metamorphoses.
I also started writing newsletter blogs for Noveltown in 2006. I enjoyed stretching a little bit and finding stories to present upcoming Noveltown news in the Matildakay Redux series. I hope to continue stretching my writing wings for Noveltown in 2007. Read the Matildakay Redux Noveltown newsletters.
And last August, along with a few other local writers, I wrote a poem called The Button Factory for Noveltown’s Industrial factory-themed film/poetry collage projection art project. If you missed seeing Noveltown’s projection art project, you really missed something unique and special. It was so incredible to see my poem part of such a unique film/poetry project.
Although I haven’t finished my novel Killing Cinderella yet, in 2006 I did manage to define its shape a little bit and I was able to envision more of the story in my mind. And hopefully in 2007 I’ll finish it. Read excerpts and the synopsis of Killing Cinderella.
But the thing I did in 2006 that made me feel the most like a ‘real’ writer was attend two writer’s conferences. Heyday Books put on the Great Valley Writer’s Conference in March where I attended a poetry workshop with Tim Hernandez and learned so much about seeing, breathing, and being the poem. I met Cindy Wathen and so many other great writers that day. I was inspired! Tim Hernandez later joined Noveltown for its Stories from Dust Poetry event with his incredible style of spoken word poetry. His book Skin Tax is a journey I'll never forget.
And then in August I was the recipient of the Mary Wong Lee Scholarship and attended the Yosemite Writer’s Conference with NL. The Yosemite Writer’s Conference was three days of intense workshops, learning and networking with other writer’s from all over the country. I learned so much about writing and the world of publishing. I felt almost like a ‘real’ writer among all those writers. It was the most inspiring and rewarding literary experience I’ve had. I met literary agents, big-time published authors and even that Posh publisher Malcolm Margolin of Heyday Books. Read all about my adventures at the Yosemite Writer’s Conference.
Maybe 2007 is the year I’ll become a ‘real’ writer…
In 2006 I became a Smalltown Girl…
Actually I’ve been a Smalltown Girl all my life being born and raised in Bakersfield California; but with fellow Smalltown Girls Bambie and Chingpea and NL as producer, we created the Smalltown Girls podcast. Fashioned after the TV show The View, Kern County Smalltown Girls gave their opinion on everything from underwear to Hollywood’s Sexiest Man Alive to how HOT Johnny Depp is. We made five episodes before editing time constraints got the best of us and the show was shelved for now. You never know when Smalltown Girls might be back someday. Bambie, Chingpea and I had such a blast doing the show and we got such good response from all of you listeners out there! I’ve never laughed so much… Download and listen to all five episodes of the Smalltown Girls podcast.
In 2006 I got outside, walked around, and explored Kern County…
I love to walk. I think I love to walk because I wasn’t able to walk for two years. I don’t take walking or my legs for granted. One of my favorite cities to walk in is San Francisco. “The coldest winter I ever saw was the summer I spent in San Francisco.” Mark Twain said. In June of 2006 I spent a few days walking in the vibe that is San Francisco. And when I got home, I continued to walk. I walked the tree streets in one of Bakersfield’s oldest neighborhoods. To me, these streets are beautiful and I love living in this historic neighborhood, even when the dogs are out. On one evening I took my camera along with me and captured a little bit of my neighborhood to share with you. And then it turned cold in Bakersfield and it started getting dark by 5:30pm and my evening walks were put on hold until Spring. I can’t wait for Spring…
And then in October of 2006, NL, Jesse and I went chasing the moon across Hwy. 223 through Arvin California and towards the foothills of the mountains. It was a night of mysterious adventures through the fog and ghosts that walked with us through the Arvin Cemetery. I thought if we caught the moon I’d learn the secret to fairy tales. I didn’t unlock the moon’s secrets that night, but it was a night I’ll never forget.
I also went exploring the rural community of Lamont California and the farm that my grandparents used to live and work on when I was a child.
Most of my fondest memories of my grandpa are of days on that farm. I’ve really missed my grandparents since they passed away a few years ago and so I drove out to Lamont one day to the farm my grandparents used to live on and I sat in the dirt in a table grape vineyard and picked up a handful of soil that was my grandpa’s labor. I plucked cotton from a field that was ready to be harvested and held its soft fiber in my hand, just like my grandpa had done. I saw haystacks next to the field just like they were when I was a child and used to climb on them. A farm worker wanted to know if I was lost… I wasn’t lost, I was remembering. I took some of my favorite photos that day...
My love for music and the Bakersfield music scene didn’t subside in 2006, but it expanded to theatre, film and art…
Some of my favorite local bands from 2005 are no longer together. While I miss their music and performances I realize it’s just something that happens in a music scene. Bands are always changing, evolving, breaking up and starting anew, but they are always making music. Four of my favorite local bands: the Filthies, the Dalloways, FattKatt and the VonZippers and Mento Buru, are still going strong and three of them have new cd’s coming out in 2007 and the Filthies are touring Ireland! Expect great things from these bands in 2007! High school pop punk boys Dirty Spanglish really fine tuned their catchy sound in 2006 and have become a favorite of mine as well. Dirty Spanglish is a band to watch in 2007, they’re only going to get better. Read all my music blogs.
In case you didn’t know it, Bakersfield has some talented theatre, filmmakers and artists. I went to some great plays in 2006, Amadeus and Picnic being among my favorites. I so enjoy sitting in the audience of a play and being captivated by the story and acting on the stage. It is such a unique experience. And its even more unique to gain a friend from a blog I wrote about a play. But that’s just one of the many things I love about writing my blog.
The Bakersfield Independent Film Festival showcases independent films and shorts by filmmakers with local ties. In 2006, Hectic Films made their presence known in Bakersfield. Those Hectic Films boys are so very talented and funny and prone to films of the slasher genre, but I love their work anyway. Anyone that will make a cute fluffy bunny short film just for me is the best in my book!
And let’s not forget the local artists. I went to some great art shows in 2006. I bought art! I need more wall space. My favorite art show was by far the Burn the Witch art show featuring some very talented local women artists. Not only was the art good, but the energy in that gallery was electric and empowering and an expression of ‘female’ that I don’t know how to describe, but I felt it like goose bumps on my skin. But it wasn’t just the art or the women of Burn the Witch, it was how those women reached out and embraced me after I wrote a blog about their show. It was another unique experience of gaining a friend from a blog.
I can only hope for more great music, theatre, film and art in 2007. Read all my theatre, art and film blogs.
Looking back, 2006 was full of physical and emotional challenges and a few miracles…
2006 was the year I was plagued by car accidents. In February I was rear ended by a Sonnet and got whiplash. And then in March a mere 30 days later a woman hit my car in the Walmart parking lot. While I struggled with the pain of whiplash every day and in physical therapy where I felt like a bobblehead, my fight with Farmer’s insurance began. I battled with Farmer’s the entire year. My whiplash bodily injury claim is still not settled! I believe the labyrinth of red tape involved in fighting an insurance company over a bodily injury claim is equivalent to walking through hell. At times I didn’t know which was worse, the pain of whiplash or the pain in the neck the insurance company claim adjustors were. My doctor said I could suffer residual whiplash pain for up to a year, I think the insurance claim might outlast the whiplash.
I’ve struggled with my knees a little bit more this year. I think my right knee might be wearing out. Physical therapy has been a challenge… but I just keep swimming. Read all my physical therapy blogs.
In 2006 I quit fighting my ex husband in court and just let it go, said goodbye to my divorce settlement. I turned 38 in the Happiest Place on Earth and the anxiety wasn’t as bad as I anticipated. And according to some… I’m aging well. Buck Owens passed away and Johnny Depp became the king of the box office. Sleepy Hollow Lane, the Bakersfield street I named after Johnny Depp, got put on the map! Darren Hayes came out of the closet causing my world to go haywire and money began to grow on trees. Management Consultants invaded my office and I peed to a flashlight at work. I was proposed to in a parking lot and called Goth! I was mistaken for a singer from L.A. and watched a lot of Six Feet Under. Ghosts visited me on Halloween. I dreamed of cooler climates and heels. My memory slid a bit and I had a premonition. And my heart knew there were days when dreams come true as long as you’re living in Technicolor and have a write mind.
2006 was a roller coaster ride of emotional highs and lows but I survived the ride…
I don’t know what’s in store for 2007 but stay tuned as Matildakay.com goes back to the future.
A great big thanks to: Chingpea, LilIrish, Mother of the Bride, New Leaves in March, Julie Jordan Scott, and Jenraven all strong women who have inspired me with their stories, their bravery, their writing and their art. Thanks for your friendship. Jesse of Mexican on a Diet and Valley Scribe who is an inspiration and pushes me to write. Thanks for your friendship. Matt Munoz and Bakotopia for giving me a new audience. Thanks for your friendship. The Dalloways and the Filthies for giving me great music and friendship. And especially my dear friend NL of nlbelardes.com and Paperback Writer, you're my mentor and an inspiration... I write because of you! Thank you so much for your friendship and everything…
And for all my blog friends and readers… 2006 would not have been the same without you, thanks so much! I hope you’ll stick around in 2007.
My favorite photo in this blog was the one with the palm trees.
I can't even explain the feeling it gave me ... a million memories of all those long trips in the car, back and forth across this valley, over the years ... they just all crowded into my head at once. It was like random chunks of my life had all flashed before my eyes, complete with the emotions and thoughts unique to each separate moment ... for a moment, I forgot to breathe.
Now THAT is a picture worth a thousand words! Well done.
wow! reading this entry made it seem like 2006 just came and went in a blink of an eye... where did all the time go? LOL.
i look forward to what this year will bring us. much love to you and look forward to all the things you'll share via your blog. :)
miles of smiles,
chingpea
My favorite picture is the one of the vineyards. That was also one of my favorite blog entries. It took me back to my childhood, good times!
I've had a lot of fun reading your blog this past year and I look forward to a new year. And hopefully even a BOOK from you to add to my library!
I'm honored to be considered an inspiration. I'll let you in on a little secret to digital photography - the law of averages means if you shoot enough, you'll get some good photos. That and when in doubt, frame the shot off-center.
I've always enjoyed the way you take us readers along for your life's journeys and that you really put yourself out there. I look forward to seeing how 2007 turns out.