2004.01.11

So one reason I was in Bakersfield this weekend was to celebrate my grandma's 89th birthday. For this "special" occasion, my dad's side of the family took her out to lunch at a quaint little Mexican place. And for this occasion, I chose to wear my "Bakersfield Football" shirt, which probably confused some of my relatives who are actually Bakersfield natives. First of all, I sure as hell am not from Bakersfield; second: I'm way too scrawny to have ever played football.

Here's a shot with my grandma
front (sitting): my sister & my grandma
back (standing): me, my mom, & my dad

So the real amusing thing about the "Bakersfield Football" shirt is that my sister found it for me...at Old Navy. Two of my cousins (both U$C alums who now teach at Bakersfield High School) actually thought it was a shirt from their high school's football team. At least one of my aunts had a real good laugh over it (because they knew that it couldn't've been my dad's, and it couldn't've been mine either), and one even thought it would be a good gift for her granddaughter...who lives in Oklahoma.

But in the end, I remember most these few things:

1. Drinking (ok, it was more like inhaling, since I was that hungry) a margarita on an empty stomach with the "chips and salsa" part of a meal at a Mexican restaurant is a bad idea. Granted, I wasn't quite "floating" like I was New Year's Eve after Dave made me the strongest cosmopolitan that I had ever drinken, but I was a tad disoriented until I got enough chips and salsa in my system.
2. No matter how old I may get: my cousins are always older. Ha!
3. I managed to reach common ground with USC fans regarding Cal's presence in the 2005 Rose Bowl...yeah, they claim that Cal will be in the Rose Bowl, since USC will be in the Orange Bowl playing for the national championship. (Yeah right)
4. No matter how fat and out-of-shape I am, I'm still able to lift a seven-year-old (specifically: my cousin Kevin's daughter Jocelyn) in the air with one hand, without disturbing the food I'm holding in the other. =P