Our realtor told us something really quite shocking. Five or six years ago, before the economy crashed, when Bakersfield was booming and new housing developments were sprouting up faster than weeds, the city commissioned a report and determined that fully 20% of the workforce actually worked in LA. People by the thousands had evidently decided that the two hour, hundred plus mile, one way commute was worth the price of a slice of the American dream. A house in LA that would cost half a million dollars could be had here for a little over $100k. For the price of rent on a two bedroom apartment in West LA, you could own a McMansion in Bako. So Bako boomed.
Of course, to justify the drive and not go bat shit insane, you needed to perfect the art of self delusion. You needed to tell yourself, and believe with all your heart, that Bakersfield wasn't really a desolate, backwards outpost in the middle of nowhere. In reality, it was nothing more than a far flung suburb of LA. You know, just like Santa Clarita. But with a big ass mountain range in between.
And to be honest, I did it too. When it became clear over a year ago that we may be stuck here for awhile, for my own peace of mind and fragile mental health, I convinced myself that we weren't really THAT far away. Sure it takes an hour just to get to the LA County line but on a weekend in LA, it could take that long just to get to the beach. Denial: Not Just A River In Egypt. And it was in that spirit that I accepted my teaching position. Making a 200 mile round trip commute once a week wouldn't be a big deal I kept telling myself even though in the back of my mind I was unsure just how long I could pull off that little charade.
But you know what? It really hasn't been an issue. I've actually enjoyed the drive, if for no other reason it's the only break I get off the computer. Since about September I've been flooded with work and have been working seven days a week. For a few hours each week, I was free from the annoying client emails and texts and I was able to give my eyes some much need rest. And the weather has held, making the drive more serene and scenic. I actually liked it.
Until yesterday.
I don't know why, but yesterday reality set in. Maybe it was the grueling work schedule over the weekend and the lack of sleep and loneliness, but on my drive in yesterday I found myself falling asleep somewhere near Burbank. What the fuck was I thinking when I took this job? This is beyond stupid.
All through class I just found myself dreading the drive back and when the time finally came I just steeled myself for the next two hours, praying to God I wouldn't nod off and launch myself off the road and into Pyramid Lake. The pitch black drive through the Grapevine was nerve wracking and when I finally descended in the good ole' SJV, I found myself saying out loud "We really do live in the middle of fucking nowhere."
And as if on cue, then came the tumbleweeds.
Yesterday the winds had kicked up in advance of an approaching storm, I had driven through dust storms on my way out of town and now driving back in I was being pummeled by tumbleweeds. Hundred of them. Flashing across the highway and into the side of the car, piling up along the median and forming clumps that I had no choice but to blast through. Lord only knows what it did to the paint on my car. I've been to afraid to check this morning.
When I finally arrived back in Bako it felt like I was arriving in Dodge City, circa 1880.
I am just counting the days til we return to civilization. I'm just not cut out for frontier living.
