Gringos in Baja
Adventurers, seekers, do-gooders, speculators, linguists
Various Authors 3:12 p.m., June 24
Otay Mesa
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Otay Mesa Photos
Lower Otay Lake and the surrounding ...
Sweet Water water pipe bridge.
Monument by Luis Jimenez at Otay ...
Otay: Burrowing Owl
Otay Mesa Events
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Otay Mesa News & Stories
47,340 oxycodone tablets seized at border
American from TJ caught with opiates worth $1.42 million
Adriana Morfin-Paniagua, an American citizen living in Tijuana, was arrested yesterday (March 8) and charged with importing 47,340 tablets of oxycodone, an opioid, worth at least $1.42 million. They have an illegal street value of ...
Bass fishing not the same
Try your tricks at Lower Otay Reservoir this Saturday
Since the advent of the plastic sit-on-top kayak and the internet, anglers have posted shots of their catches, forgetting that the background might hold secrets. Plus, there’s the explosion of information on rigging, technique, and ...
Immigrant prison cash flows to SD politicos
Atkins, Gonzalez, Fletcher got big bucks from detention firm
San Diego politicos and business types have been unsympathetic to president Donald Trump, but one major border enterprise that has been a big campaign provider to legislators of both parties here could be in line ...
Not fake news: Trump sued for $2 trillion
Prison inmate files handwritten complaint...you can stop reading this story now
Less than two weeks after president-elect Donald Trump agreed to pay $25 million to settle two lawsuits filed in San Diego over his for-profit university, the New York City mogul has been slapped with another ...
Muslim woman sues prison guards for discrimination
Husband an inmate at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility
A Muslim woman is suing guards at San Diego's Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for discriminating against her and her inmate husband over their religious beliefs. The ...
Comments
Jonathan209 May 9, 2013 @ 8:05 p.m.
I love Otay mesa. It's close to the mother land. Short drive to the heart of SD and beaches around it. I love how quiet and clean it is. The views I have; untouched breathtaking views that drove me to hike them. So many trails AND GOOD PEOPLE TO MEET OUT HERE. Honestly I love it here and wouldn't move because there is just enough people no crowding or sounds of the highways. You want some serenity peace of mind or just a plain sanctuary from everything Otay mesa has it for you. Explore it and you can find the peace you search for away from the city but not too far. So that being said i get the best of three worlds the city the desert and Mexico right next door.
FatCatSegat May 29, 2013 @ 11:18 a.m.
Between Otay Mesa and Chula Vista is what we locals used to call the "Riverbottom". Back in '76, us kids used to ride our bikes and motorcycles on the haphazardous trails, and swim in the ponds that weren't too polluted with cars and other harmfull debris. Now, thanks to a 9 million dollar renovation it is called the Otay River Valley Regional Park. Quite a moniker, right? Don't let that fool you. Elevated trails that never muddy up due to an engenious drainage system installed, three restrooms,(one permanent, two port a potties), parking and the gift of teeming wildlife make the park enjoyable for anyone who chooses to head down there. As you walk the trails that extend to the west by the I-5, and to the east by the 805, the keen observer can see scat from various animals and the occasional rabbit, or coyote. There are three ponds that various types of water fowl inhabit such as mudhens, and mallard ducks. If you look up, prepare for raptors in the sky. Red tailed hawks, and peregrin falcons will appear suddenly and if you're lucky you can observe them hunting and yes, even eating their prey right in front of you. In late summer when the oxygen levels go down in the adjoining ponds, the smaller fish surface for oxygen only to be scooped up by the waiting Least Terns in the sky above them. These amazing hunters momentarily hover above the water only to abruptly missile their bodies into the murky water and just as quickly, emerge with two, or three silvery glistening fish in their beaks. What a show! So get your butts down here and bring a bike, a walking stick and be prepared to be amazed. When you see the Willet Grove monument, understand that Mr. Willet has worked tirelessly to make sure this beautiful resource stays for generations to come. Thanks Mr. Willet
FatCatSegat June 20, 2013 @ 12:48 p.m.
Guess its just you and me Jonathan. D'ya get the feeling we're the only ones here? Lets talk, you and me, Mr209. Nobody cares about us poor souls south of the Highway 54 corridor. Sure, them Eastlake peoples, they got it good out there, sort of. They may have great restaurants, shopping, parks, beautiful homes, hey, hey! We've got ah, um oh yeah, we have a Walmart and a great overpriced theatre. Have you seen our trolley stop at Iris? Man it's so, ah, y'know,...old. Okay, technically that's in Nestor. Okay, okay, how 'bout the Hawaiian BBq place around Palm and Beyer. We got that. Man, we used to have a Pizza Hut, (by the Alpha Beta, now Rite-Aid or whatever) we also used to have a Taco Bell now a Tacos el Gordo and that ya me callo gordo. I'm just realizing that the Otay Mesa I grew up in has dissapeared. Don't get me wrong, I love living here. Even back in the seventies we would have to leave the Otay Mesa area to really enjoy ourselves. Mostly it was Imperial Beach or Chula Vista during our summers. North side of the pier or Rollerskateland. I do all my activities away from here but, I do reside here and love the peace and quiet. Sure, occasionally we hear the SDPD airship assisting ground units in the area or sometimes even on our street! No neighborhood watch needed, we all pay attention. We did recently build a YMCA nearby and we couldn't ask for better neighbors, even the ones we don't talk to or know. Remember the blackout? At first, we were all wandering aimlessly in our cul-de sac, kind of in a daze not really comprehending the enormity of it all. Everything was down. Slowly but surely conversations were started with neighbors we only curtly wave to in the morning, as we rush into our cars. We were actually behaving the way neighbors used to when I was just a kid on Narwhal st. Before I knew it someone turned on his car stereo and in no time the block party was underway. So guess what, we're not really alone, (yes we are) so to heck with them. We'll just keep talking to ourselves. I often do, ask anyone who doesn't listen to a word I say. laters
FatCatSegat July 1, 2013 @ 1:52 p.m.
Okay, now I'm just being a hard head. Ma que cosa! Questi regatzo tene la testa dura. 'Dats a little Italian to spice up the beginning of another fruitless and audience free post. The proverbial tree has fallen in the Otay Mesa forest and I guess there's no one there to hear it. I mean the silence of course. I can see it now. "After countless blog postings spread throughout 15 years, a frustrated Otay Mesa man was found dead today the victim of a simian murder plot. According to sources, the afforementioned man had a menagerie of Wild Baboons ingeniously smuggled into the country through countless airports in the U.S. Various recent videos released by Homeland Security show the man walking through airport terminals with what was recently determined to be completely hairless,(obviously shaved) Baboons which resembled tiny old men in three piece and smartly tailored suits. He can be seen walking hand in hand with the baboons to awaiting taxis. Police won't confirm but this reporter's sources indicate that baboons don't appreciate being shaved hairless, and have been known to prefer t-shirts shorts and flip flops. In an apparent plot to escape the mans domicile, attempts were made by the baboons to shave the man and something went wrong. The simple fact that baboons do have thumbs was superseded by the fact that they aren't known for their common sense or shaving abilities. Close relatives to the deceased mentioned that the man was frustrated that nobody paid attention to his blog entries and that he was working on a plan to leave the planet via the USPS. Apparently postage was a problem. Despondent and driven to wearing nothing but old and soiled Green Lantern underoos and white Nike Airs the man could often be found wandering throughout Otay Mesa asking strangers, "Did you read my post today?" The San Diego Zoo was reached for comment but the Baboons still refuse to give formal statements due to their lack of language skills. Conjugating verbs proved too much for the baboons which at present are in the middle of an apparent hunger strike. They hate bananas opting for and often requesting "Burgers." Reports are dicey but, the man was working on an unofficial Kim and Kanye biography." Think that'll do the job? I can't see the forest for the trees.
FatCatSegat July 8, 2013 @ 8:53 a.m.
Heroes. What is it about the heroes in our lives? They never asked to be put on the pedestal we've placed them on. I know this. Yet when they don't live up to our expectations, we're the ones who hurt. Case in point. When I was in the culinary academy at St Vincent's, we had the priviledge of netting an amazing chef with a very impressive pedigree and experience. Three yrs. at the Cordon Bleu in London,(before the name was homogenized and spread throughout the world) and another three years in Portland. His experience ran the gamut from film catering to private chef for a very famous couple, she an american actress, and he a spanish actor and also as an executive chef earning $250,000.00 a year. Needless to say, I looked up to the man and admired him. But of course, the cracks began to show themselves almost immediately. Some mornings he would stay in his office, head on the desk, suffering from the night before. It was a prerequisite in his eyes to be a total drunk and drug abuser in order to be a great chef. In Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain the author glorifies the substance abuse alot! Every morning exerpts from the book was read to us by him and all I could do was to be mystified. After some time, the organization had no other choice but to let him go. I still admire and somewhat idolize the man. Yet I also understand that he's only a man. Just like me he's made mistakes. Hopefully he'll learn and pick himself up. Hopefully.
FatCatSegat July 20, 2013 @ 10:46 a.m.
So I start out at the Iris trolley stop yesterday going south bound. I take it to San Ysidro because when the train empties out, I can pick a seat I want. Sure, it sounds a little weird but as of lately I've become more aware of my idiosyncracies. In fact last night as my friends and I were drinking and talking I suddenly realised that the pretzels I was munching on had been neatly separated in twos and neatly set in a row for my ease of consumption. I know, OCD. Anyways! So I'm now headed north on the trolley, in a good seat in the shady section and of course I as usual doze off. I snore like a bear in hibernation in bed and anywhere else. I sure hope I don't scare too many people on a daily basis. Out of a light grey haze my eyes struggle to open as deep in the foggy distance I hear, "The next stop, 12th and Imperial Transfer station deboard here for trolleys to the convention center and the orange line. This train continues............." As my eyes focused the first thing I saw was the prettiest little pointy eared pixie sitting across from me as she and her super-hero costumed companion rose to get off the trolley Convention Center bound, thats when I realised that a good fifty percent of the people were in some kind of a costume. I know I had been dozing. Just think if I had been Dosing? Whooo! Summer 1981, El Cortez Convention Center The first Comic-con I went to. I was sold from that moment on. Happy Comic-con muddafugs!
FatCatSegat Aug. 8, 2013 @ 11:13 a.m.
God almighty, who is this fat cat that continues to write here even though nobody gives a rat's ass if he does or not? Well, I must go on. I've got a few things to get off my chest and being that at home, no one cares to listen to a word I say, my friends cut me off at mid-sentence and even my favorite dog won't come to me any more, at least I can make believe some one is paying attention to me. I have a 16 yr old daughter that I've been trying for years to reach. Her mother has more influence on her because she gets what she wants from her. So much in fact that lately most of what she says when she's mad is her mother speaking. She parrots her mother's very words without understanding what she' saying and that has me very worried. Her mother is an emotional flatliner. Don't know what happened to her when she was about ten years old but that is where her maturity level has remained. She is so transparent in her attempts to manipulate people by lying or simply inventing situations and things to fit her needs. Communication is usually blocked by her lack of empathy, or simply because she lacks the tools, self worth, and the desire to move ahead. For instance, she's obssesed with mexican novelas and will go a little nuts if she misses an episode. You could miss an entire month of those programs and be right back on board after seeing the first half hour of them. Heres the thing, Every single one of those moronic programs are identical. The only thing that changes are the characters and places. Otherwise its the same plot line over and over and over and over and over and over.......... That's my daughter's mother in a nutshell. And thats who she emulates. Most of the time I watch Discovery, TLC, PBS, you know, programs with substance and the oppotunity to learn something. When I try to show her something, her lack of maturity and communication skills can only produce the mocking sounds of a ten year old child. AND I'M SICK OF IT! So now my daughter seems to think that she can speak to me and the other members of our household disrespectfully much like her mother does. I've trid to correct the behavior by taking thing from her and of course her mother gives them right back. So, this time I finally got her where it hurts. She has a boyfriend who happens to be a great kid with a good head on his shoulders and who respects his elders. Yes, I hit her hard, She is not to see him for an entire week, and I told her and him this. "Yes Sir", was his reply and he is sticking to it. However, now I'm being punished with the silent treatment and I've told her that until we speak on the subject and until she starts respecting the family, no boy friend. So now she thinks shes going to smoke me out. Not a chance! From the looks of things, this is going to last longer than a week. I just hope I don't push too hard. Some dumb kids run away, sneak out at night, you know dear non-existent reader. So wish me luck and pray that I dont lose it as I feel I'm about to.
FatCatSegat Aug. 15, 2013 @ 2:03 p.m.
I am reduced to making the ocasional entry at the San Diego Library's Otay Mesa branch. Wifey seems to think that alll I do is leave "your stupid comments on the Reader that no one gives a f#! about,...and when are you gonna find a job you worthless,......" blah, blah, blah de freakin' blah. Truth is I had a decent routine going here. Start scouring craigslist at 8:00 am, submit resumes and answer ads and await answers. Its easy! When they call. But when they see in the age section that I'm 50 yrs old, who wants an old bastard like me when you can get someone younger for much less? Thats what I figure but, I keep on keepin' on. So as I was saying, the wife took the laptop and isn't "allowing " me to use it out of spite. So now I must wait 'till 12:30pm Mon-Wed, but Thursday and Friday they open at 9:30. I tried reason with her but she won't budge, just like our daughter. So now you can imagine the inconvenience, right? I lose 4 hours of productive time just because she must fulfill her errant desire to be in control. Why do we both bring out the worst in each other? Has any one seen a pair of ruby slippers? I don't want to be in Kansas any more.
FatCatSegat Sept. 3, 2013 @ 8:42 p.m.
I occasionally take a look at the other Holler entries and I'm dismayed that I'm the only person in Otay Mesa that posts stuff. Then I realised why when I noticed so many of my neighbors that I barely know. Now it isn't for a lack of trying mind you. I wave at them when they enter our cul de sac and they look at me as if I reached right into their vehicles and goosed them. These are the people that push the remote button on their visors a quarter mile away quickly opening their garage doors and Zoom! Into their garages they zip as the door begins to close before they even exit their car. I remember the first time I went to the deep south as a 24 yr old. Alabama it was. I was walking on the side of one of those rural two laners that are pretty commonplace. Accompanying me was a friend of mine when I noticed that everyone driving by would wave at us. "Do you know these people?" I asked my companion. "Naw, everyone does that here." he answered as he waved back to these wonderful strangers. What is it about people here? No civic pride, hell, no freakin' class or manners. So thats why I find myself writing this for my own personal pleasure knowing good and well no one will read this and definitely wont post a thing. So bloody sad. Of course this leads me to consider my own sanity. Am I obssesed? Am I just another loon looking for some sort of approval from strangers who could give a rat's pooter about where they live? I'm obviously writing this for someone's entertainment, right? Well, who's entertained if no one is reading? The falling tree thing again. AAAAAAAAHHHHH! Wonder what I'll write about tomorrow.
FatCatSegat May 30, 2014 @ 3:52 p.m.
Got so sick of writing my entries here that I stopped for quite a while. I guess the only validation I get is from myself. Only goes to prove a certain study right. The inter-web has us all so easily connected with the ability to comment on most anything. Yet, we find ourselves in quite a lonely state. We sit in front of our keyboards and wait for something juicy to put our two cents into. We express outrage, happiness, love and we post poignant images or touching sayings. At times we choose to argue and point out other's misconceptions which are only coming from our perspective. Whos to say who is right and who is wrong? This relatively new technology has afforded us so many new advantages but, at what cost? Let me go back a bit. When the piston motor was invented it needed fuel to combust and get those pistons moving. That created what we have now. A petroleum dependent society that created wealthy and self serving oil barons. Not to mention the pollution both in emissions but in the exploitation of petroleum caches throughout the world creating another polluting industry. Now, this computer and its bastard child the internet. Our children spend hours a day on it, when they're not on their smartphones participating in the same brain numbing activities. Our thirst for convenience and comfort has exacted a terrible price that we cannot see the forest for the trees! I yearn for a simpler yet hard working time when a man's worth was weighed in sweat, resolve and honest hard work. Not in this capitalistic monster we westerners have created that is destroying our society for the pursuit of wealth. Our elders were once revered for their wisdom, knowledge and experience. Now we put them away in homes where the illusion of a fulfilling retirement is nothing more than a death sentence with no execution date. The proverbial snow ball has gained so much speed in these last 250 years that it boggles the mind. I wish we could stop it but, it is way too late. How much more time do we have left before we finally destroy ourselves and our precious children? Get close to your families people. Talk to them, hold them, hug them, love them.
Duhbya May 31, 2014 @ 6:46 p.m.
I think you're on to something here. Your everyman style of writing is quite interesting. I was unaware of your earlier postings until today. You might consider jumping into the blogosphere, who knows where that might lead. Nothing ventured, right? Slightly off topic, I had a good friend who was a fireman and lived for a while on a hillside overlooking what you termed the "Riverbottom". We were on his 2nd floor balcony one day and a couple of dirt bikers were climbing a trail on the bluff across the canyon. I impulsively shot my "finger pistol" replete with my rendition of mock gunfire. One of the cyclists went down simultaneously. My buddy turned and said "Nice shot". I hope that wasn't you on the bike. Anyway, either keep the prose coming or start a blog. You've got the touch.
FatCatSegat June 27, 2014 @ 12:46 p.m.
Perhaps you can clue me in on how to do this blog thing? I would love to be able to do this seriously but keeping my fat tongue in cheek as well. I'm pretty computer literate but wouldn't know where to begin on opening or starting a blog. I would appreciate your help duhbya! Thanks for the compliment as well.
FatCatSegat July 31, 2014 @ 11:56 a.m.
So I left San Diego for a bit to find work in Reno. That was accomplished fairly quickly. Shouldn't have gone to stay with my jagoff brother. So at what point does one totally cut ties with toxic family members? A little over twenty years ago he found out he was adopted which understandably sent him on a tailspin that rocked us all. The next twenty years he's spent screwing us all. This is his M.O.; first he screws us and then he disappears. A few months later we'll get a probing call to see where we stand. He is after all our little brother and we always forgive him and he runs around like nothing ever happened only to screw us again at the first opportunity. The last year he's been somewhat acceptable. Four months ago he moved up to Reno to move in with his ex-wife's cousin and four,(Yes 4) children. All from different donors. He justifies this by saying that "Man we've been divorced for twenty years" Sure buddy. His four "real" children from the "ex" are all reacting differently. The oldest,(21 yrs) doesn't seem to care but we hardly ever see him. The next one, (19yrs) wont speak to him and the two younger ones seem to be somewhat tolerant. The youngest just started establishing a relationship with him. For his first few years as an adolescent he refused to see him saying his step-father was his real dad. So he's still blinded. Anyways, his success up there is due to this sad excuse for a woman's help. Suddenly the puke has forgotten all his transgressions and thinks his crap doesn't smell to high heaven. I'm just waiting to hear about it when he eventually blows it, because he will definitely blow it or the stupid girl will get tired of the megalomaniac manipulating her and mentally abusing her children. If she allows it, then OMG. So I had an issue and was fired with another job waiting in the wings and this mutt kicked me out. In Reno, hundreds of miles from home. Thank God that when I got fired I was handed a fistfull of cash which got me back home. Here's the thing. I fell in love with Reno. The people are idiots being ultra right wing tea baggers but the area is beautiful. I need to go back as there is nothing here for me. There are 80,000 people looking for work here compared to say 8,000 over there. So first I find something here and save and give 'er another try in a few months. I love San Diego with all my heart but its too bloody expensive to live here anymore. What to do?
FatCatSegat Aug. 4, 2014 @ 1:49 p.m.
But for now, I remain and boy; is it just me or is it outright unbearable out there today? You know its been hot when the morning weather hottie on the Tee Vee calls a predicted 85 degrees a cool down! It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't so monsoon predictably sticky! Hot, muggy and the rain helped for a minute but hey!, my little fishies down at the river bottom sure could use some more water than that but hey, I guess something is better than nothing? So that last rant I deposited sure was a doosie eh? So solly, I just had to get that out and it has been weighing heavy in my heart and head neither of them in that respective order. I came home yesterday to find that my daughter's mother had cut all of my Wired Hair Terrier/Schnauzer's fur off. This poor guy looks like a naked jack rabbit wit a humongous noggin. I looked down at him in utter disbelief and asked him,"What the fugg 'd she do to you boy??" Suddenly and much to my surprise he says,"Look at me Dad, I look like an idiot!" Tears began to well up in his sad dejeted blood shot eyes as he continued. "She shaved my balls, do you know how that feels?" Actually I do but thats for another time. I had to focus on the issue at hand. "Look buddy, its gonna grow back." "Oh sure" he quickly interjected. "But in the mean time I'm the imasculated jagoff over here having to put up with these grandkids of mine making fun of me" "True,...true", I murmured. Suddenly a thought occured to me, "Hey Puccinni", I began. (Yes his name is Puccinni. So I love the Opera) "So how long has it been you been speakin' and stuff?" "Dude", he shot back, "You look as bad as I feel you gonna say something, bet on that!" Ive always known thank cantankerous old mutt was smart. Damn, forgot to ask him about that butt sniffing business. Hey Puccinni!!
FatCatSegat Aug. 7, 2014 @ 12:58 p.m.
Puccinni broke his silence three days ago and now he wont stop. The thing is that he has the weirdest accent I've ever heard. In one long sentence he'll sound like he's from the Mississippi delta, Scotland, California and Maine. In fact, have you ever watched the Traveling Gourmet? He used to confound my mother and I when we would watch him. Well my dog is just as confounding. I've known him all his life and he's never left Southern California. So where did he pick all those accent up at? But wait,...it gets weirder. The crazy dude can whistle! Its funny to watch him do this as his big tongue gets in the way but boy can he whistle. Apparently he's been paying attention to my music because I heard him whistling YYZ from Rush this morning while he was reading the paper in the bathroom. Ever since the dialogue started I convinced him to try using the crapper and now I have to compete with him for the AM bathroom ritual. However, I don't have to pick up his poop anymore. When I asked him what the butt sniffing was about he looked up at me saying, "You do know I am a dog, right?"
FatCatSegat Sept. 16, 2015 @ 6:05 p.m.
Whoa, there. Been just a little over a year since my last entry. Been a long and tough road and have emerged victorious on the other side. I've been away from my beloved river bottom but just recently before the storm that just passed I spent a couple hours there on my way back from work. Man, I was treated to such an amazing show. So, if you were on either the 934 or the 933 buses and you got off right between Beyer and Hollister you'd find a nice new trail that leads down into the canyon that opens up to a meadow roughly the size of a large football field. The open ground full of waist high vegetation is home to various ground dwellers as I've been lucky enough to witness. Surrounding the meadow on the south side is a hill where you can see homes that overlook the park and they must enjoy a good view of the pond as well. On the hillsides are eucalyptus trees that stretch 50 to 100 feet to the sky and if you're lucky enough, you'll get to see two brown eagles at play and hunting. Sometimes they're already there before you arrive and if you don't pay attention, you'll never know they're there. Then a sharp grating squeal and off in the distance under the cover of huge branch clusters the leaves are disturbed as silhouetted feathers and shadows too fast to catch tussle and cackle playfully in the foliage. Thats what I saw when all of a sudden out of nowhere a peregrine falcon starts dive bombing the pair and then the chase was on! Their precise teamwork and hunting skills now a simple matter of fact, one of the eagles ascended 300, I dunno, 400 feet and flapped his wings in a holding position eyes on the action below as the other eagle ran an amazing display of twists, turns and aerial magic forcing it's its body suddenly turning on a dime maintaining a perfect tail on the smaller, lighter raptor. As if part of a well rehearsed ballet, the chase skirted the valley floor for a quarter mile as the eagle began closing the gap leaving the fleeing bird no choice but to ascend and thats when POOF! The little guy blew up in a pyrotechnic display of feathers that left me momentarily shocked and quite speechless. Thats when it got eerily quiet as you could hear the successful hunters cackling in delight, sating their hunger off in the unseen distance but well within earshot. Yeah, that was a treat. I Love this place sooooo much.
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