Guilty looking cow

Just look at this cow. Guilty of something!

Self portrait from Merced # 2

See, not all pictures of me are horrible. This was a picture I took in 2009, when I was playing around.

Look how serious I look! For a while there, I was getting up early every morning, going on long walks before dawn. Lifting free weights, chopping wood and satellite dishes, doing pilates.

Didn't last.

This picture wasn't bad either. This one was hilarious!

Look, i'm 12. Look, i'm 14.

All emotional and shit. Sunburned and suffering from a dislocated shoulder.

Chevy Malibu parked in Merced

This picture is of a Chevy Malibu parked in a parking lot in Merced. This picture was taken in 2009.

The Merced area is really into cars and the car culture. The film American Graffiti was set in Modesto, just up the road.

You'll often see a lot of classic cars on the road and around town.

As a side note, the building there in the background used to house my childhood doctor's office.

Apartment complex across from the Rivera Middle School baseball diamonds

This picture is of an apartment complex located at 1099 Buena Vista Drive in Merced. This is across the street from the Rivera baseball diamonds, if you are familiar with the area.

Merced county has very, very high rates of poverty. According to the census bureau, nearly 21% of the people in Merced county are living under the poverty line.

I remember walking by this apartment complex and thinking that it looked like a prison.

Cat drawn into the sidewalk on Buena Vista Drive in Merced

This picture is a cat that was drawn into the sidewalk along Buena Vista Drive in Merced, California.

I bet a kid this!

Funny sign that was on the ground outside of Courthouse Museum

I like this picture. This is a picture of a sign that was on the ground in 2009 in Merced. This was out in the street in front of a place called the Courthouse Museum. You can see a picture of the Courthouse Museum here.

Sign says "Spaceship Broke. Need Money for Parts and Labor. Thanx. Have a Good Day"

So Seattle, think you've got a graffiti problem?

This picture was of an abandoned apartment complex located on R Street in Merced, California. This isn't far from the excellent Pizza Villa and Fahrens Park, if you know the area.

Not only is a big, falling apart, apartment complex allowed to decay in public. No one, apparently, cares that it's covered in graffiti, either.