Just like seemingly everything in life, this magazine is a work in progress. And it most likely will be forever. If I have learned anything in my nearly six months of working here at Bakersfield Life, it's that no one here – form myself, to Art Director Joe Simpson, to Managing Editor Chris Thompson and even the management upstairs – will ever be satisfied with this magazine. In short, we know there's always room for improvement and we're going to continue to strive for excellence.

That's why it took me by surprise to look directly to the left of this Editor's Note and find the following at the top of the page: "September 2008 / Vol. 3 / Issue 1." What do you know? It's Bakersfield Life's birthday and there is no party, no celebration, and, except or this note, no mention of our turning two years old anywhere in this magazine.

In my still short time here, I've spent time going over the past two years worth of magazines to see what's been written about already, who's been featured and what's been missing. While looking back at the November 2006 edition just last week, I realized just how far we've come to get where we are now and the transformation of this publication is simply stunning.

Monthly departments have been cut and new departments have been added. Section have been expanded while others have faded out. In fact, in my time at Bakersfield Life, it seems that the magazine has done another 180, seemingly adding new segments every month and continuing to evolve as time moves on.

For example, the beginning of the book now has the Up Front section, introducing an everyday person in Bakersfield, looking at what's hot and what's not in the city right now, along with other little features that are quick, entertaining reads. We've also added our Food and Wine department which has been as much fun for me to write over the past two months as anything else we produce. And The 64 Greatest Things About Bakersfield – which has now been narrowed down to 16 – has been an overwhelming success.

I don't need to drone on and on about the changes that have taken place any more than I already have. But we have some more changes this month that I'd like to take a second to point out. The most noticeable of those changes comes in the form of "Top Shelf." Every month we will feature several items available right here in Bakersfield that not all of us could ever justify spending that amount of money on, but they are amazing products that can be purchased locally and things that many of us would love to have.

You will also see the continuing brilliance of Simpson in his smart and attractive page design. While I would personally be sad if you didn't read a word of this magazine, the design is certainly enough to enjoy on its own as you will see throughout the book this month.

In short, we're constantly adjusting, and that's clearly what has made Bakersfield Life the most read and most looked-forward to magazine in the city. But don't worry. We're not satisfied with that. And on our third birthday, I'm sure we'll have plenty to celebrate.