Youll sit alone forever
If you wait for the right time
What are you hoping for?
I'm here and now I'm ready
Holding on tight
Dont give away the end
The one thing that stays mine...

In case this IM chain didn't come your way:

Wear a California t shirt/sweatshirt/sweater.. whatever on Thursday Dec. 9, 2004 to show your support for the NUMBER 4 TEAM IN THE NATION and our dissent for the Beyond Corrupt System.Pass it on to ALL CAL STDUENTS! If we get the majority of campus wearing Cal shirts we'll at least prove our unity and show Tedford and the rest of the team that we are damn proud of them.

and from The Facebook:

Subject: protest the BCS Wed 12 noon SPROUL

Message:In true Berkeley tradition we are organizing a protest! Bring signs, noisemakers, and all the Cal Paraphernalia you can get your hands on! The event will go from 12noon till the BCS wises up and gives Cal what it deserves. Please pass this on to fellow Golden Bear Backers!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

How funny would that be? My first (and only protest) at Cal, and it would be not about saving the one-eyed green backed horny toad but about football.

Well, at the very least I will wear my California sweathshirt on Thursday....

...and I'm actually starting to look forward to another winter break trip to beautiful SD.

...someone force me to write my term paper and stop bothering with this mess.

..Happy Freakin Holidays:

l p r o f e i t: i actually cried
Nap98: aww
Nap98: were the tears blue and gold?
l p r o f e i t: unfortunately, they were just regular tears
l p r o f e i t: i just cried about football
l p r o f e i t: that's impressive
Nap98: its okay, go seek comfort at the JT alter

Holiday Bowl. All right, no Roses. This hurts. Bad.

More than the Kerry loss. Just kidding.

...wait, no. I'm not. (Yes, my priorities are screwed up)

Cal got shafted, BIG time. We've won 10(!) games, and our only loss was to the number one team in the country at THEIR home, and by only a touch down. We're #4 in the country according to both human polls, but we're locked out of all four of the championship bowls.

Why?

Because of weird BCS computer formulas and contractual obligations that bumped us out and Texas into the Rose Bowl.

Because the Texas coach whined his way out of the position we are now in and pleaded for people to vote his team ahead of Cal.

Because our Coach Tedford showed some class by not stooping to that level, and also by not running up the score last night at Southern Miss (he had QB Aaron Rodgers kneel and let the clock run down when we could've scored at the end of the game). Tedford is, a god.

Because a score of 26-16 isn't enough to defeat the East Coast Bias of college sports.

Because sometimes, shit happens. Especially, it seems, to the Pac10 and to Cal.

Meanwhile, less than stellar teams ranked lower than us like Utah (#6), Virginia Tech (#8), Michigan (#13) and even lowly Pittsburgh (#21) get bids to the major bowls because of contractual obligations. Yeah, that's right. Out of the 8 teams playing in the four BCS bowls, half are ranked lower than us. Five if you count Texas, which remains lower than us in the AP polls. How special.

I just hope Cal doesn't have to wait another 40 something years to get into the Rose Bowl. Word is within 10 days we'll have a stadium and Tedford contract announcement . Only good news from that department could take some of the sting off of this terrible turn of events. It would mean that Coach Tedford stays, and that Cal will have plenty more oppurtunities to go to the Rose Bowl, or the National Championship.

So it looks like December 30th, I'll be in San Diego at the Holiday Bowl. I'll make the most of it and have a fun time with my friends down there. It'll probably be our last road trip together, our last chance to root for Cal as students together. I'll cheer my heart out for one of Cal's best teams and one of the best in the country to smash Texas Tech.

The BCS can take the Rose Bowl away, but that damn system can't take away the magic that was the season of 2004.

Go Bears!

Pending a miracle at 2pm...

The word "holiday" will, for the first time, have a negative connotation for me.

Damn. Damn. Damn.

Allow me to take a moment....

To welcome Peyton J. Sias (PJ!) to the world, and to my wacky family. The 10th cousin! And finally, a guarantee that the Sias name will survive another generation. We've waited 14 years for him, and I can't wait to meet him.

I'll be a lot nicer to PJ than his dad was to me!

The annual Christmas cousin staircase picture is going to have a new body for the first time in 14 years! Woohoo!

now...back to writing my paper. (yeah right)

Thanksgiving was very nice.

Maybe more later.

But you know what I'm really thankful for right about now, at 1:58 am on the last day of November?

My grad school application to Berkeley has been submitted! All that's left to do is drop off some forms and send my letters of recommendation and this is all finally out of my hands and hair.

University of British Columbia...same thing.

2 down...3 (or 2) less important ones to go.

HALLELUJAH!

They'd better let me in!

Big Game, 2004

Cal 41 - Stanfurd 6

We've come a long way since 2001.

Rushin the field

Roomies

Peace Out Lauren, Peace Out

Big C

-The band put on its best show...EVER!-

We are Golden

I am a senior

I saw a 1-10 season

Thank you, Jeff Tedford

-Daily Cal Haiku

Class of 2005 - SENIORS! Oh Yeah!

Fiat Lux

On this, the eve before my last Big Game as an undergraduate (or student?), I can't help but feel nostalgic. Especially with Lauren and Erik in the dining room going on about how quickly the rest of this year is going to fly by.

It's hard to articulate what I feel about this place, these people. Even if I do end up going here for graduate school, nothing will compare to these four undergrad years here at Cal. They have been amazingly wonderful.

Enjoy the pics from bonfire. Go Bears!

Bonfire! 

...Our last big game bonfire rally...together....as...students :*-(

Ned's latest banners... 

"There is something intrinsically good and genuine about the Bears, something scrappy and gold-hearted that makes the events that will transpire tomorrow less about football and more about a struggle against everything smug and self-righteous in the world."

http://dailycal.org/article.php?id=16999

yeah!

And here's a pic of Doe and the Campenile together, all nice and blue. Too bad I couldn't keep my hand steady enough to not make it blurry...but you get the idea 

And like last, year the Campenile is blue with gold projects. This side says "Bear Territory." 

This year, even Doe turned blue for Big Game Week. The campus looks so awesome.  

Avengelyne01: are you doing weird cultish big game stuff this weekend?
Avengelyne01: like on friday and saturday
Nap98: friday is the bonfire rally, im going to that obviously
Nap98: after it we're having a little get together at my house, beer and pizza i think
Nap98: you can drop by then
Nap98: saturday is devoted to big game
Nap98: after the game, ill either be with my family or going to a thanksgiving potluck with my dorm friends
Avengelyne01: so weird cultish behavior
Avengelyne01: i understand
Nap98: ....don't you even feel a tiny bit sad you've never gone to a big game?

Avengelyne01: football is lame
Avengelyne01: and the guys aren't hot
Avengelyne01: and it's way to cultish and creepy
Avengelyne01: and it goes against my morals
Nap98: i still say, that you can feel that way, but you should have tried to go once during your four years here
Nap98: at least so you could criticize it without any caveats of having never really been
Nap98: you always try to get ME to try new things.
Avengelyne01: well i think people should try going to europe while they're still young
Nap98: yes, i agree
Avengelyne01: i've been to a cal football game
Nap98: when?
Avengelyne01: i don't need to go to a "big game"
Avengelyne01: my freshman year
Nap98: god
Nap98: no wonder you hate it

I won't always love what I'll never have
I won't always live in my regret.

All right! 22! Yeah! Woo....hoo.....?

I have officially entered the realm of non-important birthdays. The days of really really looking forward to every birthday probably end when you're 18...at the latest. Then after that you just gear up to the big 2-1. And then...well, nothing special except those semi-depressing decade milestones. 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90....eh.

I think we need to disperse our happy milestone birthday years. Like, say at the age of 34 you get a free trip to Tahiti or something.

At least 22 is a cool looking number.

Okay....that was TOO close! Cal beat Oregon 28-27.

For a moment there, it was like...shit....first the election, now this. Thank god luck swung our way.

So...I'm goin to bed in about 5 mins, but I wanted to get this post out of the way. I want to try to clear away any distractions (such as blogging) that would stand in the way of my productivity tomorrow. I NEED to get my grad school application stuff in order this weekend. It's driving me nuts. And with paper due dates and an article for the Voice coming very soon, I need to get it out of the way.

Tomorrow I will try (try!) to refrain from using the internet and talking on AIM. Tomorrow will be a day of productivity! Tomorrow, I WILL finish my personal statement. I WILL write my draft letter of recommendation. And I WILL put the finishing touches on my portfolio.

I hope.

If you see me on AIM, yell at me and tell me to get back to work. Even if I have an away message up. Thanks.

Okay enough of this depressing dribble....

What about them Bears?!

From the towns of the nation, we’d like to do a song for you about the larger picture.

There’s only one season lately.

There used to be an agreement between the seasons that they would all come and stay for three months, and then go the way the seasons go when they’re not where we are.

Lately there has been no spring, no summer, and no fall.

Politically, and philosophically, and psychologically there has only been the season of ice.

It a season of frozen dreams and frozen nightmares,
A scene of frozen progress, and frozen ideas,
frozen aspirations and inspirations.

They call the season winter; we call the song Winter in America:

From the Indians,
Who welcomed the Pilgrims
And to the buffalos ,
Who once ruled the plain
Like the vultures
Circling beneath the Dark Clouds
Looking for the Rain
Looking for the Rain

Just like the cities,
That stagger on the coastline
In a nation,
That just can’t stand much more
Like the forests,
Buried beneath the highway,
Never had a chance to grow
Never had a chance to grow

And now it’s Winter
Winter in America
Yes, and all of the healers
Have been killed,
Or sent away
But the people know,
The people know,
It’s winter,
Winter in America.
And aint nobody fighting cause,
Nobody knows what to save.
Save your soul,
Lord knows, from Winter in America..

The Constitution,
A nobel piece of a paper.
With free society,
They struggled but they died in vain.
And now democracy,
Is rag time on the corner,
Hoping for some rain.
It looks like its hoping for some rain.

And I see the robins,
Perched on distant tree tops,
They’re watching last-ditch races,
March across the floor.
But just like the peace sign,
That vanished in our dreams,
Never had a chance to grow,
Never had a chance to grow.

And now its winter,
Winter in America.
And all of the healers,
Have been killed,
Our betrayed.

But the people know,
The people know,

It’s winter,
Lord knows, its Winter in America.
And aint’ nobody fighting, cause,
Nobody knows what to save.
Save your soul,
From winter in America.

-Gil Scott Heron

The Morning After......

Away Messages:

Kim:
Can Someone Please Explain To Me How We Live In The Best Country In The World & We Elect A Moron For President? >:o >:o >:o

Pissed Off Beyond Belief! What The Hell Was Half The Country Thinking? I'm Moving To Austrailia!

Lauren R:
this place is fucked. i'm moving to new zealand.

Lauren P:
preparing to flee the country.

Chris:
no words...just that...pray for America....seriously...i sleep now

Jess:
sucks.

Kelly:
this sucks, not happy

Eric D:
i've said it before, and i say it again, fuck bush

Sara:
frickin...bush. you suck. thanks to all those who voted for him. 4 more years of spending 337 billion on the "war against terrorism" and more bushisms. 4 years later and i STILL don't see no osama ass on a pole. just a broken iraq that we have to fix. tell me how that is even good? notice: if you have seen the news...a new osama video is out. and he's out to kill our economy. his family DOES OWN 70% of the control over our economy...or did u not know that? i guess that trend IS going to continue... we're gonna start weighing currency against the yen. GO CHINA!!!

Mine:
It could be a cold night...
for a lifetime

I should be celebrating.

November 2nd was a momentous day for Latinos in Mountain View, and for my family in particular. My Auntie RoseMary has won a seat on the Mountain View-Whisman School Board. She may be the first Latina to ever win a seat. She's the first person in my family's history to win an election. She did it! It's amazing! I'm esctatic and thrilled to have played a roll in her early campaign.

In addition, Laura Macias has become the first Latina to ever win a seat on the Mountain View City Council. If not the first Latina, she is now one of only two Mexican-Americans to ever win. The last was Joe Perez, a close friend of my grandparents who served in the 1970s. She will be the lone women and minority on a council of all White males. Simply unacceptable for a city as diverse as Mountain View, but hopefully her election is a sign of better days to come.

My aunt and Laura united and worked together in their campaigns. It pulled off. It's a big day for Mountain View. I just got a call from my aunt a few minutes ago, and it took some of the bitterness out of what is otherwise, a terrible night.

I am absolutely terrified about the national political picture over the next four years. Pending a miracle, we will have Bush for a second term. And I can't even begin to articulate how frightened I am by that.

But my Aunt Rosemary winning gives me hope that change can happen. As she just told me, "I did it, and now ANY of us can do it."

I wrote these words for everyone who struggles in their youth
Who won't accept deception in instead of what is truth
It seems we lose the game
Before we even start to play
Who made these rules?
We're so confused
Easily led astray
Let me tell ya that...

Everything Is Everything
Everything Is Everything
After winter, must come spring
Everything Is Everything

Sometimes it seems
We'll touch that dream
But things come slow or not at all
And the ones on top, won't make it stop
So convinced that they might fall
Let's love ourselves and we can't fail
To make a better situation
Tomorrow, our seeds will grow
All we need is dedication

-Lauryn Hill

fuck.

What a weekend.

Thursday I was up till 5:00am Friday morning writing an urban design paper. That was not fun.
Friday I met up with DJBank to head home for the SFHS v. Bell game. Went with the whole fam. Game was great, but SFHS lost, 27-26. Boo. Bellarmine sucks.

Saturday spent the day getting the haunted house ready. Then went up to Cal's first night football game, ever! AWESOME game. Cal's second shut out in a row. 27-0 against ASU. Cal....get this...is now #4 in the nation, and may end up going to the National Championship! WOAH! I'll be happy with Roses. Biggest chunk of the la loma crew at the game in a long while, including the return of Aly and Candice. Tons of fun. Can't wait till next Sat.

Sunday, Halloween. Great time, everything went well, and our haunted house looked better than it ever has before. Towards the end of the night I drove Joella and Chris round MV to look at "Halloween Lights." Mountain View is weird. There really aren't very good x-mas lights in MV come december, but we went through only three neighborhoods and saw three elaborate haunted houses and tons of decorated houses. Hehe.

Monday...well. What a mixed bag. I am a victim of identity theft. Just like on those commercials. Got a bogus e-mail that I thought was from paypal, link took me to paypal.com to re-register on Sunday. It looked like paypal.com, the browser said "paypal.com" but guess what? It wasn't. I gave all my personal info, and got calls from Western Union and e-mails from paypal about attempts to send my $$$ to puerto rico today. Lucky I caught it when I did, and that I didn't have more money in my account. But I spent all afternoon running around MV with my mom, going to the bank securing my $$$, going to the police station, and feeling like a complete idiot.

Watch out people. Trust me, you DO NOT want to go through this. It makes you feel like shit. ALWAYS double check the source of your e-mails, and never give more info than you feel comfortable giving.

On a much happier note, tonight I went to the Jimmy Eat World concert at the Fillmore with Erik, Chris, Seth and their friends. The concert was really good. Jimmy Eat World is awesome, and it makes me so happy that I've found a band that...three albums later, they still resonate with me. They are my band.

I think I like the Warfield better than the Fillmore. The Fillmore is awesome. But for Jimmy Eat World, I think the Warfield works better, more drama (lighting, stage, theatre size, etc.) The awesome thing about the Warfield, however, is the history. All the posters of concerts from 1966 onward hung up on the wall, and they give you one....FOR FREE...after the concert. I was willing to shill out $20 for one. Made me so happy to have that as a keepsake, its goin up on my wall.

Today, my friends, the fate of the country...no, the world...will be determined. By who though? By the voters? By computer touch screens? By sneaky election officials? By the Supreme Court? Holy moly it's going to be nuts today. So VOTE, brace yourselves, and hope and pray for the best.

...and as far as I'm concerned, the best = bush out of office.

VOTE KERRY!

Okay....back to back posts. I just couldn't resist after reading this on the Stanford football board:

Stanford fans on whether or not they will attend this year's Big Game:

"I'm struggling with the decision. I've atttended 40 of the past 44 Big Games but I'm not sure I want to fight the snow in the Sierras, the amazingly crude Berkeley crowd, and the 90% chance of a loss. I have two decent seats in section R and can be reached at --------"

to which someone replied:

"I am guessing that many of the season ticket holders will decide to sell or otherwise dispose of the seats they were required to buy as part of the season ticket package.

I know I am considering it. going to weenieville stinks. "

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stanford is actually looking decent this year. Yeah, Cal's team is lookin a helluva a lot better, but it should be a good game. Come on Stanford fans, show some passion for Pete's sake.

Freshman year our side of Stanford Stadium was full despite it being one of the worst seasons in Cal history....we were likely to loose, and we did. But the atmosphere was still electric. Enough to turn me into a fan.

Stanford's crowd at the last two Big Games (both at Stanford AND at Cal) was weak. Sounds like this year Memorial will be a sea of Blue and Gold with a few red blemishes.

Funny how their nickname for a Cal fan is a "weenie" when their fans are the ones that wont even show up to games in mass anymore. Most apathetic bunch I've encountered. Kind of like Saint Francis kids post 2001 and pre-Chris Perry. Sad, sad, sad.

Three years ago, THEY were the one's saying they needed a more worthy opponent for their big rivalry. [READ that Stanford Daily article. Pretentious back in 2001, quite hilarious now. Basic premise: Cal sucks so Stanford deserves a better rival, and/or Cal needs to step up so Stanford fans will stop being so apathetic and bored with their constantly winning teams. ] Well, we've stepped up. But apathy still reigns in Tree-land.

Eat crow Furds. Eat crow.

I'm done with the GRE. I know I could have done better. (you see the scores right after you take the test). Hopefully they're decent enough for me to get in on the basis of the rest of my application.

That said, Kat and I had a really nice day in San Francisco. It was a cold and rainy, but San Francisco is one of the few places that can make such weather beautiful. The color of the water behind the Ferry Building, the overcast sky, the hustle and bustle of shoppers in Union Square....gosh it feels like Christmas. I had "Silver Bells" running through my head.

Before the test Kat and I explored the Ferry Building, which was PACKED with people because of the Farmers Market. I love the Ferry Building. It's everything San Francisco is.... wrapped up in one great old building with a stunning setting.

...um...then we took the test...

But AFTER that, we decided to reward ourselves with dunch at Taylor's Refresher in the Ferry Building. Seriously, one of the best hamburgers....ever. Go there! Then we walked down Market to Union Square, I bought the new Jimmy Eat World CD and a pair of jeans.

So overall, it was actually a really nice day in the city...with an annoying test in the middle. Kat and I are quite proud of ourselves for turning a negative into a HUGE positive. Good job us!

Also.....next time your in the city look at for the "Fart Quake" sign on a construction wall near the Ferry Building. PURE genius! Graffiti can be hilarious. I'll take a picture next time I'm over there so you folks can understand why it's so great.

Also, for Kat and I to remember forever (obscure inside jokes): Your landlord is tooting your building's horn...and...the last puffin ever or inner-city school children? I vote for the puffin.

POST RANT RECAP:

<This weather f*ing sucks. It's too damn hot once again. Even worse, all the fires up in Marin have made me semi-asthmatic. >

It's gone from being super hot, to super wet and cold. Much better, thank you. Moving on...

<Ned's took down it's "Rose Bowl Bound" banner before I could take a picture. Chase Lyman is out for the season. I am concerned.>

We creamed UCLA. Keep winning (and if USC keeps winning) its Roses for Cal on New Years Day.

<And I think my voice is still sore from the USC game.>

Got sick. Getting better.

<I have the GRE in two weeks and have barely studied. Ack!>

Yeah....and I am currently procrastinating some more....right then....

<I have a midterm tomorrow and barely have time to study. Double Ack!>

I think I did okay.

<I have a midterm on Tuesday and barely have time to study. Premature Ack!>

I think I did all right.

< I haven't had time to send information to my letter writers for grad school, or work on a personal statement. I'm running out of time!>

Personal statement draft #1 was finished on Friday. Long way to go, but I've made a dent.

<I spent time I didn't have on BUSSA's homecoming banner. It looks great, but we didn't win. >

BUT I went to the Homecoming Rally last Friday, on our banner was hung quite prominantly next to the main Homecoming Banner. Yay BUSSA!

<My room/desk is always messy. >

Yes....still need to work on this. But the current number of empty cans/bottles on my desk is ZERO!

<I ate pizza and it burnt the top of my mouth.>

All better.

-END POST-RANT RECAP-

RANT:

This weather f*ing sucks. It's too damn hot once again. Even worse, all the fires up in Marin have made me semi-asthmatic.

Ned's took down it's "Rose Bowl Bound" banner before I could take a picture. Chase Lyman is out for the season. I am concerned. And I think my voice is still sore from the USC game.

I have the GRE in two weeks and have barely studied. Ack!

I have a midterm tomorrow and barely have time to study. Double Ack!

I have a midterm on Tuesday and barely have time to study. Premature Ack!

I haven't had time to send information to my letter writers for grad school, or work on a personal statement. I'm running out of time!

I spent time I didn't have on BUSSA's homecoming banner. It looks great, but we didn't win.

My room/desk is always messy.

I ate pizza and it burnt the top of my mouth.

-END RANT-

Greetings from Woodland Hills...

Well, what can I say? Of course its disappointing, we came so close! But on a scale of 1 to 10, how disapponted am I? I'd say.....maybe a 4 at most.

By all measures other than the score (which of course matters most) we were the better team. It was a hostile away environment, that obviously screwed with the minds of our special teams. Kudos to the Trojans for getting their whole crowd into the game, it was LOUD in there.

....but some of their fans were just as bad as my weeks-worth of trash talk posts from the SC boards would lead you to expect. Their alumni threw nasty insults as our band marched into the stadium pre-game. I personally was called a dirty hippie, a communist, and so on after the game. "Go back to NorCal Hippy!" (gladly! who wouldn't want to go back to the better half of the state...booya!) Of all the Pac10 teams, SC has some of the most vile I have encountered. Stanfurd fans never stoop to their level....too apathetic.

(of course, our student section's "f*ck the trojans" cheers probably didn't help the situation. Which btw, this catholic-school-kid never participated in. Way too unoriginal. Something I hope we can do away with as our team improves. Nevertheless, it's an instance of the pot calling the kettle black if Trojan fans think they're any "classier" than us. bull. there's a reason they're the most hated team in the Pac10...and it predates their current success.)

So in the end.....what did I expect out of this? I expected a hard fought, close game. A nail biter. And that's what we got. Cal played its heart out. I cheered my heart out. Victory was always within reach, and Cal never gave the Trojans a break. It came down to the last play, and Cal just couldn't pull it off. We beat them in every other aspect, and we should get due credit for that. Cal shouldn't drop from #7, in fact, some people are saying we should move up. As long as USC either stays at #1 (or screws up royally..not likely) the Rose Bowl is ours for the taking.

But what an exciting, awesome game.

Go Bears! Beat UCLA!

And finally, our last...
...Cocky Condom Comment.

from the www.wearesc.com football forum

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Smack a Bear
Remember High-School...

Remember how much fun it was to haze the Freshmen...

How would you like to rel-live your "Glory Days" again?

On Oct. 9th, I'd like to usher in "Smack a Bear"

To participate in this ritual, you must first identify a BearUse the below chart to identify your victim:

A) Bears are dirty hippies
B) Bears wear birkenstock sandles and drag their feet.
C) Bears can be found holding flowers, and flashing the "peace" sign.
D) Bears were Grateful Dead Tie-Dyed T-Shirts and dirty Levis

Now if you ID a Bear... "smack 'em" A smack is a light pimp slap/b!tch slap, and should be executed quickly, and upon an unsuspecting bear victim .

After pimp slap is applied - you must immediately act like another bear did it. This is done by pointing to another bear while saying "He did it"

So have fun, and smack a bear!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wow. Real classy. Grade A fans huh?

All I can say is GO BEARS! Beat the Trojans. Make the authors of these wonderful U$C posts eat a huge helping of crow for dinner on Saturday. Show the nation what your made of, and make our great university proud.

...and now, I'm off to LA.

Phew.....

Okay, a personal break before the last cocky condom comment.

This week has been nutts. I am officially burnt out, and what's sad is that I'm not burnt out so much from the huge jump in time commitment that BUSSA dealt me this week, but the thought of all the shit I have to do in the next few months.

First there's the biggie....grad school.

I have the GRE in two weeks. I have to move on my letters of recommendation, really soon! I have to write my personal statement. I have to meet with certain professors. It's driving me crazy to have this stuff hanging over me. I need a weekend to devote myself to it, but I won't get one...so I'll have to work it in when free time pops up.

Then there are classes.

Thank god I decided to stick to 12 units this semester. I can barely manage to keep up with the readings. I just can't get my heart into it. And now midterms and papers are starting to loom. Argh.

I never had Senioritis this bad in high school. I loved having studio last semester, it kept me on my toes. But this semester my mind has wandered elsewhere. This week, it's obviously been in LA.

I really want to ENJOY my last undergrad year here. I want to have fun with my friends. I want to take advantage of all the special Cal activities and events, and let myself get totally caught up in the spirit engulfing the campus this fall because of our football team. And by and large, I am letting myself do that. However, I need to draw the line somewhere and begin to crack down on the not-so-fun tasks that lay ahead.

Then there's Mountain View politics. The preservation debacle has finally wound down. My organization needs leadership now, or else it risks falling apart after over two years of heartache. I just don't have the time to devote myself to it like I used to. I haven't even had time to update the web page, and I feel really guilty about that. On the bright side...Cal is offering, for the first time....a class on historic preservation next semester. I hope it fits in my schedule.

And finally....my family. Wow. Going home to MV is such a mixed bag now. I love spending time with my parents, but a huge rain cloud looms over Pettis Avenue. My grandma is very depressed, and it can't help but get to me. It just wears me down and sucks the spirit out of me every time I see her cry. It makes me sad and angry at the same time. I need to learn to not let it affect me so much, but it does. Life is tough, things are changing, we're in a time of instability and transition. It's tough to hold it together, but I know we will.

So ya. That is an inside look behind what is floating around my head right now. I'll let it float there for another weekend, because THIS weekend, its about the Bears and the Trojans, and about me having a good time with my friends in La-la-land.

...and hey, maybe I'll get some reading done during the car ride.

Welcome to Thursday's...
...Cocky Condom Comment

from the www.wearesc.com football forum:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The bad thing about playing Cal...................

.....after the game, all the USC players will have to be de-loused.

I BELIEVE the Trojans will win…I hope they win BIG!

This will be the largest crowd I have ever been part of to watch any USC vs CAL game.I cannot stomach even thinking about dealing with the CAL fans…if they should win…The CAL fans are the absolute worst fans (win or lose) I’ve ever experienced, any place anytime.

Fight On Trojans…!
Beat the Bears…!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

De-loused. Get it! We're dirty...dirty hippies....yeah...

...this is all getting very predictable huh?

AND NOW, a brief interlude from this week's series of condom comments:

Cal-USC benefits Pac-10, Bay Area
Wednesday, October 06, 2004 BERKELEY --

This is the way it used to be, before NFL arrived by the Bay and transformed college football from an attraction into a curiosity.

This is the way it is in places such as Knoxville and Ann Arbor, where the bandwagon rolls and not infrequently so does some coach's head.

Welcome to 1950. Welcome to packed houses and thundering herds. Welcome to a game that for the University of California, for the Pac-10 Conference, for the Left Coast, given conditions and situations, couldn't have arrived at a more opportune moment.

Cal against Southern Cal, at the Coliseum, the one without any phony commercial labels, the one in Los Angeles, the one with 92,000 seats.

"I can't tell you what it's going to be like," said Jeff Tedford, the Golden Bears' coach. "Ninety-two thousand is bigger than I've ever seen. I've never been in front of that many people before."

Cal has, in the days of Pappy Waldorf and Johnny Olzewski, the days when college football around here was banner headline stuff, the way it is at this very moment in Lincoln and Baton Rouge.

Who imagined it could be that way again in Northern California, then again who imagined the A's and Giants wouldn't make the playoffs, and the Raiders would be average and the 49ers would be atrocious?

Who imagined Cal would be No.7 in the nation?

What we never had to imagine was USC again could be No.1. We simply dreaded it.

"They have blue chip players every single place on their team," said Tedford. The monster has returned.

The media, an agile group of front-runners, was packed in Tuesday for Tedford's weekly press conference, and the coach was hardly unaware.

"Important?" Tedford said rhetorically, referring to the game. "I think this room is evident of that. The first week I sat in here, I think we had maybe five or six people.

"I think the magnitude of this game probably has a lot to do with (the change)."

The magnitude of the game, unbeaten Cal against unbeaten USC, and the decline of everything and everybody else north of Monterey, a most propitious bit of timing.

It was the long-held belief of the late Leonard Koppett, an astute observer, that in virtually every city where the NFL played it squashed college football. There were and are exceptions, Miami, Seattle, Los Angeles -- where the NFL fled town, leaving it to USC and UCLA -- but the Bay Area was the rule.

Evidence? Last weekend, Stanford, now 3-1, drew only 27,000.

But Cal-USC matters, in Los Angeles, in Northern California, maybe in the rest of the country.

"I know since I've been here," said Pete Carroll, the Marin County guy who coaches USC, "the talk is the Pac-10 is underrated and overlooked because of the time frames when the games are shown on TV (in the East). But this is prime time."

He means daytime. He means a 12:30 p.m. PDT start Saturday, or 3:30 p.m. in New York and Atlanta, 2:30 p.m. in Norman and Austin. He means an hour when people are watching, not sleeping.

"I love it," said Carroll. "The state of California. So much excitement about the game. People who don't think Californians love their football better stay away from this college game."

Carroll is a Californian. Tedford is a Californian. But we're talking reality, not provincialism, here as if there's anything wrong with a bit of bias.

"This is a great moment for the Pac-10," said Carroll, "and for our programs. Two top 10 teams. A lot of people are going to know what we can do."

What Cal already has done is create a buzz, an "are these guys really that good?" sort of response. This is a big game, as opposed to the Big Game, and that became so irrelevant the last couple of years it didn't even sell out down at Stanford. But the L.A. Coliseum already is sold out.

"Our guys have been in enough big games," Tedford insisted, "the bowl game last year, Kansas State last year, that they understand what the big stage is all about. But I think there's a little extra this week ... playing against the defending national champs and the No. 1 team in the country.

"We'll be fine. We just have to continue doing what we've been doing."

What they've been doing is making us pay attention, and that is no small accomplishment.

-Art Spander

Link: http://www.timesstar.com/Stories/0,1413,125~1511~2449515,00.html#

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WOOHOO! Viva los osos!

....make the Bay Area, NorCal, heck, the whole state proud. This is going to be an epic game, regardless of the outcome.

Welcome to Wednesday's...
...Cocky Condom Comment.

Today's entery is a doozy. We not only have one post, but an entire thread of drivel from U$C! yay!

[Once again, these come from the Trojan's "Thundering Herd" message board]:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here is your typical class schedule for a incoming Cal Freshman
*Civil Disobedience 101
*Communal living in the new millenium
*Modern Free Thinking
*Great Hippie leaders

Electives:*
Advanced Zig-Zag Rolling
*Rioting & Looting essentials

You Forgot
Anti-American History 101.

Wait until Saturday and observe this behavior. Cal fans are the only college students I've seen who shout anti-American slogans and obscenities during the national anthem.

I fear Cal and their students, they will be too much to overcome......
....they will wake up the ghosts of Marx and Mao this Saturday. Their peoples are too numerous, their body order too much to take. What will we ever do?

Another women's class
How to braid your underarm hair 101.

don't forget "The History of Woodstock"*
x
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ha...ha...h.....eh.....I'll spare you the rest.

[congrats to Erik for being the first to take advantage of the 'comment' feature. Feel free to follow his lead]

Welcome to Tuesday's...
...Cocky Condom Comment.

Today's post comes from the Trojan's "Thundering Herd" message board:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cal's campus is a disgrace to taxpayers...

...I spent a weekend at the Claremont Hotel in Oakland and spent an afternoon walking around and on the Cal campus. I never have witnessed a more sorry sight. Trash everywhere, "Lick Bush" signs on the campus and on the homes surrounding the campus, green hair and unshaven female armpits everywhere. What a dump. Telegraph Avenue (the main artery to the campus) was replete with urine odor and the shops and stores were largely filthy. No wonder USC has surpassed Cal in many academic areas. Who the hell would send their son or daughter to that hell hole. So much for the UC's and public education. We all know that public education at the grade and secondary school level has failed. Well it won't be long now for the demise of the CSU's and UC's. There...I feel better now. Kill the Bears.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, his Telegraph Avenue description isn't too far off, but hey, it's all part of the themeing. And heck....judging from what I've heard about U$C's neighborhood, I doubt they have much to brag about. At least Cal's campus is only surrounded by urban decay on just one of its borders.

As for the rest of the post.....hah:



What a dump!

[side note: how do you like the new template?]

Cocky Condoms...
....from the www.wearesc.com football board

(expect one of these each day this week)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Welcome to PAYBACK IS A BITCH week!

Bring on the bears!
Lead them in chains to the mighty Coliseum to face their peril and find their doom!

Bring on the Hippies!
Let them watch in collective, stinking horror as their season begins its Big Fade of Oregonian proportions!

Let blast the sound and fury!
Of four score thousand screaming, thundering fans in Coliseum stands!

Trumpet and blare Conquest!
Let it peal down from the heavens and roll through the unshowered, state-schooled heathens!

Unleash the Trojans!
Let them ride like horsemen of the apocalypse through the unholy four-legged beasts and smite down golden bears with golden swords as hell itself is thrown open and the battle is met!

FIGHT ON FOR TROY!
FIGHT ON FOR USC!
FIGHT ON TO VICTORY!
FIGHT ON!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


And they try to act like this game doesn't matter much to them...

Go Bears!

I don't have to be anyone other than a birth of two souls in one
Part of where I'm going is knowing where I'm coming from

I don't want to be anything other than what I've been trying to be lately
All I have to do is think of me and I have peace of mind
I'm tired of looking 'round rooms wondering what I gotta do
Or who I'm supposed to be
I don't want to be anything other than me.

I am a certified Cal leader again.

Thank you alumni!

In honor of this, I think I'll buy myself a new Cal sweater. Go Bears!

Drink up baby doll
Are you in or are you out
Leave your things behind
'Cos it's all going off without you

Excuse me too busy
Writing your your tragedy
These mishaps you bubble-wrap
When you've no idea what you're like

So let go, So let go jump in
Oh well what you waiting for
It's alright'
Cause there's beauty in the breakdown



(yay for the garden state soundtrack...)

Back from a weekend in Davis with my family. Weird to think my brother is out there and not back home.

We all went to the Davis versus Sacramento State football game on Saturday. SacState is Davis' big rival, and their football field was packed. (It only seats about 9,000 though). Only issue...way too many obnoxious drunk frat people. Ugh. They let students in for free, with in and out privileges. Which meant a good chunk of the students sitting in our section (outside the main student section) left after half-time already drunk, to get more drunk and return in the fourth quarter.

But other than that, the game was cool. Davis won. The atmosphere was pretty nice, a lot more laid back than Cal. With a great band, decent football program, good fanbase, and a new stadium in the works, things are on the up-and-up for Davis. All Chris needs to do is become a micman and make his mark.

...and jeeze, Chris's dorm room. That kid lucked out. It's almost as big as my house in Mountain View (two bedrooms (double and a single), one bath, living room, dining room, kitchen, balcony).

Maybe I'm still getting over that weird flu/cold I had last week...but I feel out of it and tired. So that's all for now.

Huh.....all right, I'll take that.

About three hours to the kick off of Cal's first home game of what could be our best season in almost 50 years.

You can feel the excitement.

Cal's been on the front page of the Sports section of the Chronicle every day this week. They're talking about us on ESPN, on Fox Sports, USA Today. A poll on the Chron's front page asked, who do you think will have a winning season, The Raiders or 49ers. Over 50% responded, "Can we just talk about Cal?!" You see a lot more people (and not just frosh) wearing Cal gear. People on the streets are talking. At the barber shop, the conversation isn't "So you go to Cal? Been in any protests lately?" it's "So you go to Cal, whadabout them Bears eh?!"

Nevertheless, I've had lots of explaining to do lately. Why, people ask, do I care so much about Cal football? Especially to the point where I'd postpone a trip to Europe by a week to go to a Rose Bowl (if we're so lucky)What's the big deal?

If you know me, you know that I am very rooted in California, very proud to live in this state, in the Bay Area, and to go to this school. Going here isn't just about me, it isn't just about the work that I've accomplished. I am the end result of the hard work of generations of my family, most especially my parents, who have sacrificed so much to give me the oppurtunities to go here. So......in that sense, Cal represents a lot to me.

Plus, I've had an excellent three years here, I have made great friends, and have lots of wonderful memories. For the first time in my life, I've been made to feel like I actually BELONG at my school. I did not feel that way at Saint Simons even though I went there for 10 years. And certaintly not at Saint Francis, which I never felt truly represented who I was or where I was coming from. Cal does. It's been the perfect fit.

And I do not want to wait untill graduation to celebrate that feeling of belonging, to celebrate Cal. Every football game gives me a chance to rub shoulders and exchange high-fives with students from all majors, from all backgrounds, from the EECS geek to the Sorority Girl, from the frosh to the grad student, heck even some professors.

This campus is HUGE. And as it has grown, the sense of unity that characterized it in the early years has waned. Traditions have died. A lot of people walk around disconnected, disenchanted, eager to get out and graduate because all they can get themselves to care about is grades, graduation, a job, money.

But when school spirit runs high, as it does this season, its easier to put all that aside once your in Memorial. It gives you a chance to cherish the fact that yes, you are making it. You are a student at one of the greatest school's in the world. It gives you a chance to show your pride by rooting for a team that's playing down there on the field, representing you, your school, and your state.

And plus, this is a golden era in Cal's history here folks. And you know me, I'm a sucker for history and tradition. It doesn't take a sports-genius to see that people will look back on our time at Cal and say how amazing its been for our football team. Our coach has engineered an unprecedented turn around. From being a 1-10 joke our frosh year, to be a nationally ranked powerhouse our senior year. That's amazing. If things keep going this way, there could be a statue of Tedford next to Pappy in Faculty Glade come our 25th reunion. Whether you like football or not, what happens on the field will come to be a major touchstone of how our time at Cal is remembered.

But like I said, it is more than about football. It's how football gives this big old university a chance to come together. A chance for us to put down the books, forget about the tests, the grades, the heart-ache, and scream our hearts out for California.

Go Bears!

Kim posted lots of great pics from summer. She said this one makes her laugh.



Yeah. Funny stuff. Good times.

In a few weeks, one of San Jose's greatest landmarks, the Fox California Theatre, will reopen its doors. Mr. David Packard (son of the P in HP and the owner of the theatre I worked at this summer and last) is the head donor.

Check out this great article from the San Jose Metro:

http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/09.08.04/california-0437.html

I can't wait to visit this place!

So....our party.

By all accounts it was a huge success, and it went off without a hitch. My only regret? That 40.

Luckily, I didn't have much of a hang over the next day and made it to the beach with Lauren, her brother Chris, and Steph. We had a really nice time up in Point Reyes at a beach in the Tule Elk reserve. Leo, Lauren, and I had been there before. The beach is by far one of the nicest I've been to...it has mystical qualities to it.

I'm really glad I got out of the house and to the beach on Sunday. It's been damn hot here in Berkeley. You wake up in the morning and it's already pushing 80. That kind of puts me in a funk. I discussed this with Lauren, and she agrees....there's something about an overcast/foggy morning that eases you in from sleeping to getting ready for school. It's a smoother transition between night and day. When it's already 80 at 10:30, I get thrown off.

Today, we finally got somewhere with our Europe winter trip planning. However, I have quite a ridiculous dilemma to deal with: Do I go to Europe with Leo and Lauren on December 27th, or do I assume that Cal might make it to the Rose Bowl for the first time in a bijilion years and wait till January 2nd.

Yes....I know. The Rose Bowl or a week Europe....what an AWFUL decision to have to make. Haha. What an unbelievable decision to have to make! First of all, I'm planning on going to Europe. That's crazy. The number of people in my family that have been there can be counted on one hand. Secondly, Cal at the Rose Bowl. Three years ago this would have sent even the most devoted fan into hysterics. That I would care so much as to postpone a trip to Europe would have made the 2001 version of me laugh too.

Nevertheless, I'm leaning towards meeting up with Leo and Lauren after New Years. It's my senior year, our team is better than it's been in generations, and I could only be so lucky to be a member of the graduating class that sees our team go its first Rose Bowl since 1957. If I do schedule the trip before the Rose Bowl, I would be subconsciously rooting against the team so that they don't achieve that goal. That would suck, and it would put a damper on the whole season, a part of my Senior year I've really been looking forward to.

As long as I can figure out an itinerary with Leo and Lauren that still makes going to Europe feasible and affordable between the 2nd and the start of school, I think missing out on a week of travel will be tolerable. Plus, I might save some money.

....um but first. I need some money to save. Anyone care to donate?

I was under the false impression that as one came closer to graduation, with fewer and fewer requirements to fill, schedule planning became easier.

Why did I ever think this? For the past three years I've been free to rearrange my classes, postpone things, shuffle them around, decide to take them next year. But this year, there is no next year. And if I postpone a class till next semester, I risk having it conflict with another class I need to take to either graduate or complete my minor. Which means summer school or another semester. That stresses me out.

I have never had this much trouble with my schedule before. Good thing I didn't try to squeeze a Landscape Architecture minor in. That would have been chaos.

I had to drop Portuguese. When they said Portuguese for advanced students, they meant it. At least 1/5 of the class already had a basic understanding of the language. The rest seemed to be fluent or very comfortable with another romance language, especially Spanish. Half had spent time in Brazil. Perhaps my 4 years of Spanish would have been enough....IF I had taken this class my freshman year. Too much Spanish has left my head to get through Portuguese . So...buy-bye Portuguese.

Which left me with 11 units. You need 12 to be full-time in the CED. So I added a random 1 unit polysci guest lecture class to bring me back to 12. The class seems easy...almost too easy. The prof had no qualms about making fun of students, insulting us for taking the class, and the university for offering it. The intention was to be sarcastic and funny.....and he was! But I left the class feeling like I was a slacker.

But here's the real curve ball of my week...the Prof for Econ 3/Environmental Econ 1 this semester seems just awful. Especially when compared to the Prof that I had for the same class last semester, but had to drop to take studio. And after talking to my friends, who have had both this prof and last semester's prof, my worst fears were true. The Prof this semester just throws formulas at you with little explanation. The class is easy for people that are good with algebra and formula processing, but really doesn't teach you anything in the end.

If there's one thing I learned through the college level math classes I have taken, is that I need SUBSTANCE behind my formulas. I need something to grasp on to, to apply them to. I need well explained examples of how things work in real life according to the formula, I can't just be told that they work and that's that. It is the difference between the B+ in Stats and a D+/C- in Calculus.

The whole point of taking Environmental Economics was so I could link something I dread, Econimcs, to something I have a solid understanding and strong interest in, Environmental Policy. The prof last semester really seemed to grasp this and got me kind of excited about it. The prof this semester was DRY and boring, and just got right to the graphs and formulas with little explanation.

If postponing Econ 3 to next semester means I'll get a prof that explains things better.....then I really want to drop it this semester. But maybe I am just over reacting and jumping ship too early....I don't know.

So in an attempt to cover all my bases, tonight I've been scrambling to find another class to replace it, that still works towards my degree.

After 14 years of religious education I vowed to never take a religion class again....but guess what I've signed myself up for. ...Religion90a. Introduction to Islam. Same time as Econ 3. I'll skip Econ 3 and check it out tomorrow. Hopefully it'll be interesting enough to make me feel more comfortable with this last minute schedule shift. That way I can get my last breadth requirement out of the way, and only have Econ and my minor to worry about next semester.

I hope this all works out. Wish me luck.

Here we go...

Coming back a week early was an excellent decision. Good job, me.

My friends and I all actually have the time to hang out with each other. Saw Garden State last night with almost the whole crew. The movie was really good...the car ride back to the house was really humorous. I have the tendency to say things sometimes that really aren't supposed to be funny but are. And I guess when you have seven people in a car designed to fit 5 at most, things are even funnier.

I've got to meet up with some of the freshman I know too. Lauren and I even sat in on some of the boring freshman convocation speeches on the Glade with her lil sis, a frosh. (hearing the band play drew me in) Ran into Seth and Bongo Burger (yum) with Erik and his mom. Then after Erik's mom left the three of us went to the park and rode the awesome slide there a few times. Then we walked Seth back to our old stomping grounds, La Loma, and visited Hanah at Stern. Seeing all those freshman made me think about how much has changed sine we were in their shoes, and how quickly time has flown by. Jeesh.

In other news, picked up my Cal Football "true blue" shirt today. Also got Kay and Kat to buy there season tickets last night. The excitement sure is building. Hoping for the Rose Bowl, making a trip down to USC, fun stuff. Talk about change, all the classes that have come to Cal after us have no memory of that god awful 2001 season with Holmoe. (1-10...big game loss...empty stands...sad sad sad).

Kat and I also signed up for the GRE in late October. Yikes. The GRE. Graduation. Grad School. A job. Anxiety attack...anxiety attack...breath, nick. breath. hehe.

Tomorrow I have to help out with the City Planning orientation, and then at night we're having a going away dinner for Steph, who's leaving us this semester for Italy. It'll be sad to see her go, but I'm looking forward to tomorrow because pretty much everyone will be there. (Even Ryan..who's not going back to Modesto after all!)

Hopefully a few of the high school crew will make it up sometime before classes start. And then on Monday I'll start my last year with Portuguese. I'm gonna try and make my grandma proud.

I'm back in Berkeley, and I'm feeling pretty excited about it. We'll see how long that lasts. hehe.

Well, Mountain View. What can I say. My hard work over the last month did have an impact, much more of an impact that I thought it would. But there was no way I could undo 2 and a half years of misconceptions and mistakes . I came back home this summer to find that our City Council really had no clue what it was doing. It seems like they finally realized this last Tuesday night, but still moved forward with an ordinance that the majority of them did not really feel comfortable with.

I won't bore you with the details, but here are some articles about the ordinance:

My Mountain View Voice Op-Ed

The Mountain View Voice's Editorial

Post-Ordinance Article *
*this article says the vote was 6-1. It was 5-2. The two women on the council voted against the voluntary ordinance. (We need more women on the council.)

Anyway, with that chapter of my life behind me, I'm looking forward to moving on. Of course, this issue is far from over and MVPA still has a lot of work to do. I just need a couple weeks to sit back, relax, and get back into the groove of school.

It looks to be an exciting semester on a lot of fronts. I know quite a few freshman who I'm looking forward to visiting and hanging out with every now and then, including my cousin Marisa who's just down the way at Mills College in Oakland. My Aunt's running for Mountain View-Whisman School Board, and hopefully I'll have some time to help her. And the elections in general should be exciting, 4 seats up for grabs on the council means the potential for a major power shift. Plus, the presidential elections....yikes. My club, BUSSA, is also about to start its first full year, which is going to be really cool I'm sure. I should be planning a trip to Europe this January with Leo and Lauren too. And those Cal Bears are sure looking good, can't wait for our football games.

And it being my senior year, every moment with my friends here will be extra important. Before we know it we'll all be off to new lives. I want this year to go by nice and slow, in a good way, but I know that's impossible. It's gonna flash by. So here's hoping it's a memorable one.

Tonight is the final public hearing on Mountain View's historic preservation ordinance. This last week has been crazy. I am burnt out. Tired of all the e-mails, all the meetings, all the letters. Now I have to drag myself off to one last meeting.

Only problem is, we're hoping the council tables the mess of an ordinance they have before them and just revisits the issue later. Yeah...later. Which means that this all might never end. I hardley expect the council to follow that advice, much more likely is that after tonight MV will have one of the crappiest preservation ordinances (whether voluntary or mandatory) in the state. Gag.

I was right in my last post. This is like finals. Maybe even worse. At this point going back to school will be a vacation.

Random assortment of thoughts:

This summer is quickly, and I mean quickly, coming to an end. These last couple of weeks are going to be INTENSE. Like...finals... in a weird way. Not only do I have my job at the theatre and the four articles I still need to write for the Voice to finish, but Mountain View's preservation ordinance goes to the council for a final decision (we think) on August 17th. 3 days later, its back up to Berkeley for a week of nothingness. I look forward to that.

But until then I'm in high gear. This ordinance stuff is really stressing me out. I have to read old novels from high school english class to ease my mind before I fall asleep. Just one last push before what will likely be a bitter defeat for historic preservation in Mountain View. *sigh* I'm expecting the worst but still fighting for the best.

Matt and Kim have gone off to Hawai'i for school. My cousin Vanessa will soon join them. It's hard to believe that three people so important to my life are going so far away. Not used to that at all. I'll probably see them as much as I did before, but its just weird that they won't be around to just drop by. Especially Matt. I could always call him to hang out whenever I was home....ever since 7th grade. But I am really excited for all three of them and I'm really hoping to spend my spring break Hawai'i!

And I guess its all right that Vanessa is leaving, cause I'm getting a new cousin come December. (just kiddin Vaness if you ever read this....you are irreplaceable.) But everything seems to be checking out okay with my Uncle Victor and Aunt Elise's new baby. The 10th cousin. He will dethrown Sabrina, who has enjoyed a 14 year reign as the youngest cousin. I'm looking forward to meeting him.

Let's see...anything else? LA was really nice. I flew down by myself and took a two-hour taxi-van ride (thank you SoCal traffic) from the airport to Disneyland. Most randomly, one of my fellow riders was a Mtn. View native, transplanted to Portland. She went to Awalt High School when they closed my parents high school and renamed it Mountain View High. I might end up interviewing her for an arcticle I'm working on.

My parents and Chris were still on there way down from Davis orientation, so I met up with Kim who was there with her dad and sis. It was nice to spend the evening with them, and kind of surreal to jump off a plane, sit in traffic, and suddenly be in Disneyland with them. Once the family got there, we had a really nice time. We spent some relaxing days at the park, spending more time just sitting and watching the crowds then riding the rides. We do Disneyland right. We also made it up to the Getty Center, which is just amazing. If the architect, Richard Meier, brings even a fraction of its style to San Jose's new city hall, this valley will have a landmark to be proud of.

All righty. That should do it for now. I'll probably update this thing August 17th, post-ordinance adoption vent. Until then, enjoy the rest of your summer people.

Funny ...I'm sitting here thinking too bad I can't bring my laptop with me to LA tomorrow so I can work on my articles during the car ride home (its battery is dead) . Then I realize that within my own lifetime people didn't have laptops on which to write articles while on assignment or on trips. Weird. Writing on paper. Hmmm. Maybe I'll give it a try.

Doing the interviews for these first two articles has been more fun than I ever expected. I especially enjoyed yesterday's interview with an 90 something year old lady who has spent her entire life in Old Mountain View. She lives in a house built in 1880 surrounded by the last acre of her father's orchard. Stepping on to her property was like stepping back in time.

She was unbelievably sweet, and had a lot of interesting stories to tell. I really hope I can do her justice in the article. It's amazing the changes she's seen in her life time. The area that now most people consider the heart of "old" Mountain View wasn't even built when she was a child in the late 1920s.  It was great just chatting with her, even after my tape ran out. She wanted to know all about my family, and when I told her my mom is Mexican-American she exclaimed, "Oh that's why you have such beautiful eyes!' Aww shucks.

I had another interview today with a guy that's lived in Old MV for about two years. He was really cool, and it was so great to talk to someone with such a positive attitude about the Mountain View community. He's been here such a short time but it is already well connected to it, and he has a really good grip on what makes this city so special, it's diversity, it's unpretentious nature, and its unique sense of place. The fact that people like him are moving here makes me really optimistic about this city's future.

And finally I ended up calling a guy for an interview that sent me an e-mail yesterday complimenting my web page. He's Filipino-American, a dad of 15-month old baby. Very cool guy. Lives where the high school used to be, wife works in the new office building a block away, walks everywhere, except to Safeway. Loves it here. A City Planner's dream come true! The urban village does exist!

Anyhow, just overall, it's been really fun. I'm about half way through my second article, with four more to go. The next four should be a bit more challenging, but I'm looking forward to it. I also had a good meeting with the editor of the Voice, we talked about articles I can write in the fall about Mountain View history. She likes my story proposals, but I've proposed some pretty touchy, complex, and delicate pieces on par with my Washington Street series. It's gonna be a challenge to write them, especially during school. But I'm very excited about the prospect of telling these stories.

And finally, working at the Stanfurd Theatre is nice. So far I have avoided the cashier position most of the time and stayed at the door greeting people and taking tickets, or serving drinks. Let's hope I can keep that up. I can't count. It's sad. Most of the new hires since I worked there last summer are stanfurd co-eds who claim to not like football much and not really care about the rivalry. I just respond by saying, "I've heard more of that in the past two years...wonder why...maybe it's cause we have something you want..hmmm?" And their faces turn Cardinal Red. Hehe. Hopefully I can razz them enough to make them care by next year. God knows that school could use a resurgence of spirit. 

I got bored for a second and started reading away messages and came across Tejas':

"a cold and wet November dawn and there are no barking sparrows. just emptiness to dwell upon

I fell into a winter slide and ended up the kind of kid who goes down chutes too narrow..."

I have had enough. Something must be said about the abuse of November in song lyrics by emo-bands.

I'm tired of all these whiny white boy emo bans dissing my month, November. Nothing against emo-rock, which I usually enjoy. But please Jimmy Eat World. Please Postal Service. Please...The Shins.  And yes, please...The Early November. The November bashing must end.

November is not dark and depressing and rainy. It's not empty.

November is fun! You eat turkey, lots of turkey! It's home to Thanksgiving, one of the few holidays that's still simple and oriented around family-friend togetherness. It's a nice lull in the holiday storms of Halloween and Christmas. I love November. And it's football season. (But you probably don't like Football...try college football, that won me over.) Oh! And elections are in November! Exciting! (and hopefully not depressing this year...vote people, vote...unless your voting for Bush.).

Also, in case you didn't know, November starts with the letter N. Many good things start with the letter N.  And, of course, I was born in November.

So stop using it in all your sad depressing lyrics emo twerps. November shall no longer be your metaphor for all that is melodramatic in life.

End this. Now.

Or else I'll sic my grandma on you.

She was born on November 13th.

-------------------
Addendum:

The2Stepper:  i think november gets such a bad wrap because its the worst month of the quarter...december has christmas...october has beautiful fall colors and halloween candy 
Auto response from Nap98: around.   
The2Stepper:  novembers like the slump in between  
The2Stepper:  except for the 1/12 of the population that has their birthday there  
The2Stepper:  although i would actually imagine its more than 1/12 of the population...at least in the U.S. or other hallmark countries  
The2Stepper:  because valentines day is nine months prior  
Nap98:  haha

All right. Time for DC photos. The city is damn photogenic, in a very different way from Boston. I've kept these photos really small so the blog doesn't take forever to load like it did with Beantown.



The WWII Memorial on our first night. A column exists for each state, I took this picture of New Mexico's for my grandpa. The Washington Monument is in the background.



The WWII Memorial's Rainbow Pool and Fountain at night.



An awesome Mariachi group from Los Angeles packed in the crowds at "Nuestra Musica" on the Mall. My grandpa had seen them before.



Georgetown is the oldest part of DC. Kind of like Boston's Backbay, a very old area filled with very trendy stores.



A nice shot of the Capitol.



Who's seen Farenheit 9-11? Everyone that reads this thing. You probably can't make it out this small, but they're throwing a peace sign.



Grandpa standing in front of a plaque at the WWII Memorial showing what he did during the war, amphibious landings.



The four of us at the entrance to the WWII Memorial.



Sabrina at the Jefferson Memorial.



The Lincoln Memorial was really beautiful, especially on our last evening in DC.

It took a trip to Washington DC to make me feel the slightest bit patriotic this Fourth of July. After seeing Fahrenheit 9-11 a couple nights before the trip, I wondered how I could muster up the spirit to be amongst a sea of flag-waving, "God Bless the USA" singing Americans...

...but DC did it. The museums, and especially the memorials, helped me look past the current administration, the war, and all the politics and get back in touch with the roots of this country and all the lofty hopes and ideals it is constantly struggling to attain. We've stumbled, yes. We sure are stumbling right now. But there is still a lot to be proud of.

Being at the WWII Memorial with my grandpa was especially moving People came up and thanked him, saying their father, or grandfather, or uncle, or whoever served in the war. You could tell that many of the people at the memorial were visiting to honor someone they had lost....not in the war, but after it. It memorial was built too late for so many WWII Veterans who have passed on of old age. I am so lucky to have shared that experience with my grandpa. I'll cherish the memories forever.

But what really did it for me, was the "Nuestra Musica" festival the Smithsonian had set up as part of their big annual American Folklife Festival on the National Mall. The performers and announcers made sure to remind the audience that this was a showcase of LATINO musicians, Americans, not exoctics from foreign lands. That Latino culture is also American culture, and has been here for centuries.

The multi-state. multi-ethnic conglomeration of Americans present on our nations mall loved every minute of it. They packed into the performance tents watched the awesome performers, sang together, and danced together. Watching them dance was amazing.

People who had never met each other, of every color and race got together on that dance floor and let it loose. Old people, young people, even a guy in a wheelchair danced. Each person brought their own unique twist to the dance floor (I've never seen people dance to Cumbia or Tejano music the way some of them did!) The less experienced tried to learn from each other and borrow each other's moves. And when someone didn't have a partner when they got on the dance floor, a few seconds later they did.

That dance floor gave me something to celebrate on the Fourth of July. It represented what I hope America is about. A very diverse group of folks coming together, learning from each other, but staying true to themselves, all while making something far from perfect, but still beautiful.

Back from DC. Great trip. More later. Very tired, in a good way.

Job situation seems to be solved. Back at the theatre on Saturday, doing some freelance for the Voice. Better late than never.

I just noticed how the ads on top of our blogs, try to pick up on their content with some "related searches." Kind of funny to see what comes up. Here's a look at what I see right now:

Candice:
Ads: Dance Tight Distributors and Tights at Discount Dance
Related searches: "Hot Pants" and "Pants"

Hmm...all right. That dress code post.

Erik:
A blank white space sponsored by Google.

Even the ads couldn't figure it out.

Kat:
Ads: "Dude Where's My Car - On sale Now" and "ipower Web Hosting"
Related searches: "Dude, Where's my Car" and "Funny stuff"

Dude.

Lauren:
Ads: "Days in Deals- Wash DC" and "No Jet Lag- Great Remedey"
Related searches: Paula Cole

Wonder where Paula Cole came from?

Tejas:
Ads: "iPower Webhosting" and "Create your Blog Today"
Related searches: blog and fear

He does reference his blog a lot. Fear eh? Haha.

I need to get out of Mountain View...and go some place less politically charged...like DC. Haha. Yeah. I'll be there in a day though and I'm looking forward to it.

God I can't wait till this whole preservation ordeal is done with. It's like watching a very slow and painful death. Kill my dream already! Kill it!

Things aren't that bad. Something good can still come of this. But after over two years of debate, MV is gonna end up with an ordinance that allows for the demolition of historic landmarks without public review or city approval. The property rights group is angrier, louder, better funded, and has more connections. (one of them is an old friend and furd frat brother of the mayor). They skew the facts, resort to name calling (According to them, Chris and I are "arrogant zealots", btw) and have scared the city into buying an almost Libertarian philosophy. In taking the high road, not stooping to their level, my group may have preserved its honor and respectability but not the buildings we were trying to save. Oh well, lesson learnt.

But in the end, it comes down to the City Council. And the current council is not the same council that got this ball rolling in the first place. The only one who truly seems to care about preservation is off in Afghanistan. The rest of the bunch is surpringly conservative for a town like Mountain View. I guess we'll have to wait another 30 years for the city to get this right. Until then my group is going to have its work cut out for it, using education and advocacy to save landmarks without an effective ordinance.

I spent this past Wednesday through Saturday at San Luis Obispo with Martin and Dustin. Quite the adventure. Martin goes to CalPoly so we stayed at his place down there. He turned 21 on Saturday, and the plan was to hit the bars on Friday night at midnight. Ends up Martin and Dustin decided to drink every night we were there. I ended up driving them and Martin's friends around every night in Tin's car.

(FYI it's Martin with a Spanish accent over the i...so Marteen...we call him Teen sometimes, but its spelled Tin. Just wanted you to be able to read this right)

Anyhow, I volunteered to be the DD for a variety of reasons. First of all, while they assured me ways home would be found, I saw from the start that once people were drunk they insisted on driving when they shouldn't be. I didn't want to risk that happening.

Secondly, Martin's house was a dirty. Superfund site dirty. Food in various levels of decay dirty. So dirty it stank and made my stomach turn dirty. It made the messiest the Pink House has ever been look sparkling clean. (in fact, it made me realize how damn good I have it at that house!) Thank god Martin's room was comparatively clean. The bathroom however, was awful. I didn't want to wake up with a hang over in that house.

And third, I'm low on cash and drinking is expensive. I only had 10 bucks in my wallet when we went to the bars. I had one beer. With no job this summer, I feel really bad about spending money on things I don't need.

I won't go into more detail...but Martin and Dustin weren't the most fun people to be around when they were drunk. Up till this weekend, every drunk person I've been around has been a jolly drunk. But after a certain point, Dustin gets angry and aggressive and Martin get moody and emotional. Much cooler when they're sober. Haha. Nevertheless, it was still kinda cool to see what the CalPoly party/social/bar scene is like. Worlds apart from Cal. Or at least the Cal I know. I can see the benefits, but I know now more than ever that when I chose Cal over CalPoly, I made one of the best decisions I've ever made or will ever make in my life.

The days however, were great. We went to Morro Bay and checked out the tide pools, went on an awesome sunset/night hike to the top of Bishop's Peak with two of Martin's housemates, and spent an afternoon in Pismo. Fun times. Martin's friends down there are pretty cool. I had fun hangin' with them.

So yeah...the trip had its tough times. Survivor: SLO times. But overall I'm still really glad I went. Even the parts of the trip that weren't so great at the time are already funny (or at least absurd) memories.

Tonight Martin's family threw him a bday party/BBQ at their house. A sizeable grouping of my high school friends were there. Dustin, Martin, Matt, Kim, Jamie, and Lauren B. We all really had a great time. Martin was the only one of us who drank (as it should be, he is celebratin his 21st after all..but he was only a little buzzed).

But the night, in a way, reinforced why I love my group of friends from high school so much. We are that rare group of SFHS alums that can have tons o' fun together without drugs or alcohol. God I sound like an afternoon special. But it's true. Tonight was the first night we were all together as 21 year olds, and while we all enjoy drinking every now and then, it's not something we think we need to loosen up or feel comfortable enough to have a really good time together. I'm glad to see that hasn't changed now that we're all 21. Some nights just being around them gets me on a natural high and I become really goofy and feel really at ease. Tonight was one of those nights. We can make each other drunk I guess...without alcohol if that makes any sense.

Long live Team Fuzzy Bunny Unicorn Zebra Pants!

Don't ask.