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.