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.