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-
Saturday, October 09, 2004
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!
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!
Friday, October 08, 2004
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$C posts eat a huge helping of crow for dinner on Saturday. Show the nation what your made of, and make our great university proud.
...and now, I'm off to LA.
...Cocky Condom Comment.
from the www.wearesc.com football forum
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Smack a Bear
Remember High-School...
Remember how much fun it was to haze the Freshmen...
How would you like to rel-live your "Glory Days" again?
On Oct. 9th, I'd like to usher in "Smack a Bear"
To participate in this ritual, you must first identify a BearUse the below chart to identify your victim:
A) Bears are dirty hippies
B) Bears wear birkenstock sandles and drag their feet.
C) Bears can be found holding flowers, and flashing the "peace" sign.
D) Bears were Grateful Dead Tie-Dyed T-Shirts and dirty Levis
Now if you ID a Bear... "smack 'em" A smack is a light pimp slap/b!tch slap, and should be executed quickly, and upon an unsuspecting bear victim .
After pimp slap is applied - you must immediately act like another bear did it. This is done by pointing to another bear while saying "He did it"
So have fun, and smack a bear!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wow. Real classy. Grade A fans huh?
All I can say is GO BEARS! Beat the Trojans. Make the authors of these wonderful U$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.
Thursday, October 07, 2004
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.
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.
...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.
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
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$C! yay!
[Once again, these come from the Trojan's "Thundering Herd" message board]:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here is your typical class schedule for a incoming Cal Freshman
*Civil Disobedience 101
*Communal living in the new millenium
*Modern Free Thinking
*Great Hippie leaders
Electives:*
Advanced Zig-Zag Rolling
*Rioting & Looting essentials
You Forgot
Anti-American History 101.
Wait until Saturday and observe this behavior. Cal fans are the only college students I've seen who shout anti-American slogans and obscenities during the national anthem.
I fear Cal and their students, they will be too much to overcome......
....they will wake up the ghosts of Marx and Mao this Saturday. Their peoples are too numerous, their body order too much to take. What will we ever do?
Another women's class
How to braid your underarm hair 101.
don't forget "The History of Woodstock"*
x
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ha...ha...h.....eh.....I'll spare you the rest.
[congrats to Erik for being the first to take advantage of the 'comment' feature. Feel free to follow his lead]
...Cocky Condom Comment.
Today's entery is a doozy. We not only have one post, but an entire thread of drivel from U$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]
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
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$C's neighborhood, I doubt they have much to brag about. At least Cal's campus is only surrounded by urban decay on just one of its borders.
As for the rest of the post.....hah:
What a dump!
[side note: how do you like the new template?]
...Cocky Condom Comment.
Today's post comes from the Trojan's "Thundering Herd" message board:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cal's campus is a disgrace to taxpayers...
...I spent a weekend at the Claremont Hotel in Oakland and spent an afternoon walking around and on the Cal campus. I never have witnessed a more sorry sight. Trash everywhere, "Lick Bush" signs on the campus and on the homes surrounding the campus, green hair and unshaven female armpits everywhere. What a dump. Telegraph Avenue (the main artery to the campus) was replete with urine odor and the shops and stores were largely filthy. No wonder USC has surpassed Cal in many academic areas. Who the hell would send their son or daughter to that hell hole. So much for the UC's and public education. We all know that public education at the grade and secondary school level has failed. Well it won't be long now for the demise of the CSU's and UC's. There...I feel better now. Kill the Bears.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, his Telegraph Avenue description isn't too far off, but hey, it's all part of the themeing. And heck....judging from what I've heard about U$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?]
Monday, October 04, 2004
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!
....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.
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.
Friday, October 01, 2004
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
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...)
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...)
Sunday, September 26, 2004
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.
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.
Saturday, September 11, 2004
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!
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!
Friday, September 10, 2004
Thursday, September 09, 2004
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!
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!
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
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?
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?
Thursday, September 02, 2004
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.
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.
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
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.
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.
Monday, August 23, 2004
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.
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.
Tuesday, August 17, 2004
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.
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.
Saturday, August 07, 2004
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.
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.
Thursday, July 22, 2004
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.
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.
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
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
"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
Monday, July 12, 2004
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.
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.
Sunday, July 11, 2004
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.
...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.
Wednesday, July 07, 2004
Thursday, July 01, 2004
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.
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.
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.
Sunday, June 27, 2004
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.
(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.
Tuesday, June 22, 2004
Monday, June 21, 2004
So, my Boston photos in the previous post seem to go off-line every now and then. Sorry bout that.
I'm well into my summer vacation, and have yet to land a job. Even a voluntary one, and now its too late to really find anything good. I'll probably end up working at the Stanford Theatre again, but won't be making much money since they are hardly ever open this summer it seems. Anyways, I told them when I could work...but haven't heard back.
Palo Alto continues to lead me on. Interviewing me in April. Saying they'd get back to me in a couple weeks. Getting back to me in mid-May saying I was not chosen. Calling me the next week saying, "whoops, you're actually one of three finalists!' Saying they'd get back to me in a week. Not returning my e-mail a week later. Not returning my call two weeks later. Returning my second e-mail giving me bad news about not being chosen. BUT saying they would like to hire me for an hourly job assisting their historic preservation planner. Saying they'd get back to me last week and that I should call if they don't. Not returning my call. I'm still hoping this can work out...someday.
And since no jobs seem to be in my immediate future, I'm considering going to Cal Poly with Martin and Matt later this week.
Other thoughts:
Santa Cruz with Martin, Dustin, Jamie, and Rachel was a lot of fun. First official trip to the beach of the summer. Had a great time hanging out with a good chunk of my old high school crew.
My day in Berkeley last Thursday was very nice. The DCRP/BUSSA meetings went well, and it was good to see Kat, Candice, and Kay for lunch.
My grandpa's surprise birthday party went really well.
...now it's kinda up to me to make sure his present from the whole family, a fully paid trip to Washington DC to see the new World War II Memorial, goes well too.
Chris, my lil cuz Sabrina, and I will be taking him there from July 2nd to July 7th. The whole thing was my idea, and I planned everything, from the hotel to the flight, to getting everyone's approval and contribution. Right now, the trip is really stressing me out, because I have to figure all the logistics out and am feeling a lot of pressure to make sure that my grandpa has a good time.
I have to worry about how far he can walk, if he can withstand the heat and humidity, where we can get food for him that fits his strict diabetic diet, what sites we are going to see, who will be watching over my grandma while we are gone, etc. And he's not letting me forget any of that. I expected he would have some concerns about the trip. But I also hoped he would show some more excitement about it and spend some more time thinking and talking about the fun we could have. It would make all the stress I've gone through and am going through to plan this bearable. But instead, I get a litany of concerns from him, followed by "well, it's all up to you Nick, you're the leader here I'll just do what you say." Ack. But that's my grandpa for ya.
Hopefully, once we are there, everything will work out and it'll be a great trip.
I'm well into my summer vacation, and have yet to land a job. Even a voluntary one, and now its too late to really find anything good. I'll probably end up working at the Stanford Theatre again, but won't be making much money since they are hardly ever open this summer it seems. Anyways, I told them when I could work...but haven't heard back.
Palo Alto continues to lead me on. Interviewing me in April. Saying they'd get back to me in a couple weeks. Getting back to me in mid-May saying I was not chosen. Calling me the next week saying, "whoops, you're actually one of three finalists!' Saying they'd get back to me in a week. Not returning my e-mail a week later. Not returning my call two weeks later. Returning my second e-mail giving me bad news about not being chosen. BUT saying they would like to hire me for an hourly job assisting their historic preservation planner. Saying they'd get back to me last week and that I should call if they don't. Not returning my call. I'm still hoping this can work out...someday.
And since no jobs seem to be in my immediate future, I'm considering going to Cal Poly with Martin and Matt later this week.
Other thoughts:
Santa Cruz with Martin, Dustin, Jamie, and Rachel was a lot of fun. First official trip to the beach of the summer. Had a great time hanging out with a good chunk of my old high school crew.
My day in Berkeley last Thursday was very nice. The DCRP/BUSSA meetings went well, and it was good to see Kat, Candice, and Kay for lunch.
My grandpa's surprise birthday party went really well.
...now it's kinda up to me to make sure his present from the whole family, a fully paid trip to Washington DC to see the new World War II Memorial, goes well too.
Chris, my lil cuz Sabrina, and I will be taking him there from July 2nd to July 7th. The whole thing was my idea, and I planned everything, from the hotel to the flight, to getting everyone's approval and contribution. Right now, the trip is really stressing me out, because I have to figure all the logistics out and am feeling a lot of pressure to make sure that my grandpa has a good time.
I have to worry about how far he can walk, if he can withstand the heat and humidity, where we can get food for him that fits his strict diabetic diet, what sites we are going to see, who will be watching over my grandma while we are gone, etc. And he's not letting me forget any of that. I expected he would have some concerns about the trip. But I also hoped he would show some more excitement about it and spend some more time thinking and talking about the fun we could have. It would make all the stress I've gone through and am going through to plan this bearable. But instead, I get a litany of concerns from him, followed by "well, it's all up to you Nick, you're the leader here I'll just do what you say." Ack. But that's my grandpa for ya.
Hopefully, once we are there, everything will work out and it'll be a great trip.
Thursday, June 10, 2004
Time for Boston Photos!
The North End
This is a photo of the North End, Boston's oldest neighborhood. I loved it here. The neighborhood used to be cut off from the rest of the city by a freeway, but now because of the infamous "Big Dig" where they are putting the freeway underground, its connected again. Paul Revere's house is here (and I visited it)so is the church where they lit the lanterns ("one if by land, two if by sea"). The neighborhood has been predominantly Italian for decades, with very narrow streets, small markets, and many beautiful little churches. All in all, as close to Europe as I have ever been!
The Public Garden
The Public Garden was near my hotel in the Backbay neighborhood. It's one of the oldest parks in the city and America and is filled with beautiful old statues, and a pastoral lake where you can rent swan boats and paddle around. I really liked this old angel fountain.
Beacon Hill
Beacon Hill is one of the most ritzy neighborhoods in Boston. Very blue blood. It's home to beautiful brick rowhouses, cobblestone streets, corner markets, the original Cheers, lots of little dogs, and John Kerry. It's right in the heart of the city, behind the State Capitol.
This cobblestone street is really eye catching. It kind of captures the feel of the whole neighborhood, and is frequently photographed.
Beacon Street is the main street of the neighborhood. Unlike other wealthy neighborhood shopping areas, the stores here are pretty practical, but very immaculate and classy. You have high end restaurants, antique shops, and the nicest looking 7-11 I have ever seen. This little market's storefront really stood out.
Boston Public Library
The Boston Public Library's main branch was across the street from my hotel on Copley Square in the Back Bay. It is one of the first public libraries in the country, and is beautiful both inside and out. As my other pictures show, the sky was usually overcast most of the trip. The sun came out and streamed through the library's lobby windows for a moment when I snapped this photo.
The State Capitol
The MA State Capitol is an awesome building. This photo is looking up towards the main rotunda's golden dome.
...that's all for now. I might post some more later.
The North End
This is a photo of the North End, Boston's oldest neighborhood. I loved it here. The neighborhood used to be cut off from the rest of the city by a freeway, but now because of the infamous "Big Dig" where they are putting the freeway underground, its connected again. Paul Revere's house is here (and I visited it)so is the church where they lit the lanterns ("one if by land, two if by sea"). The neighborhood has been predominantly Italian for decades, with very narrow streets, small markets, and many beautiful little churches. All in all, as close to Europe as I have ever been!
The Public Garden
The Public Garden was near my hotel in the Backbay neighborhood. It's one of the oldest parks in the city and America and is filled with beautiful old statues, and a pastoral lake where you can rent swan boats and paddle around. I really liked this old angel fountain.
Beacon Hill
Beacon Hill is one of the most ritzy neighborhoods in Boston. Very blue blood. It's home to beautiful brick rowhouses, cobblestone streets, corner markets, the original Cheers, lots of little dogs, and John Kerry. It's right in the heart of the city, behind the State Capitol.
This cobblestone street is really eye catching. It kind of captures the feel of the whole neighborhood, and is frequently photographed.
Beacon Street is the main street of the neighborhood. Unlike other wealthy neighborhood shopping areas, the stores here are pretty practical, but very immaculate and classy. You have high end restaurants, antique shops, and the nicest looking 7-11 I have ever seen. This little market's storefront really stood out.
Boston Public Library
The Boston Public Library's main branch was across the street from my hotel on Copley Square in the Back Bay. It is one of the first public libraries in the country, and is beautiful both inside and out. As my other pictures show, the sky was usually overcast most of the trip. The sun came out and streamed through the library's lobby windows for a moment when I snapped this photo.
The State Capitol
The MA State Capitol is an awesome building. This photo is looking up towards the main rotunda's golden dome.
...that's all for now. I might post some more later.
Thursday, June 03, 2004
Wow. What a busy summer so far.
I'll put some pics up of my Boston trip soon. But the trip was a lot of fun and the city was great! And if things pan out.... Boston won't be the only eastcoast city I'll be visiting this summer! More on that later too.
Still waiting to hear from Palo Alto. Jeeze. Time to call the Stanford Theatre again. I can't sit around forever waiting for Palo Alto to get their act together. (Although I'd very much like to) But I need money.
In other news...Chris is now a SFHS Alumni. It's crazy! I'm so proud of my little brother. He didn't get any recognition at graduation for the stuff he did this year, but the Mtn. View paper got it right and profiled him in this week's article about the SFHS class of 2004. He shares the article with a profile of the super-star valedictorian and the student body president. And Chris was the first of the three to be profiled. Right on, MV Voice. They've always treated us Perry bros quite nicely.
Check it out:
Lancers Ready for Next Step
Same edition, he's the author of one of the Teen Voice articles. (I helped him write this one)
The Pressure To Drink
That's all for now. Hope your summer is going well.
I'll put some pics up of my Boston trip soon. But the trip was a lot of fun and the city was great! And if things pan out.... Boston won't be the only eastcoast city I'll be visiting this summer! More on that later too.
Still waiting to hear from Palo Alto. Jeeze. Time to call the Stanford Theatre again. I can't sit around forever waiting for Palo Alto to get their act together. (Although I'd very much like to) But I need money.
In other news...Chris is now a SFHS Alumni. It's crazy! I'm so proud of my little brother. He didn't get any recognition at graduation for the stuff he did this year, but the Mtn. View paper got it right and profiled him in this week's article about the SFHS class of 2004. He shares the article with a profile of the super-star valedictorian and the student body president. And Chris was the first of the three to be profiled. Right on, MV Voice. They've always treated us Perry bros quite nicely.
Check it out:
Lancers Ready for Next Step
Same edition, he's the author of one of the Teen Voice articles. (I helped him write this one)
The Pressure To Drink
That's all for now. Hope your summer is going well.
Thursday, May 20, 2004
Let's see...some Semester highlights?
Trips to SF. On rainy days with Leo and Lauren for their project along the Embarcadero. With Erik last Sunday to escape studying for finals for an afternoon at the Ferry Building. With Steph, Candice, Dan, and Erik to hang out at the beach and then getting followed by the scary naked guy. To meet my family for a night on the town to see the Lion King. With BUSSA to visit MOMA and to have some burritos in the Mission after. One of the best things about Cal is being close to such a world-class city.
City Planning Studio! What can I say, we rocked! We were told twice that we were better than the city planning grad studios, once by the Chair of the Department of City and Regional Planning. The people in studio were great, we had a lot of fun. Especially the folks in my two teams. Late nights in Wurster listening to BEPs over and over again (Let's Get Retarded), and ugh...my first all-nighter in Wurster. Even that was kinda cool. Not really, but ya, it paid off.
Haha...my first Thursday night at Cal as a 21 year old. Thanks for being so *helpful* Miss Profiet on our walk back to the house you lil punk. I forgive you for pushing me into the shrubs, weeds, whatever you want to call them.
BUSSA. What a cool group of people. and some fun activities. I started this semester with the intention of helping start a club for students studying City Planning. I never thought that it might happen so soon and be successful. I'm really looking forward to serving as Coordinator for the club next year and seeing it further establish itself.
CP118 with Leo and Lauren. Well not the class so much, all though the class was certainty interesting. But the lunches after. Endlessly planning trips to Europe, making fun of each other, complaining to each other, or just talking. Next winter, our Europe plans better become a reality. My range of dining options has also expanded vastly this semester. Thaaaanks guys.
Parties! At the girl's apartment. At Steph's place. For Flavia's birthday. For Hanah's Birthday. Good times. We need to have a good one at our place still though.
Friday lunches with the crew. When I could make it. The discussions never failed to be entertaining.
And lastly, just normal nights at the house. Watching TV, joking around, hanging out. This is a nice place to come home to.
Summer, hopefully, will be nice. But I'm looking forward to Fall already.
Trips to SF. On rainy days with Leo and Lauren for their project along the Embarcadero. With Erik last Sunday to escape studying for finals for an afternoon at the Ferry Building. With Steph, Candice, Dan, and Erik to hang out at the beach and then getting followed by the scary naked guy. To meet my family for a night on the town to see the Lion King. With BUSSA to visit MOMA and to have some burritos in the Mission after. One of the best things about Cal is being close to such a world-class city.
City Planning Studio! What can I say, we rocked! We were told twice that we were better than the city planning grad studios, once by the Chair of the Department of City and Regional Planning. The people in studio were great, we had a lot of fun. Especially the folks in my two teams. Late nights in Wurster listening to BEPs over and over again (Let's Get Retarded), and ugh...my first all-nighter in Wurster. Even that was kinda cool. Not really, but ya, it paid off.
Haha...my first Thursday night at Cal as a 21 year old. Thanks for being so *helpful* Miss Profiet on our walk back to the house you lil punk. I forgive you for pushing me into the shrubs, weeds, whatever you want to call them.
BUSSA. What a cool group of people. and some fun activities. I started this semester with the intention of helping start a club for students studying City Planning. I never thought that it might happen so soon and be successful. I'm really looking forward to serving as Coordinator for the club next year and seeing it further establish itself.
CP118 with Leo and Lauren. Well not the class so much, all though the class was certainty interesting. But the lunches after. Endlessly planning trips to Europe, making fun of each other, complaining to each other, or just talking. Next winter, our Europe plans better become a reality. My range of dining options has also expanded vastly this semester. Thaaaanks guys.
Parties! At the girl's apartment. At Steph's place. For Flavia's birthday. For Hanah's Birthday. Good times. We need to have a good one at our place still though.
Friday lunches with the crew. When I could make it. The discussions never failed to be entertaining.
And lastly, just normal nights at the house. Watching TV, joking around, hanging out. This is a nice place to come home to.
Summer, hopefully, will be nice. But I'm looking forward to Fall already.
Well...
I'm done! My Junior Year at Cal, is over. And I must say, I kicked ass academically this year, both semesters. On the other fronts, I had a really fun time in the house, with Leo and Lauren, and with BUSSA, over this past semester.
But of course, for me all endings are bittersweet. Friends are graduating this year, starting their adult lives. And seeing them leave just reminds me that I'm leaving this time next year...and it scares the crap out of me. I am not ready to leave Cal. Maybe I will be next May, but I doubt it. Between now and then I've got a lot to figure out. And I can't imagine saying goodbye to all my friends here, leaving this house, leaving this whole life behind.
Over the past few days I've found lots of ways to distract myself from not studying. Since Erik's been gone one of my procrastination activities have been to read the many inspirational posters/cards he has up on his wall. One, from some guy named Buddha says:
The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.
I should work on that.
Meanwhile, I want to have a lot of fun this summer. Head start, I'm off to Boston on Saturday morning! Good way to start my vacation while you poor saps on the quarter system are still taking midterms (sorry...sorry...sorry).
I'm done! My Junior Year at Cal, is over. And I must say, I kicked ass academically this year, both semesters. On the other fronts, I had a really fun time in the house, with Leo and Lauren, and with BUSSA, over this past semester.
But of course, for me all endings are bittersweet. Friends are graduating this year, starting their adult lives. And seeing them leave just reminds me that I'm leaving this time next year...and it scares the crap out of me. I am not ready to leave Cal. Maybe I will be next May, but I doubt it. Between now and then I've got a lot to figure out. And I can't imagine saying goodbye to all my friends here, leaving this house, leaving this whole life behind.
Over the past few days I've found lots of ways to distract myself from not studying. Since Erik's been gone one of my procrastination activities have been to read the many inspirational posters/cards he has up on his wall. One, from some guy named Buddha says:
The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.
I should work on that.
Meanwhile, I want to have a lot of fun this summer. Head start, I'm off to Boston on Saturday morning! Good way to start my vacation while you poor saps on the quarter system are still taking midterms (sorry...sorry...sorry).
Sunday, May 16, 2004
Gentes da Diáspora
Ei-los que partem
novos e velhos
buscando a sorte
noutra paragens
noutra aragens
entre os povos
ei-los que partem
velhos e novos
Ei-los que partem
de olhos molhados
coração triste
e a saca às costas
esperança em riste
sonhos dourados
ei-los que partem
de olhos molhados
Virão um dia
ricos ou não
contando histórias
de lá longe
onde o suor
se fez pão
virão um dia
ou não
-Manuel Freire
I've signed up to take Portuguese next semester, with the hope that come January, I'll be using some of it in Portugal.
Ei-los que partem
novos e velhos
buscando a sorte
noutra paragens
noutra aragens
entre os povos
ei-los que partem
velhos e novos
Ei-los que partem
de olhos molhados
coração triste
e a saca às costas
esperança em riste
sonhos dourados
ei-los que partem
de olhos molhados
Virão um dia
ricos ou não
contando histórias
de lá longe
onde o suor
se fez pão
virão um dia
ou não
-Manuel Freire
I've signed up to take Portuguese next semester, with the hope that come January, I'll be using some of it in Portugal.
Wednesday, May 12, 2004
It's over! My City Planning studio is over! It's actually kinda sad. I love studio and I hope this isn't my last. Studios have been one of the biggest highlights of my college experience. The final review today went really well for everyone. (and I must say, my group in particular really pulled it together and were dished only compliments by our panel of reviewers...a Berkeley City Planner, the architect of the biggest Development firm in Berkeley, and a well known and respected Urban Designer)
In the end our teary eyed Professor showered us with praise and wished us well, and we did likewise to her. People were patting each other on the back, many of us have become friends over the course of the semester. Overall, it ended on a really really good vibe for the 15 of us. I can safely say I learned a lot too. We put a lot of hard work and it really paid off. Woohoo!
But now that it's over...time to study for finals (boo!). Of course, before that there's a party tonight (yay!). And at least I can safely assume that in at least once class, I have a big fat A coming my way (yay for studio!).
In the end our teary eyed Professor showered us with praise and wished us well, and we did likewise to her. People were patting each other on the back, many of us have become friends over the course of the semester. Overall, it ended on a really really good vibe for the 15 of us. I can safely say I learned a lot too. We put a lot of hard work and it really paid off. Woohoo!
But now that it's over...time to study for finals (boo!). Of course, before that there's a party tonight (yay!). And at least I can safely assume that in at least once class, I have a big fat A coming my way (yay for studio!).
Tuesday, May 11, 2004
So....I was in Studio from 5pm on Sunday to 8am on Monday. Yep, my first all-nighter in Wurster. I dodged that bullet in 11b, who would've thought it'd hit me in a City Planning studio? I made my way home by 8:30...finished up some photo shop, went back to studio at 12:30.
And I slept at 10. Slept through my alarm and woke up at 12:45...missed a review session. Oops. Kinda outta it and grumpy today. But something really cool cheered me up in ED100....I got a shout out from Professor Roy. It was really flattering. The class was having an open question/answer review session and the topic of nostalgia versus history came up.
While answering a question on the topic, Prof. Roy started talking about theme parks and said "In fact, Nick wrote a great paper on Disney theme park's use of history, about a year ago...right Nick?"
I looked at her and smiled goofly and nodded....thinking..does she want me to say something. But I stayed quiet...I was still getting over the fact that I was served a compliment in front of a lot of my friends and classmates by a prof. that is one of the most well respected in the CED.
It felt good...especially since in that class things often go over my head and I don't feel confident enough to ask questions and participate. It really made my day.
And I slept at 10. Slept through my alarm and woke up at 12:45...missed a review session. Oops. Kinda outta it and grumpy today. But something really cool cheered me up in ED100....I got a shout out from Professor Roy. It was really flattering. The class was having an open question/answer review session and the topic of nostalgia versus history came up.
While answering a question on the topic, Prof. Roy started talking about theme parks and said "In fact, Nick wrote a great paper on Disney theme park's use of history, about a year ago...right Nick?"
I looked at her and smiled goofly and nodded....thinking..does she want me to say something. But I stayed quiet...I was still getting over the fact that I was served a compliment in front of a lot of my friends and classmates by a prof. that is one of the most well respected in the CED.
It felt good...especially since in that class things often go over my head and I don't feel confident enough to ask questions and participate. It really made my day.
Tuesday, May 04, 2004
So...no Europe this summer for me. But Leo and Lauren and I are planning on going in January (brrrr). Found this off a European weather/travel web page:
For Sightseeing/Culture in reasonably comfortable weather conditions:
Spain: with the exception of Madrid[cold] and the North[wet], Spain is generally warm and pleasant in January. The best bet for a dry cultural experience is in the south, visiting the magical Moorish cities of Seville, Cordoba and Granada, where the days are warm and the nights coolish. Barcelona too is a lively, interesting city, though it can be a little chilly/wet in January. Swimming in the Mediterranean in winter is no fun, nor is the sad, overbuilt coast that is now dedicated to sod-the-culture, we want sun, sea and sangria tour groups.
Portugal: A bit wet, but often warm with blue skies in January. Try the pleasant old-fashioned atmosphere of Lisbon, or further south to the Algarve for outdoor pursuits.
Italy: The southern part of Italy has generally mild winters with blue skies, so Rome, Naples, Pompeii, Herculaneum and Sicily are excellent cultural targets, while Amalfi takes good care of those who need a scenic uplift. Venice is chilly, damp and foggy, but has an interesting, spooky quality, enhanced by the lack of tourists [and relatively welcoming locals].
Seville, Cordoba, Granada, Barcelona, Lisbon, Algarve, Rome, Naples, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Sicily, Amalfi...and a spooky/interesting Venice? Sounds like some good choices to me!
For Sightseeing/Culture in reasonably comfortable weather conditions:
Spain: with the exception of Madrid[cold] and the North[wet], Spain is generally warm and pleasant in January. The best bet for a dry cultural experience is in the south, visiting the magical Moorish cities of Seville, Cordoba and Granada, where the days are warm and the nights coolish. Barcelona too is a lively, interesting city, though it can be a little chilly/wet in January. Swimming in the Mediterranean in winter is no fun, nor is the sad, overbuilt coast that is now dedicated to sod-the-culture, we want sun, sea and sangria tour groups.
Portugal: A bit wet, but often warm with blue skies in January. Try the pleasant old-fashioned atmosphere of Lisbon, or further south to the Algarve for outdoor pursuits.
Italy: The southern part of Italy has generally mild winters with blue skies, so Rome, Naples, Pompeii, Herculaneum and Sicily are excellent cultural targets, while Amalfi takes good care of those who need a scenic uplift. Venice is chilly, damp and foggy, but has an interesting, spooky quality, enhanced by the lack of tourists [and relatively welcoming locals].
Seville, Cordoba, Granada, Barcelona, Lisbon, Algarve, Rome, Naples, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Sicily, Amalfi...and a spooky/interesting Venice? Sounds like some good choices to me!
Monday, May 03, 2004
So this weekend was pretty cool.
Thursday was very productive. I met with the prof who is my advisor for the first time, and we had a very nice conversation. I actually got some good advice too! Go fig. She looked over my resume as well, and gave it a thumbs up. So I felt confident taking it down to the CED "Show and Tell" that evening, where CED alumni set up tables about the company's the work for. Carey & Co, an Architectural Preservation and Planning firm was there. I would love to have an internship with them. I had a great conversation with the Vice-President (a CED arch alum) and submitted my resume. Sent an e-mail that night. Still waiting to see if anything comes of this.
My uncle got married and I missed it though. But it was at 2:00 on Friday in San Jose City Hall, kinda hard to get to seeing that I scheduled to meet with my studio prof at 5:30. Argh. Then Mikey gives me a hard time about it even though I already feel bad I didn't make it. Butt nugget punk. Hehe.
I've been spending most of the weekend either writing my ED100 paper or thinking about writing my ED100 paper or worrying that I'm procrastinating because I'm not writing my ED100 paper, or working on studio. I will be quite relieved after tomorrow when my LAST paper of the year will be turned in and I can focus my complete attention on designing a new streetscape and parking/retail complex for University Avenue (that's my part of the studio project).
But nevertheless, the weekend was lots of fun. Steph's 21st bday party was great. I managed to drink enough to have a good time....but also remember every thing that happened. (Okay that sounds bad. It's just that the two times I've been drunk since my 21st, I over did it. No regrets, never been sick, I just need to get a better idea of my limits.) Anyways, remembering everything is both a good and bad thing I suppose. I make some pretty dumb comments when I'm drunk. The truth is, I know they're dumb as I am saying them, I'll say strange things to garner a laugh (him....I am my father's son). And Lauren enjoys recounting each phrase to me the next day, while I hit myself in the head.
So after a night of drunkenness, poor Kat has "the worst hang over ever." Check out her blog for a transcript of our humorous morning-after exchange. That afternoon, Lauren, Eric, Erik, Candice, Kay and I headed down to the Presbyterian Church to see Kat's final Wind Ensemble performance. It was very nice, and I couldn't help but think it was 'very Berkeley' of the group to be out drunk partying the night before and then quietly watching a symphonic performance some ten hours later.
And on that note...Chris is still waiting to hear back about his Berkeley appeal. I think I'm just as, if not more, wound up about it then he is. He's submitted his SIR to Davis already, so if he's not a Golden Bear, he'll be an Aggie. No shame in that, Davis is a great school and he's looking forward to going there if that's the way the ball bounces. But I've been reading the "college confidential" discussion boards, which are inhabited by overly-paranoid high school seniors to see if any of them have heard back from their Berkeley appeals. Apparently some have, with a few successes. It gives me hope. I wouldn't be surprised if we find out by tonight.
All right, time to head down to campus.
Thursday was very productive. I met with the prof who is my advisor for the first time, and we had a very nice conversation. I actually got some good advice too! Go fig. She looked over my resume as well, and gave it a thumbs up. So I felt confident taking it down to the CED "Show and Tell" that evening, where CED alumni set up tables about the company's the work for. Carey & Co, an Architectural Preservation and Planning firm was there. I would love to have an internship with them. I had a great conversation with the Vice-President (a CED arch alum) and submitted my resume. Sent an e-mail that night. Still waiting to see if anything comes of this.
My uncle got married and I missed it though. But it was at 2:00 on Friday in San Jose City Hall, kinda hard to get to seeing that I scheduled to meet with my studio prof at 5:30. Argh. Then Mikey gives me a hard time about it even though I already feel bad I didn't make it. Butt nugget punk. Hehe.
I've been spending most of the weekend either writing my ED100 paper or thinking about writing my ED100 paper or worrying that I'm procrastinating because I'm not writing my ED100 paper, or working on studio. I will be quite relieved after tomorrow when my LAST paper of the year will be turned in and I can focus my complete attention on designing a new streetscape and parking/retail complex for University Avenue (that's my part of the studio project).
But nevertheless, the weekend was lots of fun. Steph's 21st bday party was great. I managed to drink enough to have a good time....but also remember every thing that happened. (Okay that sounds bad. It's just that the two times I've been drunk since my 21st, I over did it. No regrets, never been sick, I just need to get a better idea of my limits.) Anyways, remembering everything is both a good and bad thing I suppose. I make some pretty dumb comments when I'm drunk. The truth is, I know they're dumb as I am saying them, I'll say strange things to garner a laugh (him....I am my father's son). And Lauren enjoys recounting each phrase to me the next day, while I hit myself in the head.
So after a night of drunkenness, poor Kat has "the worst hang over ever." Check out her blog for a transcript of our humorous morning-after exchange. That afternoon, Lauren, Eric, Erik, Candice, Kay and I headed down to the Presbyterian Church to see Kat's final Wind Ensemble performance. It was very nice, and I couldn't help but think it was 'very Berkeley' of the group to be out drunk partying the night before and then quietly watching a symphonic performance some ten hours later.
And on that note...Chris is still waiting to hear back about his Berkeley appeal. I think I'm just as, if not more, wound up about it then he is. He's submitted his SIR to Davis already, so if he's not a Golden Bear, he'll be an Aggie. No shame in that, Davis is a great school and he's looking forward to going there if that's the way the ball bounces. But I've been reading the "college confidential" discussion boards, which are inhabited by overly-paranoid high school seniors to see if any of them have heard back from their Berkeley appeals. Apparently some have, with a few successes. It gives me hope. I wouldn't be surprised if we find out by tonight.
All right, time to head down to campus.
Wednesday, April 28, 2004
After yet another city planning lecture discussing the evils of Disney, I'd like to reiterate something.
The Lion King, was awesome. Especially the new songs by Lebo M, the South African songwriter who is responsible for those famous opening lyrics..."Nants ingonyama bagithi baba." (yep those are the actual words, thanks google). The broadway version adds a whole new level of depth and emotion to the stories and characters of the movie, especially through the new songs. Maybe because it's the first time I've ever seen a major play, but hearing the songs performed live was amazing. It was hard to believe that the people on the stage were making that music. The whole thing really moved me, and I think that has a lot to do with the themes conveyed by the story and the song lyrics; Life and death, the cyclical nature of time, coming of age, finding your place, seeking guidance from the past....they all really resonate with my own views right now.
Wait, there's no mountain too great
Hear the words and have faith
Have faith
He lives in you
He lives in me
He watches over
Everything we see
Into the water
Into the truth
In your reflection
He lives in you
I really like these lyrics and the meaning they try to convey; that those who have gone before us are watching over us, that by remembering them, they live on within us. That's some deep stuff to take from a Disney movie, and now, a play. But it's all too easy to be flippant about anything that comes from Disney. Regardless of the corporations aims, I have much respect for the group of people that brought this one piece of art together. So my profs can go on and on about Disney as a symbol of rampant capitalism, I don't care. The Lion King rocks.
The Lion King, was awesome. Especially the new songs by Lebo M, the South African songwriter who is responsible for those famous opening lyrics..."Nants ingonyama bagithi baba." (yep those are the actual words, thanks google). The broadway version adds a whole new level of depth and emotion to the stories and characters of the movie, especially through the new songs. Maybe because it's the first time I've ever seen a major play, but hearing the songs performed live was amazing. It was hard to believe that the people on the stage were making that music. The whole thing really moved me, and I think that has a lot to do with the themes conveyed by the story and the song lyrics; Life and death, the cyclical nature of time, coming of age, finding your place, seeking guidance from the past....they all really resonate with my own views right now.
Wait, there's no mountain too great
Hear the words and have faith
Have faith
He lives in you
He lives in me
He watches over
Everything we see
Into the water
Into the truth
In your reflection
He lives in you
I really like these lyrics and the meaning they try to convey; that those who have gone before us are watching over us, that by remembering them, they live on within us. That's some deep stuff to take from a Disney movie, and now, a play. But it's all too easy to be flippant about anything that comes from Disney. Regardless of the corporations aims, I have much respect for the group of people that brought this one piece of art together. So my profs can go on and on about Disney as a symbol of rampant capitalism, I don't care. The Lion King rocks.
Friday, April 23, 2004
These past few days have been excellent. On Wednesday night, for my mom's birthday I hopped on BART and met up with the family to go see the Lion King Broadway musical. It was everything I had hoped it would be, a must see if you enjoyed the movie at all. I just can't get over the music. It was awesome, and the whole family really had a great time.
I stayed the night in Downtown SF with my family, then we woke up early Thursday morning to come home to Mountain View (yes, I skipped all my classes....you only live once). Thursday was spent running errands with my mom in preparation for my auntie Lydia/godmother/nina's joint extended family birthday party with my mom. Various members of my extended familia had a nice dinner at Chevy's and celebrated with cake and ice-cream at my house after.
Of course, lately, whenever my extended family gets together there's bound to be some drama, and I was up till around 2am having a heated discussion with certain members of the family. Eh. Family isn't perfect, it's not a well run machine. There's no natural order of communication with a large family such as my own. Sometimes it's better to have a third party relay information, especially when a direct discussion would feel awkward or uncomfortable. Sometimes you have to put the concerns of others before your own. But that's no excuse to portray yourself as a martyr. You can't sacrafice your own identity for family. But at the same time, too heavy a focus on the self, the individual, what's best for you and only you, THAT is what can break a family, and a person, apart.
Anyhow....that most likely flew way over most of your heards. So, moving on,
I just got back from dinner at Kapp's with my dad. Downtown is hopping tonight! The weather is so nice that everyone is out and about. I ran into two people I know while walking along Castro Street, which was encouraging since I have a paper about how Downtown Mountain View is an anchor in community life. Hehe. The annual Downtown Parade is tomorrow, Chris is in it for MVYAG. It's always a fun event. Unfortunately I'll miss it this year, but for a good reason. Kim's bday should be really fun tomorrow, I hope she enjoys the surprise Matt has planned for her.
Alllllll right. Back to writing that paper.
I stayed the night in Downtown SF with my family, then we woke up early Thursday morning to come home to Mountain View (yes, I skipped all my classes....you only live once). Thursday was spent running errands with my mom in preparation for my auntie Lydia/godmother/nina's joint extended family birthday party with my mom. Various members of my extended familia had a nice dinner at Chevy's and celebrated with cake and ice-cream at my house after.
Of course, lately, whenever my extended family gets together there's bound to be some drama, and I was up till around 2am having a heated discussion with certain members of the family. Eh. Family isn't perfect, it's not a well run machine. There's no natural order of communication with a large family such as my own. Sometimes it's better to have a third party relay information, especially when a direct discussion would feel awkward or uncomfortable. Sometimes you have to put the concerns of others before your own. But that's no excuse to portray yourself as a martyr. You can't sacrafice your own identity for family. But at the same time, too heavy a focus on the self, the individual, what's best for you and only you, THAT is what can break a family, and a person, apart.
Anyhow....that most likely flew way over most of your heards. So, moving on,
I just got back from dinner at Kapp's with my dad. Downtown is hopping tonight! The weather is so nice that everyone is out and about. I ran into two people I know while walking along Castro Street, which was encouraging since I have a paper about how Downtown Mountain View is an anchor in community life. Hehe. The annual Downtown Parade is tomorrow, Chris is in it for MVYAG. It's always a fun event. Unfortunately I'll miss it this year, but for a good reason. Kim's bday should be really fun tomorrow, I hope she enjoys the surprise Matt has planned for her.
Alllllll right. Back to writing that paper.
Monday, April 19, 2004
Up in Berkeley for the whole weekend. It's been a while.
Ummm....I feel like I got a lot of nothing done even though I know I did quite a bit.
Thursday night I went to the SF MOMA with BUSSA. I'd never been to MOMA before, it was really cool. They had an interesting exhibit about a town up north that got destroyed to make way for a reservoir in the 1950s. Reminded me of Santa Rita, NM. We went to the Mission for some very spicy burritos after. It was a really fun trip.
Friday I was very productive, albeit non-academically. I decided it was finally time to restart the fish tank. Completely emptied it (which is a no-no, but it was beyond hope), gave it a good scrubbing, and plopped my three hardy lil Zebra Danios back into their home. I want to get some new fish to add some excitement to the tank. I also moved it into the dining room, where it's more visible. This means two things, one, I get to enjoy it more, and two, I'll have to clean it more. Taking the tank out of the living room allowed me to rearrange the furniture. The new-and-improved living room has been a huge success with the housemates so far. The entire house (sans Eric E.) went to Barney's with Jess for dinner. At night, I went to Phylis' 21st bday party at Flavia & Rory's place. Got Lauren P. and Erik to walk up there with me. They felt the party was too "architectury" for them....so we left after about 45 minutes. But I'm glad I went.
Saturday....I got some reading done for CP118. Took a walk up to the Rose Garden to admire the view of the bay and the City. Got Lauren and Leo to come pick me up for dinner. We ordered pizza and hung out at Lauren's house till around 1:30am. I ate too much pizza, which I think might be what is throwing me off today.
And today....well..today, I've been playing with some photo editing software for my studio project. But after a day of editing one picture, I'm not pleased with the results. So I feel like the day's been wasted. That and, these April showers have confined me into the house. I spent most of the evening pulling together some research for one of the two papers I have due soon. Sitting in front of this laptop for most of the day is depressing. It just reminds me how much more work I have to do.
How NICE it would be to have a car so I could go take some new pictures of my studio project area, buy some new fish, and get a bite to eat and go to the grocery store. Being up here in the hills without a car on a rainy day results in mild cabin fever.
Anyways..this weeks gonna be busy. Got lots of work to do and quite a bit of fun activities lined up as well. So, I better get to bed.
Ummm....I feel like I got a lot of nothing done even though I know I did quite a bit.
Thursday night I went to the SF MOMA with BUSSA. I'd never been to MOMA before, it was really cool. They had an interesting exhibit about a town up north that got destroyed to make way for a reservoir in the 1950s. Reminded me of Santa Rita, NM. We went to the Mission for some very spicy burritos after. It was a really fun trip.
Friday I was very productive, albeit non-academically. I decided it was finally time to restart the fish tank. Completely emptied it (which is a no-no, but it was beyond hope), gave it a good scrubbing, and plopped my three hardy lil Zebra Danios back into their home. I want to get some new fish to add some excitement to the tank. I also moved it into the dining room, where it's more visible. This means two things, one, I get to enjoy it more, and two, I'll have to clean it more. Taking the tank out of the living room allowed me to rearrange the furniture. The new-and-improved living room has been a huge success with the housemates so far. The entire house (sans Eric E.) went to Barney's with Jess for dinner. At night, I went to Phylis' 21st bday party at Flavia & Rory's place. Got Lauren P. and Erik to walk up there with me. They felt the party was too "architectury" for them....so we left after about 45 minutes. But I'm glad I went.
Saturday....I got some reading done for CP118. Took a walk up to the Rose Garden to admire the view of the bay and the City. Got Lauren and Leo to come pick me up for dinner. We ordered pizza and hung out at Lauren's house till around 1:30am. I ate too much pizza, which I think might be what is throwing me off today.
And today....well..today, I've been playing with some photo editing software for my studio project. But after a day of editing one picture, I'm not pleased with the results. So I feel like the day's been wasted. That and, these April showers have confined me into the house. I spent most of the evening pulling together some research for one of the two papers I have due soon. Sitting in front of this laptop for most of the day is depressing. It just reminds me how much more work I have to do.
How NICE it would be to have a car so I could go take some new pictures of my studio project area, buy some new fish, and get a bite to eat and go to the grocery store. Being up here in the hills without a car on a rainy day results in mild cabin fever.
Anyways..this weeks gonna be busy. Got lots of work to do and quite a bit of fun activities lined up as well. So, I better get to bed.
Thursday, April 15, 2004
Hello from Wurster Hall. My studio to be specific.
I am very excited. I just found out that the City Planning Department has created a new class, CP140: Urban Design: City-Building and Place Making, taught by the graduate Urban Design prof. This is great. Suddenly my major seems A LOT more well-rounded. Next fall. I'm there. (even though its on fridays...booo!)
But I still think I should get a background in Landscape Design. The more I think about it and talk to people about it, the more it makes sense. My dad reminded me that he thought I should have done Landscape Architecture all along. I've always like Landscape Design. I can imagine myself really enjoying a job in that field. Being a run-of-the-mill city planner just doesn't seem to fit anymore. Maybe that's what the planners in Mountain View meant when they said Berkeley would set me up for "something better than this." All this uncertainty and fretting over majors is a part of the process. I ran into my LArch prof in the hall WHILE I was reading the new course bulletin for CP140 posted on the wall. She'd be more than happy to talk to me about trying to get that minor down. I'm scheduled to see her next tuesday. I think I'll try for this Landscape Design minor, even if it means sticking around another semester. After all, I like Fall Semester better than Spring, and wouldn't mind being here for another season of Cal Football. Hehe. But I guess I'd walk in Spring with the rest of the gang. So it'd all work out just swell. I think.
But ya....an Urban Studies Major with a minor in Landscape Design. How cool does that sound? I like it. For now. But it sounds a lot more like the type of career I want to have now. And just the idea of that makes me happy.
I am very excited. I just found out that the City Planning Department has created a new class, CP140: Urban Design: City-Building and Place Making, taught by the graduate Urban Design prof. This is great. Suddenly my major seems A LOT more well-rounded. Next fall. I'm there. (even though its on fridays...booo!)
But I still think I should get a background in Landscape Design. The more I think about it and talk to people about it, the more it makes sense. My dad reminded me that he thought I should have done Landscape Architecture all along. I've always like Landscape Design. I can imagine myself really enjoying a job in that field. Being a run-of-the-mill city planner just doesn't seem to fit anymore. Maybe that's what the planners in Mountain View meant when they said Berkeley would set me up for "something better than this." All this uncertainty and fretting over majors is a part of the process. I ran into my LArch prof in the hall WHILE I was reading the new course bulletin for CP140 posted on the wall. She'd be more than happy to talk to me about trying to get that minor down. I'm scheduled to see her next tuesday. I think I'll try for this Landscape Design minor, even if it means sticking around another semester. After all, I like Fall Semester better than Spring, and wouldn't mind being here for another season of Cal Football. Hehe. But I guess I'd walk in Spring with the rest of the gang. So it'd all work out just swell. I think.
But ya....an Urban Studies Major with a minor in Landscape Design. How cool does that sound? I like it. For now. But it sounds a lot more like the type of career I want to have now. And just the idea of that makes me happy.
So much is suddenly up in the air right now and it's got me a little overwhelmed.
Lauren and Leo want to go on an architecture/city planning sight-seeing adventure to Europe around the beginning of June. Flight tickets are relatively cheap for that time period if we buy them right now...
Problem is, I have to wait to hear back from the city of Palo Alto regarding my internship. I kinda need the money to pay for the trip. But if I get the paid internship, I doubt I'd be able to schedule a trip to Europe. But then what would the point of making money this summer be if I can't use it on traveling abroad? That was the whole point. Catch-22.
And I don't have a passport. It takes 6 weeks to get one. May 30th is about 6-weeks away, that's cutting it a little close to buy plane tickets and hope my passport is here by then. I could pay for the two week express service, but that sorta defeats the purpose of buying our cheap plane tickets right now!
And in other news, I'm trying to figure out what I want to minor in before my telebears appointment comes up. I've suddenly come to the realization that I have a pretty keen interest in Landscape Design and that maybe after all this City Planning mumbo-jumbo, I might end up in a career in that profession instead. What I know for sure is, I want to be involved in a design profession.
The thought of being a City Planner just depresses me more and more. I blame Berkeley for this. It's given me a taste of what it's like to be on the other side of the counter, the designer not the reviewer. I do not want to be a beaurocrat in a planning office who's main job is to write zoning codes. I've done really well in all my past design studios and I want to have a chance to push it some more and see if I really have what it takes to be either an Urban Designer of Landscape Designer, or better yet, both via a dual degree. And the Landscape Design minor will not only give me a good background to go to grad school for Landscape Architecture, but also for Urban Design.
I never really wanted to be an Architect, I have a touch time visualizing buildings in my head. But I can spend hours visualizing landscapes. I was designing zoos and parks and my backyard's garden when I was 10. Suddenly me, Mister "I've known what I want to since 8th grade" is not so sure what he wants to do anymore.
The other minor which would be MUCH easier to finish is "History of the Built Environment." It is more in-line with my historic preservation ideals. But increasingly, I find myself losing interest in that overall field and finding that my passion for it is mainly rested in my passion for Mountain View's history. It doesn't seem wise to go to grad school and pursue a career in such a limited field.
So I was up late last night trying to figure out a schedule for either minor. Running into schedule conflict after schedule conflict and wishing that I had figured this all out years ago. I probably would have if I wasn't so busy trying to switch from Architecture to Urban Studies. Argh.
Lauren and Leo want to go on an architecture/city planning sight-seeing adventure to Europe around the beginning of June. Flight tickets are relatively cheap for that time period if we buy them right now...
Problem is, I have to wait to hear back from the city of Palo Alto regarding my internship. I kinda need the money to pay for the trip. But if I get the paid internship, I doubt I'd be able to schedule a trip to Europe. But then what would the point of making money this summer be if I can't use it on traveling abroad? That was the whole point. Catch-22.
And I don't have a passport. It takes 6 weeks to get one. May 30th is about 6-weeks away, that's cutting it a little close to buy plane tickets and hope my passport is here by then. I could pay for the two week express service, but that sorta defeats the purpose of buying our cheap plane tickets right now!
And in other news, I'm trying to figure out what I want to minor in before my telebears appointment comes up. I've suddenly come to the realization that I have a pretty keen interest in Landscape Design and that maybe after all this City Planning mumbo-jumbo, I might end up in a career in that profession instead. What I know for sure is, I want to be involved in a design profession.
The thought of being a City Planner just depresses me more and more. I blame Berkeley for this. It's given me a taste of what it's like to be on the other side of the counter, the designer not the reviewer. I do not want to be a beaurocrat in a planning office who's main job is to write zoning codes. I've done really well in all my past design studios and I want to have a chance to push it some more and see if I really have what it takes to be either an Urban Designer of Landscape Designer, or better yet, both via a dual degree. And the Landscape Design minor will not only give me a good background to go to grad school for Landscape Architecture, but also for Urban Design.
I never really wanted to be an Architect, I have a touch time visualizing buildings in my head. But I can spend hours visualizing landscapes. I was designing zoos and parks and my backyard's garden when I was 10. Suddenly me, Mister "I've known what I want to since 8th grade" is not so sure what he wants to do anymore.
The other minor which would be MUCH easier to finish is "History of the Built Environment." It is more in-line with my historic preservation ideals. But increasingly, I find myself losing interest in that overall field and finding that my passion for it is mainly rested in my passion for Mountain View's history. It doesn't seem wise to go to grad school and pursue a career in such a limited field.
So I was up late last night trying to figure out a schedule for either minor. Running into schedule conflict after schedule conflict and wishing that I had figured this all out years ago. I probably would have if I wasn't so busy trying to switch from Architecture to Urban Studies. Argh.
Wednesday, April 07, 2004
Nap98: you should come over for my family's confetti egg fight
Avengelyne01: ooh that sounds exciting
Nap98: haha
Avengelyne01: is this for easter?
Nap98: yeah
Nap98: its the only way to celebrate easter
Nap98: as far as i know
Avengelyne01: hehe
Nap98: otherwise its a boring holiday
Nap98: blahblah jesus died on the cross blablah
Nap98: give me some confetti egg smashing action!
Avengelyne01: lol
Avengelyne01: and candy
Avengelyne01: lots of candy
Nap98: right
Nap98: candy
Nap98: cant forget the candy
14 years of Catholic School sure gets your priorities straight.
Avengelyne01: ooh that sounds exciting
Nap98: haha
Avengelyne01: is this for easter?
Nap98: yeah
Nap98: its the only way to celebrate easter
Nap98: as far as i know
Avengelyne01: hehe
Nap98: otherwise its a boring holiday
Nap98: blahblah jesus died on the cross blablah
Nap98: give me some confetti egg smashing action!
Avengelyne01: lol
Avengelyne01: and candy
Avengelyne01: lots of candy
Nap98: right
Nap98: candy
Nap98: cant forget the candy
14 years of Catholic School sure gets your priorities straight.
Friday, April 02, 2004
Things are going rather smoothly right now. Calm before the storm perhaps.
All my classes are in a lull. No more midterms, papers due in a couple weeks (in my mind...that's far...far.....far away) and in city planning studio we have a fresh start with a brand new project and reorganized project teams.
An internship position landed in my lap via a conversation with an old friend from grade school who looked for any planning positions on the SCU website and found one with Palo Alto (paid!). How lucky.
I had my interview for the position today. It went really well. But I have a gut feeling that they'll stick me with a voluntary position and give the paid one to some more qualified graduate student. Damn grad students, always ruining my life. Not really...But anyhoo...
Only big snag right now is Chris not getting into Cal. Yes, yes, I know....some of you are just itching to blow this joint...it's hard to remember that there are thousands of eager lil high school seniors pounding on Sather Gate trying to get in. Now I have to help him through the whole rejection appeal process. With a 1 in 10 chance of getting in on appeal, and nothing to loose really, we figure it's worth a shot. At least we'll make someone feel really bad for rejecting him. He got into his two second choices, Davis and SCU, so the world will not end with a rejection from Cal. But Chris deserves to be here.
Update from the last entry...I did stop my lobbying and battling for preservation on Wednesday, as I promised myself. Unfortunately, the rest of break was spent battling allergies. I did manage to spend a couple days with my high school friends. We saw Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (good movie) and a fairly large group of us (Matt, Kim, Martin, Jen, Jamie and Rachel too!) spent a day hanging out in Santa Cruz. We had a great time.
I'm going to Boston in May for sure now! Really excited about that. Finally I get to go to an east coast city and explore. Woohoo!
Right then. All caught up.
All my classes are in a lull. No more midterms, papers due in a couple weeks (in my mind...that's far...far.....far away) and in city planning studio we have a fresh start with a brand new project and reorganized project teams.
An internship position landed in my lap via a conversation with an old friend from grade school who looked for any planning positions on the SCU website and found one with Palo Alto (paid!). How lucky.
I had my interview for the position today. It went really well. But I have a gut feeling that they'll stick me with a voluntary position and give the paid one to some more qualified graduate student. Damn grad students, always ruining my life. Not really...But anyhoo...
Only big snag right now is Chris not getting into Cal. Yes, yes, I know....some of you are just itching to blow this joint...it's hard to remember that there are thousands of eager lil high school seniors pounding on Sather Gate trying to get in. Now I have to help him through the whole rejection appeal process. With a 1 in 10 chance of getting in on appeal, and nothing to loose really, we figure it's worth a shot. At least we'll make someone feel really bad for rejecting him. He got into his two second choices, Davis and SCU, so the world will not end with a rejection from Cal. But Chris deserves to be here.
Update from the last entry...I did stop my lobbying and battling for preservation on Wednesday, as I promised myself. Unfortunately, the rest of break was spent battling allergies. I did manage to spend a couple days with my high school friends. We saw Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (good movie) and a fairly large group of us (Matt, Kim, Martin, Jen, Jamie and Rachel too!) spent a day hanging out in Santa Cruz. We had a great time.
I'm going to Boston in May for sure now! Really excited about that. Finally I get to go to an east coast city and explore. Woohoo!
Right then. All caught up.