Soooo....Spring Break.

Yeah. I better go somewhere next year so I don't feel like I've completely wasted my chance at having a some-what stereotypical college Spring Break experience.

Couldn't afford to this year, and no one really to go with anywhere. Everyone I know from Cal is off doin there own thing, and most of my high school friends are here in the Valley. So this break will hopefully have a good amount of R&R with the high school crew. We had a nice day together last Friday. We plan on having a get together this Friday. I hope to do something with some of them in-between as well.

I've also had some quality time with my family. We took a drive to San Juan Bautista on Saturday to enjoy the warm weather, but the fog beat us and by the time we got down there it was way too cold for the sandals and shorts we were wearing. After the very nice hour long drive through the country, we got out of the car for a couple minutes, froze our butts off, and ran back into the car to drive back to sunny San Jose. Went to the giant orange and enjoyed some Mark's Hot Dogs for dinner. I watched the Lion King DVD with my mom today, and then my whole family watched Lion King 1 and 1/2 together. Great movies.

But so far, it feels like the majority of my time has been spent putting one last punch of effort into this whole historic preservation mess here in Mountain View. I met with the head city planner leading the development of the ordinance on Friday. On Saturday morning I had a long conversation with Councilmember Perry (no relation). On Sunday I had an impromptu three hour conversation on the sidewalk of Downtown Castro Street with my dad, a random member of MVPA we ran into, and the owner of the city's oldest commercial building (b. in 1874) who's in our "rival" group, mvNpa. It was a very interesting and fun conversation and I think it fostered some understanding on both sides. (I'm sensing the formulation for a great intro to my second CP118 paper on how Main Streets foster community.) Plus, I had a two-hour MVPA meeting on Sunday. And Wednesday Chris and I are meeting with the Vice-Mayor. I've also been constantly working on trying to update and add to MVPA's web page.

Obviously, I came into break with a lot of energy to do as much as I can to get this preservation ordinance back on the right track before I retreat to Berkeley again. But my engine has run out of steam and I've grown tired of all this again. There's always more I could do. There are still three council members I could meet with if I really wanted to. There's a non-preservation related council meeting tomorrow I could give public comment at. There's neighbors I could talk to....letters I could write... and on and on it goes.

But now, I just want to go to the beach or something. Except for doing some research and taking some pictures of Shoreline Park tomorrow for a paper, and that meeting with the Vice-Mayor on Wednesday, I think I'm done working. From Wednesday afternoon onward, I plan on officially ending the productive part of my Spring Break and devoting my time to getting out of this town and having a little bit of fun.

Peeping Bambo's Watching You.



There's a deer living in our backyard. We should charge it rent.

For grade school Nick, this would be a dream come true. I was so fascinated with the idea that such a large animal still roamed freely amongst the hills of Santa Clara Valley. Remember, I was a little environmentalist back then and longed for the open space and countryside that my grandparents constantly reminded me used to surround Mountain View. My dad and I would go on hikes and I would be really happy if we came across a herd of deer. But usually we came across stranger animals, like a tarantula. (yes Kat, there really are tarantulas in California).

But now I look at this deer, outside my window, munching away or just sitting on the grass....and I wanna be like....awww...how cool. How pastoral. But it keeps scratching itself. And all I can think is that it probably has ticks, and that I better not go wandering in the backyard because I'll get lyme disease...

See what growing up does to you?

Also...the deer's been named Peeping Bambo by Erik. Apparently Erik likes to keep the bathroom window open when he takes a shower, and the deer likes to stare at him through the window. All I say is, close the damn window, you two are both strange animals.

I should be studying for a midterm....

But all I can think about is how the last four years of working towards the preservation of Mountain View's historic landmarks might end up going to waste. Judging from what I heard about the meeting tonight, most of the City Council just doesn't seem to get it. The opportunity to finally ensure that some of my hometown's landmarks survive into the future is slipping away because they seem to be afraid of a few angry property owners. (One of whom happens to be an old Stanfurd frat brother of the current Mayor and the son of a former Mayor)

I feel like my letters to the Council are ignored, the speakers from my organization aren't heard. Our arguments are clear and rational, but the anger and hinted legal threats from a few unhappy property owners seems to have swayed the council towards adopting a completely voluntary historic preservation ordinance, or no ordinance at all. City after city in the Bay Area and throughout the country has adopted a preservation ordinance with little trouble. But Mountain View can't seem to get it right, even though we've tried so hard to ensure that it does.

And I'm stuck here at Cal, studying for a midterm about Community, while the very community I care the most about seems to be headed on a crash course towards a decision I am sure we will come to regret in the future. Ironic.

I want to be able to at least claim a minor victory so that MVPA still has some wind behind its sails to carry on as a community organization. With or without a preservation ordinance, I feel my group could have a lot to offer to Mountain View. But with a really bad ordinance, it will be a lot harder to accomplish our goals. It could become a very depressing organization to be involved in, if we constantly see landmarks being torn-down, with nothing we can do to save them.

In a month and a day, the final decision will have been made. A battle I have been fighting since high school will have ended. At least round-one will have. Round-two might not come until I'm old and gray, if ever. I doubt the city will want to spend the time and resources studying this issue again in the near future, unless some major landmarks are lost in rapid succession.

But this isn't over yet. And I'll keep on trying to turn the tide, to ensure that some good comes out of all this. Because like my dad told me when I started to get involved with preservation in Mountain View; it's better to have tried and failed than to have never tried and come to regret not giving it your all later.

Nap98: hows the studying going
Th EIn KSt o nE: its not
Th EIn KSt o nE: but whatever
Th EIn KSt o nE: its just city planning
Th EIn KSt o nE: how hard can it be?
Nap98: right right
Nap98: im freaked out
Nap98: not so much because its hard
Nap98: but because i cant get myself to focus or care
Nap98: its so un-nick-like
Nap98: my head's in mountain view
Nap98: the city council had a meeting tonight and things are a mess
Th EIn KSt o nE: that sounds very nick like

He's right.

Bah.

Life has pulled some pretty tough punches on my family over the years. When my Uncle Mike got hit by a train two years ago, it seemed like events from the past were repeating themselves, and once again fate had been cruel to the Perry family.

My Uncle Mike is a really special person. He's mentally disabled, but slightly. Before his accident, you would never be able to tell from the way he looked, and only after a while when talking to him. This often caused problems, because people would expect more from Uncle Mike than he was capable of.

Growing up, he took me, Chris and our cousin Tiffany everywhere. We spent countless days of the summer walking, riding the bus, or taking light rail to places all over San Jose and the valley. We'd go bowling and mini-golfing, take train rides all the way to San Francisco and back, the toy store, the mall, San Jose Live, Great America, the park, the movies. Anywhere we wanted to go, as long as it was accessible without a car, he would take us. He had just enough wordily knowledge to make it safe for us to be off on our own with him, and just enough child-likeness in him to make whatever we did together as much fun for him as it was for us. He became "Uncle" Mike to all my cousins, on both sides of the family, and even some of my friends.

But then, one after the other, we realized Uncle Mike was different from our parents. We started to grow up, and he stayed just the same. I didn't know he had a disability until I was around 10...when I realized that I was becoming "smarter" than him. In some ways, we kinda discarded Uncle Mike like we would an old toy. But I realized this was the wrong thing to do pretty early, and continued to treat Uncle Mike with the respect he deserved.

Nevertheless, we made friends our age, and became old enough to go off on our own without him. When we did spend time with him, it became strange because of the role-reversal. Suddenly we were the adults in a lot of situations. He started to withdraw from us, you could sense he felt awkward. I never wanted him to feel like he was in any way inferior to us, but I think as he watched us grow up, he started to feel that way on his own. Especially with Chris, because they had always been best friends with the most in common. As Chris grew older, Uncle Mike lost his last real pal to hang out with. That must have been really hard on him.

But my family made an effort to include him in our lives as much as we could. We'd take him out with my grandma for the day, or go on little trips with him. In summer of 2001, we had him fly by himself for the first time to meet us in Disneyland and spend a week with us there. It's always been fun to have him around.

And then, there was the accident. And our lives went into a tailspin. The thought of life without Uncle Mike is something I never imagined having to deal with so soon. Since he never really changed, it was easy to just think he'd be there forever. It became really clear how much he meant to each of us. How great it was to have someone in our lives that loved us so much and wanted nothing more than to just spend time with us.

The thought of loosing him was shattering. And it seemed like that's what would happen. Or, at best, he might wake from his coma, but be severely disabled, both physically and mentally. The doctors said things didn't look good at all for him, that it was a miracle he even survived getting hit by the train.

Those were very difficult times, and we contemplated taking him off life support. When we had what was to be our final meeting with the doctor, the family was prepared to request this, perhaps some of us more than others. We even met with a priest who was the hospital's Catholic chaplain, and he came to meeting with us and was going to give Uncle Mike the Last Rites. But when the doctor said that Mike was showing a few signs of minor recovery, that his organs were beginning to repair themselves, my brother, myself, and my cousin Tiffany began making eye contact with each other and spoke up. We wanted to give Uncle Mike a chance to fight. The family listened, and the doctors agreed.

My Uncle Mike's initial survival was amazing unto itself. His recovery has been nothing short of a miracle.

Going into his hospital room at Stanford those first few weeks was so hard. With a tracheatomy, dialysis machine, bruises all over, wires and tubes, his head swollen and shaved, stiches everywhere, he was hard to look at without tearing up. We told ourselves to have hope, but not expect too much. We though that at best, he might wake up from his coma.

When he started to show signs of hearing us when we talked to him, we didn't believe it at first, thought it might just be muscle spasms. My grandma stayed with him day and night, and we thought she might be seeing things when he would move his foot in responce to our voices. But then after a few weeks, when we would hold his hand, he would squeeze it in response to questions. We were all amazed.

Then he opened his eyes. We couldn't believe it. But we still didn't know how much he remembered, if those eyes knew who we were or who he was, if his mental disability had been made more severe.

But after a month he started whispering. It became clear that he was still "there" and that one of our greatest fears wasn't true. He did not jump in front of the train on his own. In typical Uncle Mike fashion, he tripped while running to catch the train and fell partially on the tracks so that the train hit his side and threw him across the platform as it came into the station. We were so relieved to hear that.

Over time he regained control of his limbs. He gained the strength to sit up. He was transferred out of Stanford to another hospital, and then to a nursing home where he received physical therapy. We'd visit him often there, and he proudly show us his progress. He could throw a ball. Then he could ride a stationary bike. Before long he could stand on his own, and finally he could walk again.

He's been home for over a year now. And yes, the accident still affects his life every day. He can no longer work at his old job as a busboy at SCU, and is a lot more dependent than he used to be. He has "some good days, and some bad days" as he puts it. But he's recovered more than anyone, even the doctors, ever thought he could.

My family took him out on Saturday and spent the day with him. We went to a Saint Francis Basketball game, dinner at Kapp's, watched the Cal game on tv, and just talked. Every time I see him now, I can't help but look at him and be in awe. He fought so hard to come back to us, to recover, to live. He's so appreciative of the little things, so grateful for just spending the time to talk to him. Even more than he was before the accident.

When my dad and I dropped him off late Saturday night, I told him that I had a lot of fun hanging out with him that day. We said goodbye and I walked towards the car. Just before I shut the door he yelled out from the porch "I love you Nick!"

And it really hit me then, more than it ever has before, how very lucky I am to have him in my life. He is a living reminder to have hope and strength even when times look really bad. He gives me faith that while yes, life can often be very trying and unfair, it can also be extremely rewarding and beautiful.

Today I went to church with my family, all four of us. Quite the rare event in itself, but even more rare because we went to Saint Simons.

Saint Simons....we stopped going there often after I graduated Saint Simons School in 1997, and stopped going all-together after Chris graduated in 2000. When we go to church now, we go to Saint Joseph's in Downtown Mountain View. We fit in better there, and our family has roots there streching back the the 1940s.

Saint Simons is strange for a Catholic church in the Bay Area. Because it's in Los Altos, it's pretty much all White with a sprinkling of minorities, mostly Asians. The lack of diversity made me uncomfortable today in mass. Strange to feel uncomfortable in a place I once knew so well. For 10 years, Saint Simons was a major part of my life.

I have SO many memories there. My first communion, May processions, singing a solo in front of the entire school (god, I had guts), ten years of Christmas plays, dozens of friday masses, stations of the cross, Sunday masses with my family, Confirmation, and my 8th grade graduation.

I'd like to be able to go back there and envision these memories, but I can't cause the church as I knew it is gone. Father Andre had it modernized and completely reconfigured into a "stage-in-the-round" type of layout after I graduated. Even though the stained-glass windows, statues, and paintings were saved...they've all been shuffled and moved around so much that the place is unrecognizable. And that's why it's so strange to go back. The building is still there but its like one of those surreal dreams where you know where you are but nothing is in its proper place.

Chris and I walked around the school after mass. The school itself has hardly changed at all since we went there. The breezeway, the upper hall and lower hall, the Science lab, Schram field, Mrs Shirey's office, the Computer lab, the library. It's all still there. We looked into our old classrooms and searched for ones that still had teachers we knew in them. We saw our class pictures hanging in the hall, and a new plaque for our recently departed eighth grade teacher, Judy Capaldo.

It's hard to believe that seven years have passed since my time at Saint Simons. I remember being a student there, and not being able to imagine being any place else. And here I am, supposedly all-grown-up and over half way through with college. That place, in more ways than I can say, formed who I am today. I owe a lot to it, and the teachers that taught me and always encouraged me to stand up for myself and do what I thought was right. And even though I had a lot of really tough times at that school, my parents, I think, made the right decision to send me there.

It's been many years since the four of us have been in Church in that building together. It brought back a lot of memories of times that are long gone, but sometimes feel like they were just a day ago.

It's kinda scary that I'm starting to rely on AIM's headlines to get my daily dose of news. Can't be any worse than the network news. But it is a bit strange.

"While we wait for the courts to act, it's time for the City of San Francisco to start respecting state law. It is time for the city to stop traveling down this dangerous path of ignoring the rule of law."

That's what our governator had to say about all the gay marriages across the bay. Huh. Easy way to skirt the real issue. Break it down to rule breaking. (Kinda like the whole illegal immigration issue.) It's pretty clear what his opinions are. But....those don't matter....this isn't about civil rights, it's about following the law. Sounds like something some governor of a Southern State in the 1950s would say when people began to challenge Jim Crow laws.

Of almost equally important news, at least according to the logic of AIM's headlines, Cal's own William Hung, our beloved American Idol reject, is becoming a huge celebrity, with a record deal in the works. Crazy. Good for him. But I wonder if we at Cal will feel the pain of this after America grows weary of his rendition of She Bangs. They sure are playing up the Cal link....the photo in the article has the giant Cal script logo in the back, and Will's wearing a blue and gold UCBerkeley t-shirt. Oh well...at least ...because of that photo, dozens of people in America probably just realized that Cal=UC Berkeley.

Will the questions back home change from "Oh! So you go to Berkeley, have you been in any protests lately?" to..."Oh! So you go to Berkeley, have you seen William Hung lately." Hmmm....well come to think of it, that wouldn't be so bad.

Ahhh......I remember this feeling. Too much to do, too little motivation to do it. Papers, midterms, readings, reading responses, STUDIO.

But now...coupled with my apathy, is a growing sense of urgency to make the most of my time here, because so little of it is actually left. The two don't go so well together. Sometimes, it feels like I'm slowly sliding towards the edge of a cliff, with graduation at the end....and a 100 foot plunge into a sea of who knows what at the bottom.

What am I going to do with myself after next year? Will I go to graduate school? If so, where and how wiil I pay for it? If not, where will I live? Who will I live with? What type of job do I want to have..or rather..what type of job can I get in this economy?

Yes...it's over a year away, but now, apparently, is the time to begin planning for what to do next. And I feel like a lot of people have a much better idea of what they want after college. Heck, my cousin, just 6 months older than me, is getting married, probably on the same day I'm graduating.

Up till this point, life is pretty much pre-scripted for everyone. One step leads to the next logical step. Some are lucky enough to have that continue their whole lives. But for others, after college, it's just a giant question mark. And Berkeley....and my major in particular, just makes that question mark even bigger because it opens up more oppurtunities, more decisions.

I am a planner. I need a plan.

So...for the second meeting of B.U.S.S.A on Sunday, we all went around the room and talked about ourselves while one of the members, Rhiddi, typed the group's constitution.

And for the first time in a while that I can remember...I was flat out asked my ethnic background. No tap-dancing around the subject...no hesitance. Usually, this topic doesn't come up unless I sort of invite it to. And if it does, I kinda have to say it without being asked...filling in the blanks of a question I know someone is kinda thinking about but uncomfortable asking.

I'm not one who gets upset when people want to know what I am ethnically, because I'd much rather have them know than assume I'm something I'm not. But a lot of people do get upset. They think it shouldn't matter. That our backgrounds don't matter. Whatever. For me, they do. I care a lot about my history, obviously, and my ethnic heritage is a part of my identity. It's something I want people to know about.

So I said, I'm Mexican and Portuguese. And the response, so far the best response I've ever gotten on this topic, was from the guy that got the group going, Mike, who said, "So...You Like Linguica AND Chorizo?"

Exactly.

And then Ben, the guy sitting next to me from Singapore...was like..."but Perry's not a Portuguese or Mexican name..it's British."

Wow...these people know there stuff.

I had to explain the whole Anglicization of my name Periera to Perry (Thank you Ellis Island).

Anyways...it was great to get to know a group of people from such diverse backgrounds. Hearing there stories, why they got involved in City Planning, where they are from, their heritage...and telling my own. Just in this small group we have people from India, Singapore, Korea, the East Coast and LA. And its surprising the number of connections we found amongst each other as we shared our stories.

For example, when I asked Rhiddi what part of San Jose she lived in..she mentioned the giant Chuckee Cheeze's...which was built on land my great grandpa owned way back in the day as a family farm. Ends up after I said that, they assumed I was a "landed elite" of the Santa Clara Valley. Which would make my family millionares. Haha...if only. Had to explain that too. Hard to summarize how a family which once owned land throughout the valley for generations lost it all in a decade.

I'm hoping some really good things come from this club. There's something great about starting something new, having the chance to leave a legacy. I've done it twice before with the MV Youth Advisory Group, and MVPA. I'm really thankful that the oppurtunity to do it at Cal has landed in my lap. Exciting times.

Well...I think the Claritin finally wore off. My allergies were acting up this morning, and I needed to take it. I don't know whether it was the Claritin or the allergies themselves that just drained me today. Ech. All I wanted to do was lie down and rest all day. I almost fell asleep at 9:00. Haven't done that for a while. But hunger got me out of bed and here I am now.

I was gonna write a detailed description of this past weekend....but I'm tired again. I'll keep it short and sweet.

Thursday- Stumbled into a meeting of Urban Studies Majors that want to form an undergrad student org after my last class. Woohoo! (see Jan. 24 entry)
Friday - Went to SF w/ Leo and Lauren to visit the Embacadero and Ferry Building. Had a fun time at Kat's 21st bday party at night.
Saturday- Slept in. Played a couple games of poker with cheerios and pretzels with the housemates.
Sunday- Read in the Rose Garden, enjoyed the great weather. Had another meeting for the Urban Studies group, wrote the constitution...decided on the name Berkeley Urban Studies Student Association (BUSSA). Watched the grammies. Which were dumb except for the performances.

Overall, a great weekend. Look's like it's gonna be a very busy week.

Right then. Goodnight.

To go abroad, or not to go abroad?

It'd just be a month. August. I know I could do it. But I don't want to do it alone. Especially since its through Davis and not through Cal, so I won't have even a remote chance of knowing people. But the program sounds really interesting, based in southern Germany near the Black Forest and the French border, in the picturesque city of Freiburg. I'd be studying various forms of Community Development by visiting different cities in Germany, France, and Switzerland.

But for a guy who has only been outside this country once (and that was to Encenada in Mexico...which pretty much doesn't count)....who isn't, very...well, adventurous... when it comes to food (but Freiburg does have two McDonald's...I checked),...and who doesn't speak a lick of German (the class is in English..but still)....it's a daunting and frightening proposition to just fly over their alone. I've barely traveled in these United States....farthest I've been is Florida for a trip to Disneyworld, which again..doesn't really count because it's just an over-blown Disneyland.

I just don't know how to travel yet, so to do it a lone the first time is scary. And it's not just me, it's pretty much my whole family. The last folks on my mom's side to set foot in Europe were the one's from way-back-when that came here from Spain and had babies with the Aztecs and made us Mexicans. With one exception, my cousin Mikey went to England last spring. But they speak English there....kinda....so at least he had that going for him. On my dad's side my grandparents went to the Azores and Portugal in the 1950s, but they had roots and family there still. So basically, I'm not exactly used to traveling, and I come from a long line of non-globetrotters.

I just don't know. I'm trying to get Leo to come with me, but for some reason that architorture major wants to take an architorture summer abroad program. ABSURD! Well...not really. But from my skewed perspective... it just makes sense; he was born in Germany, speaks German, could get credit for this towards his major... he was destined to be my translator and tour guide for this. Haha.

I'll probably apply at the very least. But, I'll ask again...anyone wanna come with me? Please? I'll give you a dollar.

So, of all the classes I've taken at Cal, here is how they rate. This is for my own amusement, you probably don't care...unless you're thinking about what to take in future semesters.

1.) Architecture 171C - San Francisco Architecture
-See Previous Post

2.) Environmental Design 11A - Intro to Drawing Studio
-The top 3 are all very close together, studio is tough to rate because of the extremes within it, a lot of fun, but also a lot of hard work and frustrating days...but ultimately worth it in the end. Got to know some great folks in my section too. I put 11A before 11B, because I was better at 11A and can actually do something with my drawings whereas my models from 11B just collect dust.

3.) Environmental Design 11B - Intro to Design Studio
-See Above. But this class introduced me to Flavia, Phyllis and Rory, three people who my Cal experience would be so much less fun without. Plus a bunch of other folks who were fun to have class with. Oh..and Luke, my instructor's dog. Strange dog.

4.) City Planning 111 - Intro to Housing
-Eye opening course, my first with Professor Roy. Got a great paper out of it too.

5.) Chicano Studies 70AC - Latino Politics
-Another eye opening course, I learned quite a bit about my own family's history in relation to larger events and got to see a movie my great-grandma's were in...which moves this course up the list.

6.) Political Science 171 - California Politics
-Bruce Cain is an excellent professor and this class really gave me a better insight into how this wonderful state of ours works. If you're at all interested in California politics, take this class.

7.) Environmental Design 1 - Intro to Environmental Design
-Fond memories of my section in this course put it high up on the list. In this class I solidified my friendships with Leo and Lauren, met a couple other CED friends like Jacqueline and Melissa, and got to know a bunch of other people that I continue to enjoy taking classes with in the CED.

8.) City Planning 115 - Urbanization in Developing Countries
-Ananya Roy's classes are really interesting and she has very powerful lectures, but this class didn't quite do the same thing for me that CP111 did. Nevertheless, its pretty high up because Prof. Roy challenges my perceptions of what city planning is, and although this often frustrates and confuses me, its rewarding. Plus, I got to write a paper about Disney theme parks. The 5th grader Nick inside of me is absolutely thrilled that I was able to write about Disneyland in college.

9.) Ethnic Studies 150AC - People of Mixed Racial Decent
-Overall, I think that this class could have been better. But the very fact that there is a class like this, and that it introduced me to one of my all time favorite novels now, La Maravilla, and had the author come in as a guest lecture, puts it in the top 10.

10.) City Planning 110 - Intro to City Planning
-I enjoyed my GSI in this class, we got along really well and the projects assigned were interesting. And, the fact that I kicked ass grade-wise helps too. My first A+ at Cal. And I remember the lecture mentioning Mountain View a few times, which made me like the class even more.

11.) Geography 159AC - The Southern Border
-I wish I was able to invest more time into this class than I did. Prof Manz and Shaiken were great, especially Prof. Manz. The subject material was very relevant and well presented. My first and only class with Erik, and that was cool too.

12.) Geography 50AC - California Geography
-It was about California. It was about Geography. I got to write about my family's history for a term paper. What's not to like?

13.) ESPM 10 - Environmental Issues
-The prof in the class was really really cool. The class was a last minute filler but was really enlightening. Lauren R. was in the class with me too, and that was fun (when she was awake)

14.) Geography 70AC - The American Urban Experience
-I like this class, not so much because of the lectures (they weren't that great) but because of the project we had to do. I got to learn a lot about Uptown Oakland and had a good time doing it.

15.) Astronomy 10 - General Astronomy
-Lot's of fun to be in a class with Kat, Ryan, and BJ as a GSI....but I couldn't really get fired up about the subject material. Filipenko is a great prof, and I enjoyed his lectures. But Astronomy just isn't my thing. Pretty amazing stuff though.

16.) Geography 10 - World Regions
-Interesting, but not very much of what was said stuck with me.

17.) City Planning 39A - Frosh/Soph Seminar w/ Prof Emeritus Meier
-An experience that I wasn't quite ready for as a freshman... and maybe still not ready for? Not sure. Professor Meier had a totally foreign notion of what City Planning was, and a lot of the stuff we talked about was either waay out there, or just over my head. But he is an admirable individual and the class was certainty not as bad as its position on this list might suggest.

18.) Statistics 2 - Intro to Statistics
-Stats was interesting, I didn't hate this class. Didn't love it either, but the Prof made it tolerable and I got to bug Lauren P. during lecture.

19.) Math16A - Analytic Geometry and Calculus
-This class has the distinction of being the only class at Cal I really did not enjoy at all. I hate Math. I really do.

Wow, 19 classes. Plus 4 this semester. Getting close to the end. That was kinda fun. Makes me realize that I've really enjoyed almost all my classes here. Lucky me.

Looking back at the last semester, I've realized that San Francisco Architecture was the best class I have taken here at Cal. With only about 18 kids in the class, we really got to know each other and Professor Tobriner well. The tours to San Francisco were great, I've gained a whole new perspective on the City. For our papers, he let us write about things that really interested us. And at the end of the semester, he invited us to his house for a get together where we told stories and talked about our papers.

The people in the class were great too. Not only were some of my friends from studio in it, but the diversity of people that go to Berkeley was represented really well. We had exchange students from Scandinavia, New Zealand, Russia, Hong Kong, and Argentina...not to mention various parts of the United States. It was cool to actually work with graduate students too, and hear about the research they were doing.

I hope everyone that reads this blog and goes to Cal, gets the chance to participate in at least one class like this. They're out there, you just have to find them. That's pretty much the whole deal with Cal. The oppurtunities for a great educational expirience are out there, you just need to go out and find them yourself. You aren't spoon fed them like you might be in some schools. And personally, I like it that way.

Not a cloud in the sky here in Mountain View. Looks like its gonna be a nice weekend.

Chris had a huge victory last night at the Saint Francis versus Serra basketball game. SFHS lost (51-61), but you couldn't tell from the good vibes that were filling the building during and after the game. Last year, Serra brought a huge cheering section and typical of Saint Francis in recent years, the Lancers had virtually no students at the game. Chris happened to be there doing a radio station broadcast, and was humiliated by the experience. He would not let that happen this year.

The promise of free-dress on Monday if 150 kids came into the Rage Cage cheering section worked better than anyone could have imagined. It was a football game crowd at a basketball game. The Rage Cage was packed, loud and rowdy. The second floor was packed with students too. The whole gym looked more like a mandatory school rally than like a sporting event. But more importantly, they cheered. They ensured that the Lancers had a home-court advantage, when, in past years the others teams cheering sections drowned out the SFHS student section, if there was on at all. The team was able to close a 25 point deficit in the 4th quarter and come within a few points of tying it in the last couple of minutes. The place went absolutely wild. The second floor students even stood up! (...WITHOUT me yelling at them like at the Bellarmine Basketball game) What otherwise could have been a blow out, ended up being a really exciting and fun game for everyone.

When the Serra crowd tried to pull a Bellarmine and started using some...disrespectful...cheers, their deans jumped on their case, kicked one guy out, and had the whole student section exit the gym before the end of the game, leaving the Lancers to celebrate their moral victory. So after the final buzzer rang, and the band began playing the alma mater, the Rage Cage and the team got together and sang it. They then filled the court, hanging out, talking, laughing. There wasn't a disappointed face in the gym. Chris, who had lost his voice by the 4th quarter, was just smiling.

All year, Chris has wanted to show his school that it can be fun to have spirit, go to games, and cheer. It makes high school a more memorable and fun experience. Last night, it seems that his dream was realized. What a nice early 18th bday present for my little brother.

When life gets a little tough and stressfull, its really nice to have a couple of friends who will drop what they're doing, head back to campus after spending the whole day there, come to my studio, bring cheeseysticks, candy, and beer, and just hang out.

So, I'm rethinking my decision regarding the Daily Cal. I'll go tomorrow and take that writing test, turn in my resume, and see what its like for a while. It can't hurt to give it a try.

Candice's party was a lot of fun last night. It even got broken up by the cops, but being part of the "inner-circle" of friends, everyone I knew was able to stay to just hang out and talk with people. I did not get drunk, but I had enough to drink to be relaxed and talkative. And I woke up feeling really good this morning. So, great party ladies of the apartment. Hope the clean up isn't too bad.

And the weather today is really nice. One of those crystal clear days that comes after gloomy weather. Cool and crisp, my favorite type of Bay Area day.

To illustrate, here is the view from our front yard this morning:

So, school's started and so-far-so good. Some of my classes seem like the same-old-stuff I've already learned in other classes, but that'll help out later as long as I can stay awake and pay attention.

They're ALL in Wurster...which is something that would have horrified me as a freshman, but now its kinda nice. Wurster has really grown on me. I only wish I lived closer now, especially with studio. I'm really looking forward to being in studio again, especially since its a City Planning studio taught by a planner that worked for Mountain View for five years!

I decided over winter break that I wanted to get more involved with on-campus activities, so I went to the Daily Cal staff recruitment meeting yesterday. I'd like to write for them, but I've realized that I might not have the time. My schedule runs late into the day, which is bad since that's when they edit and put the paper together. And a the whole environment of people who spend a lot of time together seems to dominate that office. It's the same environment that pushed me out of yearbook at Saint Francis because I couldn't devote myself so fully to one activiety. Not to diss the whole "spend way too much time together" environment, its just that I'll get (and have gotten) enough of that with studio.

So..I guess scratch that idea...and on to idea # 2, staring an undergraduate Urban Studies/City Planning student group at Cal! Hehe...we'll see how that goes. I just do not want to leave Cal feeling that I didn't try to get involved here. And time is running short.

Good luck with the new semester everyone. I know a few of you are having a tough time right now. Just remember to take it easy, have fun. Chill out. It's way cliche...but you're in one of, if not the, greatest public universities in the world.... Schwarzenegger be damned. I know sometimes it may feel otherwise....but you are lucky to be here. Try not to forget that.

Heading down to SoCal this afternoon with Matt and Kim to visit Jen at UCSD.

SoCal twice in one winter break? I dunno if I can handle that much SoCal. I'm sure I'll be sitting in a few hours of traffic once we hit LA. But San Diego is nice, so I'm looking forward to going there.

Didn't mention it here yet, but the day after Christmas my family spontaneously decided to follow my cousin's family down to Disneyland. An excellent trip, it was really fun to take my cousin's kids (ages 4 and 7) to the park for their first visit there.

But Disneyland was insanely crowded. I've been there on some of the busiest days of summer, and I do not remember it ever being this bad. But then again, when I went during summer the park had a lot more rides that were "people eaters," they kept the walkways a little more..walkable. In addition, both Big Thunder and Space Mountain were closed...thanks to budget cuts which have reduced daily maintenance, forcing their closure over long periods of time and resulting in at least one deadly accident last year. I don't know if you've noticed, but the quality and quantity of new attractions there has dropped drastically over recent years. The current company leadership's insane penny pinching is chipping away at the famous quality of Disney product.

If you know me well, you know I've long been fascinated by Disney themeparks and that at one time my dream-job was to be an "Imagineer," one of the guys that designs them. I know some of you find that despicable (ahem..Lauren and Leo) but I know more of you have spent quite a few happy days at Disneyland or at a Disney movie...and know where I'm coming from.

So in light of this, I encourage you to poke around the following site:

www.savedisney.com

It's by Roy E. Disney, Walt's nephew. He was the head of animation until a few months ago, when he resigned in protest of CEO Michael Eisner's destruction of Disney quality, and he's now working to have Eisner be fired or resign. They'll send you a FREE bumper sticker if you add yourself to their mailing list. And who can pass up a free bumper sticker? Not I.

All right...I need to get some stuff done before I leave town. For those of you who are my Cal buddies, have a nice last weekend of freedom, and cya soon.

Elephant Seals...

aren't they just the most handsome critters you've ever seen?

My day trips with Leo and Lauren, the three of us have realized, have established a pattern. They involve going out to the wilderness on the outskirts of the Bay Area, looking at some strange animal (last time it was Elk at Pt. Reyes), and then topping the day off with a trip to burger king, where we all order chicken tenders.

Yesterday we made the 1.5 hour drive to Ano Nuevo Point to see the Elephant Seals during mating season. (no...we did not see any actual mating...we did see some chasing and fighting) Took a guided 2.5 hour hike around the reserve. Quite a fun experience. I had not been there since I was 10. Those elephant seals can move pretty fast. And they are HUGE! I thought my childhood memory had exaggerated their size, but those things are ginormous 5000 pound beasts. But most of the time they're just flopped down in a dune like the one I took a photo of.

The drive to and from Ano Nuevo was a constant battle to see if my geographic skills were better than the Global Navigation System on Leo's SUV. I win! The GPS had him going around in circles at the Stanfurd Shopping Center on the way to his OWN HOUSE....I was utterly horrified that Leo did not just follow his own sense of direction while in his own city and instead had to rely on a computer. Pity the geographically challenged, for they shall get lost on the Earth.

Lauren and I also got to see Leo's house in Palo Alto for the first time. Whereas our drawings and projects from past studios are stuffed behind a bed, crammed in a shelf, decaying in the yard, or hidden in a closet...Leo's work is proudly displayed by his parents throughout the entire house. Of course, the modern art-galleryesque feel to the Eichler lends itself to such displays. His house was uber-cool, as was his family. Lauren and I are jealous Leo. You hear that? Jealous. Haha...wait...you live in Palo Alto...I take that back.