The parking lot at work looks like New Orleans.
I arrived at work today to see my normal parking space covered in a layer of dried mud. Turns out, a underground water main burst open over the weekend and flooded the parking lot. There's a bobcat digger covered in mud, a large hole in the ground, and a pile of mud covered with debris including plants and stuff.
I arrived home today to be greeted by a huge gathering of police officers in uniform at the court near my house.
Some neighbors were also standing outside confused, but we came to the conclusion that it was a memorial of some sort because some of the officers were on horseback and a lot of non-uniform people were around too. Since all the people incoming were basically taking up all the streetside parking, eventually a car parked next to where we were chatting and they said it was a "candlelight" vigil (okay, they're actually using glowsticks now) for Jeffery Fontana, who was killed on duty 4 years ago.
After a speech, the group left to walk to the park which was dedicated in his name.
Okay, so that might not be quite the right word for it, but it sorta conveys what I think of places so far off from the city that even chain restaurants fail.
This past thursday, as I was on my way home, my mom decided that she wanted a McDonald's Filet-o-fish for dinner. And that I'd probably like one too since I grew up eating those.
What she found was that the McDonald's just around the corner from our house has closed. The lights were off, nobody inside. It's been there since when I was in middle school. I guess when Trader Joe's moved out from the plaza, the volume of people passing by dwindled. Not to mention that a lot of the people in this neighborhood grew up.
Despite that I had only eaten at a McDonald's like 5 times total this year and that, in general, most of their food isn't exactly good for a person's health, I'd like to request a moment of silence for the passing of this one McDonald's. And to remember the 7 or so years it's been there for us when we really needed something on the way back from the bus stop or when we had long middle school and high school projects on the weekends. (the 4 years when I was in college don't count)
.....
.....
For the first time in a while, I feel like I need a fish.
This weekend I flew to Houston for the first wedding among my middle school/high school friends. I had a lot of fun this trip. It was a good chance to get in touch with many old friends who I haven't seen in a long time. It brings a smile to my face to see two people look that happy together.
Congratulations to Alison and Mike Higuera!
The first weekend of October, I went to Carmel with the people I go play badminton with on the weekends. It was pretty fun; we drove down, went to the beach to play frisbee and throw people in the water, then to Fisherman's Wharf (yeah, there's one down there too), then back to the beach for a bonfire. Afterwards, we bought some drinks at the local Safeway and proceeded to play drunken board games in a hotel room that we stuffed like 11 people in. Yeah, we're cheap like that :)
The next day was spent looking around the 17 mile drive and then driving back up to San Jose.