And so tomorrow begins another year in Berkeley and things couldn't be any worse.

While every school year from now on will start off with the lingering memories of September 11th, the first anniversary will be the hardest. But also raining in on the parade is the air of striking. Not only is baseball threatening to strike this Friday, two strikes threaten to wreak havoc on an already wild first week of school in Berkeley. The clerical workers, who deal with all the paperwork and the all-important waiting lists, go on strike for the first three days of the year. Also, lecturers, underpaid and let go after a few years, will strike on Wednesday unless a new contract is written.

This fall will be the first time the book-buying season is without the Campus Textbook Exchange, the store with the familiar sign on Bancroft, leaving Berkeleyans with only the ASUC and Ned's for the book-buying needs.

More people are arriving in Berkeley, people who look like me, Asians, and less people of the other races, leaving this small minority to protest louder than ever before.

Fire has struck some apartments down the street from me and through the course of last night, Oakland suffered its 72nd and 73rd homicides.

As for me, I'm prepared like I usually am, which means I am not prepared. But I'll probably get up tomorrow and a brand new day will arrive.