Observations on this, the first unofficial day of school:

Berkeley is enjoying some of the finest weather I've seen for a January day. 67 degrees and sunny with a little wind. Too bad no one else is here to enjoy it. The campus was deserted. The only people that were on campus were laid-back professors getting their lesson plans ready or students getting to my class in Dwinelle. Yes, I was walking to campus. The bus was a no-show as usual.

As I've said, it's a satellite class from UCSD as Econ 113 and broadcast to UCLA as Econ 188Z and Berkeley as Econ 103. The pauses were hilarious as the professor waited for us to respond to his questions. It shouldn't be too bad; the first midterm is at the end of the month. All the kinks in the system should work themselves out.

While walking to class, I noticed a new Indian restaurant opening at the former Burger King. Its name is "Curry in Hurry." As you think about the comedic possibilities and the grammatical errors in that name, I also mention that there have been three Indian restaurants opening in the last few months on University Avenue alone. Is there really that much of a market for Indian cuisine?

I trudged down to Safeway, so that I could get some eggs. Buy one get one free, you know. And I noticed all down College Avenue, the power was out. What's up with that? No rain or thunder in sight and the power is out. I expect that at home most of the time, but not in Berkeley. I haven't experienced it once here, with the exception of power surges.

If you know about Safeway courtesy, you know that they'll thank you by name once you've paid. The cashier I had was one old guy who liked football. I nodded my head when he asked me about the 49ers game yesterday. Great game by the way. 24 point comebacks don't happen too often. Anyway, he says "Thank You, Mr. Phan." And three steps toward the door, he stops me and says, "Hey! If your name was Football, you could be Football Phan. You know, like football fan?" Yeah, I gave a smile and got out of there as fast as I could.

I passed by the new dining commons at Unit 1. I was impressed by the building except for the color. Its mango/dark brown color sent chills down my spine since it kinda looks like the color of my old high school. As for Units 1 and 2, it's a war zone out there. With the students away, the construction workers have come out to play as they work to tear down the center structures and build multi-level dorms.

Okay, now I'm bored and no one else is around to be bored with me for I am only one of the few students in Berkeley.