/mike

Today has been really nice and friendly (so far). The office has giggles in the air, and people are chatting with me because it's my birthday. I'm always embarrassed to tell my age. You know, it's never right. I felt old talking about my age with Cindy, but I feel too young when coworkers ask me how old I am.

Writing this, I'm beginning to change my mind. The late-twenties are going to be better than the mid-twenties. I'm done with the hairy years.

I'm a little busier, assignments are handed out, and the job is starting to take shape. The big news, however, is that the department has a basketball court and gym for employee use. Interesting. Very interesting.

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First there was the article on mansionization, and now the LA Times is writing about historic preservation too. Maybe they will write an article on Design Review Boards next!

I'm glad to see these issues get some attention. I just wish the coverage was more in-depth.

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Ross Newhan seems to infer that the Angels made a mistake in keeping the exact roster as their 2002 World Series team. I disagree. After last year, breaking up the team was not an option suggested by fans, the media, or the Angels. It would have been a public relations nightmare (not to mention stupid). In fact, there was a lot of pressure to not only keep the team intact, but sign players to multi-year deals. Washburn, Kennedy and Spezio were all intergral parts to the championship, but General Manager Bill Stoneman instead signed all three to one-year deals.

Now, we see that the team is not doing well. There are a lot of possible reasons for this (which I will not get into). The three players mentioned before are doing poorly. In fact, outside a select few, most of the Angels are performing significantly worse compared to the previous season. Not paying those guys long term money is looking more and more like a smart move because it gives the team more payroll flexibilty. Now they can resign those who do play well, address weak areas of the team, or even sign free agents.

The Angels had to keep the core intact. It didn't work out. That's ok. The team is still in a position to compete again next year.

I got up at around 4:30am. The commute was surprisingly only 40 minutes, but I left well before traffic. I fully expect the drive home to take twice as long (or more). Since I arrived a bit early, I got the opportunity to scope out San Pedro. The Ports O’Call looked better than I thought.

So half of my first day is over and I’m excited about the challenge ahead of me. The learning curve is going to be very, very steep the next few months. By the way, I will get a chance to review the Urban Design proposals for a port promenade. But before that, I’ve got to read the port master plan (and all 21 amendments) first.

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My grandparents just celebrated 60 years of marriage. They give Chinese matchmakers a good name.

It feels odd to think that I will be in a new office monday. Valley planning has been all I've ever known.

As usual, the weekend is too busy for proper reflection (or preparation).

With the cable modem down and the house pretty much empty, I have been watching more network tv. Yesterday I was turned on to perhaps the most pathetic excuse for prime time programming ever, Big Brother 4. Granted, all I knew of the show was water-cooler talk. I knew that there was a camera in the bedrooms and men and women shared rooms and "so and so was spooning with such and such".

Anyway, I was flipping between the new Twilight Zone, Drew Carey and Big Brother, when I saw something that caught my eye. The token Asians, Jee and Jun fascinated me because I immediately hated them. Everyone on the show is despicable, but they had something special. You see, the cast had three ex-couples (for added drama I guess). One couple wanted to kill each other. Another seemed, I dunno, they seemed indifferent. But as for my bretheren, they responded to the situation by forming a secret alliance. They don't like each other, but the camera caught them making secret plans, pretending to hate each other when everyone else was around, even whispering in Korean to each other. Oh, they looked so hate-worthy doing it, too. Once I saw that, I knew. Yeah I knew. I KNEW what every red blooded, flag waving, bbq eating, good, solid American thought, because I thought it too. Those sneaky f***ing asians always stick together, don't they.

I usually feel uncomfortable with the idea of seeing old friends from highschool or college. Despite my reluctance, I've had two good experiences now, most recently at Lisa's farewell after-party on Saturday. Of course, I am still unconvinced that I should go to something like my upcoming 10-year highschool reunion. Finding a few of them on friendster was weird enough.

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Hehe, sorry Nathan, but I am going to once again post a link to an article from the LA Times. On Sunday, I was interested to read about mansionization, or mcmansions as I have heard them called. Wordspy defines mansionization as "the act of tearing down an existing house and replacing it with one that is bigger, especially one that is much larger than the surrounding houses". If you live around Pasadena, Arcadia most likely provides the best examples, but the trend extends throughout the LA area.

The article discusses the public concerns, the market conditions that can encourage such development, and even touches upon some of the planning tools used to control the trend. In general, developers should have freedom to build as they choose (and as the market dictates), but obviously, it is never absolute freedom. All parcels are subject to zoning regulations which restrict the use (residential, commercial, industrial), setbacks, height, etc. It's a delicate balance. Usually, the problem of masionization stems from bulk, where an oversized new development can completely clash and overshadow an existing neighborhood. Sometimes, it's all just a case of mansion-envy.

The common way I've seen this issue addressed is through new planning tools that regulate design, and force builders to stay within the same size, massing and bulk of an existing neighborhood, even though they comply with their site's original zoning. I don't necessarily think this is always the best answer. Increases in the city's overall density, and improvements in construction make it such that homes can be different than the ones built in the 1920s. Changing the character of a neighborhood isn't always a bad thing, and it often can be necessary. Instead of focusing only on protecting certain areas, perhaps zoning regulations can be revised to control overzealous builders (increasing the front and side yards, or decreasing the maximum allowable height, as simplified examples). This would make the system simpler by not adding another layer of regulations, and more fair because it would be implemented on a broader scale, not on only one geography.

As always, the challenge is to react to the changing tides of development in a manner that counts.

This is from today's LA Times.

A shopping and entertainment district funded by the Port is an exciting idea. I'm imagining a Fisherman's-Wharf-Lite with a decidedly Los Angeles flavor (less sourdough bread and more hipster sushi).

I hope I get to review the urban design proposals.

I was still caught off guard when sexual assault charges were brought against Kobe today.

Although he has an image machine behind him, I do think that his responses are telling. My impression is that he honestly doesn't think he is guilty. But at the very least, he put himself in a vulnerable position and will pay the price for that indiscretion. This won't be the first time a guy did something stupid for sex, and unfortunately it won't be the last.

I wonder about the girl. This isn't just Kobe Bryant's story. Her life has been forever changed too. In fact, one might argue that June 30, 2003 will change the direction of her life more than it will affect Kobe's path. She also put herself in a vulnerable position and is now paying her own price.

I know that there is still a lot to be determined in this case, but I get the cynical feeling that when it's all said and done, Kobe will be fine (much like MJ and his off-court problems), and the girl will be paid generously in both cash and celebrity.

The following is from my favorite moment in Goldfish, by Brian Michael Bendis.

"It's later that night and I'm telling this little this little ditty to Max... he made an excellent observation. He pointed out that if you'd tell anybody in the entire world this story, they'd say: 'My, what an interesting aside to the legend of JFK.'

'What an interesting anecdote about JFK.'

But to this tailor, this was his life, his ENTIRE life. Every single second, every single minute, every day, he lives this tale. To him, this is his story, his reality, and rightly so. And all anyone will ever see is a story about Kennedy. Y'see? Y'see that?

The reason everything is so increasingly fucked up here, anywhere, is that everybody's focus is way out of whack. Everybody thinks that their life is like a movie or a t.v. show, and it's their name that goes up above the title, y'know? The problem's that everybody also refuses to see that everybody else's stories are going on around them too. That they aren't just supporting players in your grand epic.

And that these stories are just as valuable to them as your story is to you.

Ego is ruling the world, pal."

If you can't tell by the bolds, Goldfish is a comic book.

The Angels were playing their best baseball of the season when the mid-season break arrived. I guess opponents will be given a three day reprieve, but when games resume, I fully expect the solid pitching, hitting, and defense to continue for the Halos. Until then, I'll watch the new and improved All-Star game, where "now it counts". (The winning league gets home field advantage in the World Series.)

This change exhibits a negative tendency I've noticed in Bud Selig's tenure as commissioner. He values novelty over fairness. Tonight's All-Star game will undoubtedly spur more interest than previous All-Star games, but there is a subtle cost. The system becomes slightly less fair. I would argue that in the era of free agency, league affiliation is no longer the dividing line that it used to be. Players in the All-Star game can potentially have apathetic or even conflicted interests. In fact, players can be traded to the other league after the All-Star break! Home field advantage should be given arbitrarily (switching year by year) or determined competitively (going to the team with the best record). Admittedly, the difference is negligible, but with inter-league play, an unbalanced schedule, and the Expos being run by their competitors, Major League Baseball is shadier than I would like.

Note: The wild card is good. Oh yes, very good.

I am a grateful person right now. What's interesting is that I actually had to remind myself to feel that way. Ideally, I'd prefer for it to come naturally, but it didn't. Not that I was particularly un-grateful, but I was busy being overcome with a mixture of shock, giddiness, and relief.

I starting thinking about gratitude when I once read that “all happy people are grateful, and ungrateful people cannot be happy”. This idea has long struck a chord with my observations of others and myself. So once I started to reflect on the past few weeks, I was compelled to act. Not only because it seemed to be a healthy response, but also because I think it is the most honest as well. I am a recipient of overwhelming amounts of grace. Not only that, I see the same blessing for others as well. Claiming the credit as our own or thinking it simply due to dumb luck seemed insulting.

These thoughts on gratitude reminded me of the last time my mind drifted this way. It wasn't easy, because things weren't so good then. In fact, they were awful. Gratitude for what I had was necessary to get me turned around then, and hopefully gratitude will serve me just as well today.

For most of my life, I’ve been a loyal PC user. While I had a positive image of Apple, I held back on making the switch. Part of me felt a certain reluctance: Did the product live up to the hype? I like a little substance with my style. In fact, Apple was getting a bit too cool for its own good. I remember one conversation with a stranger who felt a ridiculous need to repeatedly point out, “I’m very artistically inclined. I own an Apple.” Silly conversations notwithstanding, I took the plunge. Fortunately, my little iBook has met the billing, exceeded my expectations, and set the bar. I’ve converted.

I had the same internal “style/substance” conflict today when I read the LA Times Column One article, Rebirth of Core Values. There are a lot of exciting developments going on in downtown LA. Among them, housing units are supposed to increase 44% in the next 18 months. This immediately caught my eye. Even if I had to commute to San Pedro, I’d consider living downtown. But who knows how long the current momentum will last. In its current state, downtown isn’t even close to the 24-hour, walkable community I’d fantasize about. I don’t need perfection, but everyone has a limit. I’m not sure how many inconveniences and safety issues I’d want to deal with. Since I am more interested in purchasing, I’d have to consider the future of my investment too.

Oh well. It took me over a year to buy the iBook, and even the most affordable of places would cost at least 150 times more, so I better not hold my breath.

Something has just trumped my rotation downtown. I’ve been offered (and have accepted) a promotion to work as a Planner for the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro. The starting date has yet to be determined.

I regret having to forgo the gold-line and City Hall, but given the circumstances, this opportunity is that good. Honest.

The rumors finally came to pass. At staff meeting, an announcement was made that I will be rotated from my current position to work Downtown. I will miss the Valley, but I am also looking forward to new challenges. While this is a lateral move, this is still very good news. Like most planners, I have a very romanticized view of the city center. Honestly, I'm also glad to be off my current assignment. When I took on the Mulholland Scenic Parkway Specific Plan, it was understood that the work would be very stessful and difficult. Still, I've learned a lot in the past two years, and I'll readily admit that it has made me a better planner.

Cindy is taking me out to celebrate. Perhaps I'll choose bargain sushi tonight. Everyone's gotta live a little, you know?

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There's been quite a bit of news for the Planning Department lately. With the local and state-wide budget woes, everyone has been hit hard. The Department is currently in a "hiring freeze", which in general, means that management cannot hire, promote or replace staff, despite any vacancies. Since Community Planning has lost 6 or so staff in the past month, we will increasingly have less people to do the same amount of work.

This news is contrasted with Council's recent vote to ratify our new contract. We (including me and my Dad) will be receiving a healthy "cost of living" salary increase as well as a fat retro-check. It may seem like odd timing, but in actuality, the money had always been allocated. Much to the chagrin of union members, we have been working without a contract for the past few years. This was especially vulnerable during the Valley succession movement, when a worst case scenario could have resulted in layoffs and lost jobs. By waiting out the past few years, the City benefited by collecting interest on a lot of money. The newly signed contract will expire in a year from now. I'm guessing the next one will come in a few years after that. So goes city politics.

I sat in my car where California meets Arroyo Parkway, waiting for the light to turn. The weather had been hot and dry, but the sky was gratefully beginning to gray. Directly ahead of me, two crossing arms lowered themselves. The city and I seemed to take a deep breath together, releasing the day’s tensions.

A green arrow signaled me to go. Not even halfway through my turn, a sleek, passenger-less gold trimmed train sped by me, gliding towards Downtown with hardly a noise. I smiled to myself with a swell of anticipation. This might just be a very good thing, after all.

Everyone knows LA for its bad air. I remember back in Elementary school when recess was often canceled due to smog alerts. Based on an email I got today, it wouldn't surprise me if little Mikeys all over the San Gabriel Valley are once again kept from glorious games of dodgeball.

"Today, July 7, 2003... air pollution levels will exceed 100 on the Air Quality Index (AQI) in the following areas:

West San Gabriel Valley, Ozone: 112, 2PM-5PM
East San Gabriel Valley, Ozone: 125, 3PM-6PM"

Yeah. An AQI above 100 is rated as unhealthy for sensitive groups. So y'all be careful out there.

What are we to do with the Segway? According to the LA Times, San Francisco and La Mirada have already banned them from city sidewalks. Pasadena recently introduced an ordinance that doesn't go as far as prohibition, but instead limits its use (hours, streets, etc.).

Besides thinking that it looks one part cool and four parts silly, I wondered if it was necessary for cities to establish limitations on Segways in the first place. How many people actually ride them? I believe that preemptive regulations to protect the public from Segways aren't necessary in Pasadena. Not yet. This is just another law for police to not enforce (until ghetto kids start to ride the streets on Segways and harass high-end shoppers in Old Town).

I didn't wake up in time to see James and Yang Sze off. Matt will be leaving tomorrow too. I'm afraid being home without them will make living here a little lonely.

I'm excited about the prospect of getting started again.

Hello.