Fans Flock to San Jose for NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament

Is it just me or is it really easy to get caught up in March Madness?  My first awareness of the NCAA championships came when I moved to Champaign, Illinois in 1971 and I have never seen anything like that level of excitement and obsession about basketball since I moved back to California.  But when I got off light rail in downtown San Jose yesterday I picked up on a very heightened adrenalin level.

I heard this group from a block away.  They were incredibly pumped up and irresistibly friendly.

This group had a friendly rivalry going on with a lot of pom-pom pushing.

This group was unanimous in their allegience.

These guys started to rattle off the rankings (I believe they said UNM was 8th, "Nationally."

Non-partisan paper salesman. I hope the NCAA tournament was good for his business as well as other businesses downtown.

Nasdaq Moves to San Jose for the Day, Just in Time for My 100th Post

 I had an idea for the subject of my 100th post but when I woke up this morning to the news that the opening bell for Nasdaq would be rung in the San Jose City Hall rotunda in 24 minutes, I dressed quickly, grabbed my camera and rode down to city hall.  I made it with minutes to spare and was pretty impressed with the glamor of the event, the number of press members

and the large crowd.  It is a special occasion when the ceremonial opening bell is rung anywhere but New York.  The Nasdaq executives were here to observe the 20th anniversary of its presence in Silicon Valley.

By coincidence the company Financial Engines was here for the opening as the country's latest IPO.  If you want to be there for the ceremonial ringing of the closing bell, our very own mayor Chuck Reed will be ringing it at 1:30 today (again in the rotunda of San Jose City Hall).

Sonia's Kitchen-Cheesesteaks and Curb Appeal

I spotted Sonia's seven years ago during the first week I lived downtown. I absolutely loved the bright green and yellow paint job and how unexpected it was to see a cheesesteak place on this corner. Even though I don't eat meat, I couldn't resist checking out the place.

There is an interesting looking vegetarian sandwich option on the menu and even though I am notorious for making poor choices (like the time I ordered the seafood platter in a restaurant in Wendover, Neveda which is located in the middle of a desert) I couldn't bring myself to order a veggie sandwich at a cheesesteak place.  So I engaged the services of a carnivorous guest blogger who went to Sonia's, ordered the pepper, swiss cheese and grilled onion cheesesteak and reviewed it for me.  He said it was great.  The swiss cheese gets all melty and becomes a tasty sauce for the steak and the steak was really good.

Someday I'll order the veggie sandwich.  It can't be as bad as the Wendover seafood platter.

High Above San Jose by Day

I attended a meeting on the 17th floor of San Jose City Hall the other night and was struck by how beautiful the city looked from that vantage point.  I was disappointed I didn't have my camera with me. Then today while I was out walking the dog I ran into one of the Communiversity leaders (Communiversity is a community building partnership between San Jose State University and the downtown residents) who invited me to their meeting on the 14th floor of City Hall.  This time I had my camera with me and San Jose was looking quite dramatic with the sun just peeking through all the clouds. I still want to get back to the 17th floor at night for some pictures but here is San Jose by day.

Fabulous Saucer Magnolias

Besides the ocean of unwanted oxalis blooming in my yard, there are plenty of signs around town that winter is ending.  On a short bike ride around the neighborhood I discovered these beautiful magnolia trees.  I figured I better capture them today before the rains move in on Friday and beat the blossoms down.

The Farm Stand is Now Open

Today and every Saturday until the end of the growing season, the Veggielution Farm Stand will be open from 2:30 to 5:30.  Right now they are selling  green garlic, beets, cilantro, rosemary, green onions, lettuce, choi sum, collards, kale, broccoli, arugula, chard, and pak choi. They sell on a sliding scale with 3 levels: 1. I can't afford to pay anything right now. 2. I can pay about what I'd pay in a supermarket and 3. I can afford to pay a little extra to support Veggielution.  I bought some fine looking arugula which I plan to use in a grilled Swiss and arugula panini. The stand is set up right in front of the Emma Prusch farm house.  

Here is some calendula growing right in front of the farm stand.  Calendula's greatest virtue is that it blooms in every month of the year. 

Keeping San Jose Beautiful

As part of the "Keep San Jose Beautiful" program, the city of San Jose has been distributing bulbs to community groups to plant every fall for the last fourteen years. Our neighborhood association requested and received bulbs this fall and they are beginning to bloom.  Here are are some my neighbor planted.

Here are some daffodils  in another neighbors yard.

And here are some paperwhites that have been blooming for weeks now.

Even with all the gloomy gray skies and rain, I can't help but feel lucky when I see my neighborhood blooming like this and read about the mid-Atlantic being pounded by snow storms.