how 'berkeley' am i?

berkeley today was a charming experience. the sun shone, over the sunday morning campus quiet, and brought to mind many moments spent in the sun generations ago. as i waited for m to appear, i retraced my steps to all those years when berkeley was it.

not surprisingly, i no longer think it is it. i must be fair to other contributors of 'it-ness' in my life. however, this post is not to question how special berkeley will always be (well, to me). it's about the life that exists off-campus.

as i drove from soda to viks, i took the same path i'd have taken eons ago - the much-disputed 'shortest path' that went down cedar all the way. the center of the universe was - at some point - cedar street (not for me, for people who drove me back then :). my surroundings felt very different from how they'd feel in palo alto. there is no element of elitism. it is, after all, berkeley. people are socially conscious, poorer in general, but working and hoping hard for a better world, if you know what i mean. this is not the 'feel' that the affluent and manicured lanes of palo alto generate in me, where i feel rather out of place and 'temporary'.

whether it's a function of berkeley vs. palo alto, or that of my deep-set berkeley-ness roots, i wonder. i'd love some perspective if you have some to share.