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isn't this funSanta Clara -- The Mission City
"My Home Town"
How do explain this city? It's not like I live in some cool place like Madrid or Sydney. I live in Santa Clara, California. The Heart of Silicon Valley. In the middle of surburbia, USA, surounded by strip malls, soul-less high tech companies, and seemingly devoid of any culture at all. But the fact is, as much as I like to joke about Santa Clara, it's not a bad place to live. In fact, most time it's an excellent place to live. If you can get past the El Camino Real and the traffic of the 101 freeway, you'll find some cool museums, pretty decent restaurants, and for the tech-heads on VT, this place is nerdvana!
Much has changed in Santa Clara Valley over the past 38 years that my family has lived here. Where there used to be orchards there are now strip malls. And where there was once a landfill, now there is Paramount's Great America theme park. But still, it's home and it suits me fine.
"Orchards for Chips"
A little Santa Clara history: Spanish Priests and Soldiers, and American Settlers form the historic past of the city. Mission Santa Clara de Asis, the eighth of California's 21 missions, was built here in 1777. During the 19th century and first half of the 20th century, the area experienced tremendous agricultural growth. And as I mentioned, during the 50s and 60s we saw those orchards and farms bulldozed over to make way for what was to become Silicon Valley. Chances are most of the components in your computer were designed and/or manufactured here. Intel, HP, National Semiconductor, 3Com, Sun, Nortel, ATI, nVidia, Roxio, Hitachi, and on and on.
"Movin' to California"
When I was 2, my parents sold the house in Maryland, slung cryin' ass into the back seat of this here beauty on the left, and moved to California, landing right here in Silicon Valley. Yeah boy, if it hadn't totally rusted through the frame, this baby here would be my ride. We moved into an Eichler and have lived in this area ever since.
