I thought I’d start my first blog post off by explaining who I am, and where my loyalty to all things Campbell stems from.
I am a fourth generation Campbellian. My great great grandparents owned a hardware store downtown, better known these days as Katie Bloom’s. (I must add, that no matter how many times I’ve explained this to the door men, I never got to skip their ridiculous, pre-DJ ban lines.) I swam for the Campbell Wave Makers at the Campbell Community Center from age 8 to 18. I grew up in the shadow of our flamingo pink and turquoise water tower, while our beautiful downtown grew up with me.
For the past six years I’ve been traveling far and wide, mostly to Sacramento and Davis, fending for myself in the strange world outside of Campbell. A place that does not know about neighborhood 4h of July parades, where people do not religiously walk their dogs at sunset, and where you do not have to fight with 15 Ebay engineers to get a Jamba Juice on a weekday during lunch hour.
During my time away, I earned my BA in Studio Art at UC Davis. After that, while stubbornly refusing to move home, I spent six months soul searching and sleeping on couches before settling into a property management job in Sacramento. Meanwhile, this voice inside my head was growing louder and louder... shouting “Why aren't you working for a tech company you big dummy! Why did you move out of best town ever, away from family, away from good jobs, away from the flamingo colored water tower you love so much!!”
So, after six years of living on my own, I moved home when I was offered a job at an IT company in Campbell. And yes, by home I mean the guest bedroom of my parents house where I grew up. It’s been an adjustment, for my parents and for me. For example, convincing my mom that I did not need at 7:30 am ‘wake-up’ text message every morning to make sure I would not be late to work. Or reminding myself that my parents are not as forgiving as my roommates at 2 am when I ring the door bell because I had three Aqui Swirls and lost my keys.
Despite these adjustments, I am so happy to be back in Campbell and even more thrilled at the opportunity to write about my re-discovery of this town I love so much. This blog will be an eclectic mesh of stories. I will tell you about my family and neighbors, events I attend around town, and other misadventures that take place under the water tower. Thank you for reading!
