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NOTES ON THE VALLEY

A bike ride to Domenico's

Years ago I ate at this deli in Danville called Domenico's. It was one of the best sandwiches I’ve had in my life. However, because I don’t really have any reason...

Original post made by Monith Ilavarasan on May. 25, 2022
There are no comments yet. 7144 Views

NOTES ON THE VALLEY

Where our water goes

Another year, another drought. Last Tuesday the Pleasanton City Council voted to enact Stage 2 drought water rates for the city. This will result in an extra charge...

Original post made by Monith Ilavarasan on Apr. 13, 2022
Last comment by Erlinda , on Apr 20, 2022 at 9:33 am | 12 comments | 7116 Views

NOTES ON THE VALLEY

Take a hike

Over the pandemic my partner and I got sick of being stuck inside all day. A few months in we made a pact. We would go on at least one outdoor...

Original post made by Monith Ilavarasan on Apr. 20, 2022
Last comment by Butler, on Apr 22, 2022 at 10:29 am | 2 comments | 7072 Views

NOTES ON THE VALLEY

Dealing with change

When Jeremy Walsh and Gina Channell Wilcox from Embarcadero Media approached me about the opportunity to write a weekly blog for the Tri-Valley on a topic of my...

Original post made by Monith Ilavarasan on Mar. 16, 2022
Last comment by Praveen, on Mar 20, 2022 at 7:04 pm | 3 comments | 6743 Views

NOTES ON THE VALLEY

Made in home

After my IKEA cutting board started splintering I was in the market for another cutting board. Every time I decide that I need to get something...

Original post made by Monith Ilavarasan on May. 11, 2022
There are no comments yet. 6333 Views

NOTES ON THE VALLEY

Finding home

In the 1980s Zarina Kiziloglu immigrated to the Bay Area as a refugee of the Soviet-Afghan war. Her family came over with a few suitcases having sold all their property...

Original post made by Monith Ilavarasan on Apr. 6, 2022
There are no comments yet. 6084 Views

NOTES ON THE VALLEY

Back to earth

Last year, as spring rolled around, my partner had the brilliant idea of starting a garden. We had just come back from the farmers market and were...

Original post made by Monith Ilavarasan on Mar. 30, 2022
Last comment by Jennifer, on Mar 31, 2022 at 2:23 pm | 1 comment | 5947 Views

NOTES ON THE VALLEY

A wedding to remember

Last Saturday I found myself having one of the most surreal experiences of my life. I was standing on the corner of Taylor and Sacramento street in San Francisco...

Original post made by Monith Ilavarasan on Jul. 13, 2022
There are no comments yet. 5810 Views

NOTES ON THE VALLEY

Return to office

When remote work first started, I remember I promised myself that I would never be one of those guys who showed up to a meeting in pajamas. Two years later I found...

Original post made by Monith Ilavarasan on Jun. 29, 2022
Last comment by eledge, on Jul 3, 2022 at 6:27 pm | 1 comment | 5555 Views

NOTES ON THE VALLEY

Bored Games

I spend most of my waking hours in front of a screen. My job pushes me to be on a laptop all day either on video calls with fellow teammates or heads down getting...

Original post made by Monith Ilavarasan on Jun. 23, 2022
There are no comments yet. 5431 Views

NOTES ON THE VALLEY

Relationship with faith

Over the past year, I’ve been working with various religious and secular institutions on making sure their values are reflected in local public policy. I myself...

Original post made by Monith Ilavarasan on Mar. 23, 2022
There are no comments yet. 5302 Views

NOTES ON THE VALLEY

Memories of July 4th

The first fireworks show I remember watching was on my parent’s Magnavox tube television. We huddled around the 27 inch screen on July 4th to witness our very...

Original post made by Monith Ilavarasan on Jul. 6, 2022
Last comment by Cal Morton, on Jul 11, 2022 at 12:40 pm | 3 comments | 5298 Views

NOTES ON THE VALLEY

Searching for a way to live where you work

Over the past year of advocating for affordable housing I met Heather (I changed her name at her request for privacy protection). Heather has been a Pleasanton resident...

Original post made by Monith Ilavarasan on May. 4, 2022
There are no comments yet. 5195 Views

NOTES ON THE VALLEY

When heroes organize

Throughout the COVID pandemic health care workers have been called heroes. There were stories written about them in the paper, there were signs posted in yards thanking...

Original post made by Monith Ilavarasan on Apr. 27, 2022
There are no comments yet. 5150 Views

NOTES ON THE VALLEY

Gun controls won't solve everything, but we must start there

When I saw the very first news alert about a possible shooting in Uvalde I scrolled right past it. I have started feeling desensitized to the news around shootings....

Original post made by Monith Ilavarasan on Jun. 1, 2022
Last comment by JJ, on Jun 12, 2022 at 4:52 pm | 13 comments | 4430 Views

NOTES ON THE VALLEY

Why this district attorney race matters

There has never been an election like the one we are going to have on June 7th. Four candidates are running for Alameda County District Attorney, and none of them...

Original post made by Monith Ilavarasan on May. 18, 2022
Last comment by Malcolm Hex, on May 21, 2022 at 3:49 pm | 4 comments | 4409 Views

NOTES ON THE VALLEY

Why the Sheriff's department matters

Something I never learned back in high school history class was that Santa Rita Jail had a very famous visitor on Jan. 14, 1968. On that fateful day Martin Luther...

Original post made by Monith Ilavarasan on Jun. 15, 2022
There are no comments yet. 4213 Views

NOTES ON THE VALLEY

A trip back east

I don’t particularly love to travel. Airports were never my favorite place in the world and it seems like over the past few years they have only gotten more difficult...

Original post made by Monith Ilavarasan on Sep. 13, 2023
There are no comments yet. 4167 Views

NOTES ON THE VALLEY

The state of mental health care

On August 15th, the National Union of Healthcare Workers launched a strike with the principal goal of reducing the workload for the nearly 2,000 mental health clinicians...

Original post made by Monith Ilavarasan on Sep. 21, 2022
There are no comments yet. 4095 Views

NOTES ON THE VALLEY

What it takes to become a teacher

I recently hung out with a family friend that I’ve known forever. We both grew up together as kids in Fremont and our families would spend holidays together every...

Original post made by Monith Ilavarasan on Aug. 3, 2022
Last comment by anusree, on Aug 5, 2022 at 12:57 am | 1 comment | 4037 Views

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Local Blogs

Years ago I ate at this deli in Danville called Domenico's. It was one of the best sandwiches I’ve had in my life. However, because I don’t really have any reason...

Another year, another drought. Last Tuesday the Pleasanton City Council voted to enact Stage 2 drought water rates for the city. This will result in an extra charge...

Over the pandemic my partner and I got sick of being stuck inside all day. A few months in we made a pact. We would go on at least one outdoor...

When Jeremy Walsh and Gina Channell Wilcox from Embarcadero Media approached me about the opportunity to write a weekly blog for the Tri-Valley on a topic of my...

After my IKEA cutting board started splintering I was in the market for another cutting board. Every time I decide that I need to get something...

In the 1980s Zarina Kiziloglu immigrated to the Bay Area as a refugee of the Soviet-Afghan war. Her family came over with a few suitcases having sold all their property...

Last year, as spring rolled around, my partner had the brilliant idea of starting a garden. We had just come back from the farmers market and were...

Last Saturday I found myself having one of the most surreal experiences of my life. I was standing on the corner of Taylor and Sacramento street in San Francisco...

When remote work first started, I remember I promised myself that I would never be one of those guys who showed up to a meeting in pajamas. Two years later I found...

I spend most of my waking hours in front of a screen. My job pushes me to be on a laptop all day either on video calls with fellow teammates or heads down getting...

Over the past year, I’ve been working with various religious and secular institutions on making sure their values are reflected in local public policy. I myself...

The first fireworks show I remember watching was on my parent’s Magnavox tube television. We huddled around the 27 inch screen on July 4th to witness our very...

Over the past year of advocating for affordable housing I met Heather (I changed her name at her request for privacy protection). Heather has been a Pleasanton resident...

Throughout the COVID pandemic health care workers have been called heroes. There were stories written about them in the paper, there were signs posted in yards thanking...

When I saw the very first news alert about a possible shooting in Uvalde I scrolled right past it. I have started feeling desensitized to the news around shootings....

There has never been an election like the one we are going to have on June 7th. Four candidates are running for Alameda County District Attorney, and none of them...

Something I never learned back in high school history class was that Santa Rita Jail had a very famous visitor on Jan. 14, 1968. On that fateful day Martin Luther...

I don’t particularly love to travel. Airports were never my favorite place in the world and it seems like over the past few years they have only gotten more difficult...

On August 15th, the National Union of Healthcare Workers launched a strike with the principal goal of reducing the workload for the nearly 2,000 mental health clinicians...

I recently hung out with a family friend that I’ve known forever. We both grew up together as kids in Fremont and our families would spend holidays together every...

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