Walking Journal #17 -Northline

I left The Nugget and headed towards 4^th Street. Allison lived in an apartment on 4^th Street. She did not like the apartment at first, but cleaned it up and grew very fond of it, for a little while. She headed towards the local Salvation Army on 4^th Street, and guess what, there is a thrift store on 4^th Street! Probably not the same one. I ventured mostly west on 4^th Street so I could visit the Eldorado Casino. This casino is definitely one of the better looking ones, yet, there is still plenty of homeless people roaming around the area and kids/students asking for rides. There are constantly cops patrolling this street because of the drunks that walk from bar to bar or casino to casino ready for a fight. My ultimate impression of this particular street was that of a nicer part of downtown Reno because it had the Silver Legacy which is very spectacular as well as the Eldorado, another gracious casino in downtown Reno. Both are on either sides of 4^th Street and make this part between Sierra Street and Virginia Street look like the best part of downtown that I have been to.

Eldorado Casino

Silver Legacy Casino

           

Bridge inbetween the Two

In the book, Allison mentions the Eldorado many times and elaborates on how it is a grand casino, so I believe that they have kept up with the renovations and prestigious look in order to continue having customers and passer-byers stop and think of it as one of the only few casinos/hotels worthwhile to stay at. 

           Later on during that day I drove down 4^th Street in an east direction to see what the apartments look like and if there was a Salvation Army. The part of town was trashier than downtown and did not look at all like a good living condition. All of the apartments there where unkempt, were not aesthetically pleasing, and looked like it could be Northern Reno’s ghetto because of the risky buildings and people. I understand why Allison’s inner mind, Paul Newman, told her not to live here anymore and try to look for a new place to go.

 Map: Head out of the Nugget onto Virginia Street.

            Make a left and head North on Virginia.
            Continue until 4^th Street, make a left.
           Head towards Sierra and make a loop.

Walking Journal #16 -Northline

Virginia St. Entrance

Late at night; I am hungry. Might-as-well go to the Little Nugget and get an Awful Awful burger. Penny shows Allison this gracious burger after one night at work. I have been there many times, usually late at night when you have that awkward late night hunger. When I read the Awful Awful part in Northline, my mouth started to water. I finally made another late night stop by the mystical hole-in-the-wall joint and enjoyed a mouthwatering burger. The burger is huge! It is built with onion buns, meat, fixings, and grease! Plus a pound or two of seasoned fries. I can never finish it, but still always want one to myself. The atmosphere is great too. For example, one time I went with a group of friends and the fryers were making jokes with us. They even cussed in a whole-heartedly way. It was such a joy to see that friendliness in a restaurant. Also, the people that go there love to chat with you.

            When Allison went there, she did not mention much about her experience aside from the scrumptious burger. She said she loved it as well. The food I great and the atmosphere inside has a good vibe, but overall the place is a dive. The front/back entrance (not sure which one) comes from a dumpy alley that smells like garbage, and the casino entrance is just that, a smoky, alcohol infested little room with tons of gamblers. Everything about this casino draws in the wrong crowd of people. The Awful Awful burger is “scrumdiddlyumtious”, however, everything around this little restaurant/snack shop is terrible. I am petrified to go by myself here anytime, even in the daylight because of the gruesome crowd that lingers around it.

Alley-way Entrance

            This whole idea of a dump casino plays onto the last mentioned blog with regards to the fact that downtown Reno has become trashy and scary to walk through. Even the casinos, which are supposed to seem more-or-less elegant, are not anything spectacular. Downtown  Reno has taken a far left turn from the descriptions Allison gives us in the book. Yeah, they had plenty of bars back then, but the bartender took care of Allison when she passed out, he did not take advantage of her, did not let other customers take advantage, and he did not just throw her in a cab. Instead, he laid her down somewhere alone and quit. Nowadays, it would be awfully scary to pass out in downtown Reno anywhere.

Map: Corner of Sierra and 10^th St.

            South on Sierra, left on 6^th St.
            Right on Virginia.
         The Little Nugget is on your right hand side.

Walking Journal #15 -Northline

Allison mentioned walking down 1^st St. after work once, so that is where I headed after my meal at the Cal Neva Casino. Walking down the street, I noticed that this street was not filled with stores; rather it only had a few on the section I was walking. I remembered that this street was where a man’s car would not start and Allison felt bad for the family sitting inside waiting. She worked her second job here as a telemarketer. I looked around the street and saw no cars. I bet this street has changed significantly since the time of which the book references it. There was saw three stores and one was called Coin and Bullion; coin reminded me of money. On the way back I looked out for pawn shops because she mentioned that in the book. I found three different ones and wondered if any of those three could have been the three she had mentioned. Probably not, but who knows!

             Downtown Reno is very unsafe at night nowadays because of the odd people that roam it giving you funny looks or asking for money. I always see police cars patrolling the area for people like that who start fights. If Reno was like that thirty years ago, I do not understand how Allison wanted a graveyard shift at the Cal Neva because she could get taken advantage of or robbed. What also surprises me is that she felt comfortable here in lieu of Las Vegas. Downtown Las Vegas may be bigger, but they are both downtowns with creepy people and casinos constantly advertising the next greatest thing in gambling. I wonder why she did not choose another place other than Reno. Watson must have made an impression on her to continue her path to Reno, NV. Anyhow, she was safe all throughout the book when she came to Reno, nice folks at the bar when she passed out and what not. Reno has definitely changed throughout the years and it shows through the streets like 1^st St which had many parked cars on it, casinos because there are so much bigger and “magnificent”, and through the people that roam it like homeless people asking for money and rides to different cities. I notice a change from a decent part of town to a part of town that people are scared to walk alone and always have buddies.

 Map: From Cal Neva to 1^st Street

            Down 1^st St. until Sierra than turn back.
            Make a left on Virginia and walk back the way you came.

Walking Journal #14 -Northline

As I walked downtown Reno, a parade was going on. Veteran’s Day Parade! I started on Tenth St. and Sierra and made my way towards downtown Reno. I realized that Allison would take Virginia St. to get to her work, so I took Virginia St. all the way to the Cal Neva. The Cal Neva looks like an older building so I imagine that it is the same building as the supposed Allison worked in. I made my way to floor 3 and looked aimlessly for the Top Deck Restaurant. Eureka! It was right in front of my face. The casino inside had the similar look as Allison described it and even had a whole section for betting horse races, football, anything. I was seated inside of the restaurant and noticed that Keno was I big thing to play in this restaurant as mentioned in Northline. As I looked around the restaurant I became aware that waitresses are very social, or are supposed to be. I got to thinking about Allison and how being a waitress at the Cal Neva was really part of her character and the need to get away from Las Vegas. Maybe she wanted to socialize with her customers instead of having a friendship until she was ready. Dan Mohany came every morning so it made it easier for them to talk more about life rather than simply an order. She was finally ready, and she and Dan became friends. I began to eat my “Classic Breakfast” that came with eggs, bacon, hash browns, and sourdough toast and wondered how they did not become friends sooner. He went there every morning and ate the same thing I was eating.

          

  Allison needed a friend and so did Dan, so through the daily small talks and he sitting in her section it happened after a long while. Maybe this was because of Allison’s personality, waitresses are hired based on how friendly they can be with customers and she did just that, always wanting to please. I find it very interesting how Allison found the friend she needed who was so similar to her through serving him coffee and breakfast each morning. This breakfast was quite tasty and cheap actually, so I understand why Dan went every day and sat in the section with the lovely waitress.

 

Map: Corner of Sierra and 10^th St.

            Head South until 6^th St. Make a left on 6^th and a right once you reach Virginia.
             South on Virginia. Cal Neva will be on the left-hand side about a half mile down.

Walking Journal #13

I went to see my family this weekend in Carson City. I was so excited until I unexpectedly found out that my mom put my dog to sleep that Friday morning. Consequently, I took Friday off, I checked out mentally, and decided to talk a drive/walk to my favorite place in Carson, Old Clear Creek the following morning. My plate felt so full, I needed to collect my emotions and thoughts.

            As I drove through the windy road, I realized nature is my medicine for difficult situations. I parked my car and began to start my adventure across the creek, up the dirt hill, and eventually the rock wall. I thought about my parent’s houses in comparison to my apartment. No one ever broke into my car and I always kept it unlocked. No one ever dinged your door or put dents in it while parallel parking, but if they did, they would leave a card with their number instead of bailing out as fast as possible. Living in Reno was getting to me. I began to wonder why life is so crazy in college. I came up with a few different scenarios, the first being, all of the students are stressed out and get pushed to breaking points, maybe that is why they steal stereos or are so hostile. Second, almost all graduate schools expect students to get above a 3.8 GPA in college in order to go to that school. An example of this is medical school because my goal in life is to become a surgeon, but now the pressure is on and I must maintain an immaculate GPA just to learn how to become one. Finally, the third is sustaining academics while also partaking in some sort of a social life because yeah, maintaining academics can be easier without a social life, but life is not. Furthermore, I organized my thoughts and felt that in order to have a life in college, you must find that perfect balance between all of your components like working, homework, studying, friends, school, and especially grades.

            By the end of the walk, I made another goal that I need to complete and get right in order to accomplish becoming a surgeon. This goal being to try to find that balance, but always focus on school, maybe try to see friends while doing homework most of the time. If it all works out, than life will not be so bad, it will be a joy.

Walking blog # 12

My neighborhood is full of apartments and houses that act as duplexes or 4-plexes. I live in an apartment myself and it is the tallest of my neighborhood, 3 stories. Most of the other places are single stories or two stories. All of the buildings immediately around my neighborhood have a modern American family feel of the late 20^th Century because they most are built with two or more rooms, kitchens, and such and have wood and brick outsides to them. They are much different to other neighborhood because they are smaller in square footing and are not set in the best neighborhood. For example, the university’s dorms are huge, most are five stories. They are much cleaner and have parks or grass and plant, whereas our neighborhood does not have any grass lawns or parks nearby. Because we do not have a gated entrance, grassy lawns, and pillar entrance ways, one can say our neighborhood is part of the lower class.

            People want extravagant homes and décor to show how classy they are and rich. They want to live in a gated community so they can feel safe and comforted in their home. Consequently, architecture plays a huge role in our society because it shows value in regards to rich, poor, and middle classes as well as the historic essence of buildings. For instance, architecture can have certain textures or elements in it that highlight the quality of the building as well as the timeframe of when it was built. Furthermore, with architecture, our society can value areas where the textures and elements of building have importance to them, or they could simply not value based on those too.  

Walking blog # 11

 

I grew up in Carson City, NV and this weekend I came back home to be with my family. I started thinking about places that had history to them and value to me. I thought of one place in particular, Old Clear Creek Rd. This road is located behind Costco and used to be the road people used to get to Lake Tahoe from Carson City. It is only a two lane road, one going up and the other going down. It used to have huge trucks driving with logs from Tahoe to Carson when Carson was becoming more populated. There was also much traffic on the road because Tahoe was a major tourist attraction then, as it is today. The difference now is that Old Clear Creek is hardly ever used since Highway 50 has been built. The only people who drive on it are the few home owners that live on the road, about 10, and people like me who want to get away and take a beautiful drive in nature.

            This road is so unique in that it curves so much and has cliffs that people climb often, a creek that is great to take pictures at, and much wildlife that has not been destroyed like trees and animals. Since the road has been “out of commission” it environmentally prospers more than it did when it was the major road to Tahoe. If the road was still the road people travelled on to get to Tahoe than the wildlife would have greatly diminished, the water would be polluted, the creek would have less water if it would still even be there, and the construction would have changed the whole land and ecosystem. Thinking about this makes me wonder what the land looked like before Highway 50 was built and how much has been effected by that. Consequently, this historical road is similar in Highway 50 because they both have curves; however, the environment around Old Clear Creek is flourishing, whereas much of the forestry land immediately around Highway 50 has diminished.

 

 

 Just dropping into the creek valley

 Leaving Old Clear Creek

 

Walking Journal # 10

 As I walked back to the Truckee Riverwalk, I spotted many people who seemed merely “houseless”, they lacked a home, but knew who they are and the community around them. I figured that they were “houseless” because they were comfortable to walk around in the community and knew many environmental factors about it like where trash with recyclables presides and how much water the Truckee River had in it, how fast it was flowing, and the change in temperature in weather in the Downtown Reno area. Also, they have walked all around the Downtown area and know it best, where the quietest places are, where they might find food, and so on.

            On the other hand, I have seen people around, at grocery stores, working with them, and clothing stores. These people are the ones who are homeless. They are not aware of what is going on around them, but have a house. These people just live in the world around them without really being aware of their surroundings; subsequently, being homeless to the area because they do not have a place within the Reno region. For example, I have a friend who does not go out often aside from work and school. She does not pay attention to the news concerning Reno or go to parks and the river in Reno. She owns an apartment; however, she does not spend any time outside of it unless it is work or school related.

Furthermore, the difference is obvious as I walked towards the riverwalk, most to all of the people residing/”hanging out” in Downtown Reno seem to be “houseless” because they are aware of their surroundings, whereas others who do not go out to rivers or parks at all are homeless because they are not concerned with the environmental factors around them, the construction on the roads or the reconstruction of the riverwalk. I feel more people need to get out more and learn more about their environment.

Walking Journal # 9

As we walked down the Virginia, I noticed how old many of the buildings look within Downtown Reno. They are not buildings that should be torn down, but maybe an “updo” would help the overall appearance. The casinos on this street and like skyscrapers and many of the casinos have two or three buildings representing them, like Circus Circus. My neighborhood versus the Downtown Reno neighborhood does not differ so much on the people that walk around. My neighborhood does not have hobos per say, but we do have thieves. I want to share something on my neighborhood. Yesterday, I get into my car, that I always lock because my neighborhood is very sketchy, and I found my stereo completely taken out of the holder. Wires and all. Consequently, my neighborhood is not the best of neighborhoods if even a locked car gets broken in to.

            Anyhow, these casinos in Reno are not all that fancy on the outside, but once you go inside you see how enormous and elegant it can be. Although my neighborhood and the casinos area are similar in the not so higher class outside, they are different in values because mine is simply to find somewhere to live whereas the casinos are somewhere to stay for a little and cash in your paycheck. The government controls the casino neighborhood mostly and placing limitations and taxes on the casinos; yet, my neighborhood is somewhat controlled by them but it is mostly controlled by the students that live all around.

            The casino district does not seem “off limits” to any of the University students because personally, a group of us just walked down to it without a care of the University and they do not have rules allocating whether we are allowed to go there or not. Furthermore, the casino neighborhood plays a huge role in my neighborhood and schooling in that a good percentage of its taxes go to the state’s budget. It is quite an interesting place to walk, I suggest never going there at night unless you are with a big group of friends because I felt uneasy with just the three of us when sunset began.

Walking Journal # 8

As the group and I walked towards the Truckee Riverwalk, we saw many people below poverty line. The walk towards the river was definitely not as pleasant as the riverwalk itself. The casinos, fast food places, and stores are not as prestine as one would imagine. On the contrary, they are pretty degrading to the casinos and stores themselves. Anyhow, as walking with Tazia, and Cheyenne, and Emily, and many, many others, we all found the riverwalk and understood how the riverwalk costs millions to build. I liked how much work was put into the river’s designs, bridges, and decorations. There were flowers all along the bridges, there were stone benches, murals, and so on. I really enjoyed the walk because it truly was beautiful.

            Tazia and I wandered away from the group and found a park right off of the riverwalk with a gorgeous mural, and yes, there are pictures!! The decorations put into this river make it a great experience and makes me feel like I am in a higher class in society while walking through it. On top of the gorgeous walk, all of the buildings around the riverwalk look much nicer than the ones we all passed on the way to it. They are new, kempt, and trendy. This adds to the feel that the riverwalk seems to make me feel more like I am part of a higher class.

            Although the riverwalk was gorgeous and made me feel like I lived in a great neighborhood, the people all around the riverwalk do not seem to fit the scene. They seem to be in poverty and even some were taking baths in the river. Also, a group of young adults were smoking and cursing right around the river. This downgrades the river and the image of perfection that was in my mind before seeing them. There was one person; however, that fit into the picture, a kayaker, kayaking in the river.

 

 

            Throughout my walk, I found many things interesting including the people and the scene and how the people did not fit into my perfect image of the river. I also concluded that the river was decorated and designed because the river has such importance to the Reno region. It is 85% of the regions water! So it better be important. I believe that this riverwalk if gorgeous and well worth the time and money put into it.

Walking Journal # 7

To my understanding, nature is something that is living and has an ecosystem present in order to show the multiple food chains within. The nature in my neighborhood is not quite all real. There are trees from here to there, but not a lot of anything else. However, when I expanded my walk I found that UNR does in fact have a lot of nature all around the campus, from grass, to trees, to a “lake” with a fountain, and flowers. This represents how nature is needed at a university because many students meet here to relax and talk about the day. I love to just walk under trees and on top of grass to have to feeling of nature all around me.

            Nature works all around us, it may not work with us because our urbanization takes over nature; yet, it is still present all over this city. As I was walking, I saw certain features that play a role in my research topic on precipitation to tap and the cycle in Reno. I observed sewer drainages that may lead somewhere to be filtered which can be a part of my research, I saw a fountain that may be getting its water from the Truckee River, the main topic in my research, and I saw sprinklers, which of course I went into! The sprinklers may also be getting the water from the Truckee River because the Truckee River supplies 85% of Reno’s tap water, and subsequently, sprinklers come from tap water. Furthermore, there are many features that play a huge role on my research concerning the watershed cycle in Reno.

Walking Journal # 6

I took the same route I usually do at night, but instead I did it through the day. As walking in the early afternoon I realized that all the streets around my block are like ads, ads for places to park for free. Every day when I drive away during the day, I am never able to find a place to park when I get back because all these other students needed a place to park. I figured out that this plays onto the politics of mobility. For instance, if one cannot afford to pay for a parking pass at UNR, he or she will find the closest free parking (all the streets around my neighborhood). Although this is an odd form of an ad, I saw no other physical ads on my route. Also, Downtown Reno does not have as much significance during the day as it does at night because it is merely plain buildings/skyscrapers during the day.

            Another thing I noticed during the day that I do not at night, maybe it is not relevant, but that many people, more so within the poor class, go searching for glass bottles and aluminum cans in trashes to earn money. This shows how this neighborhood is on the lower end because of the need for money to that extreme. Finally, I noticed how many cars drive on the streets I cross and get so aggravated at students walking to school. I believe this changes at night because it seems like drivers are in a calmer mood and do not get so irritated by students walking in the crosswalk. Furthermore, with the last statement, I am just highlighting how it seems even moods change in my neighborhood depending on whether it is day or night.

Walking Journal # 5

Many people have to go from place to place, like I said before, I go to school by foot all of the time and sometimes by bike, but I never go to school by car! Looking around my neighborhood, it seems everyone has cars, but they also have bikes, or at least a majority of them do. Every morning when I walk to school there are so many other kids walking alongside. I believe that every student walks or rides a bike to school, but that is just because it is such a big campus. Anyhow, I would love to say that everyone is able to walk to school, but many have to get parking permits because they drive from long distances to go to class. Furthermore, I get around by walking when I am going to the campus or any place close to it, and I drive when I am going to work or the store.

            There are not many obstacles when walking to school aside from buildings being in my way, but there are plenty of obstacles when it comes to driving because there is so much road construction as well as traffic. If I am not walking or driving I am taking the University Bus which is a form of public transportation that takes you in a loop within the campus. However, there is another form of public transportation that takes you to UNR from downtown Reno and so on, and guess what, it’s free! I know plenty of students who take the University Bus; yet, I do not know many who take the Spirit Bus, the one that is free. I feel public transportation is sufficient for this area and helps out a lot of people get to places important, like the hospital, grocery store, and so on. That is my take on transportation within my neighborhood.

Walking Journal # 4

There is not a ton of advertising in my neighborhood, there is only “For Rent” signs here and there. There is a lot of advertisement a little further though. For example, a few streets away there is plenty of advertisements for fast food places and restaurants and even farther there is the Downtown Reno which is lit up every night to show the skyscraper casinos and hotels. Also, every Friday night as well as other nights the Reno Aces Ballpark shoots fireworks up into the sky. These advertisements do not reflect our neighborhood values aside from the “For Rent” signs because our neighborhood only consists of apartments and house. None of the advertisements reflect my values because I have never been one to be showy or flashy and that is exactly what the Aces Ballpark is and Downtown Reno.

            These ads influence people by attracting them to Downtown with lights and parties or flashy food signs that make one want to eat there. Also, these ads all want you to spend money at their casino, store, park, food place, and so on. Furthermore, these ads only want us to consume which I am against because I do not feel we need to spend all of our money every week on superficial things. That is why for me, these advertisements are so easy to pass, especially when you see them every night. They just become part of the background after a while.

Walking Journal # 3

I have noticed that there are only a few differences with demographics where I live, but in all, there is not much difference. Off- campus, every student is just trying to find a cheap place to live in as close to campus as possible; however, there are some who want it to be cheap, but also very nice. This can affect the demographics of certain apartments because usually it is the girls who want cheap apartments, but they want it to be nice as well. Consequently, an obvious demographic is that a majority of girls go for the nicer looking and workable appliances kind-of-apartments, whereas the boys just want it to have a bed in it, microwave, and for it to be cheap. I’m honestly not trying to sound biased, but for a majority of boys and girls, it’s true.

            As for the race aspect in my neighborhood, I can truthfully say that there is not one race that I have not seen (all of those that I account for are the ones that I have already seen in my lifetime) walking, biking, driving, living, or hanging out in my neighborhood. I believe that a student is a student and needs a place to live just like the rest of us. And, my neighborhood consists mostly of students who are “low-class” because they do not have the money yet, but will get it once they graduate (or at least we all hope so). Consequently, every race or nationality is poor as a student usually is, unless their mom and dad are helping them out, but I still haven’t found a college student who isn’t worried about money here or there. We all are! So, girls, boys, Hispanics, Caucasians, African Americans, Middle Eastern, Asians, and so on live in my cheap neighborhood!

Walking Journal # 2

 

Politics of mobility, eh? Well, like I said before, I do not live on campus but very close to it. The "city of students" is where I live; however, in my part of the "city" there are no food areas immediately near us. There are pretty much only apartments, houses, and streets. Consequently, I feel that this would be considered the suburbs, not necessarily the best of places, more like the lower class area. I am involved in this area just like most others, through school because a majority of us are attending UNR or TMCC. And like all students, money is not an unlimited supply, so we all walk, bike, share rooms, car pool, and make a lot of food at home. All of these are examples that highlight how we are not on the high end of politics, but rather the low, very low end.

            College is expensive, so to cut down on costs I am always trying to limit my energy usage, including; lights, television, laptop, and fans (the last of which should not be limited by what can I say, I have to be cheap). I also limit how much I drive my car which helps the fossil fuels! I cut down on water and recycle if possible. All of which impacts my life and all life around me. This is to be considered the lower end of politics as I mentioned earlier; however, saving the environment by eating in and sharing cars or not using them is more of the higher class. Let’s face it, politics of mobility is changing, it’s becoming more conservative and if you are acting more friendly with the environment, than you are becoming more in tuned with life around you and subsequently, on the higher end of politics.

Hello! These blogs will be for my H English 102 class, enjoy!         

 

Journal # 1

  

My neighborhood is defined by all of the people around it who are going to college but do not live in the dorms anymore. I live in an apartment where the majority of the population from 500 feet in any direction are students attending UNR. The boundaries are set by Downtown Reno as the South, UNR’s campus as the North and East, and lastly, my apartment as the West because that is usually as far west as I go unless I need to get groceries or something. I do not like to go into Downtown Reno unless I’m with a group because I always get an uneasy feeling and annoyed with the obnoxious traffic. I have never felt a need to walk past UNR because everything I need I can pretty much get at UNR. So, the only time I really go out of my neighborhood boundaries is for work and shopping because everyone I hang out with either lives at the dorms or in my square boundary.

            The determination of my route to school is about the same everyday whether I’m on a bike or walking. I only live one block, maybe two, from UNR and just take the same streets to get there. The terrain consists of paved roads, sidewalks, and a hill. Sometimes, I choose to walk because I can’t stand riding my bike up hills. Yet, every morning I walk to school there’s always many kids walking the same route as I am, which makes me think that a 1-3 mile radius from the school in any direction is pretty much a little student city made up on its own.