Thanks to Google Calendar and my foresight two years ago of knowing I’d probably forget in the future, I was reminded that today is my third anniversary of blogging. I was amused by the reminder I set for myself and by Google’s interpretation of it:
Unfortunately Google Maps doesn’t know where “the O!” is, but maybe one day it will.
When I started this blog, I already knew where the O was located and knew that I was quickly falling in love with this city, but I didn’t know too much about it beyond my personal experiences. I knew what it was like to ride the bus, but I didn’t understand transportation funding or policy. I knew that I’d be happier if my immediate neighborhood was more lively, but didn’t understand that zoning had anything to do with it. I knew that downtown had been transformed from a ghost town at night to one of the most happening night-time spots in the Bay Area, but had no idea that policy changes had led to this change and that policy still needed to be changed for the area to reach its full potential.
I’ve learned so much about Oakland over the past three years. Some of it I’ve shared here, and some of it I’ve shared with fellow bloggers and blog readers in person. And though this knowledge has sometimes made me a bit crazy, since this City’s got a lot of work to do to improve, it’s made me appreciate my personal experiences even more. I know I haven’t been writing as often about those personal experiences, mostly due to lack of time, but nearly every day and sometimes much more often than that, I have an experience that makes me incredibly happy to be an Oaklander and so excited to be involved in some small way in the evolution of this great city.
You can be involved in Oakland’s evolution too. Nothing would make me happier than if everyone who reads this blog post celebrates Living in the O’s third birthday by voting today. Even though there’s no city election today, the county and statewide election will have huge impacts on Oakland. So find your polling place, go vote, and if you need some guidance on how to vote, check out my endorsements for local and statewide races.
Past anniversary posts:
Living in the O 
partially thanks to your recommendations post, I actually got my mail-in ballot in the mail on time!! this is a first; usually I hand-deliver it to a polling station.
Great to hear! Glad to hear you voted as polling places in Oakland seem to be near ghost towns today.
Happy anniversary to Living in the O! Thanks for the work you do, especially for getting the word out about Walk Oakland Bike Oakland. I got involved with WOBO after reading about it here.
Congrats, Becks, on passing another milestone! Keep up the great work.
Happy blogging anniversary!