EasyPass Clipper

The transit system has been heavily promoting Clipper

After I signed up for my classes at Berkeley City College, I noticed a "AC Translink" fee of $31.00. What was this fee? I immediately started Googling around for an explanation. It turned out that a proposition was passed during the May 2009 student election requiring all Peralta students carrying 9 or more units to pay $31 for an AC Transit EasyPass, which is now an EasyPass Clipper.

I wasn't sure whether I would use it because the BART station is just 5 blocks away and two stops from Downtown Berkeley. However, since I had to pay for it, I figured I would pick it up during the first week of school. Not so fast. It turned out that since I have been taking a class on Sundays at Merritt College and obtained a student ID there, my EasyPass Clipper was sent to Merritt for me. I ended up making a special trip to Merritt College, paid $2.00 for all day parking (all short term parking spots were taken), to pick up this card from the cashier's office.

The regular AC Transit fare is $2.00 or $2.25.

Since now I finally have this unlimited bus pass, I must take an advantage of it! Round trip BART fare from El Cerrito Plaza to Downtown Berkeley is $3.50 or I can use my pass and save $3.50. I looked up 511.org. It turned out that the bus with shortest ride to downtown Berkeley stops just a block away from home. It takes 17 minutes to get to downtown, and the bus comes about twice an hour. Awesome! I started taking the bus whenever possible. There are a lot more riders during commute hours, but during mid-day and evening, there are hardly anyone taking the bus. The bus now has a lot more room to accommodate people with disabilities. In fact, there are few regular seats compare to many years ago. The seats and buses are in very good shape and up to date. I was pretty impressed.

I also noticed how polite people are. The passengers almost always thank the driver as they get off. The bus drivers also wish the passengers to have a good day or evening. It's very pleasant. I feel like I am going on a trip somewhere just by taking the bus. This is a good feeling that I wouldn't have when I was trapped in that cubicle routine.

OK Go & Atomic Tom

I got a text invitation to see OK Go and Atomic Tom. I didn't know much about the bands. I had seen OK Go's video (yes, that marching band video) on the internet but never heard of Atomic Tom. I had never been to Avalon either even though I lived in Silicon Valley for over 7 years. Nevertheless, I was excited to go to see a concert with my gal pal. I rarely turn down an opportunity to see a live performance especially when it's free.

The show started with The Relay Company, a local band from San Jose. They were pretty good and wasn't shy about asking the audience to check them out on Youtube and follow them on Twitter.

I looked up Atomic Tom before the concert, and they totally reminded me of 80's pop bands. Sure enough, the lead singer announced during the show that they love 80's music. They started performing one of the 80's biggest hits and got the crowd all rowdied up! I recorded a part of it:



By the time Atomic Tom finished performing, it was 10 PM, and it seemed like forever for the crew to setup the stage for OK Go. The audience was getting really excited because most of them were there to see OK Go, the headliner. I was curious how good these guys might be. Their videos sure are creative and fun to watch. The band came on stage wearing their colorful suits - blue, red, yellow, and green. They started blowing tons of confetti from the stage. At one point, the crew brought out a table with bells of different sizes, and they performed a song by ringing those bells.

Besides singing, the lead singer also joked a lot. He stepped down from the stage and sang among the audience for one song. The crowd just went wild. He didn't forget to turn around to face the other side at the midway of the song. I know how much his fans must have appreciated that. I never forget any concert that I had the opportunity to see the musicians straight in the eyes. For that reason, I much prefer small venues over big sports arenas for live music.

Avalon is a pretty cool concert venue. It's all general admission and there's plenty of parking. In the same parking lot, there is a L&L Hawaiian BBQ, an Indian restaurant, and a few other eateries. Inside of Avalon, they have a kitchen, a full bar and plenty of booth seating although it's harder to see the stage if you sit in a booth. I got the schedule of upcoming shows. I might catch another concert or two at Avalon.