re: Working for the Weekend

So, over Labor Day weekend I found myself in Seattle for their yearly Music and Arts fest, Bumbershoot.

I will prove this to you with this photo, because that is obviously the Seattle skyline in the background, and Seattle is where Nathaniel lives and I am standing right next to him. See? I really was in Seattle.

Unfortunately, that was about all of Seattle that I got to see, because the rest of the time I was working at a booth, bossing around volunteers and friends that volunteered to be volunteers for a day.

(Like this volunteer standing on the right, who worked pretty hard but also stole an entire duffel bag of yogurt from the VIP tent).

My friend volunteers and I gave away magazines and helped people stencil tee-shirts for 3 days straight.

Nathaniel. Being so patient. But inside he is probably thinking about how much better he is at dabbing a stencil brush than this amateur.

Rob is also smiling on the outside, but probably wondering why he has to be the one to wash the stencil of the amateur.

Tess and boyfriend came to help move boxes around.

Stephanie and her sister were really cute, and that always speaks well for the magazine.

We had a lot of paint, and a lot of stencils, and that equals a lot of neat stenciled shirts that people made:









This was my shirt that I stenciled, until some jerk thief with impeccable taste stole it right off the clothes line. I looked for the person the whole rest of the time so that Nathaniel would have a reason to pull out his brass knuckles, but it never showed up.

And this shirt was really well made. J/K. This wasn't a stencil. But it probably should be.


We did have one night off, so we went to a great little whorehouse themed pizza place called Madame K's in Ballard for dinner. You could tell it was whorehouse themed because they have underwear hanging on the wall. For people of all sizes.

This was actually the first time I had met Stephanie, Rob's new wife, and although I suspected already that I was going to like her, it wasn't until she suggested that we eat our dessert before we ate our pizza that it truly was confirmed for me. Best idea ever.


And I did make sure to see a few bands play every day too, so it isn't like I didn't see any of Bumbershoot. All I know is that every time I did make it out of the booth to watch some music, I seemed to stand next to a really affectionate couple. There is always a lot of couple-cuddle-standing-dancing while at shows (which I may or may not be guilty of myself at some point in my life, so I can't make fun of too hard). I think it is because there is something nice about listening to music you love and standing close to someone you love while you are listening to that music that you love. And maybe the feelings that you feel for the band and the song get all confused with the feelings that you have for the person that you are standing with, and it makes it so that you don't want to stop touching them the entire time? Even if it means you have to walk in an awkward way just to keep your arms around them?

Like this couple that thought it was the most romantic thing that had ever happened to them when the Weakerthans started playing the song The Reasons (with the chorus that goes "You May Roll Your Eyes at This, but I'm So Glad That You Exist") which I admit is a cute song, and maybe it is the most romantic thing that has ever happened to them as a couple, but it still makes me strangely uncomfortable to be present for when they stare dramatically into eachother's eyes in public and make out right in front of me. This is probably how couples get "their song" though, so I understand the importance of the hug-stand-kiss-dance that sometimes has to happen in public.

Anyway, Seattle. Bumbershoot. I had such a nice time with you. I am not sure what all these good emotions inside of me mean, but it is prompting me to want to hug-stand in front of everyone.